Homeschool Wrap Up Week 1

 We started back to school this week!  We did not start all of our subjects.  I prefer to ease in to the school year a bit so for this week we only worked on Bible, history, science, and math.  We also added in a nonfiction read aloud in the mornings, reading one chapter per day.  We still have two fiction read alouds that we read together before bed each night.

It was kind of a weird week.  I thought that we would do a nature study this week, when I was planning for the start of our school year, but little did I know that Arkansas would be preparing for a hurricane instead!  We were forecasted to get hit by hurricane Laura and put under tropical storm warnings and told to prepare for tornadoes as well.  Nick's college closed Wednesday and he came home.  Local public schools closed for Thursday and many local businesses as well.  But actually we did not get very much of it here.  We had some strong wind that lasted several hours (but not as strong as a severe thunderstorm) and some rain.  The thunderstorm we ended up with Saturday night was much worse then the tropical storm and we didn't know it was coming until shortly before it arrived.  

Our air started not working properly this week too.  I noticed right before supper on Tuesday that it was 82 degrees in here and it was supposed to be 76.  Turning off the unit and letting it rest and then turning it back on did the trick and it started running again.  The next night though it did the same thing so I called a repairman to look at it.  He cleaned the outside unit but couldn't find anything wrong.  It was an expensive visit to not have to fix anything, but so far since then it has continued to work.

We had to make a visit to the vet with a goat who is supposed to be a wether (a castrated male) but started acting very much like a buck.  They did an ultrasound on him but could not find any testicular tissue (that was an unusual vet experience for us) so they drew some blood to look at testosterone levels.  While we wait for the results we have him separated from the ladies...We also discussed our continuing parasite problem with the vet.  Truly keeping worms under control is the hardest thing about raising goats.

And my phone broke.  So I have no pictures from this week at all.  I did get my new phone in and connected late Friday.  It's weird how much we have come to depend on phones, but we really have.  

Now for  the actual book work for this week....

Homeschool Wrap Up Week 1

 

Bible: We finished reading 1st Corinthians.

Read Aloud: We read 4 chapters in YWAM Publishing's biography on John Adams.  We LOVE the biographies from YWAM.  It is usually of their favorite parts of the day.

History: We completed the first 3 lessons in MOH Vol II on Pentecost, Saul's Conversion to Paul, and Paul's Missionary journeys.  Christian and Anthony are completing notebooking pages on each lesson.  The girls are just listening in.  I will start Our 50 States from Notgrass for them when it arrives, hopefully in a few weeks. Covid has held things up at the printers and I'd rather wait for the print books to arrive then to use digital.

Science: We have several science curricula being used for grades 4-9, plus something different for Alex.  Anthony and Christian are working independently on their assignments and completed three this week.  Anthony is using Apologia Physical Science and Christian is using Apologia General Science.  I am working on MasterBooks Zoology with the girls and we are not sure what to think so far.  They have not been overly excited about it but it is only the first week.  The reading is a bit dry and has lots of scientific terms but they do like the pictures in the book so that's something ....

Math: So far so good.  Anthony and Alex are both using MUS Algebra 1 and completed week one's lessons without any trouble.  Christian, Lily, and Emmie are all using Teaching Textbooks and so far they like it. Of course it's just been review and has been fairly easy, but I'm hopeful.

Reading: Emmie finished up AAR Level 3!  On to Level 4 next week!

 

Alex's welding class at the college went ok the first week.  They don't actually have a teacher for the class.  They are trying to hire someone, but they do have someone who can fill in temporarily until they get someone hired.  He goes in person Mon-Thursday and will have online assignments on Friday.

 

Our Memoria Press Literature came in on Saturday so we will start that next week with the boys.  They will be starting with Wind in the Willows.  They will also start Essentials in Writing.  And the girls will pick up Lightning Lit where they left off last spring.

I hope you had a great week!

Happy Homeschooling!

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Our Week in Review (August 17th-23rd)

 Our last week of vacation before school starts next week.  We did not do anything special at all.  We did have a very pleasant break in the heat after a blazing hot week-end which was really, really nice.  

Our poor sick goat that we have been trying to get recovered for over 2 months took a turn for the worst on Monday.  We had been treating her in every way possible.  We have given medicines, electrolytes, probiotics, special feed, protein, everything we could think of.  I had told the children all week long that even though the things we were doing had been keeping her alive, she had not been getting better at all. Monday night she started eating even less then she had been.  Tuesday she started flat out refusing food, but we continued to give her medicines and her other stuff.   She died during the night Tuesday night.

Wednesday Chelsea brought the babies over.  Willow's birthday present had finally arrived in the mail and we wanted to give it to her.  We had a great day after the early morning sadness. 

I spent a lot of time on the phone.  Ask Emmie, she'll tell you that she'd never seen me spend so much time on the phone and computer as I did Friday-Wednesday ;) The end result was that Alex was given approval to take the welding class.  It starts on Monday.  

Nicholas came home for the week-end, I think.  I saw him for a few minutes on Friday before he went to work and I did his laundry.  He worked Saturday all day, he stopped home to eat, and then went to mow grass for an elderly lady from our church.  He worked this morning, stopped home, and picked up his stuff to leave again.  He did say that his classes are going well so far.

Alex passes his driver's test.  We do not have a vehicle for him to drive.  He is fixing up an old truck but it will take some time to get it done.  Until then I am his chauffeur with the van most of the time and he can use Art's truck to go to work in the evenings.

We have 3 livestock shows in September.  I am hoping everyone stays healthy of course and avoids being any of "contact" so we don't end up quarantined. The longer the Covid things go on the more likely it starts to become.  We know several people that have recently been quarantined for two weeks that never tested positive but had to stay home as they were in contact with someone who was.  Nick already had a teacher out because she was a contact. I wish that they would stop the contact tracing and just ask sick people to stay home.....

I have no idea why they were walking around with this chicken on a stick.....

We are ready to go back to school!  I am excited for the year to start.  We  have a few things that have not arrived yet, but will be starting with what we have on Monday.

Happy Homeschooling!

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11th Grade Curriculum Choices for the 2020-2021 School Year

I am posting my 11th grade choices much later then the others because there were things that were up in the air about Alex's junior year.  Last spring, Alex expressed an interest in taking a welding class that the local high school offers that takes place at a Community College.  I discussed it with the counselor at the school that Nick attended to see what we would have to do in order for Alex to take the class.  I picked up the paperwork and then waited to see if the classes were even going to go on this year.  In July when we were fairly certain schools would open, we turned in our paperwork and Alex was enrolled.  I double checked to make sure there was nothing else I needed to do and was told he was all set and ready to start class on the 24th. Then last week (10 days before class would start) I was contacted by the school who told me that he could not take the class because "homeschoolers weren't allowed" to do this.  There are several homeschool laws in Arkansas that are absolute and then some things that are left up to the district.  Having gone through the district before and knowing what I know about the laws, I knew that what I was being told was not accurate, but also that the ultimate decision would be in the hands of the superintendent.  I made a LOT of phone calls (HLSDA, Education Alliance, Arkansas Department of Education,school superintendent, and more) and sent several emails trying to resolve the situation.  I was running out of time to try and find another option to enroll him in this class but I was looking into those options as well. I did learn something through that process.  There had always been an assumption even from the college that the only way homeschoolers could register for the tech courses in high school was through a public school or if they were enrolled in Arkansas Virtual Academy.  I found out with the help of an advisor from the college that did research for me that this is not true.  A homeschooler can enroll without going through these, but the parent is responsible for paying the cost of the class.  If you register through a school, the state pays for the class.  We did find out Wednesday that the superintendent was going to go ahead and give the final approval for Alex to take the class.  He will be at the college for one class period a day Monday-Friday.  

In addition to the welding class, Alex will be taking:

Algebra 1 from Math U See

Exploring Government from Notgrass (1st semester)

Economics for Everybody from Compass Classroom (2nd semester)

Essay Intensive from IEW along with Daily Grammar for Language Arts

Applied Engineering from Master Books

Art from ARTistic Pursuits (1st semester)

Computer Science (2nd semester)

School starts on Monday!  It's going to be a great year!

Happy Homeschooling!

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Our Weeks in Review (August 3rd-16th) Birthdays, College, and Chaos

 Maybe not chaos. Maybe stress is a better word.  But I will be thankful for the positives and try not to think too much about the negatives.

August 3rd-6th were mostly normal, relaxing days at home.  We had a break in the heat which was wonderful!  

Those are rabbits in the strollers.

Our baby turned 1 on August 7th! We had a little party for her on August 8th.  The children had a wonderful time!  The present I ordered for her was delayed in the mail so I got her a tiny baby doll and a purse so she would have something to open from us She loved them!  Emmie sewed her some shapes and Lily made her a pillow to put in her doll bed.  It was a very nice family day!

August 9th we dropped Nick off at college.  Hard day for mama.  I'm very proud of the man he is becoming but my heart still feels like he's a little boy.  I think the pandemic has made it even harder this year.  The students have to wear masks unless they are in their dorms.  His schedule went from in person classes M-Fri to only two days a week in person and 2 days having classes on Zoom.  Other changes have happened as well.  He is only an hour and a half away and plans on coming home every week-end.  He kept his job here at Sonic and will be working on the week-ends to help pay his expenses.

August 10th Lily had a sewing workshop to finish up her quilt.  It turned out so beautiful!  I am very proud of her hard work.

I was woken up early Tuesday morning by a text from Chelsea that said ," Have you heard from Nick."  I replied," not since yesterday."  Then she texted back, "Have you seen the news?"  I clicked on the news page and found that there was a shooting at the college during the middle of the night!  It was a secluded incident. (I'm fairly certain it was drug related but they haven't come out and said that.) One person was injured and another killed.  Nick did not even know what was going on until morning.  He had heard the sirens but other then that had no idea what it was.  

Later that day I took the girls for their music lessons and to record an offertory for this Sunday's church service.

As we were rehearsing, my phone rang.  It was Chelsea and she was crying.  She had just been in a car accident with the babies in the car.  Thank God they were not hurt!  It was a hit and run.  The driver ran a stop sign and drove into the side of her hitting the door where Willow's seat is as she was turning and just kept on going.  A police officer witnessed the accident and attempted to follow the car but lost it.  After an investigation they found the driver and she was cited for driving on a suspended license, leaving the scene of an accident, and another charge I can't remember.  Later that night the same woman was arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct.  So very thankful they were not hurt!

The girls got to go back to gymnastics Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.  It was a small, socially distanced class.  Parents couldn't stay so no photos.

Friday I spent most of my afternoon on the phone and computer.  I am in a battle with a local school superintendent over Alex being allowed to take a welding  class.  He has been registered for weeks and now a week before I get a call saying homeschoolers aren't allowed to do this.  If you remember, Nicholas just did this a few years ago.  I am really hoping it is a misunderstanding.  I am working to try and clear it up.  But, it is up to the district.  They are allowed to adopt a policy not allowing it.  I don't understand why they would, especially since they welcomed us with such open arms before.  We will see what happens. I have sent an email to the superintendent and am waiting for a response.

Sunday Nick was on his way to work and blew a tire.  He was able to get the car pulled over and no damage was done except to the tire.  Thankfully he was close to home and Art could take the car to get new tires put on it.  While he was at Walmart the power went out! It was out for several hours, but he car did finally get finished and Nick was able to load up his clean laundry and head back to school.

The very good news is that the church is planning on reopening in a few weeks!

It got super hot again this week-end after lots and lots of rain.  Pigs do not do well in the heat so we do what we can to keep them cool!

Our homeschool year will start next Monday.  I am finishing up some planning and preparation this week (possibly making some changes to Alex's day depending on how things go.)  I am excited to be starting another year!

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Our Weeks in Review (July 20th-August 2nd) Camping, Cooking, and Livestock

Here it is August already!  The summer has gone by really fast, even though some of the days have felt like they were really dragging!  Nicholas is scheduled to move into his dorm next Sunday!

We had a really nice camping trip to Jefferson Ridge last week.  We arrived Thursday the 23rd and stayed until Sunday the 26th.  The weather was beautiful!  It was really warm but not unbearably hot.  We had rain one day for less then 10 minutes.  The children swam, we did some fishing, and bike riding.  And of course did a lot of outdoor cooking.  The water level was down really low so the children could go pretty far out into the lake and could still touch the bottom which meant I didn't make them wear life jackets.  They were happy about that!  We celebrated Anthony's birthday while we were there.  

Chelsea and the babies made it safely home from Florida.  They came to visit on Tuesday and we babysat all day on Friday.  Willow will turn one this week!

We spend a lot of time with our livestock.  We are still trying to nurse our anemic goat back to health.  It has been more then a month and she still has not recovered and her appetite is not good.  We have started giving B 12 injections in addition to the electrolytes and the red cell iron supplement.  We also added a probiotic and have started giving her ensure.  

We had to trim goat hooves this week and we weighed goats and pigs.

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Nick and Emmie were able to participate in another Jackpot Pig Show.  Nick placed 5th in his class, Emmie did not place but she did really well.  We had never been to the place where we showed.  I did not know that she would exit the ring completely opposite where we were when she went in.  When they started letting them out, Nick tried to get around where she should be but wasn't able to get through.  I was so worried that she would be worried that she couldn't find us and that she wouldn't be  able to get her pig all the way back by herself.  I started go the long way around to get where she was let out but she wasn't there by the time I got there.  I continued on around and headed back toward the pen and there she was putting her pig up like it was no big deal.  She wasn't worried at all when she couldn't see us and was able to handle it all by herself!

Alex went and shot at the range this week for the first time in forever.

Lily went to 4 H Cooking School 3 days this week.  There were 6 girls there including her.  They had to wear masks unless they were sitting at their own tables eating.  She had a good time and learned to make several new recipes. 

I went to a homeschool interest meeting so I could answer questions people who were thinking about homeschooling might have.  Our state has offered either virtual learning or in person instruction. The in person instruction will use a lot of technology instead of paper handouts.  Masks and social distancing will be required along with several other regulations.  There are a lot of people that are interested in homeschooling and therefore a lot of negative things being said about homeschoolers and homeschooling, especially on social media.  More then I have seen since I started on this homeschool journey 16 years ago! there has also been a lot of false information being given to people.  It was a positive meeting and I think we relieved some of the fears and worries. 

I hope you had a great week!

Happy Homeschooling!

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