SL Core H Week 32 Oct.29-Nov 4, 2017 (Pippin & Merry move to a new home)

SL Core H 

Week 32 

Oct.29-Nov 4, 2017 
(Pippin & Merry move to a free range, four children, family farm where they will be with other ducks and poultry.)

Fall Rush:

Dentist, doctor appt.--booster shot, church, THREE Goodwill stores, delivered Pippin and Merry, 1 thrift store, and music classes!  I remember so fondly the years Dd was in elementary and middle grades when we would have perhaps one or two activities a week; with one of those activities being our visit to the library!  Wow, have things changed since high school!  I'm glad I am able to adjust and accommodate, but this is seriously not my pace; I'd rather stay at home and just focus on books!  

I've been chopping up the stems from everything and feeding it to the chickens--they LOVE anything from the garden (except herbs).

Ducks: Pippin & Merry:

I think I've mentioned our ducks have been attacking the chickens, especially the Isa Brown's.  I wonder if the ducks were trying to mate with the chickens?  I really don't know, but they were bitting on to the chicken's necks and pinning the chickens down.  The final straw was when I saw Pippin bite on to a chickens neck, get on top of her in a corner of their coop-cornered, and then Merry got on top of Pippin---that poor hen was under two humongous ducks!  I finally got there and got the ducks off her and she stayed hunkered down for a bit, finally, she shook it off and was able to walk away...poor girl.  I asked Dh to ask his buddy at work that has a mini-farm to see if he wanted our boys.  Come to find out, his buddy's neighbor has quite the menagerie and was super excited to take our ducks to add to his collection of critters.  We even got pictures of Pippin and Merry happily out with their new flock!  Phew!  SO glad we are done with ducks!  I don't think I will agree to ducks ever again.  The chickens are so much happier now!!!!  Miss Lemon, our Bantam hen, hadn't laid an egg since early summer, now that the ducks are gone she is laying every day!  They really stressed the hens out immensely; not to mention how messy they were for me to continually clean up after.  

Giz:

My MIL is doing really well!  Praise the Lord!  She is very tired, or as she says; "Tired of being Tired...Sick of being sick!"  But, considering all her body has been through and all the time she's spent in the hospital the past 12 months, she is doing so well!  Thank you to all you who prayed for her recovery!!

SNOW!:
We finally had a short-lived snow storm!  It snowed all morning but started melting once it hit the ground.  Our first winter here was full of snow the whole month of October, so I was delighted that it hadn't really snowed until Oct. 31st.

Church:

November 1st marked our second year anniversary at our church!!!  It is SO great to finally have a church with such a loving approach to parishioners.  The church does have a lot of human errors, but their hearts are in the right place.  I've always prayed for a church just like this...and I hope I can always keep the right attitude of appreciating it; worts and all!

The chickens love the green leaves from the Brussel Sprout plants.

Praise:

I did find a hardy dresser for my bedroom so I could give Dd my old dresser since her drawers were falling apart.  This new dresser fits right in and is perfect!  I'm so thankful for finding it and actually buying it!  My old dresser was given to me 20 years ago, and it had been given to my mom from her BFF years before that.  Thanking the Lord for putting that dresser in our path! 

Honeysuckle, our girl.

 Shopping:

We did way too much shopping this week, though all done at "used" stored.  Every Friday Dd has two art classes and her math class at "Grace HS Assoc." and they have a dress code where the girls aren't allowed to wear blue jeans.  They can wear jeans that are a different color than blue, isn't that a weird rule?!  So far Dd has worn skirts to her Friday classes but has been desperate for a pair of pants that she can wear to Grace.  We've tried all the used and new stores--Wal Mart, Meijer, Target, Old Navy, Costco and all our usual thrift stores.  This week we tried the outlying Goodwill stores that we've never been to see if she would have any luck.  The Old Navy pants are possibly okay, mostly b/c their return policy is that you can't return them after you've worn them!  I did find a few gifts for Dh, me, and Dd for Christmas.  The hard part is going to be waiting until Christmas!!!

Dickens--our boy.

Doctor's office and Dentist:

If I can help it I try to schedule everything I can get done as soon as possible, before the snow here arrives.  So, I've broken all my common sense rules and fit two medical appointments in one week.  Both offices are, of course, a long drive--at least 45 minutes each way.  So Tuesday and Thursday were busy with those appointments.

