A little Update!

We are progressing nicely and with few hiccups since some of our major curriculum did not make it to temp housing.

Below is Oldest Peep working on Copywork. She has decided to copy Runny Babbit. HAHAHA! She keeps laughing as she copies some of those out. She loves Shel Silverstein.

Here Middle Peep is working on Fun Spanish. The author has done a great job of making some memorable sentences. We are all getting a chckle out of his drawings.

Baby Peep

What a difference a year makes! Last year this child would fight me on every aspect of learning. He wanted nothing to do with it.

This year he gets up, gets himself dressed, and gets right to work. Sometimes he will play under the table or jump around the room with his imaginary play but will soon settle himself down and get right back to work. I let the reading thing go for now. He has focused on Math and Handwriting. He loves copying and writing...how different from big brother. Reading will come...I will be patient. What a difference a year makes.

Beach Living

This is what I wan to do when I retire. Head to a little beach town, buy a beach house, and lay on a hammock all day reading! What a life. I might even do my own fishing.

This picture was taken Summer of 06 when a friend took the peeps and I to Esmeralda during our visit in Ecuador. The house belongs to his sister. It was basically a little shack on the beach but boy did I NOT want to leave.

DC

This was when we stopped in DC. What a marvelous city. We are going to try very hard to get there again. We did not have enough time to see everything.

NYC

I will write more about our NYC trip later. Right now I just want to share some pictures.

Corn Maze

I almost forgot that when we first got here we went on our very first corn maze.

Enjoy.

Updates Galore

Well I have lots of pictures and lots to tell about......

First the move.....

It is going much better than the last time I posted about it. I am gettig to know the area...the good and the bad. The traffic is bad but then not as bad as our previous home. The rain is not as bad as I thought. It has actually been very nice fall weather. I had missed the trees and all their beautiful colors. This was something I loved about living in the North East. I am glad the North West has it too.

And did you know the mall actually has a library in it!!?? You can go to the mall and hang out at the library! That is awesome. The other great thing is that right outside the library area is the chess area. They have a huge chess board and lots of really great competition. Middle Peep is in heaven. We have been told any time the mall is open you can find people playing chess. What a great city!!!!! The parks are abundant and full of wonderful play equipment.

I would have liked to stay in this area but the houses are so expensive that we had to go north. The great news is that we found a house.....FINALLY!! It is a new constructure with a lot of upgrades and still less than what we were finding in the desireable neighborhoods. It is close to a YMCA that we want to join. I think we will be happy there. The views are really nice too.
And the house we are selling is under contract as well!!!! Everything is working out perfectly.

What we enjoyed this past week:

Cougar Mountain Zoological Park

We went to this zoo park. It was small and intimiate but still better than our last zoo. We arrived in time to see and hear the Tiger Lecture. There are 2 baby tigers that the zoo is taking care of. They are brothers and one is white while the other is the normal orange with stripes. These are some very friendly tigers. Baby Peep as usual was running around and the striped tiger started running back and forth in his cage and pouncing the cage walls after him. It was very cute. He was just like a big kitten...albeit a big dangerous kitten. The boys had a blast with these tigers. The white tiger keep pouncing on his brother while he was distracted with the boys. It was funny.


Pacific Science Center

On Sunday, since we were done looking for houses (YIPPEEE) we went to this science center. WHAT A PLACE!!!!! This is a must membership. It satisfied all the peeps' needs. One likes the dinosaurs, the other likes the funky physics experiments, and the other liked the insects and other animals you could touch. Mama and Papa Peep liked that everything worked and the entrance fee for the whole family was low. Papa Peep's company subsidizes most of the cost which makes it very very affordable.

Haunted House

After we found a place to eat (yummy burgers and fries) we headed south to this nifty place. Again the corporate discount made it possible. We went through the VERY scary haunted house and then let the kids get on some rides. The whole time the kids were incredulous that we were there. They have been great troopers through the whole "move saga". They have endured endless hours of driving, seeing houses, talking about houses and most of all stressed parents. They deserved the nice break.

Halloween!!!!!!

We had a blast!!!!

Another quiz

Take the Quiz here!

