Keep Going

"The best way out is always through."
~Robert Frost

"Successful people do what they need to do, when they need to do it, over and over again, even when they don't feel like it."
~Brian Tracey

Teach With Patience

"If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear."
~Winnie-the-Pooh

On Worth

"Try not to become a man of success but a man of value."
~Albert Einstein

Setting Goals

"If you don't know where you're going, you'll end up someplace else."
~Yogi Berra

Our Five In A Row Studies

We finished up Angelo using lesson plans from Five In A Row. It turned into a wonderful study of the Renaissance. If you want to see our doll house souvenir from this book, take a look here: Homemade Dollhouse.

Nature Study

We continue to pattern our nature journals after The Country Diary Of An Edwardian Lady. It is a straightforward process where I lead and my student follows. Remember that starting out simple is best. There are full details about how we do this in a recent blog post: Nature Study.

The Country Diary Of An Edwardian Lady

April 2009

"Thoughts On BEing and DOing"

I really had no theme in mind for our newsletter this month. I think spring has filled every corner of my mind with colorful blooms, buzzing bees and fluttering butterflies, so thoughts are a bit scattered. Beautiful, but scattered! I have come across so many good quotes this month, I thought I'd make this month's newsletter a month of quotations.

First up: "You cannot plough a field by turning it over in your mind." ~author unknown

Boy did I need to read that one! I am notorious for thinking about something and thinking about something until I feel like I have done it already. I love to plan. I can write out marvelously detailed lesson plans and think up such lofty goals that all my children should end up brain surgeons. Alas, sometimes the implementation of said plans is where I fail. I want to do better at following through. From keeping a clean home, to training children, to teaching math, nothing happens in life unless someone is DOing. I have found myself this month really pondering over how deep my commitment is to accomplishing the things I want for myself and for my family.

Next? What about this: "He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away." ~Raymond Hull

Was that powerful? I think that one can also whittle her homeschool away by trying to copy others who seem more successful, more classical, more rustic, more old-fashioned, more modern, more whatever. I daily remind myself that this is our home and our homeschool and there is no other family quite like ours. I feel confident that many things in my life are the way they are because I am where God needs for me to be right now. That being the case, our children are unique, our situation is not like anyone else's and our outcome will be what it needs to be if we just work towards our given legal requirements and our personal goals. I want to embrace the individuality of our homeschool and be positive about it! I don't want to find myself letting go of something that's uniquely ours while I try to mimic something that belongs to someone else.

Want another one? "Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success." ~Napoleon Hill

How's this one? "Every action of our lives touches on some chord that will vibrate in eternity." ~Sean O'Casey

Did that make you want to be as careful as it made me want to be? It makes me want to be more deliberate, more cautious. It reminded me that even one word spoken out of season might affect what another chooses to do.

One more: "The difference between perseverance and obstinance is that one comes from a strong will and the other from a strong won't." ~Henry Ward Beecher

That one's just downright cute. I've been persistent before and I've been obstinant before. So have my children. There's a place for each around here. It's partly my job to determine when.

April's Writing Prompt

What's going on here?

Creative writing from a prompt is fun. Let your imagination run away with your pencil! Who is in the picture? What are their names? What are they running away from? Or to? Be creative!

Frugal Living

I don't know anyone who wouldn't benefit from solid advice on frugal living these days. We have really enjoyed watching all of these videos from Clara's Depression Era Cooking. This sweet lady has such a nice outlook and a lot of wisdom to share.

Urban Homesteading

One of our blog readers shared a link to a video on YouTube that we have enjoyed very much. It's about urban homesteading. Well, we are urban and we want to homestead, so this information was invaluable for us. Thank you, Rachel.

A Book We Recommend:

Hamlet

We should finish up Hamlet this month! I really like this version of Hamlet that we are using. More to follow once we're done.

Michaela's word of wisdom for April 2009:

"Snooze, you lose."

Joseph's word of wisdom for April 2009:

"All that glitters is not gold."

Things We Enjoyed in March

Learning about the American paint horse.

Tasting fresh goat cheese

Making a St. Patrick's Day hat from felt.

On Leadership

"I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers."
~Ralph Nader

Trying New Things

"Mistakes are the portals of discovery."
~James Joyce