Anchor:  a person or thing that can be relied on for support, stability, or security; mainstay: Hope was his only anchor.

When we work to become the author of own family life, we take on the authority to provide our spouse and children and ourselves stability.  An effective way to do this is through the use of rhythm.  If you have small children, it takes time to build a family rhythm that encompasses the year.  If you are homeschooling older children and also have younger children not yet ready for formal learning, the cycle of the year through the seasons and through your religious year becomes the number one tool you have for family unity, for family identity, for stability.

I love August.  August reminds me of beaches, sunflowers, picnics, going back to school and therefore less crowds at all our  favorite outdoor spots.  August is beautiful sunsets and lapping waters.  And birthdays – there are two in our family this month!

This month we celebrate:

August  9^th  – The Feast of  St. Herman of Alaska  – for this feast, we plan on reading this lovely book.

August 10th – Our first day back at school (we have camping trips in September and October, plus a wedding in November, so might as well start when the counties around us are starting this year and get going!)

August 15th –  The Dormition of St. Mary –  August 15^th  – on this beautiful day, we tell the story of the Dormition of St. Mary and read this little book.

August 31^st  – The Feast of St. Aidan  — we plan to tell the story of St. Aidan and the horse he was given by King Oswim

Ideas for Celebration:

• Making beautiful triptych to celebrate the life of St. Mary.  There are many wonderful ideas regarding this on the Internet.
• We have about another month of tubing, swimming and water park availability to us, so we hope to take advantage!
• Camping
• Gazing at the stars
• Walking in the mornings
• Celebrating the back to school with little things to use during the school year

The Domestic Life:

I always find this a good time to take stock of needs for fall/winter in clothing, shoes, outside gear. 

I also think this a great time to go back to manners.  My older children seem to be in an expansive place and forgetting their manners with each other and me, and while that seems common for this time of year (but worse this year!), I think it is a good time for all of us to be kind to each other and sink into some structured rhythms

Rhythm is the key word for this month.  The structure does us all good!

Homeschooling:

Kindergarten:  We will be celebrating the festivals above.  Our circle will be centered around the garden and sunflowers and our story will be modified version of Hans and the Wonderful Flower (adjusted for the season and where we live).  I have plans for steps toward jumping rope, fingerplays and foot plays, baking bread and cookies,  creating a “painting” with sand and shells, modeling snails and dragonflies,  making walnut boats, make lavender sachets,drawing, painting, and more.

Fifth Grade:  This month will be a review of all four math processes, estimating and fractions and measurement.  We will also be continuing work with spelling and grammar and looking at what makes a good sentence.  Our main lesson will focus on Botany, one of my favorite fifth grade blocks.  We will have a number of lovely painting and drawing experiences, along with modeling out of plastilina and modeling beeswax.  We also have a number of botanical gardens in our area which we are excited to experience.

Eighth Grade:  We will be using this month to focus on math review of everything we have learned in grades one through seven, and looking specifically at platonic solids, loci and volume.  There will be lots of drawing and modeling transformations to go through sequences.  We will be diving into the book “Across Five Aprils”  in preparation for our American History block and I have some activities planned to go through this book. 

Self-Care:

Self-care is so difficult for me.  It really wasn’t too bad up until I hit forty or so, but then all the children were older and had things going on and there just seemed to be no time in the day. So, one thing we are doing is looking at combining the nature pyramid and the physical fitness pyramid for children so I can also work in some physical exercise.  And, then my plan is to also have my own time to exercise at the gym or walking on the trail by my house.  I am also re-working our menu planning.

I would love to hear from you and where you are in this most expansive time of summer.

Blessings and love,
Carrie