Collage Friday - A Big First and a Rainy Fourth
Friday, July 5, 2013 at 5:00AM
This has to go down as one of the strangest Fourth of July holiday weeks ever.
Between Anna being gone for the week (more on that later) and there being copious amounts of pouring RAIN, things just feeling off kilter. It hasn't been much like other Fourth of July holidays.
We've tried to make the best of it.
At the time of this writing (Wednesday - because I am not opening my computer on the holiday to write a blog post!) it is looking very much like our planned outing to see The Atlanta Braves play on the 4th of July will be wet... but we have our ponchos and our patience and we are going to see what happens!
Our local parade has been cancelled (the first time in 34 years that has happened) and I'm hearing all sorts of other cancellations in our area due to rain.
Well - Collage Friday isn't rained out, so here goes (short and sweet):
Anna's First Time Flying Alone
Anna left Tuesday morning for upstate NY to spend the week with my sister and her family.
{I got her one of my all time favorite books for the trip - The Book Thief. She's almost finished it and loves it, which I knew she would.}
She's flown a lot in her life, but never by herself. The only person who was apprehensive about the fact was ME.
I had a very proud mom moment as I watched her walk confidently onto that plane. She looked so mature and conducted herself so nicely.
As the plane pulled away from the gate I couldn't help but wonder what exciting adventures she will go on in her life.
I'm so glad she isn't scared to do new things - in fact, I think she rather likes the challenge.
She is having a great time with my sister. So far I've heard about pedicures, The Cheesecake Factory, a museum with a piano exhibit, and my sister's cat (and she's only been gone a day!).
Meanwhile, in soggy Georgia...
We've been making the best of a VERY soggy week.
My husband was off a couple of days, so he and Grant (of course) watched a lot of baseball and threw the ball during the dry moments.
Right now Grant is loving his DK Eyewitness World Series book. He literally sleeps with it.
The boys also watched Knuckleball, a documentary about this very interesting pitch. Grant was happy to demonstrate it for me all. week. long.
Of course there was a lot of LEGO building, and we started a new read-aloud (which at the time of this writing is FREE for Kindle), The 4th of July Spies.
It was nice to have some extended alone time with Grant, and while I miss Anna - I know she is having a great time.
Music Camp
Next week we will be in downtown Atlanta at music camp.
Do you remember when we did this last year?
I have been teaching at this camp in some capacity for the past 16 years, and my kids have been going for the past three years.
It is always one of the highlights of our summer.
We leave our house at 7:15 each morning and don't return home until 5:00 each afternoon... to say we're all tired is an understatement.
This year the theme is "Sailing the High Seas" and the kids are working on a pirate musical all week and will perform it next Friday night.
My class is "Music Explorers" and we will be using SQUILT as the framework for exploring music with water themes. I'm so excited!
Long story short: I probably won't be around much online next week!
Planning for Next Year
I hope to put our curriculum plans on the blog very soon. After music camp we are home for a bit, and then we are on vacation for a week - then it's just a couple of short weeks until we have the official start to our school year.
This summer has been glorious because we have done ZERO SCHOOLWORK. Really. ZERO.
I needed the break.
I had breakfast with a good friend this week - I consider her a very important mentor in this homeschool journey. When I asked her about school she just looked at me and said, "Oh Mary, I'm just so TIRED."
I told her I felt EXACTLY the same way, which is why I'm just giving myself some grace this summer.
Have you ever felt like that?
I hope you had a wonderful 4th and am looking forward to seeing everyone's collages this week.
Please join me for Collage Friday! Share your photo collages from your homeschool week. I will delete any links that do not contain photo collages.
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Reader Comments (11)
So happy Anna made it safely! It's been real rainy here also....we were that family with the rain ponchos on and sitting watching a baseball game lol...
Enjoy your weekend my friend!
That camp sounds really fun! Hope you don't get too tired!
--Gena
I know you must be proud of your daughter!
Thanks for hosting the College Friday link up. I so look forward to seeing what all the homeschoolers have been up to. betty jo
Love the pictures of Anna looking all grown up. Keilee has never flown at all and I would freak out letting her fly alone. Way to go Mama!! What is that picture in the bottom right of the Anna collage? A sticker? A suitcase? It looks very cool. I am not familiar with that book. When I first read it I thought it was The Thief Lord which I loved! Reading about Grant's love for all things baseball just takes me back to my childhood and all the time I spent at the ball field. Lovely memories. I will say a prayer for your busy week. I know how tiring and crazy weeks like that can be. Happy weekend and thank you for the wonderful link up.
I love when they fall in love with a book! So much fun to see!
Looks like a lovely week. Good for you taking a break when you need it! Ours is coming oh so soon... we have been super consistent at getting school done and once baby arrives we'll enjoy our break.
I love your attitude to Anna's vacation - so loving and proud of her independence. LOL at how much she already fit into one day!
Sorry to hear your holiday was washed out - I hope the sunshine is back for you, even if it is a little late for fireworks!
Enjoy music camp next week - those lucky kids who get the benefit of exploring with SQUILT are in for a treat :-)
Thanks for hosting the link-up.
Lucinda
Oh, yes, I'm bone tired too. For the second week, I haven't done much except some light housework. I even treated myself to having a late breakfast in bed a couple mornings. Fortunately my kids are terrific at amusing themselves and don't need me hovering :) Or maybe they're tired of me!! Yes, a very strange 4th indeed. Enjoy your music camp next week! Blessings!
I feel like you too: so tired. Read my blog and you will see. However I usually rest in the winter time. Thanksgiving, Christmas and January are my down time. While everyone is running around crazy with shopping and parties, we hurdled together here at home and rest. We slow down a lot. Summer time, Spring and fall is not the time to rest at our house. It's our busiest time and it's when we do most of our learning. And yes, we are drowning in water here in NW Alabama too. The kids are having a ball playing in the mud and puddles. :)
TIRED was how I felt at the end of May. Taking June mostly off from school was exactly what I needed. In fact, in retrospect it would have been more wise to take it completely off from school. That will be my plan next year!
You deserve the rest, Mary!
Rainy here too in TN...we're hoping to see fireworks tomorrow night but rain is forecasted again. :(. I'm so glad you shared that you did zero schoolwork this summer. We didn't do any either! I am tired (6 months pregnant) and just mentally needed the break. It is so good to allow ourselves grace. We start back to school next week and hopefully we'll spend the next few weeks easing into a routine. We've had an enjoyable summer and I'm ready for more structure.
Also, your post on how homeschool has changed you was beautiful! I kept nodding and agreeing while reading it...just lovely. Thank you for sharing your heart.
It's been absolutely gorgeous here in Minnesota. No rain. We do have our share of crazy weather though. Way to go with letting your daughter fly alone, and I was feeling pretty proud of letting my daughter go to a movie with her cousin and no adult supervision. Baby steps for me :)