Accountability Thread: 3/20-3/26

[Critterfixer]

We are having a scheduled break this week. Boy, do I need it!

On today's list: Cleaning, cooking and tackling a congested closet (last one in the house in that state!), and cleaning out the homeschooling cabinet for spring term.

I think we will be baking a cake later today.

Today's school chore will be the cabinet, but if I get time, I've got to file papers too. :D

[Critterfixer]

Well, scratch that. Got a text this am that I had a sick kitty to take care of today. So I've been busy with that most of the day. 

[Aurelia]

We've done some light housecleaning, DD played with a couple of the neighborhood kids, and I fixed an early dinner, since we had brunch at 10:15. I still need to practice guitar and exercise, but I'm full and I made chocolate chip cookies for dessert.  :tongue_smilie:

 

DD wants to do art again today, so we may be able to manage that, and listen to a little more of The Hobbit while we're at it. 

[mama25angels]

Critterfixer--I hope your kitty feels better soon.

 

No work for us today, we had our Palm Sunday performance today at church and I've been relaxing since then. We have a few appointments next week but I'm still looking forward to getting back to schoolwork.

[MeaganS]

I hope to do 5 days of school this week. Tomorrow is co-op and Girl Scouts, and I have cub scouts (I'm the committee chair despite having no boys) on Wednesday and a Relief Society meeting on Thursday evening. So a busy week.

 

I got a fitbit last week, and hope to be good about exercising and dragging the girls along with me. I've been doing pretty well so far and hope to keep it up this week. 

[Sahamamama]

We're taking the first part of the week "off" from school, except for math and a few other things. It's time for the spring clothing switch-out and spring cleaning. Then we have to find clothes for this rapidly growing oldest child!

 

Sunday 3/20

Church

Father-Daughter Date (Sugar Lump)

Mother-Daughters Date (Squeaky & Squishy)

 

Monday 3/21 (an "almost no school" day)

Regular chores, meals, laundry, exercise, hygiene & pets

Bible reading: John 5--9

School work: Math, Instrument Lessons, Assigned Independent Reading with written work

Spring cleaning, washing curtains, windows

Yard work (all five of us working at once!)

Awana

 

Tuesday 3/22 (another "almost no school" day)

Regular chores, meals, laundry, exercise, hygiene & pets

Bible Reading: John 10--14

School work: Math, Assigned Independent Reading with written work

Spring clothing switch-out (it was too cold to do this, actually)

More cleaning and organizing

 

Wednesday 3/23 (another "almost no school" day)

Regular chores, meals, laundry, exercise, hygiene & pets

Bible Reading: John 15--18
School work: Math

Whole house cleaning, rabbit cages

Church Midweek

 

Thursday 3/24 (back to our usual school work)

Regular chores, meals, laundry, exercise, hygiene & pets

Bible Reading: John 19--21

School work: the usual line-up

Children's choirs

 

Friday 3/25

Regular chores, meals, laundry, exercise, hygiene & pets

Bible Reading: 1 John; 2 John; 3 John

School work: the usual line-up

Family Time

Edited March 24, 2016 by Sahamamama

[Jean in Newcastle]

I talked to ds tonight about his final paper for history and helped him to refine his thesis a bit better. 

[Critterfixer]

Today's schedule:

Housecall to check the sick kitty, laundry, clean bedrooms and work on that closet I was supposed to do yesterday. I ordered some books on Saturday for summer school and for the fall. The boys are supposed to clean out their dresser for me to remove clothing that is too small, too disliked or just too ventilated to be worn. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

I discussed basic research paper organization with ds.  He's a great writer but needs some organizational help.

 

I am letting dd sleep in after her half marathon yesterday. 

[MeaganS]

School went well, mostly. Dd7 is killing me with her inability to stay on task. 1.5 hours to do a third of her math lesson with me saying, "please do your work" every 30 secs or so. The last 2/3 she finished in 15 minutes because I told her I was making lunch and she couldn't have any until math was done. Arg! So yeah, all our subjects except piano lessons got done and I feel pretty good about it.

 

Girls had fun at co-op and I got to go grocery shopping with Dh and the baby (Dh got off a 28 hour shift this morning so had the rest of the day off). About to make a super healthy dinner before girl scouts tonight! Oh, and I bought Catan for my phone and have been totally beating the computer all day. 😀

[Jean in Newcastle]

I retaught nouns and pronouns using slips of paper that dd could sort into categories.  I then had her redo the Noun Test that she failed last time and she got 98% on it.

 

She's finishing up afternoon school.

[Aurelia]

First day back to a "regular" week. School got done. Tumbling practice happened. I've exercised for about 3 minutes. Nothing really special happened, other than we finished Emily of New Moon, so I'll have to find a new read-aloud. We did art this weekend after neglecting it sorely for the last several weeks, and now DD is back to drawing in her room after going to bed. She really gets away from it if we don't do it regularly, but life has been so busy! It should slow down for a couple of months after the next 3 weeks, but until then, we're still busy, busy, busy. 

