Feeling Sad

I'm feeling a little sad today. Introspective. I find myself hurting for others. Asking the question why a lot. Hugging my own a little tighter.

Several things have happened this week to make me feel this way and as I try to process these things I find myself wanting to fix them and knowing that there's nothing I can do. Wondering who missed the signs while there was still a chance. Wondering if I'm missing any signs anywhere of someone who needs help while there's still a chance to help.

The first incident involves a man in his 50's who on the outside seemed to have it all. A loyal wife, grown children who were married and doing well, a business of his own. He held several positions in the community and was involved in helping others in very real and vital ways. Much of his life has been put into perfecting the skills needed to help others.

And yet, several days ago, he was arrested at around 2AM one morning this week as he attempted to meet a 13 year old girl in a deserted area. There was no 13 year old girl, it was an online police sting.

This has upset on me on so many levels I don't even know where to begin.

I am so thankful there was no 13 year old girl there for him to meet. I hope and pray there have been no others. It makes me sick to think of the harm that could have been done. And it reminds me to stay tuned those teenagers around me who may be vulnerable to this kind of threat.

And then there is this man and his family. I know them. While not close friends with them, I knew them. There has been an outpouring of community support for the family. And yet a part of me wants to ask where was the needed support of those who knew them well before things reached this point? Did no one see the warning signs? Were they so well hidden that no saw them? I know that's possible. I also know that it's possible there was not a willingness to be helped. But I hurt so deeply for all involved. And again it as a wake up call to be tuned to those around me.

Then today a friend texted me with the news that the charges against the accused murderer of the daughter of a friend were brought before a grand jury today. And that threw me back again to the day I found about this murder. I wrote about that here. And once again I find myself thinking of lost opportunities.

Too often I allow myself to get so caught up in the day to day minutia of life that I miss the really important moments.

I'm reminding myself to listen carefully with my heart as well as my ears. To stop and look into the eyes of those I care about, those whom come into my life and home each day. To take the time and ask the questions that need to be asked, offer the hug, the helping hand, the comforting word or just to lend an ear.

I need to go hug my family.

Homeschool Log 9/30/09

Since this is more or less my way of record keeping I need to get this posted before I forget things. I'm running a little behind here.

Math
Austin - Adding Fractions Set 2*
Amanda - Criss-Cross-Match Fraction Worksheet

Reading
Austin - Blue Cow and the Playground
Amanda- Chapter 12 for SOS Titanic by Eve Bunting

Language Arts
Austin - Noun Dunk*
Amanda - Singular and Plural Nouns Worksheet

*starred items found at Gamequarium

Spelling
Austin and Amanda - Review Spelling Words

Typing
Austin and Amanda - Dance Mat Typing Level 1 Stage 2

Literature
Austin and Amanda - Chapter 34 from Anne of Ingleside by L. M. Montgomery

Bible
Austin and Amanda -Psalm 93, Psalm 94:1-15, Psalm 97:1-7, Psalm 98, Psalm 9:1-5, Psalm 100

Sign Language
Austin and Amanda - Unit 9 Vocabulary

Art
Austin and Amanda - Quilt Block Coloring Pages

Science
Austin and Amanda - The Science Channel - Really Big Things:Cruise Ship Builders

Preschool Fun
We read three stories.


Colored frog pictures.


Sing our new songs.

And count and talk about colors and shapes as we play.

I Want to Hibernate!

It has been in the 50s most of the day and windy, making me feel like fall has truly arrived. Actually, I feel like a bear. I really want to eat everything in sight and then hibernate. But since then not an option I've been contenting myself with curling up on the couch at odd moments of the day with some books I got at the library yesterday.

I have a fondness for, almost an obsession with, big old houses. We live in a big old house, built around 1900, and I can't imagine living anywhere else. I'm sure eventually we will, but I try not to think about it. And yesterday at the library I found two books about old houses, full of interesting history and beautiful pictures. Hearst Castle The Biography of a Country House by Victoria Kastner, and The National Trust Book of Great Houses of Britain by Nigel Nicolson.

