It was very weird. It was very, very weird.
I was at the park with my mom and my sister. I was playing with my little sister but then I abandoned her.
(I did not abandon her; I asked politely.)
I was casually doing the monkey bars.
There was another girl. She came out of a tunnel. She just appeared.
She had the same name; she stole my name.
Her mom had the same name as my mom.
She was born the day before me.
She had the same hair as me and the same eyes as me.
Maybe it was my conscience.
Another year of Sunday School has come to an end. It was a good year and we go Christian to the Celestial City by the second last week.
I am pleased by how much my children remember of The Pilgrim's Progress. The boys were over last week (the girls will have their party this week) and we watched a truly terrible version of the book. They were able to notice not just the big changes but even the little ones, such as Christian and Faithful being caught in the Flatter's snare much too early; in fact, they knew it should be Christian and Hopeful. Then yesterday we did a quiz about the book and they were pretty good at remembering details. They also know that John Bunyan was born in 1628.
We ended the year with the quiz, cupcakes, juice boxes, trivia games, and mini chocolate bars. It was a good celebration!
Now I'm on break for a bit before I start to plan next year!
My Sunday School boys were over yesterday for our end-of-year party. We had planned to go to the park for the evening, but it had been raining and was wildly windy with more rain to come, so we stayed inside. There was pizza, cookies, chips, and pop, so they were well fed. They played together, building with Lego, checking out whatever toys I had, and making up games with the farm animals and Mr. Potato Heads. We watched the worst version of The Pilgrim's Progress I've ever seen, laughed at it, and complained about the missing and/or changed parts.
It was fun, but SO NOISY! Everyone seems to think that girls are noisier because they talk and giggle. No way. The girls may be noisy, but the boys are louder. Many of them don't have quiet voices and they try to fight and wrestle. They also laugh loudly for longer than necessary (there was some attention-getting going on). It was four hours of loud boys.
To be fair to my boys, there weren't all extremely loud. A couple of them are quieter and understood when it was time to settle down a bit; one walked away from a game when another boy wouldn't behave (the other boy straightened up right fast when he was going to lose his playmate).
They're good boys, but my main memory of yesterday evening is NOISE!
Tuesday is tutoring day. I spend the afternoon working with three lovely children; they are 10, 8, and 6 years old. I do some reading and math (and talking and educational games and whatever comes up) with each child individually and then we do an activity together.
Lately we've been learning about different countries. We find the country on the map, read a book about the country, and then they do a craft that is somehow related while I read stories that usually take place in the country.
Yesterday we learned a bit about Russia, and while they started on a simple nesting doll craft (pretty dolls for the girls and soldiers for the boy), I read them two stories from Russia. We first read The Turnip by Jan Brett. It's a fun story and the children enjoyed it. What really caught their attention, though, was The Many Problems of Rochel-Leah, written by Jane Yolen and illustrated by Felishia Henditirto.
Rochel-Leah's main problem is that she is a girl living in a small Jewish village in Russia in 1835 and she wants to learn how to read. Her mom and aunts can't help her because they don't know how to read and everyone else doesn't think she needs to learn to read; in fact, she is told that the rules are that only boys learn to read. Rochel-Leah is determined, and in the end some rules are bent a bit so she can learn to read.
The story is based on the author's family history and a story that was passed down though the ages. She says in the book that it's true-ish.
Usually when I read, the oldest child listens and does the craft at the same time; the middle child stops working regularly as he listens; and the youngest mostly does the craft with some interest in the story. This time, all three stopped working and focused entirely on the book. I don't know how much was the story and how much was the excellent illustrations, but this one held their attention like few other stories do when craft time is involve.
My favourite part was when Rochel-Leah is learning to read. The youngest child was so excited because "Now she can teach her mom to read!"
My second-favourite part was after we were done, listening to her tell her mom the story with all the drama and excitement. I was asked to let them borrow the book so they can share the story with their mom; of course I said yes.
I am adding The Many Problems of Rochel-Leah to my list of books to read to the Wednesday morning kids next year.
I was at the homeschool convention over the weekend. Aside from the sessions, there's the exhibit hall. Here you can find various schools, suppliers, and organizations with information, free stuff (pens, candy, stickers, etc.), and things to sell.
My favourite part, though, is the lovely variety of bookstalls. There are new books and used books, a huge assortment of children's books (naturally) and a mishmash of other books. There are also games and toys and whatever people may want.
And, in an amazing display of self-control I didn't buy any books this year!
Trust me, it was pretty much a miracle that I didn't succumb to temptation, but I know the state of my finances and that buying books wasn't really in the budget right now.
I did buy a set of trivia cards for the kids, and a t-shirt and some soap from the kids, but that was it for this year.
After all, there's always next year!
And so May is done and June has started. I have one tomato plant that agreed to grow (I'll buy either more seeds or a couple tomato plants today to keep this one company), some onions that have started to poke up through the earth, and some sunflowers poking up (they grow fast and I love that about them). I'm waiting to see if the bulbs grow as well.
Things were supposed to quiet down in May, but it was still very busy! All of my spring meetings and reports were done by the 5th, and my program plans were checked and initialed by the 17th. We finished Wednesday morning women's study on the 7th and a couple weeks later history class ended. I marked their exams and am waiting for their essays this week.
My sweet nephew got married on the 9th on Vancouver Island. I spent a few days out there, enjoying time with family and friends (and the wedding of course).
There was a meeting for the women's ministry and a birthday party the following weekend; dinner with friends, the spring women's tea at the church, and a trip to the symphony with some young friends the weekend after; and the homeschool convention, complete with a staff meeting, for the final weekend.
It was a busy month, and I was also catching up on things neglected as I got through April, making plans for all the things to do in summer so I'm ready for fall, and sorting out summer reading goals.
Now it's June, and things do look quieter. I tutor on Tuesdays, and those are my main plans. Except, of course, for a birthday party, Sunday School party, and symphony trip next week, and another Sunday School party the week after! There are a couple people I'm going to be meeting with to talk about discipling them (because it seems I do that now), two more Sunday School classes, and then baptisms and the laundry that causes coming up. Oh, and my friend's cat had kittens, so there is a Very Important Visit to make!
So there's still a list, but it's a much shorter and easier list. The rest of everything fits in and around the big stuff; my schedule for the most part is flexible; and there's plenty of time to rest. Also, I have plans for a staycation the first week of July, which mostly consists of reading, building a puzzle or two while listening to audio books, and maybe spending time exploring parts of Edmonton or checking out the street performers' festival.
It's summer now and time to relax, prepare, and enjoy life!
