What Have We Been Reading?

I was in the mood for some fiction.  So I looked at the reading list I have for Kessiah and decided to try the Matched-Crossed-Reached trilogy by Ally Condie.   It is somewhat similar in nature to the Hunger Games series without as much violence.  I enjoyed it...although I didn't find the ending very satisfying...I was left feeling bad for one of the characters.  I also read a nonfiction book called Better Than Before...I highly recommend it!



Kessiah also read the Matched-Crossed-Reached trilogy.  For school she had to read the first Percy Jackson book and has almost finished re-reading the rest of the series.  For school she has been working on I, Robot (I understand it is very different than the movie), Who Moved My Cheese For Teens, The Wise Woman (George MacDonald),  Fields of Home (Ralph Moody), and Murder in the Cathedral (T.S. Eliot)

I finally gave Jenessa permission to read the Hunger Games series...she loved them and really wants to watch the movies...but we are holding fast to our "No PG13 movies until you are 13 rule"



Jenessa devoured the Percy Jackson series and the sequel, The Heroes of Olympus as well.  For school, Jenessa has read My Everest Story (Mark Pfetzer & Jack Galvin), The Way Things Work (David Macaulay), Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl



Sienna has been reading various books that we own.  She also found a non-fiction series by National Geographic kids at the library that she has been enjoying.

Logan has been picking up books we have at home and reading them...it is so fun to see him get to this point. Teaching my kids to read is still one of my favorite things about homeschooling.  On one of our trips to the library last month, he picked out 56 books to check out!  Our cards have a limit of 50 books...so I put the extra 6 books on Mason's card since Logan couldn't decide what books to leave behind!  It was pretty funny to watch the children's librarian as she looked both amused and perplexed!

Kessiah and Jenessa have finished reading Pride & Prejudice with their book club.  It wouldn't have been something that Kessiah would have ever picked up on her own...but by the end she did enjoy it!



I try to read a few books to Mason and Corbin during the day.  I have continued reading the Magic Tree House Books (and the Research Guides that we have) to the boys before bed on most nights.

I did have the chance to see Cinderella in the movie theatre with my girls last month.  It was a nice re-telling of the classic story.  Coincidentally, I also got to take them to a local community play of Cinderella this month....now Kessiah and Jenessa both have plans to be in future productions.

At home we have enjoyed watching Oklahoma and Night at the Museum (the third one).

We also got caught up on Granite Flats...the mystery continues!

Weekly Wrapup

Sunday:  We celebrated Corbin's birthday because we were not going to be able to get all together on Monday (piano lessons during Ryan's lunch and he had Citizen's Academy in the evening).  Sienna made cupcakes and Corbin got some new toys.




Monday:  My baby turned 4 years old!  He is truly a great joy in our lives!  I remember being so nervous about having #6...I wasn't sure I could do it.  I called him my "faith" baby when I was pregnant because I just had to have faith that the Lord would bless me and help me be the mom I needed to be!

Tuesday:  We had book club in the afternoon...it was the last discussion of Pride & Prejudice.   The girls planned a party for the next week.  Jenessa had a track meet after book club, they raced against a school they hadn't met with before...they had some competition that they usually don't see!

Wednesday:  We made a trip to the library in the afternoon.

Thursday:  A quiet day.  Jenessa had a track meet in the afternoon.

Friday:  For our homeschool group we made a trip to Montezuma Castle National Monument.  It was a fun outing.  That afternoon, Kessiah and Jenessa had 4H officer/leadership meeting.  We enjoyed dinner at Culver's to celebrate Corbin's birthday.





Saturday:  Ryan took the girls to do some service cleanup at our girl's camp site.  On the way there his engine started smoking.  Thankfully, he knew someone else who was coming and was able to call him to pick up some anti-freeze (he decided he must have a leak).  The rest of the trip went well...the girls had fun and worked hard.

Weekly Wrapup

My camera didn't make it out this week!

Monday:  The local schools had the day off and Sienna got invited to a birthday party...she enjoyed a movie at the local theatre and pizza...lots of fun.  Since she missed her piano lessons while at the party...Kessiah and Jenessa got some extra time.

Tuesday:  We got back into book club (the group had taken about 6 weeks off due to different people being gone...we are a small group so just a few people being gone makes a difference!)  Jenessa had a track meet...she was excited to get 2nd place in the 800m...and I was super excited for her, she ran well.   For youth activities that evening Kessiah and Jenessa enjoyed a spaghetti dinner...the catch was they couldn't use a fork!  The kids were offered various kitchen utensils to eat their dinner with.

Wednesday:  Sienna, Logan, and Mason went to co-op and continued learning more about the Great Depression...they even got to try some "delicacies" created in that time period including Smarties and Twinkies!  (I was happy to hear that they didn't really like the Twinkies!)

Thursday:  Our homeschool group met and discussed archeology.  I had the oldest group.  We discussed what archeology is and did a archeological "dig" on a chocolate chip cookie....it was the same thing I did 2 weeks ago when Kessiah was the only one there!  Jenessa had another track meet and came in 2nd in the 800 m again (I think her time was 3:50).  One of the coaches asked me to be a timer...it was pretty fun.

