A good week was had by all.  We've started a couple "new" behavior plans for the Hugs and Smiley because they were being very grumbly and whiny of late.   So, far, it seems to be working, which means DH and I are being more consistent enforcing the boundaries we've set.

    We had our last swim lesson this week.  Ben is a solid mid-Level 3 (somehow, he go put in a class with a bunch of Level 2s instead of what I'd requested, but I think it was a blessing in the end, because he improved the quality of his skills and is an awesome floater now!).  Luke passed level 1, and will move into Level 2 the next time we sign up for lessons.

     We studied about the Periodic Table this week and made a cool project to learn about organizing information.  Ben organized friends by their name, number of letters in their name, favorite color, number of siblings and age.  Then, we put two of these on a grid and call it The Periodic Table of Friends:    

All the "?" are for "undiscovered" friends, just like Dmitri Mendeleev did when he started the periodic table of elements.

     We studied about Queen Elizabeth this week in SOTW.  I've decided that next week's Shakespeare unit will be the last one for SOTW 2.  The last few chapters of the book contain a lot of information about explorers and the beginnings.

     Other subjects are plugging along.  I'm really, really getting excited for a change in our subjects after the 1st of the year.  

   Our week started on Sunday the 4th with a temper tantrum.  Mine.  Yes, you read that right, just before we left for church I  had a mini-meltdown.  My darling DH  calmly and patiently said, "I think that you need to have some time away this week.  Why don't you take every night this week and do something for yourself?"

   It was just what I needed.  Some time to do things without the kids.  I am really low maintenance, so this is what I did:  I went to the library by myself to pick out the last set of books we'd need for our history studies before we switch gears to Sonlight.  It was fun to browse through the stacks -- even though I stayed in the Children's Room.  I got a Starbucks coffee (cinnamon dulce - totally the best) (we finally live in a town with a Starbucks.  Please, God, don't move us!).  I went to a Moms In Touch prayer meeting.  It was an incredible experience, and I hope to be able to go about every other week.   We prayed for peace in our homeschools, our children, and ourselves.   I went to Walgreens to buy hair color and came home and colored my hair.  Thursday I tried to stay home and finish my Bible study ("Mom!...Mom!.." says Hugs from outside my room about sixty thousand times in one minutes.  "Hey, close the door and get out.  Pretend I'm not here,"  I say.  It finally works).  Then Friday my Creative Memories consultant calls and says I can come work on my scrapbook.   So, I visit a different Starbucks (two within a 6 mile radius.   Heavenly.) and spend a few hours working on my stuff and watching her and her husband help their daughter's First Lego League with final preparations before their tournament on Saturday.   In all, it was a great week for me.  I do feel a bit refreshed and am so thankful for my wonderful husband. 

     So school. That went well, and our Flip Flop has continued for the week.  I'm pleased to be able to start our homeschooling day cuddling with Hugs and enjoying some literature, poetry, and Bible reading.  Oh, and history and science, too.  It reminds me of our early days of homeschooling and Ben would get a "whole pile of books" and we'd just hang out on the couch for the morning reading.  This also gets us back to the heart of our homeschooling and one of our reasons for homeschooling, which was to build incredible relationships in our family.

     [Oops, I guess I posted already.  But I have a bit more to report, so here we go....]

      Our history lessons this week were about Galileo and Copernius.  We enjoyed a supplemental book from the library Starry Messenger.  Hugs did a great pre-/ post- Copernian universe drawing for his notebook.

     We also read through a biography of Marie Curie for science.  I really need to kick myself in the behind and do an optional experiment on weeks when there are no scheduled experiments.  So, we're going to make some kind of bouncy blubbery thing with borax this week.  THIS, my friend, is why we're studying chemistry this year -- bouncy, blouncy, blubbery, rubbery things.

     Ben hit a lesson on flats in piano this week, and it seems to have really thrown him for a loop.   I found an online Quia game to help him name his notes, and plan to make some kind of game for him to practice knowing the name of the notes better.  He does an excellent job of memorizing the tune and finger placement of a song, but is struggling with note reading (where I also struggled as well).

     Red Sails to Capri is our read aloud this week, and it is a wonderful adventure story.  I highly recommend it.  It is especially a good boy book, as the main character is a 14 year old boy.

     Our review of Latin was a bit lackluster this week, but I've decided that we're not going to learn a new prayer in Latin, rather we're just going to review our previous learned prayers, the Sanctus, the Doxology, and the table blessing.

