The Homeschool Mother's Journal

In my life this week...

Well, Saturday my 12 yr old son did a jump at the ski mtn with his snowboard, fell & got a concussion.  He even cracked his helmet.  He had a CT scan & an x-ray of his back, had a headache & was vomiting.  He's doing better now with occasional mild headaches.  They said that was normal.  Sunday, my 2.5 yr old went to prompt care to get staples out of her head (I never did have time to post last week's journal-she got knocked over the puppy & hit her head on the edge of a door frame).  Then, later that same day after my MIL got here, my dh & I headed to PA for the laser Spine Institute.  He had surgery on his neck Monday & we spent the next couple of days in a hotel while he recovered before we drove home.  The surgery went wonderfully (Thank you, God!)& the shooting pains he had are gone-he still has some numbness in his fingers, which should be gone in a couple weeks.  My MIL stayed here with the kids.  Also, while we were gone the puppy chewed thru the cord to my serger machine, which was also connected to the foot pedal. grrr.

In our homeschool this week...

There wasn't much schooling going on here this week.  Just some math & some science.  Mostly, the kids helped my MIL keep the house going.  And now with my dh home recovering & not able to pick up more than 5 lbs right now, we're trying to fine a temporary normal.  But, I could mention that at the end of last week Jonah did his first 4H public presentation.  He did it on how he makes his tree branch coat racks.  He did amazing-I was so proud of him...he was conversational , looked at the audience, stayed on track, etc.  he even put the whole thing together on his own & wrote his own note cards.  His spelling was atrocious, but his material flowed really well. :)

 

Places we're going & people we're seeing... 

The kids still went to Latin class, art class, piano lessons.  Also, my 15 yr old dd went to youth group & her 4H group took pets to an nursing home to visit with the residents there.  And, my son had his 4H group here to do welding in our polebarn.  That was the day we got back, so my dh wasn't able to help, but at least they got to work in a heated barn.  And we got a surprise visit from my brother, Danny.  He called us at the hotel Tuesday to let us know he'd be in town just on Wednesday.  He got here 20 mins after we got home!  But, it was a nice diversion for my dh who has a very hard time relaxing.  He's already sick of watching TV.

My favorite thing this week was...

Well, I missed the kids a ton, but while we were resting at the hotel for 2 days, I really enjoyed having some free time to read & work on sewing projects when my dh didn't need anything.  He mostly slept, so I actually did whatever I wanted to with my free time.  I couldn't go anywhere, but I really enjoyed reading, sewing & taking naps whenever I wanted to.  My next favorite thing was coming home & sitting on the couch with the little girls for a long time.  They didn't want me to do anything but snuggle. :)

My favorite thing last week was doing science w/ Jonah.  He's doing Apologia General Science & I usually have him write the answers for the study guide & test.  This time I let him do it orally & he did so much better with it.  His written answers are short & don't give enough info.  But, doing the last unit orally was amazing-he told me so much in each answer & didn't even need to look for the answer.  I felt like he was teaching me-he was so animated & I really enjoyed it! :)

What's working/not working for us...

Me driving with my husband in the passenger seat doesn't work so well.  ;)  I've never had to drive a long trip with him in the car before.  We don't drive the same & it's very frustrating for him to not be able to drive.  I don't like driving where I'm not familiar, so I was glad when the trip was over!  Oh, and then when we pulled in the driveway, the 4 month old lab puppy greeted us by running in front of the car dragging a live duck by the neck.  My dh said, "let the games begin."  The duck is ok, thankfully. 

Homeschool questions/thoughts I have...

I don't have any questions or thoughts, but I do have concerns-we've been sick or injured so much here this winter & we keep getting further and further behind in our curriculums.  The older kids need to keep up with their schooling, but I also need their help & right now my son can't do a lot at once due to headaches.  So, my concern is catching up & keeping up.  I do not want to do school thru the summer again.  We did it the last 2 years due to getting behind with a baby who was high maintenance for 2 yrs.  She's getting easier now, so I thought we'd get a summer off.    Yes, I'm a little frustrated & to top it off, my MIL was sick while she was here & now my kids all feel like they have sore throats this morning.  But, we had no other option-my dh had to have surgery & there was no one else to stay here.  My MIL had a cough, but she said she didn't feel sick & didn't tell me until she got here anyway.  I just pray my dh doesn't get a cough-that would really hurt his neck right now.

A photo to share...
 

See-I found a basket that I mentioned last time to keep on my table with interesting books.  It is perfect-right size, pretty & it says "love" on the side.  And, most importantly, these books are now getting looked at when they weren't before tucked into the bookshelf.  Hannah (in the yellow) is coloring animal & plant in her biology coloring book-what a great educational supplement that is for her apologis bio!