Grace Week

We just completed six weeks of lessons and are taking a week off. We call it Grace Week (we discovered this idea several years ago, thanks to Lynn Bruce). Even though official lessons are on hold, the learning continues, but is less structured. I let the children make their own plans which they present to me at the beginning of the week for approval. Sometimes a child plans too much or not enough and is sent back to add a few more items or take some off of the list. The older children tell me what days they plan to do things so that they don't make the mistake of waiting until it is too late to finish something.

They look forward to the chance to work on unfinished projects, relax a little more and completely take charge of their education for a week. I take the opportunity to relax as well and work on cooking and cleaning projects, reading, research, blogging and whatever else needs catching up. We usually plan a fun outing, too. Here's a sampling of what my children chose to work on this week:

14ydd: I plan to...
-Make a craft with Little Brother.
-Finish reading The Innocence of Father Brown
-Prepare a post about it.
-Read Don Quixote
-Catch up in my personal journal
-Transfer my poems to my poetry journal
-Work on the essay I've been writing.
-Master Swan Lake on the piano.
-Watch the Star Wars movies and find the world view behind it.
-Post about it on my blog. here
-Watch A Man for all Seasons (about the noble death of Sir Thomas More) with Mom and Dad.
-Help mom make apple butter and Turkish pickles.
-Catch up on correspondence.
-Run three days this week on our mile course.
-Work on the picking pattern I like with my guitar.
-Get out my winter clothes and write down what I need.


12ydd-My goals this week:
-add 5000 words to the book I'm writing
-Complete two books from my free reading list. Prepare a blog post about the author's world view.
-Work on the piano composition I am writing.
-Help mom can pickles and apple butter.
-Complete two more sketches to add to my portfolio.
-Catch up on correspondence.
-Add a recipe to my recipe journal.
-Run a mile three days this week
-Work on new openings for the next chess tournament
-Get out my winter clothes and find out what I need.
-Work on identifying the butterflies and moths I caught this summer.
-File my schoolwork.


9ydd- I'm going to:
-Read Lassie Come Home and
-Finish reading The Railway Children
-Go through my drawers and get out my winter clothes
-Make cookies for the neighbor
-Make a get well card for my friend
-Teach Dear Little Brother how to ride my bike.
-Write in my Journal
-Add a recipe to my recipe journal.
-Help mom organize our toys.
-Practice my mandolin
-Master On the Banks of the Ohio-and When the Saints go Marching In (on the piano)
-File my schoolwork.


5yds-I'm gonna, um... let's see: (These plans were dictated to Mom)
-Finish making my Dinosaur Book with mom and Big Sister
-Make a get well card for my sick friend. Use our NEW glitter!
-Make a camp outside and play Rolf and the Viking Bow.
-Shoot my bow with Dad. goal: hit the bag (straw)
-Learn to ride my bike.
-Try on my winter clothes and clean my room with mom. (translated- "I get to destroy my room while I pull out clothing from my drawers and run around in my underwear until Mom makes me try on the next pair of pants…")
-Run with my sisters and try hard not to walk when I'm tired. (He runs too fast and wears out to soon!)-Go to the park
-Make sure someone reads a book to me every day.


one step at a time...