I have always loved California poppies, and this spring a hill near our home was covered in them. It is amazing how green California hills get after a single rainfall. We still need rain, but April has been a mostly-kind month for my family – even if I got attacked by yet another respiratory bug this week. My fingers are crossed that the rest of the family will be as immune to this bug as they were to the last bug I caught.
Setting Goals for May 2015
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I knew I needed to keep April goals simple, and doing so paid off. The kids and I had a wonderful visit with my brother and his family; two-year-old Anna still asks to “go to Uncle J’s house all day today” pretty much every day. I finished my photography website – last night, because I had it down as a goal. That is why I set these goals! The kids and I spent a fair bit of time outside, but maybe not as much as I would have liked. I finished up this cute doll for my niece. I made some homemade cards, but need to send them off! If there was another handmade gift in the works, I have apparently forgotten what it was.
The kids’ music practicing is going really well, thanks to my mom teaching the kids piano (Johnny and Emma) and violin (Lily) over the internet! She then emails them detailed practice sheets, and they are pretty good about checking off their practicing every day. It is so neat to see them learning! We started the lessons over Google Hangout, and then switched to Skype because we had less of a lag with Skype.
What was April like in your home?
Hosted by Mama Smiles, Multi Crafting Mummy, 3 Dinosaurs, and Something 2 Offer.
Here are my goals for May
I am absolutely thrilled that Emma’s teacher has decided not to give her students homework for the rest of the year – in keeping with research that shows that children do not benefit from homework. Johnny has a very reasonable ten minutes of reading per day, and Lily’s teacher has never assigned homework. With more time to relax and play together, I am really looking forward to May! Here are a few things I want to be sure to enjoy:
- A visit with Mike’s sister. This will be her first time visiting us in California. The kids are so excited to see their aunt! Character trait: thankful
- Watching our silkworms grow. We had eight, and one didn’t make it. I’m hoping the remaining seven manage to stay alive. So far, so good. Character trait: curious
- Find a meaningful way to tell school teachers thank you before the end of the year. Character trait: thankful and kind
- Organize my desk. Character trait: helpful
MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
April was busy for us with a birthday and a trip to the states. This month I’m looking forward to a visit from one of my bestest friends!
Visits from friends are wonderful!
My goal for May is to set some goals for June :)
Sounds like a great plan!
I love how your goals make me think about mine and through your lens, I feel more relaxed about them. I love the goals of thankfulness and simplicity too. A good reminder for me!
Hooray!
My goal is to get my family outside into nature for at least 30 minutes every day! We can do it!
I’ll link up so I have some more accountability! :)
~Lee
What a wonderful goal!
Organizing my desk has been my to do list for a while now too.
It makes a big difference for me when it’s neat!
How wonderful to have a hill covered in poppies near you! Your photography portfolio is impressive. Well done ticking the website design off your list. :) I didn’t realise your mom is teaching three of your kids… so wonderful!
Terrific news about Emma’s teacher not giving homework the rest of the year – for a moment I forgot your school year ends soon and thought it was just getting going like it is here in Australia. Maybe next year she can start the homework-free time even earlier… we can hope this sort of thinking catches up with the research.
Our oven is fully installed and functional, our old fireplace box has been removed and sold, and I had a successful meeting with the homeschool moderator this month, so I’m counting it a success. During May I am hoping to get a new gas fireplace installed before the weather gets chilly, get our bicycles hung up somehow out of the rain, and also start a different homeschool memorisation curriculum.
Your oven looks wonderful! I hope they get the gas fireplace in before it gets too cold, and I hope you blog if you find a good bike hanging solution.
I am really lucky to have my mom teaching three of my kids now. She is wonderful!
We are looking forward to May too – I am hoping to hit my weight goal by the end of the month – 1.5 pounds to go :)
Good luck – you are nearly there, and that is very impressive!
I hope you feel better soon! How very apt that you mention cleaning off your desk… My house is remarkably spotless at the moment — except for the disaster of a “desk” that I’m sitting at presently ;)
Congratulations on finishing the website — it looks great!
Thanks! My desk is halfway clean now after this weekend – now to finish and KEEP it clean…
Fantastic goals and I love your photography MaryAnne – great looking portfolio as well. I haven’t set my goals yet for next month thinking about what we actually want to accomplish that is reasonable!
Thank you, Cerys! Good luck figuring out what you want to/can get done in May!
Thank you for reminding me about teacher gifts! My son loves his TK teacher and she is well deserving of our thanks.
April has been nuts—money was tight due to random reasons, so I’m hoping May will be more normal. I’m looking forward to harvesting the potted spinach we grew and watching the swiss chard grow. My eldest is also learning about geography in school so I borrowed a bunch of books around that theme. Hoping May will be calmer for us!
I hope you do get a calmer and low-stress May!