Weekly Wrap-Up... Rain, Gardening, Books, & More!

It is pouring outside! And we might have a thunderstorm mid-day! Since we seem to be living in a "state" (pun intended) of perpetual drought these days, I don't mind the rain. And that means we have an afternoon at home, rather than the park, to play a little catch-up!

From one of my morning walks this week

...Homeschooling This Week...

The Boy is making progress with one and two step equations in algebra, while The Girl and I played Totally Tut yesterday. I think we may play it again today, and I want her to work on multiplication and division facts with Circles & Stars (up to four dice). Remedial work, yes, but once she's really got this stuff down, I know (from experience teaching her addition and subtraction) that she'll make a big leap, mathematically speaking. And I found something that looks awesome for a little later on... the Interactive Mathematics Program (samples here). In the meantime, I think she might try Prodigy (online free math-wizarding game).

The Girl is making great progress through her spelling book too.

We did some reading from Outbreak! Plagues That Changed History, learning about the Black Death, and how it shifted the balance of power in feudal society. I'd definitely recommend this book for a different view of world history—lots of interesting tidbits, and a good, conversational writing tone.

And of course we watched some Downton Abbey, which led to a discussion on mourning practices. 

The Boy has been reading lots of recent articles on Hawking Radiation, Planet X, and other space phenomena. He keeps me up to date on what he's learned! The Girl has cycled back to her sea creature fascination, and at the same time, very sadly pointed out to  me this week that she does not remember ever visiting a zoo. I plan to remedy that in a couple of weeks, when M's day off cycles back to a Saturday.

Today's agenda includes math, spelling, nailing down The Boy's essay topic, A Wind in the Door, and the first chapter of DNA. And possibly an early evening trip to the indoor trampoline park! The Boy and I are also planning on watching Contact tonight, while The Girl and M watch Drop Dead Fred. We'll do a family movie tomorrow!

...Everything Else This Week...

The Boy misplaced The Martian, so he's working on finishing Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, book 1. The Girl is deep in Harry Potter. I am reading The Longest Night, a novel centered around the 1961 nuclear disaster in Idaho Falls, and The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family, which is just fascinating!

The Boy had parkour last night, and has decided he needs to strength train more at home. The Girl had derby practice, and said it was really tough, as they were (finally) learning some new skills this week. I tried out kickboxing, did a HIIT workout, and worked on my running.

My plantings/transplantings from last Sunday seem to be doing well, and I am sure the rain will help! Tomorrow, we're picking up a few tomato plants, herbs, and pepper plants... at last. It turns out it is just as well that we did not get them sooner, as we had a freak late frost last week that killed a lot of people's veggie starts. We're not doing a big veggie garden right off the bat. Instead, we're starting slowly and adding things in over time. I'm hoping to get a lot more done in the front yard too!


...Goals for Next Week...

Math, of course. And spelling for The Girl, and some writing/grammar for her. Some light essay work for The Boy, and I think I'll have him try out Excavating English with the two-week free sample, as I bet he'd really enjoy it. I'm hoping during our Sunday lessons, that we can either finally watch another episode of Human Planet, or work in Mapping the World with Art (or both?!?). And we need to get going next week with The Private Eye! All this means a trip to the store for spiral bound sketchbooks.

My other goal: more of our Afternoon Basket read-alouds!

Hope you all had a good week, and that you have a great weekend!

linked up over at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

Wrapping Up Another Week...

image courtesy of empower-u-academy.com

Seriously, where did the week go?

At the same time though, I'm glad it is Friday, and while I don't get to sleep in tomorrow (have to drive M to work), I still get a day to catch up on some stuff... housework, marking essays, puppy petting, etc., etc., etc. I won't be sleeping in Sunday either, nor will anyone else in the house, because we'll be doing a mud run! And then, I'll have an afternoon to receiver, and finish catching up on stuff... and homeschool.


I can't really say, in all honesty, that we did a lot of formal homeschooling this week, but the kids certainly continued learning a lot on their own!

The Girl...

