HSMJ#11 w/ our weekly accomplishments

In my life this week.....

I became super busy prepping for a trip I thought we were not going to get to take until October.  Kind of threw a wrench in the week.  The hubby is getting to go to Philadelphia and St. Louis, so we are wanting to tag along on those trips.  We were already going to Nashville in 2 weeks, but now we have added 4 days before we get to Nashville in Philly and 6 days in St. Louis after the week in Nashville.  Needless to say though I am super excited to visit Philly. Never been there!  And we are starting our study of the American Revolution.  So the timing is perfect.  We are planning to visit Valley Forge National Park and the US Mint as well.

Lydia started gymnastics this week.  And let me tell you (sorry....my pappaw used to say that all the time...lol), she is in love!!!!  But this month gymnastics is twice a week, next month it switches back to once a week...so much more bearable.

I decided to clear off our shelves a bit and earn a bit more money for our unexpected trip.  Needless to say since I was planning two months from now, not much spending money available.  But still don't want to miss this opportunity.

I also had to re-work our lesson plans.  I included a week off, which will just include reading together about various Revolutionary War figures while we are in Philly.  But since I was reworking, I went all the way til the first week of November.  At that point, I will need to break out some new curriculum for Lydia.  By January, MUS will be getting a new order for Lydia and Caty will start Primer then too.  She is flying through our "preschool" math, and since she is 5 in January...I figure why not try her.

I also have some responsibilities at the Fair for Special Olympics and 4H.  So trying to get everything done and ready for that busy time.

What I am reading.....

Kids books...lol.

What I am cooking.....

Chicken ala king.....mmmmmmMMMMM.  Made tacos with ground chicken, and even made chicken burgers with a type of gluten free hamburger bun.  Those were yummy.  Joey ate two burgers.

What has been working....

Trying to follow a schedule.  I hate to admit it, but gone are the days of winging it throughout the day.  We actually accomplished a lot this week, and I had a daily schedule typed up each day.  The boys used to resist schedules, but they seem to like what is happening.  I worked really hard at including snacks/breaks.  We took 10 am each day to watch a half-hour episode of Liberty Kids.  It was a relaxing time.  We got all of our work done and extra!!!!  So even though it's a bit more work for me, I think we are going to have to do this.

In our homeschool this week.....

We finished our entire lesson plan this week!!!  I am doing a little dance, and not bragging...lol.  Just very proud that we did it!!!

So Brayden didn't realize I caught him leaning over and using the laptop's calculator to do his math on the other computer...lol

 Lydia and I read the Ugly Duckling.  This is events cut and paste page from her literacy workbook.

 Joey worked on learning how to wrap a sprain in his First Aid project this week.  He also learned how to handle nosebleeds.  Daddy was nice enough to be the guinea pig.

 We showed him how to make a sling out of anything, including Mommy's sweatshirt.

 The girls brought a bunch stuffies and dolls into the living room to play doll hospital...Can we say they like the new show Doc McStuffins....They were playing so nice, I didn't even argue about how much they brought out (and there was more than this when they got done...lol)

 They wanted a clipboard and markers while they were playing.  I said ok, and after a bit asked what they were doing.  They were creating their own x-rays to help out their dolls and stuffies to feel better...lol.  Notice Madeline even has her appendix scar.

Joey had a couple science experiments.  We made frost on the the outside of the can.  Salt and ice mixed inside a metal can.  Leave it set and check every 10 minutes to see the frost form on the can.  This was very cool.

 Joey finished his Top Secret Adventures Australia.

 Caty was so proud doing this puzzle on her own.

 Joey attempted to build the Tuffula forest from the Lorax while we watched the movie together.

 The girls and I went on a nature walk trying to find and identify birds.

 Joey's other experiment was "Emerald Pennies".  We added other coins though to check it out.  When we put the coins in with the white vinegar.

 After 4 hours.

 Overnight.

 Only the top looked like this.  The vinegar must mix with oxygen to get the chemical reaction.  So the part of the coins that was laying on the paper towel stayed clean.

 Some cool stuff:

Lydia's sun print earned 2nd place at the Ohio State Fair.  Her picture is the one with the red ribbon, 4 pictures to create one.

 Her horse project...upper right side of the picture, earned 1st place.

 Her Felicity American Girl Story project earned 3rd place.

 Her Dangers of Processed Foods earned 3rd place also.

At our county Fair, Joey's project is displayed..It's the center poster with all the pictures with black frames.  He did Focus on Photography 1 for his 4H project.  He earned an A on his project.

 Didn't our booth decorating committee do an really good job on this trophy!!!  They deserve rounds of applause for this large trophy they created for our group!

Sunday was our 4H Clubs Family picnic.  Lydia is a Cloverbud....and each Cloverbud earned a certificate for participating.

Caty looking at the Bluebirds fair project display of their activities.  She is upset that she may or may not get to participate this upcoming year.  She'll be 5, but not in kindergarten.  So I will have to see what the advisor says.

Lydia started gymnastics this week.  She is sooooo excited about this.  She has been asking to take gymnastics for about a year.  I finally gave in and she is in love.  She is learning how to do a cartwheel in this picture.  Her favorite American Girl right now is McKenna.

We started our 2 month long journey studying the American Revolution.  We have started watching the Liberty Kids series.  There's so much information in there, and Caty is even picking things up!  

Hope everyone had a wonderful week!!!

Blowing up balloons...a new way!

This was a great experiment and the girls played and played for about an hour before I made them put this away.

You need vinegar, baking soda, balloons, and empty water/drink bottles.

 It's super easy, add the baking soda to the bottles, and then when you have your balloon ready to attach to the top of the bottle.....add the vinegar.  Quickly put the balloon on top and watch it expand.

 They were filling the bottles with alot of baking soda trying to see if it would make the balloons get bigger.

 It kind of did....some balloons worked better than others.

 Caty thought it was funny to see the baking soda they had spilled on the table bubble when she dripped the vinegar on it. 

The girls really played with this project over an hour....they were upset when I said I had enough of the smell and we needed to move to another project.  I am keeping the supplies for this on the shelf in my supply closet just for a future "I'm bored" day.  

The boys did not enjoy it as much.  Joey hates the smell of vinegar.  So he thought it was neat to watch once, but didn't want to continue to do the project.

Balloon experiment directions and details.....We did our a little different, which is why our balloons didn't get that large.  So we will be trying this again....lol!!!

Creating Better Writers

Putting thoughts into written form is so hard.  How many times have your irritated someone or there was a misunderstanding through email communication?  It happens all the time.  Just the absence of a couple words, adjectives, and even punctuation could cause a major misunderstanding!  Writing is an extremely difficult art form for most people.

Joey has all of these stories in his head.  And he has trouble getting the words out write.  I have tried to emphasize writing more in our homeschool simply because Joey has so many interesting things coming out of his brain....literally at all hours of the day.

But the really hard part is finding a program that doesn't require me to hold a degree in Journalism in order to teach it.  So in comes Create Better Writers.





















This step-by-step guide helps you to cover every aspect of writing.  It helps you to lay a foundation that you can continually build up.

This program starts by showing you simple tricks to help you teach your children how to write a paragraph.  Because once they can write a strong paragraph, they can then use similar tricks to write essays, and those tricks then carry over into the next writing avenue.

This gives you an inside view of The Homeschool Writing Action Plan :

Part I – Summary of the Steps: We will begin with a summary of each step.  The summaries of the steps are listed on a few pages.  This will help you know, at all times, where you should be, where you are headed, and where each step fits into the big picture of your child’s writing.


A helpful placement guide is included so that you can place your child at a level that is not to difficult or too easy for them to stick with.  What a great idea!!!  What is more frustrating to a child than to have something too hard or too easy to work with.  Now you can avoid that issue.

Part II – Pacing Charts:  Part 2 gives you sample pacing charts that will help you decide where and when to begin and how much time to spend on each activity.  If you are beginning this program with an elementary school student, you will see how to slowly build you child’s writing skills over time.  If you are beginning this program with a high school student, you will be shown how to quickly, but effectively, deliver the same information.


Part III – The Road Map: Part 3 will show you how to implement each step and give you strategies to help reinforce the writing concepts.  However, thissection will not give you specific lesson plans.  While Parts 1 and 2 tell you what to teach and when to teach it, this section points out key aspects of each section and provides sample worksheets and lesson plans.  One of the greatest advantages of this section is that it will point you to high quality and low cost lesson plans for each step.  Even better, it will show you how to make sense out of writing instruction using your existing curriculum.

Every thing is completely laid out for you as the teacher.  Goals and time periods are given.  You can adjust this to your student.

The Homeschool Writing Action Plan is available for only $15.95 for the ebook and $19.95 for softcover.

I like that the time frames given are a suggestion, and you can move through this at as fast or slow of a pace that is needed for your children.  Everything is here for Grades 3-12.  So this program really turns into your whole writing plan....and for such a low price.

Joey is not a confident writer.  He feels overwhelmed by the sheer thought of just "writing" that to actually form the words into sentences is very difficult.  It actually causes anxiety issues.  We do encourage typing though to overcome some of the issues.  The pacing guide was very useful for me to set him up at where he should be, and then make adjustments for him.

This program refers to other books in the writing program and those books build upon the foundation laid out by the Homeschool Writing Action Plan.  As you child develops mastery over sentence building and vocabulary you can add in more material, including:

How to Write a Paragraph.


Writing instruction does NOT need to be difficult. If your student can write a paragraph, your student can write anything from an essay, to a research report, to an in-depth story. 

It all starts with one simple trick. Teach this trick in minutes, have your students practice it several times, and your students will have a solid grasp for writing paragraphs. Use this trick to write stories, summarize stories, write reports, and more.  No assignment is too difficult.  And reluctant writers are given the extra confidence needed.

Watch this video on how easy it is to teach:

The breakdown on this program is extremely easy.  The way it breaks the information down, does not overwhelm either the parent or the child.  Joey is very stubborn about writing.  But even allowing him to break down a paragraph into steps, he whined a bit less.  He realized that a paragraph  is just a group of sentences.  Even the word paragraph can cause anxiety for him. How to Write a Paragraph can be purchased for only $7.99 for the Ebook.  But it is included with a couple of program combinations, including The Complete Writing Plan, which can be purchased for $54.80 for the ebook download or $59.00 for the softcover.
























We also had a chance to view the title Teaching the 5 paragraph Essay. ($17.95 for ebook, $19.95 for soft cover).  We were not quite able to make it to this title during the review period.  But it is laid out and as easy to use as the two previous titles that I shared with you.

Joey is a slow writer.  We have made some progress that has yet been seen with previous programs used.  I also love the fact that the work is done for me.  Tons of research is not required for me to do before I attempt to teach.  This program does everything but physically sit with your child to teach them.  And I have to say how shocked I am at the reasonable price for that much curriculum.  This program is good through high school.  How many programs can share this honor?

You can purchase all the titles separately, but the best deal is to buy the Complete Writing Program for only $54.80 for ebook, and $59.00 for softcover.  All you will need for Grades 3-12.

Why not check out what other Crew Mates thought of Create Better Writers.

*****Disclaimer......I received this writing program from Create Better Writers free of charge for the sole purpose of this review for TOS Crew. I was not required to write a positive review. The views I have expressed are my own and are real experiences with my family. I am disclosing this is accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html>:"Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

What we still want to do this summer.....

September 22, 2013.....the first day of fall is fast approaching us.

As most of you know, I lost a ton of pictures and information when my laptop crashed.  We are still working on our list, but I have to say that the laptop crashed really hit me hard.  I didn't realize how much I depended on that item!  I shouldn't be grieving my loss, seems selfish and pointless, but I seem to be slowly accepting the loss.  I was really upset about all the pictures.  So many memories, just lost.

I realize that the summer is really getting away from us!!!  We have marked several things off our list, and hoping to knock out more in the next couple weeks!

We still need to visit Cedar Point a couple times.  Visit the art museum, make homemade pudding pops, make balloon rockets, make garden stones, have another water balloon fight, have an obstacle course in the side yard, LEGO Building contest, do candy experiments, have a movie marathon, make tye dye shirts, ice cube painting, and make a water balloon pinatas.

I have the supplies for almost everything on the list....now to get some of the things done.  So much to do and so little time!!!

How's your Summer Bucket list going?

Our curriculum for the year.....

We have actually been schooling all summer.  We go year around.  So I did a brief curriculum post back in May to share what we would be using, and as always though a few items have changed on been added.

Math
Boys will continue to use Teaching Textbooks, with supplemental material from Math Essentials
Lydia will be using Math U See Alpha, and possibly starting Beta yet this year.  She is moving through pretty easily right now, and already half way through.
Caty will be using alot of "Math hidden" in what she is working on.  We have Team UmiZoomi Math from Nickelodeon, and she loves it.  But it's fairly easy for her, so she will probably start MUS Primer in January.  I am just gauging maturity level for it.

Science
Joey will continue to use Christian Chemistry for Kids and supplemental projects and experiments.  Brayden is choosing a Life Science approach.  He does not enjoy chemistry.  So I am allowing Brayden to choose his Science subjects and animals each week.  He will probably even do some weather too.  Lydia is going to be following a Scott Foresman Science curriculum, but following...not really using their book a ton.  I will be supplementing with library books and activities to learn more and make it hands on.  Caty will be included in all of Lydia's science activities.  And any of the experiments.

English/Grammar/Spelling
We will be using SpellingCity.com for the boys.  Lydia will be using First Language Lessons.   Joey is currently using Time 4 Writing course for Grammar, and he seems to be enjoying it.  And Brayden just started using Rod and Staff Grammar 3.

Phonics and Reading
Lydia will be using Reading Kingdom for the next few weeks.  So far going well.  But we will have our fall back of Reading Eggs and also Headsprout.  The boys will just be encouraged to do more reading.  But when it comes to reading comprehension skills, we have some practice stories and questions that I found at Scholastic Teacher Express store.  Caty will continue using Explore the Code and we'll be supplementing with Letter of the Week activities.

Health
We are still going to use Vintage Remedies curriculum.   But I am really like the 4H First Aid curriculum, so I will be going through it with all the kids.  Obviously at various levels.  Lydia is ready though for this program, even though she's only 7.  She has enjoyed watching Joey working on his various projects from it.

Literature
We'll be reading various classics throughout the school year together.

History
We will continue to use TruthQuest American History 1.  It's a wonderful literature based history program, so I will be supplementing with art activities, projects and movies.

Geography
We'll be doing some geography activities using some library books and learn geography terms.

US State Study
We'll be using Road Trip USA from Confessions of a Homeschooler.

Foreign Language
Rosetta Stone Latin America and Speekee Spanish.

Art
Will be teaching an art co-op......and I told the kids they have to attend

This is our plan for the year.  Lydia will have a once a month zoo class.  She and Caty will have Girl Scouts.  Joey, Brayden and Lydia will have 4H again in the spring.  Joey and Brayden will continue with Special Olympics activities.  Lydia and Caty will have gymnastics.  The girls will also have American Girl Club.  All of them will have LEGO club opportunities monthly.

Everyone have a great schoolyear!!!

What we are up to this week....

Another week down...and many more to go....lol!!!

History - Together we are going to finish reading Magic Tree House Pilgrims, and finally start our reading about the 13 colonies.
Bible - We are learning about Abraham and how he was a friend of God.

Joey
Math - Teaching Textbooks with some supplement from Multiplication Made Easy
Spelling/Grammar - Spelling city and Time 4 Writing
Health - This week we will be learning about how to create a sling and memorizing R.I.C.E.  And we will also be learning about first aid for Nosebleeds
Science - Frost experiment and Super soapy boat
Computer class - He will be starting the 4H Newbie Know How Curriculum.  This week learning new vocab and refreshing himself on some old terms.
Top Secret - Hopefully he will finish up Ireland this week.
Handwriting - Getty Dubay and Keyboarding practice
Spanish - He'll be working on Speekee

