What’s Cooking Week of August 26-September 1, 2012

Here’s what’s on the menu at Childress Café this week…
Sunday – YOYO (Connect Class at Church)
Monday – Asian Potstickers with Steamed Broccoli
Tuesday – Beef, Bean, and Cheese Quesadillas
Wednesday – Meatloaf, Grandma’s (aka my mom)Macaroni ‘n Cheese, Green Beans
Thursday – Beef Tips over Rice, Salad
Friday – Grilled Steak, Grilled Veggies, Baked Potatoes (corn for the kids)
Saturday – YOYO
What’s on YOUR menu this week?  Are you trying anything new?  The Asian Potstickers will be new for us, but I’m cheating…they’re from the Organic section at the grocery store (not homemade).    But – being as Caleb has Cub Scouts on Monday, I needed something easy. 

Fourth Grade Week 10

Well, this was our 2nd week adding in Classical Conversations (CC), and it went much better than last week.  Hopefully, each week will get easier and easier.
Bible – The question for this week was “Did Adam and Eve have bellybuttons?”  We read Genesis 2:4-7, 15-23 to find the answer.  Caleb is really liking this question/answer series.
Math – This week Caleb worked on area, measuring length, counting by 6, and using function tables.
Classical Conversations Foundations – Here’s the memory work and other activities we worked on this week…

• English – prepositions ‘about, above, across, after, against’
• Science – the five kingdoms of living things
• History – Commandments 6-10
• Math – counting by 3s and 4s
• Latin – Noun Cases
• Geography – the Assyrian Empire…Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Caspian Sea, Black Sea, Babylon
• Timeline – Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Patriarchs of Israel, Hittites and Canaanites, Kush, Assyrians, Babylonians, and China’s Shang Dynasty
• Science Experiment – This week we did two experiments…the first one was to determine how a spider evaluates the size of an intruder.  The second one was to determine why dead fish float, belly side up, on the surface of the water.
• Art – This week we worked on mirror images.

Classical Conversations Essentials

• Grammar – This week we worked on verbs.  Caleb had to work on two charts that went into great detail about all sorts of verb information (I won’t bore you with the details.  He also worked on a punctuation rule and a spelling rule, as well as some more homophones.

• Writing – We started our Institute for Excellence in Writing Student Writing Intensive Level A this week.  It went really well.  Caleb worked on a key word outline for a Sea Snakes article.  He then wrote a rough draft, edited it, and typed up a final copy.  He then began working on a key word outline for a Desert Tarantulas article.

What’s Cooking Week of August 19-25, 2012

We’re continuing to do well with sticking to our menu plans.  It’s amazing how much smoother supper preparations go when I actually have a game plan.  LOL!  Here’s what’s on the menu at Childress Café this week…
Sunday – Breakfast (it’s easy after a day of church and rest)
Monday – Grilled Steaks, Salad
Tuesday – Spaghetti, Salad, Bread
Wednesday – Pizza OR Calzones
Thursday – Sauteed Chicken, Steamed Veggies, Noodles
Friday – Grilled Shrimp, Rice, and Salad
Saturday – YOYO
What’s on your menu this week?  Do you plan your meals or wing it each night?

Fourth Grade Week 9

Well, we made it through our first week of schooling adding in Classical Conversations Foundations and Essentials.  It was tough, but we managed.  Adding these elements to our schooling increases Caleb’s work load, and he’s not a huge fan of that.  However, it’ll all be worth it in the end.  Here’s how our week went…
Bible – This week I decided to use The Answers Book for Kids, Volume 1, which is put out by Answers in Genesis.  These 4 books go through questions asked by kids and gives answers based on the Bible.  We read the first two questions and answers this week…”When did time begin?” and “How did God create everything from nothing?”  For the first question we read Genesis 1:1, 2 Peter 3:8, and Revelation 1:8.  For question 2 we read Hebrews 11:3, Exodus 20:11, and Genesis 1:14-15.
Math – This week Caleb worked on multiplying 3, seconds, subtracting one digit from two digits, finding the missing part in story problems, missing factors, and numerators and denominators.
Classical Conversations Foundations – Like I mentioned this was our first week of CC, and it went well.  Here’s the memory work, science, and art we focused on this week…

• English – role of a preposition
• Science – classification of living things
• History – the first 5 commandments
• Math – counting by 1s and 2s
• Latin – Noun cases
• Geography – location of the Fertile Crescent, Mediterranean Sea, Mesopotamia, Sumer, Tigris River, and Euphrates River
• Timeline – Age of Ancient Empires, Creation and the Fall, the Flood and the Tower of Babel, Mesopotami and Sumer, Egyptians, Indus River Valley Civilization, and Minoans and Myceneans
• Science Experiment – we soaked baby beans in water overnight.  Then, we examined the inside of them to see that a baby plant had grown.  The parts of the bean were also identified.
• Art Project – we focused on OiLS (basic shapes) – circles, dots, straight lines, angles, and curved lines.

