After searching the Internet, I could not find a short unit study that we could use this week to learn about Thanksgiving, so I am going to make up my own!
I found one that I can base some thoughts off of, but I am not going to use it exactly as it says I should.
http://members.tripod.com/~goatladie_3/thanksgivingunitstudy.html
Instead of taking nine days like it says we should, we are going to condense it to four!
Day 1: Pilgrims and Puritans
http://www.plimoth.org/learn/just-kids/homework-help/who-were-pilgrims
The Mayflower1
http://www.plimoth.org/learn/just-kids/homework-help/mayflower-and-mayflower-compact
http://www.history.com/topics/mayflower
Day 2- Native People
http://web.ccsd.k12.wy.us/techcurr/Social%20Studies/05/0101firstwi.html
Day 3- The First Thanksgiving and Proclamation
http://www.history.com/news/abraham-lincoln-and-the-mother-of-thanksgiving
Day 4- Scripture and how it is related to Thanksgiving (which we will do on Thanksgiving!)
This is going to take a little bit more planning on my part, but I think it is doable.
We also visited Plymouth, Massachusetts last September, so we always can rely on our pictures and the stories we heard there!
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Friday, November 22, 2013
TV special
You know you are a history geek when you are counting down the hours until Tom Brokow's "Where Were You?" special on John F. Kennedy comes on....
If you need to find me for the next two hours, I will be curled up under a blanket on the couch learning about that fateful day 50 years ago.
If you need to find me for the next two hours, I will be curled up under a blanket on the couch learning about that fateful day 50 years ago.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
50th Anniversary
Most people may not know, but tomorrow is the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. And of course, we are going to have a lesson about it at our house. :)
When we were in Washington DC in September, we stopped at Arlington National Cemetery. While we were there, we saw JFK's gravesite.
There is an eternal flame at his gravesite. (f you were watching the national news last night, President Obama and his wife PLUS President Clinton and his wife PLUS some Kennedy family members laid a wreath at Kennedy's place of burial.)
There is a huge plaza by his grave and it has many excerpts from his speeches engraved along the wall. Can you see Courtney in the picture?
An excerpt from a very famous speech!!
We are going to have a short lesson his life with my favorite students tomorrow. How can I let such an important day in history go by without talking about it??
http://gardenofpraise.com/ibdkenn.htm
http://www.ushistory.org/us/56d.asp
When we were in Washington DC in September, we stopped at Arlington National Cemetery. While we were there, we saw JFK's gravesite.
There is an eternal flame at his gravesite. (f you were watching the national news last night, President Obama and his wife PLUS President Clinton and his wife PLUS some Kennedy family members laid a wreath at Kennedy's place of burial.)
There is a huge plaza by his grave and it has many excerpts from his speeches engraved along the wall. Can you see Courtney in the picture?
An excerpt from a very famous speech!!
http://gardenofpraise.com/ibdkenn.htm
http://www.ushistory.org/us/56d.asp
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Last chance!
There has been four chances here in Omaha to get school pictures done for homeschoolers.
I have missed the first three. Today is my last chance and I nearly forgot about it too!
I have many things going on today, so much so we might not get any school done!
I remembered about school pictures as I was thinking about my schedule today.
Now I have to think about what my kids should wear and I NEED to go cut some bangs!!! I don't want hair in my kids' eyes during pictures!
I also need to go pack our lunches because Megan has a dr. appointment at 10:15 and we have to be at the Learning Center by 12, you never know how long dr. appointments are going to take! Don't worry, it's just her 10 year checkup!
Then of course, library and errands after the learning center.
It is also Matt's big 36th birthday today, so we will be celebrating tonight!
Ok, maybe I can squeeze a math lesson in or two today. :)
I have missed the first three. Today is my last chance and I nearly forgot about it too!
I have many things going on today, so much so we might not get any school done!
I remembered about school pictures as I was thinking about my schedule today.
Now I have to think about what my kids should wear and I NEED to go cut some bangs!!! I don't want hair in my kids' eyes during pictures!
I also need to go pack our lunches because Megan has a dr. appointment at 10:15 and we have to be at the Learning Center by 12, you never know how long dr. appointments are going to take! Don't worry, it's just her 10 year checkup!
