There You Are! And a Brief Weekly Report...

Look at all that rain we're eagerly anticipating! Of course, more would be even better, but I'll take what I can get!

On to reporting what we've been up to...

The Boy has been working on algebraic equations this week. While most of what he encountered in Zaccaro's Challenge Math made good sense almost immediately, he had some difficulty with negative number work yesterday. I think today we'll add in some Khan Academy for assistance. He's also been reading a Messner biography on Henry Ford. I absolutely have to recommend these books! They may be older, but they are written extremely well, and The Boy says he is learning so much that he didn't previously know about this hero of his. He started brainstorming for a Brave Writer writing project too.

The Girl and I are reading through a Messner biography too: Winged Moccasins, the Story of Sacajawea, which is also quite good. We're taking a brief break from Zaccaro's Primary Challenge Math to work on cementing basic multiplication and division with Right Brained Multiplication & Division. I think being more comfortable with these concepts will help her through Zaccaro. She's been reading aloud to me every day as well, this week from Ramona the Brave. She's struggling less and less each day with reading, though I'd like to see her keep working on fluency.

Together, we watched the third episode of Cosmos, and then we were delighted to see that Amazon has made Mankind: The Story of All of Us free on Prime, so we watched the sixth episode as we had already watched the first five with a library copy. We also read about the first Chinese emperor in Human Odyssey, started reading The Wind in the Willows (such a delightful book!), and finally finished the third Harry Potter title. Today I'm reading aloud from The Magic of Reality. And maybe today, or tomorrow, we'll do some painting!

I also put up a blank sheet of paper on the fridge for questions, an "Inquiry Board" of sorts. The Girl asked two questions... who was the first president to live in the White House, and who invented dental floss, and The Boy asked if a particle accelerator could be built at home. So we spent some time looking up the answers (John Adams, Levi Spear Parmly, and yes). This was a lot of fun!

This weekend, The Boy has his first épée tournament. He is very excited about it! The Girl has derby practice as well. M has another job interview, and I will tell you more about the whys behind that later. I hope to catch up on some book sorting, and get everything prepped for next week.

Next week, we'll have the Afternoon Basket back in full rotation. The Boy is going to choose a Landmark title for us to share, and The Girl an All About book, in order to delve more deeply into the parts of history and science that fascinate them. We'll keep reading our history overview book (Human Odyssey) at the rate of one chapter each week, and we'll be using Dr. Art's Guide to Science once a week as well, for general science. I am really hoping we can fit Mapping the World with Art back in as well.

Since the Inquiry Board is working well, next week I also plan to start using the fridge for more. I'll have a quote each week, art of course, and I haven't decided what else. Maybe a spelling rule, a scientific fact, a funny historical fact... I'll have to think about this.

Hope you are all having a good week too!

Good Things...

Sarah asked on her post Heartwarming Moments, "What good thing has happened to you lately?" And since it has been a little while since I posted, I thought I'd use this as a way to catch up!

* The Boy told me yesterday, after encountering algebra in Zaccaro's Challenge Math, "Mom, algebra is actually kind of fun!" *

* We got to hang out with friends at the roller skating rink yesterday, after I got off work, and before we sat down to do some homeschooling. *

* M has a job!!!! As a cook!!! *

* My brother came back to visit for the first time in three months since moving to Arizona (work-related move). My mom made a nice lasagna, we hung out, and there was a lot of laughter! *

* We're really enjoying where we are in history and science right now. Both are a mishmash of books, documentaries, and a little hands-on. *

* While I don't really watch it myself, the kids are really into Dr. Who, and I love watching them watch the show, because they have all these insane conversations. Some insightful, some funny, some just bizarre. *

And I'll pass on the question... What good thing has happened to you lately?

Monday Musings...

Another week has -- poof! -- gone by, and here we are again!

Over the Weekend...
We watched Catching Fire, the second in The Hunger Games trilogy. Everyone seemed to enjoy it quite a lot. The Boy was just happy that it managed to stay pretty true to the book. We also went to the library, cleaned out guinea pig cages, and I graded a lot of papers.