Classical Conversations Essentials – The Essentials program focuses on grammar, writing, and math review games.  We aren’t doing Essentials in our CC community; however, the director and I are meeting at her house to do the program with our children.  It went well, considering how overwhelmed, tired, and stressed we both were.

• Grammar – This week we focused on Sentence Classification…structure, purpose, pattern, 8 parts of speech, and 5 parts of a sentence (***please note that these are just introduced right now…we are not delving into them in great detail yet***).  We also worked on one punctuation and spelling rule, as well as a few homophones.  We were also supposed to introduce 112 Model Sentences; however, we just didn’t get to it. 

• Writing – We were supposed to start working from Institute for Excellence in Writing, Student Writing Intensive A.  However, it just didn’t happen.  We’re hoping to add it in beginning next week.  This week, there was just too much new information, and we needed time to breathe.

So, it was a very busy week; however, Caleb learned a lot!  He’s really surprising me with the memory work…he has almost memorized it all. 

What’s Cooking Week of August 12-18, 2012

We did really well at sticking to our menu this past week.  Other than having to swap a few days around (due to the fact that I didn’t make it to the grocery store in time), we managed to stay on track and save money.    Here’s what’s on the menu at Childress Café, this week…
Sunday – Breakfast
Monday – YOYO (I have a homeschool meeting)
Tuesday – Tacos
Wednesday – Parmesan Crusted Flounder, Steamed Veggies, and Jasmine Rice
Thursday – Italian Meatballs, Noodles, Steamed Veggies
Friday – YOYO (Monthly Bunco Night – it’s at my house, so I will be doing lots of cooking…not sure what, yet)
Saturday – Grilled Steak, Salad
What are YOU planning to cook this week?  If all goes well, I hope to add more cooked and prepared meals to the freezer.  We’ll see though…

Fourth Grade Weeks 7 and 8

The week prior to Caleb leaving for camp, we decided it was in my best interest if we skipped that week of schooling.  I was going to try to make up those 4 days when Caleb returned; however, I made the executive decision to just count his time at camp as school days.  Besides, he was getting in LOTS of physical education and a little bit of learning, too (new skills, etc).  So, we combined the little bit of work that is most important with this week’s work.  Here’s how the week went…
Bible – Our lesson was on “Help With School Work,” and we read Psalm 37:5 and Philippians 4:4-9.
Vocabulary – This week we completed two lessons in vocabulary.  The first lesson focused on Homographs, and Caleb’s words were:  prune, desert, grouse, bass, and, sewer.  The next lesson focused on Eponyms, and Caleb’s words were:  braille, sandwich, saxophone, bloomers, tweed, guppy, titanic, Ferris wheel, limerick, and jovial.
Math – This week Caleb worked on finding the perimeter, number patterns, solids, drawing rays, hundred thousands, choosing the nearest ten, doubling a number mentally, add/subtract even hundreds mentally, commas in large numbers, reading numbers with a comma, multiples, counting by 50, writing thousands, and counting by 9 (yes, we did many math lessons in order to stay on track). 
Exploration – This week Caleb wanted to learn all about meerkats.  So, he read some books from the library on meerkats, and he did a little research on Kidzui, as well.  Then, he completed a Meerkat Lapbook.

Cover and Inside

Scientific Classification

Predators

What Makes Me a Meerkat?

Meerkat Menu

Family Photos

Meerkats On the Map

Caleb’s Meerkat Fact Book

Next week we start Classical Conversations, and I’m excited.  It’ll make for a longer, harder week, but it’ll all be worth it.  So, look for more on that next week.
How’s your school year going?

Your Help Is Needed

I posted earlier about the wonderful experience that our oldest son, Caleb, had at Camp Twitch and Shout.  While he and the rest of the campers had a fabulous time, there’s no guarantee that they can continue to experience this wonderful camp.  Camp Twitch and Shout needs our help.  It costs roughly $2000 for a child to attend camp, but in order to make this camp affordable to everyone, they only charge $300 per camper.  That’s a huge burden on their shoulders to cover the remaining expense. 
My son, along with 8 other boys, were in Cabin Blue 1 this summer.  They have come together to try to do their part in order to help keep Camp Twitch and Shout alive.  We have set up an online fundraising campaign, and we’d love your help.  Please feel free to share this link or post with everyone.  Without our help, this week of ‘normalcy’ for children and teens with Tourette Syndrome may not be possible.  So, please help if you can. 
Everyone in B1 and at Camp Twitch and Shout will be eternally grateful.

Help Keep Camp Twitch and Shout Alive – sponsored by the B1 Brotherhood -- OR click the widget in the top right of my blog page.

