Nov. 4, 2009 - I'm a bad homeschool mommy

Okay, here's how our day has gone. I was beat after our COOP classes yesterday and I didn't even do anything really. Didn't sleep well last night either so we had a late morning today.

After breakfast we did Bible. Asked Recycler to read Phillipians 4: 1-5 and I zoned out or something because when I zoned back in I relaized he had read all the way to verse 9. He's like "I started reading and the next thing I know I'm on verse 9."  So Princess read to verse 14. Next they started their copy work. I had them do it three times, cause we can all use the practice in our penmanship. Well that took an hour. Pricess is sick (we have a 6PM appointment with the Pediatrician tonight) and I've been battling a headache all day so no one really wants to do anything.

We broke for lunch and I just gave up. It takes to much energy to do anything today. So Princess wanted to watch the Velveteen Rabbit and I let her. Recycler is playing outside and I said go for it. Monkey is going back and forth as usual. I need a nap and now that Big Daddy is home I think I'll go take one.

I pray tomorrow is a better day.

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Nov. 2, 2009 - Operation: English Grammar

We are from the planet Gabgone. Our mission - to learn the English language.

Our first assignment: Nouns. We now know that nouns name a person, place, thing, abstract idea and animals,

Okay, this is just too much fun. It should be outlawed or something. Even my 5 year old got a big kick out of it today. If your kid is having trouble with Language Arts, I highly recommend getting this lapbook. I mean really, what kid doesn't like space missions & aliens. Can't wait to finish this and get the picture uploaded to the blog.

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Oct. 28, 2009 - Quiet Days

What do you do when you get an unexpected quiet day?

 I made Pumpkin Praline Muffins, had an intellectual conversation with my husband, read a good book and slept like the dead.

Thank God for these unexpected days.

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Oct. 26, 2009 - Rainy Day

Rainy days always change up the school schedule.

What was going to be Math, Language Arts and History is now Veggie Tales "Moe & the Big Exit" for a lesson in Following Directions and School House Rock "Conjunction Junction", "Interjections" & "A Noun is a Person, PLace or Thing". Then we'll follow up with Biblical Honesty, Operation: English Grammar, & Multiplication Pizza Party lapbooks. We'll end our day with any homework from our Tuesday classes.

I see popcorn and a movie in our future.

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Oct. 23, 2009 - Not a good week

This week hasn't been all that good. My energy levels have been non-existant and I haven't gotten much accomplished this week.

Spelling, a little Math and mostly lapbooking is all that was done. They really love the lapbooking. Bats, Animal Classification and Multilplication Pizza Party seem to be the favorite of the older two and my youngest loves her Beginner Reader, Circle of Life lapbooks along with the Bats and the Honesty lapbook.

We did have library time yesterday since we went for early voting. Made a great opportunity to show the kids the ends and outs of the voting process.

Well, quiet hour is almost over and I think we can squeeze in one more lapbook, maybe two before dinner.

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Oct. 12, 2009 - Slow Monday

This is a very slow day.

My energy levels have been way down the past few days and I feel like I'm walking through pudding. I didn't fill up the day with lessons and now I'm glad. Math seems to be taking Recycler an extra long time today, or he's making it take extra long today. Princess & Monkey have just flown through their lessons so I sent them off to watch cartoons on PBS Sprout, which I rarely do during the week.

Once we get through Math, Recycler still has his reading assignment, plus we have Bible and three lapbook activities. All I want is a nap. I just pray I have the energy to get through tomorrow's Terrific Tuesday classes.

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Oct. 9, 2009 - Current & Upcoming Lapbooks

Current Lapbooks

Recycler - Animal Classification; Multiplication Pizza Party, Spelling & Phonics Rules; Creation; Apologia Flying Creatures

Princess - Animal Classification;  Multiplication Pizza Party, Spelling & Phonics Rules; Creation; Apologia Flying Creatures

Monkey - Animal Classification; Spelling & Phonics Rules; Creation; Circle of Life; Beginner Reading

Upcoming Lapbooks for November 2009 to June 2010

Recycler - Obedience; Honesty; Responsibility; Bats; Texas; Operation: English Grammar; Dinosaurs; Rodney Rockhounds Rocks & Minerals; The Five Senses; The History of Sports

Princess - Obedience; Honesty; Responsibility; Texas; Operation: English Grammar; Dinosaurs; Rodney Rockhounds Rocks & Minerals; The Five Senses; Horses

Monkey - Texas; Dinosaurs; Rodney Rockhounds Rocks & Minerals; The Five Senses; Butterflies

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Oct. 9, 2009 - End of the week

Not a bad end to the week. Didn't get all my goals accomplished, but it's okay. The Creation lapbook didn't get done because I forgot to make copies. I have them now and I'm thinking about cutting the activities out myself and since its suppose to rain all day tomorrow the kids can put it together.

