Update On Timmy

Yesterday was the day we found out what the next step will be. Yes... he will need surgery. He is a little nervous about all this, but all and all I think he is doing fine. He knows it has to be done and there is no way out of it. It is scheduled for 2 weeks and he might be able to come home the same day, as long as he is doing ok.

They will remove the extra bone that connected the 2 bones together and will be taking some of his tendon from his thigh and placing it where they removed the bone to help stop new bone growth to form. Please pray that this works. If not, then the next step might be surgery again or radiation.

The bonus is that he also has a floating bone (isn't attached to anything, just floating in his muscle tissue) that developed during the healing process and they will be removing that as well. Man, this kid just has amazing bone growth!

After the surgery, he will rest for 2 weeks and then it is back to physical therapy. The Dr. feels he will heal just fine. He won't have 100% use of his hand (turning the palm upright) like before, but it will be much much better than what he has now. There is a possibility when he gets older he may need this procedure again.

Please continue to keep praying for Dr. wisdom, the hospital staff, and that Timmy heals properly and is given a sense of peace about the whole procedure.

Thank you for praying for him.

A picture of Timmy's hand for those visual folks. *Ü*

For more information/past posts click here: Timmy

Prayer Request AND Weekly Report: Week 10 1/2

Some of you may remember that Timmy broke his elbow back in Sept. We first reported about in a weekly report HERE, and then an update Here. And we shared little tidbits about Physical Therapy & Dr. appoints here in there in other Weekly Reports.

As of last week, we now know that physical therapy isn't working as they had hoped. He just is unable to turn his left hand upright. The Dr. feels that his bones grew together in the healing process and that is what is stopping him from turning his palm upright. Dr. called it, Heterotopic Ossification. He thinks surgery is the next step.

Things we take for granted that Timmy can't do right now is:

* Hold a handful of M&M's (or anything in his hand). He can hold maybe 3 M&M's max and that is with a lot of effort.

* Opening car doors with his left hand is very hard, unless he turns his body sideways.

* Tying his shoes laces is a lot harder

Timmy took a Cat Scan on Wednesday (11-21-07), and we will find out the results this Thursday (11-29-07). We are both anxious to see the 3-D image of his arm and find out what the next step is.

Please pray for: Dr.'s Wisdom, quick healing of his arm, and peace for us all (ok mommy a little more than dad at the moment), especially for Timmy if the next step is indeed surgery.

Timmy has been such a trooper through all of this, very little complaining at all from him, does his physical therapy exercise w/o any argument, etc. I am very proud of him.

Last week was a busy week for us and we only schooled Monday and Tuesday. Between Dr. Appointments, Cat Scan, and Physical Therapy Monday-Wednesday for Mr. Timothy school for 3 days was hard to get accomplished.

We did start a new writing program for Timmy called Writing Tales Level 1. WE (ok mom is a little over excited about the program), love this program. It is easy to implement, easy for Timmy to do, and very engaging. Here are some pictures of his completed work from this curriculum:

We did basics for everything else and there isn't anything really to share, except for a picture from one of our school days this week!

Weekly Report: Week 10

10 Down, 26 More to Go!

Wow, the weeks are just flying by us. *Ü* Our week was busy and full. This week also marks the last week of morning co-op until next year. We will still get together 1 more time for Zoology to finish up lesson 12. And after that, no more co-ops until next year. *Ü* I really like to take a lot of time off in December, just because it is a busy month for us. We will work on the basics, but not a whole lot of "extras".

Here are some highlights from week 10:

Jake is taking off with his reading and wants to read anything in sight and gives it his all even if he doesn't know the word. He was even showing off his reading skills to a friend that was visiting. He also LOVES math, right Miss Lisa! *Ü*

We did another day from our Russia study and oh boy are we learning so much about Russia:

* Animals & Plants
* Different types of ethnic groups in Russia
* Lake Baikal (a lake that holds more water than any other lake in the world)
* and more!

