The Sinister Scribe

I can’t do it. I’m going off wheat again today. I can’t keep this up until the 19th. I’m tired of feeling like crap…. fatigued, itchy, headachy and my stomach constantly hurts and is bloated. I can’t get up in the morning to run and I’m too tired by the evening to run then.

What’s up with the stomach thing? Don’t remember that happening before.

Which brings me to the 19th… a visit with an allergist. Should I really even go? If this isn’t an allergy, why go to an allergist? If staying away from wheat/gluten solves the problem, what’s the point of going?

Yes, I’m a wimp and really don’t like to go to the doctor.

This week started off and ended rather relaxed. With Monday’s rain our outdoor activities were canceled so we just relaxed during those times and moved to the next subject as originally scheduled. Even during the rest of the week, if he finished a subject ahead of schedule, he had that as free time until the next subject. (a CM suggestion I read about this week :)) I like doing that better than giving more electronics time. Friday we took the day off and went swimming with friends. Even on an off day though we still do reading and art so a few hours do get logged.

Math… there were ups and downs this week. Tuesday he didn’t meet the 15 minute on task minimum so I had him do another 5 minutes. At the end of that 5 he was in a rather sour mood because he’d lost a “level.” Wednesday was far better. Out of the usual 20 minutes he had 17 minutes on task. Woot! So now BOTH of us know he can do it. The rest of the week was along those lines.

Astronomy… went really well (I know it’s only the second week) but it just felt like it was gelling with him. It may have more to do with the subject than anything. And I think I’m getting the hang of combining subjects… for example, one art assignment this week, we discussed what he knew about Mercury and Venus and how they look. Then I had him get out the water color pencils and draw them. He said he wasn’t happy with it which is fine… but it reminded me that I want to get back to using “Drawing with Children” at some point for more involved art time.

History… The fixation with Alexander the Great continues. I took some ideas from SimplyCharlotteMason.com and had him write interview questions for “Ol’ Al” and write a review for a book he read on him (to be posted at Amazon.com). Next week we’re going to refine the review and have him think about what Ol’ Al might say during the interview. There was also an art assignment to draw a portrait of Alexander the Great. He drew the sword point on and enlarged it because it was coming toward you. Cool, huh?

Vocabulary… also went well. I’m going to try having him create a card set at flashcardfriends.com for just the roots and their origin. Or just have him write the root on the opposite side and use the cards themselves.

Music and Art Appreciation… listened to Wicked Celts (Prophecy and Blessing) all week and I’ve tried to find more along that line but didn’t turn up much until yesterday when I stumbled across footstompin.com’s (AyePodcast). It is a mixture of contemporary and traditional but isn’t tavern song oriented as much as some I’ve found. Gotta keep it “G” afterall. Didn’t get to the actual art appreciation time this week as we took Friday off. So the celtic poetry books we checked out will be used next week. I really can’t wait to read from them. I may use some of those poems for copywork. We haven’t really done that yet but I think his handwriting could use the practice. Hey, I like neat handwriting. *shrug*

Literature/Dictation… reading Beowulf. Jessie sat in on the reading and drew a picture of Grendel for us. I was just happy she was in the room quietly. When she brought the drawing to me (while I was reading :\ ) I was thrilled! Sam did really well on the dictation. I hope to make this a once a week lesson, reading 5-6 chapters each time so that we’re done by the time we finish with our Viking segment.

Writing… We’re doing quite a lot of writing for different things so I haven’t broken it out as a subject. One of the things we’re doing is a Literature unit by Highlights of Homeschooling on Prince Caspian. It has lots of suggestions for activities and worksheets to do. Since this is not a core assignment, I picked one project that wasn’t your average comprehension exersize… Making a Newspaper from Narnia. This week he wrote the editorial and without prompting flipped the question “what do you think about kids who believe in talking animals” to “what do you think about kids who DON’T believe in talking animals?”… because if you live in Narnia, OF COURSE you believe in them. Clever, no?

Latin… still working on chapter one. Spacing things out with the worksheets, words to remember review and activities. So far so good.

