Tweaking

As much as we love AmblesideOnline, I will admit we have been dropping some of the scheduled readings. First we dropped all the religious ones. My kids have plenty of outside religious instruction already - don't need it. We've also dropped some books with somewhat disturbing religious undertones. Sorry, don't need that, thankyouverymuch. Then there are some books that are just so uninteresting, that I see no reason to continue with them. I dropped 2 like that from J's list, and may drop 1 from W's list. I'm proud of myself that I've loosened up enough to change pre-set things around to suit our needs. It is OK to mix in more contemporary books - even a bit of twaddle, gasp! - among all the classic stuff. Also, it states right on AO's introduction page that "Parents may use as much or as little of the booklists and schedules as they like". I've gotten over that feeling of "blasphemy". Feels good. :)

J has another competition this weekend. This is gonna be a biggie. It may be the one who's Nationals we're doing. W will stay at my mom's for the weekend and B, K, J, and I will be heading out to NJ early Friday afternoon. J has all 3 solos on Friday evening. Her five group numbers go on Saturday and Sunday. We're still stoning costumes and buying shoes and last minute supplies, but the hotel is booked and it seems the comp schedule gives J enough time for outfit changes. 2 new group numbers are going out this weekend and I'm so excited to see how they look.

W's Weekend

It was Pinewood Derby Day at cub scouts yesterday. B and W made an awesome car out of a block of wood, some wheels, and some paint. The race was great! The Tiger and Wolf dens raced together. There were at least 20 contestants. W was undefeated for 10 races until there were only 2 cars left - his and Noah's. It was tense. It was exciting. And then it was over. Noah beat him twice and won the trophy. Then the Bears raced, then the Webelos. The 3 winners went up against each other for the final round. The ultimate winner got the nice trophy and bragging rights for another year. W was very pleased with his 2nd place finish. I was proud of him for being proud. Inside though I wanted to scream and throw things. So close, ugh, so close. We'll get 'em next year.

This morning W celebrated his first Sacrament of Reconciliation. We got to the church by 11, had a short mass, and about 30 kids got in line to get some sins off their chest and says some prayers for penance. W was so nervous about it, but afterwards said it was easy. He memorized the entire new modernized Act of Contrition and was proud to tell it to the priest. This is the precursor to the next Sacrament - First Holy Communion - in May. MIL offered to buy his suit, so I need to start looking for a nice one. We're off to my mom's tomorrow for W's birthday.

Queens Historical Society

Yesterday, W went to a homeschool group class at the Queens Historical Society in Flushing. They discussed the Underground Railroad and made paper quilts. After the class they took a tour of the rooms. The house is almost 250 years old. I found it fascinating to learn about the history of Queens as I walked around the place. I met several homeschooling families I hadn't seen before and it was great. It's a wonderful feeling to have conversations with people who are on the same page as you. After the class and tour, many of the kids went right over to the playground next door. All the kids were between the ages of 5 and 9 and W could have stayed there all day.

We left around 4 to go pick up J at her friend's house. She had gone to a different homeschool group's event out in Long Island. This was a drama class led by her friend, A. J enjoyed it a lot and loved seeing all her friends from the big homeschool dance the week before. We haven't done much with the Long Island group lately because, well, everything is in Long Island. I'm burnt out with the 30-45 minute drives. But since J can catch a ride out there, she can go to more things with them. So, I picked her up and took her to dance class. She's finishing up a new group number that will go out to competition. During her class, W had cub scouts, so I dropped him off next. Yay that his meetings are right around the corner. I then got to read and relax for an hour.

At home, the contractor and renovation guy are back. It seems that one of the electrical outlets in the kitchen has to be moved. AAARRGGHH! So after the whole kitchen was done, more holes are being opened and more plaster and dirty friggin fingerprints are covering my freshly-painted walls.

J is singing tomorrow for a mini-recital show. My mom and sisters are coming in from LI to watch. I found out I'm allowed to videotape, so I'm thrilled to use my new camera I got for Christmas. I'll see how that goes and if I can post a video on here.

Hall of Science

K was off all last week and it was so nice having her home. We hung out so much that week. J had the week off from dance (I don't think that's EVER happened!). Since her school friends were off, too, she got to spend a lot of time with them (at their houses, the mall, etc). W played with friends at the park a lot and started getting more into playing chess. He's really good at it now. I'm going to see if I can find an afternoon chess club for him.

Yesterday W participated in a great class at the NY Hall of Science. It was called "Diversity of Life" and was geared toward 3rd-6th graders. They used microscopes, looked at one-celled animals, did a yeast experiment, and discussed living vs. non-living things. He loved it. While he did that, J watched a demonstration on math (it was actually very interesting!) and one on the dissection of a cow's eye (again). We stayed at the HoS for a couple more hours afterward. W practiced his pitching again as well.

Weekend Fun

The weekend was great. On Friday, W had cub scouts. He missed the blue and gold dinner last week since we were at J's dance competition, so he's slotted to get a couple more patches. He's starting work soon on his pinewood derby car. B is so thrilled about that (B still has his, lol). After the meeting, we went to the bank and the kids deposited their "Pennies for Peace" into the coin counter machine. Each boy got a chance to empty a bucketful - twice. They ended up with over $100 in pennies. The bank manager gave the kids some candy, a coloring book, and crayons to take home.

On Saturday, B and the kids surprised me with lots of chocolate and cards. I got B a bag of 70% pure cocoa dark chocolate squares and the kids got a heart-shaped box of assorted stuff. A boy that K sorta kinda likes ("but is sooo cute") came by to give her a single red rose for Valentines Day. She's on the lookout for someone new since the other dude didn't work out. She enjoys the attention and I'm watching like a hawk, lol.

J went out with her friend, S, to a concert. This one was for a ('nother obscure) boy band called PushPlay. It was at the Crazy Donkey out in Farmingdale and she had a blast. They went with her friend's mom and it was pretty family-friendly. They also had passes for the meet-and-greet afterwards. J got autographs from all the band members, but unfortunately they weren't letting cameras in.

S came over the next day and we all went out to the movies to see Coraline. I loved it. It was scary-ish and in 3-D. $100 later, we got home and S slept over. today we relaxed. The girls hung out, K was at a friend's house, and B took W to the park. This week is President's Week - which used to be called Energy Conservation Week when I was a kid - and K is off. My younger 2 will continue with the AO schedule this week. We've fallen a bit behind again, but not by much. J has a standardized test to take in a couple of months and she wants to hone the math skills. W's new favorite show is the Electric Company (my fave back in the day as well) and I can already see the impact it's had on his reading. The show rocks. Too bad it's only on once a week. We're DVR'ing it though.

Playground Politics

I was in awe of my son yesterday at the playground. We got there around 3, when it's packed with kids. Within seconds, W had 3 kids with him by the swings. Then a new kid comes by and starts bullying a smaller child who looked about 5 y/o. W gets off his swing, pushed the bully off the smaller kid, then gets back on the swing. A few minutes later, the smaller kid is on the swing and the bully is now back shaking the swing telling the kid to get off. The kid didn't move, so the bully kicked him in the head. W went right over, grabbed the bully by the shoulders, threw him back a few feet, and told him to leave the kid alone. W and his friends soon left the swing area exchanging words with the bully for the next 15 minutes. The bully's older brother eventually showed up and they told him what happened. We didn't see the bully again after that. I purposely stayed out of it (and back about 25 feet), but kept a very watchful eye on what was going on. W came over once to me and said, "Mom, it's OK, I can handle it". I trusted he could.

So now W has about 7 boys and 2 girls (all look from 7 to 10 y/o) and they start up a game of cops and robbers. W is robber captain for the first round, and when other kids are the captain, W is picked first to be on the team. That alone got me choked up a bit. The game is so fun to watch. The kids are fair, supportive, and couldn't care less that all 10 of them represent 10 different countries. After a while I see the bully returning. I got a bit nervous but then the kid turned and left again. I see W look at his friends, say something, get nods from them, and then dart after the bully and disappear behind the park building. My first thought was that this was going to be trouble, but then I see W and the bully walking together back to the group of kids. W then says, "Hey guys, we got another player!".

I was like WHAT?!?!! He canNOT be serious!

I found out later that the bully had walked over to apologize, turned around and walked away again. That's when W decided he was OK after all and ran over to invite him to join the game. The game went on beautifully for another hour til it started getting darker and colder out and kids started heading home. I learned a lot from my son that day. He taught me about forgiveness and acceptance and living in the moment, all through the best game of cops and robbers I ever saw.

Friends

The competition was fun this weekend. J's 3 numbers scored well, but this comp was only an "optional" and mainly for more practice. J had a blast with all her friends. Nothing beats a hotel night or 2 with 10 of your best friends in the whole world. They stick together like glue, these kids, and watch out for each other. B and I got to relax, and K and W loved being with their dance friends there. The pool was great both days, the food was really good, and the venue in the grand ballroom on the hotel's main level was perfect (no travelling!). So, a couple of thumbs up for our first away-competition of the season!

Museum of the City of New York

We went to the Museum of the City of New York today. The homeschool group did an early tour, but it was way too early for us. I met up with a few friends around noon and the kids met some new friends who explored the museum with us. It's a nice place with come cool stuff. The kids loved the 1930s toy display. Wooden hoops, metal roller skates, and homemade go-carts were things I remember playing with in the 1970s, actually, lol. The Broadway costume section was cool. They had outfits from Rent, Beauty and the Beast, and Seussical. J just had to get a picture with the finale hat from A Chorus Line. Some rooms had huge interactive flat computer screens on the wall where the kids could use the "Activepen" to move the cursor. Yeah, I want one of those at home. We also saw a fantastic movie about the history of NYC from 1609 to now. What a history the city has: the Dutch, the English, the immigrants, Ellis Island, the skyscrapers, the finance, the shopping, the fashion, the rich, the poor, the boroughs, the diversity, the place where so much began. We all loved it.

After that, J was dying to wander around Times Square again. She wanted to see the 2009 ball that dropped on New Year's Eve. It was sorta, kinda on the way home, so we went. The kids took a spontaneous picture with Elmo out on the sidewalk and J did something hysterically funny behind a man who was being interviewed for some TV station. We decided to head into the big Toys R Us again for a little while. They played with some electronics, some moon sand, went in the big Barbie Dreamhouse, checked out some of the new Lego creations, watched the animatronic life-sized T-Rex, and got a Super Elastic Bubble Plastic balloon/ball to take home. This toxic goop from the 70s and 80s you stick on the end of a straw and blow to inflate has been revamped. No more lead and acetone, they say. Great. No wonder my generation is missing more brain cells than others.


At the train station in Times Square, J's turnstile locked, causing her to lose her last ride allowed on her metrocard for the day. W and I both had 1 ride left we needed for ourselves and there was no token booth. She asked me what the heck just happened and I was wondering myself, when out of nowhere a woman who was coming out told us not to worry and swiped her card for J to go through. I don't care what anybody says, NYC is the most wonderful place in the world.

We're off to another dance competition tomorrow! This is a nice, easy one - only 3 numbers going out. I like the huge hotel (same one we did last year) and the kids love the pool. We already have the bags and costume trunk packed, and daiquiris ready to blend .

Into the Groove

Now that it's February, I can say we've got our academic mornings in a nice groove. Their schedule each day looks like this:

1. Independent reading
2. Copywork (Poetry)
3. Math (workbook or program)
4. 2 language arts workbooks (3-4 pgs total)
5. 2 or 3 AO readings with narrations (oral and/or written)
6. 1 project (timeline, science, art, etc)
7. 1 weekly subject (composer, artist, nature, Latin, dictation, spelling)

This all takes no more than 2 hours to complete. We also fit in the AO "free readings", trips, homeschool group events, and other activities when we feel like it. W is loving the free Life Science download we found last week. He reads the chapter to me (his idea) and he gets to answer questions, learn new words, and do a project every week. Next to math, that has become his favorite thing to do. And J just got a new penpal - a 12y/o from Texas who is also an avid dancer.

J went to the movies with her friend, S, the other night and I spent that hour-and-a-half in the nearby bookstore. I got whatever AO books we were missing - I figured I might as well since it seems this curriculum is a keeper, plus a few more fun-looking workbooks. With my discount I spent a total of $72. K came with me and we had fun walking around together after that. On Saturday we all got to relax a bit. B put up a couple of our new window blinds and put together our new dining room table. I went to work in the afternoon. Today B took the kids out to my mom's house and I stayed home to get some more cleaning done. I'm still trying to get things organized from the renovation. We're just about done with that, btw. K still needs her new ceiling fan put up, and we need still need handles put on our kitchen cabinets, and a big mirror and pot rack hung.

J's next dance competition is next weekend. It's our first hotel-stay this year and the kids can't wait. The venue is IN our hotel, so that makes things way easy. This is an optional competition, so only 3 of her numbers are going out: her new dance solo and 2 of her new group numbers (tap and contemporary). All the kids will most likely spend much of the time in the pool. I love competition season.

Dance Kid

We just got back from a full day of J's first dance competition of the season. She did 5 numbers: contemporary group, tap group, open group, musical theater solo, and vocal solo. The rankings were high bronze, silver, high silver, gold, and high gold. Her musical theater dance solo scored a gold. Her vocal solo scored a high gold and ranked 3rd solo overall in her level (which included all "middle-level" junior dance and vocal solos - levels are based on years of experience). All her group numbers won high gold (highest ranking given) and one won for best costume. It was an amazing day. I finally saw all the new numbers and was floored by just about all of them.

W hung out with 3 or 4 of his friends (all boys 6-9 years old) and we hardly knew he was there. K sat with her best dance friends and after the junior awards went over another friend's house til about 10pm. My mom drove in from Long Island to watch J's new solos and groups and was crying with me during the singing and while hearing the awards. J's vocal coach has done an amazing job with her. Everyone couldn't belive how much she's grown vocally. She's also grown physically - there's a 4" difference in her from this time last year, putting her at about 5'2" now. It's scary when your kid almost catches up to you in height! K and I are almost even now.

J's set and awards were done by 6:30pm. B went out and got us some dinner and we stayed and watched the older kids compete til about 11pm. J spent the evening with about 10 of her best friends. I love how she's so close with them all. Boys, girls, she considers them all equal best friends (since they were 7). These kids are so wonderful, so supportive, so encouraging, and such real friends, that I'm proud to know them and their families.

J's also been hinting more and more that she would like to go to a performing arts high school. There are a bunch here in NYC, but she knows which 2 she prefers. She'll audition next year and then we'll just see what happens. She realizes she may need to step up the academics to be considered and she's prepared to do that. I'll go along with whatever she chooses. I'm torn on the whole idea, but it's not really up to me. I'll do what I need to to get her where she wants to go. She has one year before the decision has to be made. It's so hard to let go.

Trusting the Process

Last night W was talking about making cinnamon rolls with B and said the following: "We'll probably make 20 at once, in 2 batches, so that's 40 cinnamon rolls. See? I just added the 2s together and the zeros, so I know it's 40. Speaking of math, can we do math now? I'm in the mood for it." So we ended up doing a few math pages in his workbook together. The one thing I love about Charlotte Mason and the AmblesideOnline curriculum is how well it goes hand-in-hand with unschooling. It's such a gentle schedule with fun and interesting readings and activities. They love it so much. I enjoy it with them. And seeing how it really fosters their love of learning is amazing to me. I'll keep at it as long as they keep asking for it.

I so believe that when kids get to choose their educational path (and overall life paths) they are just happier, love learning, and love life. Whether they choose no curriculum, some curriculum, a full curriculum, or a brick and mortar school building, it's the choice, the trust, and the respect that make all the difference in the world. Learning is everywhere and kids take in what they need at that time. If they need more, they seek it (which in turn produces a purer, deeper understanding and overall outcome).

J is choosing to read more on her own now and loves classic literature and poetry. She's making web shows, puts 110% into her dancing, and has more (real) friends and social life than anyone else her age that I know. I don't think she needs scheduled academics in her life, but she prefers to. She's the type who likes to surpass (or at the very least, keep up with) her grade level. Even K, who goes to public school, does well because she chooses to be there and enjoys the game that is school. When she's out with her friends, she knows I trust her to make good decisions - and she hasn't let me down. And then you have W, who wants to know about everything in the world and takes his time with all of it. At almost 8 he's finally decided that reading will actually get him places and so he now reads every day. All subjects fascinate him, but I purposely try not to separate his learning into individual "subjects". It is difficult since this separate-ness tends to be almost everywhere. Thankfully, the AO schedule we printed out is just a list of the readings and we're free to say it's all one big subject if we so choose, lol (although technically it can be broken down if I need to for reporting purposes).

So, yeah. Even though we may not look like an unschooling family from the outside, I will always be an unschooling parent in my heart and in my beliefs - following the philosophy, having the trust and respect, and being the facilitator and provider of what my children choose to have in their lives. All this with no need for coercion, demands, expectations, punishments, or bribes. We live an amazing life.

Now I just need to find others like us, lol...

Yesterday, W went to his monthly book club. The book was "Peppe the Lamplighter", which is about an Italian immigrant family living in downtown NYC. It's a beautiful story with beautiful pictures. The book club had about 5-6 kids and they talked about the book - plot, setting, characters, etc. Then they made a cool project - a big street map of Little Italy. W cut out Peppe's streetlamps and wrote up the map legend. It came out really nice and W had fun with it. I have to give kudos to the mom running it. She's so full of great ideas and knows how to get the kids involved and excited about reading.

Today we went to the Children's Museum of the Arts in Soho. It's a cute little hole-in-the-wall place with so much going on inside! The main floor has different sections set up where kids can just sit and do an art project. J started out at the "still life" area, drawing some fruit that was on the table. W played with a tub of "flubber" and tried doing a self-portrait (a table set up with paper, oil pastels, and tabletop mirrors). Downstairs was set up for "Homeschooler Fridays".
Homeschoolers get a 20% discount on Fridays and have their own classes. Admission is $8 per person or you can get a full year membership for $200 and go anytime. Today they had the first of the weekly claymation classes. About 5 or 6 kids were there, each got their own slab of clay and got to try both the animation and the computer program which takes the pictures and plays the film. I found it fascinating and the instructor taught us a lot. In another room on the lower level there was a drumming class.
The kids bounced back and forth between the 2 rooms. The class was being led by 2 guys who were teaching techniques for bongo-type drums and others, including upside-down milk cartons played with drumsticks. Good music was coming out of there after a while, lol. After more than 2 hours we had to get the train back to Queens for J to make it to dance. It's so great to know that there's a place just for homeschoolers to learn and have fun.

The AO schedule is still working out great for the kids. I have to say, I'm pretty surprised that we've been with it so long. I truly thought the kids would have gotten uninterested in it by now. W is doing so well, that we're just soaring through everything. He learns new concepts and retains so much history and science that it blows my mind. Math is his favorite and he will do 4-5 pages a day in the workbook without prompting. J enjoys the history and literature readings, loves the poetry and dictation exercises, and tolerates math. She seems to prefer the math workbooks rather than the Teaching Textbooks program at the moment. She always did like workbooks - from like 2 years old. No matter what we use we always end up back to the workbooks, lol.

J's first competition is in 9 days! She'll be debuting her brand new dance and vocal solos. She's also in about 6 group numbers - 3 are going out at this comp. B and I are in a costume and rhinestoning frenzy. It's definitely fun, though. The costumes are stunningly beautiful this year, as usual. The first competition of the season is probably my favorite. It's the first time we get to see all the numbers, on stage, in full costume - and I always tend to get all teary-eyed (and not just at my own kid, lol). Dance has been great for her this year. She takes ballet, tap, musical theater, acro, jazz technique, and contemporary. Her voice lessons are once a week and she assistant teaches beginner ballet and tap for 7 year-olds. She loves being so busy. She's even going to check out what volunteer work she can in the area.

B's band is playing on Saturday night in the East Village. I'm trying to see who can watch the kids so I can go. I haven't been to one of his shows in ages. I think the last time was when I was pregnant with J. UGH.

Tenement Museum

Today we went on a fabulous homeschool group trip to the Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side. 97 Orchard Street is a tenement apartment building built in 1863 and was home to about 7000 families until 1935. These were immigrant families that had come to America through Ellis Island. They came from Russia, Poland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, etc. Our tour today was the 3-room apartment once lived in by the Confino family. An actress portraying Victoria Confino showed us around the apartment, told us all about how life was then, and answered our many questions. She was a Sephardic Jew from Turkey (then it was still the Ottoman Empire) and there were 10 people in her family all living in those 3 rooms. It was so fascinating to see the brilliant use of space and to hear how there was still so much joy even though it was harsh times. The rooms are kept just as they were almost 100 years ago - with many of the same pieces of furniture, cooking utensils, and wallpaper. It was like going back in time. The museum has other tours based on some of the other real families who lived in the building.

We learned how much of the food they ate was bought from the street pushcarts. The Kosher food was bought in the grocery stores. The girls in Victoria's family didn't go to school after 6th ot 7th grade and a husband was chosen for them around the age of 16. Fun was had at the dance halls where Victoria had recently learned the foxtrot and she even played us a record on her victrolla.

I had been meaning to get to the Tenement Museum for years. It was as great as I thought. I think the kids really had fun and I'm sure they learned a lot. W got a book today called "Peppe the Lamplighter" which is about an Italian family who lives in a tenement in Little Italy. It's for his book club next week. I'm so loving this topic because my grandmother was one of 13 kids living in Manhattan around the time of the Depression. Now I have to find out where and how they lived.

Our first day back at the schedule went really really well. J seems happier with her new books. She was much more "into" these readings and gave great narrations. She started the morning with some grammar and math review then we did a few readings together. W is still going strong. He starts with phonics and math and then we do a few readings after that. We started a bit late this morning, so we didn't get to to the timeline stuff we planned. We'll try that tomorrow.

New Year on the Horizon

Christmas was so nice this year. The kids made out like bandits, as usual, and my little sister got engaged! I'm so thrilled about that - now I have to seriously lose some weight. We spent Wednesday and Thursday at my mom's. Wednesday was an hours-long wrap fest. I gotta start getting the presents wrapped much earlier. Wrapping totally sucks. Well, I suck at it. The kids were very happy, though. K's gifts included a beautiful wooden jewelry box, lots of clothes, and a new dresser for her bedroom. J's included CDs, clothes, and a vanity table/bench for her bedroom. W's included some board games, a red Nintendo DS, and a floor chair that his video games plug into and sound comes out of it. The together gift was the Wii. We've never been a family to have a big gaming system (I think the last one we had was the outdated Gamecube and before that the Nintendo NES and Sega Genesis - bought real cheap). But I caved in. It's fun and it gets them up and moving. B and I got a new camcorder - woohoo. I haven't taken any video of my kids in 4 years.

We were planning on staying home for New Year's Eve, but this friggin apartment STILL isn't completely finished. The stove isn't hooked up, no ceiling fans up yet, no where to put sheets, towels, and blankets, no curtains, bare walls, bare light bulbs, no table and chairs. It's beautifully painted, rewired, re-ceilinged, and rewalled, but too bare and cold looking. Maybe we'll go to my mom's again.

J has been losing interest in the AO Yr6 schedule, so we talked about it and she decided to try a lower year to see if that works better for her. She loves the whole curriculum, but Yr6 is a heavy reading load for someone who isn't into reading and isn't used to a schedule like that. We're going to do Yr4 instead, yet still keep the 7/8th-grade level math and grammar/writing. She's definitely a free spirit and spends most of her time doing her own thing - creating, writing, dancing, researching, etc. I often ask her if she'd just rather not have a schedule (I'm still the unschooler at heart), but she insists she wants to keep at it. So I just bought all the Yr4 books she'll need. After looking through some of them, she seems much happier and excited to begin. Fine with me. W, is still enjoying his Yr1 schedule - so much so that he gets everything out that we need before I remind him. He's reading very well now, writes in gorgeous cursive, retains just about all of every story we read, and has so much pride in his work. I'm amazed at the difference in him from just 4 months ago.

W got teased by his cousin on Christmas about his homeschooling. Then he looked at me and said, "WHEN is W going to start going to SCHOOOOOOOOL???". Before I could answer, my mom jumped in with, "W DOES schoolwork, is learning more than what he'd learn in school, AND he gets to SLEEP LATE". Hahahahaha. Go Ma!

Movin' Back In

Merry Christmas everyone!! I am happy to announce that our apartment had it's final coat of paint put on the other day and we can now move back in. After the plastering, taping, and sanding, a new set of guys came to do the paint primer, and 2 coats of paint in 5 rooms. We chose beige for the whole place (I just wasn't in the mood to have a multicolored home again) - satin for 4 rooms and semigloss for the kitchen. We went with "Pecan Sandie" Behr paint, White for all the trim, doors, baseboards, and moldings, and Ultra Pure White for the ceilings. The plasterers didn't cover the floors for some reason so I noticed I have a whole days' work scrubbing splattered plaster and dust off my wood floors. At least the painters were a little more careful. We need to uncover all the furniture, scrub everything down, and bring all the bedlinens to the laundromat. We've gotten rid of a TON of stuff and will probably get rid of a ton more.

We tolerated the week at MIL's. Never felt more unwelcome anywhere, but we survived. The kids got a lot of scheduled academics done and we did a good amount of shopping. We went to my mom's on Dec 23rd after work - so we got there at like midnight. I couldn't do another night at MIL's. Christmas night, we're stopping by MIL's again for a couple of hours, then we're going right home. I can't wait.

After 2 months, the apartment is ready for patching, sheet rock, and plastering. We spent the weekend bringing anything that could be picked up to the basement. The table, chairs, tvs, and computer go down today. The guys will be here first thing tomorrow morning. So, no, we haven't been able to do any Christmas decorating at all. But we did throw out 2 huge leaf bags of stuff. It feels good to get rid of things. I just have to keep looking ahead, and not focus on the taped up holes, dust, and bare light bulbs. We're probably staying with MIL for a few days until it's finished - that should be, um, fun.

The kids seem to be screaming for the structured schedule again. We've been taking it real easy during December, but I think we're ready to hit the books again hard. There's such a weird "antsy-ness" around here when the days don't seem productive - more boredom, more bickering, more impatience (and the kids act up a bit, too! LOL). J's CCD teacher thinks the world of her. Yesterday, she came out and said, "J just told me she is homeschooled. No wonder she's so wonderful! You guys are amazing". That's the second time this week I've been praised for homeschooling. The other day at Costco, a friend's mom I haven't seen in about 15 years told me B and I were "aces" when I mentioned we homeschool. I find it so interesting that over the 4 years I've been at this, the reactions have significantly changed. I used to get mainly stiff smiles, nods, and "huh?"s. Now I get pretty much all raving compliments.

We made beautiful ornaments this weekend. The kids blew up a small balloon and wrapped gluey string around it. After it hung up to dry for a day, they popped the balloon, pulled it out carefully, brushed on another layer of watered-down glue, and sprinkled glitter on it. J made one for her Kris Kringle at dance. W and B decorated a quilt square for cub scouts and the kids made a gingerbread house together. It was our first one and I think they did a really good job.

December reminds me of summertime in a way. We tend to have a lull in the scheduled seatwork and pick it up again with a vengeance the first week of January - just like the first week of September. This week we've just been hanging out, watching Christmas shows, making cookies, and doing a minimal bit of the scheduled academic work. W is still reading lots, learning parts of speech, spelling, doing arithmetic in his head and on the computer, learning to cook, and going to dance, cub scouts, and the Home Depot kids workshop. Today he made a football goalpost, an art easel, and a leaf press. B said it was great and W loved it. They plan on going every month. I'm also thinking of taking the kids back to the art museum every week for the art workshops. I spent some time today revisiting all the free or cheap stuff to do around town and I can't believe how much there is. I take advantage of the fact that we live here and will get to it one day. I guess that's why I didn't visit the Statue of Liberty til I was an adult, lol.

J is reading for her book club, doing lots of computer stuff, going to dance and voice classes, and spending lots of time with her best friends. She does lots of sleepovers and hopefully soon, when this apartment is finally finished, we can reciprocate. So even though we take breaks from the written schedule, they're still learning so much. Actually, I've been noticing lately how many connections they make to everything around them. It's fascinating to witness. W adds and subtracts rapidly in his head, understands hurricanes, reptiles, and loves talking about the history stories we've read. We drove past "Albion Street" one day and he quickly pointed out that Albion was the ruler of ancient Britain. K has been working very hard in school, challenging herself to get nothing less than a B come spring. She's become pretty determined and has high aspirations for herself - lol, and still sleeps til noon on the weekends. Today she went to Manhattan with one of her best friends to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and do lots of window shopping.

It's December 1st. I am excited about this month. 75% of our Christmas shopping is done. I'm doing the Christmas cards this week. B is decorating the outside of the house this weekend. And we have a DVR this year to record all the Holiday shows!!

Thanksgiving was really nice. After work on that Wednesday we all drove out to my mom's. My sister and her bf invited us out to karaoke, so B and I met them there at around 10:30pm. B and I sang about 2 songs each. I used to love karaoke -- 15 years ago. I had fun, but I think I'm past my heyday with it, lol. We got home at around 1:30am. B got up early Thursday to put on the turkey (he had it brining overnight). He also made homemade stuffing, fresh cranberries, and corn casserole. B can cook...really well. Mom made the potatoes, carrots, and green bean casserole (yeah we just had to make that). We ate, had great pies for dessert, and we all crashed early to bed.

Friday, we took the kids ice skating. My other sister (G) and her kids met us there. They are 6 and 8 and W loves when they're there. W was a true pro on the ice, which I think amazed even him since we hadn't gone skating since last year. The girls also had a good time skating. That evening, we all ate the tons of Thanksgiving leftovers.
Mom took the girls to the mall (what a shock, lol), and B took W to see Bolt in 3D. I hung out with my sister (M) and her bf (M) at mom's house - I'll call them M&M from now on. A nice fire was made in the backyard in one of those fire pit things. We all sat around it and drank wine and talked until 2am. The girls came home somewhere around 10 or 11pm, sat with us for a little while, and went to bed. Mom hung out til 2, lol. B and W also got home somewhere in there, came out to say hi, and also hit the hay.

On Saturday we came home, I went to work, and relaxed all evening. The weekend wore me out, lol. On Sunday, B took 6 huge garbage bags full of laundry to the laundromat with W. Our washer/dryer is in the basement and we have no power down there. Yes, we still have one worker here trying to figure out the electrical stuff and in my opinion, is not all that he's cracked up to be. We're in our second MONTH of getting our wiring done and I have no light in my kitchen or power in my basement. Not to mention the 6 or 7 2'x2' holes in every room that have yet to be patched, sheet rocked, and painted. I want to scream.

Also, a week ago, K turned 15. I still have a hard time saying that I have 15-year-old. I was just 15...and it wasn't pretty. She's awesome, though. I see way more responsibility, maturity, and good decision-making than I ever had at that age. We got her Ed Hardy boots (chocolate-colored), my mom got her a new North Face short jacket, and my sister got her the Twilight CD. I was impressed that K's boyfriend got her a Tiffany bracelet (lol, one of K's best friends stated that he has now raised the bar for all boyfriends).

Look at our African Dwarf frog. It was less than 1/3 the size when we got it. It makes me sort of cringe a bit when he extends like this. He's huge and he almost looks like a person.