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Stayed home today from church meeting with one sick little boy. Nothing worse than a bad fever and tiredness...but of course we weren't going to share!

I made homemade pizza for dinner, and now we are all relaxing; Demi lounging on the couch; Sky, Meg, Josie and Amie are playing settlers of cataan. Mom is on the computer.

Here's some Sunday night link fun:

• Settlers of Catan board game. It's an addiction here at our house. Lots of fun.
• Nannygoat blog: very talented/creative/crafty blog. You'll get lost looking around, and you'll get inspired to do something crafty.
• Organize you web-surfing and homeschool with Evernote at Heart of Wisdom Blog
• The Trouble with Boys, book I just picked up at the bookstore, it looks very thought-provoking. I am teaching two boys, and I care for their healthy intellectual growth- I think reading to grow our own outlook is essential.

Janae, from Moss Family blog gave me this Beautiful Blogger award.

I heart you, Janae!

Janae is my new blog-friend..I think we found eachother through Blog-frog...She has a beautiful family of girls! Lots of blond and pink over at her place!

okay, now that I have this award...here are the rules:



7 interesting things about me...

1. I can skate backwards

2. I have raynaud's syndrome (very cold feet and hands most of the time) and so I am usually wearing gloves. If it's colder than 73 degrees, I'll be wearing gloves. In church, In July, even. (the air conditioner is not my friend). I wear fuzzy socks to bed, too.

3. My plane was put under quarantine for 3 or 4 hours in Japan during the swine-flu pandemic, spring of 2009. It was like being in the middle of that Monsters Inc. movie, where they come in dressed as haz-mat suits...crazy. Missed my plane out and had to stay overnight.
I only have a face mask and memories to remember Tokyo fondly.

4. I've eaten fish and chips in a pub in Dublin, Ireland

5. My last baby was over 10 lbs at birth

6. I met my husband in high school

7. I worked at a Christian Bookstore, during my highschool and college years.

okay, now comes the part I really struggle with, giving this to 7 bloggers. Lately, I've been reading some big bloggers, who are sort of new to me...and most big bloggers don't have the time to do these awards...so, I'm going to come short of 7 I think. But, here goes...

Jen at Two become One

Gapgirl at If only everyone thought this way

Courtney at Storing up Treasures

Kris Ann at Mom's on Fire

Cop mama

have a blessed Lord's day, bloggy friends. :)

Labels: memes

Here goes:

1) Would you ever vacation alone?
No, not by choice. I prefer to have new/fun/interesting experiences with Sky. I hate doing anything neat and not sharing it with him, not being able to talk to him about it.

I can be brave and independent on occasion...I did travel alone to Singapore (got stranded in Japan overnight, even) because I wanted to visit my friend, Gracefulmom- and it was by far less expensive for one person to travel, rather than two...and, what would we have done with our kids?

2. Do you go the speed limit?

skip.
I am a good driver, and have never caused an accident.

3. Why did you start blogging/following blogs?
Well, years ago...I had heard about blogging but didn't really get it or get why anyone would read blogs. Then, on an online message board for homeschoolers, I heard about how a mom had been interviewed by a big paper about her blog. I was curious about what the fuss was all about and I clicked the link. Just wow! - What I found was not the online journal/diary I was expecting, but almost a family newsletter page. I really liked it. I started reading daily. It didn't take me long to make my own blog.

4. Where do you shop for yourself?

I tend to buy most of my clothes from J.Jill, Banana Republic, Gap. Mostly. I love Banana Republic but only buy things on sale..it's a little pricey. Who can put a price tag on trying on pants/jeans that don't make you burst into tears when you see your reflection though? Really?

5. What was the song you danced your first dance at your wedding?
It was "Heaven", and Sky picked it out, which made it special...having an actual opinion on something wedding related. We have several 'us' songs now, but one that I think says 'us' most is "when you say nothing at all".

Labels: memes

We had 3 nice-sized storms back to back here in California. We don't get a lot of 'weather'...so the storms were an exciting change of pace. Except for the part where I couldn't find my umbrella...and I was too cheap to go buy another one because who really knows, really- if I will need it again for another year or two?

Today the temp was in the low 70's - so I guess our weather is done now.


