All 3 children went to the dentist last week. K loves to go--she's never had any trouble with anything so it's still fun for her. Here she is in her fancy shades.....

T doesn't mind going, but we did find out about a small problem with his 6 year molars. They have come in partially but are at an angle because of baby teeth in front of them. They would normally pull the baby teeth, but the x-rays show he has no permanent teeth under those 2 baby teeth. So...she wants to save the baby teeth as long as she can. We went to an orthodontist to follow up and they put a metal spring in between one of the molars and the baby tooth. I don't know why they didn't do both sides. We go back in 3 months to check on this. They are talking about putting braces on the back teeth to help this problem. Otherwise, the dentist will put crowns on the 2 baby teeth.

Z has had a jumbled up mouthful of teeth for awhile. He's supposed to get braces in a few months. He had a pretty good report and is doing very well caring for his teeth. None of them have ever had any cavities so I'm thankful for that!

For today...October 22, 2009.....

Outside my window....it is dark and quiet. It is midnight and we are ALL still up! How do we do this???

I am thinking....how glad I am the weekend is almost here.

I am thankful for...living in the land of plenty.

I am wearing...a striped sweater and jean skirt. No, I don't wear a jean skirt every day! It just happens when I'm updating I guess.

I am reading...not as much as I'd like to be. I'm trying to finish the second book in my series by Tracie Peterson. The third one is waiting at the library for me. I need to pick it up tomorrow.

Around the house....I really really need to organize clothing. I'm in the middle of the transition of summer/winter clothing and I need to finish this weekend.

From the kitchen...I am challenging myself not to buy groceries for awhile! Only milk, bread, and produce. My freezer(s) are overflowing and so are my cabinets. I look around and think I don't have anything to cook. I have decided to be creative and use what I have on hand. It's been fun for me. Of course, this is only the second day.  Yesterday, I made chicken/dressing together using: frozen breaded chicken chunks, boxed chicken flavored stuffing, cream of chicken soup, some milk and parsley. A friend gave me several patty-pan squashes yesterday. I don't know the technical name for them. I fried one with 2 potatoes, and a quart sized bag of okra from the freezer. We all liked it pretty well. I have 3 left, so we'll probably do that again this week.

Tonight, I made nachos using: corn chips (freezer), ground beef, taco seasoning, pinto beans (already cooked and were in the freezer), sour cream, tomatoes, green onions, and cheese sauce with Rotel tomatoes. Not bad for using what we have!!

One of my favorite things....is realizing tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it.

A few plans for the rest of the week.....to update this blog with our week's accomplishments in school, to enjoy the weekend, and to do some mending.

Wow! This new format makes it so easily to update quickly! Maybe you'll see more of me on here than usual....

For today, October 14th, 2009,

Outside my window....I hear the lawnmower running. Daddy and the boys are bringing around firewood. Today has been our first fire of the season!! They haul wood on a trailer hooked up to the mower and stack it on the porch near the front door.

I am thinking....about another day with so much business that school barely got touched! We'll make up for it though!

I am thankful for...running water. Our water has been off since last night and it makes me appreciate it so much more when it's on! Our town is so small that when a leak happens, everybody loses water!!

I am wearing....a black hooded cardigan and a jean skirt

I am reading....nothing at the moment. I finished my book last night and I'm in between.

I am hoping....the water comes on soon!

I am praying...for our country.

Around the house....it's starting to be evident that the weather is cooler; therefore, the children are inside much more than usual! They have several "projects" started....

From the kitchen....I am making philly steak sandwiches tonight. I use the frozen Steak-um's and cook them with an onion and green pepper until all done; I put them on French rolls, add shredded cheese, wrap in foil and bake until heated through. I'll probably serve them with some veggies and maybe curly fries.

One of my favorite things:...is FALL!!!

A few plans for the rest of the week.....church tonight, homeschool band tomorrow, Z's first day of volunteering at the children's museum on Friday, and catching up on school in between! I don't feel too bad if we miss some throughout the week, as long as we're done with everything that was planned by Friday evening. Oh, and my 2 youngest kiddos are going to start their first lapbook on Friday while Z is gone. We're going to do one about Curious George. I will post pictures later of our progress.

