Blog, What blog???

Yes, its true I have been ignoring my own blog. Maybe its because there have not been too many blog-worthy events lately. More likely it is because I have just not felt like it! It does sometimes feel like it is my own homework assignment and we all remember what it was like when we had homework.

Anyway, to briefly summarize:

I believe after tomorrow we are one quarter of the way through the school year. Things are still going well. We are getting things done and we are still enjoying it.

Julia and I have managed to create a workable arrangement. It means that most of the time when I'm reading to her I'm looking at her rear end. I guess because she is such an auditory kind of kid as soon as she hears the reading rhythm of my voice she almost always goes duck-like on me. We're talking head down in the seat and bottom up in the air. It used to drive me absolutely crazy (and some days it really still does), but if you ask for retention or comprehension she is right there with you. (I do realize this would never fly in a traditional classroom) I guess she does it without really thinking about it because when I'm explaining something to her that she DOES need to see I have to remind her to sit up in her chair. For the most part I've learned to relax about it and allow her to be her goofy self because she is still paying attention. However, I do threaten to draw a big smiley face on her tush so I have something else to look at!

Karley is progressing through her ABC flashcards. It is really strange though. One day she will do really well and only miss one or two, but the next day she might miss 5 or 6. She is much different from her sister and I'm not sure yet how to help her out. She does enjoy workbooks and is making good progress with both her phonics and her early handwriting skills. So far math seems to be fun to her, but she is a bit weary because she has heard so many negative math comments from her sister.

The girls are SOOOOOO close to earning their kitty cat. They have earned a bag of kitty food (ok, so they earned a certificate saying they earned a bag of kitty food) and they are half way to earning the kitty bed. Then it is on to the cat itself. We are beginning to look at cats available for adoption at the various shelters around us. Julia and Karley are getting excited. Ok, maybe I'm getting a little excited too.

A week ago Wednesday the school sent out a recorded message stating that their was a strange odor in the building and that they evacuated the building. Well, here it is over a week later and the school is still locked up and as far as I know they still don't know what the odor is, what the cause of the odor is, or if it is harmful. At this point there is no estimate as to when it will reopen or when classes in that building will be held again. This, on top of all the other things I've previously mentioned, makes for a very confusing, disjointed school year. I'm so glad this is not our first year homeschooling or our first year at PACT. I sure hope they get this whole mess cleared up soon so life can go back to the way we knew it last year.

Oh, another thing that is driving me crazy right now. My fancy, schmancy wireless digital photo card doesn't seem completely reliable and I don't know why. Not all of my photos are making it to the computer. That's the excuse for the lack of photos, and I'm sticking to it.....

Karley's drawing

Any guesses what she drew? Note: she drew this on recycled paper, so you can see through to the other side. Karley is becoming quite the artist herself.

The Respiratory System: Julia's Chest Vest!

Art Lesson: Artists Create from Experiences

In this lesson Julia was supposed to create a watercolor based on a past experience. She fretted for a few minutes about what to create. Karley and I offered suggestions, but suddenly she got her inspiration and was off. This is what she came up with. She says it is the cows standing in front of the barn that we saw at the fair this summer. She calls it "The cow and the barn."

Is This a Complement?

Yesterday Julia and I were going over her history learning. We are working on Alexander the Great right now. I'm reading from the book a line that says something like Alexander died from unknown causes when he was 32.

I say, "Wow. Thirty-two, that's only four years younger than me."

Julia says, "Yea, and you don't even have your wrinkles yet!"

Art Lesson: Still Life

What's New?

Here are a few random happenings in our house lately:

1. Julia earned her first palm blister from gymnastics today! For some reason the rest of her class was a no-show today which meant that she had a private gymnastics lesson for 90 minutes. She loved it. Her coach worked her hard and as a result she has a blister to show for it! I told Julia that meant that she is turning into a real gymnast. She is thrilled! She also "earned" a much-needed, larger leotard.

2. I'm drilling Karley on her ABC flashcards. I have to say that she comes to this task with a much different attitude than her sister did. Karley is a goofball. Even if I try to spur on a little friendly competition with her ("Mommy has more cards. Mommy is going to win!"), she just has a completely laid-back, casual attitude about everything. I'm used to Julia being so determined and competitive and using that edge to push her a bit into learning new things. I can tell that I'm going to have try a new approach with Karley. Any suggestions???? Right now if in doubt Karley will always guess a letter as "Q, W, or Z." Good grief!

3. The girls earned a kitty litterbox today! Ok, not a thrill, I know, but what that means is that they only need to earn a bag of cat food, a kitty bed, and then the cat itself. I added up the total number of tokens needed to accomplish this and it is 160. That may seem like a lot, but when you break it down it means that if they really worked at it they could earn this kitty in a few weeks! They are happy with their progress and the idea that they could earn this furry friend by Christmastime, now we'll have to see how that translates in their behavior.

More to come, but we need to get some work done now.....