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.

Recipe: Make Ahead Breakfast...

This week, I tried a new make-ahead breakfast, high in protein, low in sugar, and it has a little fiber. You can get 4-6 servings from this (see below).

QUINOA EGG BAKE

Ingredients

1 teaspoon butter or cooking spray
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
2 whole eggs
8-10 egg whites
1 1/4 cup milk
1/2 tablespoon garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 cups packed baby spinach, roughly chopped
1/2 cup finely shredded romano or parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-by-8-inch glass or metal baking dish with butter/spray; set aside.
2. Put quinoa into a fine-mesh strainer and rinse under cold running water until water runs clear; drain well.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, garlic, thyme, salt, pepper, and quinoa. Stir in spinach, then pour mixture into prepared dish.
4. Cover tightly with foil then jiggle dish gently from side to side so that quinoa settles on the bottom in an even layer. Bake until just set, about 45 minutes.
5. Remove foil and sprinkle top evenly with cheese. Return to oven and bake, uncovered, until golden brown and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes more.
6. Set aside to let cool briefly, then slice and serve. 

Servings

4 servings = 305 calories each, with 25 g. protein, 5 g. sugar, and 2 g. fiber
6 servings = 203 calories each, with 16.6 g. protein, 3.3 g. sugar, and 1.3 g. fiber

I reheat mine in the toaster oven, set on convection bake, at 350, for 15 minutes. That gives me time to make coffee, get a nice plate set out, etc.!

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!

Monday Musings...Much Thinking Going On...

We're taking a bit of a break right now from the rigors of homeschooling, to focus on getting our lives more organized. Part of that is thinking over, and rethinking over, what is working in our lives and what is not.

First, an easier one: menu planning. I found a lot of inspiration in this post from Kim over at Our Enchanted Place. With many evenings dedicated to practices (fencing, roller derby), hectic work schedules, and my college class(es), planning ahead is key. We've slowly settled into a rotation that works well for us:

Saturdays: this is one of the days I really have time to cook. Sometimes I'll roast a chicken, if we want the leftovers, or we tend to do a lot of our ethnic cooking on this day, such as curries, African stews, and more. In the summer, if M is home from work, this also tends to be a grilling outdoors kind of day.

Sundays: The Girl has derby until 6:30 pm most of the year. This is a great night for pasta during the colder months, and salads (containing pasta or not) in the warmer months.

Mondays: Soup during the colder months, sandwiches or salads during the warm ones, due to a busy Monday schedule and The Boy's fencing class. We use the crockpot a lot on Monday soup nights!

Tuesdays: Another day I actually get to spend time cooking, and often, The Girl helps. I am thinking of making this our learn to cook night--I'll take turns with the kids, letting them choose what to cook, making grocery lists, budgeting, and then doing the cooking.

Wednesdays: More fencing, so this is generally a quick-cooking sort of evening. We often have things like quesadillas, or tacos on Wednesdays. Sometimes, when M is home, he'll take over cooking this evening, and then we'll have omelets or a stir-fry.

Thursdays: A cook-ahead day, so things like casseroles or crockpot dishes beyond soup, as The Girl has a later derby practice most of the year.

Fridays: Sometimes the kids will spend Friday night at their Nonna's house, and then M and I have whatever we feel like (within reason of course..no Maine lobster and caviar!). On other Fridays, we have pizza night! I make a big batch of dough for crusts and freeze some, so pizza night is never too challenging. Toppings range from regular ones like pepperoni, to leftover chicken, roasted veggies, etc., depending on what flavor we want.

Then, homeschooling. I am coming up with new goals fro January through May, so I think I'll dedicate w post to that later in the week!

Thirdly, budgeting. I have good intentions in this area, I really do. But, somehow it never gets done -- writing and sticking to the budget that is, although I can't say we're spending in excess either. I'm reading Total Money Makeover at the moment, and M and I have been discussing how we are going to put it into practice. That is one of our major goals for 2015... to implement the tools used in the book. We want to model fiscal responsibility for our children, we want to tackle debt (which we have far too much of in my mind), and we want to start getting ready for the future, since we are both in our 40s.

Do you, my loyal reader(s), budget?

Other projects: I am working on a housecleaning rotation, and having the kids take more responsibility for helping with housework. Part of this is part of their education -- housekeeping, budgeting, cooking, etc., are all like skills in which I feel they should be well versed. M and I are listing household projects that need to be done, and then ranking them in order of importance (i.e. roof work = very important, rebuilding the chicken hutch = not as important).

Hope you all have a good week!

Politically Aware...

Yesterday, my kids and I happily participated in the March Against Monsanto. They made their own signs, and off we went!

