THUMBS UP

Today was an excellent day. WooHoo!

First I want to say that I've been reading to them every night for the past few nights.

This morning I read a little about Columbus and a math story book. We sat down and did a few booklets from www.homeschoolshare.com . They were 'where are the oceans', 'Where is the Atlantic ocean', and 'Where in the world is Spain'. We also put C.C. and Leif Ericson in their timeline books.

Ana did her letter/sounds binder and Katie did her science. She loved it. It is the free one listed on her homeschool list, left sidebar. I made notebook pages and have booklets all ready in a binder. We just pulled up the Unit we are working on (on the computer) sat down, read and she wrote and did the pages. I'll post tomorrow some pictures. Nothing spectacular but maybe it will give you an idea of what I'm talking about.

Katie also finished 2 sides of a math page (easy today) and wrote her Bible verse. She needs to read her bible after dinner.

Tom did his work and started with his science (free one listed on his homeschool list; left sidebar). He enjoyed the first experiment. It was with m&m's. The girls like it also. I thought they tasted good. ~LOL~
The next few experiments are with m&m's also.

Tom is now enjoying a nice swim with his brother at a friends house and we went to the park for awhile. Ana made a new friend. ~smile~

Becca did her ambulance run today.

Now I off to do laundry including the laundry that's been hanging outside for 2 days. ~LOL~

Have a good night.
~Margarete~

Good Days

We had two good days here. Yesterday Katie and I did grocery shopping and had alot of fun. We had lunch and enjoyed each other's company. Today I did a few things for the schooling this week and Katie and Ana played with a neighbor.
1st: Katie and I went to a flea market and Ana went with Ed to go shopping with his Aunt. Katie was amazed at 2 Alpacas they had there. They are actually very beautiful animals. In a couple weeks, we may take a field trip to see the Alpaca farm.
2nd: We found a toy tea set at a yard sale so Katie, Ana, and their friend Morgan had a "tea party". They played all day. It was so quiet around here.

Ed painted the attic and put a new rug up there. It is actually the boys' room. It is so nice up there. I keep saying we should have that for our "master suite". I need to find curtains and a few pictures to make it look nice. If you saw it before you would be quite surprise with the difference.

Ed is going to put in the rug for the attic steps and then he will repaint the 2nd bedroom. After that we will be repainting 2 more bedrooms and each girl will have there own room. ~HURRAY~

Now, after that, Ed will be putting in wood floors in the living and dining (school room) rooms. I wish he would have done this during the summer before school but he decided on this last week.
I'm really happy about getting new floors, the rugs are worn down to the floor, but bad timing. I have to move everything around, again.

The 2 girls will be joining a Lego club this year. It's free!! I'm so excited for them. I think they will have a lot of fun.

In another post I had stated that Becca started volleyball. She is really enjoying it. She is a good player and it gives her some good exercise. They play 4 hours for 1 night a week.

I'm still trying to figure out PE for Tom. He does like to ride his bike. I don't think that's enough, though. He's becoming a teen...you know, talking back and not liking that he has to do some work around here. Ed set him straight today and I don't think Tom was thrilled about it.
He's still a good kid, though. He's also growing way to fast. Everytime he stands near me his feet get in the way!!

Jon moved out and likes where he lives. He came by today and he looks so happy. Probably because it's so quiet where he is. ~smile~ He also got another job on top of the other 2 he has. Whew! Alot of work and school, he'll be busy. By the way, Ana loves him soooo much. She hears his name and comes running!

You won't believe what I did? When Katie and I were shopping the other day, I took her to Subway. I told them I wanted a chicken sub. I also said I wanted a small package of chicken for Katie without anything on it (because of her allergies). Well, I had the girl at the counter so confused over the chicken and what I wanted done with it, she thought it was herself making the mistakes. After I sat down to eat I realized that it was my fault. I kept saying don't let the chicken touch the mayo. or bread, etc. Well, she was trying to make my sandwich and I thought she was putting Katie's chicken on it! I ended up with a very plain sub. Boy, did I laugh at myself and couldn't wait to get out of there!! I was in la la land.....~LOL~

Signing off now. Going to sit my dear husband. ~smile~
~Margarete

I've Been Wrong

I have been so wrong. And I will just say I don't care if anyone thinks I'm wrong with what I write here. I need to get this out. Are you ready?.....

