Rose's House on Homeschool

Homeschool Log Saturday February 27, 2010

2010-02-28T14:16:00.000-05:00

Austin
Austin had a laid back day. He slept late, watched Star Wars, played with the younger kids, and helped some around the house. He played Crazy Machines( my review of Crazy Machines here) on his computer and did some art work.

I forgot to mention last weekend that Austin took a trip with the youth group from church to Winter Jam Concert. He was so excited and had a wonderful time. The Newsboys were a big hit with him. He was very disappointed though that he somehow lost the CD and DVD that he bought. He held onto the poster but the other things got away from him. I felt so bad for him but it's just a life lesson to be learned from.

Amanda
Amanda spent a lot of the day with friends. Around noon the mother of one of her friends, Tina, picked her up and she spent the afternoon at Tina's house. Then Tina's mother brought Amanda back home in time for Holly(11) and her mother to pick Amanda up. They went to a magic show and then to CiCi's Pizza. So she had a great day, but was very tired by the time she got home last night.

Homeschool Log Friday February 26, 2010

2010-02-27T16:33:00.001-05:00

Austin
Normally Austin would have posted to his blog today but we are having internet security issues with the kids computers so he stayed off internet today. He did spend some time with the paint program though, making some designs to post when he can.

He also read a chapter from Pinocchio.

Our youth pastor picked him up around lunchtime today and they went out to lunch together. This was something that Austin has been looking forward to for a couple weeks now and he really enjoyed it.

Amanda
Amanda started reading a new book today - The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson. Once again I think she was surprised at how much she enjoyed the book I picked out for her. She also read some from Cats by Amanda O'Neill.

She spent some time playing Solitaire and Spider Solitaire.

After school her friend Holly (age 11) was here for awhile and the girls had fun together.

This evening she put up some wall decorations in the playroom.

Austin and Amanda

We read two chapters from The Shack by Wm. Paul Young this afternoon. We also read 2 Kings 8:7-15, 25-29 and 2 Kings 9.

Both kids did their daily chores, helped with the younger kids and took care of their pets.

Homeschool Log Thursday February 25, 2010

2010-02-25T22:16:00.000-05:00

Austin and Amanda
We read two chapters from The Shack by Wm. Paul Young this afternoon. We also read 2 Kings 6:24-33 and 7:3-20. They watched a math video and a language arts video from Gamequarium.

Both kids did their chores, took care of their pets and helped with the younger kids.

They spent the evening at their grandparents house enjoying time with grandparents, cousins, aunt and uncles.

Austin
Austin read a chapter from Pinocchio. He also spent a lot of time on his laptop designing with the paint program.His friend Zac (11) was here for awhile after school and they enjoyed talking together.

Amanda
Amanda finished reading Apostle to Inland China: The Story of J. Hudson Taylor by James S. and Velma B. Keifer. She also read more from Me and My Horse.

Homeschool Log Wednesday February 24, 2010

2010-02-25T21:54:00.001-05:00

Austin and Amanda
We got so caught up in the story this afternoon that we read three chapters of The Shack by Wm. Paul Young instead of just one like I had planned. I am so glad we decided to read this book together. We also read 2 Kings 5 and 8:1-6.

Both kids did their chores, took care of their pets and helped with the younger kids.

Austin
Austin read a chapter of Pinocchio. He also updated his blog. He enjoyed spending time with his friends Zac (11) and Tristan (12) this afternoon.

Amanda
Amanda read a chapter of Apostle to Inland China: The Story of J. Hudson Taylor by James S. and Velma B. Kiefer. She also spent a lot of time reading Me and My Horse as well as researching dog breeds using our set of World Book encyclopedias.

She also updated her blog.

Her friend Holly (11) was here for awhile this afternoon. I'm not sure exactly what they were doing but the howls of laughter coming from Amanda's room certainly seemed to indicate they were having fun.

Homeschool Log Tuesday February 23, 2010

2010-02-23T22:26:00.000-05:00

Austin and Amanda
This afternoon we read chapter 1 from The Shack by Wm. Paul Young. We also read 1 Chronicles 21, The Book of Obadiah, and 2 Kings 6:8-23.

Both Austin and Amanda watched a math video and a Language Arts video from Gamequarium.

Both kids also did their daily chores, took care of their pets and helped with they younger kids.

