I Love Thursdays

Thursday is by far my favorite day of the week. The kids probably agree, if we are only talking weekdays, of course. The kids love CHESSIE, our science co-op. They have gotten to do things I would never be able to do with them. Allie and Caden got to see, touch, and look inside sheep lungs, a heart, and some sort of animal brain. Jaelyn has dissected a worm and squid and had thankfully gotten over her squeamishness by the time her life science class got to the heart and lung chapter of her book. They also really enjoy the time to play with friends. We are severely lacking in social opportunities.

As for me, I love those 4 hours of freedom. Today, I spent it at Panera working on report cards. Some might say I was having a parent teacher conference. Lol.

Who needs to smile today?

Still Sick

Ugh. I'm still sick. Why is it the kids have so much energy when they are all stopped up, but I end up feeling like I got hit by a Mack truck for a week? The crud is moving from my head slowly into my chest. I'd say I'm mid move....still stopped up with pressure, but coughing a whole lot more.

We've done school around the couch today. We are coming to the end of MY BROTHER SAM IS DEAD. It's heavy, but the kids have done great reading it. It's given us a totally different perspective on the American Revolution. Allie is really showing improvements in her reading abilities. When she slows down, the words come out in the correct order. I imagine there's some sort of dyslexia thing going on there with the way she swaps words and letters in words around. Caden has picked out our next book. It's called JUPITER PIRATES: THE HUNT FOR HYDRA. I'm not sure the girls will be thrilled with it. Lol.

The kids all did math on their own and them regrouped around the couch for boggle (today's spelling) and writing/science. Caden is working on a report on Tsunamis and Allie is working on a report about the Aurora Borealis. Jaelyn is writing a creative paper about the giant squid modeled after a passage from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. She has to exaggerate 5 features. I helped her with brainstorming and outlining today. It's going to be a fun paper.

I think they'll double up on geography tomorrow and wrap up today with some quiet reading while I take a nap.

Science on a Sick Day

Don't try this at home or without your mom!

Writing Opinions

So I copied and pasted the kids stories earlier in the week, but I never sat down to share my thoughts. It's fun to watch their writing progress.

Jaelyn's biggest issue is phrasing. She writes things weirdly. She doesn't speak like that. I don't know why she writes like that. She hates when I make her read each sentence out loud. There's something about hearing it out loud versus in her head that's makes her understand why I'm telling her it sounds funny.

Caden is an amazing writer in his head. He can tell you everything he wants to say, but when you tell him "good, write it down," he struggles. With this, we worked closely with his detailed outline and we worked on simply getting each thought down as it came. Part of the problem is his tribute with physically writing and part seems to be getting it from his brain to the paper.

Allie can spend a page writing about something without saying anything at all. It would be funny if it weren't so sad. There were many reasons I wanted to bring Allie home and this was definitely one of them. Her opinion is short and to the point, but she and I spent a lot of time (and scrapped a lot of her work) to come up with something with substance. "It's off the chain, people," doesn't mean anything unless you are Mel B on America's Got Talent. Am I wrong?

Caden's Opinion Paper on Percy Jackson

PERCY JACKSON

THE BEST BOOK SERIES EVER!

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Since I was little, I have liked to read. I have read Harry Potter, Artemis Foul, and the Dragon in the Sock Drawer Series. Last year I discovered Percy Jackson. I knew that I should read it because I liked the movies. Now I’ve read the whole Percy Jackson series, and it is the best book series ever!         

The author of the Percy Jackson series is Rick Riordan. His books teach about Greek and Roman mythology. There are three main gods. In Greek form they are: Zeus the god of the sky, Poseidon the god of the sea, and Hadies the god of the underworld.  In Roman form they are Jupiter the god of the sky, Neptune the god of sea, and Pluto the god of the underworld. Percy Jackson (son of Poseidon) meets many other myths. One is medusa who can turn people to stone with her snake hair. Another myth is the Minotaur in the labyrinth.  He has the shape of a man but the body of a bull.  You do not want to get stuck in the labyrinth with the Minotaur.  Percy Jackson and most of his friends are demigods, which means their parents are a God and a mortal.

Percy Jackson’s adventures are all over the world. Percy Jackson almost died during a quest when he was fighting a monster on the St. Louis arch. Another time he went to Alaska to save Thanatos, the God of death. A different quest he went to the sea of monsters (the Bermuda triangle) to save his camp.

  Percy Jackson, the book, was so good it was turned into a movie.  Not one movie, but two movies with more to come!  The adventures, the knowledge of mythology, and the funny characters should make you want to read the Percy Jackson book series and Rick Riordan’s other books, too.