Outside My Window...
We had rain during the night, but now it is clear and sunny, on the cool side. I love nighttime rain, especially when the following day is so pretty!

Around the House & Garden...
The Boy just called me to tell me he has a stomach ache. Grrr. I do not need sick kids! Hopefully it will pass, and won't be anything real. Other than that, it's the same old thing... always housework to be done, always laundry to be folded, and so on. The ground has been too wet to do much lately, so I am hoping it'll dry out just a little this week, then I can tackle weeding.

In the Kitchen...
We had a delicious roasted chicken on Saturday night. Yesterday I made soft tacos with some of the leftovers, and tonight it'll be chicken-lentil-vegetable soup with homemade broth. Hopefully there will be extra soup for [my] lunches later in the week. I do plan to make a pie for Friday, which is Pii Day!

In Our Homeschooling...
I am hoping a couple of things arrive in the mail this week. One is the tests and worksheet packet for Saxon Math 5/4, so I can test The Girl out of some of the lessons. The other is a book called The Sciences: An Integrated Approach, which I would like to start using with both kids as a science spine/general exposure. I want The Boy to work on catching up on his online physics lectures (we got side-tracked with the National Mythology Exam), and I think The Girl and I might work from The World in a Drop of Water. And of course some reading from Human Odyssey, and maybe a project from Totally Irresponsible Science, just for the fun of it!

Reading and Watching...
We are so excited about the new Cosmos series! We've been anxiously awaiting it, and bought the season pass already through Amazon. We finally got back to season 2 of Once Upon a Time. M and I have been watching Numbers, which is pretty intriguing (we don't care for season 2 of American Horror Story), and I am wrapping up season 2 of The Tudors. I'm reading Overcoming Dyslexia, and hope to wrap up A Wrinkle in Time and the third Harry Potter book with the kids this week. Then I think we'll move on to The Princess and the Goblin, and probably the fourth Potter book. And we really need to watch Modern Marvels: Great Wall of China this week. Maybe some Wild China too, which is a stunningly beautiful mini-series.

Other Bits & Pieces...
I am waiting for a response to an email I sent about getting The Girl (and myself, and maybe The Boy) on a waiting list for a "puppy petting" program, working with service dogs. I think Cassia would absolutely love it! In another year or so, I might have her volunteer at the local wildlife rescue center, since she still really wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up. I am trying to think of volunteer and/or intern opportunities that might really appeal to The Boy as well. M has yet another job interview today, and I am keeping my fingers tightly crossed.

Derby practice last night looked a bit tough for The Girl, a lot of sudden stops and switching directions, skating forward and backward. A year ago, she would have complained that it was too tough, but yesterday, she simply told me "I love derby practice!" She's really delighted to be working with the older girls.

Also On the Agenda...
Fencing tonight and Wednesday for The Boy, if his tummy feels better. Class for me on Thursday. M's interview today, and then, if still necessary, a meeting for him at the culinary training center with a job placement counselor. I wish the economy were better, and that he was having an easier time finding work.

Hope you all have a good week!

In March...

I am totally stealing this idea from Kim over at Our Enchanted Place.

Holidays... Special Days... Other Things On the Agenda... Odds & Ends...

March 4: Both Mardi Gras and The Girl's birthday! She wanted her dad's homemade hamburgers for her birthday dinner, so I will be making jambalaya a day late (tonight).

March 9: We change the clocks! I really, really dislike "springing forward", but am not willing to move to Arizona to rectify the matter.

March 14: We are definitely going to have to remember to celebrate Pii Day this year! I'm sure Cassia will be more than willing to help me make a pie.

March 15: Ides of March. I'll have to come up with something to do! Maybe plant some flowers in honor of the Roman first day of spring...

March 16: We'll have to make sure we notice the Full Moon. I've been trying to get the kids to notice the phases of the moon a little more. March's full moon is called the Worm Moon or Sap Moon, so maybe I'll make something with maple syrup to celebrate the latter name.

March 17: St. Patrick's Day, and yes, we have Irish in us, on both sides of the family. We'll be wearing green, making soda bread, and something Irish for dinner (maybe lamb stew and Irish potato pancakes?)

March 17-21: Spring break at work, and yes, I have the week off. Plans include at least a couple of field trips at long last! I'm looking at a cheese factory tour, maybe the local college art galleries, and perhaps the Petrified Forest, and/or local planetarium.

March 20: The first day of spring! Maybe some wildflower gathering, seed-sowing, a nice dinner celebrating the vegetables of the season. We don't really celebrate Easter, so I'll be giving the kids "Equinox baskets" on the 20th, with some treats, some trinkets, etc.

And the Odds & Ends:
Wet-on-wet watercolors (every time I buy paint, The Girl manages to find it and use it before we get to wet-on-wet-work!)

Potting some flowers for the front steps, probably pansies and geraniums

Figuring out where we're putting the raised beds exactly

Cleaning out the kids' clothes again, and donating what doesn't fit

Researching volunteer opportunities for the kids

Have a delightful month!

Eleven Years...

It has been eleven years since I first held my daughter. Eleven years of laughing, hugging, tears, joy, pain, and love. Grateful for every moment of it!

Monday Musings...

Outside My Window...
More cloudy gray skies, and more rain to come! We are supposed to have a few sunny days later in the week, to be followed by more rain, and then more sun. There are plum trees blooming everywhere... so pretty! And acacia in bloom too, which usually indicates allergies on the way for The Boy.

In My House & Garden...
We're definitely getting better at keeping the house tidy, though I still sometimes play catch-up, like yesterday's four loads of dishes (yes, I was them by hand, we don't have a dishwasher, so they are smaller loads, but still...) and three loads of laundry. The kids have gotten much better at remembering to pick things up on a daily basis. I still need to purge some books (the pain!), and pack some away.

In the garden, my hydrangeas are leafing out, as is the apple tree. The limequat is in constant bloom, and the dwarf peach put out flowers over the last week too. Everything else is wet and often muddy.

In Our Homeschooling...
The Boy and I looked at the pre-test for Art of Problem Solving Prealgebra last night, and figured out some areas to do a little extra work on in addition to Life of Fred. So he'll be doing some Math Mammoth work this week in fractions. We'll also be targeting some decimal work, and integers (both a little later on). We didn't finish his short story last week, so he'll be rewriting and editing that this week. He will also be taking the National Mythology Exam this week! He'll be thumbing through a few books on Nikola Tessla to pick one to read.

The Girl will also be using Math Mammoth this week, to work on multiplication while we wait for the Saxon 5/4 test packet I ordered. I think she's bored with where she is in Saxon, and needs to move forward. Testing her out of lessons seems the best approach to jumping ahead. We made some great progress in reading last week with a combination of whiteboard spelling (word families, suffixes, etc.) and reading from real books, so we'll continue that! We'll be starting Winged Moccasins: The Story of Sacajawea this week as well.

Reading & Watching...
I had ordered a bunch of free science dvds from HHMI recently, and just got them in the mail Saturday, so we might check out one or two of those. I'm still reading Uncle Tom's Cabin for class, and hopefully will be starting Overcoming Dyslexia this week. In fun reading, I'm going back through the Hunger Games trilogy, as The Boy is starting the third book today, and I want to be able to discuss the books with him. It's been a while since my original reading of them, so I have lost track of some of the finer points. We'll be watching Modern Marvels: The Great Wall of China this week, as we read about the Great Wall in both The Human Odyssey and The Complete Book of Marvels. I also challenged myself to complete an assignment I gave the kids -- one biography or autobiography each month, so this month I am reading Anne Boleyn: A New Life of England's Tragic Queen.

Happenings Around Here...
The Girl's birthday is tomorrow! She'll be ELEVEN. She talked about maybe going bowling, and of course we'll be making special meals, she'll get gifts tomorrow morning, etc. She had her first roller derby practice with the older girls last night, and adored it. I haven't seen her work that hard in a while -- I think she needed the challenge! We're going to go to the local school parking lot after hours this week and work on her getting a running start on her toe stops... something she struggled a little with last night. The Boy has fencing tonight and Wednesday. And today I am going around to look for the last present I need to pick up for tomorrow!

Hope you all have a good week!