I'm getting school figured out for the coming year. I plan to start school the day after Labor Day. Just too much going on this month to start any sooner.
We will be continuing where we left off with Sonlight Core 6 (World History, part 1) in the spring. I am hoping to finish by Christmas and start Core 7 in January. I got Apologia General Science ordered for my oldest. She will be taking a lab class for that at the homeschool co-op. That will help keep me accountable to make sure we get Science done this year! (Up to now I've been a pretty faithful member of HENSE--Home Educators Neglecting Science Experiments!)
We had an appointment with a neurodevelopmentalist this morning who helped us plan a program of study for our youngest for the next 4 months. I am very excited about that. It will help us focus on some developmental issues she has. I can't wait to see the progress she will make now that I know what to focus on to help her.
One thing that was recommended was the Dick & Jane books. No, they aren't phonics based, but for now that's what she needs. I was happy to have an excuse to buy these darling books. My mother remembers learning to read with Dick & Jane!! I had Jack & Janet... with their pets Tip & Mitten, when I was in first and second grade. I have been able to find all of the first grade level (and some of the second grade) Jack & Janet books at thrift stores and the like over the years. I am also collecting the Ginn Basic Readers. I never had those in school, but my mother had picked up a few of them at garage sales or whatever when we were growing up and they were very appealing. I have about 10 in that series so far. I love old Readers!
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Friday, August 12, 2005
Lost Child
Last night a small child (maybe 3 or 4?) walked into our house stark naked and acted like he lived here! We had no idea who he was or where he came from. He just wandered in and started going in and out of rooms, touching things and picking them up. He wasn't upset or agitated. He just made himself right at home! My 12yo daughter about freaked out. My husband and I both tried to ask him who he was and tell him he didn't belong here but he was just oblivious. Then I remembered that this was something that my special needs nephew might do, so I picked up the poor baby and wrapped him in a blanket. I called 911 to report it, and then took him out on the porch to rock him on the porch swing until the police arrived to help us find where he belonged. My husband walked out to the alley behind our house to see if he could see anyone looking for a child. He heard someone calling way off around the block and down the street, so he went over to see if they were missing a child. Sure enough! He brought the woman back to our house. I asked the little boy if that was mommy (not that I expected an answer, he hadn't replied to anything else I asked him), but the woman said no, she was mommy's friend. Apparently she was babysitting. As she took him she said, "Just because the gate is open doesn't mean you can wander off!" It was just so pitiful! And we still don't know why he didn't have any clothes on! Not a stitch!
A little later a police officer arrived. We told her what happened. When we described the boy she said she thought she knew who he was. He lives several blocks from here! And this is not the first time it has happened. He goes into neighbor's houses, always either naked or with just a diaper on. I b'lieve I'd be getting me a childproof lock on my door, if I was his mama! I asked the officer if there was something wrong with the little boy mentally, but she said, "No. He is just quiet." I think maybe she just doesn't know.
The only time either of my children ever did anything like that was when my youngest was about that age. One day at nap time I went to check on her and she wasn't in her bed. I searched the whole house and couldn't find her. I really started to panic. I went outside to look and found her in the dog house with the dog!!! (Shoulda known! That child loves her animals!) But, believe me, I locked the outside doors at naptime every day after that!
A little later a police officer arrived. We told her what happened. When we described the boy she said she thought she knew who he was. He lives several blocks from here! And this is not the first time it has happened. He goes into neighbor's houses, always either naked or with just a diaper on. I b'lieve I'd be getting me a childproof lock on my door, if I was his mama! I asked the officer if there was something wrong with the little boy mentally, but she said, "No. He is just quiet." I think maybe she just doesn't know.
The only time either of my children ever did anything like that was when my youngest was about that age. One day at nap time I went to check on her and she wasn't in her bed. I searched the whole house and couldn't find her. I really started to panic. I went outside to look and found her in the dog house with the dog!!! (Shoulda known! That child loves her animals!) But, believe me, I locked the outside doors at naptime every day after that!
Tuesday, August 9, 2005
Puppy is home!
Puppy is home! Yay!
She is very, very weak and very, very thin. We are feeding her baby food (pureed meat) to start with. She likes the little "meat sticks" (the ones that look like Vienna sausages) the best. I'm only letting her have one at a time, until her tummy gets used to digesting food again. I'll try to transition her to regular puppy food in a day or two. She has slept a lot today. We are just happy that she is eating and drinking again, so we can take care of her at home. Hopefully she will be back to normal soon.
She is very, very weak and very, very thin. We are feeding her baby food (pureed meat) to start with. She likes the little "meat sticks" (the ones that look like Vienna sausages) the best. I'm only letting her have one at a time, until her tummy gets used to digesting food again. I'll try to transition her to regular puppy food in a day or two. She has slept a lot today. We are just happy that she is eating and drinking again, so we can take care of her at home. Hopefully she will be back to normal soon.
Monday, August 8, 2005
I want my puppy home!!!
She has just been very, very sick... and I guess it's something of a miracle that she's still alive. She did finally begin to improve yesterday. Is able to keep a little water down. They will probably offer her food later today... and when she can tolerate that, then she can come home. It has been a lonnnnng week, worrying about the poor baby!
The thing that is most frustrating to me is that our regular vet is gone for a few days, and I don't like the "relief vet" nearly as well. I'll be so glad when the whole ordeal is finally over!
The thing that is most frustrating to me is that our regular vet is gone for a few days, and I don't like the "relief vet" nearly as well. I'll be so glad when the whole ordeal is finally over!
Medieval Life
So I agreed to teach a class on Medieval Life... Then it dawned on me... What do I know about the Middle Ages??? Hmmm... castles, knights, the Black Plague, the Catholic Church... I think that's about it! And all that gleaned from novels!! (See! Reading novels does enrich one's life!) So I went to the library today and checked out a stack of books on the subject as big as I could carry. Some awfully dry-looking tomes, at that! No novels! The first thing I need to figure out is exactly what is considered the Middle Ages. I know it comes between the Fall of Rome and the Renaissance... so what? About 500 to 1500 A.D.? Yep... I just googled it. I was pretty close! Okay, so I know when the Middle Ages were. Now I need to come up with an 8-part outline of what to cover in the 8-week class. I think I want to focus on what life would have been like... so maybe I can cover a different aspect of that each week... types of homes, clothes, religious life, medicine, food, travel... Now we're rolling! There's my rough outline. Now to fit in the research between now and then!
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