Homeschool Wrap Up Week 3

 September is a busy month for showing animals, which is why we do not start all of our subjects until our shows our over.  This week we had two days of animal shows.  We also had to take a day off of school because of dentist appointments and a health office appointment.  We did get a bit of school work done on a couple of days.

Week 3 in our Homeschool

Bible: We continued reading in the book of 2nd Corinthians.

Read Aloud: We read 2 chapters of our biography on John Adams.  In the evenings we are reading The Hardy Boys series for the boys and just started Tales From Memory Creek Ranch by Susan K Marlow for the girls.

History: We finished Week 3 in MOH Vol 2 on Masada, The Dead Sea Scrolls, and Pompeii.

Math: The children completed 2 lessons in their math assignments.  

Reading: I had planned on doing a reading lesson out of AAR with Emmie on Monday, but we were babysitting and during the afternoon when we would have been reading Emmie was sitting in the playroom with Liam.  While he was building Lego creations, she read to him out of a stack of picture books for more then 30 minutes.  It was very sweet and I decided that more then counted for reading for the day.

Other Activities this Week

Monday we were babysitting.

While I was reading aloud.

Later Liam was pretending to nap on the playroom floor.  Willow fell asleep in my lap and I put her on the couch with Lily beside her so I could help Anthony with his math.

And the girls were back at gymnastics.

Tuesday was a long day.  We dropped Alex off at school and went to the park while we waited for his class to end.  It was a beautiful morning.

We spent the rest of the day at appointments.  The good news was everyone was cavity free and there is a Walmart down the road from the dentist that does grocery pick up so I took advantage of that while we were there.  We had just enough time to drive all the way home, unload groceries and head to another appointment.  That office was running way behind and we were there for a few hours, right up until just about supper time.  Being in a crowded waiting room for a few hours was not my idea of a fun time, but at least we got it over with.

Then we had to wash all of the goats and prepare them for the show the next day.

Wednesday we were up before 5 to get the trailer loaded and head off to the Four States Fair goat show. We had never shown there before so it was a new experience. Art was at work so I was thankful that our Ag Agent was able to go with us and help me transport the animals. Competition was very stiff and every judge you go in front of is looking for something different then one before. Alex placed 7th with one and 13th with another.  Christian's goat was the most improved from the week before and placed 7th with his.  Lily placed 5th in her class of 5. 

Thursday the babies were back and it was so pretty outside that we stayed out all morning long.

Friday we were up at 4 to load pigs and head back down to Four States for the Hog Show.  There were 412 hogs entered and they said it was way down from what they usually have.  The judge only placed the top 5 in each class.  Neither Emmie or Nick placed.

Sunday Our church resumed in person worship, which I have been waiting for for months!  Of course we have mask regulations, social distancing,  temperature checks on the way in the door, and other safety measures. No Sunday School classes or group meetings but it was wonderful to be back in church!

Our next week should be a fairly normal school week and then the week after we have our last shows of 2020.

I hope you had a great week!

Happy Homeschooling!

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The Librarian of Boone's Hollow by Kim Vogel Sawyer

 Kim Vogel Sawyer's newest historical fiction novel just released!  I received an Advanced Reader's Copy a couple of weeks ago and it is an amazing book that I wanted to share with you!

The Librarian of Boone's Hollow takes place in the state of Kentucky in the 1930's during the Great Depression.  Addie Cowherd is attending college and dreaming of becoming a novelist when she finds out that her father has lost his job and she cannot pay for her education.  After searching high and low for some kind of way to support herself she finds out about a full time position in a small coal mining town as a packhorse librarian.  Addie is very eager to make friends but the townspeople are very superstitious and distrusting of newcomers.

Emmet Tharp won a scholarship to college, worked very hard, and earned his degree.  But jobs are hard to find for everyone and there are not many opportunities in the town of Boone's Hollow.  Emmet's education makes him feel out of place among those he used to be good friends with.

Addie and Emmet are trying to figure out their places in the world when someone sets out to destroy the library program.  Will the culprit succeed in chasing Addie away?

 Kim Vogel Sawyer is my favorite author.  There is something about her books that just speaks to my heart.  Ms. Sawyer does an amazing job of transporting the reader to the time and place that her books take place.  The characters are real, believable, and easy for the reader to relate to.  Her books are uplifting with elements of faith and hope throughout.