We had a good day with school today. Everything went smoothly and both Austin and Amanda finished up early. Michael was not in the mood to do much of anything though. A lot of what I tried to do with him he pushed away.

School Log
Math
Austin - Adding Fractions Set 1* He did this three times even though I only required once because he was determined to get an A+. He got an A the first two times but wasn't satisfied with that. This is the boy the school told me struggled with some things because he was lazy.
Amanda - Fetching Fractions Worksheet

Reading
Austin - Chinese Fables - Cup Bow Snake Reflection
Amanda - Chapter 11 from SOS Titanic by Eve Bunting

Language Arts
Austin - Noun Dunk*
Amanda - Common Nouns and Proper Nouns Worksheet
Austin and Amanda - review spelling words

*items found at Gamequarium

Science
Austin and Amanda - Science Channel-Really Big Things
Austin-Build Your Own Time Machine This was not an assignment. Austin chose to do this activity on his own.

Literature
Austin and Amanda - Chapters 32 and 33 from Anne of Ingleside by L. M. Montgomery

Bible
Austin and Amanda - Psalm 29, Psalm 33, Psalm 65, Psalm 66:16-20

Sign Language
Austin and Amanda - Unit 9 vacabulary

Art
Austin and Amanda - Quilt Block Coloring Pages

Typing
Austin and Amanda - Dance Mat Typing - Level 1 Stage 2
Both Austin and Amanda did extra typing because they were enjoying it so much.

Physical Education
Austin - 1 hour playing outside with friend - football, riding bikes, etc

Preschool Fun
Songs

Stories
1. Tonka Fire Trucks in Action
2. My Very First Things That Go
3. Abraham Obeyed by Stephen Elkins
We did a lot of counting items in the pictures.

Played with balloons and talked about the colors.

Played with the mosaics picture set and talked about the colors.

Listen to and sing along with children's cd of Bible songs.

Pretend play - cooking, shopping, taking naps, etc.

I seem to have misplaced my camera so I wasn't able to take any pictures today.

Homeschool Log Monday 9/28/09

Math
Austin - Add Fractions with Common Denominator Video*, Mr. Duey-Improper Fractions Video*
Amanda - Color the Apples Fraction Worksheet
I had originally planned for Austin to work on some more challenging math. But just before math time he realized that his pet mice were acting strangely - very lethargic. Because he was very upset about this I knew that trying to do anything to challenging right then was likely to bring on an overload induced meltdown. So I opted to have him watch these brief videos to keep the concepts fresh in his mind without being overwhelming. This seemed to work well. One of these videos made him laugh which helped. And the mice seem to be doing fine now, so all is well.

Language Arts
Austin - Noun Dunk*
Amanda - Nouns Worksheet

*Starred activities found at Gamequarium

Spelling
Austin and Amanda - Review Spelling Words

Amanda copying her spelling words.




Reading
Austin - Chines Fable - Morning Three Night Four
Amanda - Chapter 10 from SOS Titanic by Eve Bunting

Typing
Austin and Amanda - Dance Mat Typing -Level 1, Stages 1 & 2

Austin loves these typing lessons. And he IS getting a haircut this week!





Literature
Austin and Amanda-Chapters 30 and 31 from Anne of Ingleside by L. M. Montgomery

Bible
Austin and Amanda - Psalm 8, Psalm 16, Psalm 19, Psalm 24

Sign Language
Austin and Amanda - Unit 9 Vocabulary

Art
Austin and Amanda - Quilt Block Coloring Pages

Science
Austin and Amanda - The Science Channel - Really Big Things:Bellagio Fountains

Preschool Fun
I was hoping to take the kids outside for awhile today. It was sunny but our backyard was still rather soggy from all the rain over the weekend so we stayed inside. But we had fun. This week we start learning the letter Ff. So we're learning some new songs. Michael also colored a template of the letter Ff.

