Current happenings

Spring has arrived.  I am so thankful, what a long cold winter it was.

 I am working on a few projects, one of them is a knit blanket for a brand new little nephew that will be born in August.  The blanket I made for Jericho, his big brother to be, was pretty... but we didnt know if Sarah was having a boy or a girl when I chose the yarn, so I made it from a variegated baby yarn in pale blues, purples and white.  The new blanket is definitely different, it's going to be very bold. 

The yarn for Parker's blanket.

 

Jericho's blanket

 Maddy is doing well with the homeschooling.  Right now I would say that World history and Latin are still her favorite classes.  We need to start lining up her materials for next year, but I still have lots of time to find just the right stuff for her.  Tentatively next year she will be taking English, Geometry or Algebra 2, US History, Latin 2, another lab science as well as some "fun" classes.  Fun being the point... so it will be totally Maddy driven.  We have some local art classes, including stained glass, pottery, as well as things like Karate etc.  She will also be getting a part time job in the fall... and sometime over the next year will be taking Driver's ed through a local program.  We will also be utilizing a SAT program to help her get ready for that in the spring of 2014. Her Junior year is going to be a busy busy year for us.

In July, the husband and I will be going on our first vacation (alone without children) in 23 years.  A group of our friends, that we met online, get together every year in July for a weekend.  This year the stars all aligned and we are able to go. *knock on wood*  Its also the year of our 25th wedding anniversary, so we decided to extend our trip past the weekend and visit the area.  I am so excited, and nervous, and excited, and just can't wait, and excited...

Eileen has moved into a new place with her young man.  He is a full time culinary student as well as a  full time sous chef at a local restaurant.   Eileen will be returning to college in the fall. She is also working full time as a pharmacy tech at the state's biggest hospital.  She is a pretty busy young lady but she knows what she wants to do with her life and is moving herself that direction.  I am very excited for her.

Its a lovely day outside... there is a soft breeze and the sun is shining.  Its a very nice day and I hope you are having a great day as well.

~Regi

Where has the time gone?

Ok I see by the date on my last post that its been some time since I updated this thing. Do I feel badly about that? Yes and no, yes because there is so much to tell you and it will take forever to get it all out. The highs and lows of the move, how it felt to take my firstborn to college and leave her there... the drama of being pulled over by the state policeman... how well Maddy is adjusting to being back in a public school atmosphere... and the joys of living in the country. The no part is due to the whole "blogging without obligation" thing i have going on in my sidebar... who ever thought that up was a sheer genius *smiles*.

The move:

Hah... i say that so calmly... as if its done. Well get that fool idea out of your head right now, the move is not over. Oh we had a good start, tons of boxes, two trips with the moving van, gosh we were so exhausted after that weekend, but a large percentage of our stuff was up here in the new place. However... we still have a basement and garage full of stuff. We are going to attack that in a 2 part effort... another rental of a moving van... and the rental of a dumpster. The dumpster will only be on the premises for 10 days, and we will fill that sucker as full of crap as we can. Not that i have crap in my house... but, well ok... after 11 years in the same place... we had some crap. Then the moving van will take care of the remainder.

Selling the old house:

We have a bit more work to do to get it ready for sell... at this point I am almost willing to just let the thing go to the first person who walks by with a 5 dollar bill and mild interest. Ok ok thats a bit of an exaggeration there... but I dont plan to hold out for top dollar in this economy. Hubby on the other hand is expecting a bit more and unless one of us is swayed over to the others point of view I forsee stormy clouds heading our way. But like many storms I know we will eventually sail out the other end into blue skies and so on... (after he finally figures out that his brilliant, adorable, incredibly talented wife was right all along. hahaha) Just a bit of mild humor there... ahem!

College:

We tried our best to do everything we could to get Eileen ready for college. We went to summer orientation, read everything we could get our hands on, discussed meal plan options with her... supported her in her course choices... everything. We listened to her fears, cheered with her when her roommate called... stayed up with her when she couldnt sleep... but we forgot something kind of important.

We forgot to get ourselves ready for having a child go to college. We forgot to prepare ourselves for that long walk back to the car after leaving our firstborn in a strange environment. We didnt think about what that long drive home would be like, the sleepless nights wondering if she was sleeping well, staring at a plate of food wondering if she would like anything they served... looking at the carton of soy milk in the fridge and knowing that none of us would drink it and she wouldnt be here to do so. Its like a part of you has gone missing...

6th Grade:

I loved homeschooling Maddy. Sure there were days that we both ended up frustrated... but all in all it was a rewarding experience. The decision to put her back in public school was an incredibly hard one. We have overall had a wonderful experience. Ok so the whole getting up at quarter to 5 to catch a bus that got her to school 30 mins early was a bit of a headache... but over the past several weeks we have done what we could to make it all work for us. For the time being Miss Maddy is driven to school and home again. I dont have a job yet and this allows us some extra time in the morning to sleep in a bit, and not have to be on anyone elses timeframe except our own. (with the exception of course of being at school before the bell rings) She has an awesome advisor team... and her core teachers and I are feeling our way about... its kind of strange... but we will make it work.

Dah State coppah:

long story short... over due inspection sticker... drivers side window that was stuck... his little visit with me on the side of the road cost us 133.00 bucks which led directly to a new car. weird eh? See I tried to get the dang thing inspected and it was going to cost us 2300.00 bucks... there were so many things wrong with it. Now we are driving a toyota corolla and loving it.

Life in the country:

So many things different. Cant run to the store real quick anymore to grab something i forgot... its an hour round trip and thats if i dont get out of the car lmao. If we lose power... we lose water... and we lose the ability to flush the toilet, though our neighbors were so very helpful on this front. " take a bucket down to the lake and get water to flush the toilets" hahaha So now we have bottles of tap water under the sink in the bathroom for just such an occasion... we labled them "potty h2o". We get all of 5 channels on tv with the antenna... and on a sunday afternoon we get football, football, baseball, lawrence welk and one other station and i dont remember what they were playing. Its a bit like culture shock I guess... Wheres the green mountain coffee at the gas stations... Wheres the flipping food channel? ...what do you mean no pizza delivery?

There is so much more to tell you but I am drawing a blank... and i seriously do need to get something posted...

~Regi

Update on us...

We took lots of pictures of the house we looked at on Sunday but have decided pretty much we wont be taking it. The biggest reason we said no was heating that house would cost an arm and a leg and perhaps a torso or two. The pellet stove not only wasnt in yet... but they hadnt ordered it. So that would mean the house was heated entirely with propane and its one huge house. The fireplaces dont work at all and it was very ramblely... rambly... spread widely out... sheesh!

I fell in love with it though, it had so many period features. Beams to hang flowers and herbs to dry, cast iron bathtub, original pieces in the fireplace to hang pots on to swivel them into the fire... a iron box built into the hearth to bake bread... the history buff in me cried... "Mine... mine... all mine" *smiles* But, the mom inside me looked at how the house was laid out, the distance between the rooms, the various problems that still hadnt been fixed and put her heels into the ground and said no way! So I listened to the mom in me. *cries*

We have 3 other houses we are in contact with owners about... Paul is looking at one on friday before he heads home. So I am keeping my fingers crossed and I know that the right place will come along eventually.

The bathroom is coming along slowly but surely now. Packing is progressing ... the list of things we want to do to the house is shortening every day... so things are moving on that front.

Eileen has finally gotten to talk to her roommate at college, which has set her mind to rest on that front. She has put in notice at her job ... and she is engaged.

Yes.. eileen, at the ripe old age of 18 is engaged.. her young man spoke to Paul and I before he asked her, assured us that they were definitely waiting till after college graduation to get married, but that he was joining the national guard and wanted to make a commitment to her before he made the commitment to them. She is happy, looks at us as if we are insane if we even mention waiting till after grad to get married... "of course we will mom... sheesh!" so things are ok... but scarey on that front. Not sure I am ready for my child to be engaged, I really wanted both my girls to get out there and taste life a bit before settling down, and I am worried too about Shaun and being in the national guard. He however feels strongly that this is something he needs to do. Not only to help the two of them financially... but to be there in support of our country. I know my father would like this kid... Wish he and mom were around, they would be so tickled with all their grandkids.

Maddy says she is excited about going back to public school... but I feel sad about it. I seriously enjoyed homeschooling her, and feel its a wonderful option in todays world. I have struggled with this decision for some time now... but we are going to give it a try. We have heard wonderful things about this school, it will give her a chance to meet kids in this new place we are moving to where we know no one. It will remind her what public school was all about... and if for any reason it doesnt work... we know homeschooling works for us. Hopefully this time we can find a support group we feel more comfortable in. The old one was nice but we just never clicked. Maddy herself has already requested that we continue studying things on our own... she really liked the whole child led education, we spent a heck of a lot of time on colonial new england and the revolution... not because I wanted to... but because she was absolutely fascinated with it. Anyways... as soon as we know for sure we are moving into the district I will call and make an appointment for a tour and any testing they might need to perform.

