The girls are down to their final month of schoolwork. The past few weeks we have had tons of extra things going on in our lives, and have been very busy, but no matter what, we have kept plugging away with schoolwork. Some days it is really tough to do school, but I'd really like the girls to be able to finish by the last week of April.
In 7th grade, C began her FINAL module for science. She has 6 chapters left to read for her Lightening Literature, and a week of writing assignments. In social studies, she has read the first 4 chapters of the second book in Joy Hakim's "The Story of US" series. Most of this book is review for her, leading up to our in-depth study of specific U.S. History time periods next year. She is breezing through, (ok, some days not so "breezily") pre-Algebra. This week she will finish lesson 36, and take test 8.
In 3rd grade, E has pretty much finished everything, other than English. We switched in January, from R&S to LLATL, so she is actually BEHIND, and will continue working on grade 3 until she finishes. This will take her through the summer, and right up until she begins grade 4. I didn't want her to JUST be doing only English with a month of school left, so last Tuesday I ordered her grade 4 math and reading from BJU. They arrived LESS THAN 48 HOURS LATER. We did the first story in her reading, and, upon seeing how the first few chapters of her new math were completely review for her, I had her do the chapter review, and test for the 1st chapter of math, and skip all the lessons.
In other news we have:
>spent $1500 at the vet due to 2 cat emergencies, 2 cat neuterings (different cats), and getting my ex-husband's dogs that I have "temporarily" taken in (for the past 2 1/2 months, and probably for the foreseeable future) their shots, exams, and for the black lab, medical treatment for a severe ear infection.
> gotten taxes finally done, filed, and paid
> bought an air conditioner....which is WONDERFUL after last year without one, and with temperatures here in the midwest soaring into the 80's and 90's much earlier than usual already.
> continued working at the no-kill animal shelter
> bought a new lawn mower. Which meant I had to mow. Grass that was up to my knees because I hate mowing, and put off buying a mower. During which time I broke my right, big toe. Because I behaved in a very mature, Christian manner and kicked the lawn mower when it wouldn't start. : )
GRANDBABY NEWS: April had her first sonogram, 5 vials of blood drawn, and her first major doctor's appointment Monday. She asked me to be with her for all of it. The sonogram was first. It looks like I have a very active grandchild....even at only 9 weeks along, the baby was rolling from side to side, and waving it's little arm "buds" energetically. Everything with baby is fine, and it is simply amazing to see how this tiny creature already looks like a baby. However, April's glucose test came back abnormal, and she is going in to the hospital this morning to have a 3 hour extended fasting glucose testing done, because they think she has gestational diabetes. They normally don't check blood glucose this early in a pregnancy, but they tested her because she has a sister with Type I diabetes, and both grandpas also have it.
That covers the basics. Other than being extremely busy, we are all fine. I pray everyone reading this is doing well too.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Friday, March 23, 2012
We Lost Our Dear Papa Harold This Week : (
My girls have grown up with basically only one grandparent. My dad died when I was in high school, and my mother died when C was only 2 months old. Their dad's mother died last year, but was never in their lives. However, their dad's father has been always been there for the girls. Papa Harold ALWAYS brought laughter to our lives with his never-ending supply of one-liner jokes, and he ALWAYS was concerned about us all. I never had a conversation with him where he didn't ask, "Do the girls have enough to eat?" "Do the dogs have enough to eat?" "Do you need anything?" There was never a time we stopped and saw him where he didn't give the girls a dollar or two, or five. Papa loved to fish, or even just to go sit out by the river enjoying nature. He loved to make people smile and laugh. He loved his grandchildren.
Little E especially loved him, and wrote him a letter Monday afternoon. Not an hour after we had mailed it, Danny called, and told me he was taking Papa to the doctor. The doctor sent him via ambulance to the local hospital, and the local hospital transferred him to a larger hospital. His condition continued worsening as Monday evening progressed. The girls and I decided to cancel school Tuesday so we could go see him, but sadly, Papa Harold died at 3:32 Tuesday morning.
Although this man was my EX father-in-law, he was a father to me the past 15 years. Not only will the girls miss him, but I will too. The last time I spoke to him was just 6 days ago, and as always, we finished by saying, "I love you." I DID love him, and he will be missed by all of us!
