THMJ week of 9/1/2013

    In my life this week…
Today is my birthday.  Micah took the yahoos out shopping for something mysterious.  Perhaps the salad that Malachi is sure I'd love.  Or the bag of pumpkins or doll book Xav is insistent I need.  Whatever it is, I will love it.  Truth be told, I've enjoyed having these hours to myself to get some cleaning done (but not too much!), do a bit of shopping, and prep for some upcoming projects I am committed to make.

    In our homeschool this week…
We got back to work on Monday with a new schedule.  We are also trying a few new classes. We're using Math U See this year and I've added Mike's Inspiration Station for art.  Xav loved having art and wants to do it every day.  It didn't seem to make much of an impression on Mal, but he actually started giving the people in his usual stick figures much more animated faces right away.  He made pirates with angry faces and and other people with surprised faces.  He took note of expressions in other people's art as well.  I think we are going to like Math U See also.  The video lesson isn't all cartoony and flashy, but it seems to be holding their attention and (hopefully) they are getting the concepts.  Maybe I should make a cardboard box hat to wear during school so I look like I'm on television.

    Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…
Make a cardboard box hat that makes you appear to be on television.

    Things I’m working on…
Today (Saturday) I cut 30 - 7"x7" fabric squares for a project I'm working on for craft fairs this fall.  As I finish some projects, I'll post pictures.  And if anyone wants to donate a nice handmade item for our sale, I'd be happy to accept it.  Christian Friday School, our homeschool co-op, will benefit from the sale.

    Things Dad is working on...
What isn't Micah working on?  He finished a book shelf for himself, of all people!  He has started work on a tree house, made Xav some vehicles out of scrap wood, put a nice foot bridge over the crick, and made a holz hausen (round wood pile).

    I’m cooking…
I made a quiche this week that turned out wonderfully.  Xav helped bake some bread from a bread book I have had forever and *never* used.  Although, Micah did use it last month for bagels.  Anyhoo, we made a  cottage loaf, which was fun, but it sort of fell over.  That was pretty amusing.

    Out of the mouths of babes... 
Another funny one with Xavier.  I think Xav says most of the funny stuff because he does *by far* the most talking. Merrick may give him some competition for most talkative when he knows more words though!
Mal drew me a picture on the bathroom mirror.  He wrote, "I love Mom." and drew an arrow pointing to me.  Xav had to copy, so he drew a picture of him giving me a gift and hearts were coming out of his head (he said it was love from his brain).  I thanked them and loved them up and sent them to bed.  Later, Micah wrote, "I love Mommy most."  He and Xav have this argument often.  Xav gets furious and is always trying to trick Micah, a la Daffy and Bugs, to admit Xav loves me most.  The next day, when Xav saw what Micah wrote, he huffed off with a small smile on his face, shouting, "This means WAR!"

    I’m grateful for…
Another birthday.  Another year to love on my kids and learn to love them more like Jesus does.  I'm realizing the number that labels my years on earth isn't so important.  I may change my mind when I reach the next milestone year, but I'm not concerning myself much right now.

    I’m praying for…
Grace and love to start overflowing out of me.  Not sure what God will do with that request!

    Something I am ogling or have my eye on…
My next curriculum buy is going to be All About Spelling!

The Homeschool Mother's Journal

THMJ Month of August!

    In our homeschool this month…
We took off about 2 1/2 weeks of school in August.  First, there was company, then we left for a week, then we had company again.  That was our whopping big summer break. 
We did spend a few nights under the stars watching the Perseid meteor shower.  Daddy came home one night and busted the boys out of bed.
The Fed-Ex guy dropped off our new math books. I said, "It's our math! The boys are going to be so excited!" And he and I laughed and laughed.

    Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
The boys and I headed to NY to visit all the grandparents for a week and then bring Grandma of the Forest back home with us for a few days.  We went to two beaches and a swimming pool, and a playground with the cousins.  Grandma Char kept some combination or other of two boys (God love her!), so I could go help Grandma Jeannie for a few days.

    My favorite thing this month was…
Watching Merrick play with my nephew Jackson's hamster.  Oh goodness! His giggle was delightful! 

    My kiddos favorite thing this month was…
The Arcade and Attica train ride!  Without a doubt.  Mal was excited prior to boarding, but was quiet for most of the trip.  I thought he was disappointed, but he talks about it all the time and looks forward to taking another train ride.

    Things I’m working on…
Grandma of the Forest painted our living room while she was here.  I helped during Merrick's naptime, but mostly my assignment was to keep him out of trouble.  Hoo Boy!  That kid is all GO!  He is exhausting.  I lost my wall vinyl due to the painting, so now I need a new decoration.

    I’m cooking…
Berry butters (not cooking them actually!), cobblers, some freezer meals for my step-mom, s'mores, my favorite tortilla chip dip of chevre and salsa, canned some jam, froze muffins, and pancakes.  Micah made mozzarella, pizza, and bagels this month.  August was a delicious month!