The Spelling & Phonics lapbook is not a weekly project. I found this one free on the internet and there wasn't a lesson plan or answer sheet so research is taking a lot of time. I'm going to give it another week.

Because one kids was sick for two days, I shelved the Spelling test and Bible verse until this coming Tuesday to give her time to catch up.

The Apricot Whip didn't get made because I didn't make it to the grocers for the dried apricots. We also didn't listen to Beethoven's Sixth Symphony or discuss Michelanglo's "Creation" and Edward Hicks "Noah's Ark". We didn't read the book "The Genesis Flood" by Whitecomb & Morris because the library didn't have it and it will be at least two weeks before I can get it.  We'll pick that up in June of next year since it was actually scheduled for September.

We did complete the Apologia Flying Creatures Notebooking pages 22-24 and the Primary Bible Reader pages 11-14 and coloring pages of Noah's Ark. Made it all the way to lesson twelve in Math. We completed activity 4 & 5 of the Multiplication Pizza Party lapbook and completed activities 1-4 of the Animal Classification lapbook.

Everybody finished their copywrok and reading assignments for the week and are current on our Terrific Tuesday classes. Now to start working on next weeks goals.

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Oct. 7, 2009 - Hump Day

Pretty good day all around.

I got to sleep in while Big Daddy was in charge. He got quite a lot accomplished too. He took the alternator off my car and took it to get fixed and did a load of dishes. Kept the kids fed and quite.

When I got up, they got started on Spelling and I went shopping. They did their Bible lesson and Reading assignment while I was gone.

A new shopping center just opened up down the street and it has a Dress Barn, so I had myself a little "me" time. I got a great looking blouse and a couple of pairs of boots. If I'd have had a little more money I would have gotten a couple of jackets that I just adore. One is cream corduroy and the other was black leather that felt like butter. This new shopping center would be just perfect if a Coldwater Creek and a Chick-fil-A were added. I even walked through the new JCP and found what I wanted for Christmas. They have this shiny red leather croc embossed bag that was to die for and they sell Bare Minerals make-up that I have always wanted to try.

Now I'm not a shopper. I don't like to "shop". But I have two exceptions. One is Dress Barn and the other is Coldwater Creek. I could spend hours in those store and be as happy as a lamb. The style of the clothes has always appealed to me. I cant figure it out I just except it.

I really only went into JCP because of the Sephora cosmetic department. I knew Sephora sells Bare Minerals and sure enough this JCP is carrying it. I was extremely surprised by the size of JCP. Hopefully, the Grand Opening order and cleanliness will stay. I'll use the Ross that opened across the street a few years ago as an example. Within three months of opening, that Ross looked like a bombed out building in a war zone. Nasty, smelly place and I won't even go in anymore. Here's hoping the stores in the new shopping center do a better job of maintance.

My euphoria ended when I walked into Walmart. I usually boycott Walmart, especially the one here by my house, because of personal reasons. Unfriendly staff, 120 degree temp in the store and three out of 35 registers open. I only went to get dogfood, catfood, toothpaste and underwear for my kid.

Today was total chaos. The entire store, EVERY department, is under construction. Merchandise is not where the signs indicate. Staff was confused as to where merchandise was moved to.  An hour later I finally managed to check out. Plus they didn't even have the dogfood on the shelf. Walmart should have just closed the store down for the reno and had a grand reopening in three weeks. I should have taken the fact that workmen were bricking up the opening to the eye doctor office as a sign of things to come.

I will not, and I repeat NOT, be going back. I'll gladly pay three times as much to shop at Kroger before I step back into Walmart.

By the time I got home I was so flustered I forgot to stop and get a perscription from Walgreens.

After I de-stressed awhile, Big Daddy laid down to take a nap since he was so tired (worked the graveyard shift last night) he was walking into walls. The kids and I worked on their Multiplication Pizza Party, Animal Classification and Spelling & Phonics Rules lapbooks. We were going to get started on the Creation lapbook only I discovered that I had forgotten to make copies of the activities. We'll have to get to it next week.

I did however get the lapbooks I ordered Friday from HOAC. Obedience, Responsibility, Honesty, Texas and Operation English Grammar. The OPG is like a Mission Impossible style story. My kids will love it and it looks like a lot of fun. We'll start it once we finish the Spelling/Phonics Rules LB. We'll start Texas in November. The other three are a toss up on which to start first. I'm leaning towards Honesty, but Obedience is really needed in our house too.

Now Big Daddy and two kids are off to church, while I stay home with the sick one and cook dinner.

A pretty good day all around.

