Week 6, Monday

We made it to week 6!  We also had an excellent weekend.  We celebrated Cole's 6th birthday on Saturday morning.  We had a joint birthday party with one of his classmates.  The party was great, because we had great weather and the kids all had fun.  The best part of the party for me, was Ciara.   Last year for Cole's birthday, we did a similar party in a park, but last year Ciara did not want to go to the party.  We couldn't let her stay home on her own, so let's just say that it got pretty ugly.  I still remember how miserable she was that day and she let everyone know.  This is why I was so pleasantly surprised when Ciara willingly came to the party and participated happily the whole time.

Lately Ciara and Cole have been getting along better and better.  I don't think that Cole has changed at all, but Ciara's attitude towards Cole has improved significantly.  It's a huge change from just a few months ago.   They actually play together now.

On Sunday we witnessed more evidence of Ciara's change in attitude.  Bob met a man visiting from the US at church on Sunday and invited him over after church to have dinner with us and the missionaries.  As there was time before dinner, Bob suggested to our guest that they walk up to the top of Coserolla to get a view of the city.  He asked the boys if they wanted to go with them.  Nathan did of course, but Rylan and Cole declined, and the strange thing was, Ciara wanted to go with them too.  It doesn't seem like such a strange thing, but it's actually a huge improvement from just a few months ago.  Before when we would ask Ciara to go for a walk or even to the park, she would refuse to go and then we would either have to force her out of her room or someone would have to stay behind to be with her.

So this morning I was feeling pretty good about our homeschooling experience, knowing the benefit it has had on Ciara already.  Well, today wasn't the easiest day.  Ciara has decided that she doesn't want to do rhythmic writing anymore.  I told her that we didn't have to do it first thing in the morning like usual.  I figured that the best thing to do was keep things positive so that we could get other things done instead of wasting time arguing about it.  I think that this was the right approach because in the afternoon after we went for a bike ride and she was in a good mood, I was able to slip in rhythmic writing.  "Keep things positive" is going to be my new motto.

Today we learned a little bit about Albert Einstein and also why leaves change colour in the Fall.  It was fascinating.