Summer Stuff...

A run-down of what we've been up to, and a few pictures...

The kids won a month's free skating, so they've been skating once or twice a week.

We fixed all the bicycles, so there's been a lot of that too.

My bicycle

I've been working out 3-4 days a week, plus doing steep hill walks with my sister, and regular walks with The Girl and her dog.

We spent a lovely afternoon out at the coast...

The "creek" that runs out into the ocean

Dunes, beach grass, cypress, and waves

A giant dune that we scrambled up a dozen times, and rolled and jumped and slid and ran back down

Sandcastle in progress

You can see how pretty and sunny it was, and then we drove 45 minutes home into a thunder-and-hail storm. Just crazy!

We've been reading The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and really, really enjoying it. We watched part one of Peter Jackson's movie version, and we all agreed... while we do love the LoTR movies, we just don't feel the same love for The Hobbit films. There was just far too much extra stuff added. ONE movie, that followed the book, would have been so much better.

Documentary watching has been half hit, half miss. We're enjoying our history selections, but haven't started science ones yet. That's okay. We will get there, and we've basically come to accept that we are year-round homeschoolers anyway.

Math is going pretty well. The Boy likes his Great Courses algebra lectures quite a lot. The Girl is making great progress through the Prodigy math game, where I set up problems several times a week to match her textbook.

The kids have taken to biking to the teen club, which saves me time... and gas. They visit it once or twice a week, and spend almost all their time in the art room. The Boy might be doing a job training program there soon, and they both want to take barista training.

I'm taking a very intensive Spanish course at the moment.... online. One semester of Spanish covered in only six weeks. So far, I've kept up. The Boy is teaching himself computer coding (I think javascript at the moment), and The Girl is working on her butterfly identification skills.

I'm also on the hunt for a job, as my position at the junior college has been frozen due to decreased revenue. I was supposed to start back next week, but that is not to be so at this time. I don't know about fall yet, though I am still hopeful. I may fall back on my grocery experience for the summer. Thankfully M is working a gazillion hours, so we're scraping by.

We're hoping to get out to the coast, and the river, soon. We have FOUR boogie boards now, so that will be fun! I plan on teaching the kids to grill -- they've been taking turns once a week to cook a dinner start to finish, and grilling in this weather would be nice.

And there's housework, decluttering, a recent return to fencing (The Boy), and gardening. I have tomatoes, squash, lemon cucumbers, peppers, and loads of herbs going now!

Hope anyone who reads this is having a lovely summer so far! Here are a couple of random pictures to wrap things up, then I'm off to make breakfast.

The local lake during my early morning trail run last week

A two hat kind of day

[Bitter]Sweet Sixteen and Summer Schooling...

From newborn to sixteen

The Boy turned SIXTEEN this month! I am still amazed daily, even after sixteen years, that I get to be his mom. And it is bittersweet because it is going by so quickly. In only two years, he'll be, legally, an adult.

We've had a few homeschooling changes since I last posted, and we decided, together, on summer schooling this year, as life got in the way far too often over the spring. We don't want to fall further behind, so we'll be tackling math, literature, writing, biology, and a survey of world history over the next twelve weeks (we started yesterday). Here's a run-down of our summer plans:

Math:
The Boy is using a combo of the Great Courses Algebra 1 and Jacobs Elementary Algebra

The Girl is using a combination of Prodigy and Basic Math Skills

Literature:
We are reading this beautiful edition of The Hobbit, to be followed by the Lord of the Rings trilogy

Writing:
The Boy is using bits and pieces from Writing with Skill, and he's started a car blog.

The Girl is using Junior English and free-writing.

Biology:
We're using a combination of documentaries (Life, for example); nature observations; and biology experiments. We'll be doing this microbial ecology experiment at last, which we will be using with the lecture series Changing Planet: Past, Present, Future!

World History:
We are keeping it very simple, and are watching Mankind: The Story of All of Us (I might use at least some ideas from this study guide), alongside the Big History episodes, and a few select movies.

In addition:
The kids skate once a week (roller derby is over for the season), and The Boy fences occasionally. We'll be heading to the beach when it's a tad warmer, and we plan to ride bikes a lot. The kids continue to visit the local teen club once or twice each week. We have gardening, decluttering, pets to care for, and so on. Plus, we have a new dog! Her name is Fiona, she's about three, and she's a pitbull-mix.

Hope everyone else is off to a good start to summer!

Hey There!

...What We've Been Up To...

The Girl started working with the wildlife rescue center. These are her foster babies:

They are, of course, opossums, four of them. We actually interact with them as little as possible, so that they remain relatively feral. They'll be released back into the wild once they're larger. The Girl learned to tube feed them (they can't suckle), but thankfully we are past that stage now, and they just eat foods (mice, sardines, fruit). They live in a very large tub in the bathroom for now!