• Volunteer work (puppy petting)
• Sewed two dresses, by hand, for dolls
• Learned to propagate hens & chicks succulents (M taught her), and then she's been out in the greenhouse each morning, checking the plants and watering as needed
• Read more of Harry Potter
• Read an interesting article with me about another possible reason for the demise of the dinosaurs
• Started watching Anne Frank: The Whole Story with The Boy and I—she's been asking to watch this for a while; and we watched some Downton Abbey, plus the first episode of Mercy Street
• Helped my mom with a church baking project
• Derby practice, worked out with me several times 
• Created a few new pieces of art

The Boy...

• Worked on the 1940s Ford he is helping restore—this week, they took out the engine, and the drive shaft for rebuilding
• Designed a rocket in a physics game he's been playing on the computer... he also worked on a few cars in a mechanic simulation game
• Spent happy hours devouring The Martian, which I'll be reading when he's done
• Read more about black holes and other space phenomena, including several articles I sent to him
• Watched Anne Frank, Downton Abbey, and Mercy Street with The Girl and I
• Attended another parkour class
• Worked on a few sketches, this time of buildings that had been long abandoned
• Worked on his notebook, into which he enters conversions, runic alphabets, and any other tidbits that interest him

Goals for Next Week...
I'm all about keeping it simple for next week, and only have three homeschooling goals:

•  Math, 4-5 lessons each
• Language Arts, 4-5 lessons/work sessions each
• Afternoon Basket (which I'll update later today)

And that's really about it for now! Have a great weekend!

linked up over at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers!

It's Friday! A General Wrap-Up for the Week...

I'd say this sums up pretty well how I'm feeling at the moment!

Overall though, it's been a good week. We made some good strides in homeschooling; I made it through both jobs and school once more; I didn't have a crazy appointment of doctor's visits (for my dad) on top of everything else; I kept the kitchen counters clean all week (yes, sadly that is a victory for me) and kept up on dishes; and I am having a blast planning out my front yard!

...Homeschooling Report...

This week, as part of our Downton history studies, we moved into season two, and so into World War 1. We watched half of World War 1: Cause and Effects, taking us up to 1916, which is where we are in the Downton timeline. We also read about the start of the war in The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia.

This weekend, I hope to get in one more episode of Downton, and perhaps the first episode of World War One: The People's Story.

Mathematically, we are doing quite well! The Boy completed 4 lessons in algebra this week, working with equations, variables, the order of operations, and more. The Girl did 3 chapters in Life of Fred Fractions, and two lessons from Math Essentials. 

The Boy completed lesson 2 in writing, and The Girl worked diligently on a new list of spelling words. She had to write a sentence for each word, and instead wrote sort of a This is the House That Jack Built tale (though not as long) about a chicken that went a bit crazy. 

Yesterday, I had them each read something scientific while I was at work, and then narrate it to me when I got home. The Girl talked about chameleons, and The Boy about eyesight. He and I also watched an episode of Through the Wormhole, about black holes.

Next week's plans:

More math (at least 4 lessons for each kid)

 Lesson 3 in writing for The Boy; another spelling lesson for The Girl

Some freewriting for both

Another couple of Downton episodes

More free-range learning in science, plus a (short) hands-on science lesson with a book I just ordered

More on World War 1 and the Romanovs

And finishing up A Wrinkle in Time! 

...Household/Gardening Report...

 I wrote the other day about gardening plans for my front yard, and wasn't quite sure what to do with the larger "half" of the yard, except that I want it to tie in with the smaller half, which I can already picture as complete. Then, I thought about my mom's front yard, which my sister re-did for her last year, putting in a fabulous dry stream... In case you're not familiar with dry streams, this is what they look like...

Pretty, isn't it?

So I think I will do that, kind of winding through, past the two boulders. On either side, I'll have a crazy-quilt patchwork (large-scale patches) of creeping thyme, lamb's ear, etc. Around the fenced corner of that section, I'll keep the rosemary and French lavender I have now, though I'll be removing the overgrown and shabby-looking Spanish lavender (my brother-in-law planted them, and they're not my favorites). Maybe some more French lavender, maybe some fern-leaf lavender (which I love), some bulbs tucked in here and there for spring blossoms, and a few other pretty things. 

I know it sounds like a lot, so here's my 5 minute sketch...

I think this could come together really nicely.