Japanese… I’m getting the feeling that his interest waning. I’m kinda sad (shhhh! I was secretly enjoying it too) He says he likes to practice writing hiragana but that’s all. Since this is elective I may just let him do that and see if a break will rekindle his interest. We did run into a young woman who gives Japanese language tutoring. (at Karate class) I put my name on her list. We’ll see if she calls us back and if Sam is interested at that point.

Community Service… Sam has been dying to volunteer with the Humane Society. We finally made it to an orientation last week. Now we just gotta pick a date and show up!

Life Skills… Sewing. Sam’s backpack is now cut out. I had him use the rotary cutter after measuring the fabric. While I was helping him with cutting, I realized just how careful I need to be in wording my instructions. I said “Cut to the end.” I meant “Cut to the end of the ruler.” He cut to the end of the fabric. Not a problem but it was kind of an eye opener for me.

Phys Ed… TKD, swimming, karate. Didn’t get the daily program going this week and didn’t get to the pres fitness assessment this weekend. That link has some great resources for basic abilities and ways to improve them. I hope that seeing how much he can improve over a month’s time will be a great confidence booster.

Pennywhistle… don’t know that I’m doing this right but we’re just practicing scales and a song or two. And I’m trying to get him to look at the music and not my fingers.

Things we didn’t get to: Nature Study, Shakespeare, Librivox, Pres. Phys Fitness test & program.

A good week. I’m feeling more confident now. Wasn’t feeling that way at all when we started this year. I think tying subjects together is helping. I feel like there’s more reinforcement of information AND I’m not rushed to come up with something different for everything. So maybe (just maybe) things are gelling for me too.

Wow! This week went fast. to keep track of the resources we’re using, I’ve started this page. I’ll add to it as we go. I’ll link the names as I get time. (or not if I don’t)

This year history is Medieval and Early Renaissance. This week was Ancient Persia. Rather than narrate only from the “spine” book, I waited until he had read the additional resources we got from the library and then we talked about what he “knew” and had him type that up. He still tries to get goofy with his writing (like calling Alexander the Great “Ol’ Al”). I allow it, but I’m not so sure I should. Where to draw “the line?”

We didn’t get to the timeline as I had hoped. Makes me wonder if a “century book” concept would work better for us or maybe a “digital” timeline that we work on…? Hmmm… Googling doesn’t pull up much. We did get to some globe and mapwork today though… With teatime of all things.

Art & Music appreciation I’ve tied to History, so this week we studied this statue and listened to this music. (Pssst! Get the music through iTunes, it is cheaper ;)) I didn’t get a chance to get the images of persian art and culture up on our bulletin wall this week. I am hoping that if the artwork is up all week it will maybe spark stronger recall and conversations.

Science: Astronomy… wow! We’ve hit a strong interest here. That’s good but it also leads to wild and imaginative ramblings with Sam. LOL! That’s not all bad but not all good either. I asked him to “type up what he knew on this weeks Astronomy topics and I got an imaginative rambling on “the space/time continuum.” I posted it on our wall but then with much questioning, tugged out of him something more on topic.

We’ll spend three weeks on books and information gathering and then a week on experiments. Found a great book for this: “Make-it-Work! Earth” by Baker/Haslam. A late nite (or three) of star gazing will also be in order.

Latin is Minimus Segundus this year. This week we went through chapter 1 and I’m going to (somehow) spread it over the next two weeks as well. Verb ending were introduced again so I think I’ll have him doing the worksheets in the TM, practicing the “words to remember”, conjugating additional verbs, reading more about the Greek myths mentioned, etc.

I did manage to get a copy of Winnie Ile Pu through BookMooch. Huzzah! Though I don’t imagine we’ll be really reading it this year. Next I need to acquire “Catus Petastus.”

Japanese is rather scaled down this year. We’re focusing on learning to write and identify Hiragana and then each week introducing 6 phrases. To get things started off easy, I had him pick the phrases this week. Each day he practiced writing the first ten characters. What I didn’t get to today was testing on them. Will need to do that on Monday. Basically, we won’t move on to the next set until this set is mastered.

