GREAT idea, thanks for the tip!

I didn't see a thread for reports this week, so thought I'd start one. We didn't get much done, but here it is: Wild Oak Academy. I've got an extra copy of a cute book to give away, so leave a comment if you're interested.

I've taken it & failed miserably, so I wish you luck! While it addresses the physical cravings for nicotine, it doesn't help with the habit aspects of smoking ~ so you have to be very mindful about changing your routines & avoiding certain triggers.

Ours is up! Wild Oak Academy

When I was a little girl, visiting my [German] grandparents, I would place my shoes out for St. Nicholas to fill with treats - chocolate coins and an orange are what I remember the most, but I'm pretty sure there were cookies or some other chocolates involved as well (if not in my shoes, then for coffee hour). My kids have generally done the same thing, we save stockings for Christmas. I posted a few of my plans here. Essentially we had a "feast" for coffee hour - a nice spread of baked goods, with candy cane hot cocoa. We read "The Legend of St. Nicholas" by Demi & listened to a "Legends of St. Nicholas" by Anonymous 4.

We bought this Medieval Castle building kit at Michael's, but just recently I discovered this (be sure to check out the gallery!), which puts our kit to shame! - Same principle though. I'm buying a few of the Gothic and Castle molds & some dental plaster for Christmas, thinking that the cathedral and castle will make good long-term projects during our study of the Middle Ages. A little ambitious, yes, but I can't wait to get started!

We're doing something for each day of Advent, you can get some ideas from my blog. Also, here's an Advent unit study with good daily ideas and this blog has some suggestions too.

We haven't posted one since school started & are still struggling, but ours is here.

Faith ~ I will check out CHC's Art Program, thanks! And he has Backyard Ballistics already (and has done a number of the projects), but I'm glad you reminded me because I think the author has some other books I can check out.

He had a set of basic set of Snap Circuits years ago & enjoyed them, but pretty much exhausted what he could do with that set. I just checked out their site & it looks like they have some more advanced versions now. Has anyone used the Educational Series Training Program? Is it better or worse than the regular sets? I'm thinking that might be a good option for him. I'll check out the Draw Squad books, thanks!

Starting in January, I'm trying something new to (hopefully!) help keep my kids motivated. They were each allowed to choose an elective that they will essentially be pursuing on their own for an hour or so each day. Two of the kids were easy to find curriculum for, but the other two I'm struggling with. One of the twins wants to do something with "experiments" - he's a very hands-on learner and dislikes a lot of reading, but is great at taking things apart, building new things & figuring stuff out. He's forever learning how to make random things from YouTube, but I'd like something that's at least a little bit structured to guide his learning. Then, my DD would like to improve her drawing & painting - so a formal art program of some sort that is mostly self-directed (or maybe some good books that she can work her way through?). Any suggestions? Thanks!

You might check with the county. One of my boys just took a hunter's safety class through the county in October. I believe they require it here for kids over the age of 12 to get their hunting permit. DS is only 11, but wanted to take the class anyway & he did receive his permit. It was a two day class but 8+ hours each day and he learned A LOT about everything from gun safety to hunting laws to animal identification. It was very worthwhile!

These aren't canvas, but they're pretty handy: Envirosax. I carry a couple of them in my purse & they're great - very roomy too!

I asked my son (who's seriously into both) and he said that very few kids actually play the Pokemon card game - they just collect the cards. He thinks Bakugan is more fun, especially if your son has someone to play with. Bakugan is a lot newer, so it's hard to say what will hold his interest longer. My kids have had Pokemon cards forever, but seldom pay attention to them anymore. Their interest in Bakugan comes & goes. Yugioh has had the most longevity here.

We have the Keurig B66 & have been very happy with it. That said, I wouldn't hesitate to try out the Breville because it seems a bit fancier (this page makes it seem quite appealing and you'd be getting a great price on it!). Here's the link to the Breville on Amazon -- there again, the reviews are great, so I wouldn't be too worried about getting a refurbished model.

