Online sites to analyze Read Alouds

Online sites to help analyse our Read Alouds:

We are reading more books that are not in our Sonlight Core, but I still want to follow the SL way of discussing and dissecting our reading, so I've been using more online help to encourage growth and comprehension.  I'd love to use those study guides, but they are so expensive that I was happy to find some FREE sites to use instead.

PrepScholar was really helpful, I found it after using Softschools for a few chapters and stayed with it.  After we read each chapter, I went to these sites to read aloud the motif's, imagery concepts, writing points, symbolism, etc. that we may have missed.  I feel like we got a lot more in-depth and will remember these books better having dissected them a little bit.

blog.PrepScholar.com:

https://blog.prepscholar.com/the-great-gatsby-chapter-6-summary

Softschools.com:

http://www.softschools.com/literature/summary/the_great_gatsby/chapter_4_summary/

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June 10-16, 2018 Annual HSB Book Sale,Cello, Dh's Work Anniversary

June 10-16, 2018 

Annual HSB Book Sale, Cello, Dh's Work Anniversary

HSB Annual Book Sale! Before they opened the doors. 

Hello Friends!

This week Dd had a church friend (Hailee) spend the night, Sunday night, and then she helped us at the book sale.  Hailee came over early enough on Sunday for the girls to have a lot of fun together--they both are musical and spent a few hours on piano and cello.  I wish I could say our pool was open for them to swim, but it still isn't up and working. 

 I had the whole basement floor covered with boxes and books everywhere!  It took me so many hours, but I finally got all the books priced, organized, and packed!  It took me one hour to load the van by myself, but on Monday when we unpacked it only took 20 minutes with the two girls helping!!!  

Each year the Homeschool Building holds a one-day used curriculum sale in the big gym.

  

This was our third time selling there and we didn't make very much money, but we did get first dibs on buying!  

We donated about 10 boxes of our books to the on-site bookstore (they sell new and used materials) instead of hauling it all back home. 

 Hailee did a great job keeping Dd company and she also helped load and unload our van. 

 I called Dh at work and suggested he take the girls (and Lexi) to lunch while I stay in the gym.  The girls had a nice reward being treated!

House Problems; AC and Pool:
Dh has been working and trying to get the pool working---trouble and never easy!  Another week of no pool. 

 He has been having to re-do the fixes to the leaking Geothermal system in the utility room that he *thought* was fixed.  Lots of trying to fix things that don't want to be fixed which means frustration for poor Dh.

Oil painting Dd is working on

Dd Volunteering at Library:

Dd has been volunteering at our library and really enjoying it!  I'm so glad she has taken the summer off marching band so she can do little things like volunteering.  Plus, the librarian in charge has been super great with Dd.  I'm always glad to see other adults befriending her and helping her grow.

My favorite pale pink Peony

Our lavender is doing really well this year!

 

Time-Out from the Internet for Dd:

We scheduled a week off from the internet for Dd.  She has been feeling so tired, so often, and spending more and more time in her room.  She is NOT happy about this, but I'm excited to get her back on the right track.  So, no phone, no texting, nothing but our antenna tv!

New Raised Bed:

 Dd's desired CORN!  She has wanted to grow corn for YEARS!  So funny!  Finally, this year we have made her a bed just for her corn!  I hope it grows, even though we did get it in late!

Swiss Chard - leaves Onions on both sides

Still wanting to get the hoop house off this bed

Garden:

Grape vines are doing so awesome!

You can see the little grapes forming; can't wait to do something with them this year.  Perhaps we can figure out how to make grape jelly?

I've stopped buying greens for the summer!  Our garden has more than enough; I need to think about freezing the surplus for next winter.

Dd planted Sunflower seeds between the drive-way and the metal fence of the garden.  This week she thinned out the clumps and I replanted them on the garden wall behind the hoop house, which you can't see, but they are there.  We used to love having lots of Sunflowers in our yard in Indiana but hadn't had any luck getting our flowers to grow here--until we made it a full-on priority like we did this year.  Dd loves corn, Sunflowers, and flowers, so we are trying to get those things going here for her.

Our spinach and kales are doing so well that I use those for my green smoothies.  

Our "Mesclun"lettuce is doing great and the special lettuce seed that Giz mailed me came up super fast!  It is a combination of different lettuce and greens, grown together, to make a great tasting salad when picked together.  I've never tried growing Mesclun before.

