The Return

Again... I took a ridiculously long hiatus from blogging.

I know.

However, I am happy to be back!  I have loads to blog about.  I needed the time for "life", but I also wanted my blog to have a point.  I want to write posts that encompass everything from domestication to politics!

Catchup Time

When I started this blog I lived in North Carolina, then moved to beautiful Naples, FL.  At the beginning of the summer we relocated to Murfreesboro, TN.

I really, really enjoyed living in Naples.  I also am enjoying Tennessee.  Nashville always has a lot going on between music and food, you really can't get bored here.

We have have been getting out and exploring the area.  We even went to an African Festival!  I have not been to one of those since I lived in Jersey.

My daughter is now away at college, down in Miami.  So it's just the three us now.  Well, at least until Thanksgiving break anyway.

Oh, and I even changed my hair color!

Well, until next time!

It's been a while!

It really has been a lonnnnggggg while since I've posted anything!  Life.  That's my reason, just life! LOL!

We are still homeschooling, just the one now, and loving it still.  My daughter was accepted into the honors program next Fall at FGCU!  The hubby had been traveling A LOT for work.  I have been working and doing all of the other domestic responsibilities I'm tied to.  That pretty much sums up the basics.

Of course, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Birthdays etc. happened.  Oh and our 7th year Wedding Anniversary happened too!!

Like I said, just life.  Life happened and I couldn't fit blogging in along with it!

Good news is, I'm back and I've carved time out for blogging ;-)

I definitely have had major changes to my diet and exercise routine.  Namely Paleo!  And Shaun T's T-25 is the next best thing since Paleo bread!!  I'll definitely share more, including my weight loss!

 Ken and I heading out for our anniversary dinner!

 Relaxing at the beach with kids!

Golfing, ok mini-golfing with the kids! LOL!

Paleo Time!!!

I just had my first bite of meat (land animal) in four years.  Here's a picture of my dinner tonight:

Roasted carrots with a hint of cinnamon, Himalayan Sea Salt & Maple Syrup (100% Pure).  Red Swiss Chard sauteed in garlic oil and 1/4 cup of organic vegetable stock with a hint of Himalayan Sea Salt.  Organic roasted chicken breast seasoned with sage and rosemary, smothered with white onions, all cooked in organic chicken stock.

Did I enjoy it?  Yes!!!  

It was delicious.  I ate very, very slow.  Chewing my chicken especially more thorough.  Guess I'm not a vegetarian anymore...LOL!

Life with more changes

I mentioned in my previous post about my meal planning.  Well me being me, open for change and all, decided to look more into the Paleolithic diet, you know the "caveman diet".  Basically, I may be about to go back to eating meat, but grass fed, organic free range variety.

This past week I have used the family as guinea pigs trying out some Paleo recipes.  My husband has been about 95% all this week strictly Paleo.  The kids have been more like 60%.  Mostly because it's sort of expensive and more importantly it is truly all new to me.  My planning was off.  I keep buying more fresh veggies and fruits.  So far I've been at least twice to the market replenishing our produce supplies!  First world problem, eh?

I know it's been more than a minute since I've posted anything here, which goes into my post's title.  Change!  I've been working again.  I'm working for an awesome company and the perks are sort of even better than how awesome the job has been.  However, I've had to work full time, and now I'm finally working my part time hours.  Good for me and good for my family!

I'm still homeschooling my son, who after three weeks of me working full time fell a little behind in some of his assignments.  Momma's focus is back, so that's already been addressed.

My daughter is killing it at FGCU!  Nuff said about that.

The hubby is putting up with the new diet and after a week, I see a slight difference in his waistline, so HOORAY for that!

Now for more changes.  Looks like the hubby may be getting back on the road for work.  I know we'll stay in Naples while Arianna is attending FGCU for the first year, which is until next May.  After May, she'll be either continuing at FGCU, but in a dorm otherwise she'll be away at one of the colleges she's applying to.  Changes!

How do I feel about being a sometimes full time, sometimes part time stay at home mom, working from home sometimes part time and sometimes full time, and homeschooling, and being a decent wife?  Excited.  Scared.  Overwhelmed most times.  But I have been meditating and working on my craft, which leads me to more good changes!

So, this last full moon in October, Friday to be exact was life changing for me.  I was out and about with the hubby Friday night.  I very much felt the power of the moon.  And I'm not talking metaphorically!  I mean I literally felt the power.  Electricity coursed through me.  I felt almost drunk on it!  But unlike feeling tipsy or drunk, I was aware and cognizant.  I made good use of the energy Friday night.  I can't wait to see the changes that will come from my working!!!

