Jinxed!

Last week I was so excited about getting back on schedule.

I was certain that nothing could stand in my way!

Boy was I wrong.

Monday started out just great, so it really got my hopes up.

William had a bit of a cold but he wasn't going to let that slow him down.

Our day went like this...

Exercise - check (for a whole hour I might add),

Clean rooms and make beds - check,

Do LOTS of school - check,

Practice piano - double check,

Reading practice - check,

Clean most of the house - check,

Catch up on laundry - check,

Scripture Reading - check,

Kids happily sleeping by 8:00 - check!

Pretty much a perfect day.

Then on Tuesday a water line broke at Nathaniel and Jenny's house.

I take full blame for this happening, it was my fault for saying

everything would follow "my schedule".

I guess the universe wanted to show me who was boss!

At any rate we got house guests.

It was much, much harder for them than for us.

The girls couldn't have been happier!

The rest of the week went like this...

Play - check,

Play dress up - check,

Watch movie - check,

Play house - check,

Snacks - check,

Play Wii - check,

Watch movie - check,

Color - check,

Read stories - check,

Watch movie - check

Run around - check,

Play Wii - check,

Giggle - check,

Fight - check,

Make up - check,

Watch movie - check

Play games - check

Kids to sleep at 8:00 - ha ha ha ha ha!

Kids to sleep by midnight - check, check, check, check, check!

Poor Nathaniel and Jenny couldn't go home until Saturday! 

When I told Isabelle they were going home she said

 "not all ready", in her whiniest voice possible.

Saturday morning Isabelle woke up sick.

This was the universes' way of making sure I

still didn't get back on schedule.

Here's a picture of my sickly little girl...

So very sad! 

All she wanted to do was sleep and lay on the couch.

She wouldn't eat anything!

This bowl was originally placed by Isabelle 

"just in case" she needed it for something.

It didn't stay by her for very long though.

William decided it made a great hat

and an even better drum.

You can fit a bucket load of toys in there too!

On Sunday I went to church and left the kids home with Soungsik.

It was so weird to have to sit still and not have anyone jump

on you or rip holes in your nylons.

I didn't have to take anyone out because they were crying or stinky.

On the upside I got to hear some great talks.

One the downside,

 church is longer and more boring without distractions!

We made it back to another Monday

and the amount of work I got caught up on today was

pretty impressive, if I do say so myself.

Don't worry universe I am not even thinking about planning

more than a day in advance.

Tomorrow will just have to be a surprise.

Please universe let my children stay healthy and my

families' homes stay in one piece!

BOOK REVIEW: A THOMAS JEFFERSON EDUCATION

Written By: Oliver Van Demille

Number of Pages: 141

Number of Stars I'm Giving It: 5

This book is basically a handbook for some homeschooling families.

I had taken a class on this at the homeschool convention

I attented in last June.

It has literally taken me 4 months to read this book.

That may sound like a contradiction since it is less

than 150 pages and I gave it 5 stars.

This book was a little hard to get into and seemed

quite repetitious to me. I just kept picking up other

books instead of finishing this one!

That being said I really agreed with the content.

It is a book that everyone should read

 because it will change the way you view education.

It had many worthwhile and memorable quotes such as:

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world"

Ghandi

"You were born with potential.

You were born with goodness and trust.

You were born with ideals and dreams.

You were born with greatness.

You were born with wings.

You are not meant for crawling, so don't.

You have wings.

Learn to use them and fly."

Rumi

And perhaps the one that hit me the hardest and made me think was:

"...the world's greatest civilizations have progressed through this sequence:

from bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage;

from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance;

from abundance to selfishness; from selfishness to complacency;

from complacency to apathy; from apathy to dependancy;

from dependancy to bondage."

Alexander Tytler

This quote is also in "The 5000 Year Leap" I believe.

Another book I highly recommend reading.

I believe as a people we are now somewhere

around the complacency in that sequence.

It is clear that education reform is desperately

needed in our society.

While I know that the method taught in this book in theory would work

amazingly well, in real life this is not something that would work for us.

I am sure there are many families who find great success with this method.

I am going to incorporate the classics heavily into our curriculum.

While it is a book used a lot by "homeschoolers" this method

could and should be applied, at least in part,

 in all schools and at all levels.

Our children need a return to virtue, honesty, mutual respect and

great expectations.  By choosing to homeschool,

I feel the weight of my childrens futures more heavily on my shoulders.

It is my responsibility to prepare my chidren for the

trials and joys this life has to offer.

It is both a burden and a blessing,

but I feel a sense of peace and

comfort in my decision.

I am so grateful to live in a country and at a time

where I have the freedom to make this choice!