I rather like this week of learning thing, because even though I may have posted about something during the week... it's rather nice to see it all lumped together.  It shows how much we REALLY do, even when we don't seem to be doing much at all. 

This has been a slightly wonky week, with Sam having the horrible coughing illness, but we managed to get a bit done.   (more on that cough later) Both boys went through a lesson of their respective levels of Math U See, they both were on lesson 17 this week.  I think Sam & I may work on skip counting by 2's for a little longer though, he still has to work it out each time.   Merry got in on the '25s', as he calls numbers/math, by stamping and stacking MUS blocks :)

Sam did a couple of pages of his handwriting workbook, he rather enjoys it, but his FAVE way to practice is still on his whiteboard.   I figure it saves a few trees as well ;)  He also plowed through a couple of episodes of Headsprout and after his next lesson gets a new book, always exciting!

 He was working on A's and D's this week, and not doing too bad at all... he is pointing out his personal best A there with a big cheeky grin.   That was on Monday...as the week has gone on, he has gotten a bit paler and has bags under his eyes now.  I'm sure I do as well, as when he wakes up panicing because he can't catch a breath from coughing... so do I!  And you can bet it takes a LOT longer for me to relax and go back to sleep than it does him!!

History wise, we read a bit about ancient Africa and checked out the Usborne internet links for those pages of our book.  The boys always like those.  They also played some Age of Mythology .. ok, so they were the Egyptians, close enough ;)  

In science, we've been learning about the solar system.  So far we've learned a bit about the Sun, Mercury & Venus.   The kids are finding it very interesting and have been poring over a couple of the books we got from the library for ages.  Frodo is making a solar system 'tab book' from Enchanted Learning as we go along.   Just today I found a free lapbook for the solar system & space here.   The site itself contains a bit of religious content (just an fyi), but the space lapbook is just awesome.  It does NOT however, come with the answers ;).  However it IS based on the Magic School Bus books, which is what we are using as a jumping point for our science.   So all the answers will be easily found in the books I'd guess.   Now just must get a toner cartridge for this uselessly empty printer of mine!   

Anway, the kids are loving the info on the planets.  And I often catch myself thinking how much it's changed since I was a kid learning about the solar system (we now have 11 planets, counting the dwarf planets!)  There's also a bit of Mythology/ancient religions thrown in there because we are learning about the God/desses that the planets are named for and WHY each planet earned the name it has.  (Venus scored that title because it was, and still is, thought to be the brightest most beautiful object in the heavens.)  

Frodo has gone through another week of language arts using Grammar once a week, Catching on to comprehension and Spelling Matters.  So far it all seems to be review for him though.  And we were pretty darn slack with our First Language Lessons last year even lol.   He has to really work at some parts of the Comprehension, not because he doesn't comprehend what he read... but because when they ask what do YOU think (or something that requires his own, personal answer) he doesn't quite know what to do!  He is getting a bit better though.  

Sam was pretty bummed that he didn't get to go to swimming lessons today, but he's just not well (I've had to break twice during writing this to tend to him while he coughed his poor little guts up)  So we played some games on this site to lessen the blow a bit ;)  Nothing like a bit of coveted computer time without big brother showing you up lol.   There was actually a bit of learning stuck in there, completely by accident, honest.  He stumbled on a game about internet safety and did very well until I came along and messed it up!  

We are lucky enough to have a medical clinic that has after hours coverage, so I called this morning and we had a doctor here by 3pm.  Yep, a doctor came to our house.  On Sunday.  AND apologized for taking so long!  *waits for those who have fainted to right themselves*   She had a good look & listen to Sams' chest, down his throat etc, and deemed that he does NOT have Pertussis (apparently crackles & wheezes in the chest are not typical with that.. and he does have those) but that it's rather just an annoying chest infection.  WOOT, we'll take a chest infection over a major communicable disease anyday thank you!  So, tomorrow morning I have to drag the boys out to take Merry to kindy and then we hit the chemist to pick up drugs. 

These cutie pies miss Sam something shocking.  Rats are very susseptible to respiratory illnesses, so he's had to keep his distance this week!  That's Itty (in profile) and Bitty (facing camera.. and really wondering if it was edible I'm sure).   They pine for him when he walks past the cage, it's really kinda sad!  So the mummy human makes up for it by giving them bits of apple.   They won't like me so much soon, because someone is smelling a bit on the nose, and I see a bath in their immediate future lol.  

Due to total lack of interest.  Mine that is..  

I feel just horrid!  I appear to have what a friend has dubbed the 'man flu'.  In essence I have a cold, a really nasty one.  I ache, my head is a great big cotton ball.  My nose is plugged and I can't breath, my ears are plugged & I can't hear.  And it sucks.

