The Sinister Scribe

Sigh. Just as I get back to running again. I get a cold and I haven’t run in 3 days. Meh. I think I’m better now but still not great. Hopefully I can sleep tonight. Last night I don’t think I slept at all. But thanks to my WDH braving the early morning weather to get some meds and wrangling the kids all day, I was able to make up for it.

It has been hard to focus too so I’m not getting far with lesson planning. Lots of wonderful ideas running around my brain but I need to get it on paper  (or at least in the computer) so that when life hits it is already laid out for me. Next week was supposed to be an off week but we still need to do some wrap up and I need to PLAN!

I have been sick so haven’t had time to blog this or other things I’ve wanted to get up here.

Wednesday last week we completed more of the art and music appreciation program from Barb at Harmony Fine Arts. We studied the focus artwork on the computer after all. All three of us sat and talked about all the colors we could see. Jessie even sat in for most of it. We also talked about the dimension and expression Giotto used in comparison to other works of the time. Actually Sam brought that up. I didn’t hide the painting while we talked though. I was worried about loosing Jessie’s interest if I did.

For drawing we cracked open Mark Kistler’s Draw Squad. We’ve done the first lessons before but lost interest so we ended up going a bit further than I intended. Which is fine. Sam said he really enjoyed getting back into this book. Jessie participated quite well too. Her drawings were quite cute. Need to get pictures up! We’ve been practicing the shapes too and I’ve noticed them in Sam’s free time drawings as well. I love it when I can see what we cover influence their daily lives. Especially when it happens so quickly!

We still can’t print so there ’s a few activities we haven’t done for week 1 but I may just move on and come back to those after next week. Again the plan,s flexibility is soooooo wonderful!

Oh! We did spend one afternoon ( I was starting to feel sick) on the couch listening to some podcasts about Vivaldi. Spent quite a lot of time actually … all three of us. Woot!

I wish I knew exactly why, but Jessie is suddenly participating in activities at an unprecedented level. I hope it continues! She came to me one evening last week and wanted to learn how to read… right then! Woot! We had a “lesson” of sorts and she memorized one of the “Bob Books” already so she’s convinced she can read now and won’t need any further lessons until the spring.

OKay… on to other things before I completely crash.

Fell off the running wagon a bit (THAT time of the month seems to have that effect) but I’m trying to hop back on again. Thanks to a very supportive DH I was able to hit the treadmill last night and run 2.5 bringing me up to 9.5 for the month. Hmmm… not going to make my goal of 15/week. Least not this month.

I took it pretty easy and really just enjoyed the feeling of a comfortable run. Is that bad? Liking to run completely within your limits. Enjoying the fact that everything just feels… good.

Update… ran another 2.5 tonight. 12 miles total. Woot!

This is something I’ve been meaning to blog about! But first I had to make sure it was okie-dokie to do so.

Barb over at Harmony Fine Arts has chosen us to test drive her completely revamped art and music appreciation program for the Medieval and Renaissance time period. How cool is that?!? Okay, so maybe “chosen” isn’t the right word. I did volunteer. But she said yes. Woot! If you don’t know about Barb and her amazing website, please go there now!

First glance: well organized; everything is laid out by week. Detailed: suggested reading, listening and drawing activities are all right there and linked. Images for study are in the PDF too. Options: she gives you 3… each laid out with the same detail and organization.

I emailed with Barb… that’s yet another thing I love about this … Barb is very reachable by email! Anyway, the pictures she lists are examples to pare down the overwhelming amount of viewable art out there. So besides having 3 well organized, detailed options laid out for you, you also have the option of using them as suggestions to customize it. Yeah, I’m kinda excited about this.

Yesterday was our first session. I’d planned on doing the art section with Mark Kistler’s draw squad but things worked out differently and we ended up listening to  the Vivaldi part of the “Story of Vivaldi and Corelli” CD while the kids were having a snack. (yes, I’m stuffing their ears while they stuff their face. *giggle*) When it got to the tracks for “Autumn” and “Winter” we were all dancing around the kitchen trying to move like falling leaves, snowflakes, pretending to make snow angels on the floor (that was Sam), and doing things like patting out the beat in imitation of “Little Einsteins” that Jessie likes to listen to so much.

I’ve set up a table (cleared off more like) to set out things for art and music appreciation. Here you can see the table with the Vivaldi CD a print from Giotto, a book about him and one of the Met’s S.I.A. volumes. I’ll leave these out while we study Vivaldi and Giotto. I will also display our art projects as we do them. Maybe even have the art and music binder kept here.

I’d planned on printing out pictures of the focus artwork, artist picture and composer picture but we are on a printer ink diet this month so that isn’t happening. But I remembered something I picked up last year at one of the library book sales: “Seminars in Art” from the Met. (A large format, 17 volume set for $17 no less!) It didn’t have the artwork needed for this week, but it did have a couple of things from Giotto. It will have to do. One is a detail from the same artwork shown on the book cover. Of course there is the option of viewing the suggested image on the computer (which we will do). But I really wanted something not on the computer too.

One project I might add to the first 4 weeks list is a small fresco using a sketch we’ll be creating in the following weeks. Might be an interesting experience to try and convert a sketch to a fresco like Giotto may have done.

Wednesday we’ll probably read about Giotto (although Sam had it read as soon as it came in the house). And do the suggested drawing activities. As well as closing up the second quarter’s projects, tests and adding to our year book.

Whew! Lots to do. I’d better get going

As of this Saturday, Jessie is 5 years old. She is as surprising now as she was then.

Happy Birthday, big girl! I love you!

And today is my mom’s birthday. Happy Birthday MOM!!! I love you too.

Look quick! It is a non homeschooling or running related post!!!
Maki over at JustBento has started a bento challenge. Week one details are here.

I’m going for just basic because there are so many things going on right now. But I REALLY wanted to do this. I love bento style lunches. And getting in the habit of doing this would make summer lunches so much easier when we are more on the go. Right now my bento goes from the kitchen to the table. So it doesn’t need to be as travel worthy right now.

Specifics:

• carrot rice with grape tomatoes
• garbanzo beans with a little soy sauce
• edamame
• bananna chunk
• Spinach with sesame sauce

One batch of carrot rice left me with 3 servings using the bottom bento teir as a mould when freezing. The garbanzo beans were already cooked, just had to thaw. (we eat a lot of hummus so I usually have some in the freezer). Edamame was left over from the weekend. The spinach was frozen and I used the tahini “cheat” because I was too busy to pay attention to the toasting sesame seeds. One bath left me with 3 additional servings that I froze in the cupcake containers. I rarely use these to make cupcakes!

I am sure it is not particularly balanced. Didn’t have any meat on hand so it is unintentionally vegetarian. Today’s will have some meatballs from last night. Sucessfully made my meatball recipe with oat flour instead of bread crumbs. Woot!

Must dash. Jessie is awake and hungry!

Today was good though I’m feeling truely awful and cranky. I was however finally able to do some things with Jessie I’ve been meaning to for some time. So not a total disaster… just a cranky mommy.

With Jessie, I started some activities centered around the book “The Pokey Little Puppy.” I found them at Homeschool Share.

Jessie agreed to color the cover coloring page and looked at a US map with me. (that is the hardest part most of the time… getting her to AGREE to it) We colored MO and outlined the places she’d been or where family lived. That was our “wide, wide world” discussion. Sam read the book aloud to us. He did such a great job using lots of inflection in his voice. Jessie laughted (genuinely) often which I think spurred him on. It was a rare peaceful moment between them. Then we made rice pudding.

I don’t ever remember liking rice pudding but what we made today was delish! I didn’t quite follow the recipe (more raisins and cinnamon) and cooked it A LOT longer than called for. The results made my tummy very happy and also made me feel very, very tired. (’course I was very tired… and cranky already).