:: E L I N O R ::
You are Elinor Dashwood of Sense & Sensibility! You are practical, circumspect, and discreet. Though you are tremendously sensible and allow your head to rule, you have a deep, emotional side that few people often see.

Reporting from the Soggy Pacific NorthWest

Boy, they were not kidding when they said it rains here. Yesterday was the only completely dry day we have had since getting here. The children are not too happy about that. I am trying to find indoor space for them to run around in. The peeps especially need to burn off lots of energy.

My temporary move things arrived and of course my clothes and one box of books are no where to be found. This box had the LL stuff in it as well as CW Poetry and some fun Knex stuff I never have time for. The LL readers were in another box but the Student and Teacher's manuals are in the missing box. We will make do. I have a Warriner's writing book we are now using.

Since we took so much time off, we have had a slow start. I feel like the old time cars that you had to whine up to get started. I have not cranked their brains enough because they keep stalling. Today Middle Peep could not think of any English derivative for nauta. He stared blankly for at least 10 minutes. He is usually quite impressive in this area. He has an extensive vocabulary. Today however he was completely stumped. I informed Papa Peep that video games are completely off until further notice. He has turned their brains to mush.

We have been house hunting as well in our spare time. I have yet to find a neighborhood I like. All the cities out here are very different from what I am use to. I find in my old age I am getting kind of set in my ways where I use to be very fly by the seat of my pants. I am trying to loosen up on my way of thinking but we lived in the South for 7 years and have done most of my real parenting there that we are so accustomed to having things a certain way. The culture is very different here. There are many many things I like. This area is truly more diverse where the South is not. The South is also very rigid in thinking where this state is more open. There are stout environmentalist here who go above and beyond your average Southerner. This is a great thing but they are against the big shopping malls I have grown accustomed too. This also means prices are much higher because everything is organic, locally grown and environmentally friendly. I love it, but it will take some getting use to as I mentioned earlier.

This area is also pretty small compared to the sprawling suburbs I have grown use to. I really must stop comparing everything to our previous location. In our hunt for the perfect neighborhood I have to reevaluate my priorities. This could take a while folks.......

My Daemon!

LEONIDAS! I love it.

I love these books!!!

Thanks to Rupert we have enjoyed this series by Philip Pullman. Now you can too.

ENRIQUE!!!!

I am having an Enrique moment so bare with me.

More Wild Animals!

Today we found this little dude hanging out at our trash can. It freaked oldest peep out and the boys were fascinated, but only baby peep had the courage to pick it up.

No idea where this child gets it from. Neither Papa Peep nor I like animals of any kind. Baby Peep is quite the opposite.

MATH WOES!!!!!

I don't usually visit the high school boards usually on WTM. I think I need to start making it part of my routine. I need Algebra help and quick.

I am very good at math, always have been. I usually worked on the previous night's homework in class while the teacher explained the lesson. I never liked Math but it came to me easily. Oldest Peep is another story. She has never liked it and I doubt she ever will. We started off with MUS and that was a disaster. We then moved to Miquon/Singapore and quickly dropped Miquon. Singapore was the perfect fit for her until Primary 4. I think it was 4b where she started hating math again and questioning her skills. We finished 4b and started on 5a when I realized she was just not getting it. We did the key to Fractions, Key to Decimals, and Key to Measurements just for a fun break. She did well with those. In the mean time I searched for something that would help her. We went with Saxon 76. That was good at the very beginning. Very soon she discovered it bored her to tears. We switched to Lial's and it has been happily ever after since then.

Enter Chapter 6!!!!

This chapter has shattered her complete confidence again. We have taken now 2 weeks to do this one chapter. Every time I pull out the books the flood gates open and the pleading begins. I just don't know what to do. I've looked at the video based ones because I think taking me out of the equation will be a good thing. I just don't get how she learns Math. The problem is I don't like how the others teach Math. In my opinion they over complicate things. I think Lial's BCM is a good text. It explains things clearly. They have enough problems for her to work on so that the concepts sink in, but she doesn't want to put in the work. I think it is time for another "Pep" talk.

Who will pep talk me!?!

