Okay, so here's the thing... we school year round. September through until the end of August each school year, starting the new school year in September. So, our year looks a bit different than other peoples and that's OK.
Our summer schedule is kind of laid out with three weeks on and one week off of lessons each month (we do much the same in November and December). Usually we do the first three weeks of the month doing lessons and the last week of the month taking a break. This year we're doing a summer reading group using the book Give Your Child the World and each week is a different area of the world, we'll be doing this all summer long with no break weeks and are counting this as our History and Geography for the summer. We'll also be continuing with Exploring Nature with Children as our main Science/Nature spine this summer as well as using The Good and The Beautiful arthropod science unit (two lessons a week). We're going to be playing a few board games to keep the logic side of our brains happy. Those games include: Apples to Apples, Sequence for Kids, Scrabble Junior, Junior Trivia, and Brain Quest Presidents flash cards (to freshen our memories).
Math will be done five days a week on the weeks we're doing lessons. Language Arts (other than free reading and read a louds) will be done four days a week on the weeks that we're doing lessons. We'll be switching some curriculum come fall so we're just working with what we currently have.
It's already June and that means that we're in our first week on for this month! Two more to go and then a week off ... unless we get really caught up in what we're doing and then we won't take a break week this month.
July is the first three weeks on and the last week off unless family comes to visit from Texas ... then we'll take off whatever week they're going to be up here off.
August is pretty much always the first three weeks on with the last one being off ... and school not starting back in September until after Labor Day. This means we'll either have a four day first week back in September, or we'll take the first week off entirely and hit the books again after that.
Also in August ECJ will be finally taking his Driver's Education course!
Not a complicated schedule and with pretty much everything being touched on during the summer. ECJ still needs to finish Algebra 2 and Physics this year, YCJ needs to complete her Saxon math book, Peanut is finishing up her Seton math book and getting ready to go into Math You See next year at probably a lower level just so that she can build confidence and adjust to a new program. Next fall YCJ will be doing another round of Saxon but also working through the Life of Fred books that we have until pre-algebra (I still have to buy those and plan on her using them in eighth grade). ECJ will be working through more Life of Fred books, Discovery K12, Easy Peasy, and probably some dual enrollment classes with the college come fall.
Showing posts with label curriculum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label curriculum. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
Monday, September 4, 2017
In Our Small Space
Last year I wrote a post about our homeschooling area called The Little Table and pretty much everything that I wrote there is the same this year. Our house is about 1200 square feet and with five of us humans and four critters it can get a bit crowded at times. We have three bedrooms and two baths.
The front bedroom is where both of our girls sleep and the rabbit lives. With all of their furniture and toys in there there isn't much room for schooling.
The smallest room belongs to our son and he does do some schooling in his room ... choosing to do his work on his bed instead of at his desk for reasons known only to him.
Our dining room area is just big enough to house our small table and a curio cabinet in the corner ... this is where the girls do most of their school work, sitting on opposite sides of the table often with me sitting between them so I can help both of them out. The dining area is connected to the kitchen so I am never too far from my coffee.
Our living room houses not only the TV, couches, and coffee table ... but also my desk, computer, and two cabinets for our homeschooling items. Sometimes we do our reading on the couch or gathered together in a circle on the floor. This is where we play educational games and hang out together while drawing in our nature journals. Often we must contend with dogs laying in the middle of our games while we're in this room.
We don't do much schooling in the master bedroom, though it has happened that the campers have been at the foot of the bed learning while I've been laid up with a migraine and didn't feel well enough to get up. The master bedroom/bathroom is also where the cat hangs out ... so, if we're learning in there she's often sprawled out on top of somebody's book.
We take advantage of outside as often as we can. Learning takes place at our patio table, at local parks and zoos, on nature walks, even in our yard. Living in Michigan can make a good portion of the year uncomfortable outside, which is why we take advantage of it as often as we can.
We still do the majority of our school work at our little table. So many good memories have happened right around that table no matter where we have lived over the years. And some years it was a different table (the original is currently in storage in my in laws basement until we can get it refinished) ... but always learning has happened around a little table where we eat our meals and come together as a family.
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The front bedroom is where both of our girls sleep and the rabbit lives. With all of their furniture and toys in there there isn't much room for schooling.
The smallest room belongs to our son and he does do some schooling in his room ... choosing to do his work on his bed instead of at his desk for reasons known only to him.
Our dining room area is just big enough to house our small table and a curio cabinet in the corner ... this is where the girls do most of their school work, sitting on opposite sides of the table often with me sitting between them so I can help both of them out. The dining area is connected to the kitchen so I am never too far from my coffee.
Our living room houses not only the TV, couches, and coffee table ... but also my desk, computer, and two cabinets for our homeschooling items. Sometimes we do our reading on the couch or gathered together in a circle on the floor. This is where we play educational games and hang out together while drawing in our nature journals. Often we must contend with dogs laying in the middle of our games while we're in this room.
We don't do much schooling in the master bedroom, though it has happened that the campers have been at the foot of the bed learning while I've been laid up with a migraine and didn't feel well enough to get up. The master bedroom/bathroom is also where the cat hangs out ... so, if we're learning in there she's often sprawled out on top of somebody's book.
We take advantage of outside as often as we can. Learning takes place at our patio table, at local parks and zoos, on nature walks, even in our yard. Living in Michigan can make a good portion of the year uncomfortable outside, which is why we take advantage of it as often as we can.
We still do the majority of our school work at our little table. So many good memories have happened right around that table no matter where we have lived over the years. And some years it was a different table (the original is currently in storage in my in laws basement until we can get it refinished) ... but always learning has happened around a little table where we eat our meals and come together as a family.
Find us on Facebook here.
Linked up for the ihomeschool network's Not Back to School Blog Hop
Monday, August 7, 2017
2017 - 2018 Curriculum Choices
Every year I do a post about our curriculum choices for that school year, and this year is no different from any other year in that respect. What is different is my approach to this year, we're doing a lot more unit studies than any other previous year. This has me excited and nervous all over again, just like when we first started to homeschool and I really didn't have any idea of what I was doing. We tried a lot of different things that first year and I'm hopeful that this year we'll be able to stick to this plan and not have to abandon it as I'm really excited for the experience of unit studies for most of our subjects.
Peanut (8, going to be 9 in September) - third grade
Peanut (8, going to be 9 in September) - third grade
- English - we'll be using The Prairie Primer as the base of our Language Arts this year!!! We'll be reading through the whole Little House series together and doing worksheets that I pull off of the web for each book. Spelling words will come from The Good and The Beautiful language arts levels 1 - 3, as will grammar lessons.
- Handwriting - a combination of Handwriting Without Tears level 3 that I received from a good friend of mine and practice books from the Dollar Tree.
