Living In Freedom: October 2013

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Homeschooling, Life, and A Dary Off: Week of Oct. 14-Oct. 19, 2013

We had a bit of a stressful week. Baby Girl has a cold, so that is difficult for her and for everyone else, too. I know it's normal for a sick person to be grumpy, but Baby Girl has more trouble when she's sick than most people do. Due to her special needs, it's hard for her to communicate the fact that she doesn't feel well, and it's impossible for us to communicate to her that "this too shall pass." So she just really, really struggles when she's sick. Prayers for her healing are appreciated!

So, what else is happening? We had a good day at homeschool group co-op classes on Monday (before Baby Girl got sick.) We took the day off "school" Tuesday because Baby Girl had a rough night throughout Monday night and into Tuesday morning, and that's when we realized she had a cold and fever. But you know what? The cool thing is that we still did lots of learning on Tuesday-it was just unofficial. Here's a list of what we did on Tuesday:

-chatted and ate breakfast
-talked about Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas
-Bug and Doodles cleaned their rooms
-I rocked Baby Girl and read Five Little Pumpkins to her
-Bug and Doodles went outside to throw the football
-Baby Girl played with wooden toys, while I read a book for pleasure
-Bug came back inside and read some Halloween books I have displayed on our coffee table
-Doodles, Bug, and I discussed the most economical way to get holiday-themed matching pajamas for our family
-I played Super Mario Bros. on the Wii with Bug and Doodles
-Baby Girl played in the sunshine streaming through our dining room windows
-Baby Girl and I had her "Circle Time," which she asked for
-We watched Garfield's Halloween episode on DVD
-Bug and Doodles went to her room to chat & I rocked Baby Girl and sang to her
-We watched family videos and looked at family photos from the years 2008-2010 (My kids are growing up WAY too fast!)
-We had lunch and chatted
-Bug and Doodles played computer games while I rocked Baby Girl for her nap
-When Baby Girl went to sleep, I watched this past Sunday's episode of Once Upon a Time online, and Bug and Doodles played Wii bowling and Star Wars Lego
-While Baby Girl was still sleeping, the older kids and I went outside to throw the football and then came back in to play the "acting game"
-I planned for my homeschool co-op class for this upcoming Monday
-Doodles and I chatted and Bug played the Xbox while I rocked Baby Girl when she woke up from her nap
-I got a shower while Bug and Doodles watched Baby Girl
-I cooked supper and Baby Girl "helped"
-Hubby came home, we ate supper and everyone talked about his/her day
-We cuddled on the couch to watch The Voice
-We had prayers and bedtime routines

Wednesday-Friday we got back into our school routine. Baby Girl was still grumpy, but we managed. Doodles continued to study ancient Rome, while Bug started taking notes on a research paper about the invention of video games-his choice, imagine that! :) Other than Circle Time and a little reading I did while I rocked her, Baby Girl just relaxed this week and will hopefully be well soon. In addition to the illness issue I previously mentioned, it also takes her a longer time to recover from being ill.

Bug does research for his paper

Doodles researches for her paper

Doodles' paper about animals

Doodles' brief summaries of certain Roman gods

Doodles and Bug work on their nature wreaths. I got the idea from Family Fun magazine.

Bug's nature wreath

Doodles' nature wreath

Football throwing time

I throw to Doodles

Doodles throws to me

I throw to Bug

We found a grasshopper!

Baby Girl-feeling a little better on this day.

Baby Girl does her "prayer hands."

Doodles played with the grasshopper before we let it go.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Homeschooling and Life: Week of Oct. 7-13, 2013

We had a really good week, in spite of the fact that hubby had to have two wisdom teeth removed. He is feeling less pain today and the swelling has decreased, but now he is nauseated due to medication. We would appreciate prayers that he would be completely well soon. Thanks! So, what else is going on? Last night I attended my...gulp...20th year high school reunion. It was lots of fun reconnecting with my classmates. I am glad that I was able to attend. I did a little crafting for Halloween this week with pumpkins, which was a lot of fun. As far as school goes, Doodles started her study of ancient Rome, Bug studied deserts and rain forests, and Baby Girl continued working on writing lines and improving communication skills, along with her favorite part of each day - Circle Time. For my homeschool co-op Five in a Row class, we read How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World. The kids really enjoyed it. We made apple prints, ate apple pie, and had apple relay races. It was a blast! Here's a look into our week: