We have been having a great time. I have been getting a little more organizing and cleaning done which I love. The girls have been doing math, Greek, piano and violin 3 times this week. I think#1 finally has speed and rate down so I htink she's ready to take the 6B math test. I sure hope she passes. #2 has really been dragging in academics this week and was reading the Harry Potter series for the 2nd time with plans to read them all a 3rd time. I told her she can finish reading the series through a second time after she reads 2 Anne of Green Gables series books or other like literary works and then no more Harry Potter. I told her it's O.K. to read it for fun once, but that she needs to fill her mind with more ennobling books and ideas. I am really tired of Harry Potter. I will be glad when she's through this phase. I need to keep better track of what she's reading. I think we'll start required reading again this week.
We had group time twice this week. I liked it, there's just not enough time for everything though and it has finally been nice outside so our focus has been cleaning, yard work and playing outside. We spent one day at This is the Place Pioneer Park in Salt Lake with some new friends we've met through blogging. That was very fun and all the kids have gotten along great and they actually don't live too far from us. We spent one day in Salt Lake running errands and going to vision therapy. We've had plenty of time to do lots of fun things all week. I am amazed at how much my kids complain when I finally ask them to do one little thing. I think they are a little spoiled and need to do a little more. I am getting a little better organized, but it is hard for me. Having lots of kids is really forcing me use my time better and organize this house better.
The boys did some reading, math and piano this week. I will have to be sure to give them all a piano lesson this week. We are looking forward to our sewing class this week.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
National Parks
We visited Arches and Canyonlands National Parks this week. We camped in the desert for 2 nights. The sand was so soft and orange. The kids had a great time playing in it. There were also some cool sandstone hills to climb. We had a good time. The kids filled out the Junior ranger booklets and earned their badges and learned some about the parks. Their favorite was Delicate Arch which we hiked up to the long way. We had a great time. We have all decided that we prefer camping in the forest to camping in the desert though. Not even the Indians lived in that area. The Colorado river was very high and some of the campgrounds and bike trails were flooded (that's why we chose the desert for our campsite-- we didn't want to be too worried about little ones washing away). The kids had to see Moab and Arches, it was their first time. Now they know!! It was fun, but we sure were glad to get home!
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!
Sunday, May 29, 2011
No School this week
My husband's brother got married on Friday so we had a lot of family come in from far away and we're all tired of school anyway, so we cleaned and played this week. It has been very nice and very fun, but we are all tired. We have the science fair coming up, so that' what we'll be doing tomorrow, and then those girls have got to finish up math and greek!!! I hope the weather clears up, although I hope we don't get too much flooding!! We drove up the canyon after church today and the river is very high and there are a few fields already flooded out. Crazy weather!
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!!
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