Our afternoon was interrupted by an unexpected visit from someone who may be needing childcare for her two granddaughters this summer. So while we didn't do a few things we had planned, the kids got to listen to an interview as we talked about schedules, required paperwork, and other business related topics. Still educational in it's own way.

Austin
Austin spent a lot of time creating designs with the paint program on his computer and put some more of his artwork on his blog this afternoon. He is able now to post and publish without any help from me. He just tells me when he has published something and I go look at it.

He read another chapter from Pinocchio. Most of the time I thought he looked distracted, almost as if he was just running his fingers across the words and turning pages, but when I asked him what he had read he was able to tell me so I guess he's picking up more than I sometimes realize. Yay!

This afternoon two of his friends, Zac (11) and Tristan (12) were here. Zac, Tristan and Austin spent some time playing games on the computer. After Zac left Austin and Tristan went outside for awhile, then listened to some music together. Tristan also helped Austin clean up the kitchen after dinner.

Austin also watched a few more MacGyver episodes and played Solitaire on his laptop between other activities.

Amanda
Amanda read chapter three of Apostle to Inland China: The Story of J. Hudson Taylor by James S. and Velma B. Kiefer. She also finished the book Veronica Ganz by Marilyn Sachs. Her opinion of the book - "It was weird."

This afternoon she was doing research on different types of dogs using our set of World Book encyclopedias. She was making lists although I didn't check to see exactly what she was listing.

Amanda played Sally's Salon,Nanny Mania 2 and Dairy Dash on the laptop.

I find it endlessly interesting and amazing each day as I watch my children learn in their own ways, even as they enjoy activities that do not technically fall under the "educational" category. Learning happens in many different ways.

Homeschool Log Monday February 22, 2010

2010-02-22T23:04:00.000-05:00

Austin and Amanda
We started a new book this afternoon during our read together time. The Shack by Wm. Paul Young is a wonderful book that I wanted us to share together. I debated with myself a little about whether it was to advanced and intense and decided that reading it together we could talk through any questions or issues that came up. We only read the foreword today and they are already intrigued. I think we're going to enjoy reading this book together a lot. We also read 2 Kings 3, 2 Kings 4:38-44 and 2 Kings 6:1-7.

Both kids did their chores and helped with the younger kids as well as took care of their pets.

Austin
Austin updated his blog, read a chapter of Pinocchio, and worked on his time line project. This afternoon we read part of the article Admiral of the Ends of the Earth by Mellville Bell Grosvenor from the July 1957 edition of The National Geographic Magazine.

In his free time Austin has been enjoying watching episodes of MacGyver on his laptop. He has finished Season 1 and started on Season 2.

Amanda
Amanda began reading a new book today. I could tell when I gave it to her that she didn't think she was going to enjoy it. But I had to smile when she told me she forgot to stop at the end of chapter one and accidentally read two chapters of Apostle to Inland China, The Story of J. Hudson Taylor by James S. and Velma B. Kiefer. I don't mind if they read more than their assignment but I usually tell them to finish their other work first and then go back to it if they want too.

Amanda also did her typing lesson and worked on her room for awhile.

This afternoon we played several games of UNO. I was surprised that she chose this because she normally is not much of game player. But we had fun.

Later this evening Amanda spent quite a bit of time looking up various breeds of dogs online. She wants a dog very much but we can't have one right now.

I think we had a very good day.

Homeschool Log Thursday 2/18 and Friday 2/19

2010-02-22T07:16:00.000-05:00

Just some quick notes on these two days.

Our schedule was pretty much the same as it had been all week except that we did take Friday afternoon off because I had an interview with a family about providing childcare for a one year old.

We finished the book Rilla of Ingleside, had our Bible reading, both kids worked on math and language arts and did some reading. Austin and I read more of the articles about the south pole in The National Geographic and Amanda and I worked on her room some more. Both kids updated their blogs again.

Thursday evening Austin and Amanda spent the evening at their grandparents house as usual.

Homeschool Log Wednesday February 17, 2010

2010-02-18T23:03:00.000-05:00

Here is a summary of what we did today.

Austin and Amanda -
This afternoon we read 2 Kings 1, 2, and 3:1-3 and one chapter from Rilla of Ingleside. They both did their daily chores, helped with the younger kids and took care of their pets. This evening they went to the Wednesday evening kid/youth program at church.