Baby Peep's Animal Quiz

Oh My!!!

You're a Weasel!

Cunning and conniving, the only thing darker than your motives is your
reputation. People shy away from you, consider you slimy, and warn their children not
to make friends with people like you. A rare few have even threatened to skin you
alive. The good news is that you're clever enough to keep away from others for the most
part. You are most popular when screeching.


Take the Animal Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

I love these quizzes!!!!!

You're a Horse!

Versatile, powerful, and true, you have quite a reputation for hard
work and a certain unbridled spirit. Many look up to you as an example of what
people can really become, though somewhere deep down, you admit to feeling a little
bit broken. You hate racing, but are still exceptionally good at it. Beware broken
legs, dog food, and glue. If your name is Ed, you do a surprising amount of
talking.


Take the Animal Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Bubba the Wild Turtle

So we got up early *HA* to get some yard work done. Papa Peep got out the weed whacker and we set forth. Baby Peep found his toy one and changed the batteries. He was so cute but I did not get the camera out yet. Then as Baby Peep was "cutting" the weeds too, he found the above turtle under one of our logs. I have no idea how it got there as we really do not have any creeks near us. The kids observed it for a while, named it Bubba and then left it alone. If he is lost, I hope he finds his way home soon.

Comfort Food

I have to add this here! Today on the WTM board someone asked what was a comfort food for you. Well for me it is.......

Rice in all forms! Fried rice with some kind of meat. Brown rice, white rice......preferable long grain..but RICE. I will eat it when I feel sick and all maladies are gone. I will eat it when there is nothing else to eat and I will be happy for rice. I will eat it when I need a late night snack. (There is always a made pot of rice in my house.) I will eat it with white spanish cheese crumbled on top. I will eat it with a fried egg on top. Not green! And NEVER with butter! YUCK! I eat it with my soup. I can eat it at every meal but always with dinner. I will eat it just to get to the bottom of the pot where the hard crunchy treasure can be found!

RICE!!!!!!

7th Grade Schedule

Middle Peep's Schedule

AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

The start date was wrong. He starts October 8th!!!! AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

That is NOT enough time. I want to go home to NY before I head west. Not fair! Not fair! Not fair!!!!! Yes, I am having a tantrum! I need more time....more time, please!!!!!

Motivation

Since we heard of the news this week, my motivation to school has waned considerably. I don't want to teach another lesson in our school room. I want to be in a new house, in a new city, with all our stuff. This is just silly because as much as I have to do here, I still have to teach these peeps. I don't want to get further behind. We took way more time off this summer than I wanted. The peeps were having so much fun with friends I just could not bare to drag them away and back indoors to study Latin. We have always schooled year round but every year I find it harder and harder to do. Now that we are going to a new city, this summer I bet will be filled with exploring. I will miss the fall and spring of the South. It makes for really lovely weather. I have been checking out the blogs of other homeschoolers who live in the Northwest and it will be a change. But an exciting change. Today we got an official start date that gives me some breathing room. I can't get comfortable in that idea or I will slack.

Back to the homeschooling.....so I come down the stairs finally to see what my peeps have been doing all morning and this is the scene I find:

Oldest Peep is at our table working on her Homer, BY HERSELF!

Then Middle Peep shows me what Oldest Peep helped him with. He wrote better for her than for me! And he did a good job spelling...only one error.

Later I found her doing this. She was reading the lesson to her brothers.

I just love these peeps!!!!!!

Back to the moving.......

If you know me well, you know that I am not a person who stresses. And if you know Papa Peep you know he stresses enough for the both of us. Well we have had some sort of Freaky Friday thing happen. I am very stressed and worried and he is a calm, cool, and collected cucumber. I tell you I do not like it. Not at all!!!!

Now the peeps are unwinding after a long day's work.

They are watching some mindless Disney Channel show. They deserve it.

Hotdogs

Well after reading this article I think we are off hotdogs for a very very long time. Click here.

Testing!

And They Headed West to Seek Their Fortune

That's right. It is official. I will no longer be a NYC girl stuck in the South. I will be a NYC girl stuck in the west coast. We are outta here.


