Time to Talk

 This book can be found on Amazon as well as the others I mention....

Wow, I can't believe that my kids are getting so big.... and have so many questions. We have goats know, 4 does and a buck, and have had chickens for a while now both hens and a rooster...  My kids have a limited understanding of why you need both kinds but I know that they need to know more. And I very much desire them to have a biblical understanding of why God made them who they are and what they are. About a year ago I was researching books on the touchy subjects of purity, god's desires for our bodies and his design for sex. I have found a few that I have ordered and should get in a few days. I will blog about it after we get the chance to read through them both as the parents, and then when we read them with our kids. There is one book I ordered for my eldest boy, "Facing the Facts: The Truth About Sex and You" its a Focus on the Family recommended book for pre-teens and teens. I also got a devotional book "His Mighty Warrior: A Treasure Map from Your King" for us to read through with both of the boys. For the girls I found a few I was interested in. First I found "His Little Princess: Treasured Letters from Your King (His Princess)" which is a devotional book that I can read through with the girls together. And then I found something aimed more at Charity Ann's age, but may read it to both as well "Princess & the Kiss: A Story of God's Gift of Purity," there is a devotional that goes along with that as well. I may save a few of them for Christmas Presents to them, but really see the need to get started on a few of them.

This year we are also going to begin studying Zoology using Apologia's Zoology Curriculum. We have another student that is going to join us once a week or so to do the experiments and lab stuff. It's going to be great! We also decided to use Rod and Staff for our Core Subjects of English, Reading, Spelling, some History, Bible Study, Math for Cayleb and Charity Ann and Penmanship for Noah and Charity Ann. I also got their "Art Packs" for each of them, which have a study designed to teach them beginning art skills like grid drawing, shading, working with different mediums etc. The kids are very excited about those as well!

With all these new books that God has blessed us with, we are sure to have LOTS to talk about this coming year. And I really am feeling so positive that we are not missing anything. Last year, I know that they kids were learning, and they were interested but just felt like there were holes in what we were doing. Now I feel much more certain that we are covering all the basics and the rest will just fall into line. We are taking fewer classes at Home Connections this semester, I have it whittled down to one-single-half day! From 12:30-4:15!! WOW. I have never had that small of a class load outside of our work here. The boys will also be continuing their music lessons, and all of us are indulging in Karate twice a week.

Speaking of Karate, I LOVE it. I have been having so much fun working on my Kata's and skills. I am a 2nd Degree Green Belt now, and will potentially be testing for Brown the end of September. We'll see if I can get everything mastered for it by then.

The goats are doing great. We have little man "Humphrey" who is beginning to feel his oats and is finding the girls to be quite pretty. I am hoping that he will be "ready" this Fall, so that we will have some cute little Humphrey babies this Spring. I need to take some pictures and post them on the Farm Site on Face Book. It's raining today, so prolly tomorrow, K.

Back to School

This Tuesday was our first official day back to school, though the kids and I worked on stuff throughout the summer as well, but just so it's "official" we have a start Date of 9-8-09. We are slowly pulling out of the station and have visited our new grammar curriculum, are continuing our Math-U-See adventures, have worked a bit with some handwriting and have started Spelling/Phonics depending on grade level. Cayleb is an official 5th grader this year, I can hardly believe it. I know that just a few months away I will be blogging about how I have a high schooler or something! Noah is officially in 3rd grade but is working through 4th/5th grade materials and Charity Ann is in 2nd this year. Sarah Rose is pulling up as the caboose as a preschooler. It's really hard thinking about Cayleb being in high school in just a few short years, but it is even harder thinking about my babiest one being old enough for school period. I guess you could say that I am in a reflective mood. I want to make sure that when the kids and I look back at our schooling adventures they are full of pleasant memories and funny stories, not drills and busywork. I really know that they learn best when they are having fun, as brains turn off completely when frustration and boredom enter the proximity. That's why I LOVE the Konos curriculum that we have chosen for the past few years. We haven't started it yet as we are waiting to go pick up our "wish" list of books from the library to begin, as real books always trigger more learning than a silly old work book anyways!!

We have begun our year with the unit "Explorers, Navigation and Sailing." Pa Pa will be proud! :) Next week we will tackle ships and sailing, then we are off to learning how explorers navigate in open water with out electronics, computers or sunshine. After that we will delve into various explorers that have sailed the oceans blue and purple. After that we will dive into pioneers just in time for Fall harvests and Thanksgiving, then off to Norway for a Christmas adventure!

