A Looooong Day

This is completely my fault, but Tuesday are going to be tough! We start in the morning with taking Danny to school and Sarah doing school at home. This part is fine...but then the real fun starts. Pick up Danny at 11:30, feed both kids lunch, clean up (yeah, right) and out the door by 12:30.

Choir at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware starts at 1:00. I think this choir is going to help Sarah with her musicianship and also with her ability to follow instructions, as there are quite a few distractions in the room. The instructor is on faculty at the University, so that's cool too. I feel so nostalgic being in the conservatory building. Very surreal.

So, okay, we finish choir at 1:45, then back in the car, eat a snack in the car, and off to piano in Clintonville at 3:00. She loves piano, and Danny loves to pet the dog, Bacon, at the teacher's house. Boy oh boy, am I going to need a break on Tuesday nights! Too bad hubby is never home on Tuesday....

Month One

We are in full swing now with school. It's going better than I ever imagined, and I find confirmation of our decision to homeschool every day. There are still adjustment issues, of course, but I expect that those will work themselves out with time.

After a slight revision, I have decided on Biomes for our first science topic. I thought that animals and Biomes would be best, since Sarah loves animals, but that was way too disorganized for both of us. We'll do the Biomes first, and then move on the the animals after we've researched the major areas they live. We have visited a brook, a wetland and grasslands so far. Of course, we hike a lot so we've been to the woods, but not with the purpose of doing any real investigation. We'll just have to go back again!

History is much more interesting to Sarah AND Danny than I ever imagined. We are using The Story of the World curriculum lent to me by a good friend, and it's just so cool! The lessons are just long enough to give some detail, but not long enough to bore my children so much that they stop listening. The added benefit is my personal learning...I don't remember anything from World History, so our Ancient History curriculum is nearly as new to me as it is to them. It's really hard sometimes to stay on a child's level when it's so interesting!

Our visit to the Honda Wetlands Education Center at Glacier Ridge Metropark.

Turning over rocks in the brook at Scioto Park to see who might be living under them.

Sarah and Dan both loved making "cave" drawings while learning about the earliest people. I have 6 of these things and they won't let me throw them away!

Riding the camel at COSI in the Egypt exhibit. They were also able to try to build a pyramid, pull the blocks for the pyramid using a simple machine, walk through a "tomb" chamber, see real mummies, a sarcophagus, canopic jars, and other artifacts on loan from museums. (The camel was probably their favorite...)

School Days

The school year officially started here about a week ago. Sarah is loving math, science and history. Writing and English, however, are not her forte. It is literally like World War III trying to get her to write a sentence. We are working on learning to tolerate these subjects. (Yes, I really mean we!) I am much less worried than I thought I would be, and we're having so much fun together. Hopefully we can sustain this feeling for the year!

My parents bought Sarah a microscope for her birthday, so that's WAY cool, too. The kids have so many neat options for learning that I think it will be tough to not start Danny as well. He is really involved when Sarah has her lessons, so we'll see what happens there...

We're also working on what time of day works best for school. I have learned that Danny being present for writing is one ingredient in our recipe for disaster, so that will have to happen when he's at preschool. Once the other neighborhood kids go back to school it will be easier to tell. Right now, it's tough to get her to pay attention when there's someone outside having fun! There are so many things to learn before we even get to the "learning" part of it, but I'm up for the challenge!

Canning Season

It's so exciting to have enough tomatoes to begin canning. I'm on my first batch of spaghetti sauce of the year, and there are 2 batches of salsa downstairs on the shelves already. My garden is, for the most part, winding down though. Snap peas are done as are the green beans. The zucchini is much less prolific than it was a couple of weeks ago. The strawberries which weren't supposed to send out runners are doing a great job of sending out runners! I hope to have a nice patch next year, as well as being able to gift some to a friend. Hopefully, pictures will follow when I have a few free minutes!

Sleepwalking

So...last night, Sarah had a little "episode" of sleepwalking. I was startled awake by doors slamming multiple times. She was going in and out of her room. By the time I made it upstairs, she was closing the bathroom door. I went into her room to find a trail of drips from the bed to the bathroom. The sound of her going to the bathroom seemed a little higher pitched than usual, so I was a little concerned, but not enough to check. I commenced changing the sheets on her bed. After I had her tucked in, I was really concerned that she continued to make a peeping noise, much like a young chick. Not sure what that was about. I entered the bathroom to find a LAKE of pee on the floor next to the door. Nowhere near the toilet. What fun at 0100! Both kids found this story quite funny. I'm still not sure.

Maftoul

This recipe is posted for Mom, but anyone who likes Mediterranean food would like it. So easy and so tasty!

Maftoul with Pine Nuts, Parsley and Lemon

2 T butter, divided
1/2 c pine nuts
1/2 c shallots, finely chopped
1.5 c Israeli couscous
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
1 3/4 c chicken broth
1/4 c parsley, finely chopped
zest of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Melt 1 T butter in large saucepan over medium low heat. Add pine nuts and stir til golden brown. Transfer to bowl. Melt remaining butter and 1 T olive oil over medium heat. Add shallots and saute til golden, then add couscous, cinnamon and bay leaf. Stir often until couscous browns slightly. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed and couscous is tender (about 10 min). Remove from heat, transfer to bowl, and stir in parsley, pine nuts and zest. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Danny's 4!!!

I cannot believe that my baby is already 4 years old. This morning, I took both kids to the zoo at his request. We stayed there 5 hours, a feat never before accomplished. We ate our picnic lunch while in line to see the baby elephant, Beco. (check) The Amur Tiger was pacing back and forth like he wanted to eat us (check), and the kids both we allowed to choose an item from the zoo store. They both chose "Unicorn horns," and Danny fell asleep with it in his lap on the way home in the car. So sweet.

This evening, it's back out to a restaurant where they will sing to him, and then cake baking for tomorrow's party with his two friends. I'm tired already!