Then of course, library and errands after the learning center.
It is also Matt's big 36th birthday today, so we will be celebrating tonight!
Ok, maybe I can squeeze a math lesson in or two today. :)
Monday, November 18, 2013
Amazon River websites
We have been studying animals that live in South America lately and tomorrow we are going to talk about animals that live around the Amazon River.
http://infactcollaborative.com/nature/amazon-river-facts.html
http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/geography/amazonriver.htm
http://infactcollaborative.com/nature/amazon-river-facts.html
http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/geography/amazonriver.htm
Sinus Update
After seeing the ENT today, I am back to square one.
I do not have a sinus infection. He took an xray just to be sure and said my sinuses are completely clear. I have not had any trouble breathing or any drainage from all of this, just lots of sinus pressure that is getting worse and I am having more trouble with my eyes. We talked about my latest root canal and he came to the same conclusion: my teeth and sinus troubles are not related, BUT he does think my sinus troubles and my jaw are related!
As he was examining me, he noticed that my jaw did line up very well. He said, "You've got quite the jaw there!" Tell me something I don't know!!
His conclusion: My sinus pressure is being caused by 1. My bad jaw alignment and/ or 2. allergies.
He put in a prescription for a stronger antihistamine eye drops and suggested that I get on a stronger decongestant. He also said that I should consider getting allergy tested.
I then called my chiropractor and I am going to go in Thursday and get my jaw adjusted, I am going to see if that helps first.
I am going to be really upset if getting adjusted did work and in the end, I didn't need to go to a very expensive ENT and get a very expensive xray!!!
I do not have a sinus infection. He took an xray just to be sure and said my sinuses are completely clear. I have not had any trouble breathing or any drainage from all of this, just lots of sinus pressure that is getting worse and I am having more trouble with my eyes. We talked about my latest root canal and he came to the same conclusion: my teeth and sinus troubles are not related, BUT he does think my sinus troubles and my jaw are related!
As he was examining me, he noticed that my jaw did line up very well. He said, "You've got quite the jaw there!" Tell me something I don't know!!
His conclusion: My sinus pressure is being caused by 1. My bad jaw alignment and/ or 2. allergies.
He put in a prescription for a stronger antihistamine eye drops and suggested that I get on a stronger decongestant. He also said that I should consider getting allergy tested.
I then called my chiropractor and I am going to go in Thursday and get my jaw adjusted, I am going to see if that helps first.
I am going to be really upset if getting adjusted did work and in the end, I didn't need to go to a very expensive ENT and get a very expensive xray!!!
ENT here I come!
After struggling with sinus pressure and not being able to wear my contacts for the last five months, I finally gave in and called an ENT. My regular doctor couldn't do much more for me, the decongestants she gave me worked, but the pressure would always come back after awhile. And it's getting worse and spreading throughout my sinuses.
I talked to a friend of mine this weekend who seems to have the same issues and an ENT diagnosed her with a chronic sinus infection and she is going to have surgery to clean her sinuses out in January. Her doctor said that infections can get so bad that they can get up into your eyes! Aha! She was describing exactly what I had going on!
I am anxious to hear what the doctor has to say, I am going to try to not take any decongestants or put any drops in my eyes this afternoon, so my symptoms will all be there when I see him.
This is also the same side of my face that I just had a root canal on AND the same side with all my TMJ troubles. I really think the abscess in my tooth and this sinus trouble is related, even though the root canal specialist thought otherwise. I guess we will know this afternoon!
I talked to a friend of mine this weekend who seems to have the same issues and an ENT diagnosed her with a chronic sinus infection and she is going to have surgery to clean her sinuses out in January. Her doctor said that infections can get so bad that they can get up into your eyes! Aha! She was describing exactly what I had going on!
I am anxious to hear what the doctor has to say, I am going to try to not take any decongestants or put any drops in my eyes this afternoon, so my symptoms will all be there when I see him.
This is also the same side of my face that I just had a root canal on AND the same side with all my TMJ troubles. I really think the abscess in my tooth and this sinus trouble is related, even though the root canal specialist thought otherwise. I guess we will know this afternoon!
