Shelf-Work Choices:

We actually had time to do shelf-work today :). Keep in mind that it was after Math (45 minutes) , Writing (free writing today!) (30 minutes), Spelling (Spelling Power, very short), and History (worked on their lapbooks at their own pace) (30 minutes). Thus the name Eclectic Living for the blog - our school and lives are eclectic. That said, I really miss the nice long shelf-work times. It really makes a difference when they can get into the groove and have the full 3-hour work period on a consistent basis. Today's only ended up being about 1-1/2 hours (unless you count laundry and lunch prep for practical life!).

Middle dd's first choice was the recorder which I thought was a good choice since she had already been doing brain work. She set a timer for 15 minutes and went to a back room. Then she asked youngest dd to join her with the globe ball. Later she did birds of the world 3-part cards.

Youngest dd chose the scale first and compared weights. She discovered that different combinations of weights can weigh the same. She also drew an incredible picture of some flowers and did the US state puzzle without the guide. The shell rubbing plates from sister's zoology box caught her eye so I moved them to the Topic Table for easier access. She was going to choose from the topic table next but it was time for lunch.

Oldest dd chose the zoology box first. She did the birds of the world 3-part cards for zoology, the globe ball with her sisters, and some theology work (she pulled out a workbook). (I'll add photos tomorrow, I hope)

The time went by so quickly and it was a wonderful school day!


What's Cookin'?

- I'm experimenting with 2 different bread recipes. They just came out of the oven. 1st contestant: our regular sourdough recipe. 2nd contestant: a yeast-free standby recipe that I tried soaking for the first time. It's usually my go-to recipe when I haven't gotten the sourdough going but I may need to nix the sourdough for a while due to some time constraints in our new schedule.

- Pinto beans are in the crock pot although I have no idea what I'm going to do with them. Basically, they are handy to have ready.

- The ever-present almonds are soaking and ready to be made into almond milk (It would wake everyone up now so I just changed the water and will do in the morning).

- I cooked up some pork sausage at dinnertime. 1/4 went into tonight's spaghetti, 1/2 went into little patties for tomorrow's dinner of patties with cream of mushroom sauce served over rice, and 1/4 is ready for another dinner (sausage with rice, some sauteed veggies, and cream of mushroom soup).