Menu Monday Again

Hmm, what can I make. We just had an orgy of food so nothing sounds especially wonderful. Looking through the cupboards and freezer I'm thinking

Sun-lasagna, salad, orange
Mon-beef stew w/dumplings, grapes
Tue-mac&cheese w/ham, broccoli, applesauce
Wed-baked potato soup, relishes, kiwi&strawberries
Thu-tacos, corn, apple slices
Fri-leftover buffet
Sat-pizza

Just a usual week this week, Daisies, Cubs, Boy Scouts, Spanish, Girl Scouts. The Christmas craziness will start soon. I'm going to enjoy normal.

School Saturday

Ok, first I have to get this off my chest. I made Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings. I received polite thanks.

I made nachos for dinner and got raves,thanks,kisses and hugs. Next year, it's pizza, tacos and nachos baby.

Ok, school. Only a three day week really.

We focused on the true story of the first Thanksgiving. We read You Wouldn't Want to Sail on the Mayflower and used a unit study from the net. F declared Wednesday Wopanoag Wednesday and we looked at things from the Native American view point. We also worked on the 4's. He now knows the 1,2,3,4,5,10 and 11 tables. We wrote about our trip to the musical and worked on commas and punctuation some more.

Mel got all the Thanksgiving stuff, continued to work on reading and letter sounds and basic math facts.

A pretty nice week. Now I have to gear myself up for the next four weeks until Christmas. I'm planning a couple field trips for 'break' so it won't be a wasteland. Children's Museum is free from 10-2 Christmas Eve and we'll probably go back to Indy for a trip to the State Museum. We might go tobogganing too. Or skating. Have to play that by ear.

From The Way Back Machine

It's Not Keats But We Like It




The Turkey
Shot Out of the Oven
by Jack Prelutsky


The turkey shot out of the oven
and rocketed into the air.
It knocked every plate off the table
and partly demolished a chair.

It ricocheted into a corner
and burst with a deafening boom,
then splattered all over the kitchen,
completely obscuring the room.

It stuck to the walls and the windows.
It totally coated the floor.
There was turkey attached to the ceiling
where there'd never been turkey before.

It blanketed every appliance.
It smeared every saucer and bowl.
There wasn't a way I could stop it.
That turkey was out of control.

I scraped and I scrubbed with displeasure
and thought with chagrin as I mopped
that I'd never again stuff a turkey
with popcorn that hadn't been popped.

Tired Tuesday

I feel the approaching holiday and pretty much want to make it a week off. I think the gray weather isn't helping. I can stand the cold but some sunshine would really help. We're just doing Thanksgiving here with just us this year. My kids are totally bummed out about not going to their grandpa's. His wife is not feeling well this year though, and they don't want to come over. Too many bugs around they say. My brother, SIL and nephew will go to her sister's so....it's just us. I have to agree with the kids it doesn't feel very festive. To add to that, my kids aren't really into traditional Thanksgiving fare. Except pumpkin pie. If I served only that and some cheese and crackers they'd be happy. I'm making a turkey though for dh and I at least, maybe some sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, rolls and broccoli ought to do it. Maybe the problem is that if you substituted chicken for turkey we eat like that about once a month. As for that other holiday, I'm firmly ignoring it.

Monday Again

Redneck, Monster Truck Barbie



Menus?
Sun-breakfast for dinner
Mon-cheese enchiladas, spanish rice, oranges
Tue-mac&cheese w/ham, broccoli, grapes
Wed-stew, biscuits, applesauce
Thu-You know
Fri-More of You Know
Sat-spinach&cheese pasta, bread, fruit salad

School Saturday

So a naturally organized person would keep all these posts on the same day, so they could be found. Since I don't fit that description I had to wait until the big light bulb went off over my head and I said "Doh!". Why not put all those posts on Saturday. Oooh, I am quick. So here's the review

Mel
SHE CAN READ. She decoded that classic "The Cat Sat on the Mat". It's not Shakespeare but you've got to start somewhere. She also goes around informing us of addition facts so I'm not worried about her. She also spent tons of time painting and creating some sort of 'gun' out of empty pop cans and cardboard with her brother.

