Week in Review - July 3 - 9, 2011

 

It has been an interesting week.  Busy as usual.  Whoever says that homeschoolers do nothing.....wow are they soooo wrong!!!  I saw this quote at the Homeschool Chick in her Homeschool Mother's Journal post:

 

“Whoever says that homeschooling

isn’t a full-time career obviously has not

applied for the job lately.“

Clay & Sally Clarkson

Educating the Wholehearted Child

At least I get to pick when I want a day off and what type of paint and markers my kids use....there are some teachers that are extremely picky about what type of paints and pencils that I would send in for the kids to use.  Benefits also include:

• Hearing my daughter squeal with delight "I just read a Word!!!"
• Watching them practice their first play "The Three Little Pigs"
• Shaking my head when they proclaim that Spain is in "Europe, Asia" because in the Continent song those two continents are connected.
• Being beaten by a 3 year old in Cars 2 Monopoly...but so proud as she counts her own money back to everyone...to 10!
• Hearing my 11 year old ask why I just read the word Disciple and not Apostle when talking about Jesus followers...because he remembers me saying these men would be Jesus Apostles...not his disciples.
• Hearing Brayden laugh loudly as he finishes up his pattern board with his Design and Drill set.

 Yeah....no matter what stress might get thrown at me that day, there's always some benefit that's hiding around the corner.  It's the hardest job I never thought I would want!!

 

I was fortunate enough to be one of the 100 who received the free ebook from The Homeschool Classroom called Homeschooling by the Numbers.  I started reading it tonight and couldn't stop.  It was an extra reminder about why we are homeschooling.  I also just finished reading some great stories about other homeschool families:

 

 

This was such a great read!!!  It wasn't a how-to book, but a great reminder about why we chose this path for our family.  In the beginning out of necessity, but in the end out of choice.  If you get a chance, read about these 21 families that choice to homeschool for reasons of religious to freedom of choice.

 

This week in our homeschooling, we finished up a unit on Blueberries.  We did some activities from the Hands of a Child Blueberries for Sal unit.  We talked about hibernation and why animals that hibernate need to store up food reserves.  Joey, Lydia and I went to pick blueberries one morning.  It was hot but we collected 6 pounds in a little over an hour.  They are now tucked in our freezer for smoothies!!

 

 

This is a homeschool splurge.  I love this series.  Every month we get a packet of animal to put in the binder.  I am really trying to incorporate these more into our learning.  I think this may become our science curriculum for the next few months.  It took a year to get a good stock of them.  After our Magic School Bus Science Camp...I think this is going to be our fun:)!!!  For this unit there was a great explanation of Hibernation in the Animal behavior section and a selection of various bears that we could look at.

We also practiced...practiced...practiced our upcoming play for Grandpa and Grandma.  We are already making plans for the next play to work on next month. These will most likely become a monthly project for us.

The girls finished up their butterflies on Sunday and Monday.  We made them with the little cement mixture and then didn't finish painting them.

For History we are in the beginning Chapters of Story of the World Volume 1.  We are learning about Nomads and attempted painting with mud.



Brayden informed me that this is his form of writing for the Nomads.

We talked about Jesus cleaning out the temple, the woman at the well (and how we should not treat people of different faiths rudely), and Jesus first miracle of turning water into wine.  We also had discussions about relying on God when we need strength. 

Next week, we will finally be doing our Bearded Dragon unit in Science.  We will continue our evening Bible story and family game time.  The kids are going to go back to their regular math curriculum for a couple weeks.  They will all continue reading for the library reading program (they have actually filled all their circles on their charts...we are taking them in for their prizes on Monday or Tuesday).  3 of the 4 will have horseriding this week.  And I am hoping to get the boys first blog posts done...FINALLY!!! 

 

 

 

Homeschool Mothers Journal - Week 6

 

In my life this week....

Trying to keep up reading.  My goal is 10 books this summer, which is also the amount for the Library Reading Club.  Actually thinking about attempting to can some salsa this year.  I may even can tomatoes.  We eat a lot of tomatoes.  So I thought, why not get some from a local farmer and put them away for the winter.  Now canning is something that I have not ever attempted, so checked some books out and trying to figure this out. 

I have been making a conscious effort to exercise in some form everyday.  Our medical insurance offers a health maintenance online forum to track health progress and exercise.  And so I log some form of exercise, no matter how little I think it is daily.  They give me points for tracking and then I can earn prizes.  Great program and I really look at my activity on a daily basis because of it.  So far took 5 minutes off my 1.5 mile jogging time.