We’re using MathScore.com for math this month. Next month too if we can afford it. Otherwise we’ll do it every other month. Mid week he was rather frustrated with his lack of progress. He was doing fine really but thought he should be doing better. (can’t imagine where that tendency came from {whistles innocently}) But today he did really good.

One of the many things I really like about using this online subscription service is that it tell me how much time he spent actually doing the problems. Idle time isn’t counted. Many days this week, after spending 30 minutes at it, he only had 12 or less minutes of actually doing problems. Surely a 10yo can focus longer than that! Well today I told him that if he could spend 14 of 15 minutes actually working, he wouldn’t have to do any more. It worked.

Rather than a formal grammar program this year, we’re studying word roots using Vocabulary Vine. We did the first 3 this week. I can’t wait to get enough completed so that we can try some of the suggested games. Like “Neologism!”

Today in the car on the way to swimming I quizzed him on the roots. He could remember two of the three so I am wondering if rather than filing them in his box right away, maybe we could post them on the wall. ‘Course this wall is getting rather crowded so maybe that’s not such a good idea. Maybe if we review last weeks roots on Monday and the current weeks roots on Friday (Tues through Thurs introducing the new ones) that will be enough. I’ll let you know next week how that works.

Nature Journaling… we started journals last year and I intended to pick them up again this week but we didn’t quite get to it. However, we did experience quite a lot of nature this week so maybe that’s okay.

We have a pupa collection going and one of them ecclosed (came out of his cocoon) yesterday. (pictured here” It was a Virginia Creeper Sphinx moth. Gorgeous! Sam said over and over “Mom, this is so COOL!” LOL! We still have a luna cocoon, an Isabella (wollybear caterpillar) and an unknown cocoon to go. Oh, and an Elm Sphinx caterpillar. I put a stop to things when we found a tomato hornworm. Those dudes are gonna have to go. Don’t mess with mama’s tomatoes!

For music practice, we’ve picked up the Pennywhistle again. The break seems to have done some good for the enthusiasm. I was pleasantly surprised how much the songs he can play from memory. The music reading was a bit rusty but I hope that will improve with time.

Exercise has been either taekwondo, swimming or running. Next week he’s going to give karate a try. At some point soon I need to sit down with my DH and come up with a basic fitness ability plan. Sam has trouble jumping rope, and doing basic tumbling. He doesn’t see the benefit of really working on it himself so I think I’m going to encourage it by making it part of our learning day. (and save money for the activities I can’t lead )

Where’s Jessie in all of this? Well, most of the week I staggered their quiet times. For example, while Sam was reading… Jess and I were out on a nature walk or painting for example. Then switched and while Jessie played kinda quietly in her room, Sam and I focused on subjects he needs more help on. It worked well but had me feeling rather completely frazzled by the end of the day. She also helped me mix up some freezer cookies. Where I can, I include her with what Sam is working on. Things like tea time work well too. IF she’s interested. Today she wasn’t. I feel the need to work more with her… getting her used to a schedule but I’m not yet sure how beyond going with what she’s interested in at the moment.

Things we didn’t get to this week: dictation & literature reading, Shakespeare, memory work, life skills (sewing), and LibriVox volunteering.

Saturday I think we’ll try to get the sewing project started… a simple drawstring backpack for our nature walk gear. I’m thinking we’ll do some nature printing on it at a later date.

Speaking of Saturday, I think I’ll go to bed before it gets here. I’ve promised to make some “good bread” tomorrow (wheat). In the name of science, I’m eating wheat again. That way, when I see the allergist next month, I can show as well as tell.

Write about fireworks. Describe them in vivid color and sound words. Make me see and hear them. Help me taste the air they explode in. Remember to describe the setting around them (do they reflect over water? are they on your front drive? are these the big kind over an amusement park?). — from BraveWriter Blog

i was at my friend’s parent’s friend’s house, which was in the suburbs, you could still hear the cars driving past us on the crowded freeway from where they were. when we were first parking on the side, we saw my friend throwing firecrackers that belched colored smoke depending on the firecracker that was lit, and if you lit all of the ones of the same pack, they tuned the smoke a nasty color of green. it was the best 4th of July yet, with all the fireworks that my friend’s family owned! they had sparklers that lit up the back of your corneas…..

