Accountability Thread: 9/18-9/24

[Critterfixer]

Is it me, or does September seem to be flying right by without waving? Regardless, I'm off to hunt rivers and waterfalls this morning. It looks like rain.

I have nothing planned for the week, and yet, school must go on. I have ideas. That may have to do. :D For now.

[Critterfixer]

It did rain. But the drive was beautiful. The mountains were so green, and mist filled every valley on the way up to the river. Everything was quiet except for the sound of the grasshoppers, and even they were subdued. We sat and watched the river flow by, and listened as it talked to itself over the pebbles while the boys hunted (and found) many rocks full of fossilized bivalves. By the time we headed back, the sun was out, and every forest was full of golden patches shining on damp leaves. 

Ahhhhhh.

Tomorrow we school, and I might just pack the books and head up to another favorite water watching spot for outdoor school and recreational floating and swimming between lessons. :laugh:

[Sahamamama]

Are we really back around to Sunday already? :svengo: Okay, here goes:

 

Sunday 9/18

Church

My parents

 

Monday 9/19

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

School Work -- Composition (6th only), Assigned Independent Reading with written work (all), Science (all), Piano Practice (all)

Afternoon/Evening -- free time

 

Tuesday 9/20

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

School Work -- Math (all), Assigned Independent Reading with written work (all), Science (all)

Afternoon/Evening -- mandatory nap time :nopity: Trust me, they need it.

 

Wednesday 9/21

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

School Work -- a regular full day

Church midweek

 

Thursday 9/22

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

School Work -- a regular full day

Children's choir practice

 

Friday 9/23

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

School Work -- not sure yet, possibly a lighter day?

Family Movie or Game night

 

 

 

[BonnieLK]

I've been in a weird funk since around Labor Day, when my in-laws visited, weather was erratic, etc and so on. We kinda-sorta Five-in-a-Row'd Night of the Moonjellies and spent an entire day at the National Aquarium and Science Center, and we've read a little of our Progressive Phonics, but that's about the extent of anything school-ish and I need to rein it in before more time passes. Maybe part of the problem is erratic schedules, starting with DH's work and my need to do MY work while he's home. Anyway. Goals.

 

These don't include reading/math because I need to look at my resources and figure out where we left off, what I want to be covering. Will come back to edit once I get an actual lesson plan in place. I wasn't planning on FIAR Story of Ping but thankfully while I was obsessively planning during the summer, I wrote out an entire week of activities and discussion leads. I think I need to take a weekend soon and do some more advance planning because holiday season! Work deadlines! New DH schedule coming up.

 

 

Sunday (yesterday)

 

Sunday School (for me and DS)

 

 

Monday

 

Start a "Row". Maybe Story About Ping? ​Read, looked at a map and globe to see where China is and how far it would be to travel East from US to China

Phonics: Read-together "Dan the Dancing Bear", practiced/learned the, so, am, can, sat, cat

Math: Reviewed writing 0-9

 

Evening Bonus Goal: Read another "read-together" book

 

5:30 pm - Water aerobics me; Kid Zone DS

 

 

Tuesday

 

9:30 Playgroup

10:30 Butterfly Tagging Event (weather permitting)

FIAR Read/Topic

Phonics: Read-Together book

Math: Review number/color relationship with cuisinaire rods, work on sight-identification of "how many objects in a group" 1-4

 

Bonus Evening: Read-Together book

Evening: Gym for me

 

Wednesday

 

***In-laws are here again....sigh. But I WILL do these things***

 

FIAR Read/Topic

 

1 pm - OT

 

 

5:30 pm - Soccer

6:30 - Yoga (for me; Kid Zone for DS)

 

 

Thursday

 

**In-laws**

 

10 am - Church storytime

FIAR Read/Topic

5:30-7:30 - Gym time for me; KidZone for DS

 

 

Friday

 

**In-Laws**

 

A.M. Gym time for me

FIAR Read/Topic

Evening swim time for DS?

 

 

 

Saturday

 

**In-Laws**

 

A.M. gym for me, Kid Zone for DS

 

Afternoon swim time for DS?

 

 

 

(Sunday again -- ARTS day! Sunday School Me/DS, then afternoon at the local Arts/Crafts Showcase)

Edited September 19, 2016 by BonnieLK

[BonnieLK]

Is it me, or does September seem to be flying right by without waving? Regardless, I'm off to hunt rivers and waterfalls this morning. It looks like rain.

I have nothing planned for the week, and yet, school must go on. I have ideas. That may have to do. :D For now.

 

Yep, September is going by too fast. I love fall, and it always seems to fly, while by contrast summer and winter drag on endlessly. 

[Sahamamama]

I've been in a weird funk since around Labor Day, when my in-laws visited, weather was erratic, etc and so on. We kinda-sorta Five-in-a-Row'd Night of the Moonjellies and spent an entire day at the National Aquarium and Science Center, and we've read a little of our Progressive Phonics, but that's about the extent of anything school-ish and I need to rein it in before more time passes. Maybe part of the problem is erratic schedules, starting with DH's work and my need to do MY work while he's home. Anyway. Goals.

 

Actually, no, you don't. What you are doing sounds perfect for Pre-K, honestly.