I have seen this on a couple of blogs lately and thought I'd try it from time to time. Here goes....

For today, October 12, 2009,

Outside my window....I hear rain drizzling and a car driving on a wet road

I am thinking....how tired I am

I am thankful for....my husband taking a day of rest today and not working so hard!

I am wearing....a homeschool t-shirt and a jean skirt, barefoot

I am reading...a book by Tracie Peterson called Lady of Intent

I am hoping.....we get an earlier start on school tomorrow

I am praying....for wisdom each day

Around the house....is lots of laundry! I'm catching up today.

From the kitchen....I made homemade chicken pot pie and salad tonight

One of my favorite things...is clean fresh sheets

A few plans for the rest of the week are....dentist appointments for all 3 kiddos on Wednesday, Z starting his new "job" of volunteering at the children's museum, T going to a birthday party

Our schooling has been hit and miss, as it always is in September and October. We have more days in school than we do off, but I wish we could just have a smooth flow.

My main goal has been working on phonics/reading with T. He can read very well when he wants to. I'm trying to figure out how to get him to want to! I did sign up for the Pizza Hut Book-It program and I think that will be a good incentive. I am using a program called Happy Phonics which is all phonics games. We are also doing flashcards each day from the Abeka program, but I have stopped the Abeka program overall. It just moves too quickly. T reads in the Abeka reader each day as scheduled, but I'm trying to get it solidified very well before moving on. I hear this is common in boys. So I'm not too worried!

I have started learning the days of the week and the calendar with T and K. It dawned on me that I used to do that with Z and he learned it quickly. These two love it! I have a big calendar on the wall and we add the date each day. It has extra pieces for special days, such as Columbus Day today. We are singing the days of the week to Frere Jaques. It works well.

I am also teaching them some sign language. They are enjoying that, and it's something fun. T was using the Bob Jones Bible program on DVD. It was so dry! It was cute, but he knew the stories and was bored. We couldn't understand the words to the hymns they were singing, and we weren't familiar with them. I scrapped that last week and started my own Bible program with T and K together. We are reading a great book called Leading Little Ones to God. We read that Monday through Wednesday, then a Scripture Sleuth story on Thursday, then a story from His Mysterious Ways on Friday. I am also assigning a memory verse with it. We are working on Genesis 1: 1-5 right now

Everything else is going well. I think the jury is still out on Z's Sonlight program, but I love it! I would use it from here on out with him, but I really am trying to "feel him out" about it. He's not saying much and I don't know if that's good or bad. His math is getting pretty tough, but we kind of have to get through it and get through it well to be ready for pre-algebra next year.

I have been surprised at his Language Arts. We are using CLE. Today he started learning about writing outlines. He did very well and he does NOT like to write!!

Overall, it's been good. Now that it's turning cooler, we'll be able to settle down more and put our noses to the books.

As I faced my Maker at the last judgment, I knelt before the Lord along with all the other souls.

Before each of us laid our lives like the squares of a quilt in many piles; an angel sat before each of us sewing our quilt squares together into a tapestry that is our life.

But as my angel took each piece of cloth off the pile, I noticed how ragged and empty each of my squares was. They were filled with giant holes. Each square was labeled with a part of my life that had been difficult, the challenges and temptations I was faced with in every day life. I saw hardships that I endured, which were the largest holes of all.

I glanced around me. Nobody else had such squares. Other than a tiny hole here and there, the other tapestries were filled with rich color and the bright hues of worldly fortune. I gazed upon my own life and was disheartedned.

My angel was sewing the ragged pieces of cloth together, threadbare and empty, like binding air.

Finally the time came when each life was to be displayed, held up to the light, the scrutiny of truth. The other rose; each in turn, holding up their tapestries. So filled their lives had been. My angel looked upon me, and nodded for me to rise.

My gaze dropped to the ground in shame. I hadn't all the earthly fortuns. I had love in my life, and laughter. But there had also been trials of illness, and wealth, and false accusations that took from me my world, as I knew it. I often struggled, only to somehow muster the strength to pick up and begin again. I spent many nights on my knees in prayer, asking for help and guidance in my life. I had often been held up to ridicule, which I endured painfully, each time offering it up to the Father in hopes that I would not melt within my skin beneath the judgmental gaze of those who unfairly judged me.

