Where We Are, and Where We Are Headed Next...

Since we are getting closer and closer to the end of the year, I thought I would share where we are at with homeschooling, and what our next big plans are!

The Boy

He is doing so well with TabletClass Algebra as his math text/program! As he's currently on chapter 2 out of 14, I doubt he will finish by the end of June, but in September, we will just pick up where he leaves off, and move on from there.

In writing, I have sort of dropped the ball... a lot. However, I am taking steps to remedy this. I have accepted that as an English tutor/teacher-to-be, I am not good at following a pre-written curriculum. I am much better at putting together assignments myself. So I am going to just work with him on the steps of writing various types of essays, though we will continue to use books like Writing With A Thesis for examples and refining. His first essay, an expository one, will be at least 5 paragraphs, and we'll be starting that today. I plan to have him read a least one sample essay, brainstorm, work on an outline, then a rough draft, and a final draft. In between all those fun steps, he'll continue with freewriting, etc., a la the Brave Writer Lifestyle. After the expository essay, we'll move on to a persuasive or descriptive essay. 

Next year, we'll continue essay writing, with at least one research paper, and various short essays across the curriculum.

The Girl

Our current approach to math—using Math Essentials and filling in any weak spots with Math Mammoth's Blue Series—is working quite well. She likes both programs, which is a rare find here, and is making nice progress! We'll continue on with this for next year's math (pre-algebra), and then decide where to go from there. I might have her try out the free pre-algebra lessons offered by John Zimmerman, the amazing TabletClass guy. Our primary focus the rest of this year is getting her up to full speed on multiplication, division, and fractions.

She does some writing/freewriting, and I should have her doing more Brave Writer Lifestyle activities, but our main focus is spelling, since that is a major weak spot. She spells very phonetically, which can be interesting, but not necessarily easy to understand. I bought a Spelling Workout workbook at a lower level than her reading comprehension, and she's flying through it, doing an entire lesson in a day. I assume we'll slow down as she moves up through the levels. 

Next year, we'll add in written narratives, and the beginnings of essay work.

Both

Downton history, while we haven't read/watched everything on my list, has been a huge hit! That said, I think next year we'll simply aim for watching series, documentaries, and movies... a visual interest-led approach. That is because we have decided we need a year that focuses more on science, which brings me to my next point.

Science has been largely interest-led this year. The Boy is reading a couple of books on black holes, and other cosmological phenomena; The Girl has practically memorized entire animal encyclopedias. We've watched documentaries, done an occasional small experiment, but we haven't really dug too deeply into science this year. I would like to finish out the year with some anatomy and nutrition, but we'll see. 

Next year though, both kids will be doing biology, The Boy because it's a science he has not focused on previously, and The Girl in order to broaden her horizons past animals. I'm looking at either Life on Earth (which looks fascinating, but is an iBook and therefore more difficult for me to access), or something along the lines of Exploring the Way Life Works, or maybe even a (gulp) textbook (this one, or perhaps this one).

OR, we'll be doing the Big History Project with extra science, primarily biology. [Personally, this would be my number one pick]

Literature has not been great this year either, mostly because I did not put enough emphasis on it, and I failed to make it a cornerstone of our education. The kids do read a lot on their own—right now I've got one enmeshed in the world of Harry Potter, and the other one millions of miles from here with The Martian—but at read-alouds... well, I'll just say it: I've sucked this year. I am working to remedy that a bit though. We're finally wrapping up A Wrinkle in Time, and then will either read A Wind in the Door, or something entirely different.

For next year, we are toying with the idea of a lit study based off of another favorite series of ours, Once Upon a Time. We would bring in everything from Alice in Wonderland and Pinocchio, to the Grimm fairy tales, Peter Pan, the legend of Blackbeard, and so forth. 

So,  biology/Big History  interest-led science and literature would be the main focal points for family studies, bolstered with math and writing as individual activities. Plus, The Boy may well take another junior college class.

So yes, we're still aiming high, and falling a bit short. 

Monday Musings... Pi and Einstein...

First of all, Happy Pi Day!

I'm not sure if we'll actually get around to eating pie today or not, but perhaps so!

It is also this guy's birthday!

The Boy and I have been talking about him a lot lately, with all the news on gravitational waves fascinating both of us.

...What We've Been Up To...

