Sandy Southwest

1 week off

Well, with Mike gone,  the kids and I are moving to a 4 weeks on for school and 1 week off.  There is lots to do and with only 1 adult, it's hard to get everything done...school, chores, outside chores, sewing for new seasons (seeing I make about 3/4 of everyone's clothes - but not Mat's!), de-cluttering, trying to remodel my bedroom and bath and more....

So, we are going to take this next week off from school.  We plan on going through the boxes in the garage for yard sale or goodwill.  I also plan on de-cluttering Lina's room  and the little boys' room ...and Ames' closet ...

I also need to clean up 2 boxes of new material and then the house should be good to go!At least for another 4 weeks!

Mat is really giving me a hard time about this high school thing! He only wants to go a 1 particular school because his friends go there - not for academics!(the school is only the failing list for AZ)  So, Mike and I are having him sign a contract - to encourage to finish his schoolwork for his freshman year - he's been slacking VERY badly, trying to use the excuse that he can always do the work at the public school....

His contract spells out which textbooks he must accomplish and what type of behavior is expected from him. 

We have joined up with 2 other families for a co-op.  We meet 1x a week and have a history lesson, science (biology for Mat and the other 3 teens; inventions and technology for Lina, Aimee, and another friend) and then Lifeskills for the teens.  We are together for about 6 hours and really enjoy the time learning with friends!  I teach the biology class because I'm strong in the science department.  Becky, my friend teaches history and Cathy teaches Lifeskills.

The kids really enjoy being able to work with other kids and I love the break from teaching all the time.  The moms get time to talk and the kids get time to play GameCube.