Weekly Wrap-up, Is it Friday already?

We got back to doing lessons this week!   (We take breaks pretty much whenever we need them, so a year-roundish schedule works best for us.)


We worked through Week 2, Term 1 of Higher Up Further In.  It was a great week, even with the holiday hub-bub!  The only important thing we didn't get to was a nature walk, but I figure that's not too bad for our 1st week back at it.

A couple of things came to light this week that will be integral to our future homeschooling success:


1) IW is a grumbler.  He just started Life of Fred for math (which I love because it enables him to be a little more independent).  He really seems to enjoy it, or at least that was my impression from his laughing while reading it.  And he has mentioned a few times that it's easy.  So imagine my confusion when he announced that he "hates Life of Fred".  WHAT?!?!  Are you kidding me?  I know some of the early chapters are going to be super easy, but that's just how that goes.  
The next time he did a chapter I sat with him and he giggled and laughed and I said, "It sounds like you really do like this."  "Yeah, I guess I do."
Sheesh.  
He is just a grumbler by nature, and while that grates on me, I am glad to have realized it now instead of later.  I now know that if he's complaining about a part of our homeschool, I need to make sure it's not just his grumbling nature before I go adjusting curriculum.


2) When we're doing lessons, our house turns into a big fat mess, fast.  I don't need a spotless house, but I do need a house that's organized and tidy.  I'm a very visual person, and clutter just shuts me down.  I didn't realize how much time I was spending on keeping the house tidy until that time was allocated to full days of lessons and childcare.  About 3 days in I had to really take stock of the situation.  I just do not function well when surrounded by mess, but I will not let a messy house be the reason we can't homeschool.  SO, I pulled out my copy of Large Family Logistics by Kim Brenneman.  


I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!


I would not necessarily call my family large, though I know other people might.  However, this book is so full of encouragement, wisdom, and ingenious ideas to make our homes run smoother, no matter the size of our families.  
I've spent all the spare time I've had the last few days at the table with this book, a pencil, a notebook, and a stack of sticky pads.  Hopefully this weekend I can begin putting my Home Management Notebook together, get some routines ready to be put into place, and find a way to manage our home while educating our kids.


The other thing I'm beginning to realize is that I'm getting involved in a few things outside of the home, and it's really eating up my time.  Generally speaking, I don't think being involved is a bad thing, but I have to be careful when Husband is traveling.  For example, I'll be gone all day tomorrow, between volunteering for our cover school, and then a meeting for our support group, grocery shopping and getting together stuff for Jo's 1st birthday next week.  I was also supposed to go to a fundraiser picnic, for a really good cause, but I just don't know how to make that happen.  Husband got in tonight after supper, right before the kids went to bed, and he has to be back to work Monday morning, and I don't know when he'll be home again after that.   


*sigh*


Don't sacrifice the best for the good, right?


Now that we're back to doing lessons I'm going to really have to be picky about what I commit to, or I'm never going to see my husband!





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Isn't it ironic

Life is full of irony.

My latest dose arrived in the form of a cold, which (as usual) turned into laryngitis.  

This week was supposed to be the first of our new curriculum plan.  Our new literary curriculum plan that is comprised almost exclusively of read alouds.  


Monday went of smashingly.  The kids were feeling a little wimpy on Tuesday, but we got our work done, and everyone was still pretty enthusiastic.  By Wednesday evening I was feeling a little puny myself.  Thursday morning saw all bets called off.  Friday I had half a voice.  Today, Saturday, finds me at just above a whisper, which requires a painful amount of energy.


The last time I had laryngitis (about 6 months ago) it lasted 2 weeks.  


I had this grand plan of working 6 weeks on and taking 1 week off, and part of the reason we started this week was so that we could have off the week of Thanksgiving.  It's only week 1 and we're off track.  And if I don't have a voice next week, we're kind of hosed.


Through all of this I am trying to remember that God's plan is better than mine, and His timing is never wrong.  He's always, always trying to teach me about my control issues.


QL's kindergarten graduation is tomorrow, and next Sunday is Em's 4th birthday.  Having the extra time to focus on these important celebrations really is a blessing!  And if I'm being honest, everyone will probably be blessed by a little less blabber from mom!  : )

Our new curriculum plan, in time for a curriculum fair!

Simple Homeschool is holding a curriculum fair again this year!  When they ran the series last year I was IN LOVE!  Being that our tiny people are still, well....tiny, I love to see what more experienced homeschoolers are using to educate their kids.

They're inviting readers to link up this Friday and tell what they're using, and I figured that since we just made a big change in how we're doing things around here, it would be a perfect time to write that post!

As for the changes, after much ado, Husband and I decided that instead of waiting til fall, we ought to just go ahead and move forward with our new plans.  So, we have stopped using Beyond Little Hearts For His Glory, and are forging ahead.