We read three stories.

We had a lot of fun building with blocks and talking about the different colors of blocks we were building with. Michael especially had a real interest in identifying the colors today.



We also played with balloons and talked about the different colors.

We read three stories.
1. Four Seasons for Little People by Dr. Jerry Ballard and Kimberly Ballard. This book had fun illustrations by Lynne Marie Davis that we enjoyed looking at and talking about.

2. Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? Dr. Seuss's Book of Wonderful Noises Any book by Dr. Seuss is sure to be a hit.

3. Abraham and Sarah's Surprise by Stephen Elkins.

We enjoyed listening too and singing along with a CD of children's Bible songs.

Something I enjoy seeing and truly see a lot of most days is the older and younger kids enjoying spending time together. They learn so much from each other.


And if there's nothing else fun to do there are always some interesting critters somewhere close by to watch.

Homeschool Log

Math
Austin and Amanda - Adding Fractions Set 2*

Language Arts
Austin - Noun Dunk*
Amanda - Noun Game 3*
Austin and Amanda - Review Spelling Words

*activities found at Gamequarium

Reading
Austin - Chinese Fables-One Rice Thousand Gold
Amanda - Chapter 8 from SOS Titanic by Eve Bunting

Science
Austin and Amanda - Science Channel-How Do They Do It?-Desert Water, LED TVs, Ferraris

Social Studies
Austin and Amanda - Chapter 14 from The True Story of Christopher Columbus, Called the Great Admiral by Eldridge Streeter Brooks

Literature
Austin and Amanda - chapters 28 and 29 from Anne of Ingleside by L. M. Montgomery

Bible
Austin and Amanda - Psalm 84, Psalm 90, Psalm 92, Psalm 112, Psalm 115

Sign Language
Austin and Amanda - Unit 8 vocabulary

Art
Austin and Amanda - Quilt Block Coloring Pages




Physical Education
Austin - 1 hour walk
Amanda - 20 minute walk

Preschool Fun
We had a good time playing today, and even did some learning while we were at it.
We sang lots of songs, read three stories, listened to some kids music on CD, and played memory. We also played with the gears building set and played in the housekeeping area.

Another Day in the Life

Math
Austin and Amanda - History of Math Video

Reading
Austin - Chinese Fables - Yay-Gung Loves Dragons
Amanda - Chapter 7 from SOS Titanic by Eve Bunting

Language Arts
Austin - Noun Dunk*
Amanda - Nouns Game 1*
Austin and Amanda - review spelling words

*Activities Found at Gamequarium

Science
Austin and Amanda - The Science of Light-Made From Dots
Austin and Amanda - The Science Channel - How Do They Do It? Aluminum Foil, GPS Systems

Social Studies
Austin and Amanda - Chapter 13 from The True Story of Christopher Columbus, Called the Great Admiral by Elbridge Streeter Brooks

Typing
Austin and Amanda - Dance Mat Typing Level 1 Stage 1

Art
Austin and Amanda - Quilt Block Coloring Pages




Health
Austin and Amanda - Time For Bed?

Physical Education
Austin - 1 hour walk
Amanda - 30 minute walk

Here are some pictures that Austin took while he was out on his walk.



Literature
Austin and Amanda - Chapters 25-27 from Anne of Ingleside by L. M. Montgomery

Bible
Austin and Amanda - Psalm 49, Psalm 50, Psalm 73,



Preschool Fun
We played with and talked about toy zoo animals and dinosaurs.


Built with blocks.


We looked at books.


And read stories.
Songs were sung, many times over. Many, many times over.
We played outside until the rain chased us back in. While we were outside we got to watch a big spider that I decided not to take a picture of.
And all day long we played and laughed and learned.

