My Little Man ...

I believe I may dedicate an inordinate number of posts to that guy on the left. I am not quite sure why.

Sure, he is handsome ...

And his best friend is a wobbly-headed monkey who somehow ends up in my bed each night.

He (the boy, not the monkey) has a bit of an attitude ...

and loves with an intensity that will (literally) knock you over.

He is mischievous, rambunctious, devilish, impertinent, naughty, and unruly...
And the source of every gray hair on my head. He is my undoing, he has challenged me to let down my guard and love more, laugh more, and not be so perfectionistic in my parenting. He makes me unsettled as he hurls himself into the sofa, head first. His vocabulary is on par with my junior high student, but he is making me rip my hair out as he struggles with reading. He is the good, the bad, and the ugly of child-rearing, all rolled into one ball of endless energy, bountiful love, and an exuberance for life I, for one, cannot match. When he turned seven, he announced his attainment of "manhood" and said if he was Greek, he could join the army. (We were studying ancient Greece at the times.) He also informed me I was no longer allowed to touch his tushy (I have a penchant for pinching tiny tushies, but only in a completely normal, legal way) as that was for babies, not men. But, I still feel the warmth of his body next to mine each night, as he crawls under my covers and whispers, "I love you, Mom" and falls back to sleep. He has wormed his way into my soul and makes me ache in my womb when he hurts, so forgive the many posts dedicated to him. It is my way of sharing him with the world.

What All We Did This Week ...

First week of school in the New Year over!! Only X more to go!!! We say good-bye to the some of the titles above and the little men below - Middle Ages are a thing of the past. (Much to the chagrin of my 7 yo. He actually asked me if we could read SOTW II again.)

Along with SOTW Volumes I & II, we have completed an extended stay in Ancient Rome, so I am quite happy with our progress. History always seems to be our place-holder, our mark of progress, the spine of our school. The kids just love it, and can listen to read-alouds and audio books, color maps, and watch documentaries about historical figures and events all day long, if I let them.

We are beginning SOTW III, using My Father's World Explorers to 1850 as our guide. I must say, this Instructor's Guide is very well done. I have found my need for an IG to be more of a want, especially as the years go by. I am quite capable of designing my own course of studies for the children, and I do ... for the most part. But, I still convince myself that using one of these IGs will fill some potential void. The beauty of MFW is its simplicity - and music and art are scheduled for me. I love that! Books that I would have picked out on my own are scheduled, and the schedule is light enough that our love for rabbit trails can be fed without fear of getting too far off track.

We are also continuing with many of our programs from our last term, including Fallacy Detective. The kids are just loving this book - my 7-year-old requests it. All day long, I hear, "That's a red herring!", or "Don't use circular reasoning with me!"

Math is going well for all the little buggers, as is grammar, literature, and Latin. My 9 yo is using Matin Latin, and I am surprised by how much she enjoys the program. I had used Prima Latina as the introductory Latin class for the twins. But after researching Latin choices again, I wanted to give this one a try, especially since it emphasizes grammar more so than PL. We did a lesson on predicate nominatives this week, and she had no problem with it. I thought about supplementing with a lesson on the same topic from R & S, but decided against it. I am following the advice to let Latin instruction teach the English grammar - as much as it is a struggle not to supplement, supplement, and supplement some more.

So, that is the gist of our week. Our van is in the hospital after a lengthy period of illness that rendered it ... unconscious. So we have been house-bound. But we are making the best of our confinement. We exercise, play lots of chess, have a 1500-piece puzzle in progress, move the furniture around for a change of scenery, eat, and throw some learning in for fun. Hope your week was good, too!

Genius ... or Just a Smart-%#@ ...

Yesterday, this little bugger was doing math drills, on-line.

"You know, Mom," he began to inform me, "Technically, I could enter any letter from A to Z as my answer."

"After all, they're variables."

His oldest sister algebra lessons are going well - for him.

Another Year in the Life ...

It was a beautiful Christmas, a nice ending to yet another year.

They were all grateful for their gifts - the boxing gloves and punching bag for my little budding boxer, the apron and tea set for my prim and proper young lady, and the wonderful books for my bibliovores, including a 60th anniversary edition of The Hobbit with some beautiful illustrations.

But this was the gift of which they spoke most often ... and with the most eloquence.

For this was the year of Emma, of Emma's rehabilitation, and they were all a part of it. And it impacted their lives, and they never complained.

And she is their gift - as they are to her.