What a time we have been having!! We have been keeping up on our work mostly, the girls take the National Latin Exam this coming Thursday, and we've been watching our new house be built and we can't wait to move and we have been commuting to our homeschool and church activities 3 times per week an hour away and we are getting a little burned out and we want to stop, but we just have 2 months left before our house is supposed to be done.
My husband has done a fabulous job teaching the girls Latin. Being a computer programmer who can make computers do just about anything, he set up a website where they can take tests on vocabulary, endings and even past exams and see exactly how they did right when they are done and exactly what they missed. So he would often assign them to take a certain test until they got 100%. Being a full- time employee, it made it much easier for him to help them do what they needed to without him there all the time. We hope they do O.K. on the exam, but even if they don't, they've learned a lot and we plan to have them take all 6 years worth of exams and we expect they'll get better and better each time. I'm proud and jealous of the girls at the same time. I would like to learn Latin some time-- when the babies are grown, perhaps. It is fun to hear #2 tell me where we get different words from, and also tell me the funny things in the story she's translating. #1 seems to be enjoying it too. It has been so good for them all the way around.
The boys are moving right along. #3 has started history reading and daily spelling word copying to improve his cursive handwriting. They are also working better at piano since I sat with them and made sure they were practicing what they need to. #3 can sure be stubborn, he just has to know that there is no getting out of whatever it is he is supposed to do and then he does alright. #4 is amazing at memorizing and is just interested in learning. He knows our Greek vocabulary better than his older brother and it frustrates his older brother so I may have to start drilling them separately unfortunately-- I will probably just have to have the same talk with #3 that I had with #1 when her younger sister was better at memorizing than she was. Everybody has that strengths and weaknesses- let the younger one shine and you still have to learn it even though it comes easier to some-- you can still learn. That's definitely coming up.
We have also joined Destination Imagination which is a national program. Our tournament is on April 15 and we'll have a middle school team of girls presenting a movie trailer- acted out-- with an original music score and soundtrack, at least one special effect and it involves 2 people from different nations. We had a bit of a rough start getting our team together, but they seem to be getting it now. We also have an elementary age boys team who will be building a tower between 7.5 and 9 in. tall out of wood and glue that needs to hold weight and golf balls delivered by their own delivery system. That is also on track to work out despite a bit of a rough start. I'm sure we'll do better next year by starting earlier and having the experience of the tournament under our belts.
We've got other things coming up I'll report on as they happen (hopefully). Oh and baby #8 is a boy!! 6 sons in a row!!! Life is good!!!
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Review-- getting back to normal whatever that is!
I am about 14 weeks pregnant now-- past the first trimester and they finally started on our new house 2 weeks ago-- so we are moving toward a nice new normalcy. I haven't had to take a nap everyday and I haven't needed so much sleep so my house is slowing coming back together and I have much more energy to do things besides just the basics. We started a new science program that is really quite fun-- I just need to make sure to schedule in time to do it. We are also starting a team to compete in the Destination Imagination tournament. That should be a lot of fun and educational too.
We went to the Children's Museum at the Gateway in SLC yesterday and we celebrated #5's 5th birthday at the Nickelcade the night before. It was awesome yesterday when we got back from our big away and errand day to come back and have the energy to make the kids follow up on piano practicing and finishing the little things they neglected during the week. #3 is definitely the most difficult right now-- he is 9 and I pretty much just have to sit with him and make sure he does what he's supposed to. I have to check everything for everybody or I'm not sure it will get done.
#2 had a hard time a couple weeks ago because her study habits were horrendous. I changed her piano practice from 30 min. to playing each song 5 times each. She threw quite the fit, but finally finished about 2 hours later and it is now making more progress than she ever has on the piano before it takes her about 30 min. to finish, but she's actually playing the piano the whole time instead of singing or rolling around on the floor or piano bench. I think she is enjoying it more. Also, she is doing much better in Latin. She was learning the material but having a terrible time finishing the writing exercises. She spent an evening listening to her sibling watch a movie while she sat at the table supposedly doing her Latin-- she did maybe one sentence the whole time and threw another fit. I was so angry, but realized that she shouldn't have been out where she could hear-- I should have sent her down to her room to finish. So we had a good talk and she has buckled down pretty well since. I love the feeling of accomplishment they gain when they finish and do things they thought they couldn't. A lot of this teaching is helping them focus and finish things that are difficult.
#1 really went through this at age 10 when she was a year or 2 behind in math and I sat with her and we worked through problems 2-3 hours a day. She is doing great now-- has fabulous study habits and knows how to keep going even when it's hard. She even told me how fun her pre-algebra assignment was!! so now when the boys complain, I ask them if they want to work on playing catch up and I tell them how they just have to do it and I don't let them out of it. It's totally the way to go. They also love the freedom they have when they're done to watch movies, play the wii, ipad, computer or with friends.
I can't wait to move. I think the layout of our new house will make things much easier to keep up on the daily chores and running of the household which will give us more ability to focus on academics and be more efficient. I'm very excited about the bigger kitchen, 2 dishwashers, 2 kitchen sinks, double oven, laundry room, mud room and double sinks in the bathrooms upstairs. We'll also have a library/ study area and lots of places for bookshelves making it easier to find books when we need them, and being able to park in the garage and not climb stairs from outside to bring in groceries for the winter-- actually I think my husband is more excited about that one than I am-- it will just be easier for me to get what I need when I need it and we'll put an extra fridge in the garage and actually have room for the all the food we eat in a week!! Can't wait!!
I am also looking forward to getting rid of a bunch of junk. I won't allow so many toys to be out at a time. The kids have more fun with a box than with a bunch of toys anyway. I'm looking forward to a new start. There are also a lot more opportunities for homeschoolers where we're moving, so I'm looking forward to participating in some of those things as well especially for my older kids. I love our once a week co-op down there. The moms are great, but my oldest especially needs more opportunities to meet kids her own age. The ward is great, but being in Utah I'm accepting the fact that it's just not enough. We really have to make our own support group and find friends outside of the ward for our kids. Still, there are a lot of kids and out of that many, each kid should be able to make a couple good friends they can associate with easily.
We went to the Children's Museum at the Gateway in SLC yesterday and we celebrated #5's 5th birthday at the Nickelcade the night before. It was awesome yesterday when we got back from our big away and errand day to come back and have the energy to make the kids follow up on piano practicing and finishing the little things they neglected during the week. #3 is definitely the most difficult right now-- he is 9 and I pretty much just have to sit with him and make sure he does what he's supposed to. I have to check everything for everybody or I'm not sure it will get done.
#2 had a hard time a couple weeks ago because her study habits were horrendous. I changed her piano practice from 30 min. to playing each song 5 times each. She threw quite the fit, but finally finished about 2 hours later and it is now making more progress than she ever has on the piano before it takes her about 30 min. to finish, but she's actually playing the piano the whole time instead of singing or rolling around on the floor or piano bench. I think she is enjoying it more. Also, she is doing much better in Latin. She was learning the material but having a terrible time finishing the writing exercises. She spent an evening listening to her sibling watch a movie while she sat at the table supposedly doing her Latin-- she did maybe one sentence the whole time and threw another fit. I was so angry, but realized that she shouldn't have been out where she could hear-- I should have sent her down to her room to finish. So we had a good talk and she has buckled down pretty well since. I love the feeling of accomplishment they gain when they finish and do things they thought they couldn't. A lot of this teaching is helping them focus and finish things that are difficult.
#1 really went through this at age 10 when she was a year or 2 behind in math and I sat with her and we worked through problems 2-3 hours a day. She is doing great now-- has fabulous study habits and knows how to keep going even when it's hard. She even told me how fun her pre-algebra assignment was!! so now when the boys complain, I ask them if they want to work on playing catch up and I tell them how they just have to do it and I don't let them out of it. It's totally the way to go. They also love the freedom they have when they're done to watch movies, play the wii, ipad, computer or with friends.
I can't wait to move. I think the layout of our new house will make things much easier to keep up on the daily chores and running of the household which will give us more ability to focus on academics and be more efficient. I'm very excited about the bigger kitchen, 2 dishwashers, 2 kitchen sinks, double oven, laundry room, mud room and double sinks in the bathrooms upstairs. We'll also have a library/ study area and lots of places for bookshelves making it easier to find books when we need them, and being able to park in the garage and not climb stairs from outside to bring in groceries for the winter-- actually I think my husband is more excited about that one than I am-- it will just be easier for me to get what I need when I need it and we'll put an extra fridge in the garage and actually have room for the all the food we eat in a week!! Can't wait!!
I am also looking forward to getting rid of a bunch of junk. I won't allow so many toys to be out at a time. The kids have more fun with a box than with a bunch of toys anyway. I'm looking forward to a new start. There are also a lot more opportunities for homeschoolers where we're moving, so I'm looking forward to participating in some of those things as well especially for my older kids. I love our once a week co-op down there. The moms are great, but my oldest especially needs more opportunities to meet kids her own age. The ward is great, but being in Utah I'm accepting the fact that it's just not enough. We really have to make our own support group and find friends outside of the ward for our kids. Still, there are a lot of kids and out of that many, each kid should be able to make a couple good friends they can associate with easily.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Thanksgiving Week
We had 2 good full days of school. #3 passed his 3B math test- Yay!!. The girls are moving much too slow through pre-algebra so we're going to have to speed that up although, they seem to understand it fine, they have a hard time staying focused on it and finishing in a timely manner. They had another Latin class since their dad was extremely busy at work they got a little break, but the NLE is in March, so they will have to hustle there also. #1 needs to focus on reading the scriptures on her own. She reads a lot and enjoys it, but it's about time to move on to harder stuff. I think scripture reading will help her make that leap. Once the Latin exam is over I will have her start reading some classical literature as well as the Gateway to the Great Books series which consists of several papers on all different topics. One thing I need to make sure I do with her is either have her write a paper on what she read or talk to me about it. Academics just don't come easy to her. I have to follow through with her better than I have been. I don't think she's getting much out of her American History book, because of my lack of follow through. In character, art and music, I couldn't ask for more of her. We all have our weaknesses I guess. #2 is super easy to teach and moniter academically because she gets things so quickly, but character wise we really have to work on especially when she's tired. She's grown up a lot though and has been very helpful.
We pretty much let the kids stay up late and watch movies and play the wii all weekend long. We all needed the break. The boys are moving along just fine in their workbooks, it's so much easier to teach them since I've been through it with the girls, I know what things will be helpful to add and which things are probably not as worthwhile.
We got our Christmas tree on Saturday and it's all decorated. We've got most of our Christmas stuff out and we've been enjoying the music on the radio. We also got our main Christmas gift-- a mother and baby goats. They are really cute and the kids love playing with them. I'm not sure what I was thinking, but I think it will be easier than driving to milk daily and it will be cheaper than buying the goats milk. Is is worth it? I don't know yet. I was having some serious anxiety about it the other night, but if it doesn't work out, we can sell the baby and keep the mother at our friend's house and still milk her like we were before, so I think it will be O.K. I've been doing a cleanse though, and I'm really tired of it and ready to be done, so I don't think my mind is quite as straight as it should be. Good luck to me this week!
We pretty much let the kids stay up late and watch movies and play the wii all weekend long. We all needed the break. The boys are moving along just fine in their workbooks, it's so much easier to teach them since I've been through it with the girls, I know what things will be helpful to add and which things are probably not as worthwhile.
We got our Christmas tree on Saturday and it's all decorated. We've got most of our Christmas stuff out and we've been enjoying the music on the radio. We also got our main Christmas gift-- a mother and baby goats. They are really cute and the kids love playing with them. I'm not sure what I was thinking, but I think it will be easier than driving to milk daily and it will be cheaper than buying the goats milk. Is is worth it? I don't know yet. I was having some serious anxiety about it the other night, but if it doesn't work out, we can sell the baby and keep the mother at our friend's house and still milk her like we were before, so I think it will be O.K. I've been doing a cleanse though, and I'm really tired of it and ready to be done, so I don't think my mind is quite as straight as it should be. Good luck to me this week!
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Life-- what's been going on
This week went fairly well. We were better at cleaning up after ourselves which always makes the days run smoother. The kids all finished their assignments for the week. We only had an official group time once. I read scriptures with them and had them recite and practice our Christmas song in the car while we were waiting for #4's eye appt. to start, so I feel a little bad about that but we had some fun things going on this week. I'm proud of all the kids for working hard and finishing their assignments. We even got piano in again- except for #1- I'll have to do it first thing in the morning.
Also, one morning I was doing aerobics right before lunch- I've decided that in order to keep my sanity I have to exercise at least 20 min. a day-- if I can't spare 20 min. for myself to do that- then I'm doing something wrong. So anyway, I felt like doing an easy aerobic workout of which there are a few on netflix- so I was doing my 10 min at a time workouts and all the kids were just sitting around watching the T.V. so I made them do it with me and told them it's part of school. It was a fun active workout- we turned the volume up high and I think everybody had a good time even though they complained at first. I'm going to try to incorporate that into school- just 10 min. worth-- we should be able to make time for that right? at least a couple times a week.
We had a fun party at the Classic Fun Center for #2's birthday Tuesday night. All the girls, but 2 she invited were from our new homeschool group and ward. I am so thankful for all the new people we've met. I love our homeschool group. Everybody is very nice and I just like being around them all. They've all done a great job with their various assignments and my kids all feel comfortable and welcomed. I'm so thankful for my girls to finally have some good friends. They both love it. The driving is getting to be extremely difficult- it is just so far and so hard to keep everybody happy that long- and we are still uncertain about even getting our lot still after 3 months!!! Anyway- it's hard to keep positive and to keep faith and hope that our house will actually work out and that we will be able to move because things just don't happen for us. Anyway, that is topic for my other blog. But we are benefiting by going and being around these new friends we've made, and #2 had a great party.
We got to see some old friends this week. One of our favorite homeschooling families who left us came over for a little bit on Saturday, and that was a joy. I got to visit with some old high school friends on Wednesday, and my old neighbor brought her sons over to play on Saturday too. I love having people over- not only for the nice times, but also for all the picking up and cleaning help I get. I almost got to mop the kitchen floor-- maybe this week!
So overall, it was a good week. We have to keep on going. We are a little behind in pre-algebra and latin for the girls. We will take Thurs. and Friday off for Thanksgiving, but we should be able to get a lot done the other 3 days. I love not having commitments-- this week should be commitment free- I'm looking forward to just having time to work with the kids and get stuff done!!
Also, one morning I was doing aerobics right before lunch- I've decided that in order to keep my sanity I have to exercise at least 20 min. a day-- if I can't spare 20 min. for myself to do that- then I'm doing something wrong. So anyway, I felt like doing an easy aerobic workout of which there are a few on netflix- so I was doing my 10 min at a time workouts and all the kids were just sitting around watching the T.V. so I made them do it with me and told them it's part of school. It was a fun active workout- we turned the volume up high and I think everybody had a good time even though they complained at first. I'm going to try to incorporate that into school- just 10 min. worth-- we should be able to make time for that right? at least a couple times a week.
We had a fun party at the Classic Fun Center for #2's birthday Tuesday night. All the girls, but 2 she invited were from our new homeschool group and ward. I am so thankful for all the new people we've met. I love our homeschool group. Everybody is very nice and I just like being around them all. They've all done a great job with their various assignments and my kids all feel comfortable and welcomed. I'm so thankful for my girls to finally have some good friends. They both love it. The driving is getting to be extremely difficult- it is just so far and so hard to keep everybody happy that long- and we are still uncertain about even getting our lot still after 3 months!!! Anyway- it's hard to keep positive and to keep faith and hope that our house will actually work out and that we will be able to move because things just don't happen for us. Anyway, that is topic for my other blog. But we are benefiting by going and being around these new friends we've made, and #2 had a great party.
We got to see some old friends this week. One of our favorite homeschooling families who left us came over for a little bit on Saturday, and that was a joy. I got to visit with some old high school friends on Wednesday, and my old neighbor brought her sons over to play on Saturday too. I love having people over- not only for the nice times, but also for all the picking up and cleaning help I get. I almost got to mop the kitchen floor-- maybe this week!
So overall, it was a good week. We have to keep on going. We are a little behind in pre-algebra and latin for the girls. We will take Thurs. and Friday off for Thanksgiving, but we should be able to get a lot done the other 3 days. I love not having commitments-- this week should be commitment free- I'm looking forward to just having time to work with the kids and get stuff done!!
Sunday, November 13, 2011
This was a boring, but very good week. The kids finally got all their schoolwork done. We didn't have any outside obligations especially since little #7 wasn't feeling well so all we had to do was work. We started Miracle Music again which really is a lifesaver. It's awesome to watch all the kids running to make their beds in time for the music. I exercised Mon., Tues. and Wed. I always miss Friday because our co-op is so dang early in the morning, and I was planning to run on Thurs. but I never made it out the door, but I felt much more in control this week and things moved smoothly. We even had piano lessons and science experiments. I have to take those 20 min. for exercise. I'll try to get up earlier this week which of course begins the night before. Also, it is clear to the girls that instrument practice should be done before or after school hours, and 5 hours a day are set aside for academic subjects. So far so good!
The kids went to their first football game on Sat. It was cold, but fun for them. They were bundled up good. The girls made a short film with our co-op on Friday based on Home Alone. It was pretty funny.
On Monday night they dressed up like pilgrims and indians and performed with their ukelele class for a retirement center. I was very proud of them all. Life is good!
We've got a lot going on this week. I hope it all goes well and that we'll be able to do science and piano lessons and all the regular stuff again. We are definitely going to have to get up earlier in order to do so !
The kids went to their first football game on Sat. It was cold, but fun for them. They were bundled up good. The girls made a short film with our co-op on Friday based on Home Alone. It was pretty funny.
On Monday night they dressed up like pilgrims and indians and performed with their ukelele class for a retirement center. I was very proud of them all. Life is good!
We've got a lot going on this week. I hope it all goes well and that we'll be able to do science and piano lessons and all the regular stuff again. We are definitely going to have to get up earlier in order to do so !