Maddy's first day of school will be Aug 27 (paul and my 20th anniversary) and Eileens first day of college is Aug 29th.

Paul is still loving his new job... the company puts him up during the week in a hotel so he has a lot less commuting to do... but its still a long haul for him, and we definitely miss him being home during the week. I cant wait till we are all living in the same space again.

Guess thats all from this front...

~Regi

busy...

It was a busy busy day in the neighborhood today. We got the whole lawn mowed for the first time this spring... I cant believe we had to do it already, some of that grass in the back yard was as high as my knees. Well hubby would say it wasnt that bad... that in fact I am a trifle short but we just ignore him *snicker*

Worked a bit more on weeding the garden from heck... when we get a new place I swear im going to put in shrubs, and use lots of landscape fabric... forget the flower gardens that turn into weed gardens.

Maddy was busy today with her schoolwork... we did spelling, nonfiction reading comprehension, A History of US and 3 lovely chapters, 15 minutes of reading a journal about a little boy during the American Revolution and finally an investigation in her Saxon Math book. We have our portfolio review coming up soon so we need to get that thing in order. She recently did an investigation on probability so we are going to make up a poster about that for the portfolio. Its really just a matter of organizing the thing so I can have something to refer to, when I talk to the other parents about what maddy and I covered this year.

Leen went to work, got picked up from work and then we went to Target and filled out a college registry for the child. It was very strange to follow my first child around a store while she picked out things to take when she goes away to college. Its coming along so very fast and i just dont know if i am ready for it lol. Surreal is perhaps the word i was looking for... it was very surreal. Where did 18 years go? How could it have passed so very quickly. Its so very cliche to say but it seems like yesterday that she was learning to walk and so on... but honestly... when did the child... err young woman grow up?

We made peanut butter cookies... and they were so very good.

I made beer soap... and I hope that is so very good... will know tomorrow.

Im tired.. and rather then sleeping I found myself wandering around ebay looking at quilting fabric. Sheesh!

Hope you have a lovely weekend... wishing you peace

~Regi

And so it goes...

Things have been running rather smoothly as of late.

Math everyday began seamlessly, with only one squawk from her,and I let it pass over me. When the Madster saw I was firm on it she buckled down and the math time is happening even more quickly then before. Spectrum Spelling 5th grade is going quite well... and she is rather enjoying the nonfiction reading workbook we began this week. We are enjoying "The History of US", she seems rather excited by the chapters we have read so far... and the sidebars seem to be a big hit with her. We never did pick up the Rosetta Stone Spanish again... It was quite the investment and I know she wants to learn it, so its a matter of finding a spot for it. This week we worked on Owls, Bats and Ants (for science).. she has a ant project to finish up this week.

I really like the oak meadow social studies/english combo... not too sure about the Environmental science aspect of it. I think if we do homeschool next year we will find a different program for her science. Perhaps a more hands on one that has projects and puzzles and worksheets... she really seems to like that. The reason the SS and English is working I think is that we supplement it heavily with the suggested books and readings... and if we find something we enjoy (such as diaries of kids of the time, we devour them as well) I need to make sure we have a week where we do some of the projects for her colonial/revolutionary america section... making butter, embroidery , making candles, and so on.

I am getting tons of good ideas from the Homeschooling forum I joined. I just wish i had found it so long ago. Its called The Denim Jumper

On the job front I put in some more applications and I even got to speak to a manager... I was quite impressed... Hubby continues to look and actively seek jobs as well. Something has to break free one of these days... it just has to.

The upstairs bathroom is in progress finally... not sure if i mentioned it before but its been a bare shell of a room forever now.. in fact its the reason we couldnt refinance last summer. Heck the plumber has already been paid and the fixtures bought... it was a matter of getting it gutted and the floor ripped up etc. the plumber stopped by yesterday at hubbys request and so its begins... I cant wait to get that project done. That will be the last big, big project we do in this house. I so cant wait.

I guess thats all on this front... have been working a bit on my soaps as of late which you can read about in my craft blog which is listed somewhere here... Have a wonderful evening....