We have been in the South for 7 years now. It is time to get out. If I had to spend another year here I think would lose my mind. I need a city. I was holding out for NYC but at this point any city will do. Papa Peep has been talking with the natives out there and he guarantees I will find kinship there. I hope so.


The craziness of the whole thing is that we have to be out there in give or take 4 weeks. Things are not ready here. We still have a bunch of things to tighten up on the house before we can even contact a realtor so they can tell us what else to fix. And I still have to go home for a bit to break the news to mom. She will be devastated. The long flight will be hard for her to take. I guess I will be going to NYC more often. That is NOT a bad thing but definitely an expensive one.


The boys are very excited about the move. Baby Peep woke up anxious the other night about his things but once I assured him they would come with us he settled down. Oldest Peep was not very happy at first. She resists change but a few nights ago she dreamt she was surfing and things have changed. She is still sad to leave her friends and they are all begging us to stay (some of the boys a little too insistent.....hmmmm) but the dream awoke her to all the new possibilities. The boys can't wait to ski and snowboard. They want to sail and last night I was reading about wind surfing. There is so much to do there we will hardly have time to homeschool by the books.

I am so excited!!!!! I want this to be my view every morning.

Or this!

I will be happy with either one!

Finished bedroom!

The new bed sheets added the finishing touches.

Her Girls of Many Lands dolls are on display. She likes having them there. We are now looking for the perfect mirror to put over her dresser.

We have not settled on curtains either or a big comfy chair for a lonely corner.
I will keep you updated.

Susan Polgar's Blog

A fellow chess parent turned me onto this blog and I have since read it weekly. Susan Polgar is a great chess player and a great advocate for getting more girls involved in the game of chess. Today's post was about the Hip-Hop Chess Federation's 1st Annual Chess Kings Invitational Tournament being held this October in San Francisco. Wu-Tang's RZA, GZA and DJ Qbert are going to be participating.

How cool is that???

Also check out this really cool chess product. Price you ask? OUCH!!! Well, a girl can dream!

Homeschool Musings..some of you might find this boring

I need to write this out as it is all jumbled in my brain and this is the best way I have to organize it.

Oldest Peep is 11.5, Middle Peep is 9 and Baby Peep is 6. GOALS! Every year I start out with goals. So far all the goals have lined up nicely for all three....well mostly the two oldest as I am just starting to include Baby Peep in our lessons. So back to the goals. They have always been the same. This year we will focus on Math, This year we will focus on Writing, This year we will focus on Latin, This year we will focus on........ ummmmm...

Well, I don't know. I really don't know.

Oldest Peep is progressing very nicely in Writing. She has made leaps and bounds. Next week I will post her latest story. I guess I could start asking her to move away from the CW models and have her write a little more creative stuff. The last time I tried that, it did not go over well though. But now she is older and more mature and not prone to having huge meltdowns when I mention the "W" word.......most of the time. *wink* Latin is coming along great and almost entirely without my help. I love Latin Prep. I will post what is going on in the Latin front next week as well. In Spanish, we could be working a little harder. OK I could be pushing them a little more to speak it more but other that that she is really doing great. We were at Walmart today and someone started talking to her in Spanish and she understood everything they said. They did not realize she did not speak it. She tried answering back in Spanish and that is when they realized she was not fluent....yet! I could not be happier in Math. She is doing Lial's Basic College Math book and doing it on her own. She is complaining about Chapter 6 and when I took a look I realized why. She never did like percents. I think I have the Key to Percents books around here somewhere. i will drag them out and see if they help her. She is actually enjoying History. She is making connections and she is remembering one chapter to the next what events occurred. She is connecting why WW2 happened. After the WW1 mess Europe was in, it really was unavoidable. She made that connection and we have yet to study WW2. Currently we are learning about the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression. I would love to squeeze a Government unit in here somewhere but am having a hard time finding where to put it. Science we are, or rather I, am failing miserably. I only did one dissection this year. She has done more in the past, but I really meant to do more. I have the frog, starfish, grasshopper, and worm waiting to be dissected and I just did not get myself together. *Have I ever mention how much I dislike experiments?* I am not a crafty hands on mom. Just give me a good book and let's curl on the couch and read, read, read, read, read! Why is that not enough? Because I ended up with a visual, kinesthetic learner. I guess my goal for her will be to get Science done, experiments and all!

