It's...

It doesn't exactly feel like spring... ...and it sorta doesn't really feel like I'm "on break" either. More like:  Let's set the books aside this week so Mom can focus on the Wedding Shower I'm throwing next Saturday.  :-) This time of year always seems to bring a project or event into my life. Last year it was my nephew Sam's graduation open house... Which also involved taping, finishing and painting our garage... We had 200 people on a pouring-rainy day in early June. Yes...  Two. Hundred. People.  In the rain. Wow. Little wedding shower for 50 people shouldn't be too bad...I'm trying to keep it simple.  :-)   (This is not easy for me.) When planning big events, I like to work ahead as much as possible. I'll try to post some updates on my wedding shower projects as they come along.

Setting the books aside...

It's  C H R I S T M A S   V A C A T I O N  in the Amundson household!  :-)

The school books are going to be on the shelf until January...and we have been enjoying some quality family time together.

In honor of the Christmas season, I'll leave you with my favorite Christmas song...  It's not a "feel good Christmas carol" though.  It's more of a wake-up call to recognize the true meaning behind the birth of the Savior.  I hope it blesses your heart as it has mine:

CAT testing . . .

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up." 

(Deuteronomy 6:5-7)

  

Every year we are required by Minnesota State Law to do a standardized test.  This test has been scheduled many weeks in advance, so we were very thankful that the chicken pox came and went when they did!  It's always my goal to get testing done before Thanksgiving...and this year we don't have much time to spare!  As a homeschool Mom, I never know quite what to think about standardized testing; it sounds so ominous.  Most homeschool families shrug the tests off as a formality, but that's not my nature.  To me, this test is not an evaluation of Elizabeth--I know that she is bright and capable.  It's an evaluation of her teacher--that would be me.  Have I adequately covered the material that she needs for her grade level?  I can remind myself over and over again that parenting is about "life training", and that academics are only a small part of that.  I can consider the fact that I want my daughter to love learning for the rest of her life, and that burning her out now would be detrimental in the long run.  But when test time rolls around, I all too easily forget the big picture. 

Well, today was our first day of testing for this year, and to my delight, my daughter loves it!  It's like a big game to her.  As a rule, we don't tell her how she does on the test.  If we told her she was at 6th grade level, she would only be proud, and if we told her she did poorly she would be crushed.  Thankfully, her language and reading skills are amazing.  She loves reading stories and she remembers every little detail.  I'm confident that she'll do fine on the Math portions as well.  There's only one part that gives us trouble.  Spelling.  Arggh!  She's a phonetic speller...which means those irregular sight words come back to haunt us every time.  Oh well...we're going to have them down before next Thanksgiving!  :-)