Weekly Wrap-Up HSMJ- Trying for More Organized

Wait, haven't I said that before? Trying for more organized, trying to get a handle on time management, etc.? Yes, yes. I've said it before; many times. Always a work in progress...

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I'm switching back to the Homeschool Mother's Journal "format" {which really doesn't even have a format now} for my weekly wrap-up because it is so organized {when/why did I leave it?}. The need for things to have a place, even here on the blog, is heavy on my mind lately. And so, here's the weekly wrap-up for us: Week 31 {don't bother looking for weeks 20+ as tags; I totally forgot what "week" it was for quite a while} of the 2013/2014 school year.

In my life this week…

...I started the Blogging through the Alphabet. Life-changing, I know. Okay, not really but last time I only got three submissions out of 26. I have drafted eight posts already this time. Perhaps that is life-changing {wink}

I also made a loaf of gluten-free, yeast-free bread on Monday. I didn't care if it was yeast-free but that's what the recipe was. In the greenhouse I planted some more things in pots. The composter is doing well; doesn't stink a bit and it is getting dark like real compost. It still has some to go {quite a bit actually- hubby jokes and says in a few years we may be able to get a wee bit of something to actually use for gardening!} but I'm so excited to see its progress. I've not taken photos lately. Perhaps sometime this week I will get to that.

Finally got around to taking photos on Thursday...but not of the compost lol. Some things had to be replanted because it got cold and snowed right after some sprouts had come up. They froze. Here's the post of when we first started the seeds.

In our homeschool this week…

...my Lee got a job {she started Monday} so things were somewhat shook up here for school. Not just for her. We had to do Round Table earlier some days to be able to include her and not have her too pressed for time. 

On Tuesday I let the kids have some, uh, self-directed time. The weather made it so Lee didn't need to work. They were allowed to do things that they wanted to as long as they fell in the category of school subjects. Fox decided to work on a physics experiment we got {Physics Quest Kit, Spectra 6}. Lee is working with sculpey clay* making mosaic tiles. That's for art and entrepreneurship. {wink} This was after we had Round Table {which included verses, German phrases, hymns, ASL vocabulary, James 1:26, 27 word study, and a density 'experiment'}, art with Fox, and Lee worked on the Weekly Barden; all before lunch! 

I'm getting the Term 3 exams started this week for the last week of May. Officially the last day of school for the 2013/2014 year is May 30. And because it is so close to the end of the year we are doing what we call "Elimination". For this, they figure what books they have less to go and put more focus on those to finish them. Of course, other subjects are not neglected but more effort is put towards those that can be finished sooner. When they are finished, the "elimination" continues on other areas. 

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…

...Found this Career Exploration freebie from 7 Sisters Homeschool
...for the 'home' bit- http://www.pinterest.com/angie76/cleaning-schedules/ for help with keeping a clean home {struggling here}
...for mom- More Than Words: Using words to dig deeper into The Word.  {free word study; subscribe to email updates and get it free}

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

...umm, just the usual, I think. Grocery shopping on Thursday, library at some points in between, Lee to work when she gets to, Fox to Young Marines on Wednesday {edited: it was cancelled}, and church on Wednesday {edited: we didn't get home in time} and Sunday. Yeah, I think that is about it. 

The kids did ride their bikes to the library on Tuesday in the early evening after it dried up and got warmer. 

A favorite thing this week was…

...my loaf of bread turned out good! It was yummy and texture was good. I don't think my kids particularly liked it but they aren't really fans of anything but homemade white bread lol.

I made the loaf twice. You can read about it in the newest entry on the post Gluten Free Adventures.

Things I’m working on…

...making a blog plan/schedule again. It feels silly to keep repeating things that I'm working on and just never really get accomplished. Speaking of blog, did I mention that I'm now a contributor to The Homeschool Post? I'm excited and nervous. 

"We" are working on getting our Etsy shop up. We still need some inventory so it will be sometime in May before it actually opens. I'm not linking it yet because it's not ready. That is why Lee has been working on the mosaic tiles. I am trying to get better at using polymer clay. I really would like to make miniature dolls. 

Also I'm working on getting the house in shape. Before internet I used to have a clean house...I mean it is decent now but there's much room for improvement. At one point my mother in law had given me a binder with many reproducibles for keeping organized. I only have a few left and it makes me sad that the ones I really liked I no longer have. I don't even recall who originally designed and sold them.

What's cooking…

...Gluten-free, Yeast-free Oat Bread {if you head that way, I subbed 1/4 cup sweet rice flour & 1/4 cup cornstarch for the 1/2 cup tapioca starch, used 1 TBS honey and used 6 egg whites instead of 3 whole eggs; oh yes, and somehow I didn't add in the correct amount of oat flour.}

...didn't get a menu this week so it's spontaneity galore! {good and bad lol} 

I’ve been reading…

...One Realm Beyond by Donita K. Paul - 1984 by George Orwell - Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler - The Elizabeth Goudge Reader compiled by Rose ? {can't recall her last name} - ...do the kids' school books count?

Around the web: Words to Cut from Your Writing which I found at Chareen's blog. Beautiful poem by Wordsworth posted by Katie

Things to be grateful for…

...birds - sunshine - wonderful family - God's grace - blessed assurance - {coffee ...seems so insignificant after all those others -smile- and now I want some!}

Praying for…

...many unspoken...cleansing, constantly...confidence...ambition, motivation ...peace...for those affected by flooding and tornadoes... redirection/adjustments for hubby's work...

Some thoughts…

...that just keep cropping up again: do I really want to be a "teacher"? Is there another field that I would prefer when my kiddos are out of the house? I am not going to change direction now that I've started my Master's program but sometimes when I cannot keep focused with my kids, who are with me, right in my face and cannot be ignored {not well anyway lol}, how am I going to do with a classroom full of other people's kids? And I will admit that I'm quite nervous about curriculum in public schools. If I could open a private school, hire teachers that I know would teach for the love of the children and the sake of learning, and go off of a non-public school curriculum I might feel a little more at ease. I just don't know what will be in place when the time comes for me to find a teaching job. Just some thoughts.

A photo, link, or quote to share…

... 

Link:

http://chrissiemurphydesigns.blogspot.com.au/ 

Quote:

Against the just th' Almighty's arrows fly.

For he delights the innocents to try,

To show their constant and their God like mind,

Not by afflictions broken, but refined.