Monday, November 7, 2011
Review of the week-- good and bad
We had group time 4 days this week and starting learning time of day and time telling vocabulary for Spanish. We all love group time, we've been reading Chicken Soup for the Soul series and the kids love that the stories are set in modern times and it gives me an opportunity to explain a lot of things that are just common knowledge, but not to these little ones. I also enjoy discussing the scriptures with them, and they are really learning a lot. We had some fun singing time games to make it go quicker and it was good.
The boys finished most their assignments. We've had some trouble keeping track of our books this week, but I think we'll take away wii minutes for not having them. The girls did most of their assignments but they didn't finish. I told them that they need to be working for at least 5 hours a day not including piano, but including group time which is about an hour for them, then I send them off to do their work and keep going with the boys a little later. When I see them talking to each other I tell them that that doesn't count, and it has helped some, but they are not as far along as I had hoped, so we're really going to have to buckle down this week and get started earlier.
We went to the Bean Science Museum at BYU where they have all kinds of real stuffed animals. The kids really enjoyed it and I think they learned some new things about animals and living things.
The twins were really hard this week, the non-climbing twin would not stay in his crib to sleep, so not only did he not sleep, taking away my precious 2 hours of not taking care of them, he got his brother to get up and he was super cranky and just wanted to be held all the time. So we put the side back up on his crib and I think I will feel much better and actually get some things done!! Not a bad week week considering we had Halloween and a birthday celebration. I was pretty cranky, but my husband took me on a date, helped organize the kids to clean the house and gave me some time to crash. I feel rejuvenated and ready for this week. Also, I love daylight savings. And I have to exercise-- I only do it for 20 min,. a day, but it is 20 min I take for myself and when I don't get it, I am cranky! Priorities!!!
The boys finished most their assignments. We've had some trouble keeping track of our books this week, but I think we'll take away wii minutes for not having them. The girls did most of their assignments but they didn't finish. I told them that they need to be working for at least 5 hours a day not including piano, but including group time which is about an hour for them, then I send them off to do their work and keep going with the boys a little later. When I see them talking to each other I tell them that that doesn't count, and it has helped some, but they are not as far along as I had hoped, so we're really going to have to buckle down this week and get started earlier.
We went to the Bean Science Museum at BYU where they have all kinds of real stuffed animals. The kids really enjoyed it and I think they learned some new things about animals and living things.
The twins were really hard this week, the non-climbing twin would not stay in his crib to sleep, so not only did he not sleep, taking away my precious 2 hours of not taking care of them, he got his brother to get up and he was super cranky and just wanted to be held all the time. So we put the side back up on his crib and I think I will feel much better and actually get some things done!! Not a bad week week considering we had Halloween and a birthday celebration. I was pretty cranky, but my husband took me on a date, helped organize the kids to clean the house and gave me some time to crash. I feel rejuvenated and ready for this week. Also, I love daylight savings. And I have to exercise-- I only do it for 20 min,. a day, but it is 20 min I take for myself and when I don't get it, I am cranky! Priorities!!!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Beginning of Celebrations!
Halloween really does start the season of celebrating. We are going to have to really work hard to get our stuff done through this season. This week we only had 3 days to work mostly because I chose to go on Thursday in the morning to find out some things about our new house and then #3's birthday party was in the afternooon. We were gone all day Friday for Halloween parties and then the Pinewood Derby in the evening which was a disappointment for #3 as his car didn't do very well. Poor oldest boy- guinea pig for boy stuff- his dad will do better next time. The biggest thing we think is to make sure the car weighs the full 5 oz. so that it's heavy enough to keep the momentum, but according to youtube there are a ton of other things you can do too.
We had another party on Saturday, so there wasn't any time to work then either. So we just go on and try to get back on track. We had a good 3 days, but it's just not enough time for any of the kids to finish everything. But I had to get stuff going on our new house. Until we move, I think schooling will continue to be quite tricky. We should have all 4 days this week, there shouldn't be any emergencies come up. We just may have to work a little during normal vacation times since we are vacationing a little now. We have to be so efficient and protective of our time!
We had another party on Saturday, so there wasn't any time to work then either. So we just go on and try to get back on track. We had a good 3 days, but it's just not enough time for any of the kids to finish everything. But I had to get stuff going on our new house. Until we move, I think schooling will continue to be quite tricky. We should have all 4 days this week, there shouldn't be any emergencies come up. We just may have to work a little during normal vacation times since we are vacationing a little now. We have to be so efficient and protective of our time!
Saturday, October 22, 2011
This week--stamina
Overall this week was pretty good. I spread the kids work out to fit in in 4 full days of work with one day to finish whatever we didn't get to in the 4 days. The problem is that right now is that we are commuting 1 hour to church and homeschool events. The weeknight activities are not too bad except they take away from my cleaning time which has to happen in order for us to able to get started in the morning so I have to do it and then I'm a little tired and cranky. But the really hard one is our Friday morning homeschool group-- I love the ladies in it and the kids are all nice and the activities have been good, but in order to make the drive worthwhile and in attempting to save time I do my weekly grocery shopping afterwards and take #4 to his eye appt. down there. We have to leave by 7 or 8 a.m. depending on when I decide to schedule the eye appt- before or after -- we then get home at 3 or 4 or 5 p.m. and the last thing any of us wants to do is schoolwork or piano lessons after we've carried in all the food, been in the car and in the store and it's Friday. So we pretty much lose a whole day which wouldn't happen if we only lived 15 min. away because we'd just come home and finish up whatever we needed too instead of going on a monster shopping trip. As a result nobody finished everything this week and science and piano lessons once again fell to the back burner for the girls. The boys got their lessons and science discussion, but not the girls. It just may take more stamina than I have to get those things done. Also, the girls got all their algebra, latin and piano practicing done, but they did not finish their easier assignments like journaling, required reading, and workbooks.
I really wish we could move sooner. We haven't even started on our house yet- the builder's agent has said each day that he would have the bid ready and we still don't have it. It is so hard to wait, and it is so hard to commute- but there really isn't anything for us up here anyway-- we'd have to commute either way, so I guess I can happily and patiently wait. Each day needs to be savoured and enjoyed, but I would like to move.
Anyway, we did have group time each of the 4 days and "boy time" - younger kids stories, history and science 3 days this week. That was pretty fun. After our long break from Spanish we reintroduced it and I think the kids finally realize they can say stuff. Our new stake has a Spanish ward and when we move out there I would like to get involved and find opportunities to speak Spanish with real people. I think I know how to teach Spanish now and I think the kids will continue to learn more especially if we can find some opportunities to use it.
Also our new electric piano keyboard and colorful ukeleles came this week. The four older kids are all going to take the ukelele class we signed up for. The teacher is awesome and has some really great music. I'm glad everybody is excited about it. The kids love the keyboard, especially my oldest.
Soccer is over so we got a lot of much needed cleaning done in the yard. I have been throwing away all sorts of random things instead of trying to put them away-- it just takes too long. It feels good to get rid of stuff in my way making my life difficult. I wish it was easier for me to do so, because most the time I don't, but I think that will have to change just like I don't really naturally like to clean, but I do it because otherwise I can't do the things I need to. I will get there. It's easier now too, because I know we'll be moving soon. I love having full trash cans!
So that's that. School ran pretty smoothly, we just need to be even more organized, start earlier and endure to the end-- keep going til we finished. I think I burned out a little early this week just cause I wanted to clean instead of teach. I need to keep my priorities in mind and make sure I teach instead of clean in the morning. But I know we are on the right track even if we are moving slow, and that just may be the case until we can move and not have to spend so much time on the road.
I really wish we could move sooner. We haven't even started on our house yet- the builder's agent has said each day that he would have the bid ready and we still don't have it. It is so hard to wait, and it is so hard to commute- but there really isn't anything for us up here anyway-- we'd have to commute either way, so I guess I can happily and patiently wait. Each day needs to be savoured and enjoyed, but I would like to move.
Anyway, we did have group time each of the 4 days and "boy time" - younger kids stories, history and science 3 days this week. That was pretty fun. After our long break from Spanish we reintroduced it and I think the kids finally realize they can say stuff. Our new stake has a Spanish ward and when we move out there I would like to get involved and find opportunities to speak Spanish with real people. I think I know how to teach Spanish now and I think the kids will continue to learn more especially if we can find some opportunities to use it.
Also our new electric piano keyboard and colorful ukeleles came this week. The four older kids are all going to take the ukelele class we signed up for. The teacher is awesome and has some really great music. I'm glad everybody is excited about it. The kids love the keyboard, especially my oldest.
Soccer is over so we got a lot of much needed cleaning done in the yard. I have been throwing away all sorts of random things instead of trying to put them away-- it just takes too long. It feels good to get rid of stuff in my way making my life difficult. I wish it was easier for me to do so, because most the time I don't, but I think that will have to change just like I don't really naturally like to clean, but I do it because otherwise I can't do the things I need to. I will get there. It's easier now too, because I know we'll be moving soon. I love having full trash cans!
