Weekly Rundown: Mother’s Day

Hey there! I’m back with a weekly rundown after slacking off last weekend. Do you feel like these last weeks of school just fly by? I do! After a long school year, we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and summer is on the horizon. It use to be that I would be really excited for summer to come, but the current season I’m in feels a little more bittersweet. These high school years go so incredibly fast that I just want it to slow down.

So, while I’m ready for the summer break, I’m also wincing a little because the end of every school year is one more “last day” closer to the last day of homeschool.

Ahhhh, this is a weird season. (More on motherhood later in the post…)

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In other not-so-emotional news, this week (and I’ll include some of last week’s highlights too) we had a great time observing our Bug Zoo. Yes, I said Bug Zoo. And for some reason it’s situated right by our dining room table where we eat three meals a day. Mother’s Day. We had an amazing spring band concert. AND the bathroom project that has lasted 47 years, is looking like we may finish it this century–PRAISE!

Here’s the rundown from this week:

MAKING HOME

Seriously, this bathroom project might be the end of my life in projects. We have finally finished the tiling and the grouting. Today I am working on paint and hopefully wallpaper too.

I will spare you the 436 things I did wrong in tiling, but I will give these tips:

• Even if you’ve tiled before, you forgot how to do it. Seek help.
• Read package directions, even if you are in a hurry and think you don’t need to read them.
• Don’t let the grout dry before wiping it off–this is very important. I’m not saying I did this, but sometimes, some people, somewhere, sometimes, might think that you should let it dry before wiping it off to make sure you don’t wipe off grout between tiles–where it goes. This is false. You definitely SHOULD wipe off the grout while it is still wet. Just wait like 30 minutes, max. Again, I’m not saying I did this. But someone might do it. And if you DO do it, it will be very very difficult to remove the excess grout, I’ve heard.

WHAT WE’RE LEARNING

Sometimes I get emails about how to plan or organize your homeschool days. Here’s how it looks right now in the Hutchinson Homeschool:

• We wake up around 8am.
• We are unmotivated to begin until about 10:30 or 11am
• Walk around 11:30am
• Math, history, and science are usually accomplished.
• Lunch around 1pm
• Stop school around 2pm, even if we’re not really finished because we’re just kind of over it.

This is spring homeschooling, folks. The sun is out, the birds are chirping and we are burnt out on school. This is normal!

RELATED: Spring Homeschool Planning

That said, I AM determined to finish our last three weeks of homeschool strong! I’m talking bedtimes enforced, alarms set, assignment lists, start time by 9:30am!!

We have some projects and curricula we are going to tie up and I can’t stand just sputtering out. I like a definitive end date with courses tied up and high fives all around for a job well done. (NOTE: I’m typing this on a Saturday morning…we’ll see how this motivation fares on Monday morning!)

HERE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS WE READ:

• The Birds Our Teachers by John Stott. (HIIIIIGHLY recommend!)
• Exploring Creation with Zoology: Flying Creatures of the 5th Day
• Beautiful Feet Books Around the World with Picture Books Part II
• Genevieve Foster’s George Washington’s World and I cannot express how much I love these books! We are reading this as part of Beautiful Feet Books Early American and World History

We also read The Little Prince for part of our Around the World curriculum. Seriously guys, this isn’t a good book. What is all the hype about?

We have a Bug Zoo in Our Dining Room

Yes, you read that right.

We’ve done the butterflies in a cup so many times and we love it! But this year, since we’ve been studying different insects in our science curriculum, I thought, “why not buy some more bugs?”

Insect Lore has several choices you can pick from. We grabbed the Ant Hill, the cup of butterflies, AND Ladybug Hut (or something like that.)

Our babies are growing up! The ants have dug a whole bunch of tunnels–they are so crazy to watch! The ladybug larvae are starting to adhere to the side of the hut where they will become ladybugs soon. And the caterpillars are currently entering into their metamorphosis.

Spring Band Concert

Last week, we celebrated the end of our homeschool band year with our spring concert. It was truly beautiful. My friend, Jen, does such an amazing job teaching these kids and they love this time to be around friends.

The music they play is almost all classical or hymns. They pray together each week and read Psalms together. I couldn’t wish for a better “extra-curricular” for my kids to be involved in.

This year, Sophia played a duet and a solo. Jack’s group played several challenging pieces and they ended the concert with the Doxology, which made me cry. I think we’ve all been through this last year+ that was taken over by ugliness and we’re all craving beauty. And this concert was beautiful.

NOTEWORTHY

This week someone pointed me towards an Elisabeth Elliot podcast. It’s really so good! It’s recordings of her past teachings, hosted by her granddaughter. Prepared to be spoken to straight! No fluff–my favorite!

ON MY HEART

Mother’s Day

In a world that is trying to blur the lines between men and women, let’s stand up tall today, Moms. We can’t comprehend just how big this job is that we’re doing, but we know it was design by God and that we must do it well. All the commercialism and ads and weird messaging that comes around Mother’s Day, I could definitely do without. But cheesy expensive cards aside, what if we all just took a minute and re-committed ourselves to this battle of motherhood.

It is a battle.

Be sober-minder, be watchful. Our adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

The adversary is seeking for someone, anyone…of course he’s looking for our kids.

That’s what we’re up against, but not alone, friend. We are walking with the living God who has already conquered death.

So while I could do without so much fanfare on Mother’s Day, I do love this day as a reminder to stop and remember my assignment.

Happy Mother’s Day, friend.

ON MY NIGHTSTAND

Here’s what’s on my nightstand:

• Live Not by Lies by Rod Dreher
• Mere Christianity

BE THANKFUL

Quick List:

• feeling rested this week
• long chats with my mother
• amazing friends and sisters in Jesus

What are you thankful for this weekend?

Talk soon!