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Monday, January 26, 2009

The best of intentions


I stayed up until 10 last night working on school planning. This is a big deal because I am a 9:30 p.m. girl as a rule. But this was going to be The Week That I Got Everything In. The Latin Atticus has been begging for. The art study Jo is pining after. The flower dissection Logan keeps reminding me that we skipped over a few lessons back. The Eric Liddell book I have been ignoring for two weeks on the Sonlight schedule.

I squeezed it all in there. I even printed out lapbooking pages, people.

At 9 a.m., we were in motion. Work was getting done. Books were being read. Talk of math and quips in Greek were flowing around my kitchen table.

And then Mr. Blandings called sounding, well ... sheepish.

"Can I bring a lamb home?"

"No, you can't bring a lamb home," I replied, thinking: My house is on the market. I live in a suburban neighborhood. And, have you noticed, I am homeschooling and doing it with my whole being right now?

"C'mon. It's just a little lamb. The Ag Devo lady (Us non-governmental types call it the Agricultural Development Office) brought it in. It's only three days old. It can't even walk without falling over. She says we can keep it as long as we want and then bring it back. Man, is he a cute little fella."

I am such a sucker.
Guess who's doing a unit study on sheep this week? No art study. No Latin. And the only flowers we'll be dissecting are the ones we might be able to feed Li'l Lamb.

I wonder if Eric Liddell liked sheep?

7 comments:

Lori said...

I can get a little psycho with my plans and lists and even I would put everything on hold for a wobbly little lamb. Eric Liddell was a gentle guy so I bet he would've too:)

Anonymous said...

Mary Grace,
I found your blog through the Sonlight forums. You so eloquently write about your family journey....a real inspiration to me. Thanks!

We also live and homeschool in Western Washington. My husband is a pediatric ENT doc locally so your writings on hearing loss struck a chord here.

I, too, was hoping for a great week of on-task learning....many worthy items on my homeschool list. To no avail....my boys decided to build an ice-rink in our backyard.

Never mind that it really isn't cold enough here is Western WA.....we now have a 12'x20' slab of ice on our sport court.

OK....this can be good learning too, right? We have been reading about Ben Franklin, so I asked the boys to put together an inventor's journal to document the process. Sounds good, right?

Well....our youngest promptly replies...."Aw Mom, you always find a way to turn the fun stuff into school!" My goal, just keep them learning.

Thanks again for blogging....and enjoy that lamb!
Sarah
AKA Perky7 on the Sonlight forums

Benny said...

And that is what it's all about right there.

You know a week's worth of Latin, an art study and a flower dissection would be enjoyed - but still inevitably forgotten and lost in the shuffle of day-to-day school stuff.

But lamb-sitting a wobbly legged little sheep baby? That is one week of school - otherwise known as life - that will never, EVER be forgotten by anyone over the age of two in your home.

I can't wait to meet the little guy!

Benny

Luke Holzmann said...

Since film is the repository of all knowledge, I'm pretty sure I saw some sheep in the background of at least one of the shots in "Chariots of Fire"--so I'm confident Eric Liddell liked sheep. [smile]

~Luke

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a lesson in working HIS plan instead of OUR plans.

I do get a little chuckle that you can say no to a baby girl but not a lamb. LOL!

Jen/mamamoz

Unknown said...

Oh, now THAT is a true SONlight moment!!!

:D

(Can I come over and play???)

Kindred Blessings said...

Ahhh...send pictures please! Anne and Peter would love seeing it!