~Sir R. Blackmore 

(quoted by Matthew Henry, 

"Commentary to the Book of Job," 

chapter IX, verse 23)

Homeschool Mother’s Journal Week of 2/4/13

In my life this week…There’s been rain and snow, staying up late and sleeping in, leaking ceilings and patching walls. Hubby’s been out of town all week; it wreaks havoc on my sleep.
In our homeschool this week…It all went fairly well. Since we only had a 3 day week last week, I consider this one a success. We at least got in all 5 days.
Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…Free right now (don’t know how long): Globalmaina: Master World Geography in 7 Months or Less by Knowledge Quest.
Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…This week we went to the weekly Mentor babysitting bit, went grocery shopping a time or two (I’m so forgetful!), Prayer Meeting/Teen Discipleship, and hosted Parents Night Out at the church (the teens ran pretty much the whole thing). Next week should be slower: no babysitting or Parents Night Out.
My favorite thing this week was…Nothing comes to mind but we had a lot of good things. Nothing out of the ordinary but I am happy with the little, everyday mundane things. Am especially looking forward to seeing my hubby.
My kiddos favorite thing this week was…Friday is pizza and a movie! Actually, I’m only guessing since they are always super excited for Friday pizza and movie. They are watching Meet the Robinsons.
Things I’m working on…Weight loss through better eating. Australia research for SchoolhouseTeachers.com. Researching Tudor London (primarily but the period in general) for my ‘book’. Keeping my kitchen clean. Oh, and laundry is waiting for me to work on that, too. For school, I need to some adjusting to schedules; adding in more challenges in a few subject areas and simply adding in other subjects (some just seem to get left by the wayside).
I’m cooking…I just cooked pizza. I make four personal pizzas and this time they were all different. I used some oat ‘flour’ (old fashioned oats ground up in my food processor) in the pizza dough for a change. My pizza had no cheese, Fox had 1/2 no cheese and spaghetti sauce/pizza sauce with pepperoni, Lee had a cheese pizza with pizza sauce, and finally dh’s pizza is the usual; pepperoni slices, pizza sauce, and cheese.
Otherwise, I’ve cooked very little. I did make scones for breakfast this morning.
I’ve been reading…
Lots! I have a few review books read but my reviews haven’t been typed up. I like to think about them afterward for awhile. Have a look at my Goodreads books.
I’m grateful for…For each day the Lord gives me. I know that He will come back and I do want that but I also know that He waits so that all may know Him. I am grateful for that.
I’m praying for…My hubby’s safe travels; a teenage girl named Michaela (spelling might be off but God knows who I mean); a young mother who is fighting cancer and her family (Michelle); clarity as I read God’s Word; my children’s hearts and minds…
I’ve been thinking…
What will I do when my kids are gone (out of the house)? Also that I’ve neglected to read blogs I follow and am missing out on much. I need to cull my list though. (Is that the right word?)
I rewarded my kids this week by…Well, gee, I don’t recall this being on the HSMJ but okay. We went to Arby’s for lunch today. Although they weren’t allowed to get ‘junk’ (loose term *ahem*), they were allowed soda.
Ah, and I had forgotten I bought two cake mixes in a box so we could try the cake in a mug recipe I saw on Facebook. We like it but it’s a bit …flavorless.

2 boxes of cake mix- 1 MUST be Angel food cake (our other was Devil’s food cake lol)
Mix together completely.
When you want a treat, mix 3 TBS of cake mix and 2 TBS of water. Microwave 1 minute.

Something I am ogling or have my eye on…(hmm, another new entry)
A case for my original Kindle; I might just make one. A book called Trim Healthy Mama; will need to save my pennies for that.
A photo to share…My kids have been enjoying making the ads that go with Art of Argument from Classical Academic Press. Here’s their latest.

Weekly Wrap-up: First week of 2013 (Week #13?) & Cranberry Pomegranate Pork Pot Roast

What a week! It went fast. Time just keeps speeding up…

Sunday- we had church, where it seems most families with children have been sick. Somehow we’ve missed it. Thankfully. It was the start of the winter schedule where we have morning service, lunch and fellowship followed by a shorter service. We usually get done about 2pm. We didn’t stay for the lunch and following because we’d forgotten that it started that Sunday. We plan on staying tomorrow. That was about all that happened on that day.

This might have been the day that I finished the book Kindred, but cannot be sure. It was …different. I was able to check it out from the library for reading on my computer- that’s never much fun for me. But it wasn’t available for Kindle. Anyway, moving on.

Monday- Back to school! Our first day back since…goodness before Thanksgiving I believe. That’s one reason I don’t know what “week” of school we are on. We did have school sporadically from the week after Thanksgiving to a week before Christmas but I don’t know how much. It is all written down, recorded, somewhere.

Monday’s are still babysitting day for Lee so we had less school. Actually *I* had none. All their work was independent. It was so nice and quiet. They were good and stayed on task.

About noon, however, I started having some strange lower back pain. By the time we got ready to go to Mentor, I could just hobble around. By 4:00pm, I just couldn’t really get around any longer. I sat in the car at Lee’s babysitting house for about 15-20 minutes in the car because I couldn’t stand to move around any more. And no, I didn’t ‘do’ anything to my back. I had been sitting in a kitchen chair for awhile. Before that, just my usual activities- no twisting, pulling or strenuous activity. It’s a mystery!

Tuesday- As far as school goes that’s when stuff started to get tough- for Lee at least. We now have a google document for schedules that we can both see and edit- even at the same time. I don’t think Lee has any more than she did before the break but those long weeks between, she’s just not used to it yet. Got out of the habit, I guess. Fox was done with his work around lunch time and that just irked Lee terribly.

Oh, and that back issue from Monday? It was very much worse on Tuesday. I laid on the couch pretty much all day. None of our together subjects got done; I just wasn’t up for it (no pun intended!). We didn’t go anywhere that day- not sure I could have made it to the car.

I think this is the day (but it may have been Wednesday) we went to the library and the store. I sat in the car while the kids did my bidding

I started and finished a couple of books while confined to the couch. I read The Time Traveler’s Wife (checked out from the library) and The Time Machine (free for the Kindle). I liked both but had qualms about both as well. It’s difficult to find good fiction, in my opinion.

Wednesday- School, school, school. Fox did his without too much effort (and that’s just what I mean *sigh*) and Lee was overwhelmed. That’s about all I can say about that day for school.

Fox had Young Marines, after a few weeks break. Lee and I were going to go to evening church, Lee to teen discipleship and I to prayer meeting, but my back wouldn’t allow me to drive. We stayed home instead. Fun.

Thursday- It’s interesting how other days, farther past, I can recall more vividly than a day just two days ago. I do know that most of school was done although not without some fussiness. Otherwise, we didn’t go anywhere or do anything spectacular that I can recall.

Friday- Fox and I got up earlyish to buy some coffee- I have to have my coffee, you see. Well, no, not really but I sure do like it. I’ve gone months without it –just to see if I could, and I did, so now I drink it when I want –so I know I don’t ‘need’ it.