Quality family time has become something I really want to concentrate on.  Trying to play a game board and read a bible story each night with the kids after dinner.  Tonight we read a story and then watched some Veggie Tales.  It was a nice evening of questions from the kids.  Joey has even caught us off-guard with questions we did not even think he would ask.  We see each other all the time, but just because we are in the same house doesn't mean people are talking or not getting on each others nerves.  So by letting the kids pick a game or short Veggie Tale cartoon, it makes them feel great.  And the time usually goes very smoothly with just a bit of bickering.  Although I was checking out the updated list in Netflix, and WOW some great new family friendly educational videos have been added!!  May add some of those in the next couple weeks also.

Still stressing about Brayden and his unwillingness to leave our property.  He comes out for a brief 10 minutes on some days, and that is not every day.  Not sure what to do and how to approach this.  The anxiety meds are not working in this area, and we are limited in what he is able to take because of his age.

 

In our homeschool this week...

We did a unit on Blueberries and read Blueberries for Sal.  I found the Blueberries for Sal unit at Hands of a Child.  I pick and chose what activities we would do this week.  We mainly discussed the different ways that fruit grows and what we can use blueberries for.  Today we discussed hibernation and a little bit about bears and where they live.  We also practiced our Three Little Pigs play alot!  I finally decided to allow Brayden to use his script, he has not been able to memorize all his lines yet.  Joey is doing well with that and Lydia too.  We have dress rehearsals tomorrow again and then hopefully present our play to Grandpa and Grandma on Saturday.  We continue talking about Jesus life and learned more about leaning on God when we are scared and need help.

Places we're going and people we're seeing...

We had friends over Tuesday afternoon.  First we went and picked blueberries and then came back to the house for lunch and swimming.  It was an exhausting afternoon.  We did make a sucessful batch of Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream.....it was YUMMY!!!  We also got our first CSA Garden share this week.  Lydia is not a fan of buttercrisp lettuce or raddichio, but at least she tried it.  Tomorrow going to make brocolli soup with our spring brocolli bunches.  We also got some kale, kolarobi, patty pan squash and magdalene zucchini. 

I'm reading....

Game of Thrones is a great book, but I need a mental break from it.  The Real-Life Homeschooling book has been a great mental break from it.

I'm cooking....

I made a honey mustard potato salad (without mayo).  It was pretty tasty, but I am a bit of a salt-aholc...and I didn't add any that day.  Seriously needed it!  But was still tasty, even without the cucumber that I forgot.  Also made a spicy shrimp concoction with shrimp, lime juice, diced tomatoes, a few dashes of green chile sauce, and cilantro which I served over buttercrisp lettuce and raddichio.  It was very tasty today.  Made some homemade spaghetti sauce yesterday morning which we ate leftovers today of, and it was still good!  Not sure yet what I am going to do with that patty pan squash tomorrow, but my mind is working on it.

Favorite quote....

Saw this in the Real-Life Homeschooling (Chap 8) and really loved it.....

"You have to find what works for your family, because you can't live off the strength of other people's convictions."

Picture of the week....

Our veggie trug wasn't running over, but we had a giant kolorabi that made a softball look like a speck of dust.  Some very pretty oregano that I now have frozen and ready to use.  A pretty patty pan squash, broccolli and kale....MMMMMMMmmmm!

 

Wordless Wednesday

Our friend Deb found a surprise in the blueberry bush she was picking in yesterday.  Their shells were still attached to their bottoms.  Sorry didn't get better pics, only had my cell phone.

Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream

So many know that I am gluten, egg, msg, and dairy free in my diet.  I also cannot eat onions and garlic.  You would think that things would get bland, but it just takes some creativeness.

 

I heard about Caveman Cooking and found this delicious looking ice cream recipe...and we got the machine out today to try it.

 

Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream

 

Ingredients:

• 1 Can Lite Coconut Milk, refrigerated
• 1/4 Cup 100% Raw Organic Honey
• 2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
• 1 Tsp Vanilla

Process:

1. Place your cold coconut milk, honey, vanilla, and cacao powder in a blender and mix well
2. Place your frozen bowl for your ice cream maker in the machine and start it, immediately pour your coconut milk in and let the process begin
3. It will take anywhere from 10-20 minutes, keeping your ingredients cold helps it set faster
4. Once done, transfer your ice cream to another bowl and place in the freezer for 30 minutes to an hour to help set it more

 Now I ran out of honey and had to include some white sugar and I omitted the vanilla as I was out.  But it turned out super yummy and the kids really liked it!!  Can't wait to make more!!!

 

Blueberry week

A local farmer has an organic blueberry farm. We try and pick every year.  We of course will be reading Blueberries for Sal, but since Caty and I picked some berries on Friday I had to make something over the weekend. 