Not a whole lot going on today. Teddy had some special education evaluation testing today, so I was reluctant to do any heavy homeschooling because I didn't want him to miss anything. So...I did Math and reading with Amie and Demi, and that was pretty much their school day. Meg and Josie did their usual work, Math, Grammar, History and Literature. I had to take Meg to her high school Science class today, too.

Sky headed out with Amie and Demi for a hockey game, Sky is the coach. How cute is that?
I love my husband, he is amazing and can do just about anything he sets his mind on doing.

I'm about to head out with Josie for her fencing lesson.

About my blog;

don't mind the mess, if you find things a little messy some days- I am currently in the process of having my blog redesigned, so you might notice things out of place some days, or just plan wonky. But, hopefully you won't notice anything till it magically appears.

I'm dancing on the inside, I am so excited about my makeover!

I'm going to have some new things in the margin, like a RSS feed!! Finally, you will be able to subscribe to my feed- if you do that. I will also have buttons for my **facebook fanpage
and twitter...yes, I finally got** a twitter account. I am using it, but only a little,
I still don't quite 'get' it.

How about you? Any winter cleaning/projects or make-overs?

Labels: Jen's world

Labels: Wordless Wednesday

The Carnival of Homeschooling -For those Considering Homeschooling edition is up!


html
Click the button to visit the carnival's homepage.

This week's carnival is hosted by Corn and Oil,

Click *here to read this week's Carnival*
you will find many interesting articles written by homeschool parents. Enjoy!

Labels: homeschool

Labels: memes

• Or, The episode where Jenny (mild-mannered homeschool mom) meets the local truant officer.

• Or, I had a visit from the local truant officer and it wasn't that bad? (except the part where my inner Bridget Jones was showing...)
  

• Or, the local truant officer tried to give me wrong information and I shut him down.
  

-Don't mess with red-heads.

Actually, it really wasn't all that bad, internets...really. I've been homeschooling 10 years in California, and never had a problem, and I haven't personally known anyone to have a problem.

So, I opened the door one morning and found the local truant officer on my doorstep. The moment wasn't a bad one; he looked friendly, and he had one of those big tag i.d. cards hanging around his neck, so I could see right away who he was, and where he was from.

He asked about my oldest daughter Meg and where she was enrolled.

I stood tall and proud....This was my moment, homeschooling 10 years, dotting all my i's, crossing all my t's, keeping abreast of school law, being enrolled in a public homeschool charter school (now there was my big ace in the hole, my safety-net with the system, if you will....).

I confidently gave him the answer I had ready, on the tip of my tongue these many years....

"Meg is enrolled with such and such charter school!" And then he replied that the school had informed him that we had withdrawn her from the school.

Oh yeah, that.
We did. -My own personal 'duh' moment.

I went from confident homeschool mom to flustered/less than honest/might-be-hiding- something homeschool mom.

It got worse. I told him that I had forgotten, my other kids are in the charter school, but that we had just enrolled Meg for highschool with such and such Christian school- a private school.

He asked if she was then officially enrolled with them. This flustered me again, because it was June and we had sent in her application but I had not heard back if she was accepted. I told him she would be officially enrolled in September when school began, but that we were still in the process.

Awkward? Yes.
I began fervently praying that she was accepted.

Things took a turn, however, when he informed me that I needed to go down to the local public highschool, make an appointment with the principal, and get his permission to be allowed to enroll Meg at a private school.

hold on there, cowboy!
I. Don't. Think. So.

Enter, peeved homeschool mom. Flat-out untrue information. I asked him to show me the school code that stated that I needed to do this in order to have my child educated at a private school in California. He was surprised I had a difference of opinion on this, and said he didn't know where or if there was a code for this, it was just what he had been told by his superiors. This left me surprised and a disappointed that someone holding such a job would not have researched all the ins and outs of school law before enforcing it. He also said that this was the first time someone challenged him on this. This made me sad.

T.O. man said he would look up the relevant code and call me with the information.

I'm still waiting for that phone call.

So there ends my tale. It was not so bad. Know the law and you'll do fine.

