Finally Homeschooling

When a Dad's Work Pulls Him Away

2011-08-30T11:06:00.000-07:00

I don't write much about our life beyond homeschooling, but my husband's job is one of the reasons we love the flexibility of homeschool! In my husband's industry, he pretty much works away from home; like plane rides away from home. Each job is 4-6 months long with crazy long hours and not a lot of opportunity to sneak back home.

It's heart breaking for him. He misses those accidental moments with his daughters....with me. He misses the drop in visits from friends and family. He misses the house we've worked so hard on. He misses so much.

We started contemplating moving somewhere a little less insane (money wise) so maybe we could reinvent how we grab our income and he could be home more. At that exact moment in time when we were finally brave enough to make the move, it became abundantly clear that we needed to stay put.

At what cost? We'll find out...I guess.

I know this is our new normal (not too much filming going on in SoCal these days), but it's tough. I've been pretty good about not whining. We've seen some amazing places.

It's just so darn hard.

I'm ready for a break.

Here are some things that we have tried to do to make the away time go a little faster:

FaceTime (gotta love iPhone!)
I still wait on big decisions (and even not so big decisions) until I speak with him
I try to keep the house running so he doesn't have a long list of honey-do's when he gets home
The big girls text him regularly and even though he really is Speed Racer's dad (a total Ludite), he'll text back
I keep it positive (or try to) for both his sake and for the girls' sakes
I'm realistic and open with the girls on how difficult it is on everyone - it seems to keep the difficulty from growing into a monster-sized pity party
I try to be super frugal so the money he makes goes as far as it can
I try my best to keep my whiny days to myself (or to a dear friend) - my husband already feels horrible because he can't be home
When we visit, we do our touristy stuff while he is at work so when he is "home," we are with him - we are happy to just be with him

So we trudge through our own unique way of defining family. We are thankful for the work. We find the stamina to support each other and we pray. We pray a lot!

Our 4th Grade Curriculum

2011-08-25T20:01:00.000-07:00

I'm not really ready for school to start this year. As not at all ready. I'm feeling a little accomplished in that I've narrowed down our curriculum for this year...pretty cool in that we start on MONDAY! Ugh!

LANGUAGE ARTS:

Last year went pretty well for us so we are going to stick with what worked for T and add a little extra (Editor in Chief, Word Benders, Greek & Latin Roots) here and there.

For grammar we will use Daily Grams 4 (a nice little 5 minute warm up to the day) and First Language Lessons, Level 4 (T loves diagraming sentences...really). I think we are supposed to use Daily Grams with Easy Grammar, but First Language Lessons just seems to work for us.

MATH:

Last year we used Mammoth Math (loved it!) and supplemented with lots of games and books. It was a great year and it reignited T's love of math. So, of course, this year I'm going to mix it up. I know. I'm nuts. It just seemed as though Mammoth Math 4 would need a whole lot of additional teaching to keep up with our state standards. I am in no way asserting that our state's standards are the be-all for math, but she is ready for more. So....

We are using Teaching Textbooks 5 and will supplement with Singapore 4 (last year we supplemented with Singapore and it seemed like a good balance).

If you do decide to use Teaching Textbooks, be certain to use their placement tests. My not-really-a-math girl placed higher than I thought she would. I may end up bumping her up to 6 mid-year (thank goodness for our charter school's financial support of our curriculum!!). We'll see.

GEOGRAPHY:

We have worked on geography the last couple of years just through our travels and history. This year I wanted to be more deliberate in our study. We are going to try Daily Geography Practice, Grade 4.

HISTORY:

We have fallen in love with The Story of the World. This year we will use The Story of the World, Volume 4. There are some weeks that we just read, talk, and take the test (boring) and other weeks we do a bazillion activities (fun!) to go along with the chapter. I like the flexibility and I'm thrilled that we'll be going through it again.

SCIENCE:

We will create our own science units again this year. Last year was a ton of fun and we learned a lot. Our topics this year will be water/oceans/waves, chemistry, and horticulture. We are going to include some our homeschool friends in our studies so it should be even more fun this year.

ART/MUSIC:

I cannot recommend Harmony Fine Arts enough. We loved her guidance last year and we were thrilled to visit museums and actually see some of the artists' work. It was like a celebrity thing. The rest of the museum visitors thought we were a little nuts...but whatever.

KEYBOARDING:

We are going to keep working with Typing Pal with a ~~little~~ lot more diligence this year. I even have it on my schedule so I don't blow it off. : /

BIBLE:

We went to a homeschool conference this year (my first) and heard Susan Wise Bauer (loved her!). We stopped by her booth and found that she had a bible workbook, Telling God's Story, Year One. It seems to be in the same vein as The Story of the World with activities for each chapter. The book is set up to be a group (Sunday School-ish) or a homeschool workbook. We may slow it down and do a chapter every two weeks.

Boy, it seems as though we've added quite a bit since last year and have yet to cull anything. Yikes! We may end up slowing down a lot of the extras. We'll see. Last year she was wanting more. It's always a struggle to find that balance. Thankfully with homeschooling we can have the flexibility to be....well....flexible!

Just Like Riding a Bike

2011-06-25T22:30:00.000-07:00

So, I've learned a little bit this year.

My 9 year old learned a little bit, too. She learned her times tables, long division, how to diagram sentences, all about the moon, our planets, our stars, and energy. She discovered a love for fractions and writing. She also finally learned how to ride a bike by herself....at 9 years old.

I have to admit; I was a bit embarrassed that my 9 year old could not yet ride a bike. However, every time I tried to teach her it was a lesson in frustration. I would run behind her, holding the bike up as my little passenger coasted. As soon as I let go, she would topple over to the left....to the right....it didn't matter. She just couldn't grasp it.

Last summer, I gave up. I was proud of myself for not being the creepy, guilt-producing mom. I just stopped offering it as an activity.

To be honest about it, I kind of forgot about being embarrassed. I didn't really care that she couldn't ride a bike. That is until I saw a little 4 year old peddling his little heart out on a family bike ride. *sigh*

Then a couple of weeks ago she asked for me to pump up the tires on her bike. Hmmm. Ok. I did. She hopped on and I took my place behind her and we began the same game as every other time. It wasn't going to work. Surprisingly, I still didn't care. I just told her to coast around and when she felt comfortable, to peddle.

I went inside.

I got my coffee mug and heard a shout, "Mom! I'm doing it! I'm doing it!"

Yes, she was. She was riding her bike.

That was it. She just needed to do it on her time. She needed to do it when she was the driver and not just the vaguely participating passenger.

And, looking back, her mastery of most everything has been in her time. She stopped nursing on her own, she walked when she was ready, and she potty trained when she was ready. This last year she mastered long division in a day after she had mulled it around for a week or so and then asked me how to do the "big" numbers. The same thing happened with fractions. I didn't really teach her. I just guided her.

T reading her Life of Fred book while I'm shopping for flooring

There were some things that I forced the readiness upon her. Things like swimming. She knew how to swim before she was a year old. She hated every minute of it, but we live in So. Cal. where everyone (including us) has a pool. She learned to swim. And now she loves it and she loves the pics of her as a baby swimming, but there was no way she was "ready" to learn to swim that young. I don't regret teaching her that one!

I hope that I've learned to wait for her readiness to be the driver. I hope that I'll remember how easy it is to teach when your student is primed and ready for the learning. I hope I'll remember that homeschooling is just like riding a bike.

Confessions of a Serial Curriculum Checker Outer

2011-04-24T20:24:00.000-07:00

I must confess I had an epiphany last week.

In regards to curriculum for our soon to be 4th grader, I need to do a lot less looking and a lot more doing!

Intentions don't equate to learning.

Great ideas without implementation don't equate to learning.

Unused curriculum doesn't work either.

I'm all about getting new ideas to keep things exciting, however lately I've been spending much too much time looking through options for next year. I am distracted from the business of finishing 3rd grade.

So much of this homeschool thing is so deliberate and takes such willpower. I suppose it's time to grow up and try on some of that maturity my years on this earth were supposed to give me.

It is time for me to focus on the job at hand.

I am putting myself on a curriculum research time out.

Starting now.

Poor T. Her holiday is over.

Happy Monday to her!!

Energy-rific Science Unit

2011-04-16T17:30:00.000-07:00

For 3rd grade we are going about science our own way.

Last year was our first year homeschooling and we followed our state standards (California) and used the same curriculum that our local schools use. We slept through the year. Ho hum.

It took me a little while to realize that homeschool doesn't mean doing the same thing as a class of 35 kids, just at home.

I'm learning.

Slowly.

For science this year, we chose to focus on three big units. Each unit would focus on Physical Science, Earth Science, or Life Science.

We studied moons, planets, stars, and galaxies during the first bit of the year for Earth Science. Now we have just finished studying different forms of energy for Physical Science. Next we will dive into the human body for Life Science.

For our Energy Unit we focused on sound, light, electrical, and thermal energy. T ended up with a folder full of notebook pages of all of our different experiments and a paragraph or two. She was super proud to show it to our charter school teacher.

For SOUND energy we learned about air, echos, and sound waves

We played Marco Polo as a form of our own echo location
We made our own instruments with cardboard boxes and different sizes of rubberbands
We made our cup and string telephones and T experimented with hanging different objects on the string

For LIGHT energy we learned about the visible spectrum and tried to sing the rainbow song with "indigo" and "violet" instead of "purple" (we weren't very successful)

We did one of Mr. Q's labs with a glue stick and a flashlight to talk more about why the sky is blue (have I mentioned how fun Mr. Q's labs are...well they are F U N!)
She also found out how our radiometer works. Doesn't everyone have a radiometer? No clue as to why we have one.

For ELECTRICAL energy we learned a lot about static electricity (I mean this is 3rd grade)

We did some Science in a Nutshell experiments with acrylic rods and rubber rods. Most of the experiments revolved around charging the rods with different types of material. Sort of fun. It was priceless, though, in preparing us for....
The Ben Franklin Exhibit at our local museum. Now that was fun. At least the static electricity exhibit was fun. We got to see a bunch of middle schoolers shock each other and scream and fall to the ground with all of the drama they could muster. It was nice to see T's understanding of the exhibit
T put together one of those light bulb kits exploring circuits...then she added a sensor so it would only turn on when it was dark (she wasn't 100% successful on that last bit, but she tried, and she learned A LOT about circuitry).

For THERMAL energy we did a bunch of experimenting

We heated a hangar by just bending it back and forth - it got surprisingly hot
We also stretched a rubber band while touching our upper lips - guess what? Hot again. Shocking, I know.
T watched the difference between in dropping food coloring in hot water and cold water. A super easy visualization of how warmer water molecules move faster.
She donned some safety googles (swim goggles) to see how hot air takes up more space than cold air.

T and I have had soooo much more fun with science this year. The added bonus is that I feel as that even though we may not be covering as many subjects each year, we are digging deeper into the subjects we are studying.

I am so thankful for the encouragement I have found online to encourage my science-minded daughter. I officially tip my hat to Susan at Toddler Planet as I continue to follow my daughter's lead (and sometimes even encourage her) to explore the sciences. Science is not my natural affinity, however I appreciate the creativity and level-headedness that T exhibits while she investigates her interests. This year science has gone from least-favorite-just-get-it-done to The. Best. Subject. Ever.

How about you? What do you do for science in your homeschool? Is science looked forward to in your homeschool week or is it the dreaded subject?

Time Out

2011-03-29T22:24:00.000-07:00

I guess I needed a break.

I just wanted to explain my absence a little bit. I mean it has been over 3 months!

