Weekend Ramblings {November 19, 2016}

I devoted some time to the blog this week to try and catch-up and get some post up. I accomplished Review of Term 1 and  Fall Nature Study. I decided to finish the week with a Weekend Ramblings.

Things have been moving swiftly along over here. I work very hard to keep the calendar not full so that when it's out of my hands we can enjoy a full calendar and not be too stressed. We are certainly in a low and have been catching up on the stuff that gets put aside during a busy season.


We are down a car after an unfortunate collision with a deer.

In some what related news, it's deer season here and the boys have been out hunting to fill the freezer. Caleb got a unique one Friday afternoon. It had white socks on each leg and white on it's nose. Picture quality is low, but you might be able to see it. I don't have much taste for the meat, but I'll eat it. We typically ground some of the meat for soup and to make jerky. I do like jerky (actually goose jerky is my favorite).

We will be enjoying an "almost" break week from school to celebrate Thanksgiving this week. I'm calling it a make-up week to pick up a few readings the boys are behind in and to get ahead in a few since I think the last week of school before Christmas break will be cut short.

I'm really behind in Christmas shopping. I typically like to be mostly done by Thanksgiving or at least have a good list made and waiting for sales. I've barely started! I went with my mom and aunt to do some shopping on Friday afternoon in hopes to find some things for my mom to give me for Christmas and we came home empty handed. I spent a couple of hours online trying to find these items I'm wanting and still haven't found them. I'm really a little sticker shocked! I did purchase two items off Amazon over the weekend to give and enjoyed hitting the slow shipping button to build up some ebook credits since they are not needed until Christmas.

  
Some of my favorite things on the web recently:
~ Jen @ Wildflowers & Marbles has her annual Advent Booklet out for this year. This is always my favorite for making Advent plans. 
~ Celeste @ Joyous Lessons has one of my favorite type of post up This Year's Paper Plans. I get excited about those types of things!
~ Masterly Inactivity advice from Brandy @ Afterthoughts

What are you liking on the web lately?

What I've been reading~
My fiction list is just keeping up with the books the boys are reading. I'm working on Count of Monte Cristo, Pride & Prejudice, and Wind in the Willows. For teacher training I'm reading through volume one of Charlotte Mason. I've read parts and pieces of all her books, but I'm ready for a run through of them in order this time. I have a few others on my need to read pile, but I think I won't add anything to my list until Christmas break. Perhaps I will just read through Christmas break. A girl can dream! 

What are you reading?

Advent Planning~
The Advent season kicks off next Sunday. I'm looking forward to pulling out the box of Advent decorations. I probably should clear a little room for those during the week to make it go smoothly. Besides some family time and decorating next Sunday, I will enjoy my favorite Advent song O Come, O Come Emmanuel performed by The Piano guys. Wait until Sunday, then click on that link and enjoy! I'll be working on an Advent plan this week. Our tradition is that there is no tradition. We do things a little different each year. This is were keeping a blog comes in handy. I just need to click the Advent label on the right hand side to tell me what we have done in the past.  ; ) 

Plans for next week~
I really thought I would be working on cleaning projects, but I think I got those all done during the last break week. Happy!! So, reading, Advent planning, and Christmas gift buying is on my list for next week. I'm hoping to work on my Advent Morning Basket plans, too. The boys will probably do three half days of school. I plan to relax after Thanksgiving!


 

Weekend Ramblings {July 8, 2016}

Just a quick check in. It's been a peaceful week around here. Nothing big on the calendar! Pictures are from a recent wedding and the one above I took at family night at scout camp.

Recent Events ~ Our troubles started just over a month ago when our 16 year old Kenmore died. It wasn't worth putting another $300 in it to fix it. We bought a used washing machine from the local appliance parts store that had been very helpful in keeping our old machine running. The used one had all kinds of trouble. We finally had to take it back two days after the warranty expired. They were kind and gave us half of our money back. We then purchased a new GE from Sears. It arrived on Wednesday and did NOT WORK! There is another one on order (with an extra 10% discount) and should arrive next week. Yep! Sometimes that is how it goes. I've been thankful my parents have let me use their washing machine this week . . . . and hey, it has given me some time to blog.

Around the house ~ I've been enjoying my new Erin Condren Life Planner. That is a referral link that will get you $10 off your first purchase and give me a $10 credit. I would greatly appreciate if you used it because I have some accessories I would like to order that the budget won't allow. : ) This is my second year using the planner and I've been pleased with it overall. It's durable and still looks new after a year of use. This is the biggest selling point for me. I also really enjoy the pretty. I'm not a planner decorator, but I have list all over that planner.

Notice the really pretty backdrop at the wedding reception!

In the school room ~ I've been second guessing pondering over all the school plans I made last week.  In the end I go back to them and I'm happy with them. I'm still not convinced of grammar. I think I'm going to go back to a text I have on hand, Our Mother Tongue (Amazon has it too, but cheaper at Rainbow). AO recommends this one. I did get some inspiration from some other sources on how to teach grammar with literature and our own writing and I *think* I can add that into the mix. I do see taking some time to work ahead and be more prepared in this area.

I'm still tinkering with the daily schedule and Morning Basket plans. I haven't gained much ground on those in the past week. I'm struggling to see how our day should be planned out for the upcoming year. I will have more time to spend on this.

Book Basket ~ I really have nothing more to add from last week. I did order a new book for myself and I'm ready to dig in! A Touch of the Infinite: Studies of Music Appreciation with Charlotte Mason I have no idea where I saw this mentioned last week, but I'm very excited to read it.

Upcoming plans~ As I sit at my parent's house (doing laundry) and watching a deer in the backyard I'm reminded that we have not done any nature study this summer. It's greatly missed! Ticks were the first issue! So many!! Then we had nineteen days of 90+ temperatures. It's been raining for about a week now. This weekend is looking mild and dry and perhaps a drive out to the family farm is in order or a nature hike (the hay should be cut and make for easy hiking).

Next week is almost completely clear! I can't believe it! I have one day out of the house and nothing else on the calendar. I plan to enjoy it and get lots crossed off my to-do list. I wish I could tackle some items off the list of those who aren't so lucky with a free week, but I'm sure my list will keep me busy.  ; ) This type of schedule won't last much longer.

What have you been reading? How is school planning going?

Weekend Ramblings {July 2, 2016}

Happy Fourth of July!

Recent Events~ We had a family wedding last weekend (Scott's cousin) and I tried to get some pictures since the grounds of the church were pretty. It was very hot and sunny which didn't work out so well (closed eyes-poor Tyler and glare off glasses). Pictures in this post are from St. Lawrence Catholic Church grounds in St. Elizabeth, Missouri.  

Around the house~ I'm just coming off a week long school planning session. All my boys were away at scout summer camp and I was left home alone with the dog. I very much missed my boys, but I very much needed a week of silence. Before you get jealous keep in mind the dog is high energy, has separation anxiety, and is kind of like having a toddler in the house. So, it wasn't 100% perfect, but we survived and I did get a lot of planning done.

Book Basket~ I've been trying to get some reading done, but I haven't devoted much time to it. I'm almost finished with Dyslexic Advantage: Unlocking the Hidden Potential of the Dyslexic Brain. This is a really interesting book. It actually was helpful in relationships around here because it helped to explain why we do what we do (or don't do) and has made everyone little more understanding. ; ) (Scott has been reading this book too.)

 

I'm about halfway through Charlotte Mason's Formation of Character. This one has been difficult to get into and I really find it out dated. I ended up skipping parts of it, but will finish it because there were some gems. 

I started reading The Innocence of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton (checked out from the library) to preview for Caleb. I'm not much on a mystery, but I did enjoy the three chapters I read. I decided to purchase The Complete Father Brown Stories and will add it to Caleb's free reading list. I'm not sure if I will read anymore or not.

Speaking of school reading list, I started pre-reading Book of the Ancient Greeks by Dorothy Mills this past week. Caleb raved about her Book of the Ancient World and I can see why he liked it so much. I really like Mills writing style too. I plan to read this one pretty fast and get through it this week (or next). I'm not taking any notes as I feel like it will come back as I get Caleb's narrations.

Next in my to-read pile are Memoirs of a Happy Failure, Teaching From Rest, and the next school book I need to pre-read (not sure which one yet). I will probably add another CM volume to my list after I finish #5.

In the school room~ I think we will start back to school in the last week of July. I like starting back early so that we can take a week off every six weeks. This seems to be a good schedule for us. Keeping summer break short seems to help us not get out of habits and gives us time to work on new habits.

I still have a few items to check off my school planning list, but I think I can get those easily done in the next two weeks. My week of planning went really well. I knew I wouldn't get it all done, but I was hoping for a miracle. That didn't happen, but I did accomplish more than last year so I'm pleased with the progress. I should have our book list on the blog later in the month.

Upcoming plans~ Family gathering this weekend. A few small projects are on my list. Next week looks really nice and I should have plenty of time to tackle the to-do list. Reading and writing are on the top of that list. Most of the summer activities are over and it's time to relax. Caleb does have a week long service project camp coming up, but I still get to relax.  ; )

Weekend Ramblings {August 9, 2015}

I know it's been quiet around here and that's because my favorite things to write about are school and nature study, which we have not been doing. I also like lots of pictures in a blog post and I haven't been taking much lately.

We did enjoy getting back into the school routine this week. A gentle approach was much needed and we did half days this week. Even with half days I was able to do some evaluations and I had some projects for the weekend. We will continue with half days for this week too.

Tyler got almost all his work done with half days (and I mean a full weeks worth). Of course, there is still math and Latin to do but other than that he only has about a day of work left. I'm not sure how to fix that, yet. Caleb on the other hand hardly got anything done. I'm not sure how to fix that either. Perhaps just a full day would help or I have scheduled too much or Caleb hasn't found his daily groove in the schedule. There has been a lot to think about this weekend.

Surprisingly, Caleb enjoyed one of his history books (The Birth of Britain) even though it's a tough read. And unsurprisingly, Tyler does not have a favorite book for the new year, yet. 

I'm still planning on doing a post of our book list for the year and I'm hoping to have that done soon (meaning a week or two since we need to take some "formal" back to school pictures).

Saturday was a lazy day. I did watch a training DVD from IEW on how to teach their writing program (the overview one that comes with the Student Writing Intensive program). I didn't finish it and plan to do that this evening while the boys are at a swim party (will be quiet here). I was glad to work on this project and get Caleb's writing figured out for the year (a gap I had in the lesson plans).

 

Summer project goals were not achieved this year. I never get it all done which maybe means I need to rethink and plan accordingly. The main problem was not having the time all at once to dedicate to a project. I had the time to do it overall, but I couldn't make it work all at once. I don't like unfinished projects so they didn't get started.  Not started projects bother me too, so sooner or later they will get done. ; )

I'm planning on a much longer spring/Easter break in 2016 so I think this will help with the summer project list. I could possible get one or two done in the spring instead of the summer. This is the most natural time of the year to do it anyway. This is could be a great solution except for the fact I still have to get it done for 2015. 

Caleb has been saving up his money to buy a new toy. He got very lucky and a kind man at our church found him a good deal on a used guitar and has offered lessons at a reasonable price. Caleb has been saving up money for the lessons too. Today he has been searching youtube and watching first lessons in guitar playing.

Cross country practice has started. We were unable to find a team for Caleb to run on this year. Tyler will be running on the same team that both boys ran on last year. Caleb has been practicing with the team though and I've been logging the hours for a PE credit. 

Weekend Ramblings {May 30, 2015}

 The older I get the less things I can have going on at once. Some would say this a negative of aging. I think perhaps it's a gift of maturity. I work on less, spend more time working on one project, and those projects turn out much better. Anyway, that is my wishful excuse of why I have not been blogging (but you shouldn't expect an awesome post).  ; )

From green to gray blue.

What's been going on around here? Finally got some painting done! I'm excited about it. The kitchen color didn't turn out the gray that I thought it was going to be so we decided not to paint the rest of the house that color (living room and hallway to bedrooms). I love the kitchen color though.

Lucy gate to prevent her from licking the walls. At least that is what I thought she would do. Turns out she will lean against them.

We just went to Lowes and pick a color on the spot for the remaining painting. When I got home I realized that it wasn't as dark as I wanted but too late at that point. It turned out pleasant though. Lighter than before so it has really brightened up the place (don't need lamps in the evening as soon as we use too) and feels like a new place. I loved the color we had before (dark, warm and cozy kind of feeling) but I'm loving the change . . . new season of life.

Caleb was a big help. Love a teenager in the house!

It's not white but a boring beige instead. Lighting is horrible in this picture. The hallway is the about the same color as the new color and what is being covered up is much darker than that hallway.

We have yet to hang anything back on the walls. I want a different arrangement and haven't thought about that yet. I think I'm going to have to purchase something new too. There was a lot of blank space before painting. I have these curtains from Target in navy blue on order. I wasn't expecting to replace curtains but a blind broke and I decided to replace it with a curtain which then led to all new curtains so they would match. I did have coupons and got a good deal. 

It has been rainy here this spring and we have not made it out to our favorite nature study place very often. We did go during our first week of summer break and took along some friends. Fishing, metal detecting, and games were all enjoyed (all share more pictures in my year end review post). The geese are no longer at the lake and I didn't get a picture. Maybe next year?

We've had two weeks of summer break and it's been busier than expected (and wanted). I'm worried this is going to be the norm, which would be my fault for putting off appointments until summer break. I think it will clear up the end of June and into July. 

Iris blowing in the wind.

We did make it out to the farm last Saturday to play around a little. Scott took his duck boat to make sure all leaks have been fixed. They have. Now he just needs a spot to store it until next duck season (it currently sits in the yard . . . .).

Lucy insist on going for a boat ride but they make her nervous.

Weekend goal: Finalize book list for next year and order books. Completed!!! This has been a long time coming. Next is to start pre-reading those books. I have a whole week in June planned (nothing on the calendar!!) to sit down and plan out those book readings, make a schedule, put dates on the calendar, and other details. I'm waiting until then to pick our school start date (mid to late July). Anyone want to make some guesses on how many snow days the public school will be using next year so that I can plan our end date too? My boys insist of ending the same day as them. It's the least I can do to give them that since we start much earlier. 

Iris blooming was here and gone. I struggled to get any good pictures. It was either cloudy, windy, raining, or all of the above. I thought I would share a few since I always do. Day Lily season will be here very soon!

More blowing in the wind!

 

Weekend Ramblings {April 17, 2015}

Cardinal in the river birch tree was chatting to Caleb.

Monday was quite the typically Monday. Everyone was grumpy, including the dog. At 10:30 am I was ready to call it a day and head out to the family farm for some nature study. It had stop raining at that point and it seemed like a perfect solution. No one else thought so. Once school was all done I said we were going out to the farm and I didn't want to hear any complaining. ; )  

Caleb searched for mushrooms and didn't find any. Tyler rode his bike around with his pop gun. Lucy ran constantly for about an hour between the two boys. I sat in the truck and read. I didn't bring a coat and the sun had disappeared and I got cold. But, it was a nice hour sitting in nature.