The Boy is soon to wrap up his figure drawing class. His skills just continue to blow me away!

Some of his work has been hung in the student art center, and he's thinking of entering some in the local fair this year.

As far as homeschooling, it's been spotty, which is something we really need to address. The kids have already agree we need to work through the summer. Math, writing, literature, and more documentaries have all made the summer to-do list!

Speaking of literature, we watched the movie League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and the kids loved it! So we decided to read through all the books mentioned in the movie (a list I am still working on). Here is their first pick...

We have agreed to check out this movie version when we are done with the book.

We started watching Bill Nye Saves the World, which I think is okay, and they seem to like. I'm thinking American Experience, and/or maybe actually finishing Mankind: the Story of All of Us, and America: The Story of Us. We also have a few unwatched episodes of Big History. And there are plenty of biographies, etc. I also need to find some more science documentaries! We finished up all three seasons of The 100 that are currently available, and can't wait for season 4 to come to Netflix in June. If you haven't checked it out, you should. Totally engrossing!

Besides all that, I'm wrapping up my year of teaching at the university. I am planning to continue my teaching assistant position at the junior college for another year, but beyond that, I am not sure at the moment. I've applied for a couple of very part-time things, so we'll see what works out!

Hope all is well in everyone else's corners of the world!

A Belated Happy Valentine's Day!

Again, it has been a while since I updated this blog! I keep meaning to, but life has been very busy lately.

What has changed?

• We got a new (to us) vehicle last weekend after a string of incidents, starting with the unfortunate demise of Clarabelle, the 30 year old Honda Civic passed on to us by my dad. Around the same time that died, my mom's Acura broke down on our street, and then lived in our driveway for a month while The Boy rebuilt the cooling system. My mom and I then shared her 15 passenger "church" van, until that blew a spark plug. So we had to get something, and we happily settled on a 2003 Nissan XTerra in excellent condition. The downside? 20 months of payments. :(
• The Boy dropped the mythology class early on in the semester. It turned out that it was very fast paced and highly academic, and he does not feel ready for that. BUT, he's loving figure drawing, and his sketches are amazing! Here's an example: 

• My second semester teaching is flying by! I love, love, love it. We're reading a memoir and a novel this semester, and have actually just about finished up the memoir -- A Place to Stand. My students seem to be loving it! We're about to do a service project with first graders, and then will be jumping into The Book Thief. Last semester, our theme was how we identify ourselves by social binaries and concepts, and this semester is all about how words can shape identity.
• I might shift up my employment again a bit in the fall. I want to teach another year while I write my Master's thesis, but I think instead of the junior college job, I may work in the writing center at one of the two campuses. I haven't been getting as many students in these days to my tutoring hours, and I hate feeling that I am wasting the college's time. Writing center experience would also just be excellent, both for my own development, and for my cv as I prepare to actually enter the world of teaching in another year plus. I haven't decided for sure though.
• Homeschooling is moving right along. We're reading a lot... A Little History of the World; All About Cats; Son; and Exploring the Way Life Works: The Science of Biology... watching Z: The Beginning of Everything, and Mankind: The Story of All of Us... working on algebra and prealgebra... and writing, largely essay practice, though both kids are doing some creative writing on the side!
• We're mostly enjoying the rain, though I know the flooding has been difficult for many in California. What's that saying about flood to famine, or vice versa? I complained a lot about the drought in the past, but we seem to be well past that now! Though it hasn't stopped us from going outside! As you can see, we were so wet by this point that The Girl gave in to her puddle stomping instincts!

Hope all is well in everyone else's homeschooling world!

Nose to the Grindstone...

image courtesy of Saxton Studio

My winter break has come to an end. Today, the junior college starts back up, and next week, the university. So I am prepping like crazy for classes next week! I have almost finished my syllabus and a reading schedule for the first few weeks, so I just need to polish those up. This week, I am visiting the classes I work with as an instructional assistant, and next week, I will be teaching and studying. This semester, I am teaching the same students as last semester, moving them from English 100A to English 100B. The class I am taking is in composition theory/application and rhetoric... a practical class for a college instructor!

The Boy is also gearing up for classes, which for him start tomorrow. He's taking Figure Drawing and Comparative Mythology. The mythology class will likely be the most academic class he's taken so far, but I am pretty sure he can handle it. It will provide us with a great opportunity to practice his essay skills!

We started homeschooling again last week, so here is a brief run-down:

Math: Both used their "new" textbooks to do review work, which went well. We're using Jacobs Elementary Algebra (The Boy) and AGS Basic Math Skills (The Girl).

History: We started reading A Little History of the World (3 chapters), and watched the first episode of Mankind: The Story of Us, which lined up very nicely.

