Green Hour Challenge #1

One thing that we have really missed out on during my blog block are the Green Hour Challenges at The Heart of Harmony. They are wonderful, and even though we are late to the game, we are going to join in.

First thing this morning, we went out to take a walk around our neighboorhood for Challenge #1. We have not done much nature study, and are true suburbanites, so we are still learning how to observe nature. The kids weren't noticing much, but kind of got into it by the end of the walk.

Our observations...

Two squirrels were chasing each other around and up the trunk of a tree (really funny). (We couldn't get close enough for a picture, so I'm using one I took last May in our backyard.)


These lilies were in full bloom in several yards. I am still trying to figure out exactly what kind of lily they are.


Our yesterday, today, and tomorrows are blooming. You can see the range of colors of the blooms in this picture.


Robert discovered this ant bed (nest?). You can't tell from the picture, but there are a lot of very tiny, but busy, ants.


After coming home, we read about ants and squirrels in The Handbook of Nature Study. I was thrilled to actually use this book, after having it sit on my shelf for about a year.

We didn't spend long on this - probably 30 minutes total. We haven't done any drawings yet, and I don't know if we will get that done this week. However, we did have nature study and I am thrilled about that. Thank you, Barb, for giving us an easy plan to follow! It was just what we needed.

My Week Summed Up In One Word

CRAZY! (Either the week is, or I am. I'll let you know my decision later.)

I'm finally back, after weeks of longing to blog, and I'm too stinkin' busy to find the time.

Full update when I return. It should be Sunday. Should be. We'll see.

Oh, It's Good to be Back

Hello, everyone. I cannot believe how much I missed being here. Even more, I missed knowing what was going on in your lives! This lenten sacrifice was incredibly hard. I don't know that I'll pick this one again. Wowza.

I was not perfect. I stumbled more times than I care to admit, but I was still on the internet for a lot less time. If you don't believe me, check out my bloglines. I have over 1400 blog posts unread. 1400!! Good grief. I fear I will never catch up. I've thought of selecting "Mark All Read", but I just cannot do it. So, if I have not returned to your blog, be patient. I'll get there.

I found that it is not enough to give up something for God, you have to replace it with something else. I started a Precept Bible study on Matthew that I found here. It's free and you can find online videos (also free) to go along with the lessons. I found that I did not have time to watch the videos, so I've just been doing the lessons. I took Precept training almost 15 years ago, but haven't done one of their studies in ages.

Here's a quick peek into our lives over the past few weeks.

Blog Break

I'm giving up writing for my blog reading blogs for Lent. I'll see y'all after Easter!

I'll still be checking my email, so you can contact me through any comments to this entry.

God bless!

LOST Thoughts

Did you see the season premiere of LOST last night? I stayed up way too late to watch it off the DVR. It was great!

I want to "talk" about my thoughts after watching last night's show. If you haven't seen it and plan to, read no further. Spoilers ahead.

- Who are the "Oceanic 6"?

Obviously, Jack, Kate, and Hurley are 3 of them. I really don't have any idea who the other 3 are. I was going to go ahead and guess 3 more names, but I really haven't a clue.

- Who's in the coffin?

Jack said it wasn't a friend or family. When Jack told Kate that he thought she might be at the funeral, she said something to the effect of, "Why would I go?"

I think it's Michael. If the survivors told that he betrayed them, that would explain the lack of attendees at his funeral. I've seen speculation that it's Ben or Locke. I don't think it's either of them because they would never leave the island. The only thing I can't figure out is why Jack would be so distraught over Michael's funeral.

Of course, this is Lost. Everything could change, and probably will.

- I really cried when Charley showed up to talk to Hurley. His death was so incredibly sad. :( I do wonder, though, if they will have him as a recurring character (albeit a dead one). I'd like that.

- Is Jack's dad no longer dead? He referred to him in the hospital ("let's call my dad"), but he could be a little looney. He did seem to be headed that way.

