Week 12

Another busy week!

Next week is busy, too, but most of the appointments are in the afternoon, which makes at least a bit of homeschooling possible.

We celebrate Thanksgiving with extended family.

There are a few little errands and missions on the weekend that I didn't include, but these ones were the biggies.

Thanksgiving

I found this resource page for a Thanksgiving lapbook.

I don't intend to DO one, since we'll be traveling so much this week and next, but I thought Aidan might like to make a pumpkin book and perhaps the younger kids would like to do a couple of the things on Friday.

Pen-Ultimate Week

There are only two weeks left until the term ends. So I have to think about how to wrap things up for the term -- what will change in our routine, if anything.

• There are a couple of changes I am planning. One is to have a given number of "unschool free pass" days where we get to just live life and count it as a day. Especially if there is travel or something enriching going on, like last week with Halloween and All Saints Day.
• Another is to have a given number of sick or medical appointment days. ... where we go to a minimum plus reading type schedule.

Yes, we already have some of these in effect -- but acknowledging them might be helpful.

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I also wanted to try to have an Ignatian review/exam/Charlotte Mason exam week for the 12th week.

I looked for exam week information online and found:

• Sample Exam Questions at Ambleside Online
• A PUS article on exams

Also:

• An end of term retrospective at CM, Children, and Lots of Grace
• A Second Grade Exam at Our Golden Apples
• Exams for a 13 year old at Higher UP and Further In
• Plus, general information on narration at SalmonMe's and at Dominion Family

This will all be helpful if I can assimilate it all! I will let you know what ends up happening!

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Now, as for temporal plans, two of my older kids are going to be visiting friends next week. I am going to count these days as school days for two reasons (1) because travelling and visiting are excellent education in themselves, and (2) because I'm having them bring some easy review type material with them. The family they are visiting is also a homeschooling family, so the schoolwork they bring will be things they can do while their friends are doing their academics.
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That means that week 11, for at least one of my boys, will be an away week. I think, THINK, that I will do review for the one at home as well. Plus a writing intensive. Then by week 12 I will be prepared to do some sort of informal exam/retrospective type week. That will be a shortish week anyway because Thanksgiving is coming up.
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Looking ahead even further:

Once Thanksgiving is over, we are heading into Advent. Since I am just SO organized this year :D I would really like to have the rhythm be a bit different during Advent. But the details remain to be worked out. I know I DON'T want to have a burnt out, frustrated feeling all during Advent like I did last year. I want it to be a time of peace, anticipation and preparation.

Help me, St Francis de Sales and St Brendan the Navigator! (my two patron saints for this year's homeschooling)

Forecast for the Week

I'm going to start writing out what the week holds just to see if it helps me juggle all those plates a bit better. (Plates! Liam said there was a knife juggler at a variety show at his college this weekend! Yikes!)

• Monday, today, the occupational therapist and then the regular trip to the library and the market. We go to the market once a week to let each child pick out a treat -- longstanding tradition.
• Tuesday, some of us will be running errands half the day. Clare has to get her braces and Aidan has a clinic.
• Wednesday -- Halloween
• Thursday -- Holy Day -- visit Liam possibly. I was going to let the kids have the day off but with all the other things happening this week I am not sure if we can afford to. Maybe do some kind of Main Lesson or intensive and drop the regular classes, for variety.
• Friday-- things going on most of the day -- homeschool Stations, and a doctor's appointment.
• Saturday -- playoff game? (we don't know yet if they made the playoffs)

For the actual weather, it is thundery today!

ETA: In future forecasts, I will try to put something about what is high in priority for the week. For this week, right off the cuff, I would say just keeping somewhat of a still center with all the busy-ness and, hmm, well, sugar! Other priorities: getting that firewood stacked (Brendan has commissioned himself with doing the bulk) and getting Sean's writing program off the ground.

And starting some semblance of Novel in a Month starting November 1st.

And doing SOMETHING for the liturgical year -- thinking of having Kieron read some of the Catholic Mosaic picture books -- fun and pretty easy.

Then at the end of the week, I can journal about hits and misses.