I downloaded Cozi to my Kindle Fire (it’s free), in the hopes of being more organized. I’m not entirely sure it’ll do any better than a piece of paper and a pen. I put in our shopping list and even messed that up Leave it to me…

The most exciting part of Friday, in my opinion, was that I made a super yummy pork pot roast with cranberry pomegranate juice. Here’s the recipe (with my tweaks in parentheses):

Ingredients:

• 1.5-2 lb pork roast (mine was 3.5 lbs!)
• 2 TBS oil (about right)
• 1 1/4 cups apple cider or juice (I used 3 cups Northland 100% cranberry pomegranate- I also added 1.5 cups water)
• 2 tsp beef bouillon granules (I used wrapped 4 cubes)
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard (I used…lol… about 1 TBS Hickory Farms Sweet Hot Mustard)
• 1/4 tsp pepper (about right)
• 3 medium red potatoes, cut into large pieces (I used 5 potatoes)
• 3 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces (I used a handful of baby carrots, some cut in half but most as-is)
• 3 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces (omitted!- not opposed to the idea, just have never bought a parsnip)
• 1 large onion, cut into wedges (mine was medium, cut in fourths)
• 1/4 cup flour (I used cornstarch)

Directions (more or less):

• In a skillet, pour oil and heat on medium-high. After trimming fat from roast, brown each side in the oiled skillet. It doesn’t take very long at all!
• While it’s being browned, place potatoes, carrots and onions in bottom of crock pot (mine is a 7 quart, oval –worked wonderfully; if you are using a smaller roast, a 3 or 4 quart will work better). Mix together the juice, bouillon cubes and pepper. Put browned roast on top of vegetables. Pour juice mix over meat and vegetables. I added some water because the juice was just enough to get the vegetables. It was a big roast!
• Turn crock pot to low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-5 hours. When meat falls apart, it’s essentially done. Carefully remove meat and vegetables. Make a gravy from the juice/broth by adding in 1/4 cup cold water mixed either the flour or cornstarch (cornstarch works faster and doesn’t clump as easily, imho –but flour adds a better flavor) into the juice/broth and stirring until thickened. I actually poured it into a pan and did it on the stove but it was troublesome. I believe my crock pot was warm enough that I could have left it in there to do the gravy.
• Pour the gravy over the roast and vegetables and serve. We had pizza dough rolls with this.

Super yummy! Tonight I am using the leftover pork for shredded pork I wish I’d taken a photo of the yummy roast but it’s just food and I have the recipe

Saturday- That’s today and… ah, the kids (well, Lee and I but Fox has to go along as well) have a writer’s workshop to attend this afternoon and I’ve a mountain of dishes to do! It looks very nice out so we might go to the park, which we’ve not done in quite  a long time. My back is no where as bad as Monday or Tuesday but I can tell I will have to take it easy today still.

So, that’s been my week. How has yours gone? I’m going to try to link up with Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers and Homeschool Mother’s Journal but if I don’t…well, there’ll be other opportunities I suppose. *I did!*

Have a good weekend!

Homeschool Mother’s Journal–Week 8

A post about our weekend is here. Otherwise, I’m going back to the THMJ’s format and will just have to see what I remember.

In my life this week…
…It was on Friday, my ‘dad’ passed away at the age of 54. The last time I’d seen him was when I was around 11 years old. He was a step-dad but he was the one I called ‘dad’. Still is. 

In our homeschool this week…
…most went well. I seem to have forgotten to plan out my schedule, which includes our together subjects. We didn’t have school on Monday. Instead we went grocery shopping and did some errand running. Also I had to prepare the week for the kids’ subjects. Just missed my schedule somehow.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…
…You don’t have to do what every one else is doing. What works for one or many of your friends or other homeschoolers might not be what’s best for your family. Don’t worry about going against the stream.

I am inspired by…
…I had a list of places and people but if it’s not written down, well I don’t remember.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
…library tomorrow, church Sunday (I guess I’m also going to dinner Sunday with my dh), the 1st there is something at the local library called “Tales from the Beyond”, Monday Lee babysits, hope to get to an outing in there somewhere.

My favorite thing this week was…
…the freedom to take the day off if needed.

What’s working/not working for us…
…all is going quite well.

Questions/thoughts I have…
…In school-stuffs, I do wonder if Fox’s comprehension is where it ‘should’ be. We use narration as a way of showing what’s learned and lately his narrations are incredibly short. Very non-descript. I need to find out if it is because he is not comprehending what he is reading, if he is reading to fast, if he is skipping, or simply if it’s a phase of short narrations.

In life-stuffs, I’ve been thinking about being close to others. Honestly I have very few friends. I have many many acquaintances. I have quite a few people that I look to for advice but none that I just can call and pour out my heart to. With my dad’s passing, it’s brought to mind how we weren’t close. When my parents divorced, I fairly let him go. It was easier to just let him go than to hold on over a distance. It hurts much less that way. I’ve been that way for as long as I can recall. It’s a character flaw. It’s why I don’t make friends easily or keep them well. My immediate family, those in my house, are the ones I call friends. It makes it a bit difficult to understand others who easily embrace those who they’ve only known awhile, and keep that closeness all their lives.

Things I’m working on…
…lol this post at the moment. I’m trying to get myself into a schedule again. Seriously taking that month off from the computer in August, while it was great for the house cleaning, sure wreaked havoc on my other schedules! I have so many things I want to do! But I lack follow-through too often or there is something else that prevents it from happening.

And tax training school. I’m actually enjoying it. All the silly laws made so that money- and some physical things- can be taxed has all been …interesting. I’m still doing well thus far. Only 16 more exams to go lol.

I’m reading…
…Colossians (with the Good Morning Girls), Ezekiel (my daily Bible reading in a year *snort*- I’m going on year #2, I think), Life with Lily by Mary Ann Kinsinger and Suzanne Woods Fisher (a LitFuse Blog Tour book- coming soon), what matters most by Leonard Sweet, Volume 1: Home Education and Volume 6: Towards a Philosophy of Education by Charlotte Mason (following along with a discussion group), Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock (following along with a discussion group), Pershing: Commander of the Great War by John Perry (long overdue review book)

I’m We’re cooking…
…Here was our menu for the week (which starts over on Monday this time):
Monday- breakfast and lunch weren’t planned, I don’t remember what we had lol
dinner: chicken chili, in the crockpot
Tuesday- breakfast: omelets with cheese
lunch: rice stew leftovers from freezer
dinner: leftovers (there was chili, chicken and something else- no one starved)
Wednesday- breakfast: pancakes (Lee made them from scratch- she can do it without the recipe now)
lunch: homemade mac-n-cheese
dinner: burritos (homemade tortillas- yum!)
Thursday- breakfast: cold cereal
lunch: burritos
dinner: baked fish with broccoli (from the garden) and peas
Friday- breakfast: muffins (Fox made them from scratch)
lunch: meat and cheese sandwiches/pb & j sandwich (Fox)
dinner: sausage and cheese pizza (homemade)
Saturday- breakfast: eggs and toast
lunch: salad
dinner: hamburgers
Sunday- breakfast: oatmeal
lunch: sandwiches (Lee and I might have pb&j; dh and Fox probably have meat and cheese)
dinner: creamed sausage over rice with mashed potatoes and gravy (for the kids- dh and I are going out to eat)

I’m grateful for…
…my life. Every single day that I wake up and can see the sky, smell the air, kiss my husband (my Mr. Wonderful) and my kids. Every time I check my email and it’s my mom or my sister or my mother-in-law saying hi.

