Year 6, March 28th - April 1st, 2021: Back to School

 It's Monday. Again. I forgot how anxious I get when I "run" all day. I may be only going in circles in the same 1800 sq ft, but good grief, I'm tired. I have to keep the train chugging along because I'm the conductor. Otherwise no one notices the clock. I've got a headache from doing read alouds and not drinking enough water. And now we're having trouble with the internet and our phones and blech, it's been a long time since I've had to wait for photos and videos to go from my phone to the cloud to my computer. And I nearly forgot my counseling appointment. I didn't know how to pull dinner together. And I didn't make the phone calls I needed to in order to set up appointments to go back to order my glasses or to set up the coritsol lab draw. Jared did manage to pick up my prescription for it though. And intellectually, I've run dry. We had a major issue with a bill in our state house, so I was following that along. Plus family that was traveling. Plus writing the wrong text to the wrong person. Plus the normal amount of stuff on social media and emails. Good graviness. 

Do I have to write about my day? Sometimes, blogging is getting a little mundane and just one more thing I choose to do at the end of the day. Maybe it's something I need to rethink again. I haven't even been taking that many photos lately. I mean, if I'm not worried if I don't get everything written down well, but I'm not getting anything written down well, am I? 

Check out this wild temperature swings!

This sounds interesting! Vegan Mac and Cheese, tested and dad approved. He thought it was real mac and cheese!

Jared said he didn't see the $1 Hot Wheels bin in its usual spot and that makes us all sad. Abishai pat patted one of his cars to show Daddy how sad he was.

I went to run to the library and saw this thing on the driveway. Yes, I knew he was going to get a tree for Keturah's Grandpa assignment (see below). I just didn't realize it was going to be so big!

Abishai had some friends sit with him during screen time.

And he added a jail to his base.

He figured out how to put the short ladder pieces in a door frame! Then he made a crane to lift the prisoners in and out of the jail cell because the "door" doesn't open.

Keturah decided on oreo pancakes for dinner, so she made them! She undercooked them a bit because she didn't want to burn them.

When you are running low on your usual foods, and you have other foods and leftovers going bad, you get a hodge podge dinner. Meatballs for protein, lol. It's a good thing my kids are used to these kind of thrown together dinners.

They also had vegetables, too. I had leftover mashed potatoes and chicken with the vegetables I made the other night.

After dinner, most of us went outside to plant Keturah's tree. But the first thing I saw was this hooded biker. No shoes either. And it's 40 degrees. No coat. Crazy guy.

And he's mastered how to steer, backup, and go fast on this thing. No wonder he doesn't want to switch to a big boy bike (see the video, it's hilarious how he can turn on a dime!)

Measuring out where to put the tree. It's a bald cypress and needs a 15 ft radius. Not sure why he choose to put it here because it's going to be really close to the other trees, but ok.

Big girl had to carry her tree from the garage to the spot.

Then Daddy taught her how to dig the hole. He was very patient with her and instructed her well. And she listened and was excited and smiled big smiles.

Little guy wanted to give it a try. He did move some dirt!

Abishai wanted to "dig in" to the project, too.

I got cold, so I went inside. Ta da! It's another tree to add to the collection! I'm glad Jared got a much more mature this time. They tend to actually survive better. Well worth the money.

Good reminders.