What’s Cooking Week of August 5-11, 2012

In an effort to try to cut back on eating out and wasting money, I’m trying to get back into menu planning.  Hopefully this will also make life easier as we set sail into a busy fall season.  With that said, here’s our menu plan for this week…
Sunday – YOYO (You’re On Your Own) – Mom’s Night out for me
Monday – Grilled burgers with chips
Tuesday – Homemade Pizza or Calzones
Wednesday – Parmesan Chicken Tenders over Salad
Thursday – Meatloaf and Spinach & Mushroom Pasta Bake
Friday – Breakfast…Eggs, Bacon, and Crescent Rolls
Saturday – Steak Fajitas
What’s on YOUR menu this week?  Have any family favorites you’d like to share?

Caleb’s Week at Camp Twitch and Shout

Caleb spent a week at Camp Twitch and Shout this past week.  CT&S is a camp for children, ages 7-17, who have Tourette Syndrome.  According to Caleb, it was the best week of his life.  He stayed in a cabin with 9 other boys, and they had 4 counselors and 1 counselor in training (I think). 
I made his week at camp as easy as possible.  Each day had a “theme”, so I packed his clothes for that day in a Ziploc baggy, and I labeled.  He also had a baggy for pajamas, underwear, swim gear, etc.  His toiletries were all bagged together, and his other items (sunscreen, bug spray, flashlight, cameras, etc) were bagged together.  I sent him a letter to read each night before bed, and I labeled them, too.  Yes – I know…I’m VERY anal and a tad bit OCD, and I’m okay with that.  LOL! 
The campers had a busy schedule, and I think this helped to put any “homesickness” at bay.  As soon as we picked Caleb up, he said, “I didn’t cry at all.”  LOL!  I wish I could say the same…I didn’t cry because I was worried about him.  I cried because it was his first time away from us for that length of time without any form of communication.  There would be no phone calls, no hugs at night, etc.  The only thing that helped me make it through the week were the many pictures posted on Facebook and Twitter.  I think I lived at the computer waiting for the next group of pictures to be posted…LOL!  And I’m pretty sure, I wasn’t the only mom acting this way.
Thankfully, Caleb came home with all of his gear (minus a hat), and he even brought home some extra clothes.  LOL!  We’re working on getting those returned to the rightful owners.  He also came home SUPER happy and grown-up.  It’s amazing what a week away from home will do for a child.  As parents, Brian and I learned that we have to trust Caleb and his instincts.  We have raised him to be a well-mannered and responsible young boy.  He proved this at camp…he took charge (he even won a certificate for being the “take charge camper”), and he did what he was asked to do.  He was also very polite and respectful.  So, we need to trust in him to do the right thing…we know he can, we just need to quit holding his hand.
He’s already gearing up for next summer, and he’s itching to get in contact with his cabin buddies.  Luckily, most of us moms have already connected on Facebook, and I’m sure there will be lots of letter writing in our future. 

Caleb’s letters to read each night

Caleb’s lemonade packets (he doesn’t care for plain water)

Caleb’s backpack, laundry bag, cameras, shower shoes, and toiletries

Notebook and pencil case

Swim gear and Spiderman costume for the Superhero Dance

Hat Day and Tacky Day

Sports Day and Superhero Day

Camp t-shirt Day and Pajamas

Backpack and rolling duffel

Caleb and Micah as we get ready to hit the road

Camp Will-a-Way at Camp Twin Lakes

Caleb on his bunk and brothers before leaving

Busy schedule for the week

Caleb and some of his cabin mates (this was after we left)

Caleb and S during tree climbing

Paddle boat time

Arts & Crafts – tie dye t-shirts

Luau on Monday night

Dodgeball…Caleb LOVED this

Waiting for the talent show on Tuesday night

Caleb and his cabin mates won the “cleanest cabin” award on Wednesday

Caleb walking during the lunchtime dance

All of the campers waiting for a special surprise on Wednesday night

That surprise was a Skype phone call from James Durbin – the former American Idol contestant who also has Tourette Syndrome

Wacky Olymptics – this was a fun and messy time

Caleb and his cabin mates tied for cleanest cabin on Thursday

Fun at the RC track

Caleb and his cabin mates and counselors at the Superhero Dance

Closing Ceremony – James (Jimmy) Wolk, the actor who portrayed Brad Cohen in the movie ‘Front of the Class’, takes a week off from his busy schedule to come and help at camp.  I think this says wonders of his heart and character.  What an inspiration he is for all of these children and teens.

Everyone ties a wish to a balloon

Wish Balloon Release

Caleb’s “Take Charge” Certificate…this makes a mama’s heart proud

This is only a small snapshot of Caleb’s week.  There will be more pictures from Caleb’s camera and from the DVD that I hope to purchase.  So, you’ll hear and see more soon. 

Counting down until next year…