    I've also been mooching this week.  I acquired a bunch more books from Bookmooch and PaperbackSwap this week, and I now only have to purchase about 6 books for SL Core 3.  Whoopee!  What a great service this is -- all you do is pay shipping for the books, and you earn credits everytime you give away one of your books.  I'm pleased to have cleared off a small space on my shelves to add in some books I think we're going to love.

     Alright, now I think I'm done with our weekly review.

     Well, it sure was nice not to have to pack a suitcase for this weekend!  We're done traveling for a while and I'm thankful it was rainy today so that we could spend some time enjoying each other!

History: We've sort of stalled in the Renaissance this week;  I was hoping to get more done on Hugs' da Vinci projects, but it didn't happen.  However, after a quick trip to Home Depot on Friday night, we now have the 2 inch foam insulation sheet to make the "Walk on Water" shoes that he picked.  Tomorrow will be foam day.   We did, however, combine our history studies and art studies to make a da Vinci-esque notebook page of a new invention:  An Air-Powered Rocket Launcher 

 Next week we're going to tackle the reformation/counter-reformation.  I'm still awaiting an inter-library loan about the Lutherans, but even if that doesn't come in for another week, we're going to charge ahead!

Science:  It's back!  Yeah!  Hug's has formulated a question and made a hypothesis for his science experiment (with control group) that he is designing:

'm so glad we're back into the science groove.  I love science.

Language Arts:  We're progressing through AAS and FLL-3.    We're really only 1 week behind in FLL-3, which is not a problem, because we were scheduled to be finished with it mid-May, and our school year won't end until the end of June.  We've been without a reader for the week (but Hugs still reads -- he's read 2 Judy Moody Books and 1 or 2 Stink books), but I just got our ILL, Lumber Camp Library, which looks good, but will only last for this week at the most.   Then, we'll move on to another horse book, Mustang, Wild Spirit of the West.    The Bible memory verse/ handwriting combo has just been pure genius on my part, and I'm glad I've dropped Reason for Writing.  I'm also beginning to require a bit more cursive on Hugs' other writings as well.  I plan on making it mandatory after Christmas.

Latin: Plugging away and plotting when to tell DH that I need to go shopping for Lively Latin .

Math:  We only have 3 more units in 2B and we'll be done.  I've decided to let this last, however, until our Christmas break, even though I know it could go much faster then that.  In slowing Hugs' down, I'll be adding much more of the Challenging Word Problems and Mental Math sheets to continue to give him practice with his math facts to help solidify skills.  In January, I'll start 3A (Guess who's getting Singapore Math for Christmas?   ME!)

       I hope to spend some tim updating our year-at-a glance planning grid to flesh out a little more where we are and where we are going.    I also need to spend some quality time in front of the TV cutting out Spelling key cards, etc.  (really, I must sit in front of the TV to do this or else I'll go insane).

      I've decided to investigate digital pianos for the new year, instead of paying $200+ for an annual tuning of our little spinet piano.   Our friend and piano tuner says it is an OK piano for a beginner, but I just don't want to keep shelling out money for a tune on it when we could get a digital with weighted keys for a decent price (I hope) that would never need a tune, that would have a headphone jack for practice.  I've started to look online, and some of them even come in a frame that simulates the look of a piano console. 

     Where am I?  What am I doing here?  And what are these three (adorable) rugrats doing around me all the time? 

     That is how I felt after DH left for work on Monday morning.  Like I was jumped dumped into my life again after a few days away. 

     We had all gotten in late on Sunday night because everyone came to the airport to pick me up from my 11:45 pm arrival from Chicago-O'Hare.  I flesw to the midwest to attend my grandfather's funeral.  He passed away to join the Lord on Thursday, Nov. 11 at 2 am after a short illness.  So, I joined my grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins (all 10 of us were there!) to celebrate his life, share memories and cry some.  

      It is amazing how life can change in the blink of an eye.   We had just been to the midwest to visit he and my grandmother in June, and he looked fabulous.  Honestly I was more worried about my grandmother, whose slim little legs were resembling tree stumps. 

     My Dad asked me to pick a scripture to be read at grandpa's funeral.  Immediately, I thought of Psalm 121 .  On the plane, I had the opportunity to pray about it and read it again and mediate on it's appropriateness for my grandpa:

I look up to the mountains does my help come from there?

