Almost There...

2014 is almost here! I am totally ready for a new year to start, and hopefully a better one. While 2013 wasn't really bad or anything like that, we do need some changes around here.

Tonight we usher in a fresh start. I hope we all make the most of it!

Wishing You & Yours...

I'll be back in 2014 (maybe before, maybe not) with plenty of holiday pictures to share! And some updates to our homeschooling adventures. See you then!

Christmas Movies...

We got our Christmas tree, a small one, set up yesterday, and it is finally beginning to feel like Christmas around the house! I'm compiling our annual to-watch list, since I will be on vacation from both work and school as of this afternoon.

There are some movies we watch every year....

           

Yes, we watch (at least) TWO versions of A Christmas Carol. Alistair Sim is amazing as Scrooge -- an absolute classic -- and I have a longtime crush on Patrick Stewart. And yes, we only watch the Boris Karloff version of The Grinch, thank you very much! Scrooged was new to the kids last year, and they seemed to really enjoy the more modern take on a familiar story.

Other Christmas movies we enjoy...

        and   

Though I must say, we much prefer the first Santa Clause movie over the other two.

This year, I am thinking of adding in a classic or two...

   and maybe   

What about you? What are your favorite holiday movies?

The Girl's Cake...

The Girl loves cooking and baking, so this week she made a variation on an applesauce spice cake recipe (Moosewood), turning it into an Applesauce Honey Spice Cake that is absolutely delicious! It came out moist, and not too sweet. So here's her recipe!

Applesauce Honey Spice Cake

Ingredients:
* 2 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
* 1 tsp salt
* 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
* 2 tsp baking powder
* 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon (or to taste)
* 1/2 tsp nutmeg (or to taste)
* 1/2 tsp ground cloves (or to taste)
* 1 tsp. vanilla
* 1/2 c butter, softened
* 1 1/4 cups honey
* 2 eggs
* 1 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a bundt pan (other pans would work well too, such as an 8x8x2 baking dish).
Cream together the butter and honey until well mixed and fluffy. Add in the vanilla, and then the eggs, and finally the applesauce, mixing well. In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the applesauce mixture.
Pour the batter into the pan and level out. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a knife or skewer inserted near the middle comes out clean.
Makes 12-16 servings.

Optional drizzle topping:
1/2 cup apple juice
A sprinkle of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves
2 Tbsp. honey

Place ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until reduced to a near syrupy state. Drizzle over the top of the finished cake before serving.

Enjoy!

On Vacation...

When I originally planned out our school year, I planned December as a month off. Then I thought we should go for at least a couple of weeks, and then yesterday, I decided Plan A really was the best plan for this time of year, so yes, we are on vacation until January! (Although, we are going to finish reading through The Magic of Reality this month)

And I like the time off because it gives me to review where we've been so far, and where we are going.

What's Working...

I love that our days are simple. Math, writing (The Boy), reading (The Girl), and then our focus point/block study. And yes, that's it, unless you count the reading aloud I do as well. The kids have time to play outside, to draw pictures, play board or card games, to watch random documentaries, or not-so-random documentaries, and things of that sort.

What's Not Working...

While we are loving The Magic of Reality, I think it isn't really quite focused enough for a block study, since it covers so much scientific territory! And it is hard to really plan a lot of hands-on things to go with it, or maybe not hard exactly, but again, with so much going on, it is hard to choose wisely when it comes to hands-on.

Math is going quite well, but I need to be more diligent about having The Boy write every day.

What I'm Planning...

I'm thinking about our next block study, which will focus on Greek mythology and some Greek history (book one, book two, book 3, or book 4? Yes, I own far too many books on Greek history), just in time for the National Mythology Exams! I know I want to work in Rosemary Sutcliff's books Black Ships Before Troy and The Wanderings of Odysseus, specifically the versions illustrated by Alan Lee.

OR, we may well go back to unschooling. Both kids have requested this. The Girl wants dinosaurs, not Greek mythology so much, and The Boy wants Greek mythology, and not dinosaurs so much.

The Girl has asked for a break from Reading Horizons--she says she is tired of spending time in front of the computer, so I think we'll take a break from that, and work through Reading Pathways again for a while. It is really good for review and building fluency.

And What We're Doing...

Besides reading aloud from The Magic of Reality and A Wrinkle in Time, we'll be watching a handful of Dickens movies, since I am really hoping to take the kids to the Dickens Faire again this year. We'll be making cookies and fudge to give away; getting professional photographs done of the kids for the two relatives that really like that sort of thing; celebrating the Solstice; decorating a Christmas tree; and getting the house generally ready (steam cleaned and decorated, etc.) for our annual Christmas Eve celebration with family. We'll be watching Christmas movies; making a few gifts; and generally spend time enjoying the month!

I'm glad to be done with another semester, and M finishes up next week. And then I don't go back until mid-January!

Can I please ask anyone who reads this to keep their fingers crossed for us? M is trying very hard to find employment, as all federal unemployment extensions (of which he is on one) are being stopped completely as of December 28th. We're trying to stay calm!