Lost some blood
We’ve had a couple of snow days out of necessity. I’m hosting the Christmas party for my son’s soccer team and their families, so I needed the time to clean and finish decorating. Oh, what fun I had hanging outside lights in the snow-not! I think I shocked myself at least six times when I was connecting the strings because of either water or broken bulbs. Not one of my finer days. My fingers are sore from all of the maneuvering, but it had to be done. Then, I cut open my thumb with broken glass from one of the bulbs and left some puddles of blood in the snow. If I never hang lights in the snow again, that will be fine with me. I did place a blow-up Santa on our front porch. Now, you know that blow-ups are the tackiest things ever, but I bought one this year. And you know what? They make you feel so happy when you look at them.
Off to conquer baths. The kids watched “City” by David Macaulay today and are now finishing the movie “Home Alone”. Good times.
Adventures
Yesterday, we spent the fourth at home. Nothing exciting. Hubby was working, and I spent quite a bit of the day working again with my daughter on math and spelling/phonics. We ended the day watching parts of the movie, “Independence Day” with Will Smith. I had to fast forward through several parts, and there’s quite a bit of language in there. It’s tough choosing movies when you have a preteen followed by several young elementary-age kids. I use these movie moments to discuss what we consider appropriate, etc. Of course, I can go deeper in discussions with my preteen. That was followed by me staying up until 3 A.M. cleaning the basement. It looks like something exploded down there. So much to organize before I can start painting and moving the schoolroom downstairs-summer project. Looking at Pinterest for ideas.
Today, I bagged academics, and we spent the day at Six Flags. It was so hot, so we wore swimsuits and tried to stay cool by riding the water rides. I love Six Flags not only for the coasters, but it’s prime people watching. It’s like going to the airport. You could sit on a bench for hours and just observe people’s behavior. A quick dip in the pool tonight on returning home, and it’s time for bed. I don’t smell great, either. Something about combining sweat, greasy food, and lots of people..
Tomorrow, game on again. I will be focusing on reading and cursive with my daughter. We may actually finish by this weekend-oh happy day!
I saw that NPR reported some South American countries are coming to Snowden’s aid. Wonder how that’s going to go over. I admittedly don’t know details of the story that well, and I’m certain there are many things not being told. I just go back to the question of who is screening applicants for these types of high security jobs? Didn’t he go from being a security guard at the NSA to working with some firm with a top-secret clearance and making six figures, all with a high school degree, yes? Maybe I should do away with encouraging college for my kids-ha!
The global bladder of Germany
That title highlights some topics of discussion today..
We began studies around 9:30 after the kids had eaten breakfast and helped with cleaning the house. Man alive, the stuff under our sofa pillows was disgusting! Hadn’t seen that area in a while. A myriad of subjects were covered. I’ve done such a poor job of laying with Latin this school year, so I finally got my act together and incorporated a lesson in there today. The kids watched their Latin DVD during the lunch break. My older son and I finished his lesson in his workbook at 10:00 tonight. I know, it’s late, but this is the way we roll. He had come in from his soccer game around 9:00 (they won a pretty amazing game I’m told), had dinner, and we finished up shortly thereafter. That was after I finished math lessons with my second son. You see that we don’t really have a set schedule. I’ve tried. It doesn’t work. We school all over the place, anytime, anywhere. Whatever I need to do to expose them to what I think is important.
So “the global bladder of Germany”. Yes..Well, a couple of random things in my head. I had a lovely discussion with some homeschooling colleagues today on the importance of making your child global in nature. What does that mean? It means exposing them to bigger things, issues, people, other cultures and so forth outside of their local community bubble. Such experiences will affect their outlook, change their interests, and shape how they interact and impact the world. We are all aware of how much smaller our planet is becoming because of things like technology, so our children and future generations have to adjust and adjust quickly so it seems. The Ivies appreciate such experiences, so there’s another reason to connect the world for your child.
The bladder..I was just having a good laugh this afternoon during my gym class because the instructor was having us jump rope for quite a while. I eventually had to excuse myself because I was afraid I might go to the bathroom from all of the jumping up and down. When I arrived back into class, she quizzed me on why I had left for a few minutes, so I got to share with her how my pelvic anatomy has changed since carrying four babies down there. She enjoyed my torture. Of course, it made me think how much these little people have impacted my life. Not only do I have many sleep-deprived nights, but my ability to exercise has been altered because of their stretching out my ligaments for months on end. Ugh…
Germany…I’m told Fox News and Friends will have Mike Farris from HSLDA on their show in the morning, 7:15 eastern time. The story will be highlighting the homeschooling family who fled from Germany after being harassed by their government. Watch it if you get the opportunity. It’s 2 A.M. Time for bed..
http://www.hslda.org/legal/cases/romeike.asp?src=slide&slide=Romeike_March18_2013&pos=1
Anybody see the Harvard basketball team win tonight?
Vomit day
Well, might as well throw vomit into the mix of our day, literally. My 5 year old woke this morning with dry heaves which later turned into him throwing up in the yard and in the car. But you know I just say roll with it, so I kept teaching the other 3. The vomiting son would play for a while, then get sick, then play, then get sick, then read, then get sick. Never a dull moment around here. I did cover what I’d hope to cover academically, so I guess that’s a good thing. Sports and scouts and birthday presents followed. I finally got a work-out in around 10:30 tonight on the elliptical along with some core training and finished up around 11:30. You just do what you need to do. It’s now 12:30 in the morning, and I just finished eating dinner (yes, dinner)…buffalo chicken dip and ice cream cake. Likely not the wisest move on my part, especially since the stomach bug may be traveling through our household, but it sounded good at the time. Off to read and maybe sleep..
Come on, kids. It’s mulch week.
This week we are heavy into house projects. While the kids aren’t thrilled with working, they are excited about increasing their allowance through the use of extra chores. Instilling a good work ethic in them is a personal goal of mine as a parent.
We have many flower beds so they are helping move mulch around the house. Tough physically but a great way to tone your arms, moms! Of course, forget trying to keep your nails in any kind of presentable appearance;(
Ivy League Homeschooling 