May 12, 2012 THMJ

My Funny Husband and 

the 2012 Jr. Duck Stamp Award

Written by Rachel, May 12, 2012

In my life this week…
We got our own boat out of winter storage and into the water for this season!  It was fun to ride again, even though I had to wear pants and a sweatshirt because it felt cold in the wind!  

In our homeschool this week…
We have gotten down to some of the basics, we are still studying laziness vs. diligence in the Bible (For Instructions in Righteousness), math, reviewing CC memory work, reading, spelling, and some Indiana history.  B completed her level of Spelling Power for the year, too!  She is enjoying reading The Moffats and working through her reading guide from Memoria Press.  That is something new and different that we have not used before, but it is helping to highlight some vocabulary words and comprehension questions from each chapter.  I also pulled out this placemat of "painless multiplication" that she could use with a dry erase marker to review her multiplication facts, now that she has learned them all this year and she likes that.  Something new and different is a breath of fresh air sometimes!

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
We attended a cousin's bridal shower and had fun with my sister, niece, mom, and other relatives.  On Monday we enjoyed an afternoon at the park with our CC friends and on Friday we went to a park with our 4H Club.  Throughout the week we still had our normal children's choir, adult church choir, and gymnastics.  We had and end of the year celebration for our Celebration Kids choir  at church and will now have a summer break.  I also went to an employee recognition dinner event with my husband and look who he dressed as... (can you guess?)... snowboarder, Shaun White!  The red, curly wig certainly got everyone's attention, but it was part of the theme "Winners" and someone had digitally edited his face onto Shaun White's body on the invitation, so, he had fun with it (those are Olympic rings pinned to his shirt)!

Look at that hair!!

Things I am working on...
I received our standardized tests and all of the information needed to administer them.  We have never done any kind of standardized testing in our family, but I have been wanting to try it this year.  So I am reading all of the many directions and hoping that I will be ready to administer them this week and call it the end of our school year!

I am also thinking about what our summer schedule should look like each week, which camps and activities to participate in, and how to keep doing some math and reading, but have plenty of time for "summer" fun!

I am reading ...
Ability tests, achievement tests, directions, bubble answer sheets, etc.!

I am grateful for...
My mother, mother-in-law, grandmothers, and other women who have influenced our lives!!  See this post for Mother's Day, entitled, "Psalm 139 and My Prayer for Mother's Day."

My favorite thing this week was…

B was awarded 2nd place in the Indiana State Jr. Duck Stamp Art Contest.  Although she was disappointed that it wasn't a 1st place like last year, she definitely felt like a winner after the ceremony.  She received a hat, T-shirt, nature art book, a big ribbon, and lots of people were taking her picture along with the other award recipients.  If your children are interested in art, the Federal Junior Duck Stamp art contest is a great program that you should check out for next year.  We are proud of her budding art talent! 

2012 Indiana Jr. Duck Stamp 2nd place, K-3rd division

Hop on over to the Hip Homeschool Hop or The Homeschool Mother's Journal. Have a great week!
Rachel