Carving the Pumpkins

Today everyone is feeling better. I still don't have much of a voice but I am feeling okay. Since it is a couple of days before Halloween the kids were ready to carve their pumpkins. Everyone had a great time. I never realized what serious business this can be.

Cutting off the top.

Success

The right face is very important.

The Finished Pumpkin!

Sick, Sick, Sick

We are a house of illness this week. Not a whole lot of sit down schooling going on. I've had the sniffles and laryngitis. Yesterday I communicated with the kids using a whiteboard. They thought that was hilarious. Today, they both woke up complaining of sore throats and stuffy noses. We have all been taking honey for the sore throats and garlic and oil of oregano to boost the immune systems. Of course, plenty of fluids.

We are being creative. Lot's of independent reading about Ancient Egypt and other subjects. The kids have been making up games to play. I am hoping everyone feels better soon.

Science!

We spent the past couple of days at the Liberty Science Center (http://www.lsc.org/) doing a Residency Program. The kids learned about funghi (they got to dissect a mushroom), bacteria (some are good for us and some make us sick), plants (they dissected a flower), animals (they went on an animal scavenger hunt-they had a list of questions to answer-such as how many insects are there in the museum exhibit, they got up close and personal with the hissing cockroach from Madagascar, a rose hair tarantula, a salamander, and a corn snake, and they got to create their own organism and present it to the class.

Here is M. about to dissect a flower:

Here they are working on their organisms:

Presenting to the class:

I fgure the week can only get better, right?

It seems that a bad Monday sets the stage for a bad week. So far this week I just want to get back into bed and pull the covers over my head. We just can't seem to stay on track. First there was the awful Monday. Yesterday was okay but it was Simcha Torah. Don't get me wrong, this is a fun Holiday. Celebrating that you have finished the Torah and are starting over is fun. The great Torah Roll, kids love that. Seeing the Torah rolled all the way out, getting to help hold the Torah, Dancing with the Torah-all good. And if you are a kid, what is better than finishing up with a Candy Apple right before bedtime. The problem is the next day. I feel like everything is a battle. Focus is not at its best today.

Tomorrow is a new day and I will hope for the best.

Not the best day

Today was an exercise in what not to do the night before. I had plans last night and left dad in charge. When I got home a few minutes before 9pm dinner had just arrived in the form of Dominoes pizza. Yuck! For some reason I thought hubby would stick to the routine. I don't know why I thought this but I did. You would think after almost 16 years of marriage I would know better. Eating right before bed does not produce a good nights sleep. So they went to bed later than usual and ate a lot before bed. That brings us to this morning.

Everyone wakes up late and grumpy! We had no productive class time. Everything was a battle so I decided to take them to Montclair Library for the monthly homeschool get together. We arrived late but there were people talking and milling about. B. met a boy his age and they hit it off. But the drama when we had to leave! Then we rushed to swimming lessons. One of the things I love most about homeschooling is being able to have lessons at 1:30 in afternoon. Very enjoyable.

Did I mention the tons of whining and undesireable behavior the two of them displayed toward one another? I know, typical sibling behavior but it was worse than usual. I can not wait until bedtime! They are going to bed on time so we can get back into the swing of things.

Apple Picking and More

It has been a busy couple of days. We have been diving into our studies and the kids insisted I post pictures of them doing so. In these pictures B is working on History. He is writing a paragraph about why he would want to live in the Fertile Crescent if he was a Tribe Leader. M is working on Alphabatizing and How to Use the Dictionary.

Today we went Apple Picking (http://www.maskers.com/) with some friends. Our friends did not have school today because of Sukkot. What better way to celebrate the harvest than by harvesting some apples. We also made a very important discovery. Mid-October is NOT the best time to go apple picking. B was climbing trees to get apples for us because all the low ones had been picked clean. Many of trees were bare of any apples. We stopped in the country store prior to leaving and they had all kinds of tempting treats. Fruit preserves, apple butter, pumpkin butter, caramel dipping kits, spun honey, raw honey, and more. All so tempting but I managed not to buy anything. My friend bought a caramel kit, pumpkin butter, and one of the preserves. We did manage to get 2 bags full of apples (McIntosh and Cortland) and once we got home to my friends house we made
apple pie.

In case you are wondering, B's friend is using a walker because he broke his femur in 4 places over the summer. 12 screws and a plate. We are hoping when he goes to the doctor in a couple of weeks they say the bone has healed enough for him to start walking.

Here is the recipe we used to make the pie-Courtesy of Allrecipes.
Fireman's Apple Pie:
1/4 cup margerine, softened (we used butter)
1 cup white sugar (nothing says yummy like refined sugar)
1 egg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup all purpose flour
4 apples-peeled, cored, and sliced

Preheat oven to 350º.

In a medium bowl, cream together margerine and sugar. Beat in the egg. Mix in the cinnamon, salt, and flour. Stir until smooth. Fold in the apples, then pour the mixture into a 9" pie dish.

Bake for one hour. The pie will make its own crust. (This is my favorite part. I love things that make their own crust)

Pumpkin Picking

We went to Abma's Farm (http://www.abmasfarm.com/) today to pick out a pumpkin. It was not true pumpkin picking because we were not out in the field but they set up an area with lots of pumpkins to pick from. They also have a small petting zoo and the kids fed some goats and saw a llama, some sheep, baby chicks in the incubator, chickens, rabbits, and a turkey. We came home with a pumpkin and a yummy apple pie.



I can not believe how tall they are getting!

Election Talk

After our math lesson we focused on the election. We talked about a bit about the candidates and what they stand for. We talked about who I will be voting for and why. We discussed the importance of making your own decision and not just voting for who your parents vote for. We started working on election vocabulary: Ballot, Candidate, Primary, Election, Issues, Debate, Parties. We also watched a little school house rock. It is true: The government is like a 3 ring circus on so many levels.

I think they are beginning to understand why it is so important to vote.

Yesterday I started the oldest on map reading and directions. I pulled out the street atlas and had him look up our street and the street that the library is on. I then showed him how to plot a course to get us to the library. He figured out how to get to the library but failed to see the importance of writing the directions clearly and accurately. Once we got in the car and I followed his original directions he understood but he still did not like it. Like a lot of us-he wants to do what he wants when he wants and how he wants. When we were looking at the map he wanted to know why we don't just use a GPS.

Crazy Days

The last couple of days have been crazy. I have a renewed appreciation for school teachers. It is difficult enough with my own 2 children. I can only marvel at a teacher's ability to manage the attitudes of 20+ children on a daily basis. My 2 lovely angels have been pushing the envelope, pushing my buttons, pushing whatever they can to drive me crazy and make me wonder why I thought this was a good idea. Just when I think I can't do this. I don't want to do this. Why am I doing this? Then something wonderful happens. They get the concept. The light goes on, the excitement shines through and I think-oh, yes, this is why I am doing this.

A day in the life

I tried to keep the kids awake last night to watch the VP debate. They were both out cold 10 minutes in. I, however, found it fascinating. This morning when we started to talk about the election I discovered I have a lot to teach about government and the elections. I am working on creating a unit study this afternoon. I know I am working in my school house rocks dvd into this study. Sing it with me...(you know you want to)...I'm just a bill. Yes, I'm only a bill and I'm sitting here on capital hill......

We worked on that area of a trapezoid again today. Good news! We finally got it and were able to move onto the next lesson. I don't think I will ever forget base 1 + base 2, divide by 2, then x the height. At least that is what I think today. Ask me the formula in a few weeks and I may have a different answer.

Personal pronouns were on the table for the 5th grader. Singular, Plural, 3rd person. So much to remember. You would have thought I was asking for blood when he was asked to write a paragraph using 6 pronouns. Who can find the personal pronouns in that last sentence? For 3rd grade we are still working on constructing a paragraph. Today she chose a topic and diagrammed it. Next week we will write the paragraph. My little cutie was trying to charm me with her chosen topic: Loving my family.

We are off to the grocery store to do a study in unit prices and what makes the better deal.

Back to School

After a great Holiday today was back into serious learning. We had a full morning. Math-place values of the 100,000 and 10,000s for the 3rd grader, the area of a trapezoid for the other. Which lesson do you think I grasped quicker? If you guessed place value-you were correct. Language arts-for the 3rd grader we are working on paragraphs. Indentation, opening sentence and how the rest of the paragraph supports the opening statement. 5th grade-how to manuals. We learned that very important lesson of how to write a manual for a 6 year old to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and why you have to know your audience and be specific. I demonstrated what would happen if your instructions state "Take some bread" vs. " Take 2 slices of bread." Sure, a fifth grader knows to take 2 slices of bread but are you sure a 6 year old would know? Ancient History-In Mesopotamia we are delving into the Sumerians, the city-states, and the military dictatorship of the Akkadians.

The children are not loving the new shelves I purchased for all the school books. Well, what they are not loving is that they have to put all their stuff away on the shelves rather than in a big pile on the dining room table. The 2 minutes it takes to put something away properly because there is no clean-up fairy is a difficult lesson. You would think I was pulling their teeth out when you hear the groans of displeasure at cleaning up.