Jessie and I also colored a life sized paper doll made by tracing her outline on some packing paper. The clothing colored just like what she was wearing. She wouldn’t let me tape it on a wall though. Sigh.

For Sam there was lots of reviewing today. I had him do another assessment at MathScore.com. Where he did better on the fractions he did poorly on the long multiplication and division. BUT he had several “ah-hah” moments on percentages which we haven’t even covered. Sigh. So according to the assessment, he’s at a 4th grade level because of “uneven performance.” I’m trying hard not to think about it but I’m not getting very far. I think we’ll do another assessment next week in hopes that this week’s review will help but in the future I should have him do a few multiplication/division problems at least once a week. He can do them but for some reason he just makes a lot of little mistakes.

He did so well on Japanese Hiragana today that I’m not sure I should even “test” him. He knows the first 16 Katakana. No prob. Hmmm… maybe I’ll have him see if he can recognize them in his Japanese comic book.

History review was good… I think. He didn’t answer the questions the way I would but then that doesn’t make it wrong. He also stated his opinion on one case and did so very appropriately. By that I mean he didn’t wander off in a completely unrelated tangent.

For Science he found pictures for all but one of the Astronomers we’ve studied. Need to print them out and glue them to the timeline cards. Then review planets and such. I may do a reverse review… have him write the questions for me to read and answer.

So review continues tomorrow and maybe next week. I’ll still be planning next quarter and fixing the last 2 months.

OKay I am offically and completely wiped out. Off to bed with me.

Got this from Barb (of HarmonyArtMom fame) over at her Handbook of Nature Study Blog. Asterisks also mark what I’ve done. I’ve also added a few at the end…

1. Make maple syrup
2. Stand under a redwood/sequoia. *
3. Ski down a mountain. *
4. See a saguaro cactus. *
5. See an alligator in the wild.
6. Find a shell on a beach. *
7. Skip a rock on a lake. *
8. See a sunrise. *
9. Pick an apple from a tree. *
10. Grow a sunflower. *
11. Sleep under the stars in a sleeping bag.*
12. Find the Big Dipper.*
13. Climb a sand dune. *
14. Walk in the rain with or without an umbrella. *
15. Find a fossil.*
16. Take a photo of the Grand Canyon.
17. Go to the lowest point of North America-Badwater, CA
18. See a raptor fly.*
19. Be able to identify ten birds.*
20. See a mushroom. *
21. Visit a tide pool. *
22. Visit a volcano.
23. Feel an earthquake. *
24. See a tornado. *
25. Experience a hurricane.
26. Catch snow on your tongue. *
27. See a deer in the wild. *
28. Touch a dolphin. *
29. Go ice skating on a pond.
30. Go fishing. *
31. Go snorkeling.
32. Whittle a stick. *
33. Gather chicken eggs. *
34. Milk a cow or a goat.*
35. Ride a horse. *
36. See a moose. *
37. Gather acorns.*
38. Pick berries and eat some.*
39. Watch a lightning storm. *
40. Build a campfire.*
41 Press a flower.*
42. Use binoculars to spot a bird. *
43. Identify five wildflowers. *
44. Take a photo of Half Dome.
45. Find a piece of obsidian. *
46. See a tumbleweed. *
47. See a wild snake.*
48. Watch a spider spin a web. *
49. Climb a tree. *
50. Get lost on a hike. *
51. Watch ants in a colony. *
52. Hatch a butterfly. *
53. Climb a rock. *
54. See the Continental Divide.
55. See the Northern Lights.
56. See a bear in the wild. *
57. Dig for worms. *
58. Grow a vegetable and then eat it. *
59. See a bat flying. *
60. Feel a sea star. *
61. Swim in the ocean.*
62. See a geyser erupt.*
63. Walk in the fog. *
64. Observe a bee.*
65. Find a bird’s nest. *
66. See a beaver’s den.*
67. Go whale watching. *
68. See a banana slug. *
69. Stand on the edge of a cliff.*
70. Blow a dandelion. *
71. Throw a snowball and build a snowman.*
72. Cook an egg on the sidewalk…can you actually do that?
73. See a lightning bug. Or do you call it a firefly?*
74. Visit a cave. *
75. Make a sandcastle. *
76. Hear a cricket. *
77. Catch a frog. *
78. Watch for the first star in the evening.*
79. Smell a skunk. *
80. Feel pine sap. *
81. Feed a duck. *
82. Learn to use a compass or GPS.*
83. See a buffalo. *
84. Get wet in a waterfall. *
85. Swim in a lake. *
86. Walk on a log. *
87. Feel moss.*
88. Jump in a pile of leaves. *
89. Fly a kite. *
90. Walk barefoot in the mud. *
91. Hear a sea lion bark. *
92. Hear a coyote. *
93. Pan for gold. *
94. Crack open a nut. *
95. Go snowshoeing.
96. Feel a cattail. *
97. Smell a pine forest. *
98. Sit under a palm tree.*
99. Walk across a stream on rocks.*

and I’ll add:

work at a national park*
go whitewater rafting*
get stuck in the middle of a buffalo herd… on foot* (no, I don’t recommend this one)
watch a geyser erupt under a full moon*

Hmmm… I’ll have to see if I can find some of our old Yellowstone pictures. But not now. It is bedtime… again.

…Beware: rambling post…

Like the pic? We went ice skating with friends on Friday. It was soooo packed. Lots of fun though!

Did a little computer house-cleaning (deleting) yesterday… discovered today that there were at least a couple files I REALLY needed in all that. Yes, I emptied the trash can. Specifically, a bruise juice spreadsheet and a Homeschool Tracker backup. The spreadsheet I can redo without too much effort. The HST backup hurt. 6 weeks of info… poof! Sigh.

Yes, I emptied the trash. Yes, I tried to recover. Oh, well. Moving on.

Homeschooling-wise we’re reviewing this week. I’d planned on next week but since we’ve been out longer than planned on vacations it just seemed like the prefect time to review. I had Sam start going through his completed math worksheets and pick out sample problems to do. Maybe I’m being lazy but it seemed like a great way to review… have HIM write the worksheet. For history I got an idea from Bravewriter’s Jungle and will try that tomorrow. We listened to all 3 previously heard Shakespeare plays again. He keeps saying how much he likes listening to them. I’m kinda puzzled… in a good way. I asked him which was his favorite; he said the Tempest. Not sure I understand why just yet but I’ll keep asking. I think it had something to do with Prospero’s control of everything in the story. Gak! he’s gonna be a control freak just like his momma.

During the vacation time I had planned on going over the second quarter’s work, compiling review items, and preparing for the 3rd quarter. Well, so such luck. So, while we’re reviewing this week, I plan on taking am going to take an hour out of the day to work on all that (and recreate the lost information). Today I had the kids pick out a couple National Geographic DVDs to watch. It went pretty well. Cross your fingers it will continue.

Ran a couple miles on the treadmill tonight so I’m up to 7 for the year. Woot! Felt rather icky and my face burned a lot (I had some wheat-thickened gravy on Friday and inarizushi with MSG yesterday). So yummy at the time but so bleh now.

Speaking of that, I’m still avoiding wheat as much as possible. Over the holidays my sis was so good to me and cooked all kinds of wheat free goodies. Squeee!!! So that went easier than expected. I’ve also tweaked some recipes enough so that I feel comfortable posting them. Will get them up as soon as I can. Still loving Garbanzo bean flour! And rice flour cheese sauce over rice noodles rocks. So sayest the soon-to-be five year old. Oy!

Hmmm… I think that was all for today. The cat is paddy-pawing my leg (wish she’d to it on my back and shoulders a bit) and I need to get in bed.