Homeschool Weeks 1-6 and High School Update

I am going to blog through the homeschool year again this year.  Feel free to skip these posts or just scroll through the pictures.  I actually use these posts when I do my end of the year write up to remind me of all the activities, books, etc because I often forget to jot down everything extra that we did. 

So, our history theme is this year is "1850 to Modern Times".  Up to this point (week 6) we have just "caught up" the rest of the world to the 1850-1860 time period.  This included Queen Victoria's England, the British in India (Sepoy Mutiny), the Crimean War (which still impacts the world today), David Livingstone and his exploration into Central Africa, Italy's "Resurrection", and the Taiping Rebellion in China.   

The rest of the time has been spent reviewing the 50 states:  where they are located, postal abbreviations, and capitals.  We've enjoyed the States and Capitals Songs CD to help us and have played many, many games of memory to match up states and capitals.  Of course, we have found some entertaining quizzes on-line to further reinforce.  

The weeks we learned/reviewed the 50 states we also reviewed the history of the U.S. until the Civil War from the Children's Encyclopedia of American History.  We have spent quite a bit of time studying the events, compromises, culture, and politics that led to the Civil War.  During this time we also looked at the presidential terms of Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, and James Buchanan.

Most activities other than map work and worksheets have been in the kitchen.  We had corn chowder, ham with cherry sauce, and apple crisp for our colonial meal;  baked lemon poppyseed bread for our Victorian Tea; enjoyed Margherita pizza when we studied Italy; stenciled a Taiping Tien Kuo coin pattern on a chocolate cake; and decorated a yummy King Cake in honor of Mardi Gras when we reviewed the U.S. expansion of the Louisiana Purchase.

One non-kitchen project:  The Crystal Palace model

Other important people that lived during this time period that we read more about:  Hudson Taylor, Daniel Webster, Elijah Lovejoy, Frederick Douglas, and Sojourner Truth.  

Bible:  We begin each day again with our BSF lessons which this year is the life of Moses.  Our curriculum also has us read a portion from A Young Person's Guide to Knowing God by Patricia St. John.  She has some great stories to illustrate Biblical truths.

Science:  Seth and Lydia are studying chemistry and physics using the book 100 Experiments to reinforce what they learn in the textbook, World of Science.  So far we have learned about atoms, molecules, elements, three states of matter, melting and boiling, properties of water, chemical changes, and acids and bases. They are doing a pretty good job of writing up short summaries of the experiments that they carry out.  Anna has her own Apologia science textbook for middle school and is learning about the history of science, scientific method, and how to set up a good experiment.

They loved this experiment of the "Floating Flowers".  This just showed how paper fibers expand when they get wet.  As the paper expanded, their "flower" opened up to reveal the little bug they glued inside.  I love it when the experiments actually work!!

Writing/Reading:  The kids each started their own book unit for the semester.  Anna--Swiss Family  Robinson; Lydia--From the Mixed-up Files of Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler; Seth--Stuart Little.  The girls and I are working through IEW U.S. History based writing lessons (Volume 1).   We started this at the end of the year last year, and although we have moved on from the history in this volume the girls still enjoy writing about what they previously studied.  Seth continues to do free writing on a given topic, but could probably use a little more guidance from me...

One of Seth's reading projects:  make a bed for Stuart using clothespins for bedposts.

Music:  The life and music of Stephen Foster.  Seth loves this music and has added "Old Folks at Home" (Swanee River) to his playlist.

The older boys are doing well at Cole Valley.  They seem to have a great group of friends and are never at a loss for social activities.  Both have asked girls to Homecoming which is this Saturday night.  (And the girls both said, "Yes!").

Caleb continues to enjoy running cross-country and is working hard at increasing his foot speed and not over-striding.  He still misses soccer and will occasionally have a melancholy moment.   He joined the student worship team for the school chapel services and is leading a quartet for an upcoming concert.  Since he did not make it in the Boise Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (BPYO) he is looking into other orchestra options; there is one in Eagle, ID (15 min north) that looks like fun.   He probably will pursue that when the XC season is over.   I did my senior mom duty and decorated a locker board for him.  Although it ended up being kind of fun to decorate, it really is silly busy work for moms who already have full, hectic lives.

Nicolas did make it in the BPYO and has practice downtown every Monday afternoon after school. He seems to enjoy the group and also likes his cello teacher.  He has lessons (also downtown) every other Thursday afternoon.  We have made it a family outing as it is close to a fun park--but that is another blog post.  

