Eighth Grade

Eighth grade has been a real eye-opener for us this year.  In anticipation of high school, Darin and I decided that this would be the first year that Ben would do his own History and Science studies.  Before now, the oldest three and I have done all that together.  It was real hard to let Ben go!  That time we all spent together in the afternoons doing experiments, narration and reading engrossing read-alouds has always been special to me.  I mean, what Mama doesn't want her family to all be together?  :-)

But in honor of Ben growing up (way too fast!) we set him up with Sonlight American History and Apologia General Science.  I gave him the schedules, a good punch in the arm and an "atta boy" talk and sent him off.  Over the years, I have read countless homeschooling moms write about how their older kids learn on their own and they have never seemed concerned or upset over the results.  I didn't think I would have had any issues either.  Then Ben took his first science test and bombed it.  It was bad.  I was in shock!  He's a smart kid!  What was he doing FAILING a test?

We had a talk.  He needed to make sure he was studying before the test and paying attention to what he was reading.  "Ok, Mom."  All right, then!

He failed the next test.  SO.  It finally occurred to me that the poor boy did not have any study skills.  He didn't know how to take notes or study for a test.  Honestly, I don't remember being taught how to do those things in public school.  Do you?????  It's just what we did?  Who knows.  So we have turned the focus of this year from it being the first hurrah of study on his own to using the curriculum we picked out for him as a means to teach him how to take notes, study for a test, and most important of all, how to be disciplined enough to get it all done as it should be done.  It's been a struggle because he doesn't like to take notes or study (I do remember THAT from public school ;-)

These are the things we've done to encourage study skills:
1) I have taken my own notes so he can compare his notes to my notes and see what he's missing in his notetaking.  He has a tendency to want to write as few details as possible.  I've really had to stress to him how his notes are the key to successful test taking. 

2) There have been days when I have had to stand over him to make sure that after he finishes the assignment for the day, that he goes back over the previous day's notes for review.  It takes five minutes and the benefits are huge.

3) Pop quizzes!  Oh, how I used to hate those things.  For one thing, I hate surprises.  For another, how embarrassing for my teacher to see how little I was paying attention - for the most part.  LoL  Ben's scores on these little quizzes have slowly improved.  I think he might be getting it!

4) Narraton.  This little Charlotte Mason gem of an idea is still effective.  I don't tell him when I'm going to ask him to narrate.  He just has to be ready when I do ask.

5) Expectations.  Darin and I have laid out our expectations for the quality of Ben's work, and we expect for him to follow through.  Falling down on our expectations is the quickest way to raise a lazy, unmotivated boy who will struggle in life with these character issues.

Pregnancy Update

The poison ivy is practically gone, and I'm so glad.  All that's left on my arms are dark red patches, a few scabs and lots of dry, flaky skin.  No more steroids.  No more antibiotics!  I was still nursing Sophia (17 mos.) and had to wean her cold turkey because of the steroids.  I hid the Boppy in the closet so it wouldn't remind her but she found it yesterday and brought it to me, so excited and saying, "Da! Da! Da!"  That's her all-purpose word for just about everything.  I said, "Do you want to eat?"  She said, "Mmm-hmmmm!"  So we assumed our positions and she gave it a try.  It took her about 3 seconds for her to come to the conclusion that it was never going to be the same.  She got up saying something like yuck.  I asked her if she wanted to eat more and she shook her head and ran off.  Waaah.  :-)

I think the steroids helped me with the nausea I was having.  All last week I felt fine!  I thought it was because I was nearing the end of the first trimester, but after finishing all the medicine, my upset tummy has returned.  Seems the one thing I crave is milk.  It helps soothe things a bit, but talk about Dragon Breath!  Tic Tacs are a daily staple, along with the milk.  ;-)

Anyway, I had a first appointment with our new OB this week.  It was really hard to switch doctors even though I knew it was the best way to go.  My old OB delivered all our other five babies, so the familiar was hard to give up.  But after the first visit with Dr. Cummings I have no regrets!  For one thing, it turns out we go to the same church!  Best of all, he is excited for our 6th baby and is not interested in inserting himself or any unnecessary procedures into the pregnancy.  He said he doesn't expect to hear from me at all.  He's just going to let God do His thing, and we'll see each other once a month!  How cool is that?  My other OB was constantly wanting to do this test or that.  I spent all my time saying, "No. We're not interested in that." while she gave me those "how dare you endanger your baby" sort of looks.  So, peace.  Sigh.  It's nice.  :-)

