Skip to main content

Weekly Wrap-up ~ And .... We're OUT!!


In our regular life this week…

It was a stressful one! In fact, it was one of those kind of weeks where I just really wanted to curl up on the couch in my jammies with a bottle of wine (or four) and not leave it. Those of you who know me might think, "isn't that what you usually do anyway?", minus the four bottles of wine, of course. No, I mean get on the couch in my jammies and not get up for ANY reason for MANY DAYS IN A ROW kind of week.

I feel like we are a family who just kind of does what we are supposed to do when we are supposed to do it, not bothering anybody. And all around us are many who are not doing what they are supposed to do, trampling on everybody in their path and getting away with it. It's exhausting! And sometimes I just need a pity party .. in my jammies ... with wine.
Moving on ...
In our homeschool this week…

We finished our last week of this school year! Well, sort of. I mean, we will be taking a week off and then starting our summer school schedule (yeah, we have joined the schooling year-round bandwagon). And even though we are at the end of the kids' third grade year, they will still be third graders until probably January because we will still be doing third grade concepts through the fall. But since our public schools ended this week, we'll call it the end of the school year.


An update about Spelling: We used the sample lessons of Soaring with Spelling this week and LOVED IT! The kids really liked it and I loved the vocabulary, copywork, and syllable dividing aspect of it. It was like Spelling Plus! We will definitely be using it next year!!!

And the seeds are in! Finally!! Our Outdoor Classroom is ready for students!


I ended up making the grids for our Square Foot Garden out of some old fishing net we had. It worked perfect!! (I was going to braid ropes out of plastic bags, but that was taking forever.)

Eli was the director of the planting. He held the grid plans and told us what to plant where and how much.


We spent several days finalizing our plans. We made our first draft, then made changes so that we were sure that the tall plants weren't stealing sun from the low-growing plants. Then finally we researched "plant buddies" to make sure each plant was next to a friend and not an enemy. I've lived in a neighborhood with nasty neighbors. It's no fun!


Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

As this was a finish-up week, we stayed at home most of the time. I did have an out-of-town appointment all day Wednesday, so the kids hung out with grandma. They did their schoolwork and she rewarded them with a couple of hours at the park and Dairy Queen treats.

Tonight we are going on a Scouting campout as a family. I can't say I am looking forward to it, but I am sure it will end up being fun.

We may try to go to the lake on Sunday for the day. And then again, maybe not. We'll see how things go. 


A favorite thing this week was…

This was a tough week, so I'll dig deep and say that it was the frog eggs my friend brought me for our Life Cycle study. Told ya I had to dig deep! Actually, she came to the door with her daughter carrying a small tray with a little bit of water in it. I swear I thought it was a snake in there! I've seen tadpoles before. But I have never seen them in the egg stage. Fascinating! We have our string of eggs and tadpoles in a shallow bucket on our back porch. We will be plotting their growth and watching them turn into little frogs. Pretty cool!


What's in the kitchen this week ...

I put a whole chicken in the crock pot early in the week that fed us for a few meals. I am already bored with summer cooking and summer hasn't even started. I am sure that will change when I can start cooking out of my garden.


What we're reading ...

Mom: Dark Places by Gillian Flynn, Becoming a Titus 2 Woman by Martha Peace, Created to be His Helpmeet by Debi Pearl, Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. ** I am STILL reading these books! Very little reading has been going on. Ughh!!

Eli: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules by Jeff Kinney. 

Brynne: Scout (Puppy Place) by Ellen Miles

Read-aloud: Secrets of the Scotch Broom (Herb Fairies series) and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming.

I ordered a bunch of books for the kids for their summer reading. Brynne got more Puppy Place books and Eli got Captain Underpants and George Brown, Class Clown. They are pretty much set for the summer. I also made a new list of books I want to read this summer.


Things we're working on…

Well I am working on tiny bits of landscaping whenever I can. I spread a little grass seed yesterday after I got tired of mowing our dirt. I can't wait to have a plush, green yard with bushes and flowers. For now I am just planting a little here and there. I bought a couple of Salvias on clearance and planted them by my hummingbird feeder. And I bought some spring planting Peony bulbs that I am hoping will take! I also went to my grandma's and dug up some hydrangea roots praying that they will grow. My grandma has the most beautiful hydrangea bush at her house that died last year, but it has new shoots coming up. I would love to be able to carry that on!