This photo is the most recent one taken of him....only a couple of weeks ago. It is typical of Harold....he is wearing a silly St. Patrick's day hat, while waiting in line at the store.
Little E especially loved him, and wrote him a letter Monday afternoon. Not an hour after we had mailed it, Danny called, and told me he was taking Papa to the doctor. The doctor sent him via ambulance to the local hospital, and the local hospital transferred him to a larger hospital. His condition continued worsening as Monday evening progressed. The girls and I decided to cancel school Tuesday so we could go see him, but sadly, Papa Harold died at 3:32 Tuesday morning.
Although this man was my EX father-in-law, he was a father to me the past 15 years. Not only will the girls miss him, but I will too. The last time I spoke to him was just 6 days ago, and as always, we finished by saying, "I love you." I DID love him, and he will be missed by all of us!
This photo is the most recent one taken of him....only a couple of weeks ago. It is typical of Harold....he is wearing a silly St. Patrick's day hat, while waiting in line at the store.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
C This Week....
I am especially proud of C this week. Tuesday, her older sister wanted me to go to her first official prenatal doctor's appointment. C didn't want to go, and since she was recently given a cell phone, I let her stay home. The appointment ended up being 3 hours long. (lots of waiting room time) When I got home, C had done all her chores, all her school work, and even cleaned the microwave. She has worked hard on all her schoolwork, getting it done early to be outside enjoying the beautiful weather we've had all week. (70's and 80's in MARCH!) She and E have spent a few of these nice days practicing softball...the annual signups begin this weekend.
Now...anyone who knows C or reads this blog (back when I had a computer and could write regularly) knows C detests writing. She detests it on any level. So imagine my shock yesterday when she woke up, and handed me a paper. She said, "I felt like writing last night after bedtime, so will you read this and tell me what you think?" On her own, not as an assignemtn, just because she "felt like it", C wrote a rough draft, AND a revision, of a very well organized, well-written, informative, grammatically perfect ESSAY. It was titled, "Pennington", and was a very complete informative essay about her favorite cat at the animal shelter we work at. I had no idea she was even writing anything! She even drew and colored a picture of the cat to go along with the page and a half essay.
Now, some of you have children that like to write. *I* was a child that liked to write. I've always enjoyed writing. But I never thought I'd see the day when C would take the initiative to write anything, let alone something that was so well done. So, I am very pleased this week with C's overall attitude and hard work.
Now...anyone who knows C or reads this blog (back when I had a computer and could write regularly) knows C detests writing. She detests it on any level. So imagine my shock yesterday when she woke up, and handed me a paper. She said, "I felt like writing last night after bedtime, so will you read this and tell me what you think?" On her own, not as an assignemtn, just because she "felt like it", C wrote a rough draft, AND a revision, of a very well organized, well-written, informative, grammatically perfect ESSAY. It was titled, "Pennington", and was a very complete informative essay about her favorite cat at the animal shelter we work at. I had no idea she was even writing anything! She even drew and colored a picture of the cat to go along with the page and a half essay.
Now, some of you have children that like to write. *I* was a child that liked to write. I've always enjoyed writing. But I never thought I'd see the day when C would take the initiative to write anything, let alone something that was so well done. So, I am very pleased this week with C's overall attitude and hard work.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
I Am Going To Be A GRANDMA : )
I found out this morning that my oldest daughter, April, is expecting her first child in early November. I am so excited and happy!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
We're Still Here....
Wow, it has been a BUSY 2 months since I last wrote! I'm still "computerless", but hopefully I'll be able to get one in the next few months. In the meantime, though, I can't post all the happenings in our lives, or all the thoughts running through my head that I'd like to write about. So I will make do with just a very brief update.
Last time I wrote we had a deathly ill kitten. I'm happy to report that Moses is doing very well, and a joyful addition to our already cat-laden house. We are also "dog-sitting" for my ex-husband's 2 dogs....an elderly yellow lab, and a gigantic, 4 year old black lab. Both these dogs lived with us prior to the girls' dad leaving back in 2009, and although they add a lot of time to chores and the cost of dog food, (Shadow eats a LOT) we are happy to take care of them until he is able to again. I am beginning to feel like an animal hoarder, though....
