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And Levi is 1/4 way through his math book already! Yay!! James will be by the end of next week... and they are both about 1/4 way through the other things as well. Right on schedule. Awww that feels good!! We had our first homeschool co-op (Friday School) last Friday. It went really well. This year the kids are taking Lego Club, Cooking, Model Airplanes, Archery, Tamborine Dance (Beth ... not the boys! LOL), Nature Club and one other I can't remember at the moment. The boys said their favorite class was Archery. We go to an actual Archery Club and they give the kids lessons. Each of them got to shoot the bow 6 times, so that was pretty exciting to them. They'll get to shoot more often as time goes on. The first class is a lot of instruction. They're pretty excited to be like Robin Hood! *grin* Piano lessons also started this week. Both of the older boys are taking it this year. It's an expense I'm willing to do because I feel it's a really good basis for all things musical. My hubby was very musical in highschool and would continue to be so if he could be. The children seem to love it as well and I'm amazed at how quickly Levi picked up the piano last year... we'll see how James does this year. He loved his first lesson, so that's a plus! |
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Homeschooling an artistic child is proving to be a challenge for me. Where I'd like to just get on w/ the school work and get it done ASAP, he wants to color his doughnut pictures w/ sprinkles and all sorts of fun things. Or he's asked to draw a picture of milk and turns it into milk in the grocery refridgerator. Of course there's someone getting it out of the fridge and then there's the man's grocery cart which is full of things like cereal, eggs, bread, etc. So far I'm just being patient and allowing this creativity to sprout and I am pretty sure that's just how I'll do it... but part of me wants to say "OK! It just asked you to draw MILK not the whole grocery store!!!" Makes me sound like a bad homeschooling Mom doesn't it?? But... I'm not acting on my annoyances and am allowing him to have this creative streak that God gave him. That is, after all, one of the reasons I homeschool. I finally called the superintendant of the local schools and he said they don't sent the paperwork after the first year?? I was told otherwise by other homeschoolers, but whatever. He said all I have to do is send in a paper describing the curriculum we'll be using and when I will be writing in my quarterlies. Sounds easy enough... I already have it all on the computer, so I'll just print out what I have and sent it in. It's pretty easy this year since I'm not piecing together the curriculum.
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Another week has flown by. I'm so excited as we're staying right on schedule & will be done 1/4 of the work by the end of September!! WOOHOO!! That is a great feeling, yk?! This morning was the first morning that James really didn't want to do school. He complained, but I sent him into the kitchen anyway and once we got started he did fine. He even scored higher on his spelling test than Levi did on his, so he was proud of himself for that. LOL! I try to remind them it's not a competition, but when you have 2 boys only 13 months apart it seems everything is a competition. Still not sure what to do w/ Art. My friend suggested we pick an artist/week. Study the artist, his/her style, country, etc. I think that sounds like fun and am thinking of putting that into action. If I can sit down and have an hour or so I can probably come up w/ a few months worth of art in one sitting. I should probably just do it. The kids keep asking "What are we doing for art"... but so far it's just painting techniques and making crafts. I want it to be more than that though. I'm pretty satisfied with the A Beka curriculum. The colorful pages and the animals on them make it more fun for the kids too. They seem to be learning what they need to learn. James doesn't like it that they put "girly" stuff in them though and thinks they ought to make a boy curriculum and a girl curriculum. They need to keep all dolls, brides, dresses, etc out of the boys curriculum. LOL! He's at such a funny stage where "Girls have cooties". Though he has decided to marry my friends daughter and says when he's off on his archeology adventures his wife will stay home with the kids. I know I keep saying this... but I cannot believe how much James' reading is improving! He doesn't realize that every bit of reading in his school work is really helping him... he complains about it, but I keep pointing out how much better he's getting every day. I found a set of 4 Little Bear books and 4 Frog & Toad books at Sams Club and he jumped right into the LIttle Bear books (anything w/ bears is exciting, you know! *grin*) I love it when the reading just suddenly 'clicks' and it's less of a struggle. Still no word on the paperwork, so I called this morning. The superintendant was in a class, so I'm waiting for his call back. I hope it's just an oversight. The only issue may be my final report last school year. I had no idea what to do so I wrote a report on Levi's schooling... but then my printer was out of ink & I needed to get it taken care of asap, so I hand wrote it. *sigh* I hope it's not an issue.... but we'll see. It still shouldn't have affected my Intent to Homeschool letter for this year though.