Brayden
Math - Teaching Textbooks
Spelling/Grammar - Spelling City and Rod and Staff Grammar 3 (this is a new addition to our curriculum load)
Science - The life of the Penguin
Reading - Reading Comprehension book
Unit Study - He is still working on Purrr-fect Pals...this week he will be learning about Cat combs and grooming.
Typing/Handwriting - Getty Dubay and Keyboarding online

Lydia
Grammar - First Language Lessons - Days of the Week, Address review, common/proper noun review
Science - Birds
MUS - Review lesson this week...She's up to #11
Reading - Reading Kingdom (watch for the review)
Literature - Still working on Wizard of Oz
Handwriting - Getty Dubay and Leap Frog cursive practice
Social Studies - States and Continents, and lots on the US this week and next
American Girl - Finish the first McKenna book
Manners - Blunders manners game (watch for the upcoming review)

Caty 
ETC - Still finishing up letter R
We are working on a bird packet that I downloaded that includes early handwriting, math skills, and letters also.  So that is really all inclusive for this week.

We are planning on going with Daddy to the shooting range tomorrow after lunch.  The kids are all enjoying gun safety....except Brayden.  But he will go if there's a picnic involved....so I'll pack one if that is what it takes!

Lydia won't have violin this week because her teacher is out of town.  But she starts gymnastics for the first time on Tuesday.  She is very excited.

Joey will have guitar this week.  And we are going to continue our daily walking first thing in the morning.

Brayden will just be doing swimming in the backyard most likely.  But we will wait and see.

Caty will probably start gymnastics next month.  We are waiting to see because you cannot be in pull-ups at all in order to start at this gym.  So it is a challenge to Caty, who had regressed.  But so far she is doing awesome!!

We do have a big project this week....we are creating a couple paper machie trophies for the Special Olympics parade float this Sunday.  So that should be really fun....and messy!!!

Everyone have a wonderful week!!!

So things are changing around again....go figure!!

Doctors are wrong all the time!  Most drive me totally insane with the tests that they put people through.  I seriously think that the boys have their diagnosis reversed.  I really think that Brayden is Aspergers and Joey is more autism.  But it's all on the spectrum....so mess ups are there all the time.  Like the saying goes, "You have met one person with autism....you have met one person with autism."

Well we have had a switch up again!!!  Brayden is finally emerging more from his "inside" shell, but now we are having trouble with Joey regressing and having trouble leaving the house.  Once he gets over the anxiety, he seems ok.  But then sometime during the time out he has a high anxiety level.

He is having eating issues yet again, but so subtle it is easy to overlook.  He is changing to only wanting to eat chicken nuggets and sauteed shrimp.  I found a rice noodle that is similar to Ramen, without all the junk ingredients that are not good for him.  And he is enjoying them.  But today, he would only eat the chicken nuggets I bought to have on hand for a quick meal (and yes they are the all-natural without dairy) and the curly rice noodles from lunch.  He kept sneaking potato chips all day also.

Now he looks forward to our daily morning walk.  And we missed it Thursday because we were going out to a museum that day, and he kept asking why we didn't walk that day.  I just was having trouble cramming it in before we left for Joe's eye appointment.

Tonight we experienced yet another of these anxiety issues.  He knew his 4H Family picnic was this afternoon.  We had a simple morning.  We could not listen in to the Public talk at the Kingdom Hall due to computer issues, so we had a wonderful discussion about Abraham being God's Friend.  And read several passages from the Bible about Abram and Sarai and their obedience to God.  We had lunch (where he would only eat the noodles...even though we let him have steak sauce with his chicken).  I kept reminding them when we would leave.  But we also did a little bit of schoolwork today that we were behind on.  Very small amount.  About 3ish when we asked him to take a shower and start getting a bit ready to leave it started happening and turned into a downward spiral.  Since going to 4H meetings are a requirement I didn't want him to miss, especially since he was turning in his project to show at the fair.  He cried, stomped, screamed all because we wanted him to leave.

While this was all happening, Brayden was obediently getting ready.  He was packing a snack for himself and daddy.  It was rather funny and cute all at the same time.  He kept asking Joey why he was so upset.  It was unbelievable!