Sleep-Over Friday:

Dd invited two friends over on Friday night, but only one of them could actually come.  The girls had a good time together.  They ate Cookie-Dough ice cream and watched the latest version of Beauty and the Beast - with Emma Watson.  I will never understand why Disney has to have so much violence and intensity in their "children's" movies.  I think the movie would be even better if they took it down a notch.

Garden:

My garden is still growing my greens, and I'm still picking and enjoying them!  I made a deer roast crockpot stew and used my latest batch of green beans in that.  I still have one bag of green beans left to make another pot of something.  I still have quite a few things to bring in.  I am planning on freezing the last of my veg next week: carrots, beets, turnips, greens, celery....

Blanche, Ice, Cookie tray freeze, and finally into ziplock baggies:

So, we didn't get a lot of our studies done this week!  But, Dd is wrapping up the last of her Core H books.

Bible:
Church, Sunday School, Youth Group, Volunteering for Games portion of Olympians program.

SOTW: Story of the World Vol 4 The Modern Age: (Audio while driving)
Ch's 10-12

Math:

Saxon Geometry with Grace: Test on Monday (81%), Lessons 29-31 and class.  Dd still is having to figure out most of the material by herself or with Dh.  But, at least she is learning how to teach herself how to learn the material without a teacher.

Read Aloud:

I Am David by Anne Holm

We are really enjoying this sad, touching book.

Reader:

The Breadwinner: by Deborah Ellis: Completed

Reader:

Chu Ju's House by Gloria Whelan: Completed

Dd and her friend went on a nature hike and took some great photos of the fall colors.

Fun Reader:

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

See the fingerless gloves she made---and the cute pink daisy?!  Agnes liked them so well she slept on them inside her hot pink sleeping bag.

Sewing:

Dd has been making fingerless gloves for herself and a pair for me!  Heather had given her a kit and instructions and Dd had so much fun making them this week.  She sewed cute little daisies on her pair.

Art:

Dd is really enjoying her two art classes and has been drawing at home a lot as well.

Grace Classes:
Painting Studio: 2:00 hours

Botany Art class: 1:30 hours

Saxon Geometry: 2:00 hours

The fall colors are still quite lovely!

Music Classes:

Violin lessons with Christie: 30 min

Intermediate Orchestra, violin: 1:30 hours

Piano with Wendy: 30 min

Intermediate Band, Alto Sax: 1:30

Dd has to practice 2:30 hours for each of her instruments each week, at least that is the goal.

Agnes is doing well with the kittens, not 'great,' but good.  She has been so much more cuddly since it is getting so cold and she likes being warm!  We are totally taking advance of her weakness and enjoying all the cuddles we can get!!!

Next Week:

We should be able to finish our last Core H books a little early.  I've been trying to fatten up our kitten's---next week they both go to the vet to be "fixed."  I'm still wrapping up all the fall chores and preserving the veggies from the garden.  The whole month of November is going to be very wonky, as Dd and Dh will have hunting to do and that will be a few weeks off from lessons.

.............

SL Core H Week 31 Oct. 22-28, 2017 First Frost of Fall (58th Week, Part 2/2 World History)

SL Core H Week 31 

Oct. 22-28, 2017 

First Frost of Fall 

(58th Week, Part 2/2 World History)

Zeus, trying to tell me he is the boss.  He has been aggressive again lately.

Hello, Friends!

Winter is almost here and the garden has been hit hard.  The weather reporter said we would only have low's in the 40's so I wasn't prepared for our First Frost on Wednesday night.  I thought we had another week of good weather coming.  I'm so thankful we picked all the green beans on Wednesday!  But, there were quite a few casualties that I hadn't figured were going to be harmed; like the poor Basil which is totally black and dead now.  I had been planning on putting our new leaves into some good butter to make the Basil Butter that Heather introduced me to in July, but I missed that one.

This week we had our first frost.  

