Year 2, Day 94: Don't eat dairy! And other misc things!

Don't ask, but no, don't offer me dairy.  I'm going to have be extra careful from now on....

....anyways....

Why are our mornings always slow?  And then why can't I get enough done while baby naps?  And then why did I think I could get more done when 3 kiddos went to a hockey game with Jared and I have Mr. "Attached to Mommy's Hip" "helper" all evening?  Hm,....I think that sums up a good portion of the day.  Not enough every gets done.  It's 10:17 pm and I spent 5 minutes on looking at a tax form.  And maybe 5 minutes on typing out a planner for school this week (the goal being to have the rest of the year typed out).  Good grief!  And this nose! Never, ever, EVER play around with a teenage boy who weighs, well, a lot, like a lineman, expecting not to get hurt.  Wowzers!

Enough of the whining...because enough did get done today.  There were some great laughs.  The kids got to a hockey game (first and last time they will probably go this season).  I learned a lesson or two.  And tomorrow's a new day.

So, trying to change up the blog today a bit, I took pictures of some of our current homeschooling books.  Because, the kids will want to know what they did someday, right?  Lol.

Justin is just 3 weeks away from finishing his book on Fractions!  After a conversation today on our homeschooling Facebook page, I found out that MUS is a mastery program, not a spiral program like most textbooks, i.e. Saxon, Abeka, and the like.  That means, they spiral back to older topics and do tons of review.   Whereas, MUS has you work at a concept until you "get" it and does very little review.  They teach one main topic at a time, like fractions or subtraction and go in depth.  That is until you get to Algebra 1, but I'm pretty sure they group whatever subtopics you learning in Algebra 1 together (i.e. graphing).

Awesome book!  The kids WANT me to read this one last because they want to save the best for last!  Very short, Aesop's fables-like stories, but in the Jewish tradition.  Recommended by our history book during our Old Testament studies.

This is a leftover book from our 20th century studies.  I'm reading little bits and pieces from it.  It's a collection of interesting first hand letters or articles from all eras of immigration.  For example, today we read some advice from a ship's captain about what to take on board for the journey from Europe to America.  He mentions to not take heavy iron things, but lighter tin.  And take enough bacon and biscuits to last the whole voyage.  Sell your feather mattress, but keep your blankets.  Make sure you put smaller things in bigger things.  Bring nails so you can hang things up to dry or keep them out of the way, and never leave your things out because they might get stolen.  Send the husband and boys up to the top deck to help with chores and stretch their legs.  Wash the kids in seawater once a week.  We've also read other stories about how slaves were sold.  And how one husband told one wife how life was when he landed.  I find it fascinating.  The kids, not so much.

We are slowly making our way through one of my childhood favorites, "Julie of the Wolves"!  I'm not sure that the kids really understand how crazy it is to think that Julie, or Miyak, could get that close to the wolves.  We are now in the flashback scenes to her growing up years.  And yes, we own the sequel to it, and "My Side of the Mountain" which the kids read for their botany class.  Keturah isn't too impressed with all these outdoorsy type of stories.  I think I should show her "The Island of the Blue Dolphins."  And of course, she already has in her possession, "Misty of Chincoteague" by Marguarite Henry and lots of others like them.  I remember a lot of the plots of those stories, so I must have read them from age 10 and up.  My mom knew how to pick great books!  I think she might have read up on Miss Charlotte Mason a bit when I was in high school because a few things like literature and history were along the lines of that philosophy of education.

Of course our main history curriculum, The Mystery of History.  We will definitely be going through all 4 volumes again.  I'm amazed at what Justin does remember and what Keturah doesn't have a clue about.  I have to remind myself that it's like my 5th time going through world history, so of course it will feel like I've read about this or that character before, because I have!  This curriculum is based on the classical form of education.

Keturah won't finish her book, but she's on multiplication in her MUS Gamma book.

We found this fidgit type ball in Justin's room, but it's loud when the balls are clicked from spot to spot.

Not finished yet, but Keturah has to draw 10 major events in David's life.  I think she's basing some of it from her Action Bible.  Justin had to write the 10 things out.  We did King David today.  Just 3 pages on him because our history author focuses on the highlights, assuming you have a little bit of knowledge of the Biblical characters' stories.  We also watched bits of "King George and the Ducky" and "Dave and the Giant Pickle" Veggietales shows that are based on David, as well as listened to some harp music.

Keturah's newest creations.

Keturah really liked this book!  It wasn't suggested in our history book, so I must have found it when searching on the library website.  Apparently, this author has written over 100 books.  I printed off the list for her to pick some more from.  They aren't all historical, though, and there seems to not be any more with Scarlett and Sam.

Just the leftovers from those pretty big flowers we had.  Not too bad!

Keturah made and hung this a month or so ago.

Yes, "Wet Hands" by Minecraft.  Why did I have agree to finding and printing this off?  Justin, with some of my help, learned this basic line and it drives me crazy!  Ignore Smitty's bleached tip hair in the background though.  That was many years ago.

It's the attack of the Abishai!  He literally attacked ALL of us!  With lots of different grunt sounds.

The only thing that can knock a 14 year old linebacker is his little brother!

Keturah had been watching Berenstein bears before leaving for the hockey game, so that's what we started with this evening.  He seemed to like it.

Big laughs and giggles when Mommy wears her dishwshing gloves.  It was his idea to try them on!

Then he went attacking his cars like I had been attacking him!

Spoiled baby got pushed all the way from our room to the kitchen in Mommy's computer chair.  "I sit! I sit!""  Yes, child, we know you are the king around here.

We found some Lowe's "Build and Grow" cars that the boys had made, so of course Abishai lined them up on my desk.  I went to turn off the police car's light and he got upset.  So I left them there until he went to bed.

We had gone out earlier today and I saw all this white stuff on the ground.  At first I thought it was rock salt because it was chillier out.  Then I noticed it on the car and thought it was hail because the weather wasn't great.  I had to get down on the ground and touch the white stuff to realize that it's just petals from the "popcorn" trees' blooms.  Whoops.  I think I left the country for a few years or something.

"Bice! Bice!" even when it's spitting rain.

At the hockey game! Well, Daddy goofed and these weren't their actual seats, but they were only up one section after this.  They got drinks because some of the food was free when you bought a drink.  And our team won!  Indianapolis Fuel!  Justin couldn't get over the fact that these players were faster and better than the Islanders.  Well, the Islanders are teenagers.  These players are college level and above, i.e. think minor league in baseball like our Indianapolis Indians.  I bet the kids missed having Tim Horton's hot chocolate and donuts on the menu like they did at Islander games. They waited after the game for one of the players to sign something so we could send it to our hockey loving friends on PEI.  So, let's see, Jared and Justin got to go to a Colts' football game.  Benaiah has gone to a Pacers' basketball game with his friends (and Jared, too).  And now they've seen a Fuel hockey game.  Guess what's next?  My favorite sport!  Baseball!  My family lived in New Hampshire and we didn't have the privilege of going to any sports games a) because most are at least 2 hrs away in Boston and b) too expensive.  It's nice to be able to do these things with kids now.  Great memories!

Meanwhile, back at home.....Abishai owns the bed, the couch, the chair, you name it!  Oh and the remote!

"You can't see me! But I sit and I own the chair!"

"Would you just look at my handiwork?  Now you can't type tonight!  (evil laugh)" or "I thought you needed some friends to keep you company tonight, Mommy!" - Abishai