- Why isn't Kate in jail?

I think it's possible that her mother had a change of heart after Kate disappeared. She may have given Kate an alibi for the murder once she showed up again.

This looks like it's going to be a great (but short!) season. I like the back and forth between the present and future. It's really keeping me guessing. Please share your own ideas in the comments if you'd like.

Wordless Wednesday

Success!!

We have been very loosey-goosey in our homeschooling days lately. We have not had any type of real schedule and have not been accomplishing much. I decided things had to change.

I instituted a much more rigid schedule last Monday. Basically, they have a list of assignments, with time limits set. Whatever they do not finish, becomes homework.

Ruthie loved it. She got everything done without a bit of homework all week. Robert fought me every. step. of. the. way. It was awful. It was miserable. What a terrible week. He did not finish math on time a single day. Most days he didn't finish grammar on time, either. One day he didn't even finish Bible! I knew we needed to stick with it, but it was rough.

Fast forward to today. He finished everything. All of it. Not a bit of homework. Hallelujah! He is so proud of himself, and I'm proud of him too. Woo-hoo!

10 Days and Counting...

Will you be watching?

My Privileges

I found this very interesting. I did not grow up in what I would consider a privileged home. My dad was a school teacher and my mom was a secretary. There were plenty of things we could never afford (Gloria Vanderbilt jeans come to mind - remember those?). Yet I was able to say "yes" to more than half of these.

From What Privileges Do You Have?, based on an exercise about class and privilege developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University. If you participate in this blog game, they ask that you PLEASE acknowledge their copyright.

Bold the true statements.

1. Father went to college
2. Father finished college
3. Mother went to college
4. Mother finished college
5. Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor.
6. Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers.
7. Had more than 50 books in your childhood home.
8. Had more than 500 books in your childhood home.
9. Were read children's books by a parent
10. Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18
11. Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18
12. The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively
13. Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18
14. Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs
15. Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs
16. Went to a private high school
17. Went to summer camp
18. Had a private tutor before you turned 18
19. Family vacations involved staying at hotels
20. Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18
21. Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them
22. There was original art in your house when you were a child [kid's work is original!]
23. You and your family lived in a single-family house
24. Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home
25. You had your own room as a child
26. You had a phone in your room before you turned 18
27. Participated in a SAT/ACT prep course
28. Had your own TV in your room in high school
29. Owned a mutual fund or IRA in high school or college
30. Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16
31. Went on a cruise with your family
32. Went on more than one cruise with your family
33. Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up
34. You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family

HT: My Thoughtful Spot

Prayer Request

Please pray for my sister and her family. I don't feel comfortable sharing the specifics, but they could really use prayers on their behalf. God knows all.

Books I'm Reading

I plan on making a sidebar on the blog listing what I'm reading, but I thought I'd start it out here first.

I've found a lot of book recommendations at various blogs I visit. I've made a list of them and carry it in my purse. For now, I'm just getting a few every time we go to the library. I really hit the jackpot yesterday. I checked out Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright. I started it yesterday afternoon and finished it this morning. I had a hard time putting it down, and that hasn't happened in years. I thought it was a good jumpstart to get me back to enjoying reading. While I wouldn't necessarily call it "Christian fiction", it does have a strong Christian undercurrent.

Other things I'm reading (I tend to have several books going at one time):

Breathing Lessons - Anne Tyler
The Art of Teaching - Gilbert Highet
Charlotte Mason Series - Vol. 6 (Modern English) - Charlotte Mason
The Hound of the Baskervilles - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Weekly Report - January 7-11

This was our first week back after a 3 week break and it was a struggle for all of us. I had a hard time enforcing a routine. Next week should be better, though.

