I Give You Permission...

Has spring arrived where you live yet?

 

 

It has where we live.  Sunny and temps in the 70s.  In my mind this is perfect weather. 

 

 

Too perfect to stay inside.

 

 

But what about that math lesson?  Don't we need to do that?

 

 

What about squeezing all that reading on the AO list for week 8 into week 8 on the calendar?  

 

 

Relax Mama.  I know you want to be diligent in your children's education.  Me too.

 

 

But pushing too hard at all those things you "should" do without ever taking a break – that leads to burn out.

 

 

Ask me how I know.

 

 

These sunny 70 degree days aren't going to last forever.

 

 

Before you know it they will give way to the sticky humidity and heat of summer.

 

 

We won't want to spend all day outside anymore.  We'll want to stay inside in the air conditioning.

 

 

Which means that we'll have time to pick up the pace again on the math and reading and all those other things.

 

 

We'll be refreshed and ready for it after slowing our pace for a few weeks to enjoy this window of perfect weather.

 

 

Sounds like a win-win situation to me.

 

 

Enjoy these days while they last.

 

 

I give you permission….

 

All photos taken on a recent outing to our local botanical gardens.  We got a great deal on an annual pass.  We'll be back.

 

 

What We've Been Up To...

Out and About:

We spent our first week back Stateside at my parent's house in Florida, and the kids had their very first 'real' beach outing.  We've been to rocky beaches before, but not a swimming beach.  I thought the waves might freak them out, but they had a fabulously fun time splashing around and trying to run away from the waves fast enough.  Sand castles and shell collecting featured heavily in our outing too.

 

 

 

Now that we are settled up in North Carolina where we will stay for much of the year, we have already found a lovely wooded nature trail around a pond just across the road from our apartment. Stay tuned for photos of that soon.  I have a feeling it will be a favorite we will revisit.

 

 

In the Schoolroom:

For the last several weeks, school has consisted solely of science in the form of "How it's Made" episodes on TV, various nature study opportunities in the form of walks around the neighborhood, and literature in the form of bedtime read-alouds. That all counts, right? ;P This week, we are back to a light, basics-only school schedule (math, Ambleside reading, copywork for all, and a bit of dictation and written narration for my almost-10-year-old) plus a bit of nature study.  We'll do that for two weeks, which ought to get us to a good 'pausing' point, and then we will adjourn for the rest of the summer.

 

 

Creatively:

I got a new stash of yarn when we arrived in the States, and have been crocheting dishcloths and coasters to use in our apartment.  Michelle is crocheting with me (yay for a new stash of yarn!).

 

 

I also finally broke down and a bought a copy of The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady.  What a beautiful peek inside a vintage nature journal!  Worth getting your hands on it if you can – I found mine used online quite inexpensively.  It is lovely and inspiring, and now I am working to revamp the way my nature journal is set up.  I love the way her notes and drawings carry her through the year.  I am so looking forward to seasonal variation while in the Northern hemisphere this year and want to record that in a natural, intuitive way.  Stay tuned. J

 

 

In the Kitchen:

Berries.  Melon.  Berries.  Broccoli.  Berries.  Mushrooms-not-from-a-can.  Berries.  Milk-that-isn't-shelf-stable.  Berries.  Grapes.  Berries.  Sandwich Meat.  Berries. Cherries.  Berries.  Peaches.  Berries.

 

I think that sums it up pretty well.

 

 

Around the House:

I think we are about as settled as we can be in our furnished apartment for the coming year.  That 'getting settled' process involved putting the TV in a closet, moving the computer desk into our bedroom (I have never cared for having our 'office' space in the middle of the living room), and obtaining a couple of extra bookcases so I could put our books away.  Not sure what that says about me as a person…but there you have it. :)

 

 

What have you been up to lately?

Where I've Been...

Well, I've been here…

 

Doing a lot of this…

 

And this….

 

And a bit of this too.

 

Spending time with these lovely people…

 

 

 

Celebrating this little guy (6 years old now!)….

 

…and digging in to Ambleside Online Year 2, Term 2 (we will go 6 more weeks before taking a month-long summer break).

 

 

Life is slowly returning to a normal routine, and I have lots of thoughts simmering that I am looking forward to sharing with you all soon. J  In the meantime, I have a guest post up over at Afterthoughts this week, for those of you who may not have seen it yet.

What have you been doing these past few weeks?

How We Do...Field Trips

Actually, we don’t really do field trips at all.  Living in Africa means there isn’t so much to do in the way of typical field trip fare – no museums, historical sites, zoos (well we do have a zoo, but it’s small and kind of sad), and so on.   Rather than feeling like my kids are missing out on this kind of thing, however, I like to look at the fact that they have opportunities for different experiences that their counterparts in the West don’t.  Here is one such example from an ‘adventure’ my husband took our older two children on a couple of weeks ago:

 

Students from the mission-run international secondary school here in our city often make ministry trips to local villages.  Last weekend, Dan was asked to use our 4WD truck to help drive people and equipment for one of these trips to a village located a couple of hours south of the city.  He took Michelle and James ‘along for the ride’ since it was a good opportunity for them to experience another part of Cameroon.  They had a great time!

 

Once turning off the main highway, they drove another 20km down this dirt track through the jungle to reach the village.

 

The student ministry team finished a well project and planted plantains for the village.  Then the soccer team played in a locally organized tournament.

 

 

Afterwards the drama team performed a few skits sharing the gospel with the people who came for the tournament.

 

 

During the soccer tournament James got busy drawing and attracted quite a crowd.

 

 

Michelle, on the other hand, guarded the truck.

 

 

The folks in the village provided a meal for the group before they headed back to town: snake, lizard, greens, and rice.   The verdict: Dan didn’t think it was too bad.  Michelle liked the greens and the rice, but passed on the snake and the lizard, and James “only ate the rice.  The rest was too icky, Mama.” 

 

 

The trip back to the city in the afternoon was particularly exciting due to thunderstorms in the area, turning the dirt track into a mud track. J  But they all made it home safely, and they all had a great experience.  It was a blessing for Dan to be able to use our vehicle to help out the student ministry team in this way, and a blessing for the children to be able experience Cameroon outside of the city!