6th Week 17/18

Over the weekend Papa gave us all a scare and went into the hospital overnight. It ended up being an inner ear infection which caused an episode of vertigo which had caused him to fall. This happened Friday morning. By Sunday afternoon he was feeling up to a quick visit from us, so the girls (including SweetPea) along with Daddy and I stopped by Grandma and Papa's house to visit. We grabbed them some fruit from the store while we were at it because Papa was out of his fruit that he eats with breakfast. We then went scrapping for a bit and stopped at two parks where the campers and their niece had an absolute blast playing!

This past week was a catch-up week for us. We've been off schedule for a couple of weeks so we used this week to catch up on lessons really quick. This meant that we only had two days worth of formal lessons using the text books ... but we had a wonderful nature walk and then a really fun evening of painting pumpkins together. This week in Exploring Nature with Children it was pumpkin week! Next week, due to there being five weeks in this month, we'll be having a break week from this awesome curriculum. If you haven't purchased it yet then you might want to do so ... the price is going up at the end of October.

Painting pumpkins

We are still in the review stage with the girl's work so they're not learning much of anything new except that Peanut is now able to multiply 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4's up to 9 ... sometimes with help and sometimes all on her own. I think that it is time to purchase Times Tales for her. I have heard wonderful things about this DVD and figure that it certainly cannot hurt for her to try it. Perhaps she'll be able to multiply faster than I can after watching this DVD a few times. ECJ is still struggling with his creative writing ... but he's resigned that it's part of his curriculum this year. He also began having guitar lessons this week with a friend of ours who is giving him lessons for free (this is WONDERFUL!). 

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5th Week 17/18

Saturday I went with Daddy first thing in the morning to drop off some scrap at the scrap yard and then we stopped at a store on the way home. Daddy had an appointment a couple of towns over so he went to that while Monkey took her hubby to a job interview and then to put in another application here in town while I watched SweetPea (and of course the campers). After Daddy got home we did a couple more quick errands and then brought home Taco Bell for supper. Followed that up with a late evening trip to get some ice cream for everyone and then it was time for everyone to start getting ready for bed. Though neither SweetPea nor Peanut slept very well this night.

Photo bombed while
peeling potatoes!

On Sunday we all pretty much slept in and didn't end up going to mass. Daddy and I did a tiny bit of scrapping just around our house (down the road a bit) and then came home. The campers had done all of their chores and were getting ready for lunch when we got back. Daddy made stuffing and stuffed the turkey for supper this night before taking a nap. I updated the blog and crocheted while Monkey, SweetPea, her hubby, and the campers settled in to watch movies for the majority of the afternoon while the turkey baked ... avoiding the severe storms that were expected (though we mainly only saw the high winds). Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and spinach were what were on the menu for supper. The girls all got their medicine and were in bed kind of early this night because SweetPea had skipped her nap (on purpose this was done so that she'd sleep better).

Playing with Littlest Pet
Shops while SweetPea
sleeps.

Monday Monkey's hubby had an interview in the morning and got the job. All of us were awake and the campers and I were doing lessons when he came home from his interview. After lessons we all basically did what we always do (except for a quick run to the next town for an errand) until Daddy came home from work and then he and I went scrapping a bit. Tuesday was pretty much the same thing just done over again. I didn't have to run to the next town to do anything this day so that was a bonus and the day went pretty much exactly as planned. We did not go scrapping this evening as it really wasn't worth it.

On Wednesday  after chores and breakfast we did some lessons and then spent the day hanging out again. After Daddy got home from work he and I took the girls with us to meet up with a friend and then, after dropping the girls back off at the house with some pizza, we went scrapping. Supper this night was homemade potato soup. 

Leaf drawing by Peanut
for last week's nature
study.

So, on Thursday, we had informal lessons all day long while Daddy and I went to appointments in the next town over followed by a run to the scrap yard after taking apart scrap and reloading the truck. Daddy and I had several places to go in the afternoon and evening so we were in and out of the house until med time. After meds, and a quick run for bananas and grapes by Daddy and I, the campers all went to sleep.