I am still canning, trying to fit in the peaches that are just about ripe atop our aquarium. I also have apples available when I am ready to do apple sauce. I need to harvest our carrot crop and can those, as well as the remaining beets. I am also waiting to see how much corn I will end up with because I'd really like to get several more quarts of that canned. I am also drying things this year, some veggies, but mostly fruit. The kids have been enjoying that immensely. They turn down cupcakes to mom's dried kiwis and pineapple. Jason has been enjoying them as well.

The farmers market has been a new adventure for me this summer as well. my friend Katie and I have been working together there since the first part of June and are having a lit of fun. We have been getting into character lately as pioneers selling the lovely Grace Harbor Farms Guernsey Cow Yogurt as well as Saanen Goat milk and yogurt. Our main product, however, is the MSM cream which is an all natural pain reliever/anti-inflammatory. It's a great cream that smells absolutely divine because of the particular combination of essential oils that contribute to the mixture. My whole family enjoys it's benefits, especially Sarah Rose. She LOVES for Mamma to put the cream on her after her bubble. So, anyways. All that to say that Katie and I have been having fun making costumes to wear each week.
Here is a pic of us at the farm:We made our aprons the night before, until 1 in the morning!! I'm not too keen on patterns and sewing in general but was able to figure this one out!

Ice Skating

So I asked Charity Ann this morning what she wanted to do for an extra curricular activity this year. We had been talking about some dance lessons. I mentioned to her that she could try ice skating since she could take a class at the same time as Cayleb's learn to skate class. She was really excited! She didn't know that that was even an option. I hadn't really thought about it much before this morning, but woke up with a sort of tada moment thinking, Wow, wouldn't it be easier on me if she wanted to try ice skating, instead of dance, then I would only be carting them to one place a few times a week, rather than 2 several times a week! So, I asked, and then Noah heard from her that she was going to be ice skating and he got this left out look and I asked him if he wanted to and he said Yes!! So Then I decided I better take in the contract form from Blaine Home Connections so that they could start that paper work and we could get our lessons paid for out of our stipend. When we got there at 10:15 this morning the "Home School Skate" had just started and the lady was like, we'll they can skate today as their first practice if you want? And of course the kids all said yes, even though they were in T-Shirts and a few even had shorts on! They looked pretty cute out there on the ice in their shorts, t-shirts and skates! :) I got a few pictures but will get more later. Their first class is Friday with a 3 hour practice session afterwards. They are very excited to go back, and this time Cayleb can actually take his skates with him so that he doesn't have to borrow the stinky ones. We may have to work towards purchasing skates for the other two if they are going to stick with it.

Cayleb is learning how to skate so that he can play Hockey, so he's just glad to be back on the ice :)

I am just glad that I won't be going to 2 different places 4-5 times a week!! B'Ham is getting more and more expensive to get to these days, though I did get Diesel today for under $4 a gal. I haven't been able to do that for almost a year I think!! It was a nickel away from $5 for way to long!!

Right now was are playing catch-up on the school we "missed" this morning. My extra kiddos aren't here today since today is Zoie's Birthday and her Mom was able to take the day off and treat her to some fun! We are just relaxing, and enjoying the quiet while Sarah Rose gets her nap. We have AWANA tonight so that will be plenty loud to make up for the peace right now!

Gotta Go.

Tif

Marvelous Monday :)

Yeah, I know I have used that one before, I think..... so lets see what else can we come up with for Monday....
Madd
Moody
Magnificent
Mischievous
Macho
Money
Mooselicious
Marockin
Hmmm..... Okay, I guess we'll go with magnificent this time :)

Yesterday was great. I decided to throw our schedule out the window, and instead created a lot more detailed assignment sheets for each of the kids. That way they could decide what they wanted to work on, yet still have the ability to see what they need to do. So it was fun for them to get those choices, and they could go at whatever pace they wanted to. This was a big plus for the big kids, as they didn't have to wait for me to finish up things with the younger ones before they moved on. Some got done pretty early and had free time, others worked until lunch and a few had just a little to do after lunch. We did spelling together after lunch and also our Konos fun stuff about the Music and Sound experiments unit that we are working on. I felt mush more relaxed about it, not feeling like I was holding anyone back, or pushing anyone ahead either. And it let me work with a few at a time on Math, because the most I got working on Math at one time was 4 and it was all the younger ones.