I said too much in my last entry.

I needed some time to redefine what I was trying to do with this blog and I've come to the conclusion that I am not a very good deep-dark-feelings sharer!

Soooo...I'm going to focus on homeschool and the fun things we've been doing.

Stay tuned. More fun is to be had.

I Think Hurt Motivated Me to Homeschool

2010-12-15T22:35:00.000-08:00

I know it's Christmas and it should be candle light, candy, and family. All warm and fuzzy.

But of late I have been thinking about why we homeschool. There are a gazillion super cool positive reasons (one on one instruction, getting deeper into most subjects, slowing down when we need to really understand something that may have been lost in a classroom, a childhood, time for imagination, the connection, and on and on and on). I somehow have been focusing on why I needed to homeschool. Why I needed to step out of my then mom culture.

Let me tell the story of a heart ache.

When our older girls were in elementary school we were part of a large tight knit group of parents and kids. We had gigantic 4th of July parties, late nights around fire pits, snow days (we live where it doesn't snow, so we brought it in and made it a party), beach days, PTA, and days lounging in pools.

We always had our pile of kids with us. They mostly got along. They played complicated games while trying to include everyone's passion. At one point it was army men vs. cats (with costumes and face paint, of course).

It was good.

There was one girl that lived in a family with more chaos than was within my comfort level, but I thought that was just me that saw it that way. The family was an important part of our group. We loved them all; giant warts and all.

For many more reasons than the chaos in which she lived the girl decided to kill herself with her father's service revolver. Dead. In a moment. Dead. At 14.

She had just spent the night with my daughter. In our home. She sat with us. She laughed with us. She seemed at the edge of a decision. I thought that maybe she was deciding to choose a boyfriend over soccer. If only.

I. Had. No. Idea.

Of course it was a shock. Of course there was/is grief. Of course.

What I didn't count on was the fall out. I didn't count on losing our entire friend base. I didn't count on that girl's mother making a living talking about how friends need to not keep secrets about suicide. (For the record, I totally agree....however, that was not the girl's story.)

I understand how grief takes on a different shape and feel for everyone.

We poured our hearts out to that family. We cleaned the room after the police left. We sat with them through the nights. We drove them to view their daughter and to finally pick up her urn.

One day I was sitting with them and they had someone come and take the door to her room away. The blood had soaked up through the bottom of the door. Her blood. I wanted to leave. I stayed. I stayed because they needed company.

The mother needed to find a point of blame. She chose us for some of it. Our friends triaged and continued to support the grieving family. I think I understand that. We were a bit of collateral damage.

Two years later it was time for T to start Kindergarten. We have an awesome, wonderful elementary school with brilliant, caring teachers. The same teachers that taught our older girls and the girl. However, because of the nature of the gazillion kids per class a parent really needs to be involved in the school.

I did it. Sort of. I couldn't invest fully in that connection. T went there for Kindergarten and 1st grade. That was it. On my most honest days I recognize that I was too hurt to fully invest in the mom culture at that school.

I know. I'm selfish. On the other hand, homeschooling has been the most amazing ride so far. I love it. T loves it. I'm making new connections where I can, but now I know her experience at school is not dependent upon how quickly or deeply I get involved.

I think I am finally ready to reach out a little bit more. A baby step. I am feeling more confident with homeschooling. I was also slapped in the face with a little reality that next year there is a very good chance that both older girls will be away at college. It is time for me to dip my toe in my new mom culture. T and I are going to switch our schedule a bit to accomodate some outside classes and a few of those park days with our local homeschoolers.

It may be finally time to embrace the new us. The us without the girl. The us with the big scar on our hearts. It's ugly, but it's healing.

WFMW: Call in the Reinforcements

2010-12-08T09:46:00.000-08:00

There is quite a story that goes along with T's addition to our family. The short version is that she demanded to be born. Her next closest sibling is 10 years older than she is.

I had the awesome joy of having two teenage daughters and a toddler at the same time. It was...an interesting time.

We have three daughters and each one is very, very unique (I wish there was an "understatement" font)! I can barely keep up. I am sometimes overwhelmed with my inexperience at homeschooling, with parenting...with life.

In those moments when I'm certain I can't cope with 3rd grade homeschooling, one of those unique big sisters scoops up my mess and takes over. They teach her things that I never would have thought about. They have embraced this home learning thing to its fullest.

T is learning German courtesy of her oldest sister (yes, that's our All About Spelling board that we love). She can now count and ask a few basic phrases.

She has learned the art of art. My oldest sees the world differently and tries her best to get others to understand her vision with any medium available. On T's Christmas list this year is a piece of art to admire (T's words, not mine).

She has learned to appreciate a good story from her other sister. When math gets too complicated (read: I've over complicated it), T goes to her for a better explanation.

T has also been taught cartwheels and handstands from the nutty middle sister. I love it.

It's so nice to have olders that remember what worked and what didn't for them as they were learning the same things that T is at this age.

It is nicer that they have enough pity on me to take over when it's obvious I am in need of reinforcements.

I highly recommend having older kids around to help with your younger ones. Or at least some friends to take over some homeschooling when you have reached your limit. In my experience, taking breaks is highly productive (or at least that's what I tell myself!).

See what works for others at We Are That Family and Works For Me Wednesdays! Don't forget to check out The Mercy House and Shop Mercy this season of giving.

Galaxies and Stars

2010-11-12T13:14:00.000-08:00

Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech

These last couple of weeks we went far, far away to a ....

I know. I couldn't help it.

We are working on finishing up our Space Unit. We wanted to finish it before the final Space Shuttle launch on November 1. Our local space museum is having a shindig for the launch and it seems as though that would be a perfect end to our unit. Thank goodness it was delayed because we were too!

T already learned about the moon and its phases and the planets, now it's on to galaxies and stars. We began by learning about galaxies.

Like a true innovator, I borrowed some ideas from the The Forest Room. To demonstrate the expansion of the universe, we blew up a balloon to measure the distance between the letters to compare it with the deflated measurement. (*Hint: blow up the balloon to write the letters first, then let the air out to measure the deflated distance.)

T used white paint and glitter to describe the different types of galaxies (thank you, The Forest Room, again!). Can you tell me why I thought glitter was a good idea....and why I thought the kitchen table would be a good place to craft? We are still bedazzled.

Then she learned about the constellations, found some favorites, and learned how our night sky doesn't stay the same.

In yet another nod to The Forest Room, we I decorated an umbrella with that super stinky permanent silver paint pen. I used chalk first to draw out some of her favorite constellations. Then I went over it with the super stinky permanent silver paint pen.

It conveniently sprinkled a little for us so T could actually use the umbrella.

Here are some of our resources for our stars and galaxies unit. Our total journey beyond (moon, planets, stars & galaxies) has taken us over two months of pretty consistent work. If you want to see more, here is our moon unit and our planet unit.

My go-to resource, Jimmie's Collage, for her Space Lapbook info (love her!)
R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey - Earth and Space, Level 1
The Lab of Mr. Q - Life Science, free downloads (super fun!) - check out his free lab notes!
Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia (always a fav!)
NASA/JPL Cal-Tech has a great kids' page and is another great resource for images
Images from the Hubble Space Telescope (unbelievable!!)

Next we are on to study electricity, color, and sound. It seems as though our conversations about stars and their energies and lifespans have naturally led us in this direction. We are fortunate to have the flexibility to follow our interests. What a blessing homeschooling is for us! I'm learning so much!!

Fitting Square Pegs...or Not

2010-11-11T19:44:00.000-08:00

Image by ePublicist/Yoel Ben-Avraham

I have a houseful of square pegs.

There was a time when I tried to make them round, but their edges were too sharp.

Then I made excuses for them as if I were round and I knew how they should be.

Then I gave up. Kept my head down. I tried to encourage them in their squareness and comfort them when they noticed they weren't round.

As they grew older and I appreciated who they were becoming more and more, I stopped keeping my head down.

Now I look around. I'm bursting with pride at my square pegs making their own way like frontiersmen.

I keep my mouth closed though. Their paths are unique. How could I claim to be an expert on square-peggedness?

I just know I can love and appreciate them.

I'm so glad it really does take all kinds to make the world go round!

Our Planet Study

2010-11-08T21:50:00.000-08:00

Our planet study was loads of fun!

We are using a bunch of different resources, but mostly R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey: Earth and Space this time. This is our first experience with it and we are loving it! I appreciate that it is so hands on. Actually T appreciates it the most.

T's Pringle Oven

For our planet study we:

watched Bill Nye's (I love him!) The Planets
watched Magic School Bus' Space Adventure
read The Mystery of Mars by Sally Ride & Tam O'Shaughnessy
did R.E.A.L. Science's Uranus experiment with egg cartons, checkers, and chop sticks (we tried to measure the "terrain" of the closed egg carton (different numbers of checkers in each egg hole) by poking and measuring with a chop stick.
did R.E.A.L. Science's Mars experiment by making our own red dirt with sand, water, and steel wool.
did R.E.A.L. Science's Mercury experiment by making our very own solar oven with a Pringle can. We cooked a hot dog!
designed our cover (top pic) from the idea on Art Projects For Kids
and memorized R.E.A.L. Science's Planet Poem

After we had explored each planet, we gathered all of our lab notes and pictures in a notebook with her own cover art. T is very excited to share her planet notebook with our charter school teacher. And I'm super excited that she's excited.

Next, we are on to galaxies and stars!

Swapping Picture Books

2010-11-05T10:53:00.000-07:00

An amazing thing happened last year. We participated in Zoe's International Postcard Swap. We received postcards from all over. We tracked them on our world map and I patted myself on the back for the excellent geography lessons. We felt good, happy, and fulfilled.

Then the earthquake in New Zealand happened and my little girl's world got smaller. She remembered getting a postcard from a family who lived in the very city hit the hardest. We were able to pray for that family not knowing how they were doing after the earthquake. We were able to do that just because of Zoe and Playing by the Book!

Then she (Zoe) came up with the brilliant idea of a picture book swap, Perfect Picture Books by Post. We were all about it and super excited when we were matched with a family in Germany (my oldest is a German major).

Our package came the other day. I wish that my camera took better pictures (or that I took better pictures with my camera) because the envelope was colorful and wonderful and...I have no pictures. I also feel a little creepy that I just sent mine via Amazon because my world is crazy and I couldn't carve out time during business hours to go to the post office.

The book my partner sent was perfect for us. It was something that my oldest could read and translate with no issue. The subject was adorable and the illustrations caught the spirit of the cat.

See the cat was looking for someone specific to dance with and it was NOT the hamster.

It was all quite unfortunate until he found....HER!

True love! *sigh*

My favorite bit was watching my oldest read aloud to my youngest. My youngest wanted to hear it in both German and English. She decided the book was much better in German.

We've had so much fun participating in the swap! The whole process was loads of fun; the girls deciding which books for us to send, receiving our swap, and reading our swap (again and again).

Thanks Zoe and thank you Kerstin!!

Sunday We Walked for CHOC & the MASHER

2010-10-21T21:59:00.000-07:00

On this past Sunday, we were privileged to walk the CHOC Walk. We walked with Team MASHER. John Mash Jr. had walked in CHOC Walk for many years when he thought he was a survivor of childhood cancer. Since he couldn't walk this year, Team MASHER did.

Some of the over 750 people walking for Team MASHER

We walked this year for John and his family. I mean, really, what else can you do? Maybe John's family will look back one day and take comfort in those that supported them in this little way.

John's family's prayers changed from "cure" to "compassion." Tonight their son entered the gates of Heaven.

