Jun. 7, 2009 Gardening and New "Little Ones"
Here is a recent shot of my garden:
And here is a shot of one of the new "little ones":
Had you wondering, didn't I? My Darling Daughter Number Three found 4 monarch caterpillars in some swamp milkweed. We cared for them and watched each of the stages from caterpillar to butterfly. Once she has created her slide show, I will share it.
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Apr. 27, 2009 Where Have I Been?
My Dad just informed me last week that he does not know what is going on with me because my blog has not been updated. So, I thought I would let you all know that I am still alive and kicking! School is over for the day and now the real learning starts! I have one washing her motorcycle with a plan of working in the garden, two creating a world of their own with the aid of puppets and two trying to find fish, snakes, soft-shelled turtles and crayfish. Like I said, now the real learning starts!! |
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Mar. 24, 2009 The World of Make Believe
Only in the minds of two boys...
would a snow suit make a good space suit for a budding astronaut!
I told them I am NOT turning on the air conditioner so that they can "cool down" in their space suits. Snow suits...in 70 degree heat? Some people feel the need to justify "out of season" clothing....
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Sep. 11, 2008 How We Are Currently Testing For Reading Comprehension
As you know, we are moving. School had to change in a major way in order for us to compensate for the change in our lives and routine. Normally we utilize narration and projects to promote understanding in their reading. Most of those things are kept in their reading notebooks. Because we NEED to live in the required state of CLEAN, notebooking has been "back-burnered" (is that a word?).
My cousin gave me a wonderful idea for testing their comprehension in their reading. She told me about BookAdventure.org. This is a free program full of thousands of different books. The levels are from kindergarten to grade eight, but there are classics on a tenth and eleventh grade reading level.
The way I set up the program is like this: I log on as a teacher and set up a separate class for each of my children. Then they log on as a student in school. They then enter the class name I give them and my teacher name. Then they find the quiz for the book they have read, take the quiz and then log off. I, as the teacher, am given a running total of their points they earn from completing each quiz.
The website also have a wonderful database which you can use to find books in their reading levels. I love this program. It is easy to take with us when we have to leave and they are required to do just a little bit more than just read the book. Even after we get settled, I may still use this program as a little extra incentive. They are loving it!
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Aug. 21, 2008 One Week Down, Who Knows How Many To Go...
Disclaimer: This may be a bit long winded, so if you get bored, skip to the last few lines for some great tips!!
We completed our first week of school. Yes, I realize it is only Thursday, but this is going to be a four day week. Not because we cannot stand a moment more. Tomorrow we are going to visit our new location. No we have not had an offer on the house, but we did have one showing. Very exciting! We had about three hours notice so it was a chance to "practice" getting ready to show the house without being under the gun. They said the house showed well. That is always a good thing!
School started very slowly. We were up until 9:30 at night just trying to fill out the day enough to say we actually started school. I have been very faithful to write down what we are doing. I just ask them as I look through the list what pages they are on and they holler them from across the house.
I decided to do an abridged version on our history and science. Instead of Mystery of History and Exploring Creation, we are reading novels on the ancients and stories about different scientists. That is far less invasive than trying to notebook the two subjects. Can you imagine working in a history notebook with all the "supplies" laying everywhere and then getting "the call". I decided that was a stress I did not need.
My Darling Daughter Number Three is loving the fact that she is starting the same math and grammar she has watched her sisters completing. It is making her feel very grown up!
A wonderful tip a good friend shared with me: If you are wanting to get a white board for your wall, go to you local all purpose building store and purchase backer board. It is a perfect board for writing. I purchased a small one the size of my seven year old Darling Son and that works great! You can get them larger if that is what you are looking for. In the future when we are settled, I plan on getting a larger one and having Wonderful Husband cut it into small boards for personal use. I paid a whopping $10 for my 2 foot by 4 foot board!
In addition to that, instead of buying dry erase markers, I used the water washable markers to write on them. They wash off with a wet rag and then dry with a dry one. Now we have hundreds of colors to choose from! Plus, that was one less store to stop at!!
All in all, it was a good week! |
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Aug. 17, 2008 We Start Tomorrow!!
Okay, I have never really had anxiety over starting school before. Usually, I am ready for the "order" to return to life. Since we are moving, this has taken over our lives! Not only do we start school tomorrow, we also start our home sale journey! The only "return to order" will occur when our names are on the paper that says we own a new house and our furniture is in said house!
So, how do you plan when you do not know what life will bring from day to day? I realized that I was going to have to go back to recording keeping the way I used to do it. Have an idea in mind and journal what we actually accomplish.
I have a basket. All the children's school books are in this basket. It will probably follow us around the house to whichever room we end up in. After the daily chores are complete, we will break out the books and go full steam ahead!
When "The Call" comes and we have to be out of the house in 30 minutes, all the books will jump into the basket, we will go through "The Call" checklist, and the basket will head out the door to the van. Or, at least that is the plan.
I suppose I DO have a plan, but I think I better stick with the diary idea. |
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