Ignore this thread!

[Junie]

Is the cumin, or another spice? I like chili, but there are certain spices that would trigger that  :ack2:  response (well, when I was pregnant). If that is the case, maybe he can learn to make the chili without it. There are many different ways to make it.

 

I don't like any chili that I've ever eaten.  So the smell of any chili is kind of repulsive to me, especially when I'm smelling it all day in THX.

 

Never. He barely tolerates me putting them on my side of the pizza.

 

Is he allergic to them?  My sister has a lot of mold allergies and is deathly allergic to mushrooms.  Maybe he has a mild allergy to them?  Or maybe he just doesn't like mushrooms like I don't like chili.

[Critterfixer]

I don't like any chili that I've ever eaten.  So the smell of any chili is kind of repulsive to me, especially when I'm smelling it all day in THX.

 

 

Is he allergic to them?  My sister has a lot of mold allergies and is deathly allergic to mushrooms.  Maybe he has a mild allergy to them?  Or maybe he just doesn't like mushrooms like I don't like chili.

No, he just doesn't like them. He loves fish, but is allergic to it. 

[Susan in TN]

We made two different recipes of blue cheese dressing - ds13 likes them both, but I'm a little iffy about one. He said Krissi's famous ranch dressing tastes like hot dogs :huh: but it's very good. :D Dd11 said the blue cheese tasted like mint. :blink:

Edited January 27, 2018 by Susan in TN

[Junie]

No, he just doesn't like them. He loves fish, but is allergic to it. 

 

:(

 

It's no fun being allergic to something you like.

[Renai]

It's a marathon, not a sprint! :) It might encourage you to know that my kids didn't start playing their instruments until they were 9/10 years old. 8yo for my youngest - so gymnast has a head start on all of them. And there is so much wonderful music in between! 🎶🎻🎶

 

She has informed me she will never be that good because it will take 1,345,987,435,387,392,958 days. Or something like that.

 

We have started a practice routine that starts with listening to the practice piece while she follows the notes in the book (streaming online). She then picks the piece (with the finger) without the music. Then picks with the music. Then I want her to bow with and without the music. I haven't got her to do the bow after picking yet, though. The whole thing should take less than 10 minutes (without bowing it's between 5-7 minutes).

[Another Lynn]

Thank you to everyone who replied to this.

 

It is super helpful for the real life interactions. Should I just drop the online ones? Or keep going? I mainly asked if she wanted to get together for tea or coffee. I don't want to push. I just want to be kind and say I care and I am okay stepping back.

 

From my own perspective, I would prefer the online invitations because it would give me a chance to think and reply.  So, I don't assume to understand what her deal is.  But, she might feel awkward that she hasn't answered you, but continues not to answer you for whatever reason.  So, to bow out of online interaction, but leave the door open, maybe you could email her one more time and just say you typically or occasionally have Saturday at 9:00 (or whatever) open if she decides she wants to meet for coffee anytime (in other words, leaving it open ended?) and otherwise you look forward to seeing her at the next xyz activity.  

 

(Okay, I may have forgotten some of your details, but my idea is to leave it so that if she doesn't reply she doesn't feel awkward for not doing so and then you can both carry on in a friendly way, etc.)  

[Another Lynn]

Planning is my hobby. I could never confine myself to just one weekend of it! But I’ll come to the after party. I vote we wear costumes. It can be like homeschooling ComicCon!

 

Actually, why is this not already a thing? I might actually go to a homeschooling convention if I got to dress up...

 

 

My costume is a person who wears pants. No one really seemed to notice.

 

So, I just got home from taking 15yo ds to a TKD tourney.  It was at a convention center which was also hosting some kind of comi-con event.  Let me assure you that plenty of costumes did not include much in the way of pants.    :laugh:

[KrissiK]

I don't plan. Just assign each day. But ours are mostly do the next thing.

This is us.

[Critterfixer]

Also, good morning!! 

It's exactly 1 week until we leave for Colorado. I'm nervous. Not sure why...I mean, we'll either get a 'yes' or a 'no'. It's like I'm afraid of the 'yes', but also afraid of the 'no'. 

There's no happy medium right now. I think it'll be a fun trip, though. 