I wasn't sure, but I had thought all during the month of April that I was pregnant, but had a negative test at the beginning of the month.  This has happened with  me before with all our girls(!).  When Dr. Cummings was checking me out, he mentioned that he thought I was either further along than 7 weeks, or was carrying twins.  I quickly assured him that I thought I was further along.  ;-)  So we made a sono appointment for later that day.  Jack, Lydia and Sophia went with me and we got to see our sweet little babe for the first time!  The baby measured at almost 12 weeks, so I WAS pregnant during April.  I'm so excited!  Here I am already in the 2nd trimester.  I just can't wait to meet this new little one. 

I feel SO pregnant right now because I tear up over the littlest things!  The kids and I watched the National Spelling Bee this week and evey time one of the kids misspelled a word, it killed me.  The kids would look over at me and say, "Mom!  Quit crying!"  LoL 

Poison Ivy

Well.  It's been weird around here the last week and a half.  Back on May 9th, our family got together with the rest of Darin's family for a photo session in a beautiful park close by.  We had a great time, but the entire time, Henry wanted to get and get over to the waterfall to play.  It was a busy day in that park.  TONS of people were there getting their pictures taken, and the waterfall was a hot spot.  Our photographer took us to a gorgeous bridge where we took most of our pics.  So we were finally done, and Henry and I braved the irritation of the other photographers to go stand on the edge of the waterfall for just a minute!  :-)  Henry had a leaf he wanted to throw in so he could watch it go down the falls.  He couldn't quite get it into the water.  It kept landing just short, in the weeds.  So I retrieved his leaf for him each time, until he finally got the leaf in.  Woohoo!  Success.  :-)

The problem is that I got poison ivy from that little jaunt by the water, and I don't just get poison ivy.  It gets me!  The last time I had it, it was on my legs, arms, face, stomach....everywhere.  I went to the dr. for it and she gave me a steroid pill.  I was back two days later and she gave me the pill AND a steroid shot.  My friend's neighbor thought that I was a burn victim.  The nurses at the doctor's office were afraid they would be the one asked to be my nurse.  When my doctor wanted me to get a blood allergy test, the phlebotomist (my next door neighbor!) was afraid to touch me.  God bless them all.  I would have been freaked out, too!  But just so everyone knows....it's a bloodstream thing.  The poison is passed around our bodies through our blood.  Not contact.   :-)

Anyway, after the shot and pill combo, I spent two days being wide awake, but the stuff was gone.  This time, it was only on my arms and a little tiny bit on my chest and stomach, so I thought I could handle it on my own.  I especially wanted to do this because I really didn't want to take drugs while pregnant.  I could just kick myself.  I tried just about every home remedy I could get my hands on, but ended up at the doctor's office on Wednesday afternoon with a low grade fever and infected poison ivy.  Waaaah!  So now I'm taking oral steroids for a week, an antibiotic for the infection, and have to take Claritin for 2 months.  My doctor said this will be a slooooowwww recovery and I believe her.  After two days on the antibiotics, I don't feel all that much better.  I am frustrated with not being able to do much!  Thank God that Darin was able to stay home today and help me take care of everything around here.  What peace of mind that brought!  It was also nice to have some meals stashed in the freezer that we've been able to use.  God is good.

Vision Forum Giveaway, Part 2

Naomi won!  She chose a copy of Christianity and Science Fiction: Reclaiming the Genre for Christ (1 DVD & 2 CDs)

Naomi, I have sent your info to Vision Forum and know they will quickly get your DVD in the mail to you.  Enjoy it!  I also have a copy of that DVD coming in the mail to me, and can't wait to watch it.

The Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today...

Outside my window... I think the weather is finally going to clear up.  Our backyard has been a muddy swamp for a few weeks.  I’m ready for it to dry out so we can get back there and do some yard work we’ve been ready to get to.  This summer we are adding a new 10x10 storage shed we got for free!, a 23 ft. long by 3 ft. wide raised garden, and hopefully a wooden play structure that Darin will build.

I am thinking... that I am so excited to be pregnant.  I am amazed, and can’t believe we get to add another little personality to our home.