We ran into a few different friends, listened to a couple of short speeches, and some great music by the the Hubbub Club kept the energy up!

When we got home, we downloaded a suggested app, Buycott, and The Girl tested various products in our house. We were pleased to see that much of what we buy supports a sustainable future, or at the very least does not support Monsanto/etc... in fact, the only foods that came up a big fat NO were the cans of stuff left behind by BIL when he moved out!

It's really got the kids thinking abut what we're putting on our plates. I'm writing up this week's menu and grocery list shortly, and they asked me to "please be careful about what you buy". I wonder if they're ready for Food Inc.? It's been a while since I watched it honestly, so maybe I should screen it again first - The Girl, especially but The Boy to a degree too, tends to have issues with some factory farming images.

I think too I may have them start watching CNN Student News - of course I would watch it with them - but at 10 and 12, I think they should maybe have some familiarity with what's going on in the world.

Anyhow, for their first march/political protest, I am satisfied that it was a good choice. It is something they feel strongly about, and the atmosphere was largely calm and upbeat, not quite like the anti-war protests I marched in back in 1991!

Are your kids politically aware/active? Do they have pet causes?

Mantises!

We are delighted that this year our mantises hatched! Last year we bought an egg case as well, but nothing ever happened. This year though...

 Hundreds of hatchlings!

 And a close-up...

 Setting them free! They hatch with voracious appetites, and if you don't set them free, they'll eat each other!

The kids helped them spread throughout the yard

And we learned that bacon, though delicious, can be very dangerous! M went to fry some in a pan, and even though I backed away, it got me--I've never seen bacon spit that much grease out that far before. I now look like I have a pox of some sort, though lavender oil calmed the pain.

Friday Miscellenea...

Food Thoughts...
I've been reading a fair amount lately regarding the Paleo, or Primal, diet. It's some pretty interesting stuff! So far I have read The Primal Blueprint and Eat Like a Dinosaur (lots of intriguing recipes!), plus plenty of articles on Mark's Daily Apple. I'm not sure yet if I buy everything they say, but I have noticed that I feel better when I eat lower-carb... my skin looks better, my hips don't ache at night, and I have more energy. I also spent some time recently on Paleo Parents (the authors of the Eat Like a Dinosaur book). Any thoughts on this way of life?

Housework Thoughts...

How do you keep your house clean and organized while homeschooling? Our house looks very, very lived in at the moment. I'm trying to come up with a realistic plan for taking care of the house, the homeschooling, etc., while working and getting my own education. The kids are doing slightly better with their chores lately, but still, I need a game plan!

Gardening Thoughts...

M and I went to the nursery yesterday, and picked up some lovely veggie starts! We got sugar snap peas, broccoli, artichokes, chard, brussels sprouts, and strawberries. We'll head back in a while, when the frost stops, for tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, bell peppers, etc. I've never grown broccoli, artichokes, or brussels sprouts, so that will be an interesting and fun experiment! We're doing container gardening this year, as our soil... well, it kind of sucks, and would be a lot of work to amend properly. Speaking of growing, and experiments, my kids and I have been following the progression of Jessica and Benjamin's bean sprouting experiments over at Only Small Things, and I think we're going to try it ourselves!

Homeschooling Thoughts...

Field trips are in the works! This weekend, we're off to see the symphony, and then as our studies through ancient history progress, I would like to go to the Rosicrucion Egyptian Museum and, when we study ancient China, I would love to see this exhibit! We're also going to see Wynton Marsalis next month!

We've been doing a fair amount of documentary watching lately. The Girl is [nearly] obsessed with Walking with Dinosaurs (which The Boy enjoys too), and she enjoyed Sacagawea: Heroine of the Lewis & Clark Adventure. The Boy has also been watching Prototype This.

I think The Girl's going to try the one week trial of Reading Horizons software next week. She doesn't tend to love computer based learning, but since it is free, we'll give it a go!

Other Thoughts...

Speaking of The Girl, she'll be ten in just over a week! We're going to take Alice-in-Wonderland themed cupcakes to our park day (they'll say "Eat Me" on top!), and she's been talking about a piñata. For her birthday, she wants roller skates (for derby), and her brother's special Sloppy Joes for dinner. We will be doing something fun, as a family, on her birthday too... either bowling, or mini golf, or ??? I can't believe my youngest is about to hit double digits!

Have a good weekend!

Sunday Stuff...