Ticks are already really thick around here. The boys went turkey hunting last weekend and were covered in them when they came home. I got one and was only out of the vehicle for a minute to check the weather when we got to the farm. Scott got a bunch at work this week too. I ran the sweeper an extra time because I was just grossed out from seeing one on the floor. I'm not sure what to do about it. Disease from ticks is common in our area, but chemical sprays could threaten your health, too. I'm not sure which is the worse evil.

We finished By the Great Horn Spoon on Monday. The boys loved it, especially Tyler. Next on our read aloud list is The Green Ember. The boys weren't too excited after the first chapter but when given a choice the next day, they wanted to read it. The only complaint after the second chapter was that the characters are rabbits.

Thursday evening marked a triumphant event! The last Cub Scout pack meeting for me! Scott will be attending one more but more likely will have to help a little longer and will have to attend some next fall.

Friday morning turned out beautiful. I went out to get the mail and I didn't want to go back inside. The crab apple tree was in full bloom and smelled delicious. The bees were enjoying the tree and their humming sounded magical. We enjoyed it a little but decided to hurry up and get school done for the day. The boys had a camp out this weekend so I wanted to be sure school was done, house cleaned, and boys packed by afternoon. Goal accomplished.

Our school week went well. I scheduled a partial make-up day for Friday and everyone was caught up on everything and got some new work done instead.

Scott's weekend project (along with my dad) is to install a new front door and dining room sliding door. I'm pretty excited about this. Now if I could just light a fire under the window project.

My weekend project is watching IEW Teaching Writing: Structure and Style (I'm not sure who got the winning card on weekend projects.) and maybe work on some scrapbooking.

Two geese are still hanging out at the family farm lake. We are patiently waiting to see goslings.

Weekend Ramblings

Happy Easter! We took an Easter break from school that started on Holy Thursday and ended on Easter Wednesday. I wasn't too keen on starting back as it seemed like we didn't get a break. We were busy most of those days and I didn't get to work on any extra projects, which is normally my goal while on break.

Even though I wasn't wanting to do school on Thursday and Friday, the boys didn't mind and it was a successful two days. After going through and planning out the remaining school year (twice) it was determined that May 16th will be the last day of school. (Plus a few extra math lessons to complete.)

There was a lot of rain and possible severe weather this past week so we didn't make it out to the family farm for nature study. It is on the calendar for this week. I'm sure Lucy is looking forward to this the most.

Did someone say we are going to the farm? You are taking me, right?

I spent a lot of time this week trying to finalize history plans for next school year. I think I've made some decisions. These were tough decision and as usual I don't feel to confident in my decisions. I had to remind myself that I was looking for books for the boys and not myself. ; )

To keep up online with Caleb, I now have an Instagram account. I now need to take some pictures with my phone which is a rare event for me.

I didn't get much reading done this week. I'm slowly moving along on the sixth book of Harry Potter. I could easily read this book every night, but I find the story exciting and then struggle to fall asleep. I'm still, moving slowly through Start Here: a journey through Charlotte Mason's 20 principles by Brandy Vencel. Which is a good kind of slow. Reading CM's works takes a lot of my brain power so I'm struggling to find a time to do the reading. Before bed is my ideal time, but the brain power is lacking.


I did get to listen to some wonderful podcast this week. Pam @ ed snapshots has a new one out and the Read Aloud Revival has a new one out with Julie Bogart. Another good one was Mystie Winckler and Brandy Vencel.

Plans for next week . . . . a regular school week with very few interruptions! Scout activities . . . . which reminds me I never shared pictures from the Blue & Gold Banquet back in early March when Tyler went from Cub Scout to Boy Scout. We are very happy to have both boys back together again in one scout group. Now to get Scott and I out of the cub pack group! ; )

I'm excited that Scott is on his way to purchase a new front door and sliding patio door. We have been meaning to do this for about two years now. They probably won't be installed until next weekend though. I really wanted a swing door to replace the sliding door, but now that there is a dog crate in front of this door, I decided the sliding glass would be more efficient. I really hate I had to give it up for the dog! I really dislike the slider . . . . Anyway . . . . we have our eye on two refrigerators and one of them is on-sale, so Scott is going to take a look at it while there (I've only looked at it online). The reviews all had the same negative comments so I think I would like the other one that isn't on sale (with slightly better reviews). May have to wait and pray the old one keeps on working a little longer.