School is going very well with the girls. E had a birthday this month, and turned 9. She finished her Horizons math 3rd grade, and, quite by accident, began doing Saxon 54. I had some of C's old books out one day, and C decided to start giving E the tests in Saxon. E, who is always a whiz with math, whizzed right through 3 of them. Since I hadn't figured out yet what I would use for her for 4th grade math, we just decided to keep going with Saxon. It is a little slow for her, and much of the material is "review' from concepts she had already learned well in 2nd and 3rd grade math, but we just completed lesson 40, so we may as well finish it out since she's done a third of the book already. LOL
Another change with E is that after doing 3 units of R&S English, it was beginning to be a bit much for her in the writing department. After researching, I chose to begin her in "Learning Language Arts Through Literature" the yellow book. (which is grade 3, so she will be a little behind grade level.) We have only been doing it for 4 weeks, so we'll see how it pans out, but so far both E and I are loving the approach. The lessons are short, but complete with spelling, grammar, handwriting, thinking skills, writing, and literature. They all focus on the copy/dictation method, and using real books (as opposed to textbooks) for her English skills.
E is also VERY into me reading aloud to her. She couldn't stand this when she was "little", but now she is enthralled by our read aloud choices, and begs me to read more, and more, and more. We recently finished "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe" (what a phenomonal book! I recommend every adult who read this as a child go back and re read it as an adult.) and are now back to one of MY childhood favorites: "Charlotte's Web".
C is also back to Saxon for math. No matter how much *I* loved BJU math, it was just too much for her, and was to the point math was a constant struggle and battle of wills. She is doing much better with Saxon Algebra 1/2.
We only have one unit left in Lighening Literature. While C detests the writing assignments, she has done all right with them. I bought Apologia's Jump In to try for her writing next year, and I don't have a CLUE what I will use for the rest of her English yet. I am really, REALLY looking forward to Jump In, because it is broken up into very small lessons, yet really gives a wonderful instruction in the how-to's, and the do's and don'ts of writing. And, as the publisher famously claims for this program, it is geared toward "the reluctant writer", which definitely is C! LOL
C just completed her 12th module (out of 16) in Apologia's general science. She has loved this course, and gotten A's in all her work. I will miss the apologia scieonces, but next year we plan to go a little different route, and try using DVDs from BJU for Physical science. I've never used DVDs for my children, but I think it will be nice, not only for C to have someone else do the teaching, but for mE to have someone else do the teaching! LOL
We still work at least one day per week at the animal shelter, and still love it. C has not done violin lessons since December, because the torn ligamant in her wrist has really been acting up again this year. She plans to go out for softball again in a few months, but she will no longer be pitching, due to her wrist pain. We haven't had much of a "winter" this year, and the girls have actually had MANY days warm enough to be outside playing with their friends. And we have been seeing lots of their grown sister, April, since she moved back to our town last fall.
While that doesn't NEARLY cover all of our lifes goings-ons, it is all I intend to write about this morning. I miss being able to write as often as I used to. Hope everyone is doing well.
Last time I wrote we had a deathly ill kitten. I'm happy to report that Moses is doing very well, and a joyful addition to our already cat-laden house. We are also "dog-sitting" for my ex-husband's 2 dogs....an elderly yellow lab, and a gigantic, 4 year old black lab. Both these dogs lived with us prior to the girls' dad leaving back in 2009, and although they add a lot of time to chores and the cost of dog food, (Shadow eats a LOT) we are happy to take care of them until he is able to again. I am beginning to feel like an animal hoarder, though....
