The Homeschool Mother's Journal - October 24-28, 2011

I have had a very busy weekend, so this is the better late than never edition...

In my life this week…
I had a very busy week. Delani had to visit the dentist on Tuesday, where I also signed my life away for her upcoming dental work. I attended a Woman's Conference, so that made my week seem very crunched for time. I also had to put away all my summer clothes and pull out all my winter clothes which is very time consuming.

In our homeschool this week…
Since I wasn't going to be home on Friday that gave us one less day to do work. I had a few things assigned for Caleb to do on Friday, but when it came time to leave that was the last thing on my mind and I forgot to remind him.

Caleb started Biology 101. He is reading Exploring the World of Biology along with the DVDs. I am still working on finalizing the weekly plans, but we dived right in.

In history, Destini and Chantry learned about some very unsavory characters. In their world history,Our Island Story we delved into Bloody Mary's reign--not a pretty picture! In our American History book, This Country of Ours, we read about how the Spaniards drove the French out of Florida. Both are reading about Leonardo da Vinci for our biography selection. Chantry and I are reading Diane Stanley's book and Destini is reading one by Emily Hahn, which she has really enjoy.

I’m reading…


I’m cooking…
Potato soup! We had a real cold spell this week and it was perfect weather for soup.

I’m grateful for…
A furnace!

I’m praying for…
Delani and her upcoming dental date.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

Potato Soup

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Should be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

•Grab your current read
•Open to a random page

•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

•Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

The Unquiet Bones: The First Chronicle of Hugh de Singleton, Surgeon by Mel Starr

I was called to the castle because of my profession: surgeon. Had I known when I chose such work that cleaning filth from bones might be part of duties, I might have continued the original calling  chosen for me: clerk.  p. 17

Book Review: A Wonderbook for Girls and Boys by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Book Description:

Thousands of years ago, when monsters roamed the earth and magic rules the world, the Greeks set sail among the islands of the Aegean Sea in search of incredible riches and fantastic adventures...adventures that would become legendary.


-The Gorgons: cruel witches with snakes for hair.
-Midas: everything he touched turned to gold...even people.
-Hercules: the greatest hero of all time.
-Chimaera: part lion, part goat, part snake—but all monster!
-Pegasus: the magical flying horse.

These are only a few of the fabulous heroes and monsters in the collection of classic Greek adventures retold especially for young people by one of the world's greatest authors.

My thoughts:
I'll be the first to admit that Greek mythology just isn't my thing! Last year while working through Ambleside Online's Year 2,  A Wonder Book: For Boys and Girls  by Nathaniel Hawthorne was on the list and I ignored it all year. So when we started this year I finally decided to plunge in our introduction to Greek Mythology with A Wonder Book: For Boys and Girls .


Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised. Many of these tales I was already familiar with and all were told in a very entertaining and charming way. My kids really enjoyed each tale and it inspired some conversation about how similar some of the tales were to Bible stories. Their favorite parts though were the "Introductions" and the "After the Story"  that were included with each tale. You could not help but enjoy  and laugh at Eustace Bright, the storyteller, and his listener's, Periwinkle, Dandelion, Huckleberry, Squash-Blossom, Milkweed and the others.

Overall, I have to say A Wonder Book: For Boys and Girls  was a good read and a great introduction to Greek mythology. We look forward to reading more of Nathaniel Hawthorne's tales in Tanglewood Tales: For Girls and Boys.

See what other's are reading aloud over at Hope Is the Word.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Should be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

•Grab your current read
•Open to a random page

•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

•Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!



Treasure of the Golden Cheetah by Suzanne Arruda

"You don't know the half of it." said Harry. "I may not know any Machame, Jade, but I'd bet my rifle that she just cursed you, too." p. 119

What's On Your Nightstand - October

For October, I plan to read:

From my September Nightstand, I read:
Beyond All Measure - Dorothy Love
Blue Skies Tomorrow - Sarah Sundin
An Infamous Army - Georgette Heyer
The Phoenix and the Carpet - E. Nesbit*
What Mary & Joseph Knew About Parenting - Rick Osborne

I also read:
Against the Wind - Brock and Bodie Thoene
The Cure for the Troubled Heart - Ron Mehl
The Little Women Letters - Gabrielle Donnelly
Mary Poppins - D.L. Travers*
Much Ado About Nothing - William Shakespeare
Out of Control - Mary Connealy
Warrior Prayers: Praying the Word for Boys in the Areas They Need it Most - Brooke McGlothlin

I listened to:
The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax - Dorothy Gilman
Fair Weather - Richard Peck
Fourth Dawn by Brock & Bodie Thoene
A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear

I am currently reading:
One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are - Ann Voskamp

*Read aloud

The Homeschool Mother's Journal - October 17-21, 2011

In my life this week…
I finally got around to getting some housework done. I put a nice dent in my ironing pile and the bathrooms are all sparkly! Other than that life was very normal, which is a good thing.

In our homeschool this week…
We are have finished Week 7 of our first term and we are real close to being on track.

Caleb finished up his poetry recitation "If" by Rudyard Kipling and performed it in church. He is going to work on "Attitude" by Charles Swindoll for his next recitation.

Chantry is doing working on Level 2 of First Language Lessons and he performed "The Goops" by Gelett Burgess.

Destini is working on "The Lamb" by William Blake. Since she got a late start she is still learning it.

You can also read about our Composer Study here.

I am inspired by…
One Thousand Gift by Ann Voskamp.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
We were able to go on our nature walk--yeah! We went to a nature park I have never been to, but we actually were able to see some nature--including a snake!

My favorite thing this week was…
We finally were able to finish our Shakespeare play, Much Ado About Nothing, that we started ages ago. Next on the list is Twelfth Night and Destini gets to join along this time.

Things I’m working on…
I'm still working on planning out Caleb's Biology class together. I need to get it finished this weekend because we need to get going in it.
I’m reading…


I’m grateful for…
The fun times I have had reading aloud to my kids.

I’m praying for…
Delani--she will be going in next week to get the cavities in her teeth filled. Since she is being put asleep for the procedure, I am praying all goes well.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

This snake was crossing the path we were walking on

while taking our nature walk.

 



See what others are doing over at The Homeschool Chick.

Our Study of Scott Joplin: "King of Ragtime"

One of my favorite things of a Charlotte Mason education is the focus on the study of Hymns, Folksong, Composers, and Artist. Ambleside Online always has a nice rotation going that I usually follow, but for our first term I decided to pick my own composer.

A couple of months ago, Destini's piano teacher was talking to her about different kinds of music and mentioned ragtime. That got my brain a whirling and I decided that we would study Scott Joplin: "The King of Ragtime."



We have slowly read the biography, Raggin':A Story About Scott Joplin by Barbara Mitchell that I was able to find at the library. We take time on Friday to do Composer Study and so far we have studied three of his different "rags", The Maple Leaf Rag,  Swipsey Cakewalk, and The Entertainer. It definitely gets the blood pumping!







I am linking up over at ~a teaching heart~.

Book Review: The Phoenix and the Carpet by E. Nesbit

Book Description:

The Phoenix and the Carpet is E. Nesbit's second fantasy novel and is the sequel to Five Children and It. From Robert, Anthea, Jane and Cyril's new nursery carpet there falls a mysterious egg which is hatched in the fire to reveal a benevolent, resourceful and ingenious Phoenix who explains that the carpet is possessed of magic qualities. And so begins a series of fantastic and bizarre adventures as the carpet transports the children and the Phoenix to places as diverse as a chilling French castle, a desert island and even the Phoenix Fire Insurance Company's offices, which the Phoenix believes to be a shrine for his followers.

My thoughts:
Earlier this year I read aloud 5 Children and It by E. Nesbit, which was a big hit with my kids. While visiting my parents in September I came across the sequel, The Phoenix and the Carpet, so we brought it home and added it to our read aloud list.

The children are introduced to the Phoenix, a bird, but not just an ordinary bird. This bird is very old and extremely vain! From him they learn that their new carpet is a magic carpet. Many amazing and exciting adventures take place as they travel on the magic carpet. Of course, just because it is magic doesn't mean everything turns out okay! Filled with many disastrous and sometimes hilarious results, The Phoenix and the Carpet is full of hilarious and sometimes disastrous results.

The Phoenix and the Carpet was a big hit in our house and we look forward to reading more about them in The Story of the Amulet.

See what others are reading at Hope is the Word.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Should be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

•Grab your current read
•Open to a random page

•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

•Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!



The Little Women Letters by Gabrielle Donnelly

The shoe was on Emma's foot. It was, quite simply, spectacular. p. 112

The Homeschooler's Mother's Journal - October 10-14, 2011

Look at that tongue!

In my life this week…
I felt like I personally had a very non-productive week. I had several kids with the sniffles, a couple of sleepless nights, too many late nights, and I didn't get a thing done around the house (except killing ants which decided to come visit). I had a whole day that I kept having a very sensitive tooth which had me worried for awhile. I decided to poke around in there and found a popcorn kernel had got jammed in there. Thankfully, my tooth is feeling fine!
In our homeschool this week…
I personally might have been unproductive, but we had a great week in school.

I finished reading aloud The Wonder Book for Boys and Girls by Nathaniel Hawthorne to Destini and Chantry. This was left over from our free reading from last year. We also have Tanglewood Tales to read, but I am going to take a break from mythology and read from English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs.

Caleb is diligently working hard. I am trying to get better on checking his list daily to see what he has finished. It seems like when I ignore his list that certain things always are left undone.

Delani is enjoying doing her "chart" and really enjoys saying the nursery rhyme of the week.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
Destini had piano lessons this week and Caleb had his writing class. After his class all the men in the family went to a high school football game and that left us girls to go do a little Goodwill and Walmart shopping.

My favorite thing this week was…
Spending time with my family!

What’s working/not working for us…
Dare I say it again...SCIENCE. In fact, I am now putting my own Biology class together using the Biology 101 DVDs as the core. I am waiting for some books to arrive in the mail and hopefully I will be able to get it all planned out so we can start back up next week.

I haven't done another nature walk yet. It has turned cold and rainy--something I just don't enjoy.

Things I’m working on…
Cleaning my house!!!

I’m reading…

I am enjoying One Thousand Gifts, but I'm not sure about the other two. I have started both of them, but they haven't really grabbed me yet.
I’m cooking…
Pumpkin pancakes!

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

 


See what others are doing over at The Homeschool Chick.

Book Review: Against the Wind by Brock & Bodie Thoene

Book Description:

As Nazi forces tighten their net of evil over Europe in 1940, famed Jewish concert violist Elisa Lindheim Murphy escapes from Vienna to England. But both Elisa and her American newsman husband, John Murphy, are convinced that nowhere in Europe is safe from Hitler’s seemingly unstoppable forces.
As Nazi U-boats patrol and sink Allied vessels in the North Atlantic, Elisa makes a desperate but brave decision—to accompany Jewish refugee children on a civilian transport through treacherous seas to seek asylum in America. At least there, in the land of freedom, the ragged remnant of the Jewish people can live on in peace and safety—or so she hopes. But as German torpedoes streak toward the refugee ship, Elisa will face the greatest trial of her life….

My thoughts:
I read The Gathering Storm last year, and while I liked it there were parts that confused me, so I was a little hesitant to pick up the sequel, Against the Wind by Brock & Bodie. If you have read the Zion Covenant Series you will be familiar Elisa Lindheim Murphy and her husband, John. Against the Wind gives us a glimpse of their life in 1940. As we follow Elisa journey in London and then on the refugee boat, the reader is shown pieces and parts of Elisa's story from the Zion Covenant Series through diary entries. Elisa's story is a tale of terror, suspense, and hope. It was very hard to put down! If you enjoy historical fiction, especially World War II history, Against the Wind is a great and satisfying read.

I am linking up over at:

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Should be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

•Grab your current read
•Open to a random page
•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
•Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!



Out of Control by Mary Connealy

He wanted to see the tracks, but mostly he'd wanted to get Julia off by herself. Women could surely mess with a man's ability to control a situation. p. 149

The Homeschool Mother's Journal - October 3-7, 2011

In my life this week…
Well, I would have to say it was pretty typical. School, work, church, clean (not really, it was on my list, but...), shop, and laundry. I had a few nights of insomnia, so I did get some enjoyable reading finished.

I also attended my homeschool Mom's group--a definite highlight of my week!

In our homeschool this week…
-We just finished up Week 5. So far, we have been able to stay on schedule.

-With Chantry and Destini we are trying out a new spelling program. We are using Rod and Staff's Sound and Structure. So far, Destini is really enjoying it. I'm sure Chantry could ditch all things that have to do spelling!

-Caleb told his friend that Math is his favorite subject. I was surprised, but what do I know!

-Caleb started his tutoring for writing. Writing is an area that I don't feel very qualified in and happen to have a friend that really enjoys it.  Hopefully, I can learn something, too.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
We took a field trip to Bauman Farms, a local pumpkin patch. We tasted fresh apple cider and went out to the pumpkin patch. The kids each got a pumpkin, squash and Indian corn. They loved playing in the dark maze and the obstacle course. We brought home fresh apple cider donuts and a jug of apple cider.

My favorite thing this week was…
Our field trip and homeschool Mom's meeting.

What’s working/not working for us…
I realized that the scripture verse, Romans 6, that I picked for Caleb is a difficult piece. This weekend I'm off to look for another. That being said, he has memorized through verse 10.

We missed our nature walk. I have to rethink what day I am going to work this in
I’m reading…


A photo, video, link, or quote to share…


 

See what others are doing over at The Homeschool Chick.