Gentle Ben-Luke

On Friday Luke finished his first book of the school year. Despite telling me he really didn't like the books so much, he would curl up on his beanbag and read it every school day. One thing I do regret was not keeping track of the books we have read together over the years. So, this year, I am starting a book log. I think it will be a good thing.

Another funny, from Luke

 Luke NEVER talks about getting married so this learning log is a treasure.....

Jeweled necklaces are cool. Mom probably has a lot, to be honest. Jeweled necklaces feel good. I think even though I’ve never worn one. Jeweled necklaces are a lot of money. I think it’s because they are rare.  If I have a wife someday, I will probably buy one. I think I will buy a ruby because they are really cool.

This one is pretty funny too.....

Atoms are things inside things. Atoms make walls, potatoes, and even me. Sometimes things get rusty because of chemical changes. I think coal into diamonds is an example of chemical changes. Another example is chocolate cake. It starts as a liquid and changes into a solid. 

Hong Kong

I'm currently working on a little project of catching up on the boys learning logs from last year (when we didn't have internet at home). I thought this one from Luke was great. I often wonder what their memories of Covid will be and how they will describe it to their children. 

Geography

Hong Kong is the place where Jackie Chan lived. There is a special animal that lives there. It is a pink dolphin. They also sell snakes to restaurants because they like to eat snake soup. I never want to try that soup. Their ancestors are mostly Chinese but with a few Filipinos. A lot of the kids like to play badminton. I wouldn’t like to visit Hong Kong because it’s too close to China which is the place that made Covid 19.

1st day of school

It's that time again.....we've started our 7th year of homeschool!!! I am beyond grateful that I can stay home and teach these sillies.  

August 2015

August 2016

August 2016

August 2022

August 2022

Ice cream Summer

At the beginning of the summer a friend told me about a fun tradition they were trying. Once a week they would try a new flavor of ice cream. I knew my boys would love doing this same thing. Here are the kinds that we tried. The only one I really liked was the biscuit and jam one. Then, on the first day of school (Aug 1st) we went down to The Big Red Barn to celebrate our last week of ice cream. The boys mostly looked forward to each weekly flavor. The only week that was an absolute flop was the mermaid sparkle. It was gross and none of us liked it. 

 

The best part of this day

Due to having boys + the friends of the boys over for the afternoon, this sweetie took her afternoon nap on the floor of the living room. She woke up when the boys made a loud noise. After picking her up we settled into the couch together, and she slept some more. It was absolutely wonderful! I soak up every moment of this sweetheart. 

Her favorite thing to do right now is go up and down the stairs. We crawl up together and then slide down on our bums together. I bet we did that 20 times today. Precious moments that I'll never get back. 

That thing I do every June

This past week I had a day where I worked on our school schedules for next year. This entails going through all the curriculum that I already have. It's quite the job. I have 10 totes full plus several bookshelves of books. It took me the entire day to finish.

Since I was at it, I also pulled out and sorted all my jounals. I'm at 45 and counting. Crazy!

I think this is what our schedule will be next school year:

Math, Spelling, Writing, US History, Science, Recitation, Piano, 3d printing for Peter, 3d art for Luke. I'll probably add some geography as well. Plus, I think both boys could use a typing class. I'm really hoping it will be a good year.

An Epic thing I did

 In the middle of February my shower door broke. It has been a problem for a very long time. In addition to the door, the wall on one side of it was getting soaked with water. So, I made an epic decision to replace the entire thing.

My neighbors across the street, that are like parents to me, replaced theirs several years ago. I was impressed with their remodel so I went with the same company. I am so glad that I did. They were so professional, competent, and transparent. It took 7 weeks for us to get on their list, plus 5 days from start to finish. I am so pleased with the results.

Sunday evening

Monday Evening

Tuesday Evening

Friday Evening

It is so beautiful and sturdy. I don't worry about water getting behind it because they are solid peices. Since they were doing it, I had them expand the shower out about 7 inches. Funny enough, it really makes a difference. For fun, I had the boys each write something while the baseboards were exposed. They each wrote their name and the date. Luke then wrong "Among Us" and Peter wrote "No". I chose to include a scripture Helaman 5:12. Very fun.

Having the workers in and out of the house was a little crazy. I especially felt bad for the guys that were carrying in the large sheets of marble. Going up my narrow stairs was pretty tight. Also, at one point, I could hear what I thought was Peter coming down the stairs so I was reprimanding him about just punching his brother. LOL - it wasn't Peter, it was Kevin the plumber. I felt super dumb. Ah well. Life is never dull at our house.

Now I just want to redo the rest of my bathroom. Hahaha. Maybe one day in the far, far distant future. 

Luke's talent

 

Luke's current obsession is the filters on my camera. I can't even begin to explain how many pictures I have that look like this one. Apparently, Luke enjoys how I look with facial hair. Yes, I do keep them all. It will be a treasured memory when Luke no longer cares about me and my face. 

#lifegoals

I've started actually shopping for our groceries now. This boy has started to come with me. It's been so much fun! He is learning about the buying power of a mother. My #lifegoal is for me to make my typical 2 week grocery list and let him go chose all my stuff and pay for it. Really, it's been such a great bonding activity. Plus, he is learning about brands and why I chose one kind over another. Thank goodness for homeschool that lets allows us to go before school lets out and things get crowded.