This Week at Our House #4 Just an Ordinary Week

The week went by pretty quickly and smoothly. I switched school up, and will keep it switched up until the end of the school year. I was really worried because I had been teaching Rachel, Anya, and Joseph science, history, and grammar and they were just not learning it. They would do the work and worksheets, but 4 months later not remember it at all. I decided that it was imperative for them to figure out how to study and how to truly learn things. Now instead of me teaching them, I am giving them the materials, sending them off to study it for two hours and then testing them. When they have it, I will give them the next thing I want them to study. This week, they had to learn about chemical bonds and valence electrons. Rachel and Joseph have passed it off with a 100%. Anya will continue to work on it until she has it learnt.

1. John has been working on some of his own software projects and math research. We know that he needs to find a way to support our family independent of other businesses. That may take a few years, but he is working on it, and helping Johnny to learn some things and work on them too. 
2. I read Pride and Prejudice to Kate and whoever else wanted to sit in and listen. I love that book. It is fun and written well. I am sad that it has ended. It was great entertainment.
3. Ruth seems to be doing well and studying hard. I am glad that she is still serious about gospel study. She studied all summer for several hours a day. 
4. Ruth was a good example to Kate. Kate has taken gospel study for mission preparation very seriously. She spends about a work days worth of time on it most days of the week. 
5. Johnny is a senior. But because he is so young, we are not sending him off to college next year. When we lived in Utah that seemed like a good option. I think he will just continue his education at home while preparing for a mission next year. He is doing online seminary for his final year, and we really like that.
6. Adam is a much better reader now than at the beginning of the school year. I want him to get even better, but I am going to have him work on studying things for two hours of his school day like Rachel, Anya, and Joseph. He passed off what I was having them learn in just one day. Adam has decided to learn to draw. He actually read a book on how to draw Japanese cartoons and has been working on it in his free time for a couple hours a day.
7. Rachel will be a young woman in just over two months time. She's so very tiny and little girl like. I hope she will do well with the change from primary to young womens. Kate had Ruth when she went in, and Ruth had our neighbor, Bonny. Rachel is all alone.
8. Anya really has spent two years ignoring her lessons, and I think she will have a harder time catching up. On a happier note, she has become interested in family history and has spent a lot of her free time on that. 
9. Joseph helped me move some very large grass bushes. They were deeply rooted and heavy. He struggled to carry them to my mulch pile, which is more of a hill now. After that he told me that it wasn't fair that I was getting so much of the yard for my garden. The funny part of that is my garden is going in an over grown section that the kids were not allowed to go into (because of snakes and thorns) until I started clearing it out. Though, I am sure his real meaning is that he does not like doing the work.
10. There were not many seats at church when we got there today, so half our family had to sit in the foyer. Josh was sitting out with John. After looking around, he announced in a voice that all could plainly hear: "Look, one of those boys has a pink bow tie. I think it looks ridiculous." From the way he said it, Joshua thought it was pretty funny. The teenage boy wearing the tie replied with a smile "Thanks".
11. Arwen is always coloring. Crayons and coloring books were what she asked for for Christmas and she spends a couple hours each day coloring.
12. Suzy only pooped her pants once this week. I think she is finally getting it. But we will see. I am afraid to speak too soon because it has been so hard to potty train her.
13. Sam is into everything. He stacks boxes in the pantry to use as a stool. When he grabs onto the shelf, he uses it to swing. Sam is only 14 months old! I cannot even imagine what it will be like in a few more months or in a year.

Pictures

This is Joshua's fairy house

This is Arwen's fairy house

Our cat has decided the roof is a nice place to be. He is often seen sitting on the very top. He had just come down to check on what we were doing.