Literature: We read 3 or 4 more chapters in The Messenger, which we'll probably finish up in the next week or two. We'll most likely then read the fourth book, Son, before moving on to something else.

I also found our science book for spring! It seems very readable, I love the illustrations (as do the kids), and I love how it presents everything in an interconnected fashion. We'll start reading from it this week, and I'll weave in a few hands on projects here and there, though the bulk of our hands-on work will be gardening and nature observation.

 

I hope things continue to go as smoothly for the rest of the spring! I still have writing to work in as well, and spelling for The Girl, but we'll get there.

Up and Coming...

I didn't realize how long it had been between posts! Ooops! So I thought since I have a moment, I would stop by and give an update, Monday Musings style.

...Outside...
It's been alternating between quite cold, and very wet. It's almost time for the annual apple and olive tree pruning. I already cut back the lavender, rosemary, etc., and took out dead annuals. I also took cuttings of my geraniums and Mexican sage, and potted some baby spider plants! Almost everything seems to have taken nicely. I'm still planning to put in raised beds in late winter/very early spring, so I've been pricing lumber, soil, and more. The Boy is still on board for helping me design a new chicken hutch, and we're hoping to get some chicks around the same time we put in the raised beds, which means maybe we'll have fresh eggs by mid-late summer!

...Inside...
My seasonal cleaning and purging urges have hit. I'm weeding out books for donation to the local library, donating clothes that don't fit, and am urging the kids to follow suit. We've also been thinking paint colors for spring renewal, and after watching reruns of Friends, I think I want more colors than I originally planned... for example, we plan on going with a soft, warm brown (on the lighter side) for the kitchen walls, and a warm cream for the cupboards (currently a yellowing white), and I think I might add accents of robin's egg blue. That should all go nicely with the dark olive-y green tile backsplashes. Our Christmas decorations are mostly in place, though we still need to get the lights hung outside.

...Cooking...
M wants to spend the month of January as a vegetarian, sort of a cleanse, I guess. So I've been thumbing through my moderate collection of vegetarian cookbooks for menu ideas. I figure it will save us money too. In the meantime, we've been eating a lot of soup, to counteract the cold weather.

...Homeschooling...
We're on an unofficial break from most subjects. We've decided to go ahead and read through a number of the Little Histories (world, American, science, philosophy, and religion) starting in January, and will pick math back up at that time. The Boy is taking figure drawing and comparative mythology at the junior college next semester, so I am trying not to overload him at home. He's on a break from the truck rebuild project until after the holidays, and in January, trainings start back up for the wildlife rescue center for The Girl.

...Watching and Reading...
Lots of Christmas movies this time of year! And we've got the kids hooked, at last, on Star Trek Next Generation. After that, I think we'll tackle Voyager. We're still reading both Dickens and the Street Children of London, and Lois Lowry's Messenger. This series has been such a good read for us! One more book to go, and then we'll have to find something new.

...Work and College...
I'm wrapping up my first semester of teaching! Overall, it has been a very good experience. I really like my students, and feel much more at ease teaching than I did at first. I'm eagerly planning for spring while trying to wrap up a lot of end of the semester grading, and my own essay for my British lit seminar.

And... I've got a timeline for actually graduating! I'm taking a teaching seminar in the spring and am reading my lit list at last for the comprehensive exam, then starting my language work (one year foreign language) and thesis work in the fall of next year, with a planned graduation date of May, 2018. In the meantime, I will teach another year in the teaching associate program, and will continue working as an assistant at the junior college.

...Everything Else...
M still loves his job at the wholesale nursery, and is looking at a supervisor position by next spring. The Girl has been on a sewing craze since we read Gathering Blue, and she's developing some nice embroidery skills. I might have her learn some more from my mom soon, who used to embroider all the time. I'm maintaining my 40 pound weight loss, with another 18 pounds, approximately, to go. Exercise is a huge mood stabilizer for me, and I've developed a good friendship with the core group of women I work out with. The kids joined a local teen club with a fantastic art room, rock climbing, a computer/game room, a music studio, and more, and have started hanging out there a couple of late afternoons/early evenings each week. They're having fun, working with cool artists, and making new friends!

Making plans...

Backyard Farming Project Plans
 I wrote in this post about my garden planning, and then started research on building beds without going broke. I ended up finding this awesome tutorial on building raised beds with cedar fence boards, as cedar is naturally rot-resistant, rarely "treated", and fence boards are quite inexpensive overall. They still won't be $10 beds...more like $25 apiece, but that's far, far cheaper than getting them pre-made, with prices starting at $46 for something of comparable size. I'm hoping to put in 4-6 beds (leaning toward six...we have the space!), and a couple of potato towers. I know we want to grow tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, cucumbers, squash, beans, peas, lettuces, chard, maybe broccoli, etc., and I just learned about tree collards, so am fascinated with them!

