Thursday, June 18, 2009

Catch Up Journal 6/17/09

Gosh, we've been so busy and I've been spending on line time at facebook or having interesting conversations on yahoolists or reading interesting blogs. So I haven't devoted much time to this blog, or, that is, even less time than I have been spending. It is dwindling, dwindling!

Stuff I've been doing instead:

  • I've started a regime where I go to 8:00 a.m. Mass on M, W, F
  • I've been going to workout at Curves on T, TH, S usually at 8:00 as well
  • I've just finished reading The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. I'm going to post my review of it on goodreads. That's another place I've been going on the internet! It was a 600+ page Victorian novel so it took a lot of time to read!
  • We've now wrapped the outside elements of our homeschool school year. Josh and Will both had their last math lesson of the year yesterday, Wed. So no more Latin or Math until August.
  • Will did not get the accommodation approval for taking the SAT until after the final SAT testing soooo, he's waiting until Oct to take it. That means that we'll probably do some intensive prep in Sept. They only granted one of our two requests. We'd requested that he be able to fill in the answers in the test booklet itself instead of the bubble answer sheet. This is due to his tracking/convergence issues. They granted that accommodation but they didn't grant time and a half. I didn't even think he needed the time and a half because he concentrates better in shorter chunks of time. If he knows he's got extra time he'll take it but it will not help him concentrate. However, both the math tutor and vision therapist thought it was best to ask for it. I think he'll do fine with just answering in the test booklet. It is the act of having to switch focus from the test book to the bubble sheet that causes trouble. Those bubbles really slow him down. It is fatiguing to have make sure he's on the right bubble! His eyes just won't shift quickly.
  • I went to the IHM Conference (for a bit) and saw Joseph Pearce speak and got him to sign my copy of his C. S. Lewis and the Catholic Church book. I also bought Small is Still Beautiful and his book on Shakespeare. Have to put them on my 'to read' list on goodreads! I also saw Dale Ahlquist speak and got him to sign my copy of Commonsense 101.
  • Right now we are trying to do the CAT for the end of the year testing. Sean is doing well as is Josh. But Becky, dear Becky, is just not reading well enough for it. She starts with the VT on 7/1. That means all five of my kids will have been in VT to get them reading. Sigh! Though I do thank God that I live in a time when VT is so available. In the past they would have just struggled so much in academics because of it. Thank you Lord that we can homeschool and go to a VT. My life is so blessed! Thank you, thank you, Lord!
  • Last night, the Catholic Life Community at St. Mark had its Passing Mass for the Youth Apostles. Will became a full member and Josh made his formal commitment. I am so grateful once again that St. Mark has this for young men. It is such an excellent program. And the really uncanny thing is that there are Youth Apostles up in Boston! Will wants so much to go to Berklee for college and I am really worried about the casual (im)morality and worldview that college must be rife with! But he can still be connected with the Youth Apostles up there. Apparently Bishop O'Malley is really encouraging the group! So again I thank the Lord! Of course I don't know if Will will actually get into Berklee, so we'll see about that. But I felt like the Holy Spirit is really looking out for us because the YA are not a big group and the fact that they are located here in the Arlington Diocese and now being promoted by the Archbishop of Boston is a very good sign I think.
  • We are going to start our regime of summer camps. Hannah and Will are headed out to workcamp in Elmira NY on Sunday. Also next week Becky is going to a little homeschool art camp at a nearby church. Sean and Josh are going to a computer camp the week after that. Then we are off to the beach for a week. After that Sean and Becky have a 3 week music camp. Then the third week in July I, Will, Josh, Sean and Becky are all going to Boston for a week. Will is attending Berklee's guitar session camp while the rest of us will sightsee in Boston and environs. Rick is staying home to work but Hannah will be flying out to San Diego with Phil's parents to see Phil graduation boot camp. Rick is thinking of driving to TX with Hannah and all her stuff for college and then flying back. She has to be there the following Thursday. Our plans for getting her to Dallas are not set though. Sometimes Rick is driving and sometimes I'm flying out with her. Though I am dreading getting on a plane and leaving Becky. I feel she needs me too much!!! I'm afraid the plane will crash and she'll be motherless! Of course I worry about the other kids too, but I think they'll get on well without me. But Becky really needs me!!!! I am such a silly mother!
  • Josh has been taking the online class via Homeschool Connections on Beowulf which we have been greatly enjoying. Hannah is going to take the college writing one but is missing the first class due to workcamp.
  • Becky is in her little Narnia book club. It started out such a big group but now it is down to only 3 families.
  • Another thing is Rick got all 60 of the Avatar shows on Apple TV and he and Will, Josh, Sean and Becky are on a quest to watch all 60. It is driving me nuts! The show has some interesting elements to it, but it also has really stupid elements and I must say that privately I think the stupid outweighs the interesting! (Well, I don't know how private I'm being but no one is going read all this anyway!!!)

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