Week 4

I forgot about using this place as a place to keep track of the number of days we've done.

So -- through week four -- we've done 19 days out of 148. I think one week we didn't do any school on a Friday. Appointments or something.

Starting in October -- we'll be headed to Ankeny once a month for Tori to get braces. I'm really glad I made the decision to step back out of some activities this year... we have so many more activities that we are involved in right now. Wow... what a school year.

This week was hectic for me. Someone gave us some apples. I felt like I needed to work them up before they went bad -- knowing my personality. So we didn't do any "one room school house school," but instead they did individual tasks while I was making apple sauce and apple butter.

Tori worked on her math, science, handwriting, and some reading. She is reading the Magicians Nephew for PROTEENS, a youth program at church.

Mansel worked on Math, and handwriting on his own too.

VERY basic day on Monday.

Tuesday -- I gathered up the clothes from the past and got them ready to take to Plush Pony before 4:00. Tori also had a cross country meet on Tuesday.

Wednesday -- I did 3 days worth of reading in History, Bible, and Science. LOL We did school in the hall way upstairs while I was folding laundry, because not only did I not do group school -- I didn't do laundry as well. Well -- I washed and dried clothes, but didn't fold or put away.

By Thursday -- I was so far behind I didn't do much group school again. Tori had another cross country meet. They did individual classes on their own.

Friday -- Dan comes home early from work, and I had an appointment to get a hair cut at 1:00. :sigh: another SLOW school day.

I had Mansel do some math in the morning on Friday while I folded all the laundry I could. I fixed a quick lunch, that I skipped eating and Tori, Danielle and I headed for Knoxville. Tori took her math along and did it while I got my hair cut, then we went and sat in the library for and hour until her cross country photo session. So -- we did limited school again... but got behind in our "group" classes.

Won't Monday be exciting?

I decided from now on to make my appointments as late in the afternoon as I could to try, if they were IN Knoxville, to try to correspond with any practices that may be occurring, in the future. If they are in Des Moines... in the afternoon, but give myself enough time to get to Knoxville still for practices. In the past I've always tried to make appointments as early in the day as possible, but then I find myself coming home and collapsing and not getting any school done that day. I hope to be getting more school done this year. I really want to be able to take those 3 months off -- free and clear from any school. So missing as few as days as possible this year. Now that I've said it -- I'd better stick to it... right?

We'll need to finish up week 31 and start week 32 next week of MFW Creation to the Greeks.

We are REALLY enjoying reading about Archimedes. This week we learned about the lever. Teetor Toters, wheel barrows... being able to move a ship with just one hand. LOL Then reading the story about how Mr. Archimedes was so preoccupied with studying out the problem of the king's crown, that his servants had to carry him to the baths... and as he discovered a solution to his problem after displacing water in the bathtub... he ran through the streets nekid! ha haaa... my kids love that story. So funny -- because we all KNOW that doesn't happen here. LOL

Tori had her first science test this week. I had her take a pre-test. Woah... she did terrible... sometimes writing... "I don't know," as an answer... nice try Tori. I didn't feel responsible for her failing a test with this class, as it is supposed to be self lead, and she is to be self motivated. I did feel a little bad that she didn't know how to do that... but I didn't feel as much responsibiltiy as I would have say last year, in all her classes that I led. (Make any sense?) So -- I sat down with her and her text book and we found all the answers to the questions... I'd write the page number down so she could go back and read the answer and write it down. I showed her how to use the glossary -- showed her how words were bolded if they were important. I showed her which words and definitions she would need to memorize word for word for a test. I explained to her that the "own your own" section was identical to this pre-test... so they were very important to do and not skim over during the week. So she re-did the pre-test. I asked her the next day if she was ready for the test. "Yes," she replied.

Well -- she wasn't. At least not to my standards. She got 4 out of 20 right. That's failing. So -- she will redo the pre-test and take the test again, until she passes. She'll get behind in Science if she keeps up this pace.

Dan and I discussed what would be happening to her if she were in public school. If your grades go below passing... you'll be pulled out of extra-curricular sports. Oh wow...

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Really -- I don't want to do that. I feel she is learning a skill in these sports that I can't teach her on my own. I feel like cross country, and maybe some day basketball and even soft ball could be counted as her gym class. I think of these things as a class instead of extra curricular. Fun... I think she should be learning things there same as in a "book learning" class. So we aren't going to pull her out of sports... but we are restricting her in other areas. She often wears her head phones and listens to music while doing school. I'd ask her -- how can you do school and listen to music at the same time? I didn't get to do that in school. Was I just jealous?

Well -- she can't, as she has proven.

So we have taken away her radio and mp3 player priveledges until she improves her grades in Science. She doesn't take a test in Math until after week 5, I beleive... so we'll see how that goes... sames rules apply.

She turned the radio on last night... and I reminded her of the "no music" rule... and she said, "Can I sing in church?" Smart Alek... LOL silly girl. Well -- at least she is thinking.

I really think she is NOT a learner like I am. I read her text book a bit while finding the answears to her pre-test... and could narrate back to Dan last night several things from her text book. I was talking to him about Archimedes and discussing what the kiddos "learned" during the week. I had mentioned some of the stuff out of Tori's science book... he said, "Did THAT hapen during Archimedes time period." I said, "Oh no -- that was from Tori's book." So -- I could remember stuff, just by reading it one time... perhaps it was review for me... since I had probably learned that stuff in 7th grade... but she should have read it at least 2 times, and could have read it 3 times since I had her do her pre-test over again. We'll have to figure out what she needs to do to remember these facts and regurgitate them for a test, and then hopefully retain them for life.

I'm hoping removing the distraction of the music will help. We shall see.

We didn't do any ART this week. We'll just be skipping those lessons instead of trying to make them up. Another slow spelling week. I DID take the spelling books upstairs on Wednesday -- but we didn't get to them before lunch.

I need to make sure I'm getting to bed on time, I really get tired in the afternoon if I don't get a full 8 hours of sleep.

Once I'm done with my on-line weight loss competition, I'm going to limit my computer use to maybe even once a week. I'll have to undo a lot of automatic e-mails that I get each day. But being on the computer late at night... even if it's only until 10:00 throws my day out of whack. So -- 9:00 bed time it needs to be and stick to the plan! Ü 1 more week of Biggest Loser competition and I'm done.