Six has been an adventure so far, but I am enjoying it and will keep it up :)

Getting Started....

So we just completed our first week of Homeschooling!! (well, it's actually the beginning of my 3rd year) We had a great week, and we got everything done that I wanted to. I decided to start off slow, keeping my expectations low so that I wouldn't get frustrated and overwhelmed by all of it.

I mentioned before that we would be having a few extra kids here to school with us, so our number has gone from 4 to 7 on weekdays from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

I also just finished completing 6 SLP's (Student Learning Plans) for them!!! Each of which is 7 full pages on my word program, complete with EALR's and all!! So gotta go for now....

News News News!!

OMGoodness!

Phew, Okay, I had to get that off my chest. Yesterday after much dwelling and trying to deal with my sad heart, I decided to do a huge thing. A friend of mine, who has been home schooling her children since they were school age, is going through the beginning of a separation with her husband and has had to return to work just to make ends meet. She has been torturing herself because putting her children in public school has been unavoidable yet untollerable, as I can understand. After having Cayleb home for just one year I can't imagine sending him back to a place that I know hurts him and demeans him. So, after much prayerful thought and consideration on my part I have offered to home school her children with mine until a things get straightened out in her life so that she can once again take over.

So, what does this mean for my family? Well, to start we all need to start going to bed earlier because her schedule requires her to drop off her 3 kiddos here at a bright and early 6:15. And since mine are used to getting up closer to 7 I need them to go to bed a little earlier so that I don't have crankies on my hands!! But that's not a huge deal. I am hoping that Sarah Rose can still manage to sleep in a little each morning so that I have a little time to get ready for the days. Next is the idea of having 3 extra kiddos here every day for school 5 days a week. I had already gotten myself mentally psyched for my 3, so 3 more of very similar ages doesn't seem to be a HUGE deal, though I do have a fair share of butterflies in my stomach. I think that for the most part it's just not going to be as relaxed as I was hoping it would be, at least not in the beginning because I need to develop a good routine and schedule that gets everyone where I need them when I need them there. We will need to try extra hard to stick to our schedule unless we want to go off on a tangent for a while :) It will be more like an assembly line instead of a well, I don't really have a good work for it right now.... But I am still hoping to cling to the relaxed reading time and sharing time and morning gathering time.

We will have one place to go each week, besides field trips, and that will be my kids two classes in Blaine each Tuesday. My truck will just hold the 8 of us! Hehe, Wow, I knew we needed lots of room, but lately we have been managing to fill her up quite a bit! (and I don't just mean the fuel tank!)

So, for now we are working through the preliminary set-up for what we will be doing and how to figure out what feeding the extra ones will cost us etc. So, I will leave it at that, because my brain needs to go work on something else for a while.

Our Grass is Growing!

Yeah, it's finally getting bigger!! These past few weeks of sunshine have been great and the recent application of fertilizer didn't hurt either! I can't wait for us to begin building our swing set!! I know that the kids are really excited as well. I keep trying to talk Jason into building our own, though, versus the Costco one. But either way, it will be so much fun getting the supplies and then actually putting it together and lastly, taking a big swing for a ride!!!

I am also getting excited about the upcoming school year! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the break we are having right now. But I also am looking forward to the experience that the kids and I are going to have this coming year as full out home schoolers!! I think that they are getting excited as well. we've gotten a few replies to our advertisement about our Konos Ko-op and we are excited to meet people. One family that has 3 boys is in Surry B.C., Canada which is just across the boarder. It would be great having a contact there to help with setting up field trips and stuff up there. It's all pretty foreign to me :) The other Mom is right here in Birch Bay and she has 2 girls and a boy. So, if it all works out, we'll have my 4+Kristy's 2+Julie's 3+Loriann's 3+Michele's 2??=14 kids!! a few of which are tag-a-long toddlers but it's going to be a blast!!

I have started the plans for our Kick-off in August and am just waiting for Kristy to tell me which weekend works best for her family!! Hint Hint!!

I also have something else in the works, but can't talk to much about it...... it's around my Birthday, though ;)

If you happen to read this and want to check out our Konos Ko-op here in Birch Bay, WA here's the link: Birch Bay Konos Krusaders. Other wise check my sidebar for a link to join!