Friday:  Kessiah and Jenessa had 4H sewing.  We finally had time to lay out a plan for the quilts they want to make for EXPO.

Saturday:  Kessiah and Jenessa had adventure days (pre-girl's camp activities).  Jenessa went kayaking and Kessiah went cycling.  They also did some certification activities.

While they were gone I went to an informal meeting with some other mothers about homeschool high school planning.  I have our curriculum laid out but my main purpose in going was to learn about co-op, extracurricular, and other social activities that we might want to be a part of.

That evening I took Kessiah, Jenessa, and Sienna to a community play production of Cinderella...Jenessa got back from her kayaking adventure a little late and so I had to pick her up at the church on our way to the play.  It was great and Jenessa would really like to participate in future productions.

Sunday:  Jenessa had the opportunity to give her first talk in Sacrament meeting!  She did great!

Weekly Wrapup

This week's schedule was a little different.  The girls had state testing to do...and I had to drive 45 minutes to get them there.  Kessiah, Jenessa, and Sienna all went on 2 days and I took Kessiah on a third day to finish up. She had an extra test to take so it took her a little longer.  Thankfully, we know someone else who had to take the tests as well...so I only had to drive 2 of the 3 days. I drove the first day...I was there for about 4 hours waiting for the kids to finish (not everyone took that long!)  We stopped at a park to eat our lunches.  Of course, Sienna found a tree to climb!



My parents were here for several days to help me out.  I was grateful they were here so that I didn't have to take the boys with me on the days that I had to drive.  Unfortunately, my mom was having a hard time.  She started chemotherapy the previous week and she just wasn't feeling very well (not surprising, I know).  So, they left on Thursday instead of staying until Saturday.  That goodbye was hard for me....knowing she wasn't feeling well and knowing she was at the beginning of this chemotherapy journey.

Friday morning I found Mason reading his Hooked on Phonics readers to Corbin.  Mason loves having this new ability!  He wants to do phonics every day!



We enjoyed going to the Boy Scout Fundraiser on Saturday evening.  They served a dinner of Navajo tacos and we came home with 2 twin sized jean blankets that we bid on.  They will be well loved...we are the kind of family that loves to curl up in blankets on the couch.

On the Homestead

Monday:  Not too much happened today besides our normal school routine.

Tuesday:  Jenessa had her first track meet.  She was really nervous on the way...but, of course, she did fine.  She fretted over a rough handoff in the relay...but they will get better with a little practice and more communication. The younger 4 kids had fun playing on the field and on the nearby playground.



For youth activities at church, the girls planned a hike.  Unfortunately, Jenessa couldn't go because of her track meet (they held the hike earlier than they usually hold the activities).  But Kessiah made it...she came home saying it was more of a walk than a hike...but she had fun.



Wednesday:  The Sienna, Logan, and Mason went to co-op where they talked about the Great Depression.  Afterwards, we made a trip to the library.

Thursday:  We had our homeschool group where we started our unit on archeology and anthropology.  I had the oldest group...we did an archeological dig on chocolate chip cookies!  Jenessa had another track meet...she did better with the handoff in the relay.

Friday:  We took the chicks out to the chicken coop....they seem to be adjusting to their new home.



Jenessa and Kessiah both had birthday parties to go to...so it seemed like a quiet evening.

Saturday:  Kessiah and Jenessa were able to go to the temple.



The rest of us got ready for our visit from Nana and Papa.  It will be nice to have them here for a week.

On the Homestead

It is fun to watch our chicks and ducklings grow.  We have taken the flock outside on the grass a few times...and we have introduced Gwen (our chicken) to them out on the grass...it has been interesting to watch their interactions.



We took them all out to the chicken coop yesterday.  I am so glad to get them out of the garage!



Ryan got some more chicks a week ago!  He really wanted some Jersey Giants...and he also came home with some Cuckoo Maran.  So, we have some more cute little fluff balls....we are going to have a lot of eggs when all these hens start laying!



Ryan has been working on preparing our garden beds. We have planted some peas, cabbage, radishes, and beets.   I've never planted cabbage before...but I have recently discovered that my kids love it!  I'm getting excited to get my hands in the dirt and start growing stuff!

Weekly Wrapup...Easter

Monday:  We got our piano tuned...that was really overdue!  Piano lessons were cancelled because our teacher got sick.   Kessiah made it to 4H outdoor adventures/officer meeting (Jenessa was at track).

The group went on a hike ...so I took the 4 youngest on a nature walk.  I haven't been very good about doing things like that...it is so much easier to stay home and send them outside to play. Sienna got excited about collecting leaves and flowers....and of course she found a tree to climb!



Tuesday:  At track practice Jenessa tried out for the relay team...she is hoping to make the A team.

Wednesday:  It was my last day of talking about the civil war with the girls.  We went to the library later in the afternoon.

Thursday:  Kessiah and Jenessa were able to go to a science day at a local college.  That evening we had out 4H Community Meeting.

Friday:  We got a few things planted in the garden...peas, beets, cabbage, and radishes.  Ryan and I went grocery shopping for our date!

Saturday:  We enjoyed the first day of General Conference.  We got the chicks and bunnies out after the first session and had an Easter egg hunt in the backyard after the second session.