(note: knowing the law also means knowing how to answer, and what to say and what not to say. I was probably saved from further hassle by knowing that homeschool is not a legal term in Ca. I answered correctly by saying my kids were in a charter school- although it is a homeschooling charter, and by saying my oldest was enrolled in a private school, although it is a private umbrella school with her being homeschooled by me. Not knowing how to answer could have brought further questioning, scrutiny and hassle. Again, know the law for your state! Click the small tag under this post that says 'homeschool California' for further detail on homeschooling in Ca!)

Labels: homeschool, homeschool California

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I think I have spotted a new parenting trend: The electronic pet.


After scoring 2 zhu-zhus for Amie,
-{which I knew nothing about because we don't watch commercials...Amazon happened to suggest it when I was shopping, and I thought they were cute, and came with accessories and the original price was okay...and then I saw they were not in stock and what the going price was...yikes!!! Triple yikes!! -so then I realized they were the toy of the season.
Still wanted one.
But not at $50.
And I was not going to stalk Toys R Us for them, either.
Instead, I had my BFF pick them up for me in Singapore. Score!!} -

I digress...well, after obtaining- through divine grace, 2 zhu-zhu pets for Amie, I was pleasantly surprised to find that they move, and make cute little noises.

Amie was delighted


She promptly set up a little habitat for them, complete with improvised water bottle and cute little zhu-zhu exercise wheel (I told you they had accessories!!)

I saw her little zhu-zhu world, and cue angels singing,
I had a revelation. Why- oh -why did I ever dare tread into the world of real-life guinea pigs and aquarium fishies?? Why?

Why?

The guinea pigs were real cute, but
Guess who cleaned the cage out every few days because she could not take the stink?

you'd be right.

Enter the electronic pet. No smell.
No bedding to be changed, cleaned. No food to buy. No fresh crickets to buy (that would be for the gecko) no costly end of life decisions (don't ask me how much a vet visit for a guinea pig costs...don't)

Then I remembered C Jane's big revelation about her son's new pet, Mao the cat*

and I knew I was onto a brilliant trend

better parenting through electronic pets...
I'm a convert.

Labels: Jen's world

Labels: memes, Wordless Wednesday

Heart Stress-Test

describes the jumpings and flutterings my heart muscle did as I watched my youngest 2 race around this empty pool at the skateboard park. They raced, several times. I don't know why.

-watched from far away, on a balcony. Too far to shout to them.

too far to shout or get their attention. close enough to make my exit strategy:

1. grab expensive camera
2. grab purse
3. run screaming down stairs
4. until the worst happens, mutter to yourself as a mantra: "the children's emergency room is just across the street! ...at least they are wearing helmets, they won't break their heads!"

Discovery: some serious moves going on down there. Look, big brother is teaching baby sister the robot.

We had our Classical group class today.
For one of our Science activities we made plaster fossil moldings.

it was pretty cool.
and not as messy as I thought it would be.

For Fine Art, we studied a little about Fra Giovanni Angelico and the halos she painted in real gold. (Art Studies inspired by this* book)

Then we turned the kids loose with a little paint, some chalk, and some tin foil.
not gold...in case you were wondering.


Glad to report no war scenes today. We had a ballerina (my only girl student) a Bible, a light pole (I think) a paint-splatter modern-piece, and a fish with bright scales and bright bubbles.

Here is mine.

(take time to play school) :)

Labels: classical Conversations, homeschool, school year 09

I found this fun Monday meme called "Muffin Tin Monday" and I thought I would join up.

This meme is hosted by
Muffin Tin Mom, and you can hop on over every Monday and add your link if you want to participate. Here is a link to her FAQ page, if you are trying to figure out how this works.

The idea, is to serve up lunch to our kids in muffin tins, or even muffin liners...which is the direction I went today, since my only muffin tin is old and beat up...blush. Planning lunch in muffin-size portions stretched my creativity a bit, I found. It was a fun/different meal for the kids, Amie and Demi were surprised and pleased with this meal.

-better living through blogging, internets!!

Labels: memes

• Go check out Cozi !
  

It's this family organizing hub/ blog/ list keeper...I don't really know how to explain it.
It's one central place to keep all your family planning, I mean all. You have calendar categories for each family member in a different color. You can make shopping lists, and if you forget it, you can bring it up on your phone. Don't have a smart phone?...then you can call cozi and have your list read to you! You can set up event reminders, and different types of to-do lists. It is set up for sharing, too. You can create blog-type journal posts and share them. There is a place for your photos, too. All of this is free! I didn't get it at first, but then I watched the video, which was really helpful. (click the play button next to the title "see cozi in action".)

