I had several highlights this week.

1. Our Valentine's Day "Love Thy Neighbor" Party was fun. We had 60 degree weather so outside time was part of the event.



2. I made my first batch of homemade laundry detergent. The recipe I got from http://ourjourneywestward.com/category/recipes/ I wasn't expecting the "gelling" effect and I was warned that there weren't going to be bubbles like store bought detergent. For some reason bubbles just seem to equal clean. The mixture is very soft to the touch so the clothes are nice and soft. It seems to clean just as good as any store bought brand. I use a little more than the 1/2 - 1 cup suggestion so at that rate I'm not sure if I'll be saving money or not. I'll have to wait and see. The girls enjoyed grated the laundry soap. The whole ordeal felt much like a science experiment.





3. I made a very sudden decision not to re enroll DD13 into Classical Conversations next year. Don't get me wrong I love the program but as I was calculating curriculum for next year it was just all too much. Furthermore, the things I don't like about CC (Catechism memorization) I can just eliminate next year altogether but keep the things I do like(the study of Logic). I found a co-op not too far away where there are group classes I can enroll the girls in. I don't want to teach Science at all if I can help it. That is a subject I definitely want to outsource. So prayerfully I'll be able to register DD13 & DD11 for Apologia science next year with the Co-op group. I feel good about this change. It will also allow more money in the budget for other things we want to do.

It's kind of hard deciding on a 9th grade curriculum. My first full year of homeschooling has taught me that I am an eclectic homeschooler but I am leaning toward MFW highschool curriculum. I need the lesson plans already done for me knowing that I can award a credit for completing everything as outlined in the curriculum. High School is the real deal so I can't relax the year away doing things "willy nilly." I'm sure others will say the credit hour stuff works itself out over time even if you don't walk to the beat of the lesson plan drum. For a newbie like me, though, I'm a little uptight - preparing a child for college and all.

I can't wait for a curriculum fair and my state convention to get my hands on the stuff I can only read about at the publisher's website. I know there are two - three months left in my school year but I'm already excited about next year.

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