So that's that. School ran pretty smoothly, we just need to be even more organized, start earlier and endure to the end-- keep going til we finished. I think I burned out a little early this week just cause I wanted to clean instead of teach. I need to keep my priorities in mind and make sure I teach instead of clean in the morning. But I know we are on the right track even if we are moving slow, and that just may be the case until we can move and not have to spend so much time on the road.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Much Better this week
It is amazing how much we can accomplish when we're home to accomplish it. No more morning appointments of any kind for me except in dire circumstances-- like a broken bone or something. Art class during the day is over and the only morning stuff we have left is on Fridays for our co-op. This is the last week of soccer too. Yay!!
So anyway, everybody finished all their work, we even did piano lessons and a science experiment, which is always my goal. Unfortunately we were unable to do the enrichment reading and music and languages I like to do in group time, but I will have to clear our afternoon appointments to get that in. It's all about priorities. I won't be in charge of scouts anymore, we cleared out violin and like I say this is the last week for soccer, so I'm excited to prioritize better and get some of these more important things into our lives. Overall, I'm pleased with our performance this week. Everybody worked hard and we are on a good roll.
My husband wrote an awesome computer program to help the girls drill Latin. Now that I know how talented he is, which I knew-- I want him to write me a computer program to keep track of everybody's progress instead of doing it on paper. All in due time. In the meantime, we'll just keep plugging along!
So anyway, everybody finished all their work, we even did piano lessons and a science experiment, which is always my goal. Unfortunately we were unable to do the enrichment reading and music and languages I like to do in group time, but I will have to clear our afternoon appointments to get that in. It's all about priorities. I won't be in charge of scouts anymore, we cleared out violin and like I say this is the last week for soccer, so I'm excited to prioritize better and get some of these more important things into our lives. Overall, I'm pleased with our performance this week. Everybody worked hard and we are on a good roll.
My husband wrote an awesome computer program to help the girls drill Latin. Now that I know how talented he is, which I knew-- I want him to write me a computer program to keep track of everybody's progress instead of doing it on paper. All in due time. In the meantime, we'll just keep plugging along!
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Review-- Just not home enough
This was one of those "learning experience" (a.k.a. failing) weeks. The first mistake is that I had some scheduled appointment every morning this week. They were all good and important things, but had I been more organized and had planned ahead better, I would have been able to do them all in the afternoon instead of the morning. Lesson learned is that 10 a.m. is my kids' best hour for learning and that is when we need to be working on math, Greek and Latin -- no exception. I was not home to work with my kids at that hour any of the days of the week this week. The result: no one finished all their requirements this week. They watched a lot of Inspector Gadget and they could not focus well enough in the afternoon to get their work done. They also need me to be home keeping them on task so that they will finish. So this week was pretty much a disaster as far as school goes. I made them all do some math on Saturday and that was good so that it wasn't a complete disaster and they know that they have to do math. We will definitely be doing extra math this week unfortunately. No more dentist and doctor appt. in the mornings, no more art classes or any other classes in the morning, no more being disorganized so that I have to do x in the morning. I have to be home-- I have a full time real job educating my children and my morning hours are the most precious especially for those boys.
I did print out lists for everybody this week, but it was discouraging for them because we lost our mornings. Our week is much more open this week without a bunch of scheduled appts. so I think we'll do much better. I have some serious decluttering and organizing to do. We have got to keep up on our 5 min. pick ups and after meal dishes. I can't wait to move-- it's still happening slowly, but I think it will happen. Wish me luck!!!
I did print out lists for everybody this week, but it was discouraging for them because we lost our mornings. Our week is much more open this week without a bunch of scheduled appts. so I think we'll do much better. I have some serious decluttering and organizing to do. We have got to keep up on our 5 min. pick ups and after meal dishes. I can't wait to move-- it's still happening slowly, but I think it will happen. Wish me luck!!!
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Review of the past 2 weeks
It sure has been busy around here. I have got to be more organized, my printer was jammed so I wrote out on paper what each kid had to do each week, but of course, we can't find those anymore and I'm pretty sure the kids haven't completed all their assignments these past 2 weeks. I will definitely be printing new sheets and making sure they check it off with me each day before they can do anything else. This is a new week and we will start off on the right foot this week.
That being said, we have made some good progress in some areas. We finally started piano lessons and we did a couple of science experiments. I had a thermometer so we could complete our science curriculum, but the babies broke it- at least it was only a $1.60-- but it's the time it takes to go get one- not the cost so much-- hopefully we can going on that this week also. The girls are doing great with Latin with their Dad-- it is so nice for me to not have to teach that important subject. We have also been working in a pre-algebra book and the girls are getting it and enjoying it. They've been reading their history books and literature books. They've also been completing their English grammar workbooks and writing in their journals. The things they tend to forget are what we need the checklist for which is to read their scriptures, do music theory, practice their instruments EVERYDAY-- even on the weekends, and write their reports for their reading. We should get there this week I hope!!
The boys are doing pretty well and since they don't have as many things to do, it's a lot easier to do it all without the checklist, but they'll need one too- to make it easier for me to make sure they did what they were supposed to. #5 is reading pretty well and likes all his workbooks and being a big kid. #4 has made another great leap in his vision and seems to have finally taken off in his reading-- yay!! #3 has had a couple of crying tantrum episodes about how hard 3rd grade is and how he can't do it and doesn't want to, but since it didn't get him out of any work, he has learned to buckle down and just get it done.
We've had some nice group times, but we haven't implemented Spanish yet-- I'm bored with what we were doing so I'll have to figure out how to make it interesting and fun again. Although we still sing Spanish and French songs, this is why I have to get more organized so that we can fit everything in!!
Also, we had a long dentist visit filling cavities-- we need to practice better oral hygeine for sure! We also had a birthday this week, a visit with my old high school friends, a mother daughter activity in our new ward, and a swimming party to go to, art class, ukelele lessons and of course soccer practices and 5 games on Saturday. We also picked tomatoes and dried them and froze peaches and pears. I did get to clean my kitchen ceilings and the kids helped clean a lot of spots and I got a lot of papers thrown away and other stuff put away so that was really nice-- oh and my husband and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary and we met with an architect to draw up the plans for our new house which really couldn't be moving any more slowly-- stress!!! And the power went out Sat night for almost 3 hours-- that was annoying!!!! Oh and we had colds and I couldn't breathe out of my nose. I can't wait to start exercising again!! I always feel so much better when I do.
Well- this week should be much more predictable and calm and organized-- I'm excited!! I want to see all those checklists checked!!
That being said, we have made some good progress in some areas. We finally started piano lessons and we did a couple of science experiments. I had a thermometer so we could complete our science curriculum, but the babies broke it- at least it was only a $1.60-- but it's the time it takes to go get one- not the cost so much-- hopefully we can going on that this week also. The girls are doing great with Latin with their Dad-- it is so nice for me to not have to teach that important subject. We have also been working in a pre-algebra book and the girls are getting it and enjoying it. They've been reading their history books and literature books. They've also been completing their English grammar workbooks and writing in their journals. The things they tend to forget are what we need the checklist for which is to read their scriptures, do music theory, practice their instruments EVERYDAY-- even on the weekends, and write their reports for their reading. We should get there this week I hope!!
The boys are doing pretty well and since they don't have as many things to do, it's a lot easier to do it all without the checklist, but they'll need one too- to make it easier for me to make sure they did what they were supposed to. #5 is reading pretty well and likes all his workbooks and being a big kid. #4 has made another great leap in his vision and seems to have finally taken off in his reading-- yay!! #3 has had a couple of crying tantrum episodes about how hard 3rd grade is and how he can't do it and doesn't want to, but since it didn't get him out of any work, he has learned to buckle down and just get it done.
We've had some nice group times, but we haven't implemented Spanish yet-- I'm bored with what we were doing so I'll have to figure out how to make it interesting and fun again. Although we still sing Spanish and French songs, this is why I have to get more organized so that we can fit everything in!!
Also, we had a long dentist visit filling cavities-- we need to practice better oral hygeine for sure! We also had a birthday this week, a visit with my old high school friends, a mother daughter activity in our new ward, and a swimming party to go to, art class, ukelele lessons and of course soccer practices and 5 games on Saturday. We also picked tomatoes and dried them and froze peaches and pears. I did get to clean my kitchen ceilings and the kids helped clean a lot of spots and I got a lot of papers thrown away and other stuff put away so that was really nice-- oh and my husband and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary and we met with an architect to draw up the plans for our new house which really couldn't be moving any more slowly-- stress!!! And the power went out Sat night for almost 3 hours-- that was annoying!!!! Oh and we had colds and I couldn't breathe out of my nose. I can't wait to start exercising again!! I always feel so much better when I do.
Well- this week should be much more predictable and calm and organized-- I'm excited!! I want to see all those checklists checked!!
Monday, September 12, 2011
First Week Finished!
We finished our first official week on Friday!! It went well, although we will tweak a few things. The main thing I will tweak is to have the girls' summaries and compositions due on the Monday following the week they read their required reading and history assignments so that they can use Friday to read, but don't have to write about it until the following week. I have to buy a thermometer today so that we can do our science experiments and I have to teach piano lessons. Science and piano seem to be the 2 things that are the hardest to stay on top of. Traveling an hour away to our new ward and to our new co-op is taking a lot of time and gas money. That just won't subside until we move- probably in December. I need to get my mp3 player working so we can listen to audio books.