Our biggest event this week was my decision to add in IEW. I found Teaching Writing: Structure & Style, with all the video tapes and notebook, at Half-Price Books last summer. It was only $25, so I decided to get it. I didn't watch the first tape until last week, though. I really like it. I know it is very structured, but Robert definitely needs that, so I think it's a good fit for him. Ruthie is already very creative in her writing, so I'm sure I will de-emphasize the dress-ups when we get that far. She doesn't need much help in that area.

I'm following the syllabus in the notebook, so we spent this week just doing key word outlines. We did the first one all together. The next day, I let them choose a paragraph and I did it one-on-one with them. The following day, they did it completely on their own, just re-telling it to me from their key word outline when they were done. Next week we will begin actually writing the paragraphs.

We are still studying Handel for our composer study. We spent a long time on Handel's Messiah. Ruthie was able to recognize a modified Hallelujah chorus in a kid's show a couple of days ago. "Hey, that's Handel!" We listened to Vox's The Story of Handel and really liked it. Our library has a lot of them, but I just realized they are only $2.98 each at Amazon, so I may just go ahead and order them. The Vox CD ends with "Water Music", which works out well since that's our next piece to study.

Friday morning the kids played at a daycare for a class of 3 year olds. A friend of mine works there through a special early-intervention program with the school district. (Does that make sense?) I saw her at church Wednesday night and she said they had been studying musical instruments and asked if Robert and Ruth could come play for them. They agreed, and decided that they would play "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" together, then each play one piece of their own.

This was a great plan until we got there. Even though Griff had tuned the instruments that morning, Ruth's A string was completely out of tune. I called Griff and he walked me through adjusting it. While tightening the peg, I went too far and broke the string. Whoops! Ruthie was (understandably) upset. We finally decided Robert would play "Twinkle..." on his own, and she picked a different song - one that she could play with just her 3 lower strings. So, it worked out okay, but I could tell she was still upset. Especially when they asked Robert to go to two other classes and play "Twinkle..." for them. I felt very bad for having broken the string. :(

My goal for next week is to get us on more of a structured schedule. I think we'll accomplish a lot more.

Never Give Up... Never Surrender

Okay, I know I said I never make a New Year's Resolution about being organized. That's not to say, though, that I'm not constantly trying to be organized.

That said, I ordered the 2008 Motivated Moms chore planner a couple of days ago. This is the 3rd year in a row that I've bought it. You might think that means it's been highly successful for me. Well... no. I found that I still have to do the work. It's not going to magically get done just because I bought the planner. Nope. You have to actually use it for it to work. I finally figured that out. (I'm smart that way.)

I had decided I was not going to order it this year. Then, it seems that everywhere I go, people are talking about it. I can't get away from it! So, I figured it was a sign, and ordered it again. Eh, it's only $8.00, and now that I've figured out the key to it, maybe it will work for me.

My kids are going to love it. I'm going to use it as a method for assigning chores. (Hee!)

A Movie Recommendation

Have you seen the movie "Facing the Giants"? It's a wonderful, Christian movie that uplifts and inspires. We missed it at the movie theater, but Ruthie and I watched it a few months ago and we both loved it. After Christmas, I went and bought a copy of it. Griff then watched it and loved it as well.

After seeing the movie, Griff went online to do more research about it. In the process, he found out about a previous movie this same group (Sherwood Pictures) had done. It's called "Flywheel". I saw that Netflix had it, so I ordered it and we watched it this past Friday night. Wow! It has a very powerful message. It has made me think and desire, more than ever, to live for Christ.

From what Griff found out, "Facing the Giants" had a $100,000 budget. "Flywheel", on the other hand, only had a $20,000 budget, and that's definitely apparent at times. However, the message transcends all the technical problems and really shines through.

I have watched the movie a second time since Friday night and we will be purchasing it soon. I know it's one I'll watch over and over.

Note: I checked and Blockbuster Online also has "Flywheel". Also, the version I had from Netflix was not the Director's Cut shown here. I'm not sure what the differences are.