Pretty normal day. It was a gorgeous day outside, but I didn't realize that until it was almost too late. Jared made a an egg and sausage and potato casserole, so that was baking before we got up. It tasted ok. the texture was a bit off. But hey, it's food, it's protein, it's already made, so let's eat! School went ok today. I made a couple of phone calls and ran errands this afternoon, even picking out my new glasses. I'll get them in about two weeks. I can't wait to see better and not get anymore headaches (after the adjustment process). I did pick a "cheap frame" so total cost was $323. That's CHEAP. If I had picked a designer pair, they would have got $500 for the frame alone. $250 for the special lenses. Ykes! It was easy to pick them out after I considered the price, the width (I have a small head), and if they had nose pads. Basically they are the same type as my current ones, but a different color. So yeah, an easy fix! I shut off the wifi early on the kids before I returned home (they knew I was going to do that) so they would do chores and go outside before I got home. It was too nice to be inside today. It's going to be really cold for a few more days and then warm up again. Yeah! The next few days are fairly quiet, too. Oh, I did talk to my sister Stef for 2 hrs, did a load of laundry, and kept things cleaned up, but it was hard to keep up with email and get my Bible study done. Benaiah made a surprise stop, which was most convenient because we had things that needed to go to the other house. Abishai had trouble going to sleep, so he might sleep in tomorrow. And hopefully, tomorrrow, we'll get into some art projects because today's history lesson was on the impressionists. Woot! Woot! Plus science experiments. So, fun times. Get on truckin'.

Aww, he found a soft space to lie down. Another latch hook rug my dad made for the kids. I'm glad my kids like these. I think it helps them connect to their grandpa.

Socks, the shepherding dog, protecting his sheepie. Truth: He used to tear these sheep up in just a few months. I think I bought 3 in total and they weren't cheap. But he doesn't play with them for long now, so I stopped buying them and any other toys. He's just not interested in fetching, or catching, or playing tug of war, so yup, the kids try to get him to play, but he prefers to take naps.

One of Jared's casseroles. The problem was that there is something wrong with the oven. The back left burner was smoking while this was baking and while pizza was baking for dinner. But only when the fry pan was sitting on it. We've had some weird codes on the display in the last few months, so, I'm guessing there might be a repair in the future. It's only 4 years old. Ugh.

Two thumb up to begin with but he didn't like the texture. So he told Daddy at dinner that it was only 1 thumbs up.

He brought all his friends and blankies out of his bed today and wanted to do school right here in the middle of them. So, while I was finishing up breakfast, he moved all his school stuff over here. He even picked out the next reader to read! He got everything we needed!

He was even wrapped up in his Baby Yoda blankie. And he's rereading that war and warfare book.

Poor Abishai has been without his beloved snacks for at least a week. It's been a struggle for me to get him something to eat that he likes. So, I finally made a grocery store run and got "all of them." I also got his chicken nuggets and cheesy brats that are his favorite lunches. Now our fridges and pantry are fully stocked again.

When one has a headache, you find a cool, quiet place to be. I joined him, although my headache isn't too bad today, I can understand. We waited for the rest of the family to realize the pizza was done and it was time to eat. The birds were SUPER loud, too.

We had art class today! Lol. We skipped read alouds and tried to use methods that looked like Impressionism. We used sponges, a bit of pointillism, and I used pastels! Ah, now I feel like a great homeschooler as we all did it together and we had all the right supplies (note to self, we need more art quality paper for paints. I had to get out the heavier cardstock, which may not absorb as well as art paper). We do this may twice a year. I wrote a post on it for our IAHE page to remind parents that you may see photos of families doing art together, but maybe, it's the only time during the year that they do it. Maybe they do it weekly. Or maybe they attempt it once a semester and still have frowny faces and shouting matches and "Why do we have to do this?" Oh, that's just our homeschooling, right? Nope, not at all. Actually, it went pretty well. And as I reflected over our homeschooling journey, I have done an ok job introducing the kids to different art mediums, and canvases, and artists themselves, and at least to the concepts of art. I might do it as frequently as Charlotte Mason lovers do, but, I try. The kids can say that they've touched paints and pastels and charcoal pencils. In fact, when I was writing down the books that they've been reading recently, I noticed that I had marked the same entry in the bibliography back in 2016 when they read the picture books for the first time. But they did quickly reread them, even the teenager. They really don't have to read everything I get from the library, seriously, they don't. It's a time filler for Keturah. But, if it's repeated, it's important, right? I just love picture books so I go overboard. But we have some books I bought of the artists since that shelf seems to be our slimmest and I liked that particular author's series on artists and musicians plus the other ones that had been suggested, so I bought them to add to our personal collection. I can't wait to read them to Abishai! 