I just couldn't imagine.

WFMW: Healthy Donuts

2010-10-19T22:02:00.000-07:00

Donuts. Doughnuts. However you spell it, "healthy" isn't normally a word to go with it.

Until now.

Check this out:

I know you wish you had my super cool photo skills.

Here's what you need:

toasted bagels (we got Thomas' Thin Sliced Bagels)
Nutella (yum)
sprinkles

Here's what you do:

toast
spread
sprinkle
eat

There you have it. A snack of awesome proportions. Enjoy!

Don't forget to check out We Are That Family and find out what works for everyone else on Works-For-Me-Wednesdays!

I Love/Hate This Blogging Thing

2010-10-18T17:02:00.000-07:00

I do have a love/hate relationship with this blog.

I do so love that I can write things down.

I do so hate that I should do so on a regular basis.

I do so love that I have a place to go when my world slows down enough for me to write.

I do so hate the angst and anxiety I feel about saying too much, about revealing too much, about being honest and transparent.

But...now that I've ignored it for a month or so, I have a new found desire to write. it. down.

I have an excuse for my absence. I do.

C O N S T R U C T I O N

This is my backyard. This is just the very beginning.

It is supposed to rain this week.

Of course it is. This will no doubt be the wettest winter in the recorded history of SoCal. That's the twisted way my self-centered mind thinks at times. The SoCal drought will officially be over because I am trying to construct a little something in my backyard.

Yep. Healthy thinking here.

WFMW: Burn Out Remedy

2010-09-15T00:24:00.000-07:00

This school year (ha! All three weeks of it!) I have tried to keep things more hands-on and less book work. The end result is a happier kid, but a mom that is a bit stretched outside her comfort level.

It's hard work to not have a pile of papers at the end of the day. Seriously. It's much easier on my check-off-the-list kind of mind to have tangible evidence of "work."

Documenting throwing marbles in flour and eating Oreos for science is WAY outside my realm of comfort. But I trudge on. Until I don't.

In the midst of this gigantic (to me, of course) shift in philosophy, we are trying to add on to the house. I had no clue how much had to be done before the plans are even submitted to the city. Every day there seems to be something that requires my immediate attention. Every day? Every couple of hours.

Oh yeah...and my husband is working out of state .... again (thanks, California for your awesome tax incentives to businesses!).

So all of this whininess to say I had it last week. Had it. Done.

Then...some wonderful friends invited us to Crystal Cove. We ditched school and had ourselves some R & R.

For those of you not in SoCal, Crystal Cove is a state park with a bunch of cottages from the 40's. People leased these cottages for years and years and years until the Irvine Company sold the land (and the cottages and the leases) to the State of California. The State kicked everybody out when their leases were up and turned it into the park that it is now. On the first of every month, you can try to reserve one of the cottages. Most people book 6 months out. After going, I believe it may be worth it.

We parked across PCH (busy highway) and walked down this little trail. It felt like what I remember California being when I was growing up. Well, except for the pavement. That seems a bit TOO SoCal, but it was convenient.

Then we walked through a tunnel decorated by all kinds of fun things (including a dolphin birthing circle with blood and everything -- interesting) to get under PCH.

Then to the beach. The lovely beach. The perfect beach with the amazing tide pools. My camera ran out of batteries, but we saw a bunch of starfish, rock fish, a bazillion hermit crabs, sea anemones, and other tiny fish that darted away from our shadows.

T fell on the slippery rocks and got algae all over her...she was not pleased.
Thank you starfish for making it all better!

So when it gets too much, put down the list, take a deep breath, and get outside. See what's bigger than yourself. It's guaranteed to put things in perspective. Guar-an-darn-teed!

Check out We Are That Family and find out what works for everyone else on Works-For-Me Wednesdays! And check out what she's doing with the Mercy House.

Weekly Wrap Up: Mission Moon

2010-09-03T17:17:00.000-07:00

This week we've been working on all things Moon. I must say my goal to be more project oriented has worked so far.

Don't those sort of/kind of look like the phases of the moon? Maybe?

This week has been a lot of fun with science moving to the end of the day because it is so happily anticipated. Well....that and the fact that it tends to last a long, long time (by T's choice).

Last week we started a moon journal. The cloud cover has cooperated and T has been able to record each night's moon.

While we were on the phases of the moon, T made some Oreo moons. Needless to say this project didn't last long. I had lots of teens wishing they were studying moon phases on that day.

We talked about the surface of the moon and created our own craters with a pie tin, some flour with a fine mist of cocoa sifted over the top, and a marble (meteoroid).

T's meteoroid marble tossing.

That would be a "crater!"

We will be working on our Moon poster next week. T is cutting out cardboard Oreos and using a glass to make her circles on white paper before cutting into the different moon phase shapes.

Of course, we did other fun things like learning how to round in math by going to Starbucks and adding the order for mental math (rounding was a big help then!).

After our recent trip to Alaska, T decided to not just gather state facts, but to write a paragraph about the beauty she witnessed. I love how self motivated she was for that....I came home from the post office and she had taped it to the garage door for me to see! It made me happy to my toes!

I'm still trying to figure out how to make grammar fun and exciting for both of us. We are enjoying the Daily Grams (a big hat tip to Kris for putting that on our radar!)....but....well....a piece of paper kind of pales in comparison to the other hands-on learning we've been doing this week. Any ideas?

How was your week? Check out what everyone has been doing at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschooler's Weekly Wrap-Up.

Happy Labor Day!

Parenting "Adult" Children

2010-08-31T23:50:00.000-07:00

Image from SharingMachine

I am conflicted and constantly checking myself in regards to parenting my oldest. I mean when do you stop mothering them?

I admit I am one angst filled mama.

I worry when she drives (not that those ~~three~~ four accidents would be any reason to worry!).

I worry that she is too blunt with her friends. She isn't always one to participate in social norms. It is a very big part of what I love about her, but I do hope that her friends have the same tolerance as we do.

I worry that we haven't done a good enough job in helping her understand money. I trust that she has an amazing work ethic, but she can also spend with that same laser focus.

It appears that most of what I worry about are the things I haven't spent enough time or energy teaching or encouraging her.

I believe I need to get over myself.

She is a competent adult. She will be moving out someday soon. She will make her own way. I'll get to experience a different relationship with her.

Yep. I need to just get over myself.

Our 3rd Grade Curriculum

2010-08-14T15:49:00.000-07:00

Last year had quite the learning curve for me. I am so list oriented that there were times when I forgot about the learning and just focused on the accomplishing.

A lot of what we used last year wasn't a great fit. I wasn't confident enough to change midyear, but I did give a bunch of different stuff a try at the end of the year. Most of the new stuff that we have chosen to use this year seem to come from Kris at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. Thank you, Kris! T especially thanks you!!

ENGLISH/GRAMMAR:

We enjoyed First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind last year and we'll use level 3 this year. It's funny, T did a great job utilizing what she learned in her writing...if only you could decipher what she was spelling!

This year, however, I've only purchased the Instructor Guide. We ended up not using the Student Notebook last year because the lines were much bigger than her writing. She found it easier to use her Handwriting Without Tears paper.

We are also going to use Daily Grams (grade 3). I found that they were a great way to start the day and fun review for T.

WRITING:

This year we are going to stick with Step Up to Writing. Last year we used Writing With Ease, but it was a bit monotonous for us. We will continue to use the narration skills we learned last year when we do our history.

I am also going to try to encourage more creative writing. We are working through Small World's WordSmithery. Last year, her program reignited the passion lost while we struggled through Writing With Ease.

SPELLING/VOCABULARY:

We are going to try out All About Spelling (level 3). We weren't thrilled with our choice from last year and are ready for a change.

For vocabulary we will continue using our fun folders for Greek and Latin Roots by Trisha Callella. It was relatively painless and she has been able to use what she has learned in other areas. I love to see the relevance!

MATH:

This year we are going to play more...and use Mammoth Math (grade 3 Light Blue Series). I printed some of the free worksheets for her and then ended up purchasing it through the Homeschoolers Buyers Coop at a huge discount. We started using it at the end of last year after we had finished Singapore 2B and T enjoyed it. I think that I am going to have the whole thing printed and bound. Sometimes it's just easier for me to have it in hand rather than on the computer.

SCIENCE:

I didn't love science last year. T didn't love science last year. Zero fun. This year I was thinking that I would try to develop my own science, but now I have cold feet and we're going to try R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey. I'm going to get Life and Earth & Space to fill in the blanks (she has already done a bit from both in the last two years).

HISTORY:

We are sticking with The Story of the World (vol. 3 Early Modern Times). We were maniacs last year and went through vol. 1 AND 2! We loved it. The not-very-creative me loved the student activity pages. It was a treat and we just couldn't seem to help ourselves from going on to the next chapter. I don't think it was the wisest of decisions, though. This year, I think that we will try supplementing with even more books and activities in hopes of going deeper, not faster.

We mix it up with me reading aloud, T reading aloud, and listening to it read by Jim Weiss. We have supplemented it with Sonlight's Book of Time (a blank timeline book from 5,000 BC to the present) and their timeline figures (stickers to color). We also reference The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia.

BIBLE/MEMORIZATION: I am still on the hunt for an appropriate Proverbs study. I am considering using the Generations with Vision Proverbs Study Guide, but I'd like to slip through it before I buy. I would like to tie in our study with memorization. We are big on memorization and will also memorize some poems and other verses from our Bible.

ART/COMPOSER/NATURE:

We are going to use Harmony Fine Arts for music and art appreciation. We also took Jimmie's suggestion to purchase the Art Page-a-Day Gallery Calendar from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I tried to use this last year, but they were already sold out when I read her post. Ours for 2011 just came in the mail last week.

For our Nature Study we are going to use Harmony Arts Handbook for Nature Study. She posts challenges each week and that seems about our speed.

HANDWRITING/KEYBOARDING:

We will continue working through her Handwriting Without Tears workbook, but I will quickly transition to an emphasis on keyboarding. I know that may be a cop out, but the act of writing is laborious for her. Her hands don't work as quickly as her brain. We need to find a work around for her.

PE:

I would like to be more deliberate with T's PE this year. Last year she did swim team, but this year we are not going to always be in town so I need something we can take with us. So far I have hiking and yoga. It's a start....right?!

So that's it. That is going to be our year. We'll be back in Alaska for the first part of the school year and who knows where for the rest. I am adjusting to our vagabond style of making a home...in fact, I may prefer it! I'm enjoying the new sites and I'm ok with our new definition of "home;" it's definitely the people, not the structure or the geography.

If you are interested, here is 2009-2010 curriculum choices.

Our Alaskan Adventure

2010-08-09T14:36:00.000-07:00

Here we are in Alaska trying to figure out how to leave our home for the next few months and stay up here while my husband is working. T and I are headed home tomorrow, but we'll be back soon.

Alaska is gorgeous. We went north on the highway a bit and discovered that they have crazy-beautiful parks right along the highway. Stranger still is that it seems as though everyone drives the speed limit!

We've seen moose on the side of the road and pet moose at a reindeer farm. We learned that caribou and reindeer are basically the same creatures; one's just domesticated (like horse v. mustang, I guess). Did you know that the males, females, and babies all grow antlers during the summer? The only thing that grows faster is bamboo. The antlers have a blood supply so it's a way for them to cool down in the summer.

We also went to a musk ox farm. Musk ox are like prehistoric goats. They comb them once a year to get their qiviut. The wool/hair gets spun and then sent is to the Oomingmak Knitters Coop which knit these freakishly warm scarves, hats, smoke rings (nachaqs), and if you are really feeling wealthy, a blanket (it costs $10,000 to commission!).