At art class Holly & Jake made a painting of their bedroom (self expression activity) & Timmy created a scene from the story A Night Before Christmas. He now wants to create all the scenes and make our own family illustrated story to share on Christmas Eve. I think I will just "have" to allow time for him to do just that. I think it is wonderful he wants to do more art activities.

Jessica has been busy with all sorts of things this week. She has been helping Nana out a couple times over the week and made lunch for Nana while visiting with her. Her math is coming along just fine and even received a score of 100% on her last quiz.

Zoology was a lot of fun this week. We learned about Bettles, Flies, & True Bugs.

We also did an experiment that explained how a water strider can skim on the surface of the water(aka surface tension).

And at the end of class, we played a game called Caught in the Web. The Blue Team won! Go Blue!

I am looking forward to this upcoming week because Timmy will begin he new writing program: Writing Tales. It looks wonderful and I think it will be perfect for his learning style. And we also placed our order for Teaching Textbooks 5 that will be availble in Jan. Timmy can't wait until his new math arrives and he can do it on the computer.

HOAC also came out with a Rock & Mineral lapbook for older and younger kids. It is the Super Membership Freebie! I am sooooo excited and I purchased a bunch of rock materials from History Scribe's Homeschool Shop: DELUXE KIT , FOSSIL KIT , TUMBLED STONES , BOX OF GEODES , HISTORY SCRIBE , HAPPY SCRIBE BOOK (already owned) & there are other items I wanted to purchase, but they aren't available yet. *Ü* Did I over do it? *Ü* We will start our rock study in January. To read more about Rocks and Minerals check out Rock Hound Kids.

Have a Wonderful Thanksgivings Day and thank you for taking a peek into our school happenings!

PS: in case you were waiting to see the post about the lapbook Jessica did all on her own, I finally posted about it yesterday. Please take a peek and the post and if you would kindly leave a comment for her, I know it will encourage her and bring a big smile to her lips. Here is a short cut to the post in case you can't find it: The Biltmore House.

The Biltmore House Project Pack

Jessica had so much fun doing this lapbook all on her own with minimal help from me. All I did was make the copies. *Ü*

Last April, she did a report on this "big house" for an assignment with Home2Teach Online Writing Class. So when this lapbook became available from In The Hands of a Child, she just "had" to have it.

Jessica says her favorite part of doing this lapbook is that she did it all on her own. She also found it amazing the number of refrigerators and telephones were in this house during an era when many people haven't even heard of refrigerators and/or telephones.

Below is her report. I couldn't figure out how to share a .doc file, so I decided to just cut and paste. *Ü*

My Dream Home

Biltmore Castle is a huge castle located in Asheville, North Carolina. The name Biltmore is a combination of two words; the first is “bildt,” for the region of Holland where the family came from, and “more,” is an old English word meaning upland rolling hills. This castle/home is the largest in the United States. They started building in 1889 and finished in 1895, taking a total of 6 years build this home. Amazingly, this home covers a total of 4 acres, all under one roof. This equals 175,000 sq. feet which is equal to 88 average sized homes today. This house has 250 rooms, 60 fireplaces, an indoor pool, bowling alley, and many priceless arts and antiques. The cost to build the house is unknown. They are still searching to find more receipts and documents which will give them at least an estimate to the cost of the house. I would love this house as my own home, but it has way too many rooms for me to clean.

To learn more about this house, click here: Biltmore House and make sure to the "The Biltmore House" Project Pack from HOAC!

And her are some pictures of her completed lapbook. Enjoy! *Ü*

Weekly Report: Week 9

Wow, it feels like the weeks are moving slower and slower. It must be this WA gray, cold, fall weather....

