Phlox and other happy plants in front yard
Dogwood in front side yard
Rhododendron under front window
Azaleas that burst forth suddenly, and are gone just as fast
The beginning of blueberries
First rose blossom
Mossy patches in woods behind our house
Babies stopped to rest on the moss!
Dianthus, or "pinks," that come back fuller each year
Clematis growing on the side of the house is a welcome sight.
We are close to completing Fabre's Storybook of Science, which we've read twice a week all school year. I loved this passage:
I can't add one more thing on that subject!
Speaking of school...
We have a few more weeks to go. When I realized we had eight weeks left of Ambleside, I decided to condense those into four! This required doubling up on some chapters, and omitting others, but it works. We finished Stevenson's unabridged Kidnapped, a big accomplishment, and made it through our first year of Latin. It may have "killed the Romans," to quote my dad, but we'll pick it back up next year!
We examined these works of Winslow Homer over a term, and enjoyed learning about his life. He loved to paint outside, regardless of weather, set up inside a makeshift fort, capturing his subjects in their natural settings:
My favorite is "Snap the Whip," the second in the second row. I can hear those boys' laughter, and imagine their panting and yelling as they gleefully play in the schoolyard.
As I was reading about the end of the Revolutionary War from Foster's George Washington's World, one daughter sketched this priceless cartoon of King George's astonishment, as Ben Franklin happily looks on:
As for math, we continue to love Horizons, with its wide variety of practical exercises. I like the freedom of circling specific problems for the girls to do, while being able to skip over areas they've mastered. It allows us to progress at the right pace and focus on what needs practice, making the most of our time. One day, I had to do a drawing to distinguish among angles. It took me back to the days of Sister Fintan's math class at St. Paul's School, and I tried to replicate her examples and pristine cursive:
Those were happy times in Catholic school...I learned well and enjoy applying some of it to my own teaching!
Finally, it's way overdue, but I couldn't resist posting the Easter cake the girls made. It was a perfect ushering-in of new life, with a light, fabulous almond taste!
Thank You, Lord, for new creations! Let us live in the freedom for which You died to set us free.
