Saturday we woke to find the expected snowstorm had shifted and slowed. We kept indoors and
Sunday we woke to our county under a level 2 snow emergency, about 4 inches of snow and ice, and church being cancelled for the second week in a row. I can't remember the last time that has happened! The first question Oliver asked was, "Do we get to do church at home like last week? I liked that." Yes, yes we do.
Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup seemed like a cozy lunch so that is what we made, followed by baking cookies. In the afternoon we held home church with singing, blessing and passing the sacrament, and the beginnings of our Come, Follow Me lessons for this week around John chapter 1.
Our Come, Follow Me lessons are simple. Today we read John 1: 1-39 and some of what we talked about:
- Who wrote The Gospel of John? John was one of the twelve Apostles who actually saw, walked, talked, and followed Jesus Christ personally. He was an eyewitness of the raising of the daughter of Jairus, the Transfiguration, in Gethsemane, and at the Crucifixion, as well as seeing and speaking with Christ after his resurrection. He was a fisherman with his brother James and father Zebedee when he first met the Messiah. He was also the author of the Epistles of John and the book of Revelations.
- What do we learn of Jesus Christ from verses 1-3? He is a member of the Godhead. He was with God in the Premortal existence. He preaches the gospel of his Father. He is the Creator, under the direction of his Father.
- What is the Joseph Smith Translation and what does the JST of the Bible teach us when we compare the verses?
- What was John the Baptist's role? What was he doing in this chapter? Who was he teaching and testifying to?
- What did two of the men John the Baptist testified to do when he pointed out Jesus at Messiah? They started following Jesus down the road and talked with him, asking him to teach them. What happened after that? *** This is where we left off for today, with this question: One of these men goes to get someone and bring them to hear Jesus speak. If you were out walking and met Jesus, who would you want to tell first? Who would you go and get to come meet the Savior?
Right after family prayer at bedtime we took kids out onto the porch for a minute to see the rising full moon. We let them know if it was still a clear sky later we would wake them up to see the total lunar eclipse if they were interested. It ended up being a perfectly clear night so at 11:45pm we woke up the 7 oldest kids (Makayla down through Mason, Samuel, #8, didn't wake up, and we didn't wake Tobias or Rebekah). Everyone put on shoes and coats and we went outside every few minutes to observe the moon. The temperatures were below zero so people came in frequently to warm up. The moon was a beautiful dusky red color and we even did some stargazing, identifying constellations. About an hour later everyone headed back to bed, having seen the total lunar eclipse from a bit before totality to a bit after totality. This morning most of them also saw the full moon one last time as it was setting, nice and bright and not red at all anymore.
Monday started steady and everyone scheduled their week of school work and got after it. There were new math lessons for me to teach, which is always interesting with kids at so many different points in the math spectrum. I have to remind myself who knows what so that my expectations are accurate for each child. Today there were lessons in rounding, estimating, addition, multi-digit subtraction with borrowing, long division with and without estimating, finding the hypotenuse of a triangle when given the length of two sides, or finding a side length when given the length of the hypotenuse and length of the second side, algebraic expressions with substitution, and finally finding the area and perimeter of composite shapes.
About an hour before lunch we revealed to the kids the plan to brave the still very snowy/icy streets and single digit temperatures for a trip to a small local science center/museum/skydome(planetarium). They were excited as it has been more than a year since we visited, before the skydome was even open. Around 1:45pm we all put on coats and loaded into the van.
It turned out to be a perfect day to visit because very few people were there. We got great seats at the skydome and were thrilled when they announced a show about the moon, earth, sun, eclipses, constellations in our current night sky, and Native American legends for all the above. It was the perfect follow up to our late night lunar eclipse viewing! We also explored the science areas on the first floor and the local history museum on the second floor.
On our way out we entered the art gallery for a unique opportunity. The exhibit that is supposed to be up is from NASA but due to the partial government shutdown it has not arrived yet. The museum has set up all sorts of interesting art and craft materials and invited people to make and display their own space related art while we wait for the NASA exhibit. We took the kids in and turned them loose with wax string, tape, paper, modeling clay, markers, string, Styrofoam balls, pipe cleaners, and more. They made planets, a rocket ship, and more. Then they hung or placed their creations on the actual gallery walls and displays, and explored the other creations by patrons. It was so much fun!
