Catching Up

Hello Friends!  My sadly neglected blog is, well, sadly neglected.  I have this hang up about pictures.  I want to post pictures to go with my blog, but then I have to jump through hoops to get them from my phone to a computer.  So, I don't post anything.

My problem is that my phone is an old, old Apple, and it won't automatically upload to my Google photo storage anymore.  It's like I live in between two worlds!  At one point things were working, though.  And now the uploading has stopped.

(These are taken with my tablet. It's Android, so it works with Google.  But I don't take my tablet with me, so I don't have many pictures on it.) 

I realize this is all gibberish and not worth anyone's time reading, but it is what is holding up my blogging, that and I don't use a desktop computer anymore.  I have a tablet, a netbook, and a phone that doesn't like either, certainly a first world problem!

Otherwise, all is well here, mostly.  School is going well for my oldest.  He is getting all A's at this point.  The everyday aspects of public school wears on me.  Also the rigid, inflexible attitudes.  Yet, there are things they do that are better than my own offerings, namely math and science, so we adapt and move along.

Our homeschool is moving along nicely.  We are able to keep up with our reading, which is an accomplishment with Sonlight in high school.  Grace loves reading, so I think I have finally found her happy place.  She really enjoyed "Romeo and Juliet."  Right now she is reading "Jane Eyre."  She is also requesting more C.S. Lewis books.

Trevor, doesn't share Grace's love of reading, but is flying through high school geometry at age 12, so I am happy.  He has been working on reading "Huckleberry Finn."  We read "Tom Sawyer" last year.

Last weekend we stayed in a quaint little cabin at a state recreation area located in a state forest.  We had a great time riding our bikes, walking in the woods, and just hanging out together.  We had to cancel our Labor Day camping trip due to Ryan having strep throat.  That was a first, canceling due to illness.

This weekend we have a bike tour and family reunion.  I am bringing a big pumpkin cake, pasta salad, and fruit.  We will also get some fried chicken.  I am looking forward to seeing my family.  I hope I can ride my bike the required 10 miles.

We are busy with AWANA as Trek (Jr. High) leaders.  My oldest still does karate.  Life is full.  I need to find a way to upload some pictures from my phone, but decided not to keep me from writing.
~Jenn

Week in Pictures

Hello friends!

We are off to a good start to our school year.  We just finished our second week.  We are really enjoying all the books, but it is a challenge to get everything done, so I think we are still adjusting.  We also added karate back into our weekly schedule.

This week we even managed to get the house tidy,in addition to lessons.  I am working on finding the best time to get groceries.  It's a big job, going to more than one store, so it needs a time slot during a day that isn't already busy.  Things one must juggle when home educating your children.

Here are a few pictures from our week.

 I took Ryan to look at a used guitar that would be used to play in jazz band at school.  He thinks he might like one for Christmas.  :) 

 Ryan helped Grace with her math homework.  She says he explains it better than me.  

 

Trevor had to go to the doctor because he had an infected ingrown toenail.  Learned that he is now 6 feet tall!  No wonder I am feeling so short these days.  

 Blue Bell ice cream was on sale.  I refuse to buy it full price, so this made my family very happy.  

Finally, we found a used bike for Trevor.  He was using a spare bike and it was way too small.  We had found a new bike for lots of money in his size, but didn't feel comfortable spending several hundred dollars on one, so we were very thankful to find this older, used bike for a decent price.  

Thanks for stopping by! 

Jenn 

Summer Wrap Up

 We are back from a great last camping trip before starting school.  We will still plan to go a couple more times.

 Grace bought herself a new guitar with her birthday money.  The house is alive with the sound of music!

  

My kitty is happy! 

Here we are in August!  We have started our homeschool year, on day 3 to be exact.  I always feel as if it is a big job to turn the tide from summer to school.  This year we have a 9th and 7th grader at home, and a 11th grader at public school.  

So far, the public schooler is doing very well.  Home scholars are also.  I am thankful for the good books we are digging into together.  This year we are studying the 20th century and classical literature.  

I miss my oldest quite a lot during the day.  Sometimes I watch his YouTube channel to hear his guitar playing.  However, I know I he is learning quite a lot and seems to be enjoying the opportunity.  I have been reaffirmed of our choice to homeschool, though.  The public schools are not very individualized.  

So, life is rolling along, and soon we will be back to our evening ministries.  I am not looking forward to the busy months ahead, but I know they are really short, because one day my kids will be gone and I will miss these busy days!  

Summer Break is Almost Over

We are two weeks from restarting our homeschool! Seems like we really flew through summer.  We still have some camping trips scheduled.  I'm not quite ready to jump back in,but I never am.

Summer Snapshots

Hello friends!

Summer school for oldest son started on June 9th.  Since then, our day has consisted of driving son to school at 7, coming home to some quiet morning study, morning chores, riding our bikes, playing games, reading, going back to get son at 12:30, coming home to eat lunch, exercising with son, doing a chore, reading some more, watch Adam 12 with daughter, then making dinner!  We have not varied from that routine much for the last few weeks.

I have to admit that I was dreading summer school, but it has turned out to be a great experience for him.  He has proven to himself that he is a good student.  He learned to ask for help.  He learned how to navigate a tricky computer interface.  He learned how to persevere when things were boring, but you have to be diligent and wade through what "they" want you to know.  He is looking forward to starting the fall semester on July 29th.

Starting school so early doesn't leave us a whole lot of time for summer, unfortunately.  We have family to visit, a birthday to celebrate, a camping trip up north, all to cram into a few weeks.  I will make sure to make the most of these precious days!!!

I Love Summer Break!

Here we are in the throws of summer break.

We are staying close to home, which is proving to be very restful.  We decided to cancel our Father's Day camping trip to save some money after a BIG vet bill, and some other expenses.  That's really OK, because there is plenty to do around here to keep busy and happy without spending tons of money.  In July we are going on our big camping trip to the lake.  That will be our big to do as a family.  Then summer will be over, just like that.

How is your summer going?
~Jenn

Summer Break

Summer break is here.  That means freedom!  Well, not really freedom, but a change in routine, which is always appreciated.  As usual, we are not totally abandoning our books or chores. In fact, we are revisiting our old chore system of having a morning and afternoon chore.

Each morning, after our chores and exercise, we are reading aloud from the Bible, a poetry book, and The Harvester by Gene Stratton Porter.  We are putting away our math studies, which is not a usual summer habit.  I hope we do not regret this break in our math studies.  I just felt we needed one.

This week we will sign up for the summer reading program at our local library.  The kids usually enjoy participating.

Our oldest is enrolled at the local high school to take summer school, which will keep him busy the month of June. ( Yes, he is choosing to go to the public school this coming year. )

We also hope to swim at least once a week this summer.  I want to build into our summer days a lot of time for downtime, and less running around.  The school years are so busy.

We are also scheduled to camp a few times this summer, which we are looking forward to very much.  We will see if the weather cooperates.

Summer is going to be a little shorter for us, as we are going to adopt our public school's balanced calendar, so we can all be off at the same time.  I am looking forward to the 2 week break in October, prime camping time!

How are your summer plans shaping up?
~Jenn