Austin
Austin read a chapter from Pinocchio, updated his blog, (actually when I was writing this I clicked on his blog and discovered that he forgot to hit publish. I did it for him so it is there now.), and did a typing lesson/game (Bubbles Typing Game). This afternoon we read more of the article from The National Geographic Magazine that we started yesterday - We Are Living at the South Pole by Paul A. Siple. He also began cleaning out the fish tank in his room so we can move it downstairs. His friends Zac (11) and Tristan (12) helped him when they got here this afternoon after school.

Amanda
Amanda also updated her blog. She played the Bubbles Typing Game and the Keyman Typing Game. This afternoon we went online and looked at photos of room designs to get ideas for her room. Then she spent some time working on her room to get it ready for the redecorating we want to do.

Homeschool Log Tuesday February 16, 2010

2010-02-16T22:11:00.000-05:00

I asked Amanda and Austin today if they liked the changes I have made in the schedule. Austin said he did. Amanda said even if she did a little she wouldn't admit it. I'll take that as a yes.

Here is a summary of what we did today.

Both Austin and Amanda -
This afternoon we read 2 Chronicles 19-20 and one chapter from Rilla of Ingleside. Both kids did their daily chores, helped with the younger kids and took care of their pets.

Austin -
Austin watched one of the Language Arts videos (Conjunction Junction) from Gamequarium, and completed one of the addition lessons from Mr. Ankers' Computation. He also read a chapter from Pinocchio. This afternoon he started making a time line that we are going to put on the wall in the hallway. We also read To the Men at South Pole Station written by Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd, USN and published in The National Geographic Magazine in July 1957. We started reading We Are Living at the South Pole by Paul A. Siple and published in the same issue of The National Geographic Magazine. We will read more of this article tomorrow. Later this evening Austin spent some time doing art work with his friend Zac (age 11) and then building with K-nex with his friend Tristan (age 12).Just before he went to bed this evening he watched an episode of Star Trek.

Amanda -
Amanda completed the More Adding Practice page from her Math Skills and Drills workbook and the Prepositions page from her Language Arts workbook. She also spent over an hour today moving things from her room into the hallway so that we can begin working on a major three room redecorating project. She and Michael will be switching rooms and both rooms will be repainted. We will also be repainting the kids bathroom upstairs.She spent a lot of her free time today playing Sally's Salon on her laptop. In this game time management skills are very important to keep all the customers happy. Happy customers equal good income. Good income allows the purchase of new and better equipment as well as hiring new hair dressers. And so the business grows.

Homeschool Log Monday 2/15/10

2010-02-15T22:50:00.000-05:00

I'm sure no one else really cares one way or another but I wish I'd make up my mind how often I want to post on what we've been doing here for home school. I have changed my mind again and decided to go back to daily posting. It is really hard sometimes to remember everything we've done in a week even if I try to keep notes.

The last two weeks have been really unproductive due to Austin's time off after his injury and schedule disruptions due to the snow. But now that Austin is feeling a lot better I've told both Austin and Amanda that we are going to be sticking to our own schedule regardless of what public school does.

So here are my notes for today.

Both Austin and Amanda

Dance Mat Typing - both kids tried to do a typing lesson but the lesson kept freezing up and not letting them continue. We've had a lot of trouble with that recently so I think I'm going to check around and see what else I can find for free on the web. I'm curious whether anyone else out there has had any trouble with this site?

Both kids updated their blogs - Amanda's is here and Austin's is here.

We were able to get back to our afternoon reading time when I read aloud to them. I think this is one of our favorite time of the day. Today we read 1 Kings 22 and then three chapters from Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery. We are learning a lot about World War 1 as we read this book.

Both kids did their daily chores - cleaning, kitchen duty and helping with the younger kids - as well as taking care of their pets.

During their free time both Austin and Amanda enjoyed playing computer games.

Music - We enjoyed listening to Celtic Hymns throughout the day.

Austin

Austin started reading a new book today. While it isn't one I would have chosen I am glad to see him pick up a book on his own and begin reading it. So I'm allowing him to use it for his reading time. The book he chose is Pinocchio. This version is 89 pages long and is divided into 11 chapters. And although it may seem somewhat below his age level his trouble with visual spatial perception causes so much difficulty with reading that for now this is what he is comfortable with. When he finishes this book we will go back to reading the book he started before our unexpected two week break - The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Great Illustrated Classics).

Each afternoon while the little kids are asleep I try to spend about 30 minutes each with Austin and Amanda on an activity of their choice. Austin's choice this afternoon was playing a game of Skip-Bo. This card game is a game of strategy as each person tries to get rid of his pile of cards by building sequential sets 1- 12.