We're going to go to the Denver Aquarium on Sunday; they have a mermaid show and we're going to make sure Riv gets to see it. I'm pretty sure that's going to be her life calling.

And, then DH has planned to take us to Maggiano's, an Italian restaurant he really likes. (I was apparently rich in a former life because the meal I REALLY REALLY REALLY want is $50!!)

 

 

EDIT: It's an expensive, nervous mermaid booyah in Colorado!

Oh, a mermaid show would be really cool! I wrote a poem recently about when I was young and liked to look down in the water of the park ponds and imagine there was another world down there. In the poem the little girl imagines so well that she turns into a mermaid so she can live in her other world. :D

[KrissiK]

We made two different recipes of blue cheese dressing - ds13 likes them both, but I'm a little iffy about one. He said Krissi's famous ranch dressing tastes like hot dogs :huh: but it's very good. :D Dd11 said the blue cheese tasted like mint. :blink:

Hot dogs? Really?? Hmm! That’s interesting.

[Renai]

Oh, I love to plan. And make schedules. For myself or anyone else. In fact, this would be a fun career. I just don't stick to the daily plans very well.

Once I plan the curriculum and purchases, I don't even bother anymore.

 

A weekend in a hotel with y'all would be fun. I wouldn't wear a costume, though. Pajamas would have to be optional. As would going off by myself at times.

 

:iagree:  That sounds like my kind of planning.

 

But, it's not working for Gymnast with my work schedule, so I need to revise the schedule to something more specific. She does better when she knows what to expect every day anyway. I still have the subject plans that show how the work will be divided; those are without dates.

[Critterfixer]

Ed-Po

When I plan, I do a very, very rough draft of what I'd like for the upcoming year sometime in the doldrums of February. It's basically the ultimate school year epic, complete with battle music. 

I find my sanity usually around May, when my work schedule is more or less set, and I have some idea of what my budget will be. Typically my frugal side shows up and slashes said epic to something reasonable.

When all the books get there, I sit down and write out a rough idea of what needs to be done per quarter. Then I take fall quarter and schedule out six weeks of work, fairly loose detail. I work in some sick days, the weeks I want us to be off, and a river day or two if at all possible. 

Final project is typing up one detailed week. That's usually my Friday or Saturday work for the upcoming week.

[Jean in Newcastle]

 

 

Went to the Y and day 13 of meeting my step goal is done [emoji736]

 

Don’t know if I will vacuum anything else. We’ll see.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Susan in TN]

We have started a practice routine that starts with listening to the practice piece while she follows the notes in the book (streaming online). She then picks the piece (with the finger) without the music. Then picks with the music. Then I want her to bow with and without the music. I haven't got her to do the bow after picking yet, though. The whole thing should take less than 10 minutes (without bowing it's between 5-7 minutes).

That's brilliant! Love it!

[Susan in TN]

Hot dogs? Really?? Hmm! That’s interesting.

I know. So weird. There's no accounting for a 13-year-old boy's taste.

[Critterfixer]

Go figure. Did a little practice piece to test colors for this orchid I want to paint Thursday and it came out absolutely beautiful. The shadows are perfect. Just some negative painting to do to make the green leaves and white flowers pop and it's pretty enough for a postcard. Which is the size it is, because practice.

[Susan in TN]

I feel I am wasting my life due to lack of painting. Sigh. I want to be Critter when I grow up.

[KrissiK]

“Good-bye yellow brick road!! Where the dogs of society howl!! You can’t plant me in your penthouse. I’m going back to my plough.â€

 

Elton John is coming to the Big City next year. BFF is tryIng to score me and her tickets.

[KrissiK]

I feel I am wasting my life due to lack of painting. Sigh. I want to be Critter when I grow up.

I know, Critter is amazing!!!

[KrissiK]

Farewell tour!

I know. It’s going to be awesome!!

[Susan in TN]

“Good-bye yellow brick road!! Where the dogs of society howl!! You can’t plant me in your penthouse. I’m going back to my plough.â€

 

Elton John is coming to the Big City next year. BFF is tryIng to score me and her tickets.

You know the words! I had no idea that's what he was singing. Well, except for the yellow brick road and the plough. Hope you can go!