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Christian's friends and church
Christian has three friends he will tell you about, they are Erich, Tyler, and Gabriel. We have played with all of them and we see some more than others, but when asked, these are his three friends!
Today we were talking about going to church and his Sunday School class. I asked him, "What do you like to do at Sunday School?"
He replied, "Play with cars."
I then asked him, "Do you have any friends there? Who do you play with? Do you play with Bobbie?"
I then continued, "Do you play with Gabriel? Oh that's right, Gabriel isn't in your room at church." (Gabriel does go to our church, but since he is a little bit younger, he is in a class behind Christian.)
Christian responded to this, "Mom, Gabriel NEEDS to be in my room. And Erich needs to come to my church too! And Tyler, he needs to come back from camping and come with me too!"
I am not sure why he thinks Tyler is camping, but he definitely thinks ALL three of his friends need to come to church with him!!
Today we were talking about going to church and his Sunday School class. I asked him, "What do you like to do at Sunday School?"
He replied, "Play with cars."
I then asked him, "Do you have any friends there? Who do you play with? Do you play with Bobbie?"
I then continued, "Do you play with Gabriel? Oh that's right, Gabriel isn't in your room at church." (Gabriel does go to our church, but since he is a little bit younger, he is in a class behind Christian.)
Christian responded to this, "Mom, Gabriel NEEDS to be in my room. And Erich needs to come to my church too! And Tyler, he needs to come back from camping and come with me too!"
I am not sure why he thinks Tyler is camping, but he definitely thinks ALL three of his friends need to come to church with him!!
Friday, November 15, 2013
School on Friday!
I can't believe it's Friday and we don't have one thing on the calendar!! No birthday party, no appointments, nothing!
In the past, I have always liked to take Friday off, but it has not worked that way yet this year. I like to use four day lesson plans and then spread the four days worth of work over five days. We take what equals to a day off (morning and afternoon, two afternoons, etc), but it hasn't always fallen on a Friday this year.
With Homeschool Learning Center being Wednesday from 12-2, we usually take Wednesday afternoon off and do errands and then we usually have something else that comes up during the week that we need to do.
This week, we had nothing scheduled on Friday and I thought about letting the kids have it off. But then I thought otherwise. We can use that time to make up lessons.
I also looked at my calendar for next week. Megan has a doctor appointment Wednesday at 10:15 am and we all have dentists appointments Thursday at 10 am. Guess what we are not going to get done Wednesday or Thursday morning next week?? School! Then we have HLC Wednesday afternoon and dance Thursday afternoon, looks like both those days are taken up. We may get some work done after we get home, but it's hard to school work started at 3 pm!
So are we catching up on school work today or getting ahead??
Can I say again how much I love the flexibility that comes with homeschooling??
In the past, I have always liked to take Friday off, but it has not worked that way yet this year. I like to use four day lesson plans and then spread the four days worth of work over five days. We take what equals to a day off (morning and afternoon, two afternoons, etc), but it hasn't always fallen on a Friday this year.
With Homeschool Learning Center being Wednesday from 12-2, we usually take Wednesday afternoon off and do errands and then we usually have something else that comes up during the week that we need to do.
This week, we had nothing scheduled on Friday and I thought about letting the kids have it off. But then I thought otherwise. We can use that time to make up lessons.
I also looked at my calendar for next week. Megan has a doctor appointment Wednesday at 10:15 am and we all have dentists appointments Thursday at 10 am. Guess what we are not going to get done Wednesday or Thursday morning next week?? School! Then we have HLC Wednesday afternoon and dance Thursday afternoon, looks like both those days are taken up. We may get some work done after we get home, but it's hard to school work started at 3 pm!
So are we catching up on school work today or getting ahead??
Can I say again how much I love the flexibility that comes with homeschooling??
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Finally getting somewhere!
I feel that we finally are getting somewhere in regards to school!
We don't have any appointments this week OR any birthday parties!
It is the end of Wednesday and we have everything we needed to get done so far this week.
I am pretty excited!
We might even get ahead. :) Oh wait, I have five weeks to catch up!
Ok, so I might be able to make up some English/ math lessons that we missed the last couple of weeks!
This feels pretty good!!