F
LA-Worked on capitalization and punctuation. He can spot it in other's work but forgets it in his own. We also worked on those pesky commas. He read from his reader about Galileo & Copernicus, The Phases of the Moon, Neil Armstrong and The Nine Planets. Ooops that's the only problem with using a reader from 1975. We then watched Bill Nye tell us why Pluto doesn't make the cut anymore. Read alouds Has been The Sword in the Tree. He's also been reading MTH about Pompei whose title escapes me.

Math-Two part story problems. He got better as the week progressed. Still working on completely memorizing the times tables too.

Science-Not a great week and it was my fault. We did a little astronomy and health. He complained about how they used to get to watch a movie about teeth in school. What a weird thing to miss. Anyway, I found some neat games on the ADA website and let him do that one day.

History-Still progressing through Rome. I hope to finish that the end of semester at the beginning of January and finish up to the Renaissance by May. Then we can go to American history next year and throw world exploration in there.

Friday we went to Beauty and the Beast. Since it was 2 1/2 hours and there was an hour travel time, etc. I called that the day.

Beauty Eh

We went to see Beauty and the Beast today. A student performance so ticket were $2!. F didn't want to go, as it's "about princesses". For the record, I am to note here, he is not a wuss. We're going to be doing fairy tales in LA though, and the production at the college would be pretty good quality so we went along with Mel and Ads. I was nervous about taking a 2 year old. Even though the show was 2 1/2 hours long we made it. He decided after he saw some of his buds there that it was ok and there was enough music and lights and pageant to keep Ads occupied. A good day!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Is forcing your children out into the near freezing rain abuse. Or saving them from abuse? Why don't I have lethargic, couch potato children? The couch cushion, card table, lincoln log labyrinth in my living room is disturbing.

The Rest of the Time

So, I hear all my relatives saying, "Then what are they doing the rest of the time?
Yesterday this

and this

and this

"

Schedule?

I was trolling around listlessly surfing when I cam on this aritcle about homeschool schedules. Some people have none, some people are ruthlessly organized. I'm somewhere in the middle I guess. I only have some framework because otherwise we'd do nothing. F would be happy playing x-box all day and living on Mt. Dew and doritos. So we've worked our way to this

5:00-I'm up, coffee, make breakfast for dh
6:00-teens up, talk, more coffee
7:00-get F and Ads out of bed, F lays on couch, get baby (she is too) dressed, pottied, fed, more coffee
8:00-middle school and 5th grader to school, get F fed (maybe), have him do his chores, pry him off games
All school times are approximate, I don't obsessively watch the clock
8:30-Mickey Mouse for Miss Ads and our read aloud time snuggled in my bedroom, we read until we hit a good stopping point, some days are longer than others
9-9:30-math, critical thinking puzzles
break
9:50-language arts, grammar
10:15-independent reading (me shower)
10:30-handwriting
10:40-history
11:00-science
11:15-LUNCH

He manages to play a little Wii in there or go outside if it's nice and finally eat something. I look at some people's schedules and I feel like we are so lazy. Other people make me feel like I push too hard. I know it's an individual thing but I'm a comparer. Always have been. On the bright side, I'm still probably hitting more content that the PS and I tallied up our projected school days and since we worked through the summer 4 days/week we'll be at 214 days which is over the 180 needed. And yes, I know they learn stuff all the time but I'm not sure I want to count watching Mythbusters and reading Magic Tree House books as school, even though they are valuable, KWIM? Oh, and I reserve the right to throw all this out the window if something more interesting comes up!

Menu Monday

All the chicks made it back to the nest by 8:30 last night so a good weekend for all. The weather for the food drive was fabulous and since walking for 3 hours didn't tire out the 6 and 8 yo we went to the park that evening. Why was I the only one tired?
What's cooking this week? Um, let me go through this in my head right now. I spent plenty at the grocery so there should be something.

Sun-we had breadsticks and cheese
Mon-chicken&noodles, mashed potatoes, green beans
Tue-tater tot casserole (they like this, they are Philistines), broccoli, applesauce
Wed-spaghetti, salad, oranges
Thu-roast, potatoes, carrots, grapes
Fri-hot dogs, mac&cheese, relishes
Sat-beef pot pie, fruit salad

Well, off to do a hundred things including deliver more *#&$^ popcorn.

