A different kind of week

This week has been different as I have been battling bronchitis and sinusitis. What is a home school mama to do when she needs to stay in bed but still wants her children to have a productive week....

For J, life kind of carries on as normal as he does most of his work independently. However the younger two and I had a very different week. We set aside most of the lessons that needed active teaching on my part, but yet had a good week.

Z made good progress with mathematics as we sat on my bed watching his Math u See lessons on DVD and tackling the worksheets. He read aloud to me from his Moore McGuffy Reader. The children practised their piano lessons daily and we got through heaps of reading.

We are so enjoying "Jock of the Bushveld" by Sir Percy Fitzpatrick which is part of K's 21st Century South African History curriculum. I had decided to read the book aloud to Z and K and while I read, K is usually busy with some sort of handwork, be it her art or some new crochet project.

She has been tackling some new patterns this week as she has been given a little business opportunity to crochet items for a local photographer for use in her studio. These are some of the cutest baby beanies and nappy (diaper) covers we have seen. I love to see her persevere with unfamiliar patterns and to see the sense of achievement as she figures it all out. (I am not much help to her as I have not learned to crochet yet!)

K and I have also had some real heart to heart chats as we have been reading through a book lent to her by her cousin. "Sexy Girls How Hot is Too Hot?" by Hayley Dimarco is a brilliant read and plainly talks about the image a girl portrays by dressing in a certain way. It has been a real eye opener for both of us in understanding how one can make good decisions regarding one's image that will not comprise faith.

Z and I too have enjoyed precious time reading. We finished "Born to Run" by Michael Morpurgo and began "The Enchanted Wood" by Enid Blyton. He always begs for yet another chapter.

The three of us have spent time cuddled up on my bed watching "The Gospel According to Matthew", the visual Bible. This is also part of K's curriculum. It has been enjoyable to watch it as we have been reading through Matthew in our Bible times so this just cements what what we have read. As we watch, I knit and leg warmers for K are almost done and a scarf has been started.

Yesterday, the younger two spent much of their morning in the kitchen baking. They made a batch of delicious peanut butter cookies and two loaves of challah for lunch - delicious eaten with cheese, sliced tomato and cucumber, topped with freshly picked basil from the garden.

Now the weekend is here and J has been out since early this morning for brown belt training and then on to teach his little ninjas class. We had a surprise visit from my dad this morning for a quick cup of coffee. K is busy on another project she has been commissioned to do and Z enjoys some free time.