School is going very well with the girls. E had a birthday this month, and turned 9. She finished her Horizons math 3rd grade, and, quite by accident, began doing Saxon 54. I had some of C's old books out one day, and C decided to start giving E the tests in Saxon. E, who is always a whiz with math, whizzed right through 3 of them. Since I hadn't figured out yet what I would use for her for 4th grade math, we just decided to keep going with Saxon. It is a little slow for her, and much of the material is "review' from concepts she had already learned well in 2nd and 3rd grade math, but we just completed lesson 40, so we may as well finish it out since she's done a third of the book already. LOL
Another change with E is that after doing 3 units of R&S English, it was beginning to be a bit much for her in the writing department. After researching, I chose to begin her in "Learning Language Arts Through Literature" the yellow book. (which is grade 3, so she will be a little behind grade level.) We have only been doing it for 4 weeks, so we'll see how it pans out, but so far both E and I are loving the approach. The lessons are short, but complete with spelling, grammar, handwriting, thinking skills, writing, and literature. They all focus on the copy/dictation method, and using real books (as opposed to textbooks) for her English skills.
E is also VERY into me reading aloud to her. She couldn't stand this when she was "little", but now she is enthralled by our read aloud choices, and begs me to read more, and more, and more. We recently finished "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe" (what a phenomonal book! I recommend every adult who read this as a child go back and re read it as an adult.) and are now back to one of MY childhood favorites: "Charlotte's Web".
C is also back to Saxon for math. No matter how much *I* loved BJU math, it was just too much for her, and was to the point math was a constant struggle and battle of wills. She is doing much better with Saxon Algebra 1/2.
We only have one unit left in Lighening Literature. While C detests the writing assignments, she has done all right with them. I bought Apologia's Jump In to try for her writing next year, and I don't have a CLUE what I will use for the rest of her English yet. I am really, REALLY looking forward to Jump In, because it is broken up into very small lessons, yet really gives a wonderful instruction in the how-to's, and the do's and don'ts of writing. And, as the publisher famously claims for this program, it is geared toward "the reluctant writer", which definitely is C! LOL
C just completed her 12th module (out of 16) in Apologia's general science. She has loved this course, and gotten A's in all her work. I will miss the apologia scieonces, but next year we plan to go a little different route, and try using DVDs from BJU for Physical science. I've never used DVDs for my children, but I think it will be nice, not only for C to have someone else do the teaching, but for mE to have someone else do the teaching! LOL
We still work at least one day per week at the animal shelter, and still love it. C has not done violin lessons since December, because the torn ligamant in her wrist has really been acting up again this year. She plans to go out for softball again in a few months, but she will no longer be pitching, due to her wrist pain. We haven't had much of a "winter" this year, and the girls have actually had MANY days warm enough to be outside playing with their friends. And we have been seeing lots of their grown sister, April, since she moved back to our town last fall.
While that doesn't NEARLY cover all of our lifes goings-ons, it is all I intend to write about this morning. I miss being able to write as often as I used to. Hope everyone is doing well.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Prayer Request Update
Two days ago I asked for prayers for our 8 week old kitten, Moses. He steadily worsened, and by that evening I feared he wouldn't make it through the night. I syringe-fed him bits of water, and tucked him in my jacket to keep warm, because he was so listless and lethargic he just kept going off alone to huddle miserably.
Yesterday morning I took him to the vet. The vet said his intestines felt "enlarged", and he thought Mo had a bowel obstruction. The only way to find out for sure was an x-ray, which cost $135, which I simply could not afford. And even if I COULD afford the x-ray, I couldn't afford the $1000-$1500 the vet said surgery would cost. He prescribed antibiotics "just in case" Mo's intestines were enlarged simply due to his enteritis, and told me if there was no improvement we might have to "put him down". I am adamantly opposed to euthenasia, especially for a tiny kitten whose only fault was coming into a family who doesn't have bill and grocery money, let alone such a large expense as surgery.
Moses had his first dose of antibiotic at 10 a.m. By 1p.m. he was eating a tiny bit of soft cat food. At 3:30 he came mewing into the kitchen, so I offered him more, which he again ate. At 8:30 last night he AGAIN ate a small bit of food. At 10:30, instead of huddling alone somewhere, he jumped into bed with my husband and I, and happily lay purring between us. I awoke this morning to him SCREECHING for food, and he ate 3/4 of a can!