1. We're doing a two week trial for The Boy on going gluten-free. The poor kid has had recurring stomach pain and digestive issues for about 4-5 years now. He was placed on an ulcer med and antibiotics for it at separate times, as well as digestive enzymes and probiotics, all with no real improvement, so I am really hoping this works. I've been reading What's Eating Your Child?, and it is a very helpful book for pinpointing possible issues. I'm also increasing his daily intake of essential fatty acids and DHA. Thankfully, we have a network of friends who are gluten-free, so I'm getting tons of helpful suggestions. I'm doing it with him as well, and M and The Girl will be mostly doing it (since I'm the head cook here!)

2. Lots of cooking going on today. I'm making a big pot of turkey-veggie-red-bean chili, garbanzos are cooking away in the crockpot for homemade hummus, and I'm making this delicious soup (I add cumin, and blend ALL of it to a smooth, velvety texture)...

 Roasted Eggplant-Tomato Soup

3. Grading papers and cleaning house today too. I need to catch up on laundry. Thankfully, The Girl has developed a [strange] passion for folding clean laundry, so I will definitely be enlisting her services! We don't do allowances, but I do pay the kids for small jobs that go above and beyond their general chores.

4. Homeschooling today too. On the agenda: Builders of the Old World; The Story of Science; some Book of Centuries work; math; art; geography; and music. Hoping to get to an actual art project today, while listening to George Gershwin's work. Still deciding which book to read next... The Dragon in the Cliff, The Swiss Family Robinson, or The Hobbit.

5. My kids have been on an old cartoons kick lately, everything from Cartoons That Time Forgot to classic Looney Tunes. I'm loving it! Takes me right back to my childhood.

Have a good Sunday!

Monday Musings... Let the Countdown Begin!

We'll be ready, I think, to start up next week, full steam ahead! Due to college, track, roller derby, work, etc., we have an "odd" schedule...
Sundays and Mondays will be fairly full homeschooling days
Tuesday will be a basics day (icing on the cake if we get to more!)
Wednesday and Thursday will be like Sundays and Mondays

So, what am I up to this week?

I did menu plan, and shopped accordingly (patting myself on the back). There will be some cooking ahead, and M will have to throw a casserole in the oven when I'm at school myself, but he's always okay with that.

I finally convinced myself, after looking at these Book of Centuries samples, and re-reading a few emails and blog comments, that I can let go of the bulk of history and science planning, and just go with my What If approach. What will we be starting with? Well, at the moment we are finishing a Landmark book that The Boy requested - The Wright Brothers - so The Girl gets a turn next. She is very interested in Sacajawea, so I found a vintage book that looks intriguing... Winged Moccasins: The Story of Sacajawea. Who knows where this will lead? If it peters out after the Sacajawea story, then The Boy is hoping to get through The Early Days of Automobiles! And Cassia mentioned something about ancient Egypt, giving us an excuse to use a unit from Builders of the Old World at some point. For science, we have a new microscope that everyone, M and I included, are dying to play with, so I thought we'd start out our year with The World in a Drop of Water, and Adventures with Freshwater Animals. I'll be having the kids each keep a science notebook this year.

I've got a few documentaries lined up that look good too. And we'll be reading about Leeuwenhoek and the microscope.

Other than that, I've got a line-up of great books from the 12 month guideline in A Picture Perfect Childhood. I finally found a reasonably priced copy of The Complete Book of Marvels for geography. I've got a list of good books I would like to read this year. Math, language arts... all my packages are trickling in, and I am starting to feel pretty good about this year! I have to say, the free 2 day shipping with Amazon Prime is a lifesaver this year, since some of my choices were rather last minute.

Also on the agenda...
~ Trying to get a routine down for housework
~ Weeding and deadheading the front yard
~ Putting together my Afternoon Basket for next week, which means a trip to the library as soon as some more holds are in
~ Getting some basic supplies: heavier weight paper than I have, some more glue sticks, new pencils and erasers, and so forth
~ Homework.. my own, that is. Just reading this week. I've been assigned The True History of the Kelly Gang (fairly fun reading, definitely interesting) for one class, and am working on several parts of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (a wee bit more challenging, I must admit) for another class.

And I think that's it! Hope you all  

A new venture...

We are joining Spiral Scouts, thanks to a homeschooling friend and her husband who have gone through the whole leadership process to start a Circle! This seems like it will be a better fit for us than other, more traditional Scouting. What we're planning is this... each family/participant in our Circle will choose their own projects from the handbooks (which I have seen and which are fantastic resources). We'll meet up once a month to share our accomplishments, discuss badges, what we'll be doing next, etc., with occasional group activities and/or field trips together too. I will have one Firefly (Cassia) and one Spiral Scout (Cyrus). The kids and I are very excited about this! While we're not really Pagan, we're not anything else either, and I think that's the closest fit. M thinks it is a great program too, and we are very much looking forward to participating in this. I like the respect for the planet and others that this scouting program promotes.

