I made some space in my kitchen for my ‘diet’ books. I kept losing them. Now they all have a home.
I made room for Annette’s school books.
I also cleared out some shelves in the living room.
Now where to put all the stuff I pulled out. There was actually a lot more. I threw half used workbooks away. Just closed my eyes and threw them in the recycle bin.
Lance was not happy with doing math. He whined. He said, “This is the worst day of my life”.
He just sat there very unhappy. He finally told me that the addition problems were too easy. That he knew the facts already. He said he likes his older brothers school because it’s fun (he usually sits in on our Logic of English lessons).
Later when he had calmed down some I let him know that next time he needs to tell me but without his temper tantrum.
Later in the evening I had him move up a few lesson. He did some double digit addition and you know what? He knew how to do that too. It was simple with no caring but still I was surprised. Sometimes because Lance is my youngest I act like he can’t handle something. Yikes, this was an eye-opener for me. Note to self, Lance can move on, he can do the work.
I went over the first few problems using our base-ten set and Lance asked, “Do I have to use those still?” I asked if he understood he said yes so the next three he completed on his own and continued on. He missed only two so I had him correct them. He did really good. He doesn’t understand place value, this I will work with him.
I wanted to start his Rod and Staff math early because once we start school Memoria Press moves pretty quickly through the first 6 weeks because it’s suppose to have all been learned in the previous level. After the first 6 weeks things slow down a bit.
I have also been working on his cursive. The 2nd grade Memoria Press program has them using all cursive by the end of the 10th week. So again the first weeks move quickly through because this is something they ‘should’ have learned in this the year before as well.
I don’t think Lance is going to make it and I am going to have to have him write in print. This is my fault because I got lazy with teaching him cursive.
He does have a hard time writing but I should have worked with him more. I purchased the Prima Latina Copybook too and it’s all in cursive. He probably won’t be using it. We will see maybe he’ll surprise me there too 
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My Lance turned 9 years old this month.
Hopefully my next blog post will be of his birthday pictures.
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I’m excited to have chosen a math program for Joshua this year. We have a plan too but you know how that goes. I’ll tell you all anyway. Lord willing it will happen.
This 13/14 school year I had planned to have Joshua use Bob Jones Fundamentals Math program via DVD program. For a lot of reasons (trying to respect my eldest son’s privacy to I’m not going to go into a lot of detail) I didn’t feel comfortable with that. I’ve been praying, talking to Josh, talking to hubby and praying.
At the same time I was researching a remedial English program for Joshua and what did I find? The same publisher also has a remedial math program too!!! I was like, thank you Jesus. I found a few samples, not too many but read all I could late into the night. The program is written for the student to use independently (of course we are here if he needs us) with step-by-step instructions. This is exactly what Joshua needs.
So here’s the plan. I don’t have the books just yet. Thankfully they have been shipped. Each book has about 210 pages. Some of the pages I’m guessing are the instructions. There is no separate teachers manual.
Back to my plan. If he can finish this course in the next 12 months or (his sophomore year) next year his Junior year he can start VideoText Algebra and complete Algebra 1 & 2 and his last high school year he can at least start Geometry.
I know this may not go as planned but it’s a start and I see a light at the end of this math tunnel. Joshua is a hard worker and even if it takes the summer after his Senior year to get through some of the Geometry I know he will do his best for the Lord.
As for the grammar course I want to use that with Joshua too but will have to wait and see. Right now I can only order one subject as each book and the answer key is $23.00 each plus shipping. Worth it of course!
I had planned to use Easy Grammar Plus with Josh but with him going into his 2nd year of high school I feel a bit rushed and want something that would get him up to speed a little quicker. Once he completes BridgeWay English then I’ll have him continue with Easy Grammar for the last two years of high school.
It’s late and I should be in bed but wanted to right a quick “we are still alive” post.
My MIL is visiting so the children and I have been busy. Believe it or not we have actually continued with some school. Mainly review items like Logic of English and People Keys (would love to write more about People Keys because it’s so interesting but I need to keep this short).
I’ve also received more school boxes. Half of Memoria Press is here, so that’s been exciting.
And I’ve been selected to review VideoText Algebra and it should be here Saturday!!! I’m really excited about this. We will receive Modules A and B. I can’t believe we have kids old enough to use VideoText Algebra.
Oh and I also get to review The Homeschool Mom’s Bible, can’t wait to for that as well.
The children are keeping busy with some school and lots of play. Today the younger boys went on one of their expeditions.
Josh, Annette, Caleb, and Ethan had fun with Grandma running errands. Their first stop was Hobby Lobby. My MIL’s favorite place. She loves buying the scrapbooking paper.
Annette went next door to Hancock’s Fabric. She is looking to make a dress or some aprons to sell.
The kid’s still love their guinea pigs. Here they made a Lego maze.
And look what I found while cleaning out the bookshelves.
I remember the days when I use to plan out the kids school from K-12th. This is five or six years old. I had planned to use Calvert, My Father’s World, and WinterPromise. Some years I planned to combine. Just thinking about gets me a little dizzy.
Josh took this picture of me watering our new trees. He said, “Mom, you look so beautiful, can I take a picture of you?” awe, what a good son I have. He’s so sweet like that.
I am still eating well. I did splurge on Monday. We took my MIL out to one of her favorite places to eat, Babes Chicken. They have the best biscuits. I decided a few days before going that I was going to have me two biscuits. They were so yummy and I forgot the camera, so there is no picture of me eating my first biscuit in over 8 months! We had a good time though.
That is what we’ve been up too. Lupe my Sweets continues to work hard to provide for us.
I am applying Trim Healthy Mama principles to my Atkins lifestyle. I try to eat 5+ E meals a week. They are usually my lunch.
Last Thursday I didn’t take the time to plan out this weeks menu. I think I like it when I take the time to plan. I’m still not eating as many veggies as I would like. I don’t know why it has been so hard to add them in. I was doing so well for a while. I keep thinking Whole30, Whole30 but am not ready just yet to commit to one.
Unless otherwise noted all foods are low carb.
Sunday: 137.4
Breakfast: Coffee w/half and half, 2 cinnamon muffins with cream cheese frosting
Lunch: Wendy’s small chili, 3/4 cup 0% Greek yogurt with 1/2 cup blueberries
Snack: Atkins Indulgence Coconut Bar
Dinner: Wendy’s Pretzel Burger with only the bottom part of the bun net27. (not low carb) w/water
I was really wanting to try that new Pretzel Bacon Burger (have been for weeks and weeks but have passed it up). Today my hubby had it for lunch and it looked so good. It’s been calling my name. I took off the top piece of bread and gave that to my hubby. Guess we’ll see this week what kind of weight damage I did, uh-oh.
Monday: 137.4
Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs with the last two leftover cabbage rolls
Lunch: Salad, this was a premade salad. It had small portions of black beans, quinoa, tiny bit of feta cheese, turkey, and lots of lettuce. I added some salsa instead of the dressing that it came with. I also added 1/2 cucumber and 1 small organic tomato.
Dinner: Spaghetti with sweet potato noodles (my own recipe)
I’m trying really hard to eat more veggies. I was happy that I had some with every meal today.
My lunch. It had a little bit of corn, maybe a TBL or so. Really the black beans was not that much too.
Tuesday: 137.4
Breakfast: Kefir Strawberry smoothie
Lunch: Zucchini Fritters
Snack: Pumpkin low-carb muffin
Dinner: Chile Relleno Casserole THM pg. 325 and a salad with salsa as the dressing.
Snack: Atkins bar with coffee
I kept craving low-carb sweets but I didn’t want to make anything. I was a bit tired toward the end of the day, so I opted for an Atkins bar.
Wednesday: 137.2
Breakfast: Low-carb muffin with coffee
Lunch: Mex. Cottage Cheese Salad with leafy greens and a 1/2 of an Ezekiel English Muffin (12net carbs). This would be a pulled back E meal if you’re doing HTM.
Dinner: Cheeseburger Pie THM pg. 326 added shredded veggies
Snack: Pumpkin muffin
My cinnamon muffins with cream cheese frosting.
Thursday: 137.4
Breakfast: Bulletproof Coffee with a muffin
Lunch: Mex. Cottage Cheese Salad with extra leafy greens
Snack: 1/2 of an Ezekiel English Muffin with a tsp of jam (if on THM it’s a pulled back E)
Dinner: Leftover dinner of chili relleno casserole and cheeseburger pie with veggies
Snack: Starbucks iced coffee made with cream and stevia
I had some high calorie stuff toward the end of the day. I don’t expect to lose anything.
Made some coconut creamer and pumpkin muffins for tomorrow before I went to bed. Prep is a good thing. Saves me time the next morning.
Friday: 136.4
Breakfast: Bulletproof Coffee
Snack: Pumpkin Muffin with cream cheese frosting. I need to finish up the frosting.
Lunch: Kefir Smoothie with a Mex. Cottage Cheese Salad and lots of greens
Dinner: Avocado, turkey, and tomato lettuce wraps with cucumber slices and a pumpkin muffin
Wahoo! I didn’t expect to lose anything after drinking the iced coffee the day before. Today I ate about 15 net carbs in veggies. This is my goal. I NEED to eat more veggies. I have been eating Atkins friendly foods but feel like I’m not eating as good as I could be.
I’m having a lot of stomach issues. I know I need to get rid of the beans, cottage cheese, and such but they are so good.
Saturday: 136.6
Breakfast: Coffee with half and half and a Kefir Smoothie
Lunch: Apple Cottage Cheese Salad with greens
Snack: Kefir Smoothie
Dinner: In-N-Out Burger with no bun and a salad before I leave to get my veggies
Snacks: Saxby’s Raspberry Swirl sugar free coffee
This has been a really off week with my Trim Healthy Mama way of eating. I was experimenting with my own recipes and trying out some THM muffins which are S muffins. With them being S muffins it was harder to get those E meals in for me. I try eating at least 5 E meals a week.
This was one of those weeks were I felt I was not eating very good but at the same time I did add more veggies. I have had some huge salads with cucumbers, tomatoes, and avocados. All the meat dishes had shredded zucchini or carrots or sweet potatoes. Not enough to affect what type of meal though. It’s not like I’m eating half a sweet potato with my meals. I also needed to use up some Kefir so I’ve been adding some smoothies in.
His pie looked really good. Usually his crust is falling apart. I don’t know how it tasted. I’m pretty sure it was good because it was gobbled up.
My Annette is so sweet, she made her dad a Paleo apple pie the next day. It was made with raw honey which Lupe shouldn’t have but it’s so good for him too. Besides his daughter was thinking about him. Sadly she didn’t take a picture of it.
Other happening:
Can you all tell I’m loving this program. It takes time to teach because I’m trying to fit almost all of it in which is fine with me. Right now I don’t have a full load of school to teach so it’s perfect timing with using The Logic of English.
One thing that I do like is grammar is added so that’s a bonus. I’m getting in phonics, spelling, grammar, and vocabulary. I have been skipping some of the composition but plan to do some tomorrow.
Lesson 5:
Caleb after he completed lesson 5 of The Logic of English.
Lesson 5 took about 1hr and 15 minutes. This was a bit different because it was an assessment day.
We also completed section 5.5 but I didn’t write it down and am not sure if it was before or after the break. I dictated plural words and they had to write the singular word.
Brent writing phrased that I’m dictating to him and his brothers. Brent’s work below.
Ethan’s work. The Logic of English suggested that corrections be made in red.
Ethan gets very upset when he doesn’t know the correct answer. It’s like walking on egg shells with him. I encourage him and let him know that he’s bound to make mistakes. His brothers at one time memorized the phonograms but he and Lance haven’t so it’s more of a challenge for Ethan and he gets discouraged.
Brent’s page.
Caleb and Brent playing Phonogram Blitz. Ethan wasn’t allowed to play because he wouldn’t finish his Phonogram Quiz.
Lesson 6
New Phonograms: ar, ch, oo
I explained broad sounds and introduced two new spelling rules. Grammar was comma usage in a series (two trucks, five dolls, and three balls).
Look who wanted to join in today!
He took out is school, paper, folders and made his little desk.
Eventually we let him join us =)
Today took almost 2 hours:
We skipped 6.12.
After break Lance came back with an owie. He hit his forehead on a pull-up bar while doing pull-ups.
He got a small cut but in his eyes his head had split open.
Tomorrow instead of doing another lesson I’ll have them do some of the composition work that they have not completed yet.
I'm Linda, child of God, happily married to my Sweets, we have six children. They keep life fun! I enjoy blogging our days for the children. I usually have two cups of coffee. One in the morning and one while I blog. My favorite colors are brown, baby blue and pink. Hope you enjoy your visit!
