hidden dell: January 2012

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

i've been finding some really great, inspiring links lately and thought i'd share them here:

donna simmons is talking about the need for little ones to be home- and family-based
wonderful reminders from miss faith (rahima baldwin's daughter) over at joyful toddlers
keeping the vision with inspiration like this
and a helpful article from oak meadow

happy homeschooling!

we spent lots of time this afternoon right here on the couch. this week dillon started a new block on colonial history. micah decided to take this picture of the library book we were reading. thanks to dillon, our view from the couch has been cheerfully brightened by this colorful window star.

the day started out great. warm and sunny with an unexpected, celebratory "yay-we-got-our-tax-return" breakfast out. a nice treat, but not necessarily the best way to start out a homeschool day. everyone was feeling full and sleepy. micah and i started out with circle time, including lots of games with the bean bag we made together. he LOVES the bean bag games! we spent some time looking at library books about deserts, jungles and polar regions talking about the plants and animals that live there. we thought about similarities and differences between these places and our home. he drew a tree with a monkey and frog, a polar bear and walrus in the snow, and a roadrunner chasing a lizard past a prickly cactus.

and this poor little guy was NOT feeling well :-( he came down with a cold today and just wanted to rest and snuggle all afternoon.

i'm happy to rest and snuggle as much as he wants because this is practically the first time i've done that in the last 4 days! usually our weekends are VERY mellow, but not this time! i got to have a "meeting" over chai with a good friend who just so happens to be our family's teacher-consultant at our homeschool program this year. after that i made persimmon birthday cookies for my neighbor and dinner for my family followed by a super fun party at another sweet friend's property. it was so great to catch up with people i hadn't seen in a LONG time. on sunday, a very sleep-deprived mama took her two little guys to a new friend's house to make tamales together and play while dillon was at a playdate. phew! monday was back to school for micah and errand running for me and elijah. yesterday i had the good fortune of spending 2.5 hours catching up with yet another good friend while our kids were in class. so i think i basically crammed a few months worth of socializing and "me time" into the past few days. feeling so, so , SO grateful to my sweet, handsome, patient husband who made it all possible. a few extra stories and snuggles on the couch? yes, please!