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We finished week 2 today. The boys are doing well and we're definitely going to make our first quarter goals if they keep up as well as they've been doing. Yay! Actually would love for them to be ahead of our first quarter goals if they can be, but I'm not pushing it. Art... I dunno what to do for art. We do projects, but I don't feel like they are really learning much. If anyone reads this and has suggestions, I'd love them. It can't be too spendy tho. James' reading is taking off!! He still needs lots of reminders, but I pointed out to him how much better he did in his school books today. He said nonchalantly, "I know" LOL! Neither of the boys like spelling tests... I'm going to start adding math tests & speed drills to Levi's work soon. I haven't heard back from the school district yet and I'm getting a little nervous. I sent in my intent to homeschool letter over a month ago and should have received the paperwork I needed to fill out, but haven't yet. I tried to call the man in charge, but there was no one in the office yesterday. I didn't try today. I need to know if they received it... I hate to be behind on paperwork and it's driving me crazy that I haven't received anything yet. Tomorrow is our first field trip w/ Friday school. Every year a county fair in VT does a Free Day for schools. Homeschoolers can come too if they come in a group. So we're all meeting at the fair tomorrow. We don't have to stick together and can wander around as we please. So I'm taking the kids. I'm praying it won't be too hot. Walking around fairgrounds w/ 4 children when I'm 32 weeks pregnant doesn't sound like a ton of fun, but it will be much worse if it's hot. Hopefully it won't be... the kids will have fun either way tho. |
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So we just completely day 2 of school this week. James only takes an hour to do it all and so far not a word of complaint from him! I'm amazed... tho I'm sure the complaining will come. He picked out "Frog & Toad All Year" at the library yesterday so I thought we'd give it a whirl. I looked at it this morning and thought "no way." But in the first 3 pages he only needed help with "wonderful", "beautiful" and one other word I can't remember right now. I was so surprised. Then why does he fight it so much at times?? I'm thinking this will help build his self confidence in reading tho. He was quite proud of himself for doing it today! Now the complaining, dawdling and mind wandering is coming from Levi. Maybe cause he has completed one year of school this is all "old hat" to him?? He keeps looking at James' work and then at what Sammy &/or Beth is doing... or staring out the window. LOL! I kept having to say "School." He finished w/in 1.5 hrs, but could have done it more quickly had he not be day dreaming so much. I guess that's pretty typical for a 7 y/o tho. Beth is doing a K workbook... she likes it of course. It's so simple, but she likes feeling like she's doing something. Coloring, cutting & glueing are all good. :) Sammy is trouble with a capital "T". Throwing playdough, cutting things that shouldn't be cut, etc, etc, etc. He keeps busy doing good things, but then decides to try other things while he's at it. *sigh* And then if anyone tells him no he does the typical 2 y/o SCREAM... which is extremely annoying. I've started removing him from the room the minute he starts because it's SO distracting. Hopefully he'll get the idea and stop soon.