The girls started Latin and their dad is their teacher and he was very pleased with their knowledge of declensions, parts of speech, number, gender, conjugations, and word modifying rules. They will have to move through the Henle Latin book rather quickly and it looks like they will be able to do so and be ready for the National Latin Exam in March. This is a huge relief to see that the path we've laid out for their education is working!!
The boys got right into their program. #3 want a wii game and wondered how he could earn it, so we went ahead and bought it and told him that when he finishes his math book and passes the test, he can have it, so he worked really hard and finished the last 30 page of his math book. We'll do the corrections today and he'll probably take the test tomorrow. I'm very proud of him. #4 worked on his times tables and learned the 6s pretty well. #5 loves his workbooks and sits for a long time working on them. So this was a good first week.
The twins like being able to sit on my lap a lot while I read to the older kids. They've enjoyed singing in group time and all the attention they get since I'm not trying to clean constantly.
Also I'm reading a great parenting book that focuses on being positive and encouraging to the kids. I really needed the reminder because I think I was using their wii privilege too much as a punishment and not encouraging them to do things for the sake of being kind and good and benevolent. They really respond better when I tell them what a good worker, strong boy, kind person and acknowledge them when they are kind and loving and hard working and diligent.
So off to a new week!
The girls started Latin and their dad is their teacher and he was very pleased with their knowledge of declensions, parts of speech, number, gender, conjugations, and word modifying rules. They will have to move through the Henle Latin book rather quickly and it looks like they will be able to do so and be ready for the National Latin Exam in March. This is a huge relief to see that the path we've laid out for their education is working!!
The boys got right into their program. #3 want a wii game and wondered how he could earn it, so we went ahead and bought it and told him that when he finishes his math book and passes the test, he can have it, so he worked really hard and finished the last 30 page of his math book. We'll do the corrections today and he'll probably take the test tomorrow. I'm very proud of him. #4 worked on his times tables and learned the 6s pretty well. #5 loves his workbooks and sits for a long time working on them. So this was a good first week.
The twins like being able to sit on my lap a lot while I read to the older kids. They've enjoyed singing in group time and all the attention they get since I'm not trying to clean constantly.
Also I'm reading a great parenting book that focuses on being positive and encouraging to the kids. I really needed the reminder because I think I was using their wii privilege too much as a punishment and not encouraging them to do things for the sake of being kind and good and benevolent. They really respond better when I tell them what a good worker, strong boy, kind person and acknowledge them when they are kind and loving and hard working and diligent.
So off to a new week!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
the past 2 summer weeks-- Leaving Utah
It doesn't feel like we've done a whole lot, but I know that when I think about it and write it down, I realize that we've done more than I think. The babies are really toddlers now at 18 months and they have been needing more attention as far as playing with them and keeping them entertained. So the few weeks where they played happily on their own in the mornings and I got a lot of cleaning and organizing done are gone for now. They get cranky and bored at about 10 a.m., so I get as much of the kitchen done as I can before then and then I just have to stop cleaning and go do group time with the kids. They enjoy singing time. They enjoy the attention we give them for the other stuff and unless they are tired or feeling sick they usually make it through the whole thing. Although I usually end up changing their diapers and have the girls do the scripture reviews or poetry reading with everybody else while I do so that we don't waste any of our precious time. I have decided to do Spanish with everybody, concentrate on Greek with the girls immediately after group time while the boys go run around and enjoy their break and then I'll pick up French with just the girls in the fall or when we have completed our Greek course.
#1 just has one chapter left in Greek-- then we'll review all the words and make up a test for her and she will be all ready for Latin in the fall-- YAY!!! #2 still has 12 chapters to go which is a lot for the next 6 weeks of summer, but I think she'll be fine. She is very smart and needs the challenge. A neighbor girl has been coming over 4-5 times a week to review math with us. It has helped so much to get my girls motivated to continue working math problems, otherwise I'm not sure I would have been able to get their attention. I had them work through a whole bunch of long division problems and then review their basic math facts. Now we will be working through the problems that are actually on the final test with the numbers changed and then they should pass that test at last. I can't wait!!
The boys can't find their Greek workbooks, so we've just been reviewing words and concepts. They are doing so well. It really does make a difference that I have already gone through the program with the girls-- it's a good thing too, because I don't have as much time for them as I did for the girls. Anyway, it's fun. I got them some summer workbooks, so that is all I'm having them do this summer-- just get them used to lots of writing and reviewing their basic math operations. They've got their summer reading too. I think they have enjoyed the summer books, and I appreciate the time to just review.
We were going to do science this summer, but so far we haven't. We've also been terrible at piano lessons, although I continue to make the kids practice. This is another good reason to record what we've done-- it helps me remember our goals and keeps me on track with those. We definitely need to start up piano lessons again. I think we will make science another priority in the fall. I'm going to try to get a science group together. I think my boys especially will like that.
Unfortunately my frustrations with the homeschool community out here have not subsided. My 12 year old needs more than what is available here to us in Utah. We are Mormons, but we really don't fit in with the other Mormons around us. Many of our homeschooling friends have been non-Mormons. Raising our children to be good Mormons, faithful in the gospel of Jesus Christ is one of our primary objectives. Unfortunately living in Utah around Mormons is not helping us do that well. I love my non-Mormon friends, but if our main friends are non-Mormons, then why are living in Utah? We may as well live out of state where it makes sense that our best friends are not Mormon. Also, Utah is behind in a lot of ways. We lack museums, YMCA's, community centers, educational programs and other opportunities. There are some really nice things about Utah though-- not one place will have everything. But all things being equal we'd rather be surrounded by lakes, rivers and lots of vegetation. We also have family in the East. So over the next year or so we will be moving East. We are really looking forward to it. I have to admit I do have some feeling of trepidation about actually moving, but I am also very excited to see what the future holds. I think I will feel a little more at home in the East. I wasn't raised in Utah, and I am just now understanding better why some things here are the way they are. I am looking forward to a new adventure and hopefully better opportunities and friends for my children and better support at church.
#1 just has one chapter left in Greek-- then we'll review all the words and make up a test for her and she will be all ready for Latin in the fall-- YAY!!! #2 still has 12 chapters to go which is a lot for the next 6 weeks of summer, but I think she'll be fine. She is very smart and needs the challenge. A neighbor girl has been coming over 4-5 times a week to review math with us. It has helped so much to get my girls motivated to continue working math problems, otherwise I'm not sure I would have been able to get their attention. I had them work through a whole bunch of long division problems and then review their basic math facts. Now we will be working through the problems that are actually on the final test with the numbers changed and then they should pass that test at last. I can't wait!!
The boys can't find their Greek workbooks, so we've just been reviewing words and concepts. They are doing so well. It really does make a difference that I have already gone through the program with the girls-- it's a good thing too, because I don't have as much time for them as I did for the girls. Anyway, it's fun. I got them some summer workbooks, so that is all I'm having them do this summer-- just get them used to lots of writing and reviewing their basic math operations. They've got their summer reading too. I think they have enjoyed the summer books, and I appreciate the time to just review.
We were going to do science this summer, but so far we haven't. We've also been terrible at piano lessons, although I continue to make the kids practice. This is another good reason to record what we've done-- it helps me remember our goals and keeps me on track with those. We definitely need to start up piano lessons again. I think we will make science another priority in the fall. I'm going to try to get a science group together. I think my boys especially will like that.
Unfortunately my frustrations with the homeschool community out here have not subsided. My 12 year old needs more than what is available here to us in Utah. We are Mormons, but we really don't fit in with the other Mormons around us. Many of our homeschooling friends have been non-Mormons. Raising our children to be good Mormons, faithful in the gospel of Jesus Christ is one of our primary objectives. Unfortunately living in Utah around Mormons is not helping us do that well. I love my non-Mormon friends, but if our main friends are non-Mormons, then why are living in Utah? We may as well live out of state where it makes sense that our best friends are not Mormon. Also, Utah is behind in a lot of ways. We lack museums, YMCA's, community centers, educational programs and other opportunities. There are some really nice things about Utah though-- not one place will have everything. But all things being equal we'd rather be surrounded by lakes, rivers and lots of vegetation. We also have family in the East. So over the next year or so we will be moving East. We are really looking forward to it. I have to admit I do have some feeling of trepidation about actually moving, but I am also very excited to see what the future holds. I think I will feel a little more at home in the East. I wasn't raised in Utah, and I am just now understanding better why some things here are the way they are. I am looking forward to a new adventure and hopefully better opportunities and friends for my children and better support at church.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Summer Progress
We're not getting a whole lot of academic work done, but we are enjoying the warm weather. It finally got hot and it is so nice to be outside in it!! I bought some summer workbooks at Costco and the kids are enjoying them. Those should at least keep them from forgetting everything. I think we are going to join the local swim club. That way the kids who know how to swim can do so often without me having to worry so much about the younger ones. I've pretty much decided that I don't like the homeschool community around here and I think that swimming and soccer will fill the void we have for team work and some social interaction until 9th grade when I'll have my kids attend seminary and possibly orchestra with the local schools. There are some great people I have met, but they all live about 20 min. away. So we will participate in some good homeschool activities like a talent show, economic fair, math club, field trips and 4-H. But I think my kids will benefit from participating in swim club. We definitely need to go swimming to brush up before I start them out. #2 scraped her elbow and knee when she crashed on her scooter so we've had to wait for those to heal before I could take them to a pool. This week!!
