Nov. 13, 2006 - Holidays Birthdays Bizzydays... oh, and pink hair:)

Well Thank the Lord, we're done with all the kids birthday parties for the whole year!!!  Yeah, I know, its only another month and a half 'til the end of the year, but still!  Actually, we're done until March.  Yay!

Sprite and Abyni had their parties this past weekend and had a blast.  We had princesses all weekend:)

My family ~ my brother, his wife and their three kids... as well as my mom and step dad AND my bestest friend from Iowa and her man and two kids are all coming for Thanksgiving weekend!  I get to finally have a "real" family huge Thanksgiving!  I am SO excited:)

Other non school updates ~ I put pink highlights in my hair just because I wanted to... I think its fun and it makes me gloriously happy ~~ honestly, I can't look in the mirror, see pink highlights and not smile:)

Oh ~ AND I'm selling Avon... I just love their products, and I thought maybe I could sell some to make a little extra $$... and pay for my own Avon skin care and makeup that I have always loved!!:)

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Sep. 22, 2006 - Art Co-op ~ Michelangelo!

	Abyni and Hope :) We're doing our Sistine Chapel project... The girls and their partners have to sketch out a picture of a Bible story ~ upside down, just like Michelangelo would have done:) Abyni & hope were stuck under the coffee table, since they're the smallest!
	CM & MG were under a card table (about hald way through, they snagged the couch cushions that were abandoned for the other girls.
	Paris and Laura hard at (upside down) work. Laura and Paris were sort of on the couch (we had a bit of a time figuring out how to go about this one, the underside of the table is textured a LOT!)  We took the cushions off, put our 8ft plastic table over the top, upside down, with the paper taped to their little "ceiling"... they had a time learning how awkward it was to draw upside down!   By the end of the drawing session, all the girls had found some sort of pillow or cushion to lie on... so cute:)
	Meanwhile... The boys were in the kitchen building bridges with popsicle sticks and glue... and whatever else they could find.  They had a table full of goodies and were just let "go" with their creativity and a bunch of library books on bridges!  They did some really cool things.  Next week we're going to make suspension bridges.
	Totally Unrelated:  Jaedin made an English Trifle last Sunday that was SO delicious:)YUMMMMMM

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Sep. 21, 2006 - We have been doing school... really! (+Book & movies reviews)

I just can not seem to find the time to post!

We're down to one computer, and with five kids doing a subject or two each on the computer, and my ebay stuff, I don't get very much time on it myself!

Anyway ~ we're studying Determination, now working a little on Bridge building.  I got a book at the library called "Building Bridges with Toothpicks."  That has the cooledt activities in it.  We watched the "Modern Marvels" on the Golden Gate Bridge and it was SO fascinating!  (I love Netflix!!)  All of the Modern Marvel dvd's that we've watched have been fantastic.  The kids usually watch them again later because they love them so much!:)

It also made us curious about some other aspects of American History, such as The Great Depression.  We're going to kind of segway into that next... well actually, we're going to start with Ellis Island.

I happened upon a book about Ellis Island once our last read aloud was done, so we started reading that.  I have some relatives who came through there, so we're finding that interesting to read this person's experience. 

Speaking of which, we read a book called Red Midnight by Ben Mikaelsen.  It was AMAZING.  The kids absolutely LOVED it beyond belief.  It is the story of a 12 year old boy and his 4 year old sister living in Guatemala.  The book starts in Guatemala during the times of unrest between the soldiers and the guerillas.  One or the others burns down their village, killing their entire family, but they manage to escape.  The story follows their escape out of Guatemala, and across the Gulf of Mexico on a cayuco to Florida.  It was an absolute thrill ride, the author did a wonderful job of making you feel that you were listening to this boy walk you through his adventure ever day.

