Rites of Spring! and don't I look fab in a hat:0 ! ;)

I love Spring, I really do! It is so wonderful to be able to go out without layers again, to be able to dig in the dirt and see little flower buds start to form. I love to see the crocuses and daffs coming up, although for us here in N.E. that is not much of a harbinger of Spring since the dang things often come up before the last snow fall;O!! But last night for me was a true rite of Spring, we started a fire and ate outside, then capped off the evening with sitting around the toasty fire roasting marshmallows for s'mores, YUM!!Don't the kids look so cute with gooey faces, and the dog loves it too, craziness!! Really does it get better than this, I think not, with the stereo playing great Christian rock in the background, a lovely fire to toast my feet at, and a splendid bank of embers to find faces and lost cities in, what could be better, especially when I get to spend it cuddled up with my sweet babies on the bench, perfect!!
I have had the kids out digging in the garden expanding it in the last few days, we have been moving mulch and digging weeds, prepping for a busy planting season this year. I have determined that if I am going to have so many hungry mouths to feed, that actually like all this healthy stuff I love to grow, than they are going to pitch in and help plant and weed the darn thing, this is the plan anyway! We will see.
It was a really great weekend though, and I got everything done for the meeting with the principal scheduled for Tuesday, so wish me luck!! It took me only 2 hours to write our curriculum, not bad since I had to google, and search sites recommended to me to find out how to do this, and then figure out what I wanted to say, and what materials we use, not bad I think!! A huge thanks to Kate and Jeff, and Kate's mom, without their assistance and suggestions I would be floundering around with no idea of what to write, but they have been lifesavers, with lots of great sites, info and ideas, plus some kickin' resources, huge THANKS!!! I love teachers who are not freaked out by the fact that we homeschool! Speaking of, we have found ourselves veering off of our original direction, we have found that we do not unschool so well. We like it, but get not too much accomplished, and the kids really need more direction, or they get crazy and antsy, and ask for work to do, so they needed more structure, and I have found a direction we are exploring, classical curriculum. Not a strict classical, but a modified format, we will intensively study and understand English, and start to explore the classics. We will also start to explore the beginnings of the world, and learn about the ancient folks who shaped it, changing the way we see and learn about the world today. We will in a few years begin a more intensive study of mathematics too, and also foreign languages, but for now a good grasp of English and how it works, so that by the end of this year both girls should be able to read most anything they come across, that is the goal at least. The girls do seem to be taking to it, and really like reading and writing, so we are doing out best to promote this, and Amelia has a started to express an interest in the human skeleton, so Julie, the anatomy book you gave me will come in handy earlier than anticipated!! Mia has been drawing her people with bones in their bodies, and asked if we could learn some bone names, so we will begin a skeletal study in the next week, and hopefully learn the skeleton name, does anyone know where to find that song?
Speaking of veering off direction, I have certainly done so, but oh well, I am just overflowing with ideas and excitement about our education and the possibilities of where we can go next, every day is a new adventure around here!!
love to all, Jamie