Week in Review

This was a short school week for us. We took a break from school work on Labor day so we could visit with family and friends. We did get some school work done on Tuesday and Wednesday while watching and waiting to see were Hurricane Dorian was going to go. It has not even been a year since our area was devasted by Hurricane Florence so we were all on edge.

My youngest daughter had fun during the week looking at our globe and finding different places. She has a friend that lived in Guam for a while and we found it together on the globe. She then said to get there from here in North Carolina, you would have to fly to Los Angeles and take a boat to Hawaii. From Hawaii, you would have to get on another boat to go to Guam. I told her that you can actually fly to Guam and not have to take a boat.

Thursday morning started off with tornadoes and tornado warnings all around us. I decided we should take the day off from school to focus our attention on the weather. I also had to go into work at 3:00 that afternoon. I was able to leave work around 7:00 (my normal leave time is 9:00) so I could get home safely before the strong winds started. I was able to make it home safely on Thursday evening through some heavy downpours.

I didn't get much sleep Thursday evening, because I kept waking up to see how close Dorian was going to be to us and how strong the winds were going to be and make sure there were not going to be any more tornadoes. When we got up Friday morning, I had a migraine, so I told the kids they could take another day off from school. We fared okay during the storm. Just a few limbs down in the yard and we never lost power through it all.

When we were surveying our yard for damage, I noticed that our Yucca plant had bloomed and I almost missed it.

 I am so glad that this week is over and praying that there are no more hurricanes this year.

Week in Review

I can’t believe it is already March! We have recently finished up our 3rd quarter and we are counting down the days until we are finished for the year. I know we are all looking forward to having a break.

The weather has been so beautiful here and our daffodils have already bloomed. I love daffodils because that means spring is definitely on the way!

My kids have been enjoying playing outside and getting fresh air. My boys play soccer and basketball in the yard and my girls enjoy riding their bikes around the yard.



I have started using a new review product from Memoria Press with my 1st grade daughter this week. We are going through Traditional Spelling I and she is having fun with it. She looks forward to doing spelling work every day. The other spelling program I was using was not an every day type spelling program. I love that this program has something for the child to work on every day to reinforce the words. I feel like she is already learning much better with this program. Full review coming in April.

My 7th grade daughter has been enjoying reading through Little House in the Big Woods and I am hoping to be able to review a Laura Ingalls Wilder biography so she can learn more about the author.

And to end this post ~ Today is a special day! My youngest daughter turns 7 today so  everyone gets a day off from school!
She has chosen to go to Cook Out (a fast food restaurant here in NC) for lunch and we may go by the nature center also. She wanted to play at the park, but it is very windy and chilly here today, so we will have to go another day.

I am linking up with:

Weekly Homeschool Highlights

We were still on winter vacation this week. We have enjoyed having a two week break while getting ready to start back to doing school work.

We have been quite lazy this week as it has been so sold here in North Carolina. And…we actually got about 5 inches of snow this past Wednesday/Thursday! My kids were so excited. It’s been a couple of years since we have had this much (or more) snow. My littlest one is always praying that it will snow on her birthday (March 2) every year. I told her this snow was an early birthday present.



The picture below is our road. It’s a state highway, so they try to keep it clear if they can. They worked on it all day yesterday and had it mostly clear by night time. It was all the way clear today and cars were going the normal speed (55 mph).



The picture below is of a secondary road right down from our house. As you can see, they leave these roads until the main roads are cleared, then work on them to get them cleared.



With this cold snap, I’ve been making soups. I made our usual chicken noodle, but last night tried a new to us recipe of potato soup. I had never made it before, so I used this recipe as a guide.

I made a few changes to the recipe as follows:

Potato Soup (Click to print)

Ingredients

• 6 cups peeled and diced Russet potatoes (about 5 medium potatoes. Dice into small cubes about 3/4-inch)
• 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (1 medium)
• 1 1/4 cups peeled and diced carrots (3 medium)
• 1 cup diced celery (2 stalks)
• 2 (14.5 oz) cans low sodium chicken broth  I used turkey broth from the freezer and it was about 5-6 cups.
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups milk I used 1 cup heavy cream and 1 1/2 cups milk.
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• For serving:
• Crumbled bacon or chopped cooked ham , shredded cheddar cheese, chopped green onions or chives.

Instructions

1. Combine diced potatoes, carrots, celery and onions with chicken broth in a large stockpot. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat (it will take about 10 minutes to reach a boil), once it reaches a boil reduce heat to medium and continue to cook about 15 - 20 minutes longer until potatoes are very soft when pierced with a fork.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan melt butter over medium heat, add flour and cook for 1 minute while whisking constantly. While whisking, slowly add milk and cook, stirring constantly until mixture begins lightly bubble and thicken. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (Note: I took about half of the potato, celery, carrot, and onion mixture and blended it in a blender until it was smooth. I then added the other half of the mixture to the milk mixture and added the blended mixture to that. It made the soup extra creamy)  Once potatoes are soft add thickened milk mixture to potato soup mixture and stir (potatoes should start breaking down into soup, if not cook a few minutes longer). Add sour cream and mix well. Ladle soup into serving bowls, top each serving with bacon or ham, cheddar cheese and green onions.

Ending this post with a flop or it could be a funny:

I bought an 18-month calendar from the Target dollar spot this past summer. When I changed it over to December, I kept looking at it and thought something was off, but could never figure it out. I finally did notice the misprint and had to take a picture.