 

Oh, I got LoF Pre-Algebra with Physics in the mail today, but haven't had time to do much more than look at the cover. It's a lot thicker than the couple of elementary level books I bought years ago. 

[Penguin]

We traveled back from the USA last week, and by the end of the weekend were finished with the time change.

 

School yesterday and today, then we are off.

[Critterfixer]

Today's schedule:

Homeschooling cabinet needs to be sorted

Dust the fans

Sort paperwork

Clean kitchen, dining, laundry room (sweep, mop)

 

I have a feeling that I need to go crank up some epic music to keep me going today!

[Sdel]

Ugh....been a crappy few weeks. Allergies are pulling me down and I just want to sleep. Need to make decisions about the best strategy forward in family court this week (stress) since discovery was atrocious and need to deal with responding to shenanigans to screw me in the family business next week (more stress).

 

Something in school got done yesterday before my mood got the best of me. We'll see what gets done today. Still have to clean house for visitation tonight. Upside: I've found the vision place I want to take DD to once the legal stuff is dealt with.

 

Stefanie

[mama25angels]

Well, I've been having a heck of a time getting here! Not a stellar week here so far but we are getting stuff done in between appointments, yesterday we got results of allergy testing and he is allergic to everything I said he was and to the cats. We are thinking if rehoming the cats but, he loves them so especially the little lady who lets him carry her around. Today I went in for my temporary crown and I'm in a little pain from the shots to numb me, good thing I'd planned to order out tonight. We did get music practice and theory work, math, and latin done today and dh burned our Spanish pronunciations to CDs for us, I can't wait to restart that next week! Friday, we'll be taking the cat in for shots and then we'll run a few errands to prepare for the weekend.

 

Critterfixer-how's your sick kitty feeling?

[Critterfixer]

 

Critterfixer-how's your sick kitty feeling? 

 

 

Kitty is more active today, and her fever went down yesterday evening. Just waiting on her to eat properly. 

[MeaganS]

School was awesome today. Bribery with m&ms apparently go a long way with my dawdler. All school, including piano lesson and practice got done before lunch and I'm even most of the way through laundry and got dinner in the crock pot.

 

This afternoon, besides laundry, I helped dd5 identify some wildflowers and made some blueberry muffins from home-ground wheat. It must have been six months since the last time I did that. I need to print out some more grammar lessons for dd7 and maybe, if I'm lucky, I'll finally get dressed out of my pj's. 😀

[Critterfixer]

It's cloudy outside. I think it may rain.

Today's schedule:

Housekeeping-done

Copy a bunch of short stories-done

Work on French notebooks

Cook some lunch

Hair appointments for all of us this afternoon

Movie night

[mama25angels]

Today was ok but, not much accomplished, I woke up in pain. We did Latin review, music practice, literature and chores. I talked to the boys about what they wanted for next year, my youngest is adamant about learning spanish. My oldest looked through some stuff we have here and picked out a few things. I can't believe how much I'm struggling to get his 8th grade year together but, I've had no problems mapping out his high school years, lol. Tomorrow is co op and then hopefully a relaxing weekend.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Tues - no school due to health stuff

Wed.  - library school.  Science emphasis day.  Dd has finished the chemistry portion and is now starting the physics portion.

[Sahamamama]

We've been keeping up with math, getting our reading assignments and written work done, but mostly this week has been about housework -- just getting the house really clean, organized, set up better for spring, and stocked with good food. We've been working hard all week so far, though not doing full school days.

 

I've enjoyed the break from being "school teacher" all the time. It's been so nice to spend time with the girls, showing them how to do practical things, cook, clean, do laundry, organize, fix the vacuum cleaner, and other little things around the house. They are at a good age for this kind of hands-on learning, and they do enjoy becoming more and more capable each day.

 

Tomorrow, we plan to get back to school work a bit more. The house is all done, the laundry is completely done, the yard work is where it needs to be for now, the rabbits are happy, the refrigerator is clean and full.... hmm, let's see, what's next?

 

I think on Thursday we'll do regular (daily) chores, meals, pets, and showers. Then we'll practice our choir music and have instrument lessons (here), and perhaps squeeze in some composer study (20 minutes). Next, math for all, then assigned independent reading with written work (to finish up their week's work), a history lesson, spelling, and Latin (for oldest). In the late afternoon, they all have choir practice, but hubby will take them. In the evening, we'll do our family Bible reading, supper, and bed time. That's the day!

[Critterfixer]

We had storms roll through last night at about the same time one boy got hit with vomiting. :glare: We are hoping it was just a one time thing and not a prelude to worse. The air outside is cold with a strong smell of smoke, and it is very windy. Even the dogs couldn't just go in and out without sneezing. My cat with the sensitive eyes has discharge this morning and she's wheezing a little this morning. I think it may be a good idea to just stay inside and not open the doors too much.