Funducational Friday

We shook things up today. We are about 20 days ahead of the public school on days attended so I've decided twice a month we're going to try One-Hour A Day Homeschool. Basically I'll give history and science 20 minutes/ 20 minutes to reading and LA/ and 20 minutes to math. We got a surprising amount done. The rest of the day is for puzzles, educational videos, playing outside, reading, exploring, educational games, etc. That's pretty much what gets done anyway but lessons usually last more like 3 hours total. Since F was excited about having a 'short day' we got started at 7am. We're up anyway so why not. He watched Bill Nye on states of matter and the beginning of a documentary on Rome and Julius Caesar. We did a math review, worked on proper capitalization and punctuation in correspondence and he read to me from the ancient readers we like. We've been zooming along. We finally finished the Greeks and a bit of ancient China . Science has been states of matter, the concepts of atoms and molecules and metric vs customary measurement. Math has been a big review or all our topics up to this point. His retention is not good, even if he has passed a test with flying colors earlier. It seems every 6 weeks or so it pays to review all the big topics. LA was a study of community to tie into our Spanish classes. Capitalization, punctuation and double negatives were also tied into LA.

In more interesting life, the older two boys are going with their scout troop to Marengo Caves for the weekend. Oldest dd will be going to a friends orchestra performance on Friday and shopping with another friend on Saturday. Saturday is the Cub Scout Food Drive so I'll be shepherding
far too many 6-11 year old boys around town. We're having the Girl Scouts chip in to help this year so L and Mel will go too. Ad's is just along for the ride providing she'll stay in the stroller. I'm seriously considering lacing her juice with benadryl. (Before you call CPS, yes I'm joking.)

Remember

In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe;
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
- Lt. Col. John McCrae

Remember

In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe;
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
- Lt. Col. John McCrae

Daybook

FOR TODAY... from thejoyofsix Daybook

Outside my window...it's dark. Come on sunrise

I am thinking... I need more coffee

I am thankful for... the relative peace while kids eat and shower.

I am wearing... plaid lounge pants, a green t-shirt and a red sweater. Yea, that's right, not exactly lingerie.

I am remembering... how much I like summer days when all that time stretches in front of me.

I am going... to deliver Cub Scout popcorn.

I am reading... Murder at Longbourn

I am hoping... to mop my kitchen. Ah, the glamor

On my mind... whether I should have lent my new camera to my son.

From the learning rooms... we need to work on writing.

Noticing that... I feel better when I give up and go to bed at 9pm.

Pondering these words... "Every man is surrounded by a neighborhood of voluntary spies." Jane Austen

From the kitchen...Need to look at what I planned, I can't remember.

Around the house... Too many little jobs which I hate.

One of my favorite things~ Playing outside with my kids in the Fall. There are so many uses for dead leaves.


For more visit The Simple Woman's Daybook

Rolling On

The weather was unusually pleasant this weekend so the kids were out, out, out! This has the added benefit of making them fall asleep. Oh yeah! I'm not sure what the picnic table has to do with this but it seemed integral to whatever they were playing.

We didn't run much now that soccer is over and it wasn't a holiday weekend. I feel about 100 times better even if no one else does. The Colts managed to pull it out yesterday and I made milkshakes and passed it off as supper. That's really all it takes to make my weekend good.
Menus this week:
Mon-Calzones, relishes, oranges
Tue-Pierogi casserole, cole slaw, applesauce
Wed-Bean & cheese burritos, corn, kiwi
Thu-Ravioli and broccoli dish, strawberries
Fri-Shipwreck casserole, fruit salad
Sat-Burgers, fries, relishes

Rules of Engagement

Sometimes you just have to sit and listen to your kids and be amused. Yesterday in the car Mel was bemoaning the fact that she didn't know how to get married. F explained it to her.
"First you go to high school and date someone you like maybe two times. Then you get engaged. Dad walks you to church and leaves you with the guy up front. The engager makes you promise stuff. Then you're married. Then he has to get a job." This was followed by the pronouncement "I'm staying single. I don't want a job." I was laughing by then. I think we need to study ceremony, mating rituals and gender roles. Then again, as I pointed out to them, they are 6 and 8 and have a little time to work all that out.

Halloween

I'm still working with the broken camera. I also missed getting a pick of E dressed as a greek goddess. Flowing white garb, crown of flowers and gold glitter skin. Quite lovely actually. She was aiming for Persephone but said no one knew who that was so switched to telling them a goddess half way through the evening. The teen boys went to a horror movie with friends and I still got to take the above crew trick or treating.