Critterfixer Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 Good morning, all! :001_smile: I don't have a lot planned for school today, and that's a good thing. I have a headache, the neighbor's boy is over to play with my boys, and later this morning, the boys and DH are heading over to help FIL load a lawnmower to take to the shop later this week. We could do school this afternoon, but I'm not sure we'll quite get there with all the FUN going on this weekend. Math and Latin don't compete very well against cousins, friends, food, and leftover fireworks. :D That said, there's no reason I can't be busy with school this week. I have to start my new Key to Algebra book, and get ahead with poetry. I should go ahead and watch that Latin lesson and start working on it while I cook a stew for tonight's dinner. And if I really get going, I should be able to finish How to Read a Book for the first read through. And there's a good chance that the boys and DH will leave me at home for the lawnmower loading adventure, which means a second cup of tea, classical music playing in the background and the perfect opportunity to get started on my school day. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 Sounds like a great plan Critter! All we have today is church, I should do some planning for the week ahead. The checklists worked well last week so I plan to do the same this week. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama25angels Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 Great plan critter!! I'm just relaxing today and I don't have the spares tomorrow so I'm going to try and get the house straightened from the weekend and hopefully some more much needed rest. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tawlas Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 Brother. Another packed day balancing the many urgent needs around here. Got the new pasture for the milk cow and entourage set up (with one bull, three calves and a sore horse). Got the scarlett runner beans staked finally. Needs a few finishing touches but will do for now. Got sheep fed and watered, lamb bottle-fed, puppy taken care of, dogs all out for a run. Cleaned out the trailer just in time for dh to fill it up with bulls. He'll leave as soon as they're loaded. I sat down with ds8 to do a reading listen and literally as the first word came out of his mouth was when dh began listing off the things that will need to be done while he's gone. So I put the baby to bed and sent the boys to quiet time instead. We'll do a reading lesson in an hour or two, I'm ready for a break. Also going to get ds to mow the lawn and we all need to do a good tidy of the basement and vacuum the floors down there. Usually we clean the bathroom down there on Sundays but that may have to wait until tomorrow. Dsd8 is home this afternoon, which will be nice, though it means more arguing between the kids. Three's a crowd (somehow the toddler doesn't factor in this equation yet lol). Tonight is family movie night, which means a finger food supper in front of a G rated movie. I'm thinking sausages, popcorn and veggies with dip. Not sure what movie though . . . off to check Netflix :) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted July 5, 2015 Author Share Posted July 5, 2015 Well, I finished the first read through of How to Read A Book. It's given me some ideas on two different fronts, so I think I'll settle down for another read through and take notes as I go. One thing I've already begun to look at is the difficulty of books that I provide for free reading, as well as what I want to read together as part of school or for read-aloud material. Another thing I am considering is how to come up with good questions for each child that will help him move through the four levels of reading discussed. The boys are at very different stages in their reading journeys. I had already decided to take any study guides I had or questions suggested for a text and pick out one or two for consideration, but I had not thought to make those questions different for each boy. I think that might be the way to go. It won't be too much more work on my part, since I only wanted one or two questions in the first place. Other than that, I watched the Latin lesson, and made a Vanilla Cream Pie and a Key Lime Pie. The chicken stew is heading into the oven in the next few minutes. Poetry is up next, and I'll read through my introduction to Graphs in algebra and call it good. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 Mama25 I hope you're getting some rest. Tawlas, just reading that exhausts me! You should be testing too. Critter, can I come over for a slice of pie? We're home from church, I gave everyone an ice cream bar and am making spaghetti for dinner. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted July 5, 2015 Author Share Posted July 5, 2015 Critter, can I come over for a slice of pie? Sure, after I get the whipped cream made up and on top of the pies. I've never done cream pies before. Anxious to see if they will turn into soup or hold together. ETA: It DID hold together! Delicious. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted July 6, 2015 Author Share Posted July 6, 2015 Wish me luck. Starting school at nine after two weeks of doing, well, not much. I've already heard some squeaks. Up today is Latin, Math, CW Poetry (and assorted spelling, grammar), History/Science (the boys alternate days) and a reading in Geography/Art History (they rotate that as well). And I plan to have us all spend about an hour just reading this afternoon, since it's supposed to be a miserable 90F with the heat index at almost 100. We are reading Okay for Now by Schmidt as a read aloud in the evenings. The protagonist is drawing birds from studies by Audubon and is supposed to be reading an adaptation of Jane Eyre. Now, I have a couple of coloring pages with Audubon's birds, and I have Jane Eyre. First words out of one boy's mouth last night, "What is Jane Eyre?" Would it be asking too much to have them both enjoy a little free-hand drawing of some of the birds whilst listening to me read Jane Eyre? :D 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tawlas Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Good luck Critter! We too have had the last few weeks off (except for a few reading lessons I suppose). Today we're jumping back in - carefully lol - with a "summer intensive" on photography and reviewing last summer's Canada's Natives Long Ago. We learned about three groups of first nations last year and this year I'd like to finish off the book with the other three later this summer. Dsd is back which means more structure - they're not bad together, but tend to get on each others nerves with too much unstructured time. We don't have a neighborhood of kids, it's really just them most of the time, so it's understandable. Sometimes lol. But I'm hoping this will be fun and productive for us all :) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 OK list for today: Devotional Memory Work dd12: sweep living room Violin Piano Math Chinese Dance ds10: Sweep Red Room and Homeschool Room Cello Math Typing Chinese Dance dd7: Wipe off bathroom counters Harp Reading Math Dance ds5: Carry Laundry downstairs Reading Math Cello Dance Mom's to-do: Figure out why cell phone isn't working Activate new debit cards Pay bills Plan calendar for the month Load dishwasher Laundry School Paperwork 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tawlas Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Hey maize, I was wondering where your list was. Glad you're prepped - my day feels complete now :P 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama25angels Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Hey, ladies! I'm up and got some house work done, yay me!! No spares today, so it's going to relatively quiet here, getting ready to get the phonics lesson done and set my two free for the day. Got a new grill last night (so desperately needed) and can't wait to try it with a couple of racks of ribs. Maize your list looks awesome! Critter good luck!! Tawlas hoping your day is productive and fun! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted July 6, 2015 Author Share Posted July 6, 2015 Well, it wasn't pretty...but it's done. At least my part is done. One boy has a little of his Latin lesson to finish because he spent too much time complaining about having to do Latin and not enough time doing the lesson. :D He's on it now. Had to stop him in the middle of cleaning his room, but Latin has got to be finished today. We got through everything except for the reading in art history, but that's not a big deal. It's one page sometime this week. Both opted to read geography instead. I sat down and went over the last five to six weeks of summer term left and made sure I had everything on track to be covered on the schedule. We do. Didn't get to Jane Eyre or drawing birds just yet. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tawlas Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Critter, that first day back can be way harder than it should be - glad it went okay. Jane Eyre may have to wait until certain someone's get back in the groove lol We did okay too. Photography with iPads? fun :) Will some more today but probably will do it inside for simplicity's sake. We reviewed the major things from last year's first nations studies. I think today I'll read some stories about kids in each of the areas (Arctic, subarctic, and eastern lowlands). It would be fun to try and build a miniature longhouse out of willow twigs and birchbark but I suspect I'd be doing all the work. Maybe we'll redo these lessons in middle school as well :P I just realized that my ds turns 6 on Monday. I have nothing prepared yet and I'm leaving on Thursday for my mom's for a visit! Gack. I will be in town tomorrow, but all the kids will be with me. . . blah. Don't really want to shop in my hometown - only option is Walmart really. Will have to think on that! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama25angels Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Well, the spares are here today and the bickering has begun, lol. Must find something to occupy them besides annoying each other. It doesn't look like we're going to get out to the pool today, overcast skies and really cool breeze. Laundry is on my hit list today along with a few hotspots and then hopefully getting some quite time. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Late getting started this morning. Let's see: Devotional Memory Work (haven't been getting to this) dd12: Math Violin Biology Typing Dance PE Sweep Kitchen and Dining Room ds10: Math Typing Cello Dance PE Wipe off Kitchen Counter dd7: Reading Math Harp Dance PE Vacuum Upper Stairs ds5: Reading Math Cello Dance PE Clean Bathroom Sink Mom's to-do: Activate debit cards Load Dishwasher Pay Bills Calendar Laundry Board Meeting Research Gymnastics 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted July 7, 2015 Author Share Posted July 7, 2015 We are almost done with school for the day. One child is finished, the other is dealing with questions he doesn't want to answer and still has to finish his Latin lesson. We swapped; the boy who fought Latin yesterday sailed today; the child who cruised like a submarine yesterday got hit with a torpedo today and is still bailing out his boat. Other than the shipwreck over -er adjectives from the first and second declension, we have had a pretty uneventful day. All the housekeeping is done, I've no need to cook anything for dinner since we are stocked with leftovers, and we have some science documentaries to watch tonight if we like. Jane Eyre is also on the evening schedule. It makes a nice thing to listen to after supper before we walk the dogs. Got through two chapters last night with the boys. Then, naturally, I stayed up until midnight reading it myself for about the third or fourth time.... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 [...]All the housekeeping is done[...] JEALOUS!!!! This never happens at my house. I almost had two rooms clean at a time at one point last week, that felt pretty awesome... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted July 7, 2015 Author Share Posted July 7, 2015 This never happens at my house. I almost had two rooms clean at a time at one point last week, that felt pretty awesome... Ahem...that would be housekeeping done in my book. I aim to only do two rooms a day. It won't stay done. Never does. But at least I took a swing at it with a mop and a bucket and it looked good for all of ten minutes. Satisfaction of cleaning achieved for the day. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tawlas Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 haha! I mopped yesterday in the dining room, then set Curtis on it over night (roomba) and then had the *terrible* idea to serve fried rice and eggs for breakfast. What was I thinking?! And sadly, the dog that would eat it off the floor died this past spring so I was faced with the dilemna of either picking up each grain of rice with my fingers or waiting for it to dry so I could sweep it (this option seems like the best option but then you run the risk of getting grains of rice stuck to the bottoms of your feet and ground into the living room carpet. Ask me how I know). I did a combo: picked up traffic areas, left the stuff under the table for Curtis tonight :) I was *supposed* to clean the bathroom today but instead listened to the last Latin Stages and Ages webinar through Well Trained Mind. Now I think I'll read in the breezy, shady back yard since I'm absolutely melting right now. It's so hot out! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 So we didn't do a very good job getting through our list yesterday. We've got a cold dragging us down. Maybe I'd better plan a light load for today. Devotional Memory Work dd12: violin math dance tumbling sweep kitchen ds10: math typing dance tumbling wipe bathroom counters dd7: reading math dance tumbling put away toys in red room ds5: reading dance tumbling vacuum upper stairs Mom: help everybody do everything 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted July 8, 2015 Author Share Posted July 8, 2015 I like Mom's task: Help everybody do everything. Isn't that the way it always works? :lol: I meant to get the front room swept and mopped this morning, but I needed to feed bees this morning. So I fed bees instead, and I will probably do some sweeping at lunch, but the front room can easily wait until tomorrow for the sweeping and mopping. The school day is going okay. Latin went well, Math had less than the usual level of growling over having to handle long subtraction problems, and Spelling and Grammar will be finished by noon. Additionally, both boys did a half hour or so of free reading this morning while I was out with the bees. This leaves Poetry, History or Science and Geography reading for the afternoon. And I should get through another two chapters of Jane Eyre with the boys this afternoon. Everyone is enjoying it! I'm having spasms over having to garble my way through Adele's French! I keep practicing in the evening, knowing that I'm royally butchering it! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 I've known several people who still garble French pronunciation even after living in France for years, it is just difficult. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted July 8, 2015 Author Share Posted July 8, 2015 I got through Latin, Math, CW Poetry, History/Science and Geography, but I didn't get to Jane Eyre. We had an emergency pencil eraser shortage, as well as a pressing need for new notebooks for story writing. Thus, we had to head into town to visit the office supply store. Now I'm waiting on the tree removal folks to come and give me a quote for dropping a few problem trees. That will probably put our movie night late. We had a really good day. It helped that it was hot, muggy, buggy, and in all ways, it was a perfect day to stay inside and do school. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tawlas Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Morning everyone. Just checking in quickly as I'm taking three of my kids to my mom and dad's house for a long weekend. A five hour drive with a two year just isn't fun but the rest of it will be :) Ds8 finishined AAR2 yesterday! I'm so relieved to tie up that last loose end. They also started up the summer reading club at the library - sounds like a good time was had by all. Because we're so far out of town I squeaked in DSD8 (nearly 9) into the 5-8 year old class. Developmentally and reading-level wise it's a good choice for her, but the poor thing is nearly 5 feet tall - very tall even for a nine year old lol - so she sticks out like a sore thumb. . . not sure if she notices stuff like that? The rest of yesterday was spent at the splash park. summer at it's best. So I have nothing to be accountable for right now except more planning stuff. Probably the nitty gritty stuff since DSD8 will be visiting her other parent for a week when I get back so we won't be doing any summer school stuff until she returns. That will be my last wide-open opportunity to get the details ironed out before September when we officially start. Have a great day! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tawlas Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Morning everyone. Just checking in quickly as I'm taking three of my kids to my mom and dad's house for a long weekend. A five hour drive with a two year just isn't fun but the rest of it will be :) Ds8 finishined AAR2 yesterday! I'm so relieved to tie up that last loose end. They also started up the summer reading club at the library - sounds like a good time was had by all. Because we're so far out of town and only come into town one day a week, I squeaked in DSD8 (nearly 9) into the 5-8 year old class. Developmentally and reading-level wise it's a good choice for her, but the poor thing is nearly 5 feet tall - very tall even for a nine year old lol - so she sticks out like a sore thumb. . . not sure if she notices stuff like that? The rest of yesterday was spent at the splash park. summer at it's best. So I have nothing to be accountable for right now except more planning stuff. Probably the nitty gritty stuff since DSD8 will be visiting her other parent for a week when I get back so we won't be doing any summer school stuff until she returns. That will be my last wide-open opportunity to get the details ironed out before September when we officially start. Have a great day! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted July 9, 2015 Author Share Posted July 9, 2015 I could take a nap this afternoon; I'm that sleepy. Normally, I don't nap. But I need to finish up the day, then go to the library, wait on the tree folks to come (again, waiting) and after that I'll probably go to bed early. We did Latin, Math, and our spelling test this morning, and I read Chapter 5 of Jane Eyre aloud. Now we will have tea, finish the poetry lesson for this week, complete History and Science and read a page of Sister Wendy's Story of Painting. That should finish out the week for us. Both boys are busy writing another episode of their ongoing stories in the new notebooks bought yesterday. Should be interesting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 We actually had a very productive day yesterday, I just didn't get back to update my list before now. So far today I have dyed my hair (those grey roots were getting long!), made breakfast, taken the kids to tumbling, made lunch, made insurance phone calls, changed diapers, put dinner in the crock pot... So here's our list: dd12: math handwriting Caesar's English piano tumbling sweep hallway ds10: math handwriting tumbling sweep living room dd7 reading math tumbling wipe off bathroom counters ds5 reading tumbling cello wipe out bathroom sink Mom: help everyone with everything chauffeur people around snuggle the baby 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted July 9, 2015 Author Share Posted July 9, 2015 We are done for the week. Accomplished most of Lesson 3 in Second Form Latin, did 5 lessons in the first Light Unit for CLE 5 (I was going to skip it, but figured that after two weeks off we could use the review), completed Week 6 in CW Poetry, read about navigation on the Arkansas River in by-gone days, read about the human heart and the cardiovascular system and we completed 5 chapters of Jane Eyre for the read-aloud this week. I've almost finalized the fall schedule, and find myself dreaming of orange and red maple leaves, the tang of wood smoke and deep blue skies. And cool temperatures. :tongue_smilie: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Yay, another successful day yesterday. A bit of a rough night last night, ds3 cannot seem to get on a workable sleep schedule. He still badly needs and wants a nap, but he wants it at 5:00pm...then he wants to stay up until 1:00am. I tried really hard to keep him awake yesterday evening, but when I left him in the living room for a few minutes he lay down on the floor and fell asleep. OK, plan for today: dd12: violin math biology dance PE sweep kitchen ds10: cello math flash cards typing dance PE sweep dining room dd7: reading math harp dance PE wipe off bathroom counters ds5: reading math cello dance PE wipe off chairs Ds10 has been helping ds5 with cello, he is turning out to be a very patient teacher. I really enjoy watching them together. We don't have any outside music lessons right now, due to time and financial constraints. I've been doing all the teaching, but it is nice to see the older kids starting to pass on their skills to the younger ones. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 I may try a cello lesson with ds3 today. I have an adorable little cello for him... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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