Pretty good school week this past week.  Nothing out of the ordinary to report, either good or bad.  I guess that's good, right??

Lagging behind a bit with S's writing program.  She says she wants to be an author when she grows up.  So that kind of means she needs to learn how to write....right?  I can tell she isn't exactly ga-ga over her writing program (IEW, which stands for Institute for Excellence in Writing by Andrew Pudewa).  It's not my favorite part of our homeschooling day either, but it is the hardest to "teach", so I definitely need a formal program to help me out.  Will probably always be a struggle around here, but we simply need to persevere.

J struggles to follow through with his Bible Study (he's doing Sonlight's Core 6 program with the spine being The International Children's Bible Field Guide).  I'm a bit stymied here.....he gets scripture exposure/memorization practice through AWANA, but that program really doesn't have him delving into God's Word too much.  That's what I want for my kids more and more as they grow older.  S's program is going famously, and she absolutely loves it (Explorer's Bible Study - The Early History of Israel; she's even keeping up with a Bible Study journal).  Again, perseverance is the key here.  I need to be more diligent in getting him to do it every day because it obviously isn't getting done of his own volition.

Clearly our favorite part of the day, for both me and the kids, is when we settle in for a good read-aloud session with our latest historical fiction book.  The kids work on history projects or their history timelines, or if that's all caught up, then something of their choosing.  We have moved onto God King - A Story in the Days of King Hezekiah by Joanne Williamson; another gripping tale of Ancient Egypt, this one taking place in 701 B.C.

We have a good flow to our days.  I'm staying pretty caught up on paperwork, which if left for even a couple of days, can seem insurmountable.  Trying to stay positive about this aspect of homeschooling.  It is so darn tedious, but it is essential to our success, especially as high school looms in the distance.  Nobody ever said that all aspects of being a homeschooling Mama were going to be hunky-dory!! 

But I plaster on a smile, and I........PERSEVERE.