Tales of a Homeschool Nothing ~ From Hot to Cold & Sick

After taking off last week for testing and spending the week before reviewing, I would LOVE to say that this week was very productive. But I can't.

Slowly, day by day, starting over the weekend, my family has been dropping like flies. This coughing, congested mess started with Logan & quickly spread to everyone else (except Makenzie). To say that I didn't feel like teaching is an understatement, I didn't even feel like being awake.

But we persevered. Now, granted it wasn't an ordinary week, but we did do school.

Austin worked on English 5 from Easy Peasy. It seems ok, but its too early to tell.

He is still using Teaching Textbooks 6 for math.

Makenzie is still trying out Reading Eggs. She loves it, but I haven't seen any improvement in her reading yet.

After finishing up WWII, we plowed straight into the Cold War. After so much violence, hatred, & death, its hard to explain why the Cold War is called a "war".

We rented Red Dawn over the weekend. This was strictly by "accident". Since I never saw the original, I didn't plan for this to be school related. This had more language in it than I am normally comfortable allowing my kids to watch, but all in all it was a good movie. The new version features Korean troops invading the US so not only did it make sense with us studying Korea, but it also allowed us to talk about the new nuclear scare.

They worked on 20th Century inventions while watching Heidi & a few episodes of The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show.

We started reading So Far From the Bamboo Grove about a young girl's struggle to leave Korea while being invaded by the Japanese.

I have come across several neat websites this week in my frantic struggle to make school continue even when I haven't felt like it.

• Ducksters.com has a good overview of the Cold War without going into so much detail as to make it boring.
• Cold War for Kids also has lots of information on it.
• I was SUPER EXCITED to find this blog with all sorts of videos that go hand in hand with the Story of the World. It isn't completed yet but you better believe we will be visiting this one often!
• Here is another site that has extensive ideas & resources for helping school & technology go hand in hand.

I would LOVE any other suggestions that you have for FREE online school ideas!

*Sorry, the only pictures I took this week are from Makenzie's soccer game & Austin's birthday party.

Summer Time & the Living's Easy

Hello Blogger World! Have you missed me?!?!

I'm sorry. I haven't felt very "noteworthy" lately. I still don't, but let me just recap the insanity.

June was CRAZY BUSY! Youth Tent Revival, Logan's Birthday Party, Vacation Bible School, baseball, camping, gardening, cook outs, tutu dresses, & Play Station parties are just some of the things that went on in those 30 days that FLEW by! Even through the overwhelming fun, not to mention the HEAT, I blinked & it was gone.

Speaking of the heat - wow, just WOW. Just in case you have been hiding under a rock somewhere obviously far far away from the record breaking heat, here is a video reminding you. (Disclaimer: I have no idea what else this website offers. I did not research it. I just thought the video was neat) So needless to say, triple digits has limited our trips to the pool. Hmm- sounds contradictory, huh? Yeah well, I like to BREATHE when I step outside.

We have also dealt with sickness upon sickness. Repeated ear infections, Roseola, chronic coughing, & colds - ugh, really, its not time for that!

I had really BIG intentions & hopes for this summer as far as how much we would get done with school ........ YEAH RIGHT! If we have even read a book together as a family, we have done good! I'm ashamed to admit that! Every bit of my desire & motivation disappeared. Oh well, that's the beauty of homeschool, right? (I hope)

On the other hand, I have been completely immersed in reading for the past month or so. I LOVE to read & I have always been able to lose myself in a good book. Unfortunately, I don't have the free time to indulge in this passion as often as I want to. I have taken advantage of the little extra free time & the more relaxed scheduling that comes with summer. There have even been a few times that I have had to DRAG myself away from a book in order to accomplish anything!

So here's to summer. May you enjoy those special indulgences that we too often forget about - catching fireflies, watching the first stars twinkle to life, hearing a child's delight at running through the sprinklers, the sweet satisfaction of "ping" when that jar seals, & sipping lemonade on the front porch with friends. Before you know it, the easy pace is gone & the race is back on.

Miracle Drug or Devil's Elixir

Yes, I am talking about Albuterol!

My poor little Logan has been sick for over a week now. We thought it was just croup/congestion junk so we didn't make an appointment with the doctor until Thursday, who also diagnosed croup/congestion. No cure, just cool moist air, a snot sucker, & a prescription for prednisone "just in case".

Slowly, little by little, day by day Logan has gotten worse. The worst day - Saturday -  the day we went snow tubing....wouldn't you know it! He was VERY fussy & took fitful cat naps all day in my arms. Unfortunately, he also took fitful cat naps all night too. Ugh! I really do like my sleep.

So we filled the prescription Sunday & Logan decided he didn't want any part of it, so he spit it out & fussed some more.

Back to the doctor on Monday & RSV was confirmed. Welcome to the world of breathing treatments! Fun fun!

In case you have never dealt with this before, let me give you a brief overview.

 Albuterol ~ liquid medicine that is converted into smoke through a loud roaring machine. It is known to make one's heart speed up & hands shake uncontrollably. Most people tend to bounce around like a rubber ball when under its influence. It will also cause overly tired babies to cry louder, rub their eyes harder, & beat up their mothers. Other known side effects include short tempers, sour attitudes, lack of sleep, raised voices, & a general unpleasant environment. If your doctor ever prescribes this drug to you, don't forget,

you have been warned!