The weather outside has been frightful for days and we are feeling cabin fever around here. Our Five In A Row group was canceled due to every frozen thing that can fall out of the sky on Friday. I think we saw sleet, hail, snow and freezing rain all within any given hour of the day. We are having some wild weather indeed. Now, I have to try and reschedule the Five In A Row group, but the forecast looks crazy for next week as well. OY!!
On the Homefront
I got to do some stockpile shopping at our local grocery store. They had lots of dairy and nitrate-free lunchmeat on super sale (more than 50% off). It is nice to have a full fridge. I am struggling a bit with the kids' chore charts. I revamped them in January, and they do not seem to be working out as well as the previous lists. However, I wanted to train each child in a different task and get on top of maintaining bedrooms. The bedrooms are working well but the other chores need some more thought.
In the Schoolroom
We got several projects done and really got into our study of space. We kicked off our science unit on space by watching Apollo 13. The kids loved it and learned more than I thought they would from the movie. (FYI~There was a shower scene that I had forgotten about that raised some eyebrows and questions out of one little one. They don't really show anything, but you are aware that a man and woman are in the shower at the same time.) We continued by reading some library books about Apollo 13 and making moon rocks out of homemade glitter play dough. We also learned about constellations and made up some of our own. The kids really liked both projects. It was much better this week compared to having a sick teacher/mommy last week.
We also worked on lots of projects to go along with Snowflake Bentley, but I will save that for a different post. Math, language arts and reading were done in a bit more unschooling style this week. They all got done but it was more games and workbooks that the kids could do on their own.
Tom Sawyer's yearly tests results came back this week. He did very well. He came out at or above grade level in all subjects, except spelling. He was only a few months behind in spelling. Funny, his tester suggested that I make him a spelling dictionary similar to what Charlotte Mason suggests. That very thought has been on my To Do List for the last few weeks. I guess I better get to it. It is such a relief that he is doing so well.
In the Way of Parenting
Things are going well with the kids saying "thank you" and "my pleasure" to each other. I still have to prompt them lots of the time, but I am seeing improvement. Goldilocks is still holding steady. I am back to trying to balance my desires for my children with their actual abilities. Merging and molding their disabilities together can be so hard at times. I keep seeing progress and must remind myself that child training takes LOTS OF TIME.
As a Wife
Between illness and dh's work schedule, we have fallen off the rule that we must be in our bedroom at 9:30 every night. The idea behind this theory was that we would be in the same room so that, even if he was finishing up ironing (yes, he really likes to iron!) and I was looking over the next day's lesson plans, we would be able to chat about life beyond childrearing. We both have mentioned missing this time together, so we will make sure that it is put back on track next week.
Family Time
We are working on having calmer evenings as a family together. There has been way too much boisterous hide and seek and Nerf gun wars in the house with someone getting hurt or feeling cheated. My kiddos just cannot take that much wildness, even though they crave it. Playing card games has been the most popular replacement to the noisy, out of control games. The kids all learned how to play Apples to Apples this week. The girls have to be on a team with a parent, but Tom Sawyer can hold his own with his own cards. Timothy keeps beating us since he is a walking encyclopedia. I think we played this game three nights this week for up to an hour each time.
Blessings, Dawn
Always love reading your blog. Glad you are better this week ( I was so sick last week and boy does it make a difference when mom is not 100 percent)
ReplyDeletehubby and I are generally in our room by 930 too. This is so necessary and well worth the effort. So keep trying! It becomes a habit you do not want to miss. Our older kids get it very well and often remind us that it is upstairs time! Have a blessed week.
I always love checking out homeschool blogs! We homeschool our three oldest, and Jesus willing will the other two when they reach school age. We are doing a unit study on the solar system right now as well, and I totally understand the whole difficulty in finding marraige time!
ReplyDeleteWhat a blessing that your dh likes to iron! That is a rare thing!
ReplyDeleteDD and I have been enjoying playing games. We realized that if we kept watching the DVDs I got for Christmas gifts, we would be going through them way too quickly, so we opted to start doing games in the evening. Lately, it's been battleship. I like that one because I can sit in my comfy leather chair and relax while playing.
Hello Dawn! I come to your blog via Carol's Weekly Wrap-up. I wanted to ask you about the flickr pics slideshow thing with art work ("Rembrandt Lesson," "Okeefe Lesson," etc.). Those were great paintings! Are you using a specific curriculum for these lessons or are you just "doing your own thing" with them?
ReplyDeleteLinda M.
I enjoy hearing about the things you are doing to try to make improvments for your family. It gives me a lot to think about and ponder for my own family.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all you share!
Hugs,
Leslie