When we got to the fairgrounds for the picnic, he was a little better, but still volatile.  He wouldn't eat anything I suggested from the potluck.  Kept wanting to sit outside the building.  Fortunately we were sitting so we could watch him on the benches just laying in the sunlight.  And then his advisor came, and she was talking to him.  I was watching her face....walked out to see what was happening.  Sure enough, his b-word speech had begun.  (And not the b-word you may think...I just don't want to use too much of the speech he gives because we all know that big brother is watching....)  So I explained why, and of course she understood and wasn't taking him seriously.  But then I had to have yet another talk with him about this behavior and talk.

He got pretty nasty after that.  He was rude and tried talking during the meeting, and got grouchier and grouchier.  We even went through the stage about how he wanted to quit 4H.......which he says about everything he is in several times a year.  When the meeting was over, Joe took them out to the van while I finished up talking with the advisor about the upcoming festival that he is on the committee for. And he was grouching even more.  He only got better when we got home.

Ughhh!!!  What a day.  Today was one of those feeling like we are outnumbered days....and proof that there will never be a happy medium.  I also saw today...and reminded again....that autism is the one that calls the shots.  And no amount of medication will help the problem.  It's the human brain that controls, and in this case it is mind over medication.  Now I just have to keep track of how long it's happening and how often.  Because this will give us an interesting talking point at their med checks in a couple weeks.

I am praying the week goes much smoother than this!!!  Because Sunday kind of slapped us...lol.

Homeschool Mother's Journal - Week 10

In my life this week.....

I am working hard at keeping positive.  I have been planning a ton of field trips, and got a wrench thrown at me by one of the venues this week.  And that was after we have verified all the trips I had scheduled with them.  Made for an irritating evening trying to figure out the new plan.  I also feel like there is just plain too much drama going on in certain areas of my life, and quite honestly I am tired of it.  I cannot do anything about it, but it's frustrating also.  Especially when I do not even truly know why it's even happening.

I also need to find a new home for our Pug, Rocky.  As much of a sweetie as he is, I am having a hard time giving him all the attention he wants.  And when he feels neglected, he starts messing on the floor or peeing on the clothes baskets.  I am so frustrated right now.  He is great with the kids, but will bark and lunge at part of the adults that come around him.  He chases the cats and also killed our parakeets.  I love him, but I can not handle the extra stress any longer.  We are also giving up on having a dog.  The last two dogs....wow!!!  That is all I can say....WOW!!!

We are also now planning a trip to Tennessee at the end of the month, so I am going to try and get all of the school done before hand, so we can take the time we are there off.  I am being a bit selfish in this endeavor because it's less I have to pack...lol.

One more big project I am working on is the kids party favor business.  Krayon Kreations is taking a lot of work to get started.  It's not a service, so I have to get a stock of product created.  Melting crayons is a hot and stinky job.  And Joey has stressed me so bad trying to pour the hot wax, that I have ban him from trying it again for a few weeks.  We are going to go to our First Craft Fair the 3rd week in September.  So I am going to be creating a lot over the next couple weeks.  I figure if I pour the wax, the kids can separate, sort and bag the sets.  Plus we have flyers to make, business cards to design, pricing to figure out.......this is a great project though for the kids.  And a great small business lesson.  I am also going to encourage them donating part of their proceeds, and we will have to decide where the money will be going.  So many good agencies in our area.

It has been a rough week though because of my fibromyalgia.  So everything is causing me extra stress.  I have had two mini-anxiety attacks.  And Lydia has chosen to repeatedly play with me and knows what buttons to push.  Ugghhh!!  She almost had her gymnastics classes cancelled because of her mouthiness.  And of course, Caty is following in her footsteps.  So we are having many...many battles.  Lydias's only 7, not 17!!  Going to be a long time til she is 18.  In the meantime, I am praying for strength and patience.....alot of patience.  I just feel like I raised my voice way too much this week.

In our homeschool this week.....

We are working hard on typical subjects like Math, Language Arts and Reading.  The kids turned in the last of their reading hours for the summer.  They turned in 30 hours today.  I was very proud of them.  Even Brayden very actively participated.  At first we couldn't get him to read anything but Easy Readers, but at least he was reading.  Now he is reading Magic Tree House, which is a huge leap from Biscuit the Dog in just a couple weeks.  He earned a free book from the library fro finishing his first 12 hours.  And it was a Magic Tree House.  He is super excited about reading them, and checked out a huge stack today while we were there.  Yeah!!!

I bought a Rod and Staff Grammar book off of a fellow homeschooler here in town.  I ordered the workbooks yesterday to go with the book.  I am hoping that they enjoy this program.  I have never used Rod and Staff, but it looks wonderful!

We also turned in our assessments and paperwork to the School district, per Ohio law.  They are so confused about homeschooling laws, that they sent me a form to fill out and return to them that is the exact information that I had retyped into a notification letter.  Same info...but a different format.  A waste of resources to fill this out, and a waste of envelopes/stamps/paper.  I am calling them Monday to see if they really need me to send it to them.  Doesn't make sense why they would need it.

Things that are not working for us.....

I definitely need a better schedule.  I have been fighting having a schedule, and have to schedule my time, but life is making me start to micromanage every hour of the day.  I hope it calms down a bit next month, but in the mean time, I have to start.  Trouble is with our kids, the only one who will work independently without me totally looking over his shoulder is Brayden.  I still need to make sure he is completing his work, but I don't have to look over his shoulder.  Both Joey and Lydia stop working if I get up from the table for just a few moments.  If I walk away from Lydia working on her phonics or even leave the room to get a drink while she is working on a math worksheet....forget it, she shuts down.

This is not working because it's taking too long to finish the work that we need to complete.  And then Caty is suffering for attention in her work.  I need to find the balance over the next week.  This morning, I threatened to shut down Joey's internet privileges several times just to get him to move.  I could tell he was having a bit of an off day....but man!!! it was a rough one.

What I am reading.....

Really nothing, but something.  I am reading Redwall right now.  Lydia found the cartoon series on Netflix and her and Caty are really liking it.  So I am reading the book to see if it would make a good read together.  I am also still reading Wizard of Oz with the girls.  It's amazing how many differences you can find in the movie and the book.  I may give up totally on reading a really book...lol.  But I may start Sense and Sensibility.  I downloaded some classics on my Kindle last week.  Going to try and start them this week.

What I am cooking...

To be honest, not a lot this past week.  I just wasn't feeling well at all.  My fibro has been kicking my butt, and because I wasn't feeling well.  I just kind of limped through some piece together meals, which the kids didn't seem to mind.  But I don't know how Joe felt...lol.  This week I am trying to cook a lot more.  I made some super simple Cashew chicken style lettuce wraps using boneless chicken thighs, apple cider vinegar, cashew butter, salt, red pepper flakes and thyme.  Served the mixture in red lettuce leaves.....very yummy.  Got a few more things going to make this week too.  I found some grass fed beef at a local grocery store.  So we are trying some steaks and ground beef.

Our week in pictures.......

Joey got a new LEGO set, and he was building it with Daddy.

 We bought this little climbing gym on a local online garage sale.  Lydia of course is in love.

 The kids saw the GoodYear Blimp go over the house.  We actually drove underneath it.

 Brayden cuddling with the cat while we were working on his Cat project.

 This was carryover from last week in Science.  As the water evaporated, you can see the baking soda crystals that were left behind.  As the string sucked the water from the cups, the baking soda went with it into the string.  The string would dry and the baking soda formed spikes.

 We watched the Olympic mascot videos on YouTube.

 They also did an experiment with oil.  They put olive oil on their hands and ran cold water over them.  They could see the water beading and not able to break through the oil barrier.  And that is why polar bears can swim in freezing water.  The oil on their skin keeps the water away.  Basically it's like a waterproof coat.  The only way they got the oil off was with soap.

 We also had a brief visit to the local Police Museum.

 An old lie detector machine.

We got a lot done this week, but I feel like we should have done more.  I just got to get over the feeling.  I am having a hard time still between under and over educating....lol.  Don't we all...lol!!!

Have a great week!!!