Under the Tapestry - Homeschool Blogger

2 weeks down

Sat, 5 Sep 2009 22:17:00 -0500

So, we've been underway for 2 weeks, and so far, so good!

I've given all the dc more independent work this year (especially with the Tapestry of Grace stuff--we did a lot more reading aloud and doing stuff together, but I've been gradually turning more and more over to them). They've done GREAT with our Friday discussion times this year so far. They've really risen to the challenge.

I didn't have everything planned for the first week, but got most of it added in by week 2, and the remainder is set to go for this week.

We are taking Monday off for second son's birthday party (he'll be 14 on Tues), and then most of Tuesday as well, since I give them their birthday's off. But they still have to do all the TOG reading for the week so we don't get behind on that.

It's been harder with the very active, very into everything 2 1/2 year old this year, but she's starting to get used to the new routine (and not having her big buddies available to play as much). She has been watching way too much tv, but hopefully now that we are starting to get in the groove, I can change that and be able to play more in the morning with her. (she is not very good at playing alone--I guess she's never really had to).

So, how about that? Two blog posts in just a couple of weeks! Maybe I'm getting better, lol.

Back to school soon

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:08:00 -0500

So much for good intentions about blogging. Ah well, try, try again.

Today was the first day of trying to get into our morning school routine. We start on Monday (the 24th), so my goal was to get up and get the dc up, have breakfast, and be ready for school by 8.

We almost made it. I was out of the shower and ready to go by 8:10. They were NOT happy about being awakened early, though. LOL. Earlier bedtimes tonight, I think.

I am frantically trying to finish lesson planning. Some were easy--I use Edu-Track and I purchased the dowloadable lesson plans for those, or I was able to copy from a prior year. Others, like Introductory Logic, have been exceedingly hard. Some courses may have to get folded in as we go along.

We've switched to TT for 2 of the children--Pre-Calc and Pre-Algebra. The 9th grader will still be using Math U See for Geometry, only because I couldn't afford 3 TT levels at once.

I most need to get done the Tapestry of Grace plans, though. I've gone through all the book lists, checked my library for what they have, and ordered some of the rest I still need. But I need to order the others (at least those I will use in the first semester), and get the plans finalized and in Edu-Track.

We will be using IEW this year as well, and I need to somehow figure out exactly how we will be doing that.

Our homeschool this year consists of dc in 11th, 9th and 7th grade, along with the 2 1/2 year old. Thankfully more of my courses are student directed this year than last, so I will have more time to spend with the toddler. I am also making use of video tutors for the first time with Teaching Textbooks and Introductory Logic.

Feeling excitement about the new year, but also trepidation on how it will all go with a busy toddler, and a work from home business.

I feel like multiple people in one body

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 14:47:00 -0600

One me wants to have my dh and dc around constantly--keeping them close, hugging them, playing games.
The other me wants everyone to go away and leave me alone.

One me wants to jump back into my routine--cooking, cleaning, taking care of things.
The other me wants to climb in bed and pull the covers over my head and never come out.

One me wishes it were 2 weeks from now, and I had my energy back and we were starting to figure out our new 'normal', and things weren't so raw.
Another me wishes it were 2 weeks ago, and I was still pregnant, and taking pics of my growing belly and thinking up names with dh and the dc.
Another me wants it to stay right now--where memories of our little one are still fresh and on everyone's mind.

One me wants to put it all in a box--the feelings, the memories, the hurt, the tears--and pretend it never happened.
The other me wants to replay it, think about every moment of the pregnancy, the loss, the days after, and never, ever forget.

One me is soooo tired of crying for no apparent reason (I really hate to cry).
The other me wants to just sob my heart out.

But all the me's just really want my baby back. I feel empty and alone, even when everyone is around me.

Catch up post

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 11:49:00 -0600

Seems I lack blogging skills. I haven't posted in a LONG time. A quick catch up, the baby I was pg with is now 26 mos and a busy little girl. She is such a joy.

I just miscarried on Feb 20 and am recuperating from that.

A Sound I haven't Heard All Summer

Thu, 31 Aug 2006 14:39:00 -0500

The lawnmower! We've had such a terrible drought, that the boys haven't had to mow since early June. NOTHING has been growing. Well, we finally got a bit of rain 3 weeks ago, then another shower 2 weeks ago, and last weekend, it rained 3 days in a row! The grass is beginning to get a green tint again, and the weeds are growing up where the grass was killed.

So dh has the boys out mowing to even things up and get it all off to a good start growing for fall.

The cows will sure be happy to have something green to eat again. We've been feeding them hay for the past month and a half.

It's been so nice temp-wise I've even been able to open my windows the past 2 days. Quite a change from the 100+ temps we had just over a week ago. Ahhh, a little sneak peak to fall.

