Critterfixer Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 New month coming up! Share your plans, ideas or random thoughts for the upcoming week here! It was our first day back from a hectic Spring Break. There is nothing like a quiet, orderly day to make one appreciate the value of routine. Today we were introduced again to the Latin second conjugation and order of operations in expressions. I plan to do some reading an OUP book picked out from the library on the Medieval period, catch up on the laundry and do a little cooking. And rest. :001_smile: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama25angels Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Critter, so glad you added rest in there, lol! Today we plan to watch Wrestlemania! I'm looking forward to getting back into our routine next week. I've asked the boys about what exactly they would like to study next year, now I at least have somewhat of a starting point of what we will be doing. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted March 29, 2015 Author Share Posted March 29, 2015 Critter, so glad you added rest in there, lol! Me too! :tongue_smilie: Laundry is using the sun to dry, cooking is going to be on the grill later, and I am just about to take my book and a hot cup of tea to my front porch swing to read. The boys have been building dams in the creek, drawing dragons, playing with Snap Circuits and all is peaceful and serene. I think I've picked out Geography, too. I'm going to go with MP Geo 1. It isn't too pricey and if I don't like it I won't feel bad about scrapping it. After I do my reading and enjoy the outside weather (70, sunny, gentle breeze and flowers blooming everywhere) I may well get cracking on my book list. After all, I can scribble it in a notebook out on the front porch too! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tawlas Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 We did the bare minimum of math here this morning and the kids spent the rest of day digging a firepit beyond the yard, lining it with foraged stones and bricks, then getting a fire built and roasting hot dogs. Currently the baby is napping, I'm working on my art journal (I'm waiting for my page to dry so I can add the next layer) and the kids are haivng some quiet time in their rooms. It's been peaceful - but I'm restless. I suppose I'm ready to get back to work tomorrow. I'm expecting some resistance. DS7 is already trying to say that we don't have to do as much school becasue "summer is coming". My MIL used to say what you don't get taught by May isn't going to get learned. Maybe in our house, April is the new May? but the end is at least in sight! We're on chapter 29 in SOTW (out of 42), lesson 90 (out of 100) in FLL. Math is never ending cause we've had some false starts, but if I just ignore that I can at least pretend that school is almost done for the year too, right? Right? :P 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 I love that you don't get too stressed over the school work and you let the kids have that wonderful time pottering about outside. The fire pit sounds awesome and quite 'learny'. It's 8.30 on Monday morning here. So far we have only done an hour of reading aloud (kidlets loving Mysterious Benedict Society, which I think somebody from this forum might have recommended), had breakfast and they are finishing up morning chores. On the agenda is math, music practice, weekly library trip, errands, lunch, LA, SOTW and more reading aloud because I will probably be lynched if we don't finish the book today (or kids will sneak away to read it themselves). And laundry. Because there is always laundry. Probably shouldn't say this, but I'm feeling quite positive about this week. :auto: 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama25angels Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Isabel--you should absolutely say it! I'm right there with you with positive feelings for this week. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sdel Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Well, last week was a complete bust. My allergies just about killed me. Our black car is completely covered in yellow..... Just for an idea of just how much snot a person can produce....our almost full package of 24 rolls of TP, is gone.... Hopefully this week will be better now that I'm 'acclimated' to the yellow and drug induced haze..... Stefanie 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 This week, I'm planning to finish creating the flashcards for EFtRU, so we can start next week, or maybe the week after. I need to straighten up the house, since we had houseguests from Friday evening through this afternoon, plus a tumbling competition yesterday... I had to leave off typing because the dog apparently rolled in horse poop and needed a bath. Well, one more task down this week! Where was I? So, laundry is done, dog is clean, extra parties have departed the premises...DD's English book came in the mail yesterday, so we'll start that soon, though maybe not this week. I want to try to finish off Treasured Conversations first. I'll have to remember to boil eggs Friday, so we can decorate them Saturday. I did pick them up from the store yesterday, though! Math is on break until the next book arrives, which should be the early part of the week, unless it got held up in customs (which would be weird, because I ordered it from the same company at the same time as her English book, and it's here already. For some reason they shipped all the books and answer keys in separate packages.) I desperately need to practice guitar and exercise. I'm thinking housecleaning is going to count for my exercise today. Does looking thoughtfully at my instrument count as practice? If it does, I'm done. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 @ Stefanie, your allergy sounds awful. I hope you are feeling better soon! Is it one particular thing that triggers it, or general spring/pollen stuff?@ Aurelia, thanks for the reminder re eggs for decorating. I got everything I wanted to done today, plus we did some random sciencey things the kids found. Which is not bad at all, considering two of my kids had friends over to play (I actually knew about this but temporarily forgot). Girls are in bed, Mr. 11 will be in bed soon (watching Star Trek) so we'll all be down for the night by 9.30. Tomorrow I have planned math, music, swimming, violin lesson, plus SOTW activity, history video and Shakepeare for the afternoon. Hoping to fit in really good sessions of everything since Wed will be a half day. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Quick check-in, I meant to catch up yesterday but we ended up going to an Easter party. We had a pretty great week last week, lots of school done. As I mentioned we are in our last session of school and my daughter started working ahead in her math book. She asked me if they could get some extra electronic time for their extra work and I'm like sure, why didn't I think of that. So, school days have been longer because everybody is working hard to knock things out. I also told them that whenever they finish with everything they get a full months break (after that we'll start back with some math and reading before hitting it hard for the new year). As of right now it looks like they will finish in 4 more weeks at the rate they are going, woot! Ds is set to finish his spelling and Beast Academy this week, so it will be another heavy one but then it will slow down a bit to have those out of the way. Dd does a good chunk of her math by herself so that doesn't influence my schedule that much. We've been watching some great documentaries; Earth: The Biography and The Men Who Built America, some of my favorites of the whole year. Currently we're reading about immigration and labor(sweat shops and child labor), right now our RA is Flesh and Blood So Cheap, it is phenomenal, although I've done a small bit of editing here and there due to the mature nature. We're enjoying lots of time outside and I've been focusing on my health and exercising so my brain has been there in my off times, I still think of you ladies though and am glad to read updates. Tawlas- we have a hard time carrying through the spring, it is whyI decided to start us early the past few years! Stefanie- I hope your allergies improve soon, pharmaceuticals can be your friend! Isabel sounds like a lovely day you have planned. critterfixer- We've enjoyed some school time outside too, we hate to miss this beautiful weather. Sounds like your planning is coming right along, I need to work on mine again but alas I just don't want to right now :) mama25- good luck with your week and planning. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama25angels Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Soror-- you guys are amazing!! It sounds like a fantastic week, I so wish my boys would decide to work ahead so they could get done. Well, ladies I will only be here sporadically this month, if at all. I've decided that my boys needed a little break from electronics and I've decided to join them. I have a child who swears that he has no imagination and I know that's not true, he's also my most game obsessed so we need to take a break and regroup. I'm hoping to get some new habits and boundaries in place. I will check in here and there to update our progress. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Too little sleep last night, don't want to face the day. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 (hugs) I know that feeling! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tawlas Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Jealous of those nearing completion! I would love to start early in the year, but it just doesn't seem to get done around here. We enjoy our summers too much - it's even hard to buckle down and commit in September. Maybe we'll give it another go this summer lol. Well, we got started back to normal this morning. So far so good. We're already taking a break and will regroup in an hour :P Nothing else extraordinary to report! Productive, happy day everyone! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted March 30, 2015 Author Share Posted March 30, 2015 I'm a little tired today. Still, school is going well. We have finished a few things on the day, the story for week (Revenge plot) has been well received, science and history should be interesting. Meanwhile I'm fighting the urge to go lay down and take a nap. Hopefully I'll revive after afternoon tea and poetry! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RosieCotton Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 This week we will be working on math everyday for 45 min as our main focus, to tie down some things for the older and cement multiplication facts for my younger. DH is reading Hobbit aloud and I've made cute Hobbit copywork and other Hobbit writing assignments to do, and also searching the web for some fun Hobbit crafts for end of week or next week. Anyone?? :) I was thinking about making the Misty Mountain out of clay. And I think they'll want to make some pipe cleaner spiders. And we will write our name in runes of course. I found a super cute Hobbit door out of polymer clay with a how to online, but it was a little girly and this craft is mainly for the boys, :) it was beautiful tho. We are doing art everyday this week, as I like the first week of the new month to be all about art. Today we read forest poems and then rolled out the paper across the floor and drew a long large forest. I did most the trees and the road weaving thru them like in our poetry book, then we looked up how to draw each animal online so each child could have their own animals to color in. We have Latin flash cards to make and illustrate and work on first conjugation. But the most time will be spent outside I would guess, if this last weekend was any indication. We finally were able to pull the bikes and they spent 3 hours on them. They are building a new fort in the trees, and the frogs have just started up. Given this will be our first week free and outside, we will lighten the load and relax to enjoy it. I'll tackle my pantry to clean out once again. It's my Monica closet. Piano lesson tonight for all. I am happy to say after many hours (ok WEEKS) of procrastination our walk in closet is all cleared out (new rule: no more toys dumped in here!) and looks perfect. I even had wall space to hang a small painting once I cleared out things not needed anymore. Not a shirt or sock to wash anywhere. And yes I admit I've gone in there a few times just look at it. And smile. Tempted to have tea in there but don't want to be totally nuts. :) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted March 30, 2015 Author Share Posted March 30, 2015 You know what I like best about this thread? Seeing the different and amazing ways everyone customizes education for their kids. Pretty inspiring! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sdel Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 @ Stefanie, your allergy sounds awful. I hope you are feeling better soon! Is it one particular thing that triggers it, or general spring/pollen stuff? Its pretty bad. I'm pretty much like this year round but usually that first punch of spring is the absolute worst because we still have the mold of the spring rains AND the light dusting of pollen on everything (my front door is even tinted yellow). It hits hard one particular day and the rest of the time is low volume but constant. When I was going to an allergist, he did a nasal swab and said my allergy reacting cells were 50X normal levels.....and that was on a low reaction day for me. On a high reaction day I'll either be unable to stay awake enough to function (last Monday I was asleep for close to 24 hours), unable to stop sneezing (think tens of thousands of sneezes in a day), or actually experience chills and body aches. And single dose a day allergy pill does very little except on mild days and I react poorly to Nyquil type products (they last much longer on me). I'm allergic to over 70 environmental allergens throughout the year, mostly moderately and severely, and severely to the big 3...mold, dust, and pets dander (I *really* love my cats) . And that doesn't include the probable food allergies/intolerances. I really feel down that we never seem to get anything accomplished sometimes. Between my allergies and DD's sensory issues, it can be a nightmare. I don't always have the energy to fight with her when she's being resistant or bouncing off the walls. We did get math done (a short version of math) earlier and it was all I could do to drive home from gymnastics I was so tired. I'm debating if I want to fight over language arts or pick up the house because I'm not sure I'll have the energy to do both. I made her get in the bath to see if that will cut down on the seeking enough to do LA if I feel up to. As for the stuff for baby....I'm already thinking maybe I'll get up early and do it last minute with breakfast. Stefanie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted March 31, 2015 Author Share Posted March 31, 2015 Its pretty bad. I'm pretty much like this year round but usually that first punch of spring is the absolute worst because we still have the mold of the spring rains AND the light dusting of pollen on everything (my front door is even tinted yellow). It hits hard one particular day and the rest of the time is low volume but constant. When I was going to an allergist, he did a nasal swab and said my allergy reacting cells were 50X normal levels.....and that was on a low reaction day for me. On a high reaction day I'll either be unable to stay awake enough to function (last Monday I was asleep for close to 24 hours), unable to stop sneezing (think tens of thousands of sneezes in a day), or actually experience chills and body aches. And single dose a day allergy pill does very little except on mild days and I react poorly to Nyquil type products (they last much longer on me). I'm allergic to over 70 environmental allergens throughout the year, mostly moderately and severely, and severely to the big 3...mold, dust, and pets dander (I *really* love my cats) . And that doesn't include the probable food allergies/intolerances. Yuck. I remember spring being like that at one time, but I didn't suffer throughout the year except with the cat dander. Thankfully, getting the gluten out of my diet made a world of difference with the rest of the allergies to spring pollen. I think if spring was that hard on me I would probably start to schedule a big old break right about April to June and call off school until I could breathe again! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 I feel sorry for you severe hay fever etc sufferers. My husband gets mild to moderate hay fever but only from certain plants so it's for a short period each year, but even that is bad enough! Stefanie you should definitely go easy on yourself at this time of year. Sort of interesting re the cats though, because I always had cat allergy, until we got a cat, and within probably a couple months I had got used to him and it didn't effect me. I thought I'd just got used to that one cat, but recently we visited the cat center and I didn't have any symptoms at all. Maybe it works differently when you're unlucky enough to have extreme allergies? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Stefanie your allergies sound absolutely awful, I agree with Critter- maybe a schedule flip is in order :) Yuck. I remember spring being like that at one time, but I didn't suffer throughout the year except with the cat dander. Thankfully, getting the gluten out of my diet made a world of difference with the rest of the allergies to spring pollen. I think if spring was that hard on me I would probably start to schedule a big old break right about April to June and call off school until I could breathe again! Mine actually got worse if anything after removing gluten, well I don't recall a specific timeline but in the past few years they have been worse and I've been off gluten for 6.5 years now. However, just this winter they are starting to ease up and so far they don't seem to be bothering that much, whereas last spring I double dosed Claritin every day. I'm not sure if it is due to working on some of my other issues, my MTHFR electrolyte mix and/or our backyard honey- or some combination. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tawlas Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 My husband is allergic to cows, horses, llamas, deer, hay and dust (among other things!). Guess what he does for a living? He's a rancher!! He's had to be VERY proactive with his allergies since they trigger asthma attacks, so it can be life threatening. Not to one up - I'm sorry if it seems that way! - but he has gotten a series of shots to acclimatize his body a little to horses, I wonder if there's anything similar for you? Something more than over-the-counter stuff? Maybe there's nothing like that for seasonal stuff . . . As for school today, our first day back was fairly uneventful. I can tell my DSD8 hasn't practiced reading in a while - not because she doesn't remember any phonics, but because her word attack and reading methods are dismal again. I knew it would happen. She'd rather pretend that "The little horse floated truesies the rocks" makes sense rather than go back to the word "truesies" and figure out what it actually might say (towards). It's frustrating but it will probably only take a few days to get back there. I keep reminding myself of that so I can be patient. . . She's pretty much finished OPGTR. Just some of the more advanced concepts at the back left and right now I'd rather concentrate on fluency, comprehension, etc. I think I'm going to test all my kids' reading next month since I did it last year, it will be good to see where they're at since then. Okay, off to start math with ds7. Have a great day :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 But OF COURSE the little horse floated truesies :lol: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted March 31, 2015 Author Share Posted March 31, 2015 Tawlas, your daughter's sentence reminded me of a time in fourth grade when I was reading aloud in class and mixed up "four" and "flour". Everyone laughed at me, the teacher corrected me, and I remained in tears when I could not convince anyone that the "l" was in there. It wasn't, but I could see it so clearly that I was very upset when no one else could. It didn't matter that the sentence made no sense, that "l" was there and by golly! I was going to sound it out! I wish I'd had someone patient back then to help me go back and spell the word out so that I could get rid of the mental image of the "l" in the word. I probably spent ten minutes trying to prove my case to the teacher that I was right and the book had a mistake in it. :lol: Nothing new planned for today. Both boys are writing this morning instead of running outside to check their dams in the creek. I am considering the schedule for next week since we have standardized testing for three days and I promised to let them have Easter day off. Is it worth trying to get through a full Latin lesson? Should I insist on Math every day? How hard do I want to fight over it? :glare: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sdel Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Tawlas - I used to do the shots. I started reacting badly to them and had to stop. A schedule flip won't help. I have a new set of stuff crop up every season. And the mold crops up every time it rains....from about 24 hours before to about 24 hours after it stops. The cats only really bother me when they get in my face.....which for one is an uphill battle to prevent. But we've been productive so far today. Stefanie 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 We had a productive day yesterday. We're headed out to spend today with family from out of state; hurray for cousins! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted March 31, 2015 Author Share Posted March 31, 2015 We are just about finished for the day. The boys have history and science to read, and I think I'll use the time to go tend to my bees. I really need to reverse hive bodies on one hive and see how things are going in there. I'm thinking about a study session tonight involving some cinnamon toast. We had a wonderful writing session today. We did a lot of discussion and sharing as we worked together on the scene for rewriting tomorrow. I was just tickled to death to see both boys holding up their hands for quiet so they could "think about this" before they wrote. Exactly what I've been aiming for! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tawlas Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Mmmmm. Now I want cinnamon toast. We kind of had a crappy morning. Honestly, the kids were pretty good, it was me! I lost my temper at dh. That NEVER happens. Of course, it had to do with the toddler. I think we've worked things out but I feel badly. The kids do to. They gave me their savings to replace the potted flowers the little mischeif maker destroyed while dh was supposed to be watching her. With "no take backs". I thought that was really, really sweet of them and I feel even worse! All this fuss over a hyacinth or two. Just one of those mornings, I guess. So school was a little light, but it was mostly stuff I don't care if they just skip, so we'll move on tomorrow. So then I have to ask, why do we bother doing it at all? maybe I just need to totally revamp my day, their work, our style. Or maybe we're just ahving a bad "two-year-old day" and I should just roll with it for a few months till she's that much older and things will smooth out a bit. We still have some read alouds to tackle this afternoon, but nothing strenuous. Maybe I'll have cinnamon toast with those read alouds ;) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sdel Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Yay....school done, productive day done....now its all me time. I got up at the very early time of 7:30 -7:45 and boiled some eggs for the toddler to dye at preschool today. I left some for DD to boil and dye later tonight. Dropped DD off at hourly daycare, dropped toddler off at preschool, and went shopping for Easter. I've got all the candy bought....I just need a toy or two to round out the eggs. Hit the bank and picked up DD for swim lesson. She had an awesome swim lesson and did a whole lap on her back by herself. Then she went after some rings on the bottom of the pool by herself too. Took her to lunch just the two of us and then we picked up toddler. I let her watch a tv episode before starting class while I smuggled in the Easter stuff. She's across the street at granny's right now. School went great. Got math done quick. She's got her poem practically memorized and this is only the 3rd practice session on it (it amazes me how fast she memorizes which makes the attention issues that much more frustrating). We did WWE narration today. It's not her favorite, but she did it relatively painlessly. She even managed to properly tag pronouns. She tends to want to put in the noun in her sentence so I made her go back and resay them using pronouns. And for what I did make her write.....no fighting over letter formation. She did them all correctly, except 1 o, the first time through. Yay, great day. Tomorrow is co-op day with Spanish and Art. I negotiated with her to only do spelling on top of that tomorrow. Now...did I take my allergy pill today? Oh, well, if not I guess I'm doubling the dose.... Stefanie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted April 1, 2015 Author Share Posted April 1, 2015 We have had the wildest morning! I got all set up to do Latin, was getting into my stride, when suddenly the most terrific noise erupted from the front yard. The dogs went nuts in the office, the chickens were flying around in a panic and a savagely mad cat was yowling.. It wasn't a cat. It was the neighbor's lovesick peacock who had come to court my chickens. He's still out there, courting them with his loud voice and beautiful plumage from the top of the chicken house. Do you know how difficult it is to concentrate on Latin second conjugation with Hera's bird screaming at the top of his lungs just outside your window?! I don't hold out high hopes for the rest of the day. :lol: ETA: Juno's bird? I've got to get some Latin out of this, right? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 We have had the wildest morning! I got all set up to do Latin, was getting into my stride, when suddenly the most terrific noise erupted from the front yard. The dogs went nuts in the office, the chickens were flying around in a panic and a savagely mad cat was yowling.. It wasn't a cat. It was the neighbor's lovesick peacock who had come to court my chickens. He's still out there, courting them with his loud voice and beautiful plumage from the top of the chicken house. Do you know how difficult it is to concentrate on Latin second conjugation with Hera's bird screaming at the top of his lungs just outside your window?! I don't hold out high hopes for the rest of the day. :lol: ETA: Juno's bird? I've got to get some Latin out of this, right? Ah, you made my day with your story of the peacock on the chicken coop. ETA I want to come to your house! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted April 1, 2015 Author Share Posted April 1, 2015 Not an April Fool's joke, either! There really is a screaming peacock dancing by himself in the chicken pen! :lol: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tawlas Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 Critter, that's hilarious!! We may be getting 20 pea fowl to roam the ranch, so I'll be right there with ya - from all accounts, they're quite noisy. Not nearly as beautiful to look at mind you ;) We had a better day here. I'm trying again at assigning each kid to have a playtime with Meredith (the two year old). I've done it before and it just didn't work between the ages of 8-18 months. But today went really, really well. Hoping the novelty doesn't wear off! I will have to send the 5 yo downstairs with her though, apparently they're VERY noisy in the room next my partner's office lol. I'm so pleased with dsd8's multiplication. Chapter's almost done and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. And CLE is going FANTASTIC with ds7. We started over grade 2 math, and now we're on the the third booklet. We sped up a whole bunch and are skipping approx. every 2nd chapter's review. It's been working well and math is so much more pleasant for us both. Now, if I could just find Life of Fred Apples to read to my Ker, math would be (momentarily) perfect around here. . . but alas, I'm now wondering if maybe I lent it to someone and forgot? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sdel Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 So not a good end to the day. I had to cut DD's co-op day short to make it to the toddler's preschool egg hunt. It was really great watching DD help him hunt his eggs. We didn't get to school.....but we did clean DD's room. That was an important lesson in and of itself because she complained and tried to get out of it the whole time. Then the day was ruined. I'd been telling DD to leave the eggs from the hunt alone all day. The toddler's parents came for their visit.....and DD took his basket and eggs in there and they opened all the eggs.....and then they ate all the candy. Even if they didn't and they gave it all to him, 12 eggs worth of candy is extremely poor judgment on their part......pretty sure they ate the majority of it. Oh...DD got a lecture. I think I put it into perspective for DD. I compared it to how she would feel if she spent her time and did something special for her granny. And then I went ahead and gave her present to her granny before she could. Stefanie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 I hope it's okay if I dive in and play too. :) School for us today was just the kids' classes at their public schools (they're both doing part time ps, part time homeschool right now) and a field trip to the aquarium. The aquarium wasn't really in the plan for the week until my very spontaneous sister called to say her family was in town for a few days, and did we want to get together with them and do something. Since we rarely get to see them, I wound up shuffling plans. My husband is on break this week (he's gone back to teaching at a nearby university) and is trying to stay out from underfoot, but every time I get any sort of break in my schedule (or at least what looks to HIM like a break) he wants to take me to a movie or out to dinner or something. Dinner tonight, just the two of us, at the Japanese steakhouse was nice, but I am TIRED now. I should probably go to bed. I wanted to put a few hundred more words into this short story I've been banging my head against for far too long now, but I think that's just not going to happen since some of the pistons in my brain are not firing now. Maybe I can finish a blog post I have half written and call that good for the writing today. Tomorrow, dd has a therapy appointment in the morning, then school classes (drama, art, orchestra), then math, history, and English at home. Ds's brick and mortar classes are every other day, so tomorrow he only has his homeschool stuff. At some point I need to figure out what exactly we're doing with him for next year. There was some disagreement among various parties at the school as to whether he was eligible to participate there again next year (long, sordid story involving confusing collisions of disability laws, education laws, and homeschool laws), but we finally got that all straightened out as of Monday, and they're going to give him one more year and then re-evaluate. So now I need to figure out what we're doing there, what we're doing at home, and whatnot. And to complicate matters, he's turning 18 here in a couple of weeks, which throws him into a whole new category at vocational rehab and the disability services office, and I'm going to have to figure all of that out too. But anyway, I think TOMORROW all I have to worry about with him is math, English, independent study (my most recent attempt at getting him to take SOME kind of initiative in his own education), and whatever homework he has for his concurrent enrollment computer class. I also need to email his doctor for some paperwork we need for the disability office. (I hate paperwork. Don't have autistic kids, they generate WAY too much paperwork.) And tomorrow afternoon I am going to TRY to make some progress on that dang short story. Or possibly take a nap. I might be in dire need of a nap by tomorrow afternoon. It has been a long week already, and it's only Wednesday. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 MamaSheep, I started reading the Viper's Egg story on your website and now I have to finish before I go to sleep! Do please keep writing :) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Aw thanks! I definitely intend to keep writing. The story I'm working on is another Viper story for the web site, also as "bonus material" for the book(s). My agent is assembling a list of editors to approach for a novel series and will be sending out the first pitches in another week or so. She seems very optimistic, so I'm trying to be too (although it also makes me incredibly nervous...lol). I'm also in the pre-writing planning stages for another novel set in a different universe. We'll see what happens. :) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tawlas Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Morning :) It's quarter to six and I'm just waiting for ds7 to wake up. Today's a short day since we need to be in town at 1230 for piano lessons. We do our grocery shopping and I"ll pick up some holds at the library too. So there goes the afternoon. We'll tackle history before we go, and a few other basics, and that's it. Ds7 will be ds8 ! on Monday so i need to finalize his birthday plans too . . . 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted April 2, 2015 Author Share Posted April 2, 2015 I've got about thirty minutes before I need to get started on school with the boys. It's a cool, gray morning so I sent them out to get some "healthful fresh air." We have a Latin quiz, and I think we have a math quiz. How's that for knowing what's coming up? :D I let them have an afternoon to work on their own stories yesterday as no one could concentrate after the peacock invasion. That means we will be working on our retelling of The Sparrow and the Dog for the Revenge Plot. We opted for Act 3 of the story, the confrontation between the sparrow and the carter which involves axes, a bird flying around and plenty of action to keep track of. We outlined it Tuesday. We should finish up with the readings on Etruscans and amphibians today. The peacock event ended well for all birds involved. I managed to capture the big, blue turkey when his desire to meet the chickens up close and personal lured him into the chicken house. I saw him sneak in, pounced from behind and shut the door on him! Then I freed my terrified girls from the other door, grabbed my largest dog kennel and seized the peacock and stuffed him in the carrier. He's back home now, incarcerated with his own flock for the next three weeks until he figures out that a bright blue neck and a beautiful tail are not good reasons to go serenade things that are not peahens. :001_rolleyes: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sdel Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Another day down. Had a scare yesterday that my tablet with all of our education links on it was permanently trashed. Seems fine today though. Swimming started with a meltdown. On Tuesday I suggested not having a lesson today for the up coming holiday. No, she wanted a lesson. Then yesterday after I confirmed it, she started in on not wanting a lesson. This morning I woke up to her insisting she was "sick" and couldn't go to swimming. Of course, when the threats of what a sick day meant sunk in, of course she'd go. Got to the pool and tears and running away from the instructor and then she started trying to cling to me. I managed to extract myself and leave the pool and her instructor managed to get her into the pool. Once in she did great and by the end she was doing the exercise she's been resisting for several lessons by herself. I understand it is hard for her....but now it's a matter of personal safety that she knows how to swim. Lunch was a disaster....I was still a bit on edge from swimming and she was testing boundaries with me all during lunch. *sigh* Probably not the best, a bit rushed, but it got done. Discussed grammar (pulling teeth....and she saved me time by perfectly reciting her poem during lunch) and then applied grammar wonderfully. Math went much better. Then I kicked her off for "quiet time". I'm thinking next week I'm going to be adventurous and try to add a science concept. Stefanie 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama25angels Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Hi ladies, I'm jumping on real quick. The week has been pretty good, we did have a few bumps, but we've been getting heartfelt apologies and a desire to do the right thing so that counts for something right? School has gone really well this week except that fractions are killing us, I'm definitly going to have to remediate in that area. Spending to much time away from here is not good for me, I have to much time to think and decide that I don't need that long list of curricula on my to buy list, lol. Hope everyone has a great weekend!! Talk to you ladies later! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted April 2, 2015 Author Share Posted April 2, 2015 We are done for the week. After our library visit, I asked the boys if they would prefer to watch a video or just have a quiet, restful evening at home. They chose the quiet, restful evening. They are down at the creek, building dams and stalking frogs. I'm debating writing for a while or reading some of the books I picked up at the library sale. I bought a book for literature study for myself. It cost me all of a dollar and claims to be "Not only an excellent anthology, the book is also a comprehensive guide to writing essays about literature." It includes sections on fiction, poetry and drama. There are sample essays and instructions on how certain works lend themselves to particular topics for essays. It should be interesting to study for a year or so. I also picked up a book on astronomy, one on weather and a book of French Fairy Tales. All that should keep me busy this weekend. Next week: Standardized testing. Fun city. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 I copped out today. Took dd to her therapy appointment, and afterward she was too emotional to go straight to school, so we bummed around Wal-Mart and bought her a new fish. (Apparently I was in push-over mode as well...lol... but she has been keeping her room clean lately, which is a big deal for that child, and she's really been wanting a fish for a long time, so...) Then I took her to school for art and orchestra (drama was almost over when we got there). And I gave both kids a day off from their homeschool stuff. Seems kind of lame when we have spring break already planned for next week, but ds was so relieved that he gave me an actual hug (a big deal for THAT child). And then I took a nap, caught up some dishes, and so forth. It felt good not to be rushing off anywhere or trying to get anyone to do anything. Dd read the directions and got her new 1 gallon fish tank set up for her betta fish all by herself, so in my head that counts as English--reading, understanding, and following written instructions. So a happy day, but largely unproductive. I also got a new car harness for our little dog (who so far has only ridden in the car in a crate--I'm not a fan of loose doggies while operating a motor vehicle). I put her in it when I went to pick dd up from school, and the little scamp managed to squirm out of it before we even made it halfway. When we got there, I stuck her back in it, and snugged up the straps a bit before I went into the school to get dd, and when I got back the dang dog was sitting happily in my seat. So we snugged it up even more and put her back in the back seat with dd. She stayed in the harness all the way home, but I have a sneaking suspicion that was because dd was there petting her and giving her lots of attention. She might just be too aerodynamically shaped in the wrong places to keep a harness on effectively. Dang critter. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tawlas Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 Well, Friday has arrived! In-laws are back again lol. Not so much for Easter as for ds7's birthday. I'm pretty sure that they'll be staying in our guest room this time, they're not going to bring the motor home for just a few days. So I should get that tidied at some point. MIL is a ps teacher so she has today off (Good Friday) so they could show up any time today. I plan on carrying on as per normal today as far as school goes though. I'm just that mean. Undecided if I'm taking Monday off. That's the birthday day, but we also have a party planned for Tuesday afternoon. . . I guess I'll see how the plans and preparation goes over the weekend. And I guess we're just doing cupcakes since I only have a teeny tiny counter convection oven - our stove's oven is broken. Maybe I'll make a big trifle :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 We are having an interesting day today. For their activity on Hammurabi's laws, I got them to discuss and decide on some laws of their own, and write these on a rock. We are having one day of abiding by the kids' laws, which are: 1. 75% of the day must be spent on activities chosen by the children 2. There must be four difference ice creams provided for breakfast 3. Children should play with a bathtub full of cornflour goop 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 We are on Spring Break, but ds has chosen to spend part of each day researching what he needs for a self-designed course for next year on computer diagnostics, repair and building. Colour me impressed. :) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted April 4, 2015 Author Share Posted April 4, 2015 I strongly agree with four flavors of ice cream available for breakfast! :drool5: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sdel Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 I strongly agree with four flavors of ice cream available for breakfast! :drool5: As long as all 4 flavors are mint chocolate chip....yum.... Stefanie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tawlas Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 Well our day went well. I think we'll do math tomorrow and we have a few geography things to cover. Should be a on easy day. Less stress getting each of the kids take a turn with dd2 than Dh multitasking and â€keeping an eye on her". In laws didn't arrive today as they're getting over a cold and didn't epeat to bring it wih them. I hope that extra day makes a lot of difference! Have a great weekend everyone! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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