He SEEMS to be well on the road to recovery. Thank you to all who prayed for our special kitten, and thank you to God for healing him. I can't think of a better Christmas gift for my daughters : )
Yesterday morning I took him to the vet. The vet said his intestines felt "enlarged", and he thought Mo had a bowel obstruction. The only way to find out for sure was an x-ray, which cost $135, which I simply could not afford. And even if I COULD afford the x-ray, I couldn't afford the $1000-$1500 the vet said surgery would cost. He prescribed antibiotics "just in case" Mo's intestines were enlarged simply due to his enteritis, and told me if there was no improvement we might have to "put him down". I am adamantly opposed to euthenasia, especially for a tiny kitten whose only fault was coming into a family who doesn't have bill and grocery money, let alone such a large expense as surgery.
Moses had his first dose of antibiotic at 10 a.m. By 1p.m. he was eating a tiny bit of soft cat food. At 3:30 he came mewing into the kitchen, so I offered him more, which he again ate. At 8:30 last night he AGAIN ate a small bit of food. At 10:30, instead of huddling alone somewhere, he jumped into bed with my husband and I, and happily lay purring between us. I awoke this morning to him SCREECHING for food, and he ate 3/4 of a can!
He SEEMS to be well on the road to recovery. Thank you to all who prayed for our special kitten, and thank you to God for healing him. I can't think of a better Christmas gift for my daughters : )
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Christmas Break and a Prayer Request for our Kitten
The girls finished their first half of the school year Thursday.
E completed:
>3 out of 5 units of English.
>101 out of 176 lessons in Math
>19 out of 34 lessons in Spelling
>a lot of handwriting practice sheets (not sure how many; I didn't count)
>6 out of 8 units in Health
>2 out of 24 lessons in History (I'd planned it that way. We'll concentrate on History second semester.)
>science intermittantly
C completed:
>1 semester plus 3 more weeks' worth of Hewitt's Lightning Literature/Writing
>8 out of 14 chapters of Math
>um....over half of Social Studies...I forgot where we left off before thanksgiving, but we will be moving on to a year long study of American history and the Constitution in January
>9 out of 16 modules in Science
>has only 5 pages left in her second (intermediate level) book of violin in only 6 months of lessons. She loves playing, but detests the exercises. She wants only to play SONGS.
After over 3 weeks of trying to get a straight answer out of their dad on whether or not he was going to have them for a visit over christmas break, his wife finally called at 10:00 a.m. Thursday morning to get them Thursday afternoon. We put a rush on E's last 3 review lessons in English, took her unit exam (she got an 88% ) while C took her Module 9 science test for science, and managed to pack and get them off for an 8 day visit. They will be back Friday, just in time for Christmas Eve and Christmas. The timing works out perfectly for a home schooling mother who usually never has a moment to organize and wrap gifts without children around.
One last thing...our 8 week old kitten, Moses, is VERY sick. He has a severe case of roundworms, which has resulted in him getting enteritis, an infection in his digestive tract that is fatal to young kittens. He can not keep ANYTHING (food, water, medicines) down, and is hovering between life and death. The girls and I LOVE Moses very much, although C is especially fond of him. C has requested that instead of Christmas gifts, I use the money for Moses' vet care, and to also take all of HER money to help pay. The vet and I are doing all we can, but it is very serious. We would appreciate any prayers for Moses to get well soon and live a long and healthy life. This kitten is very loved and special to us.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
E completed:
>3 out of 5 units of English.
>101 out of 176 lessons in Math
>19 out of 34 lessons in Spelling
>a lot of handwriting practice sheets (not sure how many; I didn't count)
>6 out of 8 units in Health
>2 out of 24 lessons in History (I'd planned it that way. We'll concentrate on History second semester.)
>science intermittantly
C completed:
>1 semester plus 3 more weeks' worth of Hewitt's Lightning Literature/Writing
>8 out of 14 chapters of Math
>um....over half of Social Studies...I forgot where we left off before thanksgiving, but we will be moving on to a year long study of American history and the Constitution in January
>9 out of 16 modules in Science
>has only 5 pages left in her second (intermediate level) book of violin in only 6 months of lessons. She loves playing, but detests the exercises. She wants only to play SONGS.
