April 3 - April 30: Catching Up

 General Conference was full of inspiring, encouraging talks. I have so much to go back and study! So much counsel to take in and apply to my life. Easter was pretty quiet as it was also Conference. We just celebrated with our own immediate family.

We raised caterpillars and released
them when they were butterflies.

Monday Apr. 5th was our first day back to homeschool after spring break. It was a little rocky, as usual. Some kids move right back into routine, while others breathe fire like fierce dragons over the return of lessons. I kept things light for our first day back. Two highlights - we started Ecosystems in science with from The Good and the Beautiful, and we made it to unit four in TGTB History 3, which is all about World War II. Many of my kids are excited to really dive in and study WWII. Each child picked a chapter book to read that relates to some aspect of the war, and we refreshed our library bookshelf with a lot of WWII books kids can explore. 

The rest of the week went on slowly, with cranky kids lingering for several days. We finished the week with roasted hot dogs and smores over the fire pit on Saturday, and church on Zoom Sunday. 

Week of April 12th

Monday we learned about a fascinating project in Arizona to create a closed off system that could sustain life. It is called Biosphere 2, and we were introduced to it in our Ecosystems unit. There was a neat video about it on YouTube, and there is a website as well. The idea of Biosphere 2 is that if they can be successful, this could be recreated on another planet. 

This week I drove for the first time since January. My broken foot did okay, but is not ready for a long drive. I had to take Joseph to the orthodontist, which is not too far from our house. My husband turned 43 this week. My birthday is in two weeks. We celebrated both of us together at a family party over the weekend. 

Week of April 19th

My x-rays this week show no healing progress. My doctor got my insurance to approve a bone stimulator device. I use it for 20 minutes twice a day. Hopefully it will help this bone to finish healing. If it does not, I will need surgery. Homeschool and Seminary proceed as usual. We are really having some great conversations around WWII during history. Some of the chapter books kids have or are reading for this include:

• The Hiding Place
• Twenty and Ten
• The Big Wave
• How I Became a Spy
• They Called Us Enemy
• The Winged Watchman

Week of April 26th

Another quiet week homeschooling and living life. We are enjoying the more spring-like weather and playing outside.

 I turned 40 this week.