2 My help comes from the LORD, who made the heavens and the earth!

3 He will not let you stumble and fall; the one who watches over you will not sleep.

4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel never tires and never sleeps.

5 The LORD himself watches over you! The LORD stands beside you as your protective shade.

6 The sun will not hurt you by day, nor the moon at night.

7 The LORD keeps you from all evil and preserves your life.

8 The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.

     As I thought about my grandfather, I realized what a comfort this Psalm is for me when thinking about him:  orphaned by his pre-teen years (11 or 12 when his father passed away and he went to live with aunts and uncles), volunteered for the Army (42th Rainbow Division):

(The division's insignia)

survived WWII and the European campaign (including being there when Dachau was liberated) and provided (persevering through good and hard times) for four children, who grew up to be successful contributors to their communities (and parents to a really cute/ handsome, intelligent, and fun group of offspring, if I do say so myself).   Yes indeed, the Lord did shelter and protect him through all his days and grandpa now dwells in the house of the Lord forever....not because of anything that Grandpa did, but because of what Christ did for him 2000 years ago.   I can't wait to see you in eternity, Grandpa.  I love you.

*******

     So, school this week -- and much of last week after I learned of Grandpa's deteriorating condition -- has been survival mode.   Still, I am  amazed that we've accomplished some great things, though, and hope we can finish up our Renaissance unit next week.

History:  I just mentioned we're in the Rensaissance.  We're using Hand of a Child's Renaissance lapbook.  It is going great!  We made artist baseball cards this week for Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Jan van Eyck.  We've learned about what made art in the Renaissance different than art during the Middle Ages (just so you know, I have NO art history background.  All you out there who think, "I could never teach my children about art" please know, that you can!  The world of knowledge is just a mouse click away...).  We've also learned about what makes a Renaissance Man. 

     Hugs has picked out what projects ("I want to build something, Mom") he wants to build from this book:

He wants to make walking-on-water shoes and a trebuchet.  So, I'm hoping to get some time to go to Home Depot to buy the 3-inch foam insulation sheets we'll need for the water shoes.   I've already put DH in charge of the trebuchet.  As a matter of fact, DH is in charge of ALL projectiles from now until each boy turns 18.

     Once we finish Leonardo, then we'll move on in our history book, Story of the World, to the reformation/ counter-reformation.  

     As far as where we are in our Grand Master Schedule.....well, we're behind.  But I've got three years of homeschooling under my belt, and I know it just doesn't matter.  We're having fun, we'll have more fun, we're learning and that is all that counts. 

Latin:  My5wolfcubs asked if I'd made a decision between Lively Latin and Latin for Children.  I think I'm going with Lively Latin.  For our needs now, I think the variety of learning activities will be a hit with the boys (Smiles is also learning Latin via osmosis).  Basically, I was sold with the word "Lively" in the title.  We are, though, plugging our way through Prima Latina, and it is getting better.  We took off from Latin this week, and will restart Lesson 18 next week.

Math: I don't think I'm going to have a math freakout for awhile.  Our math program is working really well right now.  I'm loving Flashmaster, and seeing measureable progress in Hugs' mastery of math facts.  My goal for him is to be able to do the flashcard program at 4 seconds per problem.   And, he has to hve greater than 90 accuracy.  The best thing about Flashmaster is had dramatically decreased my stress about math fact mastery and I think I'm being a better mommy and teacher because of it.  Right now our math schedule looks like this: 

Monday - Thursday	Singapore Math Schedule & Flashmaster
Friday	Singapore Math Challenging Word Problems & Flashmaster

 Language Arts:  We've finished All About Spelling's level 1, which was really far too easy for Ben to do, but I am pleased that it gave him a better understanding of the phonograms.  I do have an old copy of Wanda Sanseri's Teaching Reading at Home and have used it as an independent measure of his spelling level.  I gave him Test 2 and his scored at a grade status of 5.1.   This tells me that he is performing at least at his grade level or above, and that I shouldn't be so worried with his spelling skills.  However, I will keep using All About Spelling through level 2 because I do believe he needs to have more practice spelling with the phonograms and with the concept of syllablication.  My plan now is to finish AAS 2 by Christmas (shouldn't be difficult;  we usually do at least two lessons in each sitting) and then let him go back to his ACSI Spelling grade 3 book, which he'll likely fly through.

