WOW, what a wonderful week we had! The weather has been in the 70's and 80's all week, so we have been making sure we get out and about to enjoy the weather! Our week "that was" is as follows:
Monday: We got started on time and did a complete day of school by noon. I hadn't done any lesson planning for the week yet, but I just followed along with the Illuminations program on my Laptop and we got our work done for the day. After lunch I spent the entire afternoon in the kitchen doing some food prep. My 9yr old spent the afternoon reading books from the "Warriors" series by Erin Hunter. I had suggested this series to him and at first he "shrugged me" off but he finally asked to check them out from the library and has been going through all of series for the past month. The 2 younger boys spent the afternoon doing some computer work, playing Wii, and taking turns helping me in the kitchen. I was able to get a lot done in the kitchen on Monday afternoon. Monday evening after dinner I went to the library by myself and got Lesson Planning for the week completed.
I use a couple different recipes for the Instant Hot Cocoa Mix. I make a Sugar Free, Fat Free version for me. I also make a Regular version for the rest of the family. Both versions taste exactly like the store bought version. Our family really enjoys Hot Cocoa and we can go through a box a day in the winter, which at the cheapest cost would be $1/box=$7 per week. I make the 2 containers of Hot Cocoa mix for a total cost of $15. The containers last us from October through Mid March. 5 1/2 months worth of Homemae Instant Hot Cocoa for the cost of 15 days of store bought version! YEAH!!
Tuesday: We had a great day of schooling. I am beginning to notice that my Josh, 9yr old, doesn't like Math too much. He loves Language Arts a ton though. All this makes sense because he is a "BookWorm" and loves to write stories, and had even attempted to write a book. Nate and Danny love Math and Science. Nate doesn't like reading and has yet to learn to read because of a Vision Issue. He will get it soon though, I have confidence in him!! We took a walk to the park down the street from after school was done and they boys played for about an hour and I was able to get some reading done!
Wednesday: A friend and I decided to go take our kids on a Field Trip to the Harold Washington Library in Downtown Chicago. The boys and I took the bus and the "L" Train to get there, as there is a stop right at the Library and it costs less then driving and parking. We met up at 10:30am at the Thomas Hughes Childrens Library. The Childrens Library is the size of other "stand alone libraries" and it encompasses the entire second floor. The boys and I get there and it is packed with Field Trips from a local elementary school and Preschoolers. I asked the information desk at about what time the groups would be done, and was informed 12 Noon. My friend and I decided to take the kids to lunch early, to beat the lunch crowds and to allow the Children's Library to empty out a bit. I normally take our lunch with us on Field Trips, but going Downtown I usually don't. We walked to a McDonald's and had lunch. We return to the library around Noon and it was quiet and empty! YEAH! We set the younger kids up on the computers and the older 2 were talking and looking at magazines and books. My friend and I sat to talk and keep an eye on the kiddos. The kids all checked some materials out from the library. My friend and I needed books from the upper levels, so we all went up to the upper levels. The Harold Washington Library is an amazing library with 9 floors and it covers a whole street block(north and south) and 2 blocks east and west. It is HUGE!! We also stopped in the Media Library on the first floor to check out some materials. We left the library around 2:30pm and started walking down State Street. It was a BEAUTFUL day so we walked to the furtherest Train Station and the boys and I got on one side and my friend and her kids on the other to head to our destinations. The boys and I took the train out to Oak Park and walked to our church. Wednesday are AWANA days and I help in the Kitchen both before and after dinner. We arrived a little early, but that was OK! The boys watched a DVD and I relaxed for a bit before heading to the kitchen. We finally arrived home at 9pm that night and everyone CRASHED! It was an awesome DAY and I can't wait to get together again with my friend and her kids!
Our day downtown
Thursday: I had a Drs. appointment at 9:30am, so the boys and I had to get up early and take hubby to work so I could have the car for the day. We drop hubby off at 8:30am, run into Dollar Tree really quick and then head my Drs. appointment. We arrived home by 10:30am and we were all so tired from the day before that we all ended taking a nap until Noon. We had lunch and then got school done by 3pm. We packed it up and decided to head toward my hubby's job to play in park near there. We had to pick him up at 5pm, the day was just weather perfect, so we took advantage of the weather and headed to the park. The boys played for about 90 minutes, alternating between playing on the equipment and playing catch with the football. I was able to get some reading time in! Picked hubby up at 5pm and came home for dinner. BEAUTIFUL DAY!
Friday: We always have Review and Catch Up days on Friday, so we were completed with our school by Noon. We had lunch and then walking the neighborhood to collect leaves for a Tree and Leaf Study we are going to be working on next week. I want to gather as many leaves as we can before any rain or wind take them away. We also walked to a nearby park for the boys to get some Park time in and enjoy the weather. We were the only ones in the park for about an hour, because the schools had not let out for the day yet. The boys LOVE being in the park like that! We came home from the park around 3:30pm and had a good collection of leaves also. I started the Pizza Dough in our bread machine for Friday Night Pizza Night and the boys had FREE time then.
Fall Colors from Around the Area
We had an amazing week and we are loving this awesome fall weather!! Looking forward to a wonderful week next week also!
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2 comments:
I'de never heard of Illuminations before. Would you mind sharing how it works a bit more?
Oh, going to the library ALONE is SO relaxing and fun! Our library has a covered wraparound porch that faces the lake and "downtown": a perfect spot to people-watch and read in quiet. (Our library is in a historical house.)
And it sounds like you took advantage of all the nice, warmer weather last week! Since you're near Chicago, I'm sure the warm weather is fleeting this time of year (just like in Maine). (We lived in Indiana for 6 years, but never made it to Chicago!)
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