Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Since this is a short week we have been running around and around. The academic focus was on math, grammar, and history.

Today the kids met for discussion group. Since tomorrow is a holiday and we have spent the last couple of get togethers on Harry Potter they played the Harry Potter version of Scene It. They had fun. Us moms had fun too. We had a great discussion about the movie. We talked about things we wanted to see more of. We talked about scenes we wished they had put in. We talked about what a great role model Hermoine is. Then we remembered "Oh yeah, the kids were supposed to be having this discussion."

Some things we are thankful for:

Family, friends, food to eat, high speed internet, and warm pajamas.

Some Weeks it is really good to be a homeschooler

This week has been all about the perks of homeschooling. Philosophy was on Monday this week instead of on Wednesday. This threw off my schedule. I kept forgetting what day it was. The kids had a great time at philosophy. A discussion on what is reality.

Tuesday we actually achieved some schoolwork. Math, Language Arts, and History.

Wednesday-Ice Skating. It is very nice to go ice skating with fellow homeschoolers on a Wednesday morning. The rink is not that crowded. The kids all had a great time and it took care of the phys ed portion of the week.

Thursday-All about Harry Potter. The new movie opens tomorrow. We have tickets for the 9:30am show. We have been watching all the movies over the last week or so. We still had 5 & 6 to go. So that is what we did today.

Tomorrow will be all about the movie in the morning and friends coming over in the afternoon.

The perks of homeschooling. Ice skating when it is not crowded. Opening day of a big movie when it won't be so crowded. The flexibility to rearrange the schedule to accommodate some frivolity. Just awesome.

Time keeps marching on....

I never feel as if I am getting enough done. I woke up today thinking "November is half over and I have gotten nothing done." It is not true. Plenty has gotten done. Lessons I have planned and lessons that were unexpected. I think it is all the unexpected lessons that make me feel as if we have not achieved the goals I had set back in August.

I struggle with accepting the unexpected. I have a plan. Everything is supposed to go according to the plan. Life would be perfect if the plan was followed. I suppose my real struggle is accepting that life is not perfect. That it will never be perfect. I really should learn to go with the flow rather then fight the current. But how? How can I be more relaxed when I only have a few more years before my children are adults? There is so much for them to learn, to explore, to experience. So many things I want to share with them before they leave for college. So little time left!

Time keeps marching on. Whether I like it or not. My children keep getting older and wiser. They grow up so quickly. I miss my little babies. I pine for the newborn that nuzzled on my shoulder. I long for the toddler who was entertained for hours by a piece of string. I miss the innocence that I see slipping away with each passing day. I plan and G-d laughs.

Discussion Group

Yesterday's discussion group was one of the liveliest ones ever. All the kids really loved it. Before discussion started us moms were talking about what we thought the kids would say our patronus was. One of my friends told me that her daughters were sure my kids would say I was a crab. This opinion was based solely on the numerous joking comments my kids like to make about how mean I am, and the horrible things I make them do (such as writing assignment). We all had a good laugh over that.

Turns out my kids are wonderful. Little Miss said my patronus would be a mama bear because I protect them. Mister B said it would be a kitten because I am soft and squishy like a kitten. He meant I am a bit pudgy but I am going with the emotional side of soft and squishy.

They loved talking about what Malfoy's patronus would be. 3 of the boys said a snake because he is in Slytherin and he slithers around and is sneaky. One of the girls said she thought the answer was given when Mad Eye Moony turned him into a ferret. Mister B said it would be a mouse because Malfoy is cowardly. Little Miss said it would be a dragon because he was mean like a nasty dragon. This led to a discussion of could your patronus be a mythical creature.

If they could transform into an animal what would it be? They had to remember that their animagis was the same as their patronus. Some examples: some wanted to be a dog, a wolf, an owl, and a bald eagle.

What would they see in the Mirror of Erised (desire spelled backwards for those who may have missed that little fact). Little Miss sees her warm, loving family. Mister B sees is living in a mansion, with all the money we need, he has every video game he has ever wanted, all the time he wants to play, and...............................wait for it.........................................................World Peace.

To really tie it all together-we were able to throw a little latin lesson in. Thank you J.K. Rowlings for using so much latin.

Tuesday update

I can not believe it is Tuesday already. I feel like the week is flying by.

So far this week Little Miss M has mastered Roman Numerals and started fractions. Finished her chapter review for grammar and is on to nouns. In history she learned about the Sun King, is reading a bit about France during that time period, and has made a sun king plaque. For Science she has learned a bit about the metric system and volume measurements and will be making a model wetland later in the week.

Mister B is continuing his work in decimals, exponents, and fraction review. He has also completed his chapter review for grammar and is on to verb phrases. In history he completed his unit on Louis XIV. In science-the metric system and he made a water clock. It did not work very well but he put forth a valiant effort. If the weather warms up a bit this week he will be conducting an experiment with his water clock. Timing how long it takes for a baseball to drop from our garage roof to the ground.

Tomorrow is discussion group. In honor of the new Harry Potter movie we have been doing a HP theme. For Halloween they discussed the second movie. Touched on some themes-trust, friendship, and love. For this week we watched the 3rd movie and gave the kids some questions to answer. Such as -what would your petronus be. What shape would your bogart take on and what would you think of for your ridikulous spell. They also had to tell what they think my petronus with be. I won't find out until tomorrow.

Go Sharks!

After a week of lessons, a mini Harry Potter Marathon on Thursday (watched movies 2 & 3), and a Friday afternoon spent with friends we headed off to Mister B's first swim meet of the season. He came in second in his heat for the back stroke and first for breast stroke. An exciting afternoon.

Go Sharks!

Wednesday -halfway through the week

We have made it to Wednesday! This week has been going well. Everyone is moving forward with their lessons.

Little Miss: Math-Roman Numerals. Grammar-Chapter review-diagramming sentences, nouns, pronouns, outline basics. History-Louis XIV and Versailles. Science-Learning about the metric system. Spanish-Review of basic greetings and numbers 1-12. Critical Thinking-Outlining. Vocabulary-the roots Equ and Pend.

Mister B: Math-Adding decimals. Grammar-Chapter review-pronouns, verbs-linking and action, diagramming sentences. History-Louis XIV and Versailles. Science-Metric System. Spanish-review of basic greetings and numbers 1-12. Literature-Tom Sawyer. Critical Thinking-Discussions, disagreements, arguments, fights, and temper tantrums are not all the same thing. It is senseless to argue about a fact which is a matter of accurate public record. There is a difference between a statement about all things and a statement about some things. Vocabulary- Roots Mono and Uni review.

Today we had philosophy. They really have been talking about some interesting things. Today they talked about what makes you you. Are your values yours or your parents? How do you know? Should you follow the crowd or trust your instincts? Little Miss stated that you should follow your instincts. Just because something is a law does it make it right? Mister B grappled with legal killing-e.g. the death penalty, war. I love that they get to be part of this class. They have the opportunity to really express their innermost thoughts and discuss them in a safe environment. There is so much more to life then the test.