Middle Peep is the one I rarely worry about. He is the auditory learner so I just need to say it for him to learn it. He catches on quickly and can usually devise a better way before I am done explaining. Math is where he excels. He is done with Singapore 6 and I am not ready to move forward. He is ready for algebra. He is also only 9. Do I go ahead and do algebra? Do I use the Russian Math book I keep hearing great things about? Where do I go from here with him. Do I buy a Spectrum workbook and just make him keep his Math skills up to date while I Focus on say his.......miserable spelling! Spelling! Oh Spelling! This week I discovered he is a great speller! Really he is as long as he is not writing it down. Once he puts pencil to paper all reason goes out the window and he spells completely phonetically. Great for the Spanish language. Not so great in English. Spelling! Oh! Spelling! I guess my goal for him will be spelling!

Baby Peep:

He is great! I wish I had more time for him. I wish he had my full attention like Oldest Peep had at his age. I wish I had the same energy I had with her schooling. With him I just want to get through the phonics lesson because oldest peep is waiting for me, or Middle Peep is making noise and I have to shush him 20 times in the span of ONE MINUTE! I guess my goal for him will be to give him more of me somehow.

But why oh why oh why are they all so different. Why couldn't I have given birth to identical triplets?

I have declared war!!!

I am waging war against the ants in my kitchen! They are coming and going without permission. They walk over my counters and gather in clusters to chit chat while I am working hard to keep a clean kitchen. I will not have any more of this. Today I went to Home Depot and bought Terro Ant Bait. I have heard from a bunch of people that this is a good product to rid yourself of these pesky creatures. They only had the liquid kind available. You have to put one or two drops on a piece of paper or aluminum foil. They will swarm it and then bring it back to the nest and most importantly the queen. Well, they are swarming and I must resist the urge to kill them. I must resist. I must resist. it creeps me out to have them all clustered like this and I have to let them come and go. I also put some outside where I think they are getting into the house. I really hope it works because I am going out of my mind because of them. I have spent a small fortune on ant spray and baits and nothing seems to stop these little terrors. My neighbors are all complaining of the same. Their kitchens are being invaded. I will stand for it no longer! This is war!

Math Brain

I wonder how the brain can hold that much information. I am a visual learner. Middle Peep is an auditory learner. I believe these are easy learners. You just talk and they soak it all in. I wish it were that easy for me. I must see it and do it. Older Peep is visual too. I can follow some things but most I must see and do.



Most of us must write out multi step math problems. Most of us can only follow it if we pull out pencil and start scratching away. Then there are some who just can hold all that information in their brains and write down the answer. That is middle peep. Everytime I witness it, it amazes me. I am so not this kind of person. Now don't get me wrong. Math is not my enemy. I always found math easy to understand. Only in college did I met math that I had to actually study for (Calculus) to do well. But this child puts me to shame.

A goldfish cost 3 times as much as a guppy. Gary spent 3/5 of his money on 3 goldfish and 6 guppies and had $8 left. Find the cost of a goldfish.

HUH?

Baby Peep's Art Work

This is the youngest pupil I have. His temperment is one where he challenges just about everything we try to do. This will be a great quality when he is an adult. Of course I hope he develops some gauge as to when it is appropriate and when it is not. I am going to share his narration assignment with you all.


We are using First Language Lessons and are on Lesson 4. This lesson has the story of the Rabbit and the Turtle or as he pointed out the Tortoise and the Hare. I read it to him and he had to narrate orally. I did not even think about asking him to write it down. This would have been too much since narrations are new to him. When I finally got stuff I could write down for him I found this paper where he could draw a picture above the narration. Well you would have thought I asked him to cut off a finger and glue it to the page.


Today as he was bright and fresh from a good night's sleep, I was able to draw this out of him. He had me write FINISH for him. I wanted him to write "line" but he refused. I will get him to write it later. I just thought this was such a typical sample of his art work I just had to share. Enjoy.




My mantra....

This too shall pass.

