This has been a productive week...Zoey's been continuing with her art exploration when it comes to sketching. Here are a few more interesting faces that she's been working on in her sketch book.
This morning when out walking the dog around the house we discovered some bear tracks which was pretty exciting! They went right through our yard in-between the house and our garage and then meandered off into the woods. We had to take some pictures quick before the snow melts!
Zoey just started reading the book
I Am Malala for her geography and literature studies and most recently finished reading
Habibi. For fun, she most recently finished reading the book
Tuck Everlasting and is currently reading
The Secret Garden. She also has read the complete series of
Mortal Instruments,
Infernal Devices and the book
Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare. It's safe to say that I've long given up on trying to keep track of the books that she's reading for the blog. I now keep track on our library request list that is attached to my library card check-out history.
Tuesday, Zoey and I both went to a school board meeting in a neighboring community. This was Zoey's first school board meeting (kind of funny that she attended it now that we're homeschooling!) and it was a major learning experience for her. We went to support a teacher who is a friend and who also has a daughter Zoey's age who is a friend of Zoey's. This teacher has taught for over twenty years at this school and is getting a non-renewal this year with nothing worthy in her personal file for dismissal. The meeting was packed with community members (we had to move to a different room) and was very passionate/high energy in nature. We stayed for two hours (on just this agenda issue) and left around 8:15pm so we could eat dinner and walk the dog! It felt good to show up and do the right thing (I spoke) and to hear so many people showing support for this teacher. It didn't feel good to witness and hear the lack of compassion and empathy of the school board or the administration of this school. Zoey was astounded that the individuals sitting as the board, were representatives of the school to the community. I have to agree with her, there was one individual on the board that showed compassion and interest when people spoke, everyone else looked annoyed, bothered, uncomfortable and/or, put out. I do think that things could have at the very least, been handled in a more empathetic manner so that the public could have felt as though they were being listened to. Regardless, we had some great/tough conversations afterwards and then again once Ethan got home from working late as well.
Zoey is continuing working through her second math book at lightening speed, still enjoying her logic workbook and is working through her beginners spanish book. Health is included in her science curriculum and she is working through that and is approaching the heavier portion of that unit here quickly. It's kind of amazing to look through all the we have done this year and know that we almost have our first complete homeschooling year under our belts!
Life learning at it's finest!