Blueberry Cobbler on the Grill

Recipe... (I apologize, I rarely follow a recipe so it makes it hard to tell people how I made something)...set your grill to have a temp about 350 degrees. 
I used a little bit of olive oil in the bottom to keep things from sticking. 
Put in a generous layer of blueberries and then top with your preferred sweetner.  I used regular white sugar.  Sweeten to your families liking, more if you like sweeter cobbler, less if you don't.
Then mix up a preferred corn bread mix.  I used Bob Mill's Gluten/Dairy Free Cornbread Mix.  I used Flaxseed Mill instead of eggs and olive oil instead of butter...(I am allergic to dairy and eggs).  I also added more sugar to the cornbread mix.  We like a sweeter cobbler.  Poured the batter onto the blueberries and smoothed it out to make sure the batter was even spread out.  And then simply put it on the grill, closed the lid and walked away.  Depending on your grill, takes about 35-45 minutes....and this was the outcome.

YUMMY!!! 

De-cluttering Saturday and Sunday

So spent a lot of time just trying to clean up the mini-messes that create one HUGE mess around the house. Spent all day folding laundry, putting it away, cleaning counters, dusting shelves, cleaning the bathroom, picking up the girls room.  Yesterday was spent partially outside spreading mulch and using the weed-eater around the house.  Trying to limit the trimming that is required after the riding lawn mower is used.  Almost there.  But yesterday I did clean up a massive mess that was behind the couch.  I had board games stack up, and not on shelves, so if we tried to play one....watch out because the whole pile might fall.  I found a bookshelf at a garage sale for $1.00 on Friday and had an extra in the garage holding things like sidewalk chalk and their hopscotch boards.  So cleaned them both up and it went from:

Yes there were some blankets and sheets that needed folded that somehow found their way on top of the games.

But after only about an hour...because I was really hot from working outside, so I think I messed around a bit to cool off in the A/C....we now have a cleaner way to get out our board games. 

Five Question Friday

1. If you had the opportunity to bungee jump, would you?

I might.....scares me, but I might.  Thought about doing the bungee type ride at Cedar Point, but the child that would want to do it still is not big enough yet.  So I am happy currently with both feet on the ground.

2. Would you rather go to the movie theater or to the drive-in?

Movie theater. But I am happy with the prospect of ordering a movie on our receiving the same day it comes out in theaters.  I worked in a theater about 5 years ago, and even though it seemed great....I hated it!!!  I would prefer to pay $30.00 to watch a movie in my living room (with a pause option for bathroom breaks). 

3. Do you have your groceries delivered?

If I had the option....YES!!!!!  But I am trying to shop more at the Farmers Markets and local farmers this summer.  But definitely over the winter I would choose this option.  It would save me an easy 6 hours at least every month....what would I do with an extra 6 hours?!?!?!

4. Eyebrows: Do you wax, thread, pluck, or stay au naturel?

TMI!!!  I pluck...and use a eyebrow trimmer type tool.

5. Would the people you went to high school with be surprised by your life today?

Probably not...I can talk with some of them on Facebook.  And I see some around town.  All our lives are pretty much the same.  We love our kids and our families.  I have changed alot since high school, tried to change some personality flaws for the better.

Week in Review - June 26 - July 2, 2011

I have decided to up my workout a bit.  I now have a fairly decent set up in the garage to do a workout without leaving the house.  The only thing we could still use (at my hubby's request) is a weight lifting set.  I am working on not just walking, but jogging.  In my mind I want to last longer, but not necessarily be faster.  You guys all read about our kids....the pics always look good and make them look angelic, but we all know that the real pics are edited and staged.  I should post all the screaming and crying pics for one week.....how funny that would be!  Or even the ones where you actually see a massive mess that always seems to exist no matter what I do.  But anyway....I need to work harder at keeping up with them!!  So I am working at beginning running.  I ran twice this week, on top of other physical activities, and really sore from it.  Next week will keep two days most likely also.  Working in 1.5 mile stretches.  I figure though speed happens as I build up the endurance, so really it all goes hand in hand.  Who knows, by next spring I may be able to actually run the Autism Society Marathon!  Here's our garage workout room....still working on it though:)  But hey...it's a garage and there's no monthly membership fee.

There's an elliptical trainer, Gazelle machine, ball for sit ups and the treadmill.  I added a cheap punching type bag for frustration for me and Joey.  Eventually we are hoping by fall to have the carpeted area inside of its own room.  As you can see a ways to go!

We are also eating healthier...or attempting.  Buying local meat and veggies from a co-op about 10 minutes from the house.  We get our first batch from them on Tuesday, but this week still had to go to the grocery store.  Made gluten free veggie wraps and the hubby actually liked them and said he would eat them again.  Same with the gazpacho topped with seared bay scallops.  He liked both.  YEAH!!!!  Very happy that he is working on his snacking also.

We had a light week this week.  Lydia had Horse Riding Camp all week and had so much fun.  It is the only camp we gave in and paid for this year.  Budget has been tight and sending the kids to all the camps they went to last year (and some they didn't even enjoy) was just not in the picture. 


