Homeschool Mother’s Journal ~ November 18, 2011

In my life this week…not much going on: we shopped for and delivered our Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes {yay!}, completed five days of school, spent most of our time at home {doing school and playing outside}.

In our homeschool this week…we finished up another week of our HOD curriculum ~ we read about King Philip’s War {1675-1678} and the courage of Captain Church.  I am learning just as much about American history as my  my kiddos . 

My favorite thing this week was…shopping for our Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes with the kiddos and delivering them to our local drop off site .  I’ve been wanting to do this for that past few years but we always missed it!

Things I’m working on…Thanksgiving fun for next week.  I told the kiddos that if we finished all of the schoolwork that I planned for this week {which we did}, we will spend next week doing Thanksgiving fun stuff: crafts, reading our pile of Thanksgiving books, baking, and whatever else I’ve pinned on my Pinterest Thanksgiving board .

I’m reading…The Grace Effect {a review} by Larry Alex Taunton…a very thought-provoking book!  So glad I was asked to review this one.

I’m cooking…dairy & egg free {or at least trying to} for the sake of ds5…he was diagnosed with a very slight allergy to dairy and eggs last year.  Our doctor recommended that we cut back on dairy & egg but we didn’t have to remove it altogether. 

This worked for a while, but I have been noticing that he has been having some issues with reflux lately so I decided to have him go dairy and egg free for at least a month to see if it makes a difference.  

I’m grateful for…a boring week at home, no new sickness to deal with {just getting rid of old lingering ones}, very few outside activities, lots of things checked off the “to-do” list .

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

I found this picture on my camera’s memory card this morning.  Dh took the kiddos to a park when I was sick, he took my camera along too .

Homeschool Mother’s Journal ~ November 11, 2011

In my life this week…Sickness and Sunshine…Sickness ~ I didn’t get a post up for last week’s journal because I was hit with an awful “bug” of some sort on Friday afternoon.  It started out with me being just plain wiped out…then progressed to 3 days of off and on fever {Saturday’s fever was 103 degrees!}.  I am left with just a cough that I think is on the way out {thank goodness}.

Thankfully the fever finally left for good on Tuesday…just in time for me to enjoy some of the sunshine that our area was blessed with .  70s and sunny in November…I’ll take it!

In our homeschool this week…We got five days of school in…in spite of the teacher {me} being a bit under the weather. 

Dd7 finished up another math book…three more light units ‘til she’s completed CLE Math 1.  Then I need to decide if I want to switch to Singapore 2A {the curriculum HOD recommends} or stick with CLE.

I also added God’s World News back into our school day.  Last year I had ds9 read two pages each day…such a simple way to add current events to our curriculum.  But for some reason I failed to start this up again at the beginning of this school year.  Well, it’s in his assignment book now .  I also added two pages/day of God’s World News to dd7’s assignment book, her and I read it together.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…I decided to not share my lovely germs with anyone other than my family…so we stayed put. 

My favorite thing this week was…feeling better .

I’m cooking…Last night we had pot roast from the crockpot and homemade bread for dinner, our house smelled so good!

I’m grateful for… my husband, he did a wonderful job holding down the fort and keeping the kiddos fed and entertained while I spent the entire weekend on the couch.

Homeschool Mother’s Journal ~ October 28, 2011

In my life this week…Vacation was over, the kiddos were on the mend…it was time to get back into our regularly scheduled routine.  We are not back to a regular routine yet, but we are much closer than we were on Monday .

But I have to admit…it was hard to go from warm, sunny and {mostly} relaxing days at the beach to chilly, rainy and {mostly} busy days back at home. .

In our homeschool this week…reading, writing, math, William Penn, viruses, t-cells, b-cells, k-cells and antibodies…

I am inspired by… the crisp air and brilliant blue skies of fall…this kind of weather inspires me to bake and clean and prepare for winter .

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…lots of errands: consignment drop off, apple orchard for more cooking apples, bank, post office, the final baseball games of the season and hopefully a trip to the pumpkin patch before it closes up .

My favorite thing this week was…being home…we had a lovely vacation, but there’s truly no place like home .

I’m cooking…more applesauce and apple crisp, chicken in the crockpot {which was yummy and made the house smell wonderful!}, homemade rolls in the bread machine to go with the chicken, and chicken broth using the chicken carcass...yep, it’s fall.

I’m grateful for…cozy slippers and our space heater, they’re calling for SNOW in our area tomorrow!