 

Reading picture books

Aquarium & Science Center field trip

Some phonics

Snuggles? meals? rest? (I'm assuming)

Grandparents visiting

Parents working to make a living

 

These are all very good things. Don't discount the value of them. :grouphug: I can sympathize with erratic schedules, since for years we haven't had anything remotely approaching "regular" here (hubby's work & travels). But it's good to roll with it, and aim for productively relaxed days.

 

I remember our days doing homemade-FIAR with Ping. :001_wub: Sigh. The girls got out their stuffed animals (one was a duck, LOL) and acted it out, over and over. We made "boats" out of old dresser drawers, to put the characters in. We ate Chinese food (definitely NOT duck)! We read library books about China. We looked up China and the beautiful yellow Yangtze River on a map and globe. We listened and danced to traditional Chinese music. I think we can still, years later, all recite Ping, word for word.

 

Same with Make Way for Ducklings. Whenever we see a family of ducks, the girls still always say, "Hey! There go Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack, and Quack!"

 

Same with Where the Wild Things Are, Millions of Cats, The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night, and many, many more. You are making memories for years to come, perhaps for a lifetime. It's okay to go slowly.

[BonnieLK]

Actually, no, you don't. What you are doing sounds perfect for Pre-K, honestly.

....

 

You are making memories for years to come, perhaps for a lifetime. It's okay to go slowly.

 

Thank you for the reassurance.  :001_wub:

I am someone who needs to have some self-imposed structure or I'll let it all go, including house, personal (meals, exercise), play and so forth. I feel like there's a fine balance between zero and too much. lol

 

I need to remember that when we play our "Purple basket! Empty basket! Basket on the right!" game during laundry-folding (throw the ball into the named basket), that's still *learning*. Last week, we spent hours at the playground, went to OT, did our soccer night, read books, colored/drew with crayons (self-directed drawing FINALLY, I feel like my guy has met a miracle milestone!), and that on top of an experience riding the light rail, walking around Inner Harbor, a mini homeschool seminar on sharks, the Aquarium (an electric eel pooped through its neck, just for us, lol) and the Science Center, are all living life/life learning.

 

So thank you for the reassurance and reminder. Time for a deep breath and back myself down from an anxiety ledge. :)

 

 

Oh, and Ping - I already have a feeling this is going to be a good one. As soon as the rain winds up tomorrow, we might head to the river to see how the ducks are faring. Or maybe I'll grab an umbrella and raincoat and we'll have "Rain school" later this afternoon when the thunder/lightning move on.

Edited September 19, 2016 by BonnieLK

[Critterfixer]

I was so busy figuring out what to do today that I'm just now getting around to posting it. This is probably what Fall Quarter is going to look like for the next 10 weeks.

Today's schedule:

Home Ec-No cooking today--I wasn't up to supervising. Maybe tomorrow.

French- Ecoutez, Parlez 4 Unite 17, workbook

Latin-Third Form Latin watch lesson 1, 1 page of workbook

Math-CLE 604 lesson 3, 1 page KTD

Grammar/Comp-Spelling words from short stories this fall (This week it's The Invalid's Story-Mark Twain) We'll do humor for the next two weeks, then shift to spooky stories for October. 

Grammar-KISS Grammar exercise 4 on direct objects

Writing-I keep going back and forth on what I want to do with formal writing this year. But after thinking about it for the summer and the last few weeks, I think we are going to try Writing With Skill Level 1. They are just at a funny point in writing where CW Homer isn't enough and CW Maxim is too much. And both of them could use the practice with outlining that comes with WWS. I think I can tweak the program where I need to, and having a program to follow this year should give me more time to focus on my own writing without having to spend too much time inventing a program for the boys.  My hope is that we can use WWS without much adjusting, and have plenty of time for fiction writing with it. So we are starting with Week 1 and we'll see what happens.

History-OUP Voyages Cp 5, Additional Reading in G. Foster's Christopher Columbus (basically taking up where we left off this spring)

Science- McHenry's Elements, Cp 1, exercises 1,2,3, Additional Reading in Theodore Gray's Elements

Creative Writing- The Creative Writer Level 2, Lesson 1 on Plot, complete pt 1

Art- Artistic Pursuits, Unit 4, Lesson 4

 

Boys will rotate between History and Science, Creative Writing and Art.

I'm also figuring on having a more formal reading time in the afternoons or evenings, but I don't get to hit my big library until this weekend. 

 

For me: French, Latin, Geometry, Writing, Housekeeping. 

[Critterfixer]

 

I am curious, why French AND Latin?

 

The Latin I insist on. The French they asked for. :D

[Sahamamama]

Lousy, crappy homeschool day here. How's it going where you are?

[Critterfixer]

 

Lousy, crappy homeschool day here. How's it going where you are?

 

Sorry. It's been okay today. Long, but we got started at the 10 am summer start time. I figure we'll be done by 4:30, which would be 3:30 if we started at the more practical 9 am time that we usually use in the fall and winter quarters. The boys were flagging, so I fed them apple slices with caramel dip, a special treat. They are plugging away at the last two subjects of the day, and I've told them they can skip their usual Monday cleaning and do that tomorrow. All should be well.

[Critterfixer]

 

Are you doing full latin, or just roots? 

 

Full Latin. We started Third Form at the end of last week.

Boys finished about 15 min ahead of my prediction. I must remember the afternoon apple snack. :001_smile:  I'm closing in on finishing the housekeeping, and I think I've got enough energy left in me to make something easy for supper. After that I plan to sit down, turn on some music and write for about two hours.