As for why we're starting a new curriculum plan when most other families are putting their books away for the summer: we school year round-ish.  With all the comings and goings that Husband does with his job, and adding Jo to the mix last summer, we require (and enjoy) a lot of flexibility in our schooling schedule.  Also (and maybe more importantly), I have found that with these young ages, my kids go BANANAS if they don't have some kind of structure going on.  Three months of no lessons seems like hell to me.  Too much free time for the kids while mom is busy doing the tons of work that it takes to care for house and home = kids getting themselves into trouble, a lot.  We take short breaks when we need to.  Keepin on keepin on keeps us sane and peaceful.

Reason enough for me.

Soooo, on to our new curriculum plan!!!!!

(Drum roll, please!)

We are now (FINALLY!) using Year 1 of the Higher Up and Further In curriculum from Lindafay at charlottemasonhelp.com!

I have been looking at this website for a couple of years, and now that the big kids are 7.5 and 6, I feel more than confident that we're ready to go full-on Charlotte Mason.  I feel kinda rogue!  

I recently read a blog of another HUFI user, and the author described it as more user friendly than Ambleside Online, and I could not agree more.  That is exactly it.  So if you want to move ahead with Charlotte Mason, but Ambleside is a little too.... intense for you, as it is for me, Higher Up Further In (charlottemasonhelp.com) might be a good choice!  The cmhelp website is a treasure trove of information to get you started, and it is quite obvious that Lindafay put a lot of time and love into it.  There is also a Yahoo group for her curriculum, and she is very active and available to address your questions.

Since everything is spelled out at the website, I'll not regurgitate it all here.  But I will tell you how we're making it work for our family:

We do all subjects together except reading, writing, and math and I love that.  We have things to talk about over dinner.  The kids make up games that follow the story lines of the books we're reading.  My sanity is saved by only doing one year.

For habit training, we're going to finish up what we were doing before we start using HUFI's plan.  

We've been going through Ruth Yount's book, Get Wisdom! along with Achieving True Success.  This takes about 5 minutes each morning and seems to be effective.  The kids have really enjoyed it!  We also use some cards called Mind Your Manners Language Cards, which I found at a local school supply store, and we love these!  On one side of the card is a picture of someone doing something rude or ill-mannered, which I show.  We discuss what the offender is doing, and what they should have done instead.  Then we flip the card over to reveal the polite behavior.  We do one card a day, and I think it's the kids' favorite part of the day, even my 4 year old!  

For math we are using Singapore, which came with BLHFHG.  The kids are doing well with this and seem to enjoy it.  It does move a little fast for QL right now, so we're taking a break and working on addition facts. We have Math U See Alpha, so I'm going to go back and have her work a little bit through that (which is what IW started on before going to Singapore).

Reading has been a subject that has come quite naturally and easy thus far in our house.  We've stopped doing formal phonics with QL and are now just reading and addressing problems as we come to them (which was all I ever did with IW, who reads well above grade level).  For the most part I let the kids pick what they want to read to me each day, and it is usually a Magic Treehouse book.  Lindafay at HUFI considers these books to be twaddle, but honestly, we really like them.  And IW is excited to read them, so that works for me.  I think the books are very informative, and as far as the element of magic, I find a lot of that in the tales and literature selections in the curriculum and don't really see the difference.  We read and discuss these books together, so I'm comfortable.  

In my former life I was a Spanish major, so I am choosing 4-6 new words/phrases for the kids to learn each week.  I figure this will be enough foreign language for now.

Instead of doing a full-on artist study, we are going to work our way through some of the Come Look With Me books since we already own them. 

We are going to follow the Handbook of Nature Study blog for nature study.  This week will be our first (assuming the kids are no longer sick this Friday!) and we are going to start at the beginning with challenge #1.  I'm so excited about this I can't even say!

As for the rest of the curriculum, we are doing everything as written. 

*I think* the only thing I've added is P.E.  We purchased the online version of Family Time Fitness.  Husband and I both thought it would be a good idea to add some structured physical activity to our days since we just aren't able to participate in organized sports during this season of our lives.  And the kids are kind of over running around the backyard everyday.  The pdf that they send includes links to YouTube videos demonstrating all of the activities, so anyone can teach P.E. using Family Time Fitness.  Adding P.E. will, hopefully, add some new moves to our playtime repertoire.  And since it's already gotten up to some rather high temps here in the deep south, I'm hoping this will help burn some of their pent up energy this summer when it's too hot to be outside for long.  Although we've only just started this, it seems to be a big hit with the kiddos. 