• Martin Luther King Day activities and ideas article *here: great links, make sure you check out both pages.
  

• Martin Luther King Jr. '" I have a dream" speech, audio and video here*.

• And finally,
  

One chocolate chip cookie recipe to rule them all...

I quit making chocolate chip cookies years ago (much to my children's sorrow) because they always came out very flat and thin and had to be scraped off the cookie sheet and eaten in bits, if eaten at all. Sky dubbed them "Pangaea" cookies, because, they looked like the world's continents all smooshed together...
-Instead, I would make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (which are my favorite and always come out perfect!) But, sigh...sometimes you just want a regular chocolate chip cookie.

Barb was having the same sort of problem, until someone sent her this**recipe. Click over to find it. I made them, and they were great!! No more cookie problems here!


Final thought: I finally got a twitter account, and a tweet deck.

I have to say, I don't get it, still. I was hoping once I was doing it, things would become more clear.

not.

Labels: recipes

If you have it on your heart to donate to help Haiti, I'd like to bring to your attention

• Three Angels Children's relief.
  

I heard about this group on a radio news show, one of the newsmen happens to be connected to the group through his wife. The story he told of how the Orphanage began was heartbreaking. The short story; one of his wife's friends and two other ladies went to Haiti for a surprise visit to an orphanage to visit the child the friend was adopting. The child had been moved to another orphanage, they traveled to it and found the facility abandoned by the adults in charge, filled with filth and starving and dead babies. So horrible and sad.

Three angels has an orphanage, a school and a medical clinic.

Three Angels earthquake 2010 relief

I so enjoy this journey, walking my children through childhood. I enjoy watching them becoming, watching them work out who they are and what they believe, and how much they believe it.

My world used to be so much more black/white, wrong/right...so much more sure in absolutes. I'm finding as I am becoming older, my world is more and more filled with shades of gray.

My world used to be bigger, more vast. Now my universe is our home. Dreams of far away places and ministering in a far-off land, suffering for the Lord perhaps, have faded to the practical, the more immediate. I minister, now, the mission field at my feet. I feed the Bible school boys far from home. I serve my local church, my children and their friends.

But oh, how I love, love, love...the possibilities in the lives of my children. I can't go out right now, ...but maybe they will.

Meg played her fiddle again at the antique district...playing for dollars again.
She set out a stack of Bible study tracts.

I never would have thought it or suggested it. My gray world has become a little more timid of sharing my beliefs so boldly. My world is not black and white anymore.
But for my Meg, it is.
I love she is bold to feel out the boundaries of who she is and what she believes and what she has to say to others.

I love to be reminded to step out of the way.

Lesson one - do not hide
Lesson two - there are right ways to fight
And if you have questions
We can talk through the night

So you know who you are
And you know what you want
I've been where you're going
And it's not that far
It's too far to walk
But you don't have to run
You'll get there in time....
-Jars of Clay

Labels: devotional

Labels: Wordless Wednesday

A peek at our Homeschool Week that was...
-part 3 of a post that began here* with Monday & Tuesday

Friday began with Sky dropping Meg off at the Stables on his way to work. I then picked her up a little after 10 a.m. We had a late start in our homeschool day, we started with a Bible/Character story with the 3 littles around 9:30. Josie worked on her own Bible reading assignment from Sonlight 6, and also her own devotional reading from her youth group.

Our homeschool centers a lot around reading out-loud...which is a bit of a challenge for 2 wiggly 10 year old boys, and bordering on problematic for our bonus student, Teddy- who has an auditory processing disorder. (Frankly, I just don't know how to get around this until his reading is up to grade level..for now, I am better at moving through the material using Sonlight..so we are doing what we can to adapt when we can, such as finding coloring sheets to anchor the reading material)

All of that to explain that I quit using the Sonlight Bible reading schedule with the 3 littles, it was just too much. Instead, I use the Awesome book of Bible facts they schedule, and I switch back and forth between the Miller books and The Child's book of Character building.

I then had to leave to pick up Meg at the stables, so I turned the kids loose. They immersed themselves in a new Playmobil set Demi got as a gift.