~Regi

Update from the homeschooling front...

Well the school year appears to be coming to an end for the known world... but not in ours *smile* We have so much we want to cover yet... well one of us does anyways. The other is grumbling and muttering under her breath as she stomps around the house.

I set the stage a few weeks back when at dinner at her grandparents house I informed the family that we would continue on with schooling till we reached the Civil war... She said no no... school ends when Leenies does... and of course Grammie and Papa were quick to agree with me, so maddy just sighed lol

We are just finishing up the American Revolution (this kid knows more about the american revolution then I did in highschool)... we are working on George Washingon currently...and will soon be onto Ben Franklin. We are also going to continue working in our Saxon math book ( i love love Saxon math)... She seems quite accepting that we have now moved to one lesson a day as opposed to the 3 a week we were doing. Science is rolling along merrily... as is art etc...

There is so much we could cover... so much we could do... but where do you draw the line. When do you say "enough is enough... lets break for the summer." Do you? Should you? I know after last summer we had the hardest time getting motivated to start again in the fall. On top of that whole scenario...I honestly thought we were going to be moving this summer.. and that Maddy would be going to a new school in a new town to make friends and get involved with activities to gain more friends and so on. My heart had accepted this... it was a done deal. If we moved it would be the best way for her to meet other kids her age.. It would be the only... ONLY reason she would return to public school. I have no doubts whatsoever that we can cover maddys education and do a dang fine job of it. If we are still in this town come September... what do i do then? She has accepted she is going to public school... I had adjusted to the idea... but we took her out of this school system for reasons that havent really changed... and I feel sick putting her back in to that same system. Perhaps it would be different, it would be a different school... different teachers, middle school, hormones... boys and girls... ouch!!! ( My baby is growing up)

I just dont know any more... I need to spend some time really soul searching this and figure out what is best for Maddy... best for the family... and best for me.

~Regi

ch..ch..changes..

Life is changing... the merry-go-round that seemed to be running smoothly took a drastic nosedive and has transformed itself into a roller-coaster. Up and down, around the curve... the last few months have been mind-numbing.

Hubby was laid off in March after a couple of months of short weeks. He has been searching for a job, I have been searching for a job and we have been in a bit of a slump. We have tightened our belts, held tight to our girls and through all of this we have learned some surprising things about ourselves and what we are capable of.

Hubby has a hot job prospect in central maine... but its been an incredibly slow process. We should hear by Thursday, and we are all keeping our fingers and toes crossed for good news. We are acting on the premise that the job is his... and that the job offer will be one we can accept, in which case we go into overdrive getting the house ready to sell.

Maddy and I have continued to homeschool through out this. I readily admit that somedays were incredibly short and other days it just didnt seem to stop. We are still working in our Saxon math book... and the things she is learning boggle my mind, I sure wish i had access to such a book when i was her age. Perhaps my fear of math wouldnt have followed me into my 40s. *smile* Social studies is going well... We are learning about the beginning of the revolutionary war... She seems rather fascinated with the whole thing. In science we are learning about ecosystems... what happens if a creature is taken out of its environment and moved to a foreign one... etc. We are using the Oak meadow courses for both Social studies/English and Environmental Science. Not sure i would sign up for the science again... but the other is pretty dang awesome.

I am in hopes of updating this blog a little more frequently... until we talk again...

I wish you peace,
Regi

Our Trip to India

The last couple of days have been rather full, interesting but full *smiles*

Maddy finally got her red belt in karate .. we definitely need to work harder on stretching and endurance here at home. She loves her class but its a bit rougher then her other. Rougher in that the kids are mostly red/brown belts or brown belts... and their stances are stronger and deeper and more well defined. We need to work on running laps, and getting that split down.

Math has been a bit more relaxed this week.. but I think thats what she needed. I guess i was going at it with the attitude "lets get it done to have it done" and it was stressing her out. So this week I tried just slowing down a bit, re-explaining things we had done... if she balked at working on the multiplication facts we did them together. I want to find a fun game or games that will allow her to practice the facts so that she gets them... but for it to be fun at the same time. I will have to continue to look around.

We have been having a lot of fun in her history/english segments. She has been reading a ton of books on Pocahontas , pilgrims etc... and having a blast. Tomorrow we will go to the library and see what else they have.