****I forgot, we're also adding Apologia's elementary Zoology 1 for science.  We're going to do the junior notebook.*****

In a couple of years when Em joins the mix, I imagine he'll be in his own year.  Until then he's enjoying puzzles, books, playdoh, and playing with his toys.  He's picking up all of his "preschool skills" on the fly, so I don't feel any need to do a preschool program with him.  That feels very contrived, and he's learning everything he needs to know by just living his life.  So that's our preschool plan: life.

I am so, so, so excited to read what everyone else is doing with their kiddos, and how many other families are choosing to school year round-ish! 

Our week, in pictures

Itty bitty baby turtle that IW found.  He named him Nick.

After looking things up in The Handbook of Nature Study and on the internet......

I think he's a map turtle

the lizard that IW caught

: )  Kickin butt.  Takin names.

she lost another one!!!

"Who you lookin' at???"

the frog we found while playing at a friend's house.  IW said it must be the week for creatures!  Agree.

These last 3 are not technically from THIS week, but I didn't want to leave anybody out!

Have a blessed weekend!

Learning notes 4/6/12

This week has been so topsy-turvy! We've had a nasty stomach bug take up residence at our house, which has proven time consuming for me! Then we had a furniture delivery that derailed our lessons, and with tomorrow being Good Friday I don't see a lot of formal learning happening then either! We have gotten some work done this week though, so all was not lost. On top of math lessons, we got in a history story, a science lesson, and of course we read Farmer Boy. We also watched another episode of Frozen Planet. The kids have watched Wild Kratts and Sid the Science Kid too.
Basically, the goal has been to get people healthy, and to keep up with laundry! : )

Learning Notes 3/30/12

QL

• She finished reading Absolutely Lucy, which she is super proud of!  She didn't start a new book Wednesday because about halfway through her morning lessons she just really wasn't feel well, so we took the rest of the day off.
• She did her reviews in math this week.  We need to work on skip counting, which I didn't really realize.  I guess that's what reviews are for.  She has no problem doing the basic addition and subtraction, but when they add word problems into the mix, she's a bit confused....   She's working in a first grade math workbook, so I'm not super concerned about this, but I do need to remember to come back to it in the future.
• She learning to write "excellent" letters.  I'm trying to eradicate the word "perfect" from our homeschool.  It's unattainable and only adds undue pressure.  Excellence is always expected, and practice makes progress.
• In phonics we're working on the words /Sunday/ and /black/, and the sound /ai/ as in train.  Again, she got sick halfway through this lesson so we'll finish up with it next week.

IW

• For reading this week he's been reading The Gridiron Bully.  Not quite a living book, but he's enjoying it, and he's READING IT.  We read 1 chapter together early this week.  Then, Wednesday, I asked him to sit quietly on the couch and read a library book while I did lessons with QL.  This was an attempt to keep him from getting himself in trouble, but it turned out to be AWESOME!  He read 6 chapters in 20 minutes and kept coming over and telling me all the awesome stuff that was happening in the story.  Then, this morning, when he and QL woke up early, and I asked them to rest quietly on the couch while I finished typing this, he asked QL if he could read her the last chapter, because "it's a pretty awesome book!"  And as I type this, they are on the couch reading together, and IW's explaining all the football jargon and describing all the characters to her.  Pretty good stuff.  Oh, and she hugged him for reading to her.  :  )
• In math he's adding up to 20.  Seeing double digit numbers kind of freaked him out, but he's totally got it.  If he would just learn to slow down and write more legibly we'd be in business.
• He's copying a stanza from The Months.  I thought November would be good so he could learn to spell his birth month.

Together

• Our poem this week is The Months by Sara Coleridge.
• We talked about minerals in science.  It was a super short lesson, and our neighbor had just given us a HUGE bag of VHS movies (yes, we are the ones who still have a VCR), so we didn't even notebook it.  Peter Pan was calling.  

Some serious Peter Pan action going on at our house right now!

• We just finished up our history reading from American Pioneers and Patriots, and next week we will go back to Stories of the Pilgrims.
• We're plugging away with Farmer Boy.  Almanzo helped fill the ice house, then we read about how the Wilders spend their Sundays.
• We spent some time working on heart issues, both theirs and mine.

Jo pulled herself up for the first time this week.  The kids were crazy excited!  I was (just a little) sad.  My baby is growing at a freakish rate.  I can't believe my baby days are nearly over.  *sniff sniff*

How We Homeschool

In preparation for this school year, I purchased Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory, believing that a pre-packaged curriculum would be best for us since we would have a new baby in the house.  While I really love this curriculum, I didn't take into account the fact that Husband would be gone more than home, and that we wouldn't be able to stay on track everyday in every subject.  Also, we really haven't had time to cover every subject laid out in the guide, so I've just cut some things out.  Someday the baby will be older, and Husband won't travel anymore, and then we'll have time to do everything I'd like to do.  Until then, I'm living in the real world.  While we still use the resources from the curriculum, I've tweaked them to work for us.

