(HS BLOG#6)

[twiliyte]

I told you I'd be back! Surprised to see me? I don't take offense!

HERE IS INFO FROM LAST WEEK...

M- New spelling word issued to all... AxL read 3 more chapters from "FarmeBoy" The other kids read as well... AxL has been having to write a short (1 to 3 sentence) summary of each chapter as he reads... It is part school and part punishment for getting caught stealing snack foods from the pantry at night when everyone is supposed to be asleep... We did experiments about fire and oxygen... Put a candle in a jar, and cap it off to watch the flame suck up every last molecule of oxygen before it goes out... And put a hard boiled egg on top of a jar with a candle burning inside. When the flame is pullling for more oxygen, it will "suck" the egg into the small opening! The kids also watched Cyberchase, Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman and Bill Nye the science Guy. They also had time on the trampoline and on coolmath.com.

T- We had our usual visit to the co-op, where the kids made badies (that open to show the musculature and bone structure, talked about cells and learned the functions of the eys. Then we had linch at Hardees, and basketball practice. Andi got sick (yeah, SICK) at practice and sat out, Fenix played Bookworm Adventures on the laptop and Xander actually went i and tried his hand at playing basketball... We had to go to the Dr. for Andi, and then to Kroger and the pharmacy to pick up her meds... Her right lung was holding fluid, her nasal cavities were clogged and she had an ear infection. She is on breathing treatments every 4 hours and has an oral steroid twice a day- then decongestant as often as needed... We then went out to my other house to work on cleaning it out after our renter left it in chaos- nasty, dirty, stinking chaos. My sis will be moving in as soon as we get it move- in ready...

W- We did worksheets over the spelling words for the week, discussed fractions and adding time in minutes and hours, and ounces and pounds (base 16), adding inches and feet (base 12), and adding and subtracting with and without regrouping and carrying/borrowing. We worked more on adjectives and nouns that behave as verbs and dicussed the correct usage of "who" and "whom". We discussed more of the colonial times- what these people came for and how they managed to survive, if in fact they did survive. The kids all read as well, as they do every day- I don't even have to beg anymore- lots of days I say "It's time to read" andthey often reply- "we did already"!

Th- We used various methods, including the trampoline, to study our spelling words for the week- read more and worked on our math lapbooks. We watched Cyberchase and Bill Nye and AxL and I set up a long- term experiment on animal population in a given area. We cordoned off an area and placed thinly sliced potatoes withn the site- then covered them with wet corrugated cardboard. He put down his observations (living things, non- living things and once living things) and Monday we will look again and see what else has arrived to make its home in the condtions we created. He will then have to research the animals. Andi was sickly and did her work, but nothing fancy... Fenix was overtired and asked to take a nap in the middle of the day- quite unusual for him. They all took turns on the computer playing at educational websites as well...

F- We didn't do alot in the way of book work today- as their dad was enroute to pick them up. I was worried that if we got too involved in something, he would show up and disrupt us. We did watch Cyberchase, Bill Nye and Reading Rainbow. They did do their reading. AxL finished with "Farmer Boy" and his summaries and was able to tell me of the book... They all took turns on the computer again- there is some sort of addictive ingredient in coolmath.com and Cyberchase.com- I can barely get them to try other websites as well! Andi got a 100 on her spelling test, as did Fenix, and Axl only missed a few this week. He had a B as opposed to the usual D this time. Math was oral- scattered throughout the day and grammar was in the form of worksheets.

There we go-All caught up and no where to go! Another week is on it's way- Stay tuned!