Watching Downton Abbey

Reading more about the Romanovs

Catching up on a couple of episodes of Once Upon a Time

Watching the skies pour down on us daily (though there's a several day break in the rain this week!)

Working [somewhat] diligently on math, which is going well

Going through clothes, as the author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up suggests, though, no, we aren't doing it all in one fell swoop!

Talking to the Boy about The Big History Project (with an emphasis on science) for fall, and writing a research essay for now

Looking at new volunteer opportunities for The Girl, now that she's THIRTEEN!

Cooking bake sale goods with The Girl for derby, and then watching her chat with a boy all evening while helping out at the bake sale table!

The Boy also tried a parkour class last week, as he's a little burnt out on fencing -- he loved the parkour class, and will be taking it weekly. Best of all, it is during derby practice, and only two minutes away!

I lost another 2.6 pounds

...Plans for the Week...

More math

The beginning work on a research essay

Ordering a new spelling program for The Girl (I'm really tempted by Spelling Workout, and I think she could move through a couple of the lower books pretty quickly, though her spelling is fairly dreadful) 

Looking ahead to next week, when I am off work and school for spring break

More cleaning and clothes sorting... we're getting there

I wear we will finish A Wrinkle in Time!

And there you have it. Nothing fancy, just going along.

Enjoy your Pi Day!

Thursday Thoughts... Ideas for Fall...

I'm thinking about next year. Just a little this time, no elaborate planning. I know there are some programs we plan to continue, and I have some ideas for other subjects (naturally. I mean, would I not have ideas?)

image courtesy of linkedin.com

...To Finish this Spring...

The Lively Art of Writing 

The Girl's current spelling program

Downton history

...To Be Continued...

TabletClass Algebra 1, moving up to Geometry as soon as The Boy is ready

Math Essentials backed up with Math Mammoth
as needed (moving up a level in each when The Girl is ready)

...And Possibilities...

A

Continue with modern world history through shows/documentaries/movies/books

Science as interest led or ???

B

Actually go through the Big History Project, at least with The Boy, and then, for the Girl, either the history or fairy tale project

Science to go with the Big History Project, or biology, or ???

C

A year of world cultures and geography, along the same lines as our Downton study, but based off something along the lines of Human Planet

 Science as interest led or ??? 

D

Focus on science for a year instead of history 

E

Or the kids might want to choose another time-frame to investigate. Or we might do a book/literature study. Or The Boy might be at the junior college again. Or...............

We will have to wait and see!

 

Happy Autumn!

My favorite season of the year! Now if only the weather would reflect the season, instead of tricking me by being cool for a day or two, and then jumping right back up into the 90s....

What We've Been Up To...

The Boy has decided he wants to go ahead and try the Big History Project with some added science, so for the time being, his homeschooling consists of math, writing, reading, and Big History/Science. Nice and simple.

So The Girl says if he gets The Big History Project, it's high time we get going with the Big Fairy Tale Project. Math, writing/spelling, reading, and fairy tales. Check. By the way, we are really enjoying The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making! It is a little bizarre, but in an appealing way.

She also really wants to stick with reading through a bunch of the Scientists in the Field series, which are excellent books. For both kids, we're actually going to have a science day once a week for hands-on explorations, using BFSU 2 and 3 as general guidelines.

The Afternoon Basket is therefore being set aside for the time being, which is okay.

The Boy loves his classes at the junior college. He was very proud this week when, after trying for the last two weeks and not quite getting it, he finally got all the measurements correct on a worksheet for Machine Tools Technology. His teacher says they need 100% on everything before they can move on to the next step. He says both his teachers are great—enthusiastic, helpful... just what one wants in a teacher! Here's a link to his art teacher's work, currently on display at the on-campus art gallery.

The Girl is getting quite proficient with dictionary use, which is nice to see. She told me yesterday though, after all the great work she's been doing with time telling worksheets, that she still doesn't really get it. Grrrr. Somewhere I have a practice clock we can try working with, or I'll just pull the clock off the family room wall, as it is one of the few I have seen that marks the minutes in 5 minute increments around the edge of the clock.

We've watched an odd assortment of movies lately, among them Dirty Dancing (enjoyed by all), and Carrie (the remake, which is pretty accurate to the original). M and The Boy watched The Ring—The Boy has definitely inherited his dad's love of horror films—and The Girl and I watched The Craft. She and I plan to watch the new Cinderella movie on the weekend, while is at the local airshow with his best buddy. I'm thinking ahead now to October/Halloween movies!

