What wonderfully educational activities have my urchins been involved in this week since we’re “out of school” and taking our summer break?

I wish I could say it’s been all cultural enrichment and self-guided educational pursuits here at Semicolon Ranch, but to tell the truth, sometimes they’re all picking at each other and teasing and annoying and driving me straight to the looney bin, wherever that may be. However, whan I stop and think about it, we have managed to do some things that might be considered “educational” in the midst of the summer restlessness and provocations.

1. We’ve been listening to Adventures in Odyssey non-stop for the past two days. I’m rather tired of Mr. Whittaker and Company, but I don’t think the urchins are yet. We’ve managed to visit with Daniel (from the Bible), the founding fathers of the U.S., Abraham Lincoln, and various other historical and Biblical figures and heroes. We’ve also heard stories that illustrate the meaning of becoming a responsible adult, the dangers of lying and cheating, the value of gratitude, and the pitfalls of materialism. I’ve also developed a desire to gag Eugene and make him be quiet.

2. Soap-carving. Engineer Husband was going to let the seven year old carve WOOD with a KNIFE. “Free range children,” he said to me. (Why did I have him read that review?) Anyway, I suggested soap as safer and easier alternative, and the rest is history —and soap flakes, everywhere. They haven’t really carved anything too recognizable, but they have had a blast turning the bars of soap into soap shavings. It’s cheap fun, and we now have a large jar of soap flakes sitting in each of our bathrooms. Oh, and the house smells pretty good.

3. We watched the BBC miniseries of Dickens’ Oliver Twist, starting on Monday night and finishing up on Tuesday. I thought it was a good production, but I’m not sure how true it is to the book since I haven’t read the book in twenty years. Oliver was a little more pugnacious in this version than I remembered him, and Engineer Husband said the whole thing was darker and more violent than he remembered the story to be. However, I think his only standard for comparison is Oliver!, the musical.

4. Z-baby (age 7) made supper with a little help from her older sister (age 14). It was Z-baby’s idea to make supper herself, and she planned the menu: pancakes. I suggested some bacon for the sake of adding a little protein to the meal, and Z-baby agreed.

5. Before Adventures in Odyssey, we were listening to the audiobook version of Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls WIlder. Z-baby, who still can’t read very well, says she’s “obsessed with listening to books.”

6. Brown Bear Daughter is studying for her tests in biology and algebra. She’s trying to test out of those two courses that she took this year at home so that she doesn’t have to repeat them in the public high school she’s planning to attend in the fall. She’ll be my first child to attend public school, and I’m excited/nervous for her.

7. Betsy-Bee read The Secret Language by Ursula Nordstrom on Monday when she went over to help her grandma with her laundry. Brown Bear Daughter re-read The Black Cauldron by Lloyd ALexander since one of those books that Z-baby was obsessed with last week was The Book of Three on CD.

8. I can’t get Karate Kid (12) to read anything right now for some reason. I think it’s just a phase he’s going through. He wants to socialize (Facebook, telephone, in person), and he needs to work and burn some energy. However, our lawn mower is in the shop. Any suggestions for the reading or the work?

9. We’re still reading a chapter a day, more of less, of The Hobbit. However, the only one who’s still with me is Z-baby. It makes me sad to hear my sweet Karate Kid say that The Hobbit is “boring” (“I’ve already read that book, and I don’t read books over again.”), but I take consolation from this quote courtesy of Palm Tree Pundit.
10. I’m pushing myself through a book about the history of modern Cambodia/Kampuchea, as per this quotation from The Common Room. It’s interesting, but the details about the Communist Party intrigues and the sheer brutality and wickedness of Pol Pot and his cohorts sometimes is overwhelming. I know a lot more about Southeast Asia, particularly Indochina than I ever did before. Who knew that the Vietnamese have a reputation as really bad dancers?

So, maybe we’re not really driving one another to distraction. And maybe we’ll all survive summer break. But I did threaten to start the new school year on July 20th.