I also really need to rebuild for the chickens. We want to relocate the chicken run, to free up our mini orchard space, and so I want to take my time to do it properly. Our chickens are sadly down to two in number, and have aged out of laying entirely, so I am seriously considering investing in 6-8 lovely ladies in the spring. I've been perusing Backyard Chickens for ideas in the process of designing my own new coop and run, which will all be made from reclaimed lumber, chicken wire, etc., much the way this blogger built one.

Cooking Project Plans
I've decided I need to learn how to can things. My mom does it all the time, so next time she has a canning project planned, I'll be watching and helping! I'd also like to try making cheese -- I understand both ricotta and mozzarella are pretty easy, so I think I would tackle those first. I also want a dehydrator at some point....

Household Project Plans
More decluttering really. I find more and more that we need far less stuff than we have. I'd also like to sew new curtains later this winter, as curtains are an easy way to really change up a room's appearance. So everyone will need to choose curtain fabrics for their rooms, and then I get to choose for the main rooms! Another deep cleaning is needed soon too. We have other plans for next summer, including a roof overhaul (just the addition, thankfully), and a shower wall and plumbing overhaul. I'm just glad those jobs are a ways off!

Finishing Grad School Plans
This one will take a while. I need to get the required foreign language out of the way (yes, a foreign language for an MA in English). I also need to take my GRE and write my thesis. So this is a 1.8 year plan (I'd say two, but this semester is almost over). I will continue with the jobs I have now if given the opportunity in the 2017-2018 academic year, and then graduate in summer, 2018. To keep me busy in the meantime, I have essays to assign and grade, and a 15-20 page seminar paper of my own to write by mid December.

Homeschooling Plans
We're doing much better with math these days, and have kept up nicely with history (Victorian times) and literature. Getting writing done though has been like pulling teeth, so that is the next area to tackle. I think both kids will be taking sculpture at the junior college in the spring, and I'd really love to incorporate a thorough study of biology into our next semester.

And there you have it... my current plans! Plenty to keep me busy!

What We're Doing These Days...

  ...It's a beautiful fall so far... 
lots of rain, followed by the leaves changing, and morning fog...

...We enjoyed Halloween... 
(costume pictures still to come)
We spent the afternoon with friends, then the evening Trick or Treating my mom's neighborhood

This is how you pick pumpkins from the pumpkin bin

The Girl's handiwork

And The Boy's

...We've Been Reading...

 We really enjoyed this book, and it led to so many interesting conversations about human rights versus a seemingly utopian society, memories, emotions, and much, much more. The movie, on the other hand? Ummm, no thanks. We did not care for it.

  But we did move on to the second book in the quartet, and although it seems very different in someways, it is just as gripping so far.

We're delving into Victorian Times after watching Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street 

And we're reading about universal matters...

...And There Has Also Been...

Math (going well, but not nearly often enough)

Language arts games here and there, and now we're diving headfirst in to writing projects for both kids

Lazy afternoons either at the park with friends, or watching movies (we watched a lot of pre-Halloween films!)

Many rounds of Clue and Chess

The Boy loves, loves, loves his astronomy class, and is planning on taking sculpture in the spring

And cooking... soups, chili, casseroles, and, courtesy of The Girl, a lovely pear and chocolate upside-down cake...

The Value of Projects, and Why We Don't Have "Grade Levels" Anymore...

We tend to be a fairly project oriented family as it is, but as part of their "secondary level" learning, I want the kids to each complete a long-term project. A quick search on the web says this about project-based learning:

The core idea of project-based learning is that real-world problems capture students' interest and provoke serious thinking as the students acquire and apply new knowledge in a problem-solving context. The teacher plays the role of facilitator, working with students to frame worthwhile questions, structuring meaningful tasks, coaching both knowledge development and social skills, and carefully assessing what students have learned from the experience. Advocates assert that project-based learning helps prepare students for the thinking and collaboration skills required in the workplace.
 
I think it also teaches follow-through, and allows varying methods of approaching varying topics. For my kids at least, hands-on learning is as important as book-based learning, and their projects will/do reflect that.

The Boy is already at work on his... the restoration of a 1940 Ford step-side pickup. He is essentially an apprentice: working under the tutelage of someone with vastly more experience; learning each part of what it takes to entirely rebuild an older vehicle from the smallest to the largest parts. It feeds his greatest passion as well, working with automobiles, and he knows it will provide him with valuable skills for his future. His plans for the immediate future, outlined further below, reflect his knowledge that this is what he wants to do.

As for The Girl, it seems likely, at the moment, that turning our yards, back and front, into a wildlife habitat will be her project (with my assistance/mentorship). But, she doesn't have to decide right this moment, as she has a few years left ahead of her as far as really homeschooling goes.

