Happy Hearts

Well, it’s been almost 2 months since I’ve updated.  I’m not going to make a long spiel about what we’ve been up to, but we’ve just been livin’ and learnin’.    We went on a month long vacation to MI, since A still has not been called back to work as of yet.  After we were there for about a week and a half, I slipped on some ice and tore some ligaments in my ankle and foot.  It was more painful than birthing a baby!  I was in terrible pain for 6 days, on crutches for almost 3 weeks, and now I am able to walk (I’m in a walking cast) but the healing has been slow.  So, our vacation ended up not being as fun as it would have been, but oh well.

We’ve been home now for a week, Christmas was great, and today is New Year’s.  We are making “book money” today, we’re doing a new reading program, since our other one went over well and they earned all of their prizes.   We’re organizing and getting ready to do a 6 week unit study on the ocean starting on Monday, and we’re learning about the Philippenes this week.   T2 started Speedy Reader today, and the going is going to be quite slow.  Later today, we’re going to the inlaws so A and my FIL can look at the van (it’s making a funny grinding noise), then we’re going by grandnan’s house to visit for a bit.

Next week we’re going to try a new homeschooling group (there’s a boy there that’s T1’s age and he has Asperger’s too, so that will be interesting. lol).  My neighbor started going while we were gone, and she really likes it, so we’re going to check it out.

It has been nice A being home and being able to be so involved with their home learning, but we are praying he gets called back to work soon so we aren’t so tight with money!!:)

“A” got laid off work on Sunday. We have no clue if this will be short term or long term, but it looks more like it is going to be for a few months. We made the most of this week though, with him being home, it was like vacation, lot of play!

Highlights of the week:

Monday- I ran some errands in the early morning, the kids went on a hike with dad. We read books about nutrition and other stuff. Raked some leaves and played outside for awhile. Went on a bike ride at LL and played at the huge playground there. When we got home, the kids played outside w/K for awhile.

Tuesday- Today was election day. We went to vote and the wait was long, so we took turns going. We were going to go to the zoo, but we didn’t get done w/voting until almost lunchtime, so we went to Chuck E. Cheese instead. We are learning about Chile this week, and the kids made Chile’s flag and colored it. We went to a local nature preserve and went on a hike. We got the VeggieTale Pirate movie from the library, and watched that before bed.

Wednesday- Played outside most of the day. We had AWANA at night. It was Mom and Dad night, so we got to play games and stuff all of us together. It was fun. Poor T2 fell asleep on the way there for the night, but he ended up going into his class and doing just fine.

Thursday- We made homemade cinnamon rolls the night before, and had them for breakfast. Yum. The kids played the game Hullaballoo for hours in the morning. Who knew that game was so entertaining? They played it the right way for awhile, and then they made up their own way of playing.

A went to grandnan’s to help her unpack for a few hours. We were all going to go, but the kids have colds, and we didn’t want to pass our germs on to her! While he was gone, we read a book about tigers, and the kids drew tigers and colored them. We did sections in the Abeka health book, some worksheets on nutrition, and an experiment with gelatin and pineapple, showing how the bromelin in pineapple (and other good things you eat) help digest protein.

We did an animal puzzle that was a circle, it took a long time to finish. Only T1 and H did it, T2 took a nap. When A got home, he played Jenga with them, and then him and I did this puzzle that was really old, before puzzle had interlocking pieces! It was hard to put together, but it sure was a cool puzzle.

Friday- We raked for hours this morning, and got a good chunk of the yard done. The kids are all having reading time right now, A and T2 are taking a nap. When they get up, we’re going to the bug park, and to get milk from the farm.

We’ve had the most awesome weather here for November, so we’ve been trying to squeeze in as much outside time as we can! It is supposed to get colder starting tomorrow though.

Tomorrow we’re going to work on raking some more. Sunday is A’s birthday, so after church we’re going to his parent’s house for a family party.

Well, we decided that we’d give the kids a try at self regulating their halloween candy. They each got to pick a certain amount of candy, and once it was gone, that was it. T1 got to pick 20 pieces, H 15 pieces, and T2 got 10. We told them that it was up to them when they ate it, and if they ate too much at once they could get sick and that if they spread it out, it should last a couple days.

So of course, T1 spread his out over a few days. T2 opened everything at one time and ate a little of each piece. And then there’s H. Anyone who knows her, knows that food is her entire life. It’s what she lives for! So, the morning after Halloween, she kept eating piece after piece, and she kept saying “I’m just going to have one more”. It was the Whoppers that were her downfall. Those things are just plain nasty. She put one in her mouth, and then proceeded to puke all over the place. And, of course that didn’t stop her, she wanted to finish the rest of her candy, and she said “it’s okay, I have a bowl to throw up in if I need to”. So classic of her! I don’t know if the vomiting was really from eating to much candy or just because of her acid reflux, I know chocolate is not good for that. Anyway, so I don’t think she learned her lesson this time! I think the boys did though.

Monday

-Review

-Did FIAR book Ferdinand, did size/distance drawings, watched a beginning Spanish words video, kids made up a game called pin the stinger on the hornet based off of Ferdinand sitting on a bee

- Played outside with K

-Did a lot of puzzles all afternoon and evening

Tuesday

-Went to MOPS and they did fall crafts and activities there

-Acted out scenes from our book

-played games and did puzzles

-reviewed inches and feet, played a scavenger hunt game using measurements

-K came over at 4 to spend the night because her mom was being induced at 5.

Wednesday

-S still hadn’t had the baby by morning, so we took K to McD’s and had breakfast there and the kids played in the play area

-Went back home and the kids played together all day until AWANA

-S still hadn’t had the baby, so we went to AWANA.  About 1/2 hour after we got there, C called to say the baby had been born!  So, we left, and too K to the hospital to meet her new baby brother!

Thursday

-I took the kids to the Chicago Field Museum.  Dad didn’t get to go this time.  The kids had so much fun, and this was the first time they saw the big dinosaur exhibit they have now, because we usually go to the Science and Industry museum instead.

-When we got home, we woke dad up, and went to visit S in the hospital and to see the baby.  He is SO adorable!

Friday-

-Today is Halloween.  We started the day by playing monster hide and go seek (one of their favorite games).  We then made bats to hang around the house (which didn’t get hung up because they decided to make “batplanes” out of them. lol  While they worked on them, I read them a science book about bats.

-They watched a National Geo video about snakes, and then sculpted different snakes out of playdough.

-The weather is gorgeous, so they played outside quite a bit.

-We carved pumpkins, and while we were taking them back outside, T2 dropped and broke his, and was in tears, and H offered to share hers with him.  She’s so sweet. (when she wants to be. lol)

-We roasted pumpkin seeds, they were yummy!

-We’re going to auntS’ house to have dinner, and trick or treat for awhile.  T1 says he’s going to TOT, but I’ll believe that when I see it!  He didn’t even want to look at the totem poles or any Indian masks at the museum yesterday, and still freaks about things in the store.  I don’t know why he thinks he’s going to be able to TOT?  He’s so hard to figure out sometimes!

-H is doing a puzzle, and T1 is twirling around in circles in the kitchen.  T2 is playing.  We need to go get ready to go!

Tomorrow we are doing housework and just having a relaxing day. Sunday we have church, we get to teach the 1st grade class this month, and I’m not sure what are plans are after that.

I hate coming up with titles, so I think I’m just going to do dates.  I’m so lame.

Highlights of Friday:

-Played blocks for a few hours in the morning.  They built some pretty impressive buildings.

-Did some worksheets T1 on adjectives and compound words, H on writing, T2 on letters

-Played chess

-T1 helped make dinner and bread  while H and T2 laid down for a rest

-Took dinner over to C&B’s house.  I got to hold J a lot. :)  He’s already changing!

Highlights of Saturday-

-Hung around in the morning, it’s so nice when daddy is home all day!