The Girl built a fairy house out of an abalone shell, shoebox, and various odds and ends. She hand-sewed the mattress and pillow herself!

So all in all, a little beginning of the year tweaking still to be done, but I am sure it will all come together!

How is your year going so far?

Our First Semi-Official Week is Done!!!

Of course, there were ups... and there were downs.

On the UP side...

The Boy finished his first project for his 3-Dimensional art class. They were to make a cube, and then take it through a series of transformations.

He'll be critiqued on clean edges (check!), and a fairly logical progression through shapes, which I think he has nailed!

The Shakespeare Stealer is a hit.

Both kids are still working on creative writing projects, making me wonder, naturally, if perhaps I really should stick with the Brave Writer Lifestyle rather than try to make them follow "programs".

Working with my new schedule also hasn't been as bad as I anticipated, at least not yet. I took them with me yesterday, for my office hours, which are held in a lovely, quiet little room at the back of the giant campus library. The kids promptly ran off to the 4th floor, where there are cozy chairs in front of floor to ceiling windows, looking out over the campus, mountains in the distance, etc. They spent two peaceful hours up there -- reading, sketching, gazing.

And M got a second part-time job! Yes, I know. We are insane to be working two official (albeit all part-time) jobs each (I'm not counting once weekly tutoring for a friend), but you know what? My second job will get me closer to my actual desired career, and his should too. And truthfully, we are tired of living paycheck to paycheck. Our house needs some repairs, thankfully relatively minor; we'd love to actually have a landscape/garden; and we'd like to build some savings.

And the DOWN side...

I am over-scheduling and over-planning again. 

What it currently looks like in my head

Back to absolute basics next week, now that The Boy's math program has arrived. I already had The Girl's math on hand. I need to nail down what we are doing for writing next week, but that's it.

The Time Traveler's Guide to Elizabethan England -- well, it is a good book, and very thorough, but not a big hit right now. I could see reading it later, or maybe the kids will read it later, but we'll set it aside for the moment.

So, coming up...

The Boy and I want to watch some more Big History. He'll be reading The Dark Side of the Universe himself, maybe a chapter each week.

The Girl and I are looking forward to the start of The Great Backyard Bird Count in November. She says "maybe we can finish reading that bird book then. It was really good!"

We might read about the Wright Brothers (The Boy's request) and then Queen Elizabeth (The Girl's request). Or we might try this book, or this one!

We will definitely keep going with The Shakespeare Stealer!

We may start back up with Richard Halliburton's travels too, or maybe finally watch some of Human Planet.

Anyhow, I hope you all have a good weekend!

Wrapping up the Week...

August is almost over!?! Seriously, where does it go?

We had a decent week. The Boy is settling nicely into his junior college classes, and is getting used to the homework load. I got to see my work space at the same junior college this week, inside this imposing brick library...

I am stopping by the library today to pick up a few books, before we head off to our weekly park day, so that we can start our [loose/relaxed] studies of the Renaissance and astronomy....

     


Plus I ordered this book to round out astronomy.
We'll get going with our history, astronomy, and geography read-alouds this weekend/next week, then add in math for The Girl in the next week (for some reason, she is still having trouble with telling time, so we'll work on that first, before moving into a review of multiplication and division), and writing for both and math for The Boy the first full week of September. Thankfully, I did find a good deal on The Boy's math -- Teaching Textbooks Algebra 1, v2.0 -- on homeschoolclassifieds.

As to what else we have been up to... the kids found season 8 of Dr. Who on Netflix. We also found a period drama (mini-series) called Dancing on the Edge, set in early 1930s London, and beautifully made. It has led to some good discussions so far too! We've been working on cleaning and other schedules for the household, especially since it looks like M will be working 6 days a week for some time. The kids are stepping up to the challenge of taking on more responsibility very nicely... at least so far! The Girl's been working on clay and paper sculptures, The Boy on 3D art with heavy paper, lots of reading going on.

I'm working on a list of cook-ahead breakfasts and dinners for busy days. And a list of documentaries that I think we would enjoy, and that would add to our educations fairly painlessly. I also have this book to read by Tuesday night!

