Homeschool Week 5: Laundry and Learning and a Festival

Saturday we had one big project - washing and changing bedding on all 10 beds. Usually I try to spread this out over more than one day but this week I decided to tackle it all at the same time. It started early and took all day. After switching the first load to the dryer and starting the second load Emma and I left at 7:30am for grocery shopping. When we got back we helped Daddy pack everyone up for a field trip. An airport in a nearby city was having a big World War II day. They had planes from WWII flying in, vehicles, the traveling WWII Memorial Wall, and many things to explore. It was a lot of fun!

In the afternoon Makayla and I ran to the library to return books and pick up a few more. She also needed to run to the farm store for heat lamps for the bearded dragons (she's trying a different set up). Grilled hot dogs were dinner. Then it was time to put the bedding back on all those beds. What a workout! I made sure I wasn't the one climbing up on the triple bunk beds to do the top bunks.

After beds were made I sat at the computer to update our homeschool assignment sheets for the coming week. It took about 10 minutes to figure out who needed to do what assignments on which days, taking into account 4 eye checkups, on hospital clinic visit for Mason, an orthodontist appointment for Joseph, and Makayla's regular Tuesday shadowing at the veterinary office. Thankfully 5 of the appointments are on one single day when Daddy is home too.

Sunday was a nice day at church with encouraging messages and great discussion. Dinner was put in the crock pot in the morning (green beans and ham) so I decided to bake in the afternoon. I made a batch of chocolate cookies that taste a lot like brownies. It's a recipe the kids made for the first time with my husband's mom (Grandma K) on her last visit. We spent the evening playing card games with the kids. Uno was up first and is crazy with that many people! Then we did Guillotine, followed by Capture: A Book of Mormon Game.

Monday morning began with oatmeal and my usual scripture study. Then I helped various kids with school work before packing up Mason and I for his long appointment at dermatology clinic an hour away at the hospital. Daddy held down the fort and made sure the rest of the homeschool day was finished while I was gone. Mason's appointment went pretty well, with only 1 new prescription added. We got home in time for Daddy and 3 other kids to head to the eye doctor for their yearly checkup.

While Daddy cleaned up the after dinner dishes I mixed up a double batch of homemade granola bars. This time it's chocolate chip raisin cranberry bars. Yum! The games came out again - this time Gubs. I love that the kids enjoy playing games. Really, I do. But there are some days when I just don't want to play with them. Today was one of those days. I smiled and said, "This is one of the reasons you have siblings. Ask them to play this time." Just keeping it real!

Tuesday's chilly morning was glorious, though the day warmed up eventually. It was a smooth start to the day with math, reading, history, writing, Latin, and so on. Last night we started another history book read aloud - Paddle to the Sea. My kids were fascinated and it was the first thing they asked to read this morning. The illustrations are beautiful works of art and every bit as engaging as the story itself.

Makayla headed off to the veterinary office mid-morning to shadow as usual. The rest of the kids finished up their school work and enjoyed the early afternoon. The rest of our day was pretty relaxed, family time, playing, and watching a movie together (The Spy Next Door).

Wednesday was a foggy morning on the drive to Seminary. I love fog, though riding along with my teen as they drive in it makes me love it just a smidge less. We saw a skunk on the way.

The morning was a slow pace for me, playing with my younger boys for a bit after breakfast. They don't always include me in their play so when they ask, "Mommy, do you want to play hide and seek?" I say yes. Then remember that my pregnant self is really limited on hiding spots. Ahem. But they had fun and that's really all that matters. We also played with a couple doll babies we pulled out of the attic recently and talked again about the baby growing in mommy's belly.

The older kids did their school work around us, interrupted when they had a question, and just generally got things done. Or distracted each other for a bit and then got things done. Whatever works, right? We read two chapters in Henry and the Chalk Dragon today because we just hadn't gotten to it yesterday.

We finished off the day with most of the family going to Cub Scout Pack Meeting (we were minus Makayla and Joseph, who had youth activities). Our pack meeting was a tour of one of the local fire stations. It was really interesting!

Thursday began with school. I helped kids as needed, which today meant several things with my teen (chemistry, Latin, algebra 2). She doesn't always need me so I try to enjoy the times when she does. It's not so easy to enjoy algebra 2. I love doing Latin with her - I love languages.

Daniel and I used the hands on fraction overlays with his Math U See to see how to make different fractions into the same kind of fractions so we can add or subtract them. Ex: how do we add 1/3 and 2/5? Change them to the same kind... 15ths. That would be 5/15+6/15=11/15.

I had All About Reading with Mason, Caleb, and Oliver. Each are at a different point so it was one after the other, sounding out words or listening them to read a story. They are each doing well at their place in the levels.

In the early afternoon Joseph had yet another orthodontist appointment. This every other week appointment for his palate expander is getting old fast! We are hopeful that we are close to the end of the every other week appointments. Grandma stopped in for a quick visit and dropped off lots of bananas and a bin full of apples from Great Grandma and Grandpa's tree.

The kids then spent an hour playing at the table together. The Spirograph sets came out for some of the kids. I joined in this group. Other kids grabbed our bucket of thinking putty containers. This is a popular activity for my hands on kids! We have a variety of Crazy Aaron's Thinking Putty (aff). We even bring this stuff along on doctor's visits.

In the evening I spent some time working on Cub Scouts. I'm the new Cubmaster for our pack and there is lots to learn and some areas that need some tweaking to get working better.

Friday was gloriously chilly all day. We had all the windows open to enjoy it. Kids got right to work on school - even the teen. She had us finishing Algebra 2 before 9am. Oliver and Caleb each finished the lesson they were on in All About Reading. Joseph, Emma, and Daniel finished reading their independent read chapter books for history this 6 weeks.

I reminded kids the washer was available if they need to do laundry(some children took advantage of that), cleaned out the upstairs closet (holds medical supplies, extra bedding, and I would love to fit towels in here), and then Emma came to me asking for ideas of something to do. I suggested she cook lunch. I didn't have any specific plans and she decided that I should help her make cinnamon rolls. So that is what we did!

Saturday we spent the entire day a couple hours away at the Ohio Renaissance Festival with our 9 children, 2 nephews, and grandma. 11 kids age 16 and under. It was such a fun day! We saw several shows including a sword fighting show, a real joust, and a human chess match. We wandered in and out of shops. We went out to the van to eat the lunch we packed (no food or drinks can be brought into the festival, though they sell a lot of options of course). We talked to people. We bought things. We came home exhausted but with many wonderful memories.

Linking with the Weekly Wrap Up.