Camping!

So we haven't been camping for 5 1/2 years and have decided to go with some friends of ours for the holiday weekend. It should be lots of fun. One problem I am having is we had transitioned from a Tent Family to a Camp Trailer Family and now since the trailer is filled with heaps of who knows what stuff, we can't use it and have to tent it once again. Hmmm, pretty hard since I had thus gotten rid of the storage containers ie: tubs and crates and stuff for all the camping stuff. So now that question hasn't been what do I need to bring, it's where in the heck am I supposed to put all this stuff??

Tomorrow we also have our Beach Exploration Day that I set up with Cayleb's home school group. I am supposed to be putting together a scavenger hunt for the kids to do as teams. I need to put that together still.... We have also a lot of shopping to do yet, Jason has so wonderfully volunteered to go do that for me in the morning.

I haven't gotten my Konos in yet, hoping it will come either tomorrow, or wait until Tuesday and not come while we are away. I also got the Kids enrolled in a few classes at the Blaine Home Connection for next year. So far I signed them up for "Farming with Friends" for all three, and Noah and Charity Ann are going to take a "Hands on Math" class, and Cayleb is going to take an "Origami Math" class. I also would like to sign Noah up for Piano lessons, as we can use our stipend funds to pay for that because it is considered a "Private Lesson."

Well, I need to go for now, I have to get moving or we aren't going to be ready to go by tomorrow night.....

Teriffic Tuesday

Today has been good. I have been dong TONS of laundry, making up for not working on it during the weekend...... We have our beach outing with our WAVA group scheduled for Friday so hopefully the weather holds up. We are also trying to plan a camping trip for this weekend. This will be our first time camping since we moved up here almost 5 1/2 years ago! We also got our grass planted yesterday, Yeah!! I don't know when I'll get my Konos stuff, I did get a confirmation for my order saying that it shipped on Monday and it will take 5-7 days to get here, yipee! So that pretty much brings me up to date on the happenings around here.

Cayleb is doing a science experiment on Geotropism and I decided that we should try out the "note booking" style of keeping his records. It' s sort of like scrap booking, so it can be a lot of fun. He seems to be enjoying the more creative approach of logging his data rather than the usual boring just-jot-it-down-on-a-piece-of-paper approach. We are really excited to see how his experiment goes! I am also i the process of starting a Virtual Co-Op Yahoo group for the families that we find who want to do Konos Unit's with us. so far we have 2 other families besides ourselves. And we haven't even started it yet! I am trying to figure out how to organize my art/craft type projects into a data base sorted into types of some sort that would make it easy to come up with ideas for our units. Hmmm..... Lots to think about and I totally over think things sometimes.....

Well, that's all for now, I think :)

Today

So Today hasn't been amazing in the sense of an amazing day. But it was great for a Monday, now I think that this is two great Monday's in a row. I think that I am feeling very much relieved at the sight of "End of School" written on my Calendar. I have been in organizing mode the last week or so, tackling a portion of my closet at a time. It's been so fun, I LOVE organizing, but I can tell that the rest of my house has been ignored. But that's okay, I keep telling myself that I will get to it, and that I just need to get the closet done, it's been driving me CRAZY!! I can't wait to get our curriculum for next year! I have a place for it reserved in the closet, I know, I am a nut..... Kristy and I are going to get together and plan our year after we have both had a chance to take a look and see what is drawing each of our eyes. I am using primarily the first Volume for next year, with a few supplements from the Second volume for Christmas, Valentines Day and Easter.... Or perhaps we will just stick with the first Volume and take a week off and do our own crafty stuff for the holiday's :) Either way, it will be fun.

I also want to get out and start my garden. I feel it nagging at me, I usually have it in before now, but it's not too late. I just need to try and set aside an afternoon to work on it. I want to plant Sugar Snap Peas, Green Beans, Lettuce, Carrots, Cabbage, some Cucumbers, Bell Peppers, Squash, and some Corn. I'll do some tomatoes in pots. That's what my picture is about today. I like Photo Blogging :) Hehehe!! I always loved the "Peter Rabbit" books.

I also wanted to mention that I have sold 4 of my wands!

We got in!!