I hope.

And then, this weekend I'm tackling the first task in
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, which is clothing. I was going to do books first, but M will be at work tomorrow (new job!), so it seems a perfect time to drag all the clothing in the house together.

...Odds and Ends...

I need to come up with a menu plan for the upcoming week, and grocery list. I plan for Monday as a crockpot day, Wednesday as a quick and easy dinner day (stir-fry works well), and I generally do something like a casserole on Thursdays, as M or The Boy can pop it in the oven while The Girl and I are at her roller derby practice.

I'll be figuring out what to read aloud after A Wrinkle in Time.

The Girl and I will almost definitely be petting puppies again tomorrow. 

I'm going to try to get the kids out for a bike ride too. And I need to do some strength training. I'm down almost 15 pounds now! I had lost a bunch of weight a few years back, but in the fashion typical of crash dieters, I gained almost all of it back. Grrrr. This time, I'm simply eating healthfully, and exercising. What a concept!

As to M's new job, you remember he went into cooking quite some time back. And has sadly found, after several layoffs, that the culinary world is unpredictable (at least in terms of employment), and that it is less enjoyable than he hoped. He still loves cooking, at least at home, but needs full-time, steady employment. So he's returning to an earlier profession, and will start a trial run tomorrow at a wholesale nursery, working with plants, and gardeners, and the like. We are all really hoping that this works out well for him... he needs something he can depend on and enjoy! And he does miss working with growing things, and the smell of dirt, and being outside.

II think that's it for now. Happy weekend! I'll leave you with a totally random picture of one of my favorite things in my kitchen right now...

linked up over at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

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

Ahhhh....

Yet another week (week six?) has come and gone. Overall a good week—we're over our cold/flu thing, except for a lingering cough, but that's tolerable. And we're ready for the weekend!

...In Homeschooling...

The kids like our art of the month so far! Both have seen references to American Gothic in the past, and now they know more about it. And both said it's nice to see art on the fridge again.

The Boy worked through another few lessons in Teaching Textbooks. We had our first hiccup yesterday, when he learned about simplifying algebraic fractions. So I sat with him, worked through several examples, and I think he got it. I might have him watch a couple of videos on this topic on Khan Academy over the weekend.

He's been better this week about scheduling/regulating his homework load, which is good, because his first midterm ever is coming up next week in Machine Tool Technology! He won't say so, but I think he is a little nervous. Thankfully, he can use notes on the test, and he takes some pretty extensive notes!

The Girl is buzzing right through her multiplication and division review. What's really nice is that this year, because we've worked so hard on reading skills, she is finally reading the assignments herself! I'm adding in practice pages next week from Right Brained Multiplication & Division, just one each day, to really cement the multiplication/division tables. The more fluid she is with those, the better off she will be as we move up in math!

And reading aloud is going very well for her. She doesn't really want to do it, but she can see that she reads better than she thought she did. And she got 100% on her spelling test this week!

We started reading A Young People's History of the United States, and both kids really liked the voice of the writer (Howard Zinn). So we will definitely be continuing that, and I'm going to loosely match up episodes of America: The Story of Us. The Men Who Built America looks intriguing too, for a little later in our American historical journey. Right now the plan is to do American history until winter break, then switch to an overview of world history after that. I think we might use this book, and this series (and this one) for that. Asian history, at the request of the kids, using (most likely) this book, and this one, followed by this one, and then perhaps this one. As for documentaries, I am not sure yet!

Now that history is falling into place, I want to add science in over the few weeks, with a study of microbiology for both kids, physics/quantum physics or astronomy for The Boy, and more animals for The Girl.

...In Our General Day to Day Life...

I'm getting better at balancing two jobs, college, homeschooling, etc. Meal planning helps, as does keeping on top of basic chores. M is now in charge of Thursday dinners, since I am with The Girl at derby practice from 7-9 pm, and he's at home. And I'm getting the kids to help more, both around the house, and in doing more on their own.

