Menu Plan September 28-October 4, 2014

Well, I tried to do minimal grocery shopping last week, but what I discovered is that it’s hard when you pack a lunch for your husband every day.  So, I have to go and buy the stuff needed for his work almost weekly because it’s hard to store that much food for two weeks (think tons of yogurt b/c he takes 2-4 a day).  I didn’t spend as much as usual, but it was still a trip to the store…LOL!  Here’s our plan for this week…
Sunday – YOYO
Monday – Parmesan Chicken Tenders, Pasta, Veggies
Tuesday – Meatloaf, Pasta, Veggies
Wednesday – Roasted Chicken, Pasta, Veggies
Thursday – YOYO
Friday – YOYO
Saturday – Beef Taquitos, Salad
It looks like we eat pasta with almost every meal, and that’s not far from the truth…LOL!  I need some more side dishes.  The boys don’t care for mashed potatoes, so it’s not something I make.  So, it’s either a side of pasta or rice, typically, served with some variety of steam veggies.  Any ideas for something else besides pasta and rice my blogging friends?

Week Eight of Learning 2014-15

We are almost finished with our first quarter…YEAH!  Here’s how our week went…
Micah, First Grade Bible – Micah’s lesson was on ‘my prayer of determination’, and we read Luke 11:5-10 to accompany the lesson.
LLATL – This week Micah worked on the letters ‘d, g, b’, and his sight word was ‘in.’  He also worked on sequencing, real/make-believe, story recall, and reading aloud.  We used The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf to help with some of these skills.  He completed his fourth book for this program.

Math – This week Micah worked on using a ruler to draw a line; subtraction; congruent shapes; etc.

History – This week Micah’s history lesson was on ‘the beginning of history.’  He read about creation, Adam and Eve, the first sin, God’s great curse, and God’s great promise.
Science – Micah learned about meat-eating plants, parasites & passengers, tropisms, survival techniques, and reproduction without seeds.
Caleb, Sixth Grade Bible – Caleb’s lesson this week was on ‘Jacob – A Changed Man,’ and he read Genesis 25, 27:1-30:26, 32:22-31 to accompany the lesson.
Math – This week Caleb worked on equivalent fractions; reducing fractions; and comparing fractions.
Reading – Caleb took his comprehension and vocabulary test over Brian’s Return by Gary Paulsen.  He then began reading The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss.  He read chapters 1-3 (he has read this book before, so hopefully it’ll be familiar once he gets into it).
Geography – Caleb learned all about Rhode Island.  He then studied for and completed a test over the first 13 states.  He had to recall the states in order of statehood, their capital city, two-letter postal abbreviation, and nickname. 

Writing – Caleb completed his writing assignment for the last lesson.  He had to write ‘machine motion poetry.’  He then began a lesson on proper nouns.

Science – Caleb read the same information as Micah; however, his information was more detailed and in-depth.

Week Seven of Learning 2014-15

Another week of homeschool adventures has come to a close.  Here’s what we were up to…
Micah, First Grade Bible – Micah’s Bible lesson was on “my prayer of supplication,” and we read Judges 6:11-12; 7:2-22 to accompany his lesson.
LLATL – This week Micah continued to work on the letters ‘m, h, o’, and the sight words ‘has, with.’  He also continued to work on reading aloud, story recall, and verbs.  He read his third book for the program.

Math – This week Micah worked on counting by 5s, choosing the correct operation in story problems, related subtraction facts, and subtracting 0.
History – This week we continued to learn about God’s Great Story.
Science – This week Micah read about flower dissection, fruits, and annuals/biennials/perennials.
Caleb, Sixth Grade Bible – This week Caleb’s lesson was on ‘the sacrifice of Isaac,’ and he read Genesis 22:1-19, 24 to accompany the lesson.
Math – This week Caleb worked on converting an improper fraction to a mixed number; division word problems with a remainder; adding mixed numbers with the same denominator; and subtracting mixed numbers with the same denominator.
Reading – Caleb continued reading Brian’s Return by Gary Paulsen.  He read chapters 12-18 and completed vocabulary and comprehension activities for each chapter.
Geography – This week Caleb learned facts on New York and North Carolina.