[MrsRobinson]

Lousy, crappy homeschool day here. How's it going where you are?

I "liked" this because it's reassuring to know that even the pros have crummy days. Sorry it was rough. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Week 2 Day 1 of 9th grade

 

Algebra - She is doing so well!  And her work is so much neater than her brother's was!

 

World Geography - Reading and answering questions.  She got north and south mixed up so messed up one question ;) but other than that did very well.  She's ordered a book from the library that she will use for a research assignment.

 

Biology - reading and answering questions.  She was really surprised when she got it all correct but she was doing careful work.  I actually did help her some when she asked, just to point her to the right part of the textbook.  I was actually impressed that I could answer the questions without having read the chapter!

 

Grammar - We're doing a gentle study but she is gaining confidence as we go.

 

Literature - This was easy today, which was nice because it had been a pretty heavy reading and question day for her in the above subjects.

 

Logic - Another gentle study.  She gleefully pointed out my red herrings when we were arguing on the way to picking up her brother from college.

 

Japanese - I'm cobbling together lessons I had designed years ago when I taught Japanese for a living with a textbook (Mirai).  I was a bit nervous about this for some reason but it went well.  She participated with great humor which helped. 

 

Ds - first day of college.  Traffic was pretty good so my nightmares about getting him there late didn't come to pass.  He likes his profs.  He said one required class is super easy and he did some of his other homework in the back of the classroom while he listened.  One course had the days listed wrong at registration but fortunately that won't impact too badly.  He did have an academic counseling session that he had to reschedule but that isn't a huge deal. 

[Tawlas]

Hi guys!  l just wanted to pop on to say I haven't abandonned ship, we're just taking our planned 2 week break for hunting/fishing/camping.  At least 2 out 4 kids have been gone all week - a few days it was all four!  We started mid-august just to have this time to breathe easy.  I feel like so much learning is going on and i don't have to stress about missed math and reading cause they did it already lol!

[Sahamamama]

I "liked" this because it's reassuring to know that even the pros have crummy days. Sorry it was rough. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

 

Mrs. R., that is sweet. Today I didn't feel like a "pro," that's for certain. Can nine-and-a-half year olds be hormonal? I mean, I expect some tears and a bit of eye-rolling from the 6th grader, but the 4th graders? Seriously?

 

You know, there really isn't that much pressure on these kids. I admit it, I am concerned that they are not growing in their ability to handle things, on par with peers, because nothing in their world -- except me -- actually forces them to grow up and be a bit tougher. Sure, they have chores, pets, assignments, and all that. They handle the chores and pets, no problem. They handle most of their independent work with ease. It's this ridiculous emotional over-reaction when they don't understand (or can't easily do) something new within the first five seconds. So you struggle a bit? Pull yourself together and work through your frustration. Don't be dominated by your feelings at every turn in the road.

 

I have spent the last month very gently saying, "Pull yourself together" or "Go dry your tears and come back" or "When you are ready to handle this, you may come back and get it done." One day it's one kid, the next day, it's another. Add that up, multiply by five, times 52 weeks, and I feel like this is more emotional management than I really want to do for the rest of the year. :blink: Don't anyone with teens tell me it gets worse, either! :toetap05:

 

Today was not very fun, KWIM?

 

And while I'm ranting.... I was telling my husband, "What could possibly be more gentle than a CLE math lesson?" I mean, it's like half of a new concept per day, plenty of hand-holding, plenty of review, and plenty of practice. They know this! They know that I am there, across the table, willing to walk through all these things with them, but the first split second that something seems "hard," cue the tears.

 

So, yes, it was Mom-Gives-a-Speech Day here. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better! :thumbup1:

[Sahamamama]

Hi guys!  l just wanted to pop on to say I haven't abandonned ship, we're just taking our planned 2 week break for hunting/fishing/camping.  At least 2 out 4 kids have been gone all week - a few days it was all four!  We started mid-august just to have this time to breathe easy.  I feel like so much learning is going on and i don't have to stress about missed math and reading cause they did it already lol!

 

Camping in September? Aren't you in Canada? Isn't it like 40 below something up there already?

http://www.explore-mag.com/the-top-25-campsites-in-canada

 

(I'm sure it's beautiful, wherever you are). :D

[Critterfixer]

My guys went through something like that around ten or so. At some point I remember having a conversation about how I would be wasting their time if I didn't give them things that were difficult to understand and required practice to master (read--you are going to have to do this math operation and think about it every time about a hundred times before it gets easy. Er.) We also discussed the obsession with having to do things perfectly and how I thought that didn't really do anybody much good personally. 

"You mean a B is okay?"

"Yes, kid, a B is not only fine, but lets me know I've got you right where you should be. Just the right amount of things you don't know but can master if you stay at it."

"Oh. Okay, then."

We talked about having our emotional response to the problem, and then being able to set that aside, and go back to look at the instructions again and the examples, and about how important it is to mess up a few times. A good way to learn is by making your mistakes (in a safe way) and learning from them. 

 

I don't know that the talk helped that much at the time, but I'll admit I'm proud when the boys read their stories to me, and scribble their own notes in the margins--"for the rewrite, Mom. This is only first draft." I hope it gives them a more relaxed outlook when it comes to more difficult assignments that you've got to get wrong four or five times before you can get it right.

[Critterfixer]

Today's schedule:

Home Ec-Scrambled eggs and toast. 

