Am I gooder at grammar? You betcha!!!!

Your Language Arts Grade: 100%

Way to go! You know not to trust the MS Grammar Check and you know "no" from "know." Now, go forth and spread the good word (or at least, the proper use of apostrophes).

Are You Gooder at Grammar?
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Webpage about St. Rose of Lima in case you are interested.

St. Rose of Lima

We began this book ages ago, on her feast day August 23rd. She was an amazing woman who suffered and sacrificed much to save souls from Purgatory. What struck us most was that when she was young she carried a large crucifix around her back yard on Fridays making the Stations of the Cross. Another thing we learned was that she was never taught to read - when she was small Jesus infused her with this knowledge. How cool is that. My struggling 3rd grader would love to receive that grace! After she became a Dominican Tertiary she built a hut in the back yard to live in. 4'x5'x6' Yes that is right. The door was on the ground and it had only one tiny window. She did this to discourage visitors. She often spoke with Jesus and Mary and her guardian angel. She was the intercessor for many miracles both in life and in death.

From her life we know the importance of prayer, sacrifice and suffering for souls.

St. Rose of Lima, pray for us.

Yellow -hmmmm I wanted to be purple. But yellow is great!!

You Are a Yellow Crayon

Your world is colored with happy, warm, fun colors. You have a thoughtful and wise way about you. Some people might even consider you a genius. Charming and eloquent, you are able to get people to do things your way. While you seem spontaneous and free wheeling, you are calculating to the extreme. Your color wheel opposite is purple. You both are charismatic leaders, but purple people act like you have no depth.

What Color Crayon Are You?

Madeline

We did the cutest thing today. We made a Madeline out of a TP tube. Then we pasted a drawing of her insides to it which we got from EnchantedLearning.com . We all thought it was sufficiently gross!

6 weeks into school

Well, the best laid plans of mice and men get me in trouble every time. We are moving ahead slowly but surely but not according to plan. Sigh. I don't think I have ever followed a plan. I either have toooooo much planned or not nearly enough.

We just began Latina Christiana last week and the son of a friend is joining us. It is rather fun, I get to teach for real, something my kids think is funny but something I have been training for since I was 7 and played with my sisters in the basement. I took 4 years of Latin in high school but don't remember much. That is my only real credentials. We will see if we get past : amo, amas, amat, amamus, amatis, amant.

I have been using FIAR for my dd4 and we have really enjoyed it. First we "rowed" Ping. A wonderful living book about a duck that lives on the Yangste River in China. We learned about China, went to the zoo and learned about ducks and geese and what makes them different. We also learned that ducks don't get wet. It was great fun.

This past week we rowed Madeline and have had great fun with this book also. We learned about France and the Eiffel Tower, appendixes and other gross innards. We learned about things that are asymmetrical and symmetrical. We counted to 48 by groups of 6 little girls in 2 straight lines. We multiplied up to 6x6 with these little girls. We even learned the following fractions: 1/2, 1/6, 1/12, 3/4, 2/3 to name a few. We will end the week on Monday by watching a movie about families in France.

DD3 is smarter than a whip and is doing most of her work on her own. She does resist reading real, wholesome, living books -- she discovered teen books this summer and now rarely "wastes her reading time" with the good stuff. At least that is my opinion.

DS2 Is learning about the solar system, partly motivated by his desire to build a rocketship and go into outer space when he is older. A time machine is also on his list of things to do. He is reading American History about different Indians. He has asked some very serious questions about how the white man treated the Indians. Questions I am not sure I answered well.

DS3 Is also learning about the Indians and also wonders about how they were treated. He is learning about ants in science and we just got our ant farm in the mail. We have to send away for the critters. I wonder how they come??

DD5 is only 29 months old but she is also learning many things. She can tell all her colors - who taught her I am unsure. She "reads" Brown Bear Brown Bear What do you See?. She even has her puzzles she works.

All in all it has been a good 6 weeks. Maths we are behind but that is it.

God Bless to all who may read this.

Your Brain is 67% Female, 33% Male

Your brain leans female You think with your heart, not your head Sweet and considerate, you are a giver But you're tough enough not to let anyone take advantage of you!

What Gender Is Your Brain?

School Thoughts

I have been working and organizing and attempting to get everything together for school. We have decided to begin homeschooling when the 3 older kids start at the local high school. That will be August 22nd. It will be a Wednesday which bothers my organizational midget mind but at least we will all begin and then end together.

I had hoped to follow modg syllabi but just can't seem to conform. I have too many other books that are near what they suggest and so am too tight to purchase the exact books. Some I have and will follow but the rest will be "on a wing and a prayer". I prefer this looser method, I just have to be vigilant that I don't fall into a "lazy unschooler", not to be confused with a real unschooler who could never be accused of being lazy!

In case you are interested:

8th grade dd will be using the following:
Saxon Alg. 1/2
Our Pioneers and Patriots -- from Civil War until the end and then will start Christ the King and Lord of History. I have many books from the Civil War Era up until the present time that she will be reading also.

Easy Grammar Plus

Wordly Wise

Latina Christiana - we will all be using this level this year. I know it is recommended for the younger children but she has had no exposure to Latin and so this should be fine for her.

Science - still unsure but will be reading a book about lives of famous scientist.

The Ultimate Geography and Timeline Guide Spelling Power

Religion: Baltimore Catechism, Catechism on tape by Fr. Corapi, National Catholic Register, the Catholic Bible.

Current Events: National Catholic Register

Lives of the Saints -- focusing on Modern Saints.


This is the plan so far, along with Greenleafs book about Rome and some different poetry and dictation and copywork.

Marie Bellet in Ordinary Time

Yet another fun link!

What Christy Means

C is for Charming H is for Healthy R is for Responsible I is for Inspirational S is for Swanky T is for Tempting Y is for Yummy

What Does Your Name Mean?

Here's some Total Momsense

Countdown to School!

I know that we learn every day, and that we will be homeschooling not schooling at home, however, we like to take a first day picture of each student and make a big fuss of our new books and pencils and all that jazz. So, we have chosen August 13th to be the official day. Hurray! We all are excited. I have decided to put it off until then so we can all anticipate and look forward to the grand event! I am planning on taking pictures by our statue of the Blessed Mother, going to mass, and then having only a "half day" to ease into the routine.
God Bless!

Cooler than I thought! Only 24% white and nerdy!

How White and Nerdy Are You?

Can You Pass 8th Grade Science??

You Passed 8th Grade Science

Congratulations, you got 8/8 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Science?

Beautiful Daughter #4 First Holy Communion

What a beautiful day. The weather was beautiful. BD#4 looked like the princess she is, and mass was, well mass - awe inspiring and so spiritually uplifting. Someone said it lasted almost 2 hours. Fr. Steve was on a role! BD#4 has been so excited to finally receive Jesus in the Eucharist. We celebrated BD#5 2nd birthday also. She had a great day, however her mommy couldn't find the camera to document the day -gggrrrr!