Priceless Mo

*Photo taken on the last day of summer*

It's a foggy day outside my window. Yesterday I sat in the sun for awhile and I loved soaking up the warmth, knowing that winter is on the way. It's getting near the time for the peak fall colors, so I hope we'll be able to take a drive to the mountains soon. We don't have many trees close by, so our neighborhood color is limited to the sagebrush which turns red, yellow and orange.

In our classroom, we finished our study of the Middle Ages and are now moving into the Renaissance period. After the Renaissance, my history lesson plans stop, so I should probably figure out what happens next.

Jacob's new science textbook is slated to arrive this week. He's in sixth grade but the book is the 8th grade text. You can guess what his favorite subject is. If he only liked writing half as much as science, we'd be in good shape.

Hannah got her ACT test results back and they were high enough for her to meet her graduation goals. They were not high enough for her to qualify for the "big" financial aid awards at the colleges we checked, so she wants to retake the test and see if she can do better. She plans on re-taking geometry with the "Math-U-See" curriculum (her original geometry was taught by a local tutor using a different method) not for school credit, but to help her on her college entrance tests.

Looking at colleges takes me back to the time when I was Hannah's age. Today there are so many more options for higher education that it can make the prospect more daunting at times. I would like Hannah to take some Bible and English/Writing classes and she is anxious to investigate Art classes. We are praying for wisdom for this next year as Hannah weighs where (and how) she would like to further her education.

Abby is thinking about writing an essay for an online publication. She is a good writer and thankfully, she has a sister who can help her with her spelling (that dyslexia, again!). I am excited to see her motivation for stretching herself academically. She has recovered from her flu and thankfully the rest of us didn't get it.

Hope is in third grade and loves all her subjects. She has been the easiest to teach so far and she reminds me of Hannah in her independent way of studying (plus a little of Abby's drama thrown in for good measure). I don't know what we would do without this little firecracker of a girl in our family!

Looking forward to a quiet week of schoolwork and fall walks in the neighborhood and the nearby park...