The Homeschool Mother's Journal - The End is in Sight

Chantry's new glasses!

In my life this week…Monday started off with a cold shower and I hate cold showers. Thankfully, the day improved though it rained and baseball practice was cancelled. I had taken Chantry out to look for new glasses since his current pair had broke. I eventually gave up and waited until Shade arrived home. I had the hardest time getting him to understand that the frames & lenses he was trying on were just samples not the finished product. Oh, my husband came home and turned the hot water heater on.

Tuesday we had to get up and head out to the doctor's office. Destini has has had a weird cough and it wasn't improving. It ended up being either allergies or a virus and the cough lingers on. I also was able to attend homeschool round-up where different coops, homeschool groups and activities were featured for our area.

On Wednesday, Shade had to work really late again so I planned a late dinner. After dinner Chantry and I went down to Walmart and picked up his new glasses. He thinks his Transition lenses are pretty cool!

On Thursday Destini and I headed out to McDonalds for a small snack while we worked on her Beautiful Girlhood book. Then we headed out to her piano lesson. On the way I had to stop and get gas for the van. The cheapest place in town was $4.10 a gallon. Gulp!!

Since it had rained all week and more was predicted in the forecast I was prepared for another day of rain on Friday, but no, God surprised us with sunshine. I made a quick run to Old Navy and Michaels and then it was time to get dinner going before heading to baseball. Chantry's baseball game was almost finished and Caleb's had just started when raindrops begin to fall (please note: the sun was still shining). Within 15 minutes the sky opened and dumped down the rain. When it started to thunder, which is rare in Oregon, we decided that standing under the tree wasn't a good idea. We made a mad dash to our van and by the time we all arrived we were soaking wet!! When we pulled into town I had to laugh because it hadn't even rained there.

In our homeschool this week…Caleb finished two books this week, Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific in a Raft by Thor Heyerdahl for geography and George Washington and the Founding of a Nation (PB) by Albert Marrin for a history biography.
Destini and Chantry finished The Landing of the Pilgrims by James Daughtery.

I spent some time this week working with Chantry on some fine motor skills. He pinched tweezers and picked up pom-poms, cut out coupons, and had to do some nice and neat coloring. He was thrilled to finish First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind and Lessons in Responsibility for Boys Level 2.

We finished up reading Secrets of the Woods by William J. Long as a read aloud and started the The Story of the Amulet by E. Nesbit.

We are coming down the the homestretch!

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…Amy over at Hope is the Word posted this great idea for Parts of Speech Notebooking pages. I am going to have Chantry do this since he still doesn't quite understand all the parts of speech.
I am inspired by…Our school year coming to a close.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…Baseball, the doctor's office, and piano lessons.
My favorite thing this week was…Attending the homeschool round-up. I registered Caleb up for an art class for next school year.
Things I’m working on…It is that time to start thinking of next year. We have a local homeschool curriculum sale coming up so I'm getting thing ready to sell and making my list of what I will need for next year.

I’m reading…


I’m cooking…Tator-tot casserole, Stroganoff Chicken with rice, and a Heath Bar Cake that I surprised my husband with on Wednesday.

You can find the recipe here.

I’m grateful for…My husband--he is such a hard worker and that allows me to be at home with my children.

I’m praying for…We had a door open for our church, which my husband pastors, only to receive a call last night which basically slammed the door shut. Needless to say, we were shocked and hurt and a little confused. We ultimately want God's will in this situation and need either a miracle or peace from the Lord.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…
A song that has been on my mind.

I am linkin up at iHomeschool Network & Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

What's On Your Nightstand - May

My June nightstand:

 

From my April post I read:
Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski (review)
To Love and Be Wise by Josephine Tey (review)
Life Artist by Ali Edwards (review)
Personality Plus for Parents: Understanding What Makes Your Child Tick by Florence Littauer (review)
Uncovering the Logic of English by Denise Eide (review)

I also read:
Scout: The Flying Phantom by Piet Prins (review)
Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog by Jerome K. Jerome

I listened to:
Mrs. Pollifax and the Lion Killer by Dorothy Gilman (review)

I am currently reading:
The Adventures and the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Secrets of the Woods by William J. Long

I have to admit this wasn't one of my best months when it came to reading, but last month was extremely busy so I'm happy with what I did get read!
See what others have read over at 5 Minutes for Books.

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 Adventures and the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

To Sherlock Holmes she is always THE Woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name. p. 5

The Homeschool Mother's Journal - Back to Our Normal Routine

Funny Girl

In my life this week…Everything was back to normal, including my husband's extra long hours at work!

On Monday I skipped out on baseball practice so I could stay home and do some much needed housework, but alas my allergies acted up so I wasn't up to anything! I was quite annoyed.

Tuesday was my day to head to work. The girls came along with to pick out books at the library and then they got picked up by Daddy. They had to head home and get ready to head out to a possible church building that our church is considering renting.

Wednesday went well, but my husband didn't get home until 6:30 pm. This makes for an incredibly short evening.

Thursday afternoon we headed to the eye doctor for 4 eye appointments. Three hours later we finally left. Somehow I ended up as the last appointment, which didn't make it easy to drive home with dilated eyes! Chantry's glasses broke last week and he isn't eligible to new frames until August 1. His old glasses have a different prescription than his broken pair and the eye doctor says he need to have the current prescription. This week I have to go on a hunt to find a great price on a pair of glasses for him.

Friday was the boys' baseball game.

In our homeschool this week…This week started off with a strong talk from dad about the importance of being responsible for completing their week. I saw some improvement.

Caleb is plugging along. He just finished listening to The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander for a free read.

Destini and Chantry finished reading Marco Polo by Manuel Komroff for geography. We also finished Scout: The Flying Phantom by Pier Prins as a read aloud. We are getting close to completing our school year and that is exciting.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…The eye doctor, baseball and Destini had a evening out with friends to celebrate a birthday.

My favorite thing this week was…Shade is the coach for Chantry's baseball team. During one of the fielding plays he had called out to hold the ball. Chantry proceeded to throw the ball which resulted in the other team getting an extra base. A couple of plays later he called hold the ball and of course Chantry had the ball again. He was standing there holding the ball and looking like he was going to throw it again and about that time Shade hollers, "Chantry, don't you dare throw that ball!" Needless to say, I bust out laughing along with a few other parents. I told the lady next to me, "The coach just became the parent."

What’s working/not working for us…Cursive writing for Chantry. I realized this week he needs to take some time off and I'm going to spend some time working on some fine-motor exercises.

Questions/thoughts I have…Which language Arts would be good for an upcoming 4th grader?

Things I’m working on…Researching different curriculum for next school year. We have a local used curriculum sale and a Homeschool Convention coming next month, so I'm trying to prepare a list of what I want to purchase and what I want to look at.

I’m reading…

I’m grateful for…The flexibility to stop and work on something that my child
needs extra help in.

I’m praying for…My unborn niece.

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

A candy bar cake I made for a good friend of our family.


I'm linking up:

iHomeschoolNetwork