    Out of the mouths of babes... 
Found a small cache of blackberries (my favorite!) in the yard.  When I realized they were ripe, I went on a hunt to a few known bushes around the yard.  All of them were picked clean.  Xavier stood there rubbing his chin.  "Huh.  All gone.  I *wonder* where all those berries went."  Followed by a maniacal cackle.  Yeah, I wonder too.  Punk.

Another good one (this time in Micah's own words and swiped off his FB page:
So the other day we were painting the living room so I had the television and all the associated accoutrement disconnected and in a pile on a chair. I go into the garage a bit to work on something and Xavier comes out and asks if he can play Hank. (This is Mario Cart on the Wii. I have no idea why they think his name is Hank.) I was about to say no because the TV isn't even there when I decide to be a smart ass.

"Sure Xav, you can go in and play as much as you want!"

He run in all excited and I snicker to myself because I'm evil. About a minute later I feel someone looking at me. I look out of the garage door and see Xavier staring at me through slitted eyes. "What?", I say.

"You're deshpicable." and then he stalks away.
 

    Something I want to try...
I want to try this fun archaeology project I saw on Facebook.  I don't know where it comes from originally.

Dinosaur eggs: 1 1/4 cups dirt, 1 1/4 cups flour, 3/4 cups of salt, 1/2 cup if sand. mix dry ingredients start adding water slowly until it holds form, form around critters of your choice let dry in the sun and let the kids enjoy discovering whats inside.

    I rewarded my kids this week by…
Dad set up the tent in the basement and camped out with them down there a couple of nights.

    A photo, video, link, or quote to share (silly, serious or both!)…
“Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.” Billy Graham

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.  

(Trying to) Make Math Fun

I've acquired something similar to  cuisenaire rods.  I think they're from Mortensen Math.  They seem pretty similar, but I think just the colors are different.  I also picked up a couple of books with ideas for introducing children to the rods.  A lot of the beginning ideas are just about having fun and familiarizing them with the tools.  Here are some pictures from the first few times we got them out.  I get asked pretty regularly to "play" math rods.  If Merrick is asleep, I'm happy to let them.  Those tiny little single units are too small for that punk.

Free Play

 

Building clowns

Exploration

 

Staircases

I love that they each built in a different direction.

 

Building upwards

 

We've used the rods for adding, subtracting, greater than/less than/equal to, and fractions as well.  I really like them and that the boys enjoy using them too.

THMJ Week of 6/23/13

Time for another installment in the continuing saga of The Homeschool Mom Journal.  Apparently, I missed the link up deadline, but I'm going ahead with it anyway. 

In our homeschool this week…
Another super fun week of VBS.  This time at Church of the Rock.  We learned how to STAND STRONG at Kingdom Rock!
God's love, friends and family, prayer, trusting God, and the Bible all help us STAND STRONG!

Shhhh!  Don't tell Xav he is wearing a pink dress!

Learning new songs on Day 1.  (That's Xav in yellow.)

My favorite thing this week was…
VBS.  It was hands down my favorite thing this week.  The boys did a great job and handled themselves well.  Mal only had one meltdown on Wednesday.  I thought that was great since there were around 100 children (plus countless adults) there every day.  And he had already been away from home every. single. day. for ten days.  I sat off to the side with Merrick and the boys sat with their groups during opening and closing.  They both loved their crew leaders.  Merrick and I wandered a bit because he is just a non-stop kind of boy.  We spent part of most days playing and snacking in the nursery, out on the playground, and having some quiet time in the nursing room with the lights dim.  It's pretty funny to see some of the things the kids do in the mirror when they have no idea people are behind the glass.  Merrick waved to them all, but only one had his face close enough to the glass to see us!

My kiddos favorite thing this week was…
The chickens!  Oh the wee chickens.  Xav was super excited that HE was getting chickens.  Not we, he.  Here they are.  Introducing Fluffy, Fluffy, Fluffy, Fluffy, Fluffy, and Fluffy.  We won't be able to tell them apart anyway.

I’m cooking… 
I made mozzarella stuffed meatballs with spaghetti this week and I saved the leftover meatballs for subs today.  I also made veggie quinoa patties.  I could have eaten them without making patties if I omitted the eggs, they were so good.  Yum!

I’m praying for…
the Lord to move in the lives of all the children and adults involved in VBS.

I rewarded my kids this week by…
Well actually, Dad rewarded them with headlamps for their bikes.  They took them to bed tonight.  I'm sure the batteries will be dead in the morning.

Something I am ogling or have my eye on…
Math U See Alpha, you will be mine, hopefully at a reduced price.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share (silly, serious or both!)…
I'm sharing this funny video from VBS this week.  Wally needed help from all the children this week to get through his training to become a knight.  Each day he was pointed to ways God helps us STAND STRONG!  After he was knighted, his horse was stolen.  These were his misadventures getting Nightmare back.  I tried to embed the video, but it's too wide for this space.  So click here.  You won't be sorry.