After reading someone's post on the WTM (and praying) I realize how stupid I've been.

Yesterday I got so mad because Katie wouldn't listen and do what I wanted her to do. I yelled at her, alot. I got mad at Ed because he didn't agree with me on some things about her. I got mad.

All through the summer I was so excited for school to start and I got everything ready including gettting the "room" ready. And then, "Wham"! Katie wouldn't listen. (yes, it's only been 3 days) I got very miserable. Yes, she is on meds. which we have to get the right dosage and timing but the problem....Me. Yep. I have been thinking (yes, it's about 1 a.m.), I have been trying to do to much, on my own, and I have overloaded everything. I decorated the room, and the worst part I started thinking to much like "school". Everyone (including myself) says, if she doesn't do it send her to school. What would she do if she was in school (that's me sometimes also), she needs a special school. Nonsense. She needs to be with me. She has issues beyond our control and her control. For goodness sake, she is only 7 years old. She is beautiful. She can read, she can write, she knows math (probably better than 8 or 9 maybe some 10 year olds), she plays soccer wonderfully, she's happy, she loves church, she loves the bible, she loves her Sunday school teachers, etc. What the heck have I been thinking??

I came down about 1/2 hour ago, after much thinking, and took down all the Picturing American Posters. Yes I did. I believe it is to much stimulation. For her and for me. To much stress. It's to much like a school. I may even take down the timeline we were going to do on the wall. Each child does have one in a binder.

I'm going to get back to the way I did things. We will sit anywhere we want to, to do our reading even writing. The kids will play before we start the day. "I" will take a walk outside or on the treadmill. And most of all we will pray together.

I have gotten to school oriented and forgotten about all the fun we can have. I need to stop caring about what others think about how "We", Ed and I, want to teach or how to teach our kids. I've gotten to afraid of what needs to go into the portfolios and what people think. Who cares.

I have been stressed and it is my fault. Well, mostly. There were some things a few months ago that really stressed me out. but, I let every little thing bother me. I am usually happy and smiling enjoying my family. I love the Lord and I feel like I'm missing him.

I need to read the Bible more. I have signed myself up for 2 bible studies. One is at the same time the kids will be in a class. I need to be involved with a bible class and be around some other adults...not just on Sunday and not just sitting around watching them play somewhere.
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Do you know what? Bedtimes have not been easy. K & A share a "very" small room and when it is time for bed they fight. It is not fun. This is just about every night. (We are in the process of changing there rooms so they are separated) Anyway, After the day was done and I was putting Katie to bed (without Ana in the room), She sat with me and I read to her....books about math. ~LOL~ I read a post on the WTM about the living math so I had gone to the library and took out some books. She likes them alot. She asked me to read them again. They were about fractions and money. We were calm and enjoyed each other's company. ~priceless~
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Well, this post is my honest thoughts and I am so glad I wrote them out here.

Good night
~Margarete~

3rd Day of School...Terrible AND Ana's Birthday

Yes, it was. Another battle and nothing done. K's head was in the clouds and very defiant. Well, how stupid am I. We changed how we give her, her medication. That is probably the whole reason. I think I need a good kick. :(

I called the doctor and told him we were going to keep her on the med. the way we did it before.

It's not worth the hassle. She did well before.

How frustrating!!! I know there are people out there with children that have to be on alot of medication, change it, do all kinds of therapy etc. and it must be nerve-racking.


We are done vikings. I'm not going to bother with this subject anymore. Next we will read about Christopher Columbus, do a map and move on to another explorer. I'm going to keep the writing to a very minimum for a while unless she seems to want to do more. It's not worth the frustration.


*On a happier note. Today is Ana's *5th* birthday!!! She is so excited. We got her a Barbie horse with blue hair and blue jewelry on it. ~smile~ Katie bought her a wand that makes a "sparkling" noise when you push a button. Ana must have close to 15 horses. She loves them. I made chocolate cupcakes with white icing. She can't wait to get the candles into them.

This picture is from Easter 2006. Eddie, the oldest and Ana the youngest.

2nd Day of School....more

As of this moment......terrible. :(
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I called Ed.
I decided that he will have to do reading and math with Katie if we are to survive this year. ;) I know it is only the 2nd day but I know her. It will be best for all of us. And we will be alot calmer and happier.
Ed on the other hand, didn't seem to thrilled. Well, she is his daughter too and if we are going to make the best of homeschooler her this will have to be. He doesn't have to sit with her the whole time. She will do the work as long as she knows he is here.

Since I don't have the KQ maps yet, I decided to use some of the booklets from http://www.homeschoolshare.com/ . They will work for now.

Tomorrow we will be working on the rest of the viking paper dolls, the maps and a few more booklets. Friday or Monday we will start Christopher Columbus. I'm not going to spend a long time on each explorer (from http://www.evan-moor.com Explorers History Pockets) 1. The girls get bored fast, 2. I can't wait to get to the colonial times. :)

An update on our tadpole. He's changing! The girls check on him every day. He is getting fat and shorter (as Katie says), and his legs are growing.

Becca is doing very well with her EMT classes. She loves working on the ambulance. When she first started she wasnt' to sure. I think she got a little nervous. But now she is studying hard to pass the finals. She still has some HAZMAT classes to take which I'm sure she will do a great job.

Off to do some laundry. I also have to get my Ana a birthday present. Her birthday is tomorrow and she is so excited. She's carrying around her cake plates and napkins along with the candle box. ~LOL~

Have a good night
~Margarete~

P.S. At soccer last night, Katie kicked the ball from the front of one goal net and made the goal on the other side of the field!!! She was so full of energy there was no stopping her. I think she could run for hours at a time.

1st Day of School

We started school today.
It went pretty well, until...............

I pulled out Katie's reading book; the 2nd reader of the Original Eclectic McGuffey Readers.

She wouldn't read, she gave me such a hard time, seriously. We had a major battle.

I guess we both won. I told her she was going to read even if she had to sit there forever. She finally said she wanted to read the bible. Yep. That's what she asked for. So she read two chapters of Matthew. She said she wants to always read it. That is now her reading book. And honestly, that makes me happy. The McGuffey reader is now on the shelf. Maybe Ana will read it some day.

Below is a picture of viking paper dolls Ana colored. ( http://www.ungafakta.se/ ; click the scissors on the left side) We read Leif the Lucky and looked for Greenland, Iceland, Newfoundland, and Norway on the globe. And we talked about "Vinland".

Tomorrow they will finish the paper dolls and put Leif on their timeline and the wall timeline.

We still haven't been able to order the Knowledge Quest maps. I'm going to try and order them Friday...that's when I get my shopping money. :)

Tom started some of his work today. I didn't realize how much he knows alot about the American Revolution and other things. Also, last night he was telling me about Patty Hearst. I didn't even know he ever heard her name.

All in all, today was a good day.

What This Blog Needs

I believe this blog needs tabs across the top for each child which would include: homeschool lists, work done, examples, etc. I would also need a tab for recipes. This way I could list gluten free/dairy free recipes. Wouldn't that be easier to manage and to search?

Volleyball ~ Moving ~ Bread

Early I changed Becca's PE class to "maybe the local gym" because we didn't get our money in on time for volleyball. Well, Becca walked down to the volleyball class, handed them a check, and they said she could be on the team. Yes!! How terrific is that!

Jon is moving out this weekend. ~sigh~ I don't really want him to. I know he has to move on but it is hard. I have a feeling the girls will be crying.

I made 6 loaves of gluten free/dairy free blueberry banana bread and 2 loaves gf/df regular banana bread. It has a wonderful taste and the loaves are perfectly formed. Ed thinks I should sell it. Even he likes it. ~smile~

Homeschool Lists and Our Day So Far

If you happen to read my childrens' homeschool lists for this school year (sidebar), don't be surprised if it is still changing. There are a few things I haven't gotten yet and I also change my mind, quite often. I've probably confused quite alot of people. ~sorry~

I was going to go with R&S math 7, because it is cheaper, but someone offered to let me borrow their Teaching Textbooks 7 and I like that better.

I love to let people borrow books, etc. But there have been times I haven't gotten things back which is frustrating. So, when I borrow I make sure I have the person's name written down to return it when I'm done.

That reminds me, I have dvd's to return today. ~smile~

Becca has started her schooling. She really likes the TT Algebra 2 and the Apologia Chemistry. Her EMT class should be done in October. She has learned alot and enjoys the ambulance runs. She hasn't been to a "major" accident yet. That should be interesting when she does. She will do a great job as she has been. She had told me that all the teaching of the human body since starting homeschooling has really helped her. We have done this every year. Now I will be doing this with Tom and the 2 girls. You never know what they will do/be later in life.

Katie informed me that she wants to be a vet so the human body course will help and I will start looking for animal lapbooks, books, etc. to do with her. I need to find good elementary biology for her and.....
Ana has a love for horses so learning all about the body and animals will help her also.

Not to sure about what Tom wants to do but this is a good start. Actually he loves history and Bible. Maybe he could be a missionary/pastor with a dr.'s degree. ~SMILE~

I took Katie and Ana to a new park today. We met some other homeschool families there. They attend the church we now attend. The church is so big that it is hard to know everyone. I'm so glad I met them. I need to met new people. We had a great time. Katie came home filthy! That's ok; the shower took care of that.

On another note; our tadpole now has two visible back legs. The kids are so thrilled to watch this turn into a frog...so am I. ;)

I didn't mention this but the goldfish we had died. Katie kept picking it up to pet it!! ~LOL~

I need to sign off. I really need to clean the bathroom. A job I would like to pass on to another...blah.

Have a Happy Day!
~Margarete~

NEED CHANGES

I really need to change this blog. Ed has a friend who does this for his business. We will be talking to him to see if he can help me make this blog more manageable. I have so much to share and so little room. ~smile~

School Today

Katie and Ana did 2 math pages today. Ana did a few letter recognition pages and Katie did a punctuation/capitalization page. They did well. I'm going to make some banana bread and then read 'Leif the Lucky' to them.

Tom is out with Jimmie again. They are still picking corn to take to the local stores to sell. They are coming back with some cucumbers to can and more corn to freeze.

Tomatoes, Shopping, School

Yesterday Jimmie gave us 2 extremely large containers of tomatoes for sauce. Ed and I cut them up last night and cooked them down in two large cooking pots. Since I have to do some things today, our neighbor Lisa, is going to finish the sauce for me. She even gave us the tomato paste. We will freeze this in freezer bags. It smells sooooo good in here. ~smile~

When I did my grocery shopping yesterday, I took Katie with me. We had a great time. She was so good and quiet. We had lunch together and enjoyed each others company. She is a great kid. Of course, she's mine. ~LOL~

After shopping we stopped at the libary and she played for a few minutes. I found some new dvd's for history. Ages 10-14 grades 5-8. New Dimension Media Getting Ahead U.S. History from 1620-1809: Birth of a New Nation; World Geography Canada, Mexico, Brazil, & Peru. They have more. We will see if the girls are interested in them. I'll let you know.
I also got the audiobook American Girl History Mysteries: Trouble at Fort La Pointe 1732. This is for the car. I guess we are now slowly easing into school time. I posted these on the bottom right sidebar. This way I have a list of what has been used from the libaries and others can use this list.

I bought a new printer. It is a Canon MP250. We didn't hook it up yet. I'm just going to use this one for black and white printing. The Epson printer that I have will be put to the side for photos.

Hope you all have a wonderful day. Enjoy the sunshine!
~Margarete~

Not a Good Day

It's starting to rain. Blah. I know we need the rain but it is making me feel ... blah. Katie wanted to go for a bike ride but I really don't feel like getting wet.

I have been trying to print booklets and other items off the web and my printer is out of ink, again. The majority of the printing is done with black and white on economy, gray scale. So, where is all the color going?? This boggles my mind. I changed the yellow not even 2 weeks ago and it says it's empty, the magentas are almost empty. It doesn't make sense. I wonder if the printer is reading something wrong.

Time to switch. I do have 2 other printers here. An HP psc 950, given to us by my mother-in-law. I'm hoping it is compatible with this computer. The other is another HP. When Ed gets home he's going to take a look at this.

This is so frustrating. I have to get done for school. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you feel led to pray, pray for Katie. Pray that she will be very interested in the "curriculum" I have planned for her. Pray that she will sit still (meaning she won't wander to another room), and enjoy the books that will be read this year. I will be reading most of them to her and Ana. This way they can sit and color or play at the same time and afterwards do our crafting.

I have to make some apple pies. The only problem is that the large freezer is packed. No more room. That is awesome! I guess we'll just have to eat them tonight. :)

~Margarete~

8/10/10

Today we boiled and bagged almost 300 ears of corn. (Yesterday I baked about 30 loaves of 3 different kinds of zucchini bread).

Our friend Jimmie stayed and helped me along with Tom and Becca. I scrubbed and boiled, they cut and bagged. Tomorrow he will be bringing more.

I can't wait for the apples he said we can have in a few weeks. I'm going to bag up alot of applesauce, apple pie filling, and I would like to try and can some apple rings. We, as in the kids and I, will can apple butter.

Ed and I just started to can. It's not as hard as I thought.

At this moment I have to get the canning supplies ready for the cucumbers , get dinner ready, and soon take Katie to soccer.

Have a fun day!
~Margarete~

Another post for the day

I have been making zucchini bread this morning/afternoon. I've made 9 loaves of choc. chip zucchini bread and have 9 more loaves of blueberry zucchini bread to go into the oven. I still have zucchini left so I think I will make raisin almond zucchini bread. All this will be frozen. I really want to make regular bread but I think we need to rearrange the freezers (and get another). ~smile~

While I was getting the breads ready, Katie and Ana made salads. They learned how to do this yesterday. They do a great job and know how to use the knife correctly. The salads included: lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, peppers, celery, and if you wanted to, you could add some sunflower seed mix on top. Yum!

Have an exciting day!
~Margarete~

Notebooking Page Example

Here is another idea for a notebooking page.

Copy a coloring book page at normal size. This example is from a Williamsburg coloring book. Use an exacto knife to cut around the picture. You could do the whole picture or a little square in the corner or a square in the middle. What ever you prefer. Be sure to leave a good edge around every side.

Put a colored lined notebook page behind the coloring page and glue around the outside. Add any pictures (or not), on the notebook page. Write about the picture.

Another post for the day

Our friend gave us corn so I just finished bagging it. It was about 60 ears.

I'm in trouble. A good trouble, that is. My large freezer and the two freezers over the refrigerators are packed. I told Ed he's going to have to find another one. I still have more bread to make and I wanted to make cookie doughs. I also wanted to start going to the grocery store "early" in the mornings to find marked down meat, especially stew beef.

I have to go, the girls are getting ready for bed....thank goodness. Ed and I are supposed to go out for some dessert tonight. ~smile~

~Margarete~

Today

If you could see Katie right now you would see her sitting in front of the goldfish and tadpole tank getting ready to play, you guessed it, 'Go Fish'!. I'm probably going to give her a math page to do. Hey, if she's sitting still, I might as well get some school work done. ~smile~

I guess I'll tell you, It's my birthday. No, not 50 yet! I wonder if anyone around here will remember. Ed didn't call yet, the 2 little ones don't know, and everyone else is sleeping. HI MOM AND DAD...I know you remember. ~smile~

Love Ya.
~Margarete~

2 new additions to the family

Today we added two new additions to the family....no not children...a goldfish and a tadpole. :) Katie has been asking for a fish so we got her one for her birthday. The tadpole is a gift for me for my bd. ;) Ana was singing to the tadpole earlier. I put the aquarium in the middle of their school table. It should get them sitting there more joyfully.

We went to a church picnic today but unfortunately it rained. Everyone left except us, another couple, and a woman. We talked while the kids played in the rain. They had a blast and we came home with alot of food.

Tom and I had gone for a bike ride earlier. I keep asking Ed to look at this bike. I feel like it is dragging. It seems like I'm peddling for ever. I think the gears are not working correctly. I guess that's ok for $8.00. It gets me exercising and some quite time.

I cannot wait for school to start. I'm almost done getting my copying done. We still need to order some curriculum. I'm waiting....

Ed's aunt had given me some money for my bd so I went right out to get some more clothes. I got 1 pair of pants and 1 pair of capris at WM, a pair of capris and shirt at Fashion Bug, a shirt and jacket at the thrift store, and a few math activity books and phonics book at the thrift store.
Not to bad.

OH! I wanted to say, soccer is good for Katie. I think I had mentioned that we signed her up. Well, after soccer the other night, she actually fell asleep on the living room floor!! There wasn't any arguing or any thing of the sort. She was out like a light. Nice!

Have a good night everyone.
~Margarete~