From Australia on to Africa!
We finished up our study of Australia with a trip to the zoo--this time on a Saturday when the Walkabout exhibit would actually be open. We got to see a kangaroo, a mob of wallabies, and a couple of emus from mere feet away. Apparently, one of the wallabies had a joey in her pouch, but we weren't able to see him. Perhaps more exciting were the things we saw on our way to the Walkabout: a pair of tigers playing in the water with a beach ball (last time they were sleeping) and a zookeeper holding a python we could pet!

We've also started our study of Africa. So far, we've read a picture book introduction to the continent, a collection of African folktales, and a beautifully illustrated book called Ashanti to Zulu that goes through the alphabet highlighting distinctive traditions from 26 different African people groups. One day we also pulled out the atlas to study Africa's major climate areas and landforms, and the girls colored in maps of the continent marking things like major rivers, mountains, deserts, and rainforests.

Park Friends
We finally found friends! Not just acquaintances we see at activities, but actual friends who want to hang out. We met them at the library and decided these were our people (a mom wearing practically same outfit I was, toting a massive bag for books, and trailing a couple of little girls about the age of mine). Further conversation revealed they were former military, Christian, and home schoolers. Woohoo! By the end of our library visit, we had a playdate at the park scheduled for the end of the week. By the end of the playdate, we had been invited to A's birthday on Sunday (the girls had a blast) and decided that playdates should be a weekly event! Next week, they're coming to our place for a change of scenery. Added bonus: Miss B's oldest son (she has 5 kids of which the girls are the youngest) is 20 years old--a potential local friend for Potato!

One of their favorite things about this park are the animal benches.

First Day of Spring!
To celebrate the first day of spring we headed to a local wildlife reserve to look for signs of spring. I think we hiked close to 2 miles that morning and were able to identify a number of wildflowers and trees. Some of the plants, however, remained a mystery, but the girls decided that next time Grandma's in town we'll have to bring her there "because Grandma knows all about this stuff."

My Little Speedster
Lion reached a new personal record at running club last week: she ran 3 miles in only 27 minutes! According to Potato (former captain of his high school cross-country team) that's a decent time for a teenage female athlete. Lion explained, "I started at the back of the group, going slow at first, then I sped up, and I passed everyone!" Yes, everyone, in a club that includes 3 year olds through 14 year olds.

Her interest in physical fitness extends beyond running, though. Lately, she's been joining me in doing exercise routines with weights at home. Don't worry--nothing crazy. She just uses tiny one-pound weights that just help her focus her movement more than anything else.

Starlings!
We had a very exciting morning a little while back, when I woke to discover that a bird had managed to make its way through the dryer vent and into the dryer itself! I could hear the poor things squawking and flapping around in there. The girls and the cat were all fascinated. Fortunately, I was able to make a couple of phone calls and find an animal control company that could come rescue it the same morning. Although, I had to repeat myself a couple of times to convince them that the birds were indeed in the dryer, not just building a nest at the vent opening. Mr. J retrieved one starling and released it unharmed outside, then went to reattach the vent cover. Meanwhile, Bug had gone to look for bird feathers in the laundry room and discovered additional movement inside the dryer. Another bird soon poked his head out of the dryer! We quickly shut him in the laundry room and ran to get Mr. J before he left. Catching this one apparently took a little more doing (and some banging and shouting in the laundry room), but it was eventually released unharmed as well. Mr. J even had me take a photo of him with the bird, so he could prove the story to his buddies!

Finding Margins
We discovered recently that with the addition of more church activities and martial arts, we didn't have enough room to breathe in our daily lives. As Bug put it, "I'm just so busy all the time! I don't want my life to be like this!" While I've gotten used to having more to do in a day than I can possibly accomplish, I wholeheartedly agreed with her. So, I took a step back, started making lists, and every so slightly changed how we do things. It's made a world of difference.

Outside of the necessities of eating and sleeping, I started categorizing the girls routine activities. First, the things that already give us some margin and are therefore non-negotiable: Bible study over breakfast, storytime after lunch (I read aloud to them), a 30-minute quiet time (everybody finds a quiet corner for reading or napping), and bedtime chapter books with Daddy. Next, the scheduled commitments (things we've decided are important that I have little to no control of the timing): church, music lessons, martial arts, and running club.

That leaves the academics, the area where I felt we had a little more wiggle room. I divided their lessons into two groups: The daily minimum lessons are quick things that cover the three Rs at a very basic level (a spelling activity, a grammar worksheet for the big girls/phonics for Lion, and a math drill) and skills that ought to be practiced almost everyday (typing for the big girls and music for all three). The remaining lessons became part of our "priority cycle" (math concepts, composition, reading lessons, and occasionally social studies). These topics require more time and attention to do well, so we're going to stop trying to do them all every day. Each lesson is assigned a number and we work through them in order. I declare us done with lessons when the girls have about an hour left until their evening activity. The next day we simply pick up in the cycle where we left off. We essentially do all the same things, and we still never get everything done. Now, however, we're not planning to get everything done, and the girls have a little more time to do their own things.