-Went to Bass Pro Shop for the Halloween event they were having.  They did TOT throughout the store, made a mask, bobbed for apples, roasted marshmallows, and played the shooting range for free.

-Went to goodwill and got some books

-Started a 550 piece puzzle of a castle, we got about 2/3rds of it done before bed.  Even T2 managed to get a couple of pieces in the right place.

Tomorrow we have church, and then we’re going to A’s grandma’s house for lunch.

I just love fall. The weather has been perfect, and we finally had a day where we didn’t see 1 mosquito!

Highlights of Wednesday:

-After morning cleanup and review, we went on a hike at DR, 2 mi. through the woods to get to the park, and 2 mi. back. We brought a picnic lunch, and I read them books about the tree’s life cycle. We watched for things that we saw in the book, and we found lichen, fungi, dead trees, a squirrel’s nest, and a log that had decomposed in side so that the wood was like dirt. We collected leaves and stuff to make a collage when we got home. We made a 6ft x 3 ft. collage, it turned out really cool.

-Played outside w/K when we got home, while I mowed the backyard.

-AWANA It was pie-eating contest night, if you had already passed 12 sections in your book, you got to participate. T1 and H both got to do it. H came in 2nd place.

Highlights of Thursday-

-Morning review

-We made our recipe from Iran called BariBari bread. After the dough rose the second time, you pulled it, so it was long and skinny. It was pretty good, crispy on the outside and soft in the inside.

-Read about armadillos. They drew 9 banded armadillos and colored them.

-Read the book “3 Ships For Columbus”. We pretend played about Columbus coming to America for about 1.5 hours. We all took turns being different characters.

-Went to the fairgrounds and rode our bikes and played at the playground there.

-Came home and had lunch outside, and K came over until dinner to play so S could take a nap. She is being induced next Wed., it looks like she’s going to make it to 37 weeks! Yay! We went for a walk in the farmer’s field down to where the little pond was. He had harvested the soybeans, and we found pods on the ground that still had some inside.

They each earned their first fall reading prize. We’re only counting chapter books, if we counted picture books, they’d be earning a prize every day. They’re both halfway to their next prize already. T2 is doing his letter sounds with me, a few times a day, so when they get their prize, we’ll get his next one.

Okay, I’m going to commit to updating at least once a week, but hopefully I’ll get around to updating at least every other day, because this is getting pathetic! Let’s see, the last week and a half we’ve:

-Rode 11 miles on our bikes! T2 is riding on a bike that hooks to the back of ours, it’s working out really well, he couldn’t keep up with us on his little training wheels. I can’t believe how far T1 and H can ride without getting tired!

-Organized the kids’ books, and separated them (which is a lot because we have about 1,500 books!!) into categories and labeled them. We now have a wonderful home library with sections like History, Geography, Animals, Bible stories, Machines, Science, and fiction books on the new huge shelves Alan made, all of their chapter books on 2 regular bookcases, and a row of fiction above the board games. Now it will be much easier for them to find a certain book they want on any subject.

-Made handprint spiders, and other various crafts, did fall, Halloween, math, and money worksheets. Played hangman on the dry erase board most days and board/card games.

-We learned about Chad last week. This week we are doing Iran. We haven’t made our recipe yet, though.

-Went to see their new baby cousin! My little sister and bil had their first baby, J, last week. He was 10bs and 22 in. and he is absolutely so cute. We’re making dinner for them Friday and taking it over, so we’ll get to see him again soon.

-We are also started a fall reading program, and the kids will earn prizes for the books they read. Kind of like the library summer reading program, but this is at home. For T1 and H, they’ll get to pick a prize for every 400 pages they read. Sometimes that will be 1 big chapter book, or a combination of small chapter books or non-fiction books. T2 will get points for books read to him and by practicing his letter sounds. At the end (Dec. 1), we are going to have a big celebration.

T1’s books so far for this week:

-2 Bionicle books (160 pgs.)

-The Count of Monte Cristo (236 pgs.)

H’s books so far this week:

- American Girl series MeetMolly-(61 pgs)

-2 Rainbow Magic Fairy books- (140 pgs.)

-The Invisible Man (238 pgs.)

-She started Little House on the Prairie, but didn’t finish it, so I’m thinking that won’t count, unless she decides to finish it.

-It’s hard to remember everything else we did, that’s why I’m committing to posting more!

I don’t know why it is, but I’ve become a blog slacker.   You people (and you know who you are) probably don’t even bother checking my blog anymore.

Things are good.

T2 has finally started to recognize his letters, about 2/3rds of them now, so we aren’t too concerned about that any longer.  He loves being read to, and he enjoys numbers and counting and playing games with us.   He is starting Awana Cubbies next week, and he’s very excited about that.   He really enjoys helping prepare our meals, and he just has so much happiness inside of him.

H has really progressed rapidly with her reading skills this year.  She’s now enjoying larger chapter books (but still likes some pictures).  We got an Intex pool a month ago, and she’s really starting to become comfortable in the water, but really doesn’t attempt to go under yet (but she has a few times on accident lol).  She’s really into playing house with K the neighbor girl,  and she still is really into coloring/drawing/crafts.  She’s starting Awana Sparks this year, and she’s not too happy about leaving Cubbies behind (”but, Mom, I won’t get to play with toys!!”).

T1- What can I say, he’s T.  I love him to death, but he’s driving us crazy!!!

They have been having so much fun already this summer, very long days of swimming, hiking, reading, bike riding, sandbox playing, etc. It is just wonderful.

H decided she wanted to ride without training wheels, so off they went, and she’s been riding around like a pro ever since. So, I’ve always said she’d ride without them first before T1, and she did. A week after we took hers off, T1 got on her bike and saw that it wasn’t that hard, and so we took his off, and he’s been riding just as well. I am surprised, I didn’t think he’d work up the courage before he was 7, but he did. Of course T2 wanted his to come off, so we did, but he’s just not ready, so back on they went.

We did the FIAR book The Wild Horses of Sweetbriar. It was a very neat book, and we did a lot of fun activities with it.

This week we started Abeka Arithmetic 2 with both T1 and H. So far it seems to be really too easy for T1, but they enjoy doing it together, which is more important right now because he hates to write, especially numbers, so I’m just glad he’s enjoying it.

The summer reading program started at the library, so they’ve been excited about turning their books in every week to get prizes. When I was a kid, we could turn in titles of books we read that were our books not library books too. I guess they don’t do that now, because T1 and H each read one of the Great Illustrated Classics books (for every 50 pages of chapter books you get 1 credit, so they would have got 5 or 6 credits for those) but they didn’t let them count those. H loved the Wizard of Oz one, she read it twice in a row. lol.

T2 had his 4th birthday last week. It’s hard to believe my baby is FOUR. Time has flown. He is such an awesome little guy. He’s silly and sweet, and just so lovable to everyone he meets. He loves being read to, and he loves counting things. He may have some type of problem with letters, I don’t know. Over the last 2 years, we’ve in a fun way tried to teach him his letters, and he just doesn’t seem to see anything but sticks put together. He does know a lot of letter sounds (thank you fridge phonics, I was hoping something good would come out of your annoying little ditties) I’m not too worried about it yet, even though T1 and H were both reading by now, but it is starting to concern me a bit.

Oh yeah, something cool, Sunday morning T1 came running upstairs saying that H had a bug and it was having babies. I thought they were just pretending, but H came upstairs with a roly poly bug in her hand and there were a few babies around it. We put it in a cup, and watched about 30 more tiny roly polies come crawling out of her body. It was so neat.  We thought she was giving live birth, but I guess she carries the fertilized eggs in a patch underneath her until they hatch, so it appears that she is giving live birth, but she isn’t really.

We’ve been doing some mini studies about herbs, mushrooms, and snakes.  We’ve been able to spend most of our days outside for the past month, so we chose things that we could learn about that are outdoors.   We also sit together on the swing and read book after book after book, it’s wonderful!  It’s almost like summer!  We’ll be starting our next FIAR book in about a week.