Thankful Thursday

 

1. Earlier this week I was sneezing and had some congestion and chalked it up to allergies. On Wednesday I realized it was actually a cold. Thankfully, I've been healthy for several months straight, and I'm also grateful that the worst of the bug seems to be over. Yesterday I didn't help at Bible quizzing, but today I was able to resume my normal activities without taking a nap. If you know me well, I am NOT a napper. I can go years without taking a nap, but I fell asleep in the family room prior to bedtime on both Tuesday and Wednesday, which shows I was not feeling well.  

2. Everything went smoothly while we watched Cooper from August 28- September 2. I'm very thankful that we can swap dog sitting with the Seiberts. 

3. Nadia enjoyed working at Camp Susque last weekend. She was helping in the kitchen for a retreat being held at the camp. Shortly after she got home on Saturday, she then went to work for two hours at the kennel. She's doing a great job of saving up money towards her first car.

4. Ian had a rough start with his college classes this semester. He is learning to read instructions more clearly and that he can't wait until the last minute to get his assignments done. He submitted two assignments late on September 1. Thankfully, since then he has submitted everything on time or early. For now, I'm helping him come up with a plan as to how to complete everything at a reasonable pace (not all at the last minute). In time, I'm hoping he will take over that responsibility. He's taking two classes, and he currently has a 100% in one of the classes, and he has plenty of time to pull his grade up in the other class. Yesterday, he had ALL of his work done (homeschool, college, and piano) for the day completed by 4:00 pm, which was wonderful. 

5. I've been increasing my expectations for Oliver this year considering he's in seventh grade. He had his first science test this week. I made it an open book test for him, and I'm not actually going to keep track of his grades, but I want to give him an idea what it's like to take tests before he's in ninth grade when I do have to give him a grade. I also have him completing a literature guide for what he's reading (Prince Caspian and Voyage of the Dawn Treader so far) and requiring him to complete the weekly writing assignments (300-500 words each) for government that Nadia and Ian are also completing although I'm not grading his. I'm also working with him more to study I and II Corinthians for Bible quizzing. The science notebook also takes a lot more time for him to complete than the elementary level notebooks, but he's adjusting. So far, so good.

6. Nadia was invited to attend an overnight birthday party that will be happening next weekend. In April I had purchased 3 tickets for an Anne Wilson/Jordan Feliz concert at the Bloomsburg Fair. Cheri and I were planning to attend, but Nadia is the one who really likes Anne Wilson. When she no longer wanted to attend the concert, we decided to try to sell the tickets. At first it seemed like I couldn't even give them away, but thankfully eventually someone bought them from me for almost exactly the amount I paid. 

7. Ian has kept up in government and physics, but he also got behind in literature and math. I knew that getting caught up in the college classes was the first priority. On Sunday, I had him start getting caught up in his homeschool assignments. In math, the plan was for him to complete part of Saxon's Advanced Mathematics textbook this year. There were two other times in the last 13 years that I chose one math curriculum for a child and then switched gears part way through the school year. Years ago, I had planned for Nadia to use Saxon and switched to Teaching Textbooks. That switch didn't represent a waste of money because I had borrowed the Saxon text from my sister. Last year, I planned for Ian to use Art of Problem Solving for Geometry, but he ended up using Teaching Textbooks. This year I thought Ian would be using Saxon. The Christian schools where I taught had used Saxon math. This hasn't been working for him, but I was determined not to resort back to Teaching Textbooks as I feel it wouldn't challenge Ian. This week I made the decision to sign him up for Precalculus through Arizona State University. It only costs $25. Nadia is taking College Algebra the same way. In her case, if she does well, I'll pay $400 for the 3 credits so she will be eligible to take Calculus at Liberty next year. In Ian's case, I don't see any reason to pay for the credits, but we'll have up to one year after he finishes the course to make that decision. Hopefully this will be a good fit for him this year. I don't like wasting money on curriculum that we never use, but it's much worse to have a situation that's frustrating for both parents plus Ian for months on end. I'm thankful ASU makes their courses available for such a small amount of money.

8. Paul and I have signed up for another ballroom dancing class! We're planning to take eight intermediate swing lessons on Friday nights this fall. 

9. I had been told that the kids were signed up for art class at MCS on Mondays and Thursdays at 1:20. The last two weeks they had art on Thursdays. When we showed up this week on Monday, they were told there isn't an art class at 1:20 on Mondays. It turns out the schedule changed last week, and they forgot to tell us. To make matters worse, the kids hung out with me in the car until the next period of school only to find out they were just having a study hall in art. Oi vey. That was a big waste of time. The silver lining is that having art at 2:05 on Mondays will actually be better for us than at 1:20. This Monday Nadia worked from 7:30-11:30 am and the boys had an orthodontist appointment at 10:30. We hadn't been able to get the subjects we do together done before art, but this will be more possible on a Monday that Nadia works, if art is at 2:05. 

10. Ian's piano lessons are on Fridays this school year, but when I found out on Monday that Ian was scheduled to play the keyboard with the youth worship team on Wednesday evening, his teacher offered to move his lesson to Tuesday so she could help him go over the songs before Wednesday night. We appreciate her flexibility and assistance, and I'm grateful Ian has been signed up to play the keyboard on Wednesday night every other week during this school year. Speaking of piano, sometime this summer Ian started being more careful when he practices. What a difference this has made! His teacher and I are both thrilled with this change. I'm also thankful that he's playing music that is more appealing for the rest of the family to listen to.