I’m praying for…
…Janie, my dad’s wife, that she may have strength during this time, and long after; for his kids and grandkids; for my sister, Mel –she was the closest to him; praying for my dh- for his health and heart; for myself- my health and heart; my kids.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

I’m linking up with The Homeschool Mother’s Journal and Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers. Finally.

Homeschool Mother’s Journal–Week 7, 9/15-20/12

Saturday: I had to take Fox to community service after all. It was alright but just wasn’t planned and I had to get fuel afterwards. I was trying to drag that out as long as possible. Not much else happened that day.

Sunday: Sick. Must be a stomach …thing. Dh had it Monday. Kids are fine. Missed church –again. Seems we’ve not been at all this month We (myself, Lee and Fox) will miss it on this coming Sunday as well. Lee and I will be on a road trip; Fox will be camping the weekend with Young Marines. Hopefully he will get his First Aid requirement out of the way and be closer to promotion. That’s what he’s hoping for.

Monday: Such poor attitudes started our day. It was horrid. I had such a feeling of…anger and sadness in my heart at the start of school. I definitely tried to curb it and remain calm. Fortunately, I do believe that once I acknowledged it and asked for God to remove it, He did.

School didn’t get all done because I didn’t plan the together subjects like I normally do. I’ve been ‘working’ for the last week pretty much daily and just didn’t make the time to plan. I had planned their individual schedules but knew I forgot something!

Lee had babysitting so we went to Mentor. Fox and I hung out at the library which is fine but after the first hour it gets kinda boring. I had my tax training stuff to work on but Fox was sighing away with boredom. After Lee was done working we went to the Eleanor B. Garfield park for some long missed nature study. Lee says I fooled nature since it wasn’t Friday, our planned nature study day, and it was nice and clear. Lee and I put an entry in our journal, Fox simply refused. I wanted to add color to my page while we were there but his antsy-ness had us leaving early. Well, I say ‘early’ but it was almost 6pm and we’d not been home since 1:30pm.

We had leftovers for dinner. Hubby didn’t really like dinner lol. I thought it was merely acceptable but I’m thankful I didn’t have to cook anything

Tuesday: I worried it would be a ‘bad’ day but it’s started out quite well. Rain pretty much all day. It makes it cooler and I like that. We finished our Bible study, Latin, and Plutarch (Pericles) by 10:15 am. Then a break for about 35 minutes. It’s just after 12:30pm now and Lee has 4 things left (can’t imagine it would take even 2 hours); Fox has 5 things left that will take about as long. Edited: Done by 2:25pm.

I submitted Exam #3 this morning for the National Tax Training School course I am reviewing. Fox asked if I like it, doing the work, and yes, I actually am enjoying it. I love homeschooling and being a housewife and all that entails, but to have something that’s ‘mine’ to work on is refreshing. It could be quite fruitful as well when I’m done. Soon I should be granted access to the online version of the course. That will probably make submitting exams much easier (and cheaper!); I hope.

Pastor called this afternoon to see if we were still alive. I guess it has been almost a month since we’ve made it to church! Nice to know they care enough to call and check on us. That’s important in a church.

We had pizza for dinner. Homemade is so yummy.

I’ve been working on review posts most of the day. Now it’s time to do…nothing

Wednesday: First thing this morning: coffee. It’s leftover and cold but I’ve a microwave. Did you hear about the experiment some girl did that fairly showed that microwaved water is fairly toxic? I don’t know why I keep using that thing…

Lee is slow this morning. She says her brain is processing slowly for some reason. Uh-oh, might be a long day for school! I’ll report back She did fine; Fox unfortunately lost his screen-time today because of continued poor behavior.

Came across this post by Jimmie at Jimmie’s Collage for keeping a log of artists studied. It includes a free download. I love her site; such great information and resources.

There are a lot of geese in our backyard this morning. It’s that time of the year! We went to do some errands before lunch. Never a good idea. School isn’t high on the priority list (for some) when we return. Some things have been set aside (logic is one subject). But anyway, I bought a new pair of shoes for Fox.

Tonight we are having spaghetti with bread (perhaps garlic). Lee made peanut butter candy for one of our snacks today. It’s high in protein, probably fat as well, and sugar although we always use as little as possible. 

Thursday: It’s a bit before 1pm now and I’ve just gotten on my computer to do anything other than school ‘stuff’. That’s good …right? I did my Bible reading in Colossians and posted my SOAP in my group. It’s a small group, and I like that. It feels more personal even though I have never met any of the ladies in the group irl. I only ‘know’ two of them, from online. One, Dawn from Guiding Light Homeschool, that I’ve known for a couple of years now (from the TOS Crew originally). Another is Charity that I went through a Good Morning Girls study with last year (?), over the book The Ministry of Motherhood. *Great* book, btw. Anyway.

Lee is still working on her last few things for the day but Fox finished quite quickly today. Too quickly actually and had to be made to spend more time on some things. He thinks 5 minutes on a subject is adequate. Sigh. I can only provide him with the tools he needs to be able to do the things he needs to. At some point he must be able to figure these things out himself. At some point…

Last night we didn’t have spaghetti like planned. Two tomato based meals in a row isn’t always received well here. Instead we had leftovers. Today lunch is leftovers as well. Fend for yourselves! I’m having ‘rice pizza’ –that translates to rice, pizza sauce, topped with cheese. I heated it up and gave it a good stir. Fox and Lee are having hotdogs and a potato…thing (au gratin potato ball). Tonight for dinner it’s crockpot lasagna. Yum.

I still have to get my stuff together for Lee and my road-trip to Columbus. Wait, how is that said correctly? Lee’s and my road-trip? Or Mine and Lee’s? Eh, well, you get the idea. I’m trying to also get laundry done for the weekend. Want to make sure dh doesn’t have to do everything for himself lol.

Well, have to get dinner started and then make cheesecake (from a box). And Lee just got done with school –1:15pm. Let the ‘weekend’ begin!

