Week's Work: Away from Home Edition

This past week we have been up in Oregon on one of our combined visit/work trips.   Kevin's main work contact is based up here, and he likes to check in with them about once a month, and our two oldest boys live up here (one working, and one going to college) so we stay with them and Kevin works.     We used to live in this particular city, before we moved to California, so I get a chance to visit old friends and old haunts.  Homeschooling is nice because you can do this sort of thing.

When we come here, I usually visit thrift stores and look for good books and board games.   Sometimes I get lucky with the books, sometimes not, but we've built up a small collection of good literary or popular reading material and some good games.       This gives them something to do with their time besides hang out on the computer.   Paddy has books strewn everywhere he customarily sits.   Right now I see Boxcar Children and Narnia Chronicles; yesterday it was some of the Green Knowe books.    He also has his Kindle but generally saves it for the car trip, which is 11+ hours.    He's already read everything on there (bad mom -- need to update, but have been procrastinating).

For this week out of town I made simplified weekly checklists for Paddy and Kieron.   Here's Paddy's (Kieron's is similar)

Checklist for Paddy

He could do most/all of it by himself but usually chooses to work next to me so he can interact while he works (social learner).   Quizlet allows us to keep reviewing which as I mentioned is sort of key to using Memoria Press and also to my goals this year.    

Ever since I was sick and phased back on normal activity, I've been reading way more.    Maybe I've mentioned this before, but I am following this Through the Great Books plan.    This post explains the plan.   I am up to here.   I will probably end up inflicting some of the works on my high schooler because they are so interesting.  

I have also been reading master's theses from Loyola eCommons.    Who would read a master's thesis if they were not obliged to do so by the terms of their job description?  Indeed, but some of these theses have titles like Quintilian and the Jesuit Ratio Studiorum, and this particular one is from 1939, so you see, it's not so bad after all.