Our House in the Middle of Our Street

flowers from a stand in Fort Langley     From the last couple of months' very vigorous reading schedule, February took a slow and savor flavor. I read these books slowly, or put them down for awhile and came back to them (with the exception of one) and enjoyed them immensely, moreso than I thought I would. Have you read any of these?   * Hands Free Life by Rachel Macy Stafford - I don't know what made me pick up a copy of this book, since I didn't particularly love Hands Free Mama, the first book by Stafford of similar nature, but I really enjoyed this book. Maybe it was the sophomore effort and the writing was just a bit more laid back or maybe it's because this was the time for this information (yes, books find you at certain times) and I was ready to receive it, but this was a title I savored this month. Although I consider myself a nearly-recovered perfectionist (thanks to 11 years with my wonderfully balanced husband), I do struggle with engaging in

I read a few blogs that are homeschool related, and one of my favorite ones is SimpleHomeschool.net  with Jamie Martin. She does a weekly link post and I found this great quiz that got me thinking. Why does homeschooling have such value to our family that we're willing to forgo a second-income? Why does our lifestyle look so drastically different than our peers? The What Kind of Homeschooler are You?  quiz gave me a little reminder on why I do what I do. The quiz gives you eight outcomes that match with homeschooling philosophies, from unschooling to traditional classroom-style, to Thomas Jefferson Educational theory. My three highest outcomes didn't surprise me one bit. The philosophies I most accept as we homeschool are: Charlotte Mason, Montessori method, and Unit Studies. Here is a brief overview from the quiz outcome page that breaks each of these three down: Montessori The parent’s most important job in education is to teach the child how to learn. Parents sh

Ani and her elephant stuffy, Mary     Anikka is turning SEVEN today. My little Valentine girl has grown up so much in this past year, and has had big changes from last year, even in little things like inches grown, a big haircut, learning to ride a bike and ice-skating with more confidence, and learning things like somersaults and cartwheels in gymnastics, and going to a girl-scout-like group at a local church, all by herself. You can see her interviews at ages FIVE and SIX by clicking on those links.      Ani and her new Rainbow Dash and new Cinderella blanket from Grammy What is your favorite color? blue and green Who are some of your friends? Rachel, Kathryn, Isla, Ana, Ashlyn, Danika, Ziana, Eva, Keziah What do you want to be when you grow up? work at a dog shelter What makes you happy? jokes, laughter What makes you sad? fighting my brother Ani at Terra Nova Park in Richmond, BC  What is your favorite animal? panda What is your favorite book? my lit

This post is part of a Simple Homeschool link-up. I enjoy reading the Simple Homeschool blog, and I love seeing a peek into how other families do it. Our days change not only from year to year, but even term-to-term. Right now we're in the 2nd of 3 terms and enrolled as homeschoolers with a distance learning (DL) school called Heritage Christian and we love it. Here's how we're spending our days this term. I'm doing a weekly overview because many days don't count as 'school days' for us. You'll see what I mean below.    3-D building structure with straws    Mondays are a big homeschooling day this term, because we have nowhere to be and nothing-aside from work- to do. We cram 2 days of school into 2 days a week, which means Monday we need to get through about 3-4 subjects in 4 hours (before lunch) and it's intense.   We do two days worth of math, reading/writing/spelling, a bit of French, and bible for two grades (Ani is

Ani and Lukka's ship, "The Bullfrog"   I've seen a few of these posts running around the internet, and I can definitely get behind this. Oh, February has hit, and it's longer this year. Normally January is the month out of the 12 that I dislike because it feels like nothing ever happens in January. I look forward to my daughter's birthday mid-February, and there's planning and gift-buying for her, which I enjoy. I know a lot of people dislike February because it's the last month of winter without the festivities and all of the gray rainy days, or the winter snowstorms. It's a good time for a "What's Saving My Life" type of post, wouldn't you agree? Here's my list:   1) Oranges . Oh my word, I cannot get enough of Ralph's navel oranges. I bought six because they looked so good, and then 3 days later went back for six more because the first batch was gone. Citrus in general is in season during January and Februa