Onion Harvest

As an Iowa girl I am used to all kinds of farm smells:  feedlot, honey wagon, silage, and even that smell of soybeans.  But when we went to Nyssa, OR for Caleb's cross-country meet I experienced a new farm odor.  Onions.   Evidently Eastern Oregon and Idaho are one of the leading producers of our nation's onions, and we were driving through right in the middle of harvest.  Even while watching the cross-country meet we noticed that the smell of onions just permeated the air.  

Not bad--just different.

And a few pictures of the cross-country meet.  Isn't this just a beautiful setting to run a meet?

 I love it when Russ wears his "minion" shirt because I can spot him easily in a crowd:)

Cooling down with the team after the run.

Skirt Finished!

It fits perfectly and she has loved wearing it to church the last couple of weeks!  Thank-you Grandma B. for making the slip (I hemmed it with the ribbon and it looks pretty:)

ER Avoided

I was okay with Seth wanting to buy a whittling knife for his birthday.  I have supervised him using Nicolas' on a couple occasions and he does very well.   Since Nicolas received whittling gloves for Christmas a couple years ago, we haven't had any serious cuts or ER visits.  I might have changed my mind, however...

A few nights ago Russ, Seth, and I took a quick trip to Walmart after supper leaving Caleb in charge of the other three.  When we arrived home Caleb told us that Lydia had cut her leg while whittling with Nicolas' knife.  He assured us that it wasn't too deep, that he bandaged it up for her, and she just went happily upstairs to play with Anna afterwards (where she was when we arrived home).  I did express some annoyance at her choice of activities while we were away, especially since I have never known her to whittle.

Anyway, as I am putting groceries away and cleaning up the kitchen, Caleb sits down on the bar stool and begins to give a few more details on the injury.  

"I don't think it needed stitches.  I mean, it was kind of wide, but not deep."

I am doing the distracted listening thing that mom's do so well, but must have shown some kind of confusion on my face at his description.  I know that as I was listening I was trying to figure out what he meant by "wide".  Maybe...the cut went to the side like a slice--wide, but not deep?  Or she whittled a slice of top skin off?

Seeing the confusion Caleb went on, "Well, it is like a line, but wide.  It didn't look deep though."

Now he had my undivided attention.  I stopped putting groceries away and turned to face him.   "Uh, Caleb, usually if the cut is wide, it is because it is deep and gapping open."  

"Oh, yeah, that makes sense.  I feel really stupid."  

Lydia was called downstairs so I could take off the very nice bandage that Caleb fixed her up with and take a look at the injury.  My first words:  "This definitely needs stitches."  

Immediate wailing from the injured girl.  She had a very clean thin line cut that went fairly deep so it gapped open nicely.   After a quick physiology lesson on the nice scar she would have if we let the cut heal without stitches, I found I was able to approximate the edges of the cut very nicely with my fingers.  So, instead of an ER visit we were able to close it up beautifully with three butterfly band-aids and instructions not to bend her knee too far during the night. 

Caleb apologized profusely and said he felt so dumb about not recognizing the seriousness of the cut. We have been teasing him about the "wide, but not deep" comment until he reminded us that because he didn't think it was too bad, Lydia didn't cry at all after it happened.    So true!  If Caleb had realized how deep it was right after it happened and had gone on "stitches" panic mode, Lydia would have been an absolute basket case by the time we got home.   So, in the end, Caleb is still the hero of this story.  

And I'm still not sure about the whittling knife for Seth.

Seth Turns 8

When deciding what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday this year, Seth went on-line and found a picture of what he wanted.  That is actually kind of nice because you don't have to try to figure out what they are explaining to you and then get it wrong.  We might still not have gotten it quite right, but, hey, we are not professional cake decorators!  Basically, what he wanted was a cake in the shape of a book with a Bible verse on one side and his name on the other.  

For awhile Seth wanted a bird for his birthday and planned to spend his birthday money on purchasing a bird and all the supplies.  He was so cute.  He went on the computer and itemized everything on a couple scraps of paper to see how much it would cost to get a bird.  Now, though, he isn't so sure that is still what he wants.   So far he has spent money on two Wii games--Lego Star Wars, which he loves to play with Nicolas, and Disney Just Dance, which is really a hoot when dad gets involved.    He still has quite a bit of money to spend and is looking into his own whittling knife/book/gloves and he also has a few Lego sets in mind.  Like a typical 8-year-old his "needs" change every week.

One Month

This past Tuesday marked one month since we have been in Boise, ID.  Here are some things we accomplished in that time:

1.  Unpacked boxes.  I would say that all the boxes that we want unpacked at this time are unpacked.  The rest are on storage shelves in the third stall of the garage.

2.  Painted the kitchen, living room, and music room.  CJ accomplished this already the first week we were here.  He disliked the color that much.   We also put knobs on the kitchen cupboards and changed the doorknobs in the kitchen area.  This is a gradual project as it is a little spendy, but it will eventually all get painted and "re-knobbed".  Hopefully, the linoleum in the kitchen can also be replaced in the near future.

BEFORE:

AFTER

3.  Hung pictures and curtains.  We have three windows that need blinds and those are on order!

4.  Visited MANY grocery stores to get an idea of where to buy what:  Fred Meyer, Win-co, Walmart, Costco, and Rosauers.

5.  Checked out books at the Main library and at the closer branch on Ustick and Cole.  Our first batch of books is due today, so we will be making another trip soon.

6.  Found music teachers.  I looked into string teachers first as the boys really needed some coaching for the Boise Philharmonic Youth Orchestra auditions.  Nicolas seems to like his cello teacher and she is totally flexible with lessons/times.  CJ is not as excited about his teacher, so we are pursuing new options and have a few leads.   The piano teacher for the girls is a member of the church.  She said she took lessons with my cousins Alaine and Denise in California.  She is more expensive than we are used to, so we may hold off on giving lessons to Seth for another year.

7.  Started school.  We are on week three of home school already and are falling into a pretty good routine.  The boys started school the same week we did (actually why we started so early).  School seems going well for the boys, and they appear to be making good friends.   We enjoyed meeting all their teachers at the parent orientation night.  At the last minute we realized that both boys needed their own notebook/laptop for the school year.  Since it was a bit of a financial commitment it made the week before school quite hectic. We had to research the computers, find out who had the best deal, and then figure out where the stores were located!

8.  Attended our first cross-country meet as Cole Valley Charger fans.  After an extremely disappointing soccer try-out week at the large public school in our district (their Christian school does not have soccer), Caleb decided to go out for cross-country instead.  His coach is awesome and truly understands running/coaching.   Nicolas did not choose another sport this fall after having been cut from soccer.  I do see him working on soccer skills in the yard every now and then, though.

9.  Celebrated two birthdays and a 20th wedding anniversary.  I will give Seth his own "birthday" blog post.

10.  Russ and I got our Idaho driver's license.  My Michigan license expired on my birthday, so it kind of forced the issue.  We even had to take a written test.  Good to know we are still acquainted with the rules of the road.  Caleb still needs to get his changed and Nicolas needs to get the ball rolling on his driver's education and permit.

11.  Bought a second vehicle.  We were planning on going smaller than a Ford Expedition, but small, used SUVs are impossible to buy around here (at least not in our price range).  Since everyone seems to have them, I wonder if they are just in high demand?  The gas mileage will not be so great, but I do like the fact that the boys have a little more between them and the next car, we can all fit in it, we can use it for hauling things, and we can tow with it.  Not sure what we are towing, but we have the option!

Doesn't she make a cute car model?

12.  Visited the downtown Farmer's Market.  Just this past Saturday we walked the Farmer's Market downtown like we did with Terry and Julie Ribbens when we first visited.   We bought some doughnuts and just enjoyed looking at the booths.  The kids were happy to get a glimpse of what downtown Boise looks like, although Anna could have done without all the people:)

13.  Hiked Table Rock.  On Labor Day, Caleb's cross-country team had plans to run up Table Rock in the morning and then go out for ice cream.  We decided we would hike it as a family that morning too.   We hiked the 4-mile loop while CJ and his team ran up/down a different route for a total of 9 miles!  CRAZY!!  We were at the top when the team ran up and Caleb just breathed as he passed me:  "That. Was. The. Hardest. Run. Ever!"

The trail we took to the top of Table Rock started by the Old Penitentiary.  I believe I read that it is now a museum and open for tours. 

Cross-country team at the top of Table Rock

14.  Getting more comfortable with a new church and church family.  Between the church picnic, visiting with church members before and after church, and being invited to a few homes, we are doing pretty well with putting names with faces.  As we settle more into a routine we look forward to eventually reciprocating their hospitality.

Although this first month of the move has not been without difficult moments, homesickness, or tears, I know we can all say that none of this could have been accomplished without God's gracious provision.   We especially felt this as God worked through the generosity and prayers of His Body.   While we keenly feel the separation from family, we realize we are not in the remote areas of Africa fighting the Ebola virus either!  We are living in a comfortable home surrounded by the beauty of God's creation (just a different beauty than what we were used to), and family is only a phone call, text, or Skype away!  (Or a plane trip, or two day car ride).  Caleb and I (probably the most melancholy of the family) have decided that we have a more positive attitude while looking forward to what God has in store for us here and now rather than looking backward to what has been.  So that is what we do with God's help!