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Science Fair
We participated in our first annual science fair this week. There were no judges this time around, so we did demonstrations instead of turning it into a question and using the scientific method. My husband thinks the scientific method is overrated. We would rather teach our kids why things do the things they do and help them see cause and effect. However, the kids who used the scientific method at the fair had very nice displays. They looked really good and were very interesting. Next year there will be judges, so we'll turn our projects into questions and hypothesis.
So #1 built an electric motor. It turned using the power of a magnet and battery. It was pretty cool to watch. #2 built a telegraph also using a battery and turning a nail into an electromagnet by wrapping several coils of wire around it. #3 built a lever with a folcrom and demonstrated the amount of effort used at various lengths. #4 built a pulley system which tok me a very long time to untangle the rope when we got to the fair. He demonstrated the amount of effort used with differing numbers of pulleys. They had a lot of help from their dad. That's pretty much what we spent doing on Memorial Day. It was fun and educational for us all.
I'm newly optimistic about homeschooling in this area. It's looking like we've got some people who want to do things with their kids that will be beneficial for them and others. I'm so relieved- homeschooling is so much easier when you have friends to do some of these bigger things with. There weren't a lot of participants, but there were quite a few people who came just to look. So I think come January when we have the next one and with judges, we'll have a better turnout. We've also got plans for an economic fair, talent show and field day. Yay!
Also this week we got a lot of gardening done which has been nice. It has also finally been warm enough to send the kids outside which has made a huge difference. We only did a little bit of school work this week, but we'll hit it hard next week. We essentially took off last week for my brother-in-law's wedding. It was so nice to spend time with family. Love it!
So #1 built an electric motor. It turned using the power of a magnet and battery. It was pretty cool to watch. #2 built a telegraph also using a battery and turning a nail into an electromagnet by wrapping several coils of wire around it. #3 built a lever with a folcrom and demonstrated the amount of effort used at various lengths. #4 built a pulley system which tok me a very long time to untangle the rope when we got to the fair. He demonstrated the amount of effort used with differing numbers of pulleys. They had a lot of help from their dad. That's pretty much what we spent doing on Memorial Day. It was fun and educational for us all.
I'm newly optimistic about homeschooling in this area. It's looking like we've got some people who want to do things with their kids that will be beneficial for them and others. I'm so relieved- homeschooling is so much easier when you have friends to do some of these bigger things with. There weren't a lot of participants, but there were quite a few people who came just to look. So I think come January when we have the next one and with judges, we'll have a better turnout. We've also got plans for an economic fair, talent show and field day. Yay!
Also this week we got a lot of gardening done which has been nice. It has also finally been warm enough to send the kids outside which has made a huge difference. We only did a little bit of school work this week, but we'll hit it hard next week. We essentially took off last week for my brother-in-law's wedding. It was so nice to spend time with family. Love it!
Monday, May 23, 2011
Wrapping things up
We didn't get as far as I had hoped. I hoped we could take off a couple weeks starting now. I let the girls do only math for a week in hopes that they would finish and could move on to spend their time finishing up Greek. It didn't work that way- they just did math and not their other subjects but didn't finish math and now they are a little behind in Greek too. So that was a bad idea. We should have just kept going. Oh well.
The boys are both excelling in math and are very far ahead for their age. They have both started Greek and are getting it. #3 is reading for fun now, but has yet to write much on his own. So for the summer I'm going to focus on writing and spelling for him. #4 is close to reading for fun, so I will focus on his reading over the summer.
I'm going to let the boys take the week off of school. We have a wedding on Friday and family coming to stay with us this week, so I want to spend some extra time cleaning and of course as much time with them all as possible. I would also like to get the garden planted if there is any sun this week. I also need to spend some extra time with the girls keeping them focused and help them finish Greek and math. They will have time to do 1 hour of math and 1 section of Greek each day this week, even with all that's going on. I wish they could take the whole week off too- but they really need to finish up and a little bit each day seems to be more effective than a lot on one day. It shouldn't be too bad.
#1 has been working on review problems getting ready for the test and is happy to find that she is getting most of the answers correct. #2 took the test twice already- the first time she left a bunch of questions blank because she wasn't sure how to do them. The second time she just ran out of time so she definitely needs more practice. I think I'll have #1 do some more practice problems also and they can both take the test on Thursday. I really hope they pass. They have been left pretty much to independent study. I have even had them check their own answers so I think that's why it's taken a little longer. So if I focus on them this week and let the boys have it off, they should get through more material a little faster.
We are finally getting Spanish and French. I made posters with some of the sayings and vocabulary we know and during the sessions had them say things and talk only in the language we were doing. They seemed to enjoy it and I think for the first time realized that they can speak both languages a little. I definitely want to continue that through the summer, but we probably won't be able to this week.
We do need at least 2-3 weeks of no school once the girls finish math and greek and then we'll go to our summer schedule of school 2-3 times per week and focus on things like science, art and sewing. I also signed everybody up for 4-H. It looks like a great program and I think it will be good for us.
The boys are both excelling in math and are very far ahead for their age. They have both started Greek and are getting it. #3 is reading for fun now, but has yet to write much on his own. So for the summer I'm going to focus on writing and spelling for him. #4 is close to reading for fun, so I will focus on his reading over the summer.
I'm going to let the boys take the week off of school. We have a wedding on Friday and family coming to stay with us this week, so I want to spend some extra time cleaning and of course as much time with them all as possible. I would also like to get the garden planted if there is any sun this week. I also need to spend some extra time with the girls keeping them focused and help them finish Greek and math. They will have time to do 1 hour of math and 1 section of Greek each day this week, even with all that's going on. I wish they could take the whole week off too- but they really need to finish up and a little bit each day seems to be more effective than a lot on one day. It shouldn't be too bad.
#1 has been working on review problems getting ready for the test and is happy to find that she is getting most of the answers correct. #2 took the test twice already- the first time she left a bunch of questions blank because she wasn't sure how to do them. The second time she just ran out of time so she definitely needs more practice. I think I'll have #1 do some more practice problems also and they can both take the test on Thursday. I really hope they pass. They have been left pretty much to independent study. I have even had them check their own answers so I think that's why it's taken a little longer. So if I focus on them this week and let the boys have it off, they should get through more material a little faster.
We are finally getting Spanish and French. I made posters with some of the sayings and vocabulary we know and during the sessions had them say things and talk only in the language we were doing. They seemed to enjoy it and I think for the first time realized that they can speak both languages a little. I definitely want to continue that through the summer, but we probably won't be able to this week.
We do need at least 2-3 weeks of no school once the girls finish math and greek and then we'll go to our summer schedule of school 2-3 times per week and focus on things like science, art and sewing. I also signed everybody up for 4-H. It looks like a great program and I think it will be good for us.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
We didn't Finish Everything!
It's hard to get everything done with one day slotted off to go to vision therapy. In order to save on gas and time, I then have to do my grocery shopping the same day since the stores I like to go to are 15-20 min away from home and I pass a few on my home from the eye doctor. We do listen to books on tape on our trips, so that does help some, but the girls left too much work for themselves to finish on Friday and with a birthday party, play practice and soccer practice they didn't have enough time.
Oh well, I knew that with a baptism and 4 soccer games and regular cleaning we wouldn't have time on Sat. either. We didn't. Oh well. I may have to put the eye doctor on Wednesdays so that we have Thursday to finish up. we have a tendency to try to leave more than we should for later. Also we have been going to bed very late and getting up very late. So it may be time to return to our schedule. I also been very distracted dealing with a problem at church. It has weighed heavy on my mind and I haven't given my kids the full attention they need. It looks like we will be coming to a resolution soon, and it will be nice to focus back on the kids and make sure they're doing what they are supposed to. It turns out that #2 has not been doing enough pages of math or greek, so I have to follow up better. The boys are still in the easy phases. The girls do better when they start earlier.
I can't wait for summer break. I keep telling the girls that once they finish their math book and take the tests, then they are done for the summer. And once they finish Greek they are done for the rest of their lives. I'm so ready for them to be done!!!!
Oh well, I knew that with a baptism and 4 soccer games and regular cleaning we wouldn't have time on Sat. either. We didn't. Oh well. I may have to put the eye doctor on Wednesdays so that we have Thursday to finish up. we have a tendency to try to leave more than we should for later. Also we have been going to bed very late and getting up very late. So it may be time to return to our schedule. I also been very distracted dealing with a problem at church. It has weighed heavy on my mind and I haven't given my kids the full attention they need. It looks like we will be coming to a resolution soon, and it will be nice to focus back on the kids and make sure they're doing what they are supposed to. It turns out that #2 has not been doing enough pages of math or greek, so I have to follow up better. The boys are still in the easy phases. The girls do better when they start earlier.
