Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Kirk Park, Lake Michigan Sept. 19, 2016

Kirk Park, Lake Michigan 
Sept. 19, 2016
Our celebration for finishing Core G, after 100 Weeks (2 years) on it.  This was a really nice, really enjoyable day!

Sophie was a bit hesitant to get in the water...for the first hour!  Then she saw all the other dogs  swimming out and getting balls and sticks and her courage increased.

It is so relaxing hearing the waves crash on the beach.  There was a nice wind, sunshine, and just a gorgeous day!

Dd brought our umbrella--so glad she did!  It was so nice Sophie moved under it too.

I'm working on a some kind of cowl for me---I need something really thick and warm for the winter....not sure if this is going to work out.  Even though I used a really small needle the cowl doesn't seem very dense, like I was wanting.

Dd has been really enjoying Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton.  She read when she wasn't swimming.



Dd did a lot of swimming.  I thought we'd be cold and brought a fleece!  I wished that I'd brought my bather instead, as it was such a gorgeous day.


At Kirk Park there is a large beach for people, and a smaller section for people to bring their dogs to--I really love having Sophie get to swim and run with other dogs.

The walkway is sandy--the trees don't seem to mind.

A final look at the beach before we head home...so pretty!

The half mile walk through the woods back to the parking lot is my favorite part!  This year there aren't as many mushrooms as usual.  










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Sunday, September 18, 2016

Sonlight Core G Week 36 Sept 12-18, 2016

Sonlight Core G 
Week 36 
Sept 12-18, 2016
We have a BROODY hen!!  She sits on eggs, in the nest box, all day long!  

Hello Friends!
Two big news events---1)We finished Core G!!!  This was our 100th week on Core G, and we're done!  The post after this post has our history book list, and only our 'history' books.  For example, Sonlight assigned The Phantom Tollboth, and we read it, but I didn't put it in the post because it isn't a "history" book.  I'm always looking for book lists, especially listed chronologically, so I put one together to post on this blog for others.  Our second news is that Dh is in Italy this week (during our wedding anniversary!).  He left on Saturday, and returns on Thursday.  He is in Bologna, Italy, but will be traveling around a bit.  He is there for work; looking at a machine his company needs.  He isn't sure this is the specific machine they will end up buying, but seeing it will help with the decision.  The German company, BOSCH, also has a machine they are considering.


The walls still have some wallpaper on them--they had papered on top of paper!  Two to three layers of paper!

I've been painting the basement hall and stairwell this week--two coats.  We had to loose access to our computer for two days each time I put a new coat down.  We did crawl through the window for emergency's.  I want to paint Dd's stairwell next---but I'm having trouble getting her to move out of her room for a few days...can't imagine why!


We had the son of a church friend come and fix our skylight that was leaking, and the skylight that wasn't leaking too---while he was up there!  So glad to have that done again---I did it last summer, but the caulk I used didn't hold up to the extreme weather here and it cracked.


Wednesday our church started back it's "Olympians" program; think "Awana" and you are on the same page.  A few people had been asking Dd and I to help out with Olympians, and so we went on Wednesday to see if or how we could help.  We helped with the "Games" part of their program.  I hesitated to officially sign up to do that, knowing my migraines have a mind of their own, but I'll do my best knowing that God has plans that can put migraines down.



We had a good week, Dd's motivation picked back up as soon as she felt better.  She did a good job getting a lot of things done by herself---yay! It was our second week back at the Homeschool Building for her classes with the West Michigan Homeschool Fine Arts music classes--and her 1:1 piano lessons with Mrs. March.  Dd also had her monthly "Girls Club" on Friday night; they played games and had fun.



Week Off!
We are taking next week OFF from lessons, and are going to see if we can find some FUN things to do---maybe go to Lake Michigan? I don't know...