We're getting ready to launch the first of who knows how many Home Improvement Saturdays. This week, I am totally overhauling the living room (small room, good to start with!), I've been using the Look Inside feature at Amazon to view this book, and the intro is my inspiration for the living room overhaul. The author, Marie Kondo, says "Start by discarding. Then organize your space thoroughly, completely, in one go." We'll see if it works! Right now the living room is sort of a depository... books, body boards, scooters, skateboards, kites, a stack or two of laundry... you get the picture. 

And we're moving the load of free bricks we got into the backyard, where M has been working hard at leveling the ground for a new patio! Next week, I will tackle the dining room, and we will work together on the slightly leaky family room roof...before the predicted winter rains get here!

The Boy should be back to fencing tonight, The Girl did fine with derby practice yesterday, and we're definitely getting some physical activity back in there—we walked around a local lake on Wednesday, then The Boy and I rode bikes to the junior college library, and back, yesterday, so I could work and he could study. It feels good to feel better.

I'll leave you with a sunset picture from our Wednesday walk...have a good weekend!

linked up over at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

End of the Week...

This week, we...

...had a meltdown of sorts.

...played You've Been Sentenced (which, by the way, is a great, and fun, way to work with language).

...laughed our way through an episode of Drunk History, learning about scientist Percy Julian; the [teenage] woman behind Rosa Parks—Claudette Colvin; and fighting champion Joe Louis. The first two parts were the best—our sides were aching from laughing!

...did some math. The Boy is doing very well with Teaching Textbooks, and The Girl is plugging away with Math Mammoth. I plan to break out Totally Tut over the weekend for some operations review with both.

...read some more of The Shakespeare Stealer.

...watched the eclipse as the moon rose.

...spent a while gazing at the moon through binoculars the following night, and talking about how the moon influences the tide.

...decided we miss hanging out on the couch reading together. 

...started making a list of October movies to watch, among them The Addams Family (the first one is best), Sleepy Hollow, The Corpse Bride, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Hocus Pocus, Beetlejuice, Arsenic & Old Lace, Edward Scissorhands, and maybe Sweeney Todd. (Do you see the awesome Depp theme running through there? What does that say about us, or him?)

The Boy...

...worked on his 3D art project, which is a pop-up book he is making about...CARS (surprise!)!

...finally got to use some power (and hand) tools in his Machine Tool Technology class.

...worked on some video editing.

...detailed the inside of my car. It hasn't been this clean in years!

The Girl...

...worked on a lovely art project with her dad (I'll post pictures soon), as well as about 5 or 6 other art projects.

...read Smoky Mountain Rose for her Cinderella studies.

...finished her spelling for the week, with 100% on her test. 

...devoured a few episodes of The Life of Mammals, as well as a couple of shows on undersea creatures.

..helped cook a couple of dinners, and made some fantastic black-bean brownies. I'll share the recipe soon!


Linked up over at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

Our First Semi-Official Week is Done!!!

Of course, there were ups... and there were downs.

On the UP side...

The Boy finished his first project for his 3-Dimensional art class. They were to make a cube, and then take it through a series of transformations.

He'll be critiqued on clean edges (check!), and a fairly logical progression through shapes, which I think he has nailed!

The Shakespeare Stealer is a hit.

Both kids are still working on creative writing projects, making me wonder, naturally, if perhaps I really should stick with the Brave Writer Lifestyle rather than try to make them follow "programs".

Working with my new schedule also hasn't been as bad as I anticipated, at least not yet. I took them with me yesterday, for my office hours, which are held in a lovely, quiet little room at the back of the giant campus library. The kids promptly ran off to the 4th floor, where there are cozy chairs in front of floor to ceiling windows, looking out over the campus, mountains in the distance, etc. They spent two peaceful hours up there -- reading, sketching, gazing.

And M got a second part-time job! Yes, I know. We are insane to be working two official (albeit all part-time) jobs each (I'm not counting once weekly tutoring for a friend), but you know what? My second job will get me closer to my actual desired career, and his should too. And truthfully, we are tired of living paycheck to paycheck. Our house needs some repairs, thankfully relatively minor; we'd love to actually have a landscape/garden; and we'd like to build some savings.

And the DOWN side...

I am over-scheduling and over-planning again. 

What it currently looks like in my head

Back to absolute basics next week, now that The Boy's math program has arrived. I already had The Girl's math on hand. I need to nail down what we are doing for writing next week, but that's it.

