It seems like every weekend has been busy since the weather got nice enough to do stuff outside. This last weekend was definitely no exception. Our family is really enjoying it, although I do worry that Carl might be overdoing it since he had surgery less than 2 weeks ago. He says he is taking breaks when he needs them, though, and he's not in more pain than usual, so I guess it's going okay.
Friday morning Elliott and I got most of his school work done early so that we could go to base after lunch. We didn't see any yard sales listed in the paper, but thought we would go try our luck anyway, and go to the park, too, since it was a nice day. Elliott took the rest of his work to do in the car.
We got to base, and only found one yard sale still going on. Elliott did find 5 books (2 How to Train Your Dragon, 2 Artemis Fowl and 1 Bunnicula) that were all part of a series that he likes. We only paid $1 for all 5. So then after driving around for a while, we headed to the big park that is his very favorite. We had been playing there for about 40 minutes when Carl called to ask us when we were coming to base (we were supposed to meet him after work), because he got off work early. He was pleasantly surprised to hear that we were already on base, so he came over to the park and Elliott played for a while longer, before we decided to go ahead and do some other stuff.
Monday, June 9, 2014
Friday, June 6, 2014
One Week Down
Today we finished our first week of homeschool. It went really well, and we are really enjoying it so far. Elliott is learning a lot, and we are making time to do a lot of fun things. We've been doing better at time management because of school, so we are making time to do fun things outside of school time as well.
This week we learned about our nervous system in science and the names of our bones in health. Elliott's so funny doing his dance as he shows me names of the bones. :) In language arts, we've mainly just been doing review type work, and I'm trying to figure out if he needs any extra work on anything (so far he's done a great job on everything). In math we've been reviewing place values and the different ways we can make larger groups (1 group of 1000 is the same as 10 groups of 100, 100 groups of 10 and 1000 single ones for example). In social studies we've learned about communities and the difference between urban, suburban and rural neighborhoods. We're still working on numbers in Spanish. And we're working on looking things up without using the table of contents so much in the Bible. We're also doing a unit study on animals, and learning about their habitats, their eating choices, life span, and their sizes. We're also spending lots of time reading every day.
This week we learned about our nervous system in science and the names of our bones in health. Elliott's so funny doing his dance as he shows me names of the bones. :) In language arts, we've mainly just been doing review type work, and I'm trying to figure out if he needs any extra work on anything (so far he's done a great job on everything). In math we've been reviewing place values and the different ways we can make larger groups (1 group of 1000 is the same as 10 groups of 100, 100 groups of 10 and 1000 single ones for example). In social studies we've learned about communities and the difference between urban, suburban and rural neighborhoods. We're still working on numbers in Spanish. And we're working on looking things up without using the table of contents so much in the Bible. We're also doing a unit study on animals, and learning about their habitats, their eating choices, life span, and their sizes. We're also spending lots of time reading every day.
Gardening
We are getting a late start on our garden this year, but hopefully we will still have plenty of time to grow everything and enjoy eating garden fresh veggies and a few fruits. This year is the first year that we have planted a garden since 2009. We normally travel a lot during the summer, making a garden hard to care for properly. Now that we are homeschooling Elliott, we are planning our travel times during the off season.
At our current house, we really don't have a great location for a garden anyway. We have several trees in our yard, and between them, our house, the neighbor's garage, and our shed, there's just too much shade for a garden very large to grow very well.
At our current house, we really don't have a great location for a garden anyway. We have several trees in our yard, and between them, our house, the neighbor's garage, and our shed, there's just too much shade for a garden very large to grow very well.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Wordless Wednesday
Summer Reading
Elliott got his box of surprise books from Scholastic yesterday, and couldn't wait to check it out. He's already read three of them!
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
A Start To Homeschooling
Yesterday morning we were supposed to start doing some homeschool work just to figure out some rough ideas for the amount of time we would need on various subjects. We also wanted to get an idea of how much work he would be doing on his own, and how much he would need (or want) help with. It turns out he had so much fun doing the first few things, that he decided to make yesterday his first official day of school. I think part of it might also be that he is currently grounded so it was a great way to spend time he had to spend at home anyway. Haha.
We did have a little bit of fussing, and a minor meltdown, but overall, we both enjoyed it. It turns out that he is most likely going to want to do a lot of the stuff more together than I anticipated, but that's perfectly fine with me. We've switched curriculum on a few things, and they seem to be a little more advanced than what he is used to, so we had to discuss things a little more in depth. It appears that he didn't learn some of the things in second grade that this curriculum assumes he already learned.
We've been working on homeschool again today, and he absolutely hates one of the things that I bought. It's not a huge deal, though, because it's one that I bought as a supplement. We just started with it because we are waiting on a new copy of what I need, after our first one got damaged. He's still not overly fond of Go Math (which he insisted we get, even though it wasn't my first choice for math) but I think we are going to stick with it a while longer before we give it up. I spent enough money on it that I certainly want to give it a fair shake, but if it needs to be replaced, we can make that work, too.
Spanish is still his favorite subject, and he's done it both days this week, even though I told him that we only needed do it once or twice a week each week. I have a feeling it will end up being an everyday thing, or at least as often as time allows.
We did have a little bit of fussing, and a minor meltdown, but overall, we both enjoyed it. It turns out that he is most likely going to want to do a lot of the stuff more together than I anticipated, but that's perfectly fine with me. We've switched curriculum on a few things, and they seem to be a little more advanced than what he is used to, so we had to discuss things a little more in depth. It appears that he didn't learn some of the things in second grade that this curriculum assumes he already learned.
