Weekly (hmmm) Report: October 6 through October 30 - Weeks 10, 11, 12, 13

Okay...so, it's been a while.  I knew this would happen.  I get involved with other things (like reading 1,000 page books [World Without End by Ken Follett]) and I neglect my blog (and Facebook, too).  However, just a few weeks have gone by rather than the one year hiatus I took a while back.

The kids have been busy - playing some, learning a lot, reading like mad, and immersing themselves in music.  Will has really blossomed - in his piano playing, reading, and singing.  (His voice teacher LOVES his vibrato!)  Casey is reading everything she can get her hands on, and Tricky is learning to read (she wants to be able to read to Chaucer).

Last weekend we went to visit family in Louisiana.  I had hoped to take the kids by Vicksburg, Mississippi - since we just studied the Civil War Battle of Vicksburg - however, the weather had other plans for us.  [Traipsing around a national park battlefield in the cold rain is not my idea of fun, so we skipped Vicksburg.]  We did get to go to the Louisiana Book Festival in Baton Rouge!  So. Much. FUN!!!  There were booksellers, authors, publishers - storytelling, children's writing workshops...  All in front of the Louisiana Capital - which we went into and went to the lookout at the top.  One of the exhibits was called What do you GEEK?  If you wrote "I geek _________" on a wall, they gave you a t-shirt, bookmarks, backpacks, etc.  I said that I geek homonyms.  I do...

All of my life, well since I was about 10, I've been wanting to keep a list of homonyms - so  I finally started.  (Yes, I'm realizing one of my life's dreams... I tend to dream BIG!)  My list is kept in a spiral notebook and is in alphabetical order, mostly to avoid homonym repeats.  The kids have been constantly giving suggestions; Tricky's are some of the best:  "Mommy, how about cookie and cookie?"  "No, Trick, that's the same word with the same meaning."  My recent additions (because this is something I tend to obsess over and have scraps of paper everywhere with list possibilities) are:  grease - Greece; tacks - tax; pedal - petal.  Yes, I give an allowance for colloquial pronunciations; I do have some (but not many) proper nouns; and I have various self-imposed restrictions, such as I can't research homonyms, they must come naturally.

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks.  Enjoy!

Chaucer participating in the voice lesson warm-up.

Decorating cookies (otherwise known as Making a HUGE Mess)

Hard tack.  Part of our Civil War study...so they could see what the soldiers subsisted on.  It was actually pretty good with the chicken soup I served with it.

A Physics experiment:  inertia

Weekly Report: September 29 - October 2, 2011 (Week 9)

I missed my Week 8 update.  In short, the highlight of that week was the Lowe's Build & Grow project - a firetruck.  Not only did Lowe's let kids build free firetrucks, but our Lowe's had Safety Day as well.  The kids got to climb in an ambulance and a firetruck, see two K-9 deputies (one used for catching and subduing suspects and the other used for tracking), and have their fingerprints taken and handed over to me for safekeeping.  The store was also having a scavenger hunt for safety items to be used around the home.  The kids had a GREAT time!

As for Week 9, we spent much of the week working on a project. Our homeschool group had a Geography Fair this past Monday night - and our family's location of choice was India.  We borrowed Indian clothing, I made Chicken Tikka Masala, and we played music on the iPod from Lagaan (a FABULOUS movie, by the way).

Each project's presenter spoke for a few moments about the country they chose.  When it came to Casey, Will, and Tricky... well... it was interesting.  For example, when Casey was telling a little about Gandhi, Will piped up and told everyone, "He was in JAIL!"  Yes, that is what my sweet 6 year old son learned about Gandhi - he was incarcerated.  My son seemed scandalized - I spent quite some time afterward explaining to Will why Gandhi had been imprisoned.

We've started working on a lot of memorization - a. lot.  This is an area where I've slacked off the last couple of years...and I think I'm making up for it.  We've got all sorts of things going:  prayers, Bible verses, poetry, things in other languages (Spanish and Latin). 

Tuesday was the Feast of St. Francis.  The kids made St. Francis figures at church on Sunday - except for Chaucer.  I made him an Elmo.  He REALLY likes Elmo.  In fact, people know of how much he loves Elmo, they've started giving him various Elmo goodies - books, coloring books, toys.  And, he's very proud of his new Elmo jammies!

Weekly Report: September 15-19, 2011 (Week 7)

We had a family outing on Saturday afternoon. We decided to go on a hike, so we drove to Brasstown Bald, the highest point in Georgia. We arrived just as the US Forest personnel were leaving for the day. On top of the mountain, the shop was closing and the flag was coming down. My children asked why the flag had to be taken down, so I gave them a mini-lesson on American flag etiquette. A few things popped to mind: don't fly flag during rainstorms, don't fly flag at night unless lit by spotlights, don't let flag touch the ground, fold the flag a certain way, etc. The Forestry workers asked the kids if they wanted to help, so they gladly, proudly joined in the flag folding.

Casey, as part of First Language Lessons Level 4, memorized Afternoon on a Hill by Edna St. Vincent Millay. Will, as part of FLL Level 2, memorized The Goops. I'm glad they are back to memorizing poetry and Bible verses - it's been a while.

Our nanny picked up my camera one day this past week and took this picture of Chaucer's hands. It's just so sweet, I had to post it!


I decided to throw in a picture of Casey at karate. I had my camera in the car when I took the kids to karate on Tuesday, so I brought it in. I got some great shots, but this was my favorite.


Not a complete recap, but just enough...

Weekly Report: September 8-11, 2011 (Week 6)

Busy week, both academically and socially... We're making progress through our subjects, albeit, not quite on the schedule I created last spring. Life takes over and we have to stray from the plan. However, the reason I make the plan is to guide me and help gauge just how far off course I'm getting. So far, I'm only a few days off the mark. (That's why I've built in a lot of slow weeks to use as catch up days or to give us a break if we're on track - usually more of the former than the latter.)

On Friday, we went to the park and met up with our homeschool group. It was pleasant to spend a couple of hours talking to the other moms while our kids played, screamed, and ate watermelon. Chaucer ate A LOT of watermelon!

On Saturday morning, Richard took the kids to L0we's to build a police car. We discovered the Bui1d & Grow activities last spring. My children have made more wooden contraptions than we have room for, but they enjoy building something they can play with - and I like it because it's FREE! I didn't go on this excursion because the homeschool group was hosting an introduction to homeschool "how to" seminar for the community. I was on hand to help explain the law, but it was thoroughly covered by a couple of moms who have been homeschooling for many years. Four moms were there wanting to learn about homeschooling. Exciting! Sunday, we opened our digital microscope. I snagged this from Amaz0n a few weeks ago for $15 (including Prime shipping)! We looked at everything from a dead spider to money to Chaucer's belly button.


Speaking of Chaucer, he started sleeping in his own (well, shared with his brother) bedroom this week! My little boy is sleeping in his bottom bunk bed - and is staying ALL NIGHT!!! (Even though I cosleep with my babies from the time they are born, they have all been out of my bedroom well before they turn 2!)

On Monday, I didn't go to work (I have a seminar in Atlanta this weekend). I wanted to make it a special day. After starting school early and working through breakfast, I surprised the kids by loading them up and taking them to the park. The kids did their various Language Arts subjects for well over an hour, we had a snack, then played for an hour. It was so much fun - and we were the ONLY ONES there!!! The weather was perfect for homeschooling in the park - I'm surprised there weren't other mommies there, especially ones with babies and toddlers!

Our week concluded with Casey, Will, and Tricky's performance at a county fair. They sang "So Long, Farewell" from "The Sound of Music." The hours of singing in the car and rehearsing in the kitchen and living room showed!

Weekly Report: September 1 - 4, 2011 (Week 5)

For Labor Day weekend, we decided to be "one with nature" and go camping! We drove up the Blue Ridge Parkway to Mt. Pisgah, North Carolina, on Friday.

Upon our arrival, there were only few tent sites available - and those, only for one night. There were several RV sites available for 3 nights, but we would have to put our tent on the pavement (ouch!). We drove around, searching out the tent sites. We came upon the first couple we knew were available, but weren't impressed with what those sites had to offer, so we kept driving. As we rounded corner after corner, the sites the Ranger marked as open had just been taken. By the time we revisited those first two tent sites, they had been snagged, too! So, we opted for an RV site - yes, we'd have to pop the tent on pavement, but at least we wouldn't have to move after the first night.

You know, having the tent on the pavement wasn't too bad... At least Richard and I had an air mattress! (No, our children weren't deprived... they had plenty of padding beneath their sleeping bags - and Casey even CHOSE to sleep without the padding!

Our first night there, Richard made a dinner that was nothing short of amazing! Using sausage, carrots, potatoes, onion, broth, and seasoning, he created a heavenly meal for us. Everyone LOVED it! (I even ate my carrots and potatoes... I usually loathe and despise vegetables, but these were great!)

On Saturday morning, hiked up Frying Pan Trail with a group led by a Ranger. The children were very inquisitive and chatty and, between the Ranger's discussion and my children's questions, we learned a lot about the various flowering plants and trees on the trail.

Saturday evening, after having hot dogs, baked beans, and Richard's cast-iron-dutch-oven cornbread (FABULOUS!), we (unfortunately) attended a Campfire Conversation headed by possibly the most incompetent Ranger I've ever encountered. Not only could she not get her campfire started (despite having dry wood, dry leaves, newspaper, several kitchen lighters, a box of matches, and an audience member's lighter), but she was positively the worst ghost story teller I've ever heard. We can't even get qualified storytellers out of our government! Because Chaucer started shining flashlights in people's faces and due to his being an especially unruly toddler when forced to sit still and listen to bad storytelling, the children and I left. (Richard left out of disgust, I believe, after the Ranger couldn't start her fire.) Despite their cries of the unfairness and injustice wrought upon them by their parents, the kids enjoyed the replacement entertainment: s'mores by our own ROARING campfire.

Sunday, we traveled up the Parkway to Mount Mitchell. Stopping at several sites along the way - including a few overlooks and the Folk Arts Center - our stay at Mitchell was brief. We had planned to have a picnic lunch, but it started raining as we pulled into the parking lot. We ran up to the top, snapped a few photos, then walked briskly down to our car where we ate our lunch in the cramped confines of our Highlander. On the way back to Pisgah, we stopped at Craggy Gardens so I could stamp my Park Passbook in the visitor's center. Guess who I should see as I'm walking in? None other than my "favorite" Ranger who can't start a fire!

Raining the entire trip back to Pisgah, Richard and I decided that we shouldn't stay another night. We had a few educational moments during that drive back - explaining to the children how flash floods work [despite a very impassioned argument by Will who said that God sent the rainbow promising not to flood the earth again - and my explanation that the rainbow doesn't mean God can't flood a mountain].

After making another wonderfully filling dinner, this time of chicken breast cooked in sweet tea and a mixture of tomato sauce and spices, we packed up our things and headed home.

Our weekend was full of camping, the outdoors, games, nature studies, and various interludes of my reading about spies of the Civil War and Isaac Newton. I love homeschooling!

Weekly Report: August 25-28, 2011 (Week 4)

Free play at the college

Homeschool group picnic
Dentist
C0stc0

That's what we did for week 4! Well, that and some school. We got our hours in, but with all of the running around, I don't feel as though we accomplished much - short of some math, spelling, grammar, reading. We did our Civil War and Physics lessons, but they were a bit lackluster this weekend, if only due to the fact that we didn't have time for the activity/experiment. So, I'm planning on reviewing those lessons in Week 5.

We did, however, have fun at two of the activities. (The dentist visit was helpful, but not exactly fun; and I think the kids are over going to C0stc0 with me, but we must eat!) The play was The Three Little Pigs and Little Red Riding Hood. It was cute, interactive, and the kids had a blast. We took a friend with us and all of the kids, even Chaucer, enjoyed the entertainment - and my kids always have to put their 2 cents in (thank goodness it was "interactive," so responses from the audience were welcomed).

The homeschool group picnic was fabulous, too! We saw some friends we've made in the past few months and made new friends, too! I'm so looking forward to all of the activities and gatherings planned for the school year. (And to all the homeschooling nay-sayers who criticize homeschooled children for lack of socialization: there are over 75 kids in this group!) So excited!

Weekly Report: August 18-21, 2011 (Week 3)

Our third week of the new school year has brought an exciting change: Tricky has decided to take Karate with her brother and sister! This was a happy revelation - I've been "working on" Tricky off and on for many months now, but gave up several weeks ago. I wanted her to take Karate for several reasons including the fact that it wouldn't cost us any more per month and it would give her some structured physical eduction. On her first night, I could tell that she has been watching her siblings for a year - and she had a BLAST!

We didn't get as much done this weekend as I had hoped. I had to go to court on Thursday - yes, I occasionally visit the courtrooms of the circuit in which I practice. I've been going in far more frequently than I had in the past. Going to court has given me more confidence in myself and my abilities; I credit my recent appearances with giving me the courage to take to the stage with my children and perform. No, one doesn't have much to do with the other, except that for a woman previously cloaked in the veil of severe stage fright, I have found a calm place I can tap into and bring that calm to the surface. Fear abates, butterflies subside, and I can handle people watching me, expecting from me, criticizing me, applauding me. (And it's a bit of a rush, too!)

We started the Civil War study in earnest. I love it! The kids were surprised and entertained at my attempts to let them know the various theories of what a rebel yell sounded like. We performed a few physics experiments with states of water. Casey complained about math while Will begged for more and Tricky asked, expectantly, when she will start ("At the beginning of September"). We didn't cover as much Spanish as I had hoped, but we plugged through our Language Arts subjects.


I was able to point out a painful truth about public school versus home school. On Friday, a little girl who lives a few doors away came over at 1:00. She is home schooled, too, by the way. I was starting lunch and invited her to stay. After we ate, I let the kids run through the house - and as they did so, they were screaming at the tops of their lungs. (No, this doesn't bother me; I wasn't allowed to have friends over and scream, and since it was a bit too warm for the kids to play outside, I didn't mind.) At 2:00, I asked them to stop and take notice. Knowing that, at times, these children wonder about the "mysteries" of public school (you know, the whole grass-is-greener mentality), I said to the kids, "You know, public school has started again. Do you think the public school kids are running around their houses screaming and playing? Or, do you think they are sitting at their desks, doing work, waiting for 3:00 when they can finally go home for the day?" I think I made my point! :)

Well, onward to week 4!