I returned home with Meg, and we began table-time. The kids all helped themselves to a snack and juicebox, bringing them to the table while they worked. Today we worked on Math, handwriting and a language arts worksheet. Josie worked on Math, her math notebook (copying times tables and area formulas) grammar (with some intro work with me) and then she got out her notebook with her Sonlight assignments which are history and literature. I spent a few minutes directing her with some map worksheets. Meg worked on the same subjects as Josie, but with different materials/books. (minus the math notebook).

We had a quick lunch.

We then put our books away and headed out to the skate-board park, which I count as p.e. We spent a little over two hours there.

When we came home, I set the 3 littles up with their phonics work ( 2 online and Amie with her workbook, she did 2 pages) Josie read more history work, Meg worked on a creative writing story she is doing on the computer. Then, we were done for the day.

I commenced cleaning and going to the store/baking a birthday cake. The kids played inside/outside/ at the neighbors.

We had a small party that evening with friends and family for Josie's birthday. She is 13 now...I officially have 2 teenagers in the house.

This friends, has been an accounting of our week.
I couldn't squeeze everything into my posts, I did not put in music practice, music lessons, fencing/tennis lessons, orchestra rehearsals...but I'm sure you get the picture!

Thanks for visiting!

Labels: homeschool, school year 09, sonlight

Well, first I have to tell you that The Timberdoodle catalog
is having a software sale**
they are offering shipping for $3.95 for your entire order-not just the software, as long as you make a software purchase. If you don't know Timberdoodle, go visit, it's a must for homeschoolers, and even for non-homeschoolers...if you have children in your life, you will find fun and educational/fun gifts there.
I have to recommend their typing instructor program- very well done.

• Hurry over, the offer ends Jan. 11, 2010

Clocky** the alarm clock with wheels, you are only able to hit snooze once, and then it jumps off your nightstand and runs around your room until you get up and turn it off.

Title Nine catalog is having a sale. This catalog is full of clothes and stuff for an active lifestyle. I looove Title Nine, I only wish I was athletic enough to buy lots of stuff from them! I did buy some new running shoes they have on sale...yay me!!

A peek at our Homeschool week that was
-2nd part of a post that began *Here with Monday and Tuesday.

Wednesday began with Josie, Amie and Demi-Sky writing persuasive essays that they had begun on Tuesday with a pre-writing exercise. Amie was assigned a persuasive letter, instead of an essay. This project took about 45 minutes for Amie, and about an hour for Josie and Demi.

We homeschool 4 of our students through a home-based charter school in California, so today was our scheduled meeting with the credentialed teacher who looks over our work. There are different types of charter schools in California, and even among home-based programs, the set-up can look a bit different. We chose a charter that gives the parent full choice in scope and sequence and in books/materials used. (the exception is that they cannot pay for curriculum from Christian publishers, but I am free to buy it myself and use it.)

Today was our meeting day, so we sat down with our piles of books and notebooks and had a show-n-tell, basically- of what we had done the past month. Wednesday is the day of the week we do not have Teddy here, his mom is able to work from home on that day and keeps him, he also meets with his special ed. tutor at his house on Wednesday.

Our meeting went a bit long, so I made the kids sandwiches and we jumped in the car, heading over to Art class for Josie, Demi and Amie. (the younger 3 ate lunch in the car)

• The above photo is of an oil painting Amie did, love all that red! (I'm going to have to frame this one!)

Meg and I headed over to a local bagel shop for lunch, and to discuss her History and Lit reading for her Sonlight Core 6. The heart of Sonlight is the use of Socratic oral discusssion. So, discuss- is what we did. During this discussion I can tell how much comprehension she had, and emphasize any major points I think she missed...or even just give her something more to think about. (shh...if I didn't get a chance to read the books that week, Sonlight gives me notes...!)

we came home, the kids all did a math page (because everyday is math day!...) and so ended the parent-driven school part of our day.

Thursday began with our table-time work...on this day we tackled Math (all together...everday is Math day...!) handwriting and Language Arts writing workbooks. Then I gave the kids a break while I dropped Meg at her High School General Science class. She stayed for Science, lunch, study hall and Photography class. Back at the house, Josie continued her History reading on her own, and then moved on to her Health/Science book. I had the 3 littles read aloud from their health/science readers. Next, I moved the 3 littles through Explode the Code online (For Demi and Teddy) and Explode the Code 3 workbook (for Amie).

• Our school instruction for the day, with Mom at least, then ended.

The kids played outside with friends for a while, I went back to pick up Meg from her classes, Meg finished a math page,and then we packed up and headed out to a hockey game. This was Amie's very first hockey game, Demi and 2 boy cousins are on her team, and Sky is the coach. I had a blast watching, I think the parents laughed more than cheered...we had many new players on the rink this day!

Thus ends our day, thanks for visiting!

Labels: homeschool, homeschool California, school year 09, sonlight

A peek at our homeschool week that was...

Monday found us very busy, our first day back-to-homeschool since our winter-holiday break.

I started the day with a walk/run, and then had the kids dive enthusiastically into the meaty part of our studies. We started the morning off with a Bible reading, then table work for all 5 kids. This Monday, table work began with Math for everyone. We use Math-U-See for all 5 kids right now. Each child opens to the next page, and I help or explain as needed. Today I had to que up the computer with a Math chapter lesson for Josie ( I love Math-U-See!, it's on dvd!!)

Next, the 3 littles (my youngest 3 students) began their handwriting work. Meg began working on her grammar, I started Josie on a writing assignment. After the writing, I worked with the 3 littles on grammar/writing from a Flashkids workbook...I have all 3 on the same page for simplicity sake. Next came the all important snack break.

After snack break, Josie and Meg took out their Sonlight assignments already put into their weeks-work binders, and they decided which books to tackle first. I began one of the boys on the computer with Explode the Code online, while the other did...I don't know what, can't remember...played with the dog maybe? Practiced the piano, possibly... I opened up Explode the code in workbook format for Amie, she prefers the workbook to online...(She did 3 pages) After 15 minutes, I switched the boys on the computer. Teddy's special-ed tutor arrived at this point, so he sat down to work with her...and I turned Demi and Amie loose to play outside.

I sat down, watched the Math dvd with Josie, who was stuck...and then explained to her how to find the area of a trapazoid. We went on a rabbit trail with avarages...since we had to first add the two bases of the trapazoid and then find the average...We completed 3/4 of the page together, then I turned her loose to finish the last 4 problems solo, no coaching. I then wrote the equation for finding the area of a trapazoid in her math notebook, and had her copy a whole page. Then I assigned a whole notebook page of a multiplication family, and then a page of area and primeter formulas for review.

Amie came inside and experimented with our new colorix colors. She did the above house painting. I began lunch prep.

Teddy's tutor left at lunch-time. While they ate, I read two poems from our Sonlight Core 2, and then after I ate my lunch, I read to them about Ethiopia from the book Windows on the World, which is also from Sonlight Core 2. We got the world map out and located Ethiopia, and reviewed our continents and Oceans songs.
Next, I pulled out A Child's History of the World(also from SL2) and read to the littles about Charlemagne while they colored a picture of his palace. I asked them some questions while I read. Meg and Josie completed a vocabulary workbook assignment. And then I turned them loose for the day, because I was done...it's been a long holiday break...

Tuesday was our Classical group day. The highlight for me was our art activity, we learned about the artist Giotto. We looked at examples of paintings he had done, and then we tried our hand at crushing up color pigments (in our case, color chalk) and mixing them with egg whites and water to make our own paint, the way many painters of old did.

Here are Teddy and Demi-Sky hard at work on their paintings. Did I mention before that I have 6 boys in my class, and 1 girl? Only half the paintings were on war themes...I was relieved.

• Relieved to be pleasantly surprised that I didn't get 99% war themes, or
  
• relieved that my two boys aren't the only ones who paint/draw constantly on this theme?...

I'll leave you to guess...

Here's a look at the time-line cards we memorized this week for the classical class. They are from Veritas press. We also did two science experiments from The Van Cleave Science book. One was about the Earth's tilted axis resulting in different seasons in the two hemispheres. I had to use a styro-foam ball and a flashlight to demonstrate this. We also did one on water molecules expanding when frozen and the effect glaciers have on rocks...that one was kind of cool to draw. I handed out lab worksheets, and spent a good amount of time reviewing the scientific method with them. These experiments are not real on the 'wow' -factor...nothing fizzing/exploding (yet), but the point really, is to teach them how to use the Scientific method.

