I haven't written a gratitude post since August 20. Oops!
3. We enjoyed our fifth day at Six Flags on August 25 and were thankful we were able to spend the day with Yvonne's family.
4. The good news is that Paul's lower EMG went smoothly on August 26. The bad news is that means the cause of his symptoms hasn't been determined yet.
5. We enjoyed learning about bees and doing a service project for VOM with other families on August 29.
6. The picnic and baptismal service at our church on August 30 was wonderful.
7. The kids and I enjoyed our field trip in Hershey on September 2nd which included a homeschool program at the Hershey Story Museum, Chocolate World, and Indian Echo Caverns.
8. The kids have enjoyed going roller skating twice so far this month, and both times it didn't cost us a penny because the kids own their own rollerblades.
9. We are thankful the kids have been able to attend a free gym class two times so far this month.
10. We enjoyed the bonfire at our church on September 5 and are very thankful that the kids SS classes (age 9 months through 12th grade) resumed on September 6. I taught the elementary girls class on September 13. We're not so crazy about wearing masks and having our temperature taken at church, but it's worth jumping through those hoops if that is what is necessary for the classes to be offered again. Nadia was also grateful that the Bible Bowl and youth group resumed meeting on Wednesday nights on September 9. Oliver and I drop Nadia off at 4:30. Ian stays at home by himself and finishes eating dinner. Paul picks Nadia up 8:15.
11. Nadia has had two voice lessons by Zoom so far this month.
12. I missed attending my Bible study on August 27 because Paul didn't get home from work in time for me to go, but I was able to attend on September 10.
13. The kids have been playing with more of the neighbors over the past week. Sometimes over the past months some families haven't let their kids play with everyone in the neighborhood over fears related to COVID-19.
14. The kids and I have really been enjoying watching World Watch News each day (M-F). Each episode is about 10 minute long, but they are very informative and educational. I'm also impressed by the book Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? that I began reading with Ian and Nadia yesterday. I like it so much I'm going to try to get my hands on copy of another book by the same author - Whatever Happened to Justice? Nadia, Ian, and I also have continued to enjoy reading Life of Fred every day. We have almost completed Mineshaft.
15. Our two little zebra danios appear to be doing fine, and we've owned them for about 6 weeks. Our neighbors have agreed to feed our fish and guinea pigs when we're on vacation in two weeks.
16. A few months ago I wondered if we'd have to cancel our trip to OH/KY. I am thankful that so far it seems we will still be able to go albeit we'll be wearing masks far more than usual and have had to make adjustments to the plans based on what is still closed. I had made reservations for 7 nights before the pandemic began. I am hoping to change where we are staying one of those nights. We shall see if they agree to give us a refund. It won't be the end of the world if they say no. It will just add some unnecessary driving time. I have a feeling I am going to be VERY gun shy the next time I'm contemplating planning a vacation! I'm hoping not to plan another vacation until the pandemic is over. Hopefully we will have a good vacation.
17. I'm thankful that when you homeschool, you can go at the your child's pace. I came to the conclusion this week that attempting to do Beast Academy level 3 with Oliver this year was a mistake. I'm going to save those books for him to do next year. I ordered Beast Academy Level 2 this week, and I'm doing flash cards with him every day until the Level 2 books arrive. We're reviewing subtraction and addition facts plus I've begun to introduce some multiplication cards into the mix.
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| Photo credit - Nadia |
18. The kids were fine with the chimichangas yesterday. Paul won't eat anything that has salsa in it so he had leftover stuffed shells instead. I definitely want to add chimichangas to the rotation, but I might try a recipe that includes refried beans next time. I baked our chimichangas to make them healthier. The ones I've eaten at restaurants have been fried. The kids (especially Nadia) LOVED the croque monsieur sandwiches this evening. Nadia already asked me when I'm going to make them again. It was their first time having gouda cheese, and Nadia said she really liked it. She likes most cheeses (except for Parmesan) ,and Swiss is her most favorite.
19. We continue to love listening to books together. Nadia is not thrilled about Around the World in 80 Days, but Ian is enjoying it. All three kids love books by Andrew Clements. We've been listening to more of his books lately. We had recently studied Mormonism, and there was a discussion of that in one chapter in Around the World in 80 Days when they passed through Utah. I love it when unexpected connections are made.
20. A federal judge recently declared some of our Governor's actions to be unconstitutional. He's appealing the decision so we shall see what happens in the end, but this decision was encouraging to me as has felt like we have allowed Governors to become dictators during the pandemic.
21. I've switched to a different public library. I placed some requests on Tuesday night, and I picked them up at a library 8 minutes from our house this morning!!! Wow! That would have never happened with the other library because they quarantine the books for 4 days when a librarian transports them between two different libraries. This library quarantines books for 3 days when a patron returns them, but they don't quarantine them when they are transferred between libraries. AND this library lets you walk in and take books off the shelves!!! We haven't been allowed to do that for 6 months. And this library system has a larger collection. They had books I had wanted which the other system didn't have. In some cases I had planned to access the books via Hoopla, but I'd MUCH rather read actual physical picture books to the kids when possible rather than by Hoopla. I prefer to listen to audiobooks via an app (because you can't rewind within a track on a CD), but when it comes to picture books, we prefer physical books. Nadia was thrilled because they already had the new Mr. Lemoncello book which just came out last month. I wish I had thought of using this library years ago, but better late than never! They also are very happy to help with getting books by ILL even if it means getting a book out of the state. I already have two that I'm planning to request later in the year. Audrey of the Outback is supposed to be an Australian version of Pippi Longstocking. I think Nadia will enjoy reading those when we are studying Australia. I am thankful for public libraries!
22. Today I started using a pom pom jar as a motivation for the kids to use Spanish more in their conversations. Back when I was a middle school teacher 28 years ago, I had a marble jar in my classroom. I'd add or take away marbles and then when the jar was filled, the class would get a reward such as an extra recess. A pom pom goes in the jar when they use Spanish sometime during the day. "Tengo mucha hambre" is the phrase they said the most today. They are motivated to fill that jar!
1 comment:
Glad I'm not the only one that is still curating home school curriculum in September!
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