Homeschooling Part Three: How I Lost My Mind

But....wait. Where's the post?

I just scrolled down and don't see any cute pictures of the boys...

There is a new post to read. It is part three of the series on homeschooling that I started a long time ago.   Yes, I realize that normally when someone writes a series of something they publish them a little closer together. 

Thank you for being patient with me.

So there is a new post to read but it's not here. It's on my new website.

I've started a new website called Cleveland Homeschooler.  It's something I've been scheming and plotting for many months now. Yes, I just really wanted to use the phrase "scheming and plotting."

I realize that many of you who read this blog don't homeschool and have zero interest in it. It would still mean a lot to me if you would visit my new site and tell me what you think.

Unless, of course, you hate it or think it's stupid, in which case you really should just keep that to yourself.

This blog isn't going anywhere. It may be neglected as I try to start things up at my new site, but I will continue to post here as well.

So, you can read Homeschooling Part Three by clicking here. Please take a look around while you're there. I've been completely neglecting my family and housework to work on the site and would love to know what you think of it.

Thank you!

I'm going to go and look for the baby under the pile of laundry now.

~ Dori

7 Quick Takes Friday ~ End of Summer Edition

First off, thanks to everyone who commented on Michael's post last week. We both appreciate your taking the time to leave encouraging feedback. I almost have him convinced that writing can be fun!

~ 1 ~

We've all been doing a lot of lazing about lately.   

This has to do with all of us having a bit of a cold/mystery illness and also just being worn out by summer.  It really flew by, didn't it? I am loving having the windows open again, though, even if the insane pollen count nearly kills me. It's worth it.  

~ 2 ~ 

Benjamin is pulling up! On everything!

Is he giving himself a "thumbs up" in that picture? 

He is rather proud of himself.  He's also capable of getting into even more trouble now.  Hooray.

He thinks he's ready for the big boy Lego sets. 

~ 3 ~ 

I feel like I'm already running out of things to say and I'm only on number three.  

~ 4 ~

 This is one of Michael's recent Etch-A-Sketch masterpieces:

It's the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars.  Obviously. 

Also, I think it's ridiculous that he can draw that well, especially on an Etch-A-Sketch.

I can draw a box. On a good day.

Here's another recent drawing:

That would be a fireplace scene, complete with dog curled up on one of the chairs. It's really hard to get a picture that does it justice. 

Space shuttle blasting off. 

Again, hard to get a good picture of an Etch-A-Sketch drawing.  

My brother gave us the idea to look up Etch-A-Sketch videos on YouTube and if you have nothing better to do and need yet another way to waste time on the computer, then you should check it out.  There are some mad Etch-A-Sketch skills out there! Including very detailed portraits of just about any famous person you can think of. Crazy.

~ 4 ~

My son's new math curriculum arrived in the mail this week and it was packed in the "noodles" made with cornstarch. 

Uh. Who cares, Dori?

In a moment of mommy genius I was able to somehow pull from the vast depths of my brain an idea that led to an afternoon of crafty goodness for the boys.

Yes, it's a Millennium Falcon. Yes, the boys are obsessed with it.

Damp sponge + cornstarch packing "noodles" = several hours of imaginative fun!

If only I'd had more "noodles," I could have gotten at least another afternoon of peace and quiet out of them. Of course, there was the added stress of making sure none of the pieces were on the floor so that Benjamin couldn't choke to death.  Fortunately, he was otherwise occupied.

~ 5 ~

Recently, Michael wanted to give feeding the baby a try. 

They both seemed just fine with that arrangement.  I think the novelty wore off after just one feeding, though.

 

Oh well.

~ 6 ~ 

Me and the boys are going to Florida next week! 

We're all excited and looking forward to the adventure and time with family.  I suppose it's bitter-sweet, though, since the trip is to see a relative who is very old and may not be in our lives much longer.   

~ 7 ~ 

We'll be officially starting our new school year after our trip. 

And after we recover from the trip.  I almost have our school area organized. The challenge is to keep things accessible to the boys and out of Benjamin's reach. 

I hope your school year is off to a great start whether you home school, have kids attending school, are a teacher or a student!

 

~ Dori

Summertime

Today's post is brought to you by Michael. 

My mommy is making me write the blog post today.  I'd rather be playing with my legos, but she says that this will count as schoolwork so I'm just going to get it over with.  I'd like to do a quick post here.

I had a fun summer.

The end.

Just kidding.

One of my favorite things we did this summer was visiting Nana and Papa's house.  I really liked playing with Uncle Chris' Space Legos. 

 I also liked playing with their dog, Greeley.

I spent some time this summer playing at my friend's house.  One of the things I like to do is play his Lego Wii games. We had fun swimming in his pool, too.

Recently, we had one of mommy's friends visit with her two girls.  We had fun playing together. The girls put a diaper on a priest doll and called him "The Diaper Priest."  Then they dressed him up in so many other outfits (Cabbage Patch Doll Dresses) that we couldn't see him anymore. 

We visited a playground and then had more fun at a splash park.

We had...
                    lots...
                                   and lots...
                                                        of fun!

I'm glad they came to visit us.

Another thing I liked about this summer was spending a week with Grandma and Grandpa while mommy, daddy and Benjamin went to California.  We watched some movies, played a few games of "Sorry" (I always beat Grandma), and went to our favorite restaurant for dinner.

A few weeks later, Thomas, Matthew and daddy went camping while I stayed home with mommy and Benjamin.  We played games and even had pizza on the couch while watching a documentary called "The Planets." I also enjoyed spending time reading without being interrupted.  I had fun with mommy and my brothers had fun camping, too.

Matthew ate a face onto an apple!

It's been a great summer but I'm looking forward to winter and playing in the snow. 

The end.

Was that quick or not?

~ Michael

Good job Michael! I know he'd love to hear your feedback, so please leave him a comment if you have time!

7 Quick Takes Friday ~ A Not-So-Quick Edition

I'm back! Did you miss me? It's been a busy couple of weeks, so I didn't get a chance to do much blogging.  Therefore, this may not be the quickest version of "Friday Quick Takes."

Don't say I didn't warn you.

~ 1 ~

The boys survived their camping trip a few weeks ago.

Thomas and Matthew went with their daddy out into the woods for a night while Michael, Benjamin and I enjoyed some time lazing around the house together.  Michael enjoyed watching a documentary on the planets without interruptions from little brothers who have shorter attention spans.  We also played some games and ate pizza.  On the couch!

Matthew enjoyed his very first camping trip (Thomas is a pro at this point) and claims to want to do it again sometime. He packed his own stuff - important things like Ol' Bear, Monkey, his favorite blanket and pillow, etc... 

I'm just glad they came back alive.  Of course they were also filthy. 

The wilderness will do that do you.

 

They also came across this on their way home.

It's my name on a cross on the side of the road.  It isn't disconcerting at all.

~ 2 ~

We made a quick trip to Indiana for a weekend. 

And what did the boys spend about 90% of their time doing at Nana and Papa's house?

I'm very glad that my brother still has his Space Legos! The boys were in heaven.  And there was no Lego withdrawal experienced even though we were away from home for a few days.

The boys had a great time and Nana and Papa got to finally meet Benjamin.

~ 3 ~

My very best friend came for a visit!

She brought two of her (three) precious girls with her and we all had a great time together.

There's an iPad in there somewhere

Yes, this is my favorite picture too

I have no idea why they are staring so intently at the tree. I just take pictures.

In an effort to get the kids' energy out we spent an afternoon exploring a new splash park in our area, which the kids LOVED.

It was so great to have my friend and her girls here, but it went by too quick!

~ 4 ~

Benjamin has taken to following the sunshine around.

I have no idea where he got the idea.

~ 5 ~ 

Benjamin was Baptized!

  We kept things very small and simple this time around. It was a very special day and Benjamin was unbelievably good.  He made it through Mass and then the Baptism (there were six babies!) and was happy and pleasant the entire time.  

And his brothers were very excited for him.

Okay "excited" may have been an overstatement...

~ 6 ~ 

I changed my blog header! 

The reasons for this are 1) I was growing tired of the old one and 2) I have spent a little too much time playing around with Picnik lately.

~ 7 ~

I'm exhausted. 

I'm hoping to find the energy to make some real plans for our new school year, though.  I also have a special project that I've been working on that's homeschooling-related and I hope to share it here soon.  

But first I'm going to take a nap.

Until somebody notices and decides they suddenly HAVE to show me what they just built out of Legos. 

Hope you're enjoying the fleeting days of summer!

~ Dori