PS I can definitely tell the girls have been at school for the last month. Courtney's reading is much better and she is doing great at her math facts! Megan has a better understanding of things and actually wants me to skip things because she, "knows this already!"
We don't have any appointments this week OR any birthday parties!
It is the end of Wednesday and we have everything we needed to get done so far this week.
I am pretty excited!
We might even get ahead. :) Oh wait, I have five weeks to catch up!
Ok, so I might be able to make up some English/ math lessons that we missed the last couple of weeks!
This feels pretty good!!
PS I can definitely tell the girls have been at school for the last month. Courtney's reading is much better and she is doing great at her math facts! Megan has a better understanding of things and actually wants me to skip things because she, "knows this already!"
Random thought...
When are kids old enough to write their own thank you notes??
It has been birthday season and my girls have received thank you notes from their friends.
Are 9/ 10 years olds old enough to write their own thank you notes OR should their parents still be writing them for them??? Are the kids the ones who are thankful or the parents? Should the kids have the writing skills by 9/10 years old to write their own notes??
I make my kids write their own thank you notes as soon as they can write! I certainly help them, but I feel they are the ones that received the presents PLUS it is a good chance to practice their writing and all the mechanics that come with writing a note.
Just a random thought....any opinions on this topic???
It has been birthday season and my girls have received thank you notes from their friends.
Are 9/ 10 years olds old enough to write their own thank you notes OR should their parents still be writing them for them??? Are the kids the ones who are thankful or the parents? Should the kids have the writing skills by 9/10 years old to write their own notes??
I make my kids write their own thank you notes as soon as they can write! I certainly help them, but I feel they are the ones that received the presents PLUS it is a good chance to practice their writing and all the mechanics that come with writing a note.
Just a random thought....any opinions on this topic???
Monday, November 11, 2013
We are studying conservation.
Courtney is going to either love this lesson or hate it! She is my animal lover and does not like it when we talk about animals that have gone extinct, luckily, we are also going to talk about what we can do about it, so hopefully we will come out about neutral in the end!
http://www.ehow.com/info_8374247_reasons-extinction-endangered-extinct-species.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_8236260_stop-animals-becoming-extinct.html
http://www.ehow.com/info_8521968_happens-gets-endangered-species-list.html
http://www.ehow.com/info_8374247_reasons-extinction-endangered-extinct-species.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_8236260_stop-animals-becoming-extinct.html
http://www.ehow.com/info_8521968_happens-gets-endangered-species-list.html
Big Megan :)
Megan, almost 10!
Taken September 22, 2013 at Washington DC. Taken at the base of the Lincoln Memorial with the Washington Memorial in the background!
Baby Megan :)
How can this cute little baby be 10 years old already??
Taken November 11, 2003 at Methodist Hospital
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Done, Done, Done!!
I love celebrating birthdays! I love that we can celebrate our children getting another year older! (Even though I don't want them to grow up!) But I am glad that birthday celebrations are over!
We had a homeschooling friends birthday party on Friday, we had 16 kids and 7 moms over and I had a great time! All the kids got along, nobody got mad at each other, the games went relatively well, and everyone seemed to have a great time!
On Saturday, we had two more birthday parties, one of them was for my niece and another was for a friend of Megan's from church. More cupcakes, more ice cream, more celebrations. :)
Today was Megan's official birthday and we had family and a couple friends over tonight. It was an odd party though, many people came over around 3, even though the party started at 4. Many relatives were in town and I said they could come over early, it wasn't a problem at all! We ate and opened presents and then people had to start leaving. By the time we blew out candles, we had less than 10 people left! It was an odd thing! We were singing to Megan as people wanted to walk out the door! Next year, I will plan the party earlier!
Now, I am trying to get stuff ready for school this week! We are going to talk about Veteran's Day tomorrow too, so I need to find some activity for that too!
We had a homeschooling friends birthday party on Friday, we had 16 kids and 7 moms over and I had a great time! All the kids got along, nobody got mad at each other, the games went relatively well, and everyone seemed to have a great time!