Now I'm looking ahead for our next read aloud.  We may do Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry, but I'm not sure yet.  I also need to find Kainan a reading book that will really catch him, and stretch him a little to improve his reading skills.  Both of the boys have taken a breather from their "harder" books to read An Ecological Mystery  (There are several titles, they're each reading a different one) by Jean Craighead George.  They are really interesting mystery stories that help teach science and ecological facts through the fictional story.  Jaedin loves them, Kainan, not so much, but then, he really doesn't seem to want to read much of anything other than Encyclopedia Brown!

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Sep. 8, 2006 - Busy Busy ~ visiting and vacations!!

Wow.  I haven't had much of a chance to update anything here.  We've had relatives visiting and a birthday, co-op and whatnot.  I've got tons of photos though:)

We're planning Jaedin's Redwall birthday for tomorrow... and we're almost ready!  The front porch is decorated like a castle, we have tunics, crafts ready to go, games planned and my hubby is helping Jaedin find ideas for building catapults.  The boys will get into two teams and each build a catapult, then have contests for seeing whose team built the bext one by shooting waterballoons at targets:)  I think we'll also do old fashioned slingshot type things as well.

The photos of our decorations and crafts are on my lj

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Aug. 29, 2006 - Documentaries ~ Iceland, Greenland, Antartica & Candy Reviews

We have been watching a lot of Documentaries lately (thanks to the Discovery Channel sale and Netflix!)~ its helped us all get a better understanding of the Arctic, Antatics, Iceland, The Ocean and even candy.  Here are some of our favorites thus far:

Globetrekker:  Iceland & Greenland  ***This wasn't what we were expecting at all, it was a trip/tour through the modern cities in Iceland and Greenland (I didn't read the description too thoroughly) Its worth watching solely for the reindeer butchering incident:)  Really, it did help us to better understand how people live in the freezing climates now ~ as oopsed to the way things were before...

The description:
Offering arctic weather and a lot more besides, Iceland and Greenland are two of the most spectacular places in the world to visit. Breathtaking scenery runs throughout both countries, including much snowbound terrain, most of which houses some weird and wonderful creatures. This guide begins in the relatively normal surroundings of Reykjavik, then ventures out into the wilds to discover dog sledding, Eskimo's, and the local dish of fermented shark!

Modern Marvels:  Candy  *****This was fascinating, interesting and informative, just for "fun" learning.  If you like touring candy making factories, learning a little bit of history along with it, this is perfect.  The kids watched it twice, Dh and I each watched it as well... and Abyni asked to watch it during her "rest time" ~ of course, they were all craving chocolate by the time all was said and done!
The Description:  Romanticized in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as the stuff that dreams are made of, candy has charmed its way into the stomachs of Americans, who gobble 7 billion tons it every year. Making stops at real-life candy factories such as See's Candy, Schimpff's Confectionary and Hershey Chocolate World, this installment of "Modern Marvels" reveals how some of your favorite products are made and sheds light on candy's sugary history.

IMAX:  Antartica *****This was FANTASTIC!  The part with the penguins had my kids ROLLING on the floor with laughter.  The whole thing was engrossing even for me, the distractible one!  Awesome filming... well worth watching!  We wathced this one more than once too.
The Description:  Custom dictates that IMAX films erupt with breathtaking cinematography, and Antarctica is no exception. Beginning with an undersea ballet courtesy of some resident penguins, the film then takes viewers through a submerged, crystalline grotto and examines climate changes to the frozen frontier. This 1991 documentary captures Antarctica's grandeur, from the continent's glorious glaciers to the meteorological treasures locked in its ice sheets.

Galapagos Island:  *This one was kind of boring for me... I wasn't interested and left it to Dh to watch it with the kids.  Definitely with the evolutionist slant. 
A marine biologist from the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History leads this astonishing expedition to the Galapagos Islands, a world that is still relatively new and evolving. Descending to depths of 3,000 feet, the scientists find a window into the past and a frontier for exploration.

