Schedule for 2010

Week 1 - Greek
Week 2 - Latin
Week 3 - Instruments
Week 4 - Writing Assignment
Week 5 - **open**

Please post anything you'd like, but make sure you mention the focus of the week. This is a guideline to strengthen our progress in these areas during 2010. Please post your Writing Assignment (final drafts only, please) on the 4th Friday by midnight. This will give the other students all weekend to read through the writings.

Writing Schedule:

January - poem - any length, meter/style, subject
February - book report
March - complimentary letter (to a person or company)
April - 5-paragraph Persuasive Essay (choose a topic with mom's help)
May - letter to the editor about a current issue (think about actually submitting this)
June - limerick
July - 5-paragraph How-To essay
August - short story (main character/problem/solution model)
September -letter of complaint (you may have to make-believe a problem for this one)
October - 5-paragraph essay (choose a topic with mom's help)
November - **free writing*** (choose what you want to write this month)
December - 5-paragraph essay: "What difference does Christ make these days, anyway?"

We're looking forward to sharing 2010 together with you all. Let's have fun, work hard, and really make this the best year yet. Celebramos!

sorry we have not been writing

Hi, Wilson here. We have been slow on our school through out fall and early winter but were getting better now. Im still doing Keys:Geometry and am now in book 7. I am also reading the Prince and the Pauper. I'm enjoying my science book and trying to work harder on Greek and Latin. We are redoing the girls bed room, the living room, the kitchen and entry way. My birthday was recently here and I'm now 15 years old.

Hi, Rachel here. I have not done much school lately. It's getting colder up here. I'm thinking of starting a buisness for shoveling out people's side walks. For school I am reading Baby Island. I didn't get my new Greek book. In math I'm going a little slow. We can't really play king of the hill yet in the snow, but we can go ice skating on the ice with out falling in(the ice is in the field). Well, that's all for now. bye bye.

Hi everyone, I'm so happy that Chistmas is almost here. Yesterday I went bell ringing for the Salvation Arny at 8:00 with Rosie and then we went to Judy and Robert's. She invited me to the Refuge, thats like a church and a place to eat and other stuff. Robert would like me to try out for the band. So I'm practicing, practicing, practicing so much that my fingers hurt, that makes it hard to type. I am catching up in Math and Science, and trying to keep up with Latin and Greek. These past months I have been writing poems for our church. I enoy it a lot. Last weekend the youth group and I went to a concert in Grandforks. We listened to Toby Mac. I've heard him before on the radio but he sounds better live. For the Chistmas program at our church we are doing "A Night In Bethlehem". We are going to turn the basment into Bethlehem with stores and workshops. I'm going to be a scribe. The snow is here. Now we are "Walking in a Winter Wonder Land", and I LOVE IT. Time to go Bye.

Hi, Rosie here, I've been going slow in Latin and Greek, but I'm going much faster then I did in the Fall. I did some Math this week and History and English. The snow was pouring outside today. I've finished one reading book and am now going on to another. That's all for now, bye.

My turn! Thanks for calling Tonya...it was a bright spot. We are busy with the house as Wilson said. It seems we never get very far. Well, we'll soon finish up in the girls' room (I think I've said that before), and then we will move onto the entry way. So much to do. School has been trying for me, and the kids have been struggling with getting things finished. That said, the kids still love playing piano. I enjoy hearing them practice every day. Eddie is so fun...and really keeps us on our toes. I have been baking bread, trying out some new recipes and tweeking others. Wilson loves Tibetan momos...so I just had to make them for his birthday. As we didn't have any wonton wrappers, and jogging over to the Chinese store at the last moment isn't an option, I made them myself. That was fun...so much in fact that I tried my hand at hand-pulled noodles the next day. That was fun too, even if it wasn't a success. We had quasi-chicken and dumplings. It happens that we had one left over roasted chicken thigh in the fridge and the cut up "noodles" made yummy sliders. Watch out Economides there is a new "economom" in town. The dish was a hit, and as I actually remember (sort of) the "recipe" they all want it again. Dad is looking forward to a huge pot of pinto beans and broth tomorrow. Then he wants chili from the left overs. Can you tell I have been spending time with my cookbooks lately? It's soon time to start dreaming through the seed catalogs too...and I admit I fell asleep with my Ball Canning book last night. Ufda. Now if only I could bake a Greek prepositions pie and Latin conjugations cake for the kids we'd be set.

Well, we've had a busy two weeks. Lots of performances, College stuff, friends visiting, etc. Just the "normal" routine for us. School has been sporadic, but the kids have made good progress in some areas. Our plan is to school hard next week and take Christmas week off, at least unless MOM's patience runs adrift, which is always a definite possibility.

Anders: I just helped Levi clean out the pig pen and put fresh sand and peanut hulls in. I may have some chicks hatch next week. I bought 2 white hamsters, named Belgium and Pickett.

Branch: I bought 5 pigeons and I built a shed with Daddy to keep my stuff out of the rain. I finished Hey Andrew Book #3, and I'm going to start #4 next week. I planted rye in my garden as a cover crop. This is the first year that we have had a little Christmas tree.

The Girl: I finished Book #3, too, and I'm begging MOM to start #4 now, but she won't let us till next week. I was Mary in our Christmas performances, and I had to wear a curtain valance for my veil because Teresa & MOM are so silly. I'm doing lots of planning with MOM for next year's school. I hope to cook more and do more handiwork. I have lots of projects that I would like to do, such as: finish my cross-stitch piece and finish a small doll blanket with Teresa.

Stennes: I have made peace with Algebra. MOM let me use a calculator, which sped up the lesson quite a bit, and I still learned a lot. I'm working on my small greenhouse and I'm almost finished, but it looks like a mess. I'm going to make a "run" on my chicken pen to enlarge the buff Orpington flock. Daddy and I ordered a needle bearing for the transmission in the tiller, and we re-designed the throttle. Now it works very well.

ChubChub: I do my bit of school every day.

Josiah: I have been reading MOM's Henty books and not reading the books in my Reader Box like I'm supposed to. I helped Caleb and Levi put up a fence for Caleb's goats. My little roosters eat about 30 pounds a day. I play cello now in Port City Strings, and we had our first concert last week. I jumped from Saxon back into Algebra, and I'm learning a lot. I get the cast off my arm next Thursday, which will be nice.

MOM: We miss you all sooo much. I want to sit alone with Becky in a quiet, cozy room with rich hot chocolate and luscious snacks. We could put the kids upstairs with some games (educational, of course!) while we stayed downstairs and perused tons of free books sent to us from some fabulous homeschool publisher (Galore Park, anyone?). While getting a pedicure, of course. We could even invite Teresa to come down and share the spoils. Then...out of the cozy room to eat lunch prepared for us by a hitch-hiking-Third-World-type cook who just happened to drop in. The house has been thoroughly cleaned and totally re-organized while the lunch meal was being prepared. Oh, and don't forget! Next year's planning has all been done for us, the kids are biting at the bit (begging to begin, really), and everything is structured and prepared. We just show up and smile sweetly at the beginning of each school day. Okay, SLAP ME!!!!! This is getting too dreamy....WAKE UP, TONYA!!!

Are we behind in posting or what? Like I said this morning on the phone, we've been running in rectangles again (and hitting every corner!!).