Homeschool Log and More

Math
Austin and Amanda - Adding Fractions - Set 1*

Science
Austin and Amanda - Lights Out-The Energy Saving Game*
Austin and Amanda - Science Channel - How Do They Do It? Tunneling, Tea, Mountain Bikes
Austin - Science Channel - Catch It Keep It: Field of Destruction, and Deconstructed: Laser Mouse, Pallet Trucks, Digital photo camera, Tattoo Machine

Language Arts
Austin and Amanda - Noun Dunk* (Austin really enjoyed this game), Review spelling words

*These online activities found at Gamequarium

Reading
Austin - Chinese Fables-Dung-Shi Copies Eyebrows
Amanda - Chapter 6 of SOS Titanic by Eve Bunting - Amanda has been surprised to discover she's really enjoying this book.

Social Studies
Austin and Amanda- The True Story of Christopher Columbus, Called the Great Admiral
by Elbridge Streeter Brooks Chapter 12

Amanda reading her Social Studies assignment. This is NOT her favorite subject.


Literature
Austin and Amanda - chapters 22-24 from Anne of Ingleside by L. M. Montgomery

Sign Language
Austin and Amanda - Unit 8 vocabulary

Bible
Austin and Amanda - Psalm 1, Psalm 36, Psalm 37:1-11, Psalm 40:1-10

Art
Austin and Amanda - Quilt Block Coloring Pages We are planning to make a large wall display from these.

Typing
Austin and Amanda - Dance Mat Typing Level 1 Stage 1 I was surprised that Austin absolutely loved this assignment and Amanda thought it was silly. I had expected it to be the other way around.

Physical Education
Austin and Amanda - 20 minute bike ride

I found this interesting vehicle today that Austin made and couldn't resist snapping a picture of it.



Preschool Fun
We had a lot of fun today. We played with puzzles.


We played outside.


This is Michael's favorite place to sit and watch the traffic.


We read three stories.



And sang lots of songs. Our new songs for this week are "Letter E Song", "Do You Know the Eggplant Man?" and "A Great Big Elephant" and can be found here. Michael also colored a template of the letter Ee.

When Doug came home from work this evening he hauled trash to the landfill. Amanda went with him and then when they got home she helped him wax his truck. While I suspect it was partly to get out of cleaning her room (which she still hasn't finished and I haven't forgotten). But it was good time together for them so I let it go.

All in all, it's been another good day at Rose's House.

Menu and Recipes 9/21 - 9/25

Monday
Breakfast -Hard Boiled Eggs, Cinnamon Rolls, Applesauce, Milk
Lunch - Chicken Nuggets, Tater Tots, Grapes, Milk
Snack - Rice Cakes, Milk
Dinner - Hamburgers, Buns, Cheddar Potato Wedges*, Tomato Slices, Milk
Snack - Bananas, Milk

Tuesday
Breakfast - Egg Burritos, Hash Browns, Milk
Lunch - Pizza, Salad, Pineapple, Milk
Snack - Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread, Juice
Dinner - Meatballs, Green Beans, Twice Baked Potatoes, Whole Wheat Butterhorns*, Milk
Snack - Toast, Milk

Wednesday
Breakfast - French Toast Sticks, Turkey Sausage, Strawberries, Milk
Lunch - Macaroni and Cheese, Broccoli, Peaches, Milk
Snack - Wheat Crackers, Tuna Salad, Cheese
Supper - Hot Ham & Cheese Sandwiches, Carrots, Oranges, Milk
Snack - Graham Crackers, Milk

Thursday
Breakfast - Cereal, Canned Fruit, Milk
Lunch - Sausage Broccoli Bake*, Toast, Idaho Oven Fries*, Applesauce, Milk
Snack - Yogurt, Crackers
Dinner - Taco Turkey Rice Casserole, Peas, Canned Fruit, Milk
Snack - Crackers, Juice

Friday
Breakfast - Cereal, Canned Fruit, Milk
Lunch - Chicken Nuggets, Bread, Peas, Canned Fruit, Milk
Snack - Cheese, English Muffins
Dinner - Chili*, Bread, Canned Fruit, Milk
Snack - Tortilla Chips, Cheese Dip

Cheddar Potato Wedges
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt or garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
3 medium potatoes, cut into 8 wedges each
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup finely shredded Cheddar cheese

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the garlic salt, seasoned salt and paprika. Add potatoes; seal bad and toss to coat. Transfer potatoes to an ungreased microwave-safe dish. Dot with butter. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 3 minutes. Turn potatoes; cook 2-3 minutes longer or until tender. Sprinkle with cheese; cover and let stand until cheese is melted.