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I decided to clean out the school cupboard & project drawers today. What a CHORE... it took at least 1.5 hours. But it was a good thing to do... I was able to make a list of all the supplies we'll need for the school year. It's easy stuff this year like crayons, markers, glue, tape, etc. Nothing major and no notebooks needed... or paper (except colored paper which they seem to go through like water!) I'm pretty excited about that... Less $$ to have to put out at the beginning. :) I'm going to splurge and get a few fun items for Samuel (the 2 y/o), like playdough w/ accessories. It's been about 5 mos since we've had non-dried out playdough in our home. lol I need to figure out a few more things to get for him that will be fun & keep him busy for at least 10 minutes while we work. I planned out a schedule too: For subjects we'll be doing: Mon ~ Math, Writing, Reading, History & Art Tues ~ Math, Writing, Reading & Science Wed ~ Math, Writing, Reading, Social Studie & Art Thurs ~ Math, Writing, Reading Fri ~ Free Day or Friday School (depending on which week it is) Ideally I'd like my day to follow this pattern: 7:15 ~ Bfast 8 ~ Start School 10 ~ Snack/Break 10:30 ~ Finish School 11:30 (or earlier if school is done) ~ Chore Time 12:30 ~ Lunch 1 ~ Nap/Quiet Time 3 ~ Finish Chores &/or School (if needed) 4 ~ Outside Play 6 ~ Dinner 7 ~ Reading Time/Jammy Time 8 ~ Bedtime Now that's my 'ideal', but I don't know if it'll run that way.... especially w/ the baby coming in Oct. & Samuel's unpredictability. He's such a busy 2 y/o!! I'm pretty excited now that we're getting closer and closer!!! |
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Holy Cow! I just realized this morning that I wanted to start school on the 11th of August so we can take time off when the baby is born. That's a week from today. I'm so not ready. I'm logged, etc... but there are supplies to buy & a few subjects yet to figure out ( like art & music) I cannot believe I only have a week left of Summer vacation! I told the kids this morning and they got semi-excited. I have to admit I'm so nervous about my 6 y/o! I'm afraid it's going to be a year of battling him. *sigh* And what's going to happen w/ my 2 y/o?! He's SO busy as it is. *sigh* Guess we'll find out how it's going to go soon enough... |
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Ok, ok... so I'm counting down. *sigh* I have to admit that I'm not really looking forward to school starting yet. It seems the summer has just begun! We've been talking about moving out of state. My husband got a job in another state and it's about 1.5 hr commute one way! EEK! So we're hoping to move as soon as we can. The state that we're looking to move to is SO HOMESCHOOLER FRIENDLY!! I can't tell you how excited I am about that. In the state we're in, they don't allow homeschoolers to participate in school sports, classes or extracurricular activities. You can barely use the playground! But the state we're moving to allows homeschoolers into the schools even for classes you don't feel you can teach at home!!! The kids will definitely be in sports & band... and other curricular activities that they may want to do. I'm super excited about it. Just praying that I can be patient and wait on the Lord's timing for our home to sell. That's the hardest thing for me right now.
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Of Summer Vacation that is... and then we embark on another school year. I realized today that I still haven't sent in my 'letter of intent to homeschool'. Oops. I need to do that ASAP as it was due 7/1. Oh well... a friend of mine didn't send hers in until halfway through the school year last year, so I guess I'm not doing too bad. I'm a little nervous about next school year. Sometimes the thought of schooling a second grader, first grader, kindergartener plus chasing a 2 y/o and having a newborn is overwhelming. It sounds like SO much... especially when I know the first grader isn't going to enjoy it much. He fights pretty much anything we ask him to do lately. I'm hoping it's a phase he's going through and he'll get over it eventually. *sigh* He'll still do it cause I make him, but it's the battle that's tiring. Speaking of chasing a toddler... hes' into my scrapbooking stuff, so I'm off to stop that... |
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We finished school on May 15th!! The kids were so excited to be done and I'm happy to report they completed all the work I wanted them to complete! Yay! Reading was still a struggle w/ James, though. The timer worked, but there was still a battle almost daily, especially w/ sight words. We were using Reading Made Easy, which worked well for Levi, but it was difficult at times. I decided to go a completely different route this year and went with all A Beka. I bought Grade kits 1 & 2. I didn't buy K or the teacher kits. I started the boys on their readers already and expected a fight w/ James as usual, but he LOVES it!! I'm so happy about that. They started about 3 weeks ago. Levi completed his first reader & James is almost done his first reader. He's now reading things like: My name is Mike. I like the cats and dogs God made. I like the hens and ducks and geese He made. But I like the pigs the best. My pet pig is fat and sleek. He likes to lie in the mud. He will not get stuck in the mud. He just has fun in it. He likes to play and play. I like that he can do that w/ no fighting! YAY!! We both now look forward to reading time rather than the battle. We'll officially start school the second week of August or possibly the first week. We'll have the third week off because of family, but I want to start early so we can take a break when the baby is born in Oct. I've already logged the entire school year! Yay! I feel very prepared and am excited to start. |