[Just as an aside:  I was a Speech Language Pathologist in my previous life, and my favorite part of my job was assessing kids' or adults' oral and written language skills then taking all those raw scores, converting them to standard scores and percentiles and making sense of it all in light of other non-standardized results.  So, I actually like testing my kids, knowing that it is a snapshort of their abilities at that instance.]

Fine Arts:  I've come to group art and music under Fine Arts in my computer software (Homeschool Tracker), so I'll just lump it all together here, too.   Art is going amazing well this year.   We completed our first unit about the element of lines in art.   We added four pieces to Hugs' art portfolio, the final being a piece á la Piet Mondrian.  Can you tell which is Hugs and which is Piet's?

 Yes, you guessed right, #2 is Hugs.  Isn't it great (it is tempra and charcol on, um, paper, unsigned)?  This from a kid who "hates" art.  Really, I think he hates art because I have shown impatience towards his artistic attempts.  (Patience is a constant prayer for me as I educate and raise up my family.)  This year's gentle investigation of the elements of art will, hopefully, capture his imagination and he will be more willing to try art.

 I also found this great book, one of a series on elements of art:  Lines, by Philip Yenawine. 

We had a blast looking at it and being art critics ("That's really famous art, Mom?" he said looking at Jackson Pollock's One):

...From the mouths of babes!

Oops I forgot:  Those dynamic warm up exercises I posted on a few back for our homeschool gym?  Oh my, I did them for the first time on Friday, and I've been waddling with sore muscles since!  (it's Sat. afternoon now).   The boys?   Not even a flinch from them.  Hmmm, I wonder who Homeschool Gym is really for, the kids or me?

I'm not even doing a Weekly Report this week because we just didn't do enough to count as school.  Well, I take that back.  We did plenty of learning, but progress toward the 3 R's was little.   We all went to Vermont for 3 days this week, so Monday and Tuesday were mostly me barking orders at Hugs:  "OK, do your handwriting now!"  "Here's your Flashmaster list"   while tried to pack things up and our Tuesday pm departure.

The Good:

• Ft. Ticonderoga was a great field trip.   Hug's favorite parts were the musket demonstration (the re-enactment British soldier was a wealth of information about the lack of precision and the high luck-factor of the musket) and viewing the assorted items that might be found in the barracks of a fort -- playing cards, ink packets, pipes, darning bobbin (I think that's what you call the thing they shoved into the toes of their socks).  It was a beautiful ride town to Ticonderoga;   I hope we can explore the Adirondack mountains at some point in our lives.
• The ECHO science museum in Burlington VT.  This was field trip #2 of our trip.  The boys really enjoyed the displays and demonstrations.  We sat through a lake sturgeon talk.  Hugs was the only 8 year old amongst a see of 3 year olds, and did an amazing job of answering questions and volunteering.  This is a big deal for Hugs, who is usually shy and won't volunteer much information in group situations. They wouldn't accept my HSLDA teacher ID card as proof of my homeschool teacher status, so I had to pay full price admissions.   grrrrrr.
• Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Factory Tour:  Field trip #3. (daddy got to go with us on this one!) No field trip that ends in ice cream can be a bad one.
• Flashmaster and my new tracking sheet is working great.  I'm seeing measured progress in Hug's skills in the flashcard mode in addition, subtraction, and multiplication.  Division is improving, though at a more slow rate than the other three.

The Bad:

• The pool at the hotel was far too cold to enjoy on Thursday.  I swam with the boys a little on Wednesday after our Fort trip, and the pool was nice'n warm; the hot tubs were near boiling.  Thursday, though, the hot tubs were fine and the pool was c-c-cold.  We (read "I") lasted about 35 minutes.  Besides, Giggles was starting to get a cold on Thursday, and I didn't want him to get worse.
• He did anyway.   DH (he needs a better blog name...) and I were up with him at 5 am because he was sounding like a seal barking his coughs and had labored breathing and seemed to be having a tempterature (forgot to pack the thermometer this time). We got him cool, turned on the AC and I had him sleep on my chest.  He seemed better by 7am, though still barky.  Friday during the day he did fine until we pulled up to the Ben and Jerry factory.  Then, he had trouble clearing a mucousy obstruction in his throat.  But he did finally, and we decided to continue with the tour since he'd returned to his baseline.   He was great for the entire rest of the 3 hour ride home UNTIL 2/10th of a mile from home when he did the choke thing again.  DH and I thought the same thing and drove to the emergency room.  He has croup.  He got a steroid injection and is sleeping like a -- ahem -- baby now.  Wish I was.
• I didn't realize how sick of peanut butter sandwiches we'd get in the course of 3 days.
• We only read through 1 more chapter from Wheel on the School.  And, I like it now.  The chapters are really long though, and I'm just having trouble scheduling in the time right now.