The Time Traveler's Guide to Elizabethan England -- well, it is a good book, and very thorough, but not a big hit right now. I could see reading it later, or maybe the kids will read it later, but we'll set it aside for the moment.

So, coming up...

The Boy and I want to watch some more Big History. He'll be reading The Dark Side of the Universe himself, maybe a chapter each week.

The Girl and I are looking forward to the start of The Great Backyard Bird Count in November. She says "maybe we can finish reading that bird book then. It was really good!"

We might read about the Wright Brothers (The Boy's request) and then Queen Elizabeth (The Girl's request). Or we might try this book, or this one!

We will definitely keep going with The Shakespeare Stealer!

We may start back up with Richard Halliburton's travels too, or maybe finally watch some of Human Planet.

Anyhow, I hope you all have a good weekend!

Wrapping up the Week...

August is almost over!?! Seriously, where does it go?

We had a decent week. The Boy is settling nicely into his junior college classes, and is getting used to the homework load. I got to see my work space at the same junior college this week, inside this imposing brick library...

I am stopping by the library today to pick up a few books, before we head off to our weekly park day, so that we can start our [loose/relaxed] studies of the Renaissance and astronomy....

     


Plus I ordered this book to round out astronomy.
We'll get going with our history, astronomy, and geography read-alouds this weekend/next week, then add in math for The Girl in the next week (for some reason, she is still having trouble with telling time, so we'll work on that first, before moving into a review of multiplication and division), and writing for both and math for The Boy the first full week of September. Thankfully, I did find a good deal on The Boy's math -- Teaching Textbooks Algebra 1, v2.0 -- on homeschoolclassifieds.

As to what else we have been up to... the kids found season 8 of Dr. Who on Netflix. We also found a period drama (mini-series) called Dancing on the Edge, set in early 1930s London, and beautifully made. It has led to some good discussions so far too! We've been working on cleaning and other schedules for the household, especially since it looks like M will be working 6 days a week for some time. The kids are stepping up to the challenge of taking on more responsibility very nicely... at least so far! The Girl's been working on clay and paper sculptures, The Boy on 3D art with heavy paper, lots of reading going on.

I'm working on a list of cook-ahead breakfasts and dinners for busy days. And a list of documentaries that I think we would enjoy, and that would add to our educations fairly painlessly. I also have this book to read by Tuesday night!

And our last butterfly hatched! We had almost given up on the third chrysalis...

Have a good weekend!

A Weekly Wrap-Up of Sorts...

We have been BUSY here lately! I can't wait for next week to be over, as I will then be on summer break. Well, sort of. I still have one tutoring student, am helping with an advanced English class at the local junior college, and am still sewing cat toys on the side. But I will be less busy, and that is good!

So here's a quick run-down on what we've been up to...

Exploring creek side trails

Watching the Peggy Sue Cruise

We saw so many beautifully kept/restored cars!

 And The Boy, with the help of his best friend, J, got to do a pretty major job on the car. They put on new front brake pads, which involved removed tires, a lot of pounding to get things loose, some tools borrowed from a neighbor (as some of ours are missing), and lots of grease, as you can see!

At least now my brakes are working well, and not grinding when I stop.

We've also been... 

watching movies (Excalibur and Mists of Avalon last weekend)

Enjoying a read aloud of Holes

Getting ready for M's birthday tomorrow

Preparing to celebrate summer at our park day, and then at home on Sunday (I think I'll make these muffins for Sunday's breakfast, and I am making this dip to go with strawberries for today's park celebration)

Rearranging parts of the house

I've also been fairly hard at work on the front yard. My brother-in-law, when he lived here, insisted on keeping a small patch of lawn out there, which he surrounded with bark... bark that brought bindweed with it (I am sure Jessica can sympathize). We had thought about a gravel and plant combo, but have decided bark, combined with grasses and flowering plants, would look nicest... if put over a weed cloth barrier. And I want to plant a Meyer lemon tree to compliment our very healthy olive tree. We also have well established lavender, rosemary, and sage to work around, as I like landscaping with herbs too.

image courtesy of dogislandfarm.com

So I have been tearing up dead lawn (thank you drought), removing bindweed, and daydreaming about something prettier.