Hope all have a great weekend!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

School for Week 7, Y9 & Y7Lite

Y9 –Lee (10th grade)

Bible: reading- 1 Samuel 2-3, 2 Corinthians 1-2 (narration); study- Exodus 2-4, Moses (read, discussion); devotion- Christian Life ch 6 (narration, discussion); verse- recited Ephesians 6:10-18, read, wrote and recited Galatians 5:16-19; commentary- Galatians 3:1-5 (written narration)

Foreign Language: Latin (First Form, Lesson 26, intro and worksheets 1-4); Greek (Hey Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek, Level 6, Lesson 2, reviewing flashcards- still); Sign Language (Signing Savvy)

History: A History of the American People, pp 100-103 (written narration); Autobiography of Ben Franklin; Washington, the Indispensible Man, pp 70-80 (narration); Peter the Great; The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Citizenship: Ourselves by Charlotte Mason, pp 95-99 (narration); Plutarch- Pericles (discussion); An Essay of Man by Alexander Pope, Epistle II (Individual); Government: Are You Liberal, Conservative, Confused? ch 7 (narration); Current Events: 1 story each day (various online news sources: Student Daily News, CNN student news, NY and Washington Times, Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH), Worldmag.com), recorded

Science: More about earthquakes (read and answered questions)

Logic: How to Read a Book, pp 59-61 (narration)

Math: Geometry, pp 32-35 (Mastering Essential Math Skills)

English (Literature, Grammar & Poetry): Isaac Bickerstaff by Richard Steele, ch 13-15; Days with Sir Roger Coverley (“The Chase”); Tale of a Tub by Jonathon Swift, preview (wikipedia); Traditional English Sentence Style, ch 2; The Roar on the Other Side, ch 2 (Stepping Stones {writing activities}); Commonplace book entry (1-2 each day)

Home Ec: chores (dishes, sweeping, vacuuming, food preparation); WealthQuest for Teens (every day)

Art/Music: Created ATC for trading; Felix Mendelssohn (biography, violin concerto mvt 1, pt 1); WCLV classical radio

Nature Study: Eleanor B. Garfield Park, Mentor, OH –mostly plants, some ducks (nature journal)

Y7Lite –Fox (8th grade)

Bible: reading- Judges 15-16, Acts 14-15 (narration; written narration for Judges 15); study- Exodus 2-4, Moses (read, discussion); devotion- Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis, Bk 1, ch 2 (narration, discussion); verse- recited Psalm 51:1-10, copied verses 9 & 10

Foreign Language: Latin (First Form, Lesson 26, intro and worksheets 1-4); German (Transparent Language, review)

Citizenship: Plutarch- Pericles (discussion); Young Marines; Current Events: 1 story (various online news sources: Student Daily News, CNN student news, NY and Washington Times, Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH), or Worldmag.com), recorded

History/Geography: The Birth of Britain, pp 89-110 (narration); In Freedom’s Cause by G. A. Henty ch 4 (narration); Age of Chivalry by Thomas Bulfinch, ch 7; Joan of Arc by Mark Twain, Bk 1, ch 8-Bk 2, ch 1; Asser’s Life of King Alfred; The Brendan Voyage by Tim Severin, ch 3 (narration); Seterra, 25 minutes

Science: More about earthquakes (read and answered questions); Natural science- The Glow-Worm by Fabre (list of scientific names and unfamiliar words from reading)

Math: Algebra (No-Nonsense Algebra, Lesson 2-6 and 2-7)

English (Literature, Grammar, Poetry & Penmanship): History of English Literature for Boys and Girls by H. E. Marshall, ch 6; Ivanhoe, ch 7 & 8; Jensen’s Grammar (working on sentences from Lessons 46); Idylls of the King by Tennyson (finished with Gareth & Lynette); The Roar on the Other Side, ch 2 (Stepping Stones {writing activities}); Pictures in Cursive, Book E

Home Ec: chores (dishes, sweeping, vacuuming, food preparation)

Art/Music: Pictures in Cursive, Book E; Created ATC for trading; Felix Mendelssohn (biography, violin concerto mvt 1, pt 1); WCLV classical radio

Nature Study: Eleanor B. Garfield Park, Mentor, OH –mostly plants, some ducks (observation)

Homeschool Mother’s Journal- Week of 8/27/12

I’m keeping a running tally of what’s going on- so I don’t forget. This is after all my journal entry

Monday: didn’t get all school done and had a really tough time with attitudes; everyone.

Who knew grammar was so challenging! Well, I did somewhat but the grammar I did in school, high school at that, was so simple, requiring such little effort. I’m learning on a daily basis that I cannot compare my high school experience with what my kids are experiencing now or even would experience in public school. The grammar I’ve chosen for the kids is the bane of their existence, or so it’d seem. It’s Jensen’s Grammar for Fox and Traditional English Sentence Style for Lee, if you were curious. Fox wants me to look into computer graphics programs, or designing video games, for a ‘course’. I will investigate but there’s no way it’s going to make it into our schedule unless he tows the line with his current requirements.

Tried, or rather had hoped, to do Nature Study because we miss it on Fridays, but it rained pretty much all day. Rain is good so I’m not complaining too much. Nature Study is good too and I want to do that, but not in the rain. We did see an interesting thing: a squirrel finally noticed our cat in the window. They had a very long stare down and then the squirrel promptly took it’s babies and left! Even in the rain. We didn’t even know it had a nest/home in the tree! We joke and say our vicious cat scared it out of the neighborhood. 

Made tortillas for burritos. Made the burrito mixins with turkey- yum. Have missed turkey! We have leftovers for lunch. Well, the mixins, not the tortillas; they never last long

Started on things but didn’t get them finished, such as the dishes and laundry. LOL I put “laundry” but the extent of ‘started’ for that was piling them on my floor.

Started to keep track of the things I ate during the day but forgot to continue by lunch time. Did drink over 32 oz of water yesterday. Trying to do that more this week.

Tuesday: Lee babysits today so we have to leave the house by noon. Have some errands to run before heading to Mentor. School has gone quite well. We started before our 9 am start time, by about 1/2 an hour Fox has only 3 things left to do with me and Lee has only 1 more thing to do. Those can wait until we get back later today. Attitudes are much better today but still residual from yesterday. It’s a constant, wearying thing.

We had taco salad for dinner using meat that’d been prepared earlier the week before, for taco salad. Totally forgot about the water intake; drank 1 bottle of water =16.9 oz.

I went to Mom’s Night Out in Willoughby at the Café Europa. There were four moms. I had some yummy coffee- if you’re ever in the area, their coffee is wonderful It was nice to get out by myself but it’s not just that; it was nice to be with other moms. Too bad it only happens once a month.

Wednesday: Worked on finishing up Joseph Key Individual sheet- Lee really did good with this one, digging deep into Genesis 37-46:7 to find information pertinent to our study. Fox didn’t grumble but didn’t dig at all. Seemed to wait for the answers. Logic, using The Art of Argument, went quite well today. There was a dialogue between “Socrates” and a girl named Tiffany; Fox was Socrates, Lee was Tiffany. It was hilarious. Their assignment is to create their own example of non-argumentative persuasion. I think they plan on creating a video…Should be interesting We listened to the Ohio state song. Interesting… We read the original version and the ‘modern’ version, accepted in 1989. Fox then made a spoof.