In The Librarian of Boone's Hollow, the reader is taken back to the 1930's in Kentucky during the Depression.  Your heart is touched by the struggle that Addie faces when she is unable to finish college because of her father's lost job. At the same time you feel for Emmet who, even though he was able to finish his education, cannot find a job because businesses aren't hiring and he is considered over qualified for labor positions.  You feel the loneliness and faith of Nanny Fay, worry over Bettina, and marvel at the strength and tenacity of the packhorse librarians and the challenges they face.  

I love books and loved that Ms. Sawyer wrote this story about packhorse librarians, which was something I had little knowledge of.  This quote really spoke to me," I see the delivery of these books as something deeper, more important then a mere job.  A book takes one into another person's thoughts and emotions.  Books open up worlds beyond the view from one's own window.  Stories can stir compassion, can inspire integrity, can show different lifestyles and problem solving skills.  Books, Addie, have the power to change people for the better."

I love how the story reminds us to look for the blessings in life and that the Bible tells us that all things work for good for the believer.  I loved how Addie worked so hard on her ministry and found ways to help the people of the community. The romantic element made the story that much more special and the resolution was wonderful.  Reading it one time wasn't enough, I had to go back and read it again!

I highly recommend The Librarian of Boone's Hollow and other books by Kim Vogel Sawyer!

Disclaimer: I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of this book for review purposes.  I received no other compensation and all opinions are my own.

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County Fair Week 2020

 This year when it was time to buy animals we weren't sure if we would be able to show them or not.  Covid 19 closed or cancelled just about everything including many county fairs.  As spring turned into summer we waited to see what would happen in our area.  And sure enough we started seeing cancellations of local, district, and state fairs.  But, even though the "fairs" were cancelled decisions were made (thankfully) to find ways to allow the livestock shows to go on.  Our local county fair board members along with our County Agents worked very hard to be able to hold these events in our area. It was different, but it went very well!

Usually we start our fair week on Labor Day, setting up fair booths and bringing in animals.  The next day we enter household items and hold the lamb and pig show.  On Wednesday evenings we show goats.  Thursday evening is for cows. One day during the day we have a chicken and rabbit show.  We also hold educational tours for school groups during the day.  They have some contests like hay bale decorating, cupcake decorating, pie judging, etc...We end the week with our Premium Auction (in the past held on Saturday morning but moved to Friday last year.) That evening animals are released, cleanup is done and Sunday afternoons exhibits and booths come down.  We are at the fair all day every day.  It is a lot of work but also a lot of fun.

This year everything but the livestock shows and Premium Sale was cancelled.  They set it up so that one species at a time would be on the fair grounds and then leave so there wouldn't be a large number of people on the grounds at a time. Sheep were scheduled to arrive between 6-8 Tuesday morning with the show starting at 9 and ending before lunch.  Goats came in between 1-3 on Tuesday afternoon with the show starting at 4.  Wednesday morning pigs came in between 6-8 and show starting at 9.  Cows came in from 1-3 and show started at 4.  Thursday morning chickens and rabbits came in between 7-8 and show started at 9.  The Premium Auction started at 9 on Friday without the animals present.  Photos were taken of all of the children with their animals and they showed it on a screen while the child stood beside it and donors bid on them. 

We took the whole week off of school.  

Monday Art and Nick were home for Labor Day so we took the day off.

Tuesday morning we had the babies.

Liam said, "Mimi this goat is wearing a shirt!"

And then got everything loaded and ready to go!

By the way, the cold front they said we were going to get this week never came.  It was HOT!!! Not as bad as last year but in the 90's all week long.

Alex helped someone brand new to showing goats wash and clip their goat.

We washed up, weighed in, and waited. The show went really well.  Lily, Christian, and Alex showed goats.  Alex won: Senior Showmanship, 1st in his Market class with Starbucks, 1st in his Market Class, 1st Commercial Doe class, and Reserve Champion Commercial Doe with Toffee. Lily won 3rd in her Market Class, and 1st in her Commercial Class with Ruby, and Christian won 3rd in his Market Class with Jang.

Nick and I  had to get up at 4 am on Wednesday to get ready to load pigs.  Our Ag agent hauled them to the fairgrounds for us.  Nick went ahead and I woke the others up to head out.  They washed, weighed in, and got ready for the show to start at 9.  There was a lot of stiff competition in the pig show.  Emmie was worn out when it was all over!  Nick and Emmie showed pigs.  Nick won: Senior Showmanship, 1st in his Market Class, and Grand Champion Market Hog!! Emmie won 1st in her Market Class, 1s in her Commercial Class, and Reserve Champion Commercial Gilt.

Nick headed back to school after the show.  The rest of us stayed to watch the cow show. Alex was helping in the ring.

We had 4 rabbits showing this year, all Netherland Dwarves.  Lily had a senior buck named Taco who won 1st, Best of Breed, and 4th overall in the show.  Emmie had a junior doe named Rosie who won 1st and Best Opposite. Christian had a senior doe who won 1st and Anthony had a senior doe named Scrapper who won 2nd place.  I was helping with the rabbit/chicken show and completely forgot to take any pictures expect for these two of the Grand Champion judging.

Many exhibitors give gift baskets to their "buyers."  Our buyers don't really buy the animals.  They just donate money to the children.  A friend sent me a picture of a gift with a towel and potholder that I thought was cute.  I made something similar for ours.  I did 3 rabbit sets, 2 pigs, and one rabbit and added a cookie sheet, measuring cups, and spatula to it.

The Premium Sale went very well.  All of the children that show livestock and are ages 5-18 are eligible to enter. We are always very thankful for any amount of money we get! It is not cheap to raise livestock and every bit helps!!

Next week will be a short school week for us because we have dentist appointment, a goat show, and a pig show.

I hope you had a great week!  Happy Homeschooling!

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Homeschool Wrap Up Week 2

 For our second wek back to homeschool, we added in language arts.  We also were able to squeeze a nature study in during a break in the rain this week and watched an art history video.  It was a busy and good homeschool week but we are still working on trying to get into a good routine that will allow us to get all of our work done without feeling rushed or frustrated.  

Week 2 in our Homeschool

 

Bible: We finished reading 1st Corinthians and started 2 Corinthians.

Read Aloud: We read three chapters in the YWAM biography on John Adams.  It was very interesting to read about John's experience being innoculated for smallpox.  We had a very interesting discussion about science and medicine and how the experts and ideas that everyone thinks is good at the time may not be considered good science or medicine in the future ;)

History: We finished Week 2 in The Mystery of History Vol II on Nero, The Martyrs of the Early Church, and Josephus.

Science: The boys are working on their science independently.  The girls' lessons were on jellyfish this week.

Nature Study: Our nature study this week was on ponds with a focus on insects.  We had gotten a LOT of rain again this week but Thursday morning there was only a sprinkle.  We headed to the park with sketchbooks and they did sketches of the pond there and then we did a mile walk. There were not very many insects out (of course) but we still had a good conversation about them.

Art History: We watched the first HiGASFY video in the Renaissance series that discussed the Bubonic Plague and how that led into the Renaissance.

Language Arts: Christian and Anthony worked on sentence fragments this week and independent and dependent clauses.  Emmie's lessons were based on poems and using synonyms for common words.  Lily's lesson were based on the book Dreamer. Alex is working on watching IEW's Essay Intensive video.

Math: I had to dust off some of my Algebra skills when all three of us got conflicting answers to a problem, but we figured it all out.  The younger 3 completed their Teaching Textbooks lessons on their own and it went well for week 2.

Reading/Spelling: We have not started spelling yet.  Emmie completed lesson 1 review in AAR Reading Level 4 and we spent the rest of the week working on lesson 2.

 

Other Activities this Week

The rest of the week we worked on taking care of animals and getting them ready for livestock shows next week.  We tagged, washed, and clipped goats and trimmed hooves.  We washed and clipped pigs.  We practiced walking and bracing goats and then practiced some more.  Goats are stubborn and hard headed and can be hard to work with.  They were hard to work with this week!  

 

The girls had fun playing with their rabbits.

 

We are excited and nervous for the upcoming livestock shows!

 

We are taking the whole week off of school.  Nick and Art were both home for Labor Day so we took that day off and we have livestock stuff the rest of the week.

 

I hope you had a great week!

 

Happy Homeschooling!

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