This first group of subjects the kids do separately, on alternating days.  Well, except math.  Lately we've been doing math everyday.  QL does her lessons on "pink" days (M, W) and IW does his on "blue" days (T, Th). 


Math:  Singapore 1A
We follow the lesson plans from Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory.  IW works at a faster pace than QL.

Phonics (QL):  http://www.phonics.net.au/
This is a FULL phonics curriculum, online, for FREE.  There is an option to order it and have it sent to you, but it comes from Australia (I believe), and shipping is steep.  You could just print the worksheets, but I opt to write everything out on the whiteboard and make my own flashcards.  Because of this, we don't do the scrapbook.  She practices writing on the whiteboard and by doing copywork pages.  We also use scrabble letters.  I have bought some of those PreK and Kindergarten workbooks from Walmart, and every once in a while she'll do worksheets out of those, but only when she wants to.


Reading:  They each read to me from books of their choice out of a selection that is appropriate for their reading levels.  IW has read several of the Magic Tree House series, and I'd imagine we'll work our way through most, if not all of them.  QL switches out books often.  She really wants to read some books that are just too hard for her, but her reading level has really jumped recently, as she reads these by herself in her free time.


This next group of subjects we do together.  We alternate science and history, doing each 2 days a week.  Bible stories, devotions, character quality and copywork happen daily (in a perfect world).


Science:  God's Wonderful Works, The Creation in Six Days
This is the science text that came with BLHFHG.  We are just working our way through the book.  We do the activities throughout, and I also add some that I find online, in 106 Days of Creation Studies from Simply Charlotte Mason, or in one of the science workbooks I have picked up over the years.  The kids notebook what we've studied about each day.  We really like science around here, so we watch a lot of science-y shows and read a lot of science-y books.  I feel like we are way more than covered in this area.


History:  Again, we are using the resources that came with BLHFHG, but we're doing them at our own pace, and in our own way.  We read the passages in the order that they are laid out in the guide, then I have the kids narrate back to me.  I also got some Dover coloring books about the Pilgrims, which they color while I read.  We are going to take a break, back-track, and make a "My America" book, as laid out at charlottemasonhelp.com.  I wish we had been doing this from the beginning.


Bible:  Right now we are reading through The Jesus Storybook Bible, which we all just love.  This is our second bible story book, so I think next we may read through the Bible using Penny Gardner's plan.  I really try to not make this a "schoolish" thing.  Our faith is a part of our daily life, and why we are who we are.  Therefore, we talk about God, the Bible, and faith any time it comes up.  QL particularly likes to read her bible, so we do so regularly.


Character Quality:  Achieving True Success, The Power for True Success, Kids of Integrity, and Quest Club badges.
Basically, I choose a quality to focus on, and we look at the 4Ws and H of it.  WHAT is the quality, WHY is it important, WHO should we apply this quality to, WHEN/WHERE should we apply this quality, and HOW should we put on this quality (not necessarily covered in that order). We have just begun doing this, and the plan is not without it's flaws, but I figure flubbing it a little is better than not doing it at all.  We focus on both spiritual and practical applications.


Copywork:  We notebook for science, and will begin notebooking for history soon, so that covers copywork for those days.  We also copy the definition of our character quality, and a bible verse that instructs us about the quality.  


This is what we do for now.  I have an art curriculum that I would like to start doing on Fridays, but right now that's just not happening.  We also have recorders for the kids to learn to play, but when we got them all they wanted to do was make horribly loud ruckus, so they've been put up for a while.  Aaaand, I'd love to do a nature walk every week.  These are goals to work toward.  We're going to be schooling year round (for a myriad of reasons) unless we move, so I plan to implement more of these fun subjects into our routine.


I'm getting ready to order Little Hands to Heaven for Em.  I don't necessarily think I NEED a plan for preschool, but I do know for sure that having a guide to go to every day will increase the odds that Em will get that one-on-one time with mom, which is really the goal.  I'm not sure if we're going to stick with Heart of Dakota curricula going forward, or if we'll move toward a more CMHelp or AO plan.  I'm going to rely on Husband's suggestions and wait and see what circumstances we find ourselves in when the time comes to decide.

Learning Notes 3/9/2012

Monday
Today we played hookey again.  Don't judge me.  The honest to goodness truth is that over the weekend Husband got us a 6 month membership to ancestry.com, and I've been a little obsessed!  So I did a lot of history, and the kids did a lot of fort building!  Husband got picked up for an evening softball game about 30 minutes from our house, so he drove the 2 hours down from where he's working, and we drove the half an hour up.  It was a blast.....cold, but fun!

