Our BookShark Box is Ordered!

No two children could be more excited about curriculum coming in the mail than my two are right now. We had a great BookShark year last year and are looking forward to the next. So as we await our Box Day, this is what we're up to:

The snow has finally melted, but it's still really wet and muddy out. So as we're mostly housebound, we're reading, drawing, and finishing this year's math.

Bess is reading Peppermints in the Parlor and Ms Leaky is Freaky.

Max is building car ramps and continually improving them.

Rose's favorite book used to be Mr. Brown can Moo! Can you?(We all have it memorized now. I once woke to myself reciting it in my sleep!) But now she's been having us read the We Help Daddy book over and over.

I'm reading : Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America by Linda Tirado.

I'm watching the K-dramas Blood and re-watching Pinocchio(so good!)

I haven't been feeling great lately, quite a lot of pain around my middle. It's called the "ms hug". Ethan has been doing literally all of the housework. So to give him a bit of a break from cooking dinner every night, I've been ordering Panera online and having my husband pick it up on his way home from work. Bess, who is soup-crazy, now asks when the soup is getting here and then guiltily adds,"and Daddy!"

That's all for now. Hopefully my next post will be about our Box Day!
Until Next Time!

January

January flew by mostly because lots of changes happened for us. My husband began his new job. My son officially became a manager at the pizza place he works for. Bess had her 8th birthday. And I have been busy applying for a house for us all to live in. We have to have a 4 bedroom, since the law requires it for 7 people, and we need a place which will accept a dog and cat. And it must be affordable. It's a tall order! But I think I've found one. It's in a worse neighborhood than we live in now, but the house itself is beautiful.It's also close to our favorite library and two museums. So fingers crossed!
We've pretty much finished our school year except for math. I fully intend to write a review of the curriculum we used, but right now most of my free time is spent packing.

We're wrapping up BookShark 1. Our last read aloud is Detectives in Togas.

Bess is reading Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman. She received this for Christmas and loves it.

She's also rereading the Oz books. She never tires of these.
Max has hardly noticed that most of his toys are packed for the move. He's been playing with his Magformers  he got for Christmas. They really are fun toys. Even the adults have fun building with them.

Bess, Max, and I have been watching A Place At The Table on Netflix.

It's an excellent documentary about food insecurity in this country. If only everyone would watch it. Bess immediately said we need to give food to a local food pantry, she was so touched by the stories. But she also understood that the problem must be solved by the government. We had some long discussions about our broken system. I told her the story of how I used to get free lunches in elementary school and how it was the most filling meal I would get all day. I'm still very grateful for the politicians who cared enough to fund that program. I want my children to grow up with empathy for those who are having a hard time putting food on the table and to understand that it could happen to anyone.


So that's what we've been up to.

Until Next Time!

Autumn!

I guess it won't come as a surprise that I love fall since I've never changed my blog header from our tree's autumn foliage. It's 80% love of fall color and 20% laziness.
We're getting really excited about Halloween! Max and Bess have been busy putting up our decorations this week.

I don't know what it is about fall, but as soon as it's here I instantly go into soup-making-mode. I don't know why. It's just beginning to get cool in our part of the country. Nevertheless, we're eating soup. This week I made Midwest Chowder and Cream of Broccoli-Cheese Soup, both of which were really good. Next up, Chicken and Dumplings. While not a soup, it still seems right for this time of year.
And yes, I said Chicken and Dumplings. Our vegan and vegetarian days are at an end. After my last visit to the hospital, I found out, along with my MS symptoms, I'm extremely anemic. I'll be on mega doses of iron for at least 6 months. To be honest, it didn't really come as much of a surprise. I've been so tired and often depressed for a few months. I just didn't feel right. I'm not blaming our diet completely; there are plenty of vegetarian options for iron, but I always had so much energy as an omnivore, and I didn't as a vegan. When I discussed this with the family, my husband and Ethan admitted they had been overly tired as well and craving meat for a while. So our five years as vegans and a few months as vegetarians are over. It was a hard decision. We love animals. Hell, we don't even kill spiders if we don't have to. Charlotte's Web and James and the Giant Peach made all the kids staunch protectors of spiders. But I am convinced now that we are meant to be omnivores. I could give you all the reasons, but if there's one thing vegans hate it's former vegans who claim health reasons for eating meat, dairy, and eggs. I know, because it used to annoy me too. So I won't add to that. It's not an argument I want to have. I'll just say, this is a choice we're making for our family. It's our choice. Actually, that's pretty close to what I say to people who question homeschooling, so I've had practice.