How I Spent My Weekend

When we moved into this house 5 years ago, Ruthie wanted a pink room. Now, as an almost-10 year old, she is rather tired of the pink. Since it was a glow-into-the-hallway pink, I can't say I blame her.

So, Griff and I spent this past weekend painting. On Saturday we primed over the original walls and I painted door trim. Sunday we painted with the finish paint. We still need to paint the baseboards before we can move the furniture back.

Saturday night I discovered that I am not as young as I used to be. My back and my painting arms were really aching. Sunday morning was even worse. I eventually worked out the kinks, but boy do I miss the days when I could paint all day and barely feel it.

There are other things we plan to do to her room.

• white beadboard up to chair rail height
• new furniture - bed, dresser, bedside table
• new curtains
• built-in desk and shelves (maybe)

I love the look of blue and white - it's so crisp and clean. I think it's going to look very nice when it's all done.

New Year's Resolutions

I decided several years ago that I was not making any more New Year's Resolutions. I cannot think of a single "worthy" resolution that I have kept for any length of time. Plus, I believe that if there is something about yourself you wish to change, you should not wait to change it.

However, I amended that resolution (ha!) later. I decided I could make one as long as it does not involve losing weight, exercising, or being organized. One year my goal was to get to bed every night before 10:00. THAT was a resolution that was easy to keep (back then it was, anyway - these days, not so much).

This year, my resolution can be summed in one word... read. This is going to be the year of the books. Now, I read quite a bit now, but it tends to all be children's books. Children's books are wonderful and fun, but I'm feeling the need to stretch myself.

So, I will be doing more reading for myself this year. Some of these books will stretch my mind mentally and spiritually and I will be a better person for having read them. Some of them will be pure fluff and mind candy, and that's okay. I will be reading... for me. And I will enjoy it.

Christmas Review

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas this year. We most definitely did.

I am now in recovery mode - trying to get everything cleaned up and organized after two weeks of fun. In fact, that is my goal for the time before we start school back up on the 7th. I have big plans for reorganization of some storage areas in our home.

Here's a quick overview of our Christmas this year.

Wanna See What I Made?

I get together with a group of friends once a month to scrapbook. We rotate homes and work on a layout from a kit put together by our Close to My Heart rep. Since we use her stamps and ink pads, it can be difficult to put them together at home if we missed a month. So, December was our month to "catch up" on any layouts we may have missed.

We went to Sandy's house and had a yummy lunch, then got to work. I chose to work on non-scrapbook projects that she had showed us in the past. I originally thought I would give them as gifts, but have decided to keep them for myself. I will, however, make them as gifts in the future.

We are going to hang this in the kitchen. (sorry for the glare spot)


The following is not actually finished yet, but I think they still look cute. They need to have another layer of decoupage, then I'm going to add ribbon and tags and other what-nots. (If you click on the picture, you can see it enlarged, but please don't. If you do, you'll see the dust that I thought would not show up in the photo. I was just so wrong about that.)

My picture looks all curvy, but I'm not sure why. Must be all that dust. :)


Aren't they purty? Merry Christmas to me!

Last Day to Vote!

I meant to post this reminder a couple of days ago, but then I got sick and, well, you know how it goes.

Go vote!! Now!! Vote!!

Today is the last day. Go!

(all links take you to the same place - here!)

A Dose of Christmas Realism

I love Christmas stockings. Love. Them. When I was a child, I would wake up on Christmas morning at dark-thirty and go to the den and check out the Christmas tree with all its presents underneath. I would always pull everything out of my stocking and see what was in there. There was never anything big, but I just loved it.

Since I married, I have wanted to make us beautiful, cross-stitch stockings. It hasn't happened. I have started the things more times than I can count and never gotten more than an inch or so done. And, since my children are rapidly aging (good grief, why can't they just slow down?! - but that's a whole other post), I've finally become realistic and admitted it's not going to happen.

