SL Core H Week 21 D June 18-24, 2016

SL Core H 
Week 21 "D" (Extending out due to Great Expectations by Dickens)

 June 18-24, 2016

Agnes trying to fit into the violin case!

Hello, Friends!

We had a good academic week!  Those are always good to have!!! 

Michigan has the bluest skies and whitest clouds

 The highlight, again this week, has been our read-aloud, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.  If read Dickens quite a few times, and A Christmas Carol aloud with Dd before, but I'm finding Great Expectations to be a perfect read-aloud.  I couldn't possibly give a high enough recommendation for this book!  Great Expectations used to be in Sonlight's Core H; starting on Week 18 and ending on Week 22, but at some point, SL removed it from the line-up.  I've kept all my SL catalogs over the years and try to read as many of the books as we can, especially if the book looks extra good!!!  I sure do appreciate the books they suggest!

  

Strings Group Performance:

Sunday our group performed 3 songs in front of our church.  Dd played the ukulele.  

Music:

Dd had a two-week break from her violin lessons with Christie, so this week (and next week) she will have one-hour sessions to catch up.  Dd still practiced her violin, but we couldn't meet Christie at our normal time due to Band Camp, and then the Used Book Sale at HSB was also at the same time as our time-slot.  She has been doing so well with her violin, and I think buying the new bow has really made a big difference.  She had some kind of composite...black plastic bow before, but now she has a nice wooden bow and she says she can really feel/hear a big difference.  

The daisy's are all blooming; all along the side of the pool---so pretty!

Music: Mouthpiece:

Dd got a new mouthpiece for her Alto Saxophone!  It is a "Jody Jazz Jet Mouthpiece," and Dd is loving it!!!  She also got a better metronome---one from Germany that has the metal bar that goes back and forth in front---very old-timey!  She is excited about it, and generally, she isn't a huge fan of using her metronome, so I was happy to buy something that would entice her to use it more often.

The four roses I planted around the pool are all blooming!

Health:

My headache/migraine "cluster" lasted through this week, especially when I was sleeping at night.  As I am typing this up I can share that by Monday (June 26) the cluster finally ended!  That was TWO WEEKS! 

Our Bantam, "Hummer/Hummingbird" named by Dd, but now that he is getting big and walking around I've noticed he walks just like Agatha Christie's, Piorot!  He is also very full of himself and thinks he is the bee's knees!  I might have to officially change his name.

Chickens:

All the chickens and ducks are doing very well.  

Dh made a little inner-sanctum for our Bantams to go into so they could get some of the food we put in, but the other chickens managed to get into the cage too!

We did have one major event; that is funny NOW, but wasn't at the time------the background information pertinent to this story is that two of my older Black Sex Link chickens (Toes, and Aphrodite) always manage to get out and into the chicken run through some secret way that I can't figure out.



  They are our two smartest chickens.  From the new batch of this year's chickens, Amber, who is a Tetra Brown, is our smartest, cleverest chicken.  She has followed the older smarties and can get out too.  On Friday we were one Tetra chicken short, so I looked them over and noticed it was Amber that was missing.  Dh and I called and called and walked all over our yards, out front, out back, down in the woods....and after about 45 minutes of searching, I had to give up.  




You know, not one time has a chicken that has gone missing been found somewhere, at least not alive!  So, I had to accept that Amber was dead.  Still, I went out 3 more times before bed giving her chance after chance before going to bed. 



 Mind you, we are literally out in the woods and there are lots of predators.  Fast forward to Saturday morning, I walk out to the chicken coop, and who is standing inside the long chicken run, the one we had searched high and low last night, but Amber!!! 



 Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord!!!!  I sure had prayed and prayed and prayed for her safe return, and my prayers were answered.  I just can't imagine where she could have been?!?!?!!  I looked everywhere!!  That was a first for us!

Picnic:

After band class on Wednesday, we drove over to the dog park where Dh eats his lunches to have lunch all together!!!  It was such a nice time!

Zeus is getting his tail feathers back in, but they are still very short.

Garden:

Everything is doing really well!  The roses we bought and planted this spring are all blooming, or close to it.  I've plucked off a few of the extra blooms, so we would only get one or two roses instead of more, so the plant wouldn't exhaust itself it's first year.  



I've planted more seeds this Saturday---green beans, zucchini, spinach, and lettuce.  We have finally got our act together on how to properly grow the greens: Every week or two plant a new section of lettuce/kale/radishes/spinach so we will have ongoing supplies of greens for my morning green smoothies.  I don't know why we haven't been doing this all along; maybe or probably it was because of time restraints.  We all have so many things we WANT to do, but never enough time to do them all!  

 

I put up our old umbrella in the chicken run and the chickens are loving the shade!!!

Church:

I am really feeling so blessed to finally find a church where we fit in.  I can't emphasize just how great it is!  I have never felt so at home anywhere, and where people actually are so friendly and genuinely loving!  One would hope ALL churches would be like this; but I can name 28 churches that Dh and I have visited in our marriage and we never experienced this level of loving welcoming.  They really do live the church "family" motto.  On Saturday night we went to a special event at church---a family of missionaries serving in Mexico (for the last 16 years), that we support, came and gave us a Fiesta!  They are also a family band---all playing different instruments---and performed for us.  Then they fed us...oh my....I wish I would have thought to bring my camera!  It was awesome!!!

I keep moving the blue pool for the ducks use; haven't figured out the best spot for it yet.

Our Academics This Week:

Bible:

Walking With Bilbo by Sarah Arthur

Chapter on True Identity using these Bible verses:

Genesis 17: 1-6 and 35: 9-15

Ezekiel 18: 9-15

Matt. 16:13-19

2 Cor. 5: 14-17

Eph. 4: 21-24

Chapter on our Real Treasure, which was a great lesson on not being greedy--really good chapter.  Our verses were:

Proverbs 22:1,  Ecc. 5: 18-20,  Jeremiah 9:23-24,  

Matt. 13: 44-46 and 19: 16-26,   Luke 12: 13-15,

  1 Tim. 6: 6-10 and 6: 17-19

Jeremiah 9:23-24New International Version (NIV)

23 This is what the Lord says:

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom

    or the strong boast of their strength

    or the rich boast of their riches,

24 

but let the one who boasts boast about this:

    that they have the understanding to know me,

that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,

    justice and righteousness on earth,

    for in these I delight,”

declares the Lord.

I've been taking out some turnip leaves each day to give to the chickens and ducks.  The turnips will still grow just fine.  I've been foraging all sorts of greens for the huge appetite of the foul, usually 3 times each day.

Bible Readers:

The BBC Manual: (Turn Your Bedroom Into a Bible College) 

pg. 103

Live Like a Jesus Freak:

Ch 6

Church, Sunday School, and saw a special presentation on how the church is doing in Mexico.

I'm getting plenty of greens for my morning smoothie!

Math:

Since Dd has been doing Khan Academy for math, for the past few weeks, I thought it would be a good idea if we reviewed our Math U See Geometry before going forward.  We watched the video, took notes, and I had Dd do the test for each lesson; starting back with Lesson 1.

Lesson 1-6 Completed

This section is the potato and 3 tomato plants...the potatoes have started blooming.

Science:
 Apologia Physical Science:

Module 6: Earth and the Lithosphere

Week one completed.

Poetry:

I found, what looks like, a REALLY good poetry book!  So excited for us to get into this book!  I will share more about it as I get to know it better, but the collection of entries are outstanding.   It is called:

The Harp and Laurel Wreath by Christian Book Distributors

This week we read: The War Inevitable by Patrick Henry

Writing:

Book report on Nory Ryans Song completed

Even our weeds are blooming nicely!

Reader:

Nory Ryans Song: Completed

Abraham Lincoln's World by G. Foster

pg 120-157

I've been eating a lot out of this section...and it shows!

Read Aloud:
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

ch 43-49

Christian Guides to the Classics--Great Expectations

ch 43-49

(This guide book has been fantastic.  I wish they had a lot more of these; I'd love to read more books with such great information shared.  It doesn't just talk about what happened, but shared terms for what Dickens is doing that I wouldn't have known.)

Art:

Dd made a mixed media piece.  Canvas, a box of crayons, hot glue gun, and a hair dryer!  

Zuchini is doing super well!

Music Classes:

Band class on Wed. 2 hours

Sax lesson with Wendy March 30 min.

Violin lesson with Christie 1:00 hour

Ukulele lesson with Strings Group 1:45 hours

Performance: Our Strings Group performed 3 songs at church on Sunday

Practices:

Dd has been working on Sight Reading a lot lately.  She spent part of her lesson with Mrs. March and Christie practicing.  Her audition for Advanced Band (July 19th) and Intermediate Orchestra (July 26) both ask the students to sight read and then perform that new song, do quite a few scales and octaves, and perform a piece of their choosing. 

Alto Sax: 4 hours

Violin: 8 hours

Ukulele: 2 hours

We are getting all sorts of pretty eggs, and in a varity of sizes too!

Physical Exercise:

Dd invited Hailee over to swim before Strings Group, they swam for about 2:30 hours

Marching: 2 hours

The herb garden is doing well!

Home Economics:

Yellow GF cake with fresh strawberries

Grilled: She made hamburgers and hot dogs!

The chickens are eating up the back chicken run, but with things so scary for them outside I've kept them inside where they are safe.

Good Week!  The weather was beautiful over the weekend--low 70's and windy.

Pippin and Merry, Merry is on the bottom of the photo, and Pippin's tail feathers are starting to curl up.  Looks like we officially got one male and one female.  Hope we get an egg soon!

 ..................