Finally!
I have tried to log on and update my BLOG but I couldn't log on!! WEll, It has been a while. This is supposed to be the last week of school and it is, but I don't feel that we accomplished all that I had hoped we would. The schedules helped for the first few weeks but not much after that.

I am beginning to set up next years schedule and have decided not to fight my own inclinations any more. I set up the schedule for 22 weeks of school on a 3weeks on then one week off then 4 weeks on and one week off etcc..... I can always do three weeks of school or four weeks but any longer and it gets goofed up. We have so many activities it can get crazy. Looking forward to the upcoming weeks with no school.

Happy FAther's Day
Hello again! I hope you had a good Father's Day; I think S did. We opened the gifts in the morning and for the second year in a row we sent dad (S) on a hunt for one of the gifts using clues etc... We had alot of fun and next year I will prepare a bit better. I can only come up with so much rhyming in five short minutes.

The children have signed up for the library summer reading program. IT is amazing to see how they work to get their reading done in order to win hte little prizes. At the end they get a tickedt to the ball game though so it really is worth it. However I am thinking of changing the school schedule to include teeny tiny rewards such as the library program. We'll see what I can come up with.

Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to NUmber 3! The children sure have alot of fun growing up! What a great kid he is! Unfortunately I was unable to get much work done today because I made the cake and had to prepare the dinner and clean the house for the 14 people we had over! We had fun and I am sure he did as well.
I do infact have to get some more work done, so I had better finish off this blog. Good night!

The business
This upcoming week is the week I get to put real effort into getting www.coloringcottage.com to fly higher. I will be working on the press releases and photos etc.. The three youngest children will be spending mornings at Vacation Bible School so I will have all morning to FOCUS. The responses for the magaine ad are flying in so I must respond to those with some sort of bonus. I did purchase a business calender to make sure I am writing out the expectations for the day. This will greatly help me FOCUS!!!

We are almost done with this week. We may be able to finish the eldest's week's work by tomorrow. As far as math goes this is an easier chapter than last week's. The youngest is doing well with her reading and math. We are using "Learning To Read In 100 Easy Lessons." which is going quite well. The other two are doing fine; nothing too strenuous for them and they are getting their work done.

I am using this time, the summer session, to create in the eldest (boy 13) a sense of due dates, a sense of time management, and most especially a sense of pride in his work. Amazingly despite my misgivings about the quantity of work I am giving him, it is beginning to sink in. We shall see how this week develops.

I should take this time to say how much the children contitnued to learn while we were in the incredible phase of living in the trailer, and finally into the hotel. It was certainly a difficult and frustrating time as the business was impossible to maintain during that stretch.

Homeschool
Because of the big move, the product end of homeschooling was non existent. By product end, I mean the paper work needed to 'prove' advancement in any particular subject. As a result, this summer has included a 'summer session'. This, as I have discovered is not very bad at all since the day's highs are hovering around 110 degrees. It is better to keep them in, especially since there is no pool!! We are about to start Week 3 of Summer Session; it has been going well though I have been plagued by doubts such as "Am I asking too much?; Are the concepts are too hard for them?; and most importantly "Why can I not get any housework done?!!!" These are frustrating questions because I have been homeschooling for 8 years now, which I suppose is why I have the strength to ignore them.