Saturday 23 May 2009 - Busy...busy...busy...

and just when I thought things were going to settle down and I could start being a real home-body again life got even busier!

A friend at church, K, is pregnant with baby #2.  Baby #1, L, (who is now a toddler) was born prematurely at 28 weeks .  K. is on complete bed-rest in hopes that little brother/sister will wait until due-date in late September.  Her mother-in-law is able to come over one day during the week to help, and some of the other ladies at church will be helping out occasionally.  For the most part, three or four days a week now, I load up my youngers with their books and other tid-bits at eight o'clock in the morning and go take care of L. and fix lunch for K. and maybe do a bit of (very) light housekeeping until about 6 p.m. when her husband finishes work.  Then we fight traffic (ugh!) home, eat supper, and try to get some of our own housework done. 

I really am glad that I am able to be a help to them at this time, and they are paying me which is a real blessing for us at a time when we truly need some additional income (I have been dreading the idea of having to get a part-time job!)

L. takes nice long naps, so we are able to get a good amount of our reading done then, and that is pretty much our formal academics.  Today's Latin Proverb of the Day was "Optimus magister bonus liber."  In English: The best teacher is a good book.  I guess that will be our motto this summer.

Some of this week's favourite teachers were:

• The Complete Book of Nonsense by Edward Lear
• The Discovery of New Worlds by M. B. Synge
• The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis
• The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-pan by Beatrix Potter
• Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne
• The Wonderclock by Howard Pyle
• Flower Fairies of the Garden by Cicely Mary Barker
• The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald
• Young Edgar Allan Poe by Laura Benet
• Red by Ted Dekker

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Monday 23 March 2009 - This Week in the Olive Grove ~ Preview

We get back to academics tomorrow after a one-week break and a birthday holiday.  This post is really just a way for me to somewhat organize my thoughts and try to be on top of things in the morning. 

I have to take Sgt. Elf to work at 8:30
Back home  to get the younger three cracking and begin our Morning Time around 9

• Bible
• Poetry
• Bach
  
• 10-minute math
  

• History
• Literature
  

• a bit more Bach
• some craft time
• some cleaning
• outside play if it isn't storming

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Friday 13 March 2009 - This Week in the Olive Grove

We have had a good sixth week of our nine-week quarter last week of our first six-week term.  (ahem. remember last week I said, “I finally decided on a nine-week quarter rather than a six-week term”?  yeah.  anyway…)

Here are some of the highlights:

We celebrated O Special One’s 15^th birthday!

We read through chapter 23 in On the Shores of the Great Sea.

We watched The Trojan Horse.

We finished up the ancient world section of The Arts of Mankind.

We read chapter 2 of God’s Marvels in Washington.

We finished copying Psalm 96. (still working on memorizing)

We practiced two songs that the kids’ choir will perform with the worship team on Easter Sunday.

We started learning (with a plan to memorize)this Prayer for the Faithful by Saint Patrick .

Toodles finished Bible Reader 1, Unit 3 as well as The ABC Book of God’s Creatures.

The boys and I had a great time exploring our new Wall Chart of World History (well, new for us ~ found it Wednesday @ HPB for $7!)

The puppet team did a show at the library using a script written by J~Man! (He also did an impromptu magic act.)

Lulapalooza is reading King Arthur and Little Sir Galahad.

J~Man is reading Around the World in Eighty Days.

Nature notes:

Along the roadsides we see Engelmann Daisies in bloom.

Cardinals, Mourning Doves, and Carolina Chickadees have all visited our yard.

A full moon.

Rain! A cold front moved in and has brought us some much-needed rain, about 2 inches over the last two days.

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Saturday 7 March 2009 - This Week in the Olive Grove

Things are going along pretty well.  We have been consistent with our Morning Time and - to a lesser degree - our Afternoon Read Alouds.  I am experiencing again that peaceful sense of accomplishment that I remember from a dozen years ago when the older girls were little, and life seemed less chaotic.

I have spent a good portion of the last two days plotting out the next four weeks of our term.  (Yes, I finally decided on a nine-week quarter rather than a six-week term, [if anybody is even remotely interested] at least, I think that is my final decision ;~)

I have added some content to our studies, and to my sidebar as well.

Composer:       Johann Sebastian Bach       born 21 March, 1685

Poet:                    Robert Frost                                 born 26 March, 1874

Artist:                Vincent van Gogh                       born 30 March, 1853

J~Man and Sgt. Elf are away on a puppet training, so yesterday Lulapalooza, Toodles, and I managed another chapter in The Silver Chair; they did their readings, played some games, and engaged in some creative pursuits while I made a dent in the disaster formerly known as my kitchen.

It has been a good week.

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Saturday 28 February 2009 - This Week in the Olive Grove

week #4 of either a six- or nine-week academic term; I still have not decided! I am leaning toward 9, but I was leaning toward 6, so...?

Morning Time:
Bible Time:

• discussion of lent, ashes, mourning, sacrifice, Biblical significance of 40, etc.
  
• Bible passages: Joel 2:12&13; Genesis 3:1-19; Luke 9:23; 22:39-46; 23:27-38
• chapters 10-12 of Devotions for the Children's Hour
• Pilgrim's Progress to the Slough of Despond
• poem for lent: Lord, Who Throughout These Forty Days

Add to Morning Time next week:

• phonics/math drill (5 minutes)
• grammar (10 minutes)
• latin proverb or verse (5 minutes)

Seatwork:
um...er...none; hm, I'm not exactly sure what happened there.  Wait, I do know: Frap's new job interfered, but I have adjusted the schedule for next week accordingly. Yay, me!

• chapters 11-15 of On the Shores of the Great Sea
• four sections in The Arts of Mankind
• chapter 2 of The Silver Chair ~finally!

• Toodles:
  • three lessons in Bible Reader 1; Unit 3
  • through "T is for Toad" in ABC Book of God's Creatures
  • memorized verses 1-3 of Psalm 96
  • dance class
• Lulapalooza:
  • three lessons in Bible Reader 3; Unit 5
  • read chapter 2 in Nature Reader 3
  • Unit 2 of American Pioneers and Patriots
  • finished! Alice in Wonderland
  • finished! 2 Magic Treehouse books
  • memorized Psalm 96:1-4
  • gymnastics class
• J~Man:
  • read 4 chapters in Renaissance and Reformation
  • read from biography of Gandhi and autobiography of Twain
  • finished! Eldest
  • memorized Psalm 96:1-6
  • Lego-robotics and Lego-animation class
• Sft. Elf did:
  
  • algebra
  • Latin
  • Birth of Britain
  • Ephesians
  • catechism
  • poetry
  • dance class
  • drum lesson
• O Special One did:
  
  • algebra
  • grammar
  • Latin
  • logic
  • Roots of American Order
  • poetry
• Frap did:
  
  • training at work on M, T, TH, F, SA
  • lessons? I am sure she did some, but I haven't checked with her yet
    

• Lulapalooza did 36 cartwheels in one minute and came in third place in the Cartwheel-A-Thon at his gymnastics class!
• Sgt. Elf and J~Man worked all day Thursday cleaning and organizing the puppet studio
• made a Crown of Thorns for our lenten table

• daddy begins working from home, but leaves on Wednesday for IHOP
• J~Man and Sgt. Elf leave on Friday for a puppet training

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