This is exactly what happened to my computer about a month ago. DH (who's quite computer savvy) tried to fix it with no luck, luckily however, it was still covered until warranty. Dell sent a technician out 4 or 5 times - replacing all sorts of parts from the power source to the motherboard repeatedly. At one point they had it up and running, but within an hour it wouldn't turn on again. They never thought the hard drive was the problem. In the end, they replaced the whole silly machine, but it took FOREVER for a new one to arrive. In the meantime, DH drove to the nearest Micro Center & bought a refurbished computer for around $140. - he put my old hard drive in & I was able to use it and back up all the data to be transferred over to the new machine.

We read about the archangel Michael in Revelations and made dragon bread this morning (the kids enjoyed slaying and eating the dragon). We also discussed the history and traditions of Michaelmas and learned a little about Raphael & Gabriel since it is their feast day also. This afternoon, we read St. George and the Dragon. I made some yummy blackberry chicken with angel hair pasta & roasted carrots for dinner. For dessert, we've got a devil's food cake and an angel food cake (w/whipped cream & fresh blackberries). I'd actually forgotten that today was Michaelmas - despite planning for it last month, so today was rather hastily thrown together!

Ours is up - it was a beautiful (to me, anyway) discovery!

My kids have not read the books yet (we'll be starting on them after we finish our current read aloud next week), but I have and absolutely *loved* them. We've got the new book pre-ordered and are going to a book reading/signing with the author next month. I can't wait!

Bento lunches were a major obsession around here for awhile last year - before we started homeschooling. I spent hours every evening making lunches and ordered tons of cute boxes and accessories directly from Japan (WAY more than we ever used). Honestly the boxes and accessories were the most enjoyable part for me - it can be quite addicting to collect all the pieces in the various sets. While it is a lot of fun (and challenging to pack the boxes "just so" - so that they don't leak or slide around), it can be VERY time consuming. I would probably still enjoy it if I didn't have four children, but packing four lunches plus my hubby's was way too much work. I eventually burned out, then decided to homeschool anyway, so now all of our bento stuff is sitting around unused - but still as cute as ever. ;) Every now & then I think that I'll use it for field trips, but so far that hasn't happened.

Our favorite thing to visit in Dallas is the Dallas World Aquarium. It is absolutely spectacular and contains much more than just the usual aquarium stuff.

I'm in too, with pictures of what the boys did this week.

While not specifically Catholic, Everyday Graces: Child's Book Of Good Manners is supposed to be excellent. You could also check out Take it to the Queen and The Weight of a Mass by Josephine Nobisso. I would also second the recommendation for Catholic Mosaic (and Christmas Mosaic for Advent)! According to Cay's notes at the beginning of the book, "This program will appeal primarily to children of kindergarten age through fourth grade."

We're not hosting this year, although we did for part of last year. I'm honestly not sure that I would do it again, unless perhaps the kids were older. We hosted a 16-year-old Muslim girl from Yemen last year and went through a lot of difficulty with her culture shock and homesickness. We live in a small rural town, which was completely different than anything she was used to and she did not seem to want to adjust to life here, despite every effort I made (even buying only halal foods for her). When I started bringing her to the local mosque for Ramadan, in the hopes of alleviating some of her homesickness, she ended up meeting a Muslim family there & lying to the local coordinator so that she could get transferred out of our home and into theirs. Now they did have daughters her age, so I can understand why she might want to live with them, but it was still a difficult experience. My kids, my dd in particular, were completely heartbroken.

We're doing a "Fine Art Friday" this year. It will consist of a Nature Walk & sketching in our nature journals, Shakespeare study, Music/Composer Study, Picture Study (Art Appreciation) and some type of hands-on crafty project and/or fun educational games in the afternoon. KWG - I love your "Tuesday Tea" idea!