Compare/Contrast: Violet vs. the Girls

Never once in her life has Violet told me I have a big bottom. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about my girls.

Violet doesn't announce to the entire world my age. One of the problems with homeschooling is your children sometimes actually learn what it is you're attempting to teach. Unfortunately, my girls have learned the concept of age. They are no longer fooled when I tell them I am 24 years old. They like to make sure I remember my real age - sometimes they do it rather loudly.

Violet wants food. My girls want food. What is with all these people wanting to eat all the time?

Violet doesn't use toilet paper. Holy guacamole my girls use lots of toilet paper. Why oh why do they insist on using so much?

Week 1: July 28th - August 1st

This was our first week back after taking a fairly long spring/summer break. We eased into most subjects and I feel great about what we managed to accomplish. The girls are really great and seem to enjoy doing school. I am working a little bit on taming the "wiggles", but otherwise it was a super week.

Here's our current schedule:

Saxon Math 2 - My goal for this school year is to stick with a lesson per day of math - no matter what else we let slide, we will get math done daily. My girls love the meeting times and really enjoy the structure of Saxon. I am pleased as I wasn't too sure. I tried Saxon way back in K and didn't really enjoy it, so I was somewhat reluctant to try again. However, so far so good!

All About Spelling - We are really enjoying this subject. We've managed about a step per day. At this rate, we'll be through level 1 in no time! I can't say enough good things about the program. It is really easy to teach and the girls like the variety of exercises - some oral, some written, some a combo.

First Language Lessons - This is our first year of formal grammar and we enjoy it. I did start at the beginning, but we are doing approximately 4 lessons per day with quite a bit of review. I've mostly skipped the narration exercises as my girls are pros at narration. I plan on getting to level 2 as quickly as possible and then really slowing down the pace.

American History - We are using Winter Promise American Story 1 for our history studies. I decided to alternate history and science and do 2 days per week of each subject for a longer period of time. In the past, we just weren't able to complete some of the more fun activities and with a longer period of time slotted, we are able to get to everything. We are having fun with this subject.

Science - I am using Noeo science and we are finishing up studying the weather. Next up is microbes and bacteria. Should be fun!!

We are participating in the Classical Conversations program in the fall which will be held on Fridays. Until then, we'll probably plan on schooling all 5 days to allow us to "get ahead" a bit to allow for some days off when the weather gets cooler. It's currently so hot, we might as well stay inside and do school!

Violet

Violet, my muse, my inspiration.

Violet came to our barn as the result of a vacation in Colorado at the MLazyC Ranch and a particularly hilarious miniature hinny named Bonsai that terrorized the place. A hinny for those that want to know is the result of a donkey mom and a horse dad. Donkey's are the result of a horse mom and a donkey dad. Our vacation was fun, the ranch was great, but Bonsai...he was the life of the party. One day he was loose while we were saddling up our horses for a ride. He ran around teasing the other horses and just generally making a pest of himself - albeit a miniature pest. At one point he got so wound up he was running around and started jumping into our horse trailer. Now, no self respecting horse would of their own volition get into a horse trailer. Apparently Bonsai didn't get the memo from the real horses about willingly getting into a trailer. Perhaps this is why the horses all pinned their ears back when Bonsai came around? He continued to jump in, run around, jump out for the better part of 20 minutes. It wasn't until he found someone else to pester that he tired of the game. Bonsai was hilarious and obviously made a lasting impression on us.

Fast forward several months and we wake up on Saturday morning and my husband says “Let’s buy a miniature donkey.” Hmm. Ok. Oh but get this...he wanted to the donkey for me for my upcoming birthday. Some girls get jewelry, some girls get flowers. I get donkeys. So, as with all previous major life decisions we’ve undertaken in the last 10 years, I head to the Internet to get some information and hopefully to find *our* donkey. Our muse, our mascot.

You know how when you aren’t searching for something it is everywhere? It seems like I had previously come across zillions of donkeys in the past few months all needing good homes. On that Saturday morning, I couldn’t find a single big eared animal needing a home. Figures as soon as we start looking, there is a worldwide shortage of donkeys. Ok, maybe not necessarily a worldwide shortage. I kept my fingers on the keyboard and eventually I persevered. I came up with a few donkey leads. Our first stop in donkey shopping was a nearby town. Not just any town, but an affluent suburb of the big city where the list of neighborhood rules is a mile long and you must get permission to pull a weed in the yard. You know…the type of place that would kick us out in a heartbeat. However, there was an ad in the newspaper advertising miniature donkeys in Lakeway, Texas of all places. Who knew the even allowed donkeys in Lakeway? Ever the eternal optimists (and suckers) we hook up the 6-horse trailer to the truck and head to a suburban donkey farm. Unfortunately, by the time we got there (yeah, right) the jenny (girl) donkey had been sold, but lucky for us, he did have some cute little jacks (boys) still available. The donkeys were indeed cute. Really really cute. I mean they were practically the size of a chihuahua. How could the not be cute? Unfortunately, they were expensive. Real expensive. I will never forget my husband’s response when the guy told us he wanted $3000 for a particular donkey. My husband, being the smooth talker said "So, where are the like $300 donkeys.” See what I mean about getting run out of the neighborhood? We clearly didn't deserve a Lakeway donkey. What we needed was a donkey from the other side of the tracks...preferably the cheap side.

Disappointed and donkeyless we headed home. The next day we drove to San Saba, Texas to take a gander at a few donkeys. Again, by the time we got there many of the previously available donkeys had been sold. All except for two. One an expensive show donkey (um, not likely...see above) and the other…Violet. The donkey of all donkeys. The lover of all cookies oatmeal. The newest addition to our herd. I wish I could say it was love at first sight, but we picked Violet up in a blinding rainstorm. We had to pretty much pick her up and put her in the trailer-wet hair, mud and all. So much for donkeys getting into and out of trailers for fun. Apparently, Bonsai and Violet did not know one. Perhaps Violet read the memo from the real horses. Anyway, it was a struggle and Violet almost won. However we persevered and Violet came home with us.

My very own donkey. For my birthday no less. Luckily, the love came a day later when my new sweet girl hee-hawed at me from across the pasture! Nothing like a child's first words to warm a mom's heart.

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