Tuesday

• We are doubling up on lessons today to make up for yesterday.  All this really means is that we do both history and science today, and that both kids read to me.  
• I sent the kids out to find as many different kinds of rocks as they could.  We'll be studying rocks soon, so I'm trying to get a head start.
• We did math together, and I've officially decided to move IW forward.  He'll still be using Singapore 1A, but we're going to start moving at a much faster pace.  QL is adding and subtracting up to 10, and when I ask IW to give me a number sentence, he's using numbers much higher, and using negative numbers (correctly, and he's figured it all out on his own).  I think being challenged will be good for him, more than just academically.
• After lunch we read history together....they finally made it Plymouth Rock!

While we did lessons the rest of the week, I did not get around to recording it.  I'm hoping to find a faster (but equally thorough) way to keep track of what we're doing.  Getting on the computer every couple of hours to type out how we're spending our time really ends up just sucking up a whole lot of mine.

Learning Notes 3/3/12

Monday 
I got a phone call early this morning from my sister in law, that totally threw our rhythm off.  She lives in Nebraska, and woke up this morning to no heat.  It's supposed to snow.  I lent a supportive ear.  However our morning is kind of shot.  No devotions were read.  Kids are bickering and being less than kind.  *sigh*

• IW is reading The Lorax to QL which is bittersweet.  I love that he's reading to her, but I feel a little guilty because she's been asking me to read it to her since I picked it up on Friday.  *sigh again*
• Em is downstairs playing Reader Rabbit on the computer.
• We read our morning devotional, then started our character study.  Today we reviewed the definition, the whys of being attentive, and the bible verse.  Then we talked about the rewards of being attentive, and the hows of being attentive.  We did the 1st I Will, and left it at that b/c this one is a big struggle (I Will....look at people when they speak to me.)  Their copywork for today is the bible verse: Proverbs 19:20.
• We read our next history lesson, then did math together.
• QL did 2 phonics lessons (/sh/ and /all/), and then read 2 chapters out of her beginner's bible to me.

 Tuesday

• I got up early today, before the kids, and already the day is so much better.  The 2 littlest people were still asleep, so we have tried to be quiet and low-key this morning.
• IW read to me right after breakfast since Em was still asleep in their room. 
• Once the 2 littles woke up, QL and IW read jokes from the Phineas and Ferb's Guide to Life book to me while I fed Jo and Em.
• We talked about Attentive (reviewed the what, why, bible verse, and first how.  Then we covered the second how:  I Will ask questions if I don't understand.)  They finished their bible verse copywork.
• We read our morning devotion, then the kids went to play for a while so I could feed Jo her cereal.  During this time, they began arguing and fighting so they each are now spending 30 minutes alone on their beds; Em is in the bath. 
• The big kids went down to type; Em's in the tub; Jo's bouncing.
• Jo started drinking out of her sippy cup today!!!!!

Wednesday

• We read devotionals and a bible story during breakfast.
• after chores, we had to make a run for formula, and the kids each got to pick out some books from the book section.
• when we got home, everyone kind of went their own way and read/looked at their new books.  
• We did math, and our character quality.  We were going to do the rest of our lessons but we (and I mean ALL of us) had on our grumpy pants.  There has been quite a bit of sibling rivalry, bickering and fighting going on around here lately, and I reached my limit.  The big kids each went to their rooms to spend some time alone.  (The lesson being, if you can't be kind to people, you can't be around people.)  And I was really humbled by some feelings that were relayed to me.  I've been extremely preoccupied with some things (which I'm not ready to divulge here yet), and the kids are feeling it.  And apparently, I need to watch what a say about my kids when on the phone, even when it's with their dad.  They can ALWAYS hear, and words can cut.  Venting is really not a good idea.   Today's lessons were more for me than for them.

Thursday
Husband is home today, and we had a wicked storm last night that had each of the kids in our beds at different times, and Em was up from about 2 - 5 am.  I don't really have high expectations for today, which I'm hoping will keep my anxiety about getting things done to a minimum.

• we read devotionals during breakfast.   
• IW read to me, Then QL joined us and we did 2 math lessons (at the kids' request) and our character quality lesson.  After that we went outside for a little while.  It's in the mid-70s today!  We did some yard work, then had popsicles!
• When did some serious science today!  We read about the water cycle and climate, then reviewed the Day 2 unit.  We watched this video, which I just love!!!  The kids loved it too!
  

 

Friday 

• Today we are going to play hookey.  It's nearly 80 degrees outside, the sun is shining, and a breeze is blowing.  And we're supposed to have wicked storms tonight.  The kids are spending the morning outside while I make sure my ducks are in a row just in case we all get to sleep downstairs tonight.
• The public schools let out at 1:00 on account of the impending weather, so the kids are loving an afternoon of "socialization".  : )

Have a happy weekend everybody!