We've been to Earthquake Park and Kincaid Park (where we saw the moose). Earthquake Park is where the Good Friday earthquake of 1964 is commemorated. Hello... a magnitude 9.2 earthquake!!! Freaky stuff for someone like me who does not care one bit for the earth moving.

I'm certain I'd never tire of the scenery here. T and I are plotting our return!!

Just When I Think I Can Relax

2010-07-11T16:46:00.000-07:00

We got through our week of good-byes intact. Well everyone got to where they were expected, at least. We are missing each other and taking a moment to realize that we really do like one another. It's hard work being apart.

Our summer has just turned the crazy up a notch. I'm trying to be calm, cool, and collected about our opportunities. Today, however, I just decided I needed a nap. It was just a little much.

See, my husband is coming home to So. Cal. from his job in Pittsburgh this Thursday (where he has been since April). Then he is immediately prepping to do a show in Anchorage...ALASKA. He will leave for Alaska on July 26.

Why I needed a nap? Because this is still all tentative. He doesn't have any of his travel secured yet. The way his world works drives me nuts sometimes!

We (D, T, and me) are thinking of following him up there at the end of July. Then T and I will come home mid August so we can welcome E home from Germany. Eventually T and I will go back up to spend a month or so...depending on the house sitting situation.

Meanwhile, I need to finish my million and one doctor visits, T needs to get her braces, and we need to figure out how/when to start school while traveling. I'm thinking that means I need to be a big girl and plan.

So assuming that all will go as planned, does anyone have any suggestions for fun/educational things to do in Anchorage? We already had astronomy in our year's science plans....I'll be pushing that one up to the first of the school year. I mean, really. Alaska? Astronomy? Now I'm getting excited!

Too Many Good-byes!

2010-07-05T00:52:00.000-07:00

Today we drove our oldest to the airport and put her on a plane to Germany. For SIX weeks! What was I thinking? Oh, never mind that she's an adult and is a German major and has wanted to travel abroad for forever and paid for it herself (sort of, but we didn't pay) and she's taking two upper division classes.

None of that matters.

She's too far away.

And she doesn't like to fly.

And she doesn't like to talk to people she doesn't know.

And I saw Toy Story 3 today...of all days.

I miss her already.

John and E's friend watching her wind her way through security.

Tomorrow my husband flies back to work....across the friggin' country! He was home for the weekend to help say good-bye to E. But now he's leaving again. I miss him and he's not even gone yet.

What am I doing instead of snuggling with my man tonight? I'm watching my daughter's plane on Flight Aware; as though I'm going to get her there safely by my stalker-tendencies. She has 39 minutes left to her flight.

There is just no hope for me.

On Wednesday, we say good-bye to my middle daughter's horse. I wrote about my stellar Mom Moment and me suggesting that perhaps it was time to find a new home for the horse a month or so ago. There is heartbreak all around. The only silver lining in that cloud of sadness is that she is going to another little girl in Texas. And, seriously, everything is bigger in Texas! You should see the ranch she is going to....when they say "pasture," they mean "PASTURE!" It's so the right thing to do for the horse, but that only helps a broken horse girl heart so much.

See? Just way too many good-byes in my world.

Now she only has 31 minutes left until she lands in Germany. Ugh.

Maybe I'm Not Done Yet - Father's Day Fire

2010-06-26T16:08:00.000-07:00

So I was going to stop posting so I could focus on "things." The funny thing is that this blog helps me focus on "things." So here I am again, a week late, posting about Father's Day and wondering why I haven't finished the laundry.

My man, my favorite person to be with, my children's father spent Father's Day in another city trying to support us in a crazy-ass economy. Pretty damn awesome, I say.

We spent our Father's Day moping that he was gone and wondering what to do with ourselves all day long. I was sitting on our deck with my brother looking at the view (kind of, sort of feeling sorry for myself) when my brother says, "Smoke." After a flurry of a 911 call, me handing my brother a kitchen fire extinguisher (don't ask), and my daughter and I evacuating our neighbor's horses into a trailer to wait for the all clear, we sat and watched the show.

Can I tell you how very amazing our firefighters are? Not just because we were in need, but because they got out there as though they were choreographed. It was a little brush fire, but the dry lakebed is surrounded with homes ... so it was a nice thing that they kept it little.

So our Father's Day was exciting and terribly boring and lonely at the same time.

This is Why I'm Done - For Now

2010-06-19T15:59:00.000-07:00

It's been fun.

source: Ytorf

Now I'm off to do my wifely, motherly, homeschool stuff that I do much better without a computer!

xoxo

The Broken Mom Thing

2010-06-07T12:28:00.000-07:00

"We are all broken and we all just kind of limp along." That was what I heard at church yesterday. That, and something about keeping your focus on the wonder of God so your perspective doesn't get trapped in the woe-is-me world of your brokenness.

Good take home points. But I wonder; why do I have to be SO broken?

I know, my perspective is out of whack. Wonder. Of. God.

Still. I came home from church and promptly won the Mom-of-the-Year Award for making our world's most sensitive daughter cry. And I anticipated it. And I didn't restrain myself. Broken.

See, we live in So. Cal. To get from point A to point B we need (really truly) a car. Public transportation is crap where we live. We own three cars (mine, my husband's, and our oldest daughter's). The problem is that our middle daughter can now drive and is The Busiest Kid on the Planet Doing Good and Wonderful Things. Therefore, my car has been hijacked.

Now this middle child of mine has a horse. Having a horse where we live is no small monthly expense. She loves her horse. She doesn't do anything special on the horse. She doesn't show it or leap tall buildings with it. They just kind of walk around the trails and have horsey conversations. Or something.

In my head, the horse is transportation. I figure since we pay for the monthly upkeep of the horse (which is more than the monthly upkeep of a car, I might add), we won't help her out with a car. She doesn't seem to have a problem with this arrangement because she just takes my car.

And, honestly, right now it's not a big deal because my husband is away and I can steal his truck. But I want my car!

So, the broken me finally loses it last night. I tell her in my kindest voice that perhaps she should sell the horse and buy a car. That went over well. It was as though I asked to her saw off her arm with a nail file (a dull nail file).

Really, I wasn't that kind. I was mean. I wasn't Joan Crawford mean, but I knew I was hurting her and I didn't think it out before I spoke. Ugh. This whole parenting older kids is a giant lesson in humility.

I don't know what the solution is in my situation. I have apologized, but now what? I think we've worked out a semi-schedule for my car. Where do I find the wonder of God in this? Is it that I have a teenager that spends her time going to school, going to church, babysitting, working, and mentoring 5th & 6th grade girls? Maybe so.

I feel the creaking of my perspective shifting.

Science & My Homeschooling Daughter

2010-05-24T09:17:00.000-07:00

This is our last week of school. We are wrapping up a few things and I'm cementing our plan for next year. I'm feeling so much better about my choices after getting some valuable input from Jimmie. I've got everything pretty much decided except ...
S C I E N C E.

This year (being our first year, I feel as though I should remind you) we used the same curriculum our District uses. Ho hum. I felt accomplished that she finished the book early....but that's the list maker in me...checking off a task. It really didn't ignite any passion. We didn't get too dirty. But we got that darn book done.

I was considering that we should go it on our own this year for science. Maybe we'll get that textbook for the vocabulary, but I'm thinking we need to go deeper.

Then I read the guest post on the Well Trained Mind blog. I'm not a fan of deciding my children's future, but perhaps that's what I am already doing passively. Maybe my lack of mastery in science has influenced my children. My excitement for my comfort subjects (English, history) must be palpable. Had my assumption that my artist daughter would never be an engineer accurate (maybe, but did I have to voice it?). OK, so I promise to demonstrate equal excitement about all subjects. That's the best I can do.

Then my oldest daughter (my artist) shows me this insane YouTube video. Awesome. My wrists are slapped. I have a renewed passion to introduce my youngest to science in the most engaging, get dirty, love it kind of ways.

Try watching all of the Symphony of Science videos; even if they push against some of your beliefs. I'm curious if perhaps the poetry of science and the poetry of religion just use different words, but come to similar conclusions?

One of my favorite lines from The Poetry of Reality (An Anthem for Science) is, "I think that science changes the way your mind works. To think a little more deeply about things." (PZ Myers). Atheists or not, the ideas presented in these videos spark a renewed wonder of God's creation in me.

Then my youngest daughter (the one I'm supposed to be teaching...my 8 yr old) asks me if she can play with binary numbers for math. Um. Sure. How? I wonder. I guess I'll learn along with her. My point being that the interest is there. Was it there for my older girls? In my focus on reading and imagination, did I miss it.

As a homeschooling mom, I now have to get past my insecurities in science and open the door for my daughters to explore. It's now (and was then - *sigh*) my job.

Swapping Fun

2010-05-16T17:28:00.000-07:00

This was my first time participating in The Homeschool Post's Swap and I had so much fun. I was paired with Lynn at The Ladybug Chronicles. I'm a girl who loves a theme so it was LOADS of fun for me to find fun ladybug things to send her.

And the love that was sent to me was extraordinary! Lynn showered me with treats!! It was so nice to look forward to something special in the mail box. I've got to tell you; the bills are getting just a little old!

Starting from the special flower card on the bottom left, there are:

two tablets with great sayings ("a little more laughter; a little less worry; a little more kindness; a little less hurry" and "Wherever life takes you...enjoy the ride!",
a perfectly wonderful menu organizer,
From Here to Eternity - a collection of prayers and quotes (I especially liked the 30 day plan of prayers for your husband; day 1 starts today!),
a very sweet bookmark (much better than the Pokemon card that I am currently using! - How did she know?!
an inspirational magnet with a star penny to wish upon, and
The Orchard - a parable by Elisa Morgan.

I was so excited to use the menu organizer that I told my daughters that they were in charge of coming up with at least one of the days' dinners. I may be in trouble. My oldest quickly penned Schnitzel for this coming Thursday. Does anyone know how to make schnitzel??

The best part about the swap was that I found myself saying an extra prayer for Lynn throughout the day each time I came across a ladybug something. I hope she felt my hugs from so many states away. What a great way to make the world a little smaller for us moms. Thank you The Homeschool Post!

We Got a Free Cat That Cost $330

2010-05-13T14:40:00.000-07:00

I love kittens. I love cats. I love how they snuggle. I love how sometimes they kind of accidentally drool when they are purring a lot. I love them. However, I do NOT love litter boxes. We have not had a cat in a long time because I can't get over my litter box hate.

My wonderful, loving husband is far, far away for a long, long time and we had a moment of insanity and agreed to give a home to a stray cat. A stray cat that is used to living outside in the big, wide world. (And yes, I did ask him! And, yes, he did say 'yes!') My husband ~~demanded~~ requested that we name it "Pussy Galore." You know, from 007.

Turns out Pussy Galore is a boy. Pussy Galore becomes Knobjob (instead of Odd Job from 007, again).

We're idiots.

He's a full grown tomcat with a bit of an attitude. Nice guy, but a little edgy. Tough guy with lots of scars. I decide he should be named after a fighter...thus Knobjob becomes Marvin (as in Hagler).

First things first....he must go to the vet and have his little "procedure." Btw, I'm all about spaying and neutering. Don't get me started. I'll be on my no-more-pets-in-this-world soap box in no time!!

He goes to the vet. He was covered with fleas. Flea bath and treatment was added to the surgery bill. The vet says one of his canine teeth (and why do cats have canine teeth?) is split and the pulp is exposed. Well, no wonder he is a little "edgy." Out the tooth comes.