French- Ecoutez, Parlez 4 Unite 17, workbook

Latin-Third Form Latin Lesson 1 continued, 1 page of workbook, grammar recitation

Math-CLE 604 lesson 4, 1 page KTD

Grammar/Comp-Spelling copy words, make sentences using words, Grammar-KISS Grammar exercise 5, Writing-Day 2 of WWS. I can already see that it's a good thing for me to be right with them using this program, to keep them from getting too hung up on being exact in their outlines. We had a good discussion yesterday about different opinions on "the best way to write". I suggested that they may find that they don't do well with an outline in the planning phase of a project, but an outline will be necessary at some point in the editing process, so they might as well try the process out and see how they like it. I've got one boy that has my style (let the characters drive the action and never look much further ahead than the immediate scene) and the other boy will probably do very well with outlines (plot driven--that child knows exactly what will happen in every chapter and has every chapter labeled and numbered before he begins to write, the lucky dog!) It will be up to me to keep WWS very relaxed and open for interpretation.

History-OUP Voyages Cp 5, Additional Reading in G. Foster's Christopher Columbus (basically taking up where we left off this spring)

Science- McHenry's Elements, Cp 1, exercises 1,2,3, Additional Reading in Theodore Gray's Elements

Creative Writing- The Creative Writer Level 2, Lesson 1 on Plot, complete pt 1

 

Art- Artistic Pursuits, Unit 4, Lesson 4

 

Boys swap History/Science, Creative Writing/Art today.

 

For me: French, Latin, Geometry (I'm drawing isosceles triangles lately), Writing (1000+ words new manuscript and finish editing the short story--that's sixth draft and it was good to start with!) and Housekeeping. Writers' group tonight. :001_smile: 

Tomorrow I think we'll have outdoor school and go play in the creek for recreation.

[Sahamamama]

Thanks, Critter, I needed to hear all that. Now that I think about it, my oldest had the same reaction to Math about two years ago (4th). Now my twins will (at times, not always) become instantaneously frustrated with Math when something doesn't immediately click. I think there must be something about the age? Anyway, we talked about it yesterday, and I think today we can move forward.

 

Now for my oldest (6th), it's Composition that brings on tears of frustration (at times, not always). She wants to get it all in the first draft, even though she knows this isn't how writing works. We talked yesterday about how writing is such a process, how every writer worth her salt gets feedback (I told her about you, waiting on your feedback! :)), and how we grow as writers by being flexible and teachable. We talked about our available options for writing instruction: (1) continue to butt heads; (2) work it out; (3) take an online writing course, e.g., WTMA Writing; or (4) go to middle school. She chose Option #2. :D

 

So far, today is going well. I've exercised, the bunnies are fed, the kids are fed, I am fed, lunch is in the crock pot, supper is lined up, hubby is off to work, the kitchen is clean, and most importantly, I am on my second cup of coffee. Next up, shower, dress, put in some laundry, and get to work.

 

We plan to have a Science Morning -- science video (Chemistry 101), science chapter book (The Mystery of the Periodic Table), science reading (God's Design for Chemistry: POM), and some Hands-On Labs (science tools; metric). After that, we'll work on Composition (oldest), Math (all), piano practice (all), and independent reading assignments (all).

 

Today is mandatory nap day. :rolleyes: Once a week, they still need this. I'm hoping it helps with the emotional regulation, KWIM? If nothing else, it gives them time to be alone and quiet. Sleep or pray; either one is helpful.

[Critterfixer]

 

Now for my oldest (6th), it's Composition that brings on tears of frustration (at times, not always). She wants to get it all in the first draft, even though she knows this isn't how writing works. We talked yesterday about how writing is such a process, how every writer worth her salt gets feedback (I told her about you, waiting on your feedback!  :)), and how we grow as writers by being flexible and teachable. We talked about our available options for writing instruction: (1) continue to butt heads; (2) work it out; (3) take an online writing course, e.g., WTMA Writing; or (4) go to middle school. She chose Option #2.  :D

 

Tell her she has chosen the path of wisdom. Far better to wrestle with your writing in a way that gives you plenty of time to play with new tools, new ideas and decide what to use and where to use it.

And the stubborns will also serve her well. You've got to be a stubborn stick to hang in there for five or six drafts before polishing.

I just finished the sixth draft on a short story, and will probably go through two more before I'm satisfied with it.

 

ETA: I should mention that I have "loved" every draft I've written with this story. I just love it more with every new draft. So just because something is "good" on the first try, it doesn't mean that you ought to stop there. Writing is rewriting, and you learn so much from talking something already good and making it better.

Edited September 20, 2016 by Critterfixer

[Gentlemommy]

We are on vacation this week. Yesterday was a long driving day, and i just let them veg with dvd's so I could focus on driving. Their brains are probably mush by now. This morning we went swimming and played at the beach. We are having rest time now, but in an hour I'll have them do 'school'. Yes, much to my kids dismay, I brought some. I have small blank books for them to journal our week in-the 5 year old will draw a picture of our day and dictate a sentence to me. The 8 year old will draw and write 3 sentences about her picture. The 11 year old will journal a paragraph about our day. They will all play Prodigy Math for 20 minutes. They all have a book to read. DD5 will read to me for ten minutes, dd8 to herself for 30 minutes, and I don't need to monitor dd11, she will happily read for several hours. I plan to have them watch some history and science videos from New Dimensions. Should take about 90 minutes total. 