And our last butterfly hatched! We had almost given up on the third chrysalis...

Have a good weekend!

Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Mo...

Wow, choosing a focal point for The Girl's history and lit studies next year is HARD! She doesn't really have any historical interests that have come to light, so I'm just throwing some options together.

Current thoughts... I have two three four main ideas at the moment as to what she could do. Maybe some reader feedback could help a bit?

image courtesy of deviantart.com

Option A... The Fairytale Project:
A comparative study of major fairy tale forms (Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella,etc.), using the The Classic Fairy Tales: A Norton Critical Edition, along with various versions of each fairy tale, including movies. Poetry, and even some Shakespeare (Midsummer Night's Dream) would be easy to work into this. I can see working in some world cultures too, as there are variations on the fairy tales throughout the world. This would also allow for bringing in more modern novels/fairy tales, such as The Sisters Grimm series, and The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making.

I know this isn't "history", but rather more strictly a literature study, but then she is only going into the seventh grade, has studied a fair amount of history already, and will be tackling it again in high school.

The Pioneer, by Robert T. Barrett

Option B... Pioneer Times:
I'd use books like the Little House books, Abraham Lincoln's World, Pioneer Girl: A True Story of Growing Up on the Prairie, Caddie Woodlawn, and some Native American resources as well (Birchbark House?). She could do hands-on projects -- making butter, quilting, and so forth. And there are plenty of movies and documentaries that could flesh this out. I'm kind of taking notes from The Prairie Primer, but that resource on the whole is too religious for me, thus the piecing it together myself.

I could see her going one of two ways with this... either really enjoying it, or really being bored by it by the end. And I don't know which is more likely, though if she enjoyed it, something fun to follow it up might be a homemade study based on Where the Brook and the River Meet (which features the Anne of Green Gables series, but again is too religious).

From Matilda, by Roald Dahl

Option C... Picture Perfect:
We would use selections from A Picture Perfect Childhood, which contains fantastic monthly lists of [picture] books related to famous people, historical events, the arts, Shakespeare, and more. Before you say "picture books are too young", consider this passage from the book:

There were times when I was dealing with my own teenagers that I found a picture book could better simplify things that were mournfully drawn-out and completely over a child's head in a dry text book. Sometimes a picture book made them care about a subject or a historical person whom they had not cared about before. Many times, a picture book condensed into a nutshell what I had spent the last hour trying to tell them. In history, a world and time zones that reach far and wide, I have found that a picture book can prove to be a capsule-size time machine which can be swallowed more easily than trying to climb and ride the whole elephant. 

And, Jim Trealease writes, in The Read Aloud Handbook: "A good story is a good story. Beautiful and stirring pictures can move fifteen-year-olds as well as five-year-olds. A picture(s) book should be someplace on the reading list of every class at every level."

image courtesy of kidlitfrenzy.com

And Option 4... Science with More:
My other thought was to pair up the Scientists in the Field series with either biographies or works of literature, depending on the exact book. For example, perhaps Digging for Bird Dinosaurs with The Dragon in the Cliff; Wild Horse Scientists with Misty of Chincoteague; Gorilla Doctors with either something on Diane Fosse, or My Life with the Chimpanzees; and perhaps The Frog Scientist with The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. 

I'm sure I will figure this out, or The Girl will help me figure it out, before September... I hope.

And Homeschool Seventh Grade...

One of the things I like best about homeschooling (at least as a private school) is that I don't have to follow guidelines unless otherwise desired. So we're definitely going a bit off the beaten path this year, for The Girl's seventh grade.

Writing:

I think I'm going to go with Jump In, combined with aspects of the Brave Writer Lifestyle.

Math:

She'll continue through the Life of Fred series, using Math Mammoth as a supplement when needed.

Science:

Two choices here... either her own choice of titles from the Prentice Hall Science Explorers Small Books, OR something more along the lines of The Magic of Reality, with some supplementation.

Other:

We're doing what I am calling The Big Fairy Tale Project (named after her brother's course of study, the Big History Project). I have The Classic Fairy Tales: Norton Critical Edition, which includes variations on several themes in fairy tales, as well as criticism, to use as a jumping off point in combination with this chart. The Norton book focuses on six different types of fairy tales, which I plan to approach as block studies, to which we can add in various versions, movies, etc., although we will likely work in books from the Shakespeare section of the chart in place of Norton's "Bluebeard" section. We can also look at folktales from various regions of the world that tie in with the fairy tales.