I just got a call from Mr. Sanborn and he said that we got into the Blaine Program for next year!! There is a waiting list, but he said that we made it in!!! Yipee!!! I am so happy, one less thing to worry about. Now I just need to save up for my Konos curriculum so that we will be all set!!! I can get our Math books through the Blaine Home Connection for next year, as there is a stipend for each child enrolled. You can get whatever you want pretty much as long as it's not religious curriculum, hence, the necessity of me purchasing the Konos. Anyways. I just wanted to write about this cause it makes me really happy, and help confirm to me that I am on the right path. And Thank you to my friend Sarah for her hugs XOXOXOX!!! I Love you!!!

Epiphany

So, here it is, I have come to realize that Monday's (figuratively) stink for us, no matter what day they happen to land on! Yesterday was Monday for us, and as has been the norm, ended up stinking to High Heaven. I am not sure what to do about this problem I seem to be having with Cayleb's lack of enthusiasm, motivation and bad attitude..... Should I reward this by changing things up for Monday's, trying to make them more fun or something? I mean, none of us really LOVE Monday's right? But Most of us don't DREAD them either, more than normal anyways :). So...... Though I have reached my epiphany regarding the consistency of Monday Blues around here, I have also faced an equally depressing juncture, What the Heck am I supposed to do about Mondays!!

Considering...

yesterday, today has been very low-key. Cayleb hasn't been feeling well, but not bad enough to not do school. He keeps procrastinating, and sidetracking, though, so this is taking a lot longer than it needs to... I keep telling him that if he would just pay more attention to his math problems, for example, he wouldn't have to take the assessment 3 times to pass on 7 problems.... he knows them and can do them out loud with me no problem, but when it comes to writing things down, his brain just miscommunicates what it wants to see written on the paper or something... So anyways....

I really want to order our Konos, but can't yet... I have pondered the idea of saving some of the "$" whatever the amount is that is supposed to be sent out from the government to boost the economy whatever.... and putting it towards our school supplies for next year.... but then there are about 50 other things that that money needs to go towards! like bills! Yuck, how depressing!! Anywho....

It's overcast today, it was supposed to rain but it hasn't yet. Maybe Jason will get a little more done on the yard tonight. :)

I want to talk about something happy, K!! So Happy Happy Happy!!! Happy to everyone!!! Happy thoughts, Happy Prayers, Happy Dreams, Happy Days, Happy-whatever-the-heck-it-is-that-will-make-you-happy Happy!!

I pray that God will lead you in the path that He wants you to travel. I pray that He will keep you safe where ever that path leads you. I pray that He uses you to reach a brother or sister in need. I pray that you will seek His guidance in all you do. I pray that He will Bless your family and provide you with everything you need. -Amen

The week so far...

So, Monday sucked as it has for the past few weeks.... but yesterday and today have been great so far :) We are working through fractions now, so math has been really easy for him. Nice, after a rough two weeks of long division. not that he didn't get it or anything, actually he's really good at it, but he just doesn't like all the pencil work that the practicing required. So, Fractions are like a vacation compared to that. I will try to write more later, I need to give him another assignment.

Okay, I am back....
We started Sarah Plain and Tall this week, he has read Chapters 1-5 already. Cayleb likes that it has three of our families names in it ;) Well, one isn't exactly the same Anna versus Ann :)

We feel like the end of the year is finally approaching, a relief after a long year. Spring is finally here, and flowers are blooming. Tulips are everywhere and Daffodils as well, people have planted them along the freeway even! It's so pretty :) I don't have any bulbs planted yet, but I think I may get around to that the next time they have the bags of them for sale at Costco :) I am hoping!

Cayleb is currently finishing his math time for the day making a recipe that his Auntie Sarah gave me for my Bridal Shower many years ago called "Popovers for Piglet" It's been a favorite of his since I started making it for him as a "first food" when he was just 7 or 8 months old! I told Sarah Rose that Cayleb was making her a "treat" and she is so excited!

Our chicks are getting bigger and moved out to the "Chicken House" on Monday. They are still under a light for night time, because it still gets down in the mid thirties some nights. It's so cute watching their half feathered bodies run around! Half feathers, half fluff!! Too cute!

I am anxious to get more work done in the yard; I can't wait to get the grass planted..... I know that is the first big step towards completion of our project. Jason and I walked around talking about my ideas the other day and we have a pretty good idea of what we want to do. We'll be sure to take a picture after it's done.... but that will be 2-3 months away still.... That's all for now

Adolescence and Attitude Cont.