Cooking-wise, the kids and I have been eating a lot of meat-free dinners when M is at work in the evenings. Inexpensive and healthy. Do you have any favorite vegetarian main dishes/meals to share? I'm always looking for new ideas!

Have a good weekend, and

A Weekly Report and Hmmpff...

Things are generally going okay. 

Notes of Interest:
M has a new job at an upscale French-style bistro, and he loves it! He started low on the totem pole, but there is definite interest in moving him up (from him, and his co-workers/bosses).
The Boy is getting ready for his last in-club fencing tournament of the season, next weekend.
Which happens to be on the same day as a fantastic vintage car show he wants to attend with his best buddy.
And The Girl's next derby bout is that evening. Thank goodness they are all at different times!
Plus, we have a birthday coming up! Yes, my boy will be 14!
Both kids are in a local parade this weekend, to be followed by short demos. I am glad M has the day off, and has offered to make sure The Boy is where he needs to be, so I can do the same for The Girl.

Homeschooling Notes of Interest:
The Boy is making great progress with Life of Fred prealgebra, and he's learning interesting biological facts along the way. He'll finish this book in the next few weeks, and will be doing the last prealgebra book at a relaxed pace over the summer. He started reading Frankenstein last week, and so far is doing well with it, especially since we found this awesome Steampunk-illustrated version!

The Girl finished Cats this week, and plans to finish Dogs and Edgewood by the end of our school ear. She too will be continuing with Life of Fred over the summer, albeit at a more relaxed pace. She's eager to get back ahead in math! She's also discovered she can spell if she puts her mind to it! Right now, I'm using a combination of books I have on hand to make spelling lists for her, but hope to use Spelling Works with her in the fall. She has fallen in love with the Oz series once more, having picked up The Emerald City of Oz last week. She also spent an hour rearranging the books in her bedroom bookshelf, and says she wants ti full by the end of the [calendar] year (it is half empty right now)!

History and science are sadly lacking these days, which brings me to my duh moment of the week...

I've been reworking my Learning Page, and just realized why our homeschooling doesn't seem as effective these days. Wow, do I ever have too many resources! No wonder I feel grumpy and overwhelmed!

So that got me thinking, what if I actually pared everything down?

What if, instead of this hot mess, it looked like this?

Language Arts:
The Boy --
Thinking in Threes (this year), followed by Fairview's Guide to Composition & Essay Writing (fall) 
Hot Fudge Monday: Tasty Ways to Teach Parts of Speech (this year), followed by Excavating English (fall)


The Girl --
Writing Skills (this year), followed by Jump In! (fall)

Homemade spelling lessons (this year), followed by Spelling Works  (fall)

Math:
Just the Life of Fred series, unless we really needed some supplementing

Science:
The Boy --
Choose ONE of three (Conceptual Physics (wants to finish this someday); Conceptual Chemistry; Exploring the Way Life Works), or spend 12 weeks working in each, and finish the books in tenth grade

The Girl --
Just selections from Science Explorers "Small" books, and her choice of titles from the
Scientists in the Field series

History:
Review [late] ancient times over the next few weeks with A Little History of the World, then in the fall, start with medieval times, using volume 1 of K12's Human Odyssey, then go right into volume 2, up through the Renaissance/exploration. Pick a few good books to go alongside (I like most of this list), add in movies/documentaries as desired. 

Geography:
Either Mapping the World with Art or National Council for Geographic Education's Geography Club activities  

Of course we could keep the Afternoon Basket, and go back to one title for each rotational day...

Simplicity... I don't know... Can we do it?

Another Week Down... Nine to Go...

 

Sunset this week while out walking by a local lake

...The Boy's Week...

He started [a review of] prealgebra, with Life of Fred's Prealgebra 1 with Biology, going through 2-3 lessons a day, and he's really enjoying it! I am glad he's getting at least some biology in there, as that is one of the sciences he really isn't too interested in generally, though he seems to be fine with it in this context.

He did a brainstorming session for his writing project of the month. Next week, he'll work on narrowing it down, getting a thesis in place, and research.