I’m working on trying to give, *gulp*, grades more for the work the kids do. Since a lot of it is oral narrations, I’m a little unsure how to go about that. I can more easily do it for the written work. Actually, for Bible, Latin, Logic, Math, Science, Ohio Study, and Art/Music I can give grades because I actually have their work on hand. It’s the subject of history, and possibly geography, that give me trouble right now. We are using Seterra for geography work (along with a book each that is specific to their year) and I believe it records their score; I’ll have to look again.

Worked on a post for Finding Beauty, for A Week of Kitchen Organization. I ha two that were to be featured, one on Tuesday (I believe) and the other on Thursday (that’s my usual day). Now it is just my usual contribution. The other I intend to put on this blog, once I fix all the formatting errors that blogger added in to it.

I made macaroni and cheese for lunch. Tonight it’s supposed to be chicken salad wraps but that means I need to make tortillas. And …it was! Made enough tortillas for a meal for tomorrow as well.

Thursday: Uh…well, I didn’t do so well with recording what went on today. But plenty did. It started with me getting up at 6am, leaving by 6:30am to take dh to work, driving back home, but first stopping at the grocery store for some kitty food, starting breakfast at 8:10am, waking the kids at 8:15am (and why were they not up already?!), and finally by 9:06am, starting school. Our school day was all out of schedule –eh, what’s a schedule for but to be ignored? We got to everything but Latin and Poetry, poor neglected Poetry. About 3:30pm we left to pick up dh from work –I hate Cleveland traffic. Period. We made it back home around 5:45 but I had to get gas right then. After we got home the kids made their ‘ad’ for a non-argumentative propaganda –turned out great. I’m going to share it once they finalize it. Well, we liked it anyway.

I’m reading lots about Australia, all over the internet. So much information, so little time! Also rediscovered The Common Room. Especially this post about boys –quite timely for me.

Just remembered that I have to reread a review item. I’d read it when I first got it and printed out quite a few things but I think I missed something somewhere. It’s due by 9/6.

Dinner was the tomato soup I had made on Sunday with grilled cheese for hubby and I, and crackers, cheese and pepperoni slices for the kiddos. They ate their bread for snacks throughout the day –yeah, they ask for a piece of bread (and water hahaha! just kidding) for a snack –so they had to improvise –I think that the substitution was quite acceptable to them

We had hoped to go to a softball game that the church was putting on but it didn’t work out that way. With all the driving earlier in the day, I was tired and it was cutting it close when we got home. I’m sure the kids would have loved it; I would have enjoyed it. Just didn’t work out this time.

Friday: I stayed up way too late last night on the Ambleside Online new forum (it’s ‘school related’ so it’s allowed *wink*). Oh, I just love that place! I don’t think that I will ever get caught up though. I am spending way too much time there this morning already. First thing this morning was coffee. Hasn’t kicked in yet. While I was checking my email, I read Ordo Amoris’ post about writing well –even for blog posts. She has including a link to a grammar checker. Sweet! When I had the first two sentences of this day checked, it was very weak, it said. And I have an error of a “modal verb”. Yikes! I’ve no idea what that is! If I go back and refresh my knowledge, I’d probably get it but for now, nope. And I just came across Kindle It –again. I had found it last year…? …but it didn’t work yet for the Fire so I just left it be. It now is compatible with all the Kindles. And from there –the internet is so distracting –I found other extensions to put on my Google Chrome browser (Evernote clipper, Awesome screen-shot that lets you annotate the screen-shot). So many cool things, so little time.

It’s a little before 8am now and although the kids were both up at 7am, they seem to have retired to their beds again! It’s Friday before break week! We are going to do the ‘important’ subjects today and have a light last day. Oh, I’m all giddy!! Heehee.

We need to do grocery shopping today. For perhaps the second time this month, our fridge is looking a little bare. No milk, eggs, bread, butter. Of course we do still have oatmeal and other hot cereals but with no milk or butter, the kids would prefer to go without. I would never wish to be without food for so long that they will eat anything, within reason, that is presented to them, but often times I am aware of how spoiled we are.

Using just about the last of my gift card for Amazon, I purchased The Lively Art of Writing. It’s primarily for Lee this year but I’m hoping it will be good and can be used with Fox at the appropriate time. She had also found on Paperbackswap a book about Christian writing. Let me see if I can find the title…The Complete Guide to Writing and Selling the Christian Novel. She actually found that one and ordered it last week, possibly the week before, I’d just forgotten.

At some point, perhaps it was Wednesday, I finished the laundry that I’d started. Lee and I were planning on going to evening prayer service at church but I felt sick about 2 hours before. Went to bed on time and slept well. I don’t like not feeling well.

I’m not recording what happened school-wise, a break down for each kid, in this post because it’s already quite long. Suffice it to say, it was a good week. Works for me!

So…How was your week?

Homeschool Mother’s Journal- Week of 8/19/12

In my life this week…
…I feel like things are so …chaotic; not organized. Dishes and other chores aren’t being done as they should. I am getting done things that have to get done but it honestly feels like that’s it. We are still on very limited technology which would make me think, and dh as well, that the ‘house’ things should be easy to fit in. I’m liking the limited tech though. I get up and move more, plan more, even if the follow through is a bit lacking, and I’ve been going to bed on time.

In our homeschool…
…things are good! I am feeling quite content with how we are doing. There are times and areas that need work but it’s pretty good. We did not do school on Saturday last week, though I’d planned on it, but I can’t avoid it this week. We aren’t going to get to everything on the schedule this week but it’s alright.

We’ve missed Art/Music {although we listen to the classical music station, WCLV, all day, and my computer background is a work by Renoir- perhaps that’s enough lol}, Science, Plutarch, Poetry and Nature Study. I try not to think of the things we’ve missed until it’s time to do the schedule. Sometimes it’s just downright depressing that we can’t get it all in. I am going to attempt to get Science, Plutarch and Poetry done today, Saturday. No guarantees!

Here’s the week’s doings-
Both: Bible {Abraham}; Latin {First Form Latin, Lesson XXII, ws #1-3}; Home Ec {time management; grocery shopping}; Ohio Study {branches of state government}; Logic {still in the intro for Art of Argument}; PE {kickball game, Fox had Young Marines}

Lee: Bible: reading- Judges 19-21 & 1 Corinthians 11; verse- Ephesians 6:10-15
History/Geography- A History of the American People, pp 89-93; Washington, The Indispensible Man, pp 34-44 {she is enjoying this book- learning more about Washington than she would normally!}; The Royal Road to Romance, ch 5 & 6; King Alfred’s English {I’ve no idea where she is in the book- talking about how Greek influenced the language}
Literature/Grammar- The Traditional English Sentence Style, finishing up ch 1 {included a 55 minute lecture and practice- doesn’t that look like fun *wink*}; I could add in King Alfred’s English here as well
Citizenship/Government- Ourselves, pp 83-86; An Essay on Man,  “Of the Nature and State of Man, With Respect to the Universe”; Are You Liberal, Conservative, Confused?, ch 4;
Math- Geometry {using Mastering Essential Math Skills-Geometry}
Foreign Language- Greek, Hey Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek! Level 6, lessons 1-2 vocabulary review; Sign Language, Signing Savvy {I love that she’s taken an interest in this one but she does it in place of her Greek- not part of the agreement}
Commonplace book- although I can’t honestly say that she included anything in it this week.

Fox: Bible: reading- Judges 8 & 9, Acts 9; verse- Psalm 51:1-6
History/Geography- The Birth of Britain, pp 40-54 {chapter 4 is very long; we’re taking it two weeks}; In Freedom’s Cause, ch 1; Seterra
Literature/Grammar: The History of English Literature for Boys and Girls, ch 2; Idylls of the King; The Age of Chivalry, ch 5
Math: No-Nonsense Algebra, Lesson 1-20 through 1-22
German: Transparent Language

It’s been pretty good, really. This is the end of the 4th week and I am content. We will go one more week, I think, then take one week off around Labor Day. In regards subject-wise or book choices, Fox wants something different for Grammar but I think that the one we’ve been using is just fine, he’s just, ahem, lazy. I’ve heard good things about Daily Grammar, but it’d mean going way back for him because he is over half way through Jensen’s. Nah, I don’t think I will switch it up. Lee did it, didn’t particularly care for it either, but she did it; he can too.

And just because we, being Lee and I, enjoyed King Alfred’s English so much, and we both enjoy writing and learning about such things as language, I purchased, with the use of Amazon gift cards from Swagbucks, the book Woe is I by Patricia T. O’Connor. We especially enjoyed the tone of Laurie J. White in her book, King Alfred’s English, and hope that the ‘witty’ in the book by O’Connor will be as good. It says it is for ages 18+ but I think, after reading the preview, that Lee will do fine with this book.

I found a science resource for $1.99 at Currclick that we might be able to use for our Earth Science. It says it is suitable for middle and high school, guess we’ll see how it works. It will just be an addition to what we’re working with now.

Helpful advice…
…enjoy the people your children are and help them to become the people that others can look up to for an example. Whatever you expect of your children, be willing to do yourself.

Places we are going/People we are seeing…
…I get tired of writing the same things here but it is usually the same. We go to church, the library, the grocery store, Mentor for Lee’s babysitting job, and Fox goes to Young Marines. Thursday, however, we met up with other homeschoolers from our church for a kickball game. It was the parents versus the kids. The parents won! In case it seems like that was unfair, I’ll point out that the ‘parents’ consisted of all moms…and Pastor. We had 7 adults and innumerable many kids ranging in age from 5 or 6 to 18. It was great fun! My legs are still sore today from all the running. This coming week will be same ol’ same ol’, I think.

What’s working…
…Weekly menu and grocery shopping is totally working! It makes it so much easier to do and more efficient. We are able to get more fresh fruit and salad than other months. We do not have extras, though, and that might seem bad. I prefer having the ability, the option, to go to the store each week rather than having full cupboards 3/4 of the month and no funds the remaining 1/4.

I’m reading…
…the same as last week. I still need to get started on more pre-reading for the kids’ school. Did I mention that last week? It’s on my to-do list…

I’m cooking…
…Friday night it was Macaroni and cheese, Thursday night it was Tuna Turnovers, tonight is Pizza. Lee made pancakes on Tuesday, I made omelets and scrambled eggs Friday morning, and Fox made coffee cake this morning, Saturday. I might try to make some tomato soup with tomatoes from the garden, based on this recipe from allrecipes.com, later in the week.

Things I’m working on…
…pretty much the same as last week, I think. I finished my worksheets for SchoolhouseTeachers.com but still need to work on my Australia contributions. Also have to come up with another post by Sunday for Finding Beauty. I probably should try to get one in to LinderCroft’s as well. Seem to be neglecting that commitment lately. Limited technology could be used as an excuse. Um, nah.

Thoughts/questions I have…
…I keep getting ‘hot’ spots on my skin. Mostly my right thigh. It feels like when I stand too close to a fire and how the skin gets hot. But there is no external heat source. It’s just weird and I wonder what it’s from. I’ve not investigated further but it’s been on my mind.

I think I’ve poured out my thoughts enough in the rest of this entry

My favorite thing this week…
…my kids! We went grocery shopping on Thursday and used the Divide and Conquer method. It worked wonderfully! I made a master grocery list for the week then split it up between the three of us. Each of us had a pencil and our list, to keep track of our costs. They chose the same things I would have chosen, and did great on the spending. Lee said she felt so grown up going through the store and making the choices. Afterward, Lee thanked me for homeschooling them. Sigh, my kids won’t be ‘kids’ much longer.

Quote to share…

Ten Ways to Love
LISTEN without interrupting (Proverbs 18)
SPEAK without accusing (James 1:19)
GIVE without sparing (Proverbs 21:26)
PRAY without ceasing (Colossians 1:9)
ANSWER without arguing (Proverbs 17:1)
SHARE without pretending (Ephesians 4:15)
ENJOY without complaint (Philippians 2:14)
TRUST without wavering (1 Corinthians 13:7)
FORGIVE without punishing (Colossians 3:13)
PROMISE without forgetting (Proverbs 13:12)

Homeschool Mother’s Journal- 8/17/12

In my life this week…
Trying to find a ‘groove’ for doing what I need to and should do. And with as little computer as possible. It’s actually not too bad. I’m writing this on Thursday so there’s still a day left but it’s been a decent week.

Lee got the Ohio driver’s manual and has been reading that. She’s excited for next month when she will be permitted to get her permit.

In our homeschool…We’ve been moving right along. Our Bible time isn’t going very smoothly and I’m thinking of switching something up. They do reading, 1 chapter alternating between OT and NT, with narration and verse memorization. Lee also does a commentary, currently it is Galatians. That’s not what I’m thinking of changing. We’ve still been using the Judah Bible Curriculum as our together Bible study but I’m fumbling terribly with it. Just not sure what to do with that part.