And now, I had to face the truth. My life was what it was, and I had to accept it for what it was.

I rose and slowly lifted the combined squares of my life to the light.

An awe-filled gasp filled the air. I gazed around at the others who stared at me with wide eyes.

Then, I looked upon the tapestry before me. Light flooded the many holes, creating an image, the face of Christ. Then our Lord stood before me, with warmth and love in His eyes. He said, "Every time you gave over your life to Me, it became My life, My hardships, and My struggles.

Each point of light in your life is when you stepped aside and let Me shine through, until there was more of Me than there was of You."

I almost forgot. The boys took the standardized tests in May. Because of several situations, we didn't get the results back until last week. I was so impressed! We do these tests every year but I really was worried about T. This was his second time to test and the struggle with reading had me nervous.

T scored right where he should be. I was so relieved he wasn't behind! He scored 3 grades ahead in math and a little higher than that in listening. The little stinker! So many times I think he doesn't hear or me isn't listening. I know better now.

Z scored at almost 11th grade across the board. He was in 6th when he tested. Several things (such as reading, vocabulary, comprehension) were post high school level. He's always done well on the tests, but I think he made a huge jump this time! I was surprised because I thought last school year was our worst year of homeschooling as far as being consistent. We were so unusually busy and it "hurt" us or so I thought.

Okay. I think I'm done updating for today. I really mean to update more often!

This is my review of T's 2nd grade year:

He is doing Bob Jones Bible on DVD. Neither of us is impressed. I think because he knows the Bible stories inside out and it seems repetitive to him. I am debating cutting this out, but I want something to replace it. So for now we'll continue with it.

He is using Abeka math, for which I always give a huge thumbs up. It is so thorough and I love the spiral approach. This means they don't work on one concept over and over until they get it, then move on to a new concept without every seeing the first concept again. They actually get plenty of review of an "old" concept while continuing to learn new ones. Some people don't like this but it works for our family very well. His math is divided into themes. We are still on the first theme which is "pond". It's really cute because the story problems are about ducks or frogs, etc. We did a graph this morning and it told us the number of 3 types of animals living in the pond. He will go through 5 more themes by the time the year is out.

We are using Abeka for phonics and reading. We are actually about 1/2 a year behind because of our struggles last year with reading. I love the Abeka readers and he does too! He is reading Fun With Pets right now. The phonics worksheets are good too, plus he is learning about rhyming and reviewing opposites. We are not doing any spelling because I think we need to get a good handle on reading before tackling that.

He uses Bob Jones DVD for history and we really like it. He will do this until Christmas and then switch over to their science. Each is designed for half a year. Although we like it, I probably won't use it again. T responds better to hands-on teaching in these 2 subjects. I am considering using MFW  (My Father's world) next year for T and K together. I love the idea of teaching 2 children at once, at least for Bible, History and Science.

T is also doing Abeka Art on Fridays. He enjoys that and the books are really fun! Oh and he does Abeka handwriting everyday. But his favorite time of the school day is when he can "sneak" outside and work on his fort he has been building for a couple of months. It's hard to get him to come back in for boring schoolwork (his words, not mine!)

K is doing Abeka K4 program and loving it! We are moving super fast through the numbers part. It teaches basic counting 1-10 and she can already count much farther than that. I skip all the lessons but she still does the worksheets. She loves worksheets, so she doesn't really see how "babyish" this is for her. We are moving normal pace through the phonics part. We are working on the sounds of the short vowels and she is doing very well remembering them. She begs for more! Hubby and I decided if she completes K4 by Christmas, then we'll order the kindergarten for her. She'll be 5 in December and sometimes I wonder if we should have just started with the kindergarten. Oh well! She also works on the Rod and Staff preschool books each day on her own. She's only allowed to do 4 pages per day because otherwise she would do a book per day! She also does Abeka art on Fridays and I have to limit her or she'd do a project per day.

So we're plugging along rather nicely and enjoying the journey. We have a busy time starting next week and going through November so there will be some stops and starts. But that's okay. The children enjoy the stops and I enjoy the starts.