So...grade levels. I've pretty much abolished them as I think they are unnecessary for us. Instead, I'm coming up with a checklist of what each kid needs to complete to graduate, since as a private school, we set our own graduation requirements. Mine are as follows, though they are still a work in progress:

Language Arts: Be able to write effectively, and communicate orally with ease. This means they can write strong essays with different approaches, communicate properly with mail and email, and enjoy a discussion of literature, along with discussing other topics. My goal is to get them into an upper entry level English class at the junior college without trouble or remediation.

Math: They need to work up through Algebra 2, mostly if not all at home, and then do a semester of personal finance (or in The Boy's case, for his certificate program/associate's degree, Business Math). Each will also take an upper math class at the junior college, toward transfer credit (The Girl), or an associate's degree (The Boy).

History and Science: Historical and scientific literacy is my goal here. We delve more deeply when needed, and skim other topics as desired. They don't need to know everything about every field of science, or every point in history, but need to be familiar with how things work, and how they fit together.

Project-Based Learning: They will each complete a major project (see above).

Volunteer Work: Each will complete a minimum of 100 hours community service, which is actually pretty easy to do, since they already have numerous hours with food banks, puppy petting, and bicycle repair.

As I said, this is a work in progress, so we'll see what I come up with!

The Boy is in a period of transition. While he will continue some learning at home, he is getting ready to shift toward more junior college classes, moving forward toward an associate's degree in automotive technology. He'll be sixteen in the spring, and is, I think, mature enough to handle this challenge and period of change.

On the flip side, The Girl says she will not be ready to start at the junior college until she is about sixteen, which is fine. She'll be (as far as we know) doing her undergrad work there, before transferring to the local university for biology/wildlife studies.

I have come to really feel comfortable with this hybrid approach as they get older. They are no longer dependent on only my instruction, which is definitely a transition, but a good one.

Monday Musings...

Today we begin the Year of the Fire Monkey! We love celebrating holidays from around the world, though we're usually pretty low key about it, so tonight we'll have homemade Chow Mein with shrimp, and hopefully some homemade fortune cookies! If we get a chance, we'll celebrate National Kite Flying Day today too

...Outside My Window...

We're getting a preview of spring, with temperatures in the low 70s, and plenty of sunshine! Everything is green and yellow, with mustard flowers blooming in the fields, and wild calendula by the roadsides. Our trees are putting out new leaf buds like crazy, so I had better get to pruning as quickly as possible!

...In the House and Kitchen...

Normally today would be a crockpot day, with 2 jobs and school. But, I only have one job today, so I have time to cook! On the menu so far this week: Chow Mein loaded with veggies; Stuffed Baked Potatoes (one of M's specialties); and Chicken Fricassee (for Lincoln's birthday). I have a few days to fill in there, but I'll figure it out.

And I'm hoping to get some extra housework in this week. Playing catch-up is never fun!

...In Our Homeschooling...

Math is of course on the agenda for the week. And language arts! Sadly, as much as I love Coursera, and think it is fabulous, it just isn't working for us at the moment. The kids want to do science, and learn together. So we're moving back toward a shared approach to science. I think right now, we'll be focusing on birds in anticipation of the annual Great Backyard Bird Count. History is going well overall, though we're behind a bit in our reading and we still haven't watched Iron Jawed Angels!

...Reading and Watching...

We're more than halfway through A Wrinkle in Time, so I am starting to think about what to read next as our literature read-aloud. I've been reading through L'Engle's books on my own as well -- her writing always makes me think, and makes me feel something, so I count that as good.

M and I are back to watching Numbers, as Netflix added a couple of seasons. I really want to watch Michael Pollan's new documentary mini-series, Cooked, which is coming to Netflix later this month. I am a huge Pollan fan! Besides that, we finally picked back up on Once Upon a Time, and The Boy and I are about a third of the way through the final season of Lost.

...On the Agenda...

Two doctor's appointments for my dad this week. One derby practice, one or two fencing classes. Work most days. One biology lecture (lecture series I am taking for fun). M may or may not have a job interview - fingers crossed! More February celebrations coming up quickly.

...What We've Been Up To...

We had our "Valentine's" celebration at the park with friends early this year, as a few of the families are heading out of town in the next week or so. No card exchange this year, just good food, lots of laughs, and some touch football!

We went hiking on Saturday at a park M and I used to hike all the time. The kids haven't been there since they were babies, so it was fun reintroducing them to it. And yesterday, we took advantage of the gorgeous weather by taking a long family bike ride!

I'll leave you with some pictures from our hike!

A Weekly Wrap-Up!!!

I haven't done a proper one of these in ages! Let's just say that at this moment, I am glad this week is drawing to a close. It's been too full, too busy. Just too many things going on, between both jobs, homeschooling, some housework, and playing catch-up with my dad's doctors appointments (which, by the way, I am not done with yet)!