Amanda

For our 30 minutes together Amanda chose to have me watch Disney music videos with her. While this was certainly not the kind of activity I had in mind, I have been thinking maybe I should know a little more about these music videos that she loves to watch. So I told her that I would today but tomorrow I would like her to choose something a little more constructive.

Derailed

2010-02-03T21:44:00.001-05:00

Last week we really did do some studying as well as accomplish a few other things that I was going to post about. But I never got a post written about it due to this derailment. This week we have been recovering. And since we have had snow twice in the last five days public schools have been closed. Public schools closing means I have a houseful of school kids whose parents have to work no matter what the weather. So there isn't much "schooling" being done. Schools are are closed again tomorrow and early Friday morning there is another storm moving in. So it looks like we're going to have a whole week off. Hopefully we will get back to a more sane schedule next week.

Crazy Machines - Game Review

2010-01-24T15:59:00.000-05:00

Product description from the manufacturer -

Create your own unique contraptions
Solve more than 200 challenging puzzles
Put your machines to work
Cool physics engine with air-pressure, electricity, gravity, and particle effects
Experiment with gears, robots, explosives, and more in your own virtual lab

We bought Austin this game for Christmas. He has really enjoyed it and I have had the pleasure of watching him explore some scientific concepts that he may have found a little overwhelming in some other formats.

Crazy Machines provides a lot of mental stimulation, problem solving skills and encourages creative thinking. It also teaches some beginning physics, mechanics, and engineering.

I've found that Austin enjoys solving the puzzles and challenges given in the games as well as the opportunity to create his own experiments. And choosing between earth gravity and moon gravity adds to the fun.

I haven't told Austin but I found the solutions for the puzzles given in this game here. He has been doing a great job of sticking with it and figuring out the answers for himself.

Just a Note

2010-01-24T11:36:00.000-05:00

Just a note to say that I am going to post a weekly homeschool log instead of a daily log. Hopefully this will help give me time to post about other homeschool topics I would enjoy writing about as well.

Homeschool Log Tuesday January 18, 2010

2010-01-19T22:53:00.000-05:00

I think today has been our most productive day for awhile.

Both kids did their Dance Mat Typing lessons. Then Austin did his math lesson at Mr. Anker's Computation. He also watched a video about verbs at Gamequarium.

Amanda completed two worksheets - Adverbs That Compare and Adding Nines. She also read several chapters from the book The Blind Colt by Glen Rounds.

Austin watched Extreme Machines: Military Planes on the Military Channel this afternoon.

Both Austin and Amanda updated their blogs today. Amanda's post is called Stinky Cat and Austin's is called Cool Design.

This afternoon we read 1 Kings 17 and one chapter from Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery. Then we had a discussion about how long ago World War 1 was and realized that the house we are living in now was probably already built at that time. The kids loved that, somehow it helped them feel connected to the history we have been reading.

Both Austin and Amanda spent about half an hour outside playing with friends.

Chores, helping with the younger kids and playing games on the computer rounded out their day.

Homeschool Log Saturday January 16, 2010

2010-01-17T00:00:00.000-05:00

I know it's the weekend but the really cool thing about homeschool is that learning is not confined to Monday to Friday from 8:30 - 2:45.

The kids had a pretty laid back day.

Austin watched Discovering Yellowstone with Tom Brokaw on Planet Green. He and Amanda together watched Underdog to Wonderdog on Animal Planet.

Austin went grocery shopping with Doug. They took Michael along with them as well. Since Michael has had a rough few days including a lot of crying and throwing temper tantrums, they very kindly decided to give me a break. I love my family.

Both kids spent a lot of time playing computer games - Crazy Machines, Mahjong, and Solitaire.

After one of the younger kids expressed an interest in dinosaurs, Austin began looking for online sites about dinosaurs. Then Doug got out his computer and soon nearly everyone was getting in on the fun.

Before the Austin and Amanda went to bed we watched the movie Safe Harbor on Hallmark Channel. It is a great movie about a couple who provide a foster home for four teenage boys. I believe it is based on a true story. I had never seen the movie before but Amanda had and was excited to see it come on again.

Playing Catch Up Again

2010-01-15T22:15:00.000-05:00

Once again it's Friday and I find myself trying to play catch up.