What We're Reading This Week

Bess is reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Max is "reading" The Lego Adventure Book 2 for about the thousandth time. I'm reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Bess and I just read the chapter on the Trojan War in A Child's History of the World from BookShark, so we're following that with Tales from the Odyssey by Mary Pope Osborne.

What We're Crafting

I'm working on Bess' Halloween costume. She's going to be a witch this year. I found a $3 hat at Target along with a $3 broom. She and I are making a no-sew tutu with spiderweb pattern mesh cloth. We're using a fabric pen to draw stripes on a pair of old tights. I think it's going to be pretty neat. I'm surprised. I'm not very crafty. My Halloween projects usually end with me saying, "Who wants to go to the store and just buy one of these?"

What We're Watching

Fireplace for the Home on Netflix. This is what we poor non-fireplace-owners do when the rest of you lucky people are scenting the neighborhood with the wonderful smell of firewood burning. It's not quite the same but it's not bad.

My next posts will be a review of Horizons Math and of BookShark 1 mid-year. We're at the halfway point, 18 weeks of 36. Since every time I even say the word BookShark my page views increase exponentially, I thought a review might be helpful for those considering the program. Spoiler Alert: We love it. However, I know it wouldn't work for every family, so I'll make sure to give an in-depth look at the curriculum.

I hope you're enjoying the fall weather as much as we are! Until Next Time!

Banned Books Week

This is one of my favorite weeks! I absolutely love it. We read a bunch of great books and laugh about what people have found offensive. Captain Underpants was the most challenged book of 2013. It boggles the mind! We love that series! I have never understood why people feel the need to make decisions for everyone about what is appropriate or not to read. Our library has tons of books I wouldn't let my children read, but that's a choice I make for MY family, not yours. Here's an idea. Pay attention to what your kids bring home from the library. Problem solved.
Here's a link to information about Banned Books Week.

We're starting off by reading Where The Wild Things Are for Max.

Yes, that was banned too. And then on to A Wrinkle in Time for Bess, also banned. Sigh.

What Were Cooking-- Midwest Chowder, so delicious and simple to make. With the weather cooling, it feels perfect for soup making. We serve it with Soft White Dinner Rolls. This is a really easy recipe  for bread. A child could do it. Hmm. Maybe it's time to teach Bess to make rolls....

What Were Creating--Homemade Paper Lanterns. I'll post a picture when we're finished.

What We're Watching--They Might Be Giants:Here Comes Science

 What I'm Watching--The Korean drama My Lovely Girl.

What I'm Reading--For my Banned Books Week selection I'm rereading To Kill A Mockingbird. I never tire of it. It's perfection.

So that's what's on the docket for this week. We're planning on plenty of fall walks, too. I'm sure Bess and Max will have our house overflowing with found acorns and pine cones soon.
I hope you have a great week!

Until Next Time!

Our Busy Week and a Few Links to Fun Stuff

We are experiencing some busy and stressful days, lately. I've been hoping to have time to review a couple of things here, but I can't seem to gather enough coherent thought to actually write any reviews. Hopefully by next week.  Of course, the world is trembling in anticipation to read my tedious thoughts on math curriculum.


Our biggest concern, this week, is Max. He is scheduled for a procedure at the hospital in two days. To say it will be epic and terrible is not me being a drama queen. When neurotypical children are afraid of the hospital, one can reason and comfort them through their fears. With Max, reason is impossible. The question is How many health professionals will he kick and hit before the day is through? We are trying to prepare him as well as we can, but I doubt it will have any bearing on his behavior. He's a kid who screams during baths, and can't even have his hair combed without yelling. The sensation of baths and combs feels like real pain to him. This procedure will involve actual pain combined with a place he is unfamiliar with and strangers with needles. I would do anything to spare him this trip to the hospital. I hate for my sweet, little guy to go through this, but it's necessary. To make up for everything, we are throwing our frugality in the toilet to buy him a huge, ridiculously expensive Lego set he's been coveting. Mom Guilt: Making children's dreams come true since the beginning of time...

But enough worry and complaining. Here are a few links to cool stuff I found this week.

Bess is nuts about anything to do with ancient Egypt and archaeology, so I thought it would be fun to try out this Mummification of Barbie. That's the plan for next week.

Since the kids have been begging me for a big, crafty project, I thought we'd also try this Geometric Art project. Both of them love painting, and the weather has been cool enough so we might be able to do this outdoors.

We're about to read The Great Wall of China which came with our BookShark curriculum.

We've chosen to make our own Styrofoam Great Wall. Max and Bess are super excited. If Max has anything to do with it, many brave Lego men will die in battle on top of that wall.








And here's one last link: One family's BookShark Box Day on youtube. I love box day even when it is someone else's. I'm looking forward to more BookSharkers posting videos. Yes, BookSharkers is a word, despite what spell check says. As Bess is fond of telling me, when she makes up words, "I wrote it, so it's a word." Hard to argue with that logic.

Until Next Time!

This Week

We've been on a break for a couple of weeks as we get ready for the new school year. Since we homeschool year round, it won't be a major change for us except we'll be using quite a few new materials. Bess and Max are pretty excited about the boxes of new books arriving. They're stalking the mailman every day.

We are reading together: Lenny and Mel, Lenny and Mel's Summer Vacation, and Lenny and Mel After-School Confidential.  All of them are really funny. They were favorites of my older kids, and it's fun to reread them with Max and Bess.

 

Bess is reading: The Geronimo Stilton Series,  I,Tut:The Boy Who Became Pharaoh, and Pippi Longstocking.

Max is enjoying: The Legos Ideas Book and Calvin and Hobbes.

I'm rereading: Better Than School and Teach Your Own. I always find it helpful for me to start the school year by reminding myself why we homeschool. Both these homeschool classics do just that.

We're watching: Pororo the Little Penguin in Korean. Since Bess is beginning Korean this year, I thought it would be a fun introduction to the language as we wait for her curriculum to arrive.

I'm watching: Fated to Love You(Korean Version) with Ethan, and impatiently waiting for the new episodes to be released. It's such a fun show!

We've had beautiful weather this week, cool and almost mosquito-free, which is so unusual for our part of the mid-west during summer. We've been spending most of our days outdoors with friends. Once the heat and humidity return, we'll be stuck inside again. But for now, we're enjoying running through the sprinkler, going to the park, and hiking in the woods.

Until Next Time!

Laundry on the line, our favorite history link, and the end of the gluten-free diet

Our dryer, Admiral Crappy, finally decided it was time to shuffle off this mortal coil, so we're hanging laundry until we can afford a new admiral. Here's the timeline so far on that:
First day-"Doesn't laundry from the line smell fresh and lovely? It's heaven!"
Day two: "Can I help?It's fun! We're like pioneers!"
Day three:"Why are my t-shirts so stiff?"
Day four: "My pants aren't dry? I have to leave for work!"
Day five: "Uh, Mom? Isn't the laundry outside? Because it's raining..."
Day six:"What?!Again?! But we helped hang laundry yesterday!"

But my husband has graduated, and is starting his new job in a couple of weeks, so hopefully our remaining line drying days are few. RIP Admiral Crappy. I never realized how much I loved you.

Another change for us is the end of our gluten-free "adventure". Max is seeing a GI specialist, and we've found his problem doesn't have anything to do with gluten. What exactly the problem is we don't know yet. But I'm relieved to be able to use flour once more. However, we will not be going completely vegan again. Max gained weight while he was eating cheese and eggs, so we're going to remain vegetarian for now. Max and Bess found they love Greek yogurt, real cheese, and scrambled eggs, and for Max to like anything is a big deal.

