It's the last day of the second week of school. We are having such a good time. It beats last year by miles. This year we went back to My Father's World and chose their Exploring Countries and Cultures curriculum. God has been working an excitement in Fidget and me about people all over the world and how the Gospel is for them as well as us. I love that the curriculum is all about this.
Here is an Inuit- inspired carving, a dove out of Ivory... soap, that is. Fidget made it last week. The first two weeks of the curriculum were introductory, and didn't direct us to study any particular countries, so she and I did a little research and study on our own. We looked at Botswana (setting of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith- these are grown up books but so charming, I have been reading them to Fidget the past few months), India, and North American Indians, particularly Seminoles, who came from Creeks, who we are ancestors of; and including the Inuits of the far North and their amazing carvings.
I love how there is time to follow our interests and study other things in this curriculum. It is Charlotte Mason-inspired, that is, scheduled studying in the morning, leaving the afternoons free. We don't always finish by lunch, but we're not in a hurry either, and we have been running first thing in the morning. Fidget earns a dollar a mile. It's gotten expensive lately, but that's a good thing.
After all our diligence these 2 weeks, it was lovely to get a call that a friend wanted to bring her kids to visit us in our tiny train-rattled apartment. She said she didn't mind any of the inconveniences, including what turned out to be an hour drive just to get to us.
I made these peanut butter cookies for their arrival. Fidget, who hates jelly no matter what, did not like these with the blackberry jam. But I left the jam off some and she didn't want to stop eating those.
Ahh, tea and cookies with a friend. A perfect way to end the week.
It is such a blessing to have a friend dear enough, who loves you enough to go way out of their way for you. A good friend is a treasure to keep.
Hello again from Virginia! Our family has had a whirlwind move and long
camping trip. We're settled back in our tiny 1-bedroom apartment and
starting home school this morning. Here are a few scenes from our camping trip, our first down the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We also stopped in SC with sisters in law and their families which included lots of heavenly cousin-time for Fidget. Above is the quick ferry we took to get to Okracoke Island.
One of the wild horses on Okracoke, which have been penned up to protect them.
More of Okracoke. It wasn't our only stop, but for some reason we took lots of pictures there. The beach was pretty but we got a lot of bites on the Outer Banks. We found camping much less buggy in SC.
Myrtle Beach was our favorite. There was plenty of wind for kites, and waves for Fidget to practice surfing on her new soft board.
Here we were at Hunting Island, SC, where we stayed a couple of nights and even got to see old friends and check on our house, Acorn Hollow. The major problem there was an overgrown jungle of garden, but we got a yard man named Moses and a tree team right to work and left the place looking lots better.
Unfortunately, Fig kept getting a rash on her legs and hips, no matter whether she wore board shorts, regular shorts, or a swim suit. It's just as well summer's ending, she's about had it with the beach for now.
That's not to say she wouldn't like to swim all day. She just turned 8 and we had a week of celebrating. We took her to Water Country USA in Williamsburg, and a local water park twice, as well as Chuck E Cheese and a hibachi restaurant she loves.
We have had such a wonderful family-time summer. God is good.
And now, we turn our attention to schooling. Today we start My Father's World's Exploring Countries and Cultures curriculum. We are very excited about other countries lately. I signed Fidget up for International Pen Friends so we can wait to see what the mail will bring every day. Of course we can't wait for mail any day, no matter what. The beginning of the school year is a time for a small amount of trepidation on my part but God assures me in my reading that His plans will not be thwarted. I can rest in that. And as I tackle a schedule, biting off small pieces at a time, knowing He is a God is order, not of disorder, I know everything will be fine.
