Festivals

Yesterday was the book festival at our downtown library. I volunteered to be in the Wild Thing costume. It was an honor really. I love Where the Wild Things Are.



The kids were so darn cute. Some of them were scared of the costumed characters. And then some of them were just scared of the monster with the huge teeth and long sharp claws. But I did get a lot of long hugs and kisses.



After 4 hours in the costume (with breaks) we went right outside the library to Art Beat, our annual art festival.

One thing about living in a small town, you see people you know everywhere you go. We saw 8 or 9 families that we know in the short time we were walking about the festival.

Here is Zoe climbing in front of our theatre.


One of our homeschool friends had booth where she was selling her knitting. Zoe and I both got things for fall.


After dinner I GMed our roleplaying game.

The first "episode" was Exiles, and I got both the characters (Zoe plays Summer Jones an earthling with magic powers and Pere is Ostaan a serpentine humanoid retired military commando) away from their home worlds and onto a transdimensional ship piloted by URL (uncanny robotic lifeform)

The second two part episode was Blood Thirsters on the Moon Base Creciry.

Last night was the beginning of another two-parter - Summer Jones, Ostaan and URL find themselves in a Eden-like Jungle and guests to the hospitable and pacifistic Dalimen on the Eve of the Daliman's festival of sacrifice to the Great Momaat.

Today we are having our Fabulous Friends from Fort Wayne over for BBQing and music making.

Autumn

We worked on our seasonal table yesterday.

Monday homeschool update

Math - Pre-Algebra test

Language Arts - Lightening Literature writing

Social Studies - Reading our History of US book

Science - Chapter from science text and independent study on solar power

Art - studying form and drawing from an Audubon picture

After lunch play date for 2 1/2 hours.

Gymnastics - her teacher came out to me to tell me that she is really impressed with Zoe and that she remembers things she learned from weeks ago and applies them.

Movie Night - Laputa Castle in the Sky

I'm happy

Sorry it has been so long! Looks like my last post was eleven days ago.

But I am so pleased to announce that I did, in fact, begin writing the first chapter of my novel today!

My first goal was to be ready to start writing in the fall. I have been doing research since mid-winter.

For awhile I got off track. I was dealing with the stress of my relationship with my mother and sister. The book went on the back burner as I worked on healing. Eventually I got to the point where I didn't need to deal with or think about that stuff on a daily basis and I got back into my book.

Then I started homeschooling Zoe. Our schedule this year is pretty intense.

I was doing research on my book anytime she didn't need me, and for a couple hours in the afternoon. And then after I put her to bed I would work for another couple hours.

Still, I haven't finished my research. My book is rather complicated. *grin*

With my self-assigned deadline I used every spare moment to write. Then, Saturday, two days before my deadline I outlined the first chapter. And today, while I was sitting at Zoe's gymnastics class I wrote the first couple of pages.

Yay for me!!! (That is how I feel!)

My new goal is to write twenty hours a week.

Please wish me luck! I will try to write more, at least once a week.

homeschooling update

We are at the end of week three here at Gray's Academy

Homeschooling has been going very well but it is very hands on and I am busy with Zoe from about 8:30 - 2:30 everyday.

Math - Pre-Alegbra stuff from Singapore. I think we will start the Beginning Algebra Life of Fred book next. So far Zoe is having no trouble with math. (She definitely gets that blessing from Pere and not me)

L.A. - MCT Voyage series, very good and definitely meatier than the Town series. She is doing a lot online with her OnlineG3 classes. We are reading Treasure Island and assigned books from Lightening Literature.

History - We've gone backwards a little and she is working on the first History of US book. She is really enjoying learning to do things on the computer like find photos online and post them to her online timeline.

Science - whew! Her new 7th/8th grade book from Singapore is pretty high level. She has learned to write a lab report with her escience labs stuff. Right now we are studying the Human Genome Project and Zoe is writing an essay about the ethics of genetically altering humans. I think we will watch Gattaca with her tonight.

Japanese - Also hard! For me anyway. Zoe has lost me on this one. I can only help her to a point. Most of the time I don't really know what she is doing and I just have to take her word for it that she knows.

Music - She is so diligent with her practicing. She combines voice and piano and often practices for more than an hour a day. I think that her love of making music on the piano and singing makes it seem like it isn't work.

That is what I go for on all her classes and I think I succeed more often than not.

Everyday we have something called Mommy Time. We take a break in our studies for half an hour for play. We have danced to music a few times, done yoga, tickled and sang and tried to make each other laugh.

It is a welcome break because her school work is pretty intense and I am writing for a couple hours in the afternoon and she is on her own. This gives us another chance during the day to connect on a purely playful level.

You know, I have to keep in mind the asynchrony between what her brain needs for sustenance and what her 8 year old childlike psyche needs.

Sometimes I think I err too much on feeding her brain. Maybe because that is how I treat myself. Sometimes I feed my brain to the detriment of other parts of myself. But I have always tried to be careful with Zoe. I want her to have plenty of down time to explore, to even be bored. Because after boredom she gets really creative. :)

It is also a balancing act because Zoe loves all the classes she takes outside of the home. This is something we have always struggled with. She is always ready to take on new classes and doesn't want to give up the old.

Right now she is taking music (a combined piano and voice lesson), Japanese (college level class), gymnastics twice a week, choir, Sunday School and she still wants to go to the Math Center once a week in the evenings.

She just started choir back up this week and was really excited to find she was moved up to primary ensemble. She was in the beginning group last year.

I dunno. I am trying to balance her "rage to learn", her wish to be involved in so many activities, with my wish for her to have quiet freetime and play in the yard. :)

I got my hair cut

Visuals

We went to a Native American Pow Wow yesterday. Zoe was wanted to honor them by standing at attention the whole time they danced. She bought wooden knives for herself and two friends with her own money and a wooden flute. I bought her a dream catcher.









We went to the Farmer's Market in the morning.






Here she is, excitedly opening her science kit box from escience labs.


Zoe had a recital last week. It was very pretty.

I don't know what to write about

Almost ending week three of homeschooling, with our new books and new schedule. It is going verrrrry well. I am pleased, although busy.

Writing - I have 18 more days to reach a goal I set for myself. Time is like sand slipping between my fingers.

Pere - He wrote a song for Zoe. He just came home one night and, while I was working on my book, wrote this beautiful perfect song. Tears came to my eyes the first few times I heard him sing. It is an encouraging song that works in her love of space travel and science fiction, set to a really sweet tune. I'm so impressed!

A couple days later he wrote a song for me. HE is so clever! He wrote it as a love song for the two of us but on another level it would work as a theme song for the book I am writing. Dang, he is good! That is a very hummable song too and it has been such a surreal and sweet pleasure to hear Zoe singing it around the house and having it stuck in my head to.

Zoe - She is loving homeschooling, especially science and language arts. She is obsessed with this creative writing exercise she is doing online with her friends.

Me - My mom wrote me and said she wanted to see us or "at least Zoe' before they leave for the Winter in October. I have many things I would like to say in response to her. But she wouldn't really hear them. So, I guess I will just continue to be No Contact. It is sad and has been stressing me out but I think I am close to making another personal revelation of the healing type.

Any of you dealing with Narcissistic Mothers - this is a GREAT website - The Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers.