Not Much

Well today was one of those days.   We started out really cold, cloudy and raining.   It sure does make it hard to focus.   Since I went to bed so late last night, I slept in.   9:30 to be exact.   Ugh.   This just means on a short day, it gets even shorter.   I was slow moving this morning.  Son is so great lately that he was ready to start me a pot of coffee.   When suddenly I remembered, we had put a couple of diet sodas in the freezer for dad who was coming home at midnight.   I hated the thought of opening the freezer, but I had to look.  



















See son's "experiments"?  hehe  We will be taking those frozen balloons to launch them in the ditch with his giant sling shot. I got it for him at the homeschool convention this past summer.





What a wreck isn't it?   Well thanks to the kids we got it all cleaned up.  

 

 

 











Much better!  I didn't put all that ice cream back in either.   Looks brand new.   I hated putting anything in there.   I threw out a lot but what I kept went into the freezer in the garage.

For school we did our meeting prep.   Bible reading and things like that.   Then I had them write a grocery list.   They even took the dogs out for a short walk in the rain.   I figure that's good schooling.   hehehe

As for tomorrow, we will do some quick math then off to the store and some errands with those lists they wrote for me. 

Monday, Monday.....

Well, it was a school day today.   Unfortunately we only got home ec. done.   hehehe  I am glad about that too.   It got cold this evening.   We started out with nice sunny weather then it changed to dark clouds.   I believe it was in the 70's today.   Tonight it is in the 50's and very windy.   So although we were in shorts today, tomorrow we will be in jeans and long sleeve shirts.   

We did finish a read aloud we had checked out from the library.   A friend had told me about the book Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt.   We just finished the 2nd book in the series.   We liked the series, so I am sure we will be checking out the 3rd one this week.   While I did most of the cleaning, the kids folded laundry and put away clean clothes.  They also did some writing on their own and then we did a bit of wrestling.   hehehe   I love getting down on the ground with them and tickling them 'til they cry uncle.   hahaha

Well I'm off til tomorrow.  Night!

Homeschool?

Ok. I have made a new decision. Since Thursdays are very short for me, I have decided we will make that our "game" day. My son feels that he needs more play time. Isn't that funny? I think what he means is that he needs more mommy time. It is still a form of learning anyway. For example, have you ever played this game? ......



hehehe Well, its Spanish isn't it? hehehe We also played Uno. Before, after and between games we had our Bible reading and other meeting prep. Sounds like homeschool to me.


I'm sure all homeschool moms can relate. It just seems that time gets away from me. I have been feeling so crummy for so long. Now with our change in diet, I seem to have more energy and a more positive attitude. I think the kids see that as well, so they want to take advantage of it. I always tried to keep house and was always worried that it wasn't organized enough. I know our home will never come out in the pages of Better Homes and Gardens. I do want the children to look back on their childhood and reflect on all the love and fun that we had as a homeschool family. It's important. The mountains of laundry will always be there as will the inches of dust and the dirty windows. Believe me I do my best to clean, but I have realized that I don't need to spring clean everyday. If by chance someone happens to drop by unannounced, then I just hope they aren't offended. I will not apologize, nor will I make excuses. We live here. 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week. (and if it really bothers them, they can pitch in anywhere they see fit. I can always use a maid.)

Now I'm off to get my z's. Happy Homeschooling!

2 Months Absent

WOW!! Time sure flies. It has been 2 months since I have posted. A lot has happened in that time. Nothing really great as far as schooling. By that I mean we do our usual. The 3 R's! Believe me, I am grateful just to get that done. We have finished a lapbook on maps and globes. It was fun and had a lot to learn.

Dad changed jobs again. Went back to his old one. :( Nope we are not too happy about that. He is working Monday thru Friday and gets out early, but there are still other issues there.

The next big thing that has kept me busy is our new "diet". We are now eating raw. I would say 80% raw. Yep that's what I said. We have hardly any meat and when we do its chicken. The rest are raw fruits and vegetables. We were doing a lot of nuts and seeds, but I want to keep the fats down to a minimum. I feel so much better and I definitely do notice a difference in energy level. It has been since December and I can actually say I even see a smoothness in my skin. It is very soft and even the fine lines have seemed to begin smoothing out. I personally don't have cravings to go back to fast food or beef, but i think hubby does.