This week has been very busy with new children in childcare as well as with interviews with families considering bringing their children here for childcare. It's great but it takes time and energy. It hasn't helped any that both Michael and I seem to gotten a slight tummy bug.

I'm just going to touch on some highlights and give some overviews of our week.

Austin has spent a major amount of time playing Crazy Machines on his computer. And he even got Amanda interested in the game. I feel good about seeing them play this game since it involves a lot of problem solving and science (beginning physics).

A friend of ours brought us a stack of recent issues of National Geographic Magazines. One article in particular caught Austin's interest - Redwood Trees. This has led to some research online about Redwoods as well as about some other trees.

The kids watched a lot of Animal Planet and Hallmark channel. Amanda is always on the lookout for any show about dogs. The Dog Whisperer,It's Me or the Dog, and Dogs 101 are some of her favorites.

Wednesday evening both kids went to our the Kids Worx program at our church and Thursday evening they went to my parents house for the evening.

Both Austin and Amanda updated their blogs once this week. It's far from the daily updates I wanted them to do, but we'll try again next week.

We still have some snow on the ground and the kids enjoyed a lot of time outside with their friends playing in the snow. The last two days temperatures have warmed a lot and the snow is quickly disappearing.

We've enjoyed our daily Bible reading and reading from Rilla of Ingleside by L. M . Montgomery.

These are just a few notes from our busy week.

Homeschool Log - Catching Up Friday and Saturday January 8 & 9, 2010

2010-01-10T16:40:00.000-05:00

Thursday night we had a dusting of snow and some bitterly cold temperatures, along with wind. Friday school was canceled. Seven school age kids ended up here so we had a snow day too.

Saturday was pretty much a lazy day for all of us.

Here are some pictures from Friday.

Socialization is certainly not a problem here.

Computer Lab?

2010-01-10T12:08:00.000-05:00

All three kids with the laptops they got for Christmas.

Homeschool Log Thursday January 7, 2010

2010-01-07T22:05:00.000-05:00

It's snowing again. Sadly, at least for me, the forecast is for 1 to 3 inches. I want a couple of feet of snow. I want to be snowed in.

This morning both Austin and Amanda did their typing lessons at Dance Mat Typing. Austin did a math lesson at Mr. Ankers Computation and a language arts lesson at Gamequarium. Amanda did her math and language arts lessons from her workbooks.

Austin and I spent about 15 minutes reading together from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Great Illustrated Classics). Amanda finished reading The Call of the Wild (Great Illustrated Classics).

Because I had a meeting to go to this afternoon we didn't get to do any reading together this afternoon.

Both kids watched an episode of The Dog Whisperer on NatGeo and Touched by an Angel on the Hallmark Channel.

Austin played Deer Drive and Treasure Masters, Inc on his computer.

This evening Austin and Amanda spent part of the evening at their grandparents house. They came home a little earlier than usual because it started snowing and we weren't sure how bad the roads would be.

Chores, helping with the younger kids and taking care of their pets rounded out there day.

Homeschool Log Wednesday January 6, 2010

2010-01-06T22:24:00.000-05:00

Cold, cold, cold. It is just plain old cold here.

We finished reading Ecclesiastes today and also read 1 Kings 11. The Bible we're using right now is arranged in chronological order and we've enjoyed this version. It is easier to follow. We also read a chapter from Rilla of Ingleside.

Both Austin and Amanda enjoyed having friends here this afternoon. And while I stay inside and complain about how cold it is, they bundle up and go out to enjoy some fresh air. I'm so glad to see them do that. And I'm so glad I get to stay inside!

This evening the child/youth program at our church resumed after a two week Christmas break. All three kids went as well as Amanda's two friends who were here this afternoon. Austin came back full of excitement about all the fun things that are being planned for the youth group in the next few months. It sounds like he's going to be busy.

Chores, helping with the kids, computer games and watching some TV rounded out their day.

Homeschool Log Tuesday January 5, 2010

2010-01-05T23:27:00.000-05:00

I think we found our rhythm again today. Things just seemed to go a lot more smoothly than yesterday.

Both Austin and Amanda worked on their Dance Mat Typing lessons. Austin also went to Mr. Anker's Computation and did lesson number 5 on addition and then to Gamequarium and watched Adjectives for Armando (Part 4).

Amanda read chapter 1 from the Call of the Wild (Great Illustrated Classics) by Jack London. Austin spent about 10 minutes reading with me from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Great Illustrated Classics) by Arthur Conan Doyle.