So, there you have it.   We did only a couple days of Flashmaster, all our CBS lesson, 1/2 a week of Latin and handwriting;  all our science, no history, 1 of 4 grammar lessons.....it is too painful to catalog.

But, we had a fun time together and we're all healthy (in a medication-assisted sort of way), so I'll be thankful for what we did and worry about all the rescheduling on Sunday.

     This has been a long week, and I'm too tired collect pictures of the boys' work for this week, so -- I'm sorry to say -- it will just be my narrative of our week .

     First off:   Giggles' EEG came back perfectly normal, praise God! 

     I came to realize something this week:   just because I'm not turned on by a book doesn't mean the boys' don't like it (I know, I'm a little slow sometimes).  We sat down to do some read-alouds at some point this week, and Hugs' said, "Can't we read the Wheel on the School?"  So, we'll keep on keepin' on with this selection.   It does seem to be getting better -- let me rephrase that:  my attitude has improved and I'm enjoying the book more, too.

     I think I've stumbled upon a way to make Flashmaster work for us.  We've gone ahead and are compiling a baseline of Hugs' math skills.  At every level, I've had him do the test feature, and we've written down how many problems he completed in 90 seconds and his percent accuracy.  He's completed the addition, subtraction and multiplication operations.  He has a nice accuracy record for his addition and subtraction (I'm using 90% or better at this stage), but his speed with these facts needs improvement.   So, I've decided that I'll begin by figuring out his average speed at each level and use the flashcard function to help him increase his speed.  The flashcard function allows you to set the speed in which the student must respond, from 9 seconds to 1 second (or less, I can't recall).  For multiplication, we'll use the random tables function to improve his knowledge of these facts (and I suspect that is where we'll start with division as well).    Flashmaster will become an everyday activity that Hugs completes, and then at the end of every 6 week term we'll do another test to see how he's improved.

     This week, Hugs is working on memorizing True Nobility by Edgar Guest (thanks to Jessica at Trivium Academy for drawing my attention to this great poem!) instead of  R.L. Stevenson's The Land of Nod in FLL3.  

     We'll be extending our study of the Mayan, Aztec and Incan civilizations into early next week because we just ran out of time.  So, we'll do our Aztec History Pocket on Monday and on Tuesday read about the Incans.   I had Hugs work on the Mayan math activity from the SOTW-2 Activity Guide, and he really enjoyed that.  I asked him to summarize what he thought of Mayan math, and he said, "Mayan math is really hard"  because it is a base 20 system rather than a base 10 system.

     Then we had our first Community Bible Study on Friday, and I am so thankful that we can participate in such a great program.  Smiley was not wanting to go into his class, but I sat with him a while and he did fine.  "Mom!" he yelled, "I LOVE Bible Study." I am hoping he remembers that next Friday, too.  Hugs came home, dropped his notebook on the floor, grabbed his Bible and did his first lesson. Cool.

     We're on step 2 of All About Spelling this week.  It is alphabetizing.  He knows how to do this at a basic level, but I'm trying to give him strategies to make it more efficient. I suspect we'll stay at step 2 until Tuesday then move on to the next level.  

    Next week we'll be adding in Latin, and at that point we'll have all our subjects scheduled in.  On a good day, we can easily finish school before 1 pm.  But, those days are few.   Hugs still needs reminders from me to move from one independent activity to the next, but he is getting better on some days. In the next week, I need to be more purposeful in my routines and help get a routine going for Smiley and Giggles.  

     This was our crazy week because we had a very important playdate on Tuesday and the whole EEG thing on Friday, but I am thankful to God for all we did accomplish.  Our addition this week was a Read Aloud, The Wheel on the School; we didn't get too far in it (blushing:  1 1/2 chapters), but there's always next week!