After over 3 weeks of trying to get a straight answer out of their dad on whether or not he was going to have them for a visit over christmas break, his wife finally called at 10:00 a.m. Thursday morning to get them Thursday afternoon. We put a rush on E's last 3 review lessons in English, took her unit exam (she got an 88% ) while C took her Module 9 science test for science, and managed to pack and get them off for an 8 day visit. They will be back Friday, just in time for Christmas Eve and Christmas. The timing works out perfectly for a home schooling mother who usually never has a moment to organize and wrap gifts without children around.
One last thing...our 8 week old kitten, Moses, is VERY sick. He has a severe case of roundworms, which has resulted in him getting enteritis, an infection in his digestive tract that is fatal to young kittens. He can not keep ANYTHING (food, water, medicines) down, and is hovering between life and death. The girls and I LOVE Moses very much, although C is especially fond of him. C has requested that instead of Christmas gifts, I use the money for Moses' vet care, and to also take all of HER money to help pay. The vet and I are doing all we can, but it is very serious. We would appreciate any prayers for Moses to get well soon and live a long and healthy life. This kitten is very loved and special to us.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
Friday, November 18, 2011
School Update
This is, so far, the best school year we've had. Both girls are progressing well.
In 3rd grade, E has completed 95 out of 176 lessons/tests in her math. She continues to learn math quickly, and just breeze through. She has completed 16 out of 34 Spelling lessons. She is still working on becoming quicker with her handwriting, but her neatness and spelling have grown by leaps and bounds now that she writes the majority of her work in cursive. E is consistently reading longer chapter books; her favorites are currently the "Boxcar Children" series. She isn't doing science as a formal subject right now. We are almost finished with her Health book, and we dropped her McRuffy science, due to it's lack of explanation, and she and I's lack of interest in the boring way it was written. We will be doing Abeka science when we finish Health. E is also loving her Abeka 3rd grade History and Geography when we get to it, but we will concentrate more on that the second half of her school year.
The subject I am most impressed with this year is Rod and Staff English. For years I have heard all the rave reviews from other home school parents about this program. Yet through 2nd grade I went the "gentle, "Charlotte Mason" style of learning for E's language arts due to her handwriting issues. I thought Rod and Staff might be too "hard" or too vigorous for E jumping in at the 3rd grade level, but I was wrong. Rod and Staff is PERFECT for her! She just completed the second unit (out of 5) and she has done exceedingly well so far. Our gentle, yet repetitive, approach to English the last 2 years prepared E perfectly for R&S's textbook. She and I do much of the textbook orally, doing only 1 or 2 of the written assignments per day, plus the extra worksheets for extra written practice. These first 2 units have been mostly review of what she already knew well...nouns, pronouns, and the 4 types of sentences, so we will see how she fares with Unit 3, which is on verbs.
C is progressing through her books well, also, although we've had a few minor setbacks. She is doing well with Apologia's General Science. She loves the experiments, and the book is written in a very interesting, and easy-to-understand fashion. She is just finishing the 7th module. She is also doing well with BJU World Studies, but MAN is this the most boring book we have ever read! Both C and i agree we will not be using BJU for History or Social Studies again, simply because it is such a struggle to read and stay awake. LOL However, it IS a good overview of our World, both past and present...just very dry.
C and I are both liking Lightning Literature. The reading selections are good, except for "Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland", which we just finished. We did this book as a read-aloud, since I had never managed to read it as a child. Although we both could barely stand the book, it IS a good example of creative writing. About the only thing I liked about it were the puns. The rest of their selections, even the poetry, have been excellent, and C has done well, and even (though she won't admit it) like the written assignments.
