Yellow Wallpaper

I have to admit that for the last few years the thought of summer vacation has made me feel a little panicky. We have a great routine during the school year and S-Boogie really thrives in the classroom with her friends. Being at home together can sometimes be difficult for all of us, as I'm sure is true in many families. Thankfully this summer is going by quickly and so far it is going well. Last year I tried making a schedule that included a variety of different things, including some learning time. If I had been better about following it, it might have worked out. Instead our enthusiasm petered out after a week or two and it fell by the wayside. Even though I read a lot of different blog posts from other families with varying levels of structure for the summer, this year I felt like I would rather keep things more simple and flexible. So far it is working out well. I typed up some basic 'summer guidelines' for the kids. They have certain things they have to get done in th

A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley I first read this book a number of years ago and hated it. I read it again and realized that I still hate it. None of the characters in it are very likeable ; that's not really a good reason to hate a book, but I realized after reading it this time is that they are incomprehensible. I know the author is trying to model the book after the story of King Lear , but that mostly means a book filled with characters that think and act in ways that seem unbelievable and off-putting. Thinking in Pictures by Temple Grandin I enjoyed this book and it gave me a lot to think about. There were parts where the tone felt uneven, and I had expected it to be more purely memoir rather than a mix of memoir and advice, but generally I thought it was a good read. The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan This was our book club read this month and it led into a really great discussion. Although the book is billed as looking at both sides, in reality it does lean a bit more towards