Edited September 20, 2016 by Gentlemommy

[mama25angels]

Ok, I'm missing some days here ladies, I could've sworn I posted in this thread over the weekend! We've been doing so so although yesterday was hard and several of us had crying spells. The day started with me taking an older child to work only to get there and learn that he didn't have his badge so back home we come to get said badge, which resulted in a late start for me and the younger crew. Off to piano lesson for one and then back home where I learn that the whole hour and a half that I was gone my 8th grader only got two subjects done TWO and not the hardest two either. So it has been agreed that we will be working on Saturday to make up for that lost day. Still haven't gotten my vehicle fixed, sigh.

[MrsRobinson]

We were off school yesterday so I could drive dh to a specialist that's 2 hours away. Plus an hour at the office, plus the required hang around town for an hour after the procedure, plus the 2 hour drive home with a stop every 30 minutes so dh could stretch made for a very long day.

 

The big kids went to a homeschool mom friend's house so they didn't have to tag along. The kids were handed a can of bug spray before heading to the woods. Dd apparently didn't use it and she is COVERED head to toe in bites. It's so bad that she is nauseous. I have heavy duty cream on her and I gave her Benadryl with breakfast, which put her right back to sleep until lunch. I guess no school for her today. I did our read aloud and she practiced piano before the medicine kicked in, so I guess she got more done than yesterday.

 

Ds did spray the bug spray on himself and he's fine! Lol! The 5 year old has more sense than the 8 year old! Kids! Anyway, he thoroughly enjoyed doing school this morning without any interruptions from his big sister. :) We did morning meeting, phonics, and math. And we read a stack of library books.

 

I did a few errands after ds's lessons and I've been cleaning since lunch. Deep cleaned the bathroom. Dusted, cleaned glass, and vacuumed my bedroom, the boys' bedroom, the hallway, and the living room.

 

Quiet time now. Dinner is leftovers from last night. Spaghetti, salad, and breadsticks. Early bedtime for the kids. They all need some extra rest. After they're in bed, I hope to do some homeschool planning ahead.

[Critterfixer]

 

 

The big kids went to a homeschool mom friend's house so they didn't have to tag along. The kids were handed a can of bug spray before heading to the woods. Dd apparently didn't use it and she is COVERED head to toe in bites. It's so bad that she is nauseous. I have heavy duty cream on her and I gave her Benadryl with breakfast, which put her right back to sleep until lunch. I guess no school for her today. I did our read aloud and she practiced piano before the medicine kicked in, so I guess she got more done than yesterday. 

I don't like that! Poor baby.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Tuesday

 

Algebra - still going really well.

 

World Geography - She did a project today where we looked up geographical information on our small city.  It was interesting.  I helped her with search terms on the internet.

 

Logic - This is fun.  Easy, but fun.

 

Grammar- Another surprise subject that is going so well!  Why did we struggle for years with this?

 

Biology - Critical thinking exercises today.  I'm happy that I am able to teach this so easily. :)

 

Literature - The Hobbit.  I still think that the lit. guide questions are a bit on the stupid side but it is going fine, so perhaps I shouldn't complain.

 

Japanese - This is coming together.  She's doing so well though that I have some homework tonight to get things together for tomorrow's lesson.

 

 

[Sahamamama]

But the big thing...DH sent me an email at 5pm....he's going to Mexico for 6 days leaving on Thursday.  Which set off a flurry of looking stuff up, getting stuff together, etc.  And then again today, phone calls to the bank, to the doc to get a travel letter for his CPAP, etc etc etc.  He has to fly out of an airport that is 2 hrs from our house, at 6am, which means he has to be at the airport at 4am.  Which means leaving our house at 2am Thursday morning.  So, tonight, he comes home, eats, then packs up.  Tomorrow, he comes home and eats quickly, then goes to bed so that he can be awake enough for a 2am drive.  Once he gets on the plane he can sleep again but ultimately, it's going to be a really long day for him.  Then, he will be working straight through the weekend, and not flying back until Tuesday...and he has a FIVE hour layover in Houston on his way back. 

 

Now, because he's going to be gone so long and because the timing of the trip is bad for...some reasons...we will likely be up late tonight.  Not too late because he still has to get up early tomorrow, but..yeah.  Anyway, that means that the kids and I are probably not going to get started tomorrow until like 9 or 10.  We have no where we need to go so that's ok, but we might be doing school until like 3 or 4. 

 

Hey, this sounds like my life! :) Welcome to my crazy world. It's an adventure here. My hubby does this all the time. You kind of get used to it, more or less. We had to finally just decide to proceed with our plans, whether he is here or not. We also have to make plans that we can actually handle, indefinitely, when he is gone, because we never know when he will come home. He does come home, we just never know when. So I leave a lot of margin. A lot of margin. Survival Tip #1 is "leave a wide margin."

 

Would I like to help out with the children's ministry at church? No, thanks.

 

Would I like to help out with the prison ministry? No, thanks.

 

Would I like to join a small group or Bible study? No, thanks.

 

Would I like to make meals for new mothers? Sometimes yes, but mostly, no.

 

Do I sign the kids up for tons of activities? Nope. Only church midweek (which is my sanity break) and choir (which I am willing to do because the girls like it).

 

Do I plan field trips and outings? Not many. We are home, we work at home, we can handle life at home better than we can if we are running all over the place.

 

Have we ever joined a co-op or cottage classes? Never, and with our life the way it is, we never will.

