The Homeschool Mother's Journal - September 5, 2011

In our Homeschool this week...

We finished everything that was on the schedule for the 3rd week in a row!!!  So excited about my 6 year old's progress in reading - she is doing great.  This is not a surprise, but a blessing nonetheless.  One of my children had to be grounded due to a test grade, but then next test that child took was an A!!  So, lesson learned - which is the important thing in the end.  My son attempted something different with his schedule - basically he would do the week's work in one or 2 subjects a day.  It seemed to make for longer days, so we'll see what he does this week.

Helpful homeschooling tips to share...
I posted my lesson planning method in this post.  If you own a Mac, you may want to check it out.


Places we are going and people we are seeing...
My husband and I celebrate 17 years of marriage this coming Friday.  As are children are due to break out with Chicken Pox right about then, we decided to celebrate a week early by getting away for the entire day on Saturday.  We drove and saw many areas of our great state that we've never before seen.  While some were duds, some were wonderful.  Among my favorite places:  a newly discovered coffee joint about 20 min away from home!  The caramel latte - only THE BEST!!!!  Let's just say we were glad to find that before we found Starbucks...thankyouverymuch!

My favorite thing this week was...
hmmm....I would have to say my son's version of The Gift of the Magi.  Read on to the last section in order to find out.

What's working for us...
Consequences for poor test grades.  I hate to be a meanie, but, sometimes, you do what you gotta do.

Things I'm working on...
I'll give you a hint:  We begin our homeschool co-op (aka HOPE) this Friday.  I lead the group and am teaching two World Geography classes.

I'm reading...
Soul Surfer by Bethany Hamilton.  I finished Leap of Faith by Queen Noor last night (finally).  After that book, Surfer is a lot like reading Cat in the Hat by Seuss.  It's good to have some light reading after the last few heavier books I've read.

I'm cooking...
A lot of stereotypical large family meals - pasta, casseroles, & chicken.  At least my family is eating and relatively healthy, at that.

I'm praying for...
A great start to HOPE and another good school week.  Although, we only have 2 days of school work due Labor Day & my oldest son's birthday on Thursday.  What a shame...

A short story to share...
My son was studying O. Henry's The Gift of the Magi this week in Literature.  You know the story:  a young couple completely in love with each other agonize over the lack of funds with which to purchase the other the perfect Christmas gift.  They sacrificially give in order to surprise each other on Christmas Day.  Well, my son's assignment was to write a paragraph telling about Jim counting his money and thinking about what he can get for his dear wife.  He did not need to stay within the storyline of The Gift of the Magi.  Only a almost 14-year old boy would come up with the following:

     97, 98, 99, $1.00.  "Boy," Jim thought, "I don't have enough money to buy her a wardrobe."  Then he saw money on the ground; he picked it up and saw that it was $20.00.  "Only ten dollars more and I can buy that wardrobe!"  A rich man passed him.  Jim ran up to him, knocked him out, and took the money he needed.


Seriously, I laughed.  Hard.  No, I don't worry about my son having violent tendencies.   He is a normal 14 year old who was bored by a love story and showed some creativity.   Definitely a successful week!

To see what others are doing in their homeschools, head on over to the Homeschool Chick!