Weekend Ramblings

I wanted to encourage a better blogging routine and have decided to try to do a regular weekend post. (As usual, I got this idea from other bloggers.) I'm hoping to get it posted on Friday or Saturday but it was tough getting it done this weekend.

Lots of unusual clouds during Saturday's sunset.

School News

I decided we needed to make some decisions on books for next year. Caleb has some samples he is suppose to be reading over . . . . they are still sitting where I left them. . . . . no comment after reading them.

Tyler did preview some books picked up from the library. Abraham Lincoln's World and George Washington's World both by Genevieve Foster. Tyler started reading and wanted to know what the Napoleon guy was doing in Lincoln's book. I explained that the book is similiar to a world history book and is telling about everything that was going on in the world during Lincoln's life time. Tyler accused the book of having a false title and lying (I'm not kidding). He thought it was a biography and only a biography of our 16th president. He has asked not to use those books next year. I'm not sure what to say to that. It was hilarious yet I think those books are good. I'll have to work on him to take a second look.

It was a rough week for school. Allergies were bothering me which left me exhausted and with a headache that made me grumpy. Caleb was the hero for the week and made sure he got his math done every day. We made it through and looking back at the week it wasn't too bad.

We have three days next week and then we are taking off for a week for Easter Break. Nature study is planned for one afternoon too. We didn't get to enjoy that this past week.

Clicking Around-Some of my favorite blog post, videos, etc. that I have enjoyed lately.

I highly recommend Andrew Kern's Ask Andrew-Is Classical Education a method or is it about materials Part 1 and Part 2.

Jen @ Forever, For Always No Matter What blog post Mid Year Thoughts on Homeschool Planning 

Pam @ Ed Snapshots blog post How You Are Reading All Wrong 

Haley @ Carrots for Michaelmas blog post Charity Has Power and How Disney Didn't Ruin Cinderella

I've been checking the Kansas City Catholic Homeschool Conference regularly and see that they have some information up for the June conference. I'm about three hours away but I have family in the area so it's a good one for me to attend. If I can get free lodging, I will probably go this year. 

Random Happenings
I had new living room furniture on my list of wants. It was at the bottom of the list because other things seemed to be more important. Yet, the couch was failing apart before my eyes. I really had no desire to look for a new one right now either. We were blessed with a hand-me-down sofa and recliner from my parents. This is an improvement from what we had and will be fine for about two years when I think we will purchase some new pieces. The only problem is that the recliner is a fishing theme (my parents had a wilderness theme in the basement). My dad did say he wanted it back though. Hopefully the boys won't tear it up. They seem to be hard on furniture as they have gotten older bigger.


In related news, Lucy got a new bed to nap on.

We had one of those beautiful spring snows Saturday morning. I love snow on fresh green grass. No pictures of that since it wasn't sticking to the ground very well.

X marks the spot for Saturday's sunset.

Even though I have yet to figure out how to work this camera (besides in auto mode) I'm really enjoying the zoom. When I see something I can't make out I just zoom in and snap. I don't think I have ever noticed seeds on a Sycamore tree before (too high up). This camera is a great tool for nature study!

After church, Sunday morning, Scott and I needed to hit a few stores to look at refrigerators, doors, windows, and few other improvement project items. I think Kenmore brand won the refrigerator debate. That is the brand we are replacing and it's been good to us. The price was comparable to the other brands. Maytag has a 10 year warranty though which is better than Kenmore (only 1 year). We did forget to look into delivery cost though. That may seal the deal.

We finally bought Caleb's birthday present (late January birthday). He saw a kayak in the Menard's ad and decided he would like that. We will probably take it out Tuesday for it's first maiden voyage.