Critterfixer Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 Morning. I am exceedingly grumpy. It's a zillion degrees and damp as the inside of a geyser. So hot and humid. This is the month that makes me want to live far, far underground where the sun never goes. I might be the only reader in the world who completely got Gollum and why the Misty Mountains were so attractive to him. LOL. Today--do my level best not to bite heads off. Catch up the laundry (might as well--its humid already and nothing will dry anyway). Get some writing done. Deal with book pile in the room while I'm mad enough to throw out half the world. Take a million showers to wash the sweat off, because it won't evaporate. Cook nothing. Take about thirty minutes to meditate on a cold day in December to soothe my frayed nerves. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 critterfixer, I'd send a hug, but in the stifling heat let's just air-kiss, yes? Already feels like quite a day here: couldn't sleep well 'cause of re-hashing Church Disaster & thinking of elder DS health troubles & school planning/setting up & the World generally. DH is stressed by various things. So, today's goal: be flexible and creative in bringing peace & joy. Which, for my little brood, requires a good amount of structure and involves rather a lot of: cleaning; planning; exercise; making food for elder DS; gardening. Pokemon day for younger DS, boys have composition & Anki & piano & Latin review today -- Saturday is our restful day. If I can spend an hour working hard on the planning, I'll call it good for today. Any more I should only do after everybody's gotten exercise & food is made. We are fortunate that, 'round here, today is not too-hot-to-cook. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted August 11, 2019 Author Share Posted August 11, 2019 Never fails--just when I most need a hot stew, cornbread, and apple pie to imitate a fall day, it's way too hot to cook! The boy lost a big pumpkin today to vine borers, and thus I spent an hour of time working through some videos for prevention next year, which sort of went over his head because he was too mad about losing one or two fruits this year. Gah. But maybe he'll calm down and think about life cycles and prevention for next year, and we'll get a giant pumpkin or two. We did better this year than we ever had. But not good enough without a 100+ pound pumpkin to show for it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted August 11, 2019 Share Posted August 11, 2019 (edited) ooooh: have a theme song for planning today! Christopher Tin's theme song for Civilization VI, Sogno di Volare. On a more somber note: please share with your son my condolences on his lost pumpkin. We lost a crop of min-pumpkins to rats a few years back, very demoralizing, and they weren't even super awesome giant impressive gourds like your child lost. (and I bet he'll get more pro-active and less reactive over the next year -- I can't believe you've already troubleshot the problem so thoroughly!) Edited August 11, 2019 by serendipitous journey 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted August 11, 2019 Author Share Posted August 11, 2019 I hope we have it for next year. It's not like there won't be another problem next year, but he does have some really impressive fruit this year, so losing one of his favorites is hard. Next year we trap crop with Hubbards, do the cup trick with the young plants in pots, and then do the tin-foil wrap when we plant the vines in the garden. We'll try it with a few of our favorites and see if we can't get some good specimens. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted August 12, 2019 Author Share Posted August 12, 2019 (edited) Morning. It's still a steam room outside this morning. One boy is out watering the garden, the other has started schoolwork. I have already made the ice run for the chickens cooling tower that we make for them twice a day when it's hot like this. Two more days... My plan for today--clean one room in the house, draft, and possibly work on a synopsis for one of my completed novels, and start the synopsis for the one I am currently finishing. I've got a phone call to make later today, and some emailing to do, and I need to sit down with my fall calendar and figure out when I want to go to work on the third draft of my current project so I can get critique partners lined up. Also, I need to cook. So a full day ahead. ETA: Done--cleaning, phone calls, calendar work, waiting on emails until later this week. Cooking is done, but I didn't want to eat it. Drafting is almost done. I think I can get another five hundred words or so out of the day, and call it good. I won't get to the synopses today, but that's okay. Edited August 12, 2019 by Critterfixer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeaganS Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 It's steamy here too. And I have to mow our 1.5 acres sometime today. It's supposed to be 91 degrees at 6pm, so I'm obviously looking forward to that. I think I'll wait until just before sundown when it is mostly shady. We're actually almost done with school for the day. I feel like I've been rocking school lately and am making up for the spring when we were busy moving and did hardly anything. I also have to run all the errands. So many errands. Pool store, aldi, library, Walmart, target probably, Sam's club. So that will be our afternoon. I also made a dozen hardboiled eggs for snacks this week. Our chickens have been laying so much that I have to stay on top of using them. In the car we'll listen to our weekly 2 chapters of SOTW. This week is local back to school. Our new homeschool group is having a big picnic tomorrow and dd3 starts a dance class Wednesday. So it feels like it is going to be busier than usual for our standard not busy life. I also plan on working up on my popup camper so we can start taking camping trips again in a few weeks when it cools down a bit and campgrounds around us are less full. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 Morning! We are trucking along. Elder DS health seems improving, hurrah! OTOH teenagerness compounds many things. We are on "term break" through Wednesday, picking up with Term 1 -- which I've dubbed "Getting Up STEAM" -- on Thursday. So today: planning mode, cleaning, garden chores, exercise all round, get dinner &c done in time for D&D tonight. Some e-mail I need to churn through. My main goal on planning is to draft our work up through the "organization" stage so that tomorrow my ducks are in a row to find necessary materials and note what we don't have, and come up with a gist for what we'll be doing Thursday and Friday. And to be sane & joyful. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeaganS Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 Mowed! School done! Load of laundry washed and dried! All errands run. Now trying to psych myself up to go make dinner. It may be a "lunch for dinner" kind of day. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted August 13, 2019 Author Share Posted August 13, 2019 Morning. I would love some storms. Instead, we have the third day of bad heat, but it might be my imagination, but I think it was cooler this morning than it was yesterday morning. Hopeful it won't be as bad today? I got ice for the chickens anyway. Today's goals: Write around 3,000 words, a little cleaning, work on the fall housekeeping schedule, and writers' meeting. Not too much today. Boys have Algebra and Latin. We aren't due to start fall term until next week, so I'm taking most of this week to get ready for next week. But even then, I'm likely to ease into things. No hurry. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeaganS Posted August 13, 2019 Share Posted August 13, 2019 Today is local back to school. I'm so excited for them all to go back and for the city to be a little more empty during the day. We joined a big homeschool group this year (sort of a co-op but mostly playgroup/field trips and nothing required from me). Today they're having a big back to school picnic, so we'll go to that. We're only doing about 2/3 school today. I did just pack us all lunches for the picnic and thought it ironic that I was packing lunches on the first day of school even though we're homeschoolers. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted August 13, 2019 Share Posted August 13, 2019 (edited) Today is remarkably like yesterday, but no D&D tonight. I'm bullet-pointing to help keep me focused: planning -- do as much as I can today while getting other essentials done: loop plans; weekly & daily schedules basic "procedures" for stuff that's fairly open-and-go with repetitive lessons (as in, do the next page; or read & outline & find places on a map) more-detailed "lesson plans" for stuff that's not organize resources: reaching this step is my goal for today communicate & implement -- get a list system going for the boys, double-check that they can do what they need to do visualize & review -- I can't review our plans until we've tried them, so I'm aiming to get to visualization by the end of day Wednesday so we can start Thursday. If necessary we can start Friday which unfortunately sounds so good to me that I don't think I'm properly motivated to finish planning. 😮 exercise for elder & younger & me, some running for me by myself clean garden: water, gypsum & mulch down maybe dinner play Legends of Andor with boys after lunch read-aloud at lunch & snack deal with e-mail: Greek stuff; Thanksgiving invite; dog breeder note; SA; other? ETA: @Critterfixer and @happysmileylady : you guys are my saving grace this morning! CritterFixer's "no hurry" is such a balm to reflect on, and happysmileylady, you're list of school-prep stuff is something I'm going to refer to myself to help get us up & running. ETA2: elder DS unwell today. 😞 Edited August 13, 2019 by serendipitous journey 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted August 13, 2019 Author Share Posted August 13, 2019 I did my 2000 words, and got laundry and dishes done. No cooking today. I'm still not feeling great, so I'm going to clean the laundry room instead of the kitchen. It needs to be done, and it's small, so I can finish in less than an hour. Then I'm going to lie down and rest before meeting tonight. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted August 13, 2019 Share Posted August 13, 2019 (edited) Both boys are crying. I can hardly keep from laughing, our current situation is so ridiculous: mostly through our between-term break, playing a board game (well, we were trying to) and now everything is crazy. !!!! very much Real Life. Edited August 13, 2019 by serendipitous journey 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted August 14, 2019 Author Share Posted August 14, 2019 Morning. Today's plan is to stay cool and keep on keeping on. Boys have Math and Latin. I have one room to clean and declutter a shelf or something. Also writing, planning, and an afternoon rest. I'm still not feeling good, and I think an afternoon rest would be helpful. A little cooking today, but it's mostly hands off. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted August 14, 2019 Author Share Posted August 14, 2019 I'm thinking about adding Logic this year. We tried it earlier, but it just wasn't something the guys were ready for. Sadly, they didn't read the book that said they should be mature enough to handle it in seventh and eighth grade.😂 But they are emerging from the grumpy freshman year, in which everything had to be streamlined, and pretty much non-mom involved to keep the peace. I think we'll give it a try this year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeaganS Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 School day today. Dd3 has her first day at dance class this morning. A lady at church is teaching them out of her home this year and it is very I expensive. Since I just want her to have fun, it's perfect. I'm planning on leaving the older girls at home for the hour I'm gone, working on school, so that should be interesting. Its hot and muggy again today, so we'll probably swim this afternoon. But other than that, I'm hoping it is a quiet day. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 (edited) Good morning! Today: planning hecticness -- I'm getting very little done, elder DS is unwell and when I'm not tending him (enroute to him) younger DS needs some attention. Very little work got done yesterday. Copying from earlier this week, editing a bit: planning -- do as much as I can today while getting other essentials done: loop plans; weekly & daily schedules: this taking forever!!!!! basic "procedures" for stuff that's fairly open-and-go with repetitive lessons (as in, do the next page; or read & outline & find places on a map) more-detailed "lesson plans" for stuff that's not organize resources: reaching this step is my goal for today communicate & implement -- get a list system going for the boys, double-check that they can do what they need to do visualize & review -- I can't review our plans until we've tried them, so I'm aiming to get to visualization by the end of day Wednesday so we can start Thursday. If necessary we can start Friday which unfortunately sounds so good to me that I don't think I'm properly motivated to finish planning. 😮 exercise for elder & younger & me, some running for me by myself clean garden: water, gypsum & mulch down maybe lunch with DH dinner deal with e-mail: Greek stuff; Thanksgiving invite; dog breeder note; SA; other? Edited August 15, 2019 by serendipitous journey 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted August 14, 2019 Author Share Posted August 14, 2019 School Curriculum Math—Geometry CLE, Key to Algebra M-F Latin—Henle Latin 2 M-F Modern Foreign Language—Breaking the Barrier, Beginning French M, W, F History/Literature—Story of the Ancient World M, W, F Writing/Literature—Classical Writing M-F Science—Tarbuck’s Geology T, R Art—Story of Art, drawing and painting class T, R Elective—Life Skills/Driver’s Ed M, W, F Various texts from the library, cookbooks, organizational helps, studies in leisure Elective—Traditional Logic T, R And there we go. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted August 14, 2019 Author Share Posted August 14, 2019 (edited) Oh, I forgot PE and health...hmm. Perhaps I'll run my turtles down the driveway a couple of times a week and let them kayak every weekend that it doesn't rain. Edited August 14, 2019 by Critterfixer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, Critterfixer said: Oh, I forgot PE and health...hmm. Perhaps I'll run my turtles down the driveway a couple of times a week and let them kayak every weekend that it doesn't rain. You know it! I used to race actual turtles! (way back in the day ... it was a kid's event at the annual Rattlesnake Festival) I run my current pair of turtles up the drive & down the road a bit, they are not really into the running yet. We aren't set up for kayaking: that is a wonderful PE. ETA: the plans look awesome. 🙂 Edited August 15, 2019 by serendipitous journey 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted August 15, 2019 Author Share Posted August 15, 2019 Morning. Tweaked the plan a little bit to better fit the way the curriculum lays out a week (four days) vs five, and that ended up giving us a half-day on Thursday, which looks like a nice break. There's still Math, Art, and Logic on Thursday, but it's a light day, and allows for some time at the lake or river on very nice days--or days that I don't decide we should do school out there, and then play the rest of the day. Bought notebooks last night for some subjects. Today we have art, I need to write around 3,000 words, and then sweep the house. No heavy cleaning today. I will probably go through science and set it up over the upcoming weeks. The easier it is to just reference a sheet and set up what needs to be done on a weekly basis, the easier the year will be for all of us. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeaganS Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 Today is the first day of dh's 7 days off. He works 7 on and 7 off, and homeschooling is always a little harder with him home, usually for me, not the kids. Today he has stuff to catch up on this morning, though, so he shouldn't distract me too badly. I've got at least two girls who are a little bit grumpy and whiny about doing their work this morning and the beginnings of a headache, so today looks promising. I've been working on my popup camper the last few days, so it is set up and I have a few things still to do today, mostly some very minor plumbing. Maybe I'll just go sit out there on my own if the girls drive me too crazy. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeaganS Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 (edited) I've been wanting to get some kayaks for us now that the girls are a little older, but haven't bit the bullet yet. I did just get us outfitted so we can all ride bikes together. Thank you Facebook Marketplace. I got about a $1000 of bike stuff for about $225 total. With 3 kid riders, myself, and a bike trailer for th 3yo, with all helmets, etc., it adds up. Maybe once it isn't a sauna outside we can use them a bit more. Edited August 15, 2019 by MeaganS 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, Critterfixer said: ... I will probably go through science and set it up over the upcoming weeks. The easier it is to just reference a sheet and set up what needs to be done on a weekly basis, the easier the year will be for all of us. Critterfixer, may I ask how you set up for the Tarbuck's? or if you've posted/know of a post on this, would you mind pointing me toward it sometime? Your plan looks really wonderful. Those are terrific resources you are using, and it is so good to see a how a high school mama allows some give/open-ended time in the schedule. Today: oh my already! Day 2 of heat wave here; house already rather a mess b/c of my frantic planning days + got up early to beat the heat and bake food elder DS can eat, so it isn't even 9 AM yet but my kitchen has that lived-in look. It is technically first day of term. Language Arts, math, art, piano, Latin review, go over Greek alphabet, read-alouds today. Exercise & stabilize home so that sweet, stressed DH comes home to something vaguely restorative. Edited August 15, 2019 by serendipitous journey 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted August 15, 2019 Author Share Posted August 15, 2019 1 hour ago, serendipitous journey said: Critterfixer, may I ask how you set up for the Tarbuck's? or if you've posted/know of a post on this, would you mind pointing me toward it sometime? Your plan looks really wonderful. Those are terrific resources you are using, and it is so good to see a how a high school mama allows some give/open-ended time in the schedule. Today: oh my already! Day 2 of heat wave here; house already rather a mess b/c of my frantic planning days + got up early to beat the heat and bake food elder DS can eat, so it isn't even 9 AM yet but my kitchen has that lived-in look. It is technically first day of term. Language Arts, math, art, piano, Latin review, go over Greek alphabet, read-alouds today. Exercise & stabilize home so that sweet, stressed DH comes home to something vaguely restorative. Well, I have no clue how I'm going to do it, other than let them read, learn the definitions, and work through the chapter questions at the end for review. As to how long that will take, hard to say. I'm thinking maybe three sessions per chapter? One for reading the chapter overview, the definitions, and preparing to read, then a session of reading, and then review questions and study on the third session. Then maybe an oral test or written test based on what I put together after reading the chapter myself. Maybe. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, Critterfixer said: Well, I have no clue how I'm going to do it, other than let them read, learn the definitions, and work through the chapter questions at the end for review. As to how long that will take, hard to say. I'm thinking maybe three sessions per chapter? One for reading the chapter overview, the definitions, and preparing to read, then a session of reading, and then review questions and study on the third session. Then maybe an oral test or written test based on what I put together after reading the chapter myself. Maybe. Thank you! That is how I was thinking I'd run our next science textbook. Except I've never managed to get a chapter test made, and the pre-reading + definition session is not one I'd thought of but it is very sensible and a nice concrete way to approach pre-reading (which is always a tough sell around here). It is so good to see your approach! Edited August 15, 2019 by serendipitous journey 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeaganS Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 So DH just got his schedule for the holidays. It looks like he works 11 straight days over Christmas. But he has 11 straight days off over Thanksgiving. Of course that means that I just spent the last 2 hours planning an epic road trip to use his time off. 🙂 This road trip has him participating for 11 of 19 total days (him flying home at that point) and me and the kids for the entire 19 days. It includes camping at Grand Canyon, Zion, and Death Valley national parks and visiting family in Las Vegas and Salt Lake City (we live in Arkansas for reference). I love planning huge trips like this. 60% chance we actually go, but it's been a fun 2 hours. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted August 15, 2019 Author Share Posted August 15, 2019 3 hours ago, serendipitous journey said: Thank you! That is how I was thinking I'd run our next science textbook. Except I've never managed to get a chapter test made, and the pre-reading + definition session is not one I'd thought of but it is very sensible and a nice concrete way to approach pre-reading (which is always a tough sell around here). It is so good to see your approach! Well, I thought I would probably cheat and just borrow from the concept questions, LOL. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted August 15, 2019 Author Share Posted August 15, 2019 3 hours ago, MeaganS said: So DH just got his schedule for the holidays. It looks like he works 11 straight days over Christmas. But he has 11 straight days off over Thanksgiving. Of course that means that I just spent the last 2 hours planning an epic road trip to use his time off. 🙂 This road trip has him participating for 11 of 19 total days (him flying home at that point) and me and the kids for the entire 19 days. It includes camping at Grand Canyon, Zion, and Death Valley national parks and visiting family in Las Vegas and Salt Lake City (we live in Arkansas for reference). I love planning huge trips like this. 60% chance we actually go, but it's been a fun 2 hours. Nice! I can't remember if I've said, but we are in Arkansas, too! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 (edited) Second day of term. Very similar to yesterday 🙂 so: Language Arts, math, art, piano, Latin review, go over Greek alphabet, read-alouds, Anki, exercise & keep trying to get housework in line -- yesterday there were dishes piled high all day because, well, school + sick elder DS. Prioritizing school has its ups & downs for sure. Also today a mid-day run by the library, pick up corn dogs from our favorite burger place on the way home. This weekend I'd like to prep science & history to add in. Edited August 16, 2019 by serendipitous journey 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted August 17, 2019 Share Posted August 17, 2019 (edited) today: planning. I need to plan our science for the term at least, and our week. And then just keep everything else stable. Huge happiness: my planning totally paid off for school on Thurs & Fri!!!! We got so much done, despite elder DS health issues, and with fairly little stress b/c of our "just do the next thing until it is time to stop" approach, and having it all figured out ahead of time. !!!! Praise the Lord, Hallelujah, and Thank You Fellow Accountables. ETA: forgot, first thing to plan is a few adjustments to make after our standardized testing results came in. Okay, editing as I go: adjustments b/c of testing results (which confirmed what I'd already noticed) younger DS: general non-verbal problem solving, build tolerance of failure and ability to stay present & creative when he doesn't quickly see a path forward identify and list available resources, develop plan to use some of them and review the others Artistic Pursuits; craft kits we own; GravityMaze; find other puzzle games (Kaboodle Junior; maybe Rush Hour); chess game we have (found it -- No Stress chess). would be nice to use: Thinking Skills for Tests, Math Analogies level 2 identify resources to acquire, figure out how many can be "sold" to the child as fun 🙂 elder DS: build computational speed and accuracy find good program/approach (or a couple/few) to trial: settled on Calculadder which I've used in the past, downloaded sample and wrote company b/c I lost the activation code for the CalcuPak software I own add computational practice to his school loop: we'll try alternating it with Calculus Without Tears it would be nice to have for him: more puzzle games to lighten up his math cycle. see if grandmother will spring for puzzle game(s) at birthday, AMine and/or CubePro take a short break to water plants, then troubleshoot science plans younger DS term goals resources available now; list anything to acquire, focus on using what we have make procedure/lesson plan(s) have reading list, begin to request stuff from library elder DS term goals decide how to balance trialing BFSU book 3 with child's aviation-science program design an aviation course (note: include core resource; Eric Sloan's Weather Book; ...)(done: core resource; read Eric Sloane's Weather book then Murchie's Song of the Sky; parallel those with St. Exupery's Flight to Arras (or other flight adventure/fiction, if Arras doesn't go over well) prep for first few lessons of BFSU set up notebook lesson A-19: read Asimov's How We Found Out About Atoms; reserve suggested books at library skim, set up materials list for, and begin reserving books/make book reservation chart for lessons A-20-24; then plan to go to thread B around Term 2 make procedure/lesson plans have reading lists, both aviation and general, begin to request stuff week plans block out times for Dungeon Master "seminar"; younger DS Pokemon; everybody Role Playing Game night; elder DS acupuncture appt Friday; other non-school chunks figure out elder DS meal and snack times schedule school chunks prioritize fitness find time for me to exercise Edited August 18, 2019 by serendipitous journey 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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