I'm looking forward to trying her mix, it must be great for her to mail me seed.

The potatoes are coming up fast

Double wired fence door--I've been doubly enforcing the door after finding critter prints in one of our beds.  It is pain to pick up and carry off each gate each morning, but it seems to be working!

We have at least three Foxglove flowers in our flower bed.  I just love these pretty flowers.

Four Year Anniversary:

Dh has now been working at the same company for four years.  He said it feels like forty!!!  I don't know if it is any better than the difficult situation he was in with the company in Indiana, but here we are!  This is our third year in our house, as our first year was spent in an apartment waiting for our Indiana house to sell.

Bulletin Board:

I finally decided on a new design for our church's bulletin board and got it all painted!  It is so difficult finding something that won't offend anyone!  I'm glad a summery board is up!  It is difficult to paint on thin butcher block brown paper I bought from Lowe's, but it didn't rip or tear with this left-over house paint I had.

I try to keep the chickens in lots and lots of greens since they are inside a coop.  Here we have some freshly trimmed grass, but normally they get a lot of dandelions and clover.  It is a lot of work pulling up weeds for them each day, but I like being outside and see this as my 'thinking/praying time.'

Chickens:

All the chickens are doing well except Zeus.  I don't know what has happened to him, perhaps a head injury?  But, he is now having these weird mini-seizures where he falls over and seizes for a few seconds and then is able to shake it off and stand back up.  He has been spending a lot of time just laying down in the coop; looking dead.  I'm hoping he can rally.

Academic:

Bible:
Church, Sunday School, and bible study: Entrusted by Beth Moore

Entrusted is a study on 2nd Timothy; I've scheduled Dd's goal is to do one page each day.

Honeysuckle

Music:

Strings Group: Our weekly church group is preparing for a special in July

Cello lesson:

Dd hasn't been loving the cello very much.  She had her 30-minute lesson and a little practice here and there, but I can tell she isn't blown over by it.

Piano practice:

Perhaps an hour or two this week

Fun Reading:
War Storm by Victoria Aveyard, the Red Queen series: In Process

672 pages of entertainment!

SL Reader:
The Boys War by Jim Murphy: In Process

After I took this photo she painted this 'tiara' blue--turned out nice.

Art:

Drawing, Polymer clay sculpture, "Ice" Crown of glue.

Buckbeak, one of my favorite girls.  She is also called Petal, but Buckbeak stuck as she has a bit of a deformed head. She had been brooding this year, so I had spent so much time pulling her out of the nestbox and spending time with her that I really bonded with her.  I'm always afraid the brooding girls with die from lack of food and water so I work hard to get them to eat and get out of their fix.

Spanish:

Dd has been working on her Spanish workbook each day.  It isn't a big deal or hard, but trying to plant a few seeds to help her in the fall when she starts a 'real' program, Bob Jones Spanish 1 in the newest edition.

Science: 

Apologia Biology: working on a few pages each day in a slow and steady way.

Physical Exercise:

Bike Riding

Workouts

A few chicken pictures:

Henny Penny, the Buff Orp. is looking at us here--she is one of our biggest girls.

H

Another blessed week with our garden and critters.

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SL Core 100 Week 15 F June 3-9, 2018 Cello Lesson, Poppies Blooming, Book Sale Prep

SL Core 100 Week 15 F 

June 3-9, 2018 

Cello Lesson, Poppies Blooming, Book Sale Prep, Pool Cover Off, Dog?

Hello Friends,
It seems like my blog to post our academic progress is more of a sharing thing right now since Dd is in a bit of a funk.  Now that Dd is 16  years old I can see the finish line in sight and also feel compelled to document more of our days together as I know I won't always get to spend so much time with her in the future. 

 

Cello:

Dd's cello lessons started this week.  All year she asked if she could try one month of cello lessons in the summer to see if she likes playing it as much as she thinks she might like playing it. She didn't want to do this while she was taking all her other lessons during the school year.  She had tried the Viola last fall for about a month and soon realized she liked the violin better but was glad she took the time to try it out and give it a chance.  We've scheduled a month of lessons with a new instructor, as our violin teacher, Christie, doesn't do the cello, unfortunately. Christie was able to teach Dd the weeks she was trying out the viola and we appreciate how well she fits with our personalities.  Dd's new cello teacher, Lucy, is doing a good job, but Christie is simply a perfect fit for us. 