Anyhow....

This week, in our homeschooling, we:

...did math 4 times... (YAY!)

...read about Bloody Sunday in the Romanov book, and I am hoping to read another chapter or two today, introducing Rasputin to the kids...

...watched another Downton episode, and will be watching another one today...

...The Boy found a science course to try out (I highly recommend Coursera!)...

 ...read a little more in A Wrinkle in Time...

It was not the best homeschooling week, in that we did not accomplish much overall. I spent Tuesday and Thursday afternoons with my dad; Monday was packed, and Wednesday too. I'm re-configuring our schedule a little to mesh better with other expectations/obligations. The Girl started another spelling lesson, but didn't get far with it. The Boy did no writing. And there was no science. We're getting, in all likelihood, a little chance to catch up this afternoon*, but that's not really enough.

So here is the schedule I'm working on now. Math and writing/spelling/language arts are top on my list, followed by literature, then science, and then history, followed by geography. I'm not worrying about arts because they do plenty of that.

Math, Language Arts and Literature schedule:

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, at a minimum, plus one other day whenever we can

(oftentimes lately, on busy days like Mondays, the kids will do math while I make dinner. This seems to work well!)

Science:

Tuesday and Thursday, at a minimum 

(plus, since the courses are done by the kids on the computer, they can work on it independently. Then, I also want to spend some time together working on hands-on projects, such as this one, which I am absolutely determined we will do this spring!)

History:

Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, plus movies on weekends or Mondays

Geography:

Tuesdays or Thursdays

So that's what I have in mind now, though I'll probably work on fine-tuning it. Okay, not probably... almost definitely!

Weekend Plans

Hiking if it is not raining too hard

Cleaning the family room, which looks sort of like a mini hurricane went through

Tutoring... I'm cutting this from 1.5 hours to an hour, as I need the time at home more than the extra $26... I think.

Watching Iron Jawed Angels, and hopefully another episode of Human Planet. Speaking of which (the latter), I've been thinking that if we don't continue with modern history in the fall, I might create a year's worth of world geography based off Human Planet, much along the lines of my Downton study: some books, documentaries, movies, etc. OR, if we continue with history based on a TV series, I'm looking at continuing the 20th century with Foyle's War, backing up a bit with The Forsyte Saga, or perhaps even going back in time here in the U.S. with Mercy Street.

I'll leave you with a picture of a recent sunset taken from the car, and wishes for a happy weekend!

*this is if it is actually too rainy for a park day, and that's saying a lot! We're pretty hardcore when it comes to our beloved park days.

Linked up over at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

Tuesday Musings...

I meant this to be a Monday Musings post, but ran out of time!


...Outside My Window...
We've had plenty of rainfall lately (yay!), but are getting a few days off, for everything to soak in and dry up a little. The fields have gone from a brown so dry and crispy that it looks like it might spontaneously combust at any moment to a rich, rich green. The skies are still and gray; it is chilly out. Little pools are forming here and there, and that's where the egrets gather.

...Around the House & Yard...
M has been hard at work, between rain showers, building my patio, and some planter boxes. We'll have a really lovely seating area by mid spring! I still have olives to pick, and then trees to prune—apple, olive, and cherry. After M finishes the patio area, we'll work on raised beds for veggies. And I need to work on the front yard design a bit more.

It looks like we'll also have a pretty decent-sized plumbing project coming up... the bathtub faucet won't stop dripping. I was able to stave it off for a while with new washers every month, but that's not working as well anymore, and the plumbing is so old that it is hard to get replacement parts. We'll have to tear out old (cheap) tile, and look at relining the shower/tub walls too.

...In the Kitchen...
We had a very lean couple of weeks food-budget-wise, which was actually good in that it got me really planning and thinking again, rather than just cooking whatever popped up in our minds. On Mondays, I work back-to-back jobs and attend a class (teaching writing to ELL students), so that will officially be our crockpot night! I also have to plan out packable lunches for The Boy, when he's off on his internship all day once a week.

...In Our Homeschooling...
History, through Downton Abbey, is going very well! At the rate of 2, and sometimes 3, episodes per week, we'll finish up all six seasons by the end of our school year in late June. We'll be working on finishing up the Romanov book over the next 3 weeks, and I have some movies and documentaries planned along the way. I'm trying to not overdo my planning this time!

The junior college, well... that didn't work out as well this semester. The intro to engineering class turned out, from the syllabus, to be an intro to the field of engineering—research on types of jobs, how to work toward getting them, etc. I am sure it would be a very useful class for a potential engineer, but it is not what The Boy is looking for at the moment. So he's taking a semester off from college, to focus on his studies at home, and his auto rebuilding. Also, last semester, he was so overwhelmed that he missed a few months of fencing, which he doesn't want to do again.