9 Weeks Down, and 27 More Weeks to Go! *Ü*

Russia Study:

This week we began our Russia Study. They are creating a Travel Journal as they learn about different parts of this country. Here are some highlights that we learned about from the study:

* Communism (how it began in Russia and it's collapse)

* Czars

* Largest Continent in the World (and types of landscapes)

* Woolly Mammoths

With our busy week, we didn't get all the activities/reading done of this weeks study. But we will make catch up this week. We are fortunate enough to have a dear friend that is in the process of creating these wonderful unit studies and allowed our family to pre-test them. Keep your eye out for other countries studies we will be doing as well as for further information about when the curriculum will be available to purchase. *Ü*

Biltmore Lapbook:

In the beginning of the year, Jessica did a report for her writing class on the Biltmore House. She was so excited to learn that there was a lapbook for this topic. She did this lapbook from In The Hands of a Child completely on her own over a 4 day period. For more information about what she did click here: Biltmore Lapbook and you will be taken to a post specifically for this lapbook. Here is a picture in the meantime:

Math Tests:

Jake took another test and received an 100%. He LOVES math!

Jessica took a quiz and received 100%. She uses Teaching Textbooks, and it is all done via the computer (expect the work she needs to do to figure out the answer) so I am unable to share a picture of the quiz.

Co-op's:

At our morning Co-op, for art Jake and Holly made Cat in the Hat pictures and a Cat in the Hat search and find picture. Timmy completed his self portrait.

Build a Body class, Holly said her and Jake did an experiment (can't retell what they did as I don't fully understand what she was saying. *Ü* LOL ), and a couple weeks ago they got to touch a real cow tongue. Holly touched the cow tongue, but said it was gross. Jake said the tongue had a big huge hole in it. He doesn't know why... but that part stuck out to him, even 2 weeks later. *Ü*

In Latin class, Jessica and her partner was the first to complete a quiz at the chalk board. The 2 girls were very proud of themselves and say that they are both the youngest and smartest of the class. Hum... I think a lesson in humility is in order... *Ü* Jessica's teacher says she is doing a fantastic job. I don't do anything to help her with Latin (though my TM should be arriving soon), it is all her studying, co-op class, and her online class she is taking. We are very proud of her.

At our Zoology Co-op we studied bee's a little more in depth. We tasted honey (creamed honey was the favorite), had honey from a real honey comb, ate the honey comb, had honey candy & sticks, and tasted bee pollen. We even had some older siblings join in the taste test. *Ü* We also learned about Ants and Termites. Included withe the picture are some photo's of the lapbook work the kids are doing for Zoology 1.

Jessica's Latin:

I wanted to share a couple other activities that Jessica has done for Latin. Her timeline (did a few lessons ago, but finally sharing) & her map work from this weeks lesson.



Extras:

On Friday, we went out to lunch with Nana (Kid's Great Grandma) and spent a little extra time with her. By the time we ran our errands afterwards, it was dinner time. We didn't get school done on Friday, but we will complete it on Sunday. *Ü*

And that concludes Weekly Report: Week 9. *Ü* Until next weeks report... Have a wonderful week!

Hope you enjoy these extra pictures from the week:

* Our typical school day *

Coconut eating Jake's breakfast!

Take the Quiz here!

:: F A N N Y ::

You are Fanny Price of Mansfield Park!
You are quiet and faithful, but those around you may think you priggish.
You love deeply but jealously, and the thoughts and values of your loved
one - good and bad - rub off on you.

Ok, my friend posted this quiz some time back at her blog. I took the quiz, and above was my results. I had never seen the movie and wasn't sure about sharing the results on my blog, just in case I didn't like the character in the movie after all.

Well, I watched the movie the other night and it was wonderful! I can see myself in her.

SUPER Pumpkin Seeds

WOW! I just made the BEST batch of pumpkin seeds EVER! Can you tell I am a little excited? *Ü* Every year I try to make these... they never turn out like I had hoped.

While visiting a friend, she whipped up a batch of seeds that were delicious. I asked her how she did it. She said she rinsed them and added garlic salt and baked them at 350 until they were brown. She said the key was to turn them frequently.

So today I decided to give it a try. Here is my "secret" recipe:

Pumpkin Seeds
Garlic Salt
Johnny's Garlic Seasoning
Olive Oil

Place Pumpkin Seeds in a gallon size zip lock baggie. Add many shakes of Garlic Salt and Johnny's Garlic Seasoning. Pour in a little bit of Olive Oil, (enough to coat the seeds well). Shake bag and place them on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 turn every 4 min. I didn't time this, but I would say it took about 6-8 4 min turning of seeds to get them golden brown.

