We had our first day of school today! We had latkes and applesauce to celebrate.
We did Bible time together. The kids chose what Bible book they want to write for handwriting.
Isaac: Proverbs
Melody: Esther
Grace: Exodus
Charity: Genesis
Mom: Philippians
We began memorizing Isaiah 40:28-31, thinking it was a good verse to use when we get discouraged or school gets hard to do.
We sang a few hymns together, choosing "Across the Lands" as our song of the week.
For missions, we found Alaska on the map and talked a little about what life is like for the McGee family.
Then we did a few oral math problems to warm up with.
That was the end of Isaac's schoolwork for today, since he isn't really starting until next week. We're giving him a week off now that he is done teaching clubs. He was away from home for seven weeks this summer, so he needs a few days to get back into the routine of home life before school starts.
Melody found her last pace for math from last year and started working on it. Grace and Charity and I began level B of Rightstart Math.
Lunch was CSA veggies and pickle/cream cheese/natural lunch meat wraps.
I found a unit study that I bought many years ago about scrapbooking and we are going to start the year with that. We did the first lesson, introducing the spelling list and making a map of our favorite places to put in our scrapbooks. The girls also wrote a verse for handwriting that they will use in their scrapbooks. Because this unit study includes copywork for each day, we probably won't begin writing our book of the Bible until after the next four weeks.
Grace and Charity reviewed a little music by playing the organ. Melody explored some of the games on the Music Learning Community website that I bought a membership with.
Isaac and I did his back-to-school shopping after Bruce got home. Then we had a pork roast, homemade french fries, and a yellow squash casserole for dinner.
Monday, August 25, 2014
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Are you in the box?
We have had our puppy for two days. At Gabby's first home, she lived in a cardboard box like a lot of puppy litters. She and her siblings had mastered the art of escape a few days before we brought her home.
I am home alone tonight, and I wanted to wash dishes while keeping Gabby close to me. I brought in a large piece of cardboard to separate the kitchen from the living room, so she had to stay with me in the kitchen. I put it in the doorway and walked across the room to wash the dishes. Gabby saw the cardboard and didn't pay any more attention to me. She immediately started trying to climb over. Again and again, she tried to climb over the box, only to slide to the bottom and begin anew. Finally, she gave up, sat down, and cried the most pitiful cry. I stood across the room from her, washing dishes. I sang to her; I talked to her; I scolded her. She cried.
At last, I walked across the room and stood by her. "Gabby! You're OK. You don't need anything over there!"
Those puppy eyes looked up at me. She stopped crying, and her whole body wagged with joy. I walked across the room to continue washing the dishes with her little body weaving between my feet. She curled up on my feet, warm and soft. Within moments, she gave a little shudder and fell fast asleep.
Gabby saw the box and thought she had to get out, not realizing she was free and could be with me whenever she wanted to. I think that so often I see the box I'm in, not realizing that God has already gotten me out of it. I live in bondage when He has given me my freedom. I cry and feel alone, and all the while He is there beside me if I would only get my eyes off the box and look at Him.
Are you in the box?
I am home alone tonight, and I wanted to wash dishes while keeping Gabby close to me. I brought in a large piece of cardboard to separate the kitchen from the living room, so she had to stay with me in the kitchen. I put it in the doorway and walked across the room to wash the dishes. Gabby saw the cardboard and didn't pay any more attention to me. She immediately started trying to climb over. Again and again, she tried to climb over the box, only to slide to the bottom and begin anew. Finally, she gave up, sat down, and cried the most pitiful cry. I stood across the room from her, washing dishes. I sang to her; I talked to her; I scolded her. She cried.
At last, I walked across the room and stood by her. "Gabby! You're OK. You don't need anything over there!"
Those puppy eyes looked up at me. She stopped crying, and her whole body wagged with joy. I walked across the room to continue washing the dishes with her little body weaving between my feet. She curled up on my feet, warm and soft. Within moments, she gave a little shudder and fell fast asleep.
Gabby saw the box and thought she had to get out, not realizing she was free and could be with me whenever she wanted to. I think that so often I see the box I'm in, not realizing that God has already gotten me out of it. I live in bondage when He has given me my freedom. I cry and feel alone, and all the while He is there beside me if I would only get my eyes off the box and look at Him.
Are you in the box?
New puppy!
We got our puppy yesterday! Three years ago, my son said, "Mom, I really like Cocoa (a friend's dog). If she ever has puppies, could we get one?" Knowing that puppies were not in my friend's plans, I said, "Sure." Three years later, Cocoa had puppies. Five sweet little furry bundles. Yesterday, we brought Gabby (short for Gabriel) home.
We've read a couple books on puppy training and have decided on a style that is almost like attachment parenting, but with a dog. We keep her on a leash connected to our belt, taking turns having her with us all the time. If we can't be corded to her, we put her in her crate. She did well yesterday, having just one small accident in the house. She cries when we put her in the crate, but she started settling down a little bit. I'm afraid my son didn't get a lot of sleep last night, but she kept the crate clean for seven hours!
She is a sweet little girl and so much fun!
We've read a couple books on puppy training and have decided on a style that is almost like attachment parenting, but with a dog. We keep her on a leash connected to our belt, taking turns having her with us all the time. If we can't be corded to her, we put her in her crate. She did well yesterday, having just one small accident in the house. She cries when we put her in the crate, but she started settling down a little bit. I'm afraid my son didn't get a lot of sleep last night, but she kept the crate clean for seven hours!
She is a sweet little girl and so much fun!
 |
| Gabby and Isaac |
Friday, August 1, 2014
Grocery Store Math
My three daughters and I walked into the grocery store with $30 and a mission. We needed to pack a picnic lunch for two different days, one for four and one for six people. It had to be easily portable and fun to eat, as well as gluten-free.
We ended up with Greek yogurt, rice crackers, and melon for a fruit salad and spent $28. Is that a lot of money for two meals? Yes! Way more than I usually spend per meal with a monthly budget of $500 for groceries and bulk foods for my family of six. (For you math people, that comes out to about $1 per person per meal.) On the other hand, it is less than we would spend if we went out to dinner? Oh yeah. It comes out to $2.80 per person per meal. It is hard to go out to a fast food place for that price.
So how did we go about shopping? I told the girls when we went in that we had $30 to spend. I suggested that we look for fruit for $1 lb. or less. After wandering the produce section for a while, my oldest spotted melon on sale for $.66 per lb. Bingo! We chose a honeydew, a cantaloupe, and half a watermelon. Moving on to the dairy section, we decided Greek yogurt would be a healthy and filling choice, but we didn't want fat-free. It was a challenge to find full-fat yogurt, but we finally did. It was $1.39 per cup. But let's see: if we buy a four-pack, the price goes down to $1 a cup. For 25% savings, we can all eat the same flavor. So for $4, we got three four packs. Some gluten-free crackers would go great with that! Oh, wow! Instead of $3.49 like usual, the rice crackers were on sale for $1.99. We picked out six boxes. Oh, oh. We'd better go weigh the melon. The cantaloupe and honeydew were 6 lbs. or $4 each. The watermelon half was 4.5 lbs. or about $3 Our total in the cart was $36 dollars. Oops! Something had to go back. Not the yogurt; it was the main dish. We really like the crackers, but here, hold $4 worth of crackers, now hold $4 worth of melon. Which do you think will be more filling? OK, let's put back three boxes of crackers. When we went through the checkout, we spent $28.
Mission accomplished! Not only that, but we will have a box of crackers left over. We should also have enough melon salad for another meal and two extra yogurt cups.
Math in the grocery store: homeschooling and life skills merging beautifully.
We ended up with Greek yogurt, rice crackers, and melon for a fruit salad and spent $28. Is that a lot of money for two meals? Yes! Way more than I usually spend per meal with a monthly budget of $500 for groceries and bulk foods for my family of six. (For you math people, that comes out to about $1 per person per meal.) On the other hand, it is less than we would spend if we went out to dinner? Oh yeah. It comes out to $2.80 per person per meal. It is hard to go out to a fast food place for that price.
So how did we go about shopping? I told the girls when we went in that we had $30 to spend. I suggested that we look for fruit for $1 lb. or less. After wandering the produce section for a while, my oldest spotted melon on sale for $.66 per lb. Bingo! We chose a honeydew, a cantaloupe, and half a watermelon. Moving on to the dairy section, we decided Greek yogurt would be a healthy and filling choice, but we didn't want fat-free. It was a challenge to find full-fat yogurt, but we finally did. It was $1.39 per cup. But let's see: if we buy a four-pack, the price goes down to $1 a cup. For 25% savings, we can all eat the same flavor. So for $4, we got three four packs. Some gluten-free crackers would go great with that! Oh, wow! Instead of $3.49 like usual, the rice crackers were on sale for $1.99. We picked out six boxes. Oh, oh. We'd better go weigh the melon. The cantaloupe and honeydew were 6 lbs. or $4 each. The watermelon half was 4.5 lbs. or about $3 Our total in the cart was $36 dollars. Oops! Something had to go back. Not the yogurt; it was the main dish. We really like the crackers, but here, hold $4 worth of crackers, now hold $4 worth of melon. Which do you think will be more filling? OK, let's put back three boxes of crackers. When we went through the checkout, we spent $28.
Mission accomplished! Not only that, but we will have a box of crackers left over. We should also have enough melon salad for another meal and two extra yogurt cups.
Math in the grocery store: homeschooling and life skills merging beautifully.
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