As the school year winds down, I find myself mentally pondering the highs and lows and trying to figure out improvement strategies for next year. Overall, I’ve been pretty happy with how the year went. We went with Tapestry of Grace for history/Bible/literature/church history/geography. It’s a lovely classical, integrated curriculum that winds all those things around each other as they are in life and so far seems to produce a strong understanding of how history all flows together.

Tapestry actually has such a massive amount of possibilities that the problem is picking and choosing what you want to really focus on and not making yourself (or your children) crazy by wanting them to do everything. The Tapestry people themselves don’t even recommend trying to do everything lest you turn into psycho people.

After probably biting off more than the kids were able to chew (hmm, sounds kind of gross when you say it that way) this year, I’ve decided that for next year we are going to be a lot shorter on the written questions and things. Instead, I am going to supplement the history with Hold That Thought pages. These are excellent notebooking pages on a whole bunch of historical people and events that we will be studying. We’ve been pretty sloppy on writing this year, so I’m planning to gear a bit more in that direction next year and see how it goes.

Hold That Thought has notebooking stuff for many different subjects. Several years ago I bought their My Bible Book and Beginners Bible/Church History notebooks and have printed them off several times for the kids and even for my niece (made a church book for her to do during the sermon). In addition to the Advanced History ones for next year, I am picking up Advanced Church History to go with our studies. We are going through Trial and Triumph (read aloud) and Church in History (Georgie) over the next year or so, and the HTT printables with dovetail perfectly.

If any of you are interested, Hold That Thought is running a word-of-mouth special right now. If you tell two other homeschoolers about HTT or write them up on your homeschooling blog, you will get a free notebooking CD of your choice with your order. So, I am now off to go place my order and get my freebie.

Rachel

Long have I claimed that children are a little loose in the screws, but now I have photographic evidence. You know how most people sleep in their beds with actual blankets covering them? Well, my smaller girls have decided that something so pedestrian really will not do and have come up with alternative sleeping arrangements:

Here’s Faithy

And Kyra

And yes, they have indeed tucked blankets through the slats of the top bunk to form girly little cocoon beds. They actually do somehow sleep in these things… at least until I catch them and return them to people-land. Maybe it’s like a hammock.

And how, you may ask, did they come with this brilliant idea? How the heck should I know! The minds of small children are bizarre, inscrutable places full of curiosity and frivolity. Who knows what goes on in there. Yikes!

Here is Henry’s cuteness for the day. I got him dressed today but didn’t put any shoes on him. Apparently that was not suitable to his footwear needs, so he found something he could put on himself.

Yes, those are Faith’s red patent leather church shoes he’s wearing. Really, this child is too cute for his own good.

See Kyra’s shoes? Henry had those on first. I’m not entirely sure how she got them off of his feet without some sort of cataclysmic event. Like the orange blob? Faith insisted on being in the picture and wearing that. Why? Did you not read the previous paragraph re: children’s minds?? Especially that child!

Personally, I think Henry’s shoes kind of work with the truck. Of course, everyone knows that red patent leather shoes go with everything.

Rachel

P.S. Grandpa and Grandma (and anyone else), here are two more recent photo albums if you want to peruse. Got some halfway decent shots.

Steps for LIfe Walkathon 5/15/10

Stonehenge Road Trip 5/29/10