March 3 - 9, 2019
KCTC (Kent Career Technical Center), Captain Marvel, Cold & Snow, Lessons, My Antonia Completed!
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| Henry, the snow dog that always wants to be out running in the woods. |
Some sunshine arrived this week; still lots of cold and gray, but the accents of sunshine were most welcome! We are feeding the deer and birds to help with the last weeks of spare food for wild critters. It is nice to see melting snow, even if new snow replaces it the next day! I felt really well this week and managed extra exercise; so good to have a week free of migraines and health issues.
Open-Minded Options:
Dd wanted to go to an Open House at KCTC (Kent Career Technical Center) this week. This is a specialized high school that supplements high schoolers to learn a trade. Dd would still be homeschooled for all her normal core classes, but for around two hours each morning, she could be trained in a career of her choosing. Most of the students, upon completion, are quickly hired up by companies looking for trained employees. We have just started praying about the decision and are in the gathering information stage. I was impressed by the organization. There are obstacles in her path; like finding a car that drives on snow and ice that she could use every day to get to her class. It is about thirty minutes away from our home, which is very far when the roads are covered in snow and ice!!! Also, she generally sleeps late each morning and that wouldn't be an option for her any longer if she chose this option. One of the classes she might take starts at 6:45 AM every weekday! It would be a huge change for her if we go that way. Praying for discernment.
KCTC:
We went to four different areas: 1)Automotive 2) Precision Machining Technology 3)Heating, Air, Refrigeration 4)Aviation Electronics. The Automotive wasn't very organized and I didn't do a great job of encouraging that...the Precision Machining and the HVACR were both very interesting and well represented. Dd is thinking about those two now...we will see. Next year, she will still be taking co-op classes at Grace HSA either way as it has been a big success for her.
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| Fixed the chicken's umbrella |
Pressure:
Dd voiced her unease that I've somehow managed to make her feel like she has to pick a fantastic (and high paying) career, and soon! It is always interesting how different we think we are parenting than how our children interpret it in their heads. I thought I was doing a good job sharing many varied perspectives and providing insight, but that really wasn't how she heard it. I'm glad she let me know so we could have a good open discussion on priorities. It is hard when your daughter wants to be a "mom," but try explaining how that might not happen right away (if at all) and needing to have the tools to take care of yourself through a productive career without sounding harsh.
Movies: Captain Marvel
I actually asked Dd to order our tickets a few days early so we could ensure good seats at our local theater to Brie Larson as Captain Marvel; I was so excited for the first female lead Marvel movie! It didn't disappoint!!! It was great to see women on the screen and not at the ratio of 10:01 (or worse!). Higher, Faster, Farther! Dh and I still liked Wonder Woman a little better as a movie, but Dd is firmly in the CM camp. I did adore the cat, Goose, in the movie! Goose was the best thing about the movie, in my mind!
Audio:
My Antonia by Willa Cather
I am a little embarrassed to share we finally finished our winter audio after months! I'm glad I didn't give up and that I persevered in whittling in a few chapters each week, but it sure did take longer than any book we've listened to!
Wikipedia Summary of My Antonia:
My Ántonia (/ˈæntəniə/ AN-tə-nee-ə) is a novel published in 1918 by American writer Willa Cather, considered one of her best works. It is the final book of her "prairie trilogy" of novels, preceded by O Pioneers! and The Song of the Lark.[1]:9 [Notes 1]:9
The novel tells the stories of an orphaned boy from Virginia, Jim Burden, and the elder daughter in a family of Bohemian immigrants, Ántonia Shimerda, who are each brought as children to be pioneers in Nebraska towards the end of the 19th century. Both the pioneers who first break the prairie sod for farming, as well as of the harsh but fertile land itself, feature in this American novel. The first year in the very new place leaves strong impressions in both children, affecting them lifelong.
This novel is considered Cather's first masterpiece. Cather was praised for bringing the American West to life and making it personally interesting.
My Antonia:
I was thoroughly upset by the ending, but Dd thought it was perfectly fitting. I thought the main character, Jim, would eventually marry Antonia and was disappointed when that didn't happen. Dd thought Antonia never saw Jim as more than a brother figure and so they never were going to get married. But, the point of view was from Jim, and I felt his heartache as he shared how much he loved Antonia.
Chickens:
Suzanne, an older friend from church, who is an older expert at gardening and chickens, gave me some suggestions regarding my chickens this week at church that I tried out. One thing she does, in winter, is to remove the roost from her coop to force the chickens to nest down in the straw at night to 'keep warm, not having cold air coming up under them.' Well, I tried this for a few days but my girls just moved over to the little nest box and tried to perch on it! Each morning the box had fallen over on an edge with five hens awkwardly clinging on to the slanted edge. After 3-4 days of this mess, I decided to bring in the small roost that I had taken out months ago. I figured this was a compromise, I kept the bigger (taller/higher) roost out and just kept in the smaller one. Some hens are happy nesting in the straw on the ground.
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| The chickens are getting more and more time in the sunshine. |
Dd-Orthodontist:
Dd finally got the rubber-bands attached to the metal hinges in her mouth. The goal is to pull back her bottom jaw behind her front teeth more. It is a little bit painful, but Dd really seems very interested in doing whatever it takes to get her teeth as nice as possible. Her doctor wanted to talk to me, to stress how important it is for Dd to were her new rubber bands and I assured her I didn't have to remind at all, Dd is on top of it! I'm glad to see so much progress from all her hard work, her teeth are straightening right up.
Spring Cleaning:
Ah, it is that time of year! I've been pulling out the window screens and brushing and vacuuming them. Cleaning the windows and sills. It is gradually getting a little more tidy as we get closer to spring.
Deer:
We've been putting whole and shucked corn out all over the place for the wild critters and this week we saw deer on our front yard and around. Dh built some contraption feeder for the deer to eat the corn and they really liked the feeder. The past few weeks I've enjoyed watching all the birds eating out of it each day, but this week we saw SIX deer around it! Fun! With all the snow we had this week we really wanted to put corn out to help out a little. It has been a long winter and the ground is frozen and covered with snow. It is nice to walk around the the spots I've been putting the corn and check to see if the deer ate it all each morning. Henry likes grabbing a bite of the corn too; but, mostly because I fuss at him and he thinks this is a fun game! He is a silly dog sometimes.
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| We need to fix the hoop houses and start planning our spring garden---hard to do with all the snow! |
Dd's Academic Progress:
Grace Classes:
This year, for the first time, we're trying a co-op with Dd's core academic classes and it has gone really well. Last year she took art classes and enjoyed the teachers and the homeschool student interaction. I never would have thought I'd outsource core classes, but it has really surprised me at how focused she has been on doing good work.
Grace Classes:
Cultural Geography (BJU)
Algebra I (Saxon)
Spanish I (BJU)
Introductory Logic
Exploring Economics by Ray Notgrass
Bible:
Church, Sunday School, Youth Program, Olympians. Independent Bible study: Word of Life and Awaken: 90 Days with the God Who Speaks by Priscilla Shirer.
Volunteering:
1 1/2 hours at church--Olympians Program
1 1/2 hours at the library: Story Time helper
Audio/Literature:
My Antonia by Willa Cather: COMPLETED!!
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| Tiny prints in the snow---always fun guessing what kind of critter makes each print. |
Physical Education:
Hike 1x this week with me and Henry
Next Week:
I go back to the endodontist about my root canal to see if the medication cured the infection. Another week closer to spring!
May the Lord bless your week!
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