We also had a death in the family. Hubby's grandmother. We have been busy with family. It's unfortunate that we don't see each other until someone dies. I guess that happens to most.

Oh and we have a new family member. Not named yet, since we don't know if its male or female. We should be able to tell in another week.

Isn't it cute?!

And look at this gift we received from a dear friend....







EWW!



THANKS, FRIEND!!!

Homeschool Day

No traditional school for us today. It was a wet, cold and dreary day. We had an 8am eye appointment. Then we rushed back to make some "wash day" soup for lunch. We read from our latest book Earthborn. Then headed back out to a couple of dental appointments. I thought it was interesting that my 9yr old seemed to be more aware of things going on. He showed a great deal of interest at the optometrist's office. They were very nice and accommodating too. They even showed him how the boxes with the animals work. Since he does not need glasses, he had not been there in a long time. Sister has astigmatism and is nearsighted. He was able to see how all the instruments they use work to get the best lenses for her vision. So although we did not have traditional school, we did have school of sorts. It was more a like a field trip! By the way, hot chocolate and some banana nut cake sure make a yummy breakfast on a day like today. YUM!

A New Week

Well we started off like a firecracker. A big bang with lots of fun and color and ended with a fizz. hehehe Oh well. We schooled really well the 1st 3 days then a few things came up that we needed to get taken care of by the last 2 days of the week. Today is Monday and we missed it too. Well tomorrow is Tuesday and I hope and pray to be back on schedule. I have some math, writing, and science ready to go. It is the 2nd day of the week and I have to keep that in mind. Of course the whole world is on holiday today because it is Memorial Day. I wasn't planning on taking the day off but that's how it worked out. I'm ready. I hope they are too.

--------------------------------Hump Day!

Ok today is Wednesday. It's over and I am so glad. The boy and I got up at 7:30, but the girl didn't even budge until 8:30. It was the longest and hardest day so far. The boy was so moody that I had to keep reminding myself it's only the 3rd day. He was very upset about lunch. He wanted pizza and she wanted a taquito. The drama continued until around 5pm. Nope. No pictures today. hehehe I can only imagine the faces I'd see.

We did put in a full day of school. After breakfast we worked on Language Arts, Science, and Writing. We did some oral reading, chores, and a little more science with our wonderful new video. Today was still good. I hope we can still keep up our schedule. It's always a challenge since I'm a "stay at home" mom. hehehe

TOMORROW WILL BE BETTER!

Something New

Ok, first of all, I just want to say that I changed my music playlist. I wanted it to reflect how I feel about my family....even if they do drive me CRAZY at times. hehehe

Now to get to what this blog is all about. We haven't been working on school too much except to do some writing, Bible reading, meeting prep, a little math, and art. Not much, right? hehehe
Today I will begin working on a schedule. Hopefully we will be able to keep up with it, but we will do our best. For me, I need things written down that I can see to help keep me on track. I am wanting to have at least 1 full day in the ministry so that must be included. Of course, we will still have out weekend for that as well, but since we are living in "critical times, hard to deal with" I thought this would be good for me. As soon as I get it all together, I will post my page on here. This is all the update I have for now. I may be on again later. hehehe

What Method Are You?

This is something I have been thinking about a lot lately. We started with a box curriculum. I loved it. I still do. Its hard to get away from it. Although it wasn't perfect, the teacher's manuals are a gold mine. So, thank you, CALVERT. I couldn't have done it without you. or maybe I could have, but I'm glad I didn't. I was looking thru the spring magazine from TOS and saw an article on the different methods of homeschooling. There are many styles. After reading it, I consider myself Eclectic. It is defined as a "mix of philosophies and curricula to accommodate each child's abilities and interests. Parents choose from any method or style only those components that fit their specific needs." I like the Charlotte Mason method, but I am still learning. I have learned to like Unit Studies by doing lapbooking. I think the Principle Approach is important because it puts emphasis on God's Word. A couple of examples of this is when we do our Bible reading or anytime we do nature study. The Classical approach uses the five tools of learning, known as the Trivium. They are reason, record, research, relate, and rhetoric. It is to teach people how to learn for themselves. This is important especially when getting ready for college. And who doesn't use Delight Directed? Isn't that what homeschool is all about? This is where learning is based on the child's interests. On the other hand, Unschooling is a relaxed setting in which learning is directed by the child. Last but not least, Traditional Textbook. This is a full-range, packaged, textbook type curriculum. Like my Calvert. hehe A little of everything suits us just fine. We have good easy days and some very busy difficult days. Sometimes its easier on all of us to just do what we like for that day. I'm sure this happens in all homeschoolers lives. So, what method are you?