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Oct. 6, 2009 - Long Day and a Short Note

Today was Terrific Tuesday. We had one mom out today and I took her class and I am exhausted. I don't see how she does it. It was 6PM before we got home and all I wanted was a nap. Leaving the chores for tomorrow. If I can just get my kids to go to sleep I can call it a day.

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Oct. 5, 2009 - Side Bar

I was reading The Daddy Difference on the Homeschool Channel Blog (http://thehomeschoolchannel.tv/blog/Default.aspx?id=2147483844&blogid=76) and it got me to thinking about our own way of doing things here. Take this morning for instance, with the kids being sick I haven't gotten much sleep in the last week. So Big Daddy let me sleep a few extra hours this morning while he ran the kids through their lessons.

It's pretty much been like that from the beginning. As long as I have the day planned out, he'll take the morning lessons and then after lunch I take over. I think it has really benefited the kids and it gives me a break and I don't get overloaded.

It is so important for fathers to be involved with the kids education needs as it is for the mothers. Children learn so much more when it is presented from both parents.

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Oct. 5, 2009 - Another sick kid

Well Princess is in round two of this stomach virus. She should be better by tomorrow night, but not much of her school work got done today. No reading or Spelling and I'm not sure she is going to feel up to the lapbook activities or the notebooking. She'll be staying with Manna tomorrow instead of going to our tuesday classes as well. She's going to have a lot of catch up on Wednesday.

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Oct. 5, 2009 - Monday's Plan of Action

Since September didn't pan out the way I wanted it to, I've decided on a different strategy. Daily goal plus a weekly goal.

Weekly Goal first - Work a little bit every day on lapbooks Creation & Spelling & Phonics Rules to finish by Friday. Memorize Romans 3:23 and test on Friday. Work on Spelling List and test on Friday. Complete Apologia Flying Creatures Notebooking pages 22-24. Make recipe Apricot Whip. Listen to Beethoven's Sixth Symphony. Discuss Michelanglo's "Creation" and Edward Hicks "Noah's Ark". Read the book "The Genesis Flood" by Whitecomb & Morris if I can find it at the library.

Daily Goal for Monday 10/5/09 - Primary Bible Reader pages 11-14 and coloring pages of Noah's Ark. Saxon 54 lessons 7-9 & Saxon 2 lessons 7A-9B, since they are so short. Reading: Monkey "A Pal", Princess "Twins in the Park" & Recycler "The Big Hungry Bear". Apologia Flying Creatures pg 103-110.  Add activity 4 to the Multiplication Pizza Party lapbook. Complete activities 1-4 of the Animal Classification lapbook. Copywork the poem "Our Flag" and finish any homework assignment from Terrific Tuesday classes. Plus Monkey has her penmanship practice and her adding and subtraction worksheets.

That should about cover it for tomorrow. Now if my cat is finished with her pyschotic episode maybe I can get some sleep.

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Oct. 3, 2009 - Don't know why I bother to plan anything.

September is gone and I didn't accomplish one thing in my lesson plan.

Sick kids and sick parents, rescheduling our Terrific Tuesday classes, cancelling our Character COOP and no one interested in the Lapbook COOP really threw off my whole month. Plus two of my kids got sick again this week and I fully expect my third to be sick again by the morning. I've missed so much church this month I'm not sure I'd recognize the preacher.

I've decided to not worry about September passing us by. I've tabled the lesson plan for that month and we'll get to it in June. Monday is a brand new day and new month so we're starting fresh. I'll drop the map and timeline drawing and we'll use the computer instead. It'll give my kids an opportunity to work on their typing skills.

Right now, I must disinfect everything with bleach and Lysol and try to stay awake while doing it.

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Sep. 30, 2009 - Cut the day a little short

Today is a very busy day. I went to work this morning and Big Daddy did the morning lessons. After I got home and we all had lunch they finished up with their Bible word find puzzle.

Then the work began. They folded and put away their clothes and then Recycler decided to wash a load of clothes and vacuum the floors. My girls decided to fold the towels and wipe down the table. Recycler even learned how to clean the bathroom. He was very proud of his first attempt. All of their effort has really been a big help to me today.

I've been cutting at the pieces for the seventeen activities that go with the Animal Classification lapbook we are doing tomorrow. All I have to do now if clean the last bathroom, scrub the kitchen counters and put my own clothes away.

We are having a house guest coming tomorrow for a few days and the kids are beyond excited. So while I finish the cut outs, I have sent them outside to play kickball since the weather is beautiful. Sunshine and a cool breeze, what can be better than that?

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Sep. 28, 2009 - Here's to a new week.

One of the things I love about homeschooling is the ability to rewrite my schedule constantly. Like last week I had sick kids in a domino effect so not much got done. The whole month of September hasn't gone according to my plan. Oddly I'm okay with that.

