Nov. 16, 2009 - We published a book!
Well, Emilee and I decided to try out LuLu.com and publish our own book. We worked on it these past months in our spare time (Which was very little), but we made it through the process and published it. Check out the link in the sidebar with a picture of the cover. It looks good online, but I just put in my first order for a copy to see how it looks in our hands. I'm anxious to get it. This was an experiment to see how this self-publishing website works from start to finish. Has anyone out there used LuLu or a similar self-publishing site before? Your feedback here would be most helpful.
Laura
Nov. 9, 2009 - Lesson Plans for Nov. 9-13
I thought I'd post my lesson plans for the week, just for my reference as well as to show what we do each week.
Religion
Sarah: Read lesson 8 in Faith and Life 5, complete workbook pages
Robbie & Riley: Complete First Penance text
All: daily religion readings from either Faith and Life, Bible, Once Upon a Time Saints or Devotional Stories for Little Folks
Math
All: Complete lesson 11 in Math U See
Play games (computer, dice, cards, etc.) to practice math facts
Language Arts
Sarah: Lang. Lesson - Valiant, Dog of the Timberline
read from True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
Robbie & Riley: Sonlight LA 1 week 1
Riley: finish reading Magic Tree House The Knight at Dawn
Robbie: read from I Can Read It 1
All: cursive practice
History
All: Listen to The Striped Ships
Robbie and Riley: Story of the World ch. 15 -- finish
Sarah: Write a mini report about the claims to the throne and who had the better claim
History Odyssey lesson 22 : mapwork, timeline, entries about Domesday Book and Bayeux Tapestry
All: Memory Work - Norman and Saxon by Rudyard Kipling
Craft Project - A Day in Your Life Bayeux Tapestry
Science
All: Listen to Body Battles and Magic School Bus Inside Ralphie
Work on Healthy Habits chart (for Cub Scouts, but Sarah is keeping one as well)
make notebook pages about what we read
Nov. 9, 2009 - Making adjustments
We are now 11 weeks into the school year. How did that happen? Time just goes way to fast nowadays. After a few weeks in, I started tweaking, and now we've sort of thrown out those lesson plans I worked so hard writing.
I have been reading lots of Ruth Beechick lately. I think she's almost as inspiring to how I home educate as Charlotte Mason. And in a lot of ways, I think they are very similar.
One of the things that needed adjusting, is Robbie's reading lessons. He's been struggling, and we had already dropped spelling since it seemed pointless--if you can't read, you can't spell. So, I've gone and dug out our I Can Read It books from Sonlight, as well as the Language Arts 1 I had put away. We just started it today, but already I can see it's a better fit.
For Sarah, we are using the language lessons provided in You Can Teach Your Child Successfully. I think once we've gone through those I'll dig out the Sonlight Language Arts 2 -- Reading With Chapter Books that I have put away. She wants to be a writer, and this just seems a better fit for her than workbooks. I think she remembers things better when they are used in context. She is enjoying the lessons, except that it requires her to do dictation--which she hates. I'm hoping it will help with her listening skills though, because that is an area that needs a LOT of work.
I've also adjusted our history lessons a bit. Sarah is using History Odyssey, which was taking her hours at a time to complete. Currently we are studying the Normans. Instead of doing the whole lesson in one day (which requires reading a chapter from a history text, 2 pages from Kingfisher History Encyclopedia, outlining that history reading, marking dates on a timeline, mapwork, and 2 short entries written about the Domesday book and the Bayeux Tapestry--WAY too much for one lesson!!) we are reading the historical novel The Striped Ships aloud, and taking our time to complete all those assignments. Plus she's listening in on the Story of the World chapter about the Norman Conquests. She is actually almost enjoying her history lessons now! Yay!
Sarah is also participating in National Novel Writing Month. She is having fun just writing without worrying about making complete sense. 
It's also helping her to work on description in her writing. She tends to write only part of what's in her head--leaving the rest of us to wonder what she's talking about sometimes. I'm hoping that stretching her writing to meet the word requirement (I think she's supposed to hit 10,000 words) will help her to get all the story written down.
I like the way our school year is shaping up. We're adding in a few lapbooks here and there, and I've got a wall time line idea brewing as well. I love it when my kids tell me that they love school!!
Nov. 6, 2009 - That Red Hair
Well, the baby's is more of wispy red hair and fuzz, but anyway.
God cares about such small details as the color of our hair. He even knows how many hairs are on our heads. It's rather amazing when you think about it. He is so big and magnificent and we are so nothing, yet He cares about such a silly thing as what color I hoped my baby's hair would be. He used Faith's red hair to remind me of this gentle love and care recently when I was pushing away from Him.
There is an area of my life that I had taken back from Him. I know he wants ALL of me and I consciously began to refuse to submit in an area. I was miserable, trying to hide from Him. It made me grumpy and depressed to live that way. But He loves me anyway. When I was playing with baby's hair, He whispered to me that He gave her that color in answer to my prayer. His quiet voice persists and asks me to trust Him, to turn it all back over, to let go.
And I have.
And there is peace.
And every time I see that red hair on my little girl I will be reminded of His love and that I can trust Him.