Today was our first Adventure Girl outing... and I think it went well. Maddy was uncomfortable at first, and it took a while for her to warm up. She decided to sit with me at first and finally about half way through the presentation she joined the other girls on the floor. It wasnt the dance or the computer images that drew her... it was little models of items used in Indian homes that she was fascinated with and wanted to get closer to. The lovely woman who was discussing India with the girls chose Maddy as her model to wear the Indian Temple jewelry which pleased my daughter to no end. We left before we got to try any of the foods people had donated for the event... Maddy wanted to leave so we gave our thanks and snuck out the door. Then we discussed what we had seen and heard almost all the way home. It was a good time... and I hope she will want to take part in the next outing... but I am going to take my cues from her. The worst thing I could do is push then she will out and out refuse. I know that someday this stubborness and determination will be a good thing... but geesh... sometimes it makes things hard on Mom and Dad *smile*

The Cumberland county fair is this week... I have to make sure I get the girls there... It will be so much fun. Not sure when we can go though... Maddy has karate tomorrow at 4:45, and teengirl asked if we could go after she gets out at 12:30... but that wouldnt work, and Friday is going to be a long day as thats the day we get our new kitchen floor. The workers will be here between 9-10 and be here all day. Its exciting to finally get the floor replaced from when we had the fire.

Cant think of anything else...

so I am wishing you peace,
Regi

The teensy weensy spider...

Today was a busy day in the garden! We went on a nature walk, discovered an odd looking little beetle, a teeny tiny red spider on a leaf, found tons of beautiful red, yellow, and yellow and green mixed leaves on the ground and now Ms Maddy has decided she wants to have a leaf collection. (she was pretty bummed that we didnt bring a container to put bugs in so that she could bring the little red spider home) I agreed that was quite a shame and hopefully she didnt see my shudder as I said that. Maddy also toted home 2 pieces of garbage she found along the path, and had quite the "rant" about litterers and how they are damaging our planet.

We did math (reluctantly) and worked on vocabulary. She wanted to know if she really had to look the words up in the dictionary and write down the definitions in her vocab binder and I said... well lets see... what does dimension mean? or... what is the bow, or stern of a ship? What is a savage? she just gave me a look and went to get her dictionary. *sigh* Savage led into quite a discussion on perceptions. We discussed how an alien civilization might see our planet of animal, vegetable and fruit eating creatures and call us savages for killing plants and animals to eat. Then we discussed Columbus and how he treated the native peoples that he considered "savages" that he found on his journeys. Ms Maddy is not at all impressed with Mr Christopher Columbus and thinks people should write to the President of the United States so that we can stop celebrating Columbus day as a country, she says its wrong to celebrate a day of a person who harmed so many people. My little activist... We will have fun with that I think *smiles*

She and I will start reading "Eight Cousins" by Louisa May Alcott tomorrow. I remember it as an awesome story, we will see if its still as fun when reading it aloud to each other.

Our Week so far

Its been a pretty good week so far. We have made good progress in regards to our studies of Christopher Columbus and Marco Polo. She is just finishing up her second Columbus book as well as working on a book on Marco Polo. Today we made a compass, and tomorrow we will make a quadrant to measure things around our neighborhood. Tomorrow night we will see if we can find the North Star and figure out what our Latitude is using the quadrant we make.

Math is going... that is all I can say about that really. She seems to have forgotten all the multiplication facts she learned last year. I am discovering that taking the summer off was a very bad idea. I would love to help her find that joy she had at the end of last year when she was solving math problems successfully and so proud of herself. The difference from when we took her out of public school in Mid March to end of May/June was pretty amazing for her. She stopped being afraid of math and started enjoying it. Just gotta find a way to get the fun back in it.

Karate is going well. She was the only student in her class yesterday so she got the sole attention of both her Sempai's. They worked her hard but there were a lot of giggles coming for the mat room and they seemed quite pleased with her forms. She will have stripe testing tomorrow afternoon and if all goes well she will graduate to a red belt on Friday night. Woohoo Maddy... you go girl!

Teengirl is sending out her college applications this weekend. I am so nervous... she is my firstborn.. my baby, and yet she is a grown woman. Where in the heck did the time go? She has decided she definitely wants to attend the University of Maine, Orono... and wants to take advantage of the early admission plan. She has grown up into such a wonderful young woman... I am very proud of her. *sniff*

Jasper graduated from puppy class last night. Usually just Hubby and I go to the classes, but last night the girls went as well and they had a lot of fun. Jazzy got his little certificate for graduating puppy class, and we were sent home with lots of praise for him as well as for us for all the hard work we have put in. In class Jasper learned to sit, sit stay, down, down stay, come (when he feels like it or we bribe with yummy treats, otherwise he stands just out of reach the little scalliwag), as well as having time to spend with other puppies, and question and answer periods every class for puppy mom and dads to share their concerns and get advice. I would highly recommend a puppy class to anyone getting a puppy. Petco has a awesome program.. but any puppy class would work well I think.

I finally got all the squares done on Maddy's quilt, and connected them together. Its going to be very pretty when its all done. Next I have to add the borders and then Teengirl will show me what the next step is. I think she is really enjoying teaching her mom something like this. I have always wanted to learn to quilt... have had visions of snuggling up under a homemade quilt with our family on cold cold days... but never understood all the directions in the quilting magazines and books i have drooled over in the past. Teengirl took a class in school last year and now she is teaching mommy.

Maddy's quilt has pinks and oranges in it. I let her pick all the fabrics out with minimal help from me. Its definitely her, thats for sure. Now we need to paint her room to go with her new quilt... what joy! We have plenty of time though, *smiles* it has taken me all summer to get to the point I am at... and that was the easy part I am afraid.

Can't think of another thing to say so I Guess thats all from this front!

Wishing you...Peace and Joy,
Regi

new beginnings and memories

Well we started the school year off with a bang. The materials we have for "5th" grade are as follows. Saxon Math 6/5, Oak meadows Environmental Science as well as their Social Studies/English Curricula, Rosetta stone ~Spanish (compliments of the Portland Public Library made available online) and the instrument of her choice to be started as soon as I find a teacher. I am hoping she will choose piano... but she is leaning towards Fiddle, and of course she has her Karate.

So far we have done several lessons in the math book, reviewed subtraction, addition and multiplication, Learned about Christopher Columbus and Marco Polo, read the book "Where do you think you are going, Christopher Columbus" by Jean Fritz, and started a project on birds. Their beaks tell what kind of foods they eat.

Already Maddy is resisting, but this seems to be resistance that is a hold over from the summer of resisting everything, instead of resistance to learning in general. So I need to be tricky. Find more projects that make the learning fun for her. I would like to continue to study explorers with her... so I thought perhaps setting up a timeline that she can plug her explorer into. Making a dish or food from the country discovered (if a country was in fact discovered) We have the plans for making a model ship like one of the ones Christopher Columbus sailed on ... so she will enjoy that. Games that stress math skill instead of sitting at the table filling out fact papers.

I have to come up with ideas to make this enjoyable for both of us. So here i sit looking up ideas hoping something will click. Gotta get started on the day...

Peace,
Regi

Summer's End

Well I am looking forward to the beginning of the new school season. We took a total break from anything school related. Oh we had these awesome plans of working in her Saxon math book over the course of the summer to complete it... did that happen? Nope!

I just completed ordering her school books for the "5th" grade. We chose to use Oak Meadows curricula for 5th graders... with the exception of using Saxon math instead of what OM was offering. She is familiar with Saxon math and frankly I like the way the lessons are set up... and I was learning stuff too *smiles* I didnt order any of the novels that went with the lesson plans... we can borrow those from the library or purchase them second hand if necessary. I did however order the craft box... I want to make sure that she has everything needed for the lessons and I would rather not have to make do or scrounge up stuff at the last minute. This way all the stuff needed is in a handy box and when its time to "quilt" or "embroider" or " use a feather quill and india ink" its all there. This entire year is based on US history so it should be a fun fun time for both of us.

We added a new member to our family since the last time I posted... several in fact. Jasper is a 14 week old Cairn Terrier. He came to live with us on July 1st... and his birthday is April 22, 07. We also have 2 gerbils named Carly and Candy... and a tank full of fish. Ms Bear is not too sure what to think of all of it. The gerbils she is curious about... the fish she ignores but the puppy... ahh there is a different story altogether. She is finally standing up for herself... swatting him on the nose and hissing if he gets too close... I think they will end up if not friends then comfortably ignoring each other. Jasper loves Bear... so we will see.

So anyways... I am looking forward to this year... and am in hopes it goes smoothly for us.

saturday morning...

Today is a glorious day... the sun is shining and a cool breeze is blowing through the windows. I sure wish the weather would decide what season we are having. I am just thankful we havent had any freak snow storms lately... April was bad enough. Today it feels positively autumnish... and part of me expects to smell that glorious scent of woodsmoke in the air.

Everyone in the family is up now... well 'cept for Daddy... he is still snoozing away, even with the alarm shrieking at him every 15 minutes or so. As soon as teengirl is out of the shower I will pour Dad a cup of coffee... poke him until he rouses and jump in the shower myself. Then it will be a matter of directing him in that general direction and we can hop in the van and head north.

Generally traveling any distance in the car with the girls is unfun... you know that saying that goes... that which doesnt kill me makes me stronger? I think Nietzche knew my girls and what its like to be trapped in the car with them...lol today I am taking Harry Potter and the order of the phoenix with me... Maddy can take her copy... Teengirl will have her cellphone and probably spend the time texting her bf... and daddy will drive and mumble to himself.. and hopefully we can all get there with a minimum of stress and bickering ...

There is a family game night tonight with the homeschooling group... just found out about it last night... *sigh* I really should use a different email address so that the notices come straight to my regular mailbox... Tomorrow is Mothers day and I know Maddy and Daddy have some stuff they need to do tonight...Teengirl already shopped and if Maddy doesnt have something to give me tomorrow she will feel awful =( I really dont want to be rushing through the museum today but we will see... if we get home in time and they can get their stuff done we will go... I would hate to miss another though... we missed the last one too.

Since we pulled Maddy out of PS in mid march we have been trying to "complete" her school year and deschool her all at the same time. Some of the things we have done have been Maddy-directed... but for the most part we have tried to continue on with the Maine studies... and keep up with the learner results that Maine participates in. We did get the Saxon math curriculum for 4th graders... it was one area Daddy and I both agree we need to emphasize.. Teengirl has struggled so much because of lack of basic math skills, and the funny thing is Maddy isnt the only one becoming more comfy with math... Mom is too. *smiles* The kid is doing basic algebra and the way the books are introducing it... its natural (well as natural as 5n=5x3 can be LOL. Next year I forsee being totally different, more relaxed ... and more spontaneous.

I have spent a lot of time lately reading other peoples blogs... seeing how they do things, wondering what would work for Maddy and I... what I know wouldnt work for us... I have added a huge number of blogs to my list.. and i have been trying to read them all... I have become addicted to reading homeschooling blogs lol...

Well Hubby/Daddy/Puterdude just wandered by with his towel... so I gotta scoot.

~have a great one... and peace
Regi

and so it begins...

Tomorrow we are going to the State of Maine Museum in Augusta. It should be a lot of fun. Just the thing to wrap up the unit on Maine we have been finishing up. She just finished reading a really good book called Sign of the Beaver. Its about a young boy whose father leaves him to take care of the cabin and the crops while he travels to massachusetts to bring back his wife, their daughter and the new baby. He tells his son Matt it should take 7 weeks. Maddy and I learned quite a bit about life in those days...

We have also been studying nutrition for our health unit. We have read about and manipulated the food pyramid... and currently we are studying a book called The Healthy Body Cookbook by Joan D'Amico and Karen Eich Drummond. It has a lot of interesting articles about our body and what foods we need to keep it healthy. Maddy has been having fun reading the articles and doing some of the experiments.

For Math we have been using Saxon's math 54 ... (typically used in 4th grade) we used a placement test to see which books we should purchase. She is really learning a lot ... and so is mum. *smiles*

For science so far we have studied volcanoes and how the earth is made up. We are moving into rocks and minerals... and I hope to take her and her sister on a rock expedition later on this spring/early summer. She has also developed a fascinatin with horseshoe crabs... and has been feeding the ants outside to see what different foods they like to eat. Everytime someone comes over she is careful to remind them to walk around her pets who decided to settle right in the middle of the walk way. Im not sure what we would have done if the ants had decided to move indoors... might have had a battle on our hands. *smile*

For reading etc we have been rather relaxed... the child is a avid reader, she is reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by Rowlings, Dragon Rider by Funke, just finished up Sign of the Beaver by Speare, and a book called East by Pattou. Sometimes I will have her write a letter to a friend about the book, or have her re-write the ending of the story etc... but mostly she just drifts from book to book...

I am really looking forward to our trip to Augusta tomorrow... if only Ms Maddy would go to sleep... she is really torqued up about our adventure.

~peace
Regi