Tree drawing by Peanut for
this week's nature
study.

Now it is Friday morning. I have no lesson plans written for today ... we'll be doing our nature walk and study. I have an errand to run with Monkey around the middle of the day and Daddy will be going down to visit Grandma and Papa by himself this evening. I haven't made plans for supper tonight yet (I'll get to that) but I've already sewn my king size comforter where Moragon ripped it apart last night and have thrown it into the laundry to start. We don't have spectacular plans for the rest of the day or the weekend but we'll be busy I'm sure.

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4th Week 17/18

Saturday was a busy, interesting, exciting, and thrilling day. We woke up and Daddy and I ran a couple of errands in the next big town over and then came home. While we were gone the campers had done their chores for the most part (we were to find hidden stashes of dirt later as we were cleaning). Then Daddy and I spent the majority of the rest of the day cleaning the house, removing carpet tiles that just caught the rabbit mess and made it heck to clean up, taking some building supplies out of the house to the trash, and generally making our house a lot more clean. We were surprised late that evening by our eldest daughter calling and saying that she was here in Michigan. We drove out to meet her and have her follow her back to our house and didn't get home until around three in the morning.

On Sunday we tried to wake up early to get to Grandma and Papa's church, but that just wasn't going to happen. We actually woke up a bit too late for mass at our own church. BUT, we spent some time together with our daughter, son in law, and granddaughter. We did a little scrapping around our house, then loaded up the girls (including our granddaughter) and did a little more scrapping down by Grandma and Papa's house, finally we visited with Grandma and Papa for a bit (where our daughter and son in law met up with us). After that Daddy took our son in law and ECJ back out scrapping again while all of us girls came back to the house. We did manage to stop by a park while we were out with the girls scrapping. I made a chocolate poke cake with chocolate/raspberry frosting for desert this night. We had Daddy's chili this night for supper.

Monday Daddy had to go to work first thing in the morning, the campers and I did lessons while Daddy was at work, and of course laundry was done. After lessons we did some more cleaning, ECJ and our son in law took apart scrap with Daddy as soon as he got home ... and then Daddy and I ran to the scrap yard. After we got home and relaxed for awhile Monkey (my eldest daughter) made homemade chicken nuggets and mac and cheese for supper for everyone but Daddy and I. Daddy and I had fried zucchini for supper this night.

On Tuesday we spent most of the day relaxing after lessons, chores, and baths for all of the girls in the house. We ate leftovers for supper this night and Daddy and the guys replaced the back breaks on the truck. All in all it was a pretty easy going day. Wednesday went pretty much as expected, we took the day off of lessons because Daddy was in and out of the house most of the day and hanging out with us ... so we took advantage of it. Daddy and I ate fried zucchini and some tomato/onion/cucumber salad for supper. Bed time has been a process of staggering SweetPea (my granddaughter) and the girls bed times because they're all sleeping in the same room.

Thursday we did lessons right after chores and breakfast. Lessons didn't take very long and Daddy was home pretty quickly from work. We picked up the girls from the house and went scrapping, stopped at a park and played and did a nature study of fall leaves (from Exploring Nature with Children) for our nature study this week. We got home relatively early and picked up pizza for supper, gave the Peanut her medicine, made sure that YCJ took her medicine, and then the campers watched Despicable Me with Monkey and her husband while SweetPea went to bed.

On Friday we didn't do lessons again. Monkey took me to my doctor appointment and then we cleaned the house while Daddy was at work and ECJ and Monkey's hubby took apart the scrap. When Daddy got home he and I went to the scrap yard. We stopped at a couple of stores on the way home and then Daddy picked up Monkey's hubby (he'll get a nickname next week lol) and took him to pick up more scrap from a customer. Monkey and I took SweetPea to the store with us to pick up pull-ups and some yarn ... we left the campers at home to relax. Soon I'll be making baked chicken legs and some green bean casserole plus some corn for supper and we'll be following our new nighttime routine.

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Shortened Third Week 17/18

Friday we rounded out the week of lessons and got them all finished by around 11:30 in the morning. Daddy was at work and I followed lessons with some laundry and vacuuming. After we had everything straightened up I went into my room to crochet, this being Friday the campers have FULL access to their electronics for the weekend ... this means that once lessons are finished on Friday there are no restrictions to their electronic devices again until Sunday night. I had no major projects to finish with my crochet, just wanted to work on my gift for a friend who likes lemons. After Daddy got home he and I ran to the store, when we came home I doctored the cooked chicken that I'd had going in the crock pot for chicken casserole, I shredded the chicken and then added it to a couple of creamy soups and some cheese with noodles. It turned out very well!

On Saturday we hung out around the house with each other. Watched a lot of Netflix and chilled. Sunday we went to mass and then went scrapping near our house followed by a trip down to visit Grandma and Papa. After a quick visit where we did a couple of things that Grandma needed help getting done we went scrapping around their house. We stopped and bought everyone a soda pop and stopped at two parks while we were out.

Monday we were scheduled to do lessons, but instead took apart scrap and cleaned the house and bedrooms. It's about that time of year that we begin to go through all of the clothing that we have and donate what we no longer fit or no longer like ... also we switch out the summer clothing for the fall and winter clothing. ECJ took apart most of the scrap while the girls worked on cleaning their room. I vacuumed the house and did some laundry. After Daddy got home from work he and I ran to the scrap yard and then Daddy went back to work for a little while. Later we picked up some pizza for the campers for supper and got ourselves some fish from Long John Silver's. Our evening was spent watching Netflix, eating popcorn, and attempting to relax.

On Tuesday Daddy and I had to run some errands first thing in the morning and we didn't get home until around quarter to noon. Just as soon as we got home Daddy headed off to work and the campers and I made sure that lessons got accomplished. It only took about an hour or so to get all of our lessons done for the day. After Daddy got back from work he and I went scrapping in the next town over and once we got home I made bratwurst and french fries for supper. After supper we watched Step Dogs on Netflix and ate ice cream for desert.

Wednesday rolled around and we woke up pretty early. Noni came by after Daddy went to work and we went to the mall a couple of towns over from us to have lunch and window shop. After a quick trip around the merry-go-round we went to Walmart where I bought some shoes for ECJ and Peanut and some groceries for the house since we were running low. After Noni dropped us off and Daddy got home from work Daddy and I went scrapping down near Grandma and Papa's house, which is about an hour ride from our house but there wasn't much scrap around us this night. When we got home I made homemade tacos for supper.

So, on Thursday we all got up relatively early ... but not too early. Daddy had an appointment a few towns over so after he left to go to that ECJ started unloading the scrap from the truck and taking apart the scrap. Peanut turned on Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and curled up on the love seat to watch it. YCJ watched Netflix after taking care of Sugar Baby the rabbit and cleaning her cage. I did folded a load of laundry and started another load after changing mine and Daddy's bed linens. After Daddy got back from his appointment we loaded up the truck and went to the scrap yard. The campers stayed home and hung out together. We ran a few errands and then came home and relaxed. YCJ made pancakes for the campers for supper and I made Daddy and I some fried zucchini.

Friday, the end of the week has come. Daddy went off to work right after drinking some coffee, the campers and I started lessons, and I threw a load of laundry into the washer. Lessons were done within two hours, including the girls drawing their renditions of the harvest moon for Exploring Nature With Children. ...

Currently I'm finishing up this blog post while the dryer hums along and the girls eat popcorn for a snack. ECJ is in his room hanging out. After Daddy gets home I have a few errands that I must run and tonight we'll likely be eating homemade tacos again (so yummy!). 

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Second Week 17/18

Six of the 8 giant zucchini that we picked up
from the cider mill.

