Our Mini-Office Lapbooks
This is the cover of Ben’s mini office:
Here’s the inside:
Here’s under the flap:
Here’s Greyson’s:
These are fun! I downloaded most of the graphics from various websites, and they are all saved on the computer that is fried, so I can’t give credit. I know I found them by googling “mini offices.”
The boys use them as reference, as well as quick quizzing. We take them with us to waiting rooms, restaurants, anywhere we need to sit and be quiet.
Week one? two?
I originally planned to start school last week, and we did, but this week was really the first week of “school” and it went pretty ok. Just-ok.
I start every year thinking THIS year we will be better scheduled, THIS year we will be better organized, THIS year we will do monday’s work on monday. However, THIS year will be just like LAST year. I guarantee it!
I should just come to terms with the fact that we are mostly evening people, we mostly thrive with a loose schedule, and we like our spontaneity.
So why do I think that our day should look like someone else’s day? Why can’t I be satisfied with just being who we are as a family?
Human nature, I guess.
work gripes-or, “how I injured my back”
Hopefully it’s just a pulled muscle; that’s all it feels like right now.
I was taking care of a patient who didn’t speak english. Not a problem, until she starts to pull on my arms and shoulder to get out of bed. I tried to tell her no, no don’t do that, and she stopped. There were some family members in the room, but their english was as bad as my spanish.
I tried our in house interpretation services-they have office hours like banks; nobody’s there. So I call the AT&T interpretation line; no answer. Well, there was an answer, technically-”please hold for the next available operator” I tried the hospital operator who said, “Call the House Supervisor.” I call the house supervisor, and get voice mail. (I hung up-didn’t leave a message. Why bother? by the time she got it I wouldn’t need her) I finally called housekeeping because I KNOW there are spanish speaking employees there. I was told no, sorry, it’s a liability issue and we won’t let them come help you.
All I want is to tell this lady not to pull on me!!
So, desperate times call for desperate measures. I call my brother-in-law.
“Can you please help me?”
“Sure!”
He talks to the patient’s daughter, and we sort of figured things out.
In the meantime, my back is starting to ache from the effort earlier of her pulling on me and using me to leverage herself out of the bed. As the night wears on, I’m almost in tears, taking ibuprofen, and praying that it’s just a strain.
I am considering reporting it; I never report injuries because despite the line they feed you, I’m sure they hold it against you. “Ah, of course-you’re the one with the complaint in 2009. I’m sorry, we can’t help you.”
I assure you it would somehow be construed as my fault. That’s the way these things work. I should have waited, I shouldn’t have been in the room alone, I shouldn’t have “let” her pull on me, I should have this or shouldn’t have that. It’s never, ever the hosptial’s fault.
I’m home now, all hopped up on ibuprofen and tylenol and arguing with the one remaining bottle of MGD that’s calling my name…but I don’t dare with all the NSAIDs challenging my liver already. So I’m settling for the large glass of water and a plate of leftover spaghetti. Cause when things are bad, you eat, right?
Football!
Well, Jake has decided after all to play football again this year. I am very happy about it-it’s such a good experience emotionally, mentally, and physically. The coaching staff are all strong, Christian men who take a personal interest in each athlete. They train the B team the same way they train the varsity all stars-to me, that says a lot about their character as coaches. (Plus several of them go to my church…lol!)
And selfishly…I love to watch him play!! 
But now its shopping for mouth guards, cleats, nut cups, jock straps, workout clothes, all kinds of equipment I’m not too familiar with-yet!
Jamie was going to play football, too, but the school sponsored athletics don’t start until grade 7, and he’s only going to be in grade 5. We could play with the YMCA or an independent little league type football club, but that would be cost prohibitive this year. We are still in bowling leagues, and I think we might be continuing gymnastics again this year as well, so physical education is covered.
(for the boys…not for me…that’s a work in progress 
)
Here I go Again!
OK, I know, I know…it’s been a long time since I blogged.
So-what am I planning for school this year? Of course, we are going to be using Heart Of Dakota for everyone to ne but the two biggest boys. We’ve used Heart Of Dakota for years, and I love the curriculum. The boys thrive with it, too which is the ideal combo, eh?
Jake and Jesse will be using Ambleside Online year 7 lite. I have the first week planned out, and I learned the hard way to not plan too far ahead. As much as I love the six week planner in excel that I downloaded from Donna Young, it stresses me out to have the plans not followed. Heart of Dakota’s guides are laid out to be done whenever you do them; no specific dates or days of the week to make me feel inadequate for not following it exactly!
I am planning to start next week; we’ll see. It’s still officially summer, and the public school kids are still knocking on the door before ten AM every day, so next week might be a little bit ambitious!