Our major hurdle this year for 7th grade is Math. Last spring and summer she had done the first 5 chapters of BJU Fundamentals of math. It was taking her an hour, to 2 hours, per day. She detested it. I loved it, and thought it was a wonderful math program. I decided, though, to keep her interest in math, to try "Life of Fred" math. I thought maybe, since C loves reading, and hates doing lots of math problems, that the humorous storyline, and the greatly reduced written problems, would appeal to c, and math wouldn't be such a struggle for her. Well....she loved the humorous story line, but she proved (by her slipping grades) that she NEEDS the repetition and drill work of a standard math textbook. So after wasting the first 6 weeks of school this year on "Life of fred" we have gone back to finish BJU's math. We are currently in the middle of chapter 7. Not only does C need the repetition of 30 or so problems a day, she needs MORE practice, and we are doing EVERY problem...doing the odds on day 1, and the evens on day 2, and the quizzes on day 3. So it is going to take us until high school graduation to finish 7th grade math! LOL
In other news....we are still working one day a week at the no-kill animal shelter, although some weeks we go in twice a week. All 3 of us love the work, although we are always sore and exhausted (even the girls) on the days we work there. Next week we will be working both Wednesday and Thursday, as they are very short of help on Holidays. That's fine with us; we will just have Thanksgiving dinner Friday, a day after the actual holiday. It matters not to me which day we actually eat our big dinner, but it matters to the 300 plus cats that there are people to feed, water, and clean their cages, let them out to exercise and give them love and attention.
My oldest daughter, 20, (technically an ex-step-daughter, but both she and I consider ourselves true mother and daughter) lives back in the area, and we have been seeing lots of her. She will be joining us, of course, for Thanksgiving. She is in the process of moving this weekend, to an apartment only a few miles from our house.
And a week ago C came rushing in the house out of the freezing rain and brief snow we got exclaiming, "Look what I found!" In her hand was a tiny 3 or 4 week old kitten, so we have a new addition to our already over-populated feline population. To be truthful, the next morning I took him in the to shelter we work at, but after 3 hours of work the girls and I went back to check on him, and just couldn't bear to leave such a tiny creature in a cage all his life, so...we took him back home.
Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We plan to take most of the week off of school, and concentrate on animal shelter work, and prepping for a huge meal with family.
In 3rd grade, E has completed 95 out of 176 lessons/tests in her math. She continues to learn math quickly, and just breeze through. She has completed 16 out of 34 Spelling lessons. She is still working on becoming quicker with her handwriting, but her neatness and spelling have grown by leaps and bounds now that she writes the majority of her work in cursive. E is consistently reading longer chapter books; her favorites are currently the "Boxcar Children" series. She isn't doing science as a formal subject right now. We are almost finished with her Health book, and we dropped her McRuffy science, due to it's lack of explanation, and she and I's lack of interest in the boring way it was written. We will be doing Abeka science when we finish Health. E is also loving her Abeka 3rd grade History and Geography when we get to it, but we will concentrate more on that the second half of her school year.
The subject I am most impressed with this year is Rod and Staff English. For years I have heard all the rave reviews from other home school parents about this program. Yet through 2nd grade I went the "gentle, "Charlotte Mason" style of learning for E's language arts due to her handwriting issues. I thought Rod and Staff might be too "hard" or too vigorous for E jumping in at the 3rd grade level, but I was wrong. Rod and Staff is PERFECT for her! She just completed the second unit (out of 5) and she has done exceedingly well so far. Our gentle, yet repetitive, approach to English the last 2 years prepared E perfectly for R&S's textbook. She and I do much of the textbook orally, doing only 1 or 2 of the written assignments per day, plus the extra worksheets for extra written practice. These first 2 units have been mostly review of what she already knew well...nouns, pronouns, and the 4 types of sentences, so we will see how she fares with Unit 3, which is on verbs.
C is progressing through her books well, also, although we've had a few minor setbacks. She is doing well with Apologia's General Science. She loves the experiments, and the book is written in a very interesting, and easy-to-understand fashion. She is just finishing the 7th module. She is also doing well with BJU World Studies, but MAN is this the most boring book we have ever read! Both C and i agree we will not be using BJU for History or Social Studies again, simply because it is such a struggle to read and stay awake. LOL However, it IS a good overview of our World, both past and present...just very dry.
C and I are both liking Lightning Literature. The reading selections are good, except for "Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland", which we just finished. We did this book as a read-aloud, since I had never managed to read it as a child. Although we both could barely stand the book, it IS a good example of creative writing. About the only thing I liked about it were the puns. The rest of their selections, even the poetry, have been excellent, and C has done well, and even (though she won't admit it) like the written assignments.
