Even though I was tired after last night’s late night packing, the leaving in the middle of the night, and the early morning awakening, today was a good day. The boys’ French lesson was great as usual, and I managed to clean up the house a bit while Abraham watched Elmo. I made the boys take their grade standard tests in English Language Arts to see how they are doing. William got every question right but went a bit too slowly. He still needs to work on his reading speed! August aced his test with flying colors. I should have known that the boys are doing great, but sometimes I just need some kind of confirmation that we are – or rather, I am - doing things “right.” The biggest challenge was trying to explain to them why their grade work can’t cease on the spot just because they “know all that they need to know this year.”
After school, the boys & I went out and bought a (fake) tree. I had forgotten that I had remembered to pack the tree lights in Cairo so along with the tree I picked up a new set of lights at the store. We decorated our tree as soon as we got home. Two strings of Christmas tree lights makes the tree VERY bright! Abraham only broke one of our precious Belgian decorations, and albeit small, the tree really looks beautiful, so I’d deem the whole endeavor a success.
We also managed to make Swedish cinnamon rolls this afternoon, had a nice hot lunch of French onion and potato soup with rye bread, and hot roast beef for dinner.
It was a very seasonal day. The boys are now watching the Muppets’ Christmas on the computer while I’m supposed to clean up after dinner. Happy holidays!
Hi Jennifer, I just did a 3 month catchup on your blog. I've been following for well over a year, but got behind. Why? Probably because I homeschool, too! ;) I found you first because we were considering looking for a teaching position for my husband in Egypt. I found it very ironic that you moved to Lebanon, because that is another place I've always had interest in because my grandfather immigrated to Canada from Lebanon with his family when he was 4 years old. Anyhow, the main reason I was writing is because I noticed you looking for ideas around the housework. The FlyLady's system has worked well for me, and you might want to check it out. http://www.flylady.net/ and there is a facebook page as well, which you can find by searching "The Flylady". I like the concepts of routines, and doing things in 15 minute chunks of time. Works VERY well when fitting in the housework around a housefull of kiddos. :) I hope you have a wonderful Christmas.
ReplyDeleteKristi