[sweetpea3829]

So what do I actually do for lesson planning?

 

Well, we have three semesters...Fall/Winter, Winter/Spring, and Summer.

 

I spend late spring/early summer deciding WHAT we'll study and buying books/curriculum.

 

I then sit down and plan out the rough schedule of WHEN we'll be schooling. 30 weeks. I decide which weeks will be off, when to break for Christmas, etc.

 

Then, I take each curriculum and roughly map it out over the 30 weeks for the Fall and Winter semesters.

 

(Side note, long before any of this, I've already printed a weekly schedule for each school week and placed in a binder...I have two. One for the Bigs, one for the Smalls).

 

Next, I go through the weekly schedule, one curriculum at a time, writing in each day, what's to be covered, etc. At this time, I pull consumable pages and stick them into their respective week/kid as I go.

 

For example, if I'm scheduling Singapore, I'll write in the planner for each day, what we're covering, and I'll pull the worksheet pages that correspond. Those will be stuck in a pocket divider for that week.

 

Once everything is planned and written, I'll go back and organize the work by day/kid.

 

When it's done, I'll have a binder full of everything they'll need for the semester, organized by kid, week, and day, and I'll have a written plan that tells me exactly what I should be covering, with whom, and when.

 

At any time, I can grab a week and go.

 

Makes my life so much simpler during the actual semester.

 

The downside is that it's hard to switch things up mid-semester, if I don't like the direction we're going. Typically, if I find something is a bad fit, we'll stick it out until the end of that semester.

 

So yeah, that's what we do. Lots of legwork up front, but much easier for me to implement and stay on track.

[Jean in Newcastle]

You know the words! I had no idea that's what he was singing. Well, except for the yellow brick road and the plough. Hope you can go!

I make up my own words.

[Slache]

How do y'all handle the Thanksgiving/Christmas thing? It's a ton of time with Matt home which does not bode well for school.

 

Edooya.

Edited January 28, 2018 by Slache

[maize]

I'm almost ready to file my taxes.

 

Just want to wait a day or two to let my brain cool off then go through everything one more time.

 

We're taking the standard deduction and don't have anything complicated this year so it is pretty straightforward.

 

I'm expecting a refund so am motivated to get them done!

[Susan in TN]

How do y'all handle the Thanksgiving/Christmas thing? It's a ton of time with Matt home which does not bode well for school.

 

Edooya.

We take off all Thanksgiving week, with exceptions for doing a lesson or two if needed to catch up.

 

We take 3ish weeks off for Christmas depending on when we are traveling and getting back and how much time I need to get things in order once we get back. I try to take at least one week off before we travel to get things organized and packed and take care of last minute Christmas things and an ocassional holiday activity. Again, someone is usually working on math or grammar to catch up.

 

We don't typically take a spring break. We take off Good Friday. If all goes according to plan, I am done with history and science (our most teacher-intensive subjects) by mid-April, and people start doubling up on various other lessons then to be done in early May. Break is mid-May to early August. Then we play and garden (i.e. attempt to rescue dying plants) and read and play music together and do other various activities.

[Renai]

How do y'all handle the Thanksgiving/Christmas thing? It's a ton of time with Matt home which does not bode well for school.

 

Edooya.

 

We have scheduled breaks. Usually the week of Thanksgiving and a couple of weeks in December. But, because of the nature of dh's job, he can be off at any time anyway, so we have to work through it. He actually likes to see her working though, so even though he can be really really distracting, we still get things done when he's here. And if he wants to take her out to the river for "nature study" for a couple of hours, that's fine with me too.

[KrissiK]

How do y'all handle the Thanksgiving/Christmas thing? It's a ton of time with Matt home which does not bode well for school.

 

Edooya.

We take time off. Three days at Thanksgiving and two weeks off at Christmas. Pretty standard stuff.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Dh works all days except for Thanksgiving day and Christmas Day. We take a couple of days off at thanksgiving and a couple of weeks at Christmas.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[luuknam]

Too many edpos without warnings!  :willy_nilly:

[Paige]

When I planned I did the whole year's schedule in advance for every subject in OneNote. I'd make a weekly plan and then copy that into as many weeks as I needed, and then I'd go back and write in plans for each day for each week. I did not really open it every day past the first month, but it helped me focus and get a routine going so I didn't often need to look at my notes to know what the plan would be.

