It was a very strange week this week and not a lot of scheduled schoolwork got done as a result. Fred was off school for the week. This meant driving him to 4 work shifts and to meet a friend to play badminton.
Monday, the kids and I managed to have a productive school day. After devotions and prayer (specifically for my friend’s daughter Sadie who is in hospital very ill and my other friend’s son Malachi who is also in hospital with quite a long road ahead – your prayers for both families would be appreciated), we studied more about Jewish culture and traditions to go along with our Story of the World. The kids made dreidels and we all played.
Next, we learned about Hanukkah and made potato latkes, which are a traditional Hanukkah food and cooked them in oil. The boys loved them and the girls liked them.
Monday evening, we had friends over and had an extremely fun time playing boys against girls Pictionary using the white board from the homeschool room!
Tuesday was a write-off because of having a large family meeting to discuss The Husband’s dad’s cancer diagnosis and then having a meeting with our older boys, The Ferrari and Fred to tell them. Wednesday, I told the younger five kids.
Wednesday was The Husband and my 15th Anniversary and we took the kids out for lunch to Ragazzi’s to celebrate. We weren’t able to get a babysitter for the evening, so we had a hot rock dinner together after all the kids were in bed and it was actually a lot of fun!
Wednesday and Thursday, I had work to do on my book, so homeschooling took a back seat. I received the formatted book and had to go through it to check for any errors. It was very cool to see it looking like an actual book, but there have been a lot of details that needed to be completed on it this week that took up a lot of time. It is difficult to do and take care of the kids at the same time!
Thursday evening, my dad took The Husband and I to a Big Band concert that one of his friends was singing in. It’s been a long time since I’ve had the opportunity to listen to live music and I am always moved by watching the musicians pursue their passion! It was special when a song was dedicated to The Husband and I in honour of our Anniversary!
Today is Remembrance Day, so The Husband is off work and I have the feeling that very little schoolwork will get done. Tomorrow, we are attending my aunt’s 80th Birthday celebration and I will be going to my close friend’s Engagement party. Sunday, 4 of the kids and I leave for Disneyland with my mom for the week!!! This means that this week also involved a lot of laundry, planning and packing! Next week’s wrap-up will be about homeschooling in Disneyland, so stay tuned!!!
Thankfully, the week was not a complete write-off when it came to learning thanks to Math U See, Story of the World, A Reason for Handwriting, and Keyboard Classroom. Keyboard Classroom is a new addition to our homeschooling and every day this week without fail, the kids were begging for turns on the computer to work on their typing! I will be doing an in-depth review in a few weeks when we have had more time to get to know it, but so far, the kids are loving it and their keyboarding is improving tremendously!
The kids also spent a lot of time this week playing at the Gingerbread Sensory table I made them. The novelty hasn’t worn off and it is the new favourite activity around here.
I was honoured that The Chaos and The Clutter was nominated for the 7th annual Homeschool Blog Awards in the category of Best Crafts, Plans & Projects Blog. I would really appreciate your votes! It’s also a great opportunity to check out all kinds of great blogs in all the categories.
So sorry to hear about your FIL and the kids! I hope that they cover completely and quickly from their illnesses!
How AWESOME to have your own book! What’s it about? You must be very excited!
Thanks Jessy! The book is a memoir of our most recent adoption, which was from Ethiopia. It is being published right about now and will hopefully be in bookstores in a month or so. This experience is very new to me, so I’m learning as I go. I’m excited, but also a bit nervous!
Wow! You have a lot going on. Homeschooling in Disney sounds awesome, can’t wait to hear more. Sorry to hear about your FIL, that is never easy to hear. Happy Anniversary! We celebrate our 15th this January, we can’t wait, we are taking a trip to Florida in Feb. What is a “hot rock” dinner?
A hot rock is a stone that you put in the oven (ours is a marble slab) and then we put candles underneath to keep the heat. We melt garlic butter on it and then you cook whatever you want on it…meats, seafood, veggies and cook them up and then eat them with dipping sauces. It takes a long time because you are just eating little bits at a time, but it’s fun. It’s kind of like a fondue, but grilling instead of cooking in oil. Because the stone gets really hot and everyone does their own cooking, it’s not something we do with the kids. Your anniversary trip sounds great..you must be excited!
We are going to have to try the hot rock dinner, that sounds great! Wow, you have had a lot going on! Praying for your family and wishing you a great week next week at Disney.
Andrea
Thanks Andrea!
Phew, sounds like an exhausting week! I am impressed that you plan to hs at Disney–that’s the week *I* would take off!!
The hot rock meal sounds like lots of fun, too!
Happy anniversary!
I’ve never made potato latkes, but I think I’d like them. Not sure how my girls would feel about them but worth trying!
Some friends of ours will be at Disney this week, too!
Sounds like a full week. Sorry, too, to hear of your FIL. Praying for him. Wow about Disney!! Have a great time.