Microcosmos  **** Interesting, really cool camera work, up close in the world of bugs and critters.  Jaedin was mesmerized.  This was a documentary with very little narration, so it was very much like actually observing nature on your own.  You could see things happening and playing out without someone telling you what was happening... and even I could figure it out:)  REALLY cool.
Critters of the small kind are featured in this interesting look at the seldom-explored world of insects, snails and other undersized creatures as they go about their daily lives. By using unique microscopic cameras and powerful specialized microphones, this highly praised French documentary gives new meaning to "a bug's life."

Those are the Netflix DVDs ~ I'll have to review the Discovery Channel ones that we bought later... its SCHOOL TIME:)

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Aug. 17, 2006 - Cherubim is a funny word

Today during Bible time I was reading about Cherubim.  Abyni started giggling.  Then I read the word again later and she started giggling harder and saying , "Cherubim!" in this odd little way.  Pretty soon she was rolling with laughter, tears flowing from her eyes.  Everyone was laughing by this point, and it took us a while to get through the whole lesson.  By the end of it, Abyni had literally made herself cry.  She was crying and laughing, we couldn't quite tell if she was actually happy or overwhelmed!

We read some more of 20,000 Leagues today.  The boys are convinced that it can't "really" be a submarine... so I guess they'll have to find out.  Abyni drew a picture of the men thrown from the ship and the monster coming up out of the ocean to get them:)

Other than that ~ a normal day.

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Aug. 16, 2006 - McD's and Krispy Kreme

Today we did our regular school morning, then we went to McD's to use the kids coupons that they received from doing the library reading program.  Then we went to Krispy Kreme (big treat!!) and used those coupons too.  Usually I get so caught up with schoo starting, that we never remember to use the coupons!

We found out at Krispy Kreme they do field trips for any type/size of group and each child who goes through the tour gets to make their own doughnut at the end.  I'm hoping to set one up with our little co-op.

We came home, did some more reading and that was it!

BTW ~ We are at the point in 20,000 leagues under the sea where they have found the monster.  The kids were all begging me not to stop reading:)  Its actually a cool book.  I'd never read it before, and honestly, I was expecting to find it somewhat boring... not my style.  I'm pleasantly surprised! 

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Aug. 15, 2006 - School Stuff

Kainan started The Incredible Journey yesterday.  He's also started trying to read the Redwall books again. 

He and Jaedin have been setting up their Klutz castle cards as well as a normal playing card wall around the keep and playing for hours.  They use their LOTR Risk playing figures on the castle and re-enact the Redwall stories.  Jaedin has read seven or so of the books and loves them.  Kainan kind of struggles with them.  I let him listen to the first one on audio book, hoping to get him used to the language and inspire him to read some of the others on his own.  It was still apparently too much of a struggle until Jaedin got him playing Redwall:)  Yay for play and curiosity!!

Paris is still doing vocab for and reading Matilda.  She's doing really well.  I wasn't sure if it would be too hard for her or not, but she's just flying through! 

Abyni takes breaks more than the other kids, but she seems to really be enjoying school this year as well.  I have a goal of teaching her how to tell time before Christmas.  It drives me crazy (and her too) that she can't tell time at all.  She's got the addition and subtraction down, she's got the knack for measurement and really picked up on fractions easily, now I just have to get her through money and time and we will be doing great! 

Sprite has settled into Biology and Starting Points and is doing well.  She still is having issues with the first days' questions, but the rest has went much more smoothly.  THAT is a big relief.  I think she'll do great ~ and she's been very committed to doing it well, and staying on schedule.  She is awesome!

We're getting use out of the DVDs I bought from the discovery channels big sale, as well as Netflix documentaries.  The kids really enjoy sitting and watching them.  I thought they'd balk at it, but they love it. 

Well, off to prepare for another school day! 

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Aug. 14, 2006 - A new Cook!!