Yes, I am adding several entries today, but it's a perfect day for blogging. Nice and rainy and I'm mostly caught up with everything I need to do. Mostly....

We have completed 4 weeks of school already. Wow! Time flies! When you're having fun? I'm not sure that it's all been fun, but overall it has been.

Here's the review of Z's 7th grade material:

Rod and Staff Bible is excellent! He has studied Creation and the Flood so far. It's not just the typical stories though. He has to do a lot of searching of the scriptures to find the answers. And it uses the King James Version which seems rare nowadays. He has also had to use a Bible dictionary sometimes. He and I both really like it. It is so in depth but not too much for his age. He started a new unit of the Patriarchs on Thursday. He has to fill in timelines and genealogy charts and is learning so much!

Abeka math is good as always. This year is a review of all the main concepts he has ever learned so he can go on to pre-algebra next year. His first unit was reviewing least common multiple, greatest common factors and prime numbers. Not fun! Now he is doing fractions. A little better.

We are trying CLE for Language Arts this year. I love that it includes grammar, creative writing, penmanship and spelling all in one. There are 10 booklets of 15 lessons each to complete in the school year. We have finished one and just started the second one. The first one didn't have any creative writing, but this one teaches outlining which we haven't really covered before. The lessons are long but I like it really well. He even has to diagram sentences and is doing well! He made a 95 on his first test!

We are using Sonlight for history and reading. It is totally different than what we are used to but I really like it. I think the jury is still out on Z's opinion. At least I haven't heard any complaining. I read to him from our history source. This changes weekly or sometimes daily. We finished the true story of William Wilberforce this week. Z maps any locations that are pertinent to our history lesson on a wipe-off markable map. Depending on the lesson, there are questions to answer orally or worksheets to do. There are also the nicest timeline figures to color with colored pencils and mount on a timeline. I'm still trying to figure out the best type of timeline to use. There is also a reader that Z does on his own each day. Usually a chapter or two per day. This will correlate to the time period or subject we are learning about. He is reading about Harriet Tubman right now. She helped free many slaves after becoming free herself. William Wilberforce was a member of parliament in Britian who spent his whole life trying to abolish the slave trade. That is how these two books are chosen at the same time. There is also a read-aloud that I read each day. We are finishing up a book called Moccasin Trail. It doesn't relate to slavery, but it does take place during the time of settlers going west on the wagon trains. This year will all be American history. I would like to continue with this company but it's really too early to decide now.

For science, he is still doing Abeka. It is very colorful and the most interesting science we have found. We are learning about plants, and specifically all the flower families there are. Z really likes this.

He is also using a computer program called Typing Instructor. He does 10 minutes per day. He complained at first that his fingers couldn't move right. He can tell now they are getting much stronger. It is a really fun program because if the student meets their goal, they get to go into the "arcade" and play games are a reward.

I have also added in 7th grade Social Studies from ACE. This is a career study and as the student progresses, they fill in interests they have, skills they have and then find out what they might be interested in doing when they are an adult. He only does 2 pages a day, 3 days a week in this. It is pretty enjoyable.

He is still playing snare drum (for the third year) in a homeschool band. He also started the xylophone/bells this year. He really enjoys that--more than the drum I think. K says she wants to play them when she's old enough.

I'm going to start a separate post about the other's school.

Ah! What a wonderful cozy rainy lazy day! If I had to be out and about in it, I might not like it as well. But since I am at home today it is wonderful!!   I have some pears that I plan to turn into pear butter today. I'm glad it's nice and cool for that. I turned off the A/C and opened the windows. Oldest son is "having a cow". He says he's hot! It's 70 degrees outside for crying out loud! I think the days of using the A/C this season are probably over. Fall is my favorite season so I am glad! Chilly nights, beautiful leaves (for a little while anyway), that special smell in the air, fire in the fireplace, woodsmoke smell outside, jackets and sweaters, warm socks, leaves falling, pumpkins and scarecrows everywhere. I love it!

