Getting ready for a new year...

I can't believe 2008 has gone by so quickly! And things are changing rapidly around here...

First bit of news, my dad has admitted that it is time for him to seek assistance with day-to-day activities. He had a stroke 8 years ago, and now in his 70's is finding things more and more difficult. It is hard for me, watching him age, and knowing that I don't have the time and ability to do much. We (my brother, sister and I) are working with him to get him settled into an assisted living facility, where he will have an apartment of his own, but will still have help with cooking and cleaning. There are activities he can participate in, plus he can keep subbing at the local high school. He'll still have a lot of freedom, but he won't be alone so much. We're planning on renting out his house while the market settles (and eventually goes up, we hope). It is a lot - going through his unstable finances with him, trying to make this as easy as possible, and so forth, but it is unfortunately necessary.

Christmas was good here, despite it being the day we realized my dad needs more help. The kids are still thoroughly enjoying all their gifts, and I have gotten the house well-cleaned, and still had some time to relax! The adults exchanged fewer gifts this year, and I liked that - it made things simpler, and less expensive. We had relatives over on Christmas Eve, and then had Christmas Day to just hang out in our pajamas, watch movies, unwrap gifts, and just enjoy a slow day.

Now we are getting ready for a new year. I am working on our budget, a la Dave Ramsey, and working on plans to keep up with both housework and homeschooling. My main goal for the year is to be more organized, as I definately function better when I have a plan of attack! There are numerous small goals that will help me get there, like planning menus each week and actually shopping with a grocery list, but the main goal is my overall focus. Notice I say goal, not resolution, because I never manage to keep resolutions.

Homeschooling-wise, we are getting ready to study Russia for a couple of weeks, then will move on to Europe and Great Britain or Asia (see sidebar for some of the books we'll be using in our Russian studies). We have just about finished up Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, and we plan on starting The Wind In The Willows in another week. I also plan to start the Read Naturally program (with some minor modifications) with the Elf - he'll do a "cold" read at the beginning of the week, chart the results, practice during the week, and do a "hot" read at the week's end, again charting the results, which will allow him to really see the results! Other than that, we'll continue working with fractions, which he is really enjoying, and continue with writing using Oak Meadow. For the Fairy, we're continuing with Oak Meadow and her much-loved Saxon Math. Our nature studies continue as planned also. I do plan to work in more art appreciation, music appreciation (using Classical Kids, Tchaikovsky Discovers America), and more reading in Story of the World.

So now you are all caught up on the nitty gritty details of our lives! Happy New Year's!