~*~ A day with my Grandbaby ~*~

On Oct. 31 my grandbaby Hailey came by for a visit! She was dressed as a monkey with a banana hanging out of her back pocket. *Ü* Just adorable I tell ya!

We pulled out some baby toys I have been saving for grandbabies and the kids had fun playing with her with their old toys.

She is such a good baby and so happy. She definitely has a wonderful mom! *Ü* At one point I was rocking her and patting her back. She began to pat my arm. How precious! I just love babies, especially my grandbaby! *Ü*

Enjoy some pictures of our special day:

Our Lewis and Clark Lapbook

Our Lewis and Clark lapbooking project is completed! We had a blast and learned so much about these men, the folks that went with them, and their long journey to the Pacific Ocean.

Some neat things we learned about were:

* Clark joined the army when he was 12 years old
* At some points in their travels, they ate dogs to survive
* Learned the "why" to the reason France sold the Louisiana Territory
* The encountered over 20 Indian Tribes
* Only 1 person died during the whole journey
* Lewis purchased Seaman for $20

And so much more!

We did this mini study for free using lots of online resources. Here is a list of the main sites we used:

Free Lapbook:
* Lewis and Clark Lapbook
Activity Pages:
* Fort Mandan: Lots of different activity idea's
* Lewis and Clark Word Find
Movie:
* National Geographic DVD on Lewis and Clark: Great Journey West
Websites visited:
* The Lewis and Clark Journey of Discovery My favorite site we used. We got most of the information to fill in the booklets to the lapbook from this site.
* Expansion and Conflict lesson plan for additional activities
* Online Game: Go West Across America
* Lewis and Clark's Historic Trail for Mapping the way they went
* Western Expansion
* Education World : List of supplies they took with them
* Discovering Lewis and Clark
Materials I needed to supply:
* 3 prong folder
* copies (booklets activity pages, etc.)
* glue
* scissors
* color
* pencils
* pencil

And below are some photo's of the activities the kids did.

What to see more that we did with this study? Click HERE

Weekly Report: Week 8

Our week seemed very short. We only schooled for 3 days (4 if you included co-op day), as we were didn't return from out trip until late afternoon on Monday.

In zoology we learned all about social insects. We talked about the different types of jobs ants have in a colony. I asked the kids what job they would like and why and which ones they won't like to have and why. Here's their response:

Jessica
* Job I would like to do: Forager, because I would be doing a big job.
* Job I wouldn't like to do: Drone, because all they do is mate and then die.

Timmy
* Job I would like to do: Queen, because I could be fat and lazy (just so you know that isn't what he learned about the job, but that was his answer none the less)
* Job I wouldn't like to do: Forager, higher possibility of death

Holly
* Job I would like to do: Interior worker, because you get to take care of the babies and you don't need to leave the nest.
* Job I wouldn't like to do: Forager, because you can get attacked by an Ant Bully.

(Jake was off playing when we read. Since he is only in 1st, if he is to jumpy, I let him go and play)

At art class, Jake and Holly make a drawing of a pet they would like to have or one they already own. Holly chose our bird Coconut with Whiskers watching her. Jake drew a picture of Whiskers the cat. They used chalk dipped in liquid starch. Timmy is in the process of doing a self portrait and will have this completed next week.

Our Lewis and Clark lapbooking project is completed! We had a blast and learned so much about these men, the other people on the expedition, and their long journey to the Pacific Ocean. We did this mini study for free using lots of online resources. Click here to find out in greater detail how we completed our lapbook, learn about what sites we used, and more photo's.

For fun, Jake and Holly broke out the Delta Sand (aka moon sand but much much better) and had a blast playing in the sand. I love this stuff too, though I don't enjoy the mess it makes...

Kids Costumes

Here are some photo's of the kids all dressed up:

Timmy and Jessica are characters from a Metroid (Game Cube and WII) game. They made their costumes all by themselves:

Holly is a Medieval Princess & Jake is Medieval Knight.