My Homeschool Week

In My Life this Week...It has been a more relaxing week for me because I did not have to pick my girls up from school this week.  It is a joy to see the work the girls are doing and how well they are getting along with teachers and peers.  Their relationship seems to have blossomed since the start up of this school year...always laughing and talking about friends and/or teachers.  This relationship, I believe, is so strong due to their earlier years in our homeschooling ventures.  After driving them to school and arriving home, I love how Patrick and I immediately turn to prayer and our work.  I keep away from the computer and t.v. all morning long to have peace and quiet during our homeschooling time together.  It is a routine I greatly look forward to and Patrick is happy that his brothers and sisters are going to school.  The important point is that they are all continuing to learn about and strengthen their faith life.

In My Homeschool Week...

Religion - Faith and Life Series, Chapter 2 on Heaven and 4 workbook pages, daily devotions with Mysteries of the Rosary and 1 decade, and Pledge of Allegiance every day, four bible verses.  Patrick remembers the one from Isaiah best where we talked about Passover and the Angel of Death causing the differences that occurred between the Israelites and Egyptians.

Math - Subtraction, Telling Time

NOL Journals - Read book and wrote Journal Entries for "Millie Waits for the Mail" by Alexander Steffensmeier.  I absolutely loved this book because you can see a difference in the characters from the pictures when Millie had a bad attitude and when she had a good attitude.  We wrote and ordered our sentences on index cards, chose our key words and looked them up in the bible, marked our parts of speech on the index cards, and wrote the paragraph in the journal.  This weekend Patrick will have to draw and color his picture and review the bible verses with me as I record them in our log.

Reading - Story Time Treasures workbook pages after we read Little Bear together - Chapter 2:  Birthday Soup

History - The Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer:  Chapter 1-The Earliest People - Patrick made a cave painting of a bison and people, narration and comprehension questions, worksheets of the fertile crescent and shabut, and took quiz.

Science - Harcourt Science:  Chapter 1 - Plants Grow and Change - Classified leaves; discussed living vs. non-living things; similarities and differences of plants; concept review on how plants grow and change; vocabulary review; list parts of the plant, describe what they look like, and what their function is; cause and effect through short story.

Geography/Science - We threw our world beach ball with animals around again and googled the Australian Death Adder Snake

Music Class - Learned about 7 songs and 5 notes

I'm inspired by...my husband the way he digs and digs for financial information, laws, and regulations regarding his mother's estate and tuition for college.

My favorite thing this week...Our prayer time together and the way Patrick loved his new music class.  He is outgoing and friendly with peers.  He learned and sang the song 'Hot Cross Buns.'  The teacher asked, "What do you think a hot cross bun looks like?"  Patrick said, "A bun with the shape of Jesus' Cross on it."

Things I'm Working on...I have to develop a plan of what I am going to ask the children in the co-op class to trigger their creativity on writing their paragraphs about an adorable book on the Good Shepherd.

Questions/Thoughts I have...Do you have a complete menu for the week planned out ahead of time?  How do you plan in time to make various recipes.  I usually have basics like a roast w/ gravy to put in the crock pot served with potatoes or rice and green beans; cheeseburgers on the grill, fries and salad; salmon, rice, and beans; leftovers etc.  I made a breakfast keish this week that lasts for part of the week.  I have frozen lasagna but made that on the weekend.  I don't seem to have the time during weekdays to buckle down to make a big recipe for meals often.  How do you make time to be creative with your meals, especially on weekdays?

I'm Reading..."Behind the Lodge Door" by Paul A. Fisher

I'm Cooking....Fridays, Creamy Chicken Pasta Carbonara

I'm grateful for...a simple candy recipe I want to make to welcome our new neighbors.

I'm praying for...my sons at college.

A Quote to Share..."And when augmented by wide-ranging reading from a number of works related to the Craft (most of which were suggested by New Age articles or editorial commentary), it is evident that international Freemasonry historically has been a revolutionary world-wide movement organized to advance Kabbalistic Gnosticism; to undermine and, if possible, to destroy Christianity; to infuse Masonic philosophy into key government structures; and to subvert any government which does not comport with Masonic principles.  All evidence points to the fact that most members of the Masonic Fraternity are largely ignorant of its sinister designs."  (Paul A. Fisher)