On Saturday, we had two more birthday parties, one of them was for my niece and another was for a friend of Megan's from church. More cupcakes, more ice cream, more celebrations. :)
Today was Megan's official birthday and we had family and a couple friends over tonight. It was an odd party though, many people came over around 3, even though the party started at 4. Many relatives were in town and I said they could come over early, it wasn't a problem at all! We ate and opened presents and then people had to start leaving. By the time we blew out candles, we had less than 10 people left! It was an odd thing! We were singing to Megan as people wanted to walk out the door! Next year, I will plan the party earlier!
Now, I am trying to get stuff ready for school this week! We are going to talk about Veteran's Day tomorrow too, so I need to find some activity for that too!
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Christian can spell!
Last night, we took Megan out for her birthday and ran some errands.
It was about 8:30 and we were getting into the car to come home.
Courtney asked me, "Mom, where are we going now?"
I replied, "We are going home and we are heading to B-E-D!"
Christian replied, "That spells McDonalds!!"
Um, no, it doesn't and we are not going to McDonalds!
(Ever since our trip, Courtney and Christian are determined that we are going to stop at every McDonalds we see for ice cream! Once in awhile is fine, but not every McDonalds! I need to get this out of their brains! Christian might be spelling McDonalds before he can even spell his name!)
It was about 8:30 and we were getting into the car to come home.
Courtney asked me, "Mom, where are we going now?"
I replied, "We are going home and we are heading to B-E-D!"
Christian replied, "That spells McDonalds!!"
Um, no, it doesn't and we are not going to McDonalds!
(Ever since our trip, Courtney and Christian are determined that we are going to stop at every McDonalds we see for ice cream! Once in awhile is fine, but not every McDonalds! I need to get this out of their brains! Christian might be spelling McDonalds before he can even spell his name!)
Friday, November 8, 2013
Birthday Celebrations!
This weekend is THEE weekend! I mean, it's Megan's 10th birthday on Sunday! We have been counting down to this day for a very long time!!
Megan has her first birthday party this afternoon! Another thing (of many) that I love about homeschooling is that we can have birthday parties in the middle of the day! And everybody can make it!! I don't have to have it on a Saturday anymore!
I think we are having seven other homeschooling families over to celebrate! This will include 16 kids and 7 adults. We have games and crafts planned. It should be a good time!!!
She is going to have her family one on Sunday. I hate not having family get-together, I want to celebrate my kids every year!!!
In addition to Megan's two parties this weekend, we also have two MORE birthday parties on Saturday!
Off to a busy weekend!!!
Megan has her first birthday party this afternoon! Another thing (of many) that I love about homeschooling is that we can have birthday parties in the middle of the day! And everybody can make it!! I don't have to have it on a Saturday anymore!
I think we are having seven other homeschooling families over to celebrate! This will include 16 kids and 7 adults. We have games and crafts planned. It should be a good time!!!
She is going to have her family one on Sunday. I hate not having family get-together, I want to celebrate my kids every year!!!
In addition to Megan's two parties this weekend, we also have two MORE birthday parties on Saturday!
Off to a busy weekend!!!
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Finish the Book!
After supper last night, we asked the kids to clean up the living room and the rest of the first floor, Megan's friend party is Friday and I would like to get a head start on cleaning.
Except nobody felt like cleaning and they weren't moving too fast and I didn't really feel like fighting them....
So I thought of a new plan. I was going to have them clean last night and then finish reading our read-aloud Wednesday morning.
I asked them, "Would you rather me finish reading your book now or clean?? If I read now, you will be cleaning tomorrow morning"
Simultaneously, the girls responded, "Read the book!!!"
So for the next hour and a half, I read the rest of "Moccasin Trail." (I read it so long that Christian fell asleep in my lap!)
Wow, such a good book! After we finished, Courtney said, "That is my favorite book!" I'm so glad! (These books are not a part of her curriculum, but I've had her listen anyway.)
Now, time to get the girls out of bed and we have to clean this morning...and work on science! Then we are off to the Homeschool Learning Center at noon, errands and the library afterwards, home to give piano lessons, supper, then church tonight. Not much school going on today!
Except nobody felt like cleaning and they weren't moving too fast and I didn't really feel like fighting them....
So I thought of a new plan. I was going to have them clean last night and then finish reading our read-aloud Wednesday morning.
I asked them, "Would you rather me finish reading your book now or clean?? If I read now, you will be cleaning tomorrow morning"
Simultaneously, the girls responded, "Read the book!!!"