Bess has been enjoying this BBC Primary History site. She loves the archaeology games, the Greek Hero game, and the WWII time capsule game. Great for elementary kids, but I've learned a few thing, too. It's worth a look.

We're waiting on our BookShark order so we're on a mini-vacation from school. I'm spring cleaning, catching up on reading, watching Korean dramas, and of course.....hanging laundry.

Until next time!
 

This Week

We've spent the last few days dealing with This. We live near the path of the chemical plume, and so our water was affected. We've had to use bottled water for everything. All our washing, cooking, and drinking water had to be bought. We haven't been able to wash clothes or take much of a bath.We should be free to use our taps by tonight, and I am looking forward to a hot shower. One positive to come from all this is we've essentially been doing a dry run of our emergency plan, and I realize we've way underestimated how much water we need to store. So we'll have to reevaluate what we have on hand for disasters.

This Week

I am grateful: for clean water.

We are reading: Stories from Nature

I am reading: The Illustrated Man

We are cooking: Comfort food!  Veg News Vegan Macaroni and Cheese(so good!) and Chloe's Vegan Spiced Applesauce Cake(Wonderful!)

 Creating and Organizing: My kids bought me a Taste Book a couple of birthdays ago and after  trying in vain to find my favorite soup recipe, digging through the messy drawer I keep my recipes in, I thought it was time to put my gift to use. So hopefully I'll soon have all my recipes organized, and I can find another purpose for the hell drawer.

In our homeschool: We've been reading Pasteur's Fight Against Microbes and working on bacteria and fungi experiments. It's part of Noeo Biology I. Right now we have two experiments in progress. 1: We collected bacteria from a doorknob and spread it in an agar filled petri dish, and on one half spread anti-bacterial cream. 2: We took saliva samples from our dog and our baby, Rose, and spread each on a half of an agar filled petri dish. Bess had to write out hypotheses for what would happen in each experiment, and then keep notes on the growth of the bacterial colonies. So far, the dog spit has more bacterial growth.

Bess and Bacteria

So that's it for our rather slow, shower-free week. I wish you a great week, and clean water!
Until next time!

This Week

Outside my window...I"m watching the squirrels busily digging in the yard, frantically getting ready for winter. One watched me from the neighbor's tree today as I was walking to our backyard. With a large nut crammed into his mouth, he still managed to chatter a loud warning. I'm pretty sure he was saying some fairly unflattering things about me. Joke's on him. I saw where he buried the nut!

I am thinking... about how nice it is to have a child who sees beauty everywhere. Bess brought me this "beautiful bouquet of flowers". And when I put the weeds into their "vase", they did look lovely in the kitchen window.

I am thankful...for cold weather.These Midwestern summers are unbearable. With the amount of humidity we have, I'm sure the next step in our human evolution will be the addition of gills. So glad for a reprieve for a few months.

In the kitchen...baking tons of bread, and making paninis. Our panini maker was a good purchase. With a new baby keeping me busy, it helps to have a way for the kids to make a meal for themselves.

I am creating...a Brisbane pattern scarf for my five year old son. It feels great to knit again!

We are reading...Charlotte's Web by E.B.White

I am reading...Homeward Bound:Why Women are Embracing the New Domesticity

I am looking forward to...Halloween! Jack o' Lanterns, roasted pumpkin seeds, and trick or treating with my children. It never gets old. This holiday feels timeless. Old fashioned yet new at the same time. My kids swear I laugh in the same places every year when we watch It's the Great Pumpkin,Charlie Brown. And they're probably right. I'm sorry, but Snoopy howling and crying at WWI songs is still hilarious!

Around the house...I'm preparing to clean closets. Well, mentally preparing. I'm not sure how much I can get accomplished with a three month old.

In Our Homeschool...We're taking the week off. I'd scheduled a break for this week, and we certainly need it. Time for a few Halloween crafts!

Have a great week, and a Happy Halloween!


The format for this post was inspired by The Simple Woman's Daybook