So, yesterday, I ordered these. They are lovely, and just what I wanted. And, they only took me about 30 minutes to order, as opposed to months and months of painstaking, time-consuming, labor. And, hey!, you save $2.50 per stocking when you order three or more, so I saved money, too!

Now, off to shop for stocking stuffers...

P.S. I found out a couple of days ago that Robert also gets up very early Christmas morning and looks at everything in his stocking. Now, how can I possible be mad about that? LOL

12 Days of Christmas

I found this through TeacherBritt. It's great!

Winter Art Kit from Hearts and Trees

I've talked in the past about purchasing the Fall art kit from Hearts and Trees. We had a great time with it and I've been looking forward to the winter kit. (we did not finish all the fall projects, so I have things to save for next fall or fill "I'm bored!" days - yea!)

Well, the Winter Kit is now available! There are some great projects, including a fleece hat and a winter nature study lapbook. Those are just a couple of the projects available.

If you pre-order by December 7th, you are guaranteed a kit. After that, it's while-supplies-last. She's already had to increase her estimate, so I don't expect them to last long after the 7th.

You can find all the details here.

(BTW, I get nothing for recommending these kits. I'm just a very satisfied customer!)

In Which I Say the Word "Cute" Way Too Many Times

Ruthie has beautiful hair. It's thick, soft, and wavy. And, when the slightest bit of humidity hits, really, really... big. She has a very hard time caring for it. It always has tangles underneath, which doesn't help the "bigness" of it. She has wanted to cut it for quite awhile, but decided to wait for it to be long enough for Locks of Love.

Last week we made a haircut appointment for today and she decided it was THE DAY.

I took some pictures of the whole event.

Before... (Ironically, her hair was laying smooth and beautiful today.)



In the chair...


Notice 4 different ponytails. Lisa, who cuts our hair, said it was still hard to get the scissors through it. Like I said, thick hair.

The cutting begins...


And the final result (after being washed and cut properly)


Cute, cute, cute, cute, cute! I just love it! And, really, who wouldn't love to have wash-and-go hair?

And a picture at home, after it's dried, with her holding the cut hair.


Can I say it one more time?

Cute!

Remember to Vote!

Voting has started over at the Homeschool Blog Awards. Voting ends December 15th.

Weekly Report - November 12-30

I haven't done a weekly report for a few weeks, so I'm covering everything we've done during that time. Last week was very light because of Thanksgiving.

GRAMMAR

CLE Language Arts arrived and we have started. We just finished the first quiz and it's going pretty well.

READING

Lots and lots of books about the middle ages were read. We have studied castles and knights the last couple of weeks and the kids are really enjoying it. They've been disinterested in the middle ages up to this point.

Ruth is also reading the Chronicles of Narnia. She read The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe previously, but the others shown have been within the past couple of weeks. Robert has finally finished Lad: A Dog. I asked him if he finally liked it at the end, but he said that he's liked it since the beginning. So why did it take him a full month to finish the book?!

HISTORY

We read about William the Conqueror this week. I wanted to share Robert's notebook page. He is learning chess now, and since it had its beginning in the middle ages, his picture is a chess "battle scene". (We are working on the writing portion. Robert gives very good oral narrations, but struggles with written .)

MEMORY

We're working on the poem The Arrow and the Song by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I really like this poem, and the kids recognized the first couple of lines from a Foxtrot cartoon. Now, how's that for cultural relevance? LOL (please excuse how crooked this is - I just could not get it to scan straight)

SCIENCE

It's taken awhile, but we've finally finished up our sea turtles chapter. I thought we'd never get those last things finished! Kids made sea turtles and sea snakes for the ocean box. I promise the next pictures will show them actually in the box!

BIBLE

I am putting aside our regular Bible curriculum for a study of Christmas. We are doing a Jesse tree for the first time. In an effort to keep it simple (to make sure it gets done!) and inexpensive, we are using the scriptures and ornaments found here. I also found an excellent overview of Jesse trees here.