We've been working on homeschool again today, and he absolutely hates one of the things that I bought. It's not a huge deal, though, because it's one that I bought as a supplement. We just started with it because we are waiting on a new copy of what I need, after our first one got damaged. He's still not overly fond of Go Math (which he insisted we get, even though it wasn't my first choice for math) but I think we are going to stick with it a while longer before we give it up. I spent enough money on it that I certainly want to give it a fair shake, but if it needs to be replaced, we can make that work, too.
Spanish is still his favorite subject, and he's done it both days this week, even though I told him that we only needed do it once or twice a week each week. I have a feeling it will end up being an everyday thing, or at least as often as time allows.
Monday, June 2, 2014
Maleficent
It seems like our family used to go to the movie theater nearly every weekend. Over the last several months (maybe a year?) we have cut way back, though, and go more like once a month. Part of that is because there just haven't been as many movies that we have wanted to see, and part of it has just been that we haven't had as much time, with the insane work schedule Carl has been on so much of the time.
Over the weekend we did go see a movie, though. Elliott had been really wanting to see Maleficent. He mentioned how great it looked every time we saw a commercial. So when he saw that it would be on base opening weekend, he begged to go see it. Since we have been trying to support the base theater when possible, we agreed to take him to see it.
Elliott loved it. He said part of it was scary, and part of it was kind of weird, but over all he loved it. He has never seen the original Sleeping Beauty, though, so he went in there with no real ideas about what to expect, or how Maleficent had appeared in the original movie. He viewed it completely as a movie on its own, and thought it was great.
My husband and I both thought it was okay. Neither of us thought it was as great as Elliott did, though. I typically enjoy books and movies told from a different point of view than the one we've heard before, so I did find it interesting. The acting was good for the most part, and some of the special effects were really good.
Over all, we found it to be a good way to spend some time on a Saturday afternoon, but it's probably not a movie we will add to our collection (unless Elliott buys it with his own money or gets it as a gift from someone else).
Over the weekend we did go see a movie, though. Elliott had been really wanting to see Maleficent. He mentioned how great it looked every time we saw a commercial. So when he saw that it would be on base opening weekend, he begged to go see it. Since we have been trying to support the base theater when possible, we agreed to take him to see it.
Elliott loved it. He said part of it was scary, and part of it was kind of weird, but over all he loved it. He has never seen the original Sleeping Beauty, though, so he went in there with no real ideas about what to expect, or how Maleficent had appeared in the original movie. He viewed it completely as a movie on its own, and thought it was great.
My husband and I both thought it was okay. Neither of us thought it was as great as Elliott did, though. I typically enjoy books and movies told from a different point of view than the one we've heard before, so I did find it interesting. The acting was good for the most part, and some of the special effects were really good.
Over all, we found it to be a good way to spend some time on a Saturday afternoon, but it's probably not a movie we will add to our collection (unless Elliott buys it with his own money or gets it as a gift from someone else).
Sunday, June 1, 2014
How Much Can One Kid Eat?
Elliott's only been out of school for a little more than a week, but man has he been eating! I think he must be getting ready to go through a growth spurt, and then hopefully his eating will slow down a little bit. Otherwise we are going to have to rethink the grocery budget or something. :)
Even when he was in school I packed his lunch almost every single day, so his lunches were already in our grocery budget. It's the snacks and the huge portions it seems to take to fill him up lately that are killing the budget. He's still thin, so I'm not worried about him eating so much, and figure he really does need it, but it gives me a stomach ache just watching him eat so much.
Just as an example: last night we ate at Taco Bell for supper, where he consumed a quesadilla, taco, and cheese roll up, along with a large drink. As we were shopping RIGHT after we ate, he started complaining that he was hungry again. So on the way home he ate an ice cream drumstick. Then after we put away groceries he ate some Annie's cheese crackers, a banana, grapes, 2 slices of toast, some cottage cheese, and was still looking for more food when I finally sent him to brush his teeth and get ready for bed. He also drank a big glass of milk during that time.
I've been buying so many fresh fruits and veggies lately that someone I know asked if we were running a day care or something to need all that stuff with only one child. Haha. It's amazing how much one child can eat when he's active and hungry, though!
Even when he was in school I packed his lunch almost every single day, so his lunches were already in our grocery budget. It's the snacks and the huge portions it seems to take to fill him up lately that are killing the budget. He's still thin, so I'm not worried about him eating so much, and figure he really does need it, but it gives me a stomach ache just watching him eat so much.
Just as an example: last night we ate at Taco Bell for supper, where he consumed a quesadilla, taco, and cheese roll up, along with a large drink. As we were shopping RIGHT after we ate, he started complaining that he was hungry again. So on the way home he ate an ice cream drumstick. Then after we put away groceries he ate some Annie's cheese crackers, a banana, grapes, 2 slices of toast, some cottage cheese, and was still looking for more food when I finally sent him to brush his teeth and get ready for bed. He also drank a big glass of milk during that time.
I've been buying so many fresh fruits and veggies lately that someone I know asked if we were running a day care or something to need all that stuff with only one child. Haha. It's amazing how much one child can eat when he's active and hungry, though!
Friday, May 30, 2014
Scholastic Books
One of the first things that I did after filing paperwork with the school about homeschooling Elliott next year was sign up for scholastic reading club. I've been buying books for Elliott through Scholastic reading club since right before he was born, since I have a sister that is a teacher. They have some great, quality books cheaper than anywhere else, and it's easy to see what is appropriate for each age. He's always enjoyed books, but he especially enjoyed getting the flyers at school over the last two years and going through and picking some books out by himself. My sister that lives up here is now a preschool teacher and uses Scholastic reading club, so we could order books for him whenever we wanted anyway, but I have to admit that we were both excited about starting our own account.