Amanda did the Signs and Symbols worksheet from the Hayes Math Skills and Drills Addition workbook and the Direct Objects worksheet from her Language Arts workbook.

This afternoon we read Ecclesiastes chapters 8 - 10. Some of the imagery there gave them both the chuckles. We also read a chapter from Rilla of Ingleside.

Amanda said she wants to take a break this week from cooking but Austin is still enjoying time in the kitchen. This afternoon he made Spicy Chicken Wings and we had them for dinner. They were scrumptious. No leftovers.

Amanda published another post on her blog this afternoon. This one is about her pet rats. Austin worked on a post but did not quite get if finished, so he plans to finish it tomorrow.

TV today was mostly Disney although they did watch the last half of one episode of It's Me or the Dog on Animal Planet.

Amanda played a lot of Solitaire and Austin played a lot of Treasure Masters, Inc. and Deer Drive.

Austin played outside with two of his friends when they came over after school this afternoon.

Chores and helping with the daycare kids rounded out their day.

Homeschool Log Monday January 4, 2010

2010-01-04T23:03:00.000-05:00

Today didn't go quite as smoothly as I had hoped. I felt like we kind of bumped along. It took both Austin and Amanda much longer to get through with both chores and schoolwork than I thought it should. I think maybe I had some unreasonable expectations about how smoothly and quickly the kids would be able to transition back into things.

We did enjoy our reading time this afternoon. We read Ecclesiastes 4-7, then we read a chapter of Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery. I like the history that is covered in this book. It is set in the early 1900's during the time of World War 1.
This afternoon both kids worked on their blogs. Amanda's blog post was all about ~~her~~ our cat.. Austin's blog post was mostly random pictures from his camera.

Chores and helping out with the kids rounded out the rest of their structured time today.

During their free time they spend a lot of time on their computers again.

Amanda loves to play Solitaire and Spider Solitaire. She also enjoys dividing her LPS collection into families or categories and than typing up lists of her categorizations.

Austin plays Deer Drive, Crazy Machines, and Treasure Masters, Inc. The science and logical thinking in the Crazy Machines games is great, and all three games have definite value in problem solving, analytical skills, etc.

Austin and his friend Zac bundled up and went outside for some fresh air and exercise this afternoon. They had a good game of Hide and Seek Tag before they came back in.

We added some music appreciation to our day by enjoying two CDs - Amazing Grace: Classic Hymns and a CD from the Ultimate Worship Collection .

Back on Schedule

2010-01-03T20:36:00.000-05:00

We have enjoyed our Christmas vacation but it is definitely time for us to get back on schedule. I think we're ready for a new start.

I've made a few minor changes to our school schedule. The main one is that I want Austin and Amanda to work on their blogs each day. We had started doing this the beginning of the year but somehow it slipped through the cracks. The other changes were doing Bible and literature time each day instead of twice a week. All of these changes are easily incorporated into our day and the kids seemed to be fine with them.

Here are a few pictures from our day today.

Michael practiced his cutting skills.

Austin helped me restock the collage box for the daycare kids.

Amanda helped make grilled cheese sandwiches to go with our tomato soup for dinner.

Still on Christmas Break and Enjoying It

2009-12-30T17:07:00.000-05:00

We have been so laid back and unfocused this holiday season. The kids are still spending a lot of time on their laptops. We are having trouble with the wireless internet that was installed yeseterday so they haven't been able to use that yet but are still enjoying the games.

Amanda used all of the free trial of Diner Dash that was on her computer and enjoyed it so much that I ordered the game for her from Amazon. It is not the type of game I would normally expect her to enjoy but she has spent hours on it. She likes the challenge of keeping all her customers fed and happy. I was surprised when the game was delivered yesterday. I ordered it Christmas day.

There is still snow on the ground and Amanda and her friend Holly spent hours outside. They found some ice to slide on as well and that kept them busy for a long time. It was so cold and windy I don't know how they stayed out there so long but they insisted they were warm enough and I'm glad to see them spend the time outside.

After Christmas Fun

2009-12-29T07:27:00.000-05:00

The last few days Austin and Amanda have spent the majority of their free time learning to operate the new Dell laptops they received for Christmas and trying out the computer games that were in their stockings. And since we are getting wireless internet today I'm sure they will be busy with these gifts for quite awhile. They will be using them for school assignments next week.