Peakmore Academy

Bethelem Walk 2011

2011-12-04T15:53:00.000-05:00

Yesterday evening our family attended a wonderful "role play" event for this Christmas season. We went on a Bethlehem Walk put on by King's Grant Presbyterian Church & Saint Nicholas Catholic Church in Virginia Beach, Va. As part of the "Jacob Tribe" originating from the town of Bethany, we journeyed through bazaar shops, were counted (and taxed), directed along by Roman soldiers, and welcomed

Soccer Season 2011

2011-10-23T11:36:00.000-04:00

It's continuing soccer for the teen (in the 13+ level) and a new beginning for the toddler (in the Tots level.) CLICK images to enlarge. The teen was #11 on the red team again this year. The homeschool soccer league plays in a church's field that runs alongside the highway, thus the big gray barrier wall. Notice the semi-truck in the background on the right (on the far side of the

Got Snack?

2011-10-23T10:58:00.000-04:00

So the toddler (27 months *gasp!*) asked for a morning snack, of course JUST as I had sat down to knit for 30 minutes. (sigh. LOL) For whatever reason my apple peeler/slicer came immediately to mind so I opened the fridge and had her pick an apple while I retrieved the peeler from the kitchen cabinet. Yes. The one that holds all the misc. kitchen gizmos and gadgets, including the waffle maker. (

Got Goggles?

2011-09-12T19:17:00.000-04:00

The teen donned the safety goggles that came in her Physical Science Kit. Of course the toddler wanted to do it, too. Luckily, we had another pair of goggles from last year's General Science Kit. Results: And if those weren't silly enough, when the teen complained about how dorky the goggles were I had to explain that yes, they get even dorkier. That she could be in a public highschool

Menu Plan for the Week 9/11

2011-09-12T14:26:00.000-04:00

Google Calendar is really keeping me on track on "what's for dinner"... provided that I remember to take whatever is necessary out of the freezer in time! LOL (wink to hubby) And when I forget or something comes up unexpectedly, it's easy to click/drag/drop the menu item around to a different day. This week our menu looks like this: Sunday: Chicken garden salads Monday: Gyros with Tzatziki

NOT Back to School!

2011-09-09T19:42:00.000-04:00

This was the first year (as I can recall) that I intentionally looked for the starting date of area public schools and planned something for us to do for our "NOT back to school" outing. With a 14 year old and a 2 year old it is often difficult to find something they'll both enjoy, but the teen was game for my surprise and we had a good time. First we went and got the teen a much-needed

August, albeit late

2011-09-09T19:20:00.000-04:00

Hey, what can I say? I've been busy. I have a high schooler. I have a toddler. I have a husband. We had a hurricane come by. Add all those together and you'll understand why it's now well into September and I'm just posting about August. So, I'll just post a short version... There was some painting at our new easel There was some noodle making There was applying for her first, official

First Semester daily map

2011-07-31T10:55:00.000-04:00

I've been making a version of this for years, either on paper or the white board. Thought I'd share it this time here on my blog... click to enlarge Nothing fancy. Nothing special. Just a "map" of what assignments to do when/on which days. I keep one for myself (so I can know at any given time what the teen should be working on) and I hang one at her desk so she knows what to work on. The

Toddler Time in July (Photo heavy)

2011-07-29T13:49:00.001-04:00

Sorry for not blogging lately. I've had problems with my phone this month and it took me until now to get my photos off of it and uploaded to storage. In any case here are some of the activities our little one did in July, in no particular order. First and foremost, we welcomed Daddy back home from his six-month deployment! WOOHOO. She regularly sat at the dining table whenever Sissy sat

A New Week in Tapestry of Grace

2011-07-07T06:58:00.000-04:00

Recently there was a question posted over on the TOG Year One email list that I replied to and I thought it worthy to bring over here, too. The mom was wondering how each new week is introduced to the student(s), how that looks... I replied with what works for us at our house (your version may be different). Here's what I said: "Nowadays I simply print off the week's overview page and put

