My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer
Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Last week was the definition of a slow summer week. We spent time outside, lazing about the house, and learning about fireflies. We spent time outdoors drawing together, and in my “free” time I researched curriculums for Wyatt’s school year. I am finding there are so many out there, too many options almost! The more I look the harder this gets. And of course all the homeschool families on Instagram are revealing their curriculum choices so I am writing all these down when I see them. I think I need to just stop looking at this point and choose. I had no idea the homeschool world was such a big and connected community but it is. I also had a great evening with my friends having socially distanced drinks together. I am also going to venture out of my comfort zone this week and try the curbside service at the library..
Read Last Week:
I didn’t read very much last week. I finished up Opium and Absinthe, which ended up getting really good, and started The Masterpiece which I forgot I had ordered until it arrived at my door. I was excited to read a physical book!
Reading This Week:
I will continue to read The Masterpiece but I feel the Dear Bob and Sue Part 2 calling my name this week. I am missing trips and travel! We had planned a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains and a side trip to Dollywood for this month pre-COVID which is now on hold.
Posted Last Week:
Homeschool, Summer Edition: Birds and Fireflies
Watching:
We have been watching Nancy Drew, and finally finished Season 1 – so good! Then I started Unsolved Mysteries on Netflix and am addicted. I am squeezing them in where I can. I even went on Reddit to see what other people were thinking of these – I guess I think I am Nancy Drew! For our movie night we watched Woman Walks Ahead which was really good. It could easily have been longer than the hour and forty some minutes and I would have been ok with it, and I don’t say that often. I usually hate movies over two hours.
Stay safe everyone.
Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs.. 
I am glad there are so many resources for home schooling, and I hope parents try these options instead of going back to regular school when it isn’t yet safe.
Enjoy your books and your shows.
I’ve been eyeing Woman Walks Ahead…and now I must see it!
Have a great and safe week.
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The school situation is such a mess right now. So scary. 😦
It was pretty good! The end was sort of rushed but I still liked it. I want to know more and that is always a good sign!
‘Thanks Laurel-Rain you too!
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I can see you doing homeschooling with a heavy nature slant. Wouldn’t that be fun? Lots of hands-on activities with a nature theme through everything. I’m sure you will choose something great, and I’m glad you have a lot of choices.
Dear Bob and Sue is new-to-me, but it looks like something I’d enjoy.
I’d love to hear what you think about the Zola book. I read my first Zola back in February. It was a detailed picture of life in France long ago.
Stay safe.
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I would love that honestly, nature and literature based learning would be just our speed! I can’t believe how many options there are, it is crazy. And so many different styles of homeschooling. I am diving into a whole different culture!
I liked Dear Bob and Sue so I am looking forward to this second one. 🙂
I am enjoying the Zola so far. I have to be honest though, I am not whipping through it but I think it is s time thing rather than the book itself.
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Glad you enjoyed Nancy Drew. There were quite a bit of surprises in the last few episodes. I look forward to season 2.
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Me too!!!! At one point my husband and I looked at each other and were like, well, I wasn’t expecting that!
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We are just starting to prepare for our 2nd homeschooling year and all the curriculum stuff can definitely be overwhelming! Have you looked at Build Your Library? You have to add in math but it’s just about everything else. It’s secular but Charlotte Mason inspired (lots of outside time and discussion) and literature based. I love how it lays out the weeks for you but I’ve also had an easy time changing things up with it. Plus it’s relatively inexpensive as you can buy most of the books piecemeal and I’ve found a number of them used. As you can tell I’m kind of a fan! I need to try Nancy Drew and Unsolved Mysteries. I was a huge fan of the original Unsolved Mysteries Hope you have a great week.
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That is on my list of possibles!! It is good to hear feedback from someone who has used it. I chose a math curriculum, and was thinking about Ambleside or this one. I am glad to hear you like it! I am going to look more closely at it today and maybe just go ahead and order the first level.
I never watched the original but I remember it. This one is really good, and I feel like the time is right for it to really make a difference.In this day and age, and I feel like maybe these people can find answers. 🙂 Hopefully.
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I read Dear Bob and Sue several years ago and was pretty disappointed with the lack of descriptions they gave the particular National Parks. Hopefully this one will correct that problem. My Sunday Salon
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Oh no!! I didn’t mind the first one but it took me a minute to get into it, as it was not what I expected. I also usually hate things written in letter format like that. Lol. I am looking forward to reading this one, although I wonder what they can say in a part two, you know?
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That’s great about the homeschooling community. That sounds like a great resource.
I haven’t seen Unsolved Mysteries yet but it looks good.
I hope you have a great week. Stay safe!
My Sunday Post is here.
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I was so pleasantly surprised to find so many resources – and some are so creative!
It is really good! I hope that this reboot can bring justice for these people, or at least some answers.
Thank you, you too!
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I’m glad there are many choices for homeschooling now you just have to think about what best suits your child. I do that with my daughter as she thinks about her college classes. I love the mysteries and have always been a big Nancy Drew fan.
Have a wonderful week and stay well!
Anne – Books of My Heart Here is my Sunday Post
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It is pretty amazing!! I am really looking for something that has lots of literature and nature based learning, but also printables since my son asks for them if we don’t have them a particular week. Lol. I feel like no matter what I can always supplement as I am now, but I do want something that will resonate with him. 🙂
Thanks you too!
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Homeschooling is huge! We didn’t do it but we thought about it, and obviously with Covid now lots of people are thinking about it even more! I also had no idea about the community and how many people are doing it. Good luck with picking a curriculum- i can only imagine the avalanche of info that must be out there.
Sorry to hear about your trip! We’re venturing to Traverse City this week to camp at the state park and to be honest I’m a little leery of doing that, with everything on the rise again- we’re gonna totally social distance as much as we can lol. But if we were going far or out of state I think we’d probably cancel too. It’s just so uncertain right now.
I’m going to start Nancy Drew I think, it sounds fun.
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It is crazy huge!! I had always wanted to do it but we never chose to until COVID. There are tons of curriculum out there – there are some even based on a year of Beatrix Potter tales or Winnie the Pooh. (Both of which look amazing, just not quite the right fit for us. We like to mix it up too much)
I think you guys will have a blast! Camping is one thing you can really control so much easier. 🙂 I am sure it will be different up there this year but still.. sand dunes are sand dunes. 🙂 Have fun!!!
Nancy Drew was really good!
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I’ve been lazing around the house too. Good luck with picking a curriculum! I had to research different schooling methods for a class I took in college, and I was stunned at how much stuff exists for teaching kids. There seems to be a billion ways to accomplish the same goals. Have a great week!
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It is unreal!! I am getting a crash course in homeschooling, and it does remind me of when I was in college, all the reading and research I am doing. LOL.
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I hope you write about The Masterpiece. I just watched Cezanne et Moi on Netflix and the big conflict of the film is centered on this book. It made me curious to read it as well.
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Oh wow!! I will have to check that movie out! I am slow boating reading this book, with all the homeschool stuff I am currently consumed with, but I am really enjoying it. Just slowly. I will review it for sure!
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Oh, now I’m curious about Nancy Drew. Have a good week.
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It is so good!! Very different from the books, in the sense that there is a huge element of supernatural added in but it works. 🙂
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I was fascinated with homeschool curriculums when I was teaching, there is such a wide variety available in the US, I hope you find something perfect for you.
Wishing you a great reading week
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Oh my gosh, I can’t even believe how many there are! I have a huge list that I am making my way down and considering.
Thanks Shelleyrae!
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I started watching Unsolved Mysteries, I have never seen the original but I am really enjoying it, it’ll be interesting to see if any new information comes through for these cases.
Have a good week.
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I have never watched the original either! My husband and I have been meaning to look up how many mysteries were solved with the original show. I am hoping that these families will get some answers. I feel like this day and age is perfect for a reboot and with the internet sleuths out there, have a chance at solving these mysteries.
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Homeschooling does seem like a good idea these days. I know you’ll choose a great curriculum. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
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Thanks Kathy! All this research reminds me of when I was back in college and had a big paper due. Lol.
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I didn’t know there was a Dear Bob and Sue Part 2… read the first one a couple of years ago and enjoyed the insight into the National Parks. It would be especially nice to read now that we aren’t going to actually visit any of the for a while!
I’m pretty sure I’d be homeschooling now if my kids were at that age. Sending them to school now is just plain scary, Hope you find the right curriculum – I know you will! But the number of choices out there is unbelievable!
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That is what I was thinking! We are so bummed about our trip being moved out but better safe than not.
I feel so blessed that at least we are in a position already that I can just make that choice! My heart hurts for people who are stressing about fall as they choose between making ends meet and sending kids to school. 😦 This should not have to be! 😦
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Homeschooling choices are hard to make. I have a good idea what I am using this year, but not totally. I will start figuring it all out in the next week and August. We can start on small projects as soon as I submit my intent to homeschool to the school district. It can all be very overwhelming so next week my hair will be pulled out as a I try to decide for a 5 year old and a 13 year old.
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I **think** I know. Kind of. Sort of. LOL. I was going to wing it then I got scared I would forget something important! I would love to know which way you are going once you commit!
Michigan is so weird! I don’t need to really do a thing legally here, prove what we are doing, it feels odd. I have to get all that lined up next. Kindergarten isn’t even mandatory in Michigan so I am confused about if I need to declare anything at all?
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I will let you know when I decide, yes. And actually you let me know too so maybe we can compare— you may find some things I don’t know about yet!
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I think I am going to email you today if I can with some thoughts. 🙂
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I’ll answer after I make my calls to our local school district to see if I can bring my paperwork in or mail it or what is up. Argh! It’s all so confusing anymore.
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Oh and on the intent to homeschool — I am not sure what to do because apparently the compulsory age to homeschool in PA is 6 before Sept. 1 and my little girl won’t be 6 until after that deadline so I don’t know if I should file now or wait until next year. We started kindergarten work last year, though.
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It’s confusing! In Michigan, if the child turns 6 after the deadline they don’t need to begin officially until the following year.
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It used to be 8 in Pennsylvania
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When our trip to Ireland in August was canceled a few months ago due to the pandemic, we planned a road trip to Tennessee for an event that looked like it would still be a go, with maybe a side trip to Dollywood! Now with this second surge, I suppose that trip is probably going to have be canceled too.
We homeschooled our kids for several years back in the early 90s. It’s time consuming but can be very rewarding! We did our own thing, though. Too poor to pay for a readymade curriculum!
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I think planning travel is going to be rough for a while unfortunately. I would be super bummed about a trip to Ireland being postponed though, that is a dream trip for me! 😦 I am super excited to start – we have been doing well together the past few months and I have seen him making progress which is encouraging! 🙂
I can’t get over how many curriculums there are! And seriously, some are big money! I found a lot of great free ones or at least inexpensive, like $20 or $30 that I will supplement with my own stuff. I’m uncomfortable winging it totally this first year, nervous I will forget something important! Lol.
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