Here’s a look back at our week:
On Tuesday, just one week late, we went out for our annual “first day back to school” lunch. What? Last week was busy!!!
The last couple of weeks have been a little more busy than normal as Nate and I both have had physical Therapy multiple times a week but we both "graduated" yesterday. We are finally getting into our normal school routine. This just means trying to keep our days - especially the mornings - free from too many extra activities so that both guys can get their work done. Nate has a few more weeks of Center Shot and then we will actually have a week night with nothing (actually our Tuesdays will be 100% free!). That will feel good for sure!
Here is our weekly menu. I have slowly gotten my routine down better so that I have dinner ready by between 4:45-5:00 so Nate and I can eat before going to TKD and then Josh and Darryl eat it around 6:00 once Darryl is home. This has helped with quick trips to McDonald's while Nate is busy or grabbing a slice of pizza at the gas station HA!
Friday - Our Co-Op starts back up and I've done this enough years to know that I will be so tired when the day is all done so I have already planned to order some Little Caesar's Pizza.
Saturday - We are taking off on a Family Fun Day. I have a great picnic planned to enjoy for dinner.
Sunday - Crock Pot Fajitas and Chips and Salsa.
Monday - Meatball Soup and French Bread. We just love this soup and it keeps well for lunch the next day too!
Tuesday - I saw a recipe post recently with some great looking crock pot recipes so I am incorporating a few this week and maybe next week. First up is Swedish Meatballs, Noodles, and Green Bans. I love Swedish Meatballs but have never made them.
Wednesday - The guys are back at youth group so Darryl and I get dinner - normally just Taco Bell because it is the least expensive!
Thursday - This is the 2nd new crock pot recipe. Cranberry Turkey Roast, Potatoes, and Corn. I love the Turkey Roasts that are available in the freezer section and have made them in the crock pot many times using the gravy packet that comes with it - this is just a different take on a recipe fo the turkey.
That's it for this week :-)
I spent quite a bit of time in August planning and refocusing on my goals to accomplish the rest of the year (which was actually one of my August goals!). I'm hoping to be a little more intentional with my time as well as more disciplined. I mean, I love curling up with a good book but also think I probably need to knock a few things off the to do list BEFORE I curl up with that book LOL So, with that in mind, here are my September goals - which are a bit more specific then in months past. (Or at least I feel like they are!) Actually, I wrote a specific list for August-December. As is normally the case, I did not finish all of the goals for August so I'm going to include those and note those accordingly.
I’m a little late but that’s ok!
My guys started the weekend with a bonfire and games with friends
Well, our first week of school is done! It kinda felt good to get back into our more "normal" routine (even though this past week was not really normal as it was a holiday week). I'm trying to keep this next week simple with meals. Then I'll get back to "cooking through my recipes" next week. I've enjoyed the variety but also like to plan super easy things too! As we settle back into this routine it will get easy to plan and prep meals too.
Here's the plan for the coming week:
Friday - fried fish, rice, and zucchini
Saturday - Dinner at my mom's house
Sunday - BBQ Cups and Fries
Monday - Chicken Quesadillas and chips.
Tuesday - Sweet and Sour Meatballs over baked white rice
Wednesday - This is the first week back to youth group for my guys. They have changed the time this year from 2 hours to 1 and 1/2 hours which doesn't really give me time to come home so I'm not really sure what we will do as far as dinner. This is a new "twist" in our routine.
Thursday -Chicken thighs and fried rice
Here we are again - it is time to start grades 10 and 11 for my guys. Labor Day came early so it feels a little weird to be posting about the first day of school on September 3rd HA! This first week is a little bit "soft" with a lot of intro lessons and without extra things starting yet this week. Youth group, our Co-Op and music lessons start in the next couple of weeks.
Joshua is continuing with traditional homeschool which means I (we) pick out his curriculum and plan his year. He will be doing the following this year:
Math - Geometry with Teaching Textbooks. He started geometry in the spring, took the summer off, and will pick it back up now. His goal is to finish it early and start Algebra 2 by spring. We switched to Teaching Textbooks after both agreeing that what we were using before just wasn't working. Teaching Textbooks using videos to teach concepts, gives him time to practice and learn from mistakes before taking the quiz. It grades everything so he can see exactly how he is doing. This does cause him some frustration because he can't go back and fix mistakes.
Social Studies - We are doing Notgrass World History. Someone actually gave me this curriculum last year. I debated using it as Josh really likes work book style lessons but I haven't really loved what we were using. History should be fairly interesting but also, quite honestly, fairly easy. So this allows him to do daily reading, answer some basic questions and then take quizzes and tests throughout the units. I might try to create our own "workbooks" for each unit so he can still do what he enjoys.
Reading/English - The Good and the Beautiful has been a great fit since 8th grade. The workbooks cover everything from grammar, to comprehension, to vocabulary. Plus he reads some good books too.
Science - Chemistry is what is on the docket for this year. We are working toward adding some basics for his plans to go into medicine.
Language - he is working on his second year of Spanish.
Health - He is continuing on with LifePac health. He started it last year and, even though it is technically a one semester class, I told him he could do it at his pace - it just has to be done before he graduates HA!
Electives - His electives will be music, Essentials of Worship and music lessons.
Nate's plan is much easier - Nate is continuing on with Connections Academy. This program works great for him and he loves it. He is taking all honors classes this year as well as Journalism/Sports Management and Sign Language.
So . .. here . .. we. . .go! My 10th and 11th graders!!