Out of the Mouth of... a teen

2011-07-06T20:55:00.000-04:00

Heard as I was climbing into the car this evening to drive the teen to taekwondo practice... "I don't know whether to hurry and finish it up or to wait it out and ready it slowly. It is that good." Pure heavenly words for a homeschool mom's ears! What book? Tasting the Sky. It's one of her literature books for this week in Tapestry of Grace Year 4 (Dialectic level.) As we pulled out of the

Summer School

2011-07-05T16:55:00.001-04:00

Yep, the teen is still working through her lessons for the 2010-2011 school year. Luckily, she's used to doing school year-round so it doesn't surprise her. This year, though, various things happened that flipped our scheduling right on its ear and doesn't really allow for much of a summer break before starting 8th grade at the end of the summer. Time marches on (WOOHOOOOOOOOO...tick, tock!) and

Summer Days

2011-07-05T16:20:00.000-04:00

Tick Tock, thank goodness time is marching on! Last week the teen attended a full day, week long British soccer camp put on by Challenger Sports. This was her third year attending the camp (two years previously up at Great Lakes, IL.) However, this was the first time attending it all. day. long. Temperatures were blazing here and humidity was high but she thoroughly enjoyed the camp and learned

Two New (simple) Checklists

2011-07-02T12:10:00.000-04:00

Over on the Free Downloads page I've linked two new, simple checklist/planner pages. Scroll down to the bottom where it says "Planning and Record Keeping" and you'll find them there! Nothing fancy, just thought I'd share!

Tapestry of Grace- Dialectic Planning Note

2011-06-28T18:53:00.000-04:00

Today, after dropping the teen (soon to be 14!) off at soccer camp, the toddler and I headed off to run a few errands. One place we went was to Office Max to buy a new case of multi-purpose paper (to use in the color inkjet as well as the b&w laserjet printers.) I was down to the last bit of paper in the last ream so time to stock up! I also picked up more correction tape runners (LOVE.THOSE.

Adventures in Odyssey- a book reviewed

2011-06-24T14:39:00.001-04:00

It has been years since an Adventures in Odyssey story has been heard here via the radio or audio book. Our (now teenage) daughter really enjoyed them way back when though. So I was pleased to accept a book (from Tyndale Publishers) to review - a spin off of sorts. The Imagination Station: Peril in the Palace (#3) by Marianne Hering & Paul McCusker Two cousins, Patrick and Beth, are whisked

Not a Baby Anymore

2011-06-24T11:50:00.000-04:00

Well, today is Baby G's second birthday. Yay! Boo! Yay, she's so sweet, so smart, such a Huge ray of sunshine in our lives. Boo, she's getting smarter, taller, ...more of everything. She turns two today. Guess that make her officially a toddler now. But she'll always be the "baby sissy". And "Baby G." And to punctuate the day-- she somehow managed to get two lovely locks of her hair

CHA-CHING!

2011-06-20T13:18:00.000-04:00

So I went to the local Farm Fresh grocery today, not someplace I go to often, in order to utilize some coupons I had in my stash. Thanks to information I gleaned from Saturday's Coupon Consultant class & additional info from her website and others I saved 36% on my bill! Yep, all the coupons I took (just thirteen today) lessened my total by $25.49! YAY! (hat tip: Shari, for coaxing me to attend

Hedgehog fun

2011-06-07T09:01:00.000-04:00

Though slow in sharing here on the blog I got them sent in to the swap on time! *whew* These are five little knitted hedgehogs I sent off mid-May to a swap for Hedgehogs, Gnomes, & Mushrooms. These were knitted with Knit Picks Wool of the Andes yarn for the body, some hand-dyed (not by me) yarn for the prickly "fur" and stuffed with wool. The pattern I used came from the book Knitted

The Final Summit: a book review

2011-06-05T08:21:00.000-04:00

The Final Summit A Quest to Finding One Principal to Save Humanity by Andy Andrews published by Thomas Nelson In The Final Summit, readers will find themselves amidst some of the most intriguing personalities in our history- some only offering a glimpse, others holding great conversations. While Summit attendees work to figure out the answer to the question at hand amazing, little-known

The Great Mogul