And we're seeking out a science focus for him. The online robotics course he found intriguing has a lot of higher level math, and he's just not quite there yet. We'll find it.. possibly biology (though that might be good for both kids for next year) or just an overview of science?  And he found something! Imagining Other Earths, from Coursera. It is both introductory and self-paced, wich he's happy about.


The Girl is doing pretty well with her dinosaur paleobiology course, and we're making progress with spelling. Math is going very well with both kids! And we're actually doing math 4-5 times a week!

...Reading and Watching...
Besides the Romanov book linked above, we're still reading A Wrinkle in Time, and we just started The Royal Road to Romance (which sounds cheesy, but is actually a fabulous travelogue from the 1920s). I'm reading The Death of Artemio Cruz, along with my students; various articles on  multilingual literacy and writing for my own class; and A Live Coal in the Sea by Madeline L'Engle for fun. The Girl is still deep in the world of Harry Potter, and The Boy has just about wrapped up Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard. 

Besides our Downton Abbey habit, The Boy and I are finishing Lost soon, and the kids have started watching The X-Files.

...Crafting...
I finished up another scarf, so I am in between knitting projects. The Girl has been doing a lot of clay crafting, some stop-motion, and plenty of painting recently. The Boy is working on landscapes in Blender.

...On the Agenda...
Fencing, derby (full practice schedule starts up the first week of February), college (for me), plenty of work, car repair internship, etc., etc., etc. We're always busy! Next week should be a little calmer though, as I don't have any scheduled doctor's visits for my dad (I have two this week... regular doctor and optometrist). I also want to check out Mango Languages, as our library offers access to it for free!

Speaking of my dad, we moved him this weekend. He's still in the same independent living facility, just in an apartment that is much closer to the dining room, and activity rooms. It took us (me, my sister and brother, my mom, The Boy, and The Girl) 7 hours to pack his one bedroom apartment up entirely, move it all, and unpack it again. Phew! We're hoping that between the move, the exercise classes he's started, and the physical and occupational therapy, he can stay where he is for a while to come.

I hope your week is good! I'll leave you with a nighttime picture I took of one of my mom's trees starting to bud out.

Like Puzzle Pieces Coming Together...

There are a number of reasons we homeschool... to move at our own pace, to explore interests, to follow passions, to provide what we feel is a solid base to work from... and so forth and so on. Our spring semester 2016 is coming together beautifully, and today I am happy that I can add another piece to the puzzle, or mosaic maybe, that we are creating.

If you've read this blog for any amount of time, you know The Boy loves automobiles.

image courtesy of sodahead.com

 He's studied their history, can identify practically every make and model at a glance, has worked on my car. His goal is to become a mechanic who specializes in custom rebuilds. And now he has a tremendous opportunity. His best buddy's family is friends with a man I will call C. C is a retired electrician, who rebuilds cars as a hobby. He has invited The Boy and The Boy's Best Buddy (J) to help him rebuild vehicles this spring. So once a week, they'll be working with C for about 6 hours, starting with a 1940 Ford (Fords are The Boy's favorite vehicles). The Boy, who should be waking up soon to my text telling him the big news, will be SO excited!

On his transcript, I'll be calling it an internship, I guess?

So he'll be dropping down to one class at the junior college this semester—Intro to Engineering—which is fine with me. He's only fourteen after all. And I've asked him to find a Coursera class in the sciences. I told him too that whatever he chooses, he has all semester to finish it...we don't have to follow Coursera timelines.

And then, the Dinosaur Paleobiology course (also Coursera) has turned out to be a great fit for The Girl! I had only asked her to watch the videos, but she took the first quiz entirely of her own accord, and only missed one question! Of course, I am not making her stick to the timeline given either, but am happy if she makes it through the class by mid-June. While she already knows a lot about dinosaurs she has pretty much memorized Walking With Dinosaurs, etc.), this course is definitely adding to her knowledge base.

And, remember when she did puppy petting? There's another litter finally due at the end of the month! 

From December, 2014

...Where We're Shining...
History: Downton Abbey as the vehicle for history is a huge hit! We're really enjoying the book on the Romanovs too. The Girl and I had fun paging through Decades of Beauty: The Changing Image of Women 1890s to 1990s.

Math: We're actually getting math done most days! The Boy is working with negative numbers, and The Girl is working with multiple digit multiplication and long division at the moment.

Writing: I do love The Lively Art of Writing. So simple, straightforward, and it really teaches excellent essay skills (plus it's cheap!). And The Girl likes both the spelling program we're using, and Practice Exercises in Basic English (grammar).

Literature: A Wrinkle in Time is one of my personal, all-time favorite books. M loves it too, so we're reading this aloud as truly a family book. 

...Where We're a Little Dimmer...
Hands-on Science: I really want to do this project, but we just haven't made time for it!