Friday Daddy had to go to work, but first he and I enjoyed two cups of coffee in a relatively quiet house because only two of the campers were up... Peanut was watching a Monster High DVD that we just bought the girls the day before and ECJ was on his tablet reading a book in his room. After Daddy left for work it was breakfast, chores, and then helping Mommy clean the house time. Honestly, I think it's time we do a major purge and downsize our things again because we will be moving sometime in the next year. (The house that I talked about a few weeks ago we backed out of the deal due to some major repairs that we'd have to do before even moving into the house, but we're still looking for a house to purchase before the end of next spring.) With all of the organizing that could be done and the moving of the living room furniture to vacuum underneath the major amount of cleaning was done. Peanut and YCJ pulled out their electronic devices to watch some YouTube videos about Littlest Pet Shops, ECJ did the dishes and then was back on his tablet, and I worked on finishing a crochet project that I've been working on that's a Christmas gift for a dear friend of mine. When Daddy came home we loaded up the campers, stopped at a couple of places (one of which was the cider mill where we had a donut and cider lunch and picked up several HUGE zucchinis), and ended up at Grandma and Papa's house for a visit. We had Taco Bell for supper simply because by the time we got home nobody wanted to cook in the heat and we were looking for something quick that we don't eat that often. 

On Saturday we all woke up slowly between nine and ten in the morning. Daddy helped me strip and remake our bed, I threw the sheets in the washer, and Daddy went to his appointment a couple of towns over. ECJ went to cut one of his customers grass and the girls played with their electronic devices. I crocheted while Daddy was gone ... contemplating if I was going to go to the next craft fair here in town as a vendor. When Daddy got home he and I ran to the store to pick up some things we were running out of like dish soap and put some gas in the truck. Then we spent about an hour contemplating if we should take the dingy old carpet out of the living room ... even washing it doesn't help. But, with the temperatures in the 90's this weekend and us not having central air ... we decided against tearing out the carpet this weekend. It will be done another day. The rest of the evening we relaxed and then watched Homeward Bound as a family.

Sunday started out with mass, followed by some scrapping just north of town, and a trip to Grandma and Papa's house. We all visited for awhile and then Daddy and I left to go scrap down there, leaving the campers with Grandma and Papa ... they watched Nut Job while we were gone. After Daddy and I got back supper was ready, Grandma had made pulled pork for supper (we'd picked up the buns, some potato salad, and chips on our way to their house). Supper was great!! When we got home the campers all scattered to do what they wanted, meaning electronics, while Daddy and I turned on Netflix (we started our subscription back up in anticipation of cooler weather) and binge watched Fuller House season three while I crocheted some potholders.

Monday can be found by following this link ... A Day in the Life 2017.

Neat looking fallen
tree that we saw on our nature
walk. 

On Tuesday we decided to call off book lessons, even though I'd just planned the whole week the day before, in favor of going to the park and taking our nature walk for the International Homeschool Spirit Week out and about day. When we got home the campers did some nature journaling while Daddy was at work. I updated the blog and then started on a project for a friend by crocheting lemons for her patio which is lemon themed. I had an appointment at 1 PM which Daddy came home from work to take me to, he then went back to work for a little while. After Daddy came home we all relaxed a bit and hung out together. I made breakfast for supper: fried potatoes, sunny side up eggs, and toast. The girls and I read more of Little Women at bed time, Peanut fell asleep almost at the end of the chapter.

Super hero masks

Wednesday we all got up pretty early, but not too early, and got our chores and breakfast out of the way. I started my day with two cups of coffee and a load of laundry in both the washer and the dryer. After Daddy went to work the campers and I got busy with lessons. We were done before noon this day and then I had them all make super hero masks (for International Homeschool Spirit Week's Super Hero Day) for either themselves or their pokemon. We're having so much fun with this spirit week! After lessons the girls helped me move the couches so that I could vacuum underneath them, I folded a load of laundry while the girls put the clothing from the washer into the dryer, and then we all helped Daddy take apart a small load of scrap he'd picked up from around town. I ran with Daddy to the scrap yard while the campers stayed home and cleaned their rooms and then Daddy dropped me off and headed back to work for a little bit. When Daddy got back he and I headed out scrapping while the campers camped out in our bedroom watching Netflix. We surprised the campers by picking up Little Caesar's Pizza for supper while we were out.

So, Thursday, we woke up to a perfectly crisp fall day. After most of the week being in the high 80's and low 90's our high for Thursday was just 66*!!! I LOVE fall, y'all!! This day was crazy hair day for the International Homeschool Spirit Week and I just couldn't get any of the campers to do anything crazy with their hair this day. So, no crazy hair pictures. We all woke up early, Daddy had an appointment a couple of towns over and ECJ had to get busy (after chores and breakfast) taking apart scrap. The girls at breakfast and did their morning chores leisurely while I updated this blog post. We called lessons off for the day except for the pond study that we were doing this week for Exploring Nature with Children, I had the girls watch the videos and check out all the links supplied on the pond study's page since our local park doesn't have a pond for us to observe in person. The girls then spent some time drawing pictures of ponds in their books. When Daddy got home we finished taking apart the scrap and then went to the scrap yard. After that Daddy and I took a drive to check out another truck for sale. Our day ended with chicken marinated in Italian dressing for supper.

Friday is giving back day for the International Home Spirit Week and we plan on writing a soldier to thank him or her for their service. The rest of Friday remains a mystery as I'll figure it out after we do our lessons in the morning but for sure Daddy will be at work.

I hope that you had a good week!!

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Day in the Life 2017

For the Back to School blog hop from ihomeschool network's Day in the Life I decided to highlight one of our regular days of school. I do this each year and pretty much approach it the same way each time. So, let's take a peek at how our day unfolds...

September 25, 2017

9 AM - Daddy was already awake and getting ready for work when we woke up the campers so that they could do their morning chores and eat breakfast.

9:30 AM - Daddy left for work and we began school. It is International Homeschool Spirit Week and this day's theme is Pajama day. ECJ dressed first thing in the morning as he always does, Peanut had slept in some clothing that was comfortable, but I was able to catch YCJ doing her school work in her pajamas! We are currently working on finishing the school books from last year (because I always like to finish them) and our lessons follow the same schedule daily ... Language Arts while I read the girls a Bible lesson, Math, Science, Handwriting, History, and Geography. Each camper has to read silently at some point during the day and they each choose to read at their own time, most of them reading right before bed. Peanut reads earlier because I read to her and YCJ every night before bed.

10 - 12:30 - I did the lesson planning for the week while the campers did their lessons, I hadn't remembered to do it on Thursday evening so I was playing catch up. It's not as easy planning lessons while teaching other lessons but somehow I always manage to get it done even though it's not my preferred way to do things. It took about three hours to do lessons this day.

12:30 - 2:30 - After lessons were done the girls took a break with electronics together on the couch before taking a shower. Meanwhile ECJ was outside taking apart scrap that we'd picked up the night before. Daddy came home in the middle of this time and helped take apart scrap. By the time 2:30 rolled around all scrap was taken apart and the girls were squeaky clean, ECJ was ready for lunch (as were the girls), so while Daddy and I went to the scrap yard YCJ made spaghetti'o's for lunch.

At the scrap yard.

3:30 - When Daddy and I got back home it was time to power wash both of the vehicles... Much fun was had while getting them clean...

6 - 8 - After we finished with the vehicles Daddy had to go back to work to check on some lighting issues that were going on. The campers played electronics together taking turns while I crocheted a lemon for part of a gift for a friend.

8 - 9:30 PM - We had a late supper of shrimp pasta (super simple, filling, and YUMMY!) and then the campers went to their rooms to read or play on their electronics. Medicine was passed out to the girls. At 9:30 it was bedtime for the girls, so I read a chapter of Little Women to them and they were off to sleep.

10:30 and after - ECJ goes to bed around 10:30 after taking the dogs out for the last time for the night. Daddy and I were watching Charmed on Netflix and fell asleep sometime around midnight, after taking our medicines around 11 PM. Peanut came into our room sometime during the night and crawled into bed with us, making our sleep interesting as she's a cover thief and spins in circles in her sleep ... making for toes in the nose and uncovered legs.

 This is pretty much what a regular day looks like for us. Some days school takes more or less time, we don't often wash vehicles in 90* weather in the fall, and some days were busy doing other things but you get the idea.

Actually Back to School

Friday we were supposed to go on our nature walk and start Family Time Fitness but instead we separated a bunch of scrap while Daddy was at work installing new lights in the hallways. I didn't want to put an exercise program on top of all the physical stuff that we'd already done outside this day (mainly because I was still tired even though I slept well the night before). The campers took advantage of the wonderfully warm weather (close to 80* this day) and played outside on their skateboards while the public school kids were in school. I folded a load of laundry and checked to make sure that everything was sorted and organized for the start of school next week, lesson plans done and all. Then I sat down and crocheted until Daddy got back from work. The campers came inside and Daddy and I left to go to the scrap yard. The rest of the day was used for relaxing and enjoying each other's company. Since I hadn't laid out anything from the freezer for supper we had a different kind of supper... YCJ and Peanut made pancakes for the campers to eat and I made fried zucchini for Daddy and I. Everyone got enough to eat and we enjoyed some chocolate chip cookies that Peanut baked (with me supervising) for desert ... well, some of us finished off Peanut's birthday cake as well.


On Saturday Daddy had an appointment out of town and then had to go to work. After breakfast and chores were done the campers and I took a walk up to the park which is about a mile away. We played for awhile, explored the trails for about forty-five minutes, and then played some more. After all that excitement we walked back home and the girls were playing outside while ECJ was doing some yard clean up ... he eventually asked YCJ to help him move a large piece of concrete and there was an accident. The concrete slipped out of their hands and landed on her right foot! After Daddy got home (she was able to move her toes but I was becoming worried about the swelling) ... which was only about forty minutes later ... we took her up to the emergency room. Four hours, one x-ray, and a very hungry girl later we find out that she has a hairline fracture in the top of her big toe on her right foot. She has to be careful not to bang it and wear shoes when she's up and about... keeping it elevated when she's sitting. This is not how we had planned to end our day.


Sunday we spent the morning asleep ... yup, we slept in way late and missed mass. That's ok ... it's not something that we do every week and Peanut and Daddy had gotten very little sleep all week long. The campers went outside to play while Daddy and I went and scrapped a nearby neighborhood really quickly, just kind of testing the waters for the day. We got a decent amount so we decided that we'd go visit Grandma and Papa for a little while and then go scrapping down there. Grandma surprised us with a full out Sunday ham supper, so Daddy and I left the girls with Grandma to help (ECJ had stayed home) and he and I went scrapping for a couple of hours. We came back just in time to eat a fabulous meal and then help clean up. After that we took the girls scrapping the couple of neighborhoods that we hadn't done, played at a park, and picked up some soda pop for the ride home (a special treat instead of the frozen drinks). Shortly after getting home for the night the girls were in bed after their usual bedtime routine and ECJ quickly followed. I took a relatively quick bath (under an hour for me is quick), put a quick load of laundry in the washer and dryer, and then relaxed until Daddy and I went to bed.

On Monday Daddy got up to go to work and I stumbled out of bed behind him, have I mentioned that I REALLY like my sleep? Quickly downing a cup of coffee I then stripped our king size bed and put it in the washer, remade the bed, and then folded all of the laundry from the dryer the night before. ECJ was up and taking apart scrap (there wasn't much to take apart as everything that we got was pretty much just bits and pieces of stuff). I woke the girls up while bringing their laundry to their room and then I scrubbed the bathroom floor. The girls got up and ate breakfast and then did their chores. ECJ finished outside and came in to do his inside chores. I switched loads of laundry because it was bed day ... you know, the day that you go around the house and change all of the bed sheets and what not? Yup, we do them all ... except for ECJ's bed because he's in charge of cleaning his sheets and room on his own, I don't feel the need to clean his linens since he's 15 and can do it himself. The girls then went and cleaned their room and ECJ did his after finishing his chores. I updated this post, drank some coffee, and then crocheted while waiting for the dryer to finish so I could switch loads and keep going (four loads of laundry this day, not counting the one in the dryer when I woke up). After Daddy got home he and I loaded up the truck and then went to the scrap yard. After the scrap yard we ran a few errands, picked up supper (Subway this night, nobody wanted chicken and dumplings), and then relaxed the rest of the night at home.

Tuesday Daddy got up early-ish and went to work, leaving the news playing. ECJ and Peanut were already up and I was drowsing in bed listening to President Trump talking about North Korea. Finally I got up and drank my first cup of coffee (which Daddy had poured for me before he left so it was right by the bed) and told Peanut to wake up YCJ. It was almost 11 AM! ECJ finished his inside chores really quickly and the girls ate their breakfast while I poured myself a second cup and got dressed. We were starting our lessons for fall this day and got started around 11:20 ... an hour later we had everything done besides History for the girls, Bible study with YCJ in her Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul , and ECJ was working independently on his high school studies. That was also with Daddy coming home for a minute to run me to the store quickly and all of the campers working on their own for about twenty minutes. The girls were completely finished with school except for their independent reading by 1:30 PM and ECJ was nearly finished with his studies. We spent a LOT of time socializing during lessons today and that's OK ... sometimes lol. After Daddy got home we had an appointment in town and after that we went scrapping really quickly in the next town over, if we hadn't had the appointment we'd have driven down by Grandma and Papa's house again this day. For supper this day we had the before mentioned chicken and dumplings.

Peanut working on making herself
a bracelet from the kit Grandma gave her
for her birthday.

Wednesday, after Daddy got up and went to work, the campers and I got our day started. Breakfast and chores were followed by lessons. Right now the girls are working on finishing their textbooks from last school year for language arts and math, we're continuing where we left off in History (using America the Beautiful by Notgrass) and taking this week to learn more about the Autumn Equinox through Exploring Nature With Children right now for our science. ECJ dove right in where he left off in Algebra, doing Algebra 2 after he finishes with Life of Fred's Beginning Algebra just so we know that the information sticks. He's working more on his creative writing this year than he did last year and we'll do some focus on research papers later on in the year, we'll also be doing Life of Fred's Language Arts books with him before the end of the year. So far his favorite subject is Physics!!! He's really enjoying it, though we're only a few days in. We'll begin working on our Family Time Fitness next week as the weather is still just too warm and inviting for us to be spending time inside and right now the campers are active with their bikes, scooters, skateboards, and general playing to worry about taking time to "exercise" (LOL I love the fact that they're doing PE without even trying). After lessons were finished and Daddy came home he and I ran to the scrap yard and then scrapped our way back to the house. Daddy had to run back to work for a few minutes after that and came home with Jet's Pizza as a surprise supper, well ... a surprise for the campers since I already knew what he was planning. After supper Daddy and I went back out scrapping, came home to give out medicine, watch some TV together, and for me to tuck the girls in bed with their nighttime routine. Daddy took a buddy of his to work later in the evening and went back around our town looking for more scrap while I stayed home with the campers and I crocheted. 

One of the mini beasts that we discovered while covering
this week's assignment in Exploring Nature With Children.

On Thursday Daddy called formal lessons off for the day. This meant that it was a perfect day for us to go on our nature walk! We currently aren't journaling our nature walks and discoveries simply because I need to pick up some sketch book type notebooks for the campers to use for their journaling, I'm planning on doing this at the end of the month so that they can use them for the rest of the year and maybe even into next year. We played at the park for a little while after our walk and while Daddy was at his appointment a few towns over. When we got back home (and Daddy did as well) we took apart some scrap and then Daddy and I went to the scrap yard. A quick stop to drop me back off at home and then he went in to work for a little while. Peanut and I made some cookies while the Cracker Jack's straightened up the house a bit. 


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