I don't have to be in control.
Nov. 4, 2009 - Happy November
We had eight boxes today:
1 - Our Read Alouds: Two history books & the Boy Scout Chemistry Merit Badge book
2 - Alek's Math
3 - Bible: We used Bible Study Guide For All Ages for the first time today. I think we're really going to like it.
4 - Phonics & Vocabulary Workbook
5 - The Story of the USA
6 - States & Capitals review
7 - Words on the Vine: Write sentences using words with the root 'foli'
8 - Our artist for November, Hokusai: read his biography in Lives of the Artists and watch a Youtube video about him
We also watched some Liberty Kids videos during lunch & he'll do his reading tonight.
Other things we've done in the last week:
We went to Marquette State Park with some of the other families in our homeschool group. First we had a lesson in owls & eagles, and then a two mile hike.
This view is from the top of a mound on the river bluffs. Our guide said that on a clear day, you can see the St. Louis arch from here. Our day was VERY foggy! 
Our state menu this week was from Maine: Lobster Casserole, Roasted Asparagus & Blueberry Pie. (I cheated a little on the pie - a frozen pie from the grocery store) Everything was delicious!
Tuesday was time for Kate to register for the 2nd semester of college already! She'll be taking English, Math, Psychology & Music Theory. Her schedule will be a little easier this semester - no classes before 10 a.m.
We finished Witch of Blackbird Pond on Tuesday. Luke will finish up his book about Pocahontas by the end of the week. He is supposed to finish reading his Chemistry book before the merit badge seminar on Saturday, so we'll concentrate on that for the rest of the week.
I've been working on Dewey, the Small Town Library Cat and The Life and Adventures of Harry Bibb. Both of them are good books, but I just haven't had much time to read.
Nov. 3, 2009 - Book Review: The Shadow of the Bear
I recently received The Shadow of the Bear: A Fairy Tale Retold by Regina Doman to review. I was excited to read it, because I adore her picture book Angel in the Waters and love retellings of fairy tales. I was not disappointed. This is a retelling of Snow White and Rose Red. I have to admit, I've never read the original Grimm's fairy tale. I must seek it out now so I can compare.
The inside cover of the book says:
There lived two sisters who loved books, poetry, music, and fairy tales.
They lived with their widowed mother in a brownstone with two rose bushes in front of it.
One winter night, a Bear came to their door and they let him in, even though he could not tell them his real name or his real mission.
He became their friend, protector, and constant companion.
They never dreamed that his friendship might cost them their lives.
This review was written as part of The Catholic Company product reviewer program. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on The Shadow of the Bear: A Fairy Tale Retold.
Nov. 3, 2009 - Following in her Footsteps
Our girls have both managed to climb up and get the Desitin at about the same age.
Here is when Joy did it at the age of 21 months:
And here is Hope, this weekend at the age of 24 months:
What is so fun about Desitin? They both used it as a finger paint to paint themselves and other things, too.
Nov. 1, 2009 - Montage of Edison House Pictures!
Montage Of Edison House Photo's
Edison House
Nov. 1, 2009 - Field Trip To Thomas Edison's "Summer" Home
Since this is my blog I have to share honestly from my heart. This was a beautiful field trip. The weather was gorgeous, the grounds were breathtaking, but I believe that a docent can make or break the "experience" and ours did.
Our docent was very nice, but I learned a valuable lesson. Never, never, never choose the docent who is carrying index cards. (smile) Many of us in my group would look longingly over at the other groups as they would be pulling the kids into the presentation, asking questions, stirring excitement.
Our docent seemed to be flustered when children asked questions or laughed together. It was not horrible by any means, but a lesson was definitely learned. DON'T PICK THE ONE WITH THE INDEX CARDS!
Oct. 31, 2009 - Good Food
I have connected with a group of buyers to buy food from local farmers. Most of the goodies are free of antibiotics, hormones, preservatives, etc. We even connected with a farmer who has raw cow milk and are trying our first gallon today. We've been drinking raw goat milk for almost two years now, but I've never had raw cow milk. It is totally different from anything I've had before. It's good, though. Hope doesn't know anything different from goat milk. I'm anxious to see if she likes the cow milk, but she has been napping since I got home with it. I am wondering if the meat will taste any different having been grass-fed vs. the feed lot variety from the grocer. I'm really looking forward to cooking our meals this week!We will have Chicken Cassoulet, Sloppy Joe Pot Pie, Vegetable Chili, Chicken and Potatoes, and a pot roast. I'm considering a pumpkin soup, too. These are nearly all new recipes, so it will be an adventure.
We were supposed to go to Reformation Party today, but some of the children have a yucky cold and I didn't want to share that with others. I'm sure my son's cough would raise eyebrows and be truly scary to others on this day of fear. He is feeling okay, but sounds awful. Joy had a bout with a croupy cough last night and gave us a bit of a scare. Joe was so sweet to sit in the steamy bathroom with her and read her stories. It helped his cough, too. I put VapoRub on the bottoms of her feet and she hasn't coughed at all today. We'll see how tonight goes. Faith has the cold, too, but is a trooper and handling it well.