- Reading - this is an area we'll be focusing on quite a bit this year as Peanut struggles a little with reading. We'll be using some of the stuff from The Good and The Beautiful levels 1 - 3 and a selection of books by reading level from our local library. Our goal is for her to be reading completely independently by the end of the school year. We may also pull out Phonics Pathways again and go over it once more.
- Math - Math Lessons for a Living Education level 3 and some Life of Fred (starting with Apples) as we've not done any of the younger levels of Life of Fred. We've also been given a complete set (!) of Math You See Beta!!!!! Which we'll be working through. As math is one of Peanut's favorite subjects we'll see how this program works for her (we were also gifted parts of both Gamma and Delta sets as well).
- History - Notgrass America the Beautiful ... we received this set for free for review towards the end of last year, we'll be using it for the spine of our history (with The Prairie Primer as gap fillers) and I'll be writing a more in depth review later in the school year.
- Science - We'll be doing physical science this year from a book I was given for free that spans k - 8th grades ... we'll be picking and choosing units to study from it and I'll figure out which one we'll be starting with just before we head back to school on September 5th. We'll also be pulling science lessons out of The Prairie Primer. We'll also be doing nature journaling with Exploring Nature With Children, a full year long program.
- Physical Education - Family Time Fitness !!!! We've been given a free year of Family Time Fitness to check out and do a review on! I'm very excited about this because it'll be easier to keep active during the cold Michigan winters with this AND my one exercise DVD lol ... Peanut will also be doing soccer in the spring and possibly ballet classes
- Art - this will be pulled out of The Good and The Beautiful that we'll be doing as they have excellent art ... I'll also be pulling up how to draw videos off of YouTube to go along with whatever she wants to learn how to draw
- Bible - Just for Me, The Bible and catechism classes through our local parish
Peanut is our autistic angel so it's an amazing thing that after having to redo both preschool and kindergarten levels during her first grade year because she had forgotten everything (and redoing first grade year so she's a year "behind" by Michigan standards but right on track due to her birthday by many other states standards) that she's where she is now!! We don't worry about being behind or ahead with any of the campers, because we go at their pace. Peanut has just made very big strides in learning over the last couple of years and we're very proud of her! What a wonderful thing to be going into third grade with our youngest!
YCJ {Younger Cracker Jack (12)} - sixth grade
- English - we'll be using The Prairie Primer as the base of her language arts this year as well. Spelling will come from The Good and the Beautiful level 5, as well as her grammar lessons.
- Handwriting - we'll be doing copywork of our Bible study and select passages out of the Little House series as well as more practice with a workbook on our cursive
- Reading - YCJ still struggles with reading due to her dyslexia, but she is nearly on grade level now. So, we'll be concentrating on working on reading comprehension with her and letting her pick a new chapter book from the library every couple of weeks where she'll be required to give a book report on each one.
- Math - Saxon math 7/6 ... this is the only subject that she's advanced in so she's actually doing seventh grade math this year. We'll also be using the early Life of Fred books with her so that she'll be prepared to go through the Life of Fred pre-algebra books starting in the fall of 2018, she'll probably do Fractions over the summer of 2018
- History - Notgrass America the Beautiful with Peanut and pulling some studies out of the Prairie Primer
- Science - she'll be doing the same science as Peanut with just more required out of her work wise ... like research papers and extra studies. And of course, nature journaling.
- Physical Education - Family Time Fitness. YCJ will also likely be joining a ballet class during the spring and possibly softball
- Art - this will be pulled out of The Good and The Beautiful and she'll be working through a few how to draw books that we picked up
- Bible - Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul and catechism classes through our local parish
YCJ is our lovely dyslexic child who wouldn't let her diagnosis become what her definition is. She's worked hard on her reading over the years and is very close to being at grade level, which is such an achievement! Of course we'll be working on her reading still this year but I have no doubt that she'll be up to grade level by the end of the school year. We're very proud of her!
ECJ {Elder Cracker Jack (15)} - tenth grade
- English - this year I've made up the curriculum for his language arts. He'll be reading through a book of classic short stories, writing in a writing prompt book (that I found at a local store) that has over 200 writing prompts, and going through American Literature through Easy Peasy All in One High School. Also, going through Life of Fred Language Arts books. (1 credit)
- Math - he'll be working through three Life of Fred books, starting with finishing up Fractions (as a review), moving on to Beginning Algebra and then Advanced Algebra. Using Easy Peasy All in One High School Algebra 2 as well. (1 credit)
- History - The Good and The Beautiful History Level 1 (1 credit)
- Science - he'll be working through a Physics book that we were given for free (way older edition) and Easy Peasy All in One High School Physics with Lab ... if this doesn't work then we'll be using Guest Hollow's High School Conceptual Physics (which doesn't include the math aspect) (1 credit)
- Physical Education - Family Time Fitness and PE/Health 2 from Easy Peasy All in One High School (1 credit)
- Spanish - Easy Peasy All in One High School Spanish 2 and Duolingo (1 credit)
- Bible - Easy Peasy All in One High School Bible 2, Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul, and daily Bible readings (1 credit)
- Drivers Education - going through a local driving school (half a credit - fall class)
- Computer Coding - Going through Easy Peasy All in One High School using CodeAcademy (1 credit)
- American Government - the Everything American Government book ( half a credit - spring class)
This gives ECJ nine credit hours this year. He requested Computer Coding or it wouldn't be on his schedule this year. With his ADHD we've found a mixture of online and book learning to be perfect for keeping his attention, so we're going ahead with the same type of mix that we had last year. Some of the courses look like a lot for one kid to do (like how much is scheduled for language arts) but it's a subject that he excels in and will fly through the information.
Something that all three campers will be using this year again is Discovery K12 ... we don't do everything that they have scheduled each day but it's a good place to touch base to make sure that we're covering what needs covering. And often times it works for a great reinforcement of subjects already covered in other places that we work through. We'll also be using CNN 10 (formerly CNN Student News) for YCJ, ECJ will be watching the regular news with us nightly to keep up with current events, and Peanut will just get the highlights so she doesn't have to deal with the more depressing parts of the news just yet. CNN 10 is a fifteen minute daily news program whose target group is middle school and up, YCJ began watching it every day last year and ECJ began watching it several years ago. We'll also be working through, and reviewing Exploring Nature With Children year long nature study!!!
So, that's our current curriculum choices for the upcoming school year. Things for ECJ could change just depending on what ends up working for him. If the language arts curriculum that I've come up with doesn't work for him then we'll be moving on to The Good and The Beautiful high school level of language arts if it is released in time ... if not he'll be doing level 7. And I already listed above his options for Physics this year (another course that he requested). The girls will pretty much stay the same no matter what, if the unit study approach with The Prairie Primer doesn't work for us we'll simply drop it and move into the appropriate level of The Good and The Beautiful all the way.
Here's hoping that we have a wonderful and exciting year!!!!!