Okay, so I have calmed down a little now. I am feeling better, had some lunch, heated up leftover homemade chicken noodle soup for Cayleb and took it into his room for him to have while he's working on the Math that I gave him. I just need him to learn that Math is serious, it can be fun, but I need him to be serious when it's time to be. He's in a better mood now too. I think that he just gets so wound up about himself and what he's going through, he forgets that he really hurts other peoples feelings.... He is usually such a considerate kid, and he is growing into a man.... I just want him to be the best person that he can be, do what it is that makes him happy and live a life for Christ all at the same time :) We get to start Sarah Plain and Tall tomorrow, which warrants a trip into the library! I like going :) I love reading, I just wish that I had more time to do it :)

Adolescence and Attitude.....

Why is it that we can have a great week (except for last Monday) and then have such a crappy day today? I don't understand where his attitude is coming from. I know that he's growing up and is probably starting to go through things in regards to puberty etc. but I can't handle his attitude. I just feel like smacking him upside the head! Grrr!!! So we started today with Math, he has an assessment that he has to pass before we move on to fractions. I was totally psyched about math this week. I wanted to try and do some cooking with him. But we have to get past this stupid assessment first, right? So, I hand it to him after a late start this morning at 9:30 and he starts whining and pouting about having to do more division etc... I expected that, but was totally trying to be an optimist, telling him that it it was his last day of it and that we were going to get to move on to fractions! It didn't work very well, as he proceeded to pout and piddled through his first few problems... so, 2 hours later, several helps from Mom, several reminders to keep working, and what seemed to be him getting a better attitude as he approached the end, he said "I'm Finished." Great! So We pulled out the book to check his answers and the first page was looking pretty decent.... he got two wrong, and had one that he forgot to put the answer at the top of the division bracket, so I helped him work through what he had written down for his work and we found what the answer was supposed to be.... technically, I am not supposed to do, this, prolly, he should have gotten it wrong. And if Jason had been correcting it, he would have. But Mom's a pushover and I was trying to keep things light and optimistic.... So we moved on the the next page (page 1-8 problems, Page 2- 8 problems, page 3- 4 problems for a total of 20) he was doing okay, he missed the first one... got the next 3 and then had only done half the work for the last 4 on the page.... He was told to estimate then divide, he only did the estimate part. So, being the total pushover that I am, I let him take the time to "fix" his work, and finish the problems.... He did and got them all right.... so far he missed one more and the rest looked fine.... so that's 3 wrong so far, right? Now for the last page, word problems, 4 of them and he says that he likes these the best.... he got 1 out of 4 right.... mostly because he just wasn't accurate in doing his work (but since he didn't write down any of his work on the paper for me to see, I couldn't help him to find where he'd made his mistakes (he did all the work on his white board and then erased it) So.... now he's missed 6! And I let him "Fix" 5 of the ones that he should have gotten WRONG! So, what am I supposed to do, after 2 hours of him dinking around with the assessment the first time I really just want him to stay away from me, in his room..... I just really don't want to be around him right now. He just doesn't seem to understand that his assessments are where he is supposed to give me his best work, show me that he learned what we've been working on so hard the last few weeks.... I Baby Fed him this stuff, using way more of my time that I think I should have to use, he seemed to really be getting it, but then I ask him to do this one assessment for me and I feel like he doesn't care, like he's letting me down.... And the assessment really isn't the entire problem... I was talking to him about something not math related and he decided it was a good time to talk back to me, so I sent him to his room! Ahhhh!!! I just really don't know what to do with him sometimes. The attitude chart was working pretty well, but the last two weeks, he hasn't earned his trip to the prize box.... Now I just feel like telling him tough luck, go back to fricking regular school and see how wonderful that is for you! I am totally not feeling Motherly Love right now. I hate this, because I know how much fun it can be! Why does he have to go and ruin it with a Frickin' bad attitude!! I know I have said it before, but it's days like these that I want to just call it quits, why waste my time if he's not going to appreciate all that I have to sacrifice to do this for him!!!!!!

The last two days have been Busy!!