Now Marvin becomes Bucky (as in Get Fuzzy - notice the tooth).

And this is how Bucky came to live with us and rang up a $330 vet bill the first day. God bless him.

WFMW: I Steal Things

2010-05-11T23:50:00.000-07:00

So what has worked for me these last few months is actually attempting to replicate some of the super cool things people share on their blogs. The photo below is of chunky crayons we made from old crayons - they were cute, but as soon as you tried to color with them, their tails and heads broke off. Yep. I'm a total copy-cat. That's me. The sad thing is...my creations don't always turn out the way the original blogger's did.

T and I made a Mini Office inspired from Jimmie's Collage:

Gound Hog Day Fun totally stolen from Gourmet Mom on the Go:

I tried to make Bakerella's Cake Pops...this was the best I could do (but, hey, they tasted delicious!):

And here The Pioneer Woman comes to my rescue for my birthday girl:

Easter Sweetness Fun with Peeps courtesy of Gourmet Mom on the Go:

Homemade Serenity helped me feel crafty with string eggs:

So there you have it. My confession. And these are only SOME of what I've stolen within the last couple of months! I know. It's a problem. If only I could have some clever thoughts of my own!

Check out We Are That Family and find out what works for everyone else on Works-For-Me Wednesdays!

Stranger Danger and Bedazzled Guitars

2010-05-10T21:21:00.000-07:00

My oldest was at college today and I received this email from her:

Well I owe you a lovely story. A nicely inebriated (I would say pot or alcohol but this poor guy was so far gone and dirty that I want to say he may be doing a harder drug) asian guy with dreadlocks was playing the guitar outside the library today. I sat down to eat some yogurt and have my tea and look over some school work before cracking down on sitting for the next hour until my next class. This nice man (he introduced himself as Ryan) sat down and started playing the guitar right next to me, staring and drooling. I ignored him, as I tend to do with weird people. He kept playing and proceded to talk to me about how he thinks he may be becoming his own worst enemy, everything he hates; while smiling...and drooling. He is quiet for a while, but an excellent guitarist so I just keep eating my yogurt and listening. I start to draw him a picture as thanks for providing entertainment. Before I left he told me a beautiful girl like me should never go anywhere without somebody serenading me and to have a lovely life. Creepiness aside, it completely made my day.

PS. I forgot to mention that he had completely glued sequins all OVER his guitar.

It initially worried me that she had forgotten my "stranger danger" lecture, but then as it rumbled around in my head I realized that I was good with it. She had seen beauty in an unexpected place. She had probably given him a little bit of something by not scurrying away. I'm glad my children can look at the world boldly.

She gave him the picture she had drawn. When she left, he was taping it to the front of his bedazzled guitar.

WFMW: Staying Creative in the Kitchen

2010-05-05T00:13:00.000-07:00

This is the backwards edition of Works For Me Wednesdays hosted by We Are THAT Family. This is where I get to ask YOU a question.

Here's what I'm dying to know; how the heck do you stay creative in the kitchen? My husband is off on the almost other side of the country working until August, so it's just the girls and I. I have zero motivation or creativity right now. I'm like on auto-pilot; just making the same ol' same ol'. And that's not each night. I must confess there have been quite a few nights of breakfast for dinner (and by "breakfast," I mean a bowl of cereal).

How do these women I read about who grind their own flour to make their own bread...because it's the healthy, right thing to do...do it? I so fail at the art of traditional homemaking! (I do rock at the art of puddle jumping, though!)

Maybe I'm just in a funk and I'll snap out of it. In the meantime, if anyone has any bright ideas to get me motivated/focused/encouraged in the kitchen...I'm all ears!

Step Two: Happy Dance!

2010-04-20T14:25:00.000-07:00

Phew! The biopsy revealed that it is an infection. I'll find out more later...all I really heard was that it was NOT lymphoma!

I knew that statistically speaking, we didn't have a ton to worry about, but...when someone utters the word, "cancer," you obsess. Or I do.

Now I can stop obsessing and start figuring out the logistics of sending my husband off to work out of state for a few months.

We are so, so thankful for good news.

Step One: Biopsy

2010-04-16T11:38:00.000-07:00

Poor D. We went in bright and early (5:15 AM!). We checked in, they gave her drugs, they put her out, choppy-choppy, she woke up, and we went home. And now we wait.

I have a certain peace about this whole thing. We went to lunch with friends of ours last Sunday and they reminded us of this funny little thing called Trust. I think that we've been spending much time with clenched fists asking why the heck this year has been so insanely ugly for us. Why Me? is such an ugly attitude. I'm glad we have friends to remind us about Trust. I think I'm done wondering "Why?" and I'm moving on to the "What now?"

So we wait.

A Soldier's Goodbye

2010-04-06T14:42:00.000-07:00

We are on Spring Break in this house. Well. Sort of. Today we are. Today we joined what seemed like our whole town to say good bye to a young soldier. The service was standing room only. The procession wound around the streets in order to pass by his childhood schools on his way to the cemetery.

I stood alongside strangers. All of us strangers lined the miles he had to go as he toured his hometown. We lined the whole procession. Thousands and thousands of us. There for no reason other than to thank this man for his service to this country and to try to offer our humble condolences to his family and friends.

We all stood there shoulder to shoulder as the police escort drove by. As the young soldier was driven by. As his family drove by, some taking videos with their phones of our silent vigile. Car after car after truck after motorcycle of current soldiers in their dress blues. Ripping my heart out with their baby faces and sometimes tears. Policemen, firemen, patriots all escorting this young soldier as we, the strangers, stood silently with our hands over our hearts.

Again. Thousands of us there because we cared. That is what is right with this world.

Scaredy Cat

2010-04-05T10:06:00.000-07:00

Today I make an appointment for my 17 year old to have a biopsy on her lymph node. They are hoping to rule out lymphoma. There are a million things it could be and my fears are focused on the one thing it might be.

This is my Canary Kid. If there is some weird illness out there, she'll get it. Last summer she had Pertussis. Yep. Whooping Cough. Doesn't that sound like she should be wearing a long skirt, trudging through the prairie bringing Pa his lunch pail? Seriously!

She had her vaccines (albeit spread out). Apparently now that Pertussis is again on the rise, you need a booster after 10 years. Who knew? Not me. I do now. In fact, now when you get a tetanus shot it can have Pertussis booster included. I'm just saying.

She's also my kid that came down with Mono AND Strep at the same time. That was a fun Thanksgiving.

So, forgive me if I am thinking the worse.

Now I'm going to go be a big girl and make her appointment and pretend it's no big deal.

Ugh.

WFMW: The Jump to Chapter Books

2010-03-24T14:18:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but I have an almost 8 year old that really hates to read chapter books. I mean she'll start to read them, but will burn out before she finishes them. I'm guessing it's a maturity thing. It drives me crazy. I couldn't imagine not finishing a book I have started. Sorry, it's just that compulsive bit about me.

So my job is to pass my sickness on to my children...right?

This is what I've done...and it seems to be working....so far.

I gave her a book we purchased to read (The Little House in the Big Woods), a comfy pillow, some time, and a highlighter. I asked her to read a chapter. While she read it, I asked her to highlight the words she didn't immediately understand. When she was done, she brought me the book and we discussed the words (venison, churn, etc), which inevitably led to talking about the chapter.

We're not quite done with the book, but I have high hopes that she will actually finish this one without too much complaint. She enjoys the task of highlighting and I think it gives her a better focus when trudging through those pages of words. I'll keep you posted!

To find out what works for others, pop over to We Are That Family and check out Works For Me Wednesdays!

ps: I heard a librarian, who knew how I would trudge through a book (whether I enjoyed or not!), suggest to me that I should give a book as many pages as I am old. If I don't love it by then, put it down; there's plenty of other books to read AND enjoy. I have yet to try it...but it sounds good, right?!

Wordless Wednesday: Posted Finally on Thursday

2010-03-17T22:04:00.000-07:00

All three of my girls in the first swim of the year. I'll miss this house. Am I allowed to pray for a big, giant financial miracle?

Share your own photo, with or without words, at Wordless Wednesday and 5 Minutes for Mom.

Bile is Our Friend

2010-03-10T22:09:00.000-08:00

We are pretty much done with the district's science offering that covered all of those awesome State standards, so we've decided to see what else is out there science-wise.

We stumbled across The Lab of Mister Q. Oh, the fun you can have!! We have been going through his free Lab Notes. His labs haven't been too taxing for me, but loads of fun for T. For this latest lab, we used whole milk, food coloring, and some soap to demonstrate how bile breaks down the fat in your diet.

Plus, it was just fun to play with the colors!

I'm wondering if I can get over my check-listing self and try out his books for science next year. Perhaps!

WFMW: Acne Solution

2010-03-10T10:11:00.000-08:00

In our little corner of the world it seems as though all of the teenagers have beautiful, clear complexions. Not the case for my little ones. We've done the dermatologist route, etc. Their problem is that their acne isn't bad enough for the doctor's big guns, but it's enough to be annoyed by it. Plus, it really did seem as though the doctor's choices of treatment just irritated their skin even more.

It's hard to just accept that season of your life when your hormones are out of whack and your growing like a toddler (both mentally and physically!). I happened upon a little trick from some crazy website (I wish I could remember to give them credit, but it really was years ago!). I think it may be a common thing. Maybe?

It's Apple Cider Vinegar.

Yeah. Instead of the hundreds of dollars spent on medicines and doctor visits....you spend, I don't know, $5 for half a year's supply! Now, the site, as I remember, recommended drinking a shot of the ACV (that's what the apple cider vinegar veterans call it). I haven't gone that far.

Here's what we do: we make a toner out of ACV, witch hazel, and water. Use it twice (or more) times a day. My girls just soak a cotton ball and swipe their whole faces. It's a bit stinky at first and don't get it in your eyes (ouch!). Seriously, in a couple of days their skin will be clear.

Here's the "recipe:"

1 part ACV
1 part witch hazel
3 parts filtered water

* The key is to use ORGANIC Apple Cider Vinegar. It's got to have those stringy, goobery things it in. You just shake it up before you use it. I know, sounds gross...but, really...it works!

I hope this works for some of you. Find out what works for everyone else at Rocks in My Dryer. Don't forget to say a prayer for Kristen and the other bloggers in Kenya with Compassion International! What a life changing trip for them!

Homeschool Headache

2010-03-08T22:40:00.000-08:00

Is this an acceptable means of homeschooling? Good grief! I woke up with such a horrendous headache that it hurt to have a thought. I took my drugs and plugged my poor kid in. She is listening to The Mysterious Benedict Society...again.

I think I may be in the running for "Mom of the Year!" Seriously, that is pretty much all she did today. By the time my headache was under control (thank God) it was the afternoon and I was too wimpy to proceed with school. Ugh.

Weekly Wrap Up: Humility and Half Schooling

2010-02-26T16:15:00.000-08:00

Monday: Monday was a day off from school for the kids in our school district so we had an abbreviated school day and a long play day. Is this allowed when homeschooling? I sure hope so because Tuesday is a ... get this ... a furlough day for teachers in our school district. How crazy is that?

Tuesday: Um...so another play day/sort of school day. Some teacher I am! The weather was beautiful and the kids played and played and played outside. I sure will miss this home. Here is a picture of our kitchen window... that window really should be open!

