Lisa's Logbook - January 13

Decided to do the logbook on Fridays this year. So I wrote it on Friday. But I forgot to post it on Friday! LOL

Challenges:
1 - Innovation for Endurance 30 Day Challenge (30 days of activity)
2 - Doing the Daniel Fast for 3 weeks (am on Day 10; will post separately about it)
3 - Vehicle broke down - Bob needs to fix. I need to be flexible.
Successes:
1 - Weigh-in Wednesday showed 6.8 lbs down in one week
2 - No cheating at all on the Daniel Fast
3 - Did my first run since August! And it was lovely outside - upper 40's, sunny, no wind!
Projects:
1 - Deep-cleaning the house one room at a time - have only made it through the kitchen. LOL
2 - Decluttering - why is that so HARD?
3 - Selling some items online - check my facebook album

From the Library: V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton
Entertainment: a little Parenthood on Netflix - mostly I've been reading at night

Recipes: Did you know you can microwave popcorn in a brown lunch bag? EASY. YUMMY.
What's New: new fingerless gloves (which I use almost daily in the winter since I do so much typing and my house is rather chilly)

Serendipity: Van broke down 2.5  miles from writing class. Called my friend and she picked us up and took us there. Then needed a ride from writing class to karate and one of my students' moms volunteered. Very kind of her!
Fun Times: a little short on those this week
Anticipating: seeing Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy with friends if we can; maybe the Van Halen concert in February?! (Anyone wanna go with me? Bob won't.)
Writing Progress: Helped Suzy with some of her editing. None of my own yet. :-( Maybe this weekend?

Lisa's Logbook - December 19

Realized I had a partially done logbook that I never posted. So here it is. A flashback to mid-December.

Outside: partly cloudy and 46

Wearing: jeans, Browncoats tee, pink hoodie

Tunes: Christmas music

Kids Are: Working on their lessons

Hubby Is: at work

Something Yummy: lemon bars!

Blessings: time with extended family

Reading: Just finished The Scottish Prisoner by Diana Gabaldon (liked it better than I thought I would!), working on my second go-through of A Praying Life by Paul Miller. Also in the middle of The Count of Monte Cristo (abridged) by Alexandre Dumas (for Brit Lit class)

Watching: I can't remember watching anything since book club last Saturday. Maybe an episode of Parenthood? But mostly I've been reading instead. 

Considering: changing up the logbook again, for the New Year....

Working On: Christmas preparations

Accomplishments: so many loose ends and details had to come together last week

Looking Forward To: seeing the new Sherlock Holmes movie, seeing the kids open their gifts, to Christmas Eve service

A Look Ahead at January

This week we head back to the lesson sheets after taking off two full weeks for Christmas. We worked up until December 23.

I have done monthly lesson sheets for my kids for a couple years now. Even for Suzy (age 9), it works well for us. They like crossing off their work in each little square. (For a pic of the lesson sheets, go to the end of this post.)

Why do I do it this way?
They can work ahead if they want to (though they almost never do). It's once-a-month planning for me (which streamlines things). A lot of their work is independent, so they can work on their own anyway.

They don't have to accomplish their work in any certain order, other than I do tell them what to start with - mainly because we have to schedule computer time and mom-time for some of the work.

So, here's what's going to be happening this month:

Bible -This month our hymn is "He Keeps Me Singing" by Luther Bridges. We will also review 6-8 previously learned hymns or choruses each week. Our Bible study will cover Elijah and the book of James. 

Math - David will pick back up in Algebra 2, which he is doing on his own with Teaching Textbooks; I aim for him to spend 90 minutes on it each day. Emily will be doing over some lessons as well as doing some remedial work; she also does 90 minutes. (Math is her difficult subject.) James and Suzy will be working in their Teaching Textbooks math - James does 60 minutes a day in TT6 and Suzy does 45 minutes in TT4.


Literature - David and Emily are both reading The Count of Monte Cristo (abridged version) and writing chapter summaries as they go along. James will be reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Reading - 
Suzy is doing some work in Phonics Pathways Pyramid (multi-syllable words) and also Reading Reflex. We are going to be done with Pyramid this month and I will move her into some real books after that.

Language Arts - We will all be working on editing our National Novel Writing Month novels. I am going to have each child spend 30 minutes a day working on that. Everyone will write in their communication journals once a week. Typing, penmanship and spelling fill up James and Suzy's schedules, while Emily and David work on grammar and typing.

Science - David is working his way through an free online physics curriculum, supplemented with Khan Academy videos. Emily is teaching Considering God's Creation to the younger two (a real challenge for everyone!) and this month they will be working on plants (photosynthesis, parts of a plant, fungus, trees).

History - David and Emily are studying the modern age, guided by the Billy Joel song "We Didn't Start The Fire". They are going year by year to understand the events mentioned in the song. This month they will cover 1959-1961. They are creating a presentation to explain the names and events. James and Suzy are not doing History this month. EDITED: James and Suzy (along with Emily) are attending a once-a-week Michigan History class which will last 12 weeks.