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I'm so excited and so are the kids. Levi finished up his math book today!! The entire thing: 400+ pages since the end of August! I'm so proud of him! He's done a great job w/ it!! The other stuff we have left is easy and will be done by mid-May. I'M SO EXCITED!!! James' reading has really taken off lately! He still struggles w/ some of his sight words, but he's starting to read so much better. He can read full stories now, not just sentences. And he's finally reading & comprehending. He used to spend so much time concentrating on what the words were that he didn't really comprehend what he was reading, but he doesn't do that anymore. We will continue reading throughout the Summer since I feel reading is something that needs to be done all the time, not just during the school year. Next year... Yes, I'm excited to be done, but I'm already focusing on next year. I had planned to use all Bob Jones w/ the boys. However, something made me look into A Beka and the price is SO much cheaper. I can get enough for the boys & Beth for the entire school year for about $500+ less than I could have spent on the Bob Jones for just the boys. So I think I'm going to go w/ A Beka. They come to the area next month. If you go to their curriculum viewing you get a discount & no shipping charges, so that's my plan. Then all the kids will be covered for next school year and I won't have to piece together curriculum. With a busy toddler and a newborn I just won't have the time for that! As it is we'll probably take a few weeks off when the baby is born.... I know I'll need the time to recooperate. |
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This evening I was filled with overwhelming love and affection for my children. We were all snuggled close on the couch, reading stories and I thought over the day as we did that. There were fights and arguements and frustrating moments. There were moments when I just wanted to close myself in my room and not bother to come out again (which I did NOT do, btw). But then... when we are all snuggled together and spending quality time like that I realize I wouldn't change a thing in the world. I love having 4 children. I love having a big family. I would have a gazzillion more kids if I could. Ok... not really, but I just can't imagine life any other way. Now... AFA schooling goes. James is doing AWESOME in his reading. He's even reading books beyond our reading lesson books now. I'm so proud of him. I'm so glad we reached a compromise w/ the "10 minute lessons". If it weren't for that I believe we'd still be fighting over it all. Levi is excelling in his piano. He asked to play in our Friday School talent show this coming Friday evening. I'm not sure he realizes how many people he will be playing in front of, but he is excited. He has chosen "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam". He plays it quite well. Well enough that his teacher plays accompaniment with him during lessons. Levi is also really enjoying the BJ Heritage Studies and Science. Good thinking to switch him to that. He's getting so much out of it!! James is listening in and wants to do it w/ us. :) I like that! I can't believe we're almost in the last quarter of the school year!! Pretty soon I'll be prepping for next school year. It'll be nice to have one year under my belt.... I won't feel so much like a fish floundering out of water. Tho next year is very important as Levi is required to start yearly standardized testing next year. EEK! AND... I'll be schooling 2 full time instead of just 1 full time and 2 1/2 time. *gulp* |
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That's it... I'm done w/ FIAR. I do love it, really I do. I'm just having a difficult time piecing it together & making sure Levi is getting all he needs to get. So I have BJ spelling, Heritage Studies & Science. I have A Beka math & health. That seems to be going a bit easier and more smoothly. Still using some FIAR ideas, but it's not our "main" schooling now. It still only takes a few hours/day, so it's not taking too long. Levi seems to thrive on the structure of it... and I"ll be able to reuse it for James, Beth & Samuel. :) I am leaning towards using all BJ next year, tho I'm not sure I like their math too much... not sure what to do about that. As for my doula stuff... it's coming slowly. I have another birth in July... had one in May and one in August, but they both decided on repeat c/s instead of VBACs and have decided they don't really need me for a repeat c/s. The birth in July is up in the air, but hopefully :) I'd like to get certified! I have to put a plug in for www.motivatedmoms.com I've used it in the past and liked it, but now that we're schooling on a regular basis, I REALLY appreciate it. It's helping me to keep on track w/ the housework & remember all those little things I forget about. I highly recommend it!