Otherwise, it was a less overwhelming day because I got to take a shower! And taught Abishai afterwards so we had an incentive to get done before lunch time or he was going to lose screen time. It worked! We are making progress. I just have to be patient with his need to move around. He has to learn and practice sitting still and focusing and I have to let him have breaks. There is a nice sweet spot and we hit it on the head today. I read a book about Frederick Douglass to him today and he was sad when Douglass' mom died when he was 7 years old and when the master whipped the slave. It's awesome stuff seeing him connect like that. And whizzing through his math test with a 97%. And zipping through his reading book. He can do it. It's just focusing that's hard. The others did ok. We'll pick back up with our readings tomorrow. My eyes got a break, too. Math is their hardest subject right now and I need to take a look and figure out something to do with it. Either I need to take less points away for wrong problems, or award effort points or something. Based on the scale now, which is usually 5 points per problem if it's 20 problems equaling 100%, and occasionally giving half credit, they are both at 50%, which is not a passing grade at all. I know they understand the concepts. Keturah's just lazy and Justin's memory and logic still don't do that well. I don't think it's necessarily the curriculum, but I might have to do some supplementing. For Keturah, it's computations that she knows how to do do. She needs some strengthening in math facts and operations. I think a bit of Khan Academy might do the trick. For Justin, it's a matter of practice, or perhaps someone else presenting it a different way. Khan might help with that, or some YouTube videos, or perhaps a different curriculum. I'm not sure. It makes me sad that they aren't into math like I am, and I feel like I'm not pushing them enough to study or teaching them how to study, although we go over every single problem and redo it and look at the answers together. And the answers make sense to them. And they do sometimes check previous problems to see how they are done. Anyway, something to think about. Writing is the same way, but I think we are all getting tired of school in general, so we will be ok. I'm glad we had a great art day.

Then I talked to a friend about a certain type of co op getting some answers to a recent post about this company (Classical Conversations) and I'm glad we talked. I totally understand now and regained some confidence in the company again. I really didn't want to believe the article in it's totality. This friend has been a director and "supervisor" for a while now and is super smart to begin with and no nonsense, so I knew she'd have the inside scoop and be honest with me and wouldn't try to sell me anything that wasn't absolutely true. So, that was a good conversation, too. I tried to listen to an audiobook after that, but I'm not getting into the story at all, and might just have the kids finish it and not discuss it. It's just another Civil War book. We'll see. Jared came home early and we had another night of leftovers. We just make things stretch and when kids everything but leftovers during the day, they get stuck with leftovers for dinner. Jared never seems to mind and we always make sure it's a rounded out meal. We managed.

Bible study was alright and insightful in more than one way and I'll just leave it at that. It was super cold out today so I drove, but didn't wear a jacket and probably should have. 45 degrees for a high today and 38 for the high tomorrow. 78 degrees for a high a week from now. No wonder Justin and I are getting heachaches and our bodies don't know what to do. Oh speaking of, Jared had turned off the heater last night when I had the windows open because the stove burner was smoking. Well, he forgot to turn it back on! Thankfully, it only got down to 67 degrees, but I KNEW something was wrong because I was cold in bed for the first time instead of waking up sweating. And then he didn't want the heater to work too hard, so he only turned it up to 70. 73 is my perfect temperature. My nose and fingers aren't cold, but the rest of me is generally not overheating and if it is, I just take off my sweatshirt and I'm fine. But man, I'm really, really sensitive to temperatures! And it confuses the flowers! It's a good thing that we keep most of our clothes out year round because we still need the winter stuff!

We have another day at home tomorrow and then Friday, a very cold park day. I don't want to go. Like I hope they cancel. I might even start the chatter about it, because 45 degrees isn't something I can do. I'd have to stay in the car, sorry. And this particular park doesn't make that easy to do because there's a bridge and stream and such. So, we'll see. And Abishai has karate as well. And I need to do my cortisol test, too. We'll see.

Super yummy!