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

This pic is in the running for our Christmas card  .

Homeschool Mother’s Journal ~ October 21, 2011

In my life this week…We were at the beach!  We had a wonderful, relaxing, sun-filled week at the beach.  The weather was downright beautiful…70’s and sunny for most of the week! 

We did have two more sick days, ds4 actually spent most of his birthday day in bed with a fever {from the never-ending cold of 2011} .  But he felt much better the next day and we celebrated his 5th birthday then .

In our homeschool this week…I took a pile of seashore books so we could identify all of the shells we found and all of the shore birds we spotted…otherwise it was full-on vacation time from the school books .

I am inspired by…the awesome beauty of God’s creation…how can you doubt His power after witnessing a sunrise over the ocean?

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…We shared the beach house with an assortment of grandparents, great grandparents, aunts and friends.  Most of our days were spent by the pool {our beach house featured a private one } or on the beach.

My favorite thing this week was…watching ds9 take like a fish to the swimming pool.  He has taken swimming lessons every summer for the past three or four years.  This summer he finally got the hang of it and actually began enjoying the water. 

During our vacation he swam almost every day.  He became a pro at swimming underwater, dh also taught him how to do somersaults and handstands in the water.  He was so proud of himself, and I was too .

I’m grateful for…vacations and downtime with my family, off-season beach vacations {cheaper and less crowded}, healthy kiddos…

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

Homeschool Mother’s Journal ~ October 7, 2011

In my life this week…The sun came back into town, yay!  But sickness also visited our home, boo!  Thankfully it’s just a cold, yay!  But the first day of a cold is spent on the couch in our house because the drainage leads to stomach upset in my kiddos…not sure why, but that’s how it works around here. 

Thankfully it seems that the worst is behind us and we can now look forward to enjoying the sunshine that’s predicted in our area for the next couple of days.

In our homeschool this week…I had planned to get three days of school in because we really needed one day of rest after our busy, busy weekend and we had a yard sale planned for Friday.  Only one day got done.  Two days were sick days for two different kiddos. 

I am inspired by…the sunshine .  I get so much more accomplished when the sun is shining, and my outlook is so much better.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…We made it to one baseball game before ds9 got sick.  He’s feeling much better so he should be able to make it to his Saturday AM ballgame. 

My favorite thing this week was…The sunshine and hanging laundry on the line after weeks of too-wet-to-hang-clothes-out weather. 

I’m cooking…two batches of apple sauce and two batches of apple crisp and now it’s time to head back to the orchard to pick up more apples .

I’m grateful for…Being a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom .  Dh and I didn’t have to stress over who was going to stay home with the sick kiddo when we woke up two days this week to sick kiddos.  

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

 I haven’t taken out my camera in a while, so I’m gonna post a picture from a while back .  A couple weeks ago the kiddos found this critter hanging out on our porch.  Dh did an online search and found that this guy was a bit far from home.  I wonder how he got this far north?

Homeschool Mother’s Journal ~ September 30, 2011

In my life this week…or should I say the past two weeks since I skipped last week’s journal .  One thing that has been seemingly ever present in my life the past two weeks is rain…gobs and gobs of it.  We had a very wet spring, a very dry summer, and we are having a very wet fall.  Needless to say, I am ready for the sun!

Sorry, I don’t mean to complain…but I just had to vent a bit. 

In our homeschool this week…Well, this week we have been on a well-deserved break.  The kiddos have been doing school since July 18th…and all of us were ready for a break from schoolwork. 

I am inspired by… all of the cool things people are pinning on Pinterest!  Have you checked it out yet? 

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…Last week we took a field trip to the fair, met with our county’s homeschool monitor, had fun with our church family at Truth Squad {a scripture memory program} and lunched with friends after church.

This week was supposed to be busy with baseball practice and two games…but practice and one game was rained out.  We did make it to a baseball game last night and we’ve got a busy, busy weekend coming up. 

My favorite thing this week was…The snippets of sunshine that we got in between all of the rain, rain, rain.  And the break from schoolwork .

Questions/thoughts I have…This is not school related, but more tongue in cheek rain related .  Have you ever just hung your laundry out on the line, felt rain drops so you pulled the laundry off the line really fast…only to see the sun coming out 10 minutes later?  Ugh…yep, that happened to me. 

Things I’m Working on…Preparing for our upcoming vacation and ds4’s 5th birthday!  I cannot believe that my baby is gonna be 5 already!

