Large Family Homeschool Life – Week 25 of 2022

After taking a break from homeschooling, we are back at it this summer! Here’s what week 25 of 2022 looks like!

Read all of the Large Family Homeschool Life posts HERE!

NOTE: While we ended up taking about 3 week break from homeschooling for our oldest son’s wedding and vacation, it has been MUCH longer since I posted a Large Family Homeschool Week post! Sometimes mom needs a break from homeschooling, and sometimes mom needs a break from blogging!

MONDAY

I took Megan to work this morning at the coffee shop. It was a really nice morning! Finally, the temps are back down low enough to open up the house and turn on the whole house fan to get some of the hot air out of the attic. We will still need to turn on the air conditioning later today to shoo the humidity away, but it was nice to feel the breeze this morning!

I pruned the tomatoes and cut mint and got it ready for the dehydrator.

It’s actually not a dehydrator, but rather my Ninja Foodi 5 in 1 Grill. I shared a while back how I bought racks for it and it dehydrates like a dream!

After drinking some coffee on the deck with Ty, I helped him pack up some military gear – which took way longer than I had anticipated. I quickly realized I was not going to be able to fit Morning Time in today.

I am VERY ready to get back to our usual Morning Time routine, but when Ty is home and needs me, it has to take a back seat. Instead, I send the kids off to their independent school work with either a pared down Morning Time, or none at all. We’ll pick back up with it tomorrow.

Before the kids started their homeschool subjects, they all ate leftover cinnamon rolls from Father’s Day yesterday. Ty loves cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting. I made a new recipe that had pudding in it, and it was fantastic! Ty does prefer our much simpler cream cheese frosting over the one in the recipe, which is fine by me!

Later in the day, the kids played in the inflatable pool we have on our lower deck, and I worked on blog stuff.

For dinner, Micah (13) made grilled cheese and tomato soup. Yum!

TUESDAY

After shuttling Megan to and from work (oh, how I wish we had a 3rd vehicle!), I got everyone together at the dining room table for Morning Time. I explained to them how we are going to try to finish Modern History by Christmas so that Melia (17) can graduate at the end of the year. Everyone is on board with pushing a little bit harder to get through the material – I just hope I can keep up!

We read our Bible story from Hurlbut’s Story Bible.

I like how this story Bible interweaves all the stories and reminds you of how certain characters and events fit in with each other!

Then, we got started on Biblioplan, the program we are using for Modern History this year. We are learning about Reconstruction in the South after the Civil War, as well as South American following their freedom from Spain and Portugal. We worked on our maps and did president cards for Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson.

Then, we started our new read-aloud – The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street.

The only reason I am reading this book is because several years ago, I bought a reading poster set from Ruby Reads, and this book was included in the set. I’d never heard of it, but so far, it’s a cute story!

I got the little girls working on their Math, Phonics, and Handwriting, and gave new literature books to Creed – Prairie School and Wagon Wheels – both of which I borrowed from the library. The books are a bit beneath him in reading level, but the information and story line are still worth the read.

After lunch, the boys talked to friends on Zoom while Meg and I ran errands on the Fort – new shoes, and some deals on meat. I also ran by the library for some holds, and ended up salvaging my own book from the book sale! I accidentally tuned it in as a library book and when they saw it wasn’t theirs, they put it in the sale! EEK!

I made Air Fried Chimichangas, rice and salad for supper. The lettuce for the salad was the last of our lettuce crop until later in the year. So yummy!

I recorded my latest podcast and got it sent to Blake (24) for editing:

That night, we had Creed’s (9) Special Night. We have been doing Special Nights since he was a tiny baby! He chose lemon bars and Arizona Tea for his special treats. A thunderstorm interrupted some of his Special Night, but we still had a nice time together in my room! We watched some things, played games together and talked. He’s not much of a talker, so these times are super important!

READ >> Creating a Special Night for Each Child

WEDNESDAY

It was quite wet this morning when I took Megan to work. I did manage to hang some laundry and check my little container garden. The tomatoes are coming on nicely and the potatoes are blooming!

For Morning Time, we read in Hurlbut’s Story Bible, and in Biblioplan and History of US. We also worked on a map of Canada and read in The Vanderbeekers.

Lunch was leftovers, and then I took the big kids to work at the bee farm.

When I got back home, I cooked up some chicken for supper tonight and brewed a new batch of kombucha. I had put my SCOBY in the refrigerator for several months because we just weren’t drinking much, but now that the hot summer is here, people are wanting to drink it more often, so I better get back to brewing! I’m planning to make a Dr. Pepper like blend the next time I bottle! Here’s the recipe!

The boys talked to their friends again on Zoom, and then watched their turns for TV time. Currently, this means the boys choose a show and the girls choose a show. Later in the evening, we may do this again, or we may just stick with those 2 shows a day. It all depends on how mom is feeling.

For dinner, we had Hot Chicken Salad, Broccoli/Cauliflower Salad (we call it Amish Salad), and strawberries.

I took a walk after dinner. Even though it was cooler today than it has been, the humidity is so high, you end up drenched in sweat within minutes! Bleh.

That night, the kids listened to Jim Weiss audios to go to bed. You can learn more about the different recordings he has HERE.

THURSDAY

Morning Time was short today because Melia (17) had to go to work early. We read in Hurlbut’s, and read a bit in history, and then I sent the kids off to their independent school work.

After lunch, I pulled out the 4th of July decorations from the garage and the kids helped me decorate, and then I organized the photo box in the basement. So many memories, and even this funny photo of me in a tutu…I look thrilled!

For dinner, we had Dorito Salad, leftover pimento and cheese and Amish Salad.

Keian’s (16) “friend” came over for popcorn and games. We played Balderdash and Uno, and then watched Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.

Before bed, I worked on some homeschool planning I’ve been meaning to do. I still have more to work on, but at least I got started.

FRIDAY

Another thunderstorm during the night and it is still raining this morning.

Everyone was feeling lazy because of the rain, and stayed in bed longer – except the 9 year old, who was reading on the couch.

I made oatmeal, got everyone fed, and then we started in on General Tidy – which is the whole house reset we do prior to starting our Friday Chores or Home Blessing as we like to call it.

After lunch, I put some granola in the oven and took the little girls for a short walk to puddle jump! They were so surprised I was ok with them jumping in the puddles!

When we got home, I read to them from a book about Australia we had gotten from the library, and then the kids all played together.

While they were playing, I worked my way through several sessions of the Bulk Pantry Bootcamp from Homemaking Mentor. I have a pretty well-stocked bulk pantry, but you can always learn more!

For dinner, we had Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti and air fried cauliflower. Then I read to the kids, and later watched a couple of episodes of Vera with my 17 year old. We really enjoy this show on BritBox!

And that was my week! It still feels like I’m a bit discombobulated, but I think next week will be much better!