Tonya's life: I've been busy wrapping up my job, doing a bit of training for essay scoring, working with the kids on school/instruments/etc. We had three performances this past week, and one next Tuesday. After that, Christmas performances. We really need to do more schoolwork, but Life Skills/outside jobs/performances/animals & gardens/etc. are important, too. We just need to find a good balance. Right, huh?

The Girl now: I'm in Hey Andrew #3 and I hope to be finished in 12 more days! Mommy and I have a new cookbook for cookies. I have 9 cookbooks in my own collection now. I got my room really clean today. I have to memorize my speech for the Christmas performance. I'm going to be Mary.

ChubChub now: Today I played swords with the big boys and I hit Branch. I have school books now. I'm super-happy I'm 4. I hope my big brothers don't mess up their room again. [Taken from his mouth directly. Then he asked, "Was that a good enough speech?"]

Stennes now: The kale, cabbage, and turnips in my garden are doing well. One of my Buff Orpington hens went broody and hatched 8 chicks. She takes good care of them, and I let them free-run. I have been painting a lot for Mean Ol' Mama and I'm about to go work with my uncle for a few hours. Last night I took a hunter certification class. It was easy because the DNR man gave all the answers before we took the test. I'm fixing up a large Craftsman tiller that we bought (falling apart) for $25.00 at a yard sale. It was a really good deal, and I have it running moderately well right now.

Branch now: I planted some spinach and turnips in my garden about two weeks ago, and some small plants are growing now. I'm hoping to buy some chickens soon. Last week at a yard sale I bought 6 chicken feeders for $1.00 each, and so I have plenty of feeders and a really good pen, too. I have been practising my violin, and I am learning Christmas songs with the other partners in my ensemble group. I have gone fishing about every week; I caught 2 bass. Stennes painted a wall with chalkboard paint, and we have fun drawing on it. I drew ChubChub playing a guitar.

Anders now: Last night I passed my hunter certification class with 94%. Daddy has been buying a few guns lately, and I'm saving my money to buy one, too. I haven't decided which one yet. I have to wait till I'm 12, so I have 2 more years to decide. I've been helping Pop work on his chicken pens, and I put 15 eggs from my chickens in the incubator.

Josiah now: I ordered 50 Jumbo Rock Cornish roosters. They weigh 4-6 pounds in 9 weeks! Pop had one that was 22 weeks old and weighed 14 pounds dressed (as in gutted out, not wearing a dress). I am working with Daddy on a big chicken pen for my roosters. My cabbage, lettuce, and sweet peas came up. I also planted kale. I bought a 12-gauge shotgun, and I have gone deer hunting, but I haven't shot one yet. Last night I passed my hunter certification class with 100%!

Rebecca and kids, we're going to scream down here in Georgia! AAAAAHHHHHH!!!! Did you hear us? We're running in circles trying to get things finished for the Fair. Mean Ol' Mama is working at the College (almost down to the testing time, so there's lots of pressure), Stennes has been "Fair-ing" and busy work for MOM, Josiah has been memorizing for Fair and trying to juggle a new instrument, Anders has been memorizing and improving his Life Skills at home, Branch has been trying to figure out why everyone keeps giving him more "go-fer" jobs to do, The Girl has been trying to entertain ChubChub during all the hullabub, and ChubChub has been a rascal. Another AAAAAHHHHHH!!!! We'll be glad when the 10th is over and the Fair will be behind us. Pray for us. We're running in so many circles that our circles are now squares because we keep hitting corners. Definitely an UFDA month for us.

It's Friday Already!?

Wilson informed me that tomorrow is Saturday, and so guess what...that means it's Friday! We've been busy in the garden lately. The summer finally came and we have been harvesting and putting up all we can. The kids started up piano again on Wednesday. They were to start last week but Eddie came down with pneumonia and we had to go into the hospital overnight. He had trouble breathing and was on the resperator off and on all night. Praise God he is alright now. We have also just been celebrating his birthday; he turned three today. The kids have started school up again with what we have. We still haven't ordered anything new yet. That all for now. ~Rebecca

Hey all, Teresa posting here. It has been many moons since my bunch has posted. I'll post for them because they are still out working. This is obviously the time to be busy! Levi is in the shop working on fair projects. The clock is ticking! You know thereare no Greek or Latin books in the shop. I am classifying September as "Shop 'til You Drop" month. HA!

We have also increased our livestock population. Caleb has 3 goats. We have 3 pigs, 2 cows, 6 rabbits and oodles of chickens. Pop is planning on putting 100 more eggs in the incubator tomorrow. Scraps are well used, now.

Congratulations to Wilson for Boy Scout patrol. We think you're as mature as our boys. You can take that however you wish.

Next month the fair will be over; we'll school then. Maybe?

Hi! Wilson here. I have a wonderful reason why I'm posting early. Yesterday evening, while Mom and I were lost, looking for the Boy Scout meeting place, I was nominated and voted on being the SPL (senior patrol leader) for our troop! That means that I have proved to them I am a good leader and ( this is going to crack you up) mature. Bye

Sorry we have not posted

Wilson here. Sorry we did not post. We just plain forgoten about it. Mom will be ordering my new algebra book soon, meanwhile I will be doing Geometry keys. I'm reading a book called 'The Elements of Style' by William Strunk Jr, and E.B White. I have a new subject called Geography. I have to be more consistent in latin and Greek. Bye for now!

Hey, Kajsa here. Ive been trying catch up in math this week and also in science. I have to do some extra work to get ready for high school next year. But I don't mind none. School can be fun if you set your mind to it. Latin and Greek I really have to catch up in. I've improved alot in reading. Ive finished Peace Rebel and am now working on Lord of the Rings. This will take longer to read but its exciting. Last week we went to a festivil called Rolag. Its an old town in MN. they have old tracters and old fashion stores, and of course Great food. Well the garden is coming along. Its harvest season. That means work, work, work. We squeese school in when ever we can. Well time for me to go. Tata For Now.

Hello,Rachel here.I have to catch up on Greek, mommy didn't order my new Greek book yet so I have to read out of Rosie's Greek book. I need to catch up on my math and my latin, Mommys going to Give me some papers for latin. For reading I read Detectives in Togas.In English I did a lesson.Thats all for now bye.

Hi, Rosie here. I did plenty of History and Reading. I finished a book called The Little Lame Prince and now I'm reading The Hobbit. I did some math and got a new geography book, but didn't do much Latin and Greek. Mommy made pickles and cookies. She is not here and is sorry she could not post. That's all for now. Bye.

Josiah first. We bought a cello and I play as well as YoYo Ma. Not. Anyway, I'm trying to learn. I didn't do much school this week, but I've been working on my Fair projects. I planted lettuce, and my chicks ate it. We picked a lot of field corn these last few days for animals. It was hard work.

The Girl now. I finished Hey Andrew #2 and Mommy is buying the next book. I really like to read now. I have 6 chicks that are mine.

Tonya says "HELP!" We're running in so many circles that I actually think they're squares because I keep hitting the corners. Fair projects are taking a lot of time for the kids, so we're trying to catch up on other things. Truthfully, though, between teaching, school, home, etc., sometimes it's nice just to sit and breathe. If you get a big bottle of Get Up and Go, could you send me a bit?

Tonya here reporting for everyone. We REALLY need to wake up before 7:00 a.m. Sleeping just a bit later has thrown us off, off, off. That being said, we have accomplished the following:

1. some schoolwork for the little ones
2. Stennes and Josiah have worked diligently on Fair projects
3. We have super-super-super-cleaned 2 rooms
4. We reached a consensus that the schoolroom is for school ONLY and that playing, camping out, toys, etc. are unacceptable and will be dealt with accordingly. This was a MAJOR blessing for us.
5. We wrote out, posted and signed Panem Nostrum Quotidianum (daily rules) and a penalties chart. MAJOR blessing, again.

I'm overwhelmed with work at the College, unacceptable attitudes, trying to figure out a decent schedule for us all, and yet I am very, very pleased at how a few solid rules have made life much more easy for us all.

Next week's intentions:

1. Try to find time for the big boys to do schoolwork. This is tricky because their projects are substantial (as usual) and they work pretty much all day, every day . We're going to have to use "minutes" here and there to do the best that we can.
2. Continue doing a super-super-superclean of the porch and storage area. The rest of the house is pretty organized and easy to maintain.
3. Work on more of a groove for KP/chores/cooking detail.
4. We're starting a Bean Attitude Counter (a quantity of beans in a cup for everyone in the family, a bean is lost when the attitude is unacceptable, the most beans at the end of the week wins). Childish but perhaps it will keep us all more aware of how we're speaking and acting.

Hi! Wilson here. Sorry for not posting. Mom, Kajsa, Rosie, and I were at a concert, Thurs through Sunday. It was a youth group trip. The concert was called Higher Ground, and it was a christian place, though we didnt enjoy their 'hard christian rock' songs. One word can describe practicly everything... LOUD! I didnt do school but we did do work. We change the location of the pig pen, took down the chicken fence, and washed the North side of the garage. Then we left for the concert, came back from the concert, and here I am now. Bye- bye.

Hey all! Teresa here. I suppose I had best post if I am to remain in good standing. Much has happened since my last little post. Our trip to LA was profitable with the GA team winning second place in the nation and Caleb having the highest score in the country. Proud Mama! The trip to KY netted us 800-1000 lbs. of Osage Orange wood. The boys helped cut it down and load on the Suburban. Useful for fair projects.

Forestry practice started this week (miss you Wilson). Only two weeks until competition so, we aren't going to have much time to get it all together. Caleb starts college back this week (last semester grades- 3 A's and one B) and Levi needs to start something!!

Levi is outside helping clean the shop so I'll post for him. He has started working on projects for the GA National Fair. Everything thing seems to come so quickly! He has done a bit of algebra, Greek and Latin most days this week. Of course, there are always lots of garden chores. Plus, he and the boys have had a good time exploring and throwing knives.

This week we're going to hit it hard!!! Hmmmmmmm?

We're back! We had such a neat vacation and we've been trying to unpack and find a bit of a groove. I start teaching at the College this coming Tuesday, so we best find the groove quickly! Lots of paperwork to catch up, lots of plans to finalize, and lots of kids to inspire to be more self-directed! Ufda.

Josiah here. I am working on a project for the GA National Fair. There are lots of chicks hatching from the incubator and many Seminole pumpkins in the gardens. I have done some Greek, Latin, a bit of math, and a few Reader books.

Anders now. Today I did some Greek, Latin, math and we went swimming with Stanton Long and his family. My chickens are now laying!

Branch now. I'm going to get some more Silver Seabright chickens soon. I have done some math and reading. My garden is very weedy and I need to clear it out. I need to practice violin more, too.

Ufdah!

We've been busy, busy, busy. The past two week-ends we were to Minneapolis. The week-end before last, we brought down the pig we butchered and also left Rachel to stay with our Solomon Island friends. Last week-end we had our first Solomon Island Independence Celebration there in Bloomington. There were about 40 people that we served "motu" (stone/earth baked) pork, barbequed chicken, coconut rice, cassava, sweet potato, "island" or Asian yam, taro, pineapple..."evri kaikai blong Solomon nao." Solomon Islanders came from Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, and Florida. Another had been in American Samoa and happened to be visiting at his sister and brother-in-law's in Minneapolis to help with the kids when his sister went back to the Solomon's for a month. She didn't make it but her husband, children and brother did! He is leaving this week to go back to Hawaii and then American Samoa where he teaches Science in the high school. About half of the people there were kids under 14! Of course, when islanders get together we stay up and talk into the wee hours, so we are all exhausted from the cooking, story-telling and, as you can imagine, non-stop laughing. We had a great time.

On the way down to the Cities I picked up Wilson at Camp Wilderness. He was there for the week at Boy Scout camp, as probably the oldest new recruit ever. His scout leader asked him to be SPL (Scout Patrol Leader). When I picked him up I was told by the Area Director that they were very impressed with the leadership he displayed. He had a great time and looks forward to more events and opportunities with the Scouts. I was happy to hear how he stepped up to be SPL and took it seriously, never missing a meeting, encouraging his buddy ( a younger new recruit who has trouble building relationships), and coming alongside the Chaplain to lead the Scouts in morning prayer at the flag. Proud Mama.

Kajsa and Rosie didn't come down with us to the the Cities, but stayed home with Grandpa. Kajsa had her last two games of the season, and now we go to the district championships in Coon Rapids, so I'll be heading down to the Cities again this week-end with her. Wilson's tournament will be here in Detroit Lakes, so Sailasa and he will be here this week-end. Kajsa's team is ranked 1st in their division. Those girls are very excited and practicing hard for their upcoming games.

Well, final confession. The kids haven't done any...any...school work. Rosie read Elsie Dinsmore, Kajsa read Boomtown!, and Wilson read his Bible and Scout handbook (the only books he brought to camp). Rachel didn't bring one book, even to read in the car, and just played, played, played all week! Oh! She just told me she wrote a story. That counts :)

Well, gals. I was really on the ball, "up and at 'em", ate negative calories (well, the food was cooked in a hole!) and ....okay, I'll do better this week.

This is Levi posting from Tonya's house because I'm down here playing games with the cousins. This week I got a lot of tomatoes from my garden. I fixed my tiller. I made the most delicious pickles from my cucumbers (Tonya says "Most delicious"). I did Latin and Greek every day and I finished all of my schoolwork every day. This was a first. The End.

Stennes here. We have been doing a lot of Latin lately because we have been observed so much by college students. I have done some Greek and I understand it a lot better after Mom and I read through the chapters together up to where I am. My garden is producing some cherry tomatoes and yellow pear tomatoes and the chickens are doing fine. This coming week I need to be more steady in math. I need to do more Greek, too. Latin is going well, but I would like to do more on my own.

Hi, it's The Girl. I have been reading in English and in Spanish. I did a little of Greek and Latin. My favorite is both of them. Ha ha! I hope Mommy will buy me a new math workbook so I can do more. I need to finish my reading books, practice piano and keep my room clean.

Branch now. I am holding a lizard now but I'll let him go in a minute. We're planning our trip to Minnesota in two weeks. I am excited. I haven't done much school this week. I need to do more and practice more violin. I have cherry tomatoes in my garden.

Hi, it's Josiah. Right now some of our cousins are here and we're playing Stratego. I have watermelons, cucumbers, canteloupe, cherry tomatoes, peppers, and squash in my garden (plants, anyway). I hope they produce a lot. This week in school I improved a lot in Latin and in Greek. Many people have come to observe us lately.

Tonya's turn now. We have been busy, busy, busy. The Patriotic Performances are finished, so that's a relief. We're getting excited about our upcoming vacation. Next week we're planning on doing as much school (push, push, push!) as we can, then do a major Spring Clean/Pack-a-Thon for our vacation. It would be lovely to wrap up "little" books and leave the house ready to move back in when we return. We're doing the best we can, I suppose, but sometimes life can be a bit overwhelming. As the kids said, we've had quite a few people in the home completing their observation hours. Kind of throws things off a bit. On the good side, though, we've been doing our Latin because that's what I teach when we're being observed. Anyhow, I'm looking forward to "lying low" next week and hope that we can get back into a good groove (at least for a week) before we throw things off again with the vacation.

Anders here. We bought a nice little used camper last week. I did a bit of Greek and Latin. There are large watermelon plants in my garden. Next week I need to do lots more school work.

4th of July! YEAH!!

Wilson here. I read chapter 9 in Greek a few times, trying to understand and memorize it all. I did a chapter in Math and did Latin with Kajsa and Rosie. The Soccer season is over, but there is a tournament on the 16th of July. Tomorrow, Kajsa, Rosie, Grandpa and I are going to Lake Ida to celebrate the 4th of July. Mom, Dad, Rachel, Eddie, and the Bunny are at Minneapolis for to visit some Solomon Island friends. Mom, Dad, and Eddie will be back tomorrow and we will meet them at Lake Ida. Sunday, I'll go to camp Wilderness for Boy Scouts. It'll last for 1 week. C'ya.

Hi Everyone. This week was busy like usual. I had a soccer game in a small town called Mennewoska. It looks so big, but it is mostly a lake. I think that the lake is bigger than the town. In Latin I did translating, and learned new words. Same in Greek. In the garden every thing is growing. Corn, onions, peas, beans, weeds.... so on so forth. We are going Leroy and Sharon's lake for the 4th. I can't wait. Rachel is spending the 4th at her friends house in Minneapolis. That's my update. Goodnight. Kajsa
Hi all. I did some Latin, Greek, and Greek Copy work. A few days ago some people came and got permission to put their trailers on the lawn. They were working on the road. This week Mommy, Grandpa, Rachel, Eddie, and I went fishing. Mommy and Rachel did the best at catching the fish, I caught one fish big enough to eat Mommy caught a bass and a sunfish, Rachel caught two or three sunfish. That's all for now, bye.

Okay, I've decided that I just like making a grand entrance. Teresa here, late as usual. We're bumping along amongst the company, garden, and chores. Nothing too exciting, but we're trying to be as steady as possible. We've been consistent with the 3 R's and about 15 min. daily on Greek and likewise with Latin. We still don't have the Lord's Prayer in Greek totally memorized; next week!

It's quite warm down here and I certainly sympathize with the migrant workers in the fields. All the camps are full, so we're trying to go out several times per week.

This week it is my goal to do better on #4.

Tonya reporting for everyone (again!!!) because they are outside working. We have stayed steady with the 3 R's this week, and I am very, very pleased with the progress the kids have made in Latin. We're discussing a few changes in the Greek and Latin, but I'm not sure how, if, when, etc. it will be. We were observed by College students this week, and I was pleased by the boys' behavior and responses in the class. It was probably a little awkward for the students because they couldn't understand what the boys were saying. I spoke English during the Latin lesson, but I explained that the boys were not allowed to speak English with me.

It is so hot down here. The gardens are moving slowly now, and the blueberries are almost finished bearing. Hopefully we'll get some nice, ripe tomatoes soon instead of those plastic fake tomatoes from the store.

Our goals for this upcoming week:

1. Do a great job on the Patriotic Performances and speeches
2. Work on instant obedience with a good attitude
3. Stay steady with the 3 R's
4. Figure out which way to head with the Latin and Greek for optimum success
5. Go back to a Third World menu (we see some picky eating sneaking back in, and we need to nip it in the bud)
6. Start planning for vacation to Minnesota (yipee!!)
7. Think about moving back into SEALs training (they are begging!!!)

We have company again this week, a family reunion, and a cook-out for 100 Haitians, so it has been another busy week. I apologize that the boys don't post often; they ask and ask to do it, and I may have to let them do it during the week because on week-ends they disappear outside.

Kajsa Reporting: I haven't done much in my Latin or Greek books but I have done a little. I have everything on our wall memorized but I have not memorized the the Lords Prayer in Greek. Mom put up some Latin Posters, some of them are kind of funny. In the garden we have some things sprouting up and, half of the garden is planted with apple, plum, and pear trees. Today we went to see a play called the Taming of the Shrew. It was fun doing something for the fun of it. Yesterday I had a soccer game. We played the girls that were a year older than us. I think it was a pretty good game even though we lost by two points. Well, that's my up date.

Hi, Rachel here.
I didn't do much Greek or Latin. Friday we went to a play in D.L nexts Thursday
we are going to the cities. I asked daddy if I could bring my bunny so my friend who lives there could see it. So daddy said I can bring it. I have my flowers in my garden. Yesterday when Kajsa was playing I was playing a game but it was just for fun. And the other game was with Willyboy. He was playing with his friend and told me to be on the girls side so I did. Well thats all for now. Bye

P.S. Not everyone can post for they were sleeping when we wrote.

Perhaps we should post any day of the week. I might qualify for that!

Teresa posting for all, because Levi is in the garden (fancy that). He just brought in a bowlful of warm, sweet cherry tomatoes. Yum! I am trying to think optimistically about what we ARE accomplishing and not the other way around. It's hard to change my thinking.

We have done a little Greek and Latin each day. We have read aloud. We have gardened, swam, laughed and mowed. See! We have not used many books, but plenty of situational education.

Mean Ol' Mama here. We missed it again, Vave family! Perhaps we should post always on Friday OR Saturday, as we can. Anyway, I'm alone again on the computer, but we discussed all week what we should post.
1. Memory work went pretty well this week. We're moving into Ancient Greece, so we'll be working in our history notebooks under a new time period starting Monday or Tuesday.

2. The switch back to Eng/Sp alternating school weeks went well. It's a lot less overwhelming.

3. The kids worked hard in math this week. The Girl and Branch are trying to finish up Saxon 2 by doing about 30 lessons a day w/ mommy, so we'll finish it up this week and move them into the 3rd grade book. They have all made good progress in their math skills lately.

4. We have a performance this Friday and another big one in 2 weeks plus company coming this weekend, so we'll be busy with those things on top of our "normal" routine. Normal? Define normal, anyway.

5. The Girl and Branch are really improving in Eng reading, and I'm looking forward to seeing how well they can alternate between the two starting Monday. I think they'll do just fine.

6. The boys have been fishing whenever possible, and we've enjoyed some fun swim time at the pool.

7. We discussed the basic 5-paragraph essay and I assigned the topic "What Comprises a Good Education?". These are due Monday morning, and it has been interesting to see how the boys "think" on paper.

It was a pretty good week considering that Monday (including Performance Practice in the afternoon), Thursday and Friday were pretty much no-school days because we were out of the home.

Hi From from Uncle's and Auntie's Place

This is Wilson posting for every one. We did no school except for me. I did a little math but that was it. We were doing a garage sale yesterday, and today but only up to 1:00 p.m. We are at our Uncle's and Aunt's place, having a good time visiting. Our Aunt is letting me use her computer. Mom will post later today.

Well, I thought about posting early Friday morning and then forgot again until today. Remember, I am much older than you ladies!

We've had a good week. Just easing along. Being the first of the month, we had to sing at the nursing home, plus we added an assisted living home. That is basically singing for a little over an hour. The children are improving in their sound and technique. I was exhausted when we finished.

We've worked more on the Lord's Prayer in Greek. I've got it posted on the bathroom board. Hey, whatever works, right? Pop wanted to know how anyone could read it. We've done a little Greek and Latin everyday this week. Perhaps next week we'll do more than a little.

Levi is working in his garden (he lives there) with Tim and Caleb is reading his TIG welding book. A group of Mexican men stopped me in the grocery store parking lot this morning wanting to know if we were coming to their camp later today. With their little English and my little Spanish, we were able to comunicate through "signs and wonders." Maybe we'll see them this evening.

I really need to work harder on #4 this week. Don't freeze; we can send some heat!

Oh no! We forgot to post on Friday, so I'll do a quick update. We've been busy this week as well, trying to wrap up loose ends. I have made another executive decision to return to the English/Spanish weekly rotation because the kids have so much in each language that it's impossible to get both languages done daily. I think it will go much smoother for us. This will also help out during our memory time so we can concentrate on each language weekly to the best of our ability.

We posted the Lord's Prayer in Greek by the table and I have really made progress. Don't know about the kids, but they seem to do well anyway without it right there in front of them. Just goes to show that I'm getting old!

We will be working this week in English so I need to pull down and file next year's books for the kids. We also have a big performance coming up, so speeches need to be written and memorized, songs need to be learned, and we need to figure out where we're headed with our band.

Josiah is outside now harvesting the rest of his potatoes, Anders and ChubChub are working in the yard, Branch was picking up the schoolroom but he found an interesting book instead, Poppins is taking a snooze, Stennes and The Girl are playing a game, bread is baking in the oven (AGAIN!!!!), we have company coming from Canada for supper tomorrow night, all the migrant camps are full for preaching, and I have a list long enough to wrap around the world (a small one, anyway!). Sorry about missing our posting on Friday. We'll do better next week.

Brrrrr its COLD!

Hey all, this week I did some pages in my Latin, Greek and Greek Copy book. I'm reading Crispen.Today we went to the soccer field and played a 3 v. 3 competition. It was lots of fun. Our team name was Aunt Susie's Pancakes and we wore a Papa Murphy's Hawaiian shirt. We lost one game, tied one game, and won one game. Tomorrow we will have our recital in piano. We will be with other kids eating pizza and playing piano. Sunday school is over and Vacatin Bible School is starting soon. This year I am too old to be in V.B.S., but I am going to be an assistant helper (yeah). Kajsa

Hi it's Rosie, I did 11 pages in Latin, and 2 pages in Greek, and 5 pages in Math. I did an oral book report on Erasmus, and 11 pages in Grammer. I also did 2 sentences in my Greek Copy book. Outside the grape vines are looking alive now, and the woods are green! The grass is long enough to mow now. Sunday we are going to my Aunt Fern's place and eating pizza and playing piano. It was cold today but we may be suprised!


Hi, it's Rachel
I did 9 pages in Greek. Idid 4 pages of in math .We went to lots of places for Kajsa's soccer games and pratices. I have a baby bunny whose name is Dandylion. She gets out of her pen every 5 mins, but the chickens don't attack her. Sunday we have a piano pizza party.We will meet all the other students. Ican't wait! Well that's all for now. Bye.


Wilson here. I did a few exercises in Latin, a few sentences in Greek, and a lesson of Math this week. I was very busy in soccer this week. On Wednessday I had a game in soccer and lost 2-1. But today we won 6-0! I finally recieved my pigs a couple weeks ago, my sisters call them Oinky and Doinky. I also finished my Logic Book and already started the second book! Until next time.

Things are picking up...speaking of picking up, I need to pick up around here! We've been on the go all week. It's good to just sit here a bit. The weather is crazy. It froze pretty hard last night and there was heavy frost on the windshield this morning. I'd say "the frost is on the punkin", except it's June. We haven't planted "punkin" yet...it's so cold. We have been working hard on our memory for Latin and Greek. Also, we have been doing the translation exercises from Lingua Angelica. Have been doing much better on 1 and improving on 2. We'll be seeing about 3, and I'm thinking 4 is too broad for me...ha! no pun intended. It is going well in some areas, yet not so well in others. Again, no pun intended. Really! ~Rebecca

Let's try that again.

Okay, my computer blinked and we lost our post. I will post for us this time...holding frustration at bay...[smiling, smiling, smiling].

The kids have been busy with soccer, school, piano and the farm. Yesterday they had their last scheduled piano practice until the fall. Their teacher, my dad's aunt Fern, has a busy summer with her daughters coming from Arizona and Illinois. Next Sunday all of her students will get together to play for each other and have a pizza party. Fern wanted to have a recital, but the other kids were too nervous. Guess they don't have a mean ol' mama! After piano we went to the park for a picnic. Eddie chased squirrels while the others presented their oral book reports.

This month we begin our "Friday on Monday" writing and speeches, so next week they will present written essays. When it comes to the research paper, they will present their prospectus the 4th week of the month and continue working on the paper, concurrently with their other work, until the 8th week (4th week of the next month), when they will present the final paper. At least that is the plan. We'll let you know how it goes. Thanks for the tip Tonya: "Start small; add gradually."

Wilson finished Trad. Logic I and began the second book. They are all working hard in their Math books, not quite as hard in Latin and Greek though. We need to step that up a bit. I haven't been on the ball this past week. I really slipped on morning memory and it has messed us up. We need to stick to that morning routine, or our days get all out of whack. Need I tell you? 1 was not too bad, but 2 and 3...ufdah! 4 ditto. We are blessed though and moving forward!

June 1, 2009

We missed the Friday deadline. Again. We were gone two days last week so, not much Greek/Latin was covered. The boys were able to visit the GA Cotton Museum, Ocmulgee National Monument, Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center, and Hard Labor Creek State Park. This was a trip for the wildlife judging team. We learned lots and it was very profitable. Levi's garden is moving along. He has a really good crop of grass in areas. He even has a baby canteloupe. Cute! Caleb started summer session in college today. Fun!

We're really going to try to hit all of our objectives this week.

Josiah. Hi, you'uns. I did pre-Algebra this week and I have been helping Levi in his garden and working in mine. We've been eating lots of potatoes lately and we've been out preaching almost every night since the migrants are in. Caleb bought an Isuzu pick-up like your dad's.

Hi, in my garden I planted a banana tree, MayPop, ginseng, seminole pumpkin. I'm trying to work steadier on my pre-Algebra and it's going well. I need to catch up on my Greek. I'm a little behind on memorization, but we're going to have a much easier week next week. Stennes.

This is Anders. I went fishing and I caught 5 bream and a shell cracker. I also caught a bass with my cast net and maybe my picture will be in the newspaper tomorrow. We're going to play with the band tomorrow in Tallahassee for the last concert of the year. I'm going to try putting a light on the side of my boat to attract fish. We'll see how that goes. We did Friday class today with Teresa and Levi and received a new Greek book. I did some pre-Algebra, too.
Bye till next time.

ChubChub says that he wants to watch a DVD. That's all.

Mean Ol' Mama here. I'm really looking forward to this coming week. Having visitors is really hard on the schedule, and we were getting into a good "groove" with our schoolwork. As per our conversation on the phone, we're easing along in so many areas, trying hard to find a good balance between life and school. The migrant season always impacts our lives in a strong way, so we have another important area to balance as well. We're going to be working with the boys on more Sp. music for the camps, and we have more performances coming up later on this month (unexpected) and next month, too (expected). The days are whizzing by.
We're behind in our memory work, so we may have to extend the deadline for Lord's Prayer in Greek. I think we're really going to like the new Greek series we're following in our Monday class, and we've added Lingua Biblica to cover written Latin. We're doing a good bit of reading from various books on Monday, too. We need to get back into our memory work in the mornings, but sometimes I don't sleep very well, so that always slows me down a bit. And when Mama is slow, everybody is slow...But at least we aren't going backwards. Gotta remember that. Schoolwork, housework, any work done imperfectly still blesses our families.

Branch now. I finished building a larger chicken pen with Pop for my chickens. It's probably going to be shown on the blog. I've worked on my math, some reading in English and Sp., but I really need to do more. Violin is going pretty well, but I should probably practice more. I have a lot of songs to learn.

The Girl: I did a lot of math, but I need to read more. I've been playing Junior Monopoly almost every day. I need to keep my room cleaner. Branch has a math book that I want to steal from him. Maybe Mommy will let me.

From Levi.

I have done a good bit of Latin and Greek this week. We butchered chickens and I butchered a rabbit. I skinned it to tan the hide. When I put it in the shop something stole my skin, but at least we got to eat the meat. So, I butchered another and put the skin in a cage. I'm working on tanning it.


Big, old mama here. Sorry about not posting last week; just couldn't seem to get it together. We've had a pretty good week. I'm still feeling misplaced with Caleb in and out of the house. I can't seem to get a working, steady schedule. Working on that though. By the way, Caleb made five "A's" in this semester at the college. I did fine with #1 and 4, but 2 and 3 need a little tweaking.

Hello, friends of the frost! This is Mean Ol' Mama posting for us all. The boys have their cousins over right now, so I don't want to interrupt their game. We've had a dragging week, full of dragons and drama. The boys had their final band concert Monday night, they have one more concert to play that doesn't involve the parents, they'll be finished with guitar next Wednesday, and we're looking forward to a change of pace and plans. We haven't done much in the books this week, although Latin and Greek both are back on the list for next week! Woo-hoo!!! We have been entertaining their two cousins (a full-time job), catching up on strange bits and pieces around the house, and getting our heads back on straight. I have some ideas that I believe will make things work even more smoothly around here. I'll let you know how that goes.

We have potatoes now in full measure, and they're creamy and delicious. The blueberries are full but not quite ripe. My brain is full, too, but not quite ripe either. Please don't give up on us down here! We're trying to wrap up May and their many classes, so this coming week will find us back in the saddle again and aiming for a strong start in June.

Josiah here. I finished some of my Reader Box books, quite a bit in my Spanish Grammar and Sp. Phonetics, moved into a pre-Algebra book for math, and harvested some potatoes. Today I staked my pole beans and helped Levi in his garden. I planted beans, watermelon, cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes.

Hi, this is Branch. I planted beans and cucumbers. My peppers are doing well. In school I read quite a few Eng. readers and finished a 2nd grade math workbook. I need to practice violin more consistently, and my teacher is helping me with that. He gave me a checklist to follow. My chickens are growing. They haven't started laying yet. We started swimming again, and that's fun. We've been fishing with Daddy in the evenings, too.

Some of the kids aren't here right now, so I'll go ahead and post. We've certainly had a different week. #1 is going as well as it can with everyone staying even-tempered, no memory work right now until we catch up some of the books, 3 and 4 are about the same as before. But we're not going BACKWARDS!!! Whoopee!! Non scholae sed vitae discimus. I'm in a baking mood, which is good but fattening. We're really trying to be more consistent in so many areas. One new addition to our schoolroom: each child has a small basket for books read, pages finished, etc. so that we can see a visual sign of progress. This has worked very well this week. We're really looking forward to finishing up Band and guitar classes this month and get some of our time and life back. Of course, I have lots of big plans to fill those empty hours...hee hee....We really look forward to reading what you all are doing up there in the tundra. Teresa, Chan and I took all the kids swimming today...10 boys!!! and The Girl. Ufda! Also, the kids are going to give oral book reports on Fri.-on-Monday. We'll be doing essays next, focusing on persuasive, compare/contrast, and informative.

This is The Girl now. I finished lots of math sheets, some Eng. reader books, and some in Sp., too. I need to work on my piano piece more. Tomorrow Mommy and I are going somewhere together and we're going to eat lunch all by ourselves. I'm doing better in school and my room is staying pretty clean, too.

This is Anders. I finished all of my Sp. Phonetics workbook! I also finished my Saxon math book and I'm working in my pre-Algebra book that I had started earlier. I caught a jack and 3 bass and lost 2 lures. I've read some of my reader books, too. That's all for now.

Stennes now. I finished up Sp. worksheets that we found stuffed in my notebook. How did that get there? Hmmm....a mystery for Willie Boy. I finished planting Georgia Candy Roaster squash, pumpkin, okra, and sweet corn. I found 13 voluntary tomato plants in my garden, so I planted only 4. My potato plants are beginning to die, so I'll start harvesting soon. I read some reader books and I think that I've had a really good school week.

Salvete!

Hi, Kajsa speaking. I did two pages in my Greek copy book. In Latin we did parsing and translating. We translated the Benedic Domine and the Gloria Patri. I've finally got some seeds in the ground. I planted perennials right before the rain came down. Our piano teacher gave us some new books for the recital, and I've finished another math book.


Hi, it's Rachel.
I did five pages in Greek, a lesson in Latin and four pages in Math. It's very wet up here. I will work in my garden again after the ground becomes dry. Rosie and I both got new math books today. Well, that's all for now. Bye.

Hi, it's Rosie.
I have memorized The Triagion, and the Signum Crucis, and the Doxa Patri. This week I have had a cold, but now it's going away. I did eleven pages in Math and eleven pages in English, and memorized two poems. I have also been reading in a French book and have learned two phrases. Well, goodbye.

Hello. This week has been much better than last week. We have been more focused and I hope we continue on that way and become even more so. As far as Chinese goes, I have only briefly glanced over it, but we have been tossing some phrases around lately. Even Wilson has nonchalantly said a phrase now and again. I wonder if he is remembering it or if he is re-learning as he hears it. Anyway, I need to do more. Have been good at 1 and much better with 2 and growing in 3. As for 4, well, not as good, but not too bad either. Let's just say that I have found a new tooth this past week, but since it's wiggly I'll probably just pull it out. Shouldn't be too painful :) Seeing Kajsa began with Salvete, I will end with

Valete.

Hi it's Willyboy

Hi, this is Wilson. I did more Saxon this week than I did last week.I will be done with my logic book next week, I'm done reviewing and ready to do my last chapter in my logic book. I'm going slower in Greek, but still making progress, I'm in my 8th chapter and I'm memorizing my voabulary. I saw my pigs the other day, they were ugly, but I have a theory, the uglier they are... the sooner we will butcher 'em. I'll be going to a shooting competition today for the weekend. I'll be back on Sunday and that is why I'm posting early. I hope to do a lot more Saxon, finish my book, and do more in Greek and espeacially Latin next week.

Sorry, we're late! As Teresa said in her post, it's been an odd week, although it seems as if every week lately has been off-kilter. Anyway, you all know what's been going on in the schooling here at our house, so we haven't done hardly any languages except for English, and no subjects except for math and Reader Boxes. This coming week we're going to pursue Math, work on Sp. books and knock them out as hard and fast as we can, and get back into the groove. Our goal is to be caught up/ moving into the next levels by the end of May/mid-June. Accordingly, memory work has been minimum to non-existent, although we've made progress in our History notebooks. We'll see what happens this week in the languages and work the best we can.

On a lighter note, the gardens are coming along nicely, the kids did a fabulous job at their performance on Saturday, I'm throwing around some ideas in my head for next term's school, and we're making progress. It's slow, but at least we aren't just standing still. Thanks for understanding about the other stuff. It will all work out, and we'll certainly all feel better once these books and unfinished lessons are wrapped up. Pray for us, that we'll be faithful in everything.

May 8, 2009

Hi, Levi here:
This has been an exciting week in the garden department. I didn't get my corn planted, but I started harvesting potatoes. I've given quite a few away. Plus, I actually did some Latin and Greek. I also finished two algebra books and received the "Outstanding Craftsmanship" award for my steer carving.

Teresa reporting:
This has been an odd week. Because of homeschool testing, I have been gone everyday. I did O.K. in all areas; not wonderful, but O.K. Planning on doing better next week on number 4.

Hi, It's Kasja
This week I didn't do much Latin or Greek. I'll do better next week. Right now we are getting ready for Minneapolis. We are going there for Mothers Day. All the snow is gone now and we are going to mow the lawn. Yesterday we had our picture taken for soccer. We are waiting for the ground to dry up. I can't wait to start planting. Mrs. Fern our Great Grand Aunt/Piano Teacher gave us music to play for our recital.

Hi, it's Wilson
I did a little bit of Saxon this week. I also started a good review in my Logic book and should be done with it soon. I'm having more fun in Greek than ever before, I'm working in the 7th chapter. Dad bought the pigs in exchange for me playing soccer. All I have to do is put up the fence. We will be going to visit friends who live way down south... in Minneapolis.

Hi, it's Rachel
As you have heard we are going to Minneapolis. I have not done much Greek and Latin. We visted a lady named Mabel. Well thats all for now. Bye.

Hi, it's Rosie.
I have gotten much better at the Latin and Greek Declensions. I plan to do more Latin's Not So Tough and Hey Andrew...Greek next week. In piano I am learning part of the Summertime Waltz for a recital. That's all for now.

A quick post from me too. It has been a hectic week again. I did much better with 2. The kids have been practicing piano quite a bit and we have been catching up on our reading. We have to run now as it's time to leave. I'll post more next time. Re

From the Far North

This is Wilson. I recieved the Mounce Greek workbook Tuesday, and did exercises 3,4 and review 1-4. I read through the 5th chapter in the text. I didn't do much Latin, but I have almost memorized the Pater Noster. I'm trying to catch up in my math from the unexpected visit. I cleaned up the chicken house with the skidsteer today and now we literally have a ton of fresh compost. I hope to do more in my Saxon also, finish up my last chapter in my logic book, and get the pigpen ready for pigs!

Hi,its Rachel. I have just started my Greek again yesterday. In Latin, I am memorizing The Pater Noster, and in Greek I'm memorizing The Doxa Patri.We have finished one of our books for school called Mr. Pipes; a very fun book. Well,thats all for now. Bye.

This is Rosie,
I am doing great at the Pater Noster. I was able to say it almost through the whole thing. I did 10 pages in both my Latin and Greek. Outside Wilson, Rachel, and I cleaned out the hen's coop. It rained plenty this week; tomorrow is supposed to be sunny. I'm learning my French, and it is fun to recognize some French words from Latin, and I really like it, too. My typing is getting better, now. That's all bye.

Hi there, It's Kajsa
I've memorized the Sanctus and the Triagion. I've almost memorized the Gloria Patri and the Pater Noster. I'm using my Latins Not So Tough and am doing a little review. I'm having fun in Greek. Having a book full of Greek is like having a book full of tongue twisters. Today I made some money by babysitting my second cousins. I sure am glad to be home now. This Sunday is our last soccer practice indoors. Then we will have practice outdoors on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Yeah! I have four more pages left in one of my math "Keys"! Wilson and I are working on a duet on the piano. Fabas indulcet fames. Hunger sweetens beans. TTFN

Hi there. I have my turn now. We are up way too late,but I want to post this before tomorrow. This week has gone by in a flash. We have been working slowly, implementing all our wonderful ideas. The good news is we have a plan, and it helps us keep our goals in mind. I need to work on 3....a lot. 1. is about the same, 2. needs more improvement and 4. is actually pretty good this week. The work outside in the sun has been great. I haven't done any Chinese this week. Look for a better post on that next week. I made Greek lessons for Rachel to use until she starts Hey Andrew 3. It covers the vocabulary from Book 2 and also the Accusative of those nouns and the 3rd person of the verbs. I found a website for French for Rosie. I like that it isn't slow on dial up. She enjoys listening to the phrases and hearing how things should sound. After listening to the recordings and reading along she said she realized now why we were laughing about our French friends saying that French is easy; it sounds just like it looks. She says that if she were half blind it would be easy. Then she would only see half the letters! I'll end on french. Salut!

From LEVI,
I have only done a little Latin and Greek this week, because I have been working on a project for the student art show. I carved a steer and did few other things. I am going to disk my one acre field tomorow and plant it with corn (finally). I have already eaten a few potatoes from my garden, but they were not very big.

Josiah here. I did a few pages in Greek, some of my Spanish books, read quite a few of my Reader Box books, did about 4 pages of Latin (subjective tense), and I understood what was happening with the opposite vowel changes, thanks to Spanish "para que" changes. I'm going to work next week on my speech for a performance, on my gardens, on Spanish Bible, and I'd like to do even more in my Saxon.

Hi, this is Stennes. I did quite a few pages of my Spanish books, finished 2 Spanish Bible worksheets, read my Greek, but didn't do the workbook. I did Latin with the others. I'd like to memorize my speech next week, wrap up a lot in Saxon, work more in Spanish, and get finished with lots of "little" books.

This is Branch. I worked hard on reading music in violin. I'm reading much better in English. I did my Greek, Latin, and Spanish work and caught up with some of my math. I need to learn my speech and work more in my math.

I did my Greek and Latin, I'm working in a 3rd grade math book (some), I need to work more on my English reading. I have to memorize a poem for the performance, and I need to work more on my piano and flute. We had a pretty good week in school. (The Girl)

This is Anders. I went fishing yesterday and I caught 10 bream. I did 42 pages of my Spanish workbooks, and I'm doing much better in math because Mommy is being so mean. I'm hoping to finish my Saxon book next week and go into 5th grade. We'll see. This evening Daddy and I went to Mr. Johnny's to pour out some leftover concrete from Daddy's work. Next week I need to learn my speech, practice guitar, and I think Mommy is going to put me back into piano.

Okay, everyone, this is Mean Ol' Mama. We had a better week, but we're hoping to improve. #1 was better, #2 was horrible, #3 was better, #4 was so-so. I haven't made peace yet with #2 in terms of how much time it takes, so I need to re-consider a bit. I'm pretty pleased about this week, and I'm hoping that next week will be even better now that we all know the "changes".

May Day

Finally, I am able to post. It has been an exciting week! Lots of birds and birdbrains. After recovering from the weekend, I have met my #1 goal. Number 2 and number 3 is better than last week. Still working on #4.

This is an "early" post to celebrate the boys' accomplishment in the Youth Bird Competition. They went with a goal of identifying 115 species, and they actually identified 132! They placed 2nd in the High School division, 1st in most money raised, Stennes got 1st for his bird journal, and Levi also received 1st in his age group! They were very excited, not because they won some books but because they realize how much progress they have made. Teresa said that next year's goal is 150 birds!!! Celebramos!

Hello, all. This is Tonya posting for our family. The boys are getting ready to head out early (again!) tomorrow morning for their competition. We haven't been home long enough to do much, but next week we'll try harder. Josiah planted kale, his beans are sprouting, and all of the boys' other gardens are doing well. In school The Girl moved into a 3rd grade workbook; Branch did quite a few pages in his math; they both did their Spanish Bible, and The Girl read some in English. She's still learning to read in English. Anders and Josiah both did 4 pages of Greek, and Stennes finished his translation, so he'll start chapter 21 next week. Anders and Stennes both did some lessons in Saxon, and Stennes in pre-Algebra. No Latin, but I think we did very well considering that we've only been home for 1 day and will be heading out again tomorrow! We'll let you know how the bird competition goes. Congratulations on a fabulous first week!
Rebecca, I'm excited about this, too. Si mater felix non est, neum felix est. And I'm getting there!

Yeah! Friday!

Hi, I'm Wilson.
This is my first post on "celebramos"! I have lots to celebrate about. I copied in Latin and Greek 'The Lord Prayer' and 'The Gloria Patri'. What I also copied in Latin is 'The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed' and 'The Sanctus', in Greek copied 'The Triagion' and 'The Kyrie'. Dad and Mom ordered my new Greek book by Mr.Mounce on Wednesday and I hope to get it soon (yeah).

Besides School, I have lots to celebrate in my outside work. I placed an ad about the roosters that Mom gave me in the Farmers' Forum. I already sold 3 roosters and I traded one hen for a tent. Each rooster cost $15! I also decided to get pigs, so I'm clearing a nice area near Kajsa's garden. I'm working for Dad and he is paying me with pigs and fence; hopefully, I will get it this month. I forgot to mention that Rosie is working for me. I'm paying her with a piglet. Well, that's enough celebrating for me this week.

Hey there! It's Kajsa. My Greek and Latin are coming along nicely. They don't seem like a chore any more. I've got the Kyrie memorized,and almost memorized the Pater Noster, the Gloria Patri, and the Sanctus. Mom's learning Chinese, and so is Rachel.

I finished one of my math books yesterday. Soccer is great. I found a great place to put a hammock in my shade garden where I can see the sun set. The drawing book Mrs. Teresa gave me is filling up fast with paintings and drawings. Thank You Mrs. Teresa. bye now

Hello all, I am practicing and improving in Latin and Greek. I'm getting really good at the Pater Noster and improving at the Sanctus and Gloria Patri. I have memorized the Kyrie.

Outside, we are already working on the garden. That is fun. I wrote a poem called "Winter Days." Here it is.

When winter days come and go,
the snow must come and go also.
When it comes the children smile;
they go and play for quite a while,
and when they're cold from head to toe
they go inside for hot cocoa.
After that they get their skates;
they go and skate with their playmates.
After the fun winter day,
they go home, kneel down and pray,
"Thank you God for the cold snow,
and thank you for the hot cocoa."

Rosie

Hi, it's Rachel. This is my first time writing a post. I am getting along in Greek and Latin. The Doxa Patri and the Triagion are a little hard, but I'm getting along. The snow is going away, and I can work in my garden. We are all also working in the main garden. I like working in the garden. Well, that's all for now.

Hey y'all. See I can write Southern, even if I can't talk! The weather here has been great (until today; it's snowing!) so we have gotten a fair amount of yard work and clean-up done. My sink is shiny, and I've had my shoes on most of the day. Wilson has been a great help in reminding me of that!

I brought out my old Chinese books and have been brushing up. I am glad to see I remember more and more as I work at it. As they say, "Use it or lose it." Thanks, Tonya, for the push. I plan to use it more. Rachel is asking to learn also, and has learned some dialogues introducing herself and others already.

We had an interesting day today with calls for roosters, but had a good "Monday on Friday" nonetheless. I'm still working on 1. We spent a quite a bit of time on 2. today, but I need improvement on 3. As for 4., I have been fairly diligent on my "less than/greater than"...T and T, can you guess?

We have so much to celebrate. Tonya, I think this has to be one of your best brainstorms yet. Celebramos!

Hurrah!

We are up and running. This is our first time to post on a blog, and it has been interesting so far. It is good to be able to learn from my mistakes! We had a good bit of a note here, but alas, I lost it. We will post again tomorrow, and are really excited about 'celebramos' and our "meetings" here.

Memory assignments: Benedic Domine, Signum Crucis, Gloria Patri, Sanctus, Pater Noster, Kyrie, Doxa Patri, Triagion, Lord's Prayer (Greek). Read through Nicene Creed in Latin, discussing grammar systems, et al. These need to be memorized by the end of June, although there will be a grace period for the Creed. Continue memorizing both active and passive verb endings in Latin, all declensions, and declension endings in Greek (as per the fill-in chart from Mounce). Immediate response and recognition is our goal. I'm giving serious consideration to a "model response" time on Mondays. For example: [teacher:] "puellarum", [student:] "of the girls", [teacher:] "to/for the law", [student:] "legis", etc. This might be a little bit difficult in Greek due to the varying levels of study, although we can certainly try.

Vave family, during our Monday class we in Georia are also working through the following: Greek worksheets (from the blue book), Latin roots, Rummy Roots. We do these activites: nature studies, read through Book of Virtues, Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Mad Libs, and trivia (both Bible and other). We should be finished with the Thinking Toolbox in a few weeks. Teresa teaches a "Poster Art" class with sketching assignments. We will be adding more literature in May, perhaps a Great Book. We will work through the writing schedule that was discussed during your visit. These classes flow in accordance with upcoming performances, field trips, and other areas of study, but they are generally consistent. Please include your choice (Vave family) of supplementary materials for Monday class, or follow along with us.

Be aware that Monday assignments are separate from Latin, Greek, and other studies throughout the week. Materials used during this time are not student books. Perhaps you would like to include the memory during your daily recitation time, but some of our recitations are lasting 2 hours already, so you may wish to do the required class memory only on Monday mornings.

We will be "out and about" this week, so we may not have much to post on Friday, but any goal that has been achieved (which we discussed privately, Becky) or other successful accomplishment will be welcomed.

Our Schedule

Mean Ol' Mama and Teresa will be out next week on field trips throughout southeast Georgia in preparation for competition. We'll be posting Friday.

On Our Way

We're going places! Latin and Greek, languages and living, gardening and growing, playing and performing....we're on our way now!