Weekly Wrap-Up ~ October Fun

We have had a productive week.  This is really a review of the last 10 days or so. 


Last Weekend ~
We went apple picking.  The kids also picked the perfect pumpkin at the orchard. I think it is the largest one we have ever purchased.

We also finished up our study of the underground railroad with a nighttime walk with our homemade candles in cups.  Harriet Tubman always carried a cup with a candle in it, because it could give very direct light and be easily put out, unlike a lantern.

Monday ~
This week we concentrated on music as our focused subject.  We still did math, language arts, reading, literature and occupational therapy/vision therapy each day.  We enjoyed listening to Peter and the Wolf and then acting it out.  I love to watch my kids take what they are learning and use it in their play.  We also reviewed all of the orchestra instruments.


Tuesday ~
On Tuesday we had the opportunity to attend a performance of Peter and the Wolf.  This was the children's first experience viewing an orchestra.  They very much enjoyed the performance.  The conductor introduced the orchestra and did a few extra songs.  He also came down and moved through the auditorium and answered the children's questions.  Lastly, they got to see a brief bagpipe performance. 


Wednesday ~
We attended the wonderful weekly library program for school-age kids in our area.  The theme this week was beads.  The kids got to make homemade beads and beaded necklaces.  We also were the fortunate recipients of five boxes of homeschool books off of Freecycle.  Many of them are textbooks that I will probably give away (since textbooks are not my style of teaching), but there are many picture books, math videos, writing programs and unit studies in the stacks.  I am looking forward to having the time to really see what nuggets of knowledge are in the piles.

Thursday ~
On Thursday we finished up our study of crystals and rocks.  This was our concentration in science for the first quarter.  Now that we are entering our second quarter, we are moving on to chemistry.

The rocks we tumbled in our rock tumbler.

Popcorn Rock

The crystals we grew.

Friday ~

Friday was filled with preparations for Little Red Riding Hood's evening birthday party.  We had a wonderful princess party.  The kids had dinner, played with Silly String, broke a pinata, played Pin the Princess on the Castle, cake and gifts, a princess movie, and manicures.  The evening was finished off with donuts.

My Mom drew the castle.

Saturday ~

Today is Boomer's birthday.  He is one year old and so full of chewy love.  He got lots of chewy toys (one made out of fire hose) and a new dog bed -- his third.  Let's hope he doesn't eat this one!  Lady even wore a birthday hat to celebrate the occasion.

  The birthday boy on his brand new bed.

"Do see the way they treat me? 

I am 12 years old and almost blind! 

They do take advantage of me."

Side note ~

This is for those who follow our son's food allergy story.  We decided to give him a donut at the party.  They have talked about eating a donut for nine months. It had wheat, corn, yeast, eggs and soy in it -- to all of which he is allergic.  Even though we are starting to retest a few foods, this was not going to be a fair test.  Also, we know that corn is a big problem, causing hives and behavior problems for up to a week.  After talking to our nutritionist and our friend a nurse practitioner (who was at the party the entire evening), we decided to give him 1000 mg of Vitamin C, Benadryl, and Urtica Urens (a homeopathic remedy for food allergies) before the donut to prepare his body.  He also had his digestive enzymes.  To my utter amazement, he came through with NO hives and only a few behavior issues.  He said his feet itched very badly for about an hour and he has been a little bit weepy today, but that is all.  I am not about to go crazy and let him have this kind of food on a regular basis, but it is nice to know that we may have found some support when we want to have a very special treat.

Blessings,

Dawn