Linking up with

Learning Notes 2/24/12

Monday

• We read devotions during breakfast!
• today is a "pink day", so it's QL's day for individual lessons.  We worked on phonics (/wh/ and /ch/), then she read me 2 chapters from her beginner's Bible.  She really likes reading, which makes my heart so happy.  Next IW joined us for math: more subtraction.  I know that he is not being challenged, but he seems to enjoy doing math with us, and keeping them together seems easier for me.  I think that in actuality it isn't any easier (or really, that him doing MUS isn't any harder), but everyone seems happy.  I know for sure that he is capable of doing more, or at least working at a faster pace, so that's something that needs some thought.
• We began our Character Studies today!!!!!!!  I know I said that I would start with gentleness, but.......I didn't.  All of the resources I have found, 1) list the character qualities in alphabetical order, and 2) state that being attentive is crucial to learning all other qualities (and all things really).  So we begin at the beginning: attentiveness.  I'm planning to post all about how we're doing this in the future.  I'm excited, and still a little apprehensive that I'm doing this right, but I'm giving that to God.
• some very dear, sweet friends of ours from church came by this afternoon to bring the kids some gifts.  IW and QL received "big people" bibles and journals!  They were so excited about those notebooks.  IW made his a research journal, and promptly started taking notes from the episode of Octonauts that Em was watching.  QL followed suit and made hers an animal research journal!  LOVE IT!
• Over the last week or two, Jo has begun crawling, sitting on her own, and giving those amazing slobbery, juicy wet kisses!!!

Tuesday

• Soooo, this morning we had to take both dogs to the vet for routine business (which turned out to be not so routine, but that's another story).  If you had been there you would have heard circus music in the background!  Four kids and 2 dogs and me, in our car that is just a tad too small for a family our size = adventure!  After we dropped the dogs off, the kids asked if they could watch a movie in the car.  The weather was gorgeous, so we went for a drive.  It was a nice, relaxing way to spend the morning!
• We had to go pick up the dogs; again, we had a soundtrack of circus music!  I am actually pretty proud.  A few months ago I wouldn't have even been brave enough to try to get 2 dogs, one of which is a 45 pound goofball puppy, to the vet with 4 kids in tow.   We rocked it!
• We didn't get any formal lessons accomplished today, but we had a great family day, which is just as, if not more, important.  I did pull out my used-book-shop-find copy of The Modern Handy Book for Boys (copyright 1958) and showed it to IW and QL.  You would have thought I gave that boy tickets to the Super Bowl!!!!  He loved it.  QL asked me if they had one for girls, which they do, but I don't.  So baby girl will be getting her very own copy for her birthday next month.  IW asked if we could build a shelter in the backyard and have a "survival situation".  love

Wednesday

• Al is calling for some serious rain-type weather, so I put the kids out in the backyard after breakfast.  Once the rain starts we're going to hit the ground running on the lessons.  I have a list to accomplish, and I'm excited!  Fun stuff for today!
• The rain hasn't shown up yet, so I called the kids in at 11:00 so we could go ahead and get started on lessons.  Together we did our character quality lesson (attentive), which included our bible story and copywork for the day.  Next we did math, then IW went back outside to play while QL and I did a phonics lesson (/ee/).  
• The big kids played outside while I made lunch, fed Jo, and helped Husband and Em put new shelves in the living room.  
• After lunch, the big kids and I read a history lesson, then did our science lesson on the 3 forms of water (liquid, solid, gas), and an activity to demonstrate.  Did I mention that I really enjoy our science lessons???  We did part of the science notebook page, but will finish the copywork portion tomorrow since they already did some copywork this morning.  Em and Jo hung out with daddy while IW, QL and I worked, which was tremendously helpful.
• Nap for Jo, Octonauts for the kiddos, shower for me (YAY).
• We started Farmer Boy over tonight for our bedtime read aloud.  We're going to start a new lapbook tomorrow for this book, at the kids request!

We did some school work Thursday and Friday....I promise.  The thing is, Husband surprised me by coming home Wednesday, very unexpectedly.  So while we did stick to routine, I did not stick to sitting around my computer while my romantic man was here.  You understand, don't you?!?!?!?  I'll share some pictures though!

We'll start with this face, b/c well, why not?

We talked about weather and clouds on Thursday.  This is the sky Wednesday.

The skyThursday

Talking about weather

Also Thursday

We're keeping track of weather for 7 days.  QL draws, IW writes.

Making models of 4 cloud types

My example model.  FUN

Who wouldn't want to learn subtraction using chocolate chips?