So, do you think this is projected like it is on other buildings downtown or is it vinyl lettering. I need to take the kids to see it. Maybe we should do that on Friday instead of park day. Yup, I'm going to suggest that to them. The whole championship from the 64 teams to the final 2 have been held in and around Indianapolis. Each team had separate parts of the floors away from each other and food was delivered to them in this hotel. It's one of the tallest buildings we have downtown.  It's just so incredible. Oh, I know! You can usually see it from the art garden that is part of the mall. Yup, that's what we'll try to do. Woot! Woot!

Little guy was up early (despite struggling to fall asleep last night) and after he put all his snacks in their drawers that I bought yesterday, he was busy working on his Lego base again. The guy on the top is sleeping. But the map is there and the computers are there.

And this one is booby trapped. Check out the video below.

Abishai accidentally wrote his 5 wrong and said, that's a J! And then he wrote the 4 and said, "Hey, that's J4!" I had no idea he had caught on to my little nickname, J2 being the grandparents, J4 being Aaron and Shauna's family and J6 being us. Cool!

I saw these again on homeschooling post where a parent was concerned about their child learning to write. It was a 5 or 6 yr old this time, but still, it's ok if you wait a little bit. The hand doesn't really become fully developed until 6-7 years old so it's harder for the chubbier fingers to grip a writing utensil.

Older child's hand vs a preschooler's hand.

Not quite Impressionism, but Justin tried.

Abishai was confused as to why he had to wear one of Daddy's old tshirts, but he made the most of it.

Me trying to show the kids how impressionism works. Artists don't go back over the same are with the same stroke and tend to leave white space. They do either short strokes or dots like this (which is really more like pointillism, but I'm not an expert).

I really wanted to try out the pastels so that's what I used. In this technique, you color a bit like a crayon and then you can smudge it with your finger. It was a lot of fun! I know it can also come out quite different if water is used.

My finished drawing! I'm quite proud of it!

Keturah did NOT want to do it all. But she used the sponge and understood how to make short strokes.

This was the explanation of Justin's attempted artwork. There were other ways we could work with art supplies, listed in this book, but this was good enough. Using sponges to mimic the Impressionism was the idea in our history book.

I thought it was spring?! Did the world get flipped upside down?

My daffodils are gorgeous this year and prolific!

All the work I did last weekend really helped to prepare the garden to grow. Plus I'm ready for another layer of mulch. These are the irises Jared got me first.

See? It's spring! And I DID all that. Over 4 years of work. But it's coming along quite nicely. I mean, the beds were there and the plants were there. But it has taken 4 years of constant weeding to get rid of grass and those strawberries and dandelions. Ugh!

Keturah made a picture of the tire swing!

Justin's.

Abishai's (it could be upside down, I don't know.)

Abishai's sponging technique. He stopped only because he realized he wasn't supposed to layer the colors. But I think he was doing a great job with the sponge!

Abishai told Keturah a story about this one and what it is, but I don't remember it and I didn't record it. Everything made sense though.

Ugh. Menstrual migraine. Time for the top of the line medication. It worked until mid afternoon. We did a full day of school and accomplished all our science experiments. Kids even practiced piano. I spent a couple of hours in the kitchen making dinner for us and a friend from scratch. It was Shepherd's pie, the way my mom made, with from scratch mashed potatoes because we had too many potatoes, and no gravy.  And now I'm exhausted. Jared's at Bible study and let the kids get on more screens. They deserve it. Their school work has been ok, but they have pitched in and helped when asked for other things, especially when I'm overwhelmed or behind schedule. 

*we interrupt this program to go on a rabbit trail finding all the Civil War reenactment events that have been done in Indiana over the last few years (but skipped in 2020). The kids are in for a treat when they realize I'm taking them to one of these! now back to our program*

Ok, sorry, the ADD kicked in. Actually, for having ADD, I've done pretty well all these years staying organized, on task, utilizing things like calendars, reminders, and to do lists. I used to write a to do list and print it out that included things like "Bible study, shower, clean this, do that." All the daily routine stuff. I still put some of those down sometimes if I need to make SURE it gets done that day or I'm behind. I have made up many systems and labeled lots of things, written notes to myself if I'm in the middle of a project so when I go back, I remember what I was doing. I just thought I had a memory problem, but it's related to the ADD. And I now understand why it seems so easy for others to go about their day and not forget this or that, like showering and eating, and it's much more difficult for me. Or that others can remember details for apologetic arguments, but I can't. It brings me much more contentment and peace about myself, that I have a real reason for this difficulties and it's just not my lack of effort. And it's ok. It really is ok. Ok, moving on.

Back to the kids. Man, we bicker all day long, but we've got some really sweet moments, too. Like when I told Keturah and Abishai that I wanted them to wait a bit before turning the TV back on, they got down the Uno cards and played a couple of rounds. They have had a bit more screen time this week because it's really cold outside. As soon as it gets warmer next week, outside the go. My head still hurts and so I just need the quiet. I told them to watch something together. But they all try to do something non screen if I insist. It's not a power struggle in the end. I try to extend grace to myself and them when I "give in" and give them more screen time. We really work hard at our schoolwork and try new things and work on our relationships and do tasks when they are delegated. Sigh. I guess after looking around and hearing stories from other families, makes me take a look at mine, and in this instance, I can sit back and say, yes, we've worked hard to become a well oiled machine of a family and we are doing pretty good with our habits right now. Not perfect, but better than it has ever been. Of course, it's the homeschooling that I like to use as the reason for this, but it can happen in other families if they are super diligent. I just tend to compare us to the super duper cool homeschool families with perfectly dressed and well behaved kids. And that's not fair and that's even accurate anymore. Those families are all grown up and these new crop of Covid homeschoolers that look like they are staying look very different than those from the 80's and 90's or have always homeschooled. Very different. Very non traditional homes and circumstances. Loads of reteaching this parents what education really is and that you don't have to bring the classroom to the home. That's why I love where I'm at in the IAHE. I'm right in the thick of things, answering questions, offering information, listening and supporting those at the state house protecting our rights. It bring me so much joy and happiness. And my anxiety and fear creeps in and says this feeling won't last. You won't be here in this organization forever. And well, I want to be. I don't see myself anywhere else. I'm going to fulfill the roles that my mom was to several families around her, sharing what she knew and helping where she could. I'm sure she would be right here with me doing these things and volunteering with the IAHE. My dad, too. Man, if I had been more involved in the homeschool community, my parents would have plugged into it and been at the state house themselves! Anyway, I'm continuing their legacy because it's my legacy. It's MY passion, MY joy. And Jared is just along for the ride. And I have high hopes that my kids are going to turn out fine and maybe more than fine in their own timing and their own way.

Speaking of children, Gary and Leah were gone this week to New Orleans (thus I didn't publish this post until they got back), so the brat that he is (just kidding), Benaiah, asked if he could drive Grandpa's Veloster sports car! His car is just as nice as the Veloster, but since Benaiah can drive a stick shift (thank goodness!), Grandpa said he could. Crazy 18 yr old kid! Oops, I mean adult! And I think he took it to work, too. Just be careful! Well, I took a meal over to the neighbor across the street from them and saw Benaiah just getting home from work. Well, like his Dad before him, he stuck his hand out the window, grabbed the trash can, and rolled it up the driveway as he drove the Veloster up the driveway. Jared loves doing that in parking lots of shopping carts, so that's where Benaiah got the idea. Just don't scratch Grandpa's car with the trash can, you goof! Like father, like son, which is sometimes something Benaiah likes to hear I think, but most of the time, he doesn't. But it's uncanny how they still share some mannerisms. But Jared has said numerous times lately to Benaiah directly in my hearing, how much more ambition and work ethic Benaiah has than Jared ever has. It doesn't say, "I'm proud of you." But I think and hope Benaiah hears that in Jared's words. I say "I'm proud of your" via text and occasionally in person.  Because we are. What kid can be so reponsible to work 50 hrs at CFA and then more hrs delivering meals and living on his own for the week and using Grandpa's sports car and so far not having a big car wreck or speeding ticket or breaking curfew or anything? Yup, I think we can proud of him. He just is a good kid.

And that ends my story. I limped through the day and I'm done with the blog nice and early. I think I may lay down for a bit to rest my eyes and my lower back. And then, I'll watch a show, take that cortisol pill thing for the test and get it done first thing in the morning. That's it. Jared should be home right about now! Perfect timing! Sweet! Good night!

Yes! Snow! This is NO April Fools' joke! My friends saw it! The neighbors saw it! We saw it! It was COLD today!

God, I think you are playing an April Fools' joke on us! Wow!

Gorgeous!

I had to text Jared that this electrical outlet was sparking when just the microwave, on the other electrical outlet, was going this morning. It simmered down, but yikes! I do have a power strip back there, but that's only because I got tired of plugging in and unplugging the toaster oven, coffee maker, and milk steamer. But it's rare that everything is going at once. Sometimes the microwave and vacuum cleaner are both being used in the other outlet at the same time. Or the toaster oven and the microwave. Sigh. House problems. And the oven was smoking again today. We think we need to start by cleaning the inside. I vacuumed the lid drawer finally, and as much as I could reach behind it. I also used a paper towel to get the gummy, greasy dog hair wads out of some crevices.

A friend reminded me that other parts of the world already went through this because they put the day, then the month, then the year, so they had theirs on 4th of March, 2021.

Interesting set of Final Four. I'm going to take the kids downtown briefly to see the bracket on the hotel from hopefully the art garden above Washington St. If not, we'll walk the block down to it to see it. We'll see!

For the first time ever, I think, I've kept up changing this calendar every single day. I do it when I flip the days of the week that say, "Music Monday." But, what's wrong with this calendar? Yup, the SNOW weather magnet is on today's weather. Yikes! I use the weather magnets to cover up the other seasons so just this current season is shown.

Reminds me of my mom telling me how my brother would do his times tables upside down on the couch. But I think Keturah and Justin did it this way, too, sometimes. Just as long as the reading gets done.

Science experiment time! Justin had to look at cross sections of roots and stems of monocots and dicots, so I had the other kids look at them, too. We bought the prepared slides as part of a kit and borrowed the better mircoscope from a new friend. We saw some of the cool and different veins where the nutrients are carried in the plants! So cool!

Since this is airing overseas right now, I'm getting to see a few clips and a lot of photos every day. I can NOT wait. Aidan Turner is so expressive and they were able to age him well as the series progresses. Eek!

Now this would great for the IAHE magazine! I make them write out lab reports, but I don't check them too closely. They know the drill.

I don't think I will ever be able to cook for just two people. We'll have leftovers for weeks! I only now how to cook 3lbs of ground beef or chicken thighs or 1 1/2 lbs of pork steak at a time.  I'm not looking forward to repackaging larger packages of meat for just the two of us in the future. Anyway, I was only going to make a pan of Shepherd's pie for my friend but had enough for both families. Woot! Woot!

And yes, pots and pans do get washed while things bake because I have a tiny kitchen. The only time I skip this part is if I'm in a rush, and I leave the house for evening, and I get back after 9pm. Otherwise, end the day with a clean skin.

See, I think the bottom need to be thoroughly cleaned and I haven't done it because I don't like the smell of self cleaning ovens and I have no energy to even start that project. I put it on Jared or the kids to work on. I've had an oven liner for 3 years now. Yes, I haven't cleaned it once since we bought it new and installed it almost 4 years ago. It's time.

Perfection1 No gravy. Mixed vegetables. And homemade herb mashed potatoes. Lightly seasoned regular ground beef. My momma would be proud! And we had the perfect tin for it, too!

Aunt Stefanie loves this YouTube channel and Grogu's antics on there. It's hilarious! And we have that Lego ice cream truck!  I think Stefanie gets a lot of inspiration from this guy.

 

The End