Summer is creeping in here way too fast for me. I didn't lose the weight I promised myself I would this year and I've hardly done any summer clothes shopping yet. I still love this time of year. Although, anytime the season changes I see new ideas, new places to go, and new fun to have. We have so much in store for summertime.

W has been doing lots of reading this week. He's reading street signs, menus, cereal boxes and books. In fact, he was so excited after doing the phonics page the other day that he insisted I take all the books he can probably read now and put them in the shelf in his bed headboard. This way they're right next to him. He now takes the next page out of the folder and wants to surprise me. He's very proud of himself. W also has been more interested in numbers. Addition, subtraction, coins, and clocks. They just appear normally in every-day life and he is eager to understand what their all about.

J was doing a few pages in her favorite workbook, too, the other day. I peeked, and saw she was writing out the "key point" sentences from a paragraph and labeling and ordering the parts of the digestive system. She made a beautiful watercolor sunset, too (utilizing tricks she learned at the homeschool art class, I noticed, lol). Her days have been full of roller-skating, Barbies, barbecues, sprinklers, dance, singing, hamsters, card games, friends, and she's going to the mall today with one of her bffs (V).

K has been spending her days mostly with reading and the computer. She wants to brush up on math throughout the summer for when she begins high school in September. She feels pretty confident about the other subjects like Social Studies, Science, Health, and English. I know she's learned a lot this year from all the homeschool classes, activities, and trips. She also gets inspired to do her own workbooks when she sees the younger 2 with theirs. Her high school orientation is June 18th. She's so excited and I plan on taking off work that evening so B and I can both take her.

Homeschooling is so much easier and so much more fun and stress-free when children are in charge of their own learning. I'm finding it to also be more productive and fulfilling for them. I say my role is to keep our home and lives full of interesting stuff (what I know or think they'd enjoy), really listen to them and answer questions, foster and encourage their interests, and be their "tour-guide" through this awesome world, coming up with suggestions and ideas and helping them along their own journeys. I love this life.