     I absolutely love starting our day with circle time.   Honestly, Giggles thinks it is all about him, and honestly it is .  We've added Deep and Wide to our repertoire because of its fun hand motions.   Giggles just stares at the three of us as our arms are flailing all over the place and there is shear delight on his face.  That, my friend, is why we do it.  A couple times this week, Hugs has done his Bible reading after circle time, so I've gotten Smiley to look at a picture Bible, too.   So, I think -- all praise be to God, because I've been unable to visualize how to do this before -- we're getting closer to having a morning devotional time.

    We also started our art program, and I'm happy to say that Day One was a success.  I've got picture to prove it.  The boys learned about horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines.   Smiley hung with the big boy and did a great job.

     Just today we received the Flashmaster.  I think it is exactly what we need right now, and I wish I'd shelled out the $50 for it when Hugs was in 1st grade.  I think it would've prevented all the fear and hyperventilation that goes on when I talk with him about Math Facts.  At least we'll get lots of use out of it as the other boys grow into it.

    I've also figured out how to get grades for his math work (in our Home School Tracker program ), and I plan to give him grades for his weekly assignments.  Then, at the end of the week, I can print our a progress note for the principal (a.k.a. Daddy) so he can keep on track of it with me.  

    I also started school with Smiley this week.  He loves his school books!   I'll post separately on what I'm doing with him. 

     Here's the boys' art pictures:

      Next week:  add in Chemistry I, All About Spelling level I (which is far too easy for Hugs, but he needs all the rules about syllables again), and Piano Lessons

This week's subjects: 

History, Bible, Read Aloud, Readers, Handwriting, Math, Science (independent reading)

Here's Hug's first week of handwriting;  we're still using A Reason for Handwriting, which askes the child to copy a Bible verse at the end of the week.  Each day during the week, they practice certain target words for practice on different letter shapes and connections.  Since we haven't done any cursive over the summer, I was pleased with his final work.  We gave it to Daddy to beautify his office.

Bible:  After 1 day, I realized that I don't like how choppy SL's Bible is.  So, we ditched it (talk about perseverance issues, huh?).  I've had Karyn Henley's Day-by-Day Kids Bible for well over a year, and just never implemented it until now.  It is actually perfect for us.  We are using it at lunch right now, and everyone is listening it around the table.  Also, Ben is reading a proverb a day in his NIrV Bible.  I plan on having him do this for the entire year on his own.  

History: Lancastrians, Tudors and Yorks, oh my!  We've opened up our school year with the Wars of the Roses.  Boy, what THAT confusing for Hugs!  But, we pulled through and I am hopeful that in 4 years he'll say, "oh, I remember something  about that from before."   We're getting close to all the explorers and the renaissance, which I think Hugs will love.

Readers: Next up is "B" is for Betsy.  

Read-Aloud:  We kept it light this week with Aesop's fables and Robert Louis Stevenson's A Garden of Children's Verses.  I have a feeling that the boys will like poetry in spite of themselves by the time we're through with it.  Heeheehee.

Math: Confession:  I like teaching math.  I think I would be good at teaching it with the right student.   I think I would be good at teaching Hugs if he'd just keep his mouth closed.  Math is bringin out all sorts of character flaws in both my oldest son and myself.  I was paaaaaiiiiiiinnnnnfully patient during our phonics lessons.  I was extreeeeeeeeeeemly patient during handwriting practice.   I was verrrrrrrrrrrrrrry calm during our beginning math experience.  I can still be patient, if he'd just stop running ahead of my teaching and listen to the entire explanation and direction.   Add this to the tears that come during our math fact drill, and I want to go find a yellow bus and put him on it.......................................................  deep breathe.  OK, I'm feeling better now.   I'm learning that Hugs is not detail oriented in math at this point, and I'm working with him on being more careful in his work (like not making errors copying numbers) as well as just being patient and listening to full explanations.  I think he could do well with math, and I know the hurdle right now is the math facts.

Science:  "Mom, can I play with the Ein-O balls?"   Noeo came with a molecule making kit that I finally let Ben play with this week.   He is very excited to start Chemistry, but we're about 2 weeks away.  He has to finish reading about wild animals this coming week, then we're done with biology.

Grammar:  I love love love FLL-3.   We've only done 3 lessons, but I think it is great. 

Next Week: We are adding in art, vocabulary, critical thinking, and music (since I forgot to do it today).  Plus, Smiles will be starting his school next week, too.  I've decided to just take one anthology off the shelf at a time and read through it, then move on to another.  So, we are finishing up the Lion Bedtime Storyteller book and will move on to finish up the 20th Century anthology.