My Ideal Homeschooling Day

This was inspired by a WTM thread where someone asked for everyone to put aside reality and daydream about how a perfect homeschool day would go. I've been thinking about this and sitting out here on my backyard porch, sipping tea, on a cool (yes, it is actually a little chilly out right now!) summer morning, I am inclined to be optimistic! So here's my ideal day for this coming school year. We are going to be a little more formal than last year, just because my high schooler needs to be and my rising 6th grader wants to be.

6:30 I'd wake up rested! I'd patter downstairs, feed the pets, make a cup of tea, check e-mail while slowly waking up. I'd probably put on a load of laundry and unload the dishwasher. Doing those last two things always makes me feel like I've got a jump start on household duties. I'd also like to prepare a bit for our morning studies.

7:30 If the weather is good I'd like to take a 20 to 30 minute walk, probably with the dog. Hopefully I'd remember to say at least part of a rosary or do some sort of prayer while I walked. If the weather is bad, I'll probably just sit in my living room and pray. Probably by this time others are stirring in the house. Then I'd like to take a quick shower in whatever bathroom happens to be free. I don't want to take a long shower because then I tend to start daydreaming and this really demotivates me. After I hop out of the shower, I'll dress quickly and get downstairs to put out a simple breakfast. My plans are: M, Th - eggs and some kind of breakfast meat, T and F - oatmeal/cereal and fruit, W - rolls, cheese and fruit.

8:30 Everyone needs to report to the kitchen by this time. I'd prefer everyone to have gotten up, showered (if they are a morning shower type person), maybe taken two minutes to tidy their rooms. But I'll be happy if folks show up in their pjs as long as they are on time. Over breakfast I will read aloud Bible stories or chapters from the 6th and 4th graders Faith and Life books. Also, if it happens to be a saint's feast day, we might read a short something about the saint of the day. The 10th grader can listen in if he wants!

9:00 Sweep all the dishes into the sink and get out materials for morning studies. This is basically the three R's plus Latin/Greek. There is a maps, graphs and charts workbook thrown in there for good measure courtesy of Kolbe. Kids can do work in any order they choose as long as I can bounced back and forth between them helping and giving the attention needed. High schooler goes off to the dining room and works on homework he needs to do for his various classes.

There are little breaks here and there through out the morning. Maybe there is a Mozart cd playing in the background. No one feels rushed or tense, but just comfortably working through lessons. Mid-morning snacks of fruit and crackers are available when needed. I get to drink another cup of caffeine or two! I remember to drink plenty of water too. I keep an eye on high schooler's progress.

My 18 yo son will be on a different schedule. He'll be studying for CLEP tests and working, so he will float in and out of this scenario, depending on what's going on with him each day.

Noonish - We stop for lunch. Hopefully we got the mornings lessons done. If not we might have to finish up a bit in the evening. This is the time to clean the kitchen from both breakfast and lunch and also make sure I know what is going on for dinner that night. Lunches are simple: sandwiches or leftovers.

After lunch - we'll do either history or science, depending on the day. These studies are more read aloud/project oriented. I'll also continue to check in on 10th grader to make sure he's up to speed.

Tuesdays will be a bit different. Tuesday morning the younger two will have art class while 10th grader and I are in Latin class. Friday mornings I'll be taking 10th grader to Biology class but that will only take about 15 minutes out of the morning.

Mid-afternoon - depending on the day, afternoon activities will include: American Heritage Girls, Little Flowers, Tennis, working on stuff for 4H, free time which includes computer/TV time, playing outside, running errands, appointments, etc.

Dinner - dinner prep, a quick blitz tidy up of major living areas, eating dinner, cleaning up from dinner, going to 4H meetings which tend to be T or TH evenings a couple times a month. 10th grader goes to his teen group meeting at church on Wednesday nights at 7:30.