Core H/Core 100: (Core 100 High School American History)

I've started looking ahead and trying to prepare for starting our next core as we are finishing up Core H.  I've gone through the book-lists and am trying to finalize which books we will read, as I have two versions of Core 100 and have been saving Core 100 books since we started in 2008!  I have quite a few books that were in Core 100 in the past but have been since removed.  I might fit in some of those since there are a few books in these later Cores that we don't have.  I don't think I am going to buy the few missing books we don't have; instead, we will fit in a personal choice or one of the high school books I read in high school that aren't on SL's lists.

Apologia Biology:

Rainbow Resource's box should be arriving tomorrow---we are going to try one of the "Instructional DVD's" that can be bought to go along with Biology.  I think it said it has 20 hours of video and walks you through each module.  It was almost $150.00 to purchase, but I am really hoping it will be worth it.  I happened to find the biology dissecting materials and the lab (slides) materials used and saved a lot of money that way so I could sort of justify spending the extra money on the DVD set!  I bought the textbook and student notebook second hand too, so I think it will all wash out in the end---as long as Dd really studies this book hard.  I've also ordered the dissecting specimens; can't get those used!

The night before the frost I happened to pick our beans...so glad we did!!

You can see how much the frost hurt our garden.

Garden:

There are still a few things out in the garden that need to come in asap.  I have enough green beans and tiny potatoes to make one more canning run, hopefully with Dd helping out and learning a little about the process.  I’ve been bringing in my frailer greens and plan on trying my hand at blanching and freezing greens next week.  Dd helped me pick green beans this week and it was so nice to have a little help.  I wish she was more interested in gardening but these past two years haven’t been her best gardening years.  She used to take a much more active role in gardening with me, but not so much lately.  She is keen to plant flowers; especially sunflowers.

I brought in the heat lamp and re-arranged the coop again.

Chickens & Ducks:

I've still been feeding the duckweed and now that the green beans are done I have been feeding the plants too.  They seem to like eating the green bean leaves.  Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday were total rain days, just with varying levels of intensity...such dreary, dreary, cold days.  I plugged in the heat lamp in the chicken coop on Monday to help the cold and wet animals.  Wednesday evening Dh turned on the heat in our house too.

The ducks have been attacking the chickens all week.  I don't know what's going on with them.  Perhaps they think they are being amorous? 

Illness:

Dd and I both have been fighting a bug.  My tonsils got swollen this week and I've been gargling salt water to help. We skipped Strings Group again this week.  I hope we can both get back to feeling well soon.  

The worms are winning.  I've decided to stop picking the worms and just call it a year.

Academic Progress this Week:
Dd worked Monday through Saturday this week, with our full schedule and not feeling great we had fallen a little behind and working a bit on Saturday helped a bit towards getting a little closer to meeting our goals.  She still had a few things on her sheet to do during the week that she never did finish, unfortunately, that happens most weeks.

Bible:

We are continuing on with reading the New Testament with the help of the Integrated Bible that tells us the order so I can read that with our Bible.

The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares: Matt 13:24-27
A Lamp on a Stand: Mark 4:20-29 & Luke 8:15-18
The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast: Matt 13:28-35 & Mark 4:30-34
The Parable of the Weeds Explained: Matt 13:36-53
The Cost of Following Jesus & Jesus Calms the Storm: Matt 8:23-25 & Luke 8:22-24
Jesus Restores Two Demon-Possessed Men: Matt 8:26-9:18 & Mark 4:39-5:10 & Luke 8: 25-31
Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman: Matt 9:18-26 & Mark 5:11-43 & Luke 8:32-56

Church, S.S., Youth Program, and volunteering 1:30 for Games at Olympians program



SL's Bible:
Daring to Live Life on the Edge: Ch 14



SL's Bible Reading Assignments for Dd:
Ephesians 1-5



Geography:
Seterra online/free games: 15 min

BiblioPlan Advanced Maps: Map 8b of the US states (NE)

Dd grilled for us this week

Math:
Saxon Geometry through Grace...still NOT going well.  But, Dd is plugging along with very little teaching in class.  L25-28 and class.  Dh and Dd worked on math together on Saturday to try and work through some of the harder parts.



