I love having children who can take charge of their own education now~at least long enough to let me run out and get my hair cut and grab milk from the grocery, which is what I did this morning. We are attending a wedding on Sunday and my hair was way overdue for some attention. I talked to the stylist about getting some low lights in my hair this October. I've never done that but get tired of my hair getting really blonde on top and being dark underneath so we'll see how that goes.

When I got home the kids and I started looking at some grammar work in making nouns plural~using rules, deciding what words break the rules, etc. Wes decided to take a quiz on Egyptian terminology~actually I challenged him to it since he has studied it for years. Of course, he got them all right! They also did an Egyptian maze, the hardest maze I'd ever seen.

Maddie, Wes and I are also working in diagramming sentences. Not much fun, but still you learn so much about grammar that way.

All three worked in their math texts and we spent time studying history together. Right now, the older kids were studying Elizabethan history and the making of our American colonies while Tyler is studying the Elizabethan Era in his Story of the World. Funny how that's worked.

When Maddie left with her dad for piano the boys and I read a very simple children's book about Ancient Forest systems. We discussed how things work together systemically, instead of existing in isolation. We discussed closed and open systems and other systems in nature, (oceans, human body, etc.) Wes also looked up martens and reported on them as he hadn't heard of that animal.

We decided to check out our favorite Thrift store and found a new TV for us~it has a built in VHS and DVD player and seems to be nice. We have another older model anyway and it doesn't have the VHS/DVD in it, has no remote, and kind of whistles sometimes. It will be nice to replace it with something a wee bit better.

Now we're home from soccer practice and starting to wind down. Tyler just finished the fourth Percy Jackson book and is starting on the last one. The kids are cleaning up their dishes, taking showers, etc. I love this time of night when the busy part of the day ends and we just enjoy hanging out together, laughing and talking about our days. Giving us the rhythm of day and night, seasons, etc. is one of God's best plans, isn't it? He perfectly builds in time to give us rest, reflection, and focus on his Will. I'm off to soak in it and pray that you have a night of peace as well.

Today's workout: The Firm Cardio Core Fusion Cardio Mix (35 minutes, using 2 pound soft weighted balls for cardio)
PM Yoga workout: Desi Bartlett Yoga for Beginners, Lunar Practice