I'm linking up at:

Weekly Highlights

This week we wrapped up our first semester of school. My boys, 9th and 10th grades, did great on their exams and have averages of 95 or higher in all of their subjects.

My oldest son is taking Apologia’s Advanced Biology and this week was the first dissection lab for the course. He had to dissect a cow eye. My younger son who is taking biology helped my older son. They both learned so much and had a good time. They were confused with the directions that Apologia provided, but I was able to find better directions with pictures from the Home Science Tools website where I ordered the lab kit.

In the next few modules, he will also dissect a sheep heart and a fetal pig.

We are still going to do school work until next Friday before taking a two week break.

My girls are doing great with all of their school work and are looking forward to taking some time off. We will probably take a couple of field trips during our break. We have a year membership to the aquarium and we love going there every couple of months.

A new playground opened up near where we live and my youngest daughter wants to check it out.

Not much is happening around here right now, just working our way to having a break. Have a great week before Christmas!

Check out these posts on my blog:

• Magic Stix Washable Markers
• Angel on Assignment Book Review
• H is for Holiday Cookies
• Christmas Scripture Copywork

I am linking up at:

Weekly Highlights ~ 10/6/17

Well, we finished our 1st quarter this week and my boys have A’s in all of their subjects. I don’t grade the girl’s work yet. My 7th grade daughter took a midterm reading test over the book Anne of Green Gables and only missed one question. We are using Memoria Press for that and she likes it.

I had my 1st grader do a candy corn craft this week and she loved it. It is simple and easy. I need to find more crafts/art projects for her because she loves it and it keeps her from being bored.



This is also how the 1st grader wants to do her work (I let her as long as she is getting her work done):



My son’s birthday was back in July and he had told me he didn’t want any presents but he wanted to wait and receive Fifa  18 when it came out for PS4. Well, it came out this week and now he is so excited to have his present. I had to sneak a picture of my two boys playing the game.



Also, this week, I wanted to make cheddar biscuits like Red Lobster but wanted to make them from scratch. I found this recipe and they came out great. We all loved them.



Coming up on the blog next week starts a new blogging through the alphabet. I haven’t really thought much about what topic I want to write about, but I’m sure I’ll come up with something. I was thinking of featuring a different recipe each week, but I’m not sure I can get it done. I’ll have to think some more about it before I commit to it.

Also this month, I decided to participate in the Write 31 project with using the prompts over at the Five Minute Friday blog. You can see my posts by clicking here.

Next week, I'll be having a giveaway for a children's book. I also have two review posts coming up next week.

I'm linking up at:

Weekly Highlights

Wow, I can’t believe another week has come to an end. We have been busy and my boys have taken their first tests for the school year. They have been reading and studying and it shows on their test scores.

My youngest has been having a great time with her school work. This week she said, “Cursive is fun!” She loves learning. She also loves having books read to her. I am working through The Bears on Hemlock Mountain with her for a Progeny Press review.  She also loves creating things and played with some playdoh this week.



We don’t have a set homeschool room, so my kids just find a place to do their work. I had to sneak the picture below because my son doesn’t like having his picture taken.



Not only do my kids do book work, but they also do yard work and house work. They also know how to fix the cars. My oldest son was in charge of changing the oil in one of our minivans this week.



We had planned a nature hike for this afternoon, but it is raining so we will postpone for another day.

I plan to do a blog hop the week of August 14th with the Homeschool Review Crew. I will list our curriculum for the year, our favorite school supplies, planning, and what we do outside the home.

Have a great week!

I am linking up at:

Weekly Wrap Up

Last Friday, we took a trip to Lake Waccamaw (NC) to visit with my mom who was in town for a ladies retreat. We had a beautiful day and great fellowship.

This past Monday, my oldest son started his drivers ed course at the local high school. He has been enjoying it, but is ready for it to be over. Four days done, seven days to go.

Our homeschool is at the end of the 1st quarter. My boys who are taking high school classes are taking exams and I am averaging their grades. So far, my oldest has a 93 in geometry and a 97 in world geography. I'll get to the others this weekend.

The first day of fall was yesterday and my K5'er completed a fall art project. The tree is her hand and arm and the leaves are her fingerprints.

We have had a great week and a great 1st quarter of school.
We have also been busy with review items for the Homeschool Review Crew. Some reviews I am working on that will be posted in the upcoming weeks are Heirloom Audio Adventures, Carole P. Roman books, and My FreezEasy. I have several more, but these are some of the favorites around here.

Week In Review

A short and quick week in review. It has been so hot here, we really haven't been out much. Waiting for cooler weather. My boys were at Trail Life summer camp this week. My girls and I hung out at home and the girls went to a local church's VBS this week.

Week In Review

This past week, my two boys had the opportunity to go on a mission trip with our church. They were in Conway, SC helping an organization called Fostering Hope. They painted, built walls, and packed backpacks for foster children in the Myrtle beach area. They had a great time.

My oldest daughter went to The Wilds camp in Brevard, NC with our church. She comes back this afternoon and I can't wait to hear how her week went.

Since I only had my youngest daughter at home, we did some fun things. We went to the aquarium, Fort Macon, and to see Finding Dory.

My boys came home Thursday evening and my youngest son turned thirteen yesterday.  We went out for lunch. Today, Saturday, they left for a week of camp with their Trail Life group. Praying they have a great week at camp.