I don't even *really* mind the sore throat that appears to be heralding in a summer cold (due to the sudden temp swing maybe?).

We watched a callf be born tonight!

Tue, 29 Aug 2006 21:46:00 -0500

Usually, this happens in the pasture in the middle of the night, so it's unusual to actually get to see the event (unless the cow's in trouble and we are helping to pull the calf). But this evening, the cow we had in the barn lot so we could watch her in case she had trouble, went into labor.

She was bred to a bull that has had a history this year of siring 2 humongous calves (that died during the birth, nearly crippling the heifers trying to have them). This is not a large cow, so we were concerned should she also have a big one.

Dh came up around 3:30 saying she was in labor. He was busy and couldn't go back down to check her, so I went around 4:30 to see how she was doing . It was chore time, so the dc did their chores and then came too. Since she was a little further along (part of the amniotic sac was out), we decided to stay and watch a while. Now, these things can take a LONG time, so I wasn't confident we'd actually get to see the birth. But, we made ourselves comfortable on a haybale, and waited.

It wasn't 15 minutes later she started pushing pretty strongly, and we suddenly saw a hoof! I knew right away this was a MUCH smaller, finer boned calf than the ones that caused trouble earlier, so breathed a sigh of relief. But, still only saw one hoof, so wasn't sure yet I wouldn't need dh. As she continued to push, and made a bit more progress, I sent oldest ds around her other side to get a better look, and he said he could, indeed, see 2 feet--one was slightly under and back of the first (like the calf was diving out, LOL). Whew!

She really got down to business, and soon we could see the nose. The sac was still intact over the head. Then we saw the eyes, and could see the baby blinking. The head was out to the ears, and then before we knew it, the front shoulders were out. I was concerned about the sac not rupturing--if the cord was severed before the calf's head was clear, it could suffocate. But I didn't want to approach the cow to soon and have her get up before the calf was fully delivered either. Fortunately, with one more push, the rest of the calf slipped out. I was then able to go to the calf, and rupture the membrane with a finger, removing it from the nose and face. Took a quick peek and saw we had a little heifer (girl). Then used some pieces of hay to tickle the calf's nose and mouth to stimulate breathing and sneezing. The mama knew JUST what to do, and started licking her baby dry immediately. It was a good thing we were there though, since mama started cleaning on the back end, and by the time she would have gotten to the nose to clean off the sac, the baby might have been dead.

We hung around awhile to see if she'd get up and find her first meal, but she seemed pretty content to just lay there and receive her bath. After about 20 minutes, I decided to try to see if I could help her up. Sometimes, they just need a little nudge. Well, she wanted no part of that! I tried to lift her hind end, but she wouldn't put any weight at all on her legs. Being 6 months pg, I didn't think it wise to try too hard to accomplish this. I did stick my finger in her mouth to check her suck reflex, and it was good and strong.

I decided to just leave them be for a bit, and went back to the house to fix supper.

Dh was done with his business, so he went down while I was cooking. I was worried he might need help, so when everything was in the oven, I gave the dc instructions for watching the timer, and went back to the barn. Dh was just getting ready to leave and said, "Nothing to be done here." Apparantly, the baby was up when he got there, he pointed it in the direction of the mama, and instict took over. She got on no problem and went to town!

It was a good birth, and a great experience for the dc to witness up close. Homeschool science at its best! It also provided wonderful opportunities to discuss the similarities for when OUR baby will be born. Of course, my dd made the understatement of the year when she asked, "Aren't you glad you don't have to lick us dry, Mom?"

This and That

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 15:20:00 -0500

We've got 2 weeks of school under our belts, and are starting to find our groove again. It'll get a bit interrupted this week, since I have a doctor's appt Monday (and because of the distance, it's pretty much an all-day affair), and we will take another day off to go to the Fair. But that's ok, when I'm gone, the dc will still do independent work, and the fair can count for school (at least some of it).

I'm starting to get the hang of using Edu-track for planning, and I'm liking it more the more I use it. I keep getting asked why I still have planning to do, since this was supposed to save me all kinds of time, but it is pretty time intensive up-front. So, I'm not realizing a huge time-saving yet, except when it comes to figuring up our weekly hours (which is done automatically based on a bit of easy data entry).

I've bee very pleased with the dc's attitudes regarding school so far this year. The boys have finally gotten through the time where I needed to practically sit on them to keep them working. They are able to take their assignment sheets and books off to a quiet corner, and when they come back, their work is actually done! (I'm not talking about dd here because the dawdling has never been as big of an issue with her).

We are enjoying Tapestry again so far. Our project this week was to make mosaic pictures after studying Byzantine mosaics. They are still not finished, because the dc have really gotten into making them very detailed and precise. I love seeing them take such pride and care in their work!

It's been so hot this summer that our pool has sure gotten a lot of use (and I keep forgetting to enter those PE credits!). We are expecting a bit of rain later today, and actually got a shower on both Monday AND Thursday of last week! The drought this summer has been quite severe.

Yesterday's project was to plant our fall garden, so the dc and I headed out early before it got too hot, and managed to get that taken care of in no time. Hopefully, it will fare better than our spring garden, which didn't produce much of anything (except shoulder high weeds and dusty, cracked ground).

Baby's kicks are getting stronger, and we were all giggling in Sunday School this morning because he/she was VERY active. The dc were all vying for a chance to put their hands on my belly to get a good thump. It was pretty funny.

Better get back to my lesson planning so I can enjoy my family later on.

Movement

Thu, 3 Aug 2006 17:43:00 -0500

The dc felt the baby move yesterday! They have been waiting and waiting--not so patiently-- for contact with their new brother or sister. I was relaxing on the couch in the afternoon, and baby got busy. Each of the dc had a chance to put their hand on my belly and get a good 'thump'. They were able to watch my tummy 'dance' with movement as well.

DS10 said it's harder waiting for this baby to come than it is to wait for Christmas.

Our First Day of School!

Tue, 1 Aug 2006 16:18:00 -0500

Went very well. Well, not without some gliches--dd didn't want to sit down and kept interrupting, but I expected some attention problems right at the start.

We worked for just over 2 hours, and had some good discussions. Mainly a review of where we'd been last year, and where we are going this year in history, and why we study history. Read a bit from our literature book. Then the dc filled in blank maps of the continents and oceans. They each had a bit of independent reading to do too.

I found some glitches in our new assignment sheets from Edu-Track, so worked on revising/adding to those this afternoon.

A friend came over to peruse some of my homeschool materials this afternoon--she and her dh will begin homeschooling their oldest 2 boys this year--YAY! another hs'er in the ranks. This is actually our Pastor's wife--so now we aren't the only homeschoolers in our church! Oh, and another young mom is starting her dd3 on the path to homeschooling because she's very advanced and begs for school. She's been asking me for advice on materials and methods as well.

I love influencing others to this wonderful way of life!

Finally - my dc's Course of Study for the coming year

Mon, 31 Jul 2006 19:04:00 -0500

I've been working hard to get this finalized, and here it is! We will be starting school tomorrow, but only with the assignments that come from Tapestry. We will add in a couple of other subjects next week, and then be up to full speed the following week.

DD8 � 4^th grade 2006-2007

Language Arts:

Spelling: Spelling Power

Grammar: Shurley grammar Level 3

Writing: Tapestry Assignments using Write Away handbook

Institute for Excellence in Writing

Reading/Literature: Living Books from Tapestry

Critical Thinking: Building Thinking Skills Book 1 - finish

Math: Math U See Intermediate (finish)

History/Geography: Tapestry of Grace Yr 2

Fall of Rome � American Revolution

Map work with history studies

Which Way USA state books

Science: Considering God�s Creation

Farm work

Interest Led studies

Art: Art History, hands-on projects with Tapestry

Crafts, Artpak 2 (finish)

Cooking: Help in the kitchen

Music: Gift of Music; composers

Recorders

Maybe piano lessons

DS11 - 6^th grade 2006-2007

Language Arts:

Spelling: Spelling Power

Grammar: Shurley grammar Level 6

Writing: Tapestry Assignments using Write On Track handbook

Institute for Excellence in Writing

Reading/Literature: Living Books from Tapestry

Upper Grammar Lit. study guides (maybe)

Latin: Matin Latin II

Math: Saxon 76

History/Geography: Tapestry of Grace Yr 2

Fall of Rome � American Revolution

Map work with history studies

Science: Apologia General Science

Art: Art History, hands-on projects with Tapestry

1-2-3 Draw

Learn to Draw Now

Music: Gift of Music; composers

Recorders

Typing: Type-it

Computer: Computer Basics

DS13 � 8^th Grade 2006-2007

Language Arts:

Spelling: Spelling Power

Grammar: Parsing and diagramming sentences from Latin work

Writing: Tapestry Assignments using Write Source 2000 handbook

Institute for Excellence in Writing

Reading/Literature: Living Books from Tapestry

Critical Thinking: Critical Thinking Book I and II

Latin : Wheelock�s Latin

Math: Math U See Algebra

History/Geography: Tapestry of Grace Yr 2

Fall of Rome � American Revolution

Map work with history studies

Science: Apologia Biology

Art: Art History, hands-on projects with Tapestry

Music: Gift of Music; composers

Recorders

Typing: Type-it