Hello, everyone! I'm baaaaaack! Somewhere around end of November/beginning of December I decided I needed a board break. Really an internet break. I still paid bills online and kept up with my emails but that's it. It was great. But I'm ready to get started on our 2nd semester of 3rd grade and kindergaten. I'm feeling energized and excited to try some new things. Here's what we've been up to this week. Monday: Easing back into things for 3rd grade dd with Little House in the Big Woods, Sherlock Holmes for kids, Bible study, Poetry tea, Easy Grammar Days 132 & 133, Rounding easy math review, YouTube history video, piano practice. Kindy ds did Phonics lesson 60, read 2 Dr. Seuss books, handwriting practice w and b, math lesson involving counting up, and we drew and colored pictures of our favorite things to do. He tagged along with DD for her history and read aloud. He helped me make dinner and got a mini lesson on fractions with the measuring cups. Tuesday: Dd did another chapter in the same books, 20 minutes of Bible study with her dad, Diane Craft's Writing 8's Exercises for 10 minutes, Easy Grammar Days 134 & 135, Connection with addition and subtraction math lesson, bluebirds science lesson, piano practice. Kindy was phonics lesson 61, read 2 Mo Willems books, handwriting practice letters b, e, and r, math lesson on introducing charts and graphs. 20 minutes of Bible story time with Dad. Wednesday: Dd and I did another chapter in each of the read alouds, writing 8s for 10 minutes morning and afternoon, Easy Grammar Days 136 & 137, Mileage math lesson, another Liberty's Kids video, piano practice and piano lesson. DS did phonics lesson 62, read an article in his Highlights High Five magazine, handwriting practice letters, w, u, and r, math lesson counting toys, stuffed animals, and crayons. Today (Thursday): Dd is congested and has a sore throat so between that and the several inches of snow that is falling, I gave her the day off. She has been working on her coloring books (the "adult" kind, although I hate that designation, I don't know what else to call them) and watching science videos. So I will still get to count some time for her today. I'll make her turn off the tablet after lunch and read. Hopefully she'll be up to piano practice later. DS wants a day off too, since his sister is getting a day off. He has been in and out of the house all morning, playing in the snow, then coming in to warm up. So, I'm happy with that. I'll try to post later or tomorrow to run through what we are doing for our subjects so things make more sense. Have a great day everyone!

I came here on Tuesday and caught up on what everyone is up to this week. (Welcome back Aurelia and Penguin.) I came back Wednesday and realized I didn't "like" any of the posts. So I did that and typed out 2 sentences of my own post. Then had to attend to the kids or something and never made it back here. Started a new post this morning. Got 3 sentences typed before there was a toddler disaster and the day had to keep going. Now I'm sitting in the car in my driveway while the toddler sleeps because he fell asleep on the way home and if I take him out, he'll wake up and be a bear the rest of the day. At least I get wifi in the driveway! So let's see if I can remember what we've been up to this week... Monday: we did our full school work load. I made a few phone calls, dd practiced piano, I did a few chores. Caught up on tons of laundry. Nothing major. Tuesday: ds' allergy shots, library, and groceries a day early to beat the bitter cold that was coming. School work in the afternoon. Harder to get through it but we did! Piano practice. Cleaned out the car, prepped for outside activities and accomplished those. Home, late night snack, and lights out. Wednesday: light school morning. Just reading, language arts and math. Then I cleaned both bathrooms, dusted and vacuumed the entry, living room, and boys' bedroom. Cleaned the kitchen. Dd got picked up by a friend for her piano lesson and dh, the boys, and I had guests over. Sort of a mentor/consultation/counsel thing. Hard to describe without giving out personal details. Dd was returned safe and sound just before the snow hit! The kids spent most of the evening looking out the windows at the first snow of the season! I made soup and bread for dinner and the kids did some snowy crafts. Today (Thursday): Left the house early for a 9am meeting. Then another meeting back to back at 9:30. Picked up dh and the kids and took the kids to the sitter then dh and I went to the Dr. (again) Home now. The kids are playing. I'm sure dh is sleeping. I'll have dd do math and practice piano when the toddler wakes up and I can go inside! Lol! Family Bible time tonight. I think we've got a video lined up to watch. Tomorrow (Friday): ds allergy injections, regular school work load, early dinner because dh has a meeting in the evening. I think that does it for us this week. I feel like I'm doing the things because my planner is telling me to, not because I'm particularly pleased or even content to be doing them. I think that means I need a vacation. Not just a break from homeschooling, but a real go-to-a-warm-beach vacation. Not happening but, man, I wish it was.

I agree with Farrar, Macmillan is great for browsing. My kids will lay on the floor with it for a looooong time and chatter endlessly at dinner about everything they learned. My dd is using it for dictionary skills too.

Well, dd slept for 2.5 hours yesterday afternoon. I threw in the towel as far as school work was concerned. Friday's list: -4 loads laundry (going) -dd piano practice Done -dd math 2 short review lessons Done -dd 2 pages grammar (working on now) -writing class -spelling -finish the last of the history books from the library so we can take them back -Ds reading lesson Done -Ds writing lesson (working on it now) -ds math lesson -ds allergy injections -pharmacy -post office -clean bathroom counter and toilet while boys are in the tub -sweep and mop entry, kitchen and bathrooms -movie night!

