Year 2, Weeks 30 and 31

     This is our penultimate (One of my favorite words!) week for Classical Conversations.  The kids are getting antsy, as am I.  Don't get me wrong, I love being a tutor and seeing my students grow and learn; I love homeschooling my kids, but I can't wait to just read.

     I'd start a book and then it would get pushed aside because I'd get too busy.  The only books I've been able to actually complete are the ones I've read out loud to the kids, which are great, but I need something for me.  Thanksgiving and Christmas issues are still sitting in my growing pile of magazines too.  I have a summer reading list for myself and the kids and I can't wait to dig in.  I'll be sharing the list as the end of our school year approaches.  You know what else this means?  We only have FIVE more weeks left in our homeschool year!  I'm already in the middle of planning for next year.  We're still doing CC, but a few things in our curriculum are going to change.  That's for another post.

     Week 30 we began reading about Corrie Ten Boom.  I absolutely love the way YWAM books bring someone to life and makes it interesting for both the kids and adults.  My kids are thoroughly engaged when listening to the biographies and unless they're tired, they ask me to read more.  It's fantastic.

     This week also brought us to my youngest step daughter's wedding.  It was a lovely ceremony and celebration.  May God bless your union and guide your marriage for many years!  Congratulations C&A <3

     Week 31 (Week 22 in our CC Cycle) our history fact was about September 11, 2001.  We read a couple of books about what happened that tragic day.  We read about the heroes who lost their lives and about the many kids who lost a parent.  We read a book titled September Roses which was sweet story about how sisters created a memorial with roses.

     I shared with my kids where I was and what I saw during those horrific moments.  I happened to be getting ready for work when I saw the second plane hit.  I was able to show my son video of the planes hitting the towers (my daughter didn't want to see them at first, but peeked from behind me.)  I was also able to show them when the towers collapsed.  I was in tears most of the time, recalling the stories I had read in the first weeks after the attack.  I even shared a couple of issues of Time Magazine that we kept from that incident.  Then I showed them One World Trade Center and told them that one day we will visit that as well as the 9/11 Memorial.

     That brings us up to date.  We have a special dinner scheduled this weekend and I hope it happens (plans are still slightly up in the air) so that I can share it with you next week.  Until then, have a blessed weekend.

     Oh, I forgot to share with you our field trip during Week 27.  We had the day off and decided to visit some tall ships that pulled into the harbor.  My Little Toughie was disappointed there wasn't a sailing program for her age group but we were all amused that there was a zombie map!

     Now, we're up to date!

Year 2, Weeks 28 and 29

     We ended Week 28 with a baking class and began Week 29 with Dr. Seuss projects.

     We signed up for a free baking class at Williams Sonoma.  It was a nice small class that the kids were able to do with a couple of friends.  They were able to taste different chocolates, from semi-sweet to baking chocolate.  They also learned how to line a baking pan with just a few folds of some parchment paper and a snip with the scissors (that was my favorite part).  The cake was already pre-baked along with some cupcakes for the kids to frost.  Still, this class went through each step of cake baking, from washing your hands before you start and also after separating eggs.  Pretty thorough for a free one-hour class!

     We started week 29 by making Oobleck and Truffula Tree Pens to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday on March 2nd.  Both of my kids did a presentation about Dr. Seuss for CC and handed out the goodies.  I even made green eggs using chocolate melts, but forgot to take the picture.  The Truffula Trees were easy (read:  boring) to make; just some hot glue and done.  The Oobleck was a lot more fun as you can see in the pictures:

     As you can see from the pictures above, my husband read them Bartholomew and The Oobleck, which is one of the few Dr. Seuss stories we've never read.  It has an interesting message (as they all do) and is one the kids enjoyed hearing.  Plus, they got to play with Oobleck!