Thursday, July 13, 2017
Back to Summer Schedule
Friday we had a pretty easy going day. Daddy went into work for just a little while and when he got home we ran to the scrap yard. After the scrap yard Daddy and I ran some errands and picked up supper while we were out. Subway just sounded easy and yummy! After supper we did a movie marathon with the kids. We watched Cinderella 2, Cinderella 3, and Fantastic Beasts. I'll be honest, I fell asleep during the last one and the girls went to bed before we even started the last one. Daddy was the only one who made it through the entire movie. He says that it was pretty good ... I wasn't really impressed by it ... too slow for my tastes. This was also Grandma and Papa's 45th wedding anniversary.
On Saturday our morning was very relaxed. Daddy and I lounged together with cups of coffee until about noon, when he went off to work. He had to do some painting that was on a deadline or he probably wouldn't have gone into work this day. The girls took baths and showers as soon as Daddy left for work and then jumped on their electronics. ECJ sort of floated from one activity to another all day long. After the girls hair dried they went outside to play because the weather was in the 70s instead of too hot to enjoy and they weren't going to let an opportunity pass. After Daddy got home I made chicken thighs in the electric frying pan with green beans and potatoes on the side. We capped the night off by watching Rescue Rabbit together as a family. We ended up all in bed, snug and comfy, by ten PM.
Sunday rolled around and we actually made it to mass this week! Our rest of the morning was spent relaxing together and then getting ready to go to Grandma and Papa's house. All of the family was coming over for a ham supper and Grandma wanted a bit of help to extend the table out to full length, get all of the folding chairs and one of the folding tables set up, and a bit of help in the kitchen. They're lovely house was filled to the rim with seven adults, two teenagers, and eight children ... not to mention the dog. It was a wonderful supper. We left shortly after everyone was finished eating and went scrapping. Sunday night is an important scrap night for us and we don't usually miss it no matter what else is going on. Plus, we need the money for sure from the scrapping to get the truck fixed while it's still under warranty and the warranty is running out this month. By the time we got home it was time for medicines and bedtime. We were going back to our regularly scheduled summer lessons this week and I wanted them all ready to do some lessons on Monday morning.
This feels like a good place to mention that we're experimenting with The Good and The Beautiful language arts this summer. Since the girls will be doing The Prairie Primer unit study on the Little House books starting in the fall I figured that this was a good time to get our feet wet so to speak with The Good and The Beautiful. I recently discovered this curriculum and wanted to dive in head first with everything. We'll be using it a lot in future years if we like the curriculum this summer. Did I mention that levels one - five of language arts you can get as free downloads? This is how we're getting our feet wet without spending a ton of money on curriculum that we may or may not like and also that we're not going to use for a whole school year. ECJ will be doing History 1 through The Good and The Beautiful in the fall. He'll only get through History 3 before he graduates (only the first two years of history are released just now) but I think that he'll have a great grasp of history this way and we'll be using this history for the girls after next year ... and throughout the rest of their school careers. The prices for The Good and The Beautiful, and the quality, make it a great fit for us. Hopefully it fits with our learning styles as well. We'll see.
Monday we literally watched movies and played video games all day long. We woke up and it was raining and Daddy had a migraine. So, he called into work and rested all day (after a quick trip for a shot and some meds). We watched several movies together: Seven Witches, The Shallows, and Resident Evil, the Final Chapter. The campers watched several other movies in the living room while Daddy and I stayed ensconced in our cave like bedroom. In the afternoon the rain cleared up for a little while and Daddy and ECJ unpacked Sunday's scrap out of the truck while I cooked supper. Then we all ate and turned on Spongebob Squarepants to relax to in the evening ... actually, I took a long bath and read while they watched Spongebob. We did go up and pick up YCJ's new glasses from SVS Vision since they'd come in several days early. She's really thrilled with her choice for this year.
On Tuesday Daddy was up early to go to work and he woke ECJ up to do his chores and begin taking apart the scrap. I stayed in bed and dozed on and off for another hour and a half. ECJ instantly came inside after Daddy left for work and when Daddy stopped back in around 10 AM he got caught having not taken anything apart yet. So, as Daddy headed back off to work ECJ went outside (finally) to take apart the scrap and the girls and I did lessons for the day. It wasn't a hard days worth of lessons but two weeks off had them grumbling about simple things. After Daddy got home from work, and the lessons were all done, Daddy finished taking everything apart and then we reloaded the truck with scrap and headed to the scrap yard. In the afternoon we had an appointment at our church that only took a few minutes and then we were off scrapping again. We did a stop at the local ice cream shop for a treat for the campers that went with us scrapping and then picked up pizza for supper on the way home.
Wednesday we all woke up a little late but quickly got ready for the day. Chores were done quickly and breakfast was eaten and then Daddy went to work. Noni showed up shortly before 11 AM as she was taking us to the movies to see Dispicible Me 3. After the movie Noni helped us grab ECJ's new glasses and then we were off home. Noni had to leave right away and Daddy was already home from work but down with a migraine. After a few hours he and I went scrapping locally. The campers made themselves supper of Spaghetti O's and Daddy and I grabbed something quick while we were out.
On Thursday Daddy left marginally early for work. I say marginally because it wasn't really early but I had trouble getting out of bed. ECJ began taking apart scrap while the girls and I did lessons. Lessons were done inside of an hour and I even got to fold a load of towels while the girls worked on their math! It was hot and muggy outside, thanks to a large rain storm the night before. So instead of going outside the girls opted to play in their room while ECJ continued to take apart scrap. I moved the truck from it's parking spot to right by the house for him to have easier access to the scrap, this is a big deal because I do not drive ... ever! Seriously, I decided not to drive several years ago and gave my license up by choice so that I wouldn't ever be tempted. I am not a good driver and way to anxious behind the wheel. Daddy came home around 1:30 PM to take me to an appointment in the next town over. When we got back we finished loading the truck back up with scrap and then went to the scrap yard. After which he and I went scrapping again while the campers stayed home. ECJ did his school lessons while we were gone and then all three campers played together nicely (Peanut is our little tattle tale when they don't).
No major plans for this weekend but we'll see what happens. On an exciting (for us) side note we were gifted with a one year basic membership to Family Time Fitness and we'll be sharing some of the stuff we do with it throughout the year!!!
Find us on Facebook here.
Linked up for Weekly Wrap Up and Homeschool Highlights this week.
On Saturday our morning was very relaxed. Daddy and I lounged together with cups of coffee until about noon, when he went off to work. He had to do some painting that was on a deadline or he probably wouldn't have gone into work this day. The girls took baths and showers as soon as Daddy left for work and then jumped on their electronics. ECJ sort of floated from one activity to another all day long. After the girls hair dried they went outside to play because the weather was in the 70s instead of too hot to enjoy and they weren't going to let an opportunity pass. After Daddy got home I made chicken thighs in the electric frying pan with green beans and potatoes on the side. We capped the night off by watching Rescue Rabbit together as a family. We ended up all in bed, snug and comfy, by ten PM.
