THMJ Week of 7/28/2013

In my life this week…
Merrick is facing front at 18 months.  He loves it.  He was getting way too tall and the seat is difficult to buckle facing rear.  This made things easier for us and fun for him.  My baby is growing up.

Around the yard...
The chicken condo is being enjoyed by Fluffy, Fluffy, Fluffy, Fluffy, Fluffy, and Fluffy.  The first day, we left them in the top level.  They've since figured out the ramp and come down into the grass often.

 
In our homeschool this week…
I found the link to the first two chapters of Apologia's Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics (shared below).  There was a photo contest for several related prizes.  All we needed to do was complete one of the experiments in the sample PDF, take a picture and upload it.  We chose this density experiment.  The boys added a pantload of salt to a glass of water and we used two eggs.  The egg in the salt water was buoyant.  I chose this experiment because the subject of floating in the Dead Sea had come up a few weeks ago.  Perfect tie-in.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…
Here's the link to the first two chapters of Apologia's Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics.  The contest is over, but the link is by the image of the book cover.  You can also see the notebooking and junior notebooking journals on the Apologia blog.  It's nice to get a look at the differences in the two to better choose the suitable one for your children.

Out of the mouths of babes...
Writing to a missionary in Texas, Xav asked, "Do you have Christmas?"  I thought that was sweet and hilarious.

I’m cooking…
I made The Pioneer Woman's cobbler.  This is Patsy's blackberry cobbler, but since we are swimming in blueberries...  It was delicious.  I highly recommend it.  I've also made blueberry muffins and pancakes this week.

I’m grateful for…
My husband's job.

And winning the new Apologia science book and a junior notebooking journal!  Yippee!  I also won Writer's Workshop from Homeschool Chicks NOT Back to School Facebook Party.  My kids are going to HATE this winning streak.  Bwahahahaha!

I rewarded my kids this week by…
Not really a reward per se, but Micah took Xav canoeing over the weekend (Mal went a while back).

I decided to cut Mal's hair.  Lucky kid.  LOL  I was so pleased because I am not a professional barber by a long shot.  I prefer the clippers because the length is always uniform and it takes all of five minutes.  Mal, however, does not like the clippers because the noise and vibration make him nuts.  For an extra TV show and a promise that he could wear earmuffs, he agreed to let me clip him!  WooHOO!  When Xav got home, he got a nice cut too.

Link up, or just read about other homeschoolers at The Homeschool Mother's Journal.

Link up at The Homeschool Mother's Journal.

THMJ Week of 7/21/2013

Yes, yes.  I keep missing The Homeschool Mother's Journal link up over at So You Call Yourself a Homeschooler.  Phooey.  So I've completed a couple of posts and I have the next one almost ready.  Barring any major cafluffles on my part the 7/28 journal should be an official link up.  Woot!  I love being back on track.

In my life this week…
Moved the chicks out to their condo.  All the kids helped - even Merrick.
I didn't have any straw, so we borrowed some wood shavings just for their first day or two.  While I was breaking up the shavings in the top level of the chicken tractor, Merrick was running back and forth from the shavings bag to the chicken box, throwing in tiny, little handfuls of shavings.  Adorable.  Ineffective, but adorable.  Then we thinned out our carrots a bit and Xav and his friend, B, took them a couple of teensy carrots.  Merrick helped with that by pulling off carrot tops to feed to the chicks.

In our homeschool this week…
We gave the boys "first day of school" goodies this week.  We don't actually stop schooling for the summer, but we had just had a 100 day party the day before, so it seemed like a good time.  Every time we hit 100 days, we just start a new 100 day count.  Note to self: Merrick still eats crayons.

Their stuff is all color coordinated.  Mal gets green, Xav gets blue, and now Merrick gets orange (or red, if orange isn't available).

At church this week...
Chatting with Ms. Marty and we look down at Merrick who has a fruit chew crammed half way up his nose.  Nice.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…
We also got Discovery Education Streaming Plus for free through the end of August from Homeschool Buyers Co-op.  They've really enjoyed Reading Rainbow.  I pretty much let them choose what to watch since it's summer.  I did hear that homeschoolers can get the password from their local school district and use it at home.  I thought I'd look into it in September.  I have no idea if that is national, by state, or local.

My favorite thing this week was…
Took a walk with Micah on the rail trail while the boys rode their bikes ahead of us.  Looked for my first solo geocache and Micah told me I would need a geocacher name for the app.  I don't even know what made me think of it, but I remembered the CB handle Grandpa Berry {heart him} gave me when I was a kid, StumpBunny.  Then I found the geocache in a hollow tree and there was a teeny, tiny bunny inside.  Perfect.

My kiddos favorite thing this week was…
Probably a Lowe's Build and Grow.  They love those things.  They get to all (usually) go with Dad (usually) and build a woodworking project.  Depending on the projects, they go twice each month.  You should check for day and time in your area.

I’m cooking…
Blueberries.  Anything and everything with blueberries.  I am up to my eyeballs in blueberries.

Micah made mozzarella cheese.  He used the recipe from The Pioneer Woman.  It was delicious.  The pizza he made the next day was better than ever!

I’m grateful for…
Winning the Schoolhouse Planner 2013/2014 from Every Bed of Roses.  I chose the primary planner as the second planner from that contest.  I also won a digital edition of Philosophy Adventure™—Pre-Socratics.  I see giveaways for that all over the place now.  It is getting BIG.  I won Philippians in 28 Weeks from Marcy at Ben and Me and an autographed Sevenglory CD from Home With the Boys.  I am on a roll like jelly!

Some of our fruit around the yard.

Not terribly keen about the Japanese beetles this year.

THMJ week of 7/14/2013

In my life this week…
Let's see.  We had our first chicken escapee.  Luckily, she was the only escapee before we put them outside.  What an unbelievably cooperative captive she was too.  She just sat there, near the box, waiting to be put back in.  Thankfully, there was no Benny Hill chase music to spur her on.

My kiddos favorite thing this week was…

Pizza Planet trucks at Lowe's Build and Grow.

Followed by an evening at the drive-in to see Despicable Me 2 and Monsters University.  Other than the mosquitoes, we really enjoyed that.  And no one got their vehicles stuck in the field like the week before.

I’m grateful for…
I guess I'm grateful for the rain, but golly, enough is enough now.  I had emptied the water table out and two evenings of rain filled it (and the yard) right back up!

Something I am ogling or have my eye on…

Crayola = Genius

Boxes of 8 crayons in the same hue.

We had a lot of chalk art in the driveway for a few weeks.  Every time it rains, they get to start from scratch.  

Mal has been into tug boats lately.

 Xav's family portrait.