Blogging A to Z – “L” is for Love, Laughter, and Listening

So here is the latest installment for the Blogging A to Z challenge for 2019.  The letter for today is “L”.  “L” is for Love, Laughter, and Listening.

The love of our children for each other was always around us.  But when we began homeschooling, the love for each other became more visible.  Also, I love watching how our three sons and our daughter interact with one another.  Friendships one child makes often spill over to their siblings. Where one child went, other children often followed.

Our home is constantly filled with laughter.  Our children laugh with each other.  My husband and I laugh with one or more of the children.  We share jokes, funny stories and more with each other.  Our children can be heard laughing with their cousins and friends while playing or talking with each other online.

Finally, listening plays a crucial role when homeschooling.  Being together all the time has its ups and downs.  Moments arise where tempers could easily flare, but if we take the time to listen to what the other person is saying things can often remain calm.  Also, listening allows us to hear and understand someone else’s viewpoint and opinion.

So what comes to mind for you when you see the letter “L”?  I would love to hear from you.

Also, if you want to read my other posts in this series, click here.

Thoughts for Tuesdays -October 2, 2018

So last week saw something things come into our home.  First, we had the pleasure of having Mr. Tom Rye and his wife of the Oklahoma Home School Band come to our home.  They drove to Texas to visit our Victoria Home School Band director, meet our director in person and also bring our family and another family some instruments.  Hands down, we definitely won the largest instrument contest because our oldest son acquired both an Upright bass and a full-size cello.  These two instruments are almost so big, they take up almost all of the space in the back of our 12-passenger van.

Then our youngest son acquired a bass clarinet along with a full-size viola.  The best part about getting the bass clarinet was the private instruction he received from Mr. Tom Rye in our home.  It really made our son’s weekend.  While deciding between the three violas we were offered, the decision ended up being fairly clear cut.  Our son is really pleased with that instrument as well.

Here is a picture of our son with the winning cello.

And because it is Tuesday, here are some pictures of tasty things we have eaten recently.  These include pork chops, a cake our oldest son made as a result of a challenge from work, and a meal my husband and I ate at Jason’s Deli.

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If you want to read what other members of the Home School Review Crew are blogging about this week, click here or on the graphic below.

 

 

Monday Musings for Monday, September 10, 2018

So this is the week that things start to get back to normal for our homeschool life.  This afternoon the Strings program portion of our Homeschool Band and Strings program begins.  This year, my husband and daughter will continue playing the violin.  Our oldest son will continue playing the cello (once his full-size cello arrives), and will be adding the string bass to his instrument list once we are able to get him one.  I will be learning the violin and our youngest son will be learning the viola.

Then on Thursday, band classes begin.  I am going to try playing the flute again in beginner band while playing trombone in the advanced band.  However, if the flute does not go well, I will play the french horn in the beginner band.  I figure since I already know how to play the french horn, I should be good there.  My husband is going to use our youngest son’s alto saxophone to play in the beginner band while playing the clarinet in the advanced band.  Our youngest son will be playing the bass clarinet (once it arrives) for the beginner band while playing his alto saxophone for the advanced band.  Our middle son will be playing his baritone horn in both groups.  Then our oldest son will probably be playing his cello in both band groups if all goes according to plan.

In addition to classes resuming, our oldest son will be going on Friday to take his certification exam to become a Certified Nursing Assistant.  I am excited for him.  The above picture is from when he received he completed his course for Nursing Assistant before taking the certification course.

Over the weekend, we will have different friends over to eat with us on Saturday and Sunday.  Saturday, we are planning on fixing homemade Japanese and Chinese food to include Sesame Chicken, Beef and Broccoli, egg rolls, Japanese french fries (zucchini strips and onions), and possibly sushi.  Then on Sunday, we are planning on grilling Shish-k-Bobs along with a salad, wild rice and probably some other items as well.

So what is going on with you today?  I would love to hear from you.

Weekly Wrap-Up for the week ending on September 2, 2018

So for the past two weeks, I have not been doing a lot of blogging.  My husand took leave from work so we could celebrate our anniversary and hopefully get some things done around the house.  But then we received a surprise that my husband’s parents along with one of his dad’s sisters came to visit us.  So needless to say, we did not do any school work, either week, but we did make a lot of memories and eat a lot of good food.  Now on Tuesday, we will get back to our normal routine.  However, this year, I will only have two students.

Next week, we will be back to our normal activities including the homeschool band and strings programs.  I am looking forward to seeing how things turn out.  Our oldest son is going to be getting a full-size cello along with a 3/4 Upright String bass if all goes according to plan.  Our youngest son will hopefully be getting and starting the bass clarinet along with the viola – in addition to his saxophone.  I am going to hopefully be adding the flute and violin.  My husband plans on adding the alto saxophone (he will be sharing our youngest son’s saxophone) along with his clarinet and violin.  In the meantime, our second son will be continuing with his baritone horn, while our daughter continues with the violin. (The pictures below were taken at our spring concert).

So all in all, we are looking forward to this school year of band.  So how has your week been, I would love to hear from you.

Homeschooling Year Round

I love the summertime (well except the heat and humidity in Texas) because we get to relax our schedule.  This summer has offered a lot of opportunities.  First, my youngest two have had numerous opportunities to go swimming with the youth group at our church at the home of one of our members.

Our entire family attending a swimming party/cook-out at the same home of our members.  During that cookout, my second son took the time to work on a crossword puzzle book, which is shown in the picture above.  My oldest son spent his time socializing, while the youngest two enjoyed swimming with some of their friends.

The younger two also participated in a Service camp held at our church.  They did some things around the church including painting, cleaning and visiting members of the church and working at a local charity.  All in all, they had a great time.

Now we are about to enter August, which means we will take two weeks off (mainly because my husband and I will be celebrating our 25th anniversary) before gearing back up for the new year.

It is hard to believe my youngest three will all be doing high school work.  I have some great resources we will be using this year, and I look forward to sharing them with you in some future posts.

So what is going on in your world?  I would love to hear from you.