Weekly Report: August 11-14, 2011 (Week 2)

We had a good weekend. We're starting to settle into our routine. Although I don't get a lot of down time on the weekends, I am quite productive - with the possible exception of getting the laundry done (or, um, started). My husband needed khakis, Tricky had no jammy pants, and Casey complained that she had no outfits that matched. So, laundry aside, things are happening at our house!

We continued the Modern Era of History by discussing Livingstone and Stanley. I have a post here on my blog with a link to a list of Netflix movies. I began updating that list and adding SOTW 4 movies a week ago. I had a Livingstone movie on my list that was available on "Watch Instantly." Well, by the time we were ready to watch the movie on Saturday, guess what? No longer on "Watch Instantly." Nice. Oh well...

I had a few battles with the children - all of them - over the course of the weekend. Most of the battles involved getting school work done in a timely fashion. I'm trying something new - no breaks between chunks of work if the kids dilly dally while doing their work.

The children and I took an impromptu, unplanned field trip to a courthouse in Homer, Georgia. While researching the Civil War, I learned that the Banks County Courthouse was built from 1860 to 1863 using slave labor. For a spur-of-the-moment trip, I'm happy I could find something to tie in our trip to something we'll be studying in the VERY near future.


The children are enjoying Spanish almost as much as History. Even Chaucer is getting in on the action - he now says "Hola" instead of "Hi!"

Good week!

Weekly Report: August 4 - 7, 2011 (Week 1)

Our school year is off to a fabulous start (other than first-day toddler training)! To celebrate our first day, once we finished, we went to McDonald's for ice cream!



Before I get into the nitty-gritty of our week, you may notice that the dates for our school week run Thursday through Sunday. I work three days a week so my (poor) children have school the other four days. Oh! They do an hour or so of extras on the days they are with their nanny. (They do get breaks, trust me!)

We all love History - our breakfast table subject - and we've started with Story of the World 4 this year. I have modified the material covered to expand the time we will be studying the Civil War (or the War Between the States as some of my friends are apt to say) and World War II. I've decided that we'll skip things like the Vietnam War and the couple of decades between the collapse of Communism in Europe and 9/11. The kids always enjoy the projects that go along with any given lesson - and this week's project was no exception. We made Enfield cartridges and compared the time to load an Enfield rifle versus loading a Brown Bess. Richard, our resident gun enthusiast, was more than happy to help make cartridges made of flour, wax paper, and tin foil, then load them into paper towel rolls!


Our other breakfast table subject (History gets 2 days, Science gets 2 days) is Elemental Science - Physics for the Grammar Stage. We explored states of matter with three experiments! Richard has been enlisted to help us do our projects this year and he seemed to enjoy lending a hand.

Now that Casey is in fourth grade, she is using Saxon 5/4. What a blessing! A year ago, thinking of what this year would be like with 3 kids doing different levels of math, I was struggling with the idea that school was going to take us 9 hours a day simply because of all the time spent on various maths. However, I bought the Saxon Dive CD and Casey has a more self-guided approach to math this year. Of course, I check over her work and pop over to make sure she's understanding the concepts taught.

Will's favorite subject is math, but he's not thrilled with Language Arts. I had used Rod & Staff materials for Grammar, Phonics, Spelling, and Writing with Casey, but I'm changing things up a bit for both Will and Casey. Spelling and Phonics is still courtesy of R&S, however, I'm test driving Writing with Ease and First Language Lessons. So far, I like both, but I'm concerned that FLL isn't as "hard core" as Rod & Staff for Grammar. Surprisingly enough, Casey said that she misses the work she did in the R&S Grammar books. ("WHAT?!?")

Tricky is learning how to read. I used "Teaching Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" with her older siblings, but I'm using "The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading" with the Trick. She needs some additional attention to the sounds letters make and the first 26+ lessons of OPGTR do a wonderful job of it.

In addition to learning to read, Tricky will start Kindergarten Math (Saxon) at the beginning of September. She asks daily if she can start it, but I'm holding off until I get into the groove [I can't deny that Madonna - not the Blessed Mother - popped into my head as soon as I typed that] with everything else to introduce Math to Tricky.

I took Latin off our plate not far into last school year. I've replaced Latin with Spanish this year. So far the kids love it. I may spend 2 or 3 years on Spanish then tackle Latin again. There was just too much of a learning curve for me with Latin and, given my schedule and the fact I have NO TIME to learn Latin right now, I opted for a language I'm more comfortable with. We are using "Learning Spanish with Grace" - a Spanish program developed by a Catholic mom. I'm looking forward to taking the kids to a Spanish Mass once we learn more vocabulary and prayers.

