Monday Musings...

A fresh week, a fresh start!

We had a very busy weekend! On Saturday, we heard the San Francisco Symphony at a family concert. The highlight was definitely the live performance of The Composer is Dead, a story commissioned by the SF Symphony back in 2006. While Lemony Snickett was not at hand, Nathaniel Stookey, who composed the music, was, and he narrated it magnificently! Plus, we got to meet him, and he signed the kids' programs...

Then on Sunday, we headed out to a bowling birthday party for a friend, which was a lot of laughter and fun (though both kids did comment on how "loud those schoolies are" (schoolies meaning public school kids, which made up the bulk of the birthday group). Interesting observation, which I told them was likely due to recess and all that, which are by nature loud.

We also planted our artichoke plants, transplanted everything else into larger pots until it is warmer out, cleaned the lizard and guinea pig cages... things of that sort. I finished grading papers, and read a poem in Middle English (tough going there!), plus got ready for a loooong day at work today, which I have once a month.

On the Agenda...

Homeschooling:

This week, we'll start studying ancient Egypt! I have plenty of resources at hand -- books, documentaries, activity guides, etc. -- and we're really looking forward to this!Among my top few books for this era are:
 the Ancient Egyptian World (Oxford University Press, a book chock full of facts and interesting information)
Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt (World Landmark books, more of a smooth read-aloud type book, what would be called a "living" book)
Awful Egyptians (Horrible Histories, all the "nasty bits" from history)
and:

 I may try this book with The Girl

Plus, The Boy wants me to read this book at bedtime for now (I'm actually really enjoying Riordan's Percy Jackson series on audio book, alongside the kids, so I am willing to give The Kane Chronicles a try!)

Besides all that, there will be math and language arts, including a grammar lesson from The Sentence Family and possibly a Reading Horizons trial for The Girl; dissection and human anatomy (fits in nicely with mummies, I think); studying for the National Mythology Exam, which The Boy will be taking at the beginning of next week; watching our caterpillars and ladybug larvae, which are getting larger by the day; waiting for the mantises to hatch; at least one art project; AND the last homeschool fencing class before The Boy moves up a level!

Housework:

We've got to get rid of a lot of stuff. We own way too much stuff for a family of four! My goal is 2 bags of outgrown clothes to be donated each week; one box of (gulp) books to the library each week; and getting rid of 99% of all the homeschool paperwork (worksheets, etc.) that I've been hanging on to for no particular reason. The first two I will keep doing each week until I'm done, the last will probably take me a good month. I'm getting rid of all the homeschool materials I have as well, that we just won't use, selling what I can, donating the rest.

College:

Just have to finish up some reading this week, regarding Shakespeare's Pericles, and then I meet with my writing professor for our monthly meeting.

Other:

Roller derby; birthday shopping; fencing, as mentioned above; getting ready to talk about legal homeschooling options at a homeschool information night... yes, yours truly is a "featured speaker" at this event; cleaning out the chicken hutch, again; and probably one million and one other things that re escaping my mind.

Hope you all have a good week!