I can't wait for summer break. I keep telling the girls that once they finish their math book and take the tests, then they are done for the summer. And once they finish Greek they are done for the rest of their lives. I'm so ready for them to be done!!!!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Glad this week is over!
This week was very busy. My husband was in San Francisco for a conference this week. If there was any way we could have all fit in his hotel room, we would have all gone, but there wasn't so we stayed and he went. Next year though it will be in D.C. so we'll turn that one into a vacation and all go.
Anyway, we pretty much got all our stuff done. Monday was rough as usual. I have to blame the weather a little bit- we are getting some cabin fever. It has been unusually cold this year and we really miss being outside. Tuesday it was cold and windy so we skipped the park and went to the library and watched a movie. Wednesday we went to visit some good homeschool friends who moved 30 min. away a couple years ago and we had such a good time, we are getting together to let the kids play and we moms are having a little Great books book club- next time we will discuss Julius Ceasar. The girls just had to do math, greek, piano and violin that day and the boys took it off. Spending time with good friends is so important to making the homeschool experience enjoyable. Even though it takes time away from studying, it makes the overall experience doable. Especially as moms we need to have friends to support us and just be able to talk about what we're doing. It was very refreshing for me. The sun finally came out at the end, but I think it was gone by the time we got home.
I did a short presentation on sprouting and took a couple salads and dressings to Relief Society class that evening,so it was a busy day and the kids watched another movie while I was gone. Fortunately the babies went to bed just fine.
Thursday we had #4's eye appointment. His eyesight has improved so that he is now with his glasses he is 20/20 in one eye and 25/20 in the other. When we started a year ago, with the same glasses he was 45/20 in one eye and 40/20 in the other. Before our break he was 25/20 and 30/20 so I am pleased with his improvement. He is using both eyes together up to about 3 feet, so he is reading well. Only with very very small detail does his eye cross and they stay straight pretty much all the time. So we will go ahead and continue vision therapy and work on extending out that stereo vision to greater distances. The doctors think he has a very good chance of doing so. We are rested from the weekly trips-- it is 45 min. away-- but so worth it. #4 is so energetic and enthusiastic about life. He doesn't like to miss anything and is usually the first one up, so it is especially heart warming to see him gain vision that I didn't realize he was even missing.
After the appt. we stopped by the store for snacks and headed to the zoo. I was a little worried it would be too cold, but it was O.K. We got there 1 1/2 hours before it closed and there was hardly anybody there. It was overcast but not too bad. We saw the animals doing things we don't normally see- a monkey nursing her baby and a peacock with his beautiful tail feathers a ll spread out. I was surprised to find that it was relaxing for me since it wasn't hard to keep track of everybody with so few people there. We pretty much had snacks for dinner, but it was nice. I think the kids enjoyed it too.
We have been listening to Rebecca of Sunnybrook farm in the car. Great book.
Friday, the kids took a long time finishing up all the stuff they had missed because of our travels and then the girls went to their friends house and I took the boys to costco and the health food store to get our weekly groceries. They all have hours of minutes of on the wii from Easter candy so I let them trade in an hour each for a new wii game. I also spent about 1 1/2 hours just folding clothes while the kids were working. I wanted to get most of my cleaning done, but it didn't happen. My husband came home late that night- YAAAAAAY!! I really missed him. It was so nice to have him home.
The Saturday was crazy-- too crazy. In the future I will have to opt out of Saturday parties during soccer season. We had our usual 4 soccer games in the morning- 2 of which were played amidst falling snowflakes. Then I had just enough time to make hummus and bean dip for a family party to which we stayed much too long-- then we came home with just enough time to clean a tiny bit and use up some wii minutes before a Young Men/ Young Women dinner/ party/ "talent" show. At least I didn't have to make dinner.
Anyway, that was just too much for one Saturday. In the future I will have to be strict about leaving or just skip something. We need time to be at home and relax and clean. I actually love cleaning now. I really appreciate the ability and time to do it. I'm going to try to have people over a lot more often and try to keep the house cleaner and have the kids do more cleaning.
So for Sunday, we went to our early 9 a.m. meetings for 3 hours 'til noon and then came home and crashed. It was a nice restful day. Now we'll be ready for the new week and maybe this Monday won't be so bad.
Also, I am officially done nursing the twins. #6 can walk across the room at last, he just needs to learn how to get up on his own. We'll keep working on it- he's not as slow as #5 was! I have to gear up for a good cleanse- not excited about it yet-- I'll have to go look in the mirror at my tight clothes- that should motivate me!
Whew!!! I'm also hoping for sun this week-- we'll do some serious gardening!!
Anyway, we pretty much got all our stuff done. Monday was rough as usual. I have to blame the weather a little bit- we are getting some cabin fever. It has been unusually cold this year and we really miss being outside. Tuesday it was cold and windy so we skipped the park and went to the library and watched a movie. Wednesday we went to visit some good homeschool friends who moved 30 min. away a couple years ago and we had such a good time, we are getting together to let the kids play and we moms are having a little Great books book club- next time we will discuss Julius Ceasar. The girls just had to do math, greek, piano and violin that day and the boys took it off. Spending time with good friends is so important to making the homeschool experience enjoyable. Even though it takes time away from studying, it makes the overall experience doable. Especially as moms we need to have friends to support us and just be able to talk about what we're doing. It was very refreshing for me. The sun finally came out at the end, but I think it was gone by the time we got home.
I did a short presentation on sprouting and took a couple salads and dressings to Relief Society class that evening,so it was a busy day and the kids watched another movie while I was gone. Fortunately the babies went to bed just fine.
Thursday we had #4's eye appointment. His eyesight has improved so that he is now with his glasses he is 20/20 in one eye and 25/20 in the other. When we started a year ago, with the same glasses he was 45/20 in one eye and 40/20 in the other. Before our break he was 25/20 and 30/20 so I am pleased with his improvement. He is using both eyes together up to about 3 feet, so he is reading well. Only with very very small detail does his eye cross and they stay straight pretty much all the time. So we will go ahead and continue vision therapy and work on extending out that stereo vision to greater distances. The doctors think he has a very good chance of doing so. We are rested from the weekly trips-- it is 45 min. away-- but so worth it. #4 is so energetic and enthusiastic about life. He doesn't like to miss anything and is usually the first one up, so it is especially heart warming to see him gain vision that I didn't realize he was even missing.
After the appt. we stopped by the store for snacks and headed to the zoo. I was a little worried it would be too cold, but it was O.K. We got there 1 1/2 hours before it closed and there was hardly anybody there. It was overcast but not too bad. We saw the animals doing things we don't normally see- a monkey nursing her baby and a peacock with his beautiful tail feathers a ll spread out. I was surprised to find that it was relaxing for me since it wasn't hard to keep track of everybody with so few people there. We pretty much had snacks for dinner, but it was nice. I think the kids enjoyed it too.
We have been listening to Rebecca of Sunnybrook farm in the car. Great book.
Friday, the kids took a long time finishing up all the stuff they had missed because of our travels and then the girls went to their friends house and I took the boys to costco and the health food store to get our weekly groceries. They all have hours of minutes of on the wii from Easter candy so I let them trade in an hour each for a new wii game. I also spent about 1 1/2 hours just folding clothes while the kids were working. I wanted to get most of my cleaning done, but it didn't happen. My husband came home late that night- YAAAAAAY!! I really missed him. It was so nice to have him home.
The Saturday was crazy-- too crazy. In the future I will have to opt out of Saturday parties during soccer season. We had our usual 4 soccer games in the morning- 2 of which were played amidst falling snowflakes. Then I had just enough time to make hummus and bean dip for a family party to which we stayed much too long-- then we came home with just enough time to clean a tiny bit and use up some wii minutes before a Young Men/ Young Women dinner/ party/ "talent" show. At least I didn't have to make dinner.
Anyway, that was just too much for one Saturday. In the future I will have to be strict about leaving or just skip something. We need time to be at home and relax and clean. I actually love cleaning now. I really appreciate the ability and time to do it. I'm going to try to have people over a lot more often and try to keep the house cleaner and have the kids do more cleaning.
So for Sunday, we went to our early 9 a.m. meetings for 3 hours 'til noon and then came home and crashed. It was a nice restful day. Now we'll be ready for the new week and maybe this Monday won't be so bad.
Also, I am officially done nursing the twins. #6 can walk across the room at last, he just needs to learn how to get up on his own. We'll keep working on it- he's not as slow as #5 was! I have to gear up for a good cleanse- not excited about it yet-- I'll have to go look in the mirror at my tight clothes- that should motivate me!
Whew!!! I'm also hoping for sun this week-- we'll do some serious gardening!!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Easter- Review
This weekend was so crazy I didn't even post about the week and now it's 4:36 a.m.! Oh well, I feel pretty good and awake.