I guess time really does fly…
I can’t believe it’s been this long since I updated!
I could blame it on the holidays, I guess. I also have struggled with a bout of near clinical depression, so that’s been a hinderance to my blog adventures-not to mention the strain to our homeschool adventures! I also had a problem with the computer, too, and it’s not easy to blog from work!
All is working it’s way back to well in our home, so we’re getting back on track.
We did take the entire month of December off. We are starting to get back into the schedule and the routines. I’ve been doing a lot more reading at Ambleside Online and learning more and morea bout Charlotte Mason. I created a planner that organizes Jake’s lesson plans, since he’s using AO year 6, and it’s easier for both of us to see in a more day to day format what needs to be acomplished.
As for the other boys, I can’t say enough about the wonderful curriculum from Heart of Dakota. The easy outlines, the well chosen books and activites are simply amazing! It’s a God honoring curriculum, that doesn’t present any one bias but is true to the core of the Christian faith. It’s easy to pick up again after a whole month off, too!
Charlotte Mason
So I’m falling more and more into the CM camp. I am reading the Modern English translation of her series, and it just makes so much sense to me! This is a lot of what we do, anyway.
Here’s where we need to improve:
- Daily Reading Aloud-yes, I know…I know…I’m admitting it here. We are terrible at reading together. Which is completely nuts, since I love to read!
- Nature Walk/Nature Journals-we need to make a more concerted effort to actually go places and observe things. Our plans include a lot more seasonal camping in 2009, but we should do some outdoor things in the winter, too.
- Narration-we actually do pretty good with this, it’s just that the boys have no idea that’s what we’re doing! I ask them to tell their dad, each other, or me what we learned about in that day’s lessons.
- Habit Training-yikes! This one is for ALL of us. I know from experience not to tell the boys what habit I will be personally working on.
I have found Ambleside Online and Simply Charlotte Mason have been the very best resources for me. I learned a lot from both of these sites.
I’ve also learned a lot from my beloved Heart of Dakota site and the boards there, as well as the homeschooling board at Gentle Christian Mothers.
I understand there is a Charlotte Mason group that meets monthly near me, but again-it’s a group I won’t be able to particiapte in, as they meet in the evenings and I’m an evening shift worker. *sigh*
I guess that’s one of the reason’s God made me an introvert, eh?
The Funk that is my Mood
I guess I haven’t been updating very well! In my defense, this is a busy season-Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years.
Besides, I’ve not been in the mood.
(no…I’m not talking to Lester…I’m blogging.)
I’m lonely.
I know what you’re thinking-a small house, full of people and you want me to believe you’re lonely??
I have friends-I have helpful friends, needy friends, delicate friends, friends I am comfortable listening but not talking to, friends I can go shopping with, friends I can babysit for (or ask to babysit for me!) church friends, facebook friends, work friends, internet friends, and friendly neighbors.
I have Lester; who is completely the other half of my soul, but he’s such a man! He just doesn’t get some of the things I’m about. I have to talk about stuff, replay things over and over, discuss each and every possible nuance in any given situation, and he just *experiences* the situation and then-get this! leaves it in the past! I know…it’s hard to believe. Well, hard to believe if you’re a woman.
I’m missing that open, safe communication that’s possible with real friends. I feel like I’m taking so much of what I need to share and locking it up inside for lack of safe outlets. I do have one BFF that lives 8 hours away-and she’s among the top of my thanksgiving prayers every day, but 8 hours is a long way to share life with.
I also have a good friend who’s only a couple houses away, and we are getting to know each other better, and she’s been a gift, too. Plus her kids like mine-that’s always a bonus, eh?
I’m too sensative for this! I tend to think the fault lies with me when people don’t call back, or email, or cancel (or don’t even make) appointments to get together. Yeah-people aren’t busy in life or anything. (sarcasm…that is supposed to be sarcasm…)And don’t even ask my opinion on RSVP’s or the lack thereof these days!
So there’s my little pity party of the day. I told my part time therapist (hi, sis!) that I think I’m suffering from S.A.D. because I was seriously considering dreadlocking my longer-then-I’ve-ever-had-it hair. I’m thinking this is more then my hair.
I need more sunlight; that will help!
Farm Work
I drove to my parent’s and retrieved two of my boys today. They have been helping with the rest of the farm work for the year. I always love to see them work so hard for their grandpa, even if it makes me a wee bit jealous they won’t work that hard for me!
Someday one or more of them will by necessity be taking over the operations and it’s such a different world then it once was. Now the small farm has become almost non-existent, unless you diversify or specialize. I realized today that as much as I love the farm and what it means to me, I wouldn’t leave my life here. I detest living in the city, but my community is here. My friends, church, work, it’s all right here.
darci