So for the next hour and a half, I read the rest of "Moccasin Trail." (I read it so long that Christian fell asleep in my lap!)
Wow, such a good book! After we finished, Courtney said, "That is my favorite book!" I'm so glad! (These books are not a part of her curriculum, but I've had her listen anyway.)
Now, time to get the girls out of bed and we have to clean this morning...and work on science! Then we are off to the Homeschool Learning Center at noon, errands and the library afterwards, home to give piano lessons, supper, then church tonight. Not much school going on today!
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
School Today
You know you have a learned a lot in school when it is 5 pm and you finally tell the kids that school is over! We started at 9:15 this morning.
I try to get a lot done with school on Mondays and Tuesdays and I usually don't keep the girls busy until 5, but that is just how it worked today.
Here's how today went:
9:15-9:30 intro/ calendar
9:30-10 Bible class with both girls
10-11 I meant to start with Language Arts with Megan (Courtney is free to go play), she really wanted to read history, so we went with that instead! Do you know why she wants to read history first?? We are reading "Lincoln: A Photobiography" by Russell Freedman. She can't get enough of Abraham Lincoln lately, so I might as well feed her little mind some more. :)
This took until about 11, we like to stop and discuss things...a lot. About 11, I went through English, Spelling, and Writing with her. Her writing assignment today was to discuss the Bill of Rights to the Constitution of the United States, so of course, I looked up Bill of Rights on the computer and we talked about them! It is amazing how relevant those are to our lives today!! She gets to pick something and write a Bill of Rights about it tomorrow.
By about 11:30, I was done with Megan's Language Arts and History.
It was now Courtney's turn to go to school. We got through our Phonics and Spelling lessons by 12.
We had lunch and I gave them some free time (oh wait, break time for me) until about 1:30.
At 1:30, they all played legos on the living room floor and we read our read-aloud assignment. We are currently reading "Moccasin Trail" and we are almost to the end, so we are trying to read everyday.
By 2:30, we were done reading.
Megan had a math test today and once she got this done, she was done with school. At this time, I checked her math assignment and gave her the test. She went up to her bedroom to do it and I sat down and finished Language Arts with Courtney. She had to read and we learned about homophones.
After that was over, we did her math assignment and continued to drill her addition facts. She is getting good at her math facts!!
By 4 pm, we were done with our daily assignments for both girls. They had been begging for some ice cream, so I said once we were done, they could get some, so at 4 pm, the kids scooped out ice cream for themselves. :)
I knew it was already 4, but I really wanted to get to science today. I had a project prepared for them on animal habitats and I knew it would take more than a day to finish. I asked them if they were ok with doing science yet today and they said, "Yes!" As they were eating ice cream, I started reading them our assignment on animal habitats and homes out of "The Usborne World of Animals".
As they were finishing their ice cream, I was finishing reading and we did our couple questions out of our curriculum. After that, the bowls went on the counter and out came my project on animal habitats. We made a book and are going to be describing eight different habitats and the girls are going to draw pictures of each habitat. We got "grassland" and "desert" done today. It was about 4:50 and Megan said, "Can I be done??" I looked at the clock and realized that we had gone much later than usual and let her be done. Courtney, on the other hand, wanted to do more! I told her that I wasn't going to teach the same thing twice and that we would finish tomorrow. She said, "That's ok, I'll just go make my own book," and she ran off!
As she ran upstairs, she said, "Mom, can you come upstairs and play with me?" I said, "Sorry Courtney, I need a break too!" It's been kind of nice that the playroom is clean, they have been playing up their lately and I can actually have some peace downstairs. :)
I look at my day and realize that if we didn't read for two hours, we would've been done two hours sooner! But I love this time with my kids and I love the books that our curriculum presents us! It takes a lot more time, but I think it is so worth it! About every book we read is a Newberry Medal book, so they are very good books! Every year I think about switching from this curriculum, but just can't bring myself to do it because I (and the kids) enjoy the literature so much! Even if it takes us all day to get through school. :)
(And really, neither girl is in school for more than 2-3 hours, I am the one that is teaching all day!)