Jaelyn's Opinion Paper on Hamsters

Hamsters are the Best Pets Ever

Since I was little, I thought that having a hamster would be so cool. Whenever we went to the pet store, I always had my dad pick me up so that I could see all the hamsters.  When I was 10, I asked my dad if I could get a hamster. He said I could buy a hamster if I could be good for 3 months straight and save up the money. From then on, I was researching all about hamsters. Last year I saved up the money, I needed to own hamsters. I think that hamsters are the best pets ever!

Hamsters are not overly expensive. They don’t need to be walked so there’s no need to spend money on a collar or a leash. A hamster just needs a cage to live in. Hamster food only costs about $5 for a bag that lasts 2 months. They only need little sticks that you can get from outside and cardboard boxes that I get for free from the post office for chewing and scratching.

Hamsters don’t need large amounts of space. They only need a small cage that can fit in a bookcase. My hamsters are maybe 2 ½ inches at the most. My hamster supplies can fit in a small bin in my closet.

Hamsters are not that loud. A dog might bark and growl and a cat might meow and hiss but a hamster just quietly runs around its cage. I bought my hamsters a silent wheel and now I don’t hear a sound at night. When other animals eat or drink they might slurp or chew out loud, but a hamster just eats quietly.  

Hamsters are great pets to play with. I made a cardboard maze and put them in it. My hamster were so amazing to watch run throughout the maze. I put my hamsters in their balls and bring them down stairs to watch them roll all around my kitchen floor. Whenever I wear a jacket or long sleeves my hamsters race right up to my armpit. I have such great fun watching and playing with them.

Hamsters are the cutest animals ever!  The way that they twitch their noses like bunnies and rub their whiskers is just adorable.  When my hamsters eat they shove all their food in their cheeks and then their cheeks are fully loaded.  When I pick them up they spit it all out and their cheeks deflate like a balloon.  I carry my hamsters around on my shoulder like a parrot.  I just think it’s so cute.  Rats have long, ugly, pink tails, but hamsters either have little nubs like bears or little tails.  Their tails have fur on them so they are not ugly pink.  Hamsters have cute little black eyes that just make me want to kiss them.  They have great little feet that pitter-patter whenever they walk.

I was right. I have now had hamsters for 2 months and they are the best pets ever. To begin with, I got one, but I loved it so much that my grandpa took me back to the pet store to get a 2^nd one. It is very easy for me to take care of my hamsters, catnip and basil. Hamsters are the best pets that the world has ever seen.

            

Allie's Opinion paper about Blank Space

Blank Space

“Nice to, meet you, where you’ve been. I can show you incredible things.’’ Do you know where that’s from? It’s “Blank Space’’ by Taylor Swift, a music award winning star. I think “Blank Space” is the best song in the world.

            Blank Space has a good beat and rhythm. It calms me down to listen it in my room. The beat is not fast or too slow. At first you think it’s a mellow song and then you hear the loud beat of the drum. It makes you just want to move.

            I look up to Taylor Swift, the recording artist. I love the tone of her voice because it soothes me like the voices of angels. Taylor Swift has won 245 music awards. She even writes her own songs.

            Swift is a good story teller. I like the lyrics in “Blank Space”. They tell a perfect story of a kind of torturing love. The emotion in the lyrics me feel like I can see what’s happening, like in a TV show.

            I’ve listened to “Blank Space” about 100 times because it is magnetic. It has everything. It’s calm, soothing, and mellow. Then there are loud drums, guitar, and a good story with lots of emotion and feelings.

 

             

Macaroons

Jaelyn has spent the week reading cookbooks for macaroon recipes and learning about their history. She tried two different recipes today. Her first was coconut macaroons dipped in chocolate. Her second was almond macaroons that she planned to fill with chocolate. The coconut turned out well, but the almond was a total fail.

Projects

I know I've shared the quilt Jae made me for Christmas, but I thought Id share again since I finally hung it up. I see it every time I climb the stairs - several times a day. It's getting prettier with each passing day :)

I just finished a string quilt that I forgot to take a picture of before I boxed it for shipping (goofball). And now I've cut into my pretty Japanese parison material to make a new one block wonder. It looks like a jelly bean factory exploded so far.

Well Shucks

I was wrong. I was so excited that last friday was our halfway point. It wasn't. This Friday will be our halfway point!

Sent from my iPhone

Some Christmas Pictures

I finally pulled our pictures from Christmas off my camera and I am disappointed.  My camera battery died after a couple of pictures and then I put down my camera phone so that we could FaceTime with Grandparents.  I'll have to find a chair to prop the iPad in next year ;).  Our pictures are very limited.

