The Home Stretch

Well, I have finished shopping. Last night I got everything wrapped. All my cards and packages have been mailed. And, there is a week to go before Christmas!

I used to love to shop all year long as I found things on sale. Since we have completed Financial Peace University, and I am using the envelope system,, I am planning for next year.

I am going to cash my little paychecks for teaching at Morning Grace and put that into the Christmas envelope. Once we get to sit down and work on the budget again, I am hoping to plan for a set amount of cash to go into the envie each pay period.

This will allow me to look for bargains and get things as I go. There are many times I find just the perfect item for someone and it is not in the budget to get it at the time. Maybe the envie system will help that.

I still need to get some yarn and make someone special a scarf. I think I will trek to Michael's today.

As for school, we have kind of ditched it this month. I alternately feel guilty and feel excited that since we homeschool, I have the luxury of doing this. We do need to do some language arts work today, and read.

I also have a Christmas around the World study. Once I get the things printed, we can work on that.

It is fun to see Amanda's excitement about Christmas. But, we need to stress the real reason for the excitement at this time of year. The greatest gift of all - Jesus!

A Woman's Prerogative

Yesterday Katie and I were headed back from guitar lessons. I can't even remember what we were talking about, but I had changed my mind about something. I said "It is a woman's prerogative to change her mind".

It got me thinking that we rarely use that saying. We also rarely hear the phrase, "A woman's intuition." I wonder why?

Have these fallen by the wayside due to the feminist movement? Is it bad to denote a woman as different?

I know that the first one has been associated with women being flighty, but don't we sometimes change our minds after careful thought?

And the second, what is wrong with using this? It has been my experience that I see things through a different lens than my husband. Often times I "get a feeling" about a person or a situation that turns out to be true. Things that would not be obvious from the surface or initial facts.

I think the feminist movement has devalued the inherent uniqueness of women. I think we have been made to feel less or uneducated if we willingly embrace that we are different. We need to embrace the gifts God gave us just by being women!

I think I will listen to my intuition more and see where it leads me!

Frigid in the South

Okay, I know it is Christmastime. But really.17 degrees in North Carolina? With a high of 39? I mean, really?

We were supposed to attend the Homeschool Christmas Event at Latta Plantation http://www.lattaplantation.org/ . They offer great events - learning experiences in the main house, crafts etc for $5 per person.

However, most of it is outside, and I am not sure I am up to trekking around in 39 degree weather today - even if it is sunny.

The other option is the library. We like to go there to "do school". It is a nice change of pace. Amanda and I work on book work at a table, and Katie works on the computer in one of the comfy chairs by the window. We generally take home books on a new subjet of interest.

We have yet to start reading A Christmas Carol. Luckily, it is not a very long book. And our unit study is easily adjusted to the days when we can actually work on it.

The local public schools are in until 12/22. We will start our official Christmas break next Monday. Of course, Katie still needs to catch up on the SOS lessons, so she may still be working...

Ditching The Lesson Plan

I don't know why it is so hard for me to stick to the lesson plan in December. Maybe it's the holiday spirit. Maybe it's the busyness. Maybe I am just tired.

I stress out about whether or not we are learning what we need to learn. Especially for Amanda. Is she on target with her peers? Is she behind?

Due to her vision issues, she struggles at times with reading. She is doing do much better, she just needs a onfidence boost. I need to move her up in math as well. After the first of the year we'll go forward.

Right now we are ditching the lesson plan. We are reading Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, and doing a unit study related to that. We'll bake, and learn about Christmas in other countries.

Today we are cooking. We'll work on multiplication a bit. We'll do some fun writing.

Katie is plugging along with her Switched on Schoolhouse program. She has finally embraced it, and has realized she has to actually put some effort into it.

I am hoping that ditching the lesson plan will make some memories for the girls, that they will cherish when they are older. That's what's really important, isn't it?