Writing – Caleb’s lesson this week focused on homonyms.
Science – Caleb read the same information as Micah; however, he also read about roses.

I’ll admit…there were several days we just didn’t school this week.  It worked out okay though because we were able to utilize today since Brian is working.  I think I just hit a rut and needed a small break.  The fact that we were out of the house Friday and Saturday mornings didn’t help, but we are still on schedule…and that’s what matters. 

Menu Plan September 21-27, 2014

Here’s what’s cooking at our house this week…
Sunday – Beef tips over rice, veggies
Monday – Spaghetti, Biscuits
Tuesday – Roasted Pork Loin, Macaroni ‘n Cheese, Veggies
Wednesday – Grilled Burgers
Thursday – YOYO
Friday – YOYO
Saturday – Meatloaf, Pasta, Veggies
I’m trying to use up what’s in my pantry/fridge this week to avoid a trip to the grocery store.  I’m thinking that it’ll be a minimum shopping trip if I end up having to go.  It seems that I typically always buy more than I need, and then it sits in the pantry waiting to be cooked.  So, I’m trying to do better…stop buying just to buy…it’s a bad habit, but I also like to keep stuff on hand for those “I don’t know what I want to cook” nights, too.  LOL!  Vicious cycle I guess…LOL!  How about you?  Do you buy stuff and then have it sit waiting to be used, or do you only buy what’s needed for the week’s menu? 

Menu Plan September 14-20, 2014

After trying to wing supper for the last week, I’m glad to have a plan in place for this week.  Now, fingers crossed that I stick to it. 
Sunday – Flank Steak Fajitas
Monday – Breakfast for Dinner
Tuesday – Tacos
Wednesday – Grilled Fish, Rice, Veggies
Thursday – YOYO
Friday – YOYO
Saturday – Pepperoni Pizza Pinwheels
What’s on your menu this week?  The flank steak fajitas will be a new recipe for us…we typically grill the meat, but I thought I’d try one of the crockpot variations I found on Pinterest.  We’ll see how it goes.  I’m also looking forward to Brian firing up the grill again.  We’ve been out of gas, and we haven’t bothered to replace it until now.  So, the “grilling” has been done indoors, and it makes for a mess.  I’m glad the mess will move outside for a while. 

Week Six of Learning 2014-15

Here’s how week six went…
Micah, First Grade Bible – This week Micah’s Bible lesson was on “My Prayer of Intercession,” and we read Nehemiah 1:3-11; 2:1-6 to accompany the lesson.
LLATL – This week Micah continued part of last week’s lesson.  We used Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown to accompany our lesson.  He then moved on to learning m, h, o and the sight words has, with.  Other skills he worked on were story recall, sequencing, retelling stories, etc.
Math – This week Micah worked on expanded numbers, triangles, counting dimes and pennies, and learning to subtract one.

These are some creations that Micah made with pattern blocks while I was working with Caleb.  He made a lion, sailboat, and a butterfly using his own imagination.

History – This week we started a new History book.  I ordered History for Little Pilgrims, and we completed the first unit on God’s Great Story this week. 
Science – This week Micah learned about tree identification, flowers, and pollination.

Caleb, Sixth Grade
Bible – This week Caleb’s lesson was on The Call of Abraham, and he read Genesis 12, 15, and 17 to accompany the lesson.
Math – This week Caleb worked on other metric units; adding and subtracting fractions with the same denominators; and improper fractions and mixed numbers.
Reading – This week Caleb continued reading  Brian’s Return by Gary Paulsen.  He read Chapters 5-11 and completed vocabulary and comprehension lessons for each chapter.
Geography – This week Caleb learned facts on New Hampshire and Virginia.

Writing – Caleb completed his contractions lesson and completed the writing assignment which was an Animal Movement poem.

Science – Caleb covered the same topics as Micah; however, he also read about Pierre-Joseph Redoute.

I’m glad that we’ve been able to stay on track so far.  Granted, we’re only six weeks in, but still…it’s an accomplishment when some days life just gets in the way.  I’m also very proud of both boys and their overall success and attitude towards school this year.  This is starting out as one of our smoother years, and I’m hoping maybe we’re in our groove…it only took six years, huh?!!?  LOL!