Hump Day of our School Year

Well, we jumped into school with both feet this week after our break.  There's was a full moon, Alton Brown's Devil's Food Cake with his chocolate frosting that I helped Caden bake for his birthday, and half a box of sweet tarts that disappeared.  Can you guess how our week went???  At least we got some work done in-between the arguing.  We wrapped up our American Revolution study with reports on an American Hero.  Did you know Ben Franklin once used electricity to kill his Thankgiving Turkey?  Or that John Paul Jones attacked a convoy of 42 merchant ships and won?  This week, the kids have chosen to macaroon (as in recipes for the cookies), Australian animals, and cannons.  I can't wait for Friday sharing.  After finishing up reading Half Magic by Edward Eager, we started the very heavy historical fiction book, My Brother Sam is Dead.  Next week we start our new World Geography series.  I think it's going to be fun.

Friday marked our 90th day of school.  We are halfway there.  I'm already torn about continuing next year.  Jaelyn thinks she wants to go to middle school so she's ready for high school.  I just don't know.  I'm already thinking ahead to a different co-op and studies for next year.  I guess I need to research transcript companies if we do decide to continue going on our own.  Allie and Caden both like homeschooling and talk like they want to continue.  We shall see.

Happy Birthday, Caden

My little man turns 10 today. Wow! He was truly God's little surprise. I love seeing the young man he's growing into. He's become very opinionated about his hair lately. After 10 years of buzz cuts, he wants it long so he can sling his bangs to the side. We are letting him because we really don't care, but he has to keep it short over his ears and off his neck. He absolutely loves to read, but writing continues to be a chore. His cursive is coming along. I'm hoping that'll make it easier. Caden started a mixed martial arts program a couple weeks ago. He loves it.

Here's the quilt I made for Caden's birthday. It has over 1,300 2" squares in it. The tag says "Like the force, my love will always be with you."

All Ready

Our classroom has been cleaned out and the planning for next week is done! I just hope nothing happens so we have get a full week in! The kids will be unhappy. No breaks in January, even if Daddy is home for a 4 day weekend over MLK's birthday.

One on One

I spend a lot of one on one time doing projects with Jaelyn, but I very rarely get to spend that same quality time with Allie or Caden. Well, today during some rough play, Caden ripped Allie's glasses off her face. They were pretty messed up so I took her to the mall to get them fixed. On a side note, we've lived here 6 months and this was my first visit to the mall. Anyway, LensCrafters opens late on Sundays so we wandered around a few stores discussing clothes. Afterwards, since we were out ;), I took Allie to lunch at Jason's Deli. She happily shared a Beefeater sandwich with me. We also did a little unmentionables shopping at Kohls. She's growing too fast. Thanks for the kohls cash, Baba.

This afternoon, the girls had neighborhood girls over, but all the boys were off somewhere else. Caden was bored so he helped me sew a special project. We spent an hour working together and he's made me promise to wait to work on it till he can help again.

These years are going to pass so quickly. It's hard to stop in the midst of the crazy to cherish it, but we should all take that time to realize how special it is.

Happy New Year

I can't believe it's January 3rd already.  Last fall just flew past as we tried to keep our heads above water.  We got knocked down again with a phone on December 17th.  We were shocked and so sad to learn my Uncle Clifford passed away.  I'm still in shock, honestly.  When my Grandfather passed away 18 years ago, Clifford, his half brother, filled that void.  I used to affectionately tease him that he was only a half great uncle.  We got to see him twice this fall: once on our vacation/Disney trip and again when we went home to help clean at Grandpop's house.  I'm going to miss our weekly phone calls.

The kids and I once again packed up on a Friday and headed south to Peachtree City, Georgia.  Clifford's funeral was the Saturday before Christmas.  Afterwards, the executor of his will let me go in his house to retrieve the quilt I'd made him for Christmas.  He wasn't supposed to, but he had opened it and seen the tag.  He didn't unfold it so he only saw a tiny bit of the back.  I hadn't posted a picture on my blog because he was my most loyal reader.  It's a string quilt made with nature prints.

Chirstmas was quiet and sedate.  I have pictures I'll try to post soon.  I'm taking a Facebook hiatus in order to dedicate more time to more important things (including sharing real stories here that my kids will love to read one day).

I know lots of friends like to pick a word to be their theme for a new year instead of making a resolution.  The word that keeps popping into my head is renewal.  I feel like I need to reset and get my focus back.  We need to start again with school.  The fall was so hard.  It was a blessing to be able to go and help and be there, but 4 trips South in as many months was hard.  We haven't made an effort to get involved in our community.  We know a few neighbors.  The kids have a few friends.  We've visited a few churches.  Nothing has really stuck because we haven't taken or had the time to dedicate to making this place our home.  It's time for a season of just being, settling, putting down roots.  That's what I want for our family for 2015!