Tuesday started out with something that made me super excited. I got a ticket for the Brave Learner Conference! Even better, I'm going with my sister, who also homeschools her kids! It turns out if we just drive down to the conference in the morning and drive home after, instead of staying the night in a hotel, this is the most cost effective conference to attend this year. Originally I had thought I would stay the night and drive home the next day, because I was going alone and not sure I would be up for a several hour drive after a full day conference. But with my sister along driving home will be easy, we can keep each other awake and even share driving duties if we need to.
Tuesday was also our first day back to piano lessons in a month. The kids were excited. I'll be honest, I don't keep track of who is practicing and who is not. That is their responsibility, not mine. They have to want it. I do try to encourage them whenever I hear them practicing, thank them for filling our home with music, etc. And when I get a few free minutes I try to sit down and play around on the piano myself, which always ends with little kids joining me and taking my spot at the piano.
At 3:00pm Emma came to me with the infamous words, "I'm bored." I'll give her some credit, she started looking through craft and art bins for something to do. In the end she wasn't finding anything she wanted to do. I offered up my kitchen and she decided to bake bread to go with our beef stew that is in the crock pot for dinner. Yay!
Wednesday was a no school day for us. We packed everyone up in rain and slushy roads to head to our friends' home for winter poetry teatime. A few people shared poems, we drank hot cocoa, ate treats, and visited. It was wonderful! A day off in the middle of the week is unusual but so relaxing.
One exciting thing that happened today is Makayla got a ticket for a Teen Author Conference happening this March in Utah. She'll be spending a week out west with family and will attend the conference while she is there. It has great classes and speakers, including one of our family's favorite authors, Brandon Mull.
Thursday started early with school work being done before Mason and I headed to physical therapy. I really don't like the rushed feeling of needing to get things done before physical therapy, but there simply isn't a better appointment time available right now. We got home in time to make lunch and then Joseph and Emma had orthodontist appointments. Life is busy.
Thursday evening we realized something was wrong with our furnace. It wasn't turning on - and the forecast for the next week is temperatures down in the teens and below zero with wind chill. Every few hours we can get the furnace to turn on and do a heat cycle, but something is obviously wrong. We're hoping to get a repair man in soon.
Friday is here and we cancelled school last night. We already have a full day with a 5 hour appointment with bracing for Mason and I. We are keeping the house warm with a combination of the occasional furnace cycle working and electric heaters we borrowed. It's going to be a curl up and read or watch movies day. Muffins just came out of the oven and we're going to just enjoy the day and wait for a repairman. Hopefully it is a simple fix and everything is worked out before next Wednesday when my husband has shoulder surgery.
Monday started steady and everyone scheduled their week of school work and got after it. There were new math lessons for me to teach, which is always interesting with kids at so many different points in the math spectrum. I have to remind myself who knows what so that my expectations are accurate for each child. Today there were lessons in rounding, estimating, addition, multi-digit subtraction with borrowing, long division with and without estimating, finding the hypotenuse of a triangle when given the length of two sides, or finding a side length when given the length of the hypotenuse and length of the second side, algebraic expressions with substitution, and finally finding the area and perimeter of composite shapes.
About an hour before lunch we revealed to the kids the plan to brave the still very snowy/icy streets and single digit temperatures for a trip to a small local science center/museum/skydome(planetarium). They were excited as it has been more than a year since we visited, before the skydome was even open. Around 1:45pm we all put on coats and loaded into the van.
It turned out to be a perfect day to visit because very few people were there. We got great seats at the skydome and were thrilled when they announced a show about the moon, earth, sun, eclipses, constellations in our current night sky, and Native American legends for all the above. It was the perfect follow up to our late night lunar eclipse viewing! We also explored the science areas on the first floor and the local history museum on the second floor.
On our way out we entered the art gallery for a unique opportunity. The exhibit that is supposed to be up is from NASA but due to the partial government shutdown it has not arrived yet. The museum has set up all sorts of interesting art and craft materials and invited people to make and display their own space related art while we wait for the NASA exhibit. We took the kids in and turned them loose with wax string, tape, paper, modeling clay, markers, string, Styrofoam balls, pipe cleaners, and more. They made planets, a rocket ship, and more. Then they hung or placed their creations on the actual gallery walls and displays, and explored the other creations by patrons. It was so much fun!
Tuesday started out with something that made me super excited. I got a ticket for the Brave Learner Conference! Even better, I'm going with my sister, who also homeschools her kids! It turns out if we just drive down to the conference in the morning and drive home after, instead of staying the night in a hotel, this is the most cost effective conference to attend this year. Originally I had thought I would stay the night and drive home the next day, because I was going alone and not sure I would be up for a several hour drive after a full day conference. But with my sister along driving home will be easy, we can keep each other awake and even share driving duties if we need to.
Tuesday was also our first day back to piano lessons in a month. The kids were excited. I'll be honest, I don't keep track of who is practicing and who is not. That is their responsibility, not mine. They have to want it. I do try to encourage them whenever I hear them practicing, thank them for filling our home with music, etc. And when I get a few free minutes I try to sit down and play around on the piano myself, which always ends with little kids joining me and taking my spot at the piano.
At 3:00pm Emma came to me with the infamous words, "I'm bored." I'll give her some credit, she started looking through craft and art bins for something to do. In the end she wasn't finding anything she wanted to do. I offered up my kitchen and she decided to bake bread to go with our beef stew that is in the crock pot for dinner. Yay!
Wednesday was a no school day for us. We packed everyone up in rain and slushy roads to head to our friends' home for winter poetry teatime. A few people shared poems, we drank hot cocoa, ate treats, and visited. It was wonderful! A day off in the middle of the week is unusual but so relaxing.
One exciting thing that happened today is Makayla got a ticket for a Teen Author Conference happening this March in Utah. She'll be spending a week out west with family and will attend the conference while she is there. It has great classes and speakers, including one of our family's favorite authors, Brandon Mull.
Thursday started early with school work being done before Mason and I headed to physical therapy. I really don't like the rushed feeling of needing to get things done before physical therapy, but there simply isn't a better appointment time available right now. We got home in time to make lunch and then Joseph and Emma had orthodontist appointments. Life is busy.
Thursday evening we realized something was wrong with our furnace. It wasn't turning on - and the forecast for the next week is temperatures down in the teens and below zero with wind chill. Every few hours we can get the furnace to turn on and do a heat cycle, but something is obviously wrong. We're hoping to get a repair man in soon.
Friday is here and we cancelled school last night. We already have a full day with a 5 hour appointment with bracing for Mason and I. We are keeping the house warm with a combination of the occasional furnace cycle working and electric heaters we borrowed. It's going to be a curl up and read or watch movies day. Muffins just came out of the oven and we're going to just enjoy the day and wait for a repairman. Hopefully it is a simple fix and everything is worked out before next Wednesday when my husband has shoulder surgery.
Happy Friday all!
Oh, I do hope you heat is fixed soon. That isn't good. the conference sounds great and the fun poetry tea and outing to the skydome. What a lovely week.
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Dawn
The repair man was able to come today and put a temporary part in for the weekend while they order a new part for us, so we have heat now. Good thing, as by middle of next week they expect temps with wind chill to be -40F.
DeleteSo sorry about the furnace, but glad they were able to get it temporarily working. The teen writer's conference sounds great!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your furnace is working, and what a lot of wonderful things happened in your home this week!!! Hooray for Makayla and her conference! Hooray for you getting to attend your conference and for your sister going with you! Hooray for your Emma making bread! Hooray for kids who play the piano! I totally get the trouble of keeping track of who knows what and how much to expect. :) I think I mess that up at least a few times a day around here and have to back off or up the ante constantly. Here's to staying warm in the freezing cold!
ReplyDelete