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So I talked w/ James about the reading lesson thing and gave him the idea of the timer and he loved it. He chose 10 minutes (more than i was thinking! yay!). Every morning right after breakfast he gets the timer, gets his reading lesson book and waits for me to be ready. Then I sit down, he sets the timer for 10 minutes and we're off. I'm amazed at how much this is helping him to focus!!! Yay!! He's doing so well with it too. My next plan of action is to find & blow up the exercise ball and let him bounce on it while we go over sight words, science & history things. I really think it'll help him. Some kids need to keep moving in order to focus their brains better. My In-laws gave the kids these awesome science kits for Christmas. Levi received one on electricity & James received one on Weather. We do one science experiment per day... they love it!! They've been making weather vanes and simple/parellel circuits and learning about evaporation and all sorts of fun things. They love learning that way and it was a great, thoughtful gift from their grandparents! I'm already starting to plan for next year. I'm going a completely different route this year and will be getting a full curriculum like Bob Jones or A Beka... I just cant decide what to get yet. It's been difficult for me to piece everything together and though I like the idea of FIAR and even unschooling to a certain extent, I've realize I need more structure. My children seem to thrive on it as well, so this is the way we're headed next year. I will, of course, supplement with "unschooling" type stuff, but the core curriculum will be textbooks. It's taken a load off my shoulders just to decide on that... so now for the fun part: picking one!! Any suggestions would be great!! GracefulDoe ~ I will message you w/ the Sear's cookie recipe. It's SO YUMMY!!!!
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Good morning!! I'm finally posting again. I can't believe Christmas is only a few days away!! I had planned to do school right up until Christmas, but TBH, it was too difficult with trying to get things ready for Christmas projects & company. So we've been "unschooling". Lots of teaching opportunities throughout the day, but no real sit down and do school days. I've decided to not sweat it with James' reading issues. My plan is to set a timer for 2-5 minutes (let him choose) and when the timer goes off he can choose to be done or we'll continue. That puts him in charge, but still allows for some learning time. He's really good at reading if he applies himself. It's just the applying issue. My Mom suggested letting him read while bouncing on an exercise ball since he's the type of kid who needs to be moving. So I plan to try that once DH can find my exercise ball. It's been hiding away for quite some time. I want it anyway... I need to get back in gear. I have to put a plug in here too for the Dr. Sears books. My friend Rachael says I'm a Sears junkie. I think I am. I've just finished reading The Successful Child and The Healthiest Kid in The Neighborhood. I have The Vaccine Book and The Family Nutrition Book coming any day now (Half.com is a great place to buy books!!) I own and have read The Breastfeeding Book and The Pregnancy Book as well as The Birth Book. SUCH GOOD INFORMATION IN THESE BOOKS!! I cannot stress that more. Everything you need to know to set your kids up for the best start in life... Now we're working on incorporating it into our lives more. I think the biggest change has been eating... lots more whole grains, fish a few times/week, more veggies & fruits... avoiding sugars as much as possible. DH jokes that we're getting "too crunchy", but he loved the cookies I made yesterday that had no sugar (just a bit of honey), were whole wheat and had old-fashioned oats. :) I don't plan to be 100% health nut... just a 90/10 family. *grin* On a more serous note: Please say a prayer for DH's grandma, Shirley. She's not doing well and they don't expect her to live much longer. Also a prayer for MIL's boyfriend, Steve. He has 4 anuerisms in his brain and is in a lot of pain. I don't know much more than that so far... he was just brought to the hospital yesterday and they were still waiting for results when DH talked w/ his Mom last night. Thanks! |