Jaedin got a Redwall Cookbook for his birthday... and has been cooking up a storm!  He has baked a bunch fo things out of it and the recipes are just AWESOME!!  What a great gift (thanks, Grandma!) and he is definitely getting a lot of use out of it. 

I've had to buy things I've never even bought before, leeks, rutabagas and shrimp.  Yes, its true, I've never bought shrimp before. 

Anyway, just bragging on my awesome boy:)  He's been posting in his LJ about it, and its so good to see him interested in something new!  Of course, to him, this ties in very well with his major interest in gardening!  He is all excited abotu growing things next spring that will work in his favorite recipes.

I am sooo blessed with such awesome children:)

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Aug. 10, 2006 - Homeschool T-Shirts Sale

This Homeschool site has some cool homeschool shirts. They're on sale for $5.99 this month. I thought my homeschooling friends might be interestsed!

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Aug. 8, 2006 - Homeschool Support Groups

The first ladies meeting(s) of the year are tonight.  I still can't decide what I want to do about the group thing.  I don't know which one I want to join, or which one I SHOULD join.  All the people that I will be co-oping with for Biology and Starting points, art, etc, are doing the CHEF group ~ so that's where all the kids friends are.  The OTHER group is the one I joined last year and I have friends there, they have things available that I want to be able to do as well.

However, annoyingly enough, both groups have their meetings on the same nights each month... so I can't even have an opportunity to go check out both groups.

And to be honest, with the chaos in my life at the moment, I'd really rather not go anywhere at all tonight, or any other night.  Things are just piling up and I'm feeling very overwhelmed.  Ugh. 

And soon all the activities will begin and I'll be taking boys to scouts, little girls to gymnastics and Sprite to dance... I will not be anxious... I will not be anxious... I will not be anxious... 

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Aug. 8, 2006 - Scattered Day...

The boys used their afternoon school for clenaing out thier fish tank.  It was getting pretty gross... and daddy has been really busy and getting home late ~ since its been so hot, the working outside is really wearing him down, and taking him longer than normal!

Everyone else had a pretty normal day ~ and watched another one of the Disc channel documentaries that we have.  Those are really REALLY awesome.  I am really glad I found that sale and had the ability to buy some of them.  I actually have really learning things for them to watch:)

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Aug. 7, 2006 - Starting the second week of school... tired!!

We had friends over yesterday and since the husband was helping Dh install our new flooring, they ended up being here really late.  It was a FANTASTIC visit, but the kids and everyone got to bed much later than normal. 

This morning we were all dragging around and ended up starting school late (besides the fact that I had to bring the desk back in and set up the computer for computer subjects as well!)

Anyway, it was a good day, we started reading Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea ~ I want to get a book on CD, but then I know I wouldn't be able to listen to it either, and I'm sure its a good story.  Its just hard reading it aloud... it makes me tired.  Abyni drew a picture of what she thinks the monster is:) 

We watched a documentary on sharks and venomous animals in the ocean ~ and I did fall asleep:)  The music was sooooooo soothing!  The kids loved it ~ one of the good buys I got from the Discovery Channel sale the other day.

Anyway... nothing too exciting.  Jaedin typed his own entry in his journal today ~ he did really well for a 9 year old boy's first attempt at typing!  He even remembered to capitalize almost every sentence!

Its Abyni's turn on the computer ~~ her new cdroms came.  Might Math ROCKS!!  We first got it when Sprite was 6... and it is THE most awesome math cdrom we have ever had!

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Aug. 3, 2006 - Need craft ideas... and the last day of school this week!

Does anyone have any ideas for using the 3 qt and the gallon and a half sized bleach containers??  We have a ton with the pool getting so much use!

Today went much better.  The kids actually got themselves grounded from friends for a couple of days since they were all bickering all the time.  Today being the end of the grounding, the kids were actually playing together SO well.  I think we need to start enforcing the no neighbor kids over a few days a week again.  Not that they're brats or bad at all (we are actually blessed with the best neighbor kids we've ever had:), I think that the kids just get too dependant on outside friends and it no longer becomes a priority to get along with each other.

