A Common Shepherdess

As many people around the country are enjoying the cool fall weather and the beautiful changing leaves, we are emerging from our air conditioned homes and swimming pools. The weather is finally cooling off and the humidity has dropped. This is what our classroom looked like Thursday morning.

I think fall has finally come to the Valley of the Sun. Yesterday it was only 94 degrees. Yes, *only*! After supper the whole family went for a long walk. I think that is the first walk we've taken since spring. By Friday the high temperature might not even make it into the 90s. It is so beautiful! We are remembering why we like it here. This morning before we start school, the kids and I will walk over to a nearby park. I promised the kids we would go to the park as soon as the weather was cooler. This morning when we woke up the temperature was in the high 60s. We turned the A/C off and opened all the windows. Wow, I have missed this weather! And more walks mean I can drop a few pounds. Since the community pools have closed here during the week, there is nothing to do when it is hot but stay inside the motorhome. Not good for the waistline!

Our third child and oldest daughter turned four today. She loves to swim. Her damaged, chlorine- and sun-bleached hair proves that to anyone who sees her. This year I had to make a mermaid cake for our little mermaid. The cake barely fit onto our little RV table!

Today we did a nature study...finally! Um, it actually took place inside . (It looks like maybe by the end of next week our high temps will be below 100.) Nature came to us. We couldn't possibly have ignored that. We studied an insect--the white-lined sphinx moth. The other night it flew into our motorhome and my husband killed it (after it landed on our 6-year-old son's nose and there was much screaming and flailing of arms by said 6-year-old). I saved it for today when we could take a closer look at it. I think Charlotte Mason advocates that each child have his or her own nature notebook. We will have to work on that. Right now I do the writing and we all sketch our own picture. From upper left, going clockwise, we have my sketch, my 9-year-old's sketch, my 6-year-old's sketch and my 3 (4 on Sunday!) year-old's sketch. My 6-year-old made sure to include the moth's broken wing. Poor moth. We also learned how the animal kingdom is classified.

I'm hesitant to buy certain fresh vegetables at the grocery store. I'm used to eating green beans fresh from the garden. Green beans from the store are usually tough. And peaches from the store? Forget it! I came across a recipe that sounded so good I had to buy some fresh beans. I'm glad I did! The beans were nice and tender and they tasted wonderful! Here is the recipe I found at Meals Matter : Green Beans and Pan-Roasted Red Onions 5 cups water 1 lb green beans, trimmed 1 Tbsp olive oil 3 red onions, each cut into 8 wedges (I used 3 very small onions) 1/2 cup chicken broth 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar 2 tsp brown sugar 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp black pepper Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan; add beans. Cook 6 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain; keep warm. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions; saute 8 minutes or until browned. Add broth; cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in vinegar and remaining ingredients. Stir in bean

I've been inspired by other blogs, like My 5 Wolf Cubs , to start doing a weekly report. This is my first report but our 5th week of school. It won't be an in-depth look at everything we do. Just an example of some of the work the kids have been doing. For Art, our oldest (our 9 yo son) is studying the painter Pieter Bruegel this term. Art is his favorite subject. He loves to draw and look at other paintings. When we looked at our first painting, he said, "Do I get to draw this?!" I said, "Sure!" This is his rendition of Bruegel's Landscape with the Fall of Icarus . He added a couple of embellishments (like the big ? above Icarus' leg and the fish checking him out). Here is Bruegel's original painting: Drawing a detailed picture is not something our 6 yo son would enjoy. He likes to do copywork. It's simple and straight-forward. He is learning cursive letters. Starting on Monday we will be using composition books for copywork. Th