Oh, Dearest Mother, Sweetest Virgin of Altagracia, our Patroness. You are our Advocate and to you we recommend our needs. You are our Teacher and like disciples we come to learn from the example of your holy life. You are our Mother, and like children, we come to offer you all of the love of our hearts. Receive, dearest Mother, our offerings and listen attentively to our supplications. Amen.



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cathhomeschool
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Posted: Nov 04 2011 at 11:55am | IP Logged Quote cathhomeschool

1) A day or week in the life -- What does "school" look like in your home?

2) What are the stumbling blocks to your homeschool days? (Sickness, schedules or lack thereof...)

3) What are your worries? (Gaps, learning disabilities, inconsistency, transition, social, sports,...)

4) Favorite spiritual book?

5) What book are you reading or what was the last book you read that really made you think?

6) Do you have any quotes to share from #3 or a favorite quote from another book?


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Posted: Nov 04 2011 at 12:37pm | IP Logged Quote kristinannie

1) A day or week in the life -- What does "school" look like in your home?

We homeschool 4 days a week on average. We take Wed off for appointments, library story hour and general fun, field trips and errands. We school from about 9-10 (give or take) and do all of our seatwork then. We take a very long playtime and do our unit study from about 12-1 (during lunch). It usually lasts about 20 minutes unless we are doing a craft or experiment. We do reading lessons before bed and plenty of read alouds, nature study,art and music throughout the day.

2) What are the stumbling blocks to your homeschool days? (Sickness, schedules or lack thereof...)

The biggest stumbling block is saying no!!!      My friends know I homeschool and invite me to lots of things during the day with their younger kids. It is hard to say no. It was tough to get a schedule going at first, but that is no longer a problem. Now that I have started a home business, it is hard to make my work schedule without sacrificing school. We homeschool year round so I don't worry about missed days or weeks. We will do plenty of school!

3) What are your worries? (Gaps, learning disabilities, inconsistency, transition, social, sports,...)

My biggest worry is the older grades (middle school and high school). I would like to homeschool throughout, but my husband is not on board with that yet. I worry about them missing opportunities to play sports, be in the band, etc.

4) Favorite spiritual book?

Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence changed my life! I also love anything by Teresa of Avila.

5) What book are you reading or what was the last book you read that really made you think?

I am reading Teresa of Avila's autobiography right now.

6) Do you have any quotes to share from #3 or a favorite quote from another book?

I will edit this later and add one when I get a chance!!!!   

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Posted: Nov 04 2011 at 1:15pm | IP Logged Quote mamaslearning

1) A day or week in the life -- What does "school" look like in your home?

We usually have “school time” from about 9 am – Noon. This is the time for focused core subjects and workbooks. There’s always lots of interruptions from the little ones, but we manage to get everything done before lunch. Usually all the read alouds are also done in the morning time, but if not we do those throughout the day. Afternoons are usually free for play, chores, cooking, library times, groups, etc.

2) What are the stumbling blocks to your homeschool days? (Sickness, schedules or lack thereof...)


A toddler and a baby!! I can deal with sickness and other changes, but these two are into everything.


3) What are your worries? (Gaps, learning disabilities, inconsistency, transition, social, sports,...)

I worry about friendships. I want family to come first, but I also know how having that one special friend can help you through tough times.

4) Favorite spiritual book?

The Journey Toward God by Benedict J. Groeschell, CFR
The Story of a Soul from Tan Classics
Becoming The Woman I Want To Be (not a Catholic book, but still insightful) by Donna Partow
Radical Hospitality by Homan and Pratt


5) What book are you reading or what was the last book you read that really made you think?

I’m usually reading something pertaining to home schooling! Lately I’ve been reading healthy eating, frugal living, and organizing books. Another book I pick up for quick reading moments is Why is That In Tradition?. Also, I keep going back to MROL.


6) Do you have any quotes to share from #3 or a favorite quote from another book?

"Treating others unkindly when you don't get your way is says that you value what you want more than you value the people around you." I wrote this down years ago, but forgot to record the book I got it from.