 

He leaves for six days, you get to do ALL THE THINGS. All. So pace yourself, and use quiet times/naps to your advantage, if you can. You can't wear out, when your husband is in Mexico, KWIM? There is no cavalry coming to help me, I learned that a long time ago. I do pray, and God does help me, but human help-wise, it's all on me when he's gone. Hence, the margins.

 

It's okay, though. Our resilience and determination can grow, like anything else. Keep it all as simple as you can, and you will be okay. HTH. :grouphug:

 

Edited to add: Also, if this becomes a regular occurrence, you can teach your children to help you with "all the things." :) Laundry round-up, trash round-up, meal jobs, meal clean up, dusting, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, stocking things around the house, cleaning sinks, bringing in and putting away groceries, simple yard work, folding and putting away laundry, caring for pets, personal hygiene, independent school work, and so on. Even when my husband is home, I insist that the girls continue with their chores, because if he's home too long (he's very helpful), and they get out of the habit, it's harder when he does disappear for me to carry the load alone. So when he's home, I'll ask him to help with BRAWNY and MANLY things, like, "Could you please carry the air conditioner down the stairs, Dear?" My nine year old can't do that! :laugh: She can unload the dishwasher.

Edited September 21, 2016 by Sahamamama

[Critterfixer]

 

 So I leave a lot of margin. A lot of margin. Survival Tip #1 is "leave a wide margin."

 

And the choir says, "Amen!" :laugh:

[Sahamamama]

Would I like to make meals for new mothers? Sometimes yes, but mostly, no.

 

Yes, I am quoting myself. Okay.... here it is. My admission.

 

When someone asks me, "Would you like to make meals for new mothers?" I have to resist the urge to say, "No, thanks, but if you have a meal ministry for tired, old mothers, I would like to sign up for that. I'm doing low-carb these days, and I can't digest raw garlic. Sauteed garlic is fine."

[Sahamamama]

Oh, and we had a great day today. Science Morning was a smashing success. Composition and Math went well. Independent work was accomplished. Twins took a short nap, no complaints. Oldest had a quiet time, no complaints. Meals were good, kitchen is cleaned up, bunnies are nibbling hay, kids are in bed. My herbal tea is brewing, and hubby wants to chat, so I'm signing off.

 

Tonight is Early Bedtime for All People.

 

No tears all day.

[Critterfixer]

Today is school at the creek day. Wish me luck. I'm taking a laundry basket full of things, a can of bug spray, and lunch along with the little boats and two excited paddlers. We'll see how this goes. :willy_nilly:

[MrsRobinson]

Today is school at the creek day. Wish me luck. I'm taking a laundry basket full of things, a can of bug spray, and lunch along with the little boats and two excited paddlers. We'll see how this goes. :willy_nilly:

That sounds like so much fun! Challenging for you, maybe, but I bet days like this will be happy memories for the boys for years to come. :)

[MrsRobinson]

Today we did piano practice and math. That's it. But math ballooned into this huge thing. A unit on measurement was right up dd's alley, apparently. We ended up measuring all the people in the family, windows, doors, furniture, appliances, everything. She recorded all the measurements and after a decent variety, I had her guesstimate before we measured so she could start "seeing" it mentally.

 

Then we had a whole thing on miles and I taught her how to set up directions on Google maps to see how many miles away from home our regular stops are. Grocery store, library, park, music shop, bff's house, etc. Then we did further things like our favorite weekend trips, grandad's house, etc. Then places we've flown to like Seattle, New York, Florida. She could then understand why we flew instead of driving!

 

Then she did a bunch of word problems calculating total miles, difference in miles driven per day, and more.

 

Although we didn't do any other school subjects, I feel most accomplished about today over any other day so far this year. She was interested and engaged. It was very kinesthetic. We got the boys involved helping her measure things and they thought it was a hoot! I wish all the days could be like this!

[mama25angels]

Good day today!! I was up early and went to the grocery store and got food so, didn't have to break up my day, got my workout done. We got math, Latin, history, literature done for the older one. The younger got math, Spanish, geography, cursive,copywork and music practice for the younger one. Morning time was awesome today!! I was able to get the accident report and get it uploaded for the insurance company after getting the run around yesterday. I was also escorted into the 21st century by my Ds, he downloaded my banks Mobil app to my phone and I was able to despoil a check (with his help) from the comfort of my home.

[Critterfixer]

Back from creek school. It went pretty well. 

The first half of the day was spent playing musical picnic tables as we tried to stay ahead of the sun. It was pretty hot today. We had a variety of caterpillars trying to do Latin with us. The place was almost completely deserted, and it was so quiet except for the birds and the many flies and yellow jackets that descended on us when it was clear that we had lunch to eat...

Once we fought those off, we finished our writing, trying to stay out of the sun again. But everyone was motivated by the sunny, green water waiting for us. The boys got done just after lunch, and paddled and swam the rest of the afternoon. I watched, did some writing, and then decided to go swimming. Now I'd already noted two fairly large snakes swimming across the water, so I was keeping a eye out. I was happily splashing, then I chanced to look over a little pile of rocks that kids usually like to sit on, and there was a head sticking up out of the water. Turtle? Nope. Snake. Water snake, not a cottonmouth, but all the same....we were kind of done then. :mellow:

Hazards of living and swimming in snake country. :laugh:

[mama25angels]

Critter, your day sounded fantastic, with the exception of the snake, lol. I hate snakes!