So anyway, it was a good week once we got past Monday. Mondays are always super hard. I'm going to have to figure something out. Everybody finished their assignments for the most part and are doing well. The boys are moving along through their workbooks at a great pace. They are both pretty far ahead and #5 is reading with me everyday.
#1 is on schedule to finish 6B in about 3 weeks and Greek in 7 weeks. Greek has gotten a little tricky so I have had to help her a bit. She has learned to use reflexive pronouns, 3rd person pronouns, and the passive voice and has not had any guidance form me, so she finally got frustrated and I've had to walk her through some of the concepts, but she gets it now. She also took a couple of days to review the vocabulary. I'm very proud of her.
#2 should finish 6B this week and start reviewing and take the test next week and be done with Singapore Math!! Then she'll have to review some more and take all the previous tests to be ready to start Algebra. Because she loves math I will probably let her start algebra if she wants, but we really want her to start Latin with #1 in the fall so we'll probably hold off and have her focus on Greek until she's completely finished. She still has 14 chapters left- 14 weeks worth so she will be working on it this summer unless she can do more than a chapter a week. The goal for her is to do o 2 chapters a week.
#1 had her 12th birthday party on Friday, so we had to spend some time getting ready for that. We had math group on Tues. which went well although we could use a few more people. We read a lot which is always nice. Saturday was stressful because me, my husband and #1 were assigned to give talks in sacrament meeting on Easter Sunday. #1 did great. I did my best- which was not real great. I think my husband did well, but I only heard about half of it because I was in the hall with the babies. My mom and #2 mostly took care of them but by the time it got to the end, the babies had had it. I think they were a little hungry because with 9:00 church and everybody finding their Easter baskets and getting dressed, they didn't get to spend their usual long amount of time eating and I didn't have time to make a smoothie- then on our way to the church I realized I had left my talk at home and we were almost out of gas.
But we made it and we took nice long naps that afternoon. I had been up 'til 5 cleaning and doing Easter bunny stuff and writing my talk. What a night-- I did sleep from 10-1, but still. No wonder I took so long to recover this week. So far this week has been tough, it should pick up though!
My husband is out of town and I miss him a lot. I also realize all the things he does around here when he's gone-- like setting and turning off the house alarm. We set it off when we let the cat out- we wondered what the beeping was I ran to the box and it said- calling police-- aaaah!! I shut it off and the police never came so I guess we're O.K. I didn't get the trash out to the street in time either and I didn't have much adult conversation. I can't wait to have my husband home!!
Holidays are pretty rough when your life is full with just regular living. It's really hard to add anything else. But the kids love it. Life!!
So anyway, it was a good week once we got past Monday. Mondays are always super hard. I'm going to have to figure something out. Everybody finished their assignments for the most part and are doing well. The boys are moving along through their workbooks at a great pace. They are both pretty far ahead and #5 is reading with me everyday.
#1 is on schedule to finish 6B in about 3 weeks and Greek in 7 weeks. Greek has gotten a little tricky so I have had to help her a bit. She has learned to use reflexive pronouns, 3rd person pronouns, and the passive voice and has not had any guidance form me, so she finally got frustrated and I've had to walk her through some of the concepts, but she gets it now. She also took a couple of days to review the vocabulary. I'm very proud of her.
#2 should finish 6B this week and start reviewing and take the test next week and be done with Singapore Math!! Then she'll have to review some more and take all the previous tests to be ready to start Algebra. Because she loves math I will probably let her start algebra if she wants, but we really want her to start Latin with #1 in the fall so we'll probably hold off and have her focus on Greek until she's completely finished. She still has 14 chapters left- 14 weeks worth so she will be working on it this summer unless she can do more than a chapter a week. The goal for her is to do o 2 chapters a week.
#1 had her 12th birthday party on Friday, so we had to spend some time getting ready for that. We had math group on Tues. which went well although we could use a few more people. We read a lot which is always nice. Saturday was stressful because me, my husband and #1 were assigned to give talks in sacrament meeting on Easter Sunday. #1 did great. I did my best- which was not real great. I think my husband did well, but I only heard about half of it because I was in the hall with the babies. My mom and #2 mostly took care of them but by the time it got to the end, the babies had had it. I think they were a little hungry because with 9:00 church and everybody finding their Easter baskets and getting dressed, they didn't get to spend their usual long amount of time eating and I didn't have time to make a smoothie- then on our way to the church I realized I had left my talk at home and we were almost out of gas.
But we made it and we took nice long naps that afternoon. I had been up 'til 5 cleaning and doing Easter bunny stuff and writing my talk. What a night-- I did sleep from 10-1, but still. No wonder I took so long to recover this week. So far this week has been tough, it should pick up though!
My husband is out of town and I miss him a lot. I also realize all the things he does around here when he's gone-- like setting and turning off the house alarm. We set it off when we let the cat out- we wondered what the beeping was I ran to the box and it said- calling police-- aaaah!! I shut it off and the police never came so I guess we're O.K. I didn't get the trash out to the street in time either and I didn't have much adult conversation. I can't wait to have my husband home!!
Holidays are pretty rough when your life is full with just regular living. It's really hard to add anything else. But the kids love it. Life!!
Sunday, April 17, 2011
The Week after "Spring" Break
Mondays are always a little difficult to get into the swing of things and this Monday was the Monday after our break, so it was a bit trying. I just could not get the little boys to focus and get their work done. I finally gave up and figured we'd do extra on Friday- but that didn't happen either. The girls finished everything except their Friday writing assignments and I don't think #2 is doing enough Greek. Also one of the days, #1 needed extra help on math and the babies got woken up early from their nap, so instead of the kids getting their stuff done all at the same time, I had them do "preschool" with the babies which means entertain and keep them happy so that I could help #1 with math. It doesn't come easy to her, and it's way too frustrating to me to even try to help her onkey children all over the place. So it was nice to have everybody out of our hair so that we could concentrate better. As usual it took her awhile to get the new concept, but once she has it , she has it.
We also celebarted #1's birthday with her favorite spring rolls and a trip to the pioneer museum in Salt Lake City. We also went to the library that day and I gave a couple of piano lessons, so we didn't get a whole lot of schooling in on Tuesday either. Wednesday was a normal day, but Thursday I spent 2 hours at the dentist with #3 getting a very large cavity fixed. Friday the kids had some extra activities already planned so I had to do my weekly grocery shopping earlier than usual-- so no wonder not everybody finished their schoolwork!
I think we'll be more into it this week although it gets really hard to focus when the weather's nice. Oh yeah-- that's another thing that happened- the secondary water came on and I had to remember how to turn off the sprinklers and once everybody gets outside and out of the routine, it sure is hard to get back. This week should be better-- if we can just make it about 7 more weeks, we'll take a nice long break and then we'll move into our summer schedule.
It sure is nice to write and realize how much we did this week. You can check my other blog for the business of the twins.
Here are some more highlights:
#1 turned 12 and started attending the Young Women's organization at church
she loves it so far and can't wait for girls' camp
#2 was a little sick
We attending cub scout pack meeting for #3 and he loves it-- so does the whole family.
#4 is now riding a 2 wheeler by himself!!! he started learning at the end of last summer and he is so happy to be able to join the other kids on their bikes.
#5 has started reading lessons and he has been the easiest to teach so far-- I guess I'm getting pretty good at it-- and he gave his first talk in Primary at church-- it took some serious bribing, but he did it and is so proud.
#6 loves to walk around by holding 2 hands, but we have tricked him enough that now he'll walk just holding one hand-- walking is in his future
#7 has a few molars that have finally cut through, but there are still more on the way.
We also celebarted #1's birthday with her favorite spring rolls and a trip to the pioneer museum in Salt Lake City. We also went to the library that day and I gave a couple of piano lessons, so we didn't get a whole lot of schooling in on Tuesday either. Wednesday was a normal day, but Thursday I spent 2 hours at the dentist with #3 getting a very large cavity fixed. Friday the kids had some extra activities already planned so I had to do my weekly grocery shopping earlier than usual-- so no wonder not everybody finished their schoolwork!
I think we'll be more into it this week although it gets really hard to focus when the weather's nice. Oh yeah-- that's another thing that happened- the secondary water came on and I had to remember how to turn off the sprinklers and once everybody gets outside and out of the routine, it sure is hard to get back. This week should be better-- if we can just make it about 7 more weeks, we'll take a nice long break and then we'll move into our summer schedule.
It sure is nice to write and realize how much we did this week. You can check my other blog for the business of the twins.
Here are some more highlights:
#1 turned 12 and started attending the Young Women's organization at church
she loves it so far and can't wait for girls' camp
#2 was a little sick
We attending cub scout pack meeting for #3 and he loves it-- so does the whole family.
#4 is now riding a 2 wheeler by himself!!! he started learning at the end of last summer and he is so happy to be able to join the other kids on their bikes.
#5 has started reading lessons and he has been the easiest to teach so far-- I guess I'm getting pretty good at it-- and he gave his first talk in Primary at church-- it took some serious bribing, but he did it and is so proud.
#6 loves to walk around by holding 2 hands, but we have tricked him enough that now he'll walk just holding one hand-- walking is in his future
#7 has a few molars that have finally cut through, but there are still more on the way.
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