I'm finally over my cold. You know what finally kicked it? The kind, lovely, ever-practical mom in my PE group made me corn soup. Cures what ails you. How sweet is that?
The Husband is down with it now, but sufficiently recovered to go to the "Vintage Vinyl" shop and leave me with two bored, hot kids. I just bought the nicest sprinkler on Amazon...
School is seriously winding down now. We've done nothing but one grammar page, one math page, and some arithmetic for three days now. The Boy is getting off easy because I've got him doing his placement exams for Calvert. The Girl is just getting off easy.
And speaking of The Girl, she has been like a vacuum cleaner lately. She eats like a full-grown man! I've never seen anything like it. Oh, and the skirt I made for her with the 25" hips? The one that would have fit her two weeks ago? Not so much now. Her hips are now 28". I'd better build that "getting my period" social story going SOON. Oh the humanity. She's not even 10 yet! Here's hoping she takes it well.
Is anyone else a compulsive planner? I'm looking at airfare for Christmas already. They're not even scheduling flights yet, but I'm On It.
The food coop finally went online, so I have to get on over there. I hope it's a good interface, 'cause I'm tired of driving half-way across the county to place my order every month. They're trying to phase out the monthly price books, good hippies that they are. Go Green!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Oh, the humanity...
I've been on the same cold-like thing for two days now! This is the worst kind of cold -- it makes you woozy, achy, tired, and gives you a sinus headache, but you don't *look* or *sound* sick. Oh, the calamity... No one will leave me (or the popsicles in the fridge) alone.
The Husband came home yesterday evening and found me in a heap on the couch. I told him, "There are pork chops thawed in the fridge, noodles in the pantry, and summer squash in the crisper." He checked the pork chops and put them on the counter to finish thawing. Half an hour later, I was still lying on the couch. He walked by and asked, "Did you want me to cook dinner?" Well, duh.
True confession: I helped The Boy cheat on an exam today. Sort of. He's coming down with this thing, and had to take a grammar test for Calvert. I just kept handing the page back to him and saying, "You know better than that. Fix it." Because, honestly, he does. And I mean, when it says "There are three adverbs in this sentence; underline them," he should at least underline three words, no? Boys. Pah. (Why do I still feel guilty? It's not like I didn't leave enough mistakes!)
Now, I have to scrape my carcass off the computer chair, pack up some water bottles, and take the punks (I mean, my children) to the park for homeschool play date. I wouldn't do it, except that maybe the house won't be trashed as quickly if they're not home...
The Husband came home yesterday evening and found me in a heap on the couch. I told him, "There are pork chops thawed in the fridge, noodles in the pantry, and summer squash in the crisper." He checked the pork chops and put them on the counter to finish thawing. Half an hour later, I was still lying on the couch. He walked by and asked, "Did you want me to cook dinner?" Well, duh.
True confession: I helped The Boy cheat on an exam today. Sort of. He's coming down with this thing, and had to take a grammar test for Calvert. I just kept handing the page back to him and saying, "You know better than that. Fix it." Because, honestly, he does. And I mean, when it says "There are three adverbs in this sentence; underline them," he should at least underline three words, no? Boys. Pah. (Why do I still feel guilty? It's not like I didn't leave enough mistakes!)
Now, I have to scrape my carcass off the computer chair, pack up some water bottles, and take the punks (I mean, my children) to the park for homeschool play date. I wouldn't do it, except that maybe the house won't be trashed as quickly if they're not home...
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Facebook -- what gives?
I'm not clear on what Facebook is for. I'm guessing that it's self-congratulatory or self-pitying drivel that you post to get your "friends" to ooh and aah over you. It just seems, well, needy.
When I write, I like to do it anonymously. Not exactly the point of Facebook really, is it? ;)
When I write, I like to do it anonymously. Not exactly the point of Facebook really, is it? ;)
La grippe strikes the looney bin
Turns out the reason Lora was wearing bananas on her head yesterday was that she saw someone do it on TV. Makes sense to me. ;) Yeah, and it was a dancing cartoon duck made up of letters. So, sure -- I'd do it, too. ;)
I've come down with some kind of cold today, so academia will just have to wait. We did math, handwriting, and a little grammar. The Boy apparently works best when he doesn't have far to go. Yesterday, I thought he'd never finish.
The Husband is being taped for a local television show this afternoon. The Boy doesn't want to watch it because, well, because it's embarrassing. I think it'll be fun.
The Girl managed to break a compact fluorescent bulb this morning while playing Cowbear. To play Cowbear, basically, you get a lasso and start knocking things on the floor. That explains the lamp. The office needed to be aired out and vacuumed anyway, right? Eeeeeverything has a silver lining. I just have to repeat that until I believe it... ;)
I can't remember the things that I wrote in yesterday's blog that I said I would write about later, so it'll have to wait until tomorrow. Or whenever my brain congeals again, whichever comes first.
I've come down with some kind of cold today, so academia will just have to wait. We did math, handwriting, and a little grammar. The Boy apparently works best when he doesn't have far to go. Yesterday, I thought he'd never finish.
The Husband is being taped for a local television show this afternoon. The Boy doesn't want to watch it because, well, because it's embarrassing. I think it'll be fun.
The Girl managed to break a compact fluorescent bulb this morning while playing Cowbear. To play Cowbear, basically, you get a lasso and start knocking things on the floor. That explains the lamp. The office needed to be aired out and vacuumed anyway, right? Eeeeeverything has a silver lining. I just have to repeat that until I believe it... ;)
I can't remember the things that I wrote in yesterday's blog that I said I would write about later, so it'll have to wait until tomorrow. Or whenever my brain congeals again, whichever comes first.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Love, don't wear bananas on your head.
I always come up with such great blog topics while I'm in the shower or during school, but I always forget them when I finally get to the computer. So I'm just going to blog anyway. How's that sound?
The above quote was yet another in a long list of strange things I've said in the last week. For some reason The Girl was wearing the banana bunch that I had just brought back from the store, and without hesitating or getting overly excited, I simply said (in my best kindly mom voice), "Love, don't wear bananas on your head. Put them down." Welcome to my world.
We have two weeks to go until the Official End of School. At our house, anyway. I'm running out of work, and the public schools get out soon anyway, so what the heck. The Boy will run out of A Beka math pages this week. They both ran out of spelling lists last week. We're finishing up the Babylonians this week, and doing Crete next week. (Long story -- remind me to tell you tomorrow.) I'm making up grammar review sheets for The Boy.
This morning, The Boy started on his Calvert entrance exam. I started him on reading comprehension this morning, and I was shocked -- SHOCKED I tell you -- at how far he got! Considering we have done almost no formal reading comprehension this year, I'm impressed. ;)
We're reviewing punctuation, capitalization, possessives, contractions, and parts of speech tomorrow. Wednesday, he'll take the grammar part of the exam. Friday, after we finish our section on fractions, he'll take the mathematics portion. I'm putting off the composition until next week. Yaag! He's so pitiful with writing. He just can't organize it all and then write it. From his self-centric place in his mind, he can't imagine that we don't already know what's in his head, so it's hard for him to write about it. Or he has trouble organizing his thoughts. Or something.
He just asked to read with me now, but I've told him he has to finish his math first. Sneaky me!
Lora passed (or is it failed?) the Verticity entrance exam for a language-based learning disability. Now they want $55 before they'll even fork over their entrance exam. Yeah, yeah, I'll get to it NEXT WEEK.
Then, I get to put together my homeschool portfolio and have it reviewed. "Did they make any progress this year?" "YES." "Oh, good. Carry on." I'm not too stressed about it, but I have to do it anyway.
Remind me to tell you about my new organizational system for the fall. It's cool...
The above quote was yet another in a long list of strange things I've said in the last week. For some reason The Girl was wearing the banana bunch that I had just brought back from the store, and without hesitating or getting overly excited, I simply said (in my best kindly mom voice), "Love, don't wear bananas on your head. Put them down." Welcome to my world.
We have two weeks to go until the Official End of School. At our house, anyway. I'm running out of work, and the public schools get out soon anyway, so what the heck. The Boy will run out of A Beka math pages this week. They both ran out of spelling lists last week. We're finishing up the Babylonians this week, and doing Crete next week. (Long story -- remind me to tell you tomorrow.) I'm making up grammar review sheets for The Boy.
This morning, The Boy started on his Calvert entrance exam. I started him on reading comprehension this morning, and I was shocked -- SHOCKED I tell you -- at how far he got! Considering we have done almost no formal reading comprehension this year, I'm impressed. ;)
We're reviewing punctuation, capitalization, possessives, contractions, and parts of speech tomorrow. Wednesday, he'll take the grammar part of the exam. Friday, after we finish our section on fractions, he'll take the mathematics portion. I'm putting off the composition until next week. Yaag! He's so pitiful with writing. He just can't organize it all and then write it. From his self-centric place in his mind, he can't imagine that we don't already know what's in his head, so it's hard for him to write about it. Or he has trouble organizing his thoughts. Or something.
He just asked to read with me now, but I've told him he has to finish his math first. Sneaky me!
Lora passed (or is it failed?) the Verticity entrance exam for a language-based learning disability. Now they want $55 before they'll even fork over their entrance exam. Yeah, yeah, I'll get to it NEXT WEEK.
Then, I get to put together my homeschool portfolio and have it reviewed. "Did they make any progress this year?" "YES." "Oh, good. Carry on." I'm not too stressed about it, but I have to do it anyway.
Remind me to tell you about my new organizational system for the fall. It's cool...
Sunday, May 10, 2009
It's stress-over-the-curriculum time...
I'm considering using the Calvert Homeschool program.It's a complete soup-to-nuts program for about $780, which would come from The Indulgent Grandmother. Tell me why this isn't a good idea. I'm sure there's a good reason, right? http://www.calvertschool.org/accredited-homeschool-curriculum/
In one way, it appeals to me because it's complete and visually attractive to The Kid. On the other hand, it won't be as much fun as creating my own material. On the other hand, it won't be as stressful as creating my own material. ;)
The Boy wold be 4th grade. I think that this year, I've gotten him up to grade level and ready to really learn, so his splinter skills wouldn't be a problem. There's a sample lesson plan at the very bottom of this page: http://www.calvertschool.org/engine/cal/files/library/HS044SampleLesson.pdf
Calvert also has a sister program called Verticity, which is designed for children with "language-based learning different (LLD). If there was ever a child who was language-disabled, it would be The Girl. I would place her in 3rd grade. I think we've brought her up pretty close to 3rd grade, except for the language thing. This year, they only have 4th through 6th, but they're adding 3rd for the 2009-2010 year. A sample lesson is here: http://www.verticylearning.org/images/pdfs/v_samplelesson_g4_red.pdf The cost for the Verticity is $1,250, bringing the total up to around $2,000 for the pair. Ouch.
But I keep thinking there has to be a catch. Do you know what it is?
In one way, it appeals to me because it's complete and visually attractive to The Kid. On the other hand, it won't be as much fun as creating my own material. On the other hand, it won't be as stressful as creating my own material. ;)
The Boy wold be 4th grade. I think that this year, I've gotten him up to grade level and ready to really learn, so his splinter skills wouldn't be a problem. There's a sample lesson plan at the very bottom of this page: http://www.calvertschool.org/engine/cal/files/library/HS044SampleLesson.pdf
Calvert also has a sister program called Verticity, which is designed for children with "language-based learning different (LLD). If there was ever a child who was language-disabled, it would be The Girl. I would place her in 3rd grade. I think we've brought her up pretty close to 3rd grade, except for the language thing. This year, they only have 4th through 6th, but they're adding 3rd for the 2009-2010 year. A sample lesson is here: http://www.verticylearning.org/images/pdfs/v_samplelesson_g4_red.pdf The cost for the Verticity is $1,250, bringing the total up to around $2,000 for the pair. Ouch.
But I keep thinking there has to be a catch. Do you know what it is?
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