Bedtime Reading: I need to work this in before we're fully back into derby practices and fencing classes! We are only on chapter two of The Fellowship of the Ring!

Documentaries: I think we're going back to lunch time documentaries. Easy, painless way to work in some extra learning. Today, I am aiming for another episode of Human Planet. We ended up watching Secrets of Highclere Castle, an overview of the history of the family occupying "Downton Abbey" in real life. I didn't realize that it was the 5th Earl living there who funded the King Tut excavation! And his wife was awesome too.

Writing: I need to be more consistent with it. What we have is great, but we need to make sure we're using it!

Geography: We haven't started the Halliburton book quite yet, so I want to get that going. I think one of our lunchtime documentaries each week should be something geography related perhaps, such as Wild China, or How the States Got Their Shapes, or even Anthony Bourdain's travel/food shows. And something hands-on... I have Mapping the World with Art, and there are always the geography club activities.

So that's where we are, and what's going on. I like how things feel, how they're coming together, that I can see us moving forward, together and individually.

A New Year...

Here we are, in a fresh new year. I am hoping the ride will be a bit smoother than in 2015!

First off...
The Boy got all As his first semester at the junior college! He is very proud of himself, and he should be—he worked hard for those grades!

I spent the holidays sick. I got a nasty cold just before Christmas, and by Christmas day, I was laying low. It turned into a lovely (ha ha) middle ear infection, which is just now clearing up. Despite sickness though, I enjoyed my time off from work! We ended up not homeschooling over the break (no big surprise!), but instead relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. The kids loved their presents, I loved mine, M loved his. At least before I got sick, we made it out to the coast for Christmas Eve, gathered mussels for dinner, and watched the sunset.

It was, overall, a lovely holiday!


...Homeschooling... Yesterday, we started back with homeschooling. After some brief discussion of what interested the kids, and Saturday's re-watching of the movie Titanic, we've decided to use Downton Abbey as a jumping off point for history. We can watch the series from the beginning, and I'll be bringing in books, documentaries, and movies that cover some of the world events in the Downton timeline, as well as other events taking place at the time. Of course, the Titanic sinking was one of those events. In addition to the movie, which always leaves me a little blue, we read On Board the Titanic, and leafed through Titanic in Photographs.

We'll be reading The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia, as an additive to our studies. I love Russian history, and have always been intrigued by Anastasia. There's a really lovely miniseries I may try to watch with the kids if they are interested enough. I'll be adding in a few movies, documentaries, and other books as the mood strikes, though I know I would like to read The Flame Trees of Thika: Memories of an African Childhood with The Girl.

Anyhow, the kids also did a math lesson each yesterday. I am still very pleased with our math programs at the moment!

And I am reading A Wrinkle in Time aloud to the whole family, including M. Very enjoyable! I plan to make it through the whole Murry family series (4 books), then find other good books to read. I am not worried about them matching up with history. 

We also finished chapter one in The Fellowship of the Ring, which is our bedtime reading these days. The Girl has been asking that we read it for some time now, and The Boy says he really likes it. Now that series might take us a while to read!

...On the Agenda...
Homeschooling: 
More math; writing/grammar work; viewing of episode 1 of Downton Abbey; reading from A Wrinkle in Time, and our nature book and travel/geography books (when I get the geography one!); and The Girl starts her Dinosaur Paleobiology course.

Around the House: 
the house is pretty clean after I had two weeks off from work! I am still reorganizing bookcases and such, and there is some deep cleaning to be done, but it looks a thousand times better. The kids will be taking down the Christmas tree tonight, and when the current rain stops, we can take down the outdoor lights. The kids do need to finish cleaning their rooms as well.

Around the Yard: 
picking olives, at last, since we've got a bumper crop and my mom offered to brine them! Deadheading a few more plants. Pruning of the olive and apple trees in the next month. Building raised beds, tearing up the front yard... all things to look forward to in the next few months!

Other Stuff: 
I'm back at work, but just the one morning job until late January. The Boy wants to start back with fencing later this week, and derby practice starts back on Sunday, though The Girl has decided, at this point at least, no to boot camp this time around, just regular Sunday practice. Boot camp is primarily targeted at "newbies", so I get her decision. M's hours have been cut (post-holiday slow down), so he's looking for supplemental/other work. Thankfully, I had saved some money over the fall, so we're just okay there.

My dad is still in the rehabilitative center, at least until tomorrow, although the physical therapist is trying to get his insurance to approve at least another week. My sister and I found that we can move him to another apartment at his senior living facility, that is much closer to the dining room and all. Since his mobility is not what it was, I think this is for the best. We're trying to get everything lined up to make the transition back to mostly independent living as easy, and safe, as possible for him.

I'll leave you with a couple of picture collages from our holiday break... have a great week, and Happy New Year!