Whole Wheat Butterhorns
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
1-3/4 cups water
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, divided
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups whole wheat flour

In a large mixing bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups all purpose flour and yeast. Heat the water , brown sugar, 3 tablespoons butter, honey and salt to 120-130 degrees, add to flour mixture. Beat on low for 30 seconds with electric mixer; increase speed to high and continue beating 3 minutes. Stir in whole wheat flour and enough remaining all-purpose flour to form a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, cover and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours. Punch dough down and divide into thirds. Shape each into a ball, cover and let rest 10 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll the balls into three 12-in. circles. Cut each circle into 6 t0 8 wedges. Roll wedges into crescent shapes, starting at the wide end. Place on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise in a warm palce until doubled, about 1 h our. Melt remaining butter and brush some on each crescent. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Brush again with butter while hot. Yield: 18-24 rolls.

Broccoli Sausage Bake
1 pound bulk pork sausage
2 cups chopped broccoli
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
6 eggs
2-1/3 cups milk
1 cup biscuit/baking mix

In a skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink, drain and set aside. Add 1 inch fo water and broccoli to a saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 5-8 minutes or until crisp tender; drain. In a greased 9x12 inch baking dish, layer he sausage, cheese and broccoli. In a bowl, combine the eggs, milk and biscuit mix. Pour over broccoli. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or util a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Idaho Oven Fries
5 medium baking potatoes, scrubbed, unpeeled
4 tablespoons melted butter or vegetable oil
Salt, pepper to taste

Slice potatoes nto 1/8-in. to 1/16-in. thickness and place in ice water. Drain; pat dry with paper towels. Pour melted butter or oil on large baking sheet. Add potato slices in pan, turning to coat with the butter/oil. Season, if desired. Bake at 450 degreees for 15 mnutes or until potatoes are tender. Yield: 4 servings

Chili
2 pounds ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes with liquid, chopped
1 can (46 ounces) tomato juice
1 to 2 teaspoons chili powder
1 tablespoon sugar
salt and pepper to taste
2 cans ( 15 ounces each) red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
Shredded cheddar cheese, optional

In a large kettle or Dutch oven, brown beef and onion. Drain off fat; add all remaining ingredients
except beans and cheese. Cover an d simmer 2-3 hours. Adjust seasonings, if necessary. Stir in beans and heat through. Before serving, top with shredded cheese if desired. Yield: 10 servings

Plannning Day

Today has been gray and rainy outside, cozy and busy inside.

Thursday is my planning day. I plan my menu for next week, make the grocery list, plan next week's school assignments and make sure we have the supplies or put them on the list to buy when we do our weekly shopping.

Austin and Amanda do not have school here at home on Thursdays. On Thursday evening they go to the home of another homeschooling family and they often do some assignments there. So I give them the day off.

Today they spent quite a bit of time cleaning out the cages of all their pets. Since Amanda now has two rats and two gerbils, and Austin has three mice and two hermit crabs, they have a good bit of cage cleaning to do. When they bought the pets they did so with the understanding they were in charge of feeding, watering, playing with and cleaning up after them. And they have done an excellent job of it. A great way to learn responsibility. They also learn a lot first hand about animals. Great science.


