The Macduff Path

We have been so busy around here lately. That and my camera ran out of batteries and it's not so fun to post without cute pictures. So, Memorial weekend Trevor and friends put up a wall in the downstairs living room and make a boys bedroom. We still have to finish one side of it. But the boys side is all done and painted. And then I decided to paint the girls room upstairs. Our air conditioner is on it's last legs and leaked into the downstairs hallway. Which actually worked out ok for me because I've always hated the carpet between the garage and stairs. So now I get to put laminate it. I think we are going to make the small new family room into a library and run the pergo/laminate from there all the way down the hallway and we are walling off half the garage and turning it into a new family room. Trevor's already moved his office into the boys old bedroom. He has 3 more days of school, so he's tired. And excited for his new venture next year. It's been HOT around here lately. I guess it's finally summer. Not much going on just regular home junk. Oh there were the Tall Ships that we went and got to go see. I would have taken a picture but I was out of batteries. But they were the bid, old wooden ships with the masts. It was pretty awesome although it was hot and long lines. We could have actually taken a ride on one as they had a mock battle. But it was $75 per person including the baby. So we passed
Oh, here's a funny. So I have a language book that I use with the kids but it got put into storage for the last 3 months. I finally pulled it out and was using it the other morning. I asked the kids what a pronoun was. And without blinking an eye Caleb popped out with "A pronoun is a noun that has lost it's amateur status." I about fell of the couch laughing. It's a much better way to deal with grammar that way. Oh and the next day there was a group activity that needed to be done in the language book and the kids were fighting so much that I made them hold hands in a circle and sing "Kume- by-ah (however that is spelled). It was pretty hilarious. Some of the kids were not so pleased with me.

Labels: random happenings

Our butterflies hatched! Homeschooling is so funny. Sometimes I can plan out my day and try to accomplish all this school and it falls flat and the kids don't want to learn and I'm yelling and nothing is happening that is good. Other times it just flows. Today was such a great day- It was the Dentist Day. I love Dentist Day. Are you wondering why I capitalize Dentist Day?. Because I take all my kids. They are all signed up for teeth cleaning and I get to sit in the office and drink my latte and ready a trashy People magazine for 2 hours. It's awesome. I so look forward to Dentist Day- 2ce a year. (Ok-upon reading this I'm thinking that's pretty pathetic that I get so excited over Dentist Day) When we got done I decided that it was time to clean the house like someone was coming to buy it. That is the thing I miss from having my house on the market. It was really clean-every day. So I decided we would have Thursdays be our really big cleaning day.
However, when we got home we discovered that our butterflies started to hatch. This is where homeschooling just started flowing. I found my Handbook of Nature Study book and we started reading about butterflies. Then we did a writing exersize where we compared butterflies and moths. And then they wrote poems about the butterflies and typed them on the computer. I thought I would post them for you. Does this great day on homeschooling make up for the last 3 months of not schooling but showing our house? It is so rewarding to have really fun homeschooling days now and then-keeps me going for those not so fun days....

Tsega-
Butterfly butterfly
Fly before the hunter
Come and go
To your home
And while you are going home
Let a bird eat you

Addis
Butterfly, Butterfly
Fly away to come another day
And make more babies


Maggie
Butterfly, butterfly, glide thru the air,
And give your share,
Butterfly walk thru the air.
Spread your wings with a tiddle-de-do.


Hiwot
Butterfly flies
Butterfly sings
Butterfly walks
It has beautiful wings

Abby
A butterfly flies in the yellow sun.
A butterfly spreads its beautiful wings.
A butterfly flies in the day.
A butterfly sings all the way.

Caleb
LIFE CYCLE
I see a yellow butterfly upon a bright green leaf.
She sits and lays a clear white egg upon the leaf so green.
I come back yet another day and see some baby larvae,
Caterpillars, so small and green.
For a couple weeks I watch them, day by day by day.
Till one day I see them no more, just tiny small chrysalises.
Two more weeks I wait, and watch and watch and watch.
And finally, that wonderful day, out emerge the butterflies!

Labels: Charlotte Mason, random happenings

Ok. I'm trying this again. 2 months later. After showing the house 47 times and then passing the girls out for the week we are all back at home. I'm slowly cluttering up the house again and making it more usable. So this weekend I moved the computer back upstairs and can finally get to it. I just never did use it down in the dungeon. The only time I went down there was for laundry. I also am like 80 emails behind on the computer. So hopefully, I will get to this more up here. My next goal is to figure out how to add a picture on here.
Since, we've been mostly...umm...relaxed in our schooling the last few months (but we make some mighty fine janitors and merry maids) I'm hitting school a little more seriously. We are starting a insect/bird thematic science unit over the summer. It should be pretty fun. I'll definately try to make the time to do this weekly (gasp! Am I being an overacheiver here by saying that? Must be the coffee) now that it's more convenient to get to. Well since I made this big deal about doing school maybe I should get off the computer and go collect the kids for it. Ooh. I figured out how to download pictures. Of course, it took more time than if I had taken the picture, printed it and mailed it to each of you but the accomplishment! It might seem small to you but to a homeschooling mother of 7 you got to find it where you can.

Labels: random happenings