"Worrying is, for many peopl, the secular form of pryaing; instead of doing your part for your child, when you are apart, by asking God to protect them, you do the protection yourself by worrying." I think this is from The Culture of Fear by Barry Glassner.

"Many burdens are bearable today; it's the fear that nothing will ever change and we'll be stuck in this painful situation for the rest of our lives that makes us shrink from shouldering them." by Rebecca Ryskind Teti from Faith & Family Fall 2011 Faith & Culture column.

"God does not ask us to be successful, only faithful." Mother Theresa







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Posted: Nov 04 2011 at 1:23pm | IP Logged Quote SallyT

1. A typical day/week:

MTF: 8:00 a.m. Mass. Home for breakfast and quick chores. School starts around 10. 8th-grader in dining room working through his course of studies: algebra, readings for literature, history, & science, online German, and lessons in the One-Year Adventure Novel. 3rd- and 2nd-graders in study with me. We make our Morning Offering, then work until lunchtime doing religion (catechism, Bible, saints), a read-aloud for history, literature, or science/nature, copywork, math, and Spanish.

Boy Scouts Monday night; Cub Scouts Tuesday night.

W: same as above, but Mass is at 6 pm.

Th: pretty much a free morning until time to go to Latin Mass in our parish at noon. Afterwards, we stay at church to eat lunch and socialize with friends, then have about an hour and a half's "study hall," with everyone doing their own schoolwork side-by-side with friends. Then there's some playtime, while moms pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet in the church and then have tea. At 6 pm we have parish Holy Hour, followed by American Heritage Girls (and then we come home and pass out). My boys also belong to a local historical society with my husband, so one Thursday a month they go to that meeting in the evening instead of Holy Hour.

Daily, my 8th grader works until about 3:30, then goes running. My younger kids are typically done by noon and have much unstructured time in the afternoons.

2. Stumbling blocks? We haven't actually had too many this year so far. I'm not terribly tied to starting at a particular time -- today we didn't get going until 11 -- as long as we run through our routine. And our routine is easy (I try to take Our Lord's words about yokes and burdens to heart!). I don't have tiny littles any more, which makes me sad, but on the other hand, we don't have the kind of upheaval or people needing my undivided supervisory attention that we used to have when the younger kids were toddlers. So far we haven't had too much sickness, at least not of the insurmountable, stop-everything kind.

3. Worries? Finding my kids resources in our tiny town for the things they want to do. I love our town, but I sometimes miss life in a larger city, where it was easier to find classes, music teachers, sports, etc, within easier reach. My older son wanted to play soccer this year, but the homeschool team his friends had been on didn't make, which was a huge disappointment. So now he's running really seriously, but I'm looking for some kind of team-sport opportunity for him to put on his West Point application . . . that's the one piece of his preparation (should he still want to go there when the time comes) that's lacking.

4. Drawing a bit of a blank. I do like The Story of a Soul, and also anything by St. Teresa of Avila. One of my enduring favorites, too, is a book by then-Cardinal Ratzinger, Seek That Which Is Above, which is a series of meditations on the liturgical year.

5. Probably the most thought-provoking book I've read in a while is a novel by Rumer Godden, An Episode of Sparrows.

6. Hm. I'm not sure where any of the above books are right now, and I have a terrible memory. Maybe I can come back to that?

Sally

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Posted: Nov 04 2011 at 1:40pm | IP Logged Quote lapazfarm

1) A day or week in the life -- What does "school" look like in your home?
No day is typical as we tend to have a ton of variety in our days. One day we may be on the couch reading all day, the next we may be outside enjoying a rare sunny day, the next we may be up to our elbows in paint or pastels, and the next we may be playing math games or baking or watching a documentary or immersed in history.... Over the course of a week we somehow end up doing everything that needs to be done.

2) What are the stumbling blocks to your homeschool days? (Sickness, schedules or lack thereof...)
Freaking rain. Spoils our fun way too often!

3) What are your worries? (Gaps, learning disabilities, inconsistency, transition, social, sports,...)
No worries mostly. I have been doing a lot of research on ways to help my dyslexic daughter be successful. But I think it is going very well.

4) Favorite spiritual book?
I love the In Conversation with God series, as well as Amy Welborne's daily meditation book.

5) What book are you reading or what was the last book you read that really made you think?
I am currently reading the most amazing, thought provoking, life-changing book. It is called Kisses from Katie, about a woman who is serving the poorest of the poor in Uganda, and it is going straight to my heart.

6) Do you have any quotes to share from #3 or a favorite quote from another book?
I'll share the same quote Amy shared on her Facebook page that sold me on the book:
"The truth is that the 143 million orphaned children and the 11 million who starve to death or die from preventable diseases and the 8.5 million who work as child slaves, prostitutes, or under other horrific conditions and the 2.3 million who live with HIV add up to 164.8 million needy children. And though at first glance that looks like a big number, 2.1 *billion* people on this earth proclaim to be Christians. The truth is that if only 8 percent of the Christians would care for one more child, there would not be any statistics left." - Katie Davis, from Kisses from Katie

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Posted: Nov 04 2011 at 2:55pm | IP Logged Quote Mackfam

Just like the other meme, I love reading the variety of responses and seeing bits of your days! There are so many common, shared areas...and also so many unique joys! A true blessing of home education!

Quote:
1) A day or week in the life -- What does "school" look like in your home?

Early Mornings
We are early risers here. Well, I should say, my kids are early risers...I am an early coffee drinker and have learned to enjoy early mornings. Our day can start as early as 5:30 am, but the kids average getting up around 6.
Morning Basket time
We have breakfast and work on our Morning Basket of reading and morning prayers til around 9.
Morning Block of Work
From 9-12 the big kids work independently and I work with my littles. I mostly work with my 2nd grader and my preschooler hangs out with us, but I read picture books all morning long to both of them.
Lunch break
Lunch break is usually around noon and I usually read aloud something a little meatier while the kids eat.
Afternoon Block of Work and Quiet Time for Littles
After the lunch break, the big kids are back to working independently, but I'm more available to them to answer questions, brainstorm resources, check math and do dictation lessons. The littlest naps and my 2nd grader works on art projects or does his own reading or plays happily in the afternoon quiet time. My 6th grader usually finishes before lunch or just after lunch break and pursues his own projects and reading in the afternoon (Masterly Inactivity). My 10th grader usually finishes up around 2 or 3 depending on how long a lunch break we took. We may enjoy a teatime read aloud some afternoons around 2 ish.
Random thoughts about our day-in-the-life
One day a week we enjoy a daily Mass. Different days and different terms prompt different types of work. The seasons always seem to prompt their own studies and interests, too. Sometimes we're very literature heavy, sometimes we seem to immerse ourselves more in projects and hands on fun, sometimes there are rabbit trails to pursue, but it all works out well in the end and we happily embrace it all!

Quote:
2) What are the stumbling blocks to your homeschool days? (Sickness, schedules or lack thereof...)

Outside the home time. I've learned over the years to guard our home time in ways that fit our family and our family needs. I also found I was not a cheerful servant in our family if I was constantly running and playing catch up. So, I began to consciously guard home time. Some days are still full with outside the home trips and I try to be thoughtful and use our away time wisely, but I've also learned to consider opportunities in light of family needs and say no-thank-you when needed.

Quote:
3) What are your worries? (Gaps, learning disabilities, inconsistency, transition, social, sports,...)

I'm not a worrier. I trust that God will provide what this family needs, even with my shortcomings and weaknesses (and He ALWAYS provides opportunities for me to stretch and grow in my weak areas through this vocation!!!!). I am a firm believer in GUARDING peace and joy through TRUST! And, I trust that God will provide grace and tools when needed, so I try to focus and brainstorm positive things we can do to affect outcomes!!!

Quote:
4) Favorite spiritual book?

Hmmmm...too many to list probably, but I love the one I'm reading through right now. I'm reading slowly with my morning prayer time: St. Peter Julian Eymard's How To Get More Out of Holy Communion.

Quote:
5) What book are you reading or what was the last book you read that really made you think?

I'm always reading a lot of books at once. In fact, I have so many going that I have to keep a reading basket for myself to take with me from room to room!

Here's what's in my reading basket right now:
** Syntopicon for the Great Books of the Western World by Mortimer Adler
** Syntopical Guide to the Gateway to the Great Books by Robert Hutchins, Mortimer Adler
** Six Great Ideas by Mortimer Adler
** The Story of Charlotte Mason by Essex Cholmondeley
** Hints on Child Training by Clay Trumbull
** The Parents Review articles compiled by Karen Andreola (1991, 1992)
** The Complete Kitchen Garden by Ellen Ecker Ogden
** Clovers and How To Grow Them by Thomas Shaw
** To Avoyelles (U-voils - a parish in Louisiana where the Couvillon family settled) With the Couvillons (Coo-vee-yONs - originally Quevillon which came from France to Canada in the 16th century) by Ira Couvillon - the story of my French/Acadian family's history in France, Canada, their flight to Louisiana, and the specific history of my Jeansonne (zjOn-sOnne) family. Very interesting!

Quote:
6) Do you have any quotes to share from #3 or a favorite quote from another book?


St. Peter Julian Eymard
"Without the Eucharist, prayer and piety soon languish."

Robert Hutchins, A Letter to the Reader, Syntopical Guide to the Gateway to the Great Books
"Magnificent writing takes us by the hand and leads us on."

Margaret Donovan, Children's Gardens (from my gardening reading, source: Parents' Review compiled by Karen Andreola, Winter 1992 issue)
"...the garden should be kept as a sanctuary - a citadel of peace. We enter in, and the cares and worries of the world are left outside; here we are only concerned with the care of growing things, rooted solidly in the soil."

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Posted: Nov 04 2011 at 3:22pm | IP Logged Quote amyable

lapazfarm wrote:

I'll share the same quote Amy shared on her Facebook page that sold me on the book:


I can't do the meme now...Theresa stole my 5 and 6!

1) A day or week in the life -- What does "school" look like in your home?

A good day: around 8AM we start off listening to Morning Prayer from Divine Office.org, then on to a Spanish lesson from Discovery Education Streaming (while I shower ). A day just isn't the same without these two things! That takes under an hour total, then off they go to do their work until an early lunch--we eat at 10 or 10:30 because our breakfasts (sans eggs and dairy and nuts) do NOT stick to our ribs! One kid does dishes, and then afternoons are more book work, usually science (olders reading through Apologia General, youngers doing Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding). History will be next semester. I'm not happy about this, but it's what's working right now.

A more typical day? Kid 1 or 2 oversleeps or disappears so we get started late, Divine Office/Spanish goes right into lunch, and my 6 year old gets NOTHING DONE because she disappears to play all day despite my constant nagging. 13yo works allll.daaaayyyy. and seems to accomplish very little, and the 11yo hopes I won't notice she skipped large sections of her work.

I cry to dh, he gets that 'deer in the headlights' look and we go to bed!

2) What are the stumbling blocks to your homeschool days? (Sickness, schedules or lack thereof...)

Sin. Free will.

And ADHD, a poorly laid out house, and LDs.


3) What are your worries? (Gaps, learning disabilities, inconsistency, transition, social, sports,...)
My biggest worry is my oldest with LDs/ADHD - I'm just never sure what I should be doing with her or what her focus should be. Like is it wasting her time to push math and science when it's so hard, when her talents and dreams lie elsewhere? If she's doing math for hours she doesn't have time to draw and create (a talent). Right now I'm worried about that big S word: Socialization. Well really, just friends. We have none. We're trying to move, it isn't working, and I'm just not sure what to do.

4) Favorite spiritual book?
"I Believe in Love" and anything by St. Francis de Sales.

5) and 6) See Theresa's answer above!

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Posted: Nov 04 2011 at 3:34pm | IP Logged Quote lapazfarm

amyable wrote:
lapazfarm wrote:

I'll share the same quote Amy shared on her Facebook page that sold me on the book:


I can't do the meme now...Theresa stole my 5 and 6!


5) and 6) See Theresa's answer above!

heheheh! Ya snooze ya lose!
But, really I cannot thank you enough, Amy, for introducing me to this amazing woman, her blog and her book. I am literally stunned by her faith, and what she has accomplished at such a young age and in such a short time. I want to be her when I grow up!

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Posted: Nov 04 2011 at 5:48pm | IP Logged Quote amyable

lapazfarm wrote:
I am literally stunned by her faith, and what she has accomplished at such a young age and in such a short time. I want to be her when I grow up!



Me too, dear Theresa, me too.

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Posted: Nov 04 2011 at 7:04pm | IP Logged Quote Angie Mc

1) A day or week in the life -- What does "school" look like in your home?

Formal skill building in the morning with my boys. I'm really enjoying our language arts basket with five, ten minute lessons with my oldest 2. After that, independent math (dad helps at night). After that we rotate poetry, art/music appreciation, nature study. Throughout we read picture books, watch movies, discuss everything!

2) What are the stumbling blocks to your homeschool days? (Sickness, schedules or lack thereof...)

If I feel unwell or need extra rest, I can get off track quickly. Fortunately, my children are older and can hold down the fort pretty well when needed. I really do get tired.

3) What are your worries? (Gaps, learning disabilities, inconsistency, transition, social, sports,...)

I worry that my little guy won't get all his little guy needs met in little guy ways. With 3 older siblings and 6 yrs between him and the next youngest, we just don't live that sweet insular life as we did when his siblings were little.

I feel some pressure to prepare my sophomore for a wide variety of college/baseball opportunities. My oldest knew that she would stay in state which made things easier on me as far as record-keeping and decision-making went.

We deal with reading difficulties here and every so often, I worry about them. But not too much.

4) Favorite spiritual book?

Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence

5) What book are you reading or what was the last book you read that really made you think?

Story of a Soul by St. Therese (October)
Confessions by Augustine (November)


6) Do you have any quotes to share from #5 or a favorite quote from another book?

Not without doing a search. I'm mostly left with thoughts of trustful surrender, patience, offering oneself, thoughtfulness, reasonable thinking, tenacity, and LOVE.

Love,


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Posted: Nov 04 2011 at 7:26pm | IP Logged Quote Angel

Mackfam wrote:
Here's what's in my reading basket right now:
** Clovers and How To Grow Them by Thomas Shaw



Ok, Jen, this one intrigues me... I'm going to have go look this one up. Usually we just throw the seed down on our garden beds as a cover crop!

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Posted: Nov 04 2011 at 7:34pm | IP Logged Quote JennGM

Angel wrote:
Mackfam wrote:
Here's what's in my reading basket right now:
** Clovers and How To Grow Them by Thomas Shaw



Ok, Jen, this one intrigues me... I'm going to have go look this one up. Usually we just throw the seed down on our garden beds as a cover crop!


That intrigued me, too. It's available to read online at archive.org

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Posted: Nov 04 2011 at 8:10pm | IP Logged Quote JennGM

1) A day or week in the life -- What does "school" look like in your home?

We are slow to get moving in the morning. Seated school work will be before lunch. Most days reading and narration happen in the afternoon. Narration happens in all sorts of places. I try to make only two planned afternoons out, but they are marathon and exhausting days: Tuesday my oldest has atrium, then we do confession and allergy shot. Wednesday is nature study and PE. There will be less formal nature study (read: I won't be leading it for other people) in the colder months, but we'll be back to this in spring.

2) What are the stumbling blocks to your homeschool days? (Sickness, schedules or lack thereof...)

I stumble too easily. We don't have a good schedule, and I tend to follow the flow -- if I feel the boys are doing very constructive play and getting along really well (like playing Mass, reading from the Bible, building things), I don't interrupt, but delay schoolwork.

I also follow physical cues for all of us, and am more lenient on harder days with health and tiredness.

But I think I'm too lenient, and I need more definite rhythms. I also need more written down for my son to see.

3) What are your worries? (Gaps, learning disabilities, inconsistency, transition, social, sports,...)

Too many worries...I see inconsistency, lack of discipline, and bad handwriting. As far as keeping up with his grade level, no problem. I worry that the younger son isn't going to get as much attention.

4) Favorite spiritual book?
I Believe in Love
Hidden Power of Kindness
All books by Jacques Phillippe


5) What book are you reading or what was the last book you read that really made you think?

I'm like Jen, I read many books at once. And I also find I immerse myself in a subject:

Just finished:
Everything I Want To Do is Illegal by Joel Salatin
Virtues of Holiness by Juan Luis Lorda
Low Starch Diabetes Solution and Glycemic Load Diet by Rob Thompson
Real Food by Nina Planck
Hidden Power of Kindness reread

Now reading:

Books by Joel Salatin:
Folks, This Ain’t Normal
You Can Farm
Holy Cows and Hog Heaven

Good Calories, Bad Calories and Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes.

Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
The Call to Brilliance by Resa Brown
On Food and Cooking
Remain in Me by Andreas Schmidt
Abba Father by Bonaventure Perquin
Wheat Belly

6) Do you have any quotes to share from #3 or a favorite quote from another book?
From this thread I posted some of my favorites.


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Posted: Nov 04 2011 at 8:14pm | IP Logged Quote Angel

I'm doing these backwards... haven't done part 1 yet!

1) A day or week in the life -- What does "school" look like in your home?

Right now our mornings are a little rocky. My 16 month old is still getting up to nurse several times a night, and for some reason I can get up at 6:30 and still not be dressed by 9:30? I'm not sure how that happens, since I don't think I actually get to sit down all that much either. The little boys might watch a Magic School Bus when they get up, or build with Legos before they have an appetite, and if it's warm enough, they go directly outside - sometimes as soon as they get out bed! My teens are a little (*cough*) more sluggish, but we often have conversations over breakfast or they read a little in their rooms, so even though it feels like we haven't gotten going until 10 AM, everybody has usually done something interesting in their pajamas.

Then we have morning prayer and catechism and the 8 yo usually has interesting theological questions and/or something he wants to know about Star Wars. After prayers, it's time for morning chores, and finally it feels like we "get started". My 8 yo does vision therapy and Teaching Textbooks, and I try to corral my 6 yo twins enough to do a little reading and handwriting. The baby is usually eating crayons at this point or otherwise destroying the place, and my 4 yo is usually outside digging up the front flower bed with his construction trucks. Or the little boys are all outside waging war against the ants or collecting beetles and crickets. My 15 yo spends most of his morning on various languages (Latin, Greek, and Japanese)and/or writing his SF novel and my 12 yo does her Latin and writing and sings in her room whenever she gets the chance.

My 8 yo escapes upstairs to build Legos and listen to books on CD whenever anyone is not paying attention. He's recently gone through the entire Narnia series, and I just downloaded some Audible Landmark books onto my Kindle for him to listen to. (Today he was listening to The Invasion of Normandy and building X-Wing fighters.) His vision problems mean he's not reading yet, so we try to keep him well supplied with audio books, which he loves.

My 16 month old must go see the chickens and help check for eggs every day before lunch.

After lunch and cleanup and some more outside or Lego time, I read to the 8, 6, and 4 yos - seasonal picture books, American history, and/or nature stories currently, plus whatever the 4 yo wants to read right before his nap. Then the boys split up for quiet time, and I put the 4 yo and 16 mo old down for naps, which means I also catnap in the rocking chair. Since this is the only quiet time in the day, my older kids use it to do math. After the littlest ones go to sleep, I help anybody with any math troubles (or try to), and they spend the rest of the afternoon reading mainly or doing research on the computer (my 12 yo dd). I try to work in some reading with my 8 yo, but I'm not worrying about it too much now -- just focusing on the vision therapy.

The big kids don't stop until around 4:30, but it's not like there's a giant break in what they were doing and what they start doing at 4:30. At night after dinner we may watch a science or history show or something on EWTN, and my dh reads to the little boys before bed and sometimes has them read to him or reviews phonics flashcards.

Of course the day we do vision therapy and Scouts is not like this, and on Fridays we do extra chores and my dd has a voice lesson, but I really try not to schedule too many activities during the day.

   
2) What are the stumbling blocks to your homeschool days? (Sickness, schedules or lack thereof...)

My inability to get dressed before 9:30 maybe?


3) What are your worries? (Gaps, learning disabilities, inconsistency, transition, social, sports,...)

That my inability to get dressed before 9:30 will result in academic and character failures in my children.

4) Favorite spiritual book?
Um... the Bible?

5) What book are you reading or what was the last book you read that really made you think?

Right now I am on a nutrition kick (again). I just finished _The Mood Cure_ by Julie Ross (very good), and now I am reading _Good Calories, Bad Calories_ by Gary Taubes, which is *excellent*, more for its use of logic and critique of politics in science than anything else. I also have _Magnesium Miracle_ and _Thyroid Power_ on my night stand.

I feel kind of boring.

6) Do you have any quotes to share from #3 or a favorite quote from another book?

Hmmm. Not off the top of my head, unfortunately!


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JennGM
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Posted: Nov 04 2011 at 8:37pm | IP Logged Quote JennGM

and I forgot to mention my biggest stumbling block, is my time on the computer. I lose track of time.

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Mackfam
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Posted: Nov 04 2011 at 8:46pm | IP Logged Quote Mackfam

JennGM wrote:
Angel wrote:
Mackfam wrote:
Here's what's in my reading basket right now:
** Clovers and How To Grow Them by Thomas Shaw



Ok, Jen, this one intrigues me... I'm going to have go look this one up. Usually we just throw the seed down on our garden beds as a cover crop!


That intrigued me, too. It's available to read online at archive.org

Oh good...glad you found the old copy available to read for free. It's a neat book, not many platitudes on Clover as a happy little legume, just straightforward stuff on how to grow the many different varieties. I'm a fan of Crimson Clover. Big fan! And I don't do too much more than throw seed down, Angela!

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Erin
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Posted: Nov 05 2011 at 2:32pm | IP Logged Quote Erin

1) A day or week in the life -- What does "school" look like in your home?
We join together for prayers at 7am, great way to get sluggard teens moving, then Dad and 'big sis' leave for work/Tafe. By 8am we start the academic part of our day, working through till 12.30pm.
I work with the younger ones, whilst my 10 & 12 yr olds do their independent work. Teens work in the study/bedroom on their work.
Throughout the morning I rotate between those who need me. At one point we the middle two and the teens join together for some Language Arts review work.

2) What are the stumbling blocks to your homeschool days? (Sickness, schedules or lack thereof...)
Juggling age spread. My lack of self-discipline, I would really love to do more with my teens (in the afternoon) but I can't break the habit of not.

3) What are your worries? (Gaps, learning disabilities, inconsistency, transition, social, sports,...)
That I teach all the basic skills well enough, whether my expectations are high enough. Essay writing in preparation for university is my big worry at present. Habits.

4) Favorite spiritual book?
I don't have a favourite book, more a genre, and author. I enjoy reading saints lives, particularly by Louis deWohl.

5) What book are you reading or what was the last book you read that really made you think?
I really thought for a long time about Immaculee Ilibagiza's books.

6) Do you have any quotes to share from #3 or a favorite quote from another book?
I love lots of mothering quotes, have stuck several around my home over the years to help me be a calmer mother. Ultimately what helped me reach my goal the most though was placing a little picture of Our Lady of the Way on my kitchen windowsill. So serene.

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lapazfarm
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Posted: Nov 05 2011 at 4:53pm | IP Logged Quote lapazfarm

Erin wrote:

5) What book are you reading or what was the last book you read that really made you think?
I really thought for a long time about Immaculee Ilibagiza's books.


I just finished reading "Left to Tell." Wow. Both heart-wrenching and inspiring.

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