I think I'm a little in love with parentheses. (A lot.)

We're back at school with gusto. (Dang! You bet.) I've been working on creating our own lapbook, one on the winter constellations and mythology. (Of course! It's what I do.) It's kind of challenging, and it's kind of a blast. So right now, I'm watching Weeds with the sound turned down, listening to the Rosebuds (holy cow, there are sooo many great NC bands these days, lucky us), and trying to do more with Photoshop than the usual cropping and whitening of backgrounds. I really just learned how to do a square, which is awfully just tragic to admit. Anyway, the lapbook...Once it's finished, I'll post it here. I've gotten the pocket, cards, and lesson done for Orion, as well as the basic intro about stars, constellations, and myth. My kids are pretty hip to the whole myth thing (because they're my kids and all) but I'm trying to make something comprehensive and shareable. If this turns out well, I'd like to make more lapbooks on mythology, polar exploration, architecture, photography, the space race, and Appalachia. Contain your excitement if you can.

The kids have spent the week so far learning about stars, making books on the Iroquois, creating Greek letter and phrase flash cards, adding valuable words to their Latin vocabulary (words so valuable I can't think of a single one right now, and they're also nouns, which thwart my Action Kid plans), (stupid nouns!), loving math/attempting to tolerate math/counting, writing, drawing, reading, and just being glad to be back at work. I gave them some pages to color (beeaautiful pages you can find here) over the break, and I think it was like an early Christmas for them. Yes! We really do get out. (We're going on a hike later this week, actually, because we're insane. It's going to be about 40 degrees, maybe, so it will be a very short hike. I should probably call it a jaunt, or an outdoors non-shopping excursion.)
There is a crazy-lookin' lady on PBS right now, so I'm going to turn the sound up and watch. I hope she's as intriguing as she looks. I actually have a plan for the next post (folk art follies!), and the thought of writing something cohesive here thrills me. Kicks!

2010.

The Fighting Chimeras* wish you a memorable, giddy, interesting, ebullient, colorful, all-your-dreams-come-true 2010!

(*The Well-Wishing Chimeras just doesn't sound tough, although it is so much more accurate. Don't fear us.)