A large part of their day was also spent in their rooms cleaning. Last week I talked to both of them and told them that they had the rest of the week to get their rooms clean. If they did not, then starting on Monday of this week their would be no free time until they were done. Very little was done last week, so this week has been a hard one for them. It's been hard for me to watch. But . . . They're getting it done. Austin finished his today. Amanda should finish her room tomorrow. I've been very proud of the way they've stuck to it without complaining . . . much. I've also told them that now that we've gotten this far, there will be no free time each day until it looks they same way again - Clean.

As for my challenge. If you don't know what I'm talking about see my post here. I've done pretty good but I don't think I'm going to do quite good enough. It's looking like I am going to have two very happy kids on Sunday.

Homeschool Log for Wednesday 9/16/09

Math
Austin and Amanda - Fractions worksheet 20 problems

Science
Austin and Amanda - Light Sources worksheet, also make lists of items that are transparent, translucent, or opaque.

Language Arts
Austin and Amanda - Choose three spelling words and use them in sentences, Proper nouns worksheet

Reading
Austin - Greek Myths - The Maze
Amanda - Chapter 3 from SOS Titanic by Eve Bunting

Social Studies
Amanda - Chapter 10 from The True Story of Christopher Columbus, Called the Great Admiral by Elbridge Streeter Brooks

Bible
Austin and Amanda - Psalm 77, Psalm 86, Psalm 91, Psalm 95:1-7

Literature
Austin and Amanda
Chapters 16 - 18 from Anne of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery (read aloud by me)

Physical Education
Amanda - 30 minute walk
Austin - 45 minute walk

Preschool Fun
We read six stories today.
1.I Wonder. . .How Can Polar Bears Stay Warm in Cold Weather?
2. Baby Daisy's Walk
3. Baby Donald at the Playground
4. Are You My Mother by P. D. Eastman
5.Adam and Eve by Stephen Elkins
6. Noah's Ark by Stephen Elkins
We played with the mosaics set.
We played outside and did all the usual things - climb, jump, ride riding toys, slide, talk about the world around us.
At craft time we made a dinosaur (letter Dd).




Here he's showing off the dinosaurs he made yesterday and today.


We listened to instrumental music and some music on the 80's station while we cleaned the living room.
We played memory and talked about the animals on the cards.

This evening all three kids went to the Wednesday evening children's program at church. This is the first year Michael is old enough to go and he's loving it. Last year he got upset and cried every Wednesday evening when Doug and the other kids left and he had to stay home. I'm so happy for him (and me) that he gets to go this year.

Homeschool Log for Tuesday9/15/09

Math
Austin and Amanda - Fraction Worksheet 8 problems

Science
Austin and Amanda - Reflected Light Worksheet

Language Arts
Austin and Amanda - Spelling Word Word Search, Compound Noun Worksheet

Reading
Austin - Greek Myths - Wings
Amanda - Chapter 2 from SOS Titanic by Eve Bunting

Social Studies
Austin - Chapter 10 from The True Story of Christopher Columbus, Called the Great Admiral by Elbridge Streeter Brooks
Amanda - Chapter 9 from the same book
You can link to this book on line here

Bible
Austin and Amanda - Psalms 23, 46, 61, 62, 71

Literature
Austin and Amanda - Chapters 13-15 from Anne of Ingleside by L. M. Montgomery

Sign Language - Unit 7 vocabulary from Learning American Sign Language by Tom Humphries and Carol Padden. Also review Unit 5 vocabulary

Health
Austin and Amanda - Be Choosy - healthy food choices work sheet

Physical Education
Austin - 45 minute walk
Amanda - 20 minute bicycle ride

Here are some of the preschool activities we did today. Like yesterday Michael was the only actual preschool age child here. For now it looks like that is the way it's going to be as business is unusually slow right now. So I'm taking this chance to really get some one on one time with Michael. He still has some developmental delays but is catching up quickly and I think he can really benefit from our current situation. The one year old I babysit daily does get in on a lot of our activities though and adds a lot of fun to the day.