Yesterday we had a fun day. I plan Fridays to be short and sweet as far as schooling goes. I wanted to do something fun and inexpensive for the children. I had 2 things planned and it turned into an all day thing. The boys finished up their school today so we wouldn't be behind.

But, back to yesterday, I surprised the children and took them to the our homeschool group's skating day. This is a once-monthly happening but we had never gone. It was really nice because our group had the whole place to ourselves. And the music was "Christian" music that one of the mom's brought to be played. So no junk! Z wasn't sure he could remember how to roller blade, but he did very well! He says he's sore all over today. T and K had never skated. They uesd regular skates and T was out in the middle doing very well by the time the 1 1/2 hour session was over. K stayed by the wall but she loved it! She told me she didn't need my help.They all want to go back. T wants to try roller blades next time. I don't know.....  So this might become a fun monthly routine. It was just nice clean fun.

After this was over, we went to Sonic for drinks/slushes. That in itself is a treat for my kids. Then we went to our county fair. Compared to the state fair, it was teensy-tiny but it was fun. The entire fair consists of 2 buildings. One with animals and one with exhibits. The rides are only open in the evening and I was glad. They looked so old and rickety I don't know that I would have wanted my children to ride them.

We looked at the animals first. K was disappointed there weren't any rabbits. We watched part of a goat show. Several 4-H kids were showing their goats in that. Then we went to the exhibit building. The children really liked seeing what other children had entered. There was some really nice stuff! On the other end of that building, there were all the booths such as fire safety, sheriff's office, security systems, etc. The children loved gathering all the free goodies they could find. Balloons, pens, pencils, erasers, rulers, stickers, coloring books and on and on.

After that, we went to McAlister's deli for lunch. The kids meals are only $2.99 and that includes a drink! We can eat pretty cheap there and it's relatively healthy.  And better than McDonald's! We also hit the music store quickly to get a few things we needed for our band instruments. We went to Wal-Mart and got a few groceries and then home. By then it was 5:30 so I cancelled school for the day, but at the same time I counted the day as a day of school. I considered it very educational even though we weren't doing bookwork. I don't do that very often, but from time to time I think it's appropriate. Public school takes days off for ball games, pep rallies and field trips. So I figure we can sometimes too.

I haven't posted in awhile. I keep thinking for some reason that you have to have pictures to post. I do have several pictures I'd like to post, but I'll have to catch that later.

I guess a lot has happened since my last entry. We celebrated Memorial Day, had Vacation Bible School, finished school, went to Florida for campmeeting, and now we've been busy at home. We are leaving on a 10 day vacation with my in-laws next week. The destination is Baltimore, MD for a family reunion, but we are going other places along the way. I'm not sure where yet, but we're brainstorming and running ideas by everyone and then deciding. I'm excited! We really need a vacation, especially my dear hubby. He works himself so hard!

We put a new roof on our house this past week. We had wind damage in December severe enough that the insurance company gave us the money to replace the whole thing. And with us doing the labor, we made a little money on it. But it sure was hot! 104 degrees most of the days. Hubby had no help the first 2 days, and then it started trickling in. He finished the last part Saturday morning. About 30 minutes after he put all the tools away and came inside, it poured down rain. We were very thankful to have it finished!

The children have been begging to set up our swimming pool. We bought it 2 years ago and used it that summer, but not last year. We finally set it up today and they spent hours in it. The boys are actually learning how to swim because of it. Z pretty much knew how already. It really builds their confidence. I'm a little worried about the water bill though.....

I have been "spring" cleaning the house while we're out of school. It is lots of work but it sure looks good afterwards! Now if I can only get T to keep his room clean....

We'll probably start school on Thursday in the last week of July. That will give us 2 days, and then we'll get 3 days of the next week. But then we are going to a wedding. Yay! I love weddings.

And good news to me......Z is talking about being a computer programmer or computer engineer. All because of the Starbase class we went him to. He'll be in high school in 2 years, so I kind of need to know this stuff by then so we can tailor his credits that way. I'm glad he's interested in something worthwhile.

I'm excited about our schooling this year. We're trying several new things, but I think they'll be good.

And the best news is that T is reading! We struggled and struggled....and struggled....and struggled. Did I say we struggled?!?  He was motivated by the summer reading program at the library. He picked up some easy readers and started reading. He was so proud of himself and so was I! It was such a  relief to see him do that. He had no interest before. We've been slacking off a little lately, but it's still exciting. He will be in 2nd grade, Z in 7th, and K in K4.

I think that's it for now. I'm sure I'll think of more, and hopefully I'll post some pictures soon.

Z finished the main bookwork/experiment part of his Starbase class today. He and another boy tied for the highest grade in the class! A 95.5. I was so excited! You know you feel you're doing a good job as a homeschooling mom, but it feels really good to know you've done enough that they can go elsewhere and still make good grades.

They built rockets and launched them today. The teachers also gave them some cool Starbase mementos: a dog tag, a gold "coin" type of thing, a pin/button, and a nice certificate.

He goes back one more time (next week) and that is for a tour of the base. At each stop, they tell them about various careers and then the requirements in education for that. The focus of the class has been science, math, and engineering so they relate those to being a pilot or firefighter, etc. Parents can go too. I think my hubby will take him and spend the day and I'll stay home with the little ones. I have been very impressed with the class!!

And with the grade made today!!!

I just came home this evening from 2 days at our homeschool convention. Wow! It is great every year. There were between 3000 and 4000 people there. I went to several great classes.  The most helpful of which was one about children with attention disorders, learning problems, etc. It helped me realize there is an auditory processing disorder in my middle child. But she did tell us how to work on this, so I intend to start on Monday with several tips she gave. I may post more about this later.

I ordered from 3 companies and bought items from 2. I have been buying some used things for the last couple of months. I have a few more things to get and I'll be all set for our next school year. We will finish up this year the end of May. I plan to take 6 weeks off and then start again the middle of July. I figure we might as well start early for a few reasons: 1) it's so hot by then that my children don't want to play outside anyway, 2)if they're not in school they'll be bored and playing computer/xbox games all day, 3) I don't want to lose anything we've gained this year, and 4) we travel and take off other times during the year so it really evens out in the long run.

So here's the game plan for 2009/2010:

Z (7th grade)

Bible: Sonlight (this will be new for us but it includes a CD for memorizing verses set to music, a devotional book, and assigned passages from the Bible to read each day)

Math: Abeka Basic Math

English: Bob Jones Grammar/Writing (this is new for us also, but looks great! I want to focus on writing this year. We haven't done much of that as far as creative writing goes.)

Spelling: Sequential Spelling (new  for us also, mostly review for him and solidifying what he's learned)

Science: Abeka Order and Reality

History: Sonlight Core 4 (American History--can't wait to start this! I've been "drooling" over it for several years, and I think now is the time to use it.)

I don't know what it's called, but I'm also going to use a career study by ACE. It looks really good! We'll probably work on it through the summer and continue until we're finished.

Art: Feed My Sheep

T (2nd grade)

Bible: Bob Jones DVD's

Math: Abeka 2

Phonics: Abeka--finish 1, start 2

Spelling: Abeka--finish 1

Handwriting: Abeka--finish 1, start 2

Science: Bob Jones DVD's

History: Bob Jones DVD's

Art: I Can Do All Things

K (pre-k or K4--whatever you call it)

Abeka K4 program along with Little Hearts for His Glory from Heart of Dakota

With all 3, I plan to do read-alouds, nature journals, and the art programs. This will probably be on Friday's with the exception of reading to them which will (hopefully) be every day.  Z will continue playing drums although he doesn't want to continue the trumpet. T just started guitar lessons. K will just keep singing her lungs out whenever and wherever she thinks about it!

I have 3 boxes coming in the next 2 weeks so I'll post more when I get them. Maybe some pictures too.

I couldn't resist posting these pictures. This happened during K's bath! She had been in the tub and then decided she needed to use the restroom. When I went to check on her, this is what I found.......

We had a field trip scheduled for today to see the state's largest fire station. This is 15 minutes from my house so we signed up. I was late leaving and then got behind slow traffic. When we finally arrived, we were at the wrong place. I had to ask 3 people before finding directions to where we were supposed to be. We were 15 minutes late to the field trip. The firefighter was demonstrating his suit and posing for pictures with the kids. Then the kids got to sit in a firetruck. Before all the kids could get  a turn, guess what?!? The firemen were called out to a fire. We know that's what they do, but it did cut our outing short. So what was supposed to be a 45 minute to one hour tour was about 10 minutes for me. I did manage to get pictures of T and K in the trucks though.