On Monday, I got the lesson times all messed up and we ended up having to stay in GR all day.  I thought Dd's cello lesson was scheduled for 10:30 am, but it wasn't actually until 3:30pm.  Her violin lesson was 12:30 so we didn't have time to go back home so we had to wait two hours.  The employee's at Meyer Music laughed along "with" me at my mix up!  Dd and I did have a lot of fun going to stores we don't normally go into---like World Market and Tuesday Morning.  Then she showed me a store I didn't know---Five Below.  After her cello lesson, we had to do our grocery shopping; we didn't get home to dinner time. 

Garden:

The major heat from last week passed and I wanted to take advantage of the cooler and cloudier weather to work in our garden.  I did quite a few transplants from the hoop house to the garden which all seemed to be okay except the one bed that is in the shade, that I usually put flowers in because there has to be some kind of bug that just demolishes plants.  Last week I noticed the two Lamb's Ear was being stripped clean by the mysterious eaters. 

This is the bed with the bugs, I planted the 8 rows of spinach.

I transplanted a bunch of Marigold's into this bed hoping they would help, but the spinach seeds I planted there a couple of weeks ago haven't come up or perhaps as soon as they do they must be getting eaten...bummer.  I planted 8 rows of new seed that isn't going to come to anything.

Sage blooming

New Raised-Bed:

It was time to get the new bed growing---this week I really worked on getting it all set up for the summer.  It is the last bed I have to fill unless Dh makes another bed. 



 I had one section for carrots---transplanted some from the hoop house and then planted a bunch of seed too -hoping it grows.  I transplanted some kale, various tomatoes, and tomatillo's.  I planted a few lines of lettuces, parsley, green pepper, red pepper, orange pepper and basil...things like that to round it out.  The bugs are arriving and I can see more and more damage.  

New Potato Bed

Pool Garden: Poppies

YAY, YAY, YAY!!!!  One of my most favorite weeks of the year--when the poppies bloom!  I only wish I had more blooms.  It is frustrating to see some people that have massive plants with tons of blooms and it is off on a side of their house or appearing not as cherished as I feel it should be, or would be if it were in my yard!!!  I had seven blooms this week.

Dh bought me this "purple" Lupine last year for Mother's Day, it bloomed this year---and is orange? how orange?!!  It is still pretty, but it would have been so much nicer if it was purple!

 Truck:

About a month ago I posted how I was happy we got the truck back from the shop---unhappy that it cost just over a thousand, but happy Dh didn't have to do it.  He drove it for 1 1/2 weeks before it went out again.  He hemmed and hawed, went to Italy for 9 days to think about it.  When he got back he drove it; 30-40 mph the 45 min. drive to the shop, while I followed behind with my hazard lights blinking and causing a stir.  Last week we heard back from the shop, the transmission had gone out and it would be three thousand dollars to fix it.  Oy.  This truck.  I think it has run for three months out of the almost two years we've had it.  At least now Dh is okay with letting a mechanic fix it instead of him trying to do it.  His Camry is still in our barn with the hood up, waiting for him to fix it, after a good year of being in there.  He just doesn't have the time to fix cars on top of fixing the constant house problems.  Bless his heart, he just keeps plugging along trying to keep things okay.

Chicken Coop:

I spent 2-3 days working on the coop, trying to secure the walls and make them taller with the chicken wire. 




 I got up and spent the mornings on the coop and garden before it got too warm.  



The hardest part was encasing the whole "ceiling" of the coop with a netting.  



It was awfully ironic one morning when a HAWK flew down and landed on the metal fence until I screamed at it and it flew away.  




Oh, the chickens we NOT happy about that, and so I really put the coop as my top priority.  Between the hawk this week and the raccoon and fox last week I really felt like I was on borrowed time.  I did get it finished by the end of the week although Dh keeps reminding me that the predators can still get in and we must keep an eye open.

Annual HSB Book Sale Prep:

I was supposed to be focusing on getting ready for the book sale all week, but the chicken coop and garden sure did pull my mind (and body) off the task most of the week.  I did eventually go through my permanent bookshelves and found some books that I decided we weren't going to read and decided to pull them out for the sale.  I spent quite a few hours and got a bit of organizing done on our books as a surprise bonus!  The sale is next Monday.

Dd Mowing:

Dd wanted us to buy her a new-looking futon from our thrift store that was $18 and would be 'perfect for her room' so she called Dh to see what he thought.  He is trading her more mowing and we bought her the futon/sofa.  I'm thankful for the help with the chores!

Dog? English Shepherd:

Dh just happened to mention one of his friends at work are foster parents to dogs and that right now they have a really sweet English Shepherd (ES).  I didn't even know we were close to getting a dog and come to find out Dh has been watching all the dogs that have been passing through his friend's parents home!  This fella was taken from an Amish puppy farm that wasn't feeding or taking care of their animals.  We have no idea how long it will be until the dog might be open for adoption, but Dh has decided this little guy would be a good fit.  The ES are known for being especially kind, loving, intelligent, and good with chickens and cats.  He will consider our other pets as part of our family and will protect and love all of us, no matter how big or small.  

Pool: Process of Opening Started

Dh decided to work on opening the pool for the season.  Each year we have really had to struggle for days to get the pump sucking the water from the pool and running; apparently there is (was) some way for air to get into the pipes and therefore we don't get a seal and it took three days of trying, with all three of us trying last year to get it running.  This year Dh tried one night and just decided he would redo the PVC and change it all out and make sure it is all air-tight.  He had to figure it out, figure out which pieces he would need, and put together his new design.  He had just done a similar project when he had to redo the PVC for the geothermal air conditioning water drain a little over a week ago.  He is getting good at figuring out how to make these systems work better which will eventually lead to a smoother household at some point.

Agnes

Motivation:
Oy.  Dd has really been struggling with getting her chores and homework assignments done these past few weeks.  She has had a few hiccups that have made things worse: Prom, IOWA Tests, Friendship woes, schedule changes, and too much free time!  She needs to find her summer grove and Dh and I are working on figuring out just how exactly to help her do so.  I appreciate Chelle reminding me to focus on the relationship first and the accomplishments last---great advise that I agree with 100%.  It looks like we will be stuck on SL Core 100 Week 15 for a few more weeks!!!  Praying that Dd will find her groove and start being more academic soon.

Academics:

Bible:
Church, and Sunday School
Entrusted bible study by Beth Moore (on 2nd Timothy)



Music Lessons:
Last Violin lesson of the year: 30 min
Cello lesson: 30 min



Music Practice:
Dd has been practicing her piano, cello, and violin



Physical Exercise:
Dd went bike riding twice this week.
Mowing the yard once this week.



Spanish:
Dd signed up to take Spanish 1 next year at Grace, so I pulled out a fun workbook I had bought her years ago and asked her to do a few pages of it every day.



Fun Reading:
Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain
During World War I, a young English woman named Vera Brittain postpones her studies at Oxford University to serve as a Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse in London and abroad. After the war, she returns to Oxford to read history and later becomes a writer, feminist, and pacifist.

Art:
Dd has been arranging some bouquets for me this week--gorgeous.



Science:
Apologia Biology
I'm having her read 4 pages each day

Dd has been using her Michigan Wildflower identification book to find and determine the plants we find around our home.

She found Evening Nightshade, a poisonous plant, with pretty purple blooms.

Next Week:
The BIG annual HSB Used Book sale in on Monday!  I've been going from room to room looking over our books trying to see if there is any twaddle I want to rid ourselves from and am planning on donating most of the books that don't sell to the HSB instead of toting them back to our house again.  We have WAY too many twaddle books and I need to let.them.go!  The sale prep means arriving at 9:30 am and not getting home until 9 pm so it will be a very long day!!!  I know Tuesday will be a day to put the books that I keep back in storage boxes and put back in the closet.  I will also have to put all our things back in the plastic crates that I had to dump to use for the sale....it will be a day of putting things back where they belong.  I'm hoping I can do a good job of leaving a lot of books there--either by selling or donating. 



 Dd also has her next cello lesson.  We are trying to get our pool open for the year and that is never an easy job, we fought algae the whole last summer and hope we have better luck this year. 

Volunteer Mullenstock--so beautiful!





A friend of mine, years ago, on the Sonlight forum, was complaining how she didn't like the Mullenstock "weeds" she had around her home in Texas and I had to share how much I love them.  I think of her, Michelle, every time I look at mine!


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