Other - David will also continue with his ACT prep course through Kaplan. His practice scores look good. He'll likely take the test in April. I've got to figure out those details.


David is also going to be very busy with Robotics for this rest of this month. He is participating in First Robotics Competition with a local high school's team and they will be working on their 'bot 6 days a week. (5 evenings for 2.5 hours each night and Saturday all day)

Lisa's Logbook - January 6

Changing up the blog for the New Year.  2012 promises to be a blessing!

Challenges:
1 - Innovation for Endurance 30 Day Challenge (30 days of activity)
2 - giving up caffeine for 3 weeks
Successes:
1 - bought my ticket for the April homeschool conference in CINCINNATI!
2 - cleaned out my food cupboards
3 - Learned my new karate form
Projects:
1- Deep-cleaning the house one room at a time
2 - January lesson sheet
3 - Grading essays

Books at hand: Persuasion by Jane Austen (for book club) and The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (for Brit Lit) - Also, I won THREE Austen fiction books by modern authors!
On my Kindle: At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson (Highly recommend!)
Entertainment: Parenthood, Limitless, Just Dance 3

Recipes: Amish Friendship Bread - my friend Laura gave me a starter and it's time to BAKE!
What's New: a dietary adventure I am on - will share details NEXT week, after I have a few more days under my belt (HA! Under my belt! LOL)

Serendipity: Found a lovely large green enamel bowl at the thrift store - no chips, even. Also today was sunny and warm! More like April than January.
Fun Times: Dinner out with the homeschool leaders - had STEAK and LOVED it! And Sweet potato fries - yummmmy!
Anticipating: seeing Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy with friends
Motivation: List making is usually my motivation.
Writing Progress: none yet, going to be editing next week. Do or die!

Lisa's Logbook - December 27 (Tuesday edition)

Current Mood: annoyed

Outside: snowing and 33

Wearing: yoga pants and a sweatshirt - gonna get dressed up later

Tunes: Wicked soundtrack

Kids Are: all vanished upstairs instead of doing their chores

Hubby Is: matching socks

Something New: my Book Nerd necklace

Something Yummy: FUDGE - I love fudge!

Blessings: Working from home on a flexible schedule

Reading: just finished Black Silk by Judith Ivory, re-reading A Praying Life by Paul Miller. 

Watching: mostly Parenthood. Also watched Under the Greenwood Tree (period drama) and Nativity! (a Christmas movie with Martin Freeman - the dude that will play Bilbo and played Watson in the BBC Sherlock).

Considering: all the things I can choose for New Year's Resolutions.....

Working On: lesson sheets for January, essays to grade, setting up a new essay class for January

Accomplishments: Beat Suzy on Just Dance 3 (Wii) - lol; also I got through Christmas.

Looking Forward To: seeing WICKED tonight and going out to eat with friends, hopefully getting together with another friend this week, New Years' Day (my fav holiday!)
Pic: Getting a decent pic of all 4 kids is harder than one might imagine.

Lisa's Logbook - December 11

Current Mood: relaxed

Outside: sunny and 35

Wearing: jeans and a sweatshirt

Tunes: Christmas music

Kids Are: Three are working on decorating the tree, 1 is being anti-social

Hubby Is: working on decorating the tree

Something New: Christmas-y blog background; also bought myself some wool socks at the mall.

Something Yummy: Tarla's mystery balls! lol

Blessings: sleeping in!

Reading: Henry Tilney's Diary by Amanda Grange, A Praying Life by Paul Miller. 

Watching: Sherlock (BBC) - all 3 episodes with my Rollicking Readers, Parenthood, Psych, Camille (1984 w/Colin Firth & Greta Scacchi)

Considering: some gift ideas

Working On: Christmas preparations

Accomplishments: got the tree up!

Looking Forward To: seeing the new Sherlock Holmes movie, getting together with family this weekend, staying in a hotel with the kids
Pic:

NOTE: I have a personal blog, mostly a review of our weekly activities - NOT school related. If you need the link, let me know. It's not private, but I don't link to it. It's called Quingly Things.

Elbow Grease

It's Elbow Grease Week here at Cornerstone Home Learning Academy. What does this mean? 

Working 25 hours a week from home means I don't have a lot of time for house cleaning and chores. The students here at the academy are on a work-study program (meaning they do the cooking, cleaning, and yardwork). 

My children's approach to chores tends toward minimalism. Also, they appear to be wearing blinders when doing their tasks. For example, one might clean all the normal surfaces in the bathroom, but since the floor is not a daily chore, the child would probably ignore a muddy streak in the middle of the floor. 

Each child is responsible for two rooms/areas during each week, with normally specified chores to be done daily and weekly. The instructions I give do explain that the entire room is supposed to be clean, but the children seem to be ignorant of how to tell if that's the case.

In an effort to improve their thoroughness, I have declared this week Elbow Grease Week. I have put forth a challenge: choose one additional (normally unassigned) area in your assigned room that needs some cleaning or organizing attention. And Clean It! 

The area that shows the most effort and benefit will get a prize each day! And the best for the week will get an even better prize! You know that great feeling that you get when you've done a good job and that surface is now shiny clean and organized? Hopefully they'll get that reward too.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Lisa's Logbook - December 4

Current Mood: wistful

Outside: 45 and damp, was raining, more rain coming

Wearing: black jeans, long sleeve blue tee, multicolor top, socks, slippers, wet hair

Tunes: Christmas music mainly - Michael W. Smith, Straight No Chaser, Relient K, more

Kids Are: Three upstairs - making themselves scarce; 1 cleaning muddy boots

Hubby Is: laying on the bed

Something New: flannel sheets

Something Yummy: Mint Moosetracks ice cream!

Blessings: Warmth!

Reading: The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson by Jerome Charyn, A Praying Life by Paul Miller. 

Watching: Persuasion (95), Parenthood, Monarch of the Glen

Considering: purchasing a swing-arm towel rack and a Kindle decal

Working On: Christmas shopping

Accomplishments: December lesson sheets ready, finished book club book early!

Looking Forward To: going out with friends; getting my new pillow; Christmas season being over
Pic:

National Novel Writing Month - The Wagner Report

This is the 5th year I've participated in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and the 5th year I've won! For those not in the know, the goal is to write a 50,000 word novel (or the start of one, since most novels are longer than that) in 30 days (the month of November).

The kids have been participating along with me as part of the NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program (YWP) for three years now. This is actually David's fourth year! All of them met their goals this year! WTG kids! I am so proud to see you writing!

Suzy wrote 4,500 words!

James wrote 18,536 words, exceeding his goal of 13,000 words!

Emily wrote 32,311 words, exceeding her goal of 30,000 words!

David participated in the adult challenge this year - he wrote 50,000 words!

Isn't that awesome! I am so excited they've done it again!

How did I get them to do it? Well, I don't assign much other language arts work during NaNoWriMo - no Spelling, no Vocabulary, etc... This year they actually did more language arts than I've required in the past.
Suzy had phonics and reading; Emily and David had their Brit Lit class for co-op (reading and writing assignments), and James and Emily have their Wordsmith (writing class) assignments. James also did his reading assignments. I also did not require any History assignments during the month for anyone. David did not have to do computer programming or ACT prep. Emily did not have to do her Spanish lessons.  If they chose NOT to participate in NaNoWriMo (which is an option), they'd have ALL their regular work.

I also reward them periodically - setting goals at 10%, 20%, 30% and so on. Sometimes small rewards, sometimes larger ones. Even when we've been basically penniless, I was able to offer free or low cost rewards. Some would include computer time, movie rentals (even from the library), sleepovers, chore-free coupons, etc... I was able to offer more lucrative rewards this year, but it's not necessary for participation.

So, basically I bribe them and make it so attractive to participate that NOT participating would be a poor choice. But, hey, it works!

NaNoWriMo YWP has some of the best fiction writing curriculum I've ever seen and it's FREE. You don't have to even participate in NaNo to use it. It would be great in any situation where you'd like to motivate children (elementary through high school) to write fiction. If you go to the website, also check out the Resources and Educators sections. There are lesson plans available, though I haven't used them so I can't vouch for the effectiveness or lack thereof.

Editing will happen in January.  This is the place I usually lose my motivation with the kids. I have a plan in place though; it may or may not include bribery! LOL I'll keep you updated.

Lisa's Logbook - November 29

Oh, lookie, another of the Tuesday editions - not so rare anymore. ;-)

Current Mood: Grumpy and feeling a bit icky

Outside: Windy, winter storm warning, rainy, No Snow Yet

Wearing: PJ's, robe, wool socks

Tunes: Christmas Music

Kids Are: 1 is getting ready for bed, 2 are writing, 1 is doing Who-Knows-What

Hubby Is: puttering around getting ready for bed

Something New: Waiting on new flannel sheets, pillows, and towels to arrive - thanks to Black Friday ONLINE

Something Yummy: thinking about making Nanaimo bars

Blessings:  Bob being able to re-roof the barn rather than having to hire that done

Reading: A Praying Life by Paul Miller. Recently finished 3 books that I was reading all at the same time, but haven't started a new one.

Watching: Super 8 (liked it!), Metropolitan (1990 indie movie - boring), and some other stuff I can't remember right now....

Considering: how we can make a "built-in" storage area upstairs where there USED to be a closet

Working On: The Rollicking Readers' Guide to Jane Austen (my NaNoRebel Book)  
Accomplishments: Finished my NaNo book - 50,000 words, Read my book club book for the month already

Looking Forward to: staying in a hotel with the kids in a couple weeks