He read through World War I: An Interactive History Adventure, and is charting how many different adventures he can choose within the confines of the book. When we were at the library on Wednesday, he suddenly remembered how much he liked these books when he was younger, so off he went to choose his adventures! He picked up a couple of other choose-you-own-adventure books as well, one set in the future, and the other regarding space travel. He says that when he's done with all the variations of the WWI title, he'll look at other historical ones.

He also took apart the driver's side door on the car, to see if he could fix the slight grating that occurs when I roll the window up. He was able to pinpoint the problem, but unable to fix it at the moment. I will say that I was very nervous about this project, especially when it came to him actually taking apart the window mechanism and having the window loose. It seems to all be back together quite well though!

He also studied some German, with German Made Simple; worked on some sketches; read some more about Henry Ford; did a fair amount of skyping and computer gaming with friends; got a 45 minute private lesson at fencing when he and one of the top rated fencers there were the only two fencing épée one night; and he cleaned the family room!

Next week, I'd like him to work a little more on science, but I think he's doing pretty well overall at balancing his learning activities. I would also like him to cut back down on computer time -- he seems to go through phases with it, and it's been on a bit too much of an upswing lately.

...The Girl's Week...

She finished flying through Apples and in two days is eight chapters into Butterflies in math. The review is seeming to be good for her -- her responses to number family questions are much faster, and we've been playing around a lot with the idea of empty sets. We also reviewed multiplication tables (i.e. skip counting) by tossing a ball back and forth.

She read aloud from her beloved Mother Goose book, and is memorizing poems like crazy. Her reading skills (especially aloud) have improved so much! We also started listening to some Shakespearian sonnets on youtube, and found them read aloud by Alan Rickman, Daniel Radcliffe, and David Tennant! She wrote in her journal almost every day this week, and has started a copybook of favorite poetry. We also started reading Pizza, Pigs, & Poetry, and I think she's about ready to try her hand at writing some of her own.

She's listening to Gilda Joyce: The Dead Drop on audiobook, and, after setting aside The Cats of Tanglewood Forest (she just couldn't really get into it... yet) picked up a copy of Understood Betsy to try.

She also is working with leash training one of our dogs, having spent her own money on a new leash, harness, and collar; made breakfast for her brother and herself a couple of times this week; worked on some more sculpture and stop motion photography; went walking with me around a local lake; read about frogs and bats in her collection of library books; had derby practice; and designed and sewed, by hand, a dress for an old Disney/Barbie doll.

Over the next week, I would like to see her settle on one book to read for a while, instead of skipping around quite so much, meaning that I am hoping she can actually read all of Understood Betsy before picking something else. I'd also like to read Girls Who Looked Under Rocks with her, something I've been planning/thinking about for a while.

...Together...

We re-watched episode one of The Amazing Race (season one) and marked the first legs of their journey on the large map I printed out from National Geographic, which is now taking up almost an entire wall in the dining room/area. We read about Victoria Falls (one of the sites they visited on the show).

We read about hunters and otters in our California [natural] history book, and started enjoying Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

We watched a couple more episodes of Lost, and several episodes of Friends (I know, super educational, right?). We then talked about going back to a weekly rotation of shows, such as Once Upon a Time, Eureka, etc., rather than getting stuck on the same couple of shows day in and day out.

We also played a few card games; listened to some more of The Last Olympian; laughed a lot; took extra vitamins/supplements because my mom, sister, and brother have all had the flu, which we very much do not want; played with the rabbits; and devoured some really good homemade tacos. 

...And My Week...

I found a new place right by work to take my daily break-time walks...

I love finding wildness right at hand!

I gave a presentation on animal therapy in my psychology class this week, part of which included a visit from a dog therapy team, which seemed to be a big hit!

I completed more of my service hour requirements, at a teen crisis shelter, for the same class.

I started re-reading Six of One. Rita Mae Brown always makes me laugh, and I love the honesty of her characters.

I exercised at least a bit every day this week. I'm trying to hit 10,000 steps everyday (hovering closer to 8,000 though), which includes any running I do, plus I do some weight training. I've got a long journey ahead of me in this aspect, but am enjoying it so far!

How was your week?

{linked up at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers}