Weekly Wrap-Up, the first of the 2013/2014 school year!

The first Weekly Wrap-Up of the 2013-2014 school year! Yay! I'm going to attempt to link it up with both Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers and The Homeschool Mother's Journal...but we shall see. The page won't load for me today :(

This post contains affiliate links. See Disclosure/Policies.

In my life this week… 
...busy busy busy! Well, mostly it was the driving. It seems like we were driving every day for at least an hour each day. The kids had HobBOT Camp at the library so that played a large part in the driving. Also it was dh's birthday Thursday so we had to get 'stuff' for that- had to. We had friends over for bbq on Thursday night also- had to get stuff for that.
In general, things really have gone smoothly and well. I feel, however, that I have a ton of stuff that's not been done or still needs caught up on. My house is very clean thanks to having visitors *wink*.

In our homeschool this week…...should I attempt to chronicle it here? I might... I'll come back to this section. We only had a 4 day week (so far).

Both: Bible reading (Lee: Leviticus 6-10, Psalm 5-12 {using Bible in 2 year schedule}; Fox: 2 Kings 12-17, 2 Chronicles 24-28, Jonah, Isaiah 1-22, Amos, Micah {using Bible chronologically in 1 year schedule}), verses, Math (1 lesson each day), Art, History of English Literature (Lee: ch 76; Fox: ch 34), chemistry (Crash Course video {youtube} and setting up lab books), Current Events/Weekly Barden (here's the latest), written narrations, Seterra, Sign Language (LifePrint), nature journal entry.

Lee: The Christian's Secret to a Happy Life (ch 2), A History of the American People (pg 292-301), The Spirit of the Age, Character is Destiny (ch 2), commonplace book entries, Thinking Straight in a Crooked World (pg 23-28), North With the Spring, How to Read a Book, Walking the Bible, Eothen (ch 5), The Law, Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin (ch 4), Uncle Tom's Cabin (ch 5-?), Les Miserables.

Fox: The Lively Art of Writing (pg 20-23), Christian Theology and Ancient Polytheism (lesson 3 & 1/2 of 4), Everyman, Galileo's Daughter (ch 3), James 1, The New World (pg 29-40), Westward Ho! (ch 2), Whatever Happened to Justice? (ch 1), Fierce Wars & Faithful Loves (intro).

And this is actually from last week's art 'project' {maybe even the week before...}:

Can you figure out what piece of art this is representing?
Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…
...um, I got nothing. Oh, wait! If you use a tablet, I found three free apps that might be useful.{they are all Amazon affiliate links- but the apps are free at the time of my posting}



I just got them so we've not had a chance to really use them yet but they each look good :) Another 'tip' is to follow resource blogs that fit your homeschooling style. I know that Ben & Me has a lot of great posts about electronic resources (like apps and free ebooks).

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
...we went to the store- a lot. We also went mini golfing on Thursday and had lunch at Chipotle for dh's birthday lunch. Tomorrow, the 10th, Lee and I are going to a jewelry party. Fox will hang out with the guys in my friends' family because dh has to work.

My favorite thing this week was…
...friends over for bbq! Also, giving dh his birthday presents after breakfast. I love to make him smile.

My kiddos favorite thing this week was…
...having friends over for bbq *smile*

Things I’m working on…

...I should really start doing the Goal Planning Mondays again. I'm sure my 'to do' lists are huge but I don't actually make them anymore. The 'to do' just piles up...

I'm supposed to be researching Ireland.  {ahem}

I just signed up for the Tyndale's Rewards program. I've known about it since it first started but never took the opportunity, but am now. With the program you earn points that can be used to get free Bibles and books. If you're interested, here's where to sign up > http://www.tyndalerewards.com/signup/?pc=lmvr-n4r5-k8ge-hqas -that is my personal referral code. If you sign up for the program, it earns me points :) It's a win-win!

Working on getting my phones all in order. Our phone bill wasn't terribly high ($65/month for two phones) but we rarely actually use them so I figured we could cut costs somehow. The real deciding factor to go with a different phone/provider is that one of them has never worked right in the first place- that'd be my phone. My mom got a cell phone from PureTalkUSA and although it is extremely basic, the service only costs $10/month! I took the plunge and got two basic flip phones from them, and it'll cost no more than $45/month for two phones! And...this is the best part for me...the minutes roll over. Unfortunately, I could not get my number switched over so I have two new numbers. It's a small price to pay for a lower bill (haha, punny). If you are looking for a good inexpensive, basic, cell phone service, check out PureTalkUSA. 

Finally, I am trying to work on my Mary Kay business. It's been a slow year and unfortunately, I've not put as much into it as I want to get out of it. As soon as I get my phone situation all squared away, I'm going to get going in a big way.

I’m cooking…
...very little since it's hot. But generally if I do cook it's been chicken. Tonight, being Friday, I should make pizzas. I'm still undecided since we have leftover bbq food. I did make potato salad for that.