So, I didn't get a chance to post yesterday! Is it bad that that made me a little sad? But I decided to post a few times today to make up for it! Yesterday was a long day, we began by cramming in a days worth of school in 4 hours, which technically is all it's supposed to take, but usually it takes us closer to 6.... And then we meet my friend Kristy in Blaine to check out the "Blaine HomeConnection." It has turned out to be a really cool program, which I listed several of the classes in an earlier post. Any-who, there is a waiting list though, so we may not get in in the Fall, but we were comforted and told by one of the Mom's that "you'll get in, don't worry about it," so needless-to-say, it'll happen when it happens :) After that, Cayleb, Sarah Rose and I burned some time at the library then went and picked up the other kids at school then ran home to put chicks away cause it started to get really cold while Cayleb and I were in town and the chicks were out "sunning" in their play pen :) After that, we went to B'Ham and saw Sarah Rose's Dr., had some prescriptions filled (Charity Ann ended up having an ear infection.... yes, the appt. was for Sarah Rose, not Charity Ann..... ) Then ran over to the pet store to get goldfish for "Beaker" and "Oscar the Grouch" then, went to Lowes (with all four kids, mind you) to fetch a swing-glider thingy for Jason's Mom and Dad :) Then went home and passed out on the couch.... no, just kidding..... went home and made dinner, got kids to clean rooms, brush teeth, get into bed and then..... collapsed on the couch :) So, Today..... got kids off to school, did 1 hour or so of school with Cayleb, dropped off girls at neighbors, took my truck into the dealership to have a recall part replaced, got home, had lunch, finished school, went swimming for a few hours with Kristy and her very cute girls! Then came home, made some Mac 'n Cheese for the kiddos and.... well, still on the Mac 'n Cheese so..... Phew, I am exhausted just typing about it! Anyways, I hope that tomorrow is nice (today turned out very lovely) so that we can work out in the yard, then we have our 4th Date of our "10 Great Dates" Saturday evening! I think that next week will be a bit calmer, I hope :) But I still want to try to go swimming with Kristy and her girls again :P
Tonight, I want to feed the kids, pop in a movie for movie night then send them off to bed when it's over, that way I can Veggitate in on my bed and relax before I have to Konk out. A bowl of Ice Cream would be nice too! I'm thinking Some Cookies N' Dreams would be nice about them, with some chocolate sauce gently drizzled over the top, Mmmmmm.....
That'l do donkey, that'l do :P!!

Konos Schedule

I have been working today, as I was waiting for my Truck to get it's recall part taken care of at our local dealership, on a very basic list of the units that I'd like to do with the kids next year and the year following. This wasn't the easiest and I consider it very preliminary because I actually don't have my Curriculum yet, just a few print outs of the Units that are included and Spritibee's Konos Schedule for 2006-2008!! So that being said, here's my tentatively tentative Konos Unit Schedule for 2008-2009 as well as 2009-2010!

2008-2009 Konos Unit Study Schedule

Sept. '08- Ears, Sound, Music (Attentiveness, Vol. I)
Oct. '08- Eyes, Seeing, Other Senses, Predator & Prey (Attentiveness, Vol. I)
Nov. '08- Frontiersmen, Tracking & Trapping, Indians (Attentiveness, Vol. I)
Dec. '08- Christmas (Love/Generosity, Vol. II)
Jan. '09- Calendars, Seasons, Sequencing, Counting (Orderliness, Vol. I)
Feb. '09- Measuring (Orderliness, Vol. I); Valentines Day (Love/Generosity, Vol. II); Planets, Moons (Orderliness, Vol I)
March '09- Human Birth, Growth, Animal Birth, Growth (Patience, Vol. I)
April '09- Easter (Love/Generosity, Vol II); Plant Growth, Gardening (Patience, Vol.I); Earth Day!
May '09- Plant Growth, Gardening Cont. (Patience, Vol I); Family, Friends, Marriage (Loyality, Vol. II)
June '09- Nutrition, Exercise, Rest, Fun (Stewardship, Vol. I)

2009-2010 Konos Unit Study Schedule

Sept. '09- Weather, Earth, Explorers (Inquisitiveness, Vol. II)
Oct. '09- Navigation (Inquisitiveness, Vol. II); Body Systems (Cooperation, Vol. III)
Nov. '09- Colonial America (Responsibility, Vol. II); Grain, Bread, Yeast (Patience, Vol. I)
Dec. '09- Country, Culture of Norway (Honor, Vol. I); Christmas of Norway (Love, Vol. II)
Jan. '10- Olympics, Physical Skills (Determination, Vol. III); Authority, Light (Obedience, Vol. I)
Feb. '10- States and Regions (Cooperation, Vol. III) Valentines Day (Love/Generosity, Vol. II)
March '10- States and Regions Cont. (Cooperation, Vol. III)
April '10- Ecology, Conservation (Stewardship, Vol. I); Easter (Love, Vol. II);Plant Classification (Orderliness, Vol. I)
May '10- Plant Growth and Gardening (Patience, Vol. I); Rock Classification (Orderliness, Vol. I)
June '10- Bees (Cooperation, Vol. III)