From the learning rooms...I have an increased sense of purpose.  I’m trying to hold myself back so we’re not doing school 24/7, but I can’t help thinking of how I’m going to feel by the time December rolls around – like a stuffed tick!  I always have good intentions to do school up till the bitter end, but usually can’t bring myself to function around my gigantic tummy by the time the last month of the pregnancy arrives.

I am thankful for...how God has provided for our family during a tight, financial time.

From the kitchen...I just really, really hate food right now.  ;-)  I struggle to make our weekly menus.  I’ve been asking the fam what they want for dinner and we’ve been eating a lot of pancakes and tacos.  LoL

I am reading...nothing.  Being at the beginning of this pregnancy, all I want to do is sleep. 

I am hoping... that I can bring myself to keep on keepin’ on when I need to.  I feel as if I could sleep all day!  ;-)

I am creating...creative ways to get in a nap here and there.

I am praying... for a good pregnancy, delivery and healthy babe.

Around the house...trying to keep my head above water.

One of my favorite things...a clean bathroom. 

A few plans for the rest of the week...will be visiting with some friends on Friday.  Otherwise, nothing!  We’re all grateful for that.  All of April and the beginning of May has been PACKED with so much.  We’re ready to chill out.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...
I could just eat this boy up!

Go here to read more Daybook entries.

Vision Forum Giveaway

Vision Forum has come out with some new DVDs that look really good!  Check out the titles:
You May Not Take our Guns (DVD)
The Devolution of Law (DVD)
Top Ten Questions About Genesis and Creation (DVD)
The State of Parental Rights in America (DVD)
Christianity and Science Fiction: Reclaiming the Genre for Christ (1 DVD & 2 CDs)

They all sound good!  I am personally most interested in The State of Parental Rights in America and Christianity and Science Fiction.  Am I the only one with kids who are neck deep into The Lord of the Rings?  Our three oldest walk around the house listening to the LoTR soundtrack on their iPods!  TOTAL LoTR geeks.  Ben, our oldest, wants to be a writer, and he is doing everything he can to emulate J.R.R. Tolkien.  He has read just about every book Tolkien has written, not to mention books and magazines about Tolkien. 

I just downloaded an audio copy of Christian History magazine that was devoted to Tolkien and we listened to it at night before bedtime.  It was kind of dry and I thought to myself, "I can't believe the kids are even getting any of this."  Come to find out, Ben has been all ears!  One of the things we learned about Tolkien was that he studied languages such as Finnish, Gothic, Old English and Welsh.  It was a passion for him.  The next day, Ben, who has been working on his own book, asked if I knew of an onlne translation site that could help him with a few words.  I teased him a little and reminded him that Tolkien STUDIED and KNEW languages, which is how he was able to create new languages.  There are at least two that he created that can mostly be used to actually communicate.  But it got Ben's brain working, and I hope that soon he will be encouraged to go beyond an online translator.

More than anything, I would like for Ben's work to mirror God's influence in his life and am grateful for any resource that will help him to understand his role in the Big Picture.  Vision Forum seems to think of everything!  ;-)

SOOOOOO.....would  you like to win one of the above titles for your family?  If so, please leave your name and email address or blog address so I can get in touch with you!  This giveaway will end at noon (CST) on May 15th.  Good luck!

I'm Pregnant!

Took a test last Friday night to make it official and all, but I was suspecting all during the month of April that I was pregnant.  As the month wore on, I became increasingly more tired and slow.  The biggie for me was the night we had breakfast for dinner.  I was working my way through my scrambled eggs and got to the point, about halfway through, when they just looked and felt rubbery and NASTY.  I have not recovered from that to this day.  ;-)

Darin and I are in a little bit of shock.  We've never really felt as if we have a "big" family before.  Other people we know have big families, but not Darin and me, eh?  Now with the upcoming arrival of #6 (late December/early January), we feel as if we're going to join the ranks of our friends who have big families.  Isn't that silly?  Maybe once he/she/Stephen/Claudia arrives, we'll decide that we still feel as if we don't have a big family. 

I'm excited about the new OB that I will be going to!  This is a guy who believes that women should have babies until their bodies are done.  What a concept!  I've been totally stressing out my old OB with every new pregnancy with the homeschooling/big family/she's-too-old-to-be-giving-birth- thing.  I didn't want to be responsible for any increased stress in her life, so I am just quietly slipping off to this new guy.