 

If we missed a day or lesson, it was easy enough to cut and paste it into another week, to cut it out entirely, or move something from Weds to Fri. I kept Fridays as light work days which allowed them also to be catch up days if needed. We schooled year round but I only scheduled weeks for the curricula I had. Once we finished something we were done until the next year for that subject unless I'd already planned a second curriculum from the beginning. So September would be a busy month, but by June or so the kids had a lot more free time. It was great because I had plenty of leftover weeks in the year to catch up on if we missed days, lessons, or whatever throughout the year. 

 

When the kids were older, they got a copy of the OneNote for them that they could log into so they knew what independent work they were expected to do. It also worked to track books we'd read, passwords, notes for myself to prepare for the next week, and other resources. 

[Slache]

I have been awake since 2:05.

[Another Lynn]

Good Sunday Morning!

 

COFFEE!!!

 

Slache, go to bed.  Time for 2nd sleep.

[Susan in TN]

Good morning!

 

Sleep, Slachey! Sleep!

 

Church this morning and a make-up cello lesson for ds13 this afternoon.

 

Coffee!

[Susan in TN]

3 of our sweet pepper seeds have sprouted! We planted them about 3 weeks ago in an egg carton - red, yellow, and orange. I can't remember where I planted the different colors, because like a bad gardener I did not label them, so it will be a surprise if we get any actual peppers out of it.

[maize]

I have been awake since 2:05.

I'm sorry :(

[maize]

I'm awake.

 

I'm HUNGRY!!!

 

This is how I always wake up when I have a nursling. Or two. Dd2 turns 3 this week though and my plan is to wean her, which will leave me with just baby Kernel nursing.

[maize]

3 of our sweet pepper seeds have sprouted! We planted them about 3 weeks ago in an egg carton - red, yellow, and orange. I can't remember where I planted the different colors, because like a bad gardener I did not label them, so it will be a surprise if we get any actual peppers out of it.

I'm terrible about labeling things.

 

I'm a very sloppy gardener in general. I like fruit trees because you only have to plant them once and they keep producing year after year. My vegetable garden usually ends up messy and a bit disappointing.

[Critterfixer]

I feel I am wasting my life due to lack of painting. Sigh. I want to be Critter when I grow up.

Ironically, I once faced punishment in school for drawing in class. That was a very long time ago, but it made me very sympathetic when Emily of New Moon gets called out in class for writing stories and poetry.

[maize]

My sourdough starter is all frothy this morning.

 

It's the first time I've tried to make my own starter so I'm excited. Earlier in the week my girls were wanting to make bread but we were out of yeast. I decided to be adventurous and try old fashioned methods so we mixed flour and water and set it on a shelf to see what would happen.

[Critterfixer]

I feel I am wasting my life due to lack of painting. Sigh. I want to be Critter when I grow up.

I often feel that I should have stuck with piano lessons and kept at it. I love to play, and I used to just compose stuff for fun and play it, but I don't have the skill to do anything with it. Probably too late now.

[Critterfixer]

3 of our sweet pepper seeds have sprouted! We planted them about 3 weeks ago in an egg carton - red, yellow, and orange. I can't remember where I planted the different colors, because like a bad gardener I did not label them, so it will be a surprise if we get any actual peppers out of it.

Already? I haven't started mine yet. But I plan to use the oven to help them sprout. I turn on the light and keep the door closed and it provides warmth and humidity to help the tomatoes and the peppers sprout quickly. The only thing is I have to remember to take them out BEFORE I turn on the oven!

Which is why I hang a sign up.

[lots of little ducklings]

 Turns out, I average about 6 minutes dedicated to a task before I have to deal with a kid emergency.

 

 

:lol:

 

 

 

I remember a couple of years ago being super discouraged about not getting anything done, and finally tracking minute by minute what I actually did all day. 

 

I guess maybe that was an audit?  Though I didn't call it that... I called it Here-DH-You-Tell-ME-How-I'm-Supposed-To-Have-Dinner-On-The-Table-And-Bills-Paid-And-Files-Sorted-And-House-Cleaned!!!!   Not that dh is really all that demanding (He's awesome, actually) but it was one of those bad months where I felt like a failure and he couldn't comprehend the challenges.  

