Weekly Wrap-Up Link Up

In Our Homeschool this Week... In addition to the kids' regular checklist of activities ( see A Day in the Life post) we worked on "Last Days of Summer Outdoor Challenge 2012" ( thanks Barb at A Handbook of Nature Study blog), finished our summer photo books, and started working on our science fair projects ( a homeschool mom friend is hosting a small science fair), and we went to see the movie "The Odd Life of Timothy Green" (during school hours :o)).



My Favorite Thing this Week... The kids have been adamant about checking off every box in "The Last Days of Summer Outdoor Challenge", so last night we ate dinner outside, listened to crickets, played flashlight tag, made shadow puppets with flashlights, watched the stars, saw a bat, told ghost stories, and roasted marshmallows.  It was lovely.


We're Reading... Chris is finishing the last book in The Nicholas Flamel series, Katie is reading Warriors series #5, Chelsea has read The Boxcar Children series #1,2, and is working on #3.  Chris is reading Gregor the Overlander #2 to the girls.  I'm still reading The One Year Adventure Novel,  and I need to start reading Treasure Island to the kids (this is their homeschool book club book for this month.)


I'm Cooking... Ted is still grilling, but I'll be taking over cooking again soon.  I did make popovers twice this week though.



Places we're Going and People We're Seeing... The kids started their watercolor class this week and Katie and Chelsea are starting ballet Friday. 



Things I'm Working on... trimming trees and getting ready for fall.  What are you doing to get ready for fall ?





                                                       

"Who Home Schools?" My Interview

Today I am over at Savannah McQueen's blog Hammock Tracks.  
I was surprised and happy to learn that she wanted to feature me in her weekly column, "Who Home Schools?""  

To read my interview click here: My Interview 

Weekly Wrap-Up Link Up

In Our Homeschool this Week:  We only had school three days this week.  We are slowly getting back into our routine.  My favorite school activity this week was making summer "books."  Every year I print out our summer pictures and the kids each make their own scrapbook.  It's always fun and it's nice to remind hubby on those cold winter days how beautiful Maine is in the summer (I think Maine is perfect in all seasons; hubby needs convincing in the winter.) 


My Favorite Thing this Week: We had a impromptu get-together with friends and did lovely touristy things.  We played miniature golf, had popovers at Jordon Pond (Acadia National Park), dinner overlooking Bar Harbor, and ice cream (at a place that has lobster ? ice cream; no one was brave enough to try it.)


We're Reading: I'm still reading The One Year Adventure Novel.  Chris is reading The Alchemyst series #5, Katie is reading Warriors series #5, Chelsea just finished Magic Tree House #48, Chris is reading Gregor The Overlander series #2 to Katie and Chelsea, and Katie and Chelsea are buddy reading Bunnicula to Daisy the bunny.



Places We're Going and People We're Seeing:   My brother and sister-in-law and kids came to visit from Connecticut.  We had a great time relaxing and playing in the lake.



Things I'm Working on:  I'm trying to pull together an election/government/ electoral college unit.  I found some good books, but I'd like to do a lap book.  Does anyone know of any good resources ?

"Not" Back-to-School Blog Hop: Day in the Life

This year the twins are in third grade and my oldest is in sixth grade. The kids wake up between 6:00 and 7:30 am.  Before 9:00 am they are responsible for getting dressed, brushing their teeth, making their bed , taking care of Bearded Dragon Max and Daisy the Bunny, and eating breakfast.  Then they play until 9:00 am.  Mommy and Daddy wake up between 7:00 and 8:30 am (depending upon how late we stayed up the night before.)  Then we have coffee (either in bed,the porch, or the living room), I read blogs and check e-mail, and Ted reads the news on-line and takes the dogs out.
Whoever is out of bed last makes the bed, and I put the dishes away, followed by daily vacuuming (we have two Golden Retrievers.) During this time there is a constant, "Bentley !!! No!!!" (Bentley is our one year old Golden Retriever puppy who steals stuffed animals and shoes.  For extra fun this morning, he grabbed one end of a roll of toilet paper (still attached to wall) and decorated the house with it.
By this time its usually around 9:00am.  Daddy goes into his office (he works from home), and the kids and I head downstairs, Bentley takes a nap, Sasha gets comfy on the couch ( she thinks it's hers) and Sheba (the cat) follows us downstairs.  Depending upon how I feel, I start by working with the kids or allow them to work individually.  Some days I need more coffee and time to face the world. 
The kids have a daily schedule of things to accomplish and a list of optional activities.  I am very flexible with this.  One day Chris just wanted to work on writing his current story, and he asked if he could skip his list.  Absolutely !  Last week Katie just wanted to sit and finish reading her book so I said, "Of course."  Before our whale watch last week we spent an entire day just learning about whales.
Katie and Chelsea's Daily Schedule (independent work):
Read an American History book ( I have a basket of books from the time period 1600's that we are studying) and write in your American History Response Journal
Math workbook pages ( after we have done a lesson together)
Journal
Reader Response Journal

After any group activities (this varies greatly: last week it was whales, this week we will write "summer" books together, and I read A History of Us to them daily) they are free to choose optional activities until lunch time. 