Wednesday: Can you cram three (okay maybe two and a half days) days of homeschooling into a morning? I guess that would be a newbie thing to think. I'm so list oriented. I really don't think it's very helpful being so list driven. In fact I think I'm kind of creepy that way. I'm really going to work on that ugly bit of me.

We also went to see our Educational Facilitator from our Charter School. She calms my list driven soul and encourages me to try on my more flexible self. I love her.

Thursday: Oh, what a day. I'm so, so broken hearted. The realtor came over today to give us a to-do list before we officially put the house on the market. As we walked through our home room by room, I started to walk down this sappy memory lane. Our realtor was thrilled with our home, which is a good thing, but only sort of. Sort of because I started wondering why it was we were leaving. Oh yeah. Then I remembered....We. Can't. Afford. It. Humility sucks.

Friday: We managed to almost finish the week of school. We received a package from our charter school filled with goodies I had ordered. They have this giant resource center with an online catalog. Every once in while when I'm feeling as though I have a handle on things (not often, if you really want to know!!), I'll peruse their catalog and order games, books, or even different curriculum just to see what's out there. When the package finally arrives it's like Christmas because I've invariably forgotten all of my clever choices. This time my choices were Sum Swamp (an addition/subtraction game), some Handwriting without Tears paper, and some short stories related to The Story of the World. Too much fun and entirely distracting! It's all good!!

I hope you all had wonderful weeks! Don't forget to visit Kris to find out what everyone else did this week at the Weekly Wrap Up!

Happy Belated New Year!

2010-02-17T20:17:00.000-08:00

I know I'm a little slow to post this about our Chinese New Year, but ... well... life's been slapping me around a bit.

We had so much fun today celebrating Chinese New Year! We wore red (even though none of us were born in the year of the Tiger). We made tigers out of egg cartons and the girls loved their red envelopes.

We had fun getting new Chinese names (you can call me Kong Man Lun now, thank you very much) and colored lots of tigers today.

We also made our favorite orange salad (it was all I could do after seeing that Jimmie ate "wild cat" for her celebration!). It's super yummy, the salad I mean (although Jimmie said the wild cat was tasty, too -- I kind of think "Ick"). All that is in the salad is oranges, bananas, and marshmallows. The marshmallows get kind of soggy with the juice from the oranges. Mmmm mmm.

We tried our best to make Bakerella's cake balls (she calls them "Cake Pops" -- because she's way more coordinated!) with a Tiger twist. The decorating didn't quite work out for us...but there were no problems in the way they tasted! It was worth making them if only for the opportunity to ask if the kids wanted to try "Tiger Balls!" *I'm so mature!

Jimmie is the best! Her blog is full of inspiration! Jimmie is hosting a contest about celebrating Chinese New Year. Be certain to visit to see how everyone is celebrating this year.

WFMW: The Big Bonus of Being Supportive

2010-02-17T13:10:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe how much a happy attitude brings blessings.

Things are pretty dire here in the financial world of our home. We still can live for quite awhile sucking more and more money from our retirement, but how can you do that with a happy heart?

We are thinking that we will sell our *wonderful (I really do need a sarcasm key!) SoCal home and rent for a few years. Weird the way we place such importance on "owning" instead of "renting." I really never thought that I was so stuck up that way. How snotty/snooty of me!

In selling and renting, the goal is to pay off all of our debt (credit cards, business loans) and only be left with the cars for debt. THEN, we'll leave California and find somewhere more reasonable to live. Where? Tennessee? Arkansas? Colorado? Any suggestions?

How did we get in this bind? How did we accidentally (again, where is that sarcasm key?) get so caught up in keeping up with the Jones? We got worldly, greedy, and coveting. So NOT cool. I am embarrassed at our financial state. I am embarrassed that we got so caught up in this world that we have to recreate ourselves at this stage of the game.

And yet, my motto for this new year still rings true, "It could have been worse!" Thank God that our daughters understand. Thank God that we are ALL committed to T continuing with homeschool and me staying home. Thank God that we are still in control (semi) of our options. Thank God that we can listen, be reprimanded, and move on.

But here's the amazing part...I'm worried, but I'm pretty peaceful about this decision. I have relayed this to my husband. I truly feel our time together is precious and I'd rather have him stress-free than have this house. We'll make a home anywhere!

Who'd a thunk that a positive attitude would turn him on? Apparently being supportive and positive can be an aphrodisiac! I have never felt more wanted and cherished than I have since we've made the decision to sell. Try being supportive of your husband and see if it works for you...because it's totally working for me!! (*giggle -- I know, I know...too much information!)

To find out what works for others, pop over to We Are That Family and check out Works For Me Wednesdays!

2010 Go Away

2010-02-10T21:18:00.000-08:00

I have not yet had a wonderful 2010.

I have been diagnosed with major blood clots in my legs.

We had a major leak in our main water line.

My favorite dog (I swear she thinks I'm a rock star) had a seizure or stroke or something. She walks sideways now. The vet gave her vertigo medicine. Weird.

We are out of work (well, not totally...but not enough to make all of our bills).

On the other hand, it could have been worse!

I could have found out that I had blood clots by having a stroke.

I could have found out about the big leak by having a big sink hole in my driveway.

At least I have a dog that thinks I'm a rock star...even if she has to walk sideways to me.

At least we have the opportunity to find some work.

AND I still have this bizarre hope that this year will be a good one. I may be delusional.

WFMW: Taming TV

2010-02-03T10:44:00.000-08:00

Since I'm new to blogging, I really have no tips to share. However, I do have a confession to make. My kids watch TV. Sometimes it gets a little out of hand. Especially this past month. We have gotten into the habit of T watching TV as a little break while she would eat lunch. It's not as though I didn't appreciate that time to get my own things done (bad Mom moment)! Well, as you could imagine, lunch turned her into a TV Monster.

When the TV Monster appeared there wasn't a whole lot of productive work done after lunch. My initial solution (that just sort of evolved) was to try to get everything done before lunch. I wonder how that made any sense to me; rushing through school so she could veg out with TV. Hmmm?

Well, I did come to my senses. We turned off TV (shock!). I started to read to her during meals. What a change! The transitions between meals and schoolwork is smooth now. She is staying more focused on her work. Her imagination is in full bloom again. She is excited about independently working. I really think I was deadening her progress by letting her turn on TV.

So, yeah, that's my totally enlightened tip of the week: Turn off TV and open a book!

I know, I know... I'm pretty slow sometimes. It may take me awhile, but at least I finally figured out what worked for us. To find out what works for others, pop over to We Are That Family (this link sends you to the first installment of her powerful "He Said/She Said" series) and check out Works For Me Wednesdays!

The Simple Woman's Daybook

2010-01-31T12:02:00.000-08:00

For today, February 1, 2010 (written on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010)...

Outside my window...the sun is shining, birds are arguing over the bird feeder, the neighbor's horses are lazily swishing their tails enjoying the sun, and people are walking their dogs around the dry (ish) lakebed.

I am thinking...that I need to incorporate more hand's on activities to our homeschool. I get caught up in completing books/worksheets. I need to remind myself that sometimes the best lessons can't be put in a folder.

I am thankful for...the fact that the not-so-great things that have happened this past month could have been much more horrible.

From the learning rooms...we are learning about money, metaphors, magnets, the Byzantine Empire, the Latin root, "port," and starting to learn all about horses.

From the kitchen...I am hoping that I somehow get struck with some creativity. I am in a serious food rut.

I am wearing...jeans (always), white shirt, fluffy red sweater, and thick, thick socks (for some reason, my medication makes my feet freezing!).

I am creating...the last touches on a website for a great organization, LOT318.

I am going...to finish the laundry today and I'm not going to grump at anyone ALL day.

I am reading...I just finished City of Thieves by David Benioff (loved it!) and am starting Cutting for a Stone by Abraham Verghese tonight.

I am hoping...that my husband will get a long term job WITH his trailer on rental...please, please, please.

I am hearing...All I Can Say by David Crowder Band over and over again.

Around the house...it is quiet. The dogs are sleeping, everyone is at church with me stuck at home with my feet up hoping my blood clots heal quickly (whine, whine, whine).

One of my favorite things...a regular football Sunday (church, lunch, football, friends). I'm kind of sad that Superbowl is already upon us.

A few plans for the rest of the week: getting haircuts at friend's home so my I can keep my feet up, getting bloodwork done, steam cleaning the shower (I know, weird...but I LOVE my steam cleaner), touching up the paint in the den, and praying the whole time that we can cope and provide for our family.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...this is our "horrible" winter in So. Cal. (taken on Saturday morning):

For more daybooks or to join the fun, go to The Simple Woman's Daybook!

Weekly Wrap Up: Leaks and Surprises

2010-01-29T09:51:00.000-08:00

This has been one crazy week for me. I'm still on house arrest because of my blood clots (read here for my love of Yaz) so life is not as busy as a month ago. It's amazing how much time I used to spend in the car!

MONDAY:
T woke up with snot and feeling slow so I was kind and we concentrated on her favorite journal program, WordSmithery from Sarah's Small World, and her other favorite, The Story of the World. All was good. Peace reigned.

Then, the water guy came. I had noticed that my water bill was double (an extra $200 to come up with this month). We had used THOUSANDS of extra gallons during the previous month. I was certain they had misread the meter....uh, no. He confirms the reading and informs me that we must have a leak. He further determined that it must be somewhere from the meter to the house. OK, we have a super long driveway and the water main goes in the most circuitous route to finally get to our home. This is not great news.

"Is the ground soft anywhere?" he asks.

"Uh, gee, we live in So. Cal. and just had the five rainstorms move through here."

"No," he says "like 'sink hole' soft?"

"Awesome, I'll call a plumber or someone with a divining rod."

TUESDAY:
T wakes up feeling better. We start on the dreaded math. What was I thinking? I must have been feeling reckless. I second guess my starting subject, but we trudge forward. It is money...and she loves it...and totally gets it! Huh? I'll go with it.

Her success frees up my mind and I think we shouldn't call the plumber, we should call a leak detector guy first. I cancel the plumber and call the leak guy. Leak guy can't make it until Wednesday since it is, again, raining in our world. OK. Deep breath. This leak has been there for at least a month, I can wait a day.

The best part of today: T started an art class at a local KidsArt and this is what she made during her FIRST session...and she loves, loves, loves it! Oh, to have happy kids; it makes my day!

WEDNESDAY:
Leak guy shows up. Found it. ($400) Call the plumber while counting blessings that the leak is under pavers and not concrete.

We met with T's charter school today to turn in work, etc. I love that the paperwork is a mild inconvenience to her. What she really wants to do is have T show her favorite work and read her essays. I know a lot of people bristle at the whole charter school thing, but we are having The Best experience. I get encouraged. T gets encouraged. It's all good.

Plumber shows up. Fixes it. ($700) There goes my mad money. I keep almost saving enough money for new carpet and then life happens and it goes away. *sigh

Can you see our $1,300 leak? Yeah, neither can I...but they fixed it, I promise/hope.

THURSDAY:
We work on math again, hoping to ride on yesterday's success. Nope. Bad idea. Did NOT dig Singapore Math today. I did the minimal (can't give up, right?) and tied an apron on her, gave her sticky notes, and set her to work pricing her "store." Phew! That worked. Her store now has multiple locations (her room and the basement), a sign, and flyers inviting her sisters to her "Sale!"

I don't know if you can see the prices, but the piano is $3 and the Olivia lunchbox is $42.83!! lol

FRIDAY:
Sale! Day...totally fun! It was a nice end to a hectic week. I am so glad that I listened to Jimmie on Jimmie's Collage and took her advice for some hand's on math. Lots of change making went on today. Better than a worksheet any day!