I'm done with all but a few things that I wanted to get finished on the break. One of those activities may be just too dusty for today, the other shouldn't be that much of a problem. Other than that, I think I'll just spend the day resting, reading and writing.

[MeaganS]

Got a zoo pass yesterday that will last a year and spent a beautiful day at the zoo. Today dd7 is doing her standardized test required by law,so all other school is cancelled. Afterwards, I will mow the lawn. Should be a good day.

[MeaganS]

Man, I don't know why, but I have been feeling awesome the last 2 weeks or so.  Ever since I got my fitbit and decided to try to be more active I have been having a much better attitude. I've always been fairly sedentary and although weight has never been an issue for me (I could still stand to lose a few pounds though!), being active is making me so much more patient with my kiddos.

 

Anyways, today has been great. DD7 finished her standardized test and did way better than I thought she would. She is my special needs kiddo, and scored above average in every section, even math, her nemisis! It's funny, I told myself that her scores wouldn't matter because I'm not concerned with the test or teaching to it (and legally, it is meaningless. It just has to be completed), but I still feel vindicated. Especially towards dh. While he supports me in theory, it is more going along with what I want than feeling philosophically inclined to homeschool.  And our deal was they had to do at least as well as they would in school. This kiddo would have been left behind in school, I just know it. DH knows it too, but the fact that she scored ahead in every area is awesome.

 

And I've already finished mowing the lawn! So now I have the whole day ahead of me and need to decide what to do with the girls. It is still so nice outside, I think maybe we'll go hiking and do some nature study or something.

 

I have a Relief Society meeting tonight and am giving someone a ride, but just realized that dh is working overnight. So now I need to figure out whether to just not go and find this lady another ride, or set up the girls in a room adjacent to where I'll be with a movie on the iPad. I'm leaning towards the latter. I've been trying harder to not be such a mama hen with them. They are getting old enough that they should be able to handle that in a safe environment. It would still be a leap for me. (Except the baby. I'd keep the baby)

[MrsRobinson]

MeaganS- good for you and dd on the test!!! That took a lot of dedication and hard work for you and your dd. I'd be dancing in the street over that accomplishment.

 

Critter- are you getting smoke in the air from the Oklahoma wildfires? I've wondered if some of that might blow our way. Hope ds feels better quickly and it doesn't work it's way through the whole family.

 

I've been keeping up with reading and liking the posts this week but never had time to update myself. Even when rocking the baby to sleep, I've been working on other projects.

 

The super busy part of our week is over and we are exhausted! We now have a treatment plan and payment plan (ouch!) for dd's braces. A few big events on the calendar are checked off and now I need to get this house back in order. It fell apart from all the coming and going.

 

School work has still been going. Dd was practicing spelling words while ds helped me make dinner Monday evening. And she was doing math on a stool in the bathroom while the boys were in the tub Tuesday afternoon but its getting done! Where there's a will, there's a way, right?!

[Critterfixer]

I don't know. Smoke seems to have passed for now. 

The boys appear fine. I don't feel so hot, but I've kind of been wiped out since earlier this week when I did all that cleaning. 

Today I've read my manuscript from last November. It's still good. This means revision! I found myself truly enjoying my main character and all he gets up to. I guess he gets a pass to keep going. I've signed up for NaNo camp, 38,000 words of new material in April, while working back through the previous 70,000 for material to cut, improve or build on.

[Aurelia]

It was one of those days where DD's brain fell out of her head, or something. Before I left for work, I reminded her that she needed to bathe the dog and put away the laundry before I got home. Neither was done, and when I asked her about it, she had completely forgotten. She also forgot how to calculate the area of a rectangle, and what adjectives were. We didn't even get to any of the interesting/fun stuff - all that happened was math, English and spelling. And she couldn't find her copy book to finish the English lesson. (It was under her chair, where she always keeps it. I just found it, by looking for 10 seconds.) It should not have taken 2 hours for 3 math problems, a page of spelling, diagramming 3 sentences, finding synonyms for 4 words and reading a 2 page story. Sometimes, I swear, puberty is worse than toddlerhood.

[Penguin]

We were supposed to leave for an Easter weekend road trip, but my poor DH has been sick, sick, sick. So we stayed home.

 

I am so rarely home with nothing scheduled. It feels weird!

 

Mostly, I have been reading and homeschool planning and ignoring the fact that cleaning would also be a good idea.

 

Edited March 25, 2016 by Penguin

[MrsRobinson]

Yesterday we just had a slow PJ day. Did the school work, chores, and laundry routines without paying attention to the clock. I did a huge purge in the school room last night while dh watched the baby.

 

In school news, a few weeks ago, I switched the spelling lesson routine and we are no longer doing Spelling Workout as written. I made the spelling practice days more interactive and less repetitive (as much as spelling can be anyway). It's going really well. She is retaining better and remembering correct spellings in her "books" she writes in her free time, an element that was not present before the change.

 

Library day today although, we aren't going to make it in time for storytime for DS. We'll try again next week.