Well, from Tuesday's list, I got everything except poetry tea, Amazon order, and didn't finish the garage. But that means we got all our core work done and that's the most important. Yesterday was super busy. Schoolwork, laundry, peparing for a meeting scheduled for today, piano lesson, grocery shopping, and dinner at friends' house. This morning was completely eaten up by my meeting. Picked up kids from sitter, eating a late lunch now and trying to decide what, if any schoolwork to do this afternoon. I was planning on the regular school day but dd apparently woke up at 4am and watched Wild Kratts on her tablet until I came to wake her up at 7:30. So I am planning on making her nap for an hour or so when she's done with lunch. Im just not sure she's going to have the brain power for school work. We'll see how she feels when she wakes up.

Dead squirrel in the middle of the living room floor.

Too much to do today! Here's the list, we'll see how much gets done! -2 loads laundry (going) -piano practice (going) -bank Done -pay bill Done -drop off recycling Done -allergy injections Done -library trip (changed to boys' haircuts- Done) -reading, spelling, grammar, writing, handwriting for dd -math for dd and ds -history for dd and ds -reading lesson for ds -poetry tea -amazon order -clean out garage -bathe boys -extra curricular activities

Sounds like something you'd make when the cupboard is depleted, lol! I've gone as far as a spoonful of peanut butter sprinkled with chocolate chips but this is a new one!

What's so funny about all this discussion of fictional characters is I say all that about Rory as a person without a 4 year degree and had my first child at 24!

I have to say, I actually think Rory will have her own experience that will be very different from her mother's. I think it will work out better for her and her child that she is 32, not 22. She is college educated, has the ability to earn a decent income, even if it's not her first job choice. She is writing a book, which I believe we are supposed to think that Gilmore Girls -the book- will be as well loved as Gilmore Girls -the tv show- is. So that's money in the bank and probably a good amount of publicity/notoriety as an author. Lorelei had none of that potential or even a high school diploma when she was pregnant. Rory also has a great relationship with her mother and a great support system in place with her mom, Luke, her grandmother, Lane, Paris, and I would even say Jess (the looking at Rory through the window thing.) Lorelei was completely on her own in the begining. I also think that if Rory didn't grow up much in the last ten years, this pregnancy will be the motivator to do just that. She will want to work hard to be an awesome mom like her own mother was to her. Like you, I thought there were a bunch of eyeroll moments, but overall, I thought it was a solid revival. (Revival being the key word here.)

I got maps from National Geographic online during a sale. I printed a calendar thing (including weather and seasons) for $5 from Teachers Pay Teachers. One year I got a bunch of cute school calendar stuff at Dollar Tree.

We have a school room. We love it. We did Kindy and 1st grade in an 800 sq foot house before moving, so we are really grateful for the space in this new to us house. We use it every day. We do have to come upstairs to the kitchen or back deck for messy science and art. The past few weeks, dd has been following me around the whole house to get her school work done because I've been caring for sick boys. But otherwise, we do the vast majority of our school work in there. What do I like about it? I agree with the pp, it helps me focus just on school and we get through it faster. It gets really great morning sunshine (especially for a basement room) which is very motivating for me. I like that we can have lots of fun schooly things on the walls and the whole house doesn't look like a classroom. What do I dislike about it? I'm having a hard time coming up with anything. I guess it's another room to dust and vacuum but I don't really mind because I really love having that space. I don't get cell reception in the basement but that's probably a good thing too, so I stay focused on the kids. The lighting (needed in the afternoons and on cloudy days) is terrible but I added a floor lamp, a desk lamp and paper lantern string lights so its nice and bright and cheerful now.

Thursday already?! I have had such a hard time getting here to post lately. Ds is still struggling with his asthma, so meds, chats with his allergy/asthma doc, encouraging fluids and food have been keeping me busy. Dd has been doing well with school work with the exception of one or two things we'll get sorted soon enough. She's been able to do all her lessons every day no matter what appointments, sick kids, babysitting kids, or whatever else is going on threatening to derail her schedule. Sometimes she's practicing piano right before bed, or doing some other subject on the kitchen floor while I make dinner and help her but I don't care, I'm just happy it's getting done. Dh and I were given audio of a conference we were scheduled to attend but weren't able to due to health issues in the family. So we've been listening to that some in the evenings. We have a big family weekend this weekend, assuming everyone is healthy by then. I have two big dinners to make and two desserts. So I need to plan out my schedule for cooking and baking and plan a trip to the store. Hopefully I can get to the store today because Fridays are crazy busy. Plus cleaning the house and catching up laundry so everyone has enough clothes for the weekend and I don't have to do laundry while cooking, baking, and entertaining. Critter- we had a movie night, too! We watched Finding Dory and ate Reese's peanut butter cups! Mama25- I hope your ds is ok and it's nothing serious. :grouphug: CadenceSophia- welcome! :)

Thanks for all the links and recommendations, ladies! I'm busy looking everything up and taking notes!