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I'm feeling so frustrated this morning I had to walk away from the table for a minute. I still have that nasty cold, so everything is shrowded by my miserable sinus headache. I should take something, but since I'm still nursing, I'm not sure what I can take. BUT, I'm frustrated w/ James right now. He just doesn't "Get" his reading. There are certain words called "sight words" that we've been working on since August and he STILL doesn't get them. I told him it says "they" and had him repeat it while looking at the word a few times... then went back not a minute later and asked him what it said and he said "I don't remember" Ok... calmed down... ready to move on. I think we'll start over. It doesn't help that from the moment he woke up this morning he was complaining about having to do school. *sigh* He always does this if we take an unexpected day off (yesterday I had to drive DH into work and then piano lessons... it made it so we had no time to do school) I'm dreading starting school again after Christmas Break... maybe we won't take a break except for on Christmas day. I'll have to think on that a bit.... |
He does that w/ most of his sight words... and a lot of letter sounds "sh", "pl", "qu", etc. Maybe I'm expecting too much out of a 5 y/o?? I have an issue where I HATE repeating myself... I've heard introverts hate repeating themselves, so that would probably explain that. So when I have to repeat over and over and over it's like banging my head against a brick wall and it drives me crazy. |
A local public school closed quite a few years ago. Last week they opened up the school so we could go in and take any book, chairs and desks that we may want. I was sooo amazed that the number of books they just left in the basement. We came home w/ armloads of them!! All sorts of biographies, kid fictions, a whole set on the United States, state by state, so 52 books (it included out-lying territories) It's pretty exciting and they kids were so thrilled when they came home & saw them. We didn't get any desks as we have no room for desks in our house, but we may go back for a few chairs. Switching subjects: If I thought homeschooling was hard when the kids were sick, I was totally wrong. Homeschooling is 10 times harder when I'm sick. I don't want to do anything, but I have to. *sigh* Add a teething toddler to that and it's chalking up to bet a tough week. Thankfully it's the holiday season, so we have a break coming up soon. I think I'm going to need it. I went ahead and got the Bob Jones Science for Levi & James. We started this week. Hopefully it'll work out better than the science in FIAR. There just wasn't enough IMO. |
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I've decided to go ahead and change things a little. I just don't feel as though they get enough Science, spelling & history with FIAR. So, I'm now doing Bob Jones & A Beka for those subjects, but also FIAR. It's been very difficult for me to piece the curriculum together. I was speaking with a "seasoned homeschooler" and she said she uses the curriculums like BJ and A Beka and then builds on it depending on the child's interest. She said that was the easiest way for her to be assured that they were getting all the needed to do and then helping the children to enjoy the areas of interest. So I think that's what I want to do next year, but I need to stat saving $$ for it. The curriculum is more expensive than FIAR... School has been great these past weeks. We've learned about Japan, New England, Mining communities, ... they even made their own quilts. Ok, the quilts were small enough for a stuffed animal, but they were pretty excited about it. Levi sewed his whole quilt front, but James & Beth needed my help. It was a little too complicated to remember not to loop the thread. Levi is doing well with his work. He is such a swift learner. He really seems to enjoy it. James is doing well, but I need to keep after him. He gets so discouraged, so easily and then gets very upset with himself. So I have to balance encouragment with gentle nudging. It's interesting. and then there is Beth who wants to be doing everything the boys are doing, but isn't quite there yet. She's learning to read, but gets it all mixed up sometimes. Her persistence is wearing, but she sure enjoys trying to learn what the boys are learning. And then there's Samuel. Matt often calls him "trouble". I told him he's not trouble, he's just curious and learning a lot. He really is learning a lot. Just in the past few days he has learned about 6 new works. (He's 16 months old) And not only that, he puts them together like a 24 month old should. He said "eat cake" last night when he wanted some cake. He's a brilliant little boy who has such a love for music. He really amazes me sometimes. I attribute his happy-go-lucky, brilliant mind to attachment parenting & extended nursing. When Beth was 18 months old I was introduced to attachment parenting and gentle discipline. Before that I was always taught that the parents were in complete control and you had to "beat the will" out of the child. You leave them to cry if it's bed time and they won't sleep. You spank at everything that may be wrong or "a sin" and you teach them that you are in control and they have no choices or opinions in the matter. James was a very violent and angry 3 year old, which is what made me seek out different parenting techniques. I stumbled upon this whole AP/GD lifestyle . I started listening to his feelings instead of dismissing them. I started letting my children have a voice instead of being the "one in charge at all times." I started giving them options, letting them learn to make decisions for themselves. I started babywearing Beth at 18 months and she loved it. I loved it! It was neat to see how much she learned just by riding around w/ me while I cooked or went for walks. When Samuel was born it was just natural to throw him in my sling and school the kids, clean or cook. I'm not perfect at it and I can tell you honestly some days it's much easier to try to control every situation that arises from what clothes they wear to what they'll be playing with. Obviously there are some situations when they are allowed to dislike it, but they still have to do it. Granted, they are kids and misbehave like kids, but I've seen big changes in them. They are happy children who aren't afraid to come to us and talk about anything that is on their minds. They aren't afraid to tell me if they've done something wrong or if they are feeling sad, hurt, lonely or scared. They don't lie and if they start to, they stop and tell the truth. They often think about their actions and how they will affect other people (tho they still have a ways to go in this area. LOL) I don't know how I got on that schpeel.... I've been thinking a lot about child-rearing lately. Some days I feel like the worst mother in the world and I'm always trying to better myself when it comes to my family. They really are my life. |
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What a FULL week!!! Wow. First of all, we're studying A Glorious Flight this week. It's the story of Louis Bleriot who flew across the English Channel in 1909. I decided it'd be fun to make paper airplanes, so I did a google search. I needed something simple and came across this: http://www.easy-paper-airplanes.com/e-newsletter.htm You have to sign up for her newsletter, but it's worth it. I downloaded and printed off the book. Levi and James are having so much fun with it and I even made a few! (I'm no good at paper airplanes, but the intructions are so easy to follow) This week schooling has been difficult. We've managed to do it daily, but it's been watered down. Samuel is sick and sooo miserable with his cold. He literally follows me around the house whining. It's easy when he wants to nurse. At least then I can still school the kids... but when he wants to cry and cry in my arms it makes it more difficult. I feel so bad for him.... Hopefully he'll be better before next week. To top it off, I got the brilliant idea to go apple picking on Sunday. Well, I didn' t know Samuel would be sick this week when we went. We picked 2 bushels of apples. So far this week I've made 16 quarts of applesauce and 4 quarts of apple butter. I still have 1/2 a bushel left. Not easy to can w/ a sick baby and schoolin' either. I'm plum worn out by the end of the day, but you know what? It feels good to be busy, needed and care for my family. I love that I am able to care and provide for them. |
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Right now Samuel is playing drums using a pan & lincoln logs while Levie is playing the baritone. James like to play the trumpet, so I think we're on our way to forming a family band. It's a lot of noise, but I love that they are so interested in music!! Levi's piano lessons are coming along very well. He has a master class coming up... it's a class where all the students come together and play. They critique each others work and encourage each other. I think it's a great idea! Levi's teacher also has him starting to compose. I think I may have mentioned that before... I'm going to recommend the book "Who Owns the Sun?" We read it for school this week. It is such a good book and really opened the door to talk about how we are in control of our thoughts and actions... also introduced my children to slavery in America and how people used to be so intolerant of different races. The kids & I had some good conversations about how God created us all equal and how neat it is that we live in the "melting pot" where all the different cultures seem to merge. Today we're going on a nature walk. I'm trying to talk DH into going to a corn maze, but he says he doesn't really want to. I think it sounds like fun for the kids... and for me. *grin* He says getting lost in a corn field doesn't sound like much fun. I have good memories of running around in corn fields when I was young and I think it will be fun. If we don't go there, we'll go to the woods and hike on some trails there.
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