The kids also built a clubhouse in the little foresty part of our yard behind the fence line.  Husband built it for them helped them build it!  I wish I had pictures, but I was on baby duty in the house.  And I may have been relaxing on the couch.  Maybe.

Over all, this past week has been one of the best we've had in my recent memory.  YAY!

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Learning Notes 2/17/12

 Monday

• We read devotions during breakfast
• QL and I did an phonics lesson /-y/, and IW joined us for math.  Next time we begin subtraction!
• during lunch we read our Bible story (Parable of the Hidden Treasure)
• After quiet time I read a couple of history stories to the kids while they colored in their Pilgrim coloring books.
• After history, I showed the kids the news video of the little girl who fought off a would-be kidnapper and we talked about what to do if that ever happens to them.  We also talked about how most people are good people, but some are bad, and that the bad people usually look just like the good people.

Tuesday

• This morning we forgot to read devotions, and I didn't realize it until late this afternoon. : /
• After the big kids did their morning chores, Em sat at the kitchen table and played with Playdoh, then went to his room to play with toys.  IW, QL and I began our Day 2 unit in Science.  This is my favorite subject to do with the kids!  We talked about the sky, water vapor and air and I demonstrated air pressure for the kids with a straw and balloon.
• After science we all did the next lesson in Singapore 1A together.  I've decided that since both kids were getting ready to start subtraction, and IW likes the Singapore math better than his MUS, we're just going to all do math together, and we'll do it everyday (well, actually Monday through Thursday).  This makes my life a lot less confusing!
• We had our homeschool Valentine's party today.  We got there late because I had to wait for a couple to come look at the puppy we're trying to find a home for, so the kids didn't get to give out their cards, and they didn't receive any either.  I think this made me a lot more sad than it did the kids.   The party was pretty much over by the time we got there, but there were a few lingering kids, so they still had fun.  And when we got home, I put together some cards for them for their boxes (which were awesome, by the way, and no one got to see them.  They're love bugs!).

Wednesday

• Once again we didn't read devotions during breakfast.  Jo woke up early, and QL slept late, which both rarely do.  The kids ate breakfast at different times.
• QL had 2 phonics lessons today because they were easy peasy.... /-old/ and /th/.  She finished her copywork for her science notebook from yesterday, so I figure that's good for today.  Then IW joined us for another subtraction lesson, and QL finished up by reading a chapter to me out of her beginner's Bible. 
• My friend came by to hang out with the kiddos while I ran to the store.  When I got back we hung out while the kids played (except for Em, who went with me to the store and had a MELTDOWN in the middle of Dollar General.  He went to his room.).
• Jo started crawling today!!!!!  : )

Thursday

• I spent the morning on the phone with Drs. office.  IW's ear still hurts, and he's taken all of his antibiotic.  I take him back tomorrow.  Between that and feeding Jo cereal again, for the first time since we all got sick, our morning was thrown completely out of whack.  Hopefully we can pull it together after lunch. 
• We watched a Science channel show: The Science of Whales.  I thought it was pretty cool, as did QL.  IW was in and out of interest, and Em was very frustrated that we weren't watching sharks.

Friday

• Took the kids to the doctor this morning.  IW has eustachian tube dysfunction (?), so now he'll be using a steroidal nasal spray every day.  
• We read our history story at the doctor's office and the kids colored in their pilgrims coloring book.  We've found land!
• By the time we got home and got a snack, I was a little grumpy.  I decided to let go, and let the kids watch an episode of Man Woman Wild.  This was in everyone's best interest. 
• The kids hung out and played while I cleaned.  Husband's coming home tonight and I just want to enjoy our weekend and not worry about cleaning! 

 

 

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Learning Notes 2/10/12

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 Monday:

All the big kids seem to have recuperated from the nasty virus that took over our house last week.  IW woke in the middle of the night last night with an earache, and it still hurts today, but all other symptoms seem to be gone.  Jo is still in the thick of it, and is having some unfortunate side effects from her antibiotic for her ear infection.  Husband and I are still not feeling great, but are handling it much better than the kids did.  They were hit pretty hard this time.  Husband is home today b/c he has to head back up to the plant to work night shift tonight.  I'm sure this will have some effect on our day.