Where do you go for an evaluation? Is that set up through the pediatrician's office?

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. This is very helpful. Anyone have a cursive program to recommend?

Hello everyone! It's been a while since I've been here. A nasty stomach virus took me and all 3 kids down last week. Several sleepless nights, TONS of blanket, bedsheets, and towels laundry, homemade chicken noodle soup, ginger ale and popsicles were what my days looked like last week. This week has been busy. Doctor appointment for dh, one for ds, dental appointment for dd, babysitting the 2 year old all week, piano lessons yesterday and dinner at the in laws 2 times this week. All that's done so we should be able to relax the rest of the week. We have been keeping up with school work, remarkably and although dd is a little behind where I'd like to be, ds is exactly right where I'd planned for him to be at this point in the year. He often asks for double lessons so I guess he's naturally made up for missed days. The little ones are taxing me today so I'm saving the bulk of our lessons to do during their nap today. Thursday's list: -laundry (2 loads done, 2 to go) -reading lesson with ds (done) -family read aloud time (done) -dd piano practice (done) -deep clean kitchen (in progress) -dd math -dd language arts -dd history -ds math -bathe boys -family Bible time after dinner

My 8 yo 3rd grade dd has big handwriting issues. She holds her pencil incorrectly, she starts everything at the bottom or on the wrong side. She will repeat the circle of the g 3 or 4 times before she drops to make the hook. Then she'll lift her pencil and add the little stem at the top. She has similar lengthy procedures for forming all of her letters. Consequently, writing anything takes forever, her hand gets cramped, and she melts down. I posted about her problems with writing as a subject a while ago and now, after implementing a lot of the suggestions, writing is one of her favorite subjects, as long as I scribe for her. I'm realizing that our problems are just down to handwriting at this point. She learned with HWOT but likes to write with the three line mid line dashed layout (still...uggh). I was planning on starting cursive in 3rd grade but haven't had the nerve to try it. Would you go for cursive just to try something totally different? Would you go back with a letter formation program to get print right first? Our children's librarian (she knows dd well) suggested we keep moving forward. She says dd is "artsy and loopdee loopy" anyway and she'll end up with her own unique handwriting by the time she's an adult. But doesn't pretty much everyone go back to print at some point? I did. Dh did. I just want to help her have a shot at being able to write without it taking forever and her hand cramping up. Any insight is much appreciated. :)

Glad everyone is ok, mama25! :grouphug: I tried several times to get here yesterday and it just didn't happen. I'm calling this week fall break but it's not really. Dd is still keeping up with math and she started an online writing class yesterday. She will still practice piano every day, too. Ds is still doing phonics and letter practice everyday. I'm calling it fall break so I can let everything else go without the guilt. We have 3 doctor/orthodontist appointments this week. I have a ton of projects I want to get done around the house, a cooking and baking day Friday for feeding a crowd on Saturday. Overnight guests Saturday and more big meals for lots of people on Sunday. So I might not not make it back here this week. We'll see. Maybe I'll come back to brag about all the things I got done! :laugh:

My kitchen counter is currently overflowing with huge bins of local Honey Crisp, Fuji, and Granny Smith apples. I have already made a batch of baked apples. I am planning an apple cake, a Dutch apple pie, and whatever is left after the ones we just slice and eat will go into muffins. If I have more than one batch of muffins, I'll freeze them. We are not big applesauce eaters here so I skip that. We love apple season at our house!

Welcome, quietchapel! Friday's list: -Put away 4 folded loads of laundry (done) -Ds allergy injections (done) -pick up a dozen donuts as a surprise treat because of remarkably good behavior from the older kids (done... and seriously, who are these well behaved kids?! Weird. Nice, but weird.) - ds phonics and math (done) -dd math (done) -dd language arts (done) -dd piano and history still to do -start on The Basement Project (insert ominous music here. I may not come out alive.)

Thursday's list: -laundry (going) -full school day -piano practice for dd -dust and vacuum whole house -visit new park that just opened -hardware store for some bathroom improvements -make banana bread -family Bible night I'm one minute late! Gotta go!

:grouphug: Take care of yourself, sahamamama!

School, school, school today. Need to make up for yesterday. Which is fine. It's cold and stormy today so we are stuck inside anyway. Until this afternoon when dd has a piano lesson. -Ds expressed a big interest in the Titanic tragedy. So at the library the other day I grabbed all the books they had on the disaster. He has been loving it! We've read 3 books so far, he wants to see videos about it (which I need to find) and he has been telling Titanic trivia to random people he sees. The nurse that gave him his shots the other day got an earful about how many lost their lives, how many survived, why there weren't enough life boats, and more. We even rigged up the furniture in the school room to see if they could make the jump from the ship to the rocking life boat. There is a Titanic museum within driving distance from us that has special rates for homeschoolers and educational things on the website I can use. So I need to spend some time today planning activities and trying to make the trip happen. Snack time done, back to the books!

Too many charts?! Impossible! :D Off to copy Sahamamama2's chart idea... :leaving: