Week in Review V

I was horrible about taking pictures this week, so you're going to have to take my word for it. This week seemed incredibly long. I'm congested and stayed up way too late several nights and I'm sure both played a part in making for extremely long days. We mustered through though.

Language Arts seems to be going really well for all 3 girls. Chiggie seems to have an intuitive grasp on grammar and even though she's learning some of the formalities they're all things she semi-understood already. Next week is her last week on Mr. Popper's Penguins and then we will be moving on to oral presentations and tall tales. Tea blows me away in this department. She is a great reader and is really loving the Captain Underpants right now. She too, has an intuition about grammar. We will keep her spelling words for one more week though, she needs to practice them more. Midge is doing good as well. She finished another book today and is coming a long way in her handwriting.

In Bible we finished up Lesson 3 and all the girls memorized their verses. This lesson was more story based and I think it will be nice next week to have a couple of activities. Especially the little girls really need the activities.

Typing is same 'ol, same 'ol. Chiggie is working on speed and Tea is still focused on mastering the keyboard.

Math was a big deal this week. All 3 girls' math lessons went from what seemed like pretty major review to much more difficult concepts. They handled it well. Chiggie aced her test and is gaining a confidence she didn't have before. Tea continues doing 2 lessons a day even when her stomach hurts, her big toe hurts, she is seeing double, she has a hangnail etc. Oddly I think it might be the cure as the afore mentioned symptoms alleviate at lunch break. Midge is counting well and has mastered the days of the week and the months of the year.

In History we learned about the colonization of New York and New Hampshire. We started in on the Puritans today and they were surprised to learn that there is a difference between them and the Pilgrims. We will finish them and a couple more colonies next week and then we are all excited to start studying the Native Americans.

Mercury was still our planet in Science. We made salt dough models and the girls covered the surfaces with marks made by their asteroids (rocks). That was fun and easy.

This was also a very busy week. On Monday we went to see the movie Dolphin Tale, on Wednesday Buster had his 18 month well child check,and on Friday we had a get together with some friends and made boats to put in the irrigation ditch. It was fun, but I think we were on overload early on in the week. Futuristically I will try not to have so much so early in the afternoon. We got all of our work done, but it felt rushed at times and I don't like that. We're all excited about the weekend and I can't believe we just finished our 6th week!

My Little Helper

On Friday our dryer heaved its last hot breath. Actually it nearly lit the house on fire, but either way, it's dead. We had been milkin' it for quite some time now, so I'd be lying if I acted at all surprised. I was not happy about it at ALL. To top it off the place we will buying a replacement from just happens to be closed until Wednesday. Really? Today though, my attitude changed. It is not the end of the world. Much worse could be happening than a few days without a dryer. We decided our best option would be bare minimum at the laundry-mat. I washed a few loads at home and then took several to wash and the ones to dry. Midge begged to come along. She remembered coming last time and just loves to help. I brought her along and I can't believe how much help she is at only 5 years old. She held doors open, folded clothes, threw away trash, and just kept me company. Really it ended up being a blessing. We have plenty of clean laundry for the week and I got to spend time with her.

Week in Review IV

This week went much better as everyone was feeling better. Midge did have a staph infection on her foot and ended up having to go to the Dr. but it worked out and really didn't affect our day much at all.

In Language Arts Midge has been working for several weeks on making puppets to act out the stories she reads. This week she put a book in order and illustrated it herself. She is such an eager learner. Chiggie did well on her spelling test and got a new word list for next week. She reviewed letter writing and envelope addressing along with more work on grammar.


Tea had a very busy week in Language Arts. She too aced her spelling test. On Monday she made this timeline of her from birth to one. She really enjoyed this activity. She also completed the first story in her literature program and got to put it on her chart. She had really been anticipating this moment.

In Bible we began part 1 of lesson 3:What is God like? Chiggie has taken a new interest in the Chronicles of Narnia (an old obsession) and has decided she will read through the whole series. I have no doubt she will.

In typing Chiggie earned a certificate of touch typing keyboard completion. She is now working on speed. Her accuracy is already 100% so she strives to maintain that as well. Tea is still plugging away. She normally suffers mystery illnesses that recover immediately after typing time.

In math Midge is moving on to more difficult concepts and this pleases her. This week she started basic addition and clock reading. It makes her feel grown up and like she doing real math. Tea continues to blaze through in Math. She steadily moved through two lessons a day and one test this week. She masters concepts very quickly. She will most likely spend the first semester completing 1st grade math and the second semester completing 2nd grade math. Chiggie does exceptional but it is her least favorite. She continues to cement those all important math facts. Like Tea she seems to intuitively understand many concepts, the difference is she doesn't much like to show her work.

In science we wrapped up our study of the sun. We made a sun viewing box (it worked marginally okay) and the girls liked that. I wish I would've had a bigger box! They made sun wheels with facts about the sun and completed their mini-books as well. On Thursday we began studying Mercury. They love learning about actual planets. Midge sometimes mixes our subjects up though. I asked how they thought all of those craters ended up on Mercury and she piped in with an enthusiastic and confident "Squanto!" Hmmmm......


Speaking of Squanto, in history we sailed right through our Pilgrim study. The girls learned a lot and so did I. Chiggie loves reading historical fiction and even tried her hand at writing her own this week.

The older girls continue to love working in their history lap books. Chiggie also does a great deal of journaling. They are both perfectionists and sometimes that gets in the way of them feeling satisfied with what they have done. I just try to get them to see the bigger picture.

Along with school we also went swimming on Monday and had karate both Tuesday and Thursday and both girls earned new belts. Wednesday night was youth group in the new building and that was exciting as well. We're all quite worn out and definitely ready for the weekend.

Belt Testing

I took some fuzzy, poor quality pictures with my ancient cell phone, but I couldn't even get them to upload. Today both Boo and Midge had karate belt testing. I am so proud of both of them. They are so focused and enjoy it so much. Boo is now an orange belt and Midge is a blue belt. They were both very excited. It's a lot of fun to watch the little kids this age!

Busy is Better

For now that is. I realize there is a season for everything, but for right now we need to stay busy. It helps me focus. Today was great. We got up and got ready for the day. Then we tackled school. After lunch Buster went down for a nap and we finished up. When he woke up we went to the library and checked out our books for the next week. We came home for just a little bit and then I took the kids to Subway for dinner. They enjoyed that as we very rarely eat inside anywhere. After eating we headed to my Mom's house to pick my sisters up for youth group. I was substituting this week so that was fun too. As soon as we got home, around 8:45, the kids got ready and headed to bed. Now to relax and then get some sleep myself!

Midge's Feet

Poor Midge's eczema is really bad lately. For some unknown reason summers are particularly hard on her skin. We've been battling it all season long with not a lot of success. I finally waved my flag of defeat yesterday and made her another doctor appointment. Lucky for me the King didn't have to leave until the afternoon so he was able to take her in the morning. It turns out all the scratching has led to yet another staph infection. She was given 2 different antibiotics. 1 to be taken orally and 1 is a cream. I'm hoping we see results very quickly. Nights are definitely the worst. The itching is horrible for her and makes it almost impossible for her to get a good nights sleep. I hope she's better soon and that she outgrows this terrible disease!

Fall Kick-Off and Dedication

Today was the dedication of the new youth building at our church. The older girls had tons of fun. They got their faces painted and toured the whole building for the first time. It's very exciting to them. It was exciting to me to see our new Sunday School room. I teach the 3-5th graders and their new room is very cool. After the service and festivities we had a Unity Dinner and then released balloons with prayers of praise attached. Poor Tea was upset when she let go of her balloon without her praise card attached correctly. We told her not to worry as we're sure God knows what she is thanful for.

After all that we came home and rested for a good portion of the afternoon. I didn't go to sleep until 4 am the night before and had to be up early so I was exhausted. Buster took a nice nap and the King watched the Bronco game. Luckily they won and he was happy. We had chili, homemade bread, and cinnamon rolls for dinner. It was delicious and very festive. I hate how short our weekends seem, but at least we made the best of this one!

Week in Review III

This seemed like a very long week. It could be the cold that ravaged through and made two of the girls feel rotten, or the fact that I got hardly any sleep at all, or the rain that cancelled our first field trip could've done the trick. We made do though, and school actually went really well.

In Language Arts: Midge read the second reader in her series and got to put another cover on her chart. This seems almost too easy for her, but I know it's a phase she needs to experience so that she can build on the skills she has mastered. Each week for the next several weeks will focus around one reader. She does very much enjoy the crafty activities. Tea finished her 1st unit and aced her spelling test. She also enjoys the crafty things and will be starting her book studies next week. Chiggie read Mr. Popper's Penguin's and really enjoyed it. She wrote a short story of her own about a penguin. She loves creative writing.

In Bible we completed lesson two. We learned about discerning truth and established Biblical Truth 1: God always tells me what is right and true. The girls memorized their verses and wrote in their journals.

In typing the older girls are still moving through Typer Island. This is fun for them and they never complain.

I realized I skipped Math in last week's review. Math is not Chiggie's favorite subject, but the other two love it. Despite hating the subject entirely Chiggie aced her unit 2 test and moves onto unit 3 on Monday. Tea is doing exceptional in this area. After much thinking I started pulling two lessons a day for her. She moves quickly and accurately and needs very little instruction. Her focus slows her some. For example she took a little longer today because she was holding her pencil with her mouth. Apparently it takes longer to write that way. Once she finishes this curriculum, which should be around Christmas time, we will probably supplement with Spectrum books and then reassess for next year. Midge loves math. She too requires very little instruction and loves anything that she can color.

In History we wrapped up our study on Jamestown. We read a lot of books and really enjoyed them all. Chiggie is even thinking about being Pocahontas for Halloween. They now know what is fact and what is myth in the Pocahontas/John Smith stories. The girls also glued all of their "important people" and facts onto the timeline. I can't imagine long this thing will be by the end of the year. It very well may wrap its way around the room.

In Science we are still studying the sun. The girls loved the experiment this week, which was melting chocolate with a magnifying glass. They were amazed at the power of the sun. Of course we discussed safety but it was neat to see Chiggie burn a hole through her chocolate bar!

While Chiggie answered some more in depth questions and did some more reading the little girls made these vocabulary pages. Tea was quite proud of hers. We turned it in to a bit of a game putting them together and they enjoyed that.

So we are 4 weeks in and not looking back. I thinks it's safe to say we are all enjoying ourselves. Sure, life continues to happen and nothing is ever perfect, but I feel much more relaxed. We are officially halfway through our first quarter!

The Weather

I cannot think of anything more boring to blog about than the weather, but here I go. The weather is throwing me through a loop big time. Sure summer vacation is over and the school year has begun, but it is still the season of summer right? Well you could've fooled me. With temperatures in the 50's and 60's it feels a lot more like late fall. I really enjoy the season of fall, but this early onset is going to make for a very long cool season. Add to that the fact that it has been rainy almost every single afternoon and we really aren't able to be outside much at all. I am looking forward to mixing up my meal plans a bit with cooler weather meals like chili and stew, but I was hoping to make it until October. At this rate that will never happen!

Jet Lag

This weekend was way too short. I think having 3 days off last weekend spoiled me. I couldn't believe it was already Sunday last night. When I woke up this morning I was dragging. It really felt like things were moving in slow motion. Amazingly we got everything accomplished, it just felt like it took forever. After we finished up with school we went swimming. We do this every Monday, but last week we were at the State Fair, so we had'nt been in a couple of weeks. The girls love to swim and could stay for hours, but after an hour of chasing Buster I was ready to head out. The evening is going much quicker than the day and now I'm rushing to fit everything in before bed time!

Nigh-Night

"What, wait, don't go!"
"Take me with you!"

"Fine then!"

After almost 15 months of very little sleep, I am loving Buster being in his crib. He stays there all night long. To the tune of 12 hours. 12 glorious, peaceful, sleep filled hours. I love him more than words could ever describe, but I am enjoying sleeping again!

Week in Review II

9/6-9/9

We had another great week! It flew by, but I'm sure that had to due with Monday being a holiday.

In Language Arts we are sailing right along. This is a strong area for all 3 girls and something that they enjoy. Chiggie is working on writing dictated passages and is doing very well. Tea got 100% on her very first spelling test and is a quick study on the more advanced phonics rules. Midge loves anything having to do with reading and read the first book in her program all by herself today. She was so proud and happy to glue it to her chart.

In Bible we talked about creation and some of the theories there are. Then they all helped make homemade brownies. We set out the ingredients but they just wouldn't make themselves. Much like the earth and people needed a Creator, the brownies needed us to make them. They were delicious and the girls were very proud of themselves. To prove how proud of them I was I ate half a pan.

The girls picked up where they left off in typing and Chiggie is really sailing along in that department. Her speed and accuracy is improving tremendously with every lesson.

History was once again a favorite this week. We have read/are reading a plethora of books on James Town, Pocahontas, and John Smith. I'm enjoying this as much or more than they are.

The older girls are working on their notebooks and journaling as we go. They are very proud of their history notebooks and love the activities. I love how hands on this study is and couldn't be more pleased so far.
In science we began our study of the sun. We learned how big the sun is in comparison to the Earth, how dangerous it can be to look at, and how important it's positioning is to our entire solar system. The girls worked independently in their notebooks this week and we'll be doing a couple of projects next week.

We also had company on Thursday afternoon and Friday. It was a busy week and I'm happy that we managed to stay on task and not fall behind. Now I'm looking forward to the weekend and maybe a little bit of relaxing.

Labor Day at the State Fair

Cooling Off

Last night I wore sweatpants to bed. Sweatpants! It was glorious. This has been a miserable hot summer and I'm not sorry to see the temperatures getting lower and lower. This is so uncharacteristic of me. Normally I am devastated to see the season change from summer to fall. I've always liked fall, it's just tough to transition from the lazy, hot, days of summer to the cooler, shorter, more rigorous days of fall. But here I am loving every minute of routine and cool temperatures. Maybe this means I'm growing up??

Cousins

My sister and her family are in town for the Labor Day weekend. We have a couple of bbq's planned and a day at the State Fair. What a great way to end our summer season!

Denver

Right before we started school the King and I took a brief visit to Denver for a little down time. We had a FABULOUS time! The hotel we stayed at was much nicer than we had even anticipated. I only wished we would've had our suits and could have gotten in the hot tub. Oh well, next time. We had a great dinner and a ton of fun at Dave & Busters. It was nice to just have fun and not worry about anything.

The next day we went to the Rockies game. We had great seats and they won! It was nice to come home and see the kids after a night away, but we definitely needed it!

Week in Review

I plan to do these posts on Fridays just for my own record of sorts, but some of the keys on our keyboard weren't working correctly so we got a new one today.

8/29-9/2
We had a great week. In language arts Chiggie finished up her first book study and moved onto lesson 3. Tea wrapped up a unit on nouns, pronouns, and punctuation, and Midge worked on story sequencing.

For Bible we wrapped up our first 2 week unit on "The Rock." All 3 girls memorized their verses, journaled, and completed a few lesson related worksheets as a team.

Typing was put on the back burner due to the keyboard issues, but we'll pick right back up with that next week.

Both Chiggie and Tea had their first math tests on Friday. They both did wonderfully. Their first math unit was basically review from the previous grade so they are right where they need to be to move on.

In History we finished discussing the early explorers, the first settlement, and the lost colony of Roanoke. The girls have loved this! The activities and writing projects are very interesting to them. They spent at least 20 minutes on Friday discussing all of their theories of what may have happened to Virginia Dare. This has been a surprise. I didn't expect this subject to be a favorite.

Science was also a fun one this week. We started the week out learning about Galileo and Copernicus. The end of the week was focused on the actual planets and their positions around the sun. We made the model below to use as our classroom example.

The girls had a really good time painting the planets.
It turned out really good in the end. It's nice to have something we can actually look at. Even the littlest girls can now name all of the planets and show them on the model.


Boo was happy to be the one to paint the sun.

Tea chose all of the smallest planets.

Midge had fun, but getting messy isn't her favorite thing to do.

Overall we had a great week. We went swimming on Monday, the little girls had karate on Tuesday and Thursday, Wednesday we went to the library and the King came home on Friday and we had a special dinner. Now we are looking forward to the holiday weekend and going to the fair!