August 1, 2011  1:24 p.m.

It’s the first day of August, and that means another hot month is done and gone, and 2-1/2 more months of heat are left.  In other words, we are just past the halfway mark of our hot and humid season, and I, for one, have had quite enough by now.  Even our swimming pool is warmer than it ought to be.

We have completed all our summer camps, including the music camp at our church’s music conservatory.  I still haven’t been given a photo of Sweet Girl, but she spent part of her camp time learning a few tunes on the harp.  It was her first experience playing a real harp, and she enjoyed it quite a bit.  One day, she even got to play a full adult size harp.  Also, Chips got to play the church organ, and he really liked this.  A highlight of camp for him was getting to climb up at 18 ft. ladder to enter one of the organ chambers, where many of the 4,000 + pipes are installed.  He thought this was pretty neat.  Only 5 children in his age group had signed up for organ, so he got a lot of personalized attention that week.

One special event we enjoyed last week was a summer field trip with our homeschool fellowship group.  I don’t have any photos because we weren’t allowed to take any, but we had the privilege of visiting an air traffic control tower!!  This was completely up Chips’ alley, and the rest of us, too.  We thoroughly enjoyed this tremendous sneak peek into the daily experience of such a very important career.  I wish I had photos to show you all!!!

We are now back to the Calvert routine, and this has always been difficult because we have had three different Mondays that were first lesson-days after camp, and that has always been an adjustment.  But for now, all is well.

I must include some photos from these summer months. 

Earth Science was part of the Calvert 6th grade course this summer, and although I am not a great fan of this branch of science, I have to say that the series of science texts used in Calvert’s middle school courses goes a long way toward making even Earth Science interesting.  Chips has a rock exhibit all ready for our homeschool “show and tell” day.

Sweet Girl continues to be our budding and willing writer, and often will retreat to her room and desk to do so.

When it is too hot to even go in the pool (yes, this does happen some days) we are thankful for air conditioning and old toys that we haven’t pulled out in awhile.

On Sabbath mornings, Chips has been known to pass the time waiting to leave for church in creative pursuits.  Here he has learned that he can earn two tokens at the same time by combining mental and physical exercise into one activity – earning him a red token (for physical exercise) and a green token (for mental exercise) simultaneously.

Sweet Girl is always so happy on those days following a library trip.  Here, she is reading The Wind in the Willows.

Even an optometrist visit in the rain can be an adventure.  Especially when you get those crazy looking “post dilation” shades.  Like who needs them when it’s raining?!?!?  Goofy kids!

One evening, we saw the Winton Family  at our church for an evening of Christian bluegrass music, and a southern style supper.

And now, a few Calvert highlights.  For those of you who haven’t seen our word wall in awhile, it is still alive and well.  We have had a word wall since Chips has been in first grade.  This is its sixth year in service, and its last year, too.  Sweet Girl will not have a word wall in Fourth Grade.  She really doesn’t need one now, but it really makes our school room look productive, don’t you think?  (And I think she would be disappointed if we didn’t keep it going).  After each ATS test, I always clear off the old words to make room for the new.  Or else, our wall would have long been overrun with words.

I was so proud of Chips volunteering to help Sweet Girl with her research report.  He offered to type it up for her if she dictated it.  There they are going at it together.  It turned out to be a great research report on our local community’s history and geography.  This was a Calvert third grade project for Social Studies.

We still do these little art assignments, too.  Like making clay pinch pots and coil pots.

While waiting for Daddy to get home from work, a break away from electronic technology to rediscover a tabletop game.

And here is the photo we were given of Chips playing the organ inside our church sanctuary.   You can see the delight in his face!

So that is how we have been enduring the heat.  How about you?