Well, I'm off to work on organizing all of our materials and making a plan for our weeks to be spent on the Civil War. Good luck to everyone starting the new school year!

A New School Year

Our school year has gotten off to an AMAZING start! (I can only hope our entire year goes so well!) I think the thing that is helping the most is my fabulous planner. I make my own in Excel; because our homeschooling schedule is not traditional (we school Thursday through Sunday), I started making my own a couple of years ago. Also included in my planner are tentative schedules for Casey and Will and my plan for history (SOTW 3 and "From Sea to Shining Sea"). So far, the hours I spend planning everything out are paying off!

We started this school year on July 30. Casey is in third grade, Will is in first, Tricky is in PreK 3/4, and Chaucer is... well, he's everywhere.

Chemistry is the science choice for the YEAR - a whole year on one subject, help me. We started off with an experiment - making ice cream. I remember making ice cream in my high school chemistry class using milk, salt, and a baby jar. The high school ice cream experiment was a flavorless (save for all the salt) disaster. Homeschool ice cream, on the other hand, was SOOOO very good (especially considering it was 97 degrees that day).
Chemistry is brought to Gratia Plena Academia by Elemental Science.


History has been fun, too! We're using Story of the World 3 and From Sea to Shining Sea - along with 10 weeks of the American Revolution for Kids - for the spines. I also have a TON for independent reading for Casey (and a few for Will, too). This weekend we're discussing King James I, Guy Fawkes, Jamestown, Pocahontas, and John Smith. I've planned some great field trips this year - hopefully we'll even make it to Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Roanoke Island before this school year is over!

Will was initially very excited about all of his school books - he has a significantly higher number of workbooks for first grade than he did last year. Notice, I said "was... excited." Reality set in quickly - he now realizes with all those new workbooks comes more work!

Tricky is excited to be working along side her brother and sister - but also enjoying the freedom she has to go play after working for a short while.

Chaucer is (as I said before) everywhere - crawling, standing, grabbing, squealing, eating, and playing. I love it!


As for extracurriculars, Casey and Will are both taking piano, voice lessons, and karate. Fun!

Our 4-day week switch...

My maternity leave ended 3 weeks ago. I was sad to leave my children - and cried over leaving my little man, but my co-workers and boss received me with open arms and told me how much I had been missed. The kids have a new nanny and they absolutely adore her! However, the nanny's other part-time job and my part-time job schedules didn't mesh perfectly, so we were able to make some changes. So, beginning tomorrow, the homeschooling schedule will be Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I'll go to the office Monday through Wednesday. I'm so happy the nanny and I were able to work out a schedule and I can keep my four-day weekends!

During my maternity leave, I took Will and Tricky out of their preschool/daycare, knowing that once the baby was born, all of the children would be cared for by one person on my work days. I had to purchase some books for Tricky and some additional materials for Will. [By the way, did you know Rainbow Resource has bargain books now?!]


I've started an Art History study with the kids. So far we've learned about Botticelli and Leonardo DaVinci. (Unfortunately, we missed the DaVinci exhibit at the museum.) I think I'm learning as much as the children. For example, I knew DaVinci was an amazing artist and inventor, too. He was also a scientist, botanist, anatomist, musician, mathematician, and from what I've read, handsome, too. A Renaissance man in the Renaissance - they don't make 'em like that anymore!

I've started will on Explode the Code 1. He actually enjoys the worksheets immensely! (His big sister HATED Explode the Code!) Hopefully, he'll continue to enjoy it... hey! I can dream, can't I?

Tricky is hard at work learning to spell her name, singing our Address song (a tune I made up so that the kids can learn our address and phone number... I made it up when Casey was 2), learning the letters and sounds, and (as she likes to say) tracing the lines. The Rod & Staff books I bought are wonderful - and Tricky loves doing work with her big sister and brother!

Casey and Will are also progressing nicely with their piano and voice lessons. Recently, they participated in the National Federation of Music Clubs festival. Casey sang The Lord is Good to Me and Sing, and played two pieces on the piano; while Will sang Mickey Mouse March and Take Me Out to the Ballgame. Both received Superior ratings for their performances!

As for Chaucer... he's smiling and cooing (or saying "good" if you ask Richard). He also discovered his hands a few days ago! I'm sure finding his hands is "good" if you ask him!

Weekly Report for Our Week Ending 11/23/09

Wow! I've really neglecting my blog lately... it's been 3 weeks since I last posted! Between work, homeschooling, cleaning at home (read: MAJOR NESTING going on), parties, and other activities, blogging hasn't been a priority. (I'm sorry little blog.) At least I'm here right now!

We have been schooling as much as possible, given the upcoming holidays and the time we'll take off from school once the baby is here. Casey is FLYING through Saxon Math 2 - it seems as though the lessons are dotted with a lot of review, so some days we double up on lessons. Today, we'll be baking a pound cake - part math, part home economics, and part stocking up on food to freeze so we can eat (and I don't have to cook) once the baby comes.

For science, the kids are learning about dinosaurs. I thought it would be a nice, short unit to cover - and we'll get to go on a field trip or two to Fernbank! I love Fernbank! Today, we discussed meat-eating versus plant-eating dinosaurs. Even Tricky can spot a plant eater in a crowd of ravenous carnivorous dinos!

Will's reading is coming along nicely. Instead of going straight through 100 Easy Lessons, I've also tried to interject some Bob Books. He doesn't get as frustrated with this process as Casey did, thank goodness! However, Will doesn't enjoy writing or coloring or drawing. On occasion he'll draw a picture - recently, he drew one of my with the baby in my tummy. I cried - his artistic expression, at least as far as drawing pictures goes, is so rare, it usually brings tears; this picture was especially sweet.

So, that's a bit about school... On other fronts...

The baby has been trying to push its way out - via my left side. OUCH! Everything is coming along - including my stockpiling of home birth supplies. Tomorrow marks 5 weeks until my due date. Just think.... we'll be a family of 6 in a month!

I can hardly believe that Thanksgiving will be this Thursday! I decided to keep it easy this year and order our food from Honey Baked Ham. Did you know they have sides and desserts - things other than just turkeys and hams? I'm so excited! And given what I'll spend at HBH, I probably would have spent the same amount of money on food and ingredients for cooking at home PLUS a lot more time and energy (and this girl is getting tired early and often these days)!

I hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Oh! And don't forget Black Friday - one of my favorite days of the year! [And, yes, I'll be out there with the rest of the deal-seekers before dawn on Friday!!!]

Weekly Report: Week Ending August 27, 2009

Well, in all honesty, we didn't have a very productive week - from the planned homeschool realm. However, it was fun as far as the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants perspective.

As you (may or may not) know, our homeschooling week begins on Friday and goes through Monday. Sometimes, because Daddy is home on Saturday and Sunday, we can get off course. So, it was one of THOSE weeks.

Friday was good... We started discussing the Moon, did all of our Language Arts and Math work, started our Chapter for Catholicism for the week, and got a lot of work done. As I've blogged before, Saxon 2 isn't wowing me this year so far, so Casey is working between 3 and 6 (yes, 6) lessons per day. It's so much review right now and she worked and reviewed all summer the things she learned from Saxon 1 last year. On Friday, I also discovered the juggling required in teaching more than one child at a time. I had Casey doing her independent work, then got Will going on a color, cut and paste activity, while I worked with Tricky on shapes, colors, and counting. Whew! I must admit, I was quite proud of myself when they were all working quietly for about 20 minutes!!! I had a few moments to organize part of the school room.

Saturday is when the "plan" started to crumble. After attending a co-worker's baby shower, Richard and the children picked me up. As we were heading home, Richard and I discussed how pleasant the weather was. First we thought of just going on a hike, but then decided we couldn't pass up the opportunity to go camping. We wound up on top of a mountain in a state park and had a blast! Grilling hot dogs, toasting marshmallows, making s'mores, air mattress not holding air, pain for the expectant mommy, so the expectant mommy read a book until 4:00 in the morning until she was able to go to sleep sitting up in camping chair. A BLAST! (Sarcasm inserted here.)

I did take the opportunity to discuss the stars and Moon, begin our SOTW2 chapter on Islam (even using my iPhone to show the kids a few videos of Muslims in prayer).

We did manage to make an edible oasis, begin our 28-day Moon observation, start Music Matters for Tricky and Will, and throw in some piano and performance classes. All in all, not a complete loss!

Weekly Report: Our Week Ending 8/10/09

Phew! We made it! Another week down and many, many more to go.

I've blogged before about Casey's loathe to do Rod & Staff English, but, bless her heart, she does it with very little complaint. Today, I gave her three choices of what to do first: English, Cursive (which she loves), and the Prince and the Pauper chapter (which she enjoys, also). She chose English "to get it over with." I just had to smile - and give her a hug while telling her how proud I am of her.

Nothing too exciting happened this week - other than Casey saying good-bye to her Camp Mega friends (the kids she went from daycare through preK with; and with whom she spent my working days this summer). She was sad that she was leaving until I reminded her that her friends are returning to their schools, too.

Will is progressing with his reading. He BEGS for his reading lesson every day!

In the coming weeks, I'll be working out our extra-curriculars. Casey has had a 3-week hiatus from piano lessons - lessons will start back on August 17. Will is starting piano the same day - so excited! I'm also looking into a P.E. for Homeschoolers class and a dancing and singing performance group for Casey. She may also be starting Brownies at the end of this month.

So, see why I said phew? This month is going to put my scheduling skills to the test, for sure!

Great week!

I was on the lite side of homeschooling this weekend, so Richard filled in.