I always felt a special affinity to the fall months.  Probably because of school, I always felt this time of year represents major change.

In the swing of things

We have been moving full speed ahead.

This is a very unique homeschooling year because I'm only schooling one kid now!  I do miss having my daughter around during the day.  However I much rather she get to enjoy the awesome opportunity to do her dual enrollment at FGCU.

I'm having some issues with my son staying on task keeping to a schedule without my nagging.  It's a real bummer because he's super smart.  He's just not interested in keeping tracking of time, commitments, or schedules.  I threatened to tell his dad today if he didn't pull it together.  Yup, I pulled out the oldie but goody dad trump card.  Hey, I do what works!

I have successfully planned a month's worth of menus.  I am hard at work on using the Crock-pot as much as possible.  Glad it's fall, although here in Naples, it's still very much the summer :-)  I will post later because I hand wrote our menus on a printed template, which I'll also share.  I must admit, it has truly saved me time and angst by having a detailed shopping list, another template I'll share and thought out menus.  I'm talking breakfast, lunch and dinner.  We have made some on the fly modifications maybe once a week, but nothing too different from the menu, more like switching days.

I have been working from home too!  I am struggling to stay on top of housework, but as my blog's name implies I consider myself a bit of a domestic goddess, so sloppy just won't due.  I delegate, but probably not as much as I should.  Yeah, I know I need to work on that.

I can't believe so much time went by between posts, about a month!  I honestly have been rather busy between work and home.  I'll keep up with this blog, though, it's really good for me :-)

Curriculum Planning Part Two

I'm pretty much finished with my homeschooling plans for the 2013/2014 school year.  We officially start on August 5th.  My son is hoping the date never approaches, but he'll be ready to start whether he wants to or not.  Gosh, this phase he's in is exhausting at times.  Thirteen.  If I ask him what he would like to do, I can never get an answer, if I make suggestions, he doesn't like anything.  Yuck, these are not the most fun times around here.  Hopefully this phase will fizzle sooner rather than later :-).

Any who... Here's the plan for 2013/2014 for my eighth grader.

Geometry - FLVA (Connections Academy)

Yes, we're actually doing a virtual course.  I'm nervous but I think this may be a good fit for my us.

Physical Science - Classically designed, by yours truly.

I borrowed heavily from The Well Trained Mind when I created the lesson plans for this course.  I used the experiments from Real Science For Kids - Physics for Middle School, but instead of using their text book, I'm supplementing with ck-12.org's Physical Science for Middle School.  This year my son will continue to focus on experimentation.  He'll log his experiments and results.  I've tied inventors, specifically of African descent, to study also.  

Language Arts - Writing With Skill 1, Analytical Grammar (Season 3), Classical Roots Vocabulary

This year we've stepped away from Writing Strands.  I prefer the approach of WWS over Writing Strands.  Both speak to the student directly, but WWS gives more guidance to the instructor/mentor.  Analytical Grammar has served us well, which is why we're continuing on to the final season this year.  Ditto for the Vocabulary text as well.

History - Classically designed, by me again. (Late Renaissance-Early modern period)

I have had the luxury, and yes it has been a luxury, of using lesson plans from classicalhouseoflearning.com.  I am ever so grateful to this woman, who put together a top notch curriculum for FREE!  However, this year the author is changing things up so I will not benefit from her time-freeing lesson plans.  So I went through the work of creating my own, again using The Well Trained Mind as my guide.  Since it is classically designed I included rich literature to read this year.  I don't know if we'll get all the way through, but we're going to try.  Here's the list with ISBN for my own use:

1. Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote, abridged.  0060188707

2. John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress. 

3. Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe. 9781602707030

4. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Other Poems. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/151/151-h/151-h.htm

5. Washington Irving, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle. 9781577658191

6. Robert Browning, “The Pied Piper of Hamelin,” in My Last Duchess and Other Poems. 0679428127 

7. Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. 0448405601 

8. Jules Verne, 20,000 Leagues under the Sea.  0789434288

9. Edgar Allan Poe, “The Raven”. 0385074077

10. Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol. 0679601791

11. Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself. 0192832506

12. Mary Shelley. Frankenstein. 9781847490230

13. Herman Melville.  Moby Dick. 1593080182

14. Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island. 0895772620

15. Arthur Conan Doyle, one of the Sherlock Holmes stories. 0766607674

16. Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express.  0553030000

17. Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind. 1419827391 film

Poetry

1. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “The Song of Hiawatha”. 0895773376