Still Here

Today I was thinking about my blog and school. I haven't done much of either. Today was especially difficult due to a migraine that arrived Tuesday afternoon and didn't leave until Wednesday night. ha ha! Nope I'm not talking about a guest. I am talking about a real painful no light no noise debilitating throbbing can't even move my head headache. Of course life doesn't stop because of it. The trick is to train the children and do things as slowly and light as possible. It's good to teach them how to make their own lunch. They also helped taking care of the pets. They are old enough. I sure do appreciate them.

We did work on math today. She did multiplication and he did some regrouping subtracting double digits. I also looked at this web page Lesson plans and worksheets from learningpage.com. They had some books that will go with a study on bones or vertebrates.

Well tomorrow is another day.

Can you say, "I love homeschool!"?

Just having some fun with a magnetic board. See the skateboarder going up the ramp?

This is their favorite place when we read. Mom and Dad's bed. Having a snack while I read from One Eyed Cat. Even the dogs and cats enjoy reading time.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

After math, we had a nice easy day. I read stories from a couple of books and they drew pictures or had a snack while they listened. I love homeschooling, spending time with my babies, and being their teacher.

School Day!

Ah, Monday. It was cloudy and drizzling all day. The temp was between 66 and 69. Not too bad. A day in the life for the kids was as follows:

• Breakfast
• visit with dad (he got home from work around 10am)
• cleanup
• school (for Jamie)
• playtime (for Brandon)
• Brandon went with dad on motorcycle to grocery store
• Jamie helped clear school work bins (probably had papers in there from last year)
• late lunch
• more time with dad (they went to the grocery store and movie store)

All the while we were listening to songs on You Tube. Brandon loves High School Musical so we looked up songs from the movie.

A day in the life for me is as follows:

• wake up and make bed
• get dressed and put some clothes up from the day before
• wake daughter (son is already awake and boiling water for Rahmen Noodles)
• clean sofa entire sofa with Resolve (cleaning up Brandons cheese flavored noodles)
• daughter finally is up and in bathroom
• unstop the overflowing toilet in the main hall (which dumped out what seemed like an inch of water)
• keep son entertained by giving him a lesson in plumbing while I do the work
• throw load of towels into the washer (the ones that got soaked in the great flood)
• clean restroom now that we had a nasty over flow (might as well, I'm already there)
• make breakfast
• get things ready for school (clear off dining table and desks)
• still making breakfast
• turn on computer to put on upbeat music to help ME start the day on a positive
• Oh forgot coffee so I beg hubby (who just walked in the door from having worked nights) to make us some coffee
• serve breakfast, feed animals, grab my plate to sit at the computer to IM my brother at work and look for more music on You Tube
• visit with hubby
• get daughter out of her room again to school
• entertain son
• send son outside with dad
• took a quick ride with hubby on his motorcycle around the block (trying to squeeze in time for him too)
• school daughter
• dear hubby folds laundry that is waiting for me on the sofa
• still IM'ing
• play with my blog
• send hubby and son on errand to grocery store
• still schooling daughter
• checking on laundry/sending son to get clothes out of dryer
• (sigh) is it lunch time? throw corn dogs into oven
• do breakfast dishes
• heat myself up some leftovers so I don't pass out from low blood sugar
• give up on schooling son (sigh)
• sit at computer again
• pick up whatever is on the floor
• try to clear dining table a little
• start dinner (boiling chicken for casserole)
• no more school, but still listening to You Tube
• finish dinner and sit down for the day (on the sofa and ready for a movie)

All this takes place by 5:30pm. Now today my daughter made the statement that I have been at the computer all day. Ugh! Hahahaha!

I still have to wash dinner dishes, but I was waiting for everyone to finish up their showers. Dad took and short nap and joined me for the movie. It was Nanny Diaries. Then he put them both to bed. The little one gets and story and says prayer with daddy. The older one just gets tucked in and prayer with daddy.

Of course this is by no means typical. Anything can and will happen. Wake up time can have an effect on our day as well. This is just what took place today.