Now, I think that I am ready for the weekend!

I hope you all had wonderful weeks! Don't forget to visit Kris to find out what everyone else did this week at the Weekly Wrap Up!

My Daughter is a WordSmithery Fan

2010-01-25T21:40:00.000-08:00

Little T is a fan of journal writing. Wait. Let me repeat myself...my second grader is a FAN of journal writing!! Sarah at Small World has created a wonderful program to encourage writers young and old (er...older).

T even uttered the words, "Journal is my favorite! Can we do more?!!" Seriously, can you believe that? This is my daughter that would tell you the most amazing story, but write bare bone sentences with three letter words. Now...she's sneak writing in bed.

If any of you have reluctant writers, then hop on over to Sarah's WordSmithery.

The only drawback is that there are only eight weeks....and we've just completed T's favorite week so far (just so you know, she says that every week!), Week 4. What will we do in four weeks?! (hint, hint)

Here is her Simile Rainbow Project:

If you can read her rainbow, you'll see that she is still quite the realist. However, her journal writing has opened up a brand new creativity. For one of week 3's assignments (write a recipe for crocodile pie) she wrote a recipe for Nile Kibble Pie. It was a very icky, full-of-crocodiles pie for her dog. I love it.

So this is my gushing fan blog for Sarah and her WordSmithery!

WFMW: Spelling Salt

2010-01-19T20:52:00.000-08:00

I don't know about your little one, but ours...not a fan of spelling practice. I've tried a bunch of different ways to practice; rainbow words (each word written in a different color), sentences (zero fun), white board, drawing what the words are with the letters (fun, but not really effective), etc., etc. But I think I have come up with something that has made her happy and has resulted in her actually remembering the words in her other writing projects. Writing in salt. Yep. That's it.

I had an old blue drawer organizer thing (it should be a dark color) and I just threw some salt in it. She draws the words in the salt, shakes it, doodles, draws another word...you get the idea. Fun, cheap, and effective (at least for her).

That's what works for us, check out what works for others at Kristen's Works For Me Wednesdays.

Mini Office Madness

2010-01-18T21:53:00.000-08:00

As always, I am ~~copying~~ motivated by Jimmie at Jimmie's Collage. In my quest to give T more independence while working, I built her a Mini Office. She helped me choose what to put in her Mini Office. Anything that doesn't have a link I generated on my own and didn't save the file (*slaps forehead - doh!).

History Section:

World Map
US Map
Books of the Old and New Testament
7 Wonders of the Ancient World

English Section:

Parts of Speech with an iPod Theme - (with a fixed link to Ms. Jensen's Wiki)
Punctuation Chart
State of Being Verbs List
Helping Verbs List
Conjunctions List
Articles List
Prepositions List
Name in Cursive
Handwriting Without Tears Cursive Alphabet
Color Words
Months of the Year with Abbreviations
Days of the Week with Abbreviations

Math Section:

Graphic Gallon Chart
Clock Face - oops, still need hands on that clock
Shapes
Fractions Chart
Place Value - sorry, I've lost my link for this one : (
Multiplication Chart to x12
Number Chart with Arabic, Roman, and Ordinal numbers
Money Chart
Morse Code (a must learn after reading the Mysterious Benedict Society books)
NATO Alphabet (all spies must know this)

Science Section:

Music:

Elements of Music Notation: Note Values

I gave it to her today...she's already used it, feeling very grown up looking things up on her own. I'm not sure which was more fun; finding out what she thought should go in it or watching her use it! Thank you, Jimmie!

WFMW: Multiplication War

2010-01-13T14:17:00.000-08:00

I've been inspired by Jimmie at Jimmie's Collage to play more math games and not be such a freak about completing all of those work sheets. We decided to play multiplication war.

She's only worked on multiplication up to 5, so I made my own die with numbers 0-5. Each time we lay down a card, we roll the die and multiply to get our answer. Our answers then go to "war" with each other. She's had lots of fun and has painlessly studied her facts for over an hour (these games can go on forrreevveerrr!)

It worked for me. Find out what is working for everyone else at Kristen's Works For Me Wednesdays.

Gone Fishin' with Think!

2010-01-10T11:02:00.000-08:00

Other than with my medical drama the last week, I have been trying to spice things up academically around here. T is a "sparky" learner; she trudges along being compliant, but maybe not too thrilled...until...a spark! Then all bets are off. Her excitement over whatever it is that interests her is contagious and pretty soon even the 19 year old is talking ancient Rome or Pokemon or archeology or whatever with her.

I have never really figured out what triggers the spark. I mean it could be anything; story, a conversation, a picture...anything. I thought that maybe I would to help fan the flames (so to speak). Then I found Think! -- love it! This week I presented T with her supplies and her task. She was to build a fishing rod with a reel and reel something in with only using a few household items (here is the task on Think!). She had so much fun...and....it started the spark! Thanks Think!

A little frustrated that I gave her such crazy supplies for this task.

Ah...success!

Fishing for a "dogfish!" Didn't work so well.

What about this? (The notes reads: "Do you want to come over?")

Fishing for the neighbor boys....yikes! I hope she outgrows this!

Success!

Weekly Wrap Up: Homeschooling While Harpooning

2010-01-08T09:20:00.000-08:00

Wow. What a week. I'm glad it's over. (I always thought that was a creepy way to look at things...like you're glad part of your life is over??) This week, however, I'm glad is over.

I had a week of doctor fun for myself and learned how to harpoon myself (twice daily injections) and take rat poison (I do not lie) for my monstrous jello blood (big ol' blood clot - thank you Yaz). I was worried that we would get behind this week, but the enthusiasm of getting back into the swing of school kept us on track.

This is my first year homeschooling. I have an almost 20 year old daughter. I am used to the week back to school as a sort of depressing time (they are not thrilled to be back at school, I am not thrilled that they were back at school, etc). This homeschooling business is amazing! We were both in a great frame of mind. It was as if she had missed her studies and was anxious to get back to them. This is a bit of a phenomenon to me. What is it? Do you think homeschooling encourages a true love of learning? Oh, I so hope so!!!

I am constantly amazed at how many little snippets I would miss if I weren't homeschooling my 7 year old. Here is my Weekly Wrap Up as quoted from my 2nd grader:

"There's no way you would find me in a catacomb...totally structurally unsound!"
"History is the coolest ever!"
"You're...you're...you're just like Julius Caesar!" (said to big sis being a big sis)
"Seriously, Mom, why don't they just start out with multiplication...it makes everything so much easier."
"Ok, so let me think a minute....OH, OH, OH I GOT IT!" (and she did)

What a blessing to be witness to this kind of learning. I know it's not like she's an astrophysicist, but just to be able to be a participant in her excitement of learning...what a gift!

Don't forget to visit Kris to find out what everyone else did this week at the Weekly Wrap Up!

Yaz Can Be Deadly

2010-01-06T22:38:00.000-08:00

So, I know this post won't have a lot to do with homeschooling....but it has everything to do with ME homeschooling T. I was diagnosed today with a major blood ~~clot~~ clots in my leg. Major. ~~It goes~~ They go from my groin to my calf. I now have to give myself injections twice a day and take Coumadin for 6 months, plus the added bonus of weekly blood tests. Oh joy.

All of this because I wanted more regular periods and a clearer face. Ugh. Yaz is a birth control pill that was prescribed to me for both of those purposes. The doctor informed me that the risks were just like any other birth control pill. Wrong. Yaz contains drospirenone, a "fourth generation" progestin that no other pill uses. They think that the progestin is the cause of the blood clots.

Ironically, I am still at risk for a pulmonary embolus or stroke. Stroke. Pulmonary embolus. Neither of those would work very well with homeschooling. I'm guessing that my nagging feeling and my relatedness to Superwoman/Jedi Knight Anissa was a serious message. Would I have gotten that weird red line on my leg checked out as quickly as I did if I had not been praying for Anissa? Maybe not. I love a mysterious God.

Resolutions and Fears

2009-12-29T23:52:00.000-08:00

I have never really been one to make resolutions on New Year's Day. However, this year I feel a bit reflective and need to really take stock of me.

I have been struck by the immense responsibility that is homeschooling. I have read and been praying for superwoman Anissa, who was suddenly struck with a stroke. This is my year for taking better care of myself. Not that Anissa could have prevented her tragedy, but there are times when I am out of breath just going down stairs and her story reminded me of how lucky I am to have the opportunity to change my own chances. I'm overweight, but not tremendously so. Regardless, I actually made an appointment with the good ol' doc for tomorrow. This time I will be honest with her. This time I will get my cholesterol checked. This time I will put my fear on hold to look honestly at the state of my physical self. This time, because so much seems to be riding on me not checking out quite yet, I will take the time to walk, to put down the cookie, to drink the water, to respect this body the Lord has given me.

That's it. My resolution. My resolution to stick around. Wish me luck and Happy New Year!

Wordless Wednesdays

2009-12-23T10:33:00.000-08:00

Why didn't anyone tell me how wonderful it is to homeschool your child?!

For more Wordless Wednesday posts, visit Wordless Wednesday.

Crazy Christmas Crayons

2009-12-22T09:35:00.000-08:00

We are in the midst of the craziness of the holidays. We host my family (sisters, bro, etc) on Christmas Eve and I always get into a bit of a cleaning frenzy before they come over. This year is no different. However, since we are homeschooling this year, everyone is home to witness my craziness!

I had neglected to account for the running around and cleaning I did in the time that they were in traditional school and somehow thought that I would magically find the time to Do It All. Not so. I am frazzled.

The other day I got a bit, um, cranky and started barking orders to clean this, pick up that, etc. The girls helped and all was good except for this nagging feeling that I was out of line in my delivery. I took a moment and remembered that "perfection" is never the goal. There are other ways to ask for help if I am feeling overwhelmed (which was exactly why I was being so cranky).

Take a deep breath.

Phew. That felt better.

So, instead of washing windows...T and I decided to make dinosaur crayons. Yes, nothing screams the Season like dinosaur crayons! Hey, I had found a bunch of old crayons in my cleaning frenzy and had seen this great tutorial at one of my favorite blogs, Whimsy Love. They were the only molds we had that I was willing to delegate to crayon making. After spending a movie unwrapping crayons (a little meditative, I must say), we put those dinos in the oven.

The end result, a few broken necked dinos (my bad) and more than a few fun dino crayons. We'd totally do this again. The colors are fun to combine and the big chunky crayons are perfect for rubbings.

Why do I always need to be reminded to DO? I have no problem keeping up on tasks and chores, but the fun stuff? I'm not so great at remembering to put those fun things on my ToDo List. I know, I know....how about I just resolve to try to have more fun!

Merry Christmas!

WFMW: Monster Making Mood Elevator

2009-12-15T22:38:00.000-08:00

This has been a rough week for me. Physically I don't feel all that rockin' hot, mentally I feel only half present, and emotionally...I am drained. And all that for no good reason. Every once in a while I think I just get weary of the chaos that is our life and I need to sloooooooow way down. I believe this is one of those times. For me...T, however, seems to be having one of those hot streaks in learning and far be it from me to get in her way. That being said, I am trying to keep pace, but trying to stay sane at the same time. Thus...the focus on the monster!

We got this great idea from Sarah at the Napping House about designing and making monsters. We started this project a couple of weeks ago, but got a little distracted. This week, I decided, would be a great week to finish. And, you know what? It was good to finish. And it was good to rediscover the sewing machine (not as though I had any great prior relationship with it...but nice to know I can help with monster making). Helping with the monster making actually helped me to take a deep breath and I now, officially, feel better! Bring on more chaos!!