We are making up for them though because instead of theater camp for two, we are doing Reader's Theater plays with Grandpa and Grandma as our audience and it includes the whole family.  Our first play will be this week and it's The Three Little Pigs.  The kids are getting very excited. 

Instead of Magic School Bus Science Camp, we are going to have our own Science Camp.  The last couple weeks of July and the first week of August we will be doing fun Magic School Bus Activities and that will be it for the day.  Not every day of course, but every other day or so.  I can order all the kits from Amazon and still spend less than two of the kids would cost to go to camp.  I am planning now.

Anyway, lots of games for Caty this week.  She went with me on all the errands and did really well.  We read books.  We worked on Right and left.  We also went Blueberry picking, just Caty and Mom today.  It was really nice.

The boys worked on Coin Math Addition from Math Mammoth.  The continued practicing Grammar from our Summer Bridge workbooks.  They also started daily journals this week.  Each day either they can write or draw about a writing prompt I give them on Fridays it's free choice day.  They can choose what to draw/write about. 

Lydia did not do much with school.  We did reading and some coin/number recognition.  She painted with fizzy paint.  But basically she was exhausted from 3 hours of horse camp each morning.  Which was fine, we were expecting that when I worked on lesson plans.

As a group we continued reading about Jesus life on Earth.  And we finished our Butterfly lapbook.  We also read a new to some of us book and did a review on it.  Chester and the Big Bad Raccoon was an awesome book and I highly recommend it.  It's a great elementary level book on bullies and how a child can handle the issue by seeing an adult.  We did a activity with it that not only allowed us to work with adjectives, but also allowed us to say Positive things about each other.

The girls and Joe spent a lot of time playing in the pool this week.  I had the camera handy this afternoon.  Caty is a little fish and loves to swim when the other kids are not in the pool.  She swims on her back really well.

They both love playing in the Hot tub.  They have Barbies they leave outside just to play in the pool/hot tub with.

Next week, we will be taking Monday and Tuesday off.  Then the rest of week finish up coins with the boys.  We are going to learn how to take better care of the Bearded Dragon...Lollipop (I am making up a study unit tonight about him).  We are going to present our play to Grandpa and Grandma.  Daddy will get his splint off his arm and we are going to go Blueberry picking with some friends.  I may be missing something, but not sure.  Guess we will find out in next week's post!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!!

Homeschool Mother's Journal Week 5

In my life this week…

I have been trying to work on our activities schedule for the fall.  It has been a busy week. Lydia is at horse riding camp all week.  And I actually took one day to just sit all afternoon and read!  It was nice.  We want to pick blueberries today, but have to wait and see.  It's been stressful because Brayden will not leave the house, even to go into the backyard.  His allergies have been acting up this week, so we had to break down and install a little window air conditioner in his room to keep him breathing a bit more comfortable. 

I have also been challenging my workouts.  I started to jog slowly.  I am going for endurance, not speed.  I figure endurance is more of what I need physically and mentally.  Not bad so far, even with the broken toe.

In our homeschool this week…

We are working on our first play.  The kids wanted to do Theater camp, but it just wasn't in the budget.  Not for both kids.  So I came up with the idea to do our own play.  We will be presenting The Three Little Pigs to Grandma and Grandpa next week.  All the kids have a part. 

The boys have been working on coin review and adding with a Math Mammoth supplement book.  And Grammar review.  We finished up our study unit on Butterflies and half way through the life of Jesus.  Next week for science we will be studying the Bearded Dragon....so we can all learn how to take better care of Lollipop.

The kids also started a daily journal. Some days they will have a given prompt to write or draw about.  Other days it will be free choice.
Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

Lydia has been at horse camp all week.  She loves to ride horses.  The boys have not had any outside activities.  They play around the house with their cousins and swam in the pool or hot tub (I keep the temp rather low in it for the kids.)  Lydia and I went to the library to collect their reading prizes and change out books.

My favorite thing this week was…

Actually it has been reading more.  This is something I haven't done in a while.  I was very excited to have the privilege to review some kids books over the next couple weeks.  We are going to take them all Five in a Row style and have activities to go with them.

Things I’m working on…

Keeping our garden going.  I have been working on seeing what is working and where.  I also need to clean more in the garage to get ready for the big project.  I also need to finish painting the low spots of the house.  I also am working on getting healthier.  If stress made me this sick, then I must work at reducing what I can.  We have also been trying to eat healthier.

I’m reading…



I’m cooking…

Working on cooking healthier.  I made gazpacho for my hubby on Tuesday and he enjoyed it.  Said that he would eat it again.  Trying to make healthier choices

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

Our Painted Butterfly.  We lost one, it seems to deformity.  We lost another due to 3 year old excitement.  That leaves us with this one guy.
 

Have a great week.  Link up with other Moms at Homeschool Chick.