In my backyard…February has arrived along with beautiful weather (as is the norm for our deep South Texas location).  The leaves have all fallen and our plants in the garden are blooming.  We’ll have radishes and carrots in no time at all and broccoli will soon follow.

I am remembering…the shouts of delight as these boys chased the chickens to get them back in their coop.

I am grateful for…having someone who shares my love of literature.

I am watching…Katie go round and round on her scooter…one bare foot and one foot in a roller skate.

I am listening…to William in a panic.  He thought he put his sewing needle beside me but now it’s missing.  He was walking around in a panic and suddenly it was quiet…no whining, no panicking.  I looked over and he was drinking water and I said, “You’re not even looking!” and he replied, “Well, I have to stop and drink water…this is what I do when I get stressed out.”  Drinking water when stressed?  It could be so much worse.

I am wondering…what in the world Lemon Balm was thinking the first time she stuck her nose out of her box and looked into eight eager little eyes staring back at her.

I am laughing…when I remember Joey at co-op last week.  The older girls were teaching all of the kids the movements for the cups to go along with their folk song When I’m Gone.  Joey was incredibly enthusiastic and tapping to the beat in his own head.

I am reflecting…on my conversation with William this morning after he read and narrated to me from his Daniel Boone book.  He agrees with Daniel and Daniel’s father that Daniel doesn’t need formal schooling but that his practical life skills are more important.  William understands why he must get a formal education but he wanted to know why I don’t place more importance on teaching him to hunt and forage and learn survival skills.  We are a society that depends greatly on a system beyond ourselves, survival is assumed, but maybe it shouldn’t be taken so lightly…perhaps basic survival skills deserve a higher place in education.  We should feel our ancestors in our daily grind, know our physical capabilities and rest in the knowledge that we are a people capable of caring for ourselves.

In the schoolroom…We’re wrapping up Daniel Boone and moving on to Lewis and Clark soon.  Another week of school and it’ll be time for a week off of planning.  We’re now fully emerged in a Charlotte Mason way of education and I look forward to seeing the fruits of our labor.

Around the house…there is a pile of laundry waiting to be put away and sweet little Lemon Balm is ready for her cage to be changed…this should be interesting to watch Joey learn the real responsibility of having a pet.

In the kitchen…a bag of almonds is patiently waiting for me to turn it into almond butter.  My jars of lemon balm glycerite are stewing.  I’m eager to try it on this handful of rowdy boys and see if it brings us any calmness.

I am wearing…black yoga pants and a teal blue puckered tee.  Gosh, that description sounds so awkward…I need to work on descriptive writing.

We are preparing for…Valentine’s Day.  Oh how I love a day dedicated to love.  I get to get all mushy and overly sentimental and no one can find fault!

Someday I am going to miss…our Friday morning herb studies together.

I am reading…America’s First Daughter, The Highly Sensitive Person, The Hiding Place and Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline.  I’m listen to Rachel McAdams read Anne of Green Gables on my phone…she’s done a lovely job. 

One of my favorite things…watching these kids learn together (here they are using the Bird Songs Bible).

A peek into my day…

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