At first, Casey wasn't happy about her "substitute" teacher and made it known. I reminded her that Daddy is just as much her teacher as I am. She and Will both enjoyed what Richard taught them: computers - input and output, how calculators work, and (best of all) he taught them how to add and subtract using an abacus! [Casey mentioned that now she doesn't have to know her addition and subtraction facts as she can just use an abacus. I quickly squelched that notion!]

Richard also invited us outside to play a game of croquet! (Not to gloat, but I won!)

Casey and I worked on math flashcards, studied St. Augustine of Canterbury, and worked on memorizing At the Sea Side by Robert Louis Stevenson. Will and I are still working our way through 100 Easy Lessons. Tricky is... well, Tricky.

I want to call this a Weekly Report...

I want to call this a Weekly Report, but since it's early July, I may wait until August to start doing official Weekly Reports. (The other idea I'm debating is whether or not to post my Weekly Reports on Fridays like everyone else, or do them at the true end of our school week - Monday.)

We had a great weekend! We're still a bit light on the curriculum as I haven't started Math (other than some review work), Catholicism, or Art as of yet. Those will pop in in August. Even with those subjects absent, we had a busy school week. I think the highlight of this weekend, besides a brief hike we took on Saturday, including a brief jaunt on the AT (Appalachian Trail), was our study of King Arthur (both the legend and the myth) and our read-aloud companion The Story of King Arthur and His Knights.

For science, we discussed stars - types and life cycles. It was cloudy every night this weekend so we weren't able to break out our telescope.

Will is doing well with 100 Easy Lessons. I'd been somewhat sporadic up to this point, but he's with it and excited! I gave him four Bob Books to take to bed tonight. I'm so happy! I have yet another child who is embracing reading! Will is also learning some basics about the piano because he'll be starting lessons next month - another exciting development for my little guy.

Our Week Ending April 2, 2009

What a GREAT week we had! Richard even taught for a day!

Will has officially started learning to read - using 100 Easy Lessons - and he's so happy. I think he finally feels like he's REALLY doing school, too! I got the book spiral bound a couple of weeks ago and I'm so happy I did. Pages were falling out! It's a great book, but the binding on mine was terrible! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE spiral binding. It's not pretty on the shelf, but, for books I actually use (and use often), I like that I can fold back my book or lay it flat. It's the little things that make me happy...

Casey has been reading like a fiend lately. I got a shipment of used books in the mail this week, including about a dozen or so American Girl books. Casey flipped out! She's already read 3 of them! I would list the books Casey has been reading, but I fear the backlash (*wink**wink* you know who you are); suffice to say, Casey has read over 30 books in the last month. [Well, I guess I can say the authors and you can solve the title mystery yourselves: Barbara Park, Judy Blume, Carolyn Keene. Yes, fluff reading for the most part, but Casey's been working so hard...]

I won't go into a lot of detail with what we've been covering lately, with the exception of History. We read about Ancient India, Hinduism, Buddhism, Shiva, and Siddhartha. We followed up on the Buddhism part of Story of the World by visiting our local Buddhist Temple. It's still under construction, but it is a beautiful building so far. I did encounter a monk as I was taking pictures of the temple (from at least 200 yards away, I might add). I don't believe he spoke English given my ramblings and his blank stare. Although, he did point toward the temple and utter, "No...in." We left with a smile and a wave and a picture of the temple.

Our Week Ending 26 February 2009

Wow! Yet another month almost over...

This past week was so much fun, albeit cut a little short due to illness - all three were sick at some point in the last several days. I thought their symptom combination a bit bizarre: headache, low-grade fever, runny nose, and some lethargy - all lasting, at the most, about 36 hours.

Casey had a piano recital Saturday night, a piano recital that almost didn't happen for her due to the aforementioned sickness. An hour before we were to be at the recital location, she was still feverish (despite ibuprofen) and writhing in pain from her headache. I called her teacher and said we probably wouldn't be there, but 5 minutes after that phone call, Casey felt fine. She gave a beautiful performance!


Math is going well, although, we are starting to play a bit of catch up now that I've assessed the number of lessons remaining and the time frame I would like to see Saxon 1 come to an end for Casey. We missed quite a bit last November and December due to the holidays and various family emergencies - and math is the subject which suffered most. Casey loves doing all of the addition and subtraction flash cards! On the other hand, I'm starting to see a look of dread whenever I pull out a worksheet full of addition and subtraction problems.

Our favorite subject this past week was, without a doubt, science. Our subject was the respiratory system. We talked about lungs, breathing, hiccups, coughing, choking, phlegm - and the kids loved it. We also made a lung model - even Tricky learned something about respiration!


Casey will probably earn her Book It Pizza Hut coupon for February either today or tomorrow. She's a few pages away from finishing both Matilda and Very Funny, Elizabeth!

Will is still coming along on his letters. I'm resisting the urge to break out 100 Easy Lessons. (Soon, Angela, soon.)

