April 27th, Monday, Daddy's Birthday

Here we are a new week...

Cam and I slept in as he had a rough asthma day & was really bad last night. We did a shower, and meds and treatments and he finally slept well after about 4 am on. *sigh* So fun.

While he and I slept, Caleb got out his toy lap top computer and played alphabet games for over an hour. Cody read in his book, and played some with Caleb. Once we all got up and going about 10 am (*blush*) we did Math... Emma did 2 pages, Cody did 2 pages, Cameron did 4 pages (he loves math!) and Caleb played with his legos. They worked on the United States puzzle together. They helped Cameron do a power point on lungs. We discussed the Swine Flu and what a Pandemic is and how to stay healthy. We also discussed death a bit and the plan of salvation... they all think in some ways dying would be easier. :0 I was shocked at their wisdom. Emma did a power point (which includes research) on Flamingos today. We also changed bedding on beds, and started sorting out summer/winter clothes. Then they spent over an hour and half making this:

Which as you can see is on our garage awaiting the return of their Daddy. *GRIN*

They took Sophie on a long walk, Emma played Wii Fit for 30 minutes, Cam played on Webkinz (learning about earning points to buy his "pet" things it needs etc) and he also composed his 1st email and sent it to me. (go Cam!) Caleb went to Preschool today. Cody has a sore throat so he is resting on the couch with free time on the TV this afternoon and the rest are playing outside with friends. Then we shall have birthday activities shortly... and possibly a trip to a farm to pick up some chickens! :)

The rest of the week...

We hit the library this week...
Emmalee:
Poppy (a story about a mouse - fun reading)
How to Draw Animals (and has done a TON of drawings)
Creating with Mosiac
Kids Money Making Ideas (to plan better their "refreshment stand" idea for summer)

Cody:
Pokemon Story book (fun reading)
he is on the waiting list for "Pillage"
Build your Own Website (uh? really? says mom feeling nervous...)

Cameron:
Some Avatar Books (getting him to read)
Unplugged Play (a huge book of activity ideas that require no mordern day electronics to entertain)

We have also taken care of our yard, gone shopping at Walmart (figuring out costs and needs), covered various math on all levels with each one and finished the last 6 chapters of "Summer of the Monkeys" together. It's been a good week. A little lazy...but fun anyway!

Monday April 20th

Today was a little unstructured, but profitable nonetheless. ;)

I had a funeral for a childhood friends husband so the kids spent the morning at Gram's. Cam took his math book and did multiple pages. Emma took hers and did two in her algerbra book. Cody played with McKenly. LOL.

We came home and they helped me empty out the trailer and then they played together. They caught a fly, took off ones of it's wings (ewww!) and worked together to try and teach it tricks. (ok...something I just dont want to know! LOL) We also learned how to play a new game together as a family (Arne). It was a little hard, but taught good thought problem and strategy skills.

Spring Break?

LOL! Do we really have to take a break from school for Spring Break? I know that sounds like a very silly question - but I am wondering what merit it would have? Cam's last official public school day was today. The thought of taking the rest of the week off seems counter productive to me. And so... we are continuing our UnSchooling for the rest of this week as well.

We need to go get Cam's work books from Costco (I am so glad he is 1st grade! There were TONS for that age group for cheap!), so that will be tommorow's project. We also have a trailer to pack, a menu to plan including ingredients to figure out, clothes to wash, dry, fold, and pack, and then the loading up of it all! I think that is a perfect learning experience! We will consider amounts of food we may need for a family of 6. We will figure out the amount of clothing we will need, and they will also be in charge of researching the weather (it's suppose to be cold 2 of the days we are gone and then warm up) to decide on what kind of clothing we all will need. *grin* Our first camping trip of the season HERE WE COME!

I am also taking with us: their workbooks, some kites, plastic easter eggs to play with, our book we are reading together, the scriptures, some scavenger hunt and puzzles, and some biology info. And there are area maps to explore, hikes to take, and the typical natural children adventures to take. :) We will also start a little bit of our astronomy explorations... if the clouds are cooperative!

It promises to be a fantastic Spring "Break"! *GRIN*

Homeschool Update

Homeschool is great! I thought it would be a LOT harder than it is. We are usually done by noon and get to "play" together etc the rest of the day. I love having the one on one time without them without them being antsy to go play with friends (since the friends are at school). They ALL love it!

Cam has missed a ton of school lately for his arm, asthma etc. He keeps asking if he can come home this year too. I kept putting him off because the year is almost over and he is SUCH a structure type personality, but he has done really well at home with us the last few weeks on and off. His agressiveness has greatly decreased (he is a poke ya, push ya, bug someone all the time kind of kid) and I can't believe how much more calm he has been. I wonder if the less stimulating environment of home will help him as well... I finally just went to the district on friday and signed him out. *gulp* We'll see how it goes... LOL! Wish me luck!

Can I just say I NEVER would have thought I would be a homeschool type person?? NEVER! LOL! If you had told me in January I would be homeschooling all of my kids by April I would have laughed until I had tears running down my cheeks! I never would have believed it. And now... I can't imagine sending them back anytime soon! The closeness we have as a family is amazing. I laugh though.. the one thing I see as a down side - They never turn off! LOL! Now that home is their classroom... they don't come home and turn off. We have educational discussions EVERYWHERE! Even through my bathroom door as I am trying to have a few moments alone with my porcelin furniture! Jess is amazed he says. He can't believe how "alive" they are now. Everything seems to catch their interest and we talk a TON!

Quick Example - Cody has gotten DEEP into genetic modification - he's almost 10 remember - he just now came up and told me "Did you know they made a mouse that glows in the dark?? They took some gene particles from a jelly fish that glows and with a mechanical device inserted it into the DNA strand of a mouse! wicked huh!!? Now the mouse glows at night!" LOL! Bet I never would have heard THAT from my regularly public schooled 4th grader! LOL! It is a ton of fun! Cody especially has grown by leaps and bounds.

The hardest part I have found is other people's perception of us. I went from "being like everybody else" to "going against the grain" and I am amazed at how many people think I am SO different from them. The comments are sometimes quite hurtful. I am just amazed... and I really hope I was not one of those who thoughtlessly made comments that hurt. I am not some super mom. I am not any better than anyone else. I am the same. I just have made a different choice for my kids right now. And I am enjoying it. I am not seeking to talk anyone into it when I ramble about all the fun we are having. I am not choosing one method of schooling over another! I think public school has great merit! I am not against charter schools or even private schools! I am not against un-schoolers or those who take their children abroad to have their sole education. I just know the promptings that I have regarding MY kids have been AWESOME for us as a family right now... and I think it's fun to share *grin* I hope you all dont mind! And I hope none of you think I am any different now because I do homeschool! LOL

Ugh. Thanks for letting me get THAT off my chest! LOL! It has been festering without words for some time now. LOL. Homeschooling at the Dorius Household ROCKS!

Bottling Butter

Today for "Home Ec" Emmalee helped me try something new that I have been wanting to learn!
We heated the jars, followed the recipe, got a little messy...

And Wha-la! We bottled butter! We ended up with 7 half pints for 3 lbs of butter (with a little left over ;) ) VERY COOL!!!

It was good Mommy and Me time too!