Sunday rolled around and we actually made it to mass this week! Our rest of the morning was spent relaxing together and then getting ready to go to Grandma and Papa's house. All of the family was coming over for a ham supper and Grandma wanted a bit of help to extend the table out to full length, get all of the folding chairs and one of the folding tables set up, and a bit of help in the kitchen. They're lovely house was filled to the rim with seven adults, two teenagers, and eight children ... not to mention the dog. It was a wonderful supper. We left shortly after everyone was finished eating and went scrapping. Sunday night is an important scrap night for us and we don't usually miss it no matter what else is going on. Plus, we need the money for sure from the scrapping to get the truck fixed while it's still under warranty and the warranty is running out this month. By the time we got home it was time for medicines and bedtime. We were going back to our regularly scheduled summer lessons this week and I wanted them all ready to do some lessons on Monday morning.
This feels like a good place to mention that we're experimenting with The Good and The Beautiful language arts this summer. Since the girls will be doing The Prairie Primer unit study on the Little House books starting in the fall I figured that this was a good time to get our feet wet so to speak with The Good and The Beautiful. I recently discovered this curriculum and wanted to dive in head first with everything. We'll be using it a lot in future years if we like the curriculum this summer. Did I mention that levels one - five of language arts you can get as free downloads? This is how we're getting our feet wet without spending a ton of money on curriculum that we may or may not like and also that we're not going to use for a whole school year. ECJ will be doing History 1 through The Good and The Beautiful in the fall. He'll only get through History 3 before he graduates (only the first two years of history are released just now) but I think that he'll have a great grasp of history this way and we'll be using this history for the girls after next year ... and throughout the rest of their school careers. The prices for The Good and The Beautiful, and the quality, make it a great fit for us. Hopefully it fits with our learning styles as well. We'll see.
Monday we literally watched movies and played video games all day long. We woke up and it was raining and Daddy had a migraine. So, he called into work and rested all day (after a quick trip for a shot and some meds). We watched several movies together: Seven Witches, The Shallows, and Resident Evil, the Final Chapter. The campers watched several other movies in the living room while Daddy and I stayed ensconced in our cave like bedroom. In the afternoon the rain cleared up for a little while and Daddy and ECJ unpacked Sunday's scrap out of the truck while I cooked supper. Then we all ate and turned on Spongebob Squarepants to relax to in the evening ... actually, I took a long bath and read while they watched Spongebob. We did go up and pick up YCJ's new glasses from SVS Vision since they'd come in several days early. She's really thrilled with her choice for this year.
On Tuesday Daddy was up early to go to work and he woke ECJ up to do his chores and begin taking apart the scrap. I stayed in bed and dozed on and off for another hour and a half. ECJ instantly came inside after Daddy left for work and when Daddy stopped back in around 10 AM he got caught having not taken anything apart yet. So, as Daddy headed back off to work ECJ went outside (finally) to take apart the scrap and the girls and I did lessons for the day. It wasn't a hard days worth of lessons but two weeks off had them grumbling about simple things. After Daddy got home from work, and the lessons were all done, Daddy finished taking everything apart and then we reloaded the truck with scrap and headed to the scrap yard. In the afternoon we had an appointment at our church that only took a few minutes and then we were off scrapping again. We did a stop at the local ice cream shop for a treat for the campers that went with us scrapping and then picked up pizza for supper on the way home.
Wednesday we all woke up a little late but quickly got ready for the day. Chores were done quickly and breakfast was eaten and then Daddy went to work. Noni showed up shortly before 11 AM as she was taking us to the movies to see Dispicible Me 3. After the movie Noni helped us grab ECJ's new glasses and then we were off home. Noni had to leave right away and Daddy was already home from work but down with a migraine. After a few hours he and I went scrapping locally. The campers made themselves supper of Spaghetti O's and Daddy and I grabbed something quick while we were out.
On Thursday Daddy left marginally early for work. I say marginally because it wasn't really early but I had trouble getting out of bed. ECJ began taking apart scrap while the girls and I did lessons. Lessons were done inside of an hour and I even got to fold a load of towels while the girls worked on their math! It was hot and muggy outside, thanks to a large rain storm the night before. So instead of going outside the girls opted to play in their room while ECJ continued to take apart scrap. I moved the truck from it's parking spot to right by the house for him to have easier access to the scrap, this is a big deal because I do not drive ... ever! Seriously, I decided not to drive several years ago and gave my license up by choice so that I wouldn't ever be tempted. I am not a good driver and way to anxious behind the wheel. Daddy came home around 1:30 PM to take me to an appointment in the next town over. When we got back we finished loading the truck back up with scrap and then went to the scrap yard. After which he and I went scrapping again while the campers stayed home. ECJ did his school lessons while we were gone and then all three campers played together nicely (Peanut is our little tattle tale when they don't).
No major plans for this weekend but we'll see what happens. On an exciting (for us) side note we were gifted with a one year basic membership to Family Time Fitness and we'll be sharing some of the stuff we do with it throughout the year!!!
Find us on Facebook here.
Linked up for Weekly Wrap Up and Homeschool Highlights this week.
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
Spanish for You
Spanish for You
Curriculum Review
* I received a copy of this product for free to use with my family and review.
I have received nothing else for doing this review and the opinions
within it are entirely my own. *
I received my copy of Spanish for You: Conversaciones in late September or early October and I had intended to begin using it right away. Unfortunately my printer was out of ink and with the holidays coming up I just couldn't purchase more ink right away. I used their free mini lessons (found here) since I had already printed out most of them before my printer ran dry. The girls (Peanut, age 8 and second grade ... YCJ, age 11 and fifth grade) seemed to enjoy these mini lessons and the Spanish videos that I could find on YouTube so I figured that the actual work for Spanish for You would be a big success as well!
I figured wrong.
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| Peanut working on a worksheet. |
But, before I get to that let me say a few things. This is a good product and would be awesome in the right hands to teach children with. We've only been working the lesson plans for about a month now (finally got ink in my printer) and everything is pretty neatly laid out for you so that you can do lessons without having to think about it. Go to that week's lessons, print off the worksheets you need for that week, make sure you have the flashcards ready and your audio ready and boom! You're in business.
I even got ECJ involved by having him color and cut out the entire packet of flashcards so that I wouldn't have to worry about not having them for the next lesson and so on. I spent the time before getting the ink for my printer going over and over the lesson plans and the text book thinking to myself that this was going to be awesome.
I was wrong.
