Homegrown Learners

It was hard getting back into the swing of things this week.

After a great visit with my parents, followed by three days at BEECH Retreat, coming home was hard.

I arrived home late Sunday night.

I was tired. I basically cleaned up a little and unpacked (a very little!) and went to bed.

Early Monday morning I was awake long before the children, and the verse on my coffee mug put my heart at ease.

Sometimes I just have to remember the only true place I can find rest and peace.

Between that verse and my devotion from Jesus Calling I was ready to tackle a busy homeschool week.

Homeschool Happenings

Since our homeschool Literature Fair is next Friday, we spent a lot of time writing papers, finishing projects, and getting ready to really dig into our projects next week.

We accomplished other things like math, spelling, and music, but literature was our focus this week.

1. We finished The Hobbit. It's just such an epic book. I'm glad Grant chose this one for his literature fair project. He built many LEGO creations while I finished reading the book aloud.

2. Anna wrote her paper for her literature fair book, The Quilt Walk. I was so very proud of her. Every speck of it was done alone, right down to word processing the whole thing. My mom heart was very happy when I read these sentences:

"This book made me feel good because it helped me realize that change isn't always a bad thing. Sometimes it can help us learn to love new things and meet new people."

The significance of this right now is huge, because we have enrolled in Classical Conversations next year, and my creature of habit daughter doesn't like change. I'm thinking, however, that she's more open it to it than I might think.

3. Grant read Ralph S. Mouse this week. I had forgotten what a cute book this is.

4. I created lots of Hobbit copywork for Grant, too. I couldn't find any online, so we chose quotes from the book, along with Tolkien's original drawings, and I like the way it turned out.

5. The Kanoodle game hadn't been pulled out in about two years, but this week it was resurrected and played a lot each day. We LOVE this game. It's great for stretching brains!

6. Anna finished her quilt! I will have to do a bigger post about just her quilt because it was a labor of love and perseverance. This is the research portion of her literature fair project.

Healthy 2013

Now that I have been doing Shakeology and eating healthier in general, it's all becoming habit, rather than drudgery.

Several people have told me that I just LOOK healthier. I FEEL healthier, too.

1. While I was away at BEECH, my darling husband purchased a Juicer and began juicing. I'm excited to try some recipes and for our whole family to become more healthy. (I love it that our credit card earns us reward points on Amazon - that juicer was paid for!)

2. I still can't give up my morning coffee. I don't think one cup each day is so bad, do you?

3. We made a trip to The Fresh Market and picked out some healthy snacks for the week. I got a nuts and chocolate mixture that kept me happy all week. I do love chocolate, and just a little mixed in with the nuts was heaven.

4. Anna requested "big breakfasts" this week. I made eggs and a great new chicken and apple sausage I found. We had this same breakfast almost every day this week!

5. One night I made a homemade vegetable soup. It was glorious, and I still have some left in the frig for lunch this weekend.

6. More fresh veggies - yum!

7. My husband brought home some Kale Chips Seriously. Addictive.

This Week's Favorite:

I'd like to start something new. I'll share my favorite thing of the week with you (I miss my friend Susan's Favorite Resource This Week linky!). If you feel like pointing out your favorite thing of the week in your collage post, you can do that, too!

Kanoodle is a great game for middle elementary kids all the way up to adults. We've all been challenged by it this week. I love it because it can be very independent, or you can sit with a partner and watch them. Anna and Grant spent some quiet mornings on the couch playing together - I love to see that.

Goings on from the blog this week:

Super Duper LEGO Ideas Book Giveaway

Reflections from BEECH Retreat

How to Become Pinterest Savvy

Please join me for Collage Friday!

The rules are simple. Link your post (that incudes photo collages) about your homeschool week. Be sure to grab a Collage Friday button or text link back to this post in some way. Then, be sure to visit the other blogs on the list to offer support and gain ideas. This is a wonderful community and I love reading through your blogs each weekend and seeing how you all encourage each other.

*I will delete any links that don't comply with these guidelines. {not trying to be crabby, just trying to respect the hard work of those who do follow the rules}