Well...!

Seems like we are finally back into somewhat of a routine. Today we started using Beyond Five in a Row. The first book to read is The Boxcar Children. Since J can read it himself I am letting him do independent reading and then we do the activities together. We did a science unit today on meal planning and proper nutrition - he made up his own restaurant and did a menu for it, then "ordered" from it to make up a balanced meal. It was interesting to notice that the food pyramid has changed a lot lately. They've adjusted the amounts within each food group, and beyond that have even broken them down to age groups and boys/girls (like dairy, for instance). We printed the new chart and have it prominantly displayed at the entrance to the kitchen! We also set our reading goals for the month of October for the Pizza Hut Book-it program. J, reading on his own, set a goal of 30 books (1 per day), and N, who I read to at bedtime, set a goal of 100 books! Good for him....I think we can do it! Funny how one little pizza can provide such great incentive. I guess living rurally as we do, going to the city to Pizza Hut is a pretty big deal.

This really stinks

Not home school related but I need to vent this. Had to give our sweet little cat Cookie away today. After getting into the neighbor's garden twice earlier this summer, we did our darndest to keep him indoors. Worked pretty well until a few days ago, when he got out again, and apparently wreaked havoc with their screen porch. After making an appearance over there a second time yesterday, we got a very unpleasant phone message. We cannot keep him in 100% of the time...with young kids in the house, he's simply going to escape now and then. So, in the interest of all involved, most of all Cookie - who can't spend the rest of his days more or less confined to our bedroom - we placed him in a new home. It's another home schooling family that took him. They have kids who seemed very excited to get him, and they live on 12 acres with other cats, dogs, and chickens! He'll have plenty of space to roam and catch mice, and enjoy himself. Boy do I miss him. I remember the day we got him, at the pet store in Newport. He came to the front of the cage and was very friendly. He picked a mouse out of the box on the counter while Glenn was paying, so we added a toy mouse to the total. Jordan named him - he's black and white like an Oreo, so Cookie it was. It really stinks to have to part with a beloved pet. But maybe this is the beginning of the end, so to speak...if we end up moving to a camp where pets are not allowed, we've still got Whiskers and Pippin and Kodiak to part with. At least God took Biddies from me, albeit against my will, without my having to make that painful decision of letting him go. I still miss him terribly. Hard as this was, though, I'm trying to look ever upward and onward. I'm not going to miss out on another great opportunity because I'm unwilling to let go of an animal. God blesses us with them for a time, but eventually you have to move on.