Otherwise I think all is going fairly well. Science so far isn’t very fun. Here’s their work this week:
Both: Bible (we managed one day on the theme of redemption, Abraham), Latin (still reviewing- up to Lesson XXI, worksheets 4 & 5), Home Ec (using a register for savings account to balance account), Ohio Study (started to go over ‘who’s who in Ohio government’), Science (still in plate tectonics- watched a video from neok12.com- sadly it had a curse word, not recommended), Logic (still the introduction), Poetry (chapter 1 of The Roar on the Other Side); tomorrow- Friday- we have scheduled Art/Music (Renoir/Schubert) and Nature Study (hopefully going to a nature park). We will be having school on Saturday again; Lee seemed fine with it while Fox thought it shy of torture. For Saturday we will pick up the few things that were missed throughout the week for whatever reason, such as Plutarch (Pericles, Lesson 3). They’ve also been reading through Kon-Tiki (Lee) and The Sea Around Us (Fox) because we didn’t quite get them finished last year.
Individually as follows (includes what is scheduled for Friday, even if it’s not been done yet):
Lee:Bible- commentary- Galatians 2:1-10; verse- Ephesians 6:10-13; reading Judges 16-18 & 1 Cor 9-10*; The Christian Life, chapter 3*
History/Geography- A History of the American People, pp. 89-93, written narration; Salem Witch Trials; The Royal Road to Romance, ch 3 & 4; Seterra
Literature/Grammar- History of English Literature, ch LXII*; Traditional English Sentence Style, chapter 1 (still slow going)
Citizenship- Ourselves, pp. 83-86*
Math- Geometry
Government- Are You Liberal, Conservative or Confused?, ch 3*
Foreign Language- Greek, Hey Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek! Level 6, lessons 1-2 vocabulary review; Sign Language, Signing Savvy, the alphabet
Started a commonplace book
Fox:Bible: verse- Psalms 51:1-6; reading Judges 5-7 & Acts 7 & 8*
History/Geography: The Birth of Britain, ch 3*, (Personal Recollections of) Joan of Arc, Bk 1, ch 3*; Asser’s Life of King Alfred, week 3; Brendan Voyage, 1/2 ch 2*; Seterra
Literature/Grammar: The History of English Literature for Boys and Girls, ch 2*; +Idylls of the King; Jensen’s Grammar, correcting previous work; +The Age of Chivalry, ch 3*; +Ivanhoe, ch 3
Math: No-Nonsense Algebra, Lesson 1-16 through 1-19
German: Transparent Language
*oral narration; +listen to on librivox.org

Helpful advice to give…
Time management is essential to having a “successful” homeschool. Ha! mine may never been successful then.
Do school when it is needed and necessary even if it isn’t the usual time. I don’t mean to do it 7 days a week, unless you want, but don’t be afraid to toss in some school on Saturday, or Sunday for that matter.

I’m inspired by…
Can’t say that I’ve been around anyone, in real life or online, enough lately to be inspired by them. I do have a drive and an urge to read and write more wholesomely but not sure where the inspiration came from.

Places we are going/People we are seeing…
Compared to my last wrap-up, we’re being homebodies. Library, grocery store, church, Young Marines for Fox, Mentor for Lee’s babysitting job, and those are the extent. Fox has a boys only event at church on Saturday and there is going to be a kick-ball get together for homeschoolers through the church on the 23rd.

What’s not working/working…
I mentioned our Bible study in our homeschool. It started out very well but either I am reading in the incorrect place or the “curriculum” is missing something. I just can’t wrap my head around this part and the kids look like I’ve spoken Russian to them –but about something they think they should understand. Perhaps you can imagine the look?

Surprisingly, I think Saturday school is working. I put a definite stop time to our school day and what doesn’t get done gets moved either to a different day in the week when we would normally do that subject or ultimately to Saturday. Without screen time, the kids don’t think there’s anything else to do anyway lol.

Meal planning by the week is definitely working. I’ve done it before by the month and shopped once a month for the most part. This month I’ve been trying weekly planning/shopping. I’ve done it twice to see average spending. At the current way we eat, we average around $55 a week for groceries. I really don’t know if that is good or not. The first week I spent over $70 because I had to purchase soaps and such. I count those all groceries as well. The second week I spent $30.55 initially and had to make a trip today, spending just over $9.

I also switched phone providers in hopes to cut $20+ each month. It’s a small amount but it’ll be nice to be able to put that towards something else if needed.

Questions/thoughts I have…
There’s the Bible and then there’s the Science. I think last year it was math and science. I’m not sure what to do with either!

Also, Lee is using the Christian Life by Sinclair (per AO), and while I think it is a great, straight-forward book, she fumbles and struggles with it.

And not school related –I’ve been thinking that it’s somewhat silly to have a blog, for me. I write out my posts in a spiral notebook, then type it into a post. If I have it on paper, why do I need it in a post? Not yet, but I’m thinking about possibly stopping blogging. I’ve had that thought many times before though. Time will tell.

I’m working on…
My garden My FALL garden. I planted some beet seeds and need some broccoli seeds. Which reminds me, I checked out a book from the library to read on year-round gardens. Need to read it.

Also working on posts for Finding Beauty with Susan Godfrey and LinderCroft’s blog. On my blog it is easy to ramble about whatever but on someone else’s site it is more difficult, for me, to present more focused and well-written posts.

And still working with/on SchoolhouseTeachers.com work for September. I’m working on some things for Australia. And then I’m contributing to the This Day in History at the site. If you haven’t seen this resource, check it out! It is chock full of great things for homeschooling.

I’m also working on, or at least thinking about, not over explaining or interfering overmuch {Charlotte Mason, Volume 3, School Education, pp 22 & 29}. This has always been a touchy area for me. I’ve just always told them when they ask. Now they don’t seem to know how to come to the answer themselves, don’t know ‘why’, or are frequently questioning me when I tell them to do something.

Yelling. Well, not yelling is what I’m working on. Yep, I’m a yeller. I go through phases that might just coincide with my kids’ rebellious phases. Hmmm. I found a book on Amazon, when it was free, about this and put it on my Kindle. Need to read it. 

I’m reading…
what matters most by Leonard Sweet, from Blogging for Books.
Pershing: Commander of the Great War by John Perry, from Booksneeze.
Mr. Pipes and the British Hymn Makers, from Christian Liberty Press.
And way too many library books on the shelf to recall or list.

My favorite thing this week…
Bookmarks! but not just any. These were sent to me by my sister. They are magnetic and fit over the page. Small, pretty, with Bible verses. Perfect.

Things we are cooking…
This past week it has been things such as:

• Creamed beef over rice with veggies (thanks to Lee)
• Tuna Tortillas (thanks to both Lee and Fox- we made the tortillas at the same time as the filling!)
• Pizza (with help from Fox)

Tomorrow is chicken with veggies. The kids have been making muffins and pancakes occasionally for breakfast also.

I’m grateful for…
…being able to stay home and be with my kids so much.
…having a husband that makes sure we have all that we need and much that we want.
…my wee little garden that has continued to give us yummy cherry tomatoes.
…a good church.
…freedom to read my Bible every day and to go to church.
…sisters. My sisters.

I’m praying for…
I’m praying for my friend, Christy. She is having a difficult time with the waiting on the Lord and being content with the here-and-now.
To be more like Christ in my thoughts and behaviors. I fail at this constantly.
For more “fire” in my love for Christ. I feel stagnant and know He’s not changed. His purpose is still the same but my focus is always wavering.

Hopefully I’ll get back to link this up with some others.