The math that day was memorizing the formula for the area of a rectangle...Josie was pleased, since she's been writing this for weeks! :)

We arrived home from our classical group around 1 p.m. -had lunch and then everyone did Math. Then I had Amie, Demi and Josie do a pre-writing exercise for a persuasive essay due on Wednesday. I turned them loose after that...our Classical group day is kind of a heavy day, with a lot of memorization work, we are all kind of fried afterward. My friend Gracefulmom is down for the holidays from Singapore, so she came over and we hung out at the dining table, while the kids played around us/inside/outside the house. Just like old times. :)

The rest of our week, to be continued:

*part 2 can be found -here (part 2)
*part 3 can be found -here (part 3)

Labels: classical Conversations, homeschool, school year 09

Oak, O -a- k, Oak.



I laughed till I cried.

Spelling resources we have found useful in our homeschool:

All About Spelling

Spelling Power (better for the natural speller, I think)

Calvert Spelling (now online!)

Time for a Sunday link fun post!

Wedding Photos we'll all remember @ Divine Caroline

Groundhog cookie cutter, and they have a yoga gingerbread man cookie cutter, too.
Must have it!!

iphone app show 'n-tell at Greeblemonkey: oh goodness! I have only 1 screen plus 1 line of apps on my iphone, I counted 11 screens of apps on hers!

I spied a couple that I have, and several I have heard of, and have been meaning to get...and lots of apps I never imagined, but now have-to-have.
I think she missed one, *The screen cleaner pro (cute videos of dogs licking your screen clean)

What must-have apps do you have?
Share in the comments, we want to know!

My New Year's resolutions are short and sweet this year, but my good intentions are endless...I'm long on shoulds, but very short on follow-through. I stumbled upon this book at my local Barnes & Nobles 10 Steps: 10 weeks to getting control of your life

It looks very doable, here's the run-down: Every week for 10 weeks, you are given 4 steps to work on. The four steps work on areas of

• Health
• weight
• home
• spirit

Each week you work on your 4 steps, and then the following week you add the new 4 steps to the ones you have already started.

These are all pretty easy/reasonable steps to follow, in fact, after reading through the book, I realized that nearly all the steps were things I have thought seriously about doing, but then never take action on. The first step is a perfect example: The first step is drinking 8 cups of water a day. Now, that's not a hard thing to do, is it? I was laughing with Graceful mom over this, because about a month ago I told Sky I was going to start drinking more water. I don't really drink water ever.
Bad, I know. So, I had the intention of drinking more water, spoke it out loud, but then qualified it with the prerequisite of needing a Kleen Kanteen to do this. I didn't want to be drinking bad plastic chemicals, riiight? Why I couldn't just take a glass down from the cupboard and start, I really don't know....
A month later, I haven't been to a place that sells Kleen Kanteens, and so, no water in my body yet.

It's just a Jen thing...

Another step in the book is walking for exercise everyday, again- not hard. The book gets into organizing, too. One of the steps is to pick one drawer and clean/organize it. Later on, you are asked to tackle organizing your photos. -this again, is something I talk about doing, but never do it...I had the bright idea of taking 1 day at the end of each month and uploading photos to be printed (to get them off my computer) again, haven't actually done it...

The ladies who wrote this book have conducted workshops with women, and some of the success stories are shared in the book. It's amazing, how the first 1 or 2 simple steps of say, walking and organizing a closet often lead to women pushing on and improving their lives in other areas, simply because they feel less cluttered and more in control. A messy house can depress anyone, can't it?

I'm going to be starting this program next week, I'll be doing posts about my progress, maybe sharing 1 step a week. If you'd like to join in, say so in the comments and I'll link to your posts. I decided against a mcklinky after discovering that this book is not the easiest to find...amazon has it from alternate sellers, and B & N has it in audio only. It was clearly serendipity that led me to finding this on the shelf at my local B & N.

Good stuff! What kinds of good intentions are you working on?

Labels: simple steps

My New Year's resolution: I decided to keep it simple this year... A long, ambitious list of goals
that I don't meet is somehow really depressing to me. I figured this year, I'd go for short, but sincere...