[Sahamamama]

Yep, he's gone out of town several times already this year, this is just the first time he's gong out of country lol.  But it's likely this is going to happen more often in the next several months or so at least.  And this is the longest he will be gone so far.  Next year there might be a 2 week trip at some point. 

 

Yeah, it's a lifestyle. When my husband came home one day and said, "I'm going to Oregon for three weeks, and I'm leaving in two days," I was like :svengo: . Then I went straight to the laundry room and put in a load of his clothes, inventoried the food and toilet paper and handed him a shopping list, checked the gas level in the van, asked him if the bills were paid, etc., etc., etc. Off he went, three weeks away, but he did bring back some very nice blackberry jam! :)

 

It's harder if he's in another time zone, especially Pacific (we're on the East Coast). We haven't done anything international yet. I think that with his "new" job now, he won't be traveling as much, thank God. I admit it, I was starting to wear out a bit. When it's just the girls and me, day after day after day, I feel like I'm not "enough." I begin to feel sorry for my kids, stuck with their tired, old mother all the time. Their father is the lively one, LOL. He's :biggrinjester:  and :thumbup1: . I'm :toetap05: and :nopity: . Out of necessity, I think, but I don't know that a child could see it that way. Hang in there, Happy Smiley. This, too, shall pass. It may pass like a kidney stone, but it will pass. :laugh:

[Sahamamama]

Today is school at the creek day. Wish me luck. I'm taking a laundry basket full of things, a can of bug spray, and lunch along with the little boats and two excited paddlers. We'll see how this goes. :willy_nilly:

 

Going by your photo, Critter, I think the school work is going to get a bit wet. Or muddy. Or both. Just sayin'.

[Sahamamama]

Water snake, not a cottonmouth, but all the same....we were kind of done then. :mellow:

Hazards of living and swimming in snake country. :laugh:

 

:leaving:   That would do me in, too. I don't want to deal with a snake. My mother is even worse. She runs when she sees a snake on television. :laugh:

 

We have about 24 species of snakes here, and two are venomous, the Northern Copperhead and the Timber Rattlesnake. You wouldn't expect to see a rattlesnake in New Jersey, now would you?

 

http://www.wildlifecontrolexperts.com/snakes.htm

 

We seem to have a steady population of Eastern Black Rat Snakes here on our property, all of which were discovered by me while doing yard work. This is part of why I now decline to do yard work. I feel that, in all fairness, I need to let my husband have his own opportunities for finding the snakes.

Edited September 22, 2016 by Sahamamama

[Critterfixer]

Mostly the day was wet. But I kept them out of the creek until everything involving paper was finished. I'm not always so restrained. I've got plenty of notebooks with wet spots from all the times I have to go jump in the creek to refocus my vision on whatever story I'm writing at the time.

 

Today, we are staying in.

Schedule:

French-Unite 18, workbook

Latin-continue lesson 1, grammar recitation, workbook

Math-1 page KTD, Quiz

Grammar/Comp-Spelling-practice, sentences; KISS grammar exercise, Free Write

History/Science-swap from yesterday

Art/Creative writing-swap from yesterday

[Critterfixer]

We have Eastern Rattlesnakes, some Westerns, Water Mocs (don't like them much-they get snappish), Copperheads, and I think that's it. There are Coral Snakes, but they are way down in the south part of the state, not up here.

New Jersey surprises a lot of people. Nobody expects to think farms in New Jersey, but my understanding is that it's very good farmland, with lots of farms. I suspect that there are more black bears up there than down here, too.

[MrsRobinson]

We did piano practice, morning meeting and ds's phonics lesson before heading out for allergy shots. Dd did spelling and we did our read aloud while waiting after the shots. Dh called and asked us to bring him lunch. (First day back to work!) That took forever because the kids didn't want to leave the job site. Baby fell asleep on the way home so I cleaned out the car and picked up the front porch while he napped in the car.

 

I'm ready for a nap but trying to find the motivation to keep going with lessons. It's so hard to start back up in the afternoon after a huge interuption. I also need to go grocery shopping but the baby falling asleep in the car derailed that. I'm not sure which I'd rather do... school work or grocery shopping? Neither! I still want a nap! Lol!

[mama25angels]

Today was a great day!! Co op was awesome, we got nearly everything on our list done and there were no tears, only smiles!

[Jean in Newcastle]

I'm struggling from not getting enough sleep.

 

College (all of one week now) is going great for ds.  He has found two musical soul mates in his music theory class and they jammed together on their electric guitars.  Now they are looking for a drummer.

 

Dd :

 

Algebra - She started out doing every single problem wrong.  So I looked to see what it was, explained exponents to her again and this time she got most of them correct.  I think we need to review this some more. 

 

Grammar - 80% on her test..  She was getting 100% on the daily work so she understands it. 

 

World Geography - another test.  She got 78% on this one.  She said that it covered a lot of material not even in the book.  I need to look at the book to see if this is true. 

 

Literature - Great work on similes. 

 

Japanese - we worked on writing.  I found a good site for printing out practice pages.  

 

Biology - we did this orally in the car while driving to pick up ds from the college which was shut down early because of a power outage.

 

no Logic today. 

