Summer Doth Approacheth...

We have finished math and writing for the year.

We have left to finish:

 three episodes of Mankind: The Story of All of Us 

two and a half chapters of The Magic of Reality 

three episodes of Cosmos 

10 episodes of America: The Story of Us
And we may work on finishing Poop Happened: A History of the World from the Bottom Up

We have twenty-two (albeit quite short) chapters left in A Little History of the World. I am trying to decide if we want to push to finish it, or    We'll start up in the fall with the Middle Ages in volume 1 of The Human Odyssey, and then move into volume 2!

So there will be plenty of documentary watching and reading in the next two weeks! I've been very loosely lining up episodes of the two history series -- we watched the second America one yesterday, about the Revolutionary War, and will follow it up with the 10th episode of Mankind, as it touches on the same war and then moves into the Industrial Revolution. The kids are fine with the idea of two more weeks of school, since it will just be TV and books, although The Girl is still doing some reading practice daily, which will continue over the summer.

I decided not to plan out summer school this year, as I have done in the past (2008, 2009,  2010 / 2010 changes, 2011, 2012, 2013). Instead, I have asked the kids to pick a project each, something they can lead, and design, and do on their own with my support.

The Boy wants to build a camera obscura, or I should say, at least one. His ultimate goal is to make at least two of different sizes, one of which can be mounted to a tripod.

The Girl wants to learn to knit, and to make a scarf in doing so, and to work on a sewing project as yet to be determined.

As far as "family studies", we're enjoying a good book right now, The Four Story Mistake, and may read the rest of that series. Maybe Gone Away Lake and Return to Gone Away as well. Enjoyable, informational, and not too heavy. The Boy wants to finish the 100 Cupboards series, and I think The Girl would either enjoy continuing with the Oz series, or perhaps Thimble Summer and Emily's Runaway Imagination.

I might, but then again might not, finish working through Right Brained Multiplication and Division with The Girl, or perhaps Times Tales. Maybe. Or we might just play games/do activities from Family Math (and Family Math: The Middle School Years). Maybe.

I think we'll work in some readings and activities from The Dangerous Book for Boys and The Daring Book for Girls too! Plenty of awesome summer-time ideas in those books!

 I have some household/homeschooling organizational plans, am reading (more carefully) back through Project-Based Homeschooling, A Charlotte Mason Education, and More Charlotte Mason Education (yes, I read fiction too), and and have plans to spend lots of time in places like this...

Throwing rocks to watch the splashes and ripples...

Taking breaks from bicycling...

Beach time, swimming, creekside time, fencing, roller derby, bowling, Frisbee tossing, shooting hoops, playing baseball, time to watch movies, paint pictures, and just hang out. Then, we don't plan to start up again until [around] Labor Day!

Monday Musings

Outside My Window...
It was overcast and almost chilly this morning! Mostly warm to hot in the afternoons, and lots of afternoon sunshine. I'm glad the days are getting longer.
That gives us more time to get out and active before, or after, dinner.

In My Garden...
We've picked (and eaten) most of the cherries, though I'll be pitting and freezing a bunch over the next few days. The veggie plants have all doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled in size, and most have blossoms on them. I added another watermelon plant and two lemon cucumbers to the garden last week. Radishes have been planted as well. I think the artichokes are nearly done for the season.

In the House & Kitchen...
I got the hallway closet completely cleaned out and reorganized recently, and washed all the sheets and towels before putting them back. This week's goal is to clean out all the kitchen cupboards. Among other items on the menu this week, taco salad (The Girl's request), and my husband's blackened fish tacos (my request).

In Our Homeschooling...
The Boy and I had a conference yesterday afternoon, where we realized that once again we were over-planning his eighth grade year. We're working on simplifying it a lot, as the best curriculum is the one that gets done. He'll be working with integers this week, courtesy of Math Mammoth, taking a bit of a break from decimal work. The Girl will be continuing to work in Knowing Mathematics and on memorizing her multiplication tables.

Reading & Watching...
The kids have been on a Dr. Who binge the last few days, and I finally started watching Lost with M (and now we can't stop watching it!). We're still catching up on Cosmos, and will watch the first episode of America: The Story of Us, as it ties in well with the last episode we watched of Mankind: The Story of All of Us. Still reading The Wind in the Willows. The Boy is reading a book called 100 Cupboards, and The Girl and I are going to start reading The Lost Children. I'm reading another Mark Helprin book -- In Sunlight & In Shadow -- it is as beautifully written as A Winter's Tale. We're also laughing our way through Poop Happened: A History of the World From the Bottom Up, alongside continued reading of A Little History of the World.

Happenings This Week...
The Boy is getting a belated birthday lunch out with my sister (The Girl will go too). I'm working on end-of-the-year stuff at work, and still hoping they'll rescind the layoff. There's fencing, derby practice, and tomorrow evening a family bike ride, maybe some Frisbee tossing!

Have a good week!