So, that's it! I can't wait to start!
And we toured the Blaine Home Connection Site yesterday and found out all kinds of interesting info about how that program works! The kids can take classes like: Rocks, Fossils and More; Knitting; Composers and More; Hands on Math; Martial Arts; Ballet; Running; Guitar; Map Studies; Ancients Celts; Swimming and Photography! They all look like so much fun!

Happy Wednesday!

Today has gone well :) We are almost done with Math and will be moving on to spelling in a minute. Then I think I will either have him go pick out a book to read together, or he can work in his AWANA book again. And then we have a quiz in Language Skills, and History and Art today which well read about another type of ship and write notes on an index card about it and he traces a copy of it out of the book.
It's raining outside, so we wont be working out in the yard this afternoon, but with AWANA tonight, that's prolly a good thing cause I tend to get out there and get sucked into the "zone!" This Saturday, however, is supposed to be pretty nice, so I can get stuck out there all I want! This is our last regular night of AWANA for the year, it starts again in September. Next Wednesday is awards night and then on May 3rd we have the "AWANA Fair!" That should be fun, the kids are really looking forward to it!
Saturday Jason and I have our 4th Date of our "Ten Great Dates." It's a "class" through church that involves us reading a book together and then meeting once a week at the church for a quick video segment and then we get a few hours to actually go out on a date and discuss questions that we answered alone about the chapter that we read that week. So far it has been pretty good. The first one was really fun because it was all about remembering how we met and fell in love!! :) So far having this time together a few times a week to read our book together and then go out on our date, which has involved ice cream a few times, has really been great. It's a great book, and even if you don't have a group to do it with I highly recommend you try it and don't cop out after the first few dates. It will be worth it, trust me ;). It's a great reason to spend some time with each other and it has really encouraged us to talk more, which with four kiddos is really hard to remember to do!
So, Tata for now! Off to the rest of my busy week!

Today has Been Great!!

Today has been great so far! I decided to say Screw the K12 schedule! We did some long division based on a worksheet that I found online, that broke the problems down into steps. It worked really well for him, it let him visualize the math. We tried hands on learning yesterday and then simply "doing it on paper" and both processes did not work. But today this particular formula worked very well for him. He thought that it was fun, did a few with ease on his own, and then I showed him how it works out the same way on paper, then I asked him to do another one, and then use his work to "do it on paper" and he did it!! No mistakes!!! I was so proud of him and he was so proud of himself!!!

It went something like this, in case anyone is looking for a better way to teach long division:

You have 79 pieces, sort them into 7 groups.
How many groups of 7 will you have?:_____
How many will be left over?:_____
Draw your picture here:

What is your Division Sentence:___________________

From there we did the traditional 79/7=.....

So that he could see how it works on paper as well :) He keeps showing me the hard way that he is more of a Visual learner than I had once thought. I figured he'd be hands on all the way......

Then we Did spelling, which I had him go jump on the trampoline for 15 minutes to go through his spelling cards. After that we did his test, for the second time this week and he squeaked by on that, but still passed. We keep the words he missed in his spelling box until he can spell them 3 different days and then they are taken out.

Now he is working in his AWANA book for Literature, he read from 2 Timothy and has answered some questions so far, and is now working of writing 3 sentences about each of 3 different people from the Bible.

After that I think we will use the K12 GUM to review his use of quotations to get him ready for his quiz on that tomorrow.

Then we just have Science :)!!! Today is going much better..... I think that I just like the thought of being able to just "go by the schedule" but really the schedule is like a ball and chain for us, if we try to follow it word for word, we end up getting strangled in the process.... So, I think that till the end of the year we will just fly by the seat of our pants..... 8 weeks isn't that long!

And Did I mention that my new friend Kristy is getting her KONOS Curriculum in the next few weeks, we are so excited to get to start plowing through all of it and to start planning for next year!!!