Anyway, school today went well.  I had dug up our old decrepit laptop and gave it to Sprite to use in her room.  It has no net access, so its just Word Perfect and she can actually do her ACEmath CDroms on it as well.  That made notetaking a lot easier for her, and took the main stress out of Biology.  I think it helped her to be able to do math today too, and get started on that as well.

I'm going to assign her a book to read for August probably, so she doesn't get too far ahead.  That is assuming that Stephanie isn't doing the writing program with Kerra until Sept.  I need to remember to ask her.

The other kids did well today.  Paris is starting on her second chapter of Matilda by Roald Dahl, along with vocabulary words to help improve her reading.  Jaedin is reading Kon Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl (sp?) and Kainan is still looking for his reading book.  He's been choosing to read the library books on the arctic at this point, rather than a "reading" book.  With our floor STILL undfinished, our bookshelves are still scattered around and I can't find anything!

Abyni is doing great with cursive ~ the easier letters, and its helping her with her reading and spelling as well, since she can figure out which words she can spell with the letters she knows how to write. 

Jaedin started a LJ account and posted his first post yesterday about what he read in biology.  I think it will take a bit for him to get in the habit of writing (and it will help a lot when we have more than one 'net-computer available as well!) but I think it will be good for him to develop his typing skills and "reporting" skills and whatnot, as well as giving him a chance to post photos of his plants and other experiments he does.

Kainan gets to start up his LJ next week, after Sprite has finished helping Jaedin set up his new snazzy backgrounds and template and everything.  Then, Paris will get her turn.  I think I'm going to let her set up a journal to be a thankful journal... and have her practice typing out three things she is thankful for each day.

That's all folks!

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Aug. 2, 2006 - The Iceberg Hermit

We finished our most recent favorite book.  I'll post the kids book reports later on..

I set up a livejournal for Jaedin to put his Biology notes and gardening notes on.  He does so much with science, I thought it would be nice for him to have a space to keep track of all his experiments and whatnot.

Sprite got through a day of Starting Points with minimal hassle, but Biology is still a pain.  She can't seem to find anyway that helps her remember any of the stuff she reads.  Any ideas???  Anyone??  Note taking isn't helping at this point...

Everyone else did all their scheduled subjects, Abyni is learning cursive, Paris is practicing the cursive she learned last year...  and they are both doing wonderfully, and their handwriting is beautiful!!

That's about all the excitement here.  I must say, watching that documentary last night really peaked the kids' interest.  They've been into all the polar/arctic books I borrowed from the library.  Now that they've seen a bit of the "real" picture, they are finding the books far more stimulating!

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Aug. 2, 2006 - High School Stress... IMAX rocks!

Well, day 2 of high school was extremely stressful.  Although I strongly suspect hormones are playing a big role, the girl's desire to do things perfectly tend to make things harder than they need to be.  I know this so well... because I'm the same way!

Biology and notetaking were stressful, Sprite wanted to use the computer for notetaking and it wasn't possible.  At the moment we're down to one working computer, since the new one had a bad hard-drive and had to be returned.  With five kids and one computer ~ there isn't extra time available on it.  THAT caused stress because she was taking so much time to take down notes that she wasn't getting very far in the reading.  I won't go into the whole trauma, but it was STRESS. 

Starting Points has been a little bit of a struggle as well.  The first batch of questions was so confusing that I could barely understand them myself! 

So, after the second day of struggling through, I realized that I could not wait until our co-op starts on August 25th, and I set up an e-group for our little co-op.  Hopefully, that will facilitate the ability for a sort of co-op discussion area for moms and the teens.

We are almost finished with The Iceberg Hermit and are just loving that book.  Last night we watched an IMAX documentary on Antartica and it was AWESOME.  I realize its not the same place that Allan (the character in the book) was, but it was definitely the same type of terrain.  All the kids sat and watched the entire thing, it was really fascinating.  I highly recommend that as well!

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Jul. 31, 2006 - The First Day of School

We have had a good start on the day so far.  I had printed out schedules for each of the kids, so they all got to practice reading charts and figuring out what they need to be doing when.  I'm hoping that this will save me from the aggravation of the incessant questions, "Mom, what subject are we doing next?"  "Mom, what should I do now?" and "How many more subjects do we have to do?"

Using calendars from www.printfree.com, I printed out calendars for each child and put the subjects that they need to have done each day for them to mark off as the day goes on.  It sounds really time consuming, but with cut & pasting, it really didn't take long at all.  It will help the kids get used to a calendar, and be a good way of keeping track of what is getting done.

I had to spend 30 minutes today installing all the computer school stuff.  We bought a new computer less than a month ago, but the hard drive was bad, so last night Dh packed it up to return, and we're back to our old computer again.  I guess that's probably a good thing, since this will be the kids computer anyway.

Jaedin was completely absorbed by Sprite's biology book this morning, and knew what he'd read about when I questioned him.  It is written in a very easy to understand language ~ I mean, even I understood it:)  I think he'll enjoy it... and maybe give Sprite some confidence that she'll be able to handle it as well.

We're skipping after lunch recess this week, since we'll only be doing school for three hours a day anyway ~ they don't really need an extra 30 minutes on top of lunch and chores...

Back to school time for me ~ TTFN

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Jul. 4, 2006 - Planning out the New School Year!

Since we'll be starting school at the end of this month (July 31st), I have spent a good portion of the day scheduling out our August and part of September school.  I have everything I need, with the exception of Math for Jaedin (although I have enough to get by for a couple of months, I'd like to order a new curr. for him for 4th grade math), Rosetta Stone (ebay!), and a typing program for the younger kids.

I have all my August plans and first two weeks of September charted, organized and printed out.  It just looks so organized and efficient:) 

We will be starting co-op on the 18th of Aug. so I really need to get to planning our art class as well.  I'll be teaching art to 7 or 8 girls, ages 5-9.  I need to go over some artists that we didn't do last year and gather together some projects to go with thsoe artists.

Some Notes:

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Jun. 27, 2006 - The Girls Book

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Jun. 23, 2006 - Little update... The Pool, Ebay, stuff...

School hasn't been happening too much.  We've rented some IMAX movies from Netflixx ~ documentary type things that are soooo awesome.  We've been doing Teh Iceberg Hermit for our read aloud ~ the kids all LOVE it.  It is really awesome, I still remember it from elementary school when OUR teacher read it to us!  I'llhave the kids do a report or book review on it when we're done and post them here.

Other than that, the kids have been doing a lot of logic puzzles and working through summer review math packets and reading a lot. 

We FINALLY got the pool up (photos of the kids working through that process with Dh on my LJ if your an LJ-er as well!) and we now just need the filter hooked up.  The kids are SO exctied about getting tto swim TOMORROW!

I've been selling some of Dh's leftover DISH stuff on ebay, as well as some homeschool stuff, easy readers and some clothes.  I'm actually making some money from it!  Its so nice to be able to sell from home and make money without having to put a whole lot of time into it.  BTW ~ my ebay seller name is bynalways (unique, eh?:)

Other than that ~ things are just... going.  I am doing a part in a local play called The Drunkard.  Its the longest continual running play in the US apparently.  I'm playing Mehitabelle, and my debut is on July 22nd... for any of you locals who want a fun night out!:) 

Next week is K's 11th birthday!!  Wow!  On Sunday he's going to Six Flags for our church's annual "Lifestock" with Dh, S and J, Monday is the family "party",  then Tuesday he's having his party with his friends.  Thursday is the kids swimming party while the moms discuss and plan our co-op for next year... then Friday is S's sleepover!  Whew!

I'll post more about our co-op plans later when we've figured it all out!

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