Z went to the Starbase class yesterday. We had to get an early start since it is about an hour and 15 minutes away. The class goes from 9-2:00. He really liked it! It involves science, math, and engineering and is at the National Guard base.

They had to do all kinds of activities that sounded fun to me. The one thing that impressed me is they had to take a pre-test and Z said he got almost all of them right. He knew about wind speed? Wow!!

The activity they did that sounded the most fun to me was called Eggbert's Crash Landing. There was a little wooden chair and a small wooden spaceship. They were given a raw egg, cotton balls, and packing peanuts. They had to "pad' the egg enough before putting "him" in the chair, that when the space ship crash landed (was dropped from up above) the egg wouldn't break. Z's group broke the egg before they even put it in the chair! LOL! Another boy squeezed it too hard while packing it.

Z really liked this and goes for the next 4 Monday's. We can't go to the class with him so I can't get pictures. Maybe eventually I'll get some.

Today was our first day trying out the new phonics/reading materials with T. We still did a lesson in Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. Today was #78. We did the new Abeka phonics lesson and it was so simple and easy. We reviewed the 5 vowels today and the sounds they make. I was tempted to rush on and do a few more lessons since it was easy for him, but I realized that's what he needs. The slow and steady review. He had the sounds down pat, so we worked more on being able to name the 5 vowels when asked. He did pretty good!

Then we did the accompanying writing page with it and he said, "Mom, I like this writing so much better than what we were doing!" Then I saw the light bulb go off when he was writing and realized he was writing the vowels we had just reviewed. It seemed to reinforce the lesson. Our other handwriting was just random things that didn't connect to anything.

We also started memorizing a poem called "The Elephant" from our spelling book. You spend several weeks on a poem until they know it by heart. He really liked it.

On top of all this, we did a history lesson, 2 math lessons, and a Bible lesson. I see so much improvement in T this year! There is no way he could have handled all of that "load" several months ago. He did very well.

Now, Z on the other hand, is struggling to get anything done. I think he has spring fever even though it is cool and rainy here. He finally finished his work at 10:00 tonight. Yikes! But he procrastinated all day long and I had to keep him at it.

I signed him up for a Starbase class starting next Monday. It goes 5 Mondays in a row and teaches math, science, and engineering skills. It is all based on aviation/space/rockets and they go to classes at the National Guard base. It's all free! They do all kinds of activities, experiments, and even get to tour real planes and ride in real military vehicles. Pretty neat! He doesn't know he's going yet--he's just going to have to go. I know he'll love it once he goes, but he doesn't seem interested in anything right now. Maybe it's his age!?!

Don't you just love the smell and feel of new books? I do!! I love books anyway, but especially when they will accomplish a purpose with my middle child, T. I started teaching him phonics last school year with Abeka. It just moved too fast for him at that time. He wasn't ready for it. So, we dropped that and worked on Explode the Code books which worked very well. Then we went to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. We are on lesson 78--yippee!! He has improved greatly with it but is still not reading fluently. I have seen things "clicking" for him in the last 2 weeks or so. We're going to finish the 100 lessons, but I ordered the first grade Abeka phonics program and we'll start on Monday. This is basically where we would have started this current school year if he could have kept up the year before. So we're a few months behind, but that's the beauty of homeschooling, right?   I looked through them and I think he'll do very well with it. He is ready for it now. We'll continue to work through the summer and then move to the next level when we finish this one.

If he was in public school, he'd probably be held back a whole school year--in every subject! This way he can go on to second grade in everything but phonics/reading. And he won't be left behind, wondering why "all the other kids" can read and he can't. I've seen it happen too many times and it seems "they" never learn to read; they just get passed onto the next grade and the next.

Okay, enough of my ramblings. Here is a picture of our new books. (I already have the manuals, answer keys, and readers from using it with Z.) So...I saved money too!