It was pretty easy to sign up as a homeschooler at Scholastic. I just had to talk to someone on the phone for a few minutes to verify that I was indeed going to be homeschooling Elliott, and she got it all taken care of. With a homeschool account, you earn bonus points the same way that you do as a public or private school teacher. Obviously I won't be earning them as fast since I will only be ordering for Elliott mainly, but it still adds up pretty fast. Especially considering that for several years now I've ordered more from Scholastic than the rest of my sister's class put together. We really like books at our house. :) I was able to join in late March, even though we were finishing up the year in public school. The lady I talked to was super nice and said they let people go ahead and start early in case they need anything for the schooling they will do during the summer.
It was pretty easy to sign up as a homeschooler at Scholastic. I just had to talk to someone on the phone for a few minutes to verify that I was indeed going to be homeschooling Elliott, and she got it all taken care of. With a homeschool account, you earn bonus points the same way that you do as a public or private school teacher. Obviously I won't be earning them as fast since I will only be ordering for Elliott mainly, but it still adds up pretty fast. Especially considering that for several years now I've ordered more from Scholastic than the rest of my sister's class put together. We really like books at our house. :) I was able to join in late March, even though we were finishing up the year in public school. The lady I talked to was super nice and said they let people go ahead and start early in case they need anything for the schooling they will do during the summer.
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Surgery and Time Together
My husband had surgery on Tuesday. It went well. He's off work this week recovering. So far it's gone really well. We were both a little bit concerned that we might drive each other crazy. :) I mean, obviously we love each other and like spending time together, but this is definitely more time than we usually spend together, unless we are on vacation, or he's really busy with some project at home. Since he can't do much right now, he's mainly been hanging out in front of the TV. Which is fine by me. :)
Next week Elliott and I start doing a little bit of homeschool stuff. We aren't doing much in June, just kind of getting a feel for how things will work. We aren't counting it as far as record keeping or anything either. It will mainly be a few fun things, and me checking for gaps so I know if we have to hit anything harder before we move on to cover the stuff in his third grade books. While I was in the waiting room on Tuesday, I worked on some loose lesson plans, and tried to figure out just what all I will be checking him on. I don't think there are going to be any major gaps anywhere, but I do want to get a feel for the time it takes him to do some stuff, too. I've been looking at ways to work on a few things that he's not quite as comfortable with, too. It's amazing how many books and worksheets are out there to cover just about anything you want. Right now I'm mainly sticking with things that someone else has already created, although I have a feeling that as I get more comfortable with it, I will probably end up doing a lot more of my own.
Next week Elliott and I start doing a little bit of homeschool stuff. We aren't doing much in June, just kind of getting a feel for how things will work. We aren't counting it as far as record keeping or anything either. It will mainly be a few fun things, and me checking for gaps so I know if we have to hit anything harder before we move on to cover the stuff in his third grade books. While I was in the waiting room on Tuesday, I worked on some loose lesson plans, and tried to figure out just what all I will be checking him on. I don't think there are going to be any major gaps anywhere, but I do want to get a feel for the time it takes him to do some stuff, too. I've been looking at ways to work on a few things that he's not quite as comfortable with, too. It's amazing how many books and worksheets are out there to cover just about anything you want. Right now I'm mainly sticking with things that someone else has already created, although I have a feeling that as I get more comfortable with it, I will probably end up doing a lot more of my own.
Monday, May 26, 2014
Happy Memorial Day
We've had a busy weekend full of family fun this weekend. We went to Bismarck to go to the zoo on Friday (it's much larger than the Minot one, with more room for the animals). Saturday we spent the night in a hotel with a pool with two waterslides so we could go swimming. I think Elliott ended up going down the slides about 200 times. lol We were at the pool for about 5.5 hours Saturday and then Elliott and Carl went back for another hour Sunday morning while I was getting ready for church. Yesterday after church, a couple from our church invited everyone to their house for lunch. Elliott finally played with the other kids from our church and had a blast. Right now Carl is outside grilling.
We have had a great weekend, but we are also taking the time to remember why Memorial Day is a holiday. As a military family, it hits close to home. We don't personally have any close friends that have been killed in action, but it's easy to see that it could happen. And people that are willing to give their lives for us deserve all the respect and admiration that they get, and even more. Memorial Day is such an important holiday to teach children about. We've talked about it several times with Elliott this weekend, and I think he really gets it now.
We have had a great weekend, but we are also taking the time to remember why Memorial Day is a holiday. As a military family, it hits close to home. We don't personally have any close friends that have been killed in action, but it's easy to see that it could happen. And people that are willing to give their lives for us deserve all the respect and admiration that they get, and even more. Memorial Day is such an important holiday to teach children about. We've talked about it several times with Elliott this weekend, and I think he really gets it now.
Saturday, May 24, 2014
Summer Time
Well, Elliott is officially done with second grade now. His last day of school was Thursday, but his last day of doing anything work related was Tuesday. His summer vacation lasts until the seventh of July, when we officially start homeschooling. I think he would kind of like a longer summer vacation, but he's on board with starting school in July so he can have more time off at other times of the year. :)
We started summer vacation with a bang. We drove to Bismarck yesterday and went to the zoo and Red Lobster. We considered staying the night, but couldn't find a hotel with a decent pool that had openings by the time we made up our mind to stay the night. So we came home. We are planning on going swimming at one of the hotels in Minot today or tomorrow, though. My husband is going to make some calls when he comes in from mowing the yard. We're trying to decide whether to spend the night in a hotel, or just do the afternoon at the one with waterslides. Decisions decisions!
We have a few fun things planned this summer. Living in North Dakota, a lot of the stuff is only open from Memorial to Labor Day, so we are planning on having a fairly busy summer. We have plans to work on some school stuff that is related to different places in the Dakotas. As I have been doing research, I've discovered quite a bit about my current state that I didn't know before. :) I'm looking forward to learning even more! We believe that having a good foundation of state history is pretty important, too. And since this IS Elliott's home state, and the only state he's lived in so far, we think now is the time to really find out more about it, and do some traveling to see it in person.