CueCat!!!

I have a CueCat!! I am sooooooo excited! I have been busy scanning my shelves. Out of 8 shelves next to me, I have only scanned 3 of them as of this posting. I will slowly do this over time, but I must say I am having so much fun! Then seeing all the covers on My Library Thing is too much for words. Every household in America should have a Library Thing account.

I will never buy 2 of any book again!

Happiness

I just love this face when it is happy and smiling. The huge dimples she inherited from my mother are wonderful to see. As she becomes older I see less and less of this spontaneous laugher. Due to many trying friendships I see these smiles have become more and more guarded. I will make it a point to help her smile, really smile, more often.

Let's see it one more time.

Parlez-vous français?

So my order from Ray finally came today. I think my mail person with holding my packages. They always take so much longer to get to me than most people. On the WTM board a bunch of people ordered from Ray and those living in my area received their books Friday and Saturday, but I did not get mine until today. I will have to keep my eye on that postal worker!

I finally had a chance to look them over quickly. We had a very looooooooong day today. Many interruptions and life skills got in our way but we still did accomplish our core subjects. YAY!!!

Back to the Galore Park books....I ordered book 1 and 2 of So You Really Want to Learn French and the Greek book they distribute. They are working on a Greek Prep series but it is still in the planning stages. I hope they hurry up.

I have mainly looked over the Greek book as a fellow homeschooler wants to use this with her son as well. At first glance it looks good but scary at the same time. There is no answer key and that is the scary part. It has a good chapter on letter sounds but it then delves right into words. It is nice that they introduce Greek words still in use in the English language, but since they are in Greek letters it scared me. I have to remember that κομμα is comma. μ is mu. My brain is too old for this. But the children want to learn it and it would be neat only if my brain were younger.

The French book looks a little easier.....but only a little! I still do remember *some* of my high school French. I did not order the Cd's. I hope I don't regret that choice. I am impressed with them and think they will provide us with just what we need to learn the language.

I will update this post as we start to use these books, but so far, like all the other Galore Park products I use, I give them 2 thumbs up.

What a difference!!!

Papa Peep and I finally got around to getting the carpet out of Oldest Peep's room. Boy did we procrastinate today. We did not get up before music lessons to start the painting. We did not rush home after music lessons to get to painting. We went to lunch. A Mama Peep needs a full tummy to work hard. We did not rush home after lunch either and when we made it home we did not rush to start our work. I think we started the room around 4ish.....maybe.

But we did finish......OK...we are almost finished.

The color looks good and I am not a pastel, light color kind of girl. I am from NYC after all. I have a reputation to protect.

The floor is finished. My knees hurt and my ankles hurt from sitting for hours on the floor and pushing and pounding those planks into place. It is finished and I will never have to install flooring again.

Wait our master bath is still not done, but I think we may just hire someone to do that. Wallpaper is just awful. I don't want to ever do that. Someone for the kitchen too. Those ivy walls have to go. It is too terrible to post a picture or I would. I am almost sorry I have not been chronicling the transformation this house has undergone since we moved in. That is for another post.

For now my baby girl's room is pretty much finished. We will paint the trim and the closet door white. When the baseboards dry we can nail them back in and move the furniture back. I may just get her some new sheets and a new comforter to go along with the new color.

Quiet Day!

Papa Peep is home.

This always changes our routine. Unlike usual he did not have 100 conference calls, hours of reading to do, and a million proposals to look over. He took one call and read for about 2 hours. It was just long enough for us to do Latin and......................................... reading. Oh music too! They practiced their instruments.

See our day changes when Papa Peep is home. We went to our favorite breakfast place this morning where they harrassed him for bring his laptop to the table. He received a phone call right as we got to the parking lot and whoever needed some information.

We came home, the kids read, we did a chapter out of Ecce Romani (just for a change) and then they played on the computer, did some puzzles, practiced their music, helped me cook dinner, and watched High School Musical 2.

Off to bed with me...........................

My Fortune Cookie!

My Fortune Cookie told me: Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday. Get a cookie from Miss Fortune

It just hit me! I don't worry. EVER! This was meant for Papa Peep I am sure.