I’m grateful for ...

Simple living even when people around me try to complicate it.


In the garden…

Is that a jalapeño??


And a green pepper?



What's coming up this week ...

A week of summer break which means playing for the kids and reading for me (I hope!). My mom has a hankerin' to start on some of my household projects I have been putting off, however, so I am fearful we may be doing some of that. She and I are heading up to Kansas City on Wednesday to see all of the remodeling my sister has been doing in her house. I have my women's circle at church on Tuesday night and Brynne has a softball game on Thursday night.


Things you might have missed at Journey to Excellence ...

A photo, video, link, or quote to share (silly, serious or both!)…

School's out!!!


We are happily linking up this week at the following sites:






Comments

  1. Oh, gosh, I had that kind of week too! :sigh: Without the other people! But now I have until Monday at home! PJs! And Netflix! And my book! Next week is a new week, right?

    It's always hard to tell when one school year ends exactly. For the most part we're done, but Sam needs (intensive?) reading work this summer...and Jake is still finishing his paper...and Cati needs to wrap up her 22 page typed story. Love the last photo!

    George Brown, Class Clown looks interesting. I wish I could find something to inspire my reluctant reader (i.e. Sam).

    ReplyDelete
  2. It cracks me up that you are tired of summer cooking already! I am too!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I do love your garden! Looking forward to seeing it as it grows, so please share pics! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love your outdoor classroom - so fun. I would attempt something like that, but I have a black thumb. Maybe when we do Apologia Botany I will learn a trick or two. Hope you have fun camping with the Scouts!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I can relate to the beginning of your post -- when people around you are getting away with things while doing what they aren't supposed to be doing. Perhaps this is why my husband is making me a nice large pitcher of Sangria this weekend ;-) I wish we could meet. I think we would get along well.

    I hope you have a restful weekend -- I'm not gardening this year, but you kind of make we want to! Thanks for linking!

    ReplyDelete
  6. not sure if your interested but I have a upcoming giveaway of a fun doodle book by Art Projects for Kids blog creator. It is a lot of fun. The giveaway starts Monday June 3rd and run all next week. You can hop over now and get a early entry. I know you don't do any social media but you can enter by just entering your email and following my blog.

    anyway here's a link if you want: http://lettersnumbersandbooksohmy.blogspot.com/2013/05/50-doodles-of-summer-upcoming-giveaway.html

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

We all know that in this crazy world of homeschooling, we need all the (adult) support we can get. Please leave a comment if you so wish!

Popular posts from this blog

ABCya

Eli's reading resource teacher shared a website with me yesterday that I would like to pass along. It's called ABCya . There are separate educational sections with fantastic games for ages kindergarten through 5th grade. I browsed the 2nd grade level, and it includes age-appropriate games about Letters, Numbers, Shapes, Geometry, Patterns, Mouse Manipulation, Art and Holiday games. There are lots and lots of fun and creative games for children to play. They are fun, but oh, so educational. Eli's favorite, in his short time playing it, was Create a Car . A lot of the games also have Apps available for purchase (99 cents for most of them) for the iPad and iPhone. I have been looking for another free website for games similar to Starfall , for some time. I think I have found it. I can feel confident having Eli and Brynne play these games.

A Thomas Jefferson Education "This Week in History" ~ Schoolhouse Review

Talk about a GOLD MINE! A Thomas Jefferson Education's This Week in History by Rachel DeMille is her "labor of love" ... and I absolutely LOVE it! " This Week in History is a daily resource that brings your home school or classroom to life." For just $9.99 per month, you can log onto TJEd.com and click the "This Week in History" link to obtain many, many, many resources tied to specific events that occurred in the upcoming week in history. Or even better, you can receive the summaries and links to ALL resources right in your email Inbox each week! It doesn't get any easier than that! What does this really look like in real life? Each week, I receive an email from Rachel DeMille that sets out each date of the coming week. Under the date, there are listed anywhere from one to several events that occurred in history on that date. THEN there are ALL kinds of things to do related to that event, such as books to read, websites to visit, ac

Cells ~ It's What's for Dinner

Dawson made edible cells on Friday. He made an animal cell pizza ... and a plant cell chocolate chip cookie ... He reviewed what he's learned about cells the past two weeks, and I had dinner made by someone else. Win, win!! I am linking up at Science Sunday at Adventures in Mommydom.