After dinner - my new thing is to have no screen after dinner. Except maybe watching a half hour of Jeopardy. That gets the mind rolling and eager for knowledge! But other than that, after dinner should be for: putting laundry away, taking a walk or playing outside some more, playing a game, reading, finishing up studies that weren't completed during the day, showers/baths for the evening shower/bath people, read alouds and prayer. Maybe after the younger two are in bed, the teens can watch an episode of the Simpsons with their dad. But that's it. Twice now my pediatrician has told me not to let the kids do screen at least two hours before bedtime. They have so much trouble falling asleep and he says a major cause of this in kids is too much screen time right before bed. So I'm taking his advice to heart.

10:00 or 10:30 Hopefully I can settle into bed and read my book right about this time!

Fun American History

Well, I've taken a long hiatus from this blog, but I am in planning mode again and this is a good place to put my thoughts and plans.

Right now I'm organizing Sean's 6th grade history plans. I want to cover some American history in a fun way. I'm relying on some books from Royal Fireworks Press. We read one of these books as a read aloud a while ago and it was one of the few history books that got Sean really engaged. He thinks he hates history. I am out to prove him wrong this year! I am also going to use some Learning Through History magazines which are quite nice and I think will appeal to him. I think he'd rather read short articles then long historical fiction or even listen to a long textbook as a spine. I'm also going to assign a few books for him to read. We'll also do some movies, a game, and read alouds. I'm hoping also to maybe get a couple of field trips in and maybe some activities that are historically related.

Since Sean does not enjoy reading the books I've selected on are the easy side. I figure if I want him to read for knowledge I shouldn't make the reading a struggle for him. He will be a book club this coming year with 6th through 8th graders and I think those books will be challenging enough for him.

Books for Independent Reading:

The Trail of Tears by Joseph Bruchac (1838)- Step Into Reading-Step 5

Adventures of the Pioneer Show People by Edith McCall (begins in 1812 - Annie Oakley)

If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon (part of the Scholastic series)

Learning Through History Magazine, Tribes of the American Plains issue

Striking It Rich by Stephen Krensky - (1849) Ready to Read Level 3

Gold Rush Adventures by Edith McCall

Lotta Crabtree, Gold Rush Girl by Marian T. Place (Childhood of Famous Americans series) I remember reading this book as a child! I found a used copy.

Learning Through History Magazine - The Atlantic Slave Trade

Willy Finds Victory; A Blessed Francis Seelos Story by Joan Stromberg

Learning Through History Magazine - The American Civil War

Civil War for Kids - A History with 21 Activities

A Story of Father Damien by Brother Ernest, CSC

Learning Through History - Industrial Revolution

The Orphans Find a Home - A St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Story

Read Alouds:

(This include a couple of Roman history books too in prep for our trip to Rome in the spring)

The Aeneid for Boys and Girls by Church (dh started this in the spring but the kids objected. So I plan to read during 'school' hours.

I Rode with Hannibal by Hans ?????

Hitty, Her First Hundred Years

Across Five Aprils

Moccasin Trail

Movies:

Showboat

The Jazz Singer

Annie Get Your Gun

Gettysburg

The Red Badge of Courage

Gone with the Wind

Field trips

Gold Vein VA?

Gettysburg PA

Civil War Reenactment somewhere?

Music

Stephen Foster/Civil War Songs

Other

Study timeline posted on wall in re Civil War
Any activities Sean would be interested in doing


This probably isn't complete. But at least I've got it written down now!

Journaling the Day 5/12/10

Got up around 7, fed pets, did ½ hr on internet, cleaned kitchen and family room (1 hr)

8 yo woke up – first thing told me all about St. Barbara – the whole story narrated to me very nicely. I think she must have been listening to Once Upon a Saint last night before she fell asleep.

11 yo woke up – came down and wanted to tell me all about Stephen Pastis (sp?) the creator of Pearls Before Swine. Before bed last night he was reading the author’s introduction to a collection of his comics. My 11 yo loves Stephen Pastis!

@ 9 I made turkey bacon and scrambled eggs. Asked 11 yo to rouse 15 yo who got up, showered and came down to eat. Read last chapter of King of the Golden City by Mother Mary Loyola. Wow, what a great book. We talked about it a lot and decided it was the kind of book we should reread every year.

8 yo started watching a new Arthur on the Apple computer. Don’t know what others were doing. I decided to take quick shower.

Came downstairs from shower; 8 and 11 yo were working on making their own videogame on 11 yo’s dsi. Something they had started yesterday. It is very cute, they took lots of photos and made up different characters and voices to go with characters and different powers etc.. So not wanting to disturb them while they were playing happily I asked 15 yo if he wanted to get started. We have a checklist on our kitchen wall of stuff he ought to do each day. We decided to watch the next science lecture from the Teaching Co on Earth Science. It was fascinating about interglacial periods and climate change. Got into discussion about global warming with 15 yo.

11 and 8 yo came downstairs wondering what they were doing for lessons. I got out books that they worked in yesterday for seatwork which they do while me and their older brothers are in Latin class. I checked 8 yo phonics page and math page. Both done well! She said she just wanted to work on her timzit for math today, so that’s what she did. S did a page of his CHC spelling book. He usually does a page or two during the Latin class but he didn’t feel like it, so we decide to do it now. He wanted me to help him. He has trouble with fill in the blanks and that’s what this was. So we did that which involved learning what latitude and longitude was. So geography lesson was bonus! Then S did his Writing with Ease. I read a passage from Pippi Longstocking out loud then he had to orally narrate it back via guiding questions to help him remember the main points. Then I ask him questions to help him get an idea of how to summarize the passage. Then he writes out his summary. 8 yo listens better than 11 yo so she’s often jumping in with the answers which annoys 11 yo immensely. To forestall this we made 8 yo promise not to jump in but instead I’d read her her own passage. So I got out her WWE. She had been doing writing from it same as her older brother, but she started to balk so we are on hiatus. However, I said we could just do the oral portions which she happily agreed to.
It is now after 11 a.m. My 15 yo was supposed to be reading the Aeneid during al l this time. However, instead he was on the internet at the Escapist site and also looking at youtube series Let’s Play. Then he went upstairs to his room and didn’t Aeneid! Instead he read the same Pearls before Swine comic book. Having a slow motivation day, I guess!

My 17 yo is still asleep down in his basement room. I go down and ask him if he needs to get up for any reason. He says NO!

Conversation with 8 yo and 11 yo turns to caterpillars that have built chrysalises in our little butterfly garden that we have sitting on our family room coffee table. That reminds me that I got one of those eyewitness dvds from the library. We watch it. The kids love it and ask if we can go to the library and get more. I remember I got another on volcanoes. They watch that one too. Then they decide to go outside and bike/roller blade. 11 yo is into biking right now. They play outside for a good 45 minutes. I spend the time weeding our garden.

17 yo wakes up finally and take 11 yo and 8 yo out to lunch and then to Vision Therapy. Unfortunately he is running very and late and misses the VT appt. So it gets moved to 5 o’clock.

15 yo sits down and gives himself an Saxon Algebra II test. He can not remember certain algorithm. For some reason while trying to remember he lays down on two chairs in the dining room, groaning. After doing this a few minutes, he straightens up and begins to work. Hey, you couldn’t do that in a classroom!

11 yo and 17 go out together. They like to drive around and listen to the same music!

8 yo does a tiny bit of reading for me from a reading comp book I got at B&N. I’m trying to prime her for the CAT test coming up.

8 yo watches several episodes of Avatar, her latest obsession.

I dictate passage about mental prayer from Intro to Devout Life to 15 yo.

I got a new book on teaching beginning Latin, Getting Started in Latin by William Linney. Excellent, gentle intro. 8 yo and I do first 3 lessons. Super cinchy.

