The next 6 weeks

We've got about 6 weeks of actual school left, I think. The 6th week is when the 16yo will be finishing his exams and we are probably attending a fun day that week. The week after that, the 16yo is heading off to work, I think.

So, in those 6 weeks, I want to try to accomplish something. The past while has been rough--too many things going on and feeling like there's no way to say no to so many of them (kids' activities, family get-togethers...) School has taken the back burner a bit. I want to go out with a bang though!

I'm thinking more and more that I need to include more structure for my two. My 10yo would work more if he had someone to work with, but his sister (my 13yo) wouldn't want to and the other one would be my 3yo niece. I could put him in charge of presenting things to her. ;)

Charlotte Mason has been on my mind a lot. I don't know that I would ever implement a full CM schedule BUT I can't help thinking: CM-style mornings (although, perhaps, a little more choice allowed to my kids than CM would normally allow) and then more self-directed afternoons, which I think is what Charlotte Mason actually advocated.

Dd wants more structure. She's been saying this for sometime. I try to give her things, but then there are little meltdowns or she hates what I give her. Not always, but a lot of the time. Maybe I just have to stop worrying about her reactions. I want her to enjoy learning, but maybe a lot of this is just habit and difficulty in moving beyond her comfort zone a bit. CM is a perfect way to give her more structure. At the same time, I find myself wondering a bit how to approach everything, especially next year. She might go to high school the year after that, to try out an alternative program. She wants next year to be a "high school prep" year where she has to buckle down and really apply herself.

(Sorry if I seem to be all over the place. I've been running a fever on and off today, am tired and should probably be going to bed. lol)

Anyhow, the next 6 weeks, I'd like to start taking steps in that direction. Simply Charlotte Mason says to start with using living books for literature and history, and start incorporating oral narrations. I don't know that I really want to use English resources, but I can't say I know what to use for resources in French, despite a CM French group that just got started up. I guess I don't really know what would be some living books in French for these nor where to start! I would love, actually, to start with Canadian history. The Dear Canada (or something like that) books are translated into French, I believe, but they aren't dd's interest. (Here I am again worrying if she'll be interested or not!) Ok, scrap the interest level. The whole point is to start short lessons and following with narration. What to do with ds? I'm sure I could find a similar book in French about a boy from the past. If not, I could always hand him over Farmer Boy.

I'm so tired. I think I need to go to bed.