• We read devotionals during breakfast and had a great conversation!  We talked about self-control.
• Em played with his train set
• The big kids did their chores, then headed downstairs to type while I got Jo's day started. 
• Today is a "pink day", so QL did her lessons.  She started with copywork (writing Ee, Ff, Gg, and Hh); then math (pp. 36-37 in 1A), which IW did as well.  Next we did some phonics (-/nt/), and then she read to me.
• IW played with the train set, and Em played computer games.
• At snack time we read our Bible story.  Jesus Calms the Storm
• After snack the big kids and I did a science lesson on light, and Em played.
• QL played Guess Who with Husband.
• I sent the big kids out to play.  QL had to come in for quiet time.  She's been struggling with frustration and grumpiness a bit this morning, so it's time to separate.  The boys ended up having to come in b/c they've both started coughing.  I think they're not quite ready for the cold air.
• QL read books on my bed while the boys watched an episode of Octonauts.  I reviewed the kids math worksheets, and IW and I went over some mistakes.  All of his mistakes are due to rushing.
• After lunch, the boys went down for quiet time while I spent some special time with QL. 

Tuesday

• The kids watched cartoons while I tried to drag myself out of bed.
• After chores, QL and Em went downstairs to play while I did lessons with IW.
• IW did lessons: first he did copywork, then we went over some phonics. (He's never had any formal phonics lessons.  He taught himself to read at a very young age.)  This really seemed like a waste of time, so I won't be trying that again.  Next we reviewed his MUS addition facts.  He's getting ready to start the subtraction portion of Alpha.  We took a break half way through the facts and he read to me.  We'll finish reviewing the rest of the facts on Thursday.
• IW joined the other kiddos downstairs.
• during snack we read our Bible story. (Jesus feeds the 5,000)
• we read our history story.  IW really wasn't interested in listening, so I announced that after the story, whoever could narrate back to me would get a treat.  He protested loudly.  QL got 2 Hershey's Kisses, and IW got 1 mercy Kiss.  I'm willing to bet that he will be able to narrate on Thursday! 
• The kids went down to play while I got lunch together. 

Wednesday

• IW's temp spiked to 103 this morning, so I called the doctor to get him in.  Since we're going, I asked them to see Jo too so we can figure out her diarrhea situation.  The antibiotic she's on is causing a LOT of dirty laundry.
• We managed to get everyone ready and to the doctor.  IW has double ear infections, and his asthma needs some attention.  Overall, much better than I had anticipated.  Jo's ear looks much better!  We're switching her formula until she's off the antibiotic, and I'm going to start giving her a probiotic.
• We went to Walmart to fill prescriptions and stock up.  We had to wait an hour and a half; that was fun.  I did get some much needed exercise, so that's good!  Pushing a cart loaded up with 4 kids, 35 pounds worth of dog food, and other miscellaneous items gets heavy!  I'm sure we were a sight to behold!
• By the time we got home, we were all a little over it.  We all snuggled on the couch and watched a movie.

Thursday

• Today seems to be a bust.  If I'm being honest, I stayed up WAY too late last night.  I always end up punishing myself by losing sleep over things which I cannot control.  The kids are playing games on the computer and DSs.  IW has a headache and is kind of just laying out.   

Friday

• we read devotionals during breakfast.
• I told the kids that after breakfast, we would all work together to get the house cleaned up (2 weeks of sickness has left our house looking like, well, it's not good), and then we would do lessons, then it would be game time.  This lead to a rough 45 minutes of dealing with heart issues.  I've read that a good way to deal with complaining about chores is to add a chore for every complaint.  IW was up to 12 EXTRA chores, and that was before he even left the breakfast table.  See, he didn't like the breakfast either.  He has a nasty habit of complaining.  About.  Everything.  Yesterday he let me know that he was sick of seeing the color black everywhere.  (Most of the mailboxes in our neighborhood are black, and he is just fed up with that!)  I'm trying to not grow weary of doing good.  Because this is pretty stinkin wearisome.  
• QL had a phonics lesson (/-mp/)
• IW took a break from chores and joined us for QL's math lesson, because he thinks hers is more fun than his.
• We took a break from lessons; I helped Em finish up his morning routine then looked over math worksheets.  IW resumed chores and QL played in her room.  Jo bounced in her jumper.
• IW and I finished reviewing math facts.  He's ready to start subtraction next week.  Next he worked on a little copywork, then read to me.
• IW and QL asked if they could finish up their Little House in the Big Woods lapbooks while I made lunch. : )  And now they are FINISHED!!!!!!!
• We finished up learning about Day 1 in our science text (yes, I realize that we're only on day 1, but I promise we've been doing tons of other science!), and we added to our science notebooks, and did a science worksheet.  It was pretty fun!
• All 3 kids watched an episode of Octonauts.
• QL put together a fashion show, and made tickets for all of our entries.  Jo gets in for free, because she's a baby! : )  After Octonauts, we got to watch the show.
• While Em napped we read the next couple of chapters in our history book.  The kids colored in the Dover Pilgrims coloring books while I read.  This time, they were both ready and excited to narrate back to me, and both got treats.
• Since we've packed so much into today to get caught up, I figure we ought to do something fun tonight.....
• Some pics from our week: