Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Phil 4:6-7



Monday, June 20, 2011

Daybook

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Outside my window...
...gray, drizzly, with a threat of thunderstorms. It rained a lot over the weekend and the creek is super high. I don't mind a gray day but the clouds can keep their rain today.

I am thinking... 
...about taking it easy this week. We had a busy weekend and I am feeling like my body needs more rest.

I am thankful for...
...gray days -- Noah got a sunburn at gym class last week because he wasn't so good at covering all the exposed skin

...hot, (strong) black coffee, always

...Trader Joe's -- we made a trip there during Noah's mid-day break today and found lots of yummy things to bring home


From the lesson plans...
...thinking about school for Faith. She struggles in math, like the boys, and both Doug and I (though I don't tell her that), and I wonder if a different math program would be good for her. We sort of abandoned ship with MCP this year and started using Simple Solutions and Timez Attack. She still struggles with times tables, however, and I wonder if my plan to use Saxon this next year is wise. Any thoughts?


From the kitchen...
...leftover pulled pork from the freezer for dinner -- Dad will be gone -- but, I made some Brown Sugar ice cream for dessert. I have this book from the library and each recipe looks wonderful.

I am wearing...
...khaki crops and a blue top

I am creating...
...some more rosaries this week, just for fun, and finishing up a baby quilt

I am reading...
...Two Truths and a Lie, which is just so-so, not nearly as good as her others I've read

I am hoping...
...for a restful week

I am hearing...
...Faith sniffling while she does her reading

Around the house...
...laundry to catch up on, as always. Picking up. I need to do a big clean in the basement, but not today. Tomorrow's another day. ;-)

I am going...
...no where for the rest of the day, except the sofa.

One of my favorite things...
...quiet days
...baby quilts
...beads in my stash
...Our Blessed Mother. Always.



I am praying for...
...my children, especially Noah, and my husband
...my mother-in-law recovering from hip replacement
...Doug's Uncle Walt who is undergoing chemo for bladder and kidney cancer
...Joshua's girlfriend, who is on her way to Spain today
...our priests and all religious
...several soldiers
...all of the babies whose mothers are contemplating abortion this week

A few plans for the rest of the week...
...some sewing, some reading, some organizing, some relaxing

A thought for the day...
Today's Gospel reading:
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Stop judging, that you may not be judged.
For as you judge, so will you be judged,
and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye,
but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?
How can you say to your brother,
‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’
while the wooden beam is in your eye?
You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.” Mt 7:1-5


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6 comments:

  1. I sent you an email about Saxon. My frank opinion... don't do it! If it's the times tables she needs help with, two things helped my girls tremendously: the games over at multiplication.com (Times Attack was too creepy for their tastes) and the skip counting CD put out by MathUSee. They love those little songs and learned a lot from them. We tried using the MathUSee program for a little while and it just wasn't a good fit for us, but the Skip Counting CD is something we held onto and they still like to listen to.

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  2. I just used MCP this year after the Abeka 2 math got too hard for my 2nd grader and I didn't want to re-do Abeka 1. Hate MCP. Both Saxon and Abeka repeat the new content, most every lesson, but Abeka, supposedly, takes less Mommy-time (and kid-time). This year, I'm having my 3rd garder do some supplemental workbooks for Grade 2, and then we will pick up Abeka 2 where we left off. I really like it,. but she needed to slow down.

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  3. I am no expert in teaching math (or anything), since we are just getting started with homeschooling, but we also have (at least) one child who struggles in math. She was learning multiplication last year, and she was so not ready for it! Next year, we are going to give Math-U-See a try. They have a demo video that I watched after the conference, and I was very impressed with their approach. You can watch it online or request a DVD from their Web site. (Greg went to their presentation at the HS conf. and was totally on board with it right away. He has a degree in instructional design, so I do trust his intuition when it comes to how things are taught.) Good luck with finding something that works for Faith. Every child is so different. What works for one, may not work for another!

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  4. I used Saxon for many years and while it's got that great constant review aspect, the kids always hated it. I have been using Singapore for the past 3 years and love it. It's a different way of learning math. It's hard for me to teach sometimes (probably should have invested in their TM!) because I didn't learn that way, but they seem to grasp the concepts a bit better. It hasn't helped with times tables, though. Maybe Calculadder drills?

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  5. I tried MCP the very first year of homeschooling (kindergarten with my oldest) and couldn't stand it. We switched to Math-U-See and it has been a great 'fit' for our family. The best advice I can give is to find something that works for your family or child. That's not always easy ... can you borrow materials to test them out before investing?? I've been tempted by Teaching Textbooks in the past year, but after much prayer and thought, decided to stay with MUS.

    For drill work, we do use the MUS Skip Count CD; Multiplication wrap-ups; Math Facts Now! (a CD); and online drills at www.sheppardsoftware.com. I have to mix it up to keep the boys entertained and engaged.

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  6. Barbara, migrating over from your cooking blog….

    I don't know how old/what grade your daughter is, but I had one child who struggled with his times tables. I eventually printed out a colored chart (with the tables filled in) from Donny Young's site, put it in a page protector and gave it to him.

    He used it all the time for daily work and even tests up until 6th grade or so. He even volunteered to me one day "I don't need this anymore." Just having them in front of him like that helped to cement them in his brain.

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I appreciate your comments -- sometimes I feel like I'm talking to myself!