Our Lessons:

Bible: 
Veritas Press: Gospels
Card 122: The Last Supper: completed

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Read with Bible and Believer's Bible Commentary:
Matt 26:26-30
Mark 14:22-26
Luke 22: 15-20

Journey Through the Bible, pg's 316-317
Survey of the Bible, pg's 166-168
Gospels Workbook completed



Science:
Apologia: General Science:Module 14: Human Respiratory and Circulatory System, Week 2, of 2, completed study guide and test.

Math: Teaching Textbooks: Algebra I, 52 & 53
Working with Pappa, who works late most nights, so only two lessons completed, but both scored A's.  I'm hoping that she can get back to doing math alone soon, so she can progress a bit faster.

IEW SWI-B:
Lesson 7: completed



Foreign Language: DuoLingo: German
 20 min x 4= 1:20 hours
She wants to try DuoLingo instead of Rosetta Stone

Gym: 1:30
Nuke 'Em/Octoball on Wed. night: 1 hour
Football / Catch with me: 30 minutes

Geography:
BiblioPlan Advanced Mapping:Medieval:
Week 24b: Challenge Map: name all the countries along Africa's coast.
Week 25: The Middle Passage
Week 32b: Eastern Europe

Sonlight Week 36 Timeline and Mapping: completed
Jacques Cartier explores North America, French settle in Quebec, Canada, Hernando de Soto locates Mississippi River, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado discovers the Grand Canyon, British Navy defeats Spanish Armada, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci.....



Art: 
Drawing and Ipad drawing:
Mon, Tue, Thurs: 6 hours

Music: 7:45 hours
1:1 piano lesson:30 min
Fundamentals of Piano Theory workbook: Lesson 8 done
Beg. Band : 1: 30 hours
Intermediate Band: 1:30 hours
practice:
violin: :30
piano: 1:30
Bari & Tenor sax: 2:15
guitar: 1:00

Weekly SL alotment: 
Favorite Poems Old and New &
The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia

History:


This VHS set was a biography on Leonardo, and was pretty good.  It was filmed in Italy and you really did feel like you'd walked back in time.  It is a long movie, 3 vhs tapes, and took us two weeks to complete.


The Life of Leonardo da Vinci: completed all 3 vhs tapes

Renaissance Artists Who Inspired the World:by Gregory Blanch
pg's 44-57, completed the book

Rats, Bulls, and Flying Machines:by Deborah M. Prum
Ch. 2




Read Aloud:
Master Cornhill by Eloise Jarvis McGraw: completed
*I really enjoyed this book a lot!

BiblioPlan Companion:Medieval:
Ch. 25 & 26: completed

In the car we have been listening to Story of the World---I'll try to figure out which lessons we heard this week--maybe chapter 41 & 42 plus some extra.  We have also been listening to a Ranger's Apprentice: The Siege of Macindaw by John Flanagan---which are pretty good.


This little kit was fun.  Dd put the parts together to make the flying machine that Leonardo designed.


Fun Reader:
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
Dd is totally into this 464 page book, and has been reading it a lot.  I'm glad she wasn't daunted by it's size or font. 

Busy Hands:

Dd is making a bag and started back working on the shawl I asked for my Christmas gift last year....maybe she'll have it done by Christmas this year!!


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Sonlight Core G HISTORY book list, plus HISTORY add-in's, Creation to 1600 AD, History books in Chronological Order, BiblioPlan & SL Interwoven

http://fleurdelisacademy.blogspot.com/2016/03/core-g-book-list-second-copy-first-copy.html

Sunday, September 11, 2016

Sonlight Core G Week 35 Sept. 5-11, 2016



Sonlight Core G Week 35 (of 36!!!) Sept. 5-11, 2016
99th week on core, BiblioPLan Week 25 & 26


Heather, this is the Fig Tree you gave me over a year ago--that I call the "Friendship Tree."  I thought you might like to see how it's doing! (No figs yet!)
Hello Friends!

Monday was Labor Day, and we were still in Indiana.  Dd woke up very sick and shaky.  She felt really flu-ish and was puny the whole day, sadly.  We finished up our family audio on the ride back, The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place by E.L. Konigsburg.  The audio was narrated by Molly Ringwald, which took a while getting use to.  It was great getting to spend so much time with Dh—Thursday through Monday!  For our lessons this week, we had Monday off, and Wednesday we spent most of the day at band.

Dd not feeling well, on sofa with Agnes.

The chickens were all still alive when we returned---and 50 eggs!  We were so thankful for a church friend, Sadie, who we paid to go check on our chickens each day. We are getting around 11-14 eggs per day.

It definitely looks and feels like fall is here, as I sit here typing I have a crocheted cowl on keeping me warm.

Our lessons---I had been trying to schedule more things for Dd to do alone, but that hasn’t gone as well as I’d hoped.  I have been having to read more of our things aloud to Dd as it seems her motivation this past month has been down.  She readily admits she is in a rut.  We really don’t know what to do to help her, but continue to help her until her motivation returns.  Dd being sick, of course, didn’t help her with growing more diligent!  When I had planned out our work for this week, it was before I knew we were going to be taking a trip to Indiana, so my scheduling goals didn’t get met, and many items weren’t even touched.

Dd still needs Dh to help her with math, and as he doesn’t always get home before 8pm, she has had a low math week.  I’m hoping she can click back on and eventually be able to do her math alone again.

Aphrodite sunning herself by the front door.  They like to gather at our front door, and stare in...hinting they want more table scrapes! FunnY!

This was the FIRST week back at BAND! She had Beginning band, with her new Tenor Sax, then a private piano lesson with Mrs. March, an hour free before Intermediate Band with her borrowed Bari Sax. The first week back is always a big deal, and I’m glad it’s over!

Our lessons this week:

Bible:

Product Details

Veritas Press: Gospels: Card 121: The Triumphal Entry: Completed



Product Details

Journey Through the Bible: pg 304-304

Product Details

Survey of the Bible: pg’s 162-173 (This section was really interesting, it broke down the last week of Jesus’ time before crucifixion.)

Product Details


The Battle Plan for Prayer by Stephen & Alex Kendrick, pg’s 15-20
This is another book inspired by the film: War Room Dd liked that movie so much that we’ve been reading the two books that were inspired to go with them.

Math: 
Teaching Textbooks: Algebra I
49, 50, 51 (with Pappa-Dh)

Zeus, when he see's me, he starts doing this little side-ways shuffle, to get over to me.  I made it a goal everyday to hold him and he just LOVES it!  

Language Arts:

IEW SWI B: Lesson 6: Completed

Word Roots : (Latin workbook)

Pg’s 34, 35, 36, 37



Foreign Language:
DuoLongo: German, 30 minutes this week
Dd has complained about Rosetta Stone all along, and wants to try this app that, my friend, Kenda, recommended to learn a new language…so we will give it a try.


Literature/English:

Product Details
Sonlight Reader, that I turned into a Read-Aloud:
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster: Completed
The Phantom Tollbooth review: This silly book was scheduled as a "Reader," but I'd always wanted to read it, and even bought a special edition.  One of the main points, or morals of the story is that "you can do anything, even if it is impossible, if you don't know that it is impossible.."  The main character is given a task that is "impossible" and yet he gets it done; only afterwards do they tell him that it was an impossible task.  This book was purely a "fun" read, really.  Dd really seemed to enjoy me reading this book to her, due to it's silly nonsense.  The story line wasn't the greatest, but we did meet some very interesting characters in this book--which, for me, was the highlight.  I'd read a review about this book, in which they likened it to Alice in Wonderland--and that really is a very good comparison.


Product Details
The Outcasts of 19 Shuyler Place by E.L. Konigsburg. We finished this on audio, on our drive to and from Indiana---fun story.  



Fun Reading:

Jurassic Park: by Michael Crichton (1:30 hours)
The Outcasts of 19 Shuler Place by E.L. Konisburg (3 hours)
Review of The Outcasts of 19 Shuler Place:
We really liked this story---the main character was a 12 year old girl.  She starts out at camp, while her parents are in Peru, and has one of her uncles come get her.  The camp director's son drives her and her uncle (and his dog, Tartuffe) home.  In the process the son (20ish years old) become good friends.  Their friendship was the only thing I had a hard time believing to be true--I wish the author had made her older than 12!!!  They get home and invite the young man to eat dinner with them, and the other, second uncle.  Then the 'problem' arises--the tall towers the uncles had built are set for destruction and the girl and young man decide to save them.  The girl has to enlist the help of other "outcasts" that use to live on the street to outsmart the home owners association.  Besides the age of the main character, this book was very engaging.  As a fan of good vocabulary, this book did have some interesting words.  Plus the uncles were from Hungary, so they had lots of bits of Hungarian words dashed in too, which was fun!

HISTORY:

Sonlight Read-Aloud that I turned into a Reader, which failed, so I turned back into a Read-Aloud:
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Master Cornhill by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Because Dd was taking SO long to read this, I picked it up and turned it into a RA.  I am really enjoying this book a lot!  This is one of those quintessential Sonlight-type books.  This book really envelopes you, the reader, into the time period so perfectly you can picture everything in your head so well.

Add-In History:  (not part of SL’s IG)

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Renaissance Artists Who Inspired the World by Gregory Blanch
This week we read on Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo
This short, easy book reviews the Renaissance and the work of important artists from Italy. Includes Sandro Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Sofonisba Anguissola.

One of the main reason's I wanted to add in this book, was to highlight a few of the major artists during the Renaissance.  The second reason was that they feature a WOMAN artist, that has been gaining admiration--Sofonisba Anguissola.


 Add In History VHS:really old tapes, couldn't find a picture online.
The Life of Leonardo da Vinci, tape 1 and ½ of tape 2, still have 1 & 1/2 to go!  This VHS set has 3 tapes and is a biography of Leonardo throughout his life.  I'll post a picture of it soon.  We are really enjoying this well worked on movie.  They made replica's of so many of Leonardo's ideas, and filmed in Italy.   You really do feel like you are back in time!

Add-In History:

Product Details
Rats, Bulls, and Flying Machines (BiblioPlan)
Ch. 1 Completed


BiblioPlan Advanced Maps:

Week 26: The Cradle of the Renaissance

Fun History:

I just bought Liberty Kids DVD set, for Core H, and Dd couldn’t wait to get back to her American History (which she loves), so she watched an episode each day for fun:

*The Boston Tea Party, *The Intolerable Acts, * United We Stand, * Liberty Or Death, * Midnight Ride, * The Shot Heard ‘Round The World, * Green Mountain Boys, * Bunker Hill, *Post Master General Franklin.


Music:

Piano lesson with Mrs. March: 30 min
Piano: 1:25 hours
Sax: 3:30 hours
Guitar: 2:15 hours
Khan Academy music lectures: 30 min.


Science:

Khan Academy science lecture: 30 min.



Busy Hands: (5 hours for art)

Dd is back to her crocheting again—though she STILL hasn’t finished the soft shawl she has been working on for me for almost a year now!!!  This week she started a blue crochet bag, she saw the directions in a book at the library and has been working on that.
Dd's plate of all the foods she made on Thursday


Cooking: (3 hours for Economics)
Dd made the peanut butter fudge and had already been at it before I thought to get a pix of it!


Peanut Butter Fudge
Dd snapped the ends off the green beans while I read our Master Cornhill aloud.  She does a good job of finding things to do while I read aloud.


Fresh green beans—stir fried
I was a little late taking the pix again!  Boy, was this fish delicious--she said she used mayo and parmasean cheese on the topping.
Mayo Baked Talapia fish



Dd's Garlic Bread

Next week will be our 100th week, and our LAST week on Core G!  That is, if we can get our last few things done!  I have some other books that I wanted to fit into this section --The Hawk That Dare Not Fly By Day...etc, but, I think we will finish here and fit those in as we prep for Core H.


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