Katie and Chelsea's optional activities:
Write a story
Art
Reading
Science Nature Journal

Chris's Daily Schedule of Independent Work:
Read an American History book and write in your American History Response Journal.
Math workbook pages ( after we have done a lesson together)
Journal or Reader Response Journal
Chemistry
Computer Game programming

Chris's optional activities:
Write a story
Art
Reading
Legos
Science Nature Journal

By this time it's lunch time, and we head upstairs to have lunch with Daddy.  After lunch we have been swimming in the lake and/or going in the boat  (of course this will change soon ).  Then the kids play inside or outside.  After 2:00 pm they are allowed to use electronics.  Today they are snuggled in K&C's room and Chris is reading them the second book in the "Gregor" series.  Between 5:00 and 5:30 pm we have dinner and the kids take showers etc.  After dinner everyone reads until bedtime.  The girls are in bed at 8:00pm and Chris is in bed by 8:30pm.  Then Mommy and Daddy read, watch Netflix, or do computer work.  Once a week we have movie night after dinner and then there usually isn't time for reading.

This year we will meet weekly with other homeschoolers for a book club, and the kids are taking a water color class once a month.  As it starts to get cooler, we usually add more extracurricular activies.

Weekly Wrap-Up Link Up

In Our Homeschool this Week:  We had two days of more structured learning and two days of sorting, organizing, and rearranging school supplies and our family schoolroom.  We spent a good amount of time reading, writing, and researching information about whales.  On Wednesday we took the kids on their first whale watch.  We saw a glimpse of the elusive Fin Whale (second in size only to the Blue Whale) and three male Humpback Whales.  On the boat ride out to the whales, we also saw a number of Gray and Harbor Seals.  Quite amazing ! ( Well most of the trip was anyway.  If you go on a whale watch be sure to take Dramamine.  Daddy took two.  The kids and I condescendingly said we didn't need any because we've had lots of experience on boats and have never been sick.  I'll spare you the details, but be sure to take Dramamine BEFORE you get on the boat.)



My Favorite Thing this Week:  I loved watching the kids' faces when they were watching the whales.


I'm Reading: The One Year Adventure Novel textbook by Daniel Schwabauer.


Places We're Going and People We're Seeing: In addition to our whale watch we made a visit to our local library.  The kids have been pestering me for some time about getting their own library cards, so we did.  They were very excited (the kids, not the librarians :0).


Things I'm Working on: I've been doing around the house projects that I've kept putting off.  I've painted trim, put up shelves (well I supervised :0), and painted our schoolroom picnic table with black chalkboard paint.

Nature Scavenger Hunt

We kicked off our first day "back-to-school" with a nature scavenger hunt.  I used the book Naturally Curious: A Photographic Field Guide and Month-by-Month Journey through the Fields, Woods, and Marshes of New England.  I LOVE this book and so do the kids.  I have found them flipping through it on a number of occasions.  What I really like about the book is that it is color tabbed with the months of the year.  This allows me to quickly flip to the current month and discover what's going on around us.

I made a list of things I thought/hoped we might find:

Find a tree with holes.
Find a mushroom.
Find a caterpillar.
Find a spider web.
Find two types of ferns.
Find a wildflower.
Find a frog.

I told the kids they could use a photograph, draw a picture, or take a sample to use in their nature journal.  We used Naturally Curious and A Handbook of Nature Study to identify some of the things we didn't recognize.  Some of the mushrooms we found were difficult to identify, but we found everything on our list!

Weekly Wrap-up

In Our Homeschool this Week... We are still enjoying the long, lazy days of summer.  Still debating when to start our more structured forms of learning.  This week Chris is reading The Sorceress (book #3 in The Alchemyst series), Katie is reading book #4 in The Warriors series, and Chelsea is reading book #47 in The Magic Tree House series.  Chris is continuing to read Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins to the girls.

Chris is working on making video game #3 with The Gamemaker's Apprentice, and we are eager to try out Kahn Academy's new computer programming game site.
Katie's doll Lily wrote a newspaper this week.  Highlights include:

Chris, the famous video game designer is at it again.  He is making his third video game of the year!  Buy his video games today.


My Two Favorite Thing this Week...   Having friends spend the day and taking them to "our island."

 ... Watching the rain on the lake (Rainy days are cuddle up reading days, movies, and/or video games.)  When the kids were younger and we lived in Tampa, Florida (aka lightning capital of the world) we would read Patriccia Polacco's picture book Thundercake.  We don't usually get thunder and lightning here in Maine, so Thundercake sits sadly on the shelf. 



I finished Reading... The Way of the Happy Woman by Sara Avant Stover and am still working on Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer.

I'm Cooking... Ted's still grilling.  I will really miss that when summer ends.  Highlights include:Steak with blue cheese butter, southwest chicken fajitas, Tennessee pork ribs, ginger lemon pork chops, and for movie night ... queso fundido.

Places We're Going and People We're Seeing... We have been mostly staying home and enjoying our lake.  After our "Grand Adventure" this spring we are enjoying spending time at home, (to read more about our 2 month trip across the country in an RV, CLICK here>> 3kids5petsinarv.)

Things I'm Working on... getting ready for "school" and working on the One Year Adventure Novel Curriculum (for me :0).