Walking On Sunshine

Another spectacular sunset on Kalaloch Beach, Washington. I don't know the couple walking on the sand, but I appreciate them being in the right place at the right time!

After four good days of school this week, the kids are settling back into a routine.

My daughter's getting the hang of it, only she's decided that she doesn't want to do anything easy. Math review is out of the question. "Too easy!" she declares. Straight on to the big numbers we go.

She listens in on some of her brother's 5th grade lessons and thinks that's where she should be. Maybe she should... She frequently helps him out when he's stumped for an answer.

"What do you call the indigenous peoples of the Arctic Circle?" I ask him.

He strains his brain for a moment.

His sister looks up from her work, frowning. "Don't you know?" she asks, then gives him the answer, "Inuit. Sheesh!" and goes back to her papers.

I'm pushing my son to write, write, and write. He's at that age where he needs to build that skill, so most of his lessons involve writing in a journal of some sort. History, literature, language, science. He has separate journals for all of them.

Both kids are learning Spanish, and riding their bikes before lunch, and playing badminton in the backyard. They don't just sit at a desk with their nose in a book.

We're gearing up for bowling, museum trips, fall hiking, and soccer season (I'm coaching my son's 5th grade soccer team).

It's a busy busy time, but that's good. It makes us happy.

And it makes me appreciate the weekends so much more.