You may notice that my weeks always end on a Thursday. Our school week runs on a different schedule than most - our school week begins on Friday and (actually) ends on Monday. Those are the days I don't work so those are the days we do school. [And yes, I realize that I technically shouldn't teach on Sunday, but we do go to church and keep school light on Sunday. If I didn't teach on Sunday, my children likely couldn't be homeschooled. So if you want to rat me out, go ahead; guarantee my children a substandard education.] Pardon my momentary mini-tirade.

So that's our week! Thanks for popping in!

Our Week Ending 19 February 2009

It's been a while since I've blogged. Life is taking over, I suppose.

The kids and I had a great week! All of our subjects are coming along nicely as we are nearing the final quarter of our home school year. The first full year will be over in just a few months. Seeing the bookmarks in our texts is the clearest gauge of how far we've come - and how little there is left to cover.

I'm so excited to be nearing the end that I've already chosen my texts for next year!

As for now, Casey is enjoying our human body unit. This week, she and her brother learned about the circulatory system - complete with a real stethoscope (my mom thought it was a toy one until she heard Tricky's heartbeat). The kids enjoyed listening to everyone's heart pumping that oh so vital fluid through their bodies. We even listened to our dog's heartbeat - much to the chagrin of our little Shih Tzu, Sweet Pea.

Ancient Rome is turning into a subject Casey is interested in. So, we may spend an extra week or so reading books other than SOTW 1.

Casey was invited to a Poetry Reading and Luncheon for homeschoolers this past Tuesday. She and her Nonnie got all dressed up - complete with hats and gloves - and joined several other children of various ages to recite poems they've learned and share a spot of tea! Casey LOVED it! I'm thinking I might have to host something of the sort this spring! I wish I could've been there, but it was held on one of my office days.

Casey is also well into her choir rehearsals! This season, they will be performing Broadway tunes. The Sound of Music, Getting to Know You, Whistle a Happy Tune, and various songs from Annie are being rehearsed (and memorized). I LOVE listening to show tunes - especially when they're being sung by my children's sweet little voices! Yes, even Will and Casey know the words since they've heard the songs so many times.

Will is so excited about the prospect of reading - and we're very close to starting 100 Easy Lessons. Hopefully, in April we'll start. [Note to self: Get that book spiral bound in March!]

And while her brother and sister are homeschooling, Tricky is coloring up a storm on pink paper or the wipe-erase board.

So, that's our week - sort of!

Our Week Ending 15 January 2009

I'm back and we're back to school - full throttle!

Our human body study has started off well. We've outlined Casey's body and have it hanging on the wall to add to as we learn about the various systems of the body. (Hanging that long piece of paper was no easy feat when I only had 6, 4 and 2 year olds to help!)

As for history, we spent the weekend discussing the Greek Gods and the Trojan War. And, yes, I did show Casey and Will some snippets from the movie "Troy." No battle scenes or love scenes - they enjoyed seeing the Trojan Horse on the beach and hearing Achilles crying out for Hector.

We've started Latin again -from the beginning. I've made GREAT flashcards. Richard made fun of some of the pictures I chose - but that's to be expected. I broke out my little laminator and went to town. I laminated Latin cards, alphabet cards for Will, and addition and subtraction fact cards. I love to laminate!

Math is going well! For the last year, math was usually one of the last things we did in our school day, but I noticed Casey was so tired of working (and, quite frankly, I was tired, too), so I've moved that to the first subject we study once we move into our school room after breakfast. It's working out so much better. Casey is focused and I'm energetic!

Will is working through Get Ready for the Code. With any luck, we may be ready for 100 Easy Lessons by Spring! He's so excited about the prospect of reading!

One thing we started doing with the arrival of the new year is studying about works of art with a painting-per-day calendar for 2009. I also scrounged up my Art Book to provide some information on the artist, background information on the paining (if the painting is in the book), or additional works by the artist. We don't spend more than just a few minutes every day, but it's something Casey looks forward to.

Casey has started up choir and piano lessons again. Her children's choir will be performing Broadway tunes. They've started learning pieces by Rogers & Hammerstein - "The Sound of Music," "Getting to Know You," and others. Casey is wanting to see "The King and I." Maybe for movie night soon.

I've also started showing Will some piano basics - high notes, low notes, black keys, middle C. I just want him to know a little bit before he starts piano lessons this summer. He's thrilled!

As for Tricky - someone asked a few days ago (after hearing her rattle on for several minutes about the dinosaur puzzle she was working) how old she is. I responded that she's 2 and has suddenly become VERY talkative.

And, me? I've been absent from blogging for a while. I've started my Motivated Moms calendar for 2009 and it's become a bit of an obsession. Not to mention, I had to get through the holidays and birthday season (everyone in my home has a birthday between early November and late December... everyone except me). Life is slowly returning to normal - cleaner... but normal.