March 2019

March brings our 'coastal snow,'

as flowers bloom and white petals blow. 

~Nicola

Dates of Interest:

March is the month dedicated to celebration of women. We will be reading extra stories of strong and unique women during read-aloud.

March 8: International Women's Day

March 17: St. Patrick's Day

March 20: Shakespeare performances day in our world

March 21: Holi

Homeschooling:

Homeschooling in a little smoother as we begin this month. We are through the application process with our oldest for high schools and are now waiting, talking, and making decisions. I had not anticipated how much stress and anxiety my girl would experience from participating in this process. Change is inevitable and hard.

For both kids we are going to shifting back into using Brave Writer Arrow or Boomerang guides paired with literature. We had taken a break while steeped in Shakespeare.

Fifth Grader: Not much has changed since last month's post! He is working on weekly homework for his Exercise Physiology class, as well as his Globe Theatre project for his Shakespeare class. He is using Teaching Textbooks and Key To workbooks for math and we are using games to review. We are continuing to use REWARDS to support his progress with language arts differences.

Eight Grader: She just completed her Shakespeare project and is working on memorizing lines so she can be an understudy for a couple of other characters, if necessary. She has been working through Khan Academy and Key To workbooks for math and she is getting a small amount of outside support for language arts and math.

Self-care:

I have been tired. My priority has been climbing into bed at a reasonable time and reading a little before sleep. There are so many other self-care things I want to be doing, and if I am honest, I feel like I deserve. If I stop and consider, there are little things I am doing...a hot shower (alone for 5 minutes of thinking and meditation), light exercise, listening to podcasts, and nature time, among others, but it is the time I have alone that is most meaningful to me. Recently, my brother came for an overnight and took the kids mountain biking for the afternoon, so M and I had a little conversation time alone together before he went for a hike and left me alone in the house. I did some clean-up, but it still felt restorative because I was by myself. I really haven't been getting this kind of time much. It is so important to know these things about oneself!

Parenting:

Parenting, as always, is about connection, empathy, play, limits, listening, and love. I am working on talking less and listening more. Brown Mouse just went away for a couple of days for special adventure time with Grandma and Nonno, leaving Lala Bug to get some special time with us. It was what everyone needed.

Home life:

We are making very slow progress on clearing, cleaning, organizing, and re-arranging, but progress in baby steps is still progress. We have had a lot of rain and we can see where we may need to pause until it is dry enough for us to haul some things outside, but also that items like roof patching and fence securing are getting bumped up on the list. M and I are working to carve out time to really connect and communicate with each other about all. the. things; kids, schooling, home, work, future, finances. We are definitely at a point where we are both feeling worn and changes are needed. I feel the winds shifting.

Crafting:
Lala Bug's itch to knit has been rekindled. I am pleased to see her creativity re-blossom. M has been making some tools for his shop that haven't required power, since his finger is still recovering from the table saw. Brown Mouse has been working on a model Globe Theatre for his Shakespeare project. Me? I have been mending things and decluttering my crafting area, readying it to be packed up for a room rearrangement.

And just like that we slide toward spring! What is happening in your world?