Coming up:

We will return to our study of Latin and do better with our composer and picture study. :)

Tracking Assignments

Keeping track of daily assignments has always been a struggle. I've tried several different methods - handwritten, daily assignment sheets, weekly assignment sheets, pre-printed, blank sheets with handwritten assignments. None of them work, mainly because we can't keep track of the sheets of paper and my children forget to check what has yet to be done.

So, I went back to something I used last year.


I have all our subjects listed, with columns for each child, written with wet-erase markers. Assignments are written by me daily with dry-erase markers. It is easy and impossible to misplace. :) (Please note that every single assignment from this chart is done. That hasn't happened since then, but I wanted to make sure you saw this it does happen here occasionally.)

I have also started using the Simply Charlotte Mason web-site organizer. I used to think the $10/month was too much, but after seeing it recommended by Christy at A Common Shepherdess, I decided to sign up for the 30-day trial. I figured if I used it for those 30 days, it would be worth the money (seeing as I've never stuck with any organization method that long - I am so ADD at times). I did and it is! I love it. It's easy to see daily assignments and check them off throughout the day. If I forget something, I can go back later and do it. Easy-peasy.

Another advantage to this method is that I get a break from the paper monster that threatens to take over my home. :)

This Could be a Real Bummer

Ruth told me today that her face feels "itchy" after eating fruit. I asked her how long this had been happening and she said for "awhile". She used to think it was normal. (!!!)

I did some research and found that most people that have fruit allergies also have pollen allergies. She definitely has those.

So, we are headed to the allergist tomorrow morning.

This girl loves fruit (really, really loves it), so removing it from her diet will be very painful. Would you say a prayer that this is not serious?

UPDATE: We saw the allergist today. We got a prescription for an epi-pen and prednisone for an emergency situation. Ruth got blood drawn for that type of allergy test. If it doesn't show the results we expect, we'll have to do the skin test. She cannot have any fruit until we go back in two weeks and get the results.

Happenings

The latest...

I took Robert on a Cub Scout camping trip this weekend. It went okay until the rain started Saturday night. The thunder and lightning lasted 4 hours! Thankfully, Robert slept through most of it. We got 6 inches of rain. At 5 am I found more than 3 inches of that rain in our tent. I had forgotten to close the bottom zipper on the door. (I'm smart that way.) Ugh. We were dry because we were on a blow-up mattress, but just about everything else was soaked. I decided then and there we were headed home. So we packed up and left. My rain poncho split down the front while loading the car, so I got soaked and filthy. It was so good to get home and be warm and dry again.

I found out this weekend that somebody is using my personal information (name, address, phone number) to create and forge checks. Not on our account, thank goodness, but I am getting the bounced check notifications and am having to deal with that. Identity theft is no fun, let me tell you.

We will be having more than 25 people at our house on Thanksgiving Day. I think it's going to be a great day, but I'm beginning to be stressed about cleaning my house and things like that. I'm trying to concentrate on thankfulness, and not on impressing everyone with my spotless home. :)

I hope you and yours have a wonderful holiday!

Rhonda

Don't Forget to Make Your Nominations!

The deadline for nominations at Homeschool Blog Awards is Saturday, November 17th. Don't forget!!

It Must be All Those Weekly Reports

That's the only reason this makes any sense whatsoever.




(And am I the only person who immediately thinks "Wile E. Coyote - Su-per Ge-nius"?)

HT: The Common Room

Cat Alarm Clock

I found this very funny. We have two very silent cats. One of them, however, has been known to come meow in my ear very loudly in the early hours of the morning if her food bowl is empty. I'm pretty sure she would take it this far if I didn't get up. LOL

HT: Accidental Blogger

Weekly Report - November 5-9

Science

We studied sea turtles this week. We learned that the leatherback turtle can get as big as 9 feet long. That just astounds me. For an activity, we drew a life-size model of this mammoth turtle on our driveway. Both of my kids fit inside it! (You may need to click on the picture to see the turtle. I had a hard time getting it to show up in a photo.)

