A good Thanksgiving, and now back to reality...

It is nice having a long weekend, although today (Friday), I keep feeling as though it is Monday tomorrow, and that I need to do all my Sunday evening laundry, etc. Thankfully, I still have two full days to go!

We had a very pleasant Thanksgiving. It was just the four of us, and a very close family friend (more like family, an honorary uncle as a matter of fact), so it was relaxed, especially with a day and a half ahead of time to prepare! I made the pies on Tuesday and Wednesday, though Cricket and I starting the mince filling on Monday and cooked it down in the crockpot.

After trading in a couple of mince pies, I ended up with one mince, one pumpkin, and a delicious caramelized apple-cinnamon custard tart.

Cricket was my assistant all the way through. She chopped apples, measured flour and butter, ran the mixer, rolled out the pie crusts, and much, much more.

Here she is making succotash. She did it on her own with only a few verbal instructions from me, and it was delicious!

Bug kept himself busy making aluminum foil "castings" of various Hot Wheels, and then crash testing them. At least it kept him out of the way! He did help clean though.

And here is M carving the very tasty (organic) turkey that graced our table.

So we relaxed, watched movies, ate, did dishes, ate, played a game or two, ate... you get the picture! And I thought about our upcoming three weeks of homeschooling before Christmas break, and what I would like to accomplish. The week off, with no day-to-day planned learning helped give me some distance and get over my grass-is-greener syndrome... phew! I am making a few small changes, but nothing so drastic as I had originally thought. I am feeling mighty organized with all the new binders and dividers I bought! I have some things printed out, a stack of library books at hand, and a tidy, ready-to-go lesson plan for the three weeks. Not anything planned out in little time slots, or anything that organized mind you, but rather a set of expectations for the upcoming weeks. A list of tangible goals. And the reassurance that we are following our particular path.

Cricket and I did decide though to slow down her study of world cultures so that we have more time to explore each one. I thought we'd start taking a month per country, since this is a study we can do indefinitely. I think we're starting with Sweden, since they have lovely winter holiday traditions that Cricket would enjoy. This book is one I really loved as a child, and I think she'll like it too. Bug, in the meantime, has begged off American history for now. Instead, he and I are focusing on Egyptian history and mythology, then we'll move on to Ancient Greece before he takes the National Mythology Exam. Cricket says she'll be more than happy to listen in! She really seems to have very little interest in history in general, so if I can get her to listen in, all for the better.

I have been making progress with the kids in using more math on a day-to-day basis. I ask Bug at random to multiply things, or add up groceries while we're shopping, figure out how much x many pounds will count at $x per pound... and Cricket is doing fractions and measuring regularly in the kitchen while helping me cook. I've gotten in the habit of giving her 1/2, 1/3, or 1/4 cup measuring cups, and then having her figure out how many she needs to equal the amount needed in the recipe. She's getting really fast at it!

Okay, have to go. Hope everyone has a good weekend!