We survived our first day back to school. Ok, I should say I survived it. I was even quite bouncy considering I went to bed at 1:30 AM this morning. LOL!

Today I tried staggering the kids quiet times. While Sam read about the universe, Jessie and I painted and then read some books. While Jessie played quietly in her room, I worked with Sam on Astronomy and Japanese. The upside is that each kid gets a dedicated hour there. The downside is that mommy doesn’t get a break. From time to time, I’ll make it at the same time but today I enjoyed spending that one-on-one time with them.

This picture shows the beginnings of our “bulletin board.” Sam wanted to have the day’s agenda posted. I wanted to post samples of the kids work, pics of art/composers/artists that we’re currently working on.

I’ll make another post (or perhaps page) of what we ended up using (or starting with) this year. The only things I haven’t really firmed up is Drawing and Nature Study. I know what I want to do, just haven’t wrapped my brain completely around the HOW. So perhaps once everything else is running smoothly we’ll get going with those. For now, we’ll just keep those areas loose.

I did get my (used) copy of “Handbook of Nature Study” today. Woot! I’ve wanted that book for so long! I know you can get it for free online but I didn’t want to print it out (in non waterproof inks) or read it online. I tried it for a while but I guess I’m just old fashioned in that I like to hold the book in my hands.

I’m off to find a frog craft for Jessie tomorrow. Then bed. Got an early date with the treadmill in the morning. Didn’t get a run in today.

supposed to be “a charm” right?

Well, on the first working day of the new school year for us, I am nervous and not as prepared as I’d hoped I would be. And maybe that is the reason. *shrug*

I’m going to post the days assignments/activities/chores on the wall in the toy room. (that’s where the computer is) and we’ll go over it each morning for a while. Eventually I will also put up pictures and information on our artist and composer of the week (which will correspond to history studies).

Sam got himself up this morning. So that is good. Gotta go get Jess up now.

We did it! The three of us ran our first races. More pictures start here.

Jessie had a bit of trouble at the start, but she finished in the end. Sam finished with a smile. I started out too fast (as Bob said would happen) and I even slowed down. When I got to the first mile mark and the lady called out nine-oh-five I thought “Uh-oh!” The end of this is going to be ugly. It was uphill too. I kept telling myself “I’m not gonna walk, I’m not gonna walk.” I didn’t but it mighta been faster if I did. LOL! Anyhoo. As the pictures can attest, I finished with a smile. How could I not with such a great support crew. Can’t wait to do this again!

It was hot but we had fun! I want to get the kids medals framed with this picture or something like that and hang it somewhere so they can see how proud I am of them.

Tomorrow morning, bright and (kinda) early, I run my first 5K; Sam runs the 1 mile fun run and Jessie is doing the 150 yard tot trot. Squeeee!

We’ve all got our clothes set out. Waffle mix is all ready to go. My victory dance is keeping cool in the fridge (a Guiness… for afterwards ).

I am more excited that I really want to admit. Can ya tell?

After this, I promise to get back to posting more.

A snipped of conversation with my 4yo whilst she bathed:

J: Mom, do you know what it means to be grown up?

M: ummm, no… what does it mean?

J: It means that you can go places by yourself. Just you… mom and dad… and no brother.

LOL! Perhaps some J time with mom and dad is in order.

As of Thursday last week, Bob and I have been married (very happily) for 16 years. Squeeeeeeeeee! Bob wrote the most wonderful post about our celebration, which was on Saturday. Is he the greatest or what!?! Thank you honey! I can’t wait until our next run!

After our run, we stumbled upon an Asian bistro for lunch. A better time could not be had… running outside with my best friend and true love and………. SUUUUUUUUSHIIIIIIIIII!

Love you honey! Safe trip! We miss you!