 

Anyway, my audit revealed interruptions averaging every 3.5 minutes.  

 

It is why I am home today instead of at church.... my neural synapses NEED this silence.  

[Critterfixer]

I'm awake. We all got to sleep in a little bit this morning. That was nice. DH has gone out to get groceries, I touched up my little orchid picture and got the paint tray ready for the larger piece I'm working on. I have a ton of sketching to do, a lot of proofreading to get through, two books to read and laundry to do. Busy day ahead of me.

[Critterfixer]

:lol:

 

 

 

I remember a couple of years ago being super discouraged about not getting anything done, and finally tracking minute by minute what I actually did all day. 

 

I guess maybe that was an audit?  Though I didn't call it that... I called it Here-DH-You-Tell-ME-How-I'm-Supposed-To-Have-Dinner-On-The-Table-And-Bills-Paid-And-Files-Sorted-And-House-Cleaned!!!!   Not that dh is really all that demanding (He's awesome, actually) but it was one of those bad months where I felt like a failure and he couldn't comprehend the challenges.  

 

Anyway, my audit revealed interruptions averaging every 3.5 minutes.  

 

It is why I am home today instead of at church.... my neural synapses NEED this silence.  

Amen. Silence is wonderful, and I hope you are recharged by the rest and the peace.

There are times when I think God was very good to me in giving me an exceptionally introverted DH and two introverted turtle twins. I don't think I could have handled one extrovert or more children than I have. I am awed and amazed by y'all with big families and lots of young ones. 

[lots of little ducklings]

 

What's your favorite way to plan?

 

 

I don't.   :leaving:

 

 

 

Well, I do know what I'm doing for every subject.  And over the summer I collect and print paperwork I'd like to use, then slide it into a 40 week file system.  But I'm learning to trim-trim-trim my goals and aspirations.  Especially if it involves paperwork.  

 

And while I normally LOVE lists, they fail me for homeschooling in my current chapter of life (lots of young kids).  Too much unpredictability in my days.  So a few years ago I stopped assigning x-amount of work in x-subject to x-day.  It was just too depressing to fail and recalculate everything.  I have routines that we fall into by late September, but they aren't hard and fast.  

 

Instead I record what each kid has done each day, after the fact.*  Makes me realize we are actually accomplishing something.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

*and I even fail on this sometimes... I have several weeks'-worth to fill in today because of Christmas chaos.  Thankfully our routines around Christmas were pretty basic -- we set aside workbooks for math and just did review problems on white boards, for example -- so it won't be difficult.  

[maize]

I often feel that I should have stuck with piano lessons and kept at it. I love to play, and I used to just compose stuff for fun and play it, but I don't have the skill to do anything with it. Probably too late now.

Never too late!

 

Possibly not the season, but not too late.

 

My mom always loved the organ; when my dad retired he bought her a nice home organ. She plays for church now and averages something like thirty hours of practice a week.

[lots of little ducklings]

Amen. Silence is wonderful, and I hope you are recharged by the rest and the peace.

There are times when I think God was very good to me in giving me an exceptionally introverted DH and two introverted turtle twins. I don't think I could have handled one extrovert or more children than I have. I am awed and amazed by y'all with big families and lots of young ones. 

 

Thank you!  I already feel better.  

 

I'm grateful for an introverted dh too.  He gets it.  He's behind a computer all week, so he has the stamina for the kids and takes them out a lot on weekends.  (This weekend involved a long church annual meeting yesterday with the whole family coming along, so I missed my usual Saturday quiet time.)

 

I'm not sure that I have any true extroverts among the ducklings, either, but at home they are quite LOUD and social with each other.  And it's a small house so there's no escaping it.   :willy_nilly: 

 

I know I will miss it some day. If i survive it.   :laugh:

[Another Lynn]

Never too late!

 

Possibly not the season, but not too late.

 

My mom always loved the organ; when my dad retired he bought her a nice home organ. She plays for church now and averages something like thirty hours of practice a week.

 

:001_wub:

[Renai]

That's brilliant! Love it!

Really??? Yay, I'm doing something right1