Getting fit for the new school year

Okay so we finally got our Wii fit thingy last week - I say finally because I put a deposit on one back in May, We were supposed to get one by the end of June, and the local Gamestop actually coughed up one in the middle of August. They kept promising to call, and not doing it, and not holding them at all, and then saying things like "I didn't know we had anyone else still waiting" & (later) "But we have 72 people with a hold on it"(they admitted none of those were deposit people). They never honored that deposit by actually putting our name on one and holding it until I came in with the paperwork - until the day hubby managed to wander in while some were available and growled in their face about it. He stayed there and watched it until I could arrive.

I really wanted it to aid in my son's PE this year, but I wasn't in a super rush, as I had other kiddo books to buy etc. I truly didn't mind at first, but after awhile it was getting ridiculous. All in all, I am seriously inclined to do my pre-orders with somebody else. They honored the first few things I pre-ordered with them - but I can't honestly say that I felt they did right by us this time. I gotta wonder if those 72 other people had a better experience than I did.

But the good news is that we have one now, and its better than I'd hoped. Wii Fit has yoga, aerobics, balance games, and what they call 'strength training' - those seem to be 'regular' exercises. The kids both love doing their exercises indoor now, when the weather's too hot or mosquito-ish.

We didn't actually stop homeschooling this summer. Our kids covered the crucial subjects during these years of medical trial. In fact, they did very well on their end- of -year exams. I knew, however, they had some areas we really needed to work on when DH finally felt well enough for me to concentrate the way I felt was necessary. That turned out to be this year. So - as hubby got better, I got more into it. This effectively turned into summer homeschool, despite my concerns about bookworm burnout. Its gone pretty well. DS, in particular, has made a lot of progress.


Thankfully, the Wii fitness program does make the new school year feel - new. An effect that should only be intensified when the Teaching Textbook Math programs arrive. DS is looking forward to those. We did several of their lessons online and he felt they were much superior to the SOS math disks he had tried. Our son will be - actually already is - using Jensen's Grammer & ABeka I Comp, reading Huckleberry Finn (I'm using a collection of children's classics to start), studying basic Physics, and continuing the Spanish he ignored last year when I couldn't pay enough attention. Becka (DD) is officially off the public school's radar & did fine on her SAT. She is studying history, literature, logic lessons, etc - and continuing her CG stuff. Mom is enjoying the Wii fit program too, though Pat isn't officially 'studying' it as a kind of PE. We just finished our American history study and will start readings on the (European) Middle Ages asap. I am hoping to work in some real leather working soon. DS has some artistically ability, but is not as much into drawing as his sister. He prefers to work with his hands. We've done models & clay modeling to excess IMO. He's learned some practical home crafts, he's done one of those circuit board kits, but he's wanting to do something 'real' and, understandably, he doesn't mean a lot more sewing. Its time for 'guy stuff.' Hoping to work in some leather crafting for him soon. We have some leather, as it happens, and - if his orthodontist visit doesn't' break the bank, we may manage a small kit of tools soon. Hubby sounds reasonably enthused about giving a few lessons. Here's hoping!