We started summer vacation with a bang. We drove to Bismarck yesterday and went to the zoo and Red Lobster. We considered staying the night, but couldn't find a hotel with a decent pool that had openings by the time we made up our mind to stay the night. So we came home. We are planning on going swimming at one of the hotels in Minot today or tomorrow, though. My husband is going to make some calls when he comes in from mowing the yard. We're trying to decide whether to spend the night in a hotel, or just do the afternoon at the one with waterslides. Decisions decisions!
We have a few fun things planned this summer. Living in North Dakota, a lot of the stuff is only open from Memorial to Labor Day, so we are planning on having a fairly busy summer. We have plans to work on some school stuff that is related to different places in the Dakotas. As I have been doing research, I've discovered quite a bit about my current state that I didn't know before. :) I'm looking forward to learning even more! We believe that having a good foundation of state history is pretty important, too. And since this IS Elliott's home state, and the only state he's lived in so far, we think now is the time to really find out more about it, and do some traveling to see it in person.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Target Sales on Groceries
Normally we don't buy much in the way of food at Target, because there's just not a lot of selection at our smallish store. Most of what they do carry is similar (or even better) in price to the grocery stores in Minot, though, so we do pick some stuff up there sometimes.
This week I noticed that there was a $10/$50 coupon for food and beverage items at Target, though, so I thought it might be worth checking into. Then I saw that Pepsi was on sale as well. I'm the only one that regularly drinks soda at my house, and I'm cutting back, but I still go through a 12 pack every 3 weeks or so, and was down to just 3 or 4 cans left, so it was time to buy some anyway. :)
I didn't take any pictures, but I did end up spending $52.47 on food and beverages all together, so I was able to use the $10/50 coupon to bring the total down, and then used my red card to get another 5% off. A few of the things that I purchased (veggie straws, archer farms salsa, and organic eggs) had cartwheel coupons as well. So I think we ended up getting some decent deals. It was nothing compared to the deals I used to get when I couponed a lot and really paid close attention to everything I bought, but it was still decent savings.
Adding up the amount I saved because things were on sale, the $10, the 5%, and the cartwheel savings, I ended up saving about $20, which is pretty good, considering Target was a spur of the moment stop with no preplanning at all Sunday afternoon. :)
This week I noticed that there was a $10/$50 coupon for food and beverage items at Target, though, so I thought it might be worth checking into. Then I saw that Pepsi was on sale as well. I'm the only one that regularly drinks soda at my house, and I'm cutting back, but I still go through a 12 pack every 3 weeks or so, and was down to just 3 or 4 cans left, so it was time to buy some anyway. :)
I didn't take any pictures, but I did end up spending $52.47 on food and beverages all together, so I was able to use the $10/50 coupon to bring the total down, and then used my red card to get another 5% off. A few of the things that I purchased (veggie straws, archer farms salsa, and organic eggs) had cartwheel coupons as well. So I think we ended up getting some decent deals. It was nothing compared to the deals I used to get when I couponed a lot and really paid close attention to everything I bought, but it was still decent savings.
Adding up the amount I saved because things were on sale, the $10, the 5%, and the cartwheel savings, I ended up saving about $20, which is pretty good, considering Target was a spur of the moment stop with no preplanning at all Sunday afternoon. :)
Monday, May 19, 2014
Always a Project
When my husband and I bought our house seven years ago, it was in great shape. In fact, of all the houses we looked at, it was the best, as far as new paint, carpet, appliances, etc. I wasn't sure my husband would be totally happy here, since he had mentioned that he wanted to do some work on whatever house we ended up buying. It turns out I had nothing to worry about. :) Immediately he added ceiling fans to the bedrooms, living room, and dining room. Then he slowly started working on other projects, including adding screen doors (and then changing one a while later to include a doggy door), an exhaust fan in the upstairs bathroom, converting a broom closet into a pantry in the dining room, converting a second closet with hanging rods in the spare bedroom into a linen closet, ripping Elliott's closet out (he uses an armoire now), adding a bedroom to the basement, adding built in shelves to the basement, redoing the shelves in the pantry to add more shelf space, redoing the back porch, fencing in the backyard, putting up motion lights, replacing the range, building shelves for his workshop, along with smaller things like painting, minor touch ups on dry wall, etc. Have I mentioned that he works about 60-70 hours a week on average (with some weeks reaching over 100 hours)? Even though he is always incredibly busy, he still always seems to come up with new projects he wants to do around the house, and he enjoys doing them, so I guess it's okay.
Right now he is getting ready to replace the flooring in the room that will soon be Elliott's school room. When Snoopie was going through her bad separation anxiety, she ripped the carpet up by the door in there. So for several months now, our floor has looked like this:
Needless to say, I am ready for some kind of floor cover. :) Because that room has the back door and receives a lot of traffic (the dogs are in and out pretty frequently, and we spend quite a bit of time in the backyard, too), we decided to do a fake hardwood floor. Carl is planning on starting it this weekend. I'm really excited! I'll try to remember to post pictures after he's done, although it might take a while, since he has surgery next week and will probably need to take some time off from things like that for a short while.
Right now he is getting ready to replace the flooring in the room that will soon be Elliott's school room. When Snoopie was going through her bad separation anxiety, she ripped the carpet up by the door in there. So for several months now, our floor has looked like this:
 |
| Snoopie even managed to scratch the floor enough there that Carl decided to patch it a little |
Needless to say, I am ready for some kind of floor cover. :) Because that room has the back door and receives a lot of traffic (the dogs are in and out pretty frequently, and we spend quite a bit of time in the backyard, too), we decided to do a fake hardwood floor. Carl is planning on starting it this weekend. I'm really excited! I'll try to remember to post pictures after he's done, although it might take a while, since he has surgery next week and will probably need to take some time off from things like that for a short while.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Officially Homeschoolers!
I turned in all the paperwork to the superintendent of Elliott's school last week. Some days Elliott is really excited about homeschooling and other days he says he wants to continue to go to public school. My husband and I have been praying and talking about it for months now, though, and we really feel like it's what is best for our family. We want Elliott to be happy with his schooling where ever he goes, but ultimately as his parents, the decision is ours.
I'm pretty nervous about doing it myself. I guess it's because it's something new and exciting. I know Elliott is going to miss out on some fun stuff, but there are so many more fun things that we can do that we couldn't do while he was in public school. We have some really fun lessons and field trips planned. I know that we could always still do fun stuff during the summer, like we already do, but there's something to be said for traveling during the school year when crowds are smaller and prices are cheaper. :)
I just finished ordering the last of our homeschool stuff, I think. We will probably end up adding some more supplements if we need them to fill the time, but all the basics are covered now. We've run a couple of trial days to figure out about how long we will be working on each subject. It looks like in order to hit the mandatory hours each day, we will end up supplementing a fair amount. We are planning on doing a lot of that as unit studies, though, and hitting a lot of different subjects in the course of the study. We are starting with an outer space unit study, and it will obviously cover a lot of science and reading, but it will include math, art and social studies as well, to a smaller degree.
Elliott's last day of public school (for a while anyway, he might end up going back down the road) is next Thursday. I can't wait to begin the next chapter! I think we will do a little in June, but start actually keeping track and officially schooling in July.
I'm pretty nervous about doing it myself. I guess it's because it's something new and exciting. I know Elliott is going to miss out on some fun stuff, but there are so many more fun things that we can do that we couldn't do while he was in public school. We have some really fun lessons and field trips planned. I know that we could always still do fun stuff during the summer, like we already do, but there's something to be said for traveling during the school year when crowds are smaller and prices are cheaper. :)
I just finished ordering the last of our homeschool stuff, I think. We will probably end up adding some more supplements if we need them to fill the time, but all the basics are covered now. We've run a couple of trial days to figure out about how long we will be working on each subject. It looks like in order to hit the mandatory hours each day, we will end up supplementing a fair amount. We are planning on doing a lot of that as unit studies, though, and hitting a lot of different subjects in the course of the study. We are starting with an outer space unit study, and it will obviously cover a lot of science and reading, but it will include math, art and social studies as well, to a smaller degree.
Elliott's last day of public school (for a while anyway, he might end up going back down the road) is next Thursday. I can't wait to begin the next chapter! I think we will do a little in June, but start actually keeping track and officially schooling in July.
Friday, April 11, 2014
Our Recent Reading List
I know it's been a while since I've posted about the books we are reading at our house. We do still read a lot, but it seems like now that the books we read are often longer, and Elliott has more homework, we just don't get as much reading done together as we would like. Currently Elliott is kind of transitioning more and more away from picture books. There are still a few that he loves, but he very rarely reaches for one anymore, unless it's a holiday themed one. Of course right now we are reading some Easter picture books, but after Easter he might not touch another picture book until we pull out Halloween books.
We just finished reading all of the Guardians of Childhood books by William Joyce. We really liked them all. The movie is one of Elliott's favorite, so he was excited to check out the first book. I think it took us about a week to read it. At least one of the others also went that fast, but one of them took us over two weeks to read. It wasn't that the book wasn't good, it was just a busy time. It was the one we were reading when we had a lot of extra stuff going on. So far there are four books out, with at least one more planned. They are most appealing to kids in grades 2-6.
We are currently reading Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke. We have only been reading it for a few days, and we both like it so far. It's a really long book (nearly 550 pages!) so it will probably take us quite a while to read it, but so far neither of us have lost interest. It's the first of Cornelia Funke's books we've read, but Elliott has already added another one to our wishlist on Amazon. According to Scholastic, it's most appealing to kids in third to fifth grade.
I included links so you can learn more about the books if you like. They are my affiliate Amazon links.
We just finished reading all of the Guardians of Childhood books by William Joyce. We really liked them all. The movie is one of Elliott's favorite, so he was excited to check out the first book. I think it took us about a week to read it. At least one of the others also went that fast, but one of them took us over two weeks to read. It wasn't that the book wasn't good, it was just a busy time. It was the one we were reading when we had a lot of extra stuff going on. So far there are four books out, with at least one more planned. They are most appealing to kids in grades 2-6.
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| Guardians of Childhood |
We are currently reading Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke. We have only been reading it for a few days, and we both like it so far. It's a really long book (nearly 550 pages!) so it will probably take us quite a while to read it, but so far neither of us have lost interest. It's the first of Cornelia Funke's books we've read, but Elliott has already added another one to our wishlist on Amazon. According to Scholastic, it's most appealing to kids in third to fifth grade.
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| Dragon Rider |
I included links so you can learn more about the books if you like. They are my affiliate Amazon links.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Lots of Changes
I can't believe it's been almost two months since I've written a blog post. We have had some pretty crazy things going on at our house that have taken away a lot of my free time.
Elliott is still in public school, but we have already talked to his current teacher about the fact that we are homeschooling next year. She even said that while she thinks most kids benefit greatly from public school, she agrees that homeschool might be best for Elliott, because their school is too small to offer him the extra stuff that he needs. I've found all of our materials that we plan on starting him with for third grade now. We are sticking with a plan that is fairly close to public school for the most part, for while we transition. In fact, we are using the exact same handwriting, language arts, and math curriculum choices that his school uses. We'll be using a different curriculum that is also mainstream and found in a lot of public schools for Social Studies, but are using a Christian based alternative for Health and Science. Because Elliott works so fast, and learns things quickly, I also have A LOT of supplemental things planned, including books and workbooks that go much more in depth in a small section of every subject (human anatomy for science and health, Colonial America for social studies, a variety of classic books for language arts, and extra word problems and brain teasers for math). Elliott is really excited, and has actually already started working on some of the stuff, even though we don't officially start until he's out of school. :)
We just agreed to purchase some land in the same town we currently live in. We've talked about moving for quite a while, and have been working on saving money for a move, plus working on paying off debt. With the price of this land, we decided we should just go ahead and go for it, and buy it while it's available, so that's what we did. :) We close on it in May. We will be putting a house on it after we get this one paid off, so most likely in 2 years. We're planning a large garden for over there this year and next year, though, so we will still be using it, just not as much.
We have recently completely changed our eating habits. We haven't ever really had terrible eating habits, but they were certainly not as good as they should have been. Even still, we have room to improve, but necessity has forced us to remove artificial dyes and high fructose corn syrup, and I have to say, it's going really well. We've also switched to organic on anything that is readily available to us that way, and are working on switching even more stuff. Right now, we are checking around to see where the best place is to get meat locally. Living in the middle of nowhere has some positives, like more organic fresh produce that is grown locally. But it's also harder to find organic stuff that isn't priced extremely high in grocery stores. Plus the growing season is short here, so farmers markets are only open for a relatively short time frame each year. We're definitely fans of Amazon subscribe and save for snack foods, bulk flour (I make all of our bread products from scratch now), and a few other things that are cheaper that way. :)
Elliott is still in public school, but we have already talked to his current teacher about the fact that we are homeschooling next year. She even said that while she thinks most kids benefit greatly from public school, she agrees that homeschool might be best for Elliott, because their school is too small to offer him the extra stuff that he needs. I've found all of our materials that we plan on starting him with for third grade now. We are sticking with a plan that is fairly close to public school for the most part, for while we transition. In fact, we are using the exact same handwriting, language arts, and math curriculum choices that his school uses. We'll be using a different curriculum that is also mainstream and found in a lot of public schools for Social Studies, but are using a Christian based alternative for Health and Science. Because Elliott works so fast, and learns things quickly, I also have A LOT of supplemental things planned, including books and workbooks that go much more in depth in a small section of every subject (human anatomy for science and health, Colonial America for social studies, a variety of classic books for language arts, and extra word problems and brain teasers for math). Elliott is really excited, and has actually already started working on some of the stuff, even though we don't officially start until he's out of school. :)
We just agreed to purchase some land in the same town we currently live in. We've talked about moving for quite a while, and have been working on saving money for a move, plus working on paying off debt. With the price of this land, we decided we should just go ahead and go for it, and buy it while it's available, so that's what we did. :) We close on it in May. We will be putting a house on it after we get this one paid off, so most likely in 2 years. We're planning a large garden for over there this year and next year, though, so we will still be using it, just not as much.
We have recently completely changed our eating habits. We haven't ever really had terrible eating habits, but they were certainly not as good as they should have been. Even still, we have room to improve, but necessity has forced us to remove artificial dyes and high fructose corn syrup, and I have to say, it's going really well. We've also switched to organic on anything that is readily available to us that way, and are working on switching even more stuff. Right now, we are checking around to see where the best place is to get meat locally. Living in the middle of nowhere has some positives, like more organic fresh produce that is grown locally. But it's also harder to find organic stuff that isn't priced extremely high in grocery stores. Plus the growing season is short here, so farmers markets are only open for a relatively short time frame each year. We're definitely fans of Amazon subscribe and save for snack foods, bulk flour (I make all of our bread products from scratch now), and a few other things that are cheaper that way. :)
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Birthday Parties
Last Saturday Elliott turned 8. It's hard to believe that he's so old! For the last two years we've done a big party where we invited everyone from his class, but this year he decided he wanted to do something smaller and only invite a few friends. Originally I thought this would save me money so I was all for it, but it turns out it's still going to be kind of expensive. It's probably a good thing I only have one child. ;)
The Lego Movie comes to theaters on Friday and Elliott and his friends have been anxiously awaiting it for months now. Elliott decided that what he really wanted for his birthday was to be able to take a group of friends with him to see this movie, and then go out to eat "somewhere fun" after the movie. So yesterday I passed out invitations to four 7 and 8 year old boys for a movie this weekend. I had already talked to some of the moms about it beforehand since I knew I wouldn't be able to send out invites until right before the party because we wouldn't know what time the movie starts.
So far I've heard back from two of the moms that their kids will be attending, but I'm not sure on the other two. Even if it's just Elliott and two friends I think they will still have fun, though. :) We're going to see the movie and then eat at either Pizza Hut or McDonald's. We'll do the presents there, and then take the boys all back home. The "party" won't be crazy expensive, even if we decide to get the kids snacks at the movie theater, and I won't have to do much clean up before or after the party. So that is definitely a plus. I keep telling my husband that our next child needs to have a summer birthday or adoption date so we can do stuff outside for parties. Haha.
The Lego Movie comes to theaters on Friday and Elliott and his friends have been anxiously awaiting it for months now. Elliott decided that what he really wanted for his birthday was to be able to take a group of friends with him to see this movie, and then go out to eat "somewhere fun" after the movie. So yesterday I passed out invitations to four 7 and 8 year old boys for a movie this weekend. I had already talked to some of the moms about it beforehand since I knew I wouldn't be able to send out invites until right before the party because we wouldn't know what time the movie starts.
So far I've heard back from two of the moms that their kids will be attending, but I'm not sure on the other two. Even if it's just Elliott and two friends I think they will still have fun, though. :) We're going to see the movie and then eat at either Pizza Hut or McDonald's. We'll do the presents there, and then take the boys all back home. The "party" won't be crazy expensive, even if we decide to get the kids snacks at the movie theater, and I won't have to do much clean up before or after the party. So that is definitely a plus. I keep telling my husband that our next child needs to have a summer birthday or adoption date so we can do stuff outside for parties. Haha.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Issues At School
So we have already decided that we are over 95% sure that we will be homeschooling Elliott next year, but we are going to try to finish out second grade in public school. That decision is getting harder and harder to stick with, though.
Elliott has always had an issue with bruising pretty easily, but never without a reason. Well, it appears my child ends up with a whole lot more bruises than other kids anyway. And because he tries to be tough, he doesn't get the help he needs at school. It's driving me crazy. Last Monday, he came home with scratches and bruising by his eye. His face was STILL red when he got home from school at about 4, even though he told me it happened at his recess at noon. I asked him what happened, and he informed me that one of his "friends" had pushed him down, and then shoved his face back into the snow when he tried to get up. That same kid then jumped on his stomach. I asked Elliott if he told his teacher, and he said he hadn't, because he didn't want to get in trouble. I told him he needed to say something about it the next day to his teacher, but he insisted that it was fine, and he didn't want to get in trouble. Tuesday and Wednesday he didn't play with that kid. Then on Thursday, that same kid pushed him down at recess AGAIN. And once again, Elliott didn't tell the teacher what was going on, even though he had a bump on his head again. Neither of these issues had notes in his planner either. And Elliott told me his teacher didn't even notice his face, until someone else said something about it.
So Friday morning my husband called the principal and we set up a meeting with him and Elliott's teacher. We told them that we weren't happy with the fact that our child keeps getting hurt and he's afraid to tell the teacher because he will get in trouble. Back in October or November, this same kid pushed Elliott down, and Elliott apparently interrupted the teacher to tell her. They both got sent to the principal to discuss what was going on. According to the principal Elliott didn't get in any trouble for that incident, at least not from him. But they both ended up missing recess for the next three days. That seems a little harsh if you ask me, that the kid who gets hurt gets punished that much just for interrupting to tell the teacher what happened in the hall.
We talked about more stuff while we were there, but this is already long enough, so I won't go into it right now. I'm fairly happy with the solution we came to regarding Elliott getting hurt (the principal sat both boys down and explained that they aren't allowed to play together at recess again until he tells them they can). The principal and teacher both sat down with Elliott and explained to him that he WON'T get in trouble for coming to them when he's hurt, unless he did something wrong, too. His teacher also reminded him how important it is to be honest about what happens, and that if he hurts, he needs to tell someone so they can help him feel better. The teacher also said she would try to do better about letting me know if he gets hurt at school.
Elliott has always had an issue with bruising pretty easily, but never without a reason. Well, it appears my child ends up with a whole lot more bruises than other kids anyway. And because he tries to be tough, he doesn't get the help he needs at school. It's driving me crazy. Last Monday, he came home with scratches and bruising by his eye. His face was STILL red when he got home from school at about 4, even though he told me it happened at his recess at noon. I asked him what happened, and he informed me that one of his "friends" had pushed him down, and then shoved his face back into the snow when he tried to get up. That same kid then jumped on his stomach. I asked Elliott if he told his teacher, and he said he hadn't, because he didn't want to get in trouble. I told him he needed to say something about it the next day to his teacher, but he insisted that it was fine, and he didn't want to get in trouble. Tuesday and Wednesday he didn't play with that kid. Then on Thursday, that same kid pushed him down at recess AGAIN. And once again, Elliott didn't tell the teacher what was going on, even though he had a bump on his head again. Neither of these issues had notes in his planner either. And Elliott told me his teacher didn't even notice his face, until someone else said something about it.
So Friday morning my husband called the principal and we set up a meeting with him and Elliott's teacher. We told them that we weren't happy with the fact that our child keeps getting hurt and he's afraid to tell the teacher because he will get in trouble. Back in October or November, this same kid pushed Elliott down, and Elliott apparently interrupted the teacher to tell her. They both got sent to the principal to discuss what was going on. According to the principal Elliott didn't get in any trouble for that incident, at least not from him. But they both ended up missing recess for the next three days. That seems a little harsh if you ask me, that the kid who gets hurt gets punished that much just for interrupting to tell the teacher what happened in the hall.
We talked about more stuff while we were there, but this is already long enough, so I won't go into it right now. I'm fairly happy with the solution we came to regarding Elliott getting hurt (the principal sat both boys down and explained that they aren't allowed to play together at recess again until he tells them they can). The principal and teacher both sat down with Elliott and explained to him that he WON'T get in trouble for coming to them when he's hurt, unless he did something wrong, too. His teacher also reminded him how important it is to be honest about what happens, and that if he hurts, he needs to tell someone so they can help him feel better. The teacher also said she would try to do better about letting me know if he gets hurt at school.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Homeschooling
I've mentioned on here before that my family had been considering homeschooling for a variety of reasons. Even though Elliott is still in public school right now, we do quite a bit of additional school type stuff at home. I've found that he tends to behave better at school if we are working on new stuff that he finds fun at home. He picks up on new stuff very quickly, so public school tends to be boring to him when he understands the lesson the first day, but then has to spend another 2 weeks (or more) listening to his teacher talk about it. My husband has voiced concern that maybe Elliott is getting TOO far ahead in some stuff at home, but I don't really see it that way, and neither does Elliott. We just work on the stuff that he is interested in. Like for instance, right now he is working on fully memorizing multiplication tables, and is also working on adding and subtracting fractions. His class at school is no where near ready for those things, but they are both things that he wants to work on at home. He's also already finished his cursive handwriting book at home, so we just ordered a new one for him that has more copy work, so he can get more practice with making sure that he has his letters connected properly. We tried having him copy things that I had written down, but that was too much stress and work for me, since he uses a totally different style of writing than I do. :)
Recently Elliott came to me and told me that he wants to homeschool full time next year instead of going to public school. I've been praying about this for a long time, because I have felt like that is what is the best fit for my family, but Elliott was opposed to it, because he likes seeing his friends everyday. When I asked him why he changed his mind, he said it was because homeschooling is more fun, and he can learn about the stuff he wants to learn about. I reminded him that he still has to do science (he pretty much only likes to learn about animals and weather, and has no interest in anything else science) and language arts. I also pointed out that he still has to learn all the same things that his public school friends have to learn each year, but that we can add more stuff to it.
After having a family meeting, we decided that Elliott will finish up second grade in public school, but then start homeschooling in June or July. We have been looking at curriculum for various subjects, and are just amazed at all the choices. I've actually enjoyed reading reviews and narrowing down my choices to a few, and having Elliott look at stuff that is included in different ones. We haven't settled on anything 100% for sure yet, but we have a pretty good idea on everything except science (we want to do a human anatomy study for the bulk of health, but our state standards require him to touch on lots of stuff, instead of allowing him to just study one area in depth each semester or year). I do feel a little overwhelmed by everything, but I feel at peace with it for the most part. The biggest concern is just making everything fit in every day, including school work, cleaning, and the things that I enjoy (crafting and reading mostly).
When I first mentioned homeschooling, it seems like my whole family was against it, but now some of them are actually supportive. :) My brother is my biggest supporter, which really isn't surprising, considering he is also the biggest supporter (aside from my husband and son) of me staying at home instead of working outside of the home anyway. But even my mom has come around and is supportive. That really means a lot to me. My mom and I are pretty close (we talk on the phone for around 10 hours each week). There are many things that I do different as a parent than she did (a lot of that probably has to do with the fact that I only have one child, and she had four of her own, plus two step children), and sometimes she isn't all that supportive of different, so it really means a lot to me when she IS.
Recently Elliott came to me and told me that he wants to homeschool full time next year instead of going to public school. I've been praying about this for a long time, because I have felt like that is what is the best fit for my family, but Elliott was opposed to it, because he likes seeing his friends everyday. When I asked him why he changed his mind, he said it was because homeschooling is more fun, and he can learn about the stuff he wants to learn about. I reminded him that he still has to do science (he pretty much only likes to learn about animals and weather, and has no interest in anything else science) and language arts. I also pointed out that he still has to learn all the same things that his public school friends have to learn each year, but that we can add more stuff to it.
After having a family meeting, we decided that Elliott will finish up second grade in public school, but then start homeschooling in June or July. We have been looking at curriculum for various subjects, and are just amazed at all the choices. I've actually enjoyed reading reviews and narrowing down my choices to a few, and having Elliott look at stuff that is included in different ones. We haven't settled on anything 100% for sure yet, but we have a pretty good idea on everything except science (we want to do a human anatomy study for the bulk of health, but our state standards require him to touch on lots of stuff, instead of allowing him to just study one area in depth each semester or year). I do feel a little overwhelmed by everything, but I feel at peace with it for the most part. The biggest concern is just making everything fit in every day, including school work, cleaning, and the things that I enjoy (crafting and reading mostly).
When I first mentioned homeschooling, it seems like my whole family was against it, but now some of them are actually supportive. :) My brother is my biggest supporter, which really isn't surprising, considering he is also the biggest supporter (aside from my husband and son) of me staying at home instead of working outside of the home anyway. But even my mom has come around and is supportive. That really means a lot to me. My mom and I are pretty close (we talk on the phone for around 10 hours each week). There are many things that I do different as a parent than she did (a lot of that probably has to do with the fact that I only have one child, and she had four of her own, plus two step children), and sometimes she isn't all that supportive of different, so it really means a lot to me when she IS.
Friday, January 10, 2014
Getting Out of Debt?
I started this blog as a place to write about money saving ideas and to track my progress on getting out of debt, but I've definitely moved away from that for the most part. Since it's the beginning of the year, I did just look at our finances, though, to see how close we are to being out of debt. It's not nearly as close as I would like, but we are making progress, so I guess that still makes it a good day. :) Our total debt is now officially less than what our home is valued at by the county, so that's certainly good news.
We ended up making progress toward our total debt by about $8,000 this year. Our savings accounts are all in better shape, too. We didn't do anything like buying a car or any other major purchases last year, but we ended up traveling to Missouri three times, instead of the planned once. I was also hospitalized for several days in March. Our insurance covered the total bill, but there was a lot more gas used during that time (the hospital is about 35 miles away and my husband was traveling back and forth twice a day), and my husband took my son out to eat every night so he would still have time to bring him to see me. Either way I'm a little disappointed by our total. Almost everything moved the right way, although one of the credit cards stayed at almost the exact same number.
Our goal this year is to drop our debt total by about $14000 this year. If we achieve this goal, and my husband stays in the Air Force, we should be able to afford to move into a larger house in 2015. :)
We ended up making progress toward our total debt by about $8,000 this year. Our savings accounts are all in better shape, too. We didn't do anything like buying a car or any other major purchases last year, but we ended up traveling to Missouri three times, instead of the planned once. I was also hospitalized for several days in March. Our insurance covered the total bill, but there was a lot more gas used during that time (the hospital is about 35 miles away and my husband was traveling back and forth twice a day), and my husband took my son out to eat every night so he would still have time to bring him to see me. Either way I'm a little disappointed by our total. Almost everything moved the right way, although one of the credit cards stayed at almost the exact same number.
Our goal this year is to drop our debt total by about $14000 this year. If we achieve this goal, and my husband stays in the Air Force, we should be able to afford to move into a larger house in 2015. :)
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