If she should decide she wants history too, I'll probably read aloud to her from the excellent World in Ancient Times series.

Electives:

She does a lot of art on her own. I'd really like to work through something like the Sculpture Technique books (Construct and Model) with her.  She may choose to study Spanish this year, using Rosetta Stone or ???. She'll keep cooking, learn more sewing, etc.

Physical Education:

And of course, she plans to continue with roller derby!

Simplicity....

sim·plic·i·ty
noun \sim-ˈpli-sə-tē, -ˈplis-tē\ : the quality of being easy to understand or use
: the state or quality of being plain or not fancy or complicated
: something that is simple or ordinary but enjoyable

clut·ter
verb \ˈklə-tər\

: to fill or cover (something) with many things : to fill or cover (something) with clutter 

:  to run in disorder 

:  to fill or cover with scattered or disordered things that impede movement or reduce effectiveness clutter

ed with toys> —often used with up

After missing much of what was on my carefully written homeschool agenda last week, and still seeing how much the kids managed to do,  I sighed in relief. And a bit of exasperation. Overscheduling... cluttering... has been my homeschool nemesis since day one. And truthfully, the best days, weeks, months we have, are the ones where I back off.

So we met, discussed, and cut. Yes, they love Greek mythology and such, but not when I am cramming it in to them 4-5 days a week. What I need to do is learn to trust the process.

trust
noun \ˈtrəst\

: belief that someone or something is reliable, good, honest, effective, etc.

: [an] organization that results from the creation of [a] trust*

(*If you take out the words I put in brackets, this definition takes on a whole new meaning, one that I especially like!)

My friend Jessica gives a beautiful example of trusting the process in her review of their first week of fourth grade. Such simplicity, and so much attention to the actual needs of her son. And I read a fantastic article on transcending the school mindset.

So those are my keywords for now... simplicity and trust

 
Besides all that, we made time to go the the local Renaissance Faire...

A Peregrine Falcon

Getting ready for a duel

Belly dancers

At the Queen's Court

Cool masks

Fairies (I love the green yarn wig!)

And there was much pillow fighting!

Which, by the way, was called "Twilzewop"

And there was the crafting of leather pouches

And more dancing

We had a lovely time, though it was the first year that M couldn't join us, as he was at work. Next year, in addition to this faire, we may look to attend one of the larger scale ones.

So, how do you keep things simple?

Week One Down...

Phew!

Actually, the week, as far as homeschooling, went very well. Better than I expected our first week to go! We changed a few things around, but that's to be expected. We had some big hits, and no misses (yet anyway).

A slightly old picture, with her pal Emily

THE GIRL

The Girl tackled Saxon Math 6/5 this week, as well as a few lessons from Reading Horizons. The math was, this early in the year, mostly review work... a lot of pattern/skip counting, which I explained to her is a great way to practice multiplication. She finally noticed the pattern the 9 times table makes, and was very excited to share her discovery with me-- "Mom, the 10's go up, and the 1's go down, and then halfway through, you just turn the numbers around, and if you add the 10's and the 1's...they always add up to 9!" I remember too when The Boy made that discovery a few years back, and it made that part of multiplication so much easier. In reading, she worked on common words, "ed" endings, and silent e words. We also started reading Dr. Dolittle's Puddleby Adventures, which she very much enjoys. We read from A Child's Story of the Animal World (our "new" science/zoology "textbook") about the animal kingdom, and small creatures, such as the amoeba. And she watched a couple of episodes of Blue Planet. How we love David Attenborough! The Girl says "his voice is soothing and he knows SO much about animals!"

We did not get to our writing plan this week, but will add that in next week. I also hope she'll apply her reading lessons more next week to actual reading. I picked up a few library books for her, and we've been writing each other notes, plus I leave her a note every morning when I go to work and she's still sleeping. And I need to pick out some projects for her to do from The Amateur Zoologist.

Another slightly old picture

THE BOY

Something has happened with The Boy. Somehow over the summer, my boy really started growing up. He took all responsibility for his own work this week, and did everything I gave him to do without complaint. Not only without complaint, but happily!