I’m reading…One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.  Wow, what an inspiring book…and a convicting book.  I am trying to be intentional about noticing and thanking God for all of the blessings in my life…even the rain .

I’m cooking…apples {applesauce, apple crisp, mini apple pies for the freezer}, banana chocolate chip muffins, and two desserts for two different picnics we are headed to this weekend.

I’m grateful for…three healthy kiddos, the blessing of homeschooling and taking breaks on our own schedule, sunshine & rain , apples from the orchard, vacations…

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

My cool ds4…who’s going to be 5 soon.  Where does the time go?

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway for Carlito C. Caterpillar’s MathHouse Game Card set here….

Homeschool Mother’s Journal ~ September 16, 2011

In my life this week…My favorite season is just around the corner and I am so excited.  I love the fall!  In our area we are having cooler than normal temperatures right now…and I love it!

In our homeschool this week…We took an impromptu field trip, we met our state’s homeschooling requirement by having our bi-annual meeting with our homeschool monitor and we completed three days of school…it’s been a busy and fun week!

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…This has been a full week for us!  We began the week with a spur of the moment field trip to see Joseph at Sight & Sound Theater.

The following day we headed to our local homeschool monitor for our portfolio review.

We also did our regular stuff: our weekly trip to the library and our weekly trip to the apple orchard {a fall tradition}.  And ds9 had his first fall baseball game…it was an away game and the weather was downright chilly!

My favorite thing this week was…Definitely the impromptu field trip!  Dh and I have been wanting to take the kiddos to Sight & Sound but the plans never worked out…so when my in-laws called and told us about a fabulous deal on tickets we jumped at the chance to go .

What’s working/not working for us…I just have to say this again…I absolutely love, love, love our new curriculum. 

I especially love how Carrie {the writer of the Heart of Dakota curriculum} has added a whole lot of fun into the curriculum.  In the past four weeks we have done more science experiments and fun history projects than we have ever done…and each only took about 15 minutes a piece .

I’m cooking…Lots of baked goods.  I made granola a couple weeks ago, and my non-granola lovin’ boy loved it!  I have finally found an easy to make {and store}, semi-healthy breakfast that everyone in my house loves …so this week I made two batches! 

I also made a batch of muffins {for snacks and breakfast} and I plan to make a couple loaves of zucchini bread {with chocolate chips} and a couple batches of applesauce. 

I’m grateful for…The change of seasons.

A photo to share…

My three kiddos loved our surprise field trip to see Joseph at Sight & Sound Theater .

P.S.  I currently have two giveaways on my blog that have very low entries.  Enter to win The Shunning DVD here and Theo Presents DVD here.

Homeschool Mother’s Journal ~ September 9, 2011

 

In my life this week…Rain, rain and more rain.  But thankfully we haven’t experienced any flooding in our neighborhood.  In our case the rain has been simply a nuisance…keeping us inside a lot more…but we have been praying for the many people whose lives have been greatly affected by flooding from this seemingly unending rain.

In our homeschool this week…We have successfully completed three weeks of our new curriculum, Heart of Dakota’s Bigger Hearts for His Glory.  And in am still in love with it! 

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…Before all of the rain started up, we were able to spend Labor Day afternoon with our church family at a nearby park…that boasts a big wooden slide.  We had a wonderful time eating and sliding with our friends. 

The rain began that afternoon and has not let up since…so the rest of the week has been spent mostly inside…getting schoolwork done .

My favorite thing this week was…Watching all of the sliding fun…especially the big kids {the adults}.  Dh didn’t suffer much soreness from his day of fun, but I have heard from friends that some of the other “big kids” were pretty sore the day after.

What’s working/not working for us…Our new Heart of Dakota curriculum is working fabulously.  It is so nice to not spend the weekend planning {I just open and go}…and it is even nicer to get everything done and still have time to play in the afternoon .

I’m cooking…The cooler, rainy weather has gotten me in the mood for fall…this week I made some homemade bread and a big pot of chili…and I have grand baking plans for the weekend.

I’m grateful for…The fact that we have stayed relatively dry despite all of the rain around us.

I’m praying for…All of those people affected by the flooding in our area and around the country.  And that the rain will stop soon .

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

This is not just an ordinary old slide…it’s the big slide.  Regulars to the park know to bring their own towels to slide on…and some even bring waxed paper for a super fast ride!