Knit Hats and Shane

One of my assigned jobs for co-op is to be a teacher's aid in the practical needlework class.  Jason will not let me leave him in the nursery and he isn't allowed in the classroom, so I haven't been able to actually go to class yet.  The teacher and I are friends and have first hour in the nursery together.  She asked me to help by creating and test knitting patterns! My favorite!

This is just a quick garter stitch hat knit flat on straight needles.  It's *almost* like the first hat I ever knit, only I was still teaching myself from a book and I didn't know there was a difference between knitting flat and in the round.  So my hat looked like this even though it wasn't at all what it was supposed to look like:

That hat has been the most awesome, long-wearing hat.  In fact, that baby in the picture-Shane-pulled that hat out of the box to take with him on his sailing trip this weekend. 

When Shane was about three years old, he had a hard time telling if his shirt belonged to him and if it was on right instead of backwards.  It caused him some anxiety, so anytime he got dressed, he asked, "Is-is-is this MY shirt? And does it go on like THIS?" If we didn't answer yes to both questions, he would cry.  I've used this story recently to teach Shane about being patient with annoying younger siblings.

So today, Shane pulled the hat out of the hat box and put it on.  He said to me, "Hey Mom, is this my hat?"  I turned around and said, "Yeah, but it's on backward. The seam goes in the back."  He smiled sweetly as he slowly turned the hat to face the right way... and he said....

...."Soooo.... Does it go on like THIS?"  I laughed and then I lost it and cried for awhile.  I cried again after I dropped him off for Sea Scouts.  In fact, I'm crying again as I write this.  It's a mom thing.  I love that boy, the toddler and teen, all in one.

Bottle This Moment (Co-op too)

I would love to bottle this exact moment in time.  Right this very second it is Friday, 10:30ish am.  Mark is out here making his breakfast.  Fiona aced her math test this morning (but missed a few spelling words).  Everyone is behaving themselves (or at least I think they are; I haven't seen Lula or Heidi for awhile).  Daniel and Evie are tete a tete, Evie teaching Daniel some tricks she knows about math.  Daniel had a gold star day for behavior (I don't grade his work for the most part-it's always right).  Daniel groaned today when I pulled out a RightStart math sheet.  I had to though, he is flying through Saxon 2 so fast he might as well skip the whole book.  He flew through the RightStart page, adding numbers with nine in them like nobody's business (49+7, 63+9, for example). He wrote in pen, finished a whole page in about two minutes, and made no mistakes.  I hear him say to Evie, "You used to use RightStart? Is that how you got so good?"  He is ready to pass his other sister in math.

We had our second day of co-op yesterday.  I love co-op!  I love all the classes and the friends the kids have made so far.  I love that Fiona has two friends that she has known from dance and taekwondo and church and they all sit together during chapel and I have to shush them.  I love the cute projects Lula and Heidi do in their classes.  Lula sings, "Hypothesis, hypothesis, make a guess. Hypothesis, hypothesis, put it to the test!"  Mark adds, "...with replicates and a confidence interval of 95%!" I love spending three hours in the nursery knitting socks and chatting with moms while someone else teaches my kids.  I get a solid three days at home rocking Memoria Press for five kids and then I'm ready for a break on Thursday.  I'm supposed to teach in the practical needlework class, but Jason won't let me.  Maybe in a few weeks he will.

Getting Ready for Rain

The last few weeks have been keeping Mark busy preparing for the coming rains, autumn, and then...winter...

Our old, ancient, vintage firewood holder finally got too broken, so Mark built us a nice sturdy one.

Ian and Shane split firewood all summer long and now Genna, Fiona, and Daniel get to load it up in the woodbox.

The geese have their own fenced area, so they have learned to come begging at the play yard fence for treats.  Geese are greatly misunderstood.  They are like autistic kids with no social skills.

They can't control their volume, so even though they sound terrifyingly loud, they are really just seeing if you have an apple core or a few blackberries to share.  I used to be scared of them, but now I try to stand still if they get too close to me....although I did throw a turkey at them the other night when they came wondering what I was doing in their pen at dusk.  If that turkey would have gone to bed where it was supposed to, I wouldn't have to go in there and get it, that's what!