Next week I'll be back to my menu planning. It's terrible without a menu and having to 'scrounge'! And by that I mean, have to decide spur of the moment what ingredients go with other ingredients to make a meal. We have all we need...it just requires more work without the menu already planned.

I’m grateful for…
...my health; my wonderful hubby; my children; our house; our church; having the Bible to read every day; getting books unexpectedly in the mail for reviews; having internet; bulletproof coffee; praying friends; plenty of food; ice; homeschool.

I’m praying for…
...my friend, Val (she has health issues); Michelle (she has terminal cancer and has just a few weeks to live according to the doctors); my children's future spouses; my children's heart for God; my own heart and mind, that I keep it clean and centered on God; my hubby; my mom (to find a place closer to town)

I rewarded my kids this week by…
...although I'm not sure what the reward was for {perhaps because they are mine and are awesome most of the time lol} but they've gotten junk just about every day.

Something I am ogling or have my eye on…
...I actually bought a Kindle book that I didn't think I would. It's for Fox's school but it was a book that I figured I would either get, or not get. After reading part of the introduction on Google Books, I had to buy it. {it's an Amazon affiliate link}


How was your week?

Week 3...Moving Right Along

Perhaps by the half-way point we will have it all together *wink*. 

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Since it's only Wednesday, there's still time to 'get it all done' but I'm not holding my breath. Monday through Thursday the kids have "HoboBOT Camp: Or There and BOT Again" at the local library where they are using Lego Mindstorms {that's an Amazon affiliate link}. They are LOVING it. I at first thought that it would be too childish for them- by that I mean, there'd be too many kids there who are childish. It tends to spoil the experience some when that happens. Well, it turns out there are only 4 kids altogether. My kids make up 1/2 the class! The class runs from 2pm-4pm so it's been cutting into the school portion of the day. They've been having to do school after school hours. But that's how it goes sometimes!

Tomorrow there is another "no school" day. We always say we take birthdays off, and generally we take the kids and my birthday off, but this may be the first year we have taken the day off for dear hubby's birthday. He is even taking the day off of work. We are going to do a lot of driving {possibly}, hang out for most of the morning, and although the kids may miss the last day of camp, we are planning on a good day. Later Thursday we have bbq planned with friends.

We might have school Saturday but I'm really undecided. We have mostly caught up to where we should be for week 3, but for a few stragglers. 

Otherwise, some things we've gotten done or are working on:

I'm trying to take part in a book discussion of Waverley by Sir Walter Scott. We are actually on Week 2 now, so I should be moving right along to reading chapters 6-10. I'll just level right now. I haven't even made it past the Introduction to the book. By that I mean I haven't even read the intro posted by the book discussion host OR the intro in the book- which I hear is quite wordy. I still fully intend to read and participate. I'm just behind.

We are trying to get back into verbal narrations since we pretty much stopped doing them at the end of the school year. It's difficult! For the kids as well as myself because first I have to make sure I am focused and ready for the narration. And second, they have to collect their thoughts. I think we stopped doing them about a month before school ended; around April. It's August now and apparently it's a bit like riding a bicycle, where you don't forget how but you're a bit wobbly at first.

Finally, this week we started on our science. Fox said it sounds 'boring'. That makes me sad and I hope to change his mind when we get into it more. We are doing Chemistry for the year. The part that may be 'boring' to him is keeping is a neat lab book. I have a specific and orderly fashion I want it to be kept in. He doesn't like "orderly fashion" too much. It will be good for him, I know it. Lee I think enjoys the methodical, systematic way they are to keep their lab books. She's all about 'orderly fashion' *wink*. 

Fox and I are working through Brimwood Press's Christian Theology and Ancient Polytheism with the book Secret of the Scribe for worldview {that's an affiliate link}. We both are liking it so far. I hope to have a review up of it later this month {sooner than later!}. I've heard many times that you don't need to look at the fake to know it's fake; simply study the 'real' one to the point you know it exceptionally well. This program compares the conflicting beliefs. I really appreciate that, without getting very involved into the other belief, the student will be better able to argue for the truth when confronted with a false belief. I'll share more in my review but will say here that I'm enjoying the discussions that stem from this study.

We are all doing Sign Langauge using Lifeprint at the moment. It's a great tool and it's free...to a point. At first this was just Lee's 'thing', then I started in to help her along {it's difficult to learn a 'language', especially on your own and even more so with ASL!}. Then Fox said he wanted to learn as well. So we all do it now. Some of us are more into it than others {ahem}. Bill Vicars from Lifeprint is hilarious and makes it enjoyable.

I started re-reading my Bible. I am 'stuck' in Genesis now because I want to keep a notebook for my reading. It's not really that I'm stuck but I love to compare the Hebrew/Greek with current words in my Bible. It really sheds a lot of light on the passages. It takes a lot of time. It's amazing. I'm keeping a notebook so that on days when the 'light comes on' I can make note of it.

And so far that's our week. Now I have to go pick up the kids from their HobBOT Camp and then clean the house.