This week he tackled his first lessons in The Art of Problem Solving. Now, if you have never seen this math series, it's pretty tough. It is what is called "discovery based", meaning that they give him several problems to solve at the beginning of the lesson, and then explain ways to approach them. This fosters a different sense of understanding than math he has done in the past, and so far he absolutely loves it. I had him sit down yesterday and read, a second time, through their solutions, and he kept saying "I never thought of it this way, but they make it easier". He did manage to get nearly every problem correct this week, so I think we're off on the right foot. He also read a chapter in Conceptual Physics, defined the key terms, and answered a couple of the comprehension questions, in addition to watching a lesson from How Things Work, which involved fairly copious note-taking. And he watched an episode of Into the Universe, wrote an informative paragraph on the uses and benefits of nylon, and read several chapters in The Phantom Tollbooth. He also worked, on his own, on a few drawing projects from Drawing: The Complete Course. And he did lesson one in German, from Duolingo.

I realized yesterday that next year, he will be the same age I was when I started summer art classes at the local junior college as a concurrent high school student. He is very excited about the idea of trying out college that way next fall! He figures he'll start with an art class, then maybe add in German, and then start taking placement tests for math and English. In a nutshell, that means we have another two years, more or less, to finish building a really strong language arts and math base. YIKES!

Next week I want him to continue working with Write Source 2000, to develop other types of paragraphs, and to brainstorm a writing project. And I think I might add in readings/projects/videos from The New Way Things Work, since the Conceptual Physics readings don't take him long.

I asked him point blank if he noticed I ramped up his workload this year. His response was "Yeah, I noticed, but I like it."

And a really old picture!

 TOGETHER

We did an art project (Drawing Upside Down) together that turned out to be tougher than I anticipated. We watched an episode of Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Concerts, all about what music really means. We started our logic/arguement course, which, as it had Monty Python clips, was a huge hit. The Girl even insisted we take the quiz at the end of the section we did, so I let them answer the questions, getting 9 out of 10 right. We read about Crete in The Book of the Ancient Greeks (as well as a chapter in The Human Odyssey, but the kids and I prefer the Mills' book), learned about the origins of the English alphabet with The Word Snoop, analyzed some denotations and connotations with Figuratively Speaking, made progress through The Twenty-One Balloons, and started The Marvelous Land of the Snergs just last night (our bedtime reading), which so far is just absolutely delightful. We also started our Sunday geography studies, using DK's Geography of the World and outline maps from National Geographic.

Next week we'll add in grammar and poetry, and I plan to read from Tales of Troy and Greece, especially the stories of the Minotaur, and of Daedalus and Icarus, since those were specifically mentioned in our history readings. We'll tackle our geography reading with The Glorious Adventure, nature reading with Swampwalker's Journal, listen to some more Bach (the composer of the month)... and I am still planning our art project.

Looking at everything here, it has been a good and full first week! I am very pleased with what we're attempting, and how well it has started out. Now only 35 weeks to go!

Friday the Fourth....

First off... 

It has been a good, but busy, week. I [wrongly] assumed that being unemployed, I would have more time at home, but so far that has not proven to be true. Instead, it seems I am running errands constantly, for myself and everyone else! Maybe it'll get a little calmer from here on out, though somehow I doubt it! 

Our week...

The Girl volunteered for a derby demo and game leadership at an elementary school's summer program

There was derby practice and fencing practice

We went on a few bicycle rides and saw some beautiful creatures...

Cassia made a sculpture...

The kids and I did some housework

I refined my homeschooling plans a little more, focusing on the idea that less is more, or Multum non Multa

And we worked in the garden...

Black raspberries

Cucumber blossom

Baby bell pepper

Sungold cherry tomatoes

The first squash!

Our first grapes

Peaches ripening quickly

There is still plenty of weeding to do, and of course, more housework

M built a self-feeder for the chickens, which is awesome

Tonight, we're kicking it at home. All the fireworks displays that are happening tonight cost money to get anywhere near, so we're grilling, and watching a movie, title to be determined (maybe Pirates of the Caribbean? I'm trying to talk The Girl into Raiders of the Lost Ark, but she's claiming she hates it)

Tomorrow we're heading out to the coast for the afternoon. We plan to grill on the beach, and then go watch a [free] coastal fireworks display!

Have a happy, and safe, fourth! And a good weekend!