Our major hurdle this year for 7th grade is Math. Last spring and summer she had done the first 5 chapters of BJU Fundamentals of math. It was taking her an hour, to 2 hours, per day. She detested it. I loved it, and thought it was a wonderful math program. I decided, though, to keep her interest in math, to try "Life of Fred" math. I thought maybe, since C loves reading, and hates doing lots of math problems, that the humorous storyline, and the greatly reduced written problems, would appeal to c, and math wouldn't be such a struggle for her. Well....she loved the humorous story line, but she proved (by her slipping grades) that she NEEDS the repetition and drill work of a standard math textbook. So after wasting the first 6 weeks of school this year on "Life of fred" we have gone back to finish BJU's math. We are currently in the middle of chapter 7. Not only does C need the repetition of 30 or so problems a day, she needs MORE practice, and we are doing EVERY problem...doing the odds on day 1, and the evens on day 2, and the quizzes on day 3. So it is going to take us until high school graduation to finish 7th grade math! LOL
In other news....we are still working one day a week at the no-kill animal shelter, although some weeks we go in twice a week. All 3 of us love the work, although we are always sore and exhausted (even the girls) on the days we work there. Next week we will be working both Wednesday and Thursday, as they are very short of help on Holidays. That's fine with us; we will just have Thanksgiving dinner Friday, a day after the actual holiday. It matters not to me which day we actually eat our big dinner, but it matters to the 300 plus cats that there are people to feed, water, and clean their cages, let them out to exercise and give them love and attention.
My oldest daughter, 20, (technically an ex-step-daughter, but both she and I consider ourselves true mother and daughter) lives back in the area, and we have been seeing lots of her. She will be joining us, of course, for Thanksgiving. She is in the process of moving this weekend, to an apartment only a few miles from our house.
And a week ago C came rushing in the house out of the freezing rain and brief snow we got exclaiming, "Look what I found!" In her hand was a tiny 3 or 4 week old kitten, so we have a new addition to our already over-populated feline population. To be truthful, the next morning I took him in the to shelter we work at, but after 3 hours of work the girls and I went back to check on him, and just couldn't bear to leave such a tiny creature in a cage all his life, so...we took him back home.
Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We plan to take most of the week off of school, and concentrate on animal shelter work, and prepping for a huge meal with family.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Brief Update
Well, I never thought I'd survive without a computer, but it has been 6 weeks since mine died for good, and I'm actually making it just fine. I can check e-mails, and get on google from my phone, but that's about it, so I apologize for being unable to post anything here for awhile. And most likely it will be several months before I am able to get back to posting regularly on here, as my finances are in no shape to be buying a new computer anytime soon. I'll try to pop in from time to time, though.
In a nutshell....we have:
-been doing VERY well with school
-lost our dear dog, due to diabetes, very suddenly
-begun working one to two days a week at a local no-kill animal shelter, both girls and I...it is very hard work, but we all 3 love it!
AND....
-celebrated C's 13th birthday! We had a wonderful time doing special things for a very special, hard-working girl, for a very special birthday...after all, you only turn into a TEENAGER once!
We are all doing fine. Hope anyone reading this is, too.
: )
In a nutshell....we have:
-been doing VERY well with school
-lost our dear dog, due to diabetes, very suddenly
-begun working one to two days a week at a local no-kill animal shelter, both girls and I...it is very hard work, but we all 3 love it!
AND....
-celebrated C's 13th birthday! We had a wonderful time doing special things for a very special, hard-working girl, for a very special birthday...after all, you only turn into a TEENAGER once!
We are all doing fine. Hope anyone reading this is, too.
: )
Monday, September 5, 2011
She Had to Wait 8 Years, but E had a Dream Come True Today....
She got to ride a CAMEL! This girl LOVES camels, and in fact up until recently she wanted to BE a camel when she grew up. LOL
Don't worry, C got to have fun, too. Here she is jumping around on the bungee cords.
The girls and I enjoyed some beautiful weather, for a change, and went to a Labor Day Festival/Fair about 30 miles away. We rode rides. played games, ate fair food, fed animals, and wasted too much money, but it was worth it to see them have so much fun.
Hope you all enjoyed your holiday weekend, too!
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