First T drew what she wanted her monster to look like:

Then she sewed on the accents (buttons, bead eyeballs, smile).

I helped her secure the hearts and sewed him/her/it together. T turned him/her/it right side out (quite the exciting process!).

She finally stuffed him/her/it with the scraps and stuffing.

I do believe that taking a moment and producing something with your own two hands can be quite exhilarating. Monster Making seriously elevated my mood. I helped to accomplish some thing.

It worked for me. Find out what is working for everyone else at Kristen's Works For Me Wednesdays.

WFMW: Wireless Internet Control

2009-12-08T22:01:00.000-08:00

I am a mom of two teen-aged daughters who loves her wireless...however...I still want C * O * N * T * R * O * L !! They have laptops that they use for ~~schoolwork~~ Facebook and I know how addicting spending time on the internet can become.

My solution is a power strip that has a timer. I just plug my wireless router and my dsl modem into said strip...and I still have some control over their internet browsing (sort of). I have set the timer to shut off power around 11pm and to turn on around 5:30am. It's easy enough to override if the need arises.

It works for me. Find out what is working for everyone else at Kristen's Works For Me Wednesdays.

Tackle it Tuesday

2009-12-08T08:22:00.000-08:00

So I have decided now, of all times of the year, it is Time to Declutter! We are wanting to put our house on the market and as I look around all I see is stuff to clean up to make it "ready." I made the comment in passing that we need to get rid of the clutter and keep the house super-tidy. My little T took it to heart and promptly went to the basement and went through her toys. Wow! Talk about motivation. Now we have piles of "give away," "keep," and "broken." Now what?

Well, I spent last night on our local Freecycle site and listed them. This morning they are ALL spoken for and now I just have to wait for everyone to pick up their goodies...some have already been picked up!

It's funny how just one little job tackled and completed gives you such a sense of accomplishment!

Check out what others are tackling on their Tuesdays at Tackle it Tuesday!

I'm Joining the Advent Conspiracy!

2009-12-06T22:59:00.000-08:00

This weekend, I was struck by the craziness of the season. I made the mistake of thinking that I could run into Costco to pick up my Mom's favorite broccoli salad and some wine. Uh....what the heck was I thinking?! It's December. And it's Costco. I think Christmas makes people a little crazy. I know, a totally novel idea!

I did, however, come home with a greater resolve to bring more of the real Christmas to my home. Then, lo and behold, I stumble upon the Advent Conspiracy! Oh yes! Just what I'm after. I am joining the Advent Conspiracy and would encourage others to bring more presence to their Christmas celebrations and fewer presents. Check out the site and see if it inspires you to make a change or two.

Merry Christmas!! I'm officially back in the spirit of the season!

Weekly Wrap Up

2009-12-04T08:32:00.000-08:00

This week felt as though it was a lot of hurry-up-and-get-on-track for us. I think when I made my plans I didn't include the craziness I would feel just before Thanksgiving! Instead of being...uh...flexible (!)...I crammed it all in this week. Awesome learning, huh?! Give me a list or a set of rules and watch me go. Grr (at myself). Next year, I will plan to take the whole week of Thanksgiving off and just play and prepare.

Not to beat myself up too, too much...here are the fun things we did do this week:

Manicure/Pedicure Day for completing two weeks of Greek and Latin Roots.
Finally finishing our Advent Wreath and lighting the first candle on a foggy morning.
Working on our very own Monster Stuffed Animal - thank you Sarah at The Napping House (post coming soon...bigger project than I thought!)
Went to our local Discovery Science Center...we voted for our favorite Gingerbread House and got some great ideas for our own house.
Got out all of our Christmas picture books and read them on a cozy afternoon.
Watched the Charlie Brown Christmas Special.

Ok...so we did have some fun this week! I felt like such a drill sergeant though; I really need to work on my flexibility!

Don't forget to visit Kris to find out what everyone else did this week at the Weekly Wrap Up!

Vocabulary with Latin Roots

2009-12-02T21:42:00.000-08:00

I thought that I would share what is working for us with vocabulary. T is working through Greek and Latin Roots by Trisha Callella.

We decided to try the folder approach. I wrote the words on coin envelopes (I bought a bazillion of these for some reason ages ago at Staples...they seem to work). Then I glued them on the folders. I wrote the definitions on strips of index cards (highlighting the root). She simply slides the definition strip in the matching word envelope. After we go over the words initially, this becomes an independent activity.

She especially liked that the first two roots were ped and man/manu....so what did we do after completing the tests? We had a little manicure/pedicure day! Of course!! She chose her colors to match the rubber bands on her braces (there's a Christmas theme going on with her!). Thank goodness I have teenagers with crazy nail polish colors!

Bye Bob

2009-11-28T10:31:00.000-08:00

We had to say goodbye to Bob on Thanksgiving Day. sniff sniff
We love him and we are forever thankful to him for guarding us, playing with us, teaching our littlest to walk with the utmost of patience, and loving us. You were a faithful friend.

Roman Road Building...our way

2009-11-23T20:25:00.000-08:00

Today we tried to get some school done. I'm a bit distracted with the whole Colorado thing and...well...there is that holiday coming up on Thursday! We still managed to get lots done and finished off by making our own Roman Road. We are reading the Story of the World and have been enjoying all of the projects that can come with it. I just thought I'd share this one:

First she took a graham cracker and crushed it up for the sand.

Then she spread some whipped cream a whole graham cracker for the ... um ... well to make the sand stick. Next she sprinkled some chopped nuts for the small stones.

Spread some yummy ~~homemade~~ store bought frosting for the cement. Then she placed the cut up small marshmallows for the large cobblestones.

Ta Da!

Then we all had to eat her "Edible History" (her words). It was disgustingly sweet and truly pretty gross. But, hey, it's all good fun.

Pictures can be oh SO deceiving!Home Hunt Update:

2009-11-21T22:53:00.000-08:00

But first, Bob seems more himself (so say the reports from home!). I know his time is coming, but thank goodness it is not just yet.

OK...back to the house. Our dream house. The House. Wow. It was amazing. Not in a good way. In a how-the-heck-is-this-the-house-in-the-pictures way! This bucolic home in the pictures could be the set for Saw 6 (or whatever sequel they are on)!! I've never seen the movies, but I know that they are super creepy. That was this house...super creepy.

We have dubbed it the serial killer house. No lie; it had a fire safety sticker that a child slept in a concrete room off the barn with a drain! Maybe it was a recycled window and the room was for milking cows. Maybe. I'm going with the serial killer theme.

On the other hand, we really did find a spectacular home. I won't yet bore you with the details or jinx it by talking about it too much...let's just say it has something for everyone in the family. Now we just have that minor detail of selling our home in So. Cal. Anyone want a home in Orange County?

Bob

2009-11-19T23:31:00.000-08:00

Here we are getting ready to go away for the weekend to look at homes in a different state and our dog of over 13 years is failing...quickly. He has been so brave and such a great companion to all of us. Is it our packing suitcases that is hurrying him along? Is it some predestined time chosen long ago and it is our poor planning that sends us away when he may need us most?

Should we stay home? Should we wait for him to tell us more clearly that he wants some help dying? I feel so creepy. We'll be home Sunday evening. Will he wait?

We have a dear family friend staying with Bob while we are away. I had to call the vet and give my consent to let Bob die should it become clearer to our friend that it is time. How the heck do you know? I am praying that he will stay with Bob and pet him as the vet injects him for the last time. I can't make him stay with Bob as I would, but I can ask and I can pray he will find the strength to stay with Bob.

I'm thinking I'm done with pets. Just too darn sad. I know, I know... but right now, that's how I feel.

Bye, Bobby

OC to CO

2009-11-16T22:52:00.000-08:00

So Friday we are getting on a plane to Colorado and looking at homes...all of us; even E! It is becoming clearer and clearer to us that we need to seek some financial peace. Living in the OC with the giant mortgage and killer taxes is just not cutting it. I do believe it is time to take a big bite of humble pie and give up the charade.

This is no small feat. I do not believe that Coloradians think kindly of Californians. We will need to be brave. Actually the hardest part of this plan is the idea of leaving my folks. The house in the picture actually has another little guest house with it. Financially that particular house would not be giving us that financial peace...but...if my folks came with us (even just for extended vacations)....

See, here I go already pushing the financial envelope! What happened to being frugal? It's not like we would be buying any house outright. No matter what we'll end up with a mortgage. So why would I even think of looking at a house that is priced beyond our "financial peace" price? I'd like to say because I would love to have my Mom and Dad live with us....and that IS part of it. But, really, I think I don't want to take that giant of a piece of that humble pie. I am a bit ashamed of myself.

On the other hand, I am very excited that all five of us are going anywhere! Once you have adult children it seems as though these together-times are just heaven sent. None of us knows what to expect out of this weekend except that we are going to explore the area, the homes, and on Sunday....The Tattered Cover in Denver before we catch our flight home (oops, I think my nerd is showing!). I'm thinking we'll come home knowing that our clothes aren't warm enough and with a new resolve (hopefully) to get our present home on the market.

This Semester's Curriculum:

2009-11-16T12:06:00.000-08:00

Since this is our first year homeschooling all of the choices are a little overwhelming to me. This is what we came up with (and seem to be enjoying) so far!

Math:

Singapore Primary Mathmatics (2A & 2B)
A ton of manipulatives (tanagrams, dominos, paper clips, etc.)

Grammar:

First Language Lessons (Lessons 100 - 200)

Writing:

Writing With Ease (Level 2)
Step Up to Writing
Handwriting Without Tears - Cursive Handwriting (ever so slowly on this one)

Spelling/Vocabulary:

Spelling Workout (Level B)
Dr. Fry's 1000 Instant Words
Evan-Moor A Word a Day (Grades 1 -3) - we're just kind of going over these; nothing formal
Greek and Latin Roots

History (by far, her favorite!):

Story of the World (vol. 1)
Story of the World Activity Pages (vol. 1) - wonderful for me not being very creative!

Science:

Houghton Mifflin - California Science 2 (not loving this and may change to Mr. Q's)

Art & Music:

I'm a total slacker on music...she wants to start piano again, but I'm kind of waiting for our budget to open up for a new monthly expense.
Art...we just try to incorporate it into everything we do, not very formal yet.

We are having loads of fun and manage to get most of this done in 4 (or so) hours 4 days a week. We have been making special efforts to get out and about at least a couple of days a week. There has not been a lack of opportunities for fun around here this year! We have done park days, picked our pumpkin at a farm, gone to an aquarium, taken a couple of classes at the Discovery Science Center, played at our local Recess on the Ranch, and lots of days playing with friends. It's all good.

Escape!

2009-11-15T00:22:00.000-08:00

I chose this picture for my very first post since it seems to capture the relief of the escape! We have three daughters and have tried just about every version of schooling available. With one in college, one in high school, and the littlest in 2nd grade I figured it was about time to try homeschooling the 2nd grader. Why the heck did I wait so long?? We are having a great time. I mean, so far we are having a great time. We only started this school year...but still! I regret not giving it a go with the big girls.

This picture was taken at a rehabilitated seal release. My T and her friend pulled their money together and sponsored a sick harbor seal so they were invited to the release. Very cool experience! Those svelte little seals flap-flopped their way right into the waves. They were obviously relieved/thrilled/happy to be in their ocean. I'm sure the boaters and fishermen would have different ways of dealing with harbor seals in need, but I'm glad that my little T felt the need to help a creature.

Click here to see the release on YouTube.