2. Robert Frost, “The Road Not Taken” and other poems. 0030725356

3. E. E. Cummings, collected poems. 0802130720

4. Langston Hughes, The Dream Keeper and Other Poems or The Block: Poems. 0679426310

Resources:

Story of the World, Volume 3:  Early Modern Times From Elizabeth the First to the Forty-Niners

The Dorling Kindersley History of the World

National Geographic Almanac of World History

History:  The Definitive Visual Guide

Timelines of World History, published by Dorling Kindersley 

Online primary sources: the Internet Modern History Sourcebook at www.fordham.edu./halsall/mod/modsbook.html.

Battle, Eyewitness books, Dorling Kindersley, by Richard Holmes, 9780756650278

North American Indian written by David Murdoch, Eyewitness book 0679961690

Pirate, Eyewitness books, Dorling Kindersley, by Richard Platt, 9780756607135

The First Americans, from the series “A history of US ; bk 1”, by Joy Hakim, 0195077466 or 0195095065

Making thirteen colonies, from the series “A history of US; bk 2”, by Joy Hakim, 0195077482 or 0195095073

From colonies to country, from the series “A history of US; bk 3”, by Joy Hakim, 0195077504 or 0195095081

The new nation, from the series “A history of US; bk 4”, by Joy Hakim, 019509509x

Encyclopedia of Native American tribes, Carl Waldman, 0816062749

Samuel Eaton’s day: a day in the life of a Pilgrim boy, by Kate Waters 0590463128 or 059046311X

Sarah Morton’s day a day in the life of a Pilgrim girl, by Kate Waters 0590426354

Tapenum’s day: a Wampanoag Indian boy in pilgrim times by Kate Waters. 0590202375

The boy’s war: Confederate and Union soldiers talk about the Civil War, by Jim Murphy. 0899198937

Tell them we remember: the story of the Holocaust, Susan D. Bachrach.  0316692646

Buried in ice, by Owen Beattie and John Geiger 0590438484

Lincoln: a photobiography, by Russell Freedman. 0899193803

Wilbur & Orville Wright by Theodore Rowland-Entwistle 086307927X

The life and death of Adolf Hitler, by James Cross Giblin 0395903718

Liberty for all?, “A history of US; bk 5”, by Joy Hakim 0195095103

War, terrible war “A history of US; bk 6”, by Joy Hakim 0195095111

Reconstruction and reform, “A history of US; bk 7”, by Joy Hakim 019509512x

An age of extremes, “A history of US; bk 8”, by Joy Hakim 0195095138

War, peace, and all that jazz, “A history of US; bk 9”, by Joy Hakim 0195095146

All the people, “A history of US; bk 10”, by Joy Hakim 0195095154

Florida, by Ann Heinrichs 0756503094

A nation challenged: a visual history of 9/11 and its aftermath, 0935112766

Air raid – Pearl Harbor!: the story of December 7, 1941, Theodore Taylor, 0152164219

Girls think of everything, Catherine Thimmesh, 0395937442

Yeah, I know, these are healthy list.  But remember, we're not using a text book to study history.  I've broken down the topics to study.  I've tied the first half to Story of the World.  I haven't purchased version 4 yet, so that's the only reason I haven't completed the list.

Topics to Explore:

1. The Mayflower – SOTW Ch.6

2. Early American settlements – SOTW Ch.3

3. Russia under Peter the Great and his successors – SOTW Ch.17

4. Prussia in the eighteenth century –SOTW Ch.14

5. The agricultural revolution – SOTW Ch.16

6. Native American cultures - Multiple Chapters

7. British in India – SOTW Ch.11

8. The French Revolution – SOTW Ch.25

9. British-French conflict in Canada – SOTW Ch.21

10. The American Revolution – SOTW Ch.22

11. The Napoleonic Wars – SOTW Ch.29

12. The industrial revolution – SOTW Ch.27

13. Simon Bolivar’s fight for independence in South America – SOTW Ch. 34-35

14. The siege of the Alamo - SOTW Ch.42 

15. The California gold rush – SOTW Ch.42

16. The Lewis and Clark expedition – SOTW Ch.32

17. The U.S. acquisition of North American territories

18. Australia’s beginnings as a penal colony. – SOTW Ch.24

19. Africa under European control - 

20. The Crimean War

21. The Victorian era

22. The War between the States (Civil War)

23. Exploration in the American West

24. Euro-American conflict with the Native American tribes

25. The Boxer Rebellion

26. The World War I

27. The Russian Revolution

28. The Soviet Union

29. The Great Depression

30. The New Deal

31. World War II

32. Nazi Germany/Hitler

33. Apartheid/South African segregation

34. China under Mao

35. The Korean War

36. The civil-rights movement

37. The Vietnam War

Electives & Foreign Language - Critical Thinking and Rosetta Stone Spanish

The Critical Thinking course is being delivered by FLVS.  We're continuing with Level 1 Spanish and finally completing this year.  If my son chooses to continue with learning Spanish, then 9th grade will start with Spanish Level 2, but we'll see.  After we get past our Winter break, I'll introduce another elective, but I think we have enough to keep busy for now.

Curriculum Planning Time

It's that time of year again.  Curriculum planning time!

It is truly one of my favorite things about homeschooling.  I love the planning portion.  So, without further ado, here's what we're planning for the 2013/2014 semester for Rodney, my rising eighth grader.

I started by printing my Curriculum Planner worksheet.  I like writing things down, in pencil, to get some of the curriculum choices fleshed out.

After I list the details on the Curriculum Planner, I begin to build lesson plans, which is where I am with my planning currently.  I am working on creating lesson plans for Physical Science.  The resources I'm using are ck-12.org's Middle School Physical Science, experiments from Real Science 4 Kids Physics, library books and encyclopedias.  Since we follow a classical homeschool philosophy I'll tie in biographies for various individuals that fit, to some degree, the time frame in  history we're studying and who have made significant contributions to any and all things in the physical science world.  I'm really excited about Rodney's experiments.  He's hands-on with most things, so I know he'll find this part of science enjoyable.  Once the experiments are completed, that's when I've planned the writing portion.  Summaries, reports and biographies will be a half of Physics this year.  Oh, and of course lab reports.

I am thinking of changing things with math this year.  I am still on the fence about continuing with Teaching Textbooks, this time Geometry.  I appreciate the built in "tutor" aspect of TT, however, I question how well Rodney would do on some of the problems if I gave him a Saxon math text book.  I have Barron's E-Z Geometry and Khan Academy as a "tutor" so it is possible to avoid spending $184 for TT Geometry.  Yes, money is another factor.  It's really pricey, so I'm hoping I can trade my TT Algebra I with someone for TT Geometry, all version 2.  I've been checking out vegsource.com, so I'll see.  Right now, I still have some time to waver.

Next up is history.  I feel I'm pretty covered for the most part.  For the last two years I relied heavily on the lesson plans I got for free from classicalhouseoflearning.com. However, for the age/point in history we're at this year, the author is doing something different and so far has only posted 5 lessons.  I think I will take a more literal approach toward history using the book The Well Trained Mind.  Basically, I will need to review the book lists mentioned and assign the appropriate titles to wherever we are timeline wise in the Story of The World v.3 book.  It's more planning on my end, but I think I'll manage.  I can always get help at the library.

Literature and history are combined, however, writing will be done differently this year.  I've had Rodney using Writing Strands since we began homeschooling.  I feel Writing With Skill may be more meaty.  I think Writing Strands is great, however I'm concerned at the pace.  I need more focused, compact writing skills taught so come 10th or 11th grade, my son is ready for PSAT, SAT, ACT etc. writing portion.

Rosetta Stone, Spanish, will be completed this year.

Art history and music for half the year.  This is where field trips will come in handy and give us a break, while being educational.  I plan for us to visit art museums within the area.

Physical education requirements will be satisfied with soccer this fall.

I'm thinking about purchasing the Art of Argument.  I've been thinking about this curriculum for two years, but maybe this year I'll do more than think.  Last year I bought a workbook from the Critical Thinking series and Rodney and I both found the whole book confusing as heck.  And yes I had the teacher's manual.  I abandoned it within the first quarter.  We used brain teasers and free worksheets online.  Believe me, that was enough some mornings!

Electives.  I like to spend the first half of the school year on the subjects mentioned above, and the second half we then incorporate elective subjects.  I find its a welcome break from the rigorous study and it becomes something to look forward to.  I know I'll throw in a middle school level health course.  Outside of that, I will listen to Rodney on what he would like to study as an elective.

Wow, I have a lot of lesson planning to do.  Did I mention I plan on working part time again, from home.  I will definitely have a full plate, however, I would not have things any other way.

Oops, one more thing... Geography.  I plan to tie in with history, however we'll be using MapTrek, however more often than we did last year.