I try to get a lot done with school on Mondays and Tuesdays and I usually don't keep the girls busy until 5, but that is just how it worked today.
Here's how today went:
9:15-9:30 intro/ calendar
9:30-10 Bible class with both girls
10-11 I meant to start with Language Arts with Megan (Courtney is free to go play), she really wanted to read history, so we went with that instead! Do you know why she wants to read history first?? We are reading "Lincoln: A Photobiography" by Russell Freedman. She can't get enough of Abraham Lincoln lately, so I might as well feed her little mind some more. :)
This took until about 11, we like to stop and discuss things...a lot. About 11, I went through English, Spelling, and Writing with her. Her writing assignment today was to discuss the Bill of Rights to the Constitution of the United States, so of course, I looked up Bill of Rights on the computer and we talked about them! It is amazing how relevant those are to our lives today!! She gets to pick something and write a Bill of Rights about it tomorrow.
By about 11:30, I was done with Megan's Language Arts and History.
It was now Courtney's turn to go to school. We got through our Phonics and Spelling lessons by 12.
We had lunch and I gave them some free time (oh wait, break time for me) until about 1:30.
At 1:30, they all played legos on the living room floor and we read our read-aloud assignment. We are currently reading "Moccasin Trail" and we are almost to the end, so we are trying to read everyday.
By 2:30, we were done reading.
Megan had a math test today and once she got this done, she was done with school. At this time, I checked her math assignment and gave her the test. She went up to her bedroom to do it and I sat down and finished Language Arts with Courtney. She had to read and we learned about homophones.
After that was over, we did her math assignment and continued to drill her addition facts. She is getting good at her math facts!!
By 4 pm, we were done with our daily assignments for both girls. They had been begging for some ice cream, so I said once we were done, they could get some, so at 4 pm, the kids scooped out ice cream for themselves. :)
I knew it was already 4, but I really wanted to get to science today. I had a project prepared for them on animal habitats and I knew it would take more than a day to finish. I asked them if they were ok with doing science yet today and they said, "Yes!" As they were eating ice cream, I started reading them our assignment on animal habitats and homes out of "The Usborne World of Animals".
As they were finishing their ice cream, I was finishing reading and we did our couple questions out of our curriculum. After that, the bowls went on the counter and out came my project on animal habitats. We made a book and are going to be describing eight different habitats and the girls are going to draw pictures of each habitat. We got "grassland" and "desert" done today. It was about 4:50 and Megan said, "Can I be done??" I looked at the clock and realized that we had gone much later than usual and let her be done. Courtney, on the other hand, wanted to do more! I told her that I wasn't going to teach the same thing twice and that we would finish tomorrow. She said, "That's ok, I'll just go make my own book," and she ran off!
As she ran upstairs, she said, "Mom, can you come upstairs and play with me?" I said, "Sorry Courtney, I need a break too!" It's been kind of nice that the playroom is clean, they have been playing up their lately and I can actually have some peace downstairs. :)
I look at my day and realize that if we didn't read for two hours, we would've been done two hours sooner! But I love this time with my kids and I love the books that our curriculum presents us! It takes a lot more time, but I think it is so worth it! About every book we read is a Newberry Medal book, so they are very good books! Every year I think about switching from this curriculum, but just can't bring myself to do it because I (and the kids) enjoy the literature so much! Even if it takes us all day to get through school. :)
(And really, neither girl is in school for more than 2-3 hours, I am the one that is teaching all day!)
A Full Night's Sleep!
After having "bronchitis boy" sleeping in our room and coughing for the two nights, it was nice to have him back in his room and sleep peacefully last night!
His bronchitis wasn't as bad this time, maybe there is hope that he won't get it every three weeks this winter!
And if he does, I refuse to give him steroids for it! I would rather boost his immune system so he can fight it on his own!
His bronchitis wasn't as bad this time, maybe there is hope that he won't get it every three weeks this winter!
And if he does, I refuse to give him steroids for it! I would rather boost his immune system so he can fight it on his own!
Sunday, November 3, 2013
The Liberty Bell
Matt finally put our pictures from our trip on our servers, so I now have access to them! As I was looking through them tonight, I found this one and thought it was pretty good, so I decided to share!
It is Courtney and I in front of the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania!!
