I love Mondays

There was a time, not that long ago, when I really didn't want to get out of bed and head off into the "real" world on Mondays.  While I loved the idea of spending time with our family on weekends, the reality was that they were fast-paced as we raced to catch up from the week that was.  By Sunday evening, we had not caught up, felt further behind, and were drained - not really stuff that would make one bound out of bed on a Monday.

I've noticed that lately, I've really loved our Mondays.  While I can't say that we have indeed "caught up" on anything, I've perhaps let go of the illusion.  Instead, I know we've taken care of our bodies, minds, and souls when I feel fresh for the week ahead, knowing what awaits us...and accepting of the mess that we will leave behind as we start a new project, or the required logistics as we prepare for a field trip.

Today was a science day.  Jaelyn wanted to learn about the solar system, so we did a little reading about the planets in the solar system (there may be 13 now, not the 9 that I remember from my youth - check here for more info about why the number is in flux).  Then, we did some art, using pastels and watercolours, to draw and paint our interpretation of the solar system.  What I really loved about this was the opportunity to integrate several "subjects" into one lesson - art, reading, writing, math, science - it's all there!  I have a few more projects up my sleeve related to the solar system, which I'll share as we complete them.

Later, we worked on building catapults, so that I could prepare for facilitating a group activity at our next homeschool co-op meeting.  This included building different designs, building castles, and hurling little felt balls (which we made on the weekend, much to my delight) around our kitchen.  We talked about angles, release points, and tension as we fiddled with the designs.  We used glue guns and too many elastic bands to count.  It was messy, but it was fun.  I loved every bit of today!