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| YCJ working with flashcards. |
They're not enjoying it. They're really disliking doing it. As a matter of fact they're not even learning Spanish while using it! I don't know what I could be doing wrong but neither of them like this program whatsoever. It's the least favorite thing in lessons right now and they whine, complain, and pout every time we go to do anything involving it. This is not a good fit for my family. And I had so hoped that it would be. I have been drooling over this curriculum for a little over a year and a half and I am so disappointed that it's not going to work for us.
Ah well, back to the drawing board. YouTube and Duolingo (for Spanish) here we come! ECJ has been using Duolingo for most of the year to go along with the Spanish he's studying so I made YCJ an account as well for her to give it a try. Peanut's a bit young for it yet but that's ok. I'll find something that will work without the tears.
I'm sure this is a great program for some families. Just not mine.
Friday, January 27, 2017
A New Era
Friday we ended up only doing our computer lessons because we watched history in the making. We got up early and watched the entire day's worth of coverage of the inauguration. The campers actually seemed to enjoy it and weren't overly bored by all the pomp and ceremony. It's a new era for the United States with a new president in office and my prayers are with him, his family, and our country as a whole that we can be wise and stop all of this useless confrontation. Give him a chance because wanting him to fail is like wanting to have our country fail. I taught the girls how to make my tuna noodle casserole and we had a blast doing it. Turned out really well too, if you want the recipe for it simply check out this week's menu plan. We were going to do our book work on Saturday but I woke up with the worst migraine that I've had in years and so Daddy took me to the hospital. There they gave me a slurry of medicines with a saline IV and I dozed off for awhile before they released me three hours later with only a minor headache, my Imitrex that I had at home took care of the rest of the migraine and I felt over 100% better.Sunday we had to go to early mass for Peanut to receive her scapular with the rest of the second grade catechist class. For us it was really early as we usually go to the 11:30 AM mass and this one was at 8:30! YIKES! After we got home and I drank my third cup of coffee for the day we quickly did our math and language arts assignments from Friday, along with writing out our rough draft of our letters to President Trump that we'll be sending out next week sometime. After lessons (which we got done in under an hour) I made a filling lunch (early for us because we'd woken up so early and eaten breakfast before mass) of pancakes and turkey bacon. After a few more minutes of rest I decided that we should make use of the food coloring left over from our oozing pumpkins and some shaving cream that Daddy doesn't use to make some tie died paper. I saw it on Facebook and figured that it was an easy way of using up some objects that we don't need and making something fun for the girls (although ECJ did one as well). Here's the steps and how they turned out:
1) Put down a good layer of shaving cream
2) Add dots of food coloring
3) Swirl food coloring in shaving cream
4) Lay paper on top and kind of press down lightly
5) Sqeegee off the leftover shaving cream from the paper
6) Let paper dry, repeat previous steps as you wait until you're finished
Ta-Da!
While we were making these papers Daddy was making spaghetti and turkey meatballs for the crock pot for supper. After we'd cleaned up from art I made a chocolate cake for desert, then we spent the rest of the afternoon watching Netflix together while I (you guessed it) crocheted.
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| Peanut working on a shape project. |
Monday when we normally would have been sleeping until around 9 AM, I woke up around 6:45 for the day (after Peanut had joined us because of a nightmare around 4:30) and Daddy was up shortly after I was because he had an appointment out of town that morning. I waited until about quarter after eight before I began waking up the campers. Breakfast and chores out of the way before nine ... well, the girls still were eating dried cereal when we began our lessons just after nine. But, being that I was up and had almost a full pot of coffee in me I was ready to teach so we got started. By 10:30 we were finished with book lessons and Peanut had already finished with the computer lessons. Daddy came back in between appointments to eat some lunch and then he was off again. The Cracker Jack's finished up with their computer lessons and then we were completely done for the day. The campers then did their individual reading and broke out the electronics to play on the drizzly afternoon. I spent the rest of the time Daddy was gone crocheting and watching Netflix (there's a series I'm watching that Daddy doesn't enjoy so I watch it while he isn't at home.). It was a near perfect Monday, the only thing that could have made it better was some sunshine to go with the mild temperatures so that the campers could have gone outside and played.
We called lessons off on Tuesday, it wasn't part of the plan but then again that's ok. I had an appointment at noon that took an hour, by the time I got home the campers had done their daily reading and chores for the entire day (barring supper dishes and cleanup from supper) and we being so very well behaved. Considering that the girls had catechism that started at 5 PM and I had to get a turkey in the oven no later than 3:30 we agreed that it could be a day off of lessons. We also agreed that we'd be making the day up on Saturday this week. You may have noticed that we've sort of done that frequently this past year or so. That's OK too. The campers went out to play for a couple hours during the afternoon because even though it was damp out the weather was mild. The girls enjoyed themselves at catechism, seeing friends that they hadn't seen since Christmas time ... ECJ got some alone time and I made another crochet preemie hat (right on target to get 31 done this month just like I did last month!). So, all in all we had a really quiet day.
On Wednesday I woke up early. I mean like 5:30 early ya'll! I couldn't get back to sleep so I began looking into just what curriculum we might be using next year. There are so many options out there and I do this every year ... "Oh this looks good!", "Oh we have to try this!" , and "This is possibly the best sounding one ever!" Yup, I do it too. You are not alone in the curriculum search that we all fall prey to from time to time. Chances are I won't mix it up too much, but then again I just might ... after all ECJ is the only camper in High School level and it's really easy to do unit studies for the girls with some regular math and call it good. I'll get things nailed down before summer. BUT, speaking of curriculum, I have decided that ECJ might benefit from Life of Fred Algebra so I will be purchasing that before the end of February. I'm hoping that it'll help him get through Algebra without the frustration he's been feeling lately. We had a normal lesson day and leftovers for supper so all was good with the world. Some more outside time was in order as well because starting on Thursday we're supposed to have chilly weather again and this way they could maximize their outside time without being cold.
Thursday was the day that Noni came by to visit. Before she got there Daddy had to run Moragon to the vet because she had hurt her back leg and was limping. Moragon now weighs more than I do and is pushing the two hundred pound mark (pretty normal for a Mastiff) and so when he lifted her into the truck it was an awful strain. I ran with her to the store to grab soda, popcorn, chips, and a couple DVD rentals. We also grabbed some McDonald's for lunch which we don't often do so it was a real treat for the campers. We hung out and watched a couple movies together in the living room and had a blast. Daddy came home without Moragon during our movie day. It turns out that she not only tore her ACL but that she had an infection in her uterus that was so bad that if we hadn't taken her to the vet we would have lost her. She made it through surgery on her stomach just fine, the ACL reconstruction is to happen at a later date, and she'll be home sometime on Saturday.
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| We visited Moragon at the hospital Friday and she is recuperating well. |
Friday and Saturday we'll be doing more lessons and plugging along with what we do. No major plans other than trying to keep Moragon calm so that she can heal.