Math

I had gotten behind in grading math papers. I caught up this week and discovered that Ruthie is really having problems with multiplication facts. So, she spent this week correcting math papers and drilling multiplication. She hates drill, so this was not a good math week for her.

Art

We did another project from our fall art pack that I bought. I (again) want to highly recommend this if you're craft challenged like me. She has sold out of fall packs, but is currently working on a winter one that will be available in January. Hmmm... I guess that means I'm on my own for Christmas crafts. Bummer.

Ruthie painted fall trees using warm watercolors. Robert was not interested in this, but he did make the origami dog.

Language Arts

We are not continuing our use of Bravewriter's Arrow. I discovered that it's just too unstructured for me. Grammar and writing do not come to me instinctively. I have to work at making sure my children get enough of this and are learning it correctly. The Arrow is just not enough for me to feel confident in this area.

So, we are back to BJU for writing. I did decide to try CLE for grammar (still trying to simplify this subject). I gave them the placement test and ordered the first couple of light units to try it out. Hopefully those will come this week.

Geography

I wanted to share a new notebook I made. This one is for our U.S. geography study. I had to divide it into separate notebooks because my comb binding machine doesn't allow for more than 60 or so pages in a notebook. (I want to upgrade to a better one before next school year.)

There are dividers for the different sections of states. Each state has a map (Uncle Josh's Outline maps) and a coloring page with state bird and flower (links for those found in this post).

I love our notebooks. They keep everything organized and help tame the paper monster.

Motivation

The threat of having to clean a toilet is very effective in getting a certain boy to do his math.

Google Notebook

I recently discovered Google Notebook. I'm still discovering the full functionality of this feature, but I figured out a use that is coming in very handy for me.

I use our online library catalog all the time to check if our library has books and request them. I often need books for our history studies and need them particular weeks. One feature I wish our online library had is an ability to save lists of books I will need to reserve at a future date. I am often misplacing my list of what the library has and then forget to request the book.

Enter Google Notebook! I made a notebook for library books. I copied the URL for the book search result and add it to the notebook. In the comment section of the entry I put the name of the book and the week I will need it. Ta-da!

This makes my life simpler and it's nifty neat-o, too. :)

Homeschool Blog Awards

I haven't mentioned it here, but I am part of the Homeschool Blog Awards team. I am posting there twice a month and will be assisting with all that's involved in making the whole process run smoothly.

I'm mentioning it now because nominations start TODAY! Make sure you head over there and nominate your favorite homeschool blog. There are a lot of different categories and there will be some great prizes.

Make sure your favorite blog gets the recognition it deserves!

Weekly Report: Oct. 29 - Nov. 2

We had an unusual week. We spent Monday getting back on schedule, then threw it out the window the rest of the week to work on scouting activities.

Why scouting activities? Well, Robert is at the Webelos level and is working to finish everything up by February. There are quite a lot of things that we are falling behind on, so I decided to take a few days and work on his requirements. Most of them are educational. It was a real hodge-podge of activities, but there was learning going on and it was really a lot of fun!

Ruth also worked on scouting badges. She joined a 5th grade Junior troop this year, even though she is in 4th grade. We are working at home on badges that the older girls earned last year.

Math

This was not a part of badge work, but we did do a lesson every day.

Science

Robert gave an example of producer, composer, and decomposer of a food chain. We got the worksheet from Enchanted Learning.


We did an expirement from our Zoology 2 (ocean creatures) study that involved latex gloves, vaseline, and ice water. Can you guess what this was representing?

Health

Ruth studied food labels for nutrition information.

We studied basic first aid information. We also met with a friend of mine who is an R.N. to go over "hurry cases". This covers badge work for both kids.