17 yo reads limericks out loud from an Edward Lear book I left out on the table. Today is Lear’s birthday!

While I take 8 yo to VT, 17 yo sits with 11 yo while he rewatches his new Latin lesson in Latin for Children.

15 yo reads Naruto (sp?) on line.

15 yo reads some more of Aeneid while I’m gone. When I get back, he and I go through study guide questions while I’m making dinner.

Before dinner, 8 yo plays outside in the rain on her scooter. She comes in all happy and volunteers to set the table! Wow, that was a first!

Dinner is meatball subs and baby carrots. I go to put away laundry. 8 yo is still in her helping mood so she helps me.

8 yo watches a new Fetch with Ruff, Ruffman show. The kids in the show have to build a bridge. Then they had border collies herding sheep. This is interesting because we just saw the 4H’ers last night run their agility dogs through their obstacle course. We are all excited to teach our Sheltie agility next year.

17 and 15 yo go to their Catholic Life Community meeting run by the Youth Apostles. There they hang out with other teen boys, study the scripture for next Sunday’s mass, learn about the faith from the lay Youth Apostle leaders and then socialize and talk.

11 and 8 yo watched Jeopardy together. Then I get out Saxon 6/5 out and we do lesson 53 and learn about double digit divisors in long division. 11 yo does 3 practice problems. I check his work from yesterday too. 11 yo has found a book we have; a dictionary of Adventure Heroes from every imaginable source: folklore, mythology, comic books, literature, radio. Movies, stage, etc. He looks up different heroes such as Ivanhoe. He thinks the book is really cool!

8 yo has been watching Arthur again while we are doing this. After Arthur I read next chapter in The Yellow House Mystery (Boxcar Children) to 8 yo while 11 yo reads next chapter in Island of the Blue Dolphins. 11 yo tells me about the chapter. He says it reminds him of when the main character in Hatchet realizes that no one is going to rescue him soon and he has to figure out how to survive. Then I read another chapter in Movie Shoes by Noel Streatfield to both kids. It was very long. But I got a kick out of it. The kids are being homeschooled in the story!

After that 8 yo brushes my hair while 11 yo practices his piano pieces for his jury next week and also practices sight reading. Then we say prayers. 8 yo wants to pray for all the people suffering from Volcanos (thinking about the eyewitness dvd we’d watched in a.m.) We also get into a meandering discussion that swings from lightly touching on the birds and the bees (8 yo can’t figure out why kids look like their dad if they come out of their mom’s womb. I tell her it is just like with animals, sperm must fertilize an egg. She’s seen lots of nature movies!). 8 yo seems satisfied with that, she hasn’t connect the physical part. 11 yo has embarrassed grin on his face as he has made the connection! Later 11 yo talks about how he might become a priest. He’s been saying this for a week or two. Several weeks ago there was a missionary priest at mass that made quite an impression on 11 yo. So now he daydreams about being a missionary priest. But then realizes he can’t be a dad if he’s a priest. So we talk about how it is really up to the Holy Spirit and we don’t have to worry about it but just be open to what unfolds in our lives. 8 yo talks about how she sometimes thinks she wants to be a nun. I tell her that I dreamed of being a nun when I was 10 and then I also thought about it right before I met daddy. She shrieks with laughter! You mean you thought you were going to be a nun right before you met your true love???? She says. She says that she really wants to be a saint and that we should say morning rosaries like we used to. I say great! Let’s try to do that again!

Teens come home. 17 yo starts playing a real ragtime piece he’s writing on the piano. 15 yo immediately disappears into the study to get on the computer. He brings back my kindle that he borrowed. He’s been reading H. P. Lovecraft stories he downloaded on it.

Rick comes home from work. It is now almost 10 o’clock at night and I am tired! It is rough living in a family of night owls when you are the only one who is ‘normal.’

Rick is reading the sequel to Detectives in Togas to the younger ones, Mystery of the Roman Ransom. They are loving it so far. After he’s finished a chapter, I shoo the kids off to bed.

17 yo runs to the store to pick up cat food among other things. It is wonderful having a teen who can drive!

Rick and I finish watching The Blind Side, a movie we started the day before yesterday. Good movie!

I go to bed, 17 yo, 15 yo and Rick stay up til about midnight. Don’t know what they did!

More Ponderings and Planning

Okay, so I'm planning again. Not that my plans usually come to fruition the way I think they will, but it is the way I think things through. Things are up in the air a bit because I and some other ladies are trying to come up with a co-op for next year. It is a spin off from the Socratic Group/Art club we've been doing this year. I think it will happen is some way, shape or form. I just don't know exactly what subjects will be covered. I'm pretty sure that the Art club will also expand to include a book club. We may also add in other things like Geography, Science and poetry/Shakespeare. So I'm going to have to hold off and completely planning things because I really want the co-op to work. Part of me is doubtful though because so often in the pass things have not worked out.

Sean wants to go to school. He's bored. And he is influenced by his very smart friend who goes to school. And I think he feels a need to be more structured as well, even though he resists it a lot. So I'm thinking of relying somewhat on Kolbe next year for his 6th grade. I want to prepare him to go to school if he is inclined that way as he gets older and nearer to high school. So the Kolbe stuff would be:

Religion - I liked their Religion plans that I used with J in 8th grade. We didn't get half of it done and we did lots of it orally, but it was very edifying and satisfying to sit down about once a week and go over the readings and the questions informally. It was nice to have the syllabus and lesson plans to guide us in that. So I think that might be a good thing for S.

Math - we are already doing Saxon 6/5. I think we'll continue as much as possible in that, really gunning on it through mid-June and then lightly over the summer. And we'll start up fresh with 7/6 in the fall. There is so much review and repetition, I do not foresee a problem.

Reading/Literature - S and I have started up a book club between ourselves. Right now we are reading Island of the Blue Dolphin together. I hope to do this a couple more times this summer. Then the co-op book club can take over. That'll have him reading, I hope!

Writing - I think I might skip to WWE4 for S. WWE2 is a bit easy for him and it is time to step up the challenge in 6th grade. WWE4 is supposed to be 4th or 5th graders but SWB is very advanced in my view, so I think WWE4 will be excellent for 6th.

Spelling - I might use Kolbe's lesson plans for Vocab and Spelling. J really enjoyed the Sadlier Oxford book. I think S might too.

Grammar - Grammar gets covered in part by WWE. Also since we are doing Latin and Greek, he'll get grammar through that.

Latin - Latin for Children B (might be finishing up A at the beginning of the year)

Greek - Song School Greek - this is easy and fun but definitely teaches one Greek!

Science - if we wind up not doing any science in the co-op then I am very tempted to use Kolbe's Cambridge Life Science. I think in order for S to feel busier and more on par with his peers adding in formal science might be a good idea.

Geography - again if we don't do Geography in the co-op then maybe I'll used Kolbe's plans for Geography for S. I think he might enjoy doing the workbook they have.

History - History will be done with B. I'm thinking of doing BFbooks Western Expansion unit instead of Time Travelers which hasn't gotten off the ground at all. I can combine this with OM's 4th grade which covers the same time period. Also we are going to continue studying the Romans. Since we are going to Rome next May, I also want to study Italian history a bit. So I'd like to touch on the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

Becky -

B is a different story! She is completely unwilling to do anything anymore! However, I really need to keep her busy because she gets out of control. I'm thinking she might love getting a box from OM with all her own books in it. The 4th grade OM program overlaps really nicely with my plans for S.

Religion - might just continue reading Bible History out loud at breakfast, occasional saint books and also get her a subscription to Magnifikids.

Math - OM math looks perfect!

Reading/literature - Book club for B, also I'd like to keep up working on phonics/VT. OM has me reading classic lit aloud to her, though many we've already read. I'll have her practice reading aloud to me once a week, if she'll let me.

Spelling/grammar/writing - all from OM

Latin - I'm just not sure what to do about this. B's been listening in on Latin with S, enough to get some familiarity but not enough to really know things. I could just have her listen in some more or I could try to have her study it herself. However, I don't know she'd enjoy going back over the LfC stuff or not. If not what else? If I did Song School Latin,would that be confusing while also doing Song School Greek?

Greek - maybe I should just let B listen in on Latin but really focus on Greek via Song School Greek.

Geography - co-op and/or OM which has lots of Geography in it.

History - RA about Rome/Italy. OM overlaps a lot with the BFbooks Western Expansion unit, so we could pick and choose between them. Lots of hands on projects for B to enjoy.

Science - co-op or OM science overlaps with Kolbe's Life Science for 6th, so again we could bounce back and forth between those resources and come up with a nice study of animals.

Art - Art club but also OM has lots of art in it.

Music - I think both kids will be on hiatus from music lessons next year, but OM has recorder duets. I can see both kids getting into that.

So that's what I'm thinking right now.

Next year it looks like J will be away at classes a lot. So I'm going to have to coordinate that into our daily lives. Plus, hopefully we'll be very involved in 4H.

CM blog

http://www.charlottemasonhelp.com/2009/07/books-and-schedules.html

Weekly Report 4/17-4/23

Weekend

• J got back from his CLC retreat. They had election of officers. J was in the running for vice-president but didn't make it. Then they put his name in for secretary but he withdrew because he said he'd be terrible at keeping records of meetings. He says he hopes he gets to be an officer next year. He joked: So I found out what having a social life is like! You hang out with a bunch of kids your own aging goofing around and talking. I liked it! Maybe now he'll come out of the shell he's been in these last two years!
• We finally made it to confession. I feel so badly that I never got the kids there during Lent. Bad mommy! But it was very rewarding to go anyway. Better late than never!
• W had his piano lesson. He finally contacted someone about attending the homeschool prom; only a month late, but they need boys at it so they let him in!
• S and his friend hiked the 3 miles from friend's house to our house and thought it was the greatest thing ever. That's the first time they've done that without someone older with them..
• B went ice skating with her new friend and had an absolute blast.

Monday

• Monday morning we all went to an open house that a Christian homeschool support service about 30 minutes from here was having. It meets in a huge Baptist church. They have various classes for 7th -12th grade all day long on Mondays and Wednesdays. They don't make you sign a statement of faith which is great. J sat in on a debate/speech class and now he really wants to take it along with Geometry. We met the Geometry teacher who seemed very nice and teacherly (if that's a word!). Afterward we went back to the library in our town and then ate lunch and took a walk around the historic spots/park in our little town.
• J did math lesson and then lots of Latin homework. He stayed up late trying to finish it.
• S practiced piano and then W took him to his lesson
• B wanted me to read several library books to her and then she spent a long time coloring in her Doodle a Day calendar which she had misplaced for a couple month, so she had lots of catching up to do.
• I taught RE in the evening. I can't wait until that's over. Just one more class!
• B got the latest Penderwicks audio book from the library and is listening to that. S got a Calvin and Hobbes book out that had a very lengthy intro by Bill Watterson. He like to read about cartoonists and how they come up with their ideas.

Tuesday

• Went on a great field trip in a.m. to the Kennedy Center to see the NSO. It was an educational program connecting history with music. The ushers were really disorganized though and made us late because they couldn't figure out where to sit us. We missed Bach's Toccata and fugue in G minor. But we did get to hear bits of Hayden's Surprise Symphony and Military Symphony. Hayden lived about the same time as George Washington. Then we got to hear Tchaikovsky's ending of 1812 Overture which was fantastic. All the school children just ate it up. Then we heard bits of Rite of Spring by Stravinsky and Leonard Bernstein's Times Square from On the Town. We also got to hear a couple of snippets of other pieces and they ended with a focus on percussion and on a contemporary composer Jennifer Higdon. And finally they played Sousa's Stars and Stripes and got a little girl out of the audience to be guest conductor. The conductor, Emil de Cou is so very personable and warm. It was lots of fun.
• W took himself and J to Latin class and then W drove J to his math tutor as well.
• S did first 1/2 of lesson 45 in Saxon 6/5 on quadrilaterals
• B did the 9x table with Math It - S and I explained 9x mysterious powers.
• B was caller in a game of phonics bingo - long vowel words. She's getting this reading thing!
• S and I read the first ch of Island of the Blue Dolphin. I told him we were going to start our own personal book club and begin with that book.

Wednesday

• Dentist appts in the a.m. No cavities. Now the kids don't believe me when I tell them they need to brush their teeth, cuz they haven't been doing it very much and we haven't made it to the dentist in two years and ,uh, no one had any cavities. Apparently they've been gifted with really good teeth, though poor B is going to need braces.
• J and I watched the next lecture in How the Earth Works on glaciers. I slept through most of it, unfortunately.
• J read Aeneid
• J also worked on essay for 30 minutes
  
• S and I read the next ch. of Island of the Blue Dolphins
• S did L 46 in Saxon
• S translated next little story in the LfCa history reader.

Thursday

• Did a little bit of schooly work. Read Augustus Caesar's World to S. Read King of the Golden City to B and S. Read story about Mother Cabrini to S and B
  
• J watched next history lecture on Sparta
• J read lots of Book 5 in Aeneid
• Went to Little Flowers and taught little class on St. Mother Cabrini
• S played with Jack
• W went to see Adrian Ballou in concert and met him! Got to chat with him. Was so happy about it!
• J and I went to 4H and J had class on shooting sports

Read Alouds:

• B is listening to the Penderwicks on audio
• R is still reading Detectives in Togas
• I've started reading Old Town in the Green Groves by Cynthia Rylant; This is Rylant's retelling of the missing years of Laura Ingalls Wilder's life, between the time they lived on Plum Creek and moved to Silver Lake.
• King of the Golden City
• Augustus Caesar's World
• I've been reading Movie Shoes by Noel Streatfeild to B and S.
  

Weekly Report 4/10 - 4/17/10

Weekend:

• S had a great weekend. His friend spent the night, then when R came home from skeet shooting with J Sat a.m., he took everybody out to putt putt golf. Weather was gorgeous.
• J did his 4H shooting sports on Sat - turns out the kick of the shotgun is a bit too much for his recovering back. I think he was disappointed. R now loves skeet shooting!
• Sun - R took B and S out on the boat with him. Unfortunately, the dr said J can't go on the boat. When R goes on plane the bouncing is too violent for his back. J and I hung out at home. He helped me with some housework. We went to 5:30 p.m. Mass and then picked W up from airport.
• W had great weekend with H and now really, really can't wait to go away to college! Or at least away this summer.

Monday

• W slept, I guess recovering from his weekend.
• J did lots of math and Latin and read Aeneid
• B woke up with sore throat and feeling cranky and under the weather, so I've not pushed her to do schooly work.
• S did Greek and WWE. We never got to math! S went to piano lesson (W took him)
• I spent a lot of time preparing for my RE class. Only two more classes. I can't wait til its over!
• R stopped reading Aeneid to the kids. Said they weren't engaged. I think he gave up too soon. But I'll read it to them when we finish Augustus Caesar's World. Instead he started reading them Detectives in Togas which they are enjoying.
  

Tuesday

• I turned 50 today! I'm old!
• R got me a grandfather clock. So handsome and Victorian looking. I love it. I've already decided it will be B's when I pass on someday. Since she's the youngest and will live with it the longest of all the kids, God willing. The couple who delivered the clock loves clocks and they gave a very nice lesson to B and S on how the clock, chimes and pendulum all work. Science for the day?????
  
• I didn't go to Latin class (again) because R wanted me to be there when the clock was delivered.
• J and W went to Latin class. We've started the Passive voice! Eek! For some reason the passive voice has always scared the patooties out of me!
• S did some Latin, a division facts sheet and some dictation.
  
• B still had sore throat so I gave her books to look at. She especially enjoyed looking through the Reader's Digest book on North American Mammals, Reptiles and Amphibians. She was especially interested in the bats! I dug up a Where's Jesus book (like Where's Waldo) and she spent a lot of time with that as well.
• Took J to his math tutor. She only gave him one lesson for homework because they had gone through the previous 4 very thoroughly and apparently they are hitting tough stuff right now.
• R got Chinese carry out so I wouldn't have to cook dinner. And a white choc. b-day cake from the bakery.
• H called from UD to wish me happy birthday.
• We went to our first 4H business meeting, just J and S and I. B stayed home w/R cuz of her throat. Went to get into the van and I had a flat tire! Had to take R's car. Mtg was interesting to me. S and J didn't understand it because we got there a few minutes late. It is run by the kids using Roberts Rules of Order. New experience for them.
• S gave B his Mutts comic book collection and was helping her read the comics to herself. She was very pleased by both his gift and the reading. I'm seeing more and more efforts on her part to read. VT is kicking in! Hurrah!
  
• J and R watched the next part of Free to Choose

Wednesday

• Spent most of morning taking care of flat tire. Got AAA to change it (R couldn't get the lugnuts off!) and then took it into the shop to get patched.
• Did start on the Latin for Children A Latin Reader which S loved! We did the first three little chapters. S loves translating. He said it was like figuring out a puzzle. Also read next Ch. of August Caesar's World which had to do with Cleopatra and Julius Caesar.
• R got S and B a little hand held video recorder with which they are delighted! They are getting 'nature footage' they inform me of the geese on the pond out back and of one of our cats drinking from the stream. Also S made a puppet out of an apple and did various takes on that.
• S did a divisions fact sheet.
• B seemed still under the weather early in the day but by night was fine. I think she's over her sore throat.
• J - took dictation from Intro to Devout Life, watched next science lecture on weather, read Aeneid for an hour and then discussed study guide questions with me.
• I don't know what W did!!!! Except he took S to VT for me.
• S spent a lot of time outdoors riding his scooter and shooting baskets.

Thursday

• S did a little Latin in his workbook, some fraction problems involving inches and centimeters and a short division problem, his written narration for WWE
• B did a page of phonics and some beginning multiplication problems in her MCP workbook
• J read Aeneid and orally answered study guide questions, watched next history lecture on Greek Dark Ages and Archaic period
• Wrote essay for 30 minutes on whether Dido was right in calling Aeneas all those nasty things! LOL. J sided with Aeneas!
• Read chapter of King of the Golden City to B and S
• J did his online logic

Friday

• Met with Socratic Discussion group. We've decided to expand into a Catholic Culture Club Co-op! (CCCC) for next year. The plan is to meet on Friday mornings as we do now but instead doing the Socratic Discussion we are going to have on alternate Fridays both a Book Club and an Art Club. On the other Fridays we may have a Geography/World Culture Club and poetry studies. I'm all excited about it. Also we talked about meeting over the summer for the Latin camp and also to watch Teaching the Classics. The Book club will be based on the Socratic questions from Teaching the Classics. The Art Club will be continuing the Christian Heritage Art Program we are using now. Not sure about the Geography/culture program but I want to use a Child's Geography.
  
• J discussed The Seven Books of Mencius with his group.
• The Elementary group finished their coats of arms; learned about the term 'value' when applied to colors.
• W got up went to his music comp class.
• J stayed home while B and S had their first spring tennis class with the homeschool group. W didn't take the class but he sat outside with us while he worked on his laptop.
• J has a retreat with his CLC group overnight tonight. W isn't going because he can't miss his piano lesson tomorrow morning.