The friend who is organizing all this is talking about using her Spiral Scout handbooks as a basis for curriculum... once I get mine, and really read through them, I may do the same. The kids will cover biology, history, and more through hands-on projects that they choose - I'd just add in math and writing/reading. To see a sample of what it takes to get a badge, check out the requirements for a Gardening Badge. Like I said though, we'll have to see after I get the handbooks, although, as anyone who has ever read this blog knows, I don't mind shifting my plans around!

Anyhow, today we had our monthly Eating Around the World Lunch. This month we chose Italy. I took panzenella and Torta della Nonna, both yummy, yummy, yummy! We had lasagne, biscotti, cheeses, olives, and more. I have made panzenetta before, but never the torta until today. We also voted on next month's country - Cyrus and I chose Greece, Cassia chose China. We'll find out via email what the results were (keep your fingers crossed for Greece!)
Other than that, Wednesdays are our active unschooling day. Besides lunch (which included some spoken Italian, Italian flags, and lots of play), the kids have dissected salmon (online, virtual). Cyrus viewed a lot of human anatomy, and Cassia is playing on Word World. Unfortunately, Cyrus's piano teacher (and her family) all have the flu, so no piano lesson today.

And a follow-up on Cassia's reading: she has been working hard on this. Between The Reading Lesson, reading leveled books aloud with an adult, and Word World, she is really putting things together. She is still reluctant to learn, but understands that once she knows how, we'll all stop pestering her so much! The one exception to Wednesday unschooling is The Reading Lesson, just a few pages. Also speaking of Cassia... I realized yesterday that she is not challenged by the math she is doing right now. Thankfully, I have the entire Math Mammoth Blue Series, so I can just bump her up a level.

Off to the store to buy delicious dinner things, then we'll watch Arthur and the Minimoys #2 together.

Monday morning...

It is a beautiful, sunny Monday morning. A fresh start, the beginning of a whole week. The kids slept in, since they stayed up too late last night after all the Easter excitement. I have fresh brewed coffee at my side, and a fresh batch of Freckle Bread (thank you Cindie!) warm from the oven. I was thinking yesterday, browsing through the recipes on Cindie's blog, that I used to bake more. I made yummy muffins or quick breads, full of fruit and whole wheat flour, nuts and flax, honey and spices, and then I got into a rut where I wasn't baking. So I feel freshly inspired, and I have to say, the Freckle Bread is delicious!

Last night I found myself wondering, because of Oak Meadow talk on a message board, how far off my plans are for next year from a Waldorf curriculum, so I just looked around a bit and found that 5th graders do focus on ancient times, and according to several sources, 3rd graders focus on stories from ancient cultures. How funny is that? I didn't intentionally line those up - it just so happens that in classical education, a la The Well Trained Mind (WTM), 5th grade is ancient times, and Cassia was "tagging along." I don't really adhere to any one particular homeschooling method, but instead take all the bits and pieces that fit us best. Plus, it is time for my annual lusting after Oak Meadow, which never works for us anyway. So I look, I drool, and then I don't buy.

I am still considering History Odyssey Ancients level 2 for Cyrus (unsure if I'd use A Little History of the World OR The Story of Mankind with this), and have Cassia just listen along. I am also putting together a book list for Cassia, of fairy tales and myths from ancient cultures. Cyrus can listen in on those too. I think, after years of patching things together myself, I could use a year with things outlined for me, although I'd still probably make alterations here and there!

My other sticking spot is, as usual, science. I am half tempted to follow WTM biology suggestions, or to buy a biology program, and half tempted to simply finish reading through The Story Book of Science and then move into Madame How & Lady Why (over the summer maybe?), followed by The Secret Life of Everyday Things, adding in fun (and unrelated) projects from The Totally Irresponsible Book of Science once or twice a month. I think if we used simply the books I mentioned, I would have each child keep a nature journal/science notebook, with drawings, pictures of related crafts, notes about what they have learned, and so forth, much like the history notebook Cyrus will be keeping.

I do know that I would at some point like to add in The Story of Science as a read aloud to compliment history.

This week we will start our introduction to prehistory. We are going to cover the formation of the earth, the Big Bang, and things of that sort this week, and then move into fossils and archeology the following week. Don't tell my kids, but I have added a week to our schooling schedule, so we officially have eight weeks left instead of only seven, giving us a little more flexibility in our prehistory studies. We're also going to finish reading about ants in The Story Book of Science, work on spelling (Cyrus), reading (Cassia), finish up units on multiplication (Cyrus) and place value (Cassia), read a book about colonial times in America (Mondays are our American history days), and hopefully get a nature walk in.

Hope you all have a good week!