We read three stories today - Dr. Suess's ABC, Fire Trucks in Action, and A Picnic in the Woods
Listened to music, both kids songs and instrumental
Play with wooden blocks, build, count, name the colors, etc.
Play memory and talk about the animals on the cards
Play outside and talk about everything around us - traffic going by, birds in the sky, etc.
Sing lots of songs together. Singing together is one of Michael's favorite activities.

Homeschool Log

Our homeschool day went well and Austin and Amanda got all their assignments for today finished. Here is today's log.

Math
Austin and Amanda - fraction worksheet 8 problems

Science
Austin and Amanda - Bounce the Light: Three Experiments For this activity they had to read
instructions, predict the outcomes, perform the experiments and record
the results.

How Do They Do It? - Pencils, Steel, Water Supply This is a 30 minute
show on the Science Channel.

Language Arts
Austin and Amanda - Weekly spelling list - read and write each word
Noun Worksheet

Reading
Austin - Greek Myths - Pegasus
Amanda - Chapter 1 from SOS Titanic by Eve Bunting

Social Studies
Austin - Chapter 9 from The True Story of Christopher Columbus, Called the Great Admiral by
Elbridge Streeter Brooks
Amanda - Chapter 8 from the same book

Bible
Austin and Amanda - 2Chronicles 22, 28, 29

Literature
Austin and Amanda - chapters 9 -12 (read aloud by me) from Anne of Ingleside by L.M.
Montgomery

Sign Language
Austin and Amanda - Unit 7 vocabulary from Learning American Sign Language by Tom
Humpries and Carol Padden. Also review Unit 4 vocabulary from same
book.

Physical Education
Austin and Amanda - Ride their bikes around the fields behind our house.


Here are some of the preschool activities we did today. Michael was the only actual preschooler here most of the day but the one year old that I babysit got in on a lot of these activities.

Listen to two stories - Dr. Suess's ABC and The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Paul Galdone
Play with puzzles
Memory Cards - play the game, name the animals on the cards, count the cards (practicing counting to 12)
Listen to music, both kids songs and instrumental
Sings lots of songs together
Color a template of the letter Dd, talk about the letters and the colors used to color them.
Play outside - climbing, riding toys, watching the cars and trucks go by on the road, talk about the different ones we saw, as well as the airplanes in the sky. Watch the birds.

Caught in a Golden Cage

Chapter 3 of "Ordering Your Private World" by Gordan MacDonald begins dealing with the subject of motivation.

In this chapter he talks about the difference between being driven and being called. There are countless driven people doing very good things. But unless they are doing the things they are called to do they are not doing that which is very best, for themselves and for those around them.

Included in this chapter is a list of eight symptoms of a driven person.

1. A driven person is most often gratified only by accomplishment.
2. A driven person is preoccupied with the symbols of accomplishment.
3. A driven person is usually caught in the uncontrolled pursuit of expansion.
4. Driven people tend to have a limited regard for integrity.
5. Driven people often possess limited or undeveloped people skills.
6. Driven people tend to be highly competitive.
7. A driven person often possesses a volcanic force of anger.
8. Driven people are usually abnormally busy.

It is all too easy to become caught in the golden cage of accomplishment and yet find that within that cage there is nothing that lasts.

The Challenge

If you remember in this post I was happy because I had gotten up early and spent some time on the exercise bike. And I said I would report back whether I had continued success on following mornings. Well, I didn't. Not once the rest of the week did I get up on time for a repeat performance.

I have made myself so many schedules, promised myself so many times that I would follow those schedules. I have read books about time management, motivation, etc, etc. I have improved with time and gotten better at sticking to a semi-routine. I have gotten better at getting those unpleasant tasks done that I really don't want to have to deal with. And in general I am more productive than I was even a year ago. But not to the point that I know I could and should be.

It's not that I plan a schedule so full that there's no room for the unexpected and no time for fun. I've gotten very good at making schedules that include rest times, time for fun, family time, and creative time. There are blocks of time when nothing is scheduled. They are very beautiful, inspiring schedules - on paper. And that's where they stay, on paper, not translating into daily life. Oh, parts of them would be followed, and I might even make it through a whole day now and then. And then the new plan would be deserted.

I know my biggest problem is self-control. It's too easy to decide I just don't feel like it this time, I'll try again tomorrow, or next week. Mornings are the hardest for me. I always say I wake up one brain cell at a time. Which, considering how few I feel like I have left, shouldn't take too long. But, anyway, it takes me a long time (and at least two cups of coffee) to feel like I'm awake in the morning. But if I get my mornings started right the rest of the day flows so much more smoothly.

So -that brings me to the challenge.

My kids have schedules for their school work and their chores and their work in our home business. And they have me looking over their shoulders to make sure they stay on track. So I asked them to help me stay on track. I made my schedule in a way that looks very similar to theirs (only much longer) so they would easily be able to understand it. Then, I explained to them what I was doing and why. I told them that if I didn't stick to my schedule this week that on Sunday I would do all their work plus mine.

I loved Austin's reaction. He laughed, stuck out his hand and said "Deal." Amanda's excited. I think she thinks I won't make it.

But I'm up for the challenge.

Bits and Pieces From Our Weekend

It's been a busy, interesting weekend. Doug finished the signs that he and Austin have been working on for the last couple weeks. They made them for the craft show being held by our Rescue Squad next Saturday.





Austin and Amanda had money they had earned burning holes in their pockets and wanted to go to PetSmart and buy some more small pets. They both really enjoy taking care of and watching their pets and I believe it's good practice being responsible for other living creatures. So as long as they use the money they have earned for the pets and supplies and take the responsibility of taking care of them I don't mind if they have them. Austin bought three fancy mice (which are surprisingly cute) and Amanda bought two gerbils.

Here are the two gerbils. She named the brown gerbil Sarah, and the white one Emily.


Austin also bought a very nice cage for his mice that he and Doug worked together to assemble.




Austin and Amanda found a lot of interesting, very prickly seed pods in the fields behind us and brought them home. Then we decided to see what they would look like spray painted silver. I'm not sure what we're going to do with them now but I'm sure we will think of something.


Our Sunday morning turned out a little unusual. We went to church like we normally do. As we were finding our places to sit I noticed Austin was acting a little spaced out, like he didn't quiet know where he should go or what he should do. I thought he was just getting distracted by all the people around him. We were a little later than usual and there was a lot of activity around as people were finding there places. When worship started and we were standing as we sang, I noticed he was incredibly fidgety and reminded him several times to settle down. I also noticed it was very warm in the sanctuary and wished someone would turn up the air conditioning. A few minutes later I looked over at Austin again and realized he was half sitting , half standing in this awkward crouching stance. Feeling slightly embarrassed and wondering why on earth he was acting so strange today I gave him a light nudge to stand up straight. He didn't respond and when I looked at him closer I realized he had his eyes shut and he was extremely pale. So I got him seated and started asking what was wrong. When he was able to talk he said everything just went black, he felt funny and his stomach hurt. So I immediately took him outside for some fresh air. He was still looking pretty shakey so we decided to just go home. Doug decided to stop by the rescue squad where he volunteers as an EMT and take his blood pressure. It was normal. When we got home he wanted to ge rest but in about 15 minutes he was up again and has seemed fine since. I'm hoping it was just the warmth and stuffiness of the building today that brought that on.

Bits and Pieces From Our Day

Today was a lot quieter than yesterday. Michael and I enjoyed making a craft together. Our letter this week is the letter Cc. So today we looked at and talked about the letter Cc and then made this craft.


He was so proud of it!


Clifford, The Big Red Dog was M's favorite toy today.

Austin and Amanda made these fraction posters for their Math assignment today.



Doug took Austin, Amanda and Michael to the Wednesday evening children's program at church this evening. I stayed home with the two daycare children who were here for the evening. It was really a very calm and quiet evening and I greatly enjoyed it.

And so ends another day at Rose's House.