About Honey

Honey is a homeschooling mama of five amazing children. She and her husband Jonah run Sunflower Schoolhouse together. She provides the content and he provides the technical support. Please see the About for more information.

Menu Plan Monday

Menu Plan MondayThis is our first week back to our homeschool after two lazy (but busy) weeks off. I need to keep the meals simple so we can focus on our book work and get out in the yard and get the garden ready for planting.

I am only planning the main meals this week because we have leftovers in the freezer that need to be consumed. These are not in any particular order. I am feeling a wee bit non committal and want to be prepared for whatever surprises the week brings.

  • Beef and Broccoli with Rice
  • Hamburgers and Fries
  • Pirogies, Bacon, and Peas
  • Spaghetti and Side Veggies
  • BBQ Chicken with Rice and Veggie Side Dish
  • Daddy's Homemade Pizza

I am linking up with Menu Plan Monday. Take a moment to visit if you need some inspiration. You can also visit the Menu Planning Resources page for a wealth of ideas.

Share

The Homeschool Mother’s Journal

 

In my life this week...

My life this week has been busy and loud. It was also full of firsts for me - new art techniques with my acrylic painting, graphic design, and illustrating. I am really proud of myself that I faced some fears and was able to try some new things.

In our homeschool this week...

We were on our second week of spring break, but I still made the kids start our "A Trip Across Canada Study" and watch some art lesson DVD's with me. I will be writing reviews of them shortly and I am really excited!

Places we're going and people we're seeing...

This coming week we need to go for some nature walks and get outside in the garden.

My favorite thing this week was...

Seeing Elisha's face when we pulled off the surprise party! Ha, gotcha.

What's working/not working for us...

Jonah and I need more help from the big kids to clean up after themselves. They make big messes and think we have a cleaning lady (we don't!).

Homeschool questions/thoughts I have...

Preschool is upon us. The twins turn 3 in May. I need to plan our preschool for next year. Ideas... throw them at me please.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share...

My husband and I have been working on an animation and we have a teaser to share.

I am linking up to The Homeschool Mother's Journal. Consider visiting and reading what everyone else is doing in their homeschool.

Don't forget to leave all your preschool ideas below for me.

Share

Weekly Wrap Up

This week was a crazy busy week even though it was our second week of spring break. We took a break from the books and changed things up by revisiting our Trip Across Canada and exploring our new art DVD's.

A Trip Across Canada

We started our Trip Across Canada Study again and it went surprisingly well. The reason that I say that is because all the big boys cooperated and participated in a group discussion and exchange of ideas without anyone totally freaking out. To me this is a sign of significant growth. This was the reason that we took a break from group activities (because nothing got done!).

I will be posting weekly about our Trip Across Canada. Our travel brochures have already started arriving and we are very excited.

I am currently updating the links to the online study. I am also putting it all together as an ebook jam packed with loads of fun activities and book recommendations that will be available for sale eventually. I am aiming for the end of June.

Art on Dvd

Not too long ago I asked if anyone had any suggestions for art lessons on DVD for me to use specifically with Moses, but with all the kids too. I was so excited to be asked to review some art lessons on DVD. We have been watching those DVD's this week (and we are really enjoying them) and those reviews will be coming soon.

Occupational Therapy

On Friday, we had our quietest and calmest OT visit in a long time. Our OT is amazing. We love her to pieces and we look forward to her coming every two weeks. Right now we are working on Elisha pacing himself and asking for help before he falls apart (really hard for him sometimes). We are making excellent progress.

Portfolio Visit

On Friday, we also had our last 2nd term portfolio visit. I can't believe how quickly this year is going by. We have not made as much progress as I would have liked, so we will need to kick some serious but this last term (from now until June 15th). We will then spend the summer finishing off everything that didn't get done before we will move up to the next grade levels.

Surprise Birthday Party Success!

My oldest son turned 11 on Thursday and we were able to pull off a surprise party for him on Friday afternoon. This was the first time I have ever even attempted a surprise party for any of the kids (we may never do it again). We decided to try a surprise party for Elisha because the anxiety of the anticipation is almost unbearable for him and us.

When he came home from spending the afternoon with grandma and grandpa (and visiting the IMAX) he was very surprised to find all his cousins and a decorated house.

I am happy to report that the party was fun and went off without incident. There were 6 adults and 9 kids in our small townhouse. It was loud, very loud, and it took the kids forever to wind down after, but it was a blast.

It is a good thing that we saved the chocolate cupcakes until the very end. Can I just tell you how much I love my eggless, dairyless chocolate cake recipe? Well, I do. I will have to blog about it some time.

Winding Down Today

As much anxiety as there is leading up to birthdays, there is almost as much coming down from the high for Elisha. He has had a hard time occupying himself and settling into "normal" life again. I think this is a normal part of his autism and ADHD. He craves routines even when he fights them.

Today we are winding down and just hanging out having a calm day at home. For the boys this means Saturday morning cartoons, movies, and a little bit of xBox.

I have been finishing up with a client and I have some graphic design samples to finish preparing for a potential client (can we say, really excited!) so I have been working hard at those and can't wait to present them.

Our Next Animation

Have you checked out the trailer in the sidebar? It is short and sweet and there will be more trailers coming as we work hard to get the animation finished. Have a look and let me know what you think.

I am linking up to Weekly Wrap Up.

So what did you do this week?

Share

Sweet Finds Saturday

It is time for another Sweet Finds Saturday.

  1. I absolutely loved this homemade play kitchen made out of an entertainment center. It is amazing.
  2. This homemade design notebook is inspiring and might help me keep track of all the little scraps that I rip out of the fliers and catalogs when I am inspired.
  3. Jimmie has a sneaky way of educating. I think I like it. I found this post today about teaching Geography Without A Curriculum simply by integrating it when it comes up. I like this approach. It makes for a more natural way of learning things and more importantly learning to look for information when you need it instead of simply taking information that is handed to you.
  4. I am intrigued by this Math Notebooking Squidoo Lense. I love this way of learning. Moses is always writing out math problems and I could just Set The Manipulatives Free and he would be in heaven.
  5. Have you seen these awesome shape book patterns from eduplace.com? They are amazing. You could use them for all different kinds of projects (like mini book reports).

What are your sweet finds for this week?

Share

Happy 11th Birthday Elisha!

I can't believe my baby is turning 11. I still remember my water breaking and all the details of giving birth to my first born. WOW. That is a trip down memory lane. He has been a very interesting and entertaining boy to raise.  Loads of fun and just a few challenges and struggles along the way. I am so thankful that my life has been blessed by Elisha because it definitely wouldn't be the same without it.

Take a moment  and leave a happy birthday note in the comments and I will make sure that he gets them (he reads my blog).

Share