Susan Wise Bauer will hopefully guide us through some history next year. "The Story of the World: Ancient Times" has been floating around the book cases for a while. No guarantee that we'll do the 42 chapters but it doesn't hurt to aim high.I'm hoping to hunt down the audio books they recommend for some of the chapters as I know they'll go down well. Hoping to back up the chapters with lots of library books and supplementary material some of which is already on shelves in this very room.

You are all beautiful, Mary, and the original stain is not in you. Your clothing is white as snow, and your face is like the sun. You are all beautiful, Mary, and the original stain [of sin] is not in you. You are the glory of Jerusalem, you are the joy of Israel, you give honour to our people. You are all beautiful, Mary.

We were given this beautiful tapestry that was in a frame with very grimy glass. How thrilled we were to find the colours so vibrant underneath. We're getting it reframed without the glass ( some day). My son identified and labelled some of the flowers with a little help from Dad who knows about these things. Mental note to use lined paper next year for homeschoolin' as those tall letters, low letters and small letters all kind of jumbled together in a I can't believe you've been at school five days a week for two years kind of way.

The Brain
by Emily Dickinson

The Brain – is wider than the Sky -
For – put them side by side -
The one the other will contain
With ease – and You – beside -

The Brain is deeper than the Sea -
For – hold them – Blue to Blue -
The one the other will absorb -
As sponges – buckets – do -
The Brain is just the weight of God -
For – Heft them – Pound for Pound -
And they will differ – if they do-
As Syllable from Sound

Planning a great homeschool year for 2013 for my little son. Thinking a great deal about what he loves to do and what rhythm the day will take. I've developed a really strong  

core of Literacy and Numeracy and hopefully everything else will take shape around that. I'm imagining sunny days in our beautiful mountain backyard with freedom the order of the day.