Weekly Wrap-Up: The Sick Baby Edition

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You know, after awhile, it gets hard to remember what I’ve blogged about versus what I’ve Tweeted about. If you’re not following me on Twitter yet, maybe you should because my memory only lasts about 140 characters worth. If you are following me on Twitter, you may already be thinking that I need to get checked for early signs of dementia based on the fact that I repeat things, but don’t seem to realize that I’m repeating myself.

Brian and I were supposed to have a weekend date last week, but we got a call early Saturday morning. Megan was sick and running a fever, so the grandparents were bringing her home. After two days of non-relenting fever, no appetite and generally feeling rotten, we began our week with a trip to the doctor: strep throat.

I confess that both Megan and I were relieved with the strep throat diagnosis, though. Megan was relieved because, if the throat swab came back negative, they were going to have to draw blood (she has a deep-rooted phobia of needles thanks to dehydration and an incompetent nurse when she was a baby). I was relieved because I had given in to the hype and looked up the symptoms for swine flu. She had nearly all of them.

As if that wasn’t a bad enough way to start our week, Google decided to hold my blog hostage for more than 24 hours, staring sometime last Sunday. I couldn’t post! I mean, seriously, can you say blogger’s worst nightmare?? Yes, I realize how sad that is. I’m thinking of starting a support group for blog addiction, but, c’mon. It was Homeschool Showcase day and I couldn’t post!

In school news, since it is officially July, I have forced my mind to start thinking about next year. It’s Brianna’s 8th grade year, so I’m planning to use that as a “practice year” for high school. I’ve been going through the Upper Level Homechooling course to help me figure out how to best handle the high school years. I also picked up a book that came highly recommended in a homeschooling high school seminar I went to a year or so ago. It’s called Reading Lists for College-Bound Students and it has wonderful lists of books that most colleges expect incoming freshmen to have read. The lists are sorted in several different ways — by college (if your child is hoping to attend a particular school), by genre, and by author’s birthplace (which is really nice for trying to design an American Lit or British Lit course), just to name a few.

I think figuring out her literature and composition courses for next year is my biggest challenge for next year. Math is simple. We’re using Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra. Grammar is simple. We’ll continue with Easy Grammar and Daily Grams. History and science she’ll continue with Josh and Megan, for this year, with Story of the World and the Christian Kids Explore series (beefed up a bit for Brianna, with additional reading).

My general idea right now is the design an 8th grade “lit and composition” class, that will include various books from the reading lists book that (hopefully!) go with something we’re doing in history or science and composition using Wordsmith, which looks really impressive, so far. Speaking of reading and literature, have you seen those new No Fear Shakespeare books? They’re awesome! That have the original Shakespeare on the left page and a modern translation on the right. We are so going to be using those when we read Shakespeare!

As for Josh and Megan, I sat down on Thursday and made my list of all the things they’ll be using this year. I do a buying co-op with a friend, so I was making lists of titles, price and ISBN numbers so that I’ll be prepared. I’m very pleased with how our homeschool budget is shaping up this year. Including school supplies and non-essentials, it should be around $200 per child (not including music class and other memberships). How much do you average per year, per child?

Tonight Megan has a friend over, Brian has come down with the same symptoms Megan had last weekend(which is another excellent reason, besides the unseasonably mild July day, for being out on the screened in porch with my laptop) and we have no exciting plans for the holiday weekend, other than cooking out at my dad’s house on Sunday.

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Kris Bales is a newly-retired homeschool mom and the quirky, Christ-following, painfully honest founder (and former owner) of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She has a pretty serious addiction to sweet tea and Words with Friends. Kris and her husband of over 30 years are parents to three amazing homeschool grads. They share their home with three dogs, two cats, a ball python, a bearded dragon, and seven birds.

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15 Comments

  1. Hey! I just put up my Weekly Wrap-Up and I wanted to leave my link. We're on our way out the door so I haven't read yours yet, but I want you to know that I will as soon as we get home! 🙂

  2. You are on a similar path with your oldest daughter as I am with my oldest daughter. She is starting 7th grade and she is doing TT Pre-Algebra next year as well. I am using Growing With Grammar 7 for her, Learning to Write the Novel Way, and Mastering the Paragraph. For literature, I am linking her reading to the history and science units which we all do together. When you design your daughter's literature class for next year, I would love to see your ideas posted! Thanks for your weekly wrap-up!

  3. Funny you say why you like my blog so well….just last night I said to myself that I am taking notes…because when my kids grow up, we're just going to copy you!

  4. I like seeing people flesh out their curriculum plans for various kids. I always come across things I didn't know about, or ideas for other kids even if we aren't in the same grade.

    We probably spend around $150 per kid per year. Later ones a bit less, because we reuse, and first ones a bit more (also because I usually try a few things before I find what I really like). And, if I didn't have such a great library and great used book sales around I would have to add another $200 per kid to that average.

    Interested to see if others comment on that.
    ~Erin

  5. Sorry that your family has been sick also! My hubby had been sick the week prior to my son getting sick and he had strep throat. I thought that's what my son was coming down with for the first couple of hours but then his breathing became difficult. Anyway – hope everybody gets well soon and that YOU don't get sick! Have a great week 🙂
    p.s. not sure why u weren't able to leave a comment on my blog – i'm hoping it was a fluke!

  6. We just got back from dinner so I had a minute to read your post. I am very interested in the Reading Lists for College-Bound Students book. We're not at that stage, yet, but that's something to keep in mind.

    As for your question, "How much do you average per year, per child?", we use a non-consumable school-in-a-box type program that costs about $300 per year. (I started out with a more do-it-yourself approach, but it did not work for our family.) Since it runs from 3rd grade through high school, and each grade can be re-used for each of our seven children unless we choose to buy a more current version sometime in the future, I'd say that comes out to about $43 per child per year plus pencils, scratch paper, and art supplies (all of which I'd be buying even if we weren't homeschooling). We're just starting with it, though, so I don't know if other materials will be required at some point (so far our science experiments have used common household items, but I expect that to change), but that's still pretty darn good!

  7. Sorry you had sickness in your house. Hopefully you'll get to enjoy the fourth.
    That's funny you brought up planning for next year I was already thinking of talking some about that in my post.
    God Bless

  8. I'm so glad that you have a duaghter a couple of years older than mine, so I can see what you are doing and get ideas! I'm trying not to think about highschool too much yet, but I'm filing away your great info!

    So sorry you have had sick kids. That's no fun! Hope everyone is on the mend soon.

  9. I hate that I am missing weekly wrap ups lately but we really haven't done anything worth blogging about.
    I too am forcing myself to think about the new school year coming up and I am looking forward to the curriculum fair. I always enjoy looking at all the choices.

    So sorry you have two sickies.. and I would probably be on the porch too. 🙂 I always choke my husband when someone is sick in our house. I spray Lysol everywhere! Hope they are better soon.

  10. Yay for no swine flu!! Strep isn't fun though so I hope everyone feels better soon.

    I'm seriously impressed with your HS budget. I just don't feel confident enough (yet) organize my own curriculum. I'm lazy and I really like Sonlight because the day to day schedule is already done for me. That's how it is in the lower levels, I don't know if it will be the same as we get into the older courses. With Sonlight core, Math-u-See, Apologia science, Rosetta Stone language and the other "extras" we spend close to a a thousand dollars a year. Yikes.

  11. Oops I didn't read the rules until after and linked to my homepage.

    Nevertheless, this blog is wonderful. I am addiing it to my blog.

  12. Hope everyone is better or almost better now. How is Brian doing? I went to the doctor today, and am actually starting to feel better. But, I guess tonight will be the test, as I have felt horrible the past two nights. (As in bad enough that I woke up Eric at one point to remind him what hospital I would need to go to if I got too sick, because our doctor only goes to one particular hospital.)

    Love the new button! I would like to have Darcy do a makeover over at the Classroom, but I'm not sure what direction I would want to go wtih it. I really like what she did at my blog though. 🙂

    I don't know how people get away with homeschooling so inexpensively. I apparently need to get a whole lot better! We have spent at least $1000 each year for the last two years (just counting books, etc — not things like gym time, etc.). Of course, buying Rosetta Stone pushed the number up this year. But, still. I'm spending way too much on it.

  13. I appreciate all the comments about taking notes for your kids who are a bit younger than my oldest. It's always so nice to have someone to get ideas and support from. In my local homeschool group, we were just talking about how many upcoming 8th and 9th graders we have and how wonderful it is to have such a great support system. It's always nice to know you aren't alone in this thing.

    @ Nina — Thanks for stopping by! I know I'm probably not supposed to say so, but I love our blog name — it's fun and quirky, like we are! 😉

    @ Angie — Brian is feeling a bit better today, but it comes and goes. He can be feeling pretty good, try to be a little more active, then wind up feeling rotten again. I hope whatever it is passes over me.

    @ Jolanthe — I'm glad you like the button. I love it! Darcy has a way of taking what you had in mind and making it better than your mental image. I wish I had her talent.

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