This week we learned about descriptive adjectives, whole numbers and fractions, Alaska and Hawaii becoming states, and broke out Daily Devotions for the girls and a Daily Bible study for ECJ (technically it's a whole year worth of Bible study meant for kids but I figured that he could use it first this year and YCJ will use it in 2018). Both books I got from the thrift store for twenty five cents! We're still plugging away with the science book I picked up from the thrift store a couple weeks ago and are now talking about our five senses and watching YouTube videos to go along with it. I also decided this week with ECJ having so many issues with Algebra 1 that I am going to buy him Life of Fred Beginning Algebra and see if that helps Algebra "click" for him. I'm also researching new curriculum choices for next year so I'll be blogging about my possible choices pretty soon. Keep an eye out for a review of what we've been using for Spanish next month.
What you may have missed this week:
Lots of Big Meals
My Dream
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Linked up this week with Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers for the Weekly Wrap Up.
Friday, November 18, 2016
Icky Sinuses
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| My portion of the free yarn. |
Monday Noni came out for a visit. We went shopping for some of the winter weather essentials you need in a snowy climate. Peanut got new socks (that's all that she needed). YCJ got new boots, new shoes, and new socks ... her feet went from a size 4 in June to a size 8 now!!! ECJ also got new boots and socks, as well as a new winter coat because his one from last year had ripped so it had been tossed out. We did some window shopping for Christmas, had lunch at McDonald's, and Noni bought each of the campers a tiny Nerf dart gun so that they could have mini battles. It was a fun day! But, Monday night Peanut came in and slept with us because her "throat felt funny".
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| Moragon in her service vest that I made for her. |
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| Moragon on her hind feet with Peanut hugging her. |
Tuesday we didn't do lessons because everyone woke up with something wrong with them. Daddy and I both woke up with migraines. Peanut's sinuses had let go to where her voice was froggy, her nose stuffy, and her throat sore. ECJ and YCJ both where a little stuffy as well. It was a simple call to say, "NOPE, no lessons today!" Everyone simply relaxed and took some medicine. We watched movies and played video games. I picked up my prescription for Imetrex and battled my migraine back to a dull roar.
On Wednesday (after another night of Peanut in the bed with Mommy and Daddy) we did some quick lessons just to get back into the swing of things. English and Math were all that were done text book wise and some online learning to round it out a little. Peanut sounded even worse this day but said that she wanted to do some school.
So, on Thursday we all woke up a little late ... we slept in until 10 am! Peanut sounded a little better but her nose was still running like a leaky faucet, here goes the second roll of toilet paper in less than a week used to blow noses. We concentrated on English and Math in our text book and did our online lessons. Nothing very exciting happened because we decided to stay inside and relax so that we'd all feel better (couldn't just make Peanut stay inside especially when she insists that she is NOT sick).
I got a lot of crochet done this week, including a scrap blues baby blanket that I have no one in particular to give it to. Lots of Christmas ornaments (7!) and work on December decorations for a wreath I intend to make and a table top centerpiece. Friday should look much like Wednesday and Thursday except for the fact that we'll be making a library run sometime during the day.
It's lovely that we got some work done this week even though we weren't feeling good.
Here's two posts that I wrote this week:
The No Good (Bad days)
Homeschool Highway (Book Review)
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Joined up with Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers for the Weekly Wrap Up.
Friday, October 28, 2016
Reflections
I've spent much of the past week reflecting on life, religion, and our plans for the future. Sometimes we change those plans, sometimes we just adapt a few bits of the plan to fit the larger picture, and sometimes we start from scratch. Life is full of wonders and beauty if only we open our eyes and our hearts to see it.
So, this week I am starting off with a small prayer that I found in a book called Seek Me with all Your Heart, written by Beth Wiseman. It's a fictional book telling a small part of an Amish family's journey. The following prayer is one that the main character starts her day off with even when she's feeling abandoned by God...
Over the weekend we spent much of our time reading together, watching Netflix, and playing outside. The weather here in Michigan is a bit chill at the moment now that Fall is in full swing. But we're enjoying every minute that we can get outside before we have frigid temperatures. I worked on several crochet decorations for Fall and Christmas, the campers actually got along for most of the weekend even when discussing their favorite video games and their different ways of approaching the challenges in said games, and Daddy got to relax. Poor Daddy has been feeling out of sorts for over a week now with a migraine that just won't stop. My reflection of the entire weekend is that when you have your family little else matters... Sick or well, as long as you have your loved ones cherish every moment.
Monday we began our regular five day school week. Book lessons and computer lessons were completed within just a few hours and that left time for the campers to do some of the things that they wanted to. YCJ finished another chapter book, Peanut colored several more pages in her favorite coloring book, and ECJ got to spend time in his room without his sisters "bothering" him. Daddy and I watched a NCIS marathon on Netflix while I worked on larger pot holders that fit Daddy's hands better than the original ones I made (original ones are the red ones, the new ones are the green ones).
Tuesday we didn't do lessons in favor of relaxing and watching Netflix together. We had catechism that evening so it makes for a really long day. We're not all back from catechism until after 8:30 PM!
So, Wednesday we did double lessons. This is not as hard as it sounds and the campers voted to do this so that they wouldn't have any lessons over the weekend. The day practically flew by and we were still done with book lessons in about three hours and our online lessons only took an hour. When they buckle down they can get a lot done. Considering that I still had half a crock pot full of sausage and sour kraut we made Wednesday night a leftover night. Which left my evening free for talking with Daddy, watching more NCIS on Netflix, and crocheting some Christmas ornaments.
Thursday we did our lessons in record time! The girls watched Magic School Bus The Human Body again. Not because I'd asked them to but because they actually enjoy watching it. YCJ not as much as Peanut, but any excuse for TV during the day is a good one for her. We don't have cable so we watch antenna TV most of the time or Netflix. The campers don't watch much TV at all. They each have their favorite shows and we make sure to remind them each week when their show is on so they don't get upset about missing it. Yes, if we didn't remind them that it was time they usually forget about it about half of the time.
This has been a challenging week to say the least. As I look back and reflect on it I find many things that upset me. Each of the campers pulled an attitude at least twice this week, they're not perfect and neither is our family. Someone, we haven't figured out who, set bread soaked in antifreeze next to our porch steps in an attempt to poison our dogs. Thankfully we're vigilant and neither dog even licked the bread. Things could have been very bad. And Daddy and I both quit smoking this week! So our attitudes weren't the best but I'm very proud of us for having quit again. Perhaps this time it'll stick.
I have so many things to be thankful for each and every day. Some days with the hustle and bustle of daily life, I forget that each day is a gift. But, each day I'm gifted with life, I wake up to a loving family, we have a roof over our head, and we're in relatively good health most of the time. Life is good and God is everywhere ... you just have to take the time to look.
Linking up this week with Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers for the Weekly Wrap Up
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So, this week I am starting off with a small prayer that I found in a book called Seek Me with all Your Heart, written by Beth Wiseman. It's a fictional book telling a small part of an Amish family's journey. The following prayer is one that the main character starts her day off with even when she's feeling abandoned by God...
Good morning, Lord. ?You are ushering in another day,
untouched and freshly new. So here I come to ask You, God, if
You'll renew me too? Forgive the many errors that I made yesterday
and let me try again, dear God, to walk closer in Thy way.
But, Father, I am well aware I can't make it on my own, so take
my hand and hold it tight, for I can't walk alone.
This simple little prayer, no matter where it actually began, has touched my heart over the last week and I find myself seeking God's hand to help me walk down the streets of my life. I hope that in some small way it has touched you in some way as well.
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| Two pumpkins, one with a breast cancer ribbon. |
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| Teal pumpkin, represents an allergy-free option for trick or treating. |
Monday we began our regular five day school week. Book lessons and computer lessons were completed within just a few hours and that left time for the campers to do some of the things that they wanted to. YCJ finished another chapter book, Peanut colored several more pages in her favorite coloring book, and ECJ got to spend time in his room without his sisters "bothering" him. Daddy and I watched a NCIS marathon on Netflix while I worked on larger pot holders that fit Daddy's hands better than the original ones I made (original ones are the red ones, the new ones are the green ones).Tuesday we didn't do lessons in favor of relaxing and watching Netflix together. We had catechism that evening so it makes for a really long day. We're not all back from catechism until after 8:30 PM!
So, Wednesday we did double lessons. This is not as hard as it sounds and the campers voted to do this so that they wouldn't have any lessons over the weekend. The day practically flew by and we were still done with book lessons in about three hours and our online lessons only took an hour. When they buckle down they can get a lot done. Considering that I still had half a crock pot full of sausage and sour kraut we made Wednesday night a leftover night. Which left my evening free for talking with Daddy, watching more NCIS on Netflix, and crocheting some Christmas ornaments. |
| An envelope for a letter to Santa Christmas ornament |
Thursday we did our lessons in record time! The girls watched Magic School Bus The Human Body again. Not because I'd asked them to but because they actually enjoy watching it. YCJ not as much as Peanut, but any excuse for TV during the day is a good one for her. We don't have cable so we watch antenna TV most of the time or Netflix. The campers don't watch much TV at all. They each have their favorite shows and we make sure to remind them each week when their show is on so they don't get upset about missing it. Yes, if we didn't remind them that it was time they usually forget about it about half of the time.
This has been a challenging week to say the least. As I look back and reflect on it I find many things that upset me. Each of the campers pulled an attitude at least twice this week, they're not perfect and neither is our family. Someone, we haven't figured out who, set bread soaked in antifreeze next to our porch steps in an attempt to poison our dogs. Thankfully we're vigilant and neither dog even licked the bread. Things could have been very bad. And Daddy and I both quit smoking this week! So our attitudes weren't the best but I'm very proud of us for having quit again. Perhaps this time it'll stick.
I have so many things to be thankful for each and every day. Some days with the hustle and bustle of daily life, I forget that each day is a gift. But, each day I'm gifted with life, I wake up to a loving family, we have a roof over our head, and we're in relatively good health most of the time. Life is good and God is everywhere ... you just have to take the time to look.
Linking up this week with Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers for the Weekly Wrap Up
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Friday, September 30, 2016
Much to do
Every week I break this down into what we did almost each day. Well, before I get into that I wanted to do a little list about what each child is basically learning right now.
ECJ is plugging away at writing compositions and reports (which is one of his least favorite things to do, write a comic book = great ... write a report for me = frustration), Algebra which he's getting without any issues he's plugging away at his college level Intermediate Algebra and seeming to enjoy it. As for science we're working on the basics again for general Earth science with a splash of chemistry and robotics tossed in. And for history he's learning about Early American History again, no matter how many times we go over it history just isn't one of his strong suits and he doesn't retain it for very long. For civics, along with learning about the presidential elections by watching the news and asking questions, he watches CNN Student News each day just to catch up on what he misses from the regular news (which he finds hard to sit through due to the time it takes, welcome back ADHD tendencies).
YCJ and Peanut are both learning basically the same things, even though they're three grade levels apart! Sometimes it just works like that when using curriculum from the same company for both grades. In Language Arts we're reviewing all the sight words for spelling all the way from Pre-K up to whichever grade each girl is in and then they'll get their own spelling words. This means that YCJ will have a longer review period than Peanut. They're both working through their text books from Seton and covering punctuation right now as well as doing daily copy work from the Bible. YCJ is reading through the Magic Treehouse series and doing some worksheets that go along with each book that I found here. While Peanut is enjoying reviewing and learning from Teach Your Monster to Read, currently it's her favorite part of the day. Both girls are in the review stages of Math so they're doing each day's assignments with no issues. And for History both girls are also doing Early American History starting with the Revolutionary War ... we covered this in part last year as well but plan on delving much deeper into it this year and moving more slowly through the pioneer times. As for Science we're doing another week on the human body this week ... I'd determined that we hadn't quite gotten enough covered about it last week for me to be pleased.
So, what did we do this week? Well, this past weekend we really didn't have anything planned. I crocheted and postponed finishing both girls shrug sweaters for them to wear to church with their pretty dresses.Instead I turned my hook back to Christmas gifts and gifts for friends and family because those little sweaters for the girls weren't exactly what I was looking for. I may still finish them but then again they may just sit there in my forgotten projects pile. ECJ caught up on the math he owed me and his Bible reading paragraphs. Both girls spent nearly every waking hour outside this weekend, the weather was much cooler and they are enjoying being able to run without sweating as much. They also discovered that Peanut's new tablet has mini videos they can access from some of their favorite cartoons, so when they were inside they were watching Sid the Science kid videos and My Little Pony.
Monday was a drizzly, chilly, Fall day and so once our lessons were done during the morning we spent the rest of the day watching educational movies, playing with electronics, and working on individual hobbies as the fancy struck. I managed to finish a Christmas gift for ECJ over the weekend so I made three new Christmas decorations for the tree and a Halloween pumpkin treat sack (of which I will be making many more, but most likely not giving them out to the nieces and nephews until next year). I also worked on Christmas crochet ornaments this week.
On Tuesday Noni came out and I called off book lessons for the day and even the online lessons. The only learning I required was to watch The Magic School Bus: Human Body and Liberty Kids ... along with daily required reading. Each child has a different amount of time they're required to read for each day: ECJ reads for an hour, YCJ reads for half an hour, and Peanut practices reading for fifteen to twenty minutes each day. Noni and I took the campers for a walk down on the boardwalk here in town and through some small shops. We picked up all three campers Halloween costumes at a consignment shop and checked that item off of the list. We also saw some awesome sidewalk art while we were walking. A quick stop at the dollar store and grabbed a few movies from RedBox and we were back home sipping on some hot coffee or hot chocolate depending on age.