And Sam... he now has a low grade temp and was up periodically all night with horrible coughing fits.  We're talking half awake, gasping for air in a panic coughing fits.  So yeah, after the first two of those there really wasn't much sleep to be had for me because I was worried that he'd have another and freak out if I wasn't there pretty quickly.   I'm rather concerned, since at the moment there is quite a rash of  Whooping cough cases locally, and it's very likely that we were exposed at a function we were at a a few weeks ago.  *insert scowl* A family that was also there came down with a case of it  about 10days ago.  The exposure would have been Jan 23...and Sam's cough started last Sunday.. perfect timing.  Might ring the doc for a house call tomorrow so we don't share it with the other patrons at the clinic, just to check it out.

Finally about 3am he seemed to settle down for the night.. and which point Merry appeared wanting in our bed *sigh*  Of course, when he is in a bed nobody is allowed to have ANY sheet or blanket covering their body.  Period.  So this arrangement lasted half an hour before I told dh to redposit him into his own bed for my sanity sake.  At least if I was going to be not sleeping, I wanted to do it in peace & quiet dammit.  And with my sheet!  

I had plans of math, spelling for Frodo, matching Headsprout cards with Sam, a bit of history reading about Ancient Africa and maybe wandering on to the Aztecs, and then a book on Earth! as part of our solar system unit.  

But what is ACTUALLY going to happen, is sweet stuff all.   Merry went off to kindy remarkably well, but I feel rather like I got hit by a bus, so the older two have spent their morning playing "chess" (in quotes because they have no earthly idea what they are doing lol, and neither do I so I can't show them, but they are having fun none the less :), building with legos, raiding the fruit stash fairly regularly all morning and just generally having a good morning.  

So all is not lost.

Kylie, over at Our Worlwide Classroom, has started a Home school blog hop and I thought I'd make an attempt to join in ;) (Not making any promises that I'll stay joined in.. cause I'm fairly hopeless about these things lol)

This weeks'  "theme" is Why?   It's interesting to hear how and why different families came to this amazing adventure called Home schooling and this is a great way to share that! 

In early 2007 a new, flash primary school opened in the neighborhood we lived in... just in time for Frodo to start prep!   I wasn't REALLY all that excited about it, but figured what the hell.. it's what you do.  It's what everybody does, it's what is *expected*... it's what is "NORMAL".  So we dutifully enrolled him and he loved it.  I, on the other hand, was stressed to no end.  I woke at a silly hour in order to get everyone ready and his lunch made.  Then we walked the  1.5km to school, up and down hills, with me pushing the monster double jogger pram.  We left home at 8am..and arrived *back* home at 9.30am, give or take.  Then at 2pm we made the same walk all over again. (we were a one car family at the time).  It was usually 4pm when we made it home, as we'd have to have a little stop at the park as small legs (and not so small ones!) got tired on that rather near mountainous walk.

It was tough, and I felt like our days were completely eaten up by this 'school' business.  We did have a few hours between the walks, during which the little guys napped and I cleaned house etc.   But we soldiered on, because it's just what you do.  I never considered any other option, even though I *had* heard of home schooling before.  Then the sicknesses began, merely a week or two into the school year even.  He was enrolled for about 6months total, and missed some 30days of school due to constant illness.  I didn't have to worry that he'd fall behind, since he was reading independently before he ever started school.  But I did worry about the toll all of this illness was having on him, as well as us as a family.  After the teacher called one day, and I had to call DH to drive home so I could pick up a sick kid (can't make the poor thing walk over a km home like that obviously) I said ENOUGH. 

Dh wasn't totally on board with hs'ing, but he figured it would be ok for the rest of prep... since Frodo wasn't really learning anything new ;)  So, with his teachers support, we pulled him.  The summer after that we made the choice that we'd continue for first grade as well.  

At the end of THAT year, it became obvious to me that my reasons for doing this had shifted greatly!  The mere idea of giving up the freedom we enjoyed was awful!  We enjoyed being able to choose the things that he learned about .. and when he'd learn about them.  Frodo also has impulsive and hyper behavior, as well as a possible auditory processing disorder.. so the idea of putting him in a classroom where he might be labelled a problem child?  No, I don't think so.

The final straw came just recently.  I was actually contemplating private school for the boys in a couple of years, so that I could return to University.  But it has become obvious that neither public, nor private schools can guarantee the safety of their students to a degree that I, as a mother, think is acceptable.  So, we will be at this gig for a LONG time to come!   And with THREE 'students' (I think I'll go with the term learners so I intimidate myself less lol) next year!!