And a little space at a time turns into a bigger space....and hope abounds.
I have returned to the envelope system. Somehow we got out of the habit a few years ago, but paying with cash and using a budget gives me so much more peace about money. I take out cash at the beginning of the week, use a zero balance budget, and sometimes have money to spare. I can see it all on paper, and that almost makes me giddy.
I love my curriculum, but it is like a checklist that I think I need to cross everything off of. Now that we are at the end of the year, I have less on the checklist to complete. When I do not have one, there is little tension and more student lead learning, which is so much more fun for them. This is when I feel like I'm tricking them into learning.
At the arboretum the other day, there was a "Monet Garden". The girls asked about Monet, who happens to be my all time favorite painter. I have a Renoir painting of Monet painting in a garden hanging in my bedroom
Max thinks it's a picture of Uncle Gib.
So we looked up paintings by Monet and discussed impressionists. And everyone decided they wanted to be an artist, except Brooke who insisted she would be a babysitter. Ironically, Brooke is an artist, no doubt.... and then the converstation created three very confused girls because of all the things they wanted to be. So I showed them Leonardo Di Vinci, who was a scientist, inventor, math genius, artist, writer, and more.
And now Savannah is a mad scientist and artist. (She's not sold on the math part yet.)
I'm pumped about our learing for the summer.
The chores that I have assigned to the girls are everyday routine chores- cleaning up after each meal, folding and putting away laundry, and a 10 minute pick up time. I also have extra chores that are different every day. On Mondays we focus on the kitchen, Tuesdays: bedrooms, Wednesdays: bathrooms, Thursdays: living room and car, Fridays: garage and basement. These chores attribute to my sanity and teach them responsibility and money management. I use Financial Peace Junior and pay them a quarter for each chore they complete to my satisfaction. They are saving up for tablets.
When I was younger and had only a little money to feed my plant addiction, I purchased perennials that would spread. And they have. So now I am able to divide my plants and purchase less. I have also had wonderful friends that generously divided their plants and shared with me! Now I think that is the mark of a good person (that and someone who offers to watch the kids while you can get away for a few hours). If you want to be a good friend, share plants. Unless your friend doesn't love plants. Anyway, I am blessed with a yard full of plants that I love because they are beautiful and because they remind me of my friends.
But I have purchased a few more because I can't help it.
I feel blessed today. I am blessed.
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