History:

SOTW: Story of the World Vol 4 The Modern Age: (Audio while driving)
Ch 1: Britain's Empire, Ch. 2: West Against East, Ch 3: British Invasions, Ch 4: Resurrection and Rebellion, Ch 5: The American Civil War, Ch 6: Two Tries For Freedom, Ch 7: Two Empires, Three Republics, and One Kingdom, Ch 8: Becoming Modern, Ch 9: Two More Empires, Two Rebellions, Ch 10: A Canal to the East and a Very Dry Desert.
*We are supposed to be farther ahead in our SOTW, but I kept forgetting my disc's.



BiblioPlan Companion of Early Modern History
Ch 14: Japan, the Salem Witch Trials: In Process, we got through the Japan portion so far.



Reader 1: 

The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley: COMPLETED



Reader 2:
It's A Jungle Out There by Ron Snell: In Process

Read Aloud:
I am David by Anne Holm: In Process

**God's Smuggler is supposed to be our RA, but we listened to in on audio earlier in the core.



Art Classes through Grace:
Painting Studio: 2:00 hours
Botany Art Class: 1:30 hours



At Home:
Art: Dd is working on an oil painting of Aslan, from Narnia.
Drawing:
Lots of Drawing this week, hours of it!



Photography:
Dd enjoyed taking fall pictures this week.



Music Classes:
Violin lesson with Christie: 30 min
Intermediate Orchestra: 1:30 (violin)
Intermediate Band: 1:30 (alto sax)
Piano lesson with Wendy: 30 min



Music Practice:
Lots of violin and piano, less sax lately.



Home Economics:
Made chili for Youth Group



Dd has TWO books left to read for Core H: Breadwinner and Homeless Bird and she is halfway through Homeless Bird already.  She is asking to have a week or two as a break from Sonlight between cores so she can focus on art.  Her goal is to finish her two Readers this week.  We can still keep reading our BP and SOTW.  We are really behind in both of those, so I will have to figure on how to bridge the gap before we get to Core 100.  We may do a few weeks restarting our IEW writing program and starting our Biology before we start up our Core 100 once we've established those other priorities.


.......

SL Core H Week 30 "A" Oct.15-21. 2017 Endoscopy and Under the Egg

SL Core H Week 30 "A"
(Core H is Sonlight's Part 2 of a 2-year program on World History.  We are in Week 30 of a 36-week program, which has taken us 57 weeks to do because we like to add things in and slow things down to our pace.)

Oct.15-21. 2017 

Endoscopy and Under the Egg

Hello, Friends!

Our homeschooling week was quite un-normal!  I had some medical things to sort through and the weather has finally realized it should be colder!  

Attic:

I brought down all our winter clothes boxes--something like six boxes!!!  Wow!  To make room in my tiny closet for the winter clothes I had to box up as many summer clothes as I could, which was only three boxes.  You can tell I am over-prepared for winter!!!  Boy, my bedroom, living room, and dining room were a disaster with all the boxes and clothes everywhere!  I was so glad to not have any unexpected visitors witness our total chaos for three days!!  It does feel so much better to have all our coats and other warm things ready.  Also--I found my two hummingbird feeders! Finally!!!

Veg Garden/Bugs:

Once again I spent too many hours picking worms off my kales and Brussel sprouts.  I hate to admit this, but at night when I lay down and close my eyes I see those worms!  This is proof I've spent way too much time with those worms!  I have gotten faster at picking off the worms, placing them in a bucket, and giving them to the chickens.  The worms had skinned a lot of kale (Dinosaur kale variety), so I picked the blighted leaves and chopped them into tiny pieces and gave to chickens.  They normally get all the stems from the kale I use for my morning green smoothies, but this week they really got a lot more than normal due to the activity of the worms.  Maybe I got ahead this week? and perhaps next week won't have as many?!?

Canning for the week- for this last batch of sauce I added some carrots to the tomato sauce I was cooking down in the crockpot.  This added a different flavor to the paste that is similar to the tomato soup Dh makes us.

Flower Garden:

This week I worked on transplanting some of the front flowers into the big hole that I created when I dug up the ugly bush near our front door.  The bush that I hurt my back removing!!  Now I will have some peonies, coneflower, and (I think) some foxgloves!  yay!  I think I'm done with that for the fall.  I mowed twice this week and could still probably do some more if I find the time.  This weather has been perfect for grass growing!

I've been rearranging the inside coop to see what works best - each setting has it's advantages and disadvantages.

Chickens/Ducks:

My quest to feed my chickens and ducks as many greens as I can continue to be a bit of a hardship and a blessing.  I have found a big patch of duckweed down in our woods, which is a bit of a walk to get to, but that is also why it is a blessing!  



I really have enjoyed walking down into the woods, especially with all the beautiful fall colors!!!!  So lovely!  God has found a way to get me down into the woods to enjoy His beauty!  So glad!  Sometimes I get too busy working and don't stop and enjoy as much as I should.  The Buff Orpington's (light yellow/orange birds) are still growing in new feathers and look a bit pitiful.  "Broody Brenda's" comb has been pale so I've been feeding her extra.  Last year she got really broody and I had to bring her into the garage and hand feed her, but this year I am keeping an eye on her and feeding her extra before she gets bad.)

Giz: MIL after surgery recovery

Giz has done well so far.  We are still hoping that another shoe doesn't fall and catch us off guard.  So far, so good.  Prayers Appreciated.

Health:

My long awaited procedures with my gastroenterologist finally arrived; an endoscopy (scope down your throat to look at all your upper plumbing) and a colonoscopy (scope...other end).  I would love to say it had little effect on my week, but I did find it made for a week out of whack.  The good news was that everything came back normal, though we are still waiting on the Celiac test.  I'm glad all the bad things that could have been wrong were removed from the equation.

Music:

Dd has been really enjoying her violin, violin lessons, and playing the violin in the orchestra.  Also, she has been playing Christmas music on the piano, which makes me SO HAPPY!!

Auto Repair:

We still only have two of our four pitiful cars running, but Dh has made great strides on the broken truck.  He spent hours at a local junkyard finding parts that he needed to repair the truck, plus the bonus of other parts for the other cars too!  He thinks by next week at this time the truck will be back running.  I think he had to take out and replace the power steering in the truck, and a few other easier things.

Kittens:
Our two new kittens, Dickens and Honeysuckle, are doing great.  Agnes is slowly getting better with the kitties, more so Dickens than Honeysuckle.  I think it might be because Dickens is a boy?  We still ache with missing our Sophie, but the kittens are a lovely distraction.



Wrapping Up Core H:
After we finish our readers for this week we will only have: I Am David, Chu Ju's House, and The Breadwinner left to complete our Core H!  We are really getting close to finishing this core and I need to start planning our next core!

Academic Steps This Week:

Bible:
We are continuing on with reading the New Testament with the help of the Integrated Bible that tells us the order so I can read that with our Bible.
The Parable of the Sower: Luke 8: 1-3
Jesus and Beelzebul: Matt 12:22-29
Jesus Accused by His Family and by Teachers of the Law: Mark 3:20-27
Jesus and Beelzebul: Luke 11:14-22. Matt 12:30-32, Mark 3:28-30, Luke 11:23, Matt 12:33-37
The Sign of Jonah: Matt 12:38-45
Jesus' Mother and Brothers Matt 12:46-50, Mark 3:31-35

Jesus' Mother and Brothers: Luke 8:19-21

Church:

Church, Sunday School, Youth Program, and volunteering 1:30 hours for the Olympians program (like Awana).

SL's Bible, Student Reading:

2 Corinthians 4 and 13

Galatians Ch 3, 4, and 5

Daring To Live Life On The Edge: The Adventure of Faith and Finances by Loren Cunningham:

Ch's 11, 12 & 13



Math: 
Saxon Geometry through Grace HS Academy:
Lessons 21-24 and 1:30 hr class
Dd is still struggling with the limited explanations and 'teaching' she is getting in her class, BUT, she has found Saxon's book to be a good resource.  When Saxon asks a review question they also include the specific lesson that taught that bit and she can flip back to that page for a little refresher.  Both MUS and TT didn't do this as well as Saxon does.  She is finding the book to be her favorite math program yet.  BUT, she still has questions and needs time with her friends, or parents, to have some parts explained, so it must not be perfect!  I was hoping for a better class experience and for Dd to feel comfortable asking the teacher questions during the week (instead of needing to outsource her help).



History Reader 1:
The War That Saved My Life 
by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley: In Process
Goodreads Summary:
An exceptionally moving story of triumph against all odds set during World War 2, from the acclaimed author of Jefferson’s Sons and for fans of Number the Stars.
 
Nine-year-old Ada has never left her one-room apartment. Her mother is too humiliated by Ada’s twisted foot to let her outside. So when her little brother Jamie is shipped out of London to escape the war, Ada doesn’t waste a minute—she sneaks out to join him.
 
So begins a new adventure of Ada, and for Susan Smith, the woman who is forced to take the two kids in. As Ada teaches herself to ride a pony, learns to read, and watches for German spies, she begins to trust Susan—and Susan begins to love Ada and Jamie. But in the end, will their bond be enough to hold them together through wartime? Or will Ada and her brother fall back into the cruel hands of their mother?
 
This masterful work of historical fiction is equal parts adventure and a moving tale of family and identity—a classic in the making.

History Reader 2:
It's A Jungle Out There 
by Ron Snell: In Process
Goodreads Summary:
Book One of the Rani Adventures begins with Ron Snell's birth as the eldest child of missionary parents living in the rainforests of Peru. Colorfully depicting what it was like growing up in such surroundings, Snell has captured a wide-ranging audience ranging from homeschool children to senior citizens. "I wouldn't trade my childhood for any other," Snell writes. "Conceived in the Amazon rainforest, I learned to walk and talk among the Machiguenga Indians who, to this day, call me "Rani." "The 'Machis' were my first babysitters and friends. From them I learned to tie a house together, eat monkeys and macaws, and make dugout canoes. They laughed at my log rides down rampaging rivers and caught exotic pets for me. Life was one great adventure after another. After all, what could be more fun than perching in thorn trees at night to escape a herd of stampeding pigs? "The Machiguengas adopted me and my family into theirs. As they touched our lives we discovered what it would cost us to touch theirs. "I hope this first book of the Rani Adventures will bring you laugher, tears and a new perspective on the old cliche: 'It's a jungle out there!

I'm still finding wild grape vines to feed them.

Fun Reader:
Breaking Dawn: In Process


Family Read Aloud:

Under The Egg by Laura Marx Fitzgerald

Dh finished our family RA this week, and boy, did we enjoy it!!!!  Ah, if you are looking for a fun, lighthearted, hard to put down book---this is a great story!  I'm so glad we fit it in, even though it wasn't in either of the two versions of Core H we have been using!
Goodreads Summary:
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler meets Chasing Vermeer in this clever middle-grade debut.

When Theodora Tenpenny spills a bottle of rubbing alcohol on her late grandfather’s painting, she discovers what seems to be an old Renaissance masterpiece underneath. That’s great news for Theo, who’s struggling to hang onto her family’s two-hundred-year-old townhouse and support her unstable mother on her grandfather’s legacy of $463. There’s just one problem: Theo’s grandfather was a security guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and she worries the painting may be stolen.

With the help of some unusual new friends, Theo’s search for answers takes her all around Manhattan, and introduces her to a side of the city—and her grandfather—that she never knew. To solve the mystery, she’ll have to abandon her hard-won self-reliance and build a community, one serendipitous friendship at a time.



Geography:
BiblioPlan Advanced Mapping: (I finally found where I had put this book!)
Map 12: Middle Colonies, Map 13: China, Map 14: Sealing Off England

Seterra: Online Geography quizzes
https://online.seterra.com/



Science:
Apologia Physical Science: Completed
Mod. 13: Forces In Creation



Art Classes:
Painting Studio: Oil Painting: 2:00 hr class
Botany Art Class: 2:00 hr class
Drawing during the Week: 2:00 hours



Home Economics:
besides basic chores, Dd made a wonderful Potato Salad!!! Yum!



Music Classes:
Intermediate Band: Alto Sax: 1:30 hours
Intermediate Orchestra: violin: 1:30 hours
Piano lessons with Wendy: 30 min
Violin lessons with Christie: 30 min

This week Dd brought out her flute and had fun doing the music to Polar Express with it.  She practiced her piano, violin, and sax during the week.



Dd did a really good job mostly working independently this week.  She is improving in her educational independence---thankfully!  She has been working on going through all her clothes and sorting out the summer clothes and the ones she no longer wears; which is a big job!  

............