For awhile, Courtney said the Liberty Bell was her favorite part of the trip! (Now she tells people that the gift shops were her favorite part!)
I can't seem to find pictures from our last two days in Washington DC, so hopefully those are around somewhere....
It is Courtney and I in front of the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania!!
For awhile, Courtney said the Liberty Bell was her favorite part of the trip! (Now she tells people that the gift shops were her favorite part!)
I can't seem to find pictures from our last two days in Washington DC, so hopefully those are around somewhere....
Bronchitis is back!
Poor Christian! He was doing so good, he hasn't had bronchitis since July and now I believe he has it again!
He started with a runny nose yesterday and it eventually turned into a chronic cough. He slept in my room last night on the floor and was up coughing half the night.
Today his cheeks are flush and he's running a fever. We got out the albuterol already last night and started giving it to him when we heard him wheezing. I haven't given him any Advil yet, but it's getting close to where he will need some.
I really hope he doesn't get this all winter again!
He started with a runny nose yesterday and it eventually turned into a chronic cough. He slept in my room last night on the floor and was up coughing half the night.
Today his cheeks are flush and he's running a fever. We got out the albuterol already last night and started giving it to him when we heard him wheezing. I haven't given him any Advil yet, but it's getting close to where he will need some.
I really hope he doesn't get this all winter again!
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Another mission accomplished!
As many of you know, the playroom at our house is Courtney's favorite place to be. It's also her favorite place to make a mess!!
Thanks to Courtney and a few of her friends, the playroom has been a huge mess for the last 2-3 weeks! (I'm not sure which set of friends it was, so I'm not blaming anyone here!) About a week ago, I closed the door and shut everybody out!! The mess was beginning to get out into the hallway and when that happens, it's time to shut it down!
After we got home from a baby shower and a birthday party today, I told the girls that we need to at least START on the playroom. I told them that if they worked hard for an hour, they could stop. You know what? They cleaned the ENTIRE thing with no complaints! I helped them because oddly enough, I like cleaning that room.
I am amazed! One day and we have two rooms done!! YIPPEE!!!
Now do I close it until the birthday party or let Courtney start over with her mess??
Thanks to Courtney and a few of her friends, the playroom has been a huge mess for the last 2-3 weeks! (I'm not sure which set of friends it was, so I'm not blaming anyone here!) About a week ago, I closed the door and shut everybody out!! The mess was beginning to get out into the hallway and when that happens, it's time to shut it down!
After we got home from a baby shower and a birthday party today, I told the girls that we need to at least START on the playroom. I told them that if they worked hard for an hour, they could stop. You know what? They cleaned the ENTIRE thing with no complaints! I helped them because oddly enough, I like cleaning that room.
I am amazed! One day and we have two rooms done!! YIPPEE!!!
Now do I close it until the birthday party or let Courtney start over with her mess??
One Mission Accomplished!
I have many goals to achieve this week. We have Megan's friend birthday party on Friday and her family one on Sunday.
One big goal is to clean this house before Friday!!!
One little goal is to clean the girls' bedroom and sort through their clothes!
Guess what? Little goal: Mission Accomplished!
It's funny what you find in their drawers---socks that couldn't have fit them for years (Courtney!), dirty tights (Megan!), dirty leotards that she has worn over and over (Megan!), pants with holes in them (Courtney), swimsuits that should have been thrown away a long time ago (Megan!) etc, etc. etc.
I'm glad that job is done! Now to put these clothes in their appropriate containers and back into the attic- that might be a job for another day!
One big goal is to clean this house before Friday!!!
One little goal is to clean the girls' bedroom and sort through their clothes!
Guess what? Little goal: Mission Accomplished!
It's funny what you find in their drawers---socks that couldn't have fit them for years (Courtney!), dirty tights (Megan!), dirty leotards that she has worn over and over (Megan!), pants with holes in them (Courtney), swimsuits that should have been thrown away a long time ago (Megan!) etc, etc. etc.
I'm glad that job is done! Now to put these clothes in their appropriate containers and back into the attic- that might be a job for another day!
Friday, November 1, 2013
More Candy?
If I got a dollar for every time I heard, "Can I have a piece of candy?" today, I would be RICH!!!!
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