After Noni left I styled both girls hair with items that Noni had given to us when she showed up. And made sure that they were presentable for their first catechism class that began at 5 PM. I also double checked the beef roast and veggies in the crock pot, love that kitchen appliance since it allows us to have a hot meal ready for us after any type of busy day. I can tell that Tuesdays will now be a crock pot night as next week ECJ and I also have religion classes in the evening and we won't be home until after 7:30! Late night dinners mean late morning Wednesdays but that's fine with me. Go with the flow homeschool scheduling!
Wednesday and Thursday we finished our lessons before 11 AM!! So Wednesday we had a movie marathon with the kids. We watched Zootopia, Open Season : Scared Silly, and Paddington! All were great movies! Thursday we did a library run and we home before noon. I picked up several movies to watch next week as part of our History work, several more books about the body (really is going to take about three weeks total to cover what I want to cover, they'll go through it in more detail in middle school levels, and another book or two to read. Daddy built up my bed so we no longer are going to be sleeping on the floor which I LOVE ! And then the rest of the drizzly rainy day we spent watching more movies together as a family. A bunch of them were Goosebumps movies but one was about The Flintstones meets The Jetsons!
So, it's now Thursday night and I'm getting ready for bed. I hope that all of y'all had a great week! I'm also still working on more Christmas decorations, Fall/Halloween treat bags, and Christmas gifts in my crochet ... so, I may be up for an hour or two more while I crochet and relax.
And here's what we'er doing about ECJ's schooling.
And you can check out a day in our life here.
Linking up with Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers for the Weekly Wrap Up.
And on What's Making Your life Awesome
ECJ is plugging away at writing compositions and reports (which is one of his least favorite things to do, write a comic book = great ... write a report for me = frustration), Algebra which he's getting without any issues he's plugging away at his college level Intermediate Algebra and seeming to enjoy it. As for science we're working on the basics again for general Earth science with a splash of chemistry and robotics tossed in. And for history he's learning about Early American History again, no matter how many times we go over it history just isn't one of his strong suits and he doesn't retain it for very long. For civics, along with learning about the presidential elections by watching the news and asking questions, he watches CNN Student News each day just to catch up on what he misses from the regular news (which he finds hard to sit through due to the time it takes, welcome back ADHD tendencies).
YCJ and Peanut are both learning basically the same things, even though they're three grade levels apart! Sometimes it just works like that when using curriculum from the same company for both grades. In Language Arts we're reviewing all the sight words for spelling all the way from Pre-K up to whichever grade each girl is in and then they'll get their own spelling words. This means that YCJ will have a longer review period than Peanut. They're both working through their text books from Seton and covering punctuation right now as well as doing daily copy work from the Bible. YCJ is reading through the Magic Treehouse series and doing some worksheets that go along with each book that I found here. While Peanut is enjoying reviewing and learning from Teach Your Monster to Read, currently it's her favorite part of the day. Both girls are in the review stages of Math so they're doing each day's assignments with no issues. And for History both girls are also doing Early American History starting with the Revolutionary War ... we covered this in part last year as well but plan on delving much deeper into it this year and moving more slowly through the pioneer times. As for Science we're doing another week on the human body this week ... I'd determined that we hadn't quite gotten enough covered about it last week for me to be pleased.
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| Raichu Pokemon for ECJ |
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| Ornament |
So, what did we do this week? Well, this past weekend we really didn't have anything planned. I crocheted and postponed finishing both girls shrug sweaters for them to wear to church with their pretty dresses.Instead I turned my hook back to Christmas gifts and gifts for friends and family because those little sweaters for the girls weren't exactly what I was looking for. I may still finish them but then again they may just sit there in my forgotten projects pile. ECJ caught up on the math he owed me and his Bible reading paragraphs. Both girls spent nearly every waking hour outside this weekend, the weather was much cooler and they are enjoying being able to run without sweating as much. They also discovered that Peanut's new tablet has mini videos they can access from some of their favorite cartoons, so when they were inside they were watching Sid the Science kid videos and My Little Pony.
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| Front |
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| Back |
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| Pumpkin Treat bag |
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| Tree ornament |
Monday was a drizzly, chilly, Fall day and so once our lessons were done during the morning we spent the rest of the day watching educational movies, playing with electronics, and working on individual hobbies as the fancy struck. I managed to finish a Christmas gift for ECJ over the weekend so I made three new Christmas decorations for the tree and a Halloween pumpkin treat sack (of which I will be making many more, but most likely not giving them out to the nieces and nephews until next year). I also worked on Christmas crochet ornaments this week.
On Tuesday Noni came out and I called off book lessons for the day and even the online lessons. The only learning I required was to watch The Magic School Bus: Human Body and Liberty Kids ... along with daily required reading. Each child has a different amount of time they're required to read for each day: ECJ reads for an hour, YCJ reads for half an hour, and Peanut practices reading for fifteen to twenty minutes each day. Noni and I took the campers for a walk down on the boardwalk here in town and through some small shops. We picked up all three campers Halloween costumes at a consignment shop and checked that item off of the list. We also saw some awesome sidewalk art while we were walking. A quick stop at the dollar store and grabbed a few movies from RedBox and we were back home sipping on some hot coffee or hot chocolate depending on age.
After Noni left I styled both girls hair with items that Noni had given to us when she showed up. And made sure that they were presentable for their first catechism class that began at 5 PM. I also double checked the beef roast and veggies in the crock pot, love that kitchen appliance since it allows us to have a hot meal ready for us after any type of busy day. I can tell that Tuesdays will now be a crock pot night as next week ECJ and I also have religion classes in the evening and we won't be home until after 7:30! Late night dinners mean late morning Wednesdays but that's fine with me. Go with the flow homeschool scheduling!
Wednesday and Thursday we finished our lessons before 11 AM!! So Wednesday we had a movie marathon with the kids. We watched Zootopia, Open Season : Scared Silly, and Paddington! All were great movies! Thursday we did a library run and we home before noon. I picked up several movies to watch next week as part of our History work, several more books about the body (really is going to take about three weeks total to cover what I want to cover, they'll go through it in more detail in middle school levels, and another book or two to read. Daddy built up my bed so we no longer are going to be sleeping on the floor which I LOVE ! And then the rest of the drizzly rainy day we spent watching more movies together as a family. A bunch of them were Goosebumps movies but one was about The Flintstones meets The Jetsons!So, it's now Thursday night and I'm getting ready for bed. I hope that all of y'all had a great week! I'm also still working on more Christmas decorations, Fall/Halloween treat bags, and Christmas gifts in my crochet ... so, I may be up for an hour or two more while I crochet and relax.
And here's what we'er doing about ECJ's schooling.
And you can check out a day in our life here.
Linking up with Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers for the Weekly Wrap Up.
And on What's Making Your life Awesome
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