[Sahamamama]

We had a pretty good day. Someone is still struggling a bit, but we're working through it. Kids had choir practice. That's about it for our news. :)

[mama25angels]

Critter, I have a few questions for you, I know I've asked before but can't remember the answers, lol. So, here goes again, how many weeks on do you do before your week off? If you miss a day during your weeks on, do you make it up during the off week or do you just enjoy your week off? Do you do any loop or block scheduling? Do you do any type of review when you start your next session? Do you have any requirements for things to do during your time off? I'm asking because I know my oldest would try to play video games the whole week and then would be a bear when we stared work again. Do you allow them to sleep in during the week off? Again, my oldest would try to sleep until noon and then would be a nightmare to get up when we restarted lessons.

[Critterfixer]

 

Critter, I have a few questions for you, I know I've asked before but can't remember the answers, lol. So, here goes again, how many weeks on do you do before your week off? If you miss a day during your weeks on, do you make it up during the off week or do you just enjoy your week off? Do you do any loop or block scheduling? Do you do any type of review when you start your next session? Do you have any requirements for things to do during your time off? I'm asking because I know my oldest would try to play video games the whole week and then would be a bear when we stared work again. Do you allow them to sleep in during the week off? Again, my oldest would try to sleep until noon and then would be a nightmare to get up when we restarted lessons. 

 

 

I usually do about six weeks before we take a week off. That varies a little, but it's between 6-8 on average.

If I miss a day during weeks on, it doesn't affect the week off. We'll still take a week at that time.

No loop or block scheduling. We alternate History/Science between boys, and one day is a light day with just core subjects.

Nope. Just start up where we left off. I do try to finish a light unit for Math before each break. It's easier to start the next session with a fresh math book. Ditto for Latin. I don't want to leave off right before a quiz.

No requirements for the boys. About the only requirement I have is that they leave me alone to write a solid two hours a day when I'm on a break. I have that requirement during school weeks, but it's loosely enforced. For whatever reason, we just never got into video games at the house. The boys like to play them at their Nana's house, but it's just not a big thing for them. There's probably some personality thing at work there. I'm not a fan, and DH liked the arcade games and never got into personal video game systems. The boys like to get around him and watch him play PacMan on the computer. It's sort of their evening bonding. But the boys don't want to play. They just want to watch and tell Dad what to do next. :tongue_smilie:

They can sleep in if they want. I try to. Most of the time the boys don't let me. However, I turn into a pumpkin around nine, so the boys don't stay up past nine most nights. So we have a pretty regular sleep/wake cycle most of the time.

 

Truth is, those weeks off are for my sanity. If they left me feeling down and unhappy, or caused the kids to have a bad time on the first week back, I wouldn't do them, I'd just try to keep normal weekend hours.

 

[Critterfixer]

Yet another Friday off. So we'll do school. Today is DH's birthday. There's a kind of family celebration this weekend, but we'll have a little cooking project and make something for him as part of class today.

 

Today's schedule:

French-Unit 18, workbook

Latin-Continue Lesson 1, review vocabulary

Math-Lesson 6, 1 page KTD

Grammar/Comp-Spelling quiz, grammar exercise, I may have them revise a scene in one of their old fiction projects for fun.

Logic-work on the first chapter together.

Cooking-I'm thinking cookies. Not sure I want to mess with a cake today, but we'll see what the boys have in mind.

 

Me: French, Latin, Geometry, Housekeeping, a little cooking, and writing, always writing.

[Sahamamama]

We have Eastern Rattlesnakes, some Westerns, Water Mocs (don't like them much-they get snappish), Copperheads, and I think that's it. There are Coral Snakes, but they are way down in the south part of the state, not up here. New Jersey surprises a lot of people. Nobody expects to think farms in New Jersey, but my understanding is that it's very good farmland, with lots of farms. I suspect that there are more black bears up there than down here, too.

 

Agriculture/food production is our third largest industry: http://jerseyfresh.nj.gov/facts/

 

Our nickname is "The Garden State." Our farms feed Philadelphia and New York City.

 

Where I live (NW NJ), we have signs on some roads that say, "WARNING: Active Bear Area."

 

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/bearfacts.htm

 

They do live here, but we haven't had them on our property (that we know of). I've never seen tracks or scat, in any case. We have (once) seen them in the woods nearby, a mother and two cubs.

 

Some people get black bears in their swimming pools. My cousins had to watch out for their little dogs. You really can't leave garbage out, but why would you do that in the country, anyway? Even when we lived in the city, we had raccoons and skunks all the time! One summer night, my husband and I were relaxing in the living room, with the front door open. I heard a sound on the front porch, looked up, and there was a large raccoon, just standing on his hind legs and checking us out (through the screen door). He stood there quite a while, then ambled down the steps, across the street, and into the woods.

 

Early one morning, on his way to work, my husband was almost sprayed by a skunk hiding under his car. He came back in the house, all out of breath. "What's wrong?" "There's a skunk under my car!" LOL. Those were the days. :laugh: Life in the city.

 

Now, out here in the boonies of NW NJ, we have all of that and more. Snakes. Assassin bugs. Black bears. Peacocks! Turns out, the neighbors across the road have peacocks.

 

If you haven't heard the call of a nearby male peacock, in the dark, at the end of your driveway, while you're checking the mail with your tiny, 50-lumen flashlight, you haven't lived. Better than Alfred Hitchcock. Clears out sinuses, and all sorts of other things.

[mama25angels]

Critter, happy birthday to your dh! And thank you so much for your answers they were helpful.