I've apparently been teaching something because my kids have been spouting knowledge like a gyser and I had no idea they were actually paying attention. I am so grateful for our Tuesday classes. My boy is even starting to secretly take an interest in reading. I listened at his bedroom door for almost ten minutes the other night while he read from his Bible. Tears pooled in my eyes from joy. (For those just joining, my son has a disorder. It's called the  "I don't want to read" disorder and it has been consistant for 4 years to the point of I was willing to put him in public school so I didn't have to deal with him.) Between watching his friends read on Tuesdays and the more "unschooled" schooled year we are currently doing he is reading without fights, tears, threats or punishment. Mommy is so happy.

Next week I start introducing nouns, adjectives, verbs, punctuations, etc. My boy knows them but now it is time for his sister's to learn and quite frankly he could use a refresher course. I'm thinking about using the HOAC lapbook Operation: English Grammar. My oldest two have really taken a shine to the Pizza Party lapbook and my youngest wants to skip addition and go straight to multiplication so she can do it too. I wish they had one for addition and subtraction so my little Monkey could be doing one. I wish I had known about lapbooking years ago.

We actually got started on time today. Yipee! Spelling and their Science experiement in flight are knocked out and now they are working on copywork. After that we are moving on to Math. That should put us at lunch time, which I need to start thinking about now. After lunch, Bible, including the word find puzzle I took this weeks spelling list from and the Ancient civilization we are studing this month, plus reading. That should end our day very nicely.

By January my son should be up to speed on his reading skills, now that he is wanting to read, that I can introduce book reports. I always loved book reports when I was in school. Gave me an excuse to read. Hopefully my kids will enjoy them as well.

Then starts the chore list. We have a guest coming to stay with us for the weekend and I want this place spotless. Not a bad way to start the week. We stay on schedule and I see game day Friday in our future.

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Sep. 23, 2009 - The middle of the week again

Our Tuesday classes went great yesterday. The kids are having a blast. Tomorrow we are having a lapbook coop on "Animal Classification". Goes along with the Apologia science that we do on Tuesdays.

I'm going to have to sit down this weekend and redo my entire lesson plan because I got nothing accomplished on the plan I made and published a couple of months ago. Life just got in the way. might have to cut out the music and cooking portions and just have that as part of the dinner routine. I have got to remember to go by the store and get some poster board for the maps and timeline.

Didn't get much of anything done today but spelling and math drills. Princess is really catching on in multiplication.

Tomorrows a new day and I know we'll get alteast one thing done.

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Sep. 21, 2009 - Finally picking up speed.

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Sep. 16, 2009 - The Alphabet published 1688-1690 "The New England Primer"

A: In ADAM'S Fall, We sinned all.	N: NOAH did view, The old world & new.
B:Heaven to find, The BIBLE Mind.	O: Young OBADIAS, David, Josias, All were pious.
C: CHRIST crucify'd, For sinners dy'd.	P: PETER deny'd, His Lord and cry'd.
D: The DELUGE drown'd, The Earth around.	Q: QUEEN Esther sues, And saves the Jews.
E: ELIJAH hid, By Ravens fed.	R: Young pious RUTH, left all for truth.
F: The judgement made, FELIX afraid	S: Young SAM'L dear, the Lord did fear.
G: As runs the GLASS, Our life doth pass.	T: Young TIMOTHY learn't sin to flee.
H: My Book and HEART, Must never part.	V: VASHTI for pride, was set aside.
J: JOB feels the Rod, Yet blesses God.	W: WHALES in the sea. God's voice obey.
K: proud KORAH'S troop was swallowed up.	X: XERXES did die, and so must I.
L: LOT fled to Zoar Saw fiery shower on Sodom pour	Y: While YOUTH do chear, death may be near.
M: MOSES was he who Israel's Host led thro' the sea.	Z: ZACCHEUS he did climb the tree our Lord to see.

Found this in the American Patriot's Bible. I wonder why it doesn't have an "I" or "U".

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Sep. 16, 2009 - Day Six & Seven

This week isn't going according to my plans.

Yesterday was our first COOP class day. I woke up before 5 AM sick as a dog. Stomach virus. Turns out Big Daddy didn't have food poisoning after all. But my angels had a good time in their new classes. They are already looking forward to next Tuesday.

Today, I'm still not well. Spelling and Math drills are the only things that got done this morning. I crawled out of bed and we took a trip to the Health Muesum for a homeschool class on the brain. My girls drew a brain and my son got to dissect a sheep's brain. They had a blast. But I am wiped. If I hadn't already paid for the classes, I would have stayed home.

My bed is calling me and I hope I can make that far.

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