6x6 Challenge

Mary Demuth posted this challenge on her blog, and I thought it was a great idea. The point is to come up with six tasks to complete over the next six weeks. The challenge starts today and lasts through October 23rd. Here is my 6x6 list:

 

~ cook 3 never-been-tried-before meals

~ complete nine weeks of lesson plans

~perform 2 new offertories

~walk 20 miles

~read 6 books

~ get a mammogram

 

I have my list written out on an index card so I can keep it in my memory for the next few weeks. I'll post a follow-up when I'm done and have (hopefully) completed the challenge.

Summer is Gone ~ School Has Begun

This summer has zipped past us, as all summers seem to do. We started school last week. This school year is so different than the previous ones. The most obvious change is that Adam has graduated. I still have trouble wrapping my head around that thought. I have an eighteen year old, high school graduate. I remember holding him on my 22nd birthday and thinking that when I turned thirty he would be eight, and that was very, very far away.

Another change this year is that I have done very little planning. I'm actually just writing things down as I go. I have a lot of things planned in my head...they just haven't made it to paper yet. For the most part, we are in a rhythm. We just move on to the next level or the next subject. I always try to be flexible, and allow for interest led learning, so the girls have chosen some of their own subjects this year. Here is a break down of what we are learning this year:

Elin ~ 10th grade

Geometry ~ Teaching Textbook

Chemistry ~ Apologia Science

*English 2 ~ Alpha Omega

Spanish 2 ~  Alpha Omega

Home Ecomomics

 Bible ~ Family Reading Bible, church

Speech ~ CEF Training Class

 

*I usually do my own literature units for high school using a reading list and Spark notes. This year, I let Elin choose what she wanted to study. She chose: Romeo and Juliet, Persuasion, Alice in Wonderland, and The Scarlet Letter.

 

 

Anna ~ 5th grade

Math 5 ~ Teaching Textbooks

Language Arts ~ Easy Grammar, Beyond Five in a Row

Science ~ Five in a Row Nature Studies, Beyond Five in a row, interest-led unit studies

History ~ Beyond Five in a Row, interest-led unit studies

Bible ~ Family Reading Bible, church

 

I still have a few more things to purchase, but we are off to a good start. I'm hoping to get a lot accomplished and maintain a good schedule through out the year. We'll see how that goes.



Book Review: God is More Than Enough

God is More Than Enough by Tony Evans is a great little book packed with powerful reminders of God's love, protection, and provision. This book can easily be read in one sitting, but is message is deep and profound. Mr. Evans breaks down the 23rd Psalm to show us God is more than enough to meet our spiritual, directional, emotional, physical, and eternal needs. He also shows us that the 23rd Psalm is more than just beautiful poetry. It is also a study of God's character and how He interacts in the Christian life. I highly recommend this book.

I received this book for free from Waterbrook Multnomah for the purpose of review.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Anna Hoke's Award Winning Cotton Candy Bling Cupcakes

Wordless Wednesday ~ North Carolina Vacation Photos

Book Review: An Unlikely Suitor

I had been looking forward to reading An Unlikely Suitor by Nancy Moser for a while. I've read a couple of other books by this author and enjoyed them. I thought this book was a fun summer read. It's set during the gilded age and centers around the friendship between a young working class woman and a New York socialite. Both feel like they are on the outside looking in in their respective societies, and both crave true friendship.

I thought the characters were well fleshed out and easy to sympathize with. I did have to suspend my disbelief with the upstairs/downstairs romances. There were several. I found it a little hard to believe there would be so many in one circle of people, but it all worked out in the end as any good romance does. This was a good book for my Downton Abby withdrawals, but I preferred the other books I read by Nancy Moser, Mozart's Sister and How Do I Love Thee, both fictional biographies.

Book Review: Need You Now

Need You now is a contemporary story set in a small town in Texas. It deals with the struggles of Darlene Henderson and her family. The Henderson family has left the big city in hopes of raising their children in the safe environment of a small town.They learn throught the story that trouble isn't confined to the city and sometimes the "perfect" child is the one with the real problems.

Darlene Henderson is at a very vulnerable place in life. Her children don't need her as much as they use to. Her husband has a long commute and works long hours to provide for his family. She has moved to a new community and has left her old friends behind. She takes a job at a special need school to fill her days and bring in some extra money. At the school she becomes interested in the father of one of her students. Much of the story line deals with this attraction and the emotional affair she struggles with. Another main part of the plot dealt with Darlene's middle child, Grace. Grace struggles with the move, and begins a downward spiral into self destructive behavior. There is also a third plot dealing with a bitter neighbor.

Overall I enjoyed the book. It was a quick summer read with a good story and interesting, imperfect characters. I thought it dealt realistically with marrital problems and perfectionism. It was a good reminder to me that no child is perfect, and that the one child you think has it all together, may be the one who is falling apart. I think my complaint about the story is that it had too much going on. It seemed like I was reading a condensed version of a series. I would recommend this book to women who enjoy family dramas.

I receive this book for free from Book Sneeze for the purpose of review.