Writing

Robert wrote a letter to Lego asking why Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga will not be available on Gamecube. He also wrote an email to a friend.

Ruth wrote an advertisement for a healthy food (drawings also count as art).

Art

Robert used our computer to make 6 different designs. (click on this image to enlarge it and see if you can see what would be my favorite design. :) )


We used our watercolors (finally!) to make a color wheel. Pretty elementary principles of art, but the kids had fun. We did discover we need more practice with watercolors, though. :)

The kids made seals for their ocean boxes. Robert's seals (mother and baby) are going to go inside the box so that his killer whale can chase it. (he's such a boy!) Ruth made a sea lion that will be on top of her box (and out of danger).



This was a great week. We had gotten in a real rut and none of us were enjoying our school days. Frustration levels were high and tempers were short. This was a welcome break. I feel rejuvenated and ready to get back to our regular schedule next week.

The Antithesis of the Weekly Report

I think I should just list all the things that did NOT get done this week, rather than all the things that did. That list would be longer. Also, you could see all my good intentions, and that should count for something, right? Right?

Yeah, I didn't think so, either.

Please excuse me. I'm working through some things right now. I think I'm finally getting my head on straight, though, so next week should be much, much better.

I hope.

Temptation...

Thy name is Halloween Candy.

Fall is Here!

Finally, after weeks of 90 degree weather, we've had a cold front come through. Highs are in the low 70's (yes, that's a cold front here!) and lows are in the 40's. We've actually turned on the heater! It's such a nice, refreshing change.

With cooler weather, I'm back to drinking my morning coffee. I miss it during the warmer weather, but I just can't bring myself to drink a hot drink when it's hot and humid. Blech.

Here's my favorite mug, parked beside the computer, filled with coffee and all sugared and creamed up. Yum! (and yes, I do like quite a bit of cream in my coffee, thank you very much)

Sisters

This is dedicated to my sister, Liz, who moved to Nashville on Friday. I love you and will miss you!

Busy Days

Do you ever have a time in your life when you're so busy, you feel like you're meeting yourself coming? I am going through that right now. I feel that I am spending my days treading water, but never really getting my head above it.

Between school, church, orchestra (Griff's and the kids), cub scouts, girl scouts, and oh-yes-let's-not-forget-the-home, I am just about all done in. (Would somebody please remind me why the Arrow of Light is so important?)

I'm not complaining. Life is good. Busy, busy, but good. It does mean, however, that some things are going to have to slide. This blog is one of them. Oh, I'm not really going anywhere. I'll still be posting. But things, like this week's "weekly report", are not always going to happen. (believe me, you're not missing anything this week)

I am going to go to bed now. It's only 10:40. If I try very hard, I may actually get to bed before 11:00. Woo-hoo! :)

BTW, my back is better. I still get the occasional twinge, but it's greatly improved.

Free Mark Kistler Video Drawing Lessons

We are big Mark Kistler fans here. Ruthie took a week-long class with him this summer and had a blast. She had been wanting to learn how to draw 3-d and he was able to teach that to her. If you ever have the opportunity to send your children to one of his classes, I highly recommend it. He encourages parents to stay for the class, so you will get a free art lesson yourself. :)




The exciting news: Mark Kistler has put some drawing lessons on Youtube. There are 8 minutes long and FREE! He currently has 6 lessons available.

As we all know, Youtube can be a lot of fun, but it can also be a very scary place for children. Mark Kistler put these on Youtube for adults to have easy access to his drawing lessons. He strongly recommends (as do I) that you do not let your children have access to these without 100% parental supervision. So, can you take 8 minutes out of your day to have an art lesson with your child? I think so. :)

I'm Going to be MIA for a Few Days

I've done something to my back. I don't know what, but it's causing a pinched feeling in my back and pain down my right arm. Being on the computer aggravates it, so I'm going to be off until it gets better. I'll be checking my email, but that's it.

See you soon.