The Ride

Well, I agreed to costume another show, friends, and for those of you that were with me on the last ride, no, I don't know what I was thinking.  Not really.  That's a lie.  I was thinking-"This show is set in 1946, not 14th century Italy.  I shouldn't have to make anything, just find everything."  I was mostly right.  Some elf creation might have to happen, but everything else just needs to be found.

I have had a lot of luck so far at the costume storage, in that the main little girl is completely costumed, all the ladies have coats, and I do have several suits.  The problem with the suits is that will the bodies I have fit in the suits I have?  And I need specialty things-like a majorette outfit. And a doctor's white coat.  The person wearing the doc smock(as I call it) is gloriously tall, so finding one that has long enough sleeves is an issue. I also need at least 4, maybe 5 elf costumes.  I have found the hats and shoes that they used last time but can't locate the rest of the costumes.

Fortunately for me, the actor playing SC might just be the real guy.  He has his own period appropriate suit. I love this.

Every time I go looking I find more things that will work.  This is a beautiful thing.  It means that I should be able to have a list of what I need to find somewhere else by the beginning of next week.

I am glad that our fall break is coinciding with this part of my creation process.  We have one more week of break and then back to school.  School is going well, with both boys learning and growing.

School

This is the end of the first week of school.  My boys have done really well and have already pretty much settled into the routine.  O was really excited the first few days, and now is a little weary of it.  But, this is the first time he's actually had 'lessons' at home.  His school lasts about an hour.  In that time we have a reading lesson, math lesson, handwriting lesson, and history/science/social studies depending on the day.  Then he practices his piano for about 5 minutes and we are done.

L covers all that to but his school lasts 3 to 4 hours.  That's the difference between Year 4 and Year 1.

I am trying to do something new to expedite their day.  At breakfast time I read them their bible passage, poem, and review their weekly memorization.  I always finish breakfast before them, so I figure I'd use that time with a captive audience and get a good start on our day.  Then they have 15-30 minutes to do their morning grooming/chores and we go right into lessons for O and desk work for L.  Then, piano, a break, O gets free time and L has a math lesson.  That puts us right at lunch time so I prepare lunch and we eat then after lunch chores.  Them L get's his reading for the day.  He usually has 2 readings a day and then has to dictate what they are about.  O also has to dictate-which I thought would be a trying experience, but he seems to be doing well.  The difference is that I will read a couple of paragraphs and then stop and ask about them.  With L he reads the whole selection.  This way I know that they are absorbing what they've read/heard.

I still need to work in handwork and our composer/artist but I think that will come this week.

For the most part, I really love home schooling the boys.  I feel like they get to have a nice juicy education and stay kids for a little bit longer.