Jason potty trained a few weeks ago.  This is the first time in over 15 years that I haven't had to change diapers! I can't believe how quickly and easily he switched from diapers to underwear.  He is even dry at night.

Our apple trees aren't producing much this year, probably because last year was such a huge crop.  They needed a year off.  The tree with the sweetest apples didn't have a single fruit this year.  We also didn't have any pears.  I'm kinda glad because I'm still tired from last year's canning extravaganza.

The other day I heard heavy footsteps on the roof.  It's a bit early for Santa and Mark is done fixing the roof so....

 ...it had to be those darn turkeys.  They have no respect for fencing.  Mark and the kids spent a Saturday morning clipping wings, but some turkeys got away without a clipping.

 This owl was acting weird.  It was perched on a very low branch in broad daylight, blinking slowly and not responding to us.  Mark got about five feet away from it for the picture above.  I was worried the dogs would find it, so I was happy when the kids finally scared it into a higher branch.  I'm wondering if a neighbor is poisoning rodents which are then consumed by the owls? Or if the wildfire smoke is just too much for these guys?

Jason's Burn and Compassion

Today Jason put his hand flat on a hot burner on the stove.  He has 2nd degree burns on all his sweet little fingers and on his palm.

He's okay though! By dinner time, he was back to pulling "Da-da-vieve's" hair and climbing up the back of chairs with his injured hand.

How could something so preventable happen? It was an accident, like most injuries are at my house.  Jason was sitting on a stool in the kitchen, watching his big sister cook eggs.  She turned to put his egg on his plate and he just put his hand down.  Genna was quick to put his hand under cold water and I ended up taking him in to the pediatrician when those big ugly blisters appeared and he wouldn't stop crying. 

Ian and Genna had a contest to see how many sibling injuries they each caused.  They counted stitches (Shane's head given by Ian and Lula's chin given by Genna), a chipped tooth (again Ian and Shane), and this new one. I had to stop listening; I don't know what the final score was.

While we were at the pediatrician, Jason heard a baby in the next room crying.  He turned to me and said, "Mama, baby crying. Mama, go get baby. Mama, go get baby! Go hug baby!" He was pulling on my hand, trying to get me to go with him to rescue the baby.  I had a hard time telling him that the baby wasn't mine and not my responsibility.  How am I supposed to encourage his compassion and desire to help? Luckily he was easy to distract. But isn't that sweet? He wanted to save the crying baby!

The pediatrician only wanted to soak his hand for five minutes and put Neosporin on the blisters.  She looked at me funny when I told her I didn't give him any acetaminophen for the pain because he just spits it out, so I just gave his inner arm a massage.  "The massage confuses the neural pathways between his fingertips and his brain, so he doesn't feel the pain as much," I explained. Good thing I didn't tell her I was planning on treating his burns with diluted lavender oil in a few days when the blisters go down!

Homeschool 2017-2018

I know my homeschool curriculum choices aren't exciting to read about, but you have no idea how helpful it is when I need to go back and create transcripts or remember what was going on years ago...

The biggest change we are making to our homeschool is the addition of a homeschool co-op.  I never wanted to drive an hour so my kids could do arts and crafts, but we are very lonely and need to get out and meet quality people.  I've been out here for eight years now and the KP just doesn't produce quality people that aren't already scheduled to the teeth.  So we are joining them, all seven kids and I. 

Shane

Age 14

8th/9th Grade

He originally wanted this to be his first year in public school, just like Ian.  But when we discovered Sea Scouts and realized his crew was a homeschool/running start/daytime group, he decided that sailing every Friday was way better than cafeterias and bus rides.  We still haven't made the final decision on whether this is his 8th grade year (no official record needed) or his 9th grade year (tracking credits required).  Shane's curriculum this year will be Memoria Press's 8th Grade package, subbing First Form Latin.  We are also going to attempt to use Winter Promise's Adventures in Sea and Sky, modified for an older learner.  I don't know how much he will get out of this since all the activities that make this curriculum awesome are geared for younger learners, but so far he loves it.    His co-op classes are The Battles That Shaped History, a math lab, and Mini Weapons.  His electives will still be Taekwondo-he will be testing for black belt very soon!-and orchestra.

Genevieve

Age 11 (almost 12)

6th Grade

This is Genevieve's first year of middle school and I am so thankful I don't have to send her to the local dump of a public school.  Our lovely community is so excited to build a drug recovery home next door to the school, where people will be free to come and go as they please.  Anyone who has any concerns about the existence or location of the treatment center is publicly shamed and criticized.  The KP is a great example of the Fall of Western Civilization.  Genevieve will be continuing the 5th Grade package from Memoria Press that we started near the end of the school year, but using Teaching Textbooks instead of Rod and Staff math. Her electives are...can you guess?  Taekwondo and vaulting.  Her co-op classes are Music Appreciation, Choir, and Practical Needlework.  Sounds fun!

Fiona

Age 9

4th Grade

Fiona is plugging through Memoria Press 2nd grade and I'm hoping to move her to 3rd Grade by the time they offer free shipping in February! I could easily spend $1000 on just third grade materials. MP has become a good fit for us in this phase of our homeschool.  My only complaint is the easy science.  Everyone here is due for some biology, so I'm having Fiona and Daniel use Bookshark's Level 3 science this year.  She is also almost done with Math-U-See Beta and will start the Gamma level in a few weeks.  Fiona will be taking the same classes as Genevieve at co-op.  She is in Taekwondo and will be starting orchestra as well. She is so excited to play the cello!

Daniel

Age 7

2nd Grade

Daniel is working on MP First Grade, but is only really using the phonics, spelling, and reading.  The first grade level is too easy for him in my opinion, but knowing Daniel and how he responds to being taught by me, it is much better for him to feel mastery and superiority over his schoolwork.  Plus I do want Fiona to finish 2nd grade before Daniel starts it and it is going to be close.  He is using Saxon 2 for math (and already 40 lessons in) and Science 3 with Fiona as I mentioned above.  His classes at co-op are Heroes of the Bible, Math Games, and PE.  After school activities include Taekwondo (what?) and Cub Scouts.

Lula

Age 5

Kindergarten

Lula is officially a Kindergartener!  And by the looks of her picture, she is ready to do more bookwork and less Pokemon watching.  She has the best classes lined up at co-op.  She is in a literature class, a science class, and a gardening class.  I'm doing Math-U-See Primer with her for math.  And I have the Kindergarten level from Memoria Press because she loves to do school!

Heidi

Age 3 (almost 4)

Preschool

Heidi has classes at co-op too!  She has playtime, Explorations and Discoveries (a theme-type class), and Creating Readers, which looks like a letter of the week class.

 Jason

Age 2

Jason's school will be... climbing on the table, cutting up pieces of paper, and playing in the nursery at co-op.  It will be fine, right? I've never had a kid stay in a nursery without me or Sissy for 3 1/2 hours.

Ian

Age 15

10th Grade

Last, but not least, is Ian.  He is at public school and learning that you don't get to choose your classes or your books or your curriculum or if you have friends in your class.  He is also learning important skills that we who have grown up in public school take for granted: you have to listen to announcements or you will have to do an entire summer's worth of AP homework in three days and you have to sit in your assigned seat or you will be marked absent.  He is learning his electives are used for required courses, not actual electives that he wants to take.  No more finishing up math and moving on to game design like he did in homeschool!  This year he is taking Algebra 2 (which he did two years ago here, but wants to redo), World History, Health, Spanish 2, English 10, and AP Biology.  He said he was looking forward to World History.  I got all homeschool-mom on him and said I was looking forward to seeing what the teacher was going to cover and what kind of projects they were going to have and how the teacher taught and I bet he was going to get good grades because he covered world history several times with me....and he's was all like, "No, mom.  I'm looking forward to it because I have two friends in my class." Poo. He's all about the socialization and not at all about the education.  Ian is playing football again this year.  The team works out together all summer and all workouts are required.  They have a 100% attendance club, which sounds like an optional thing because those with the best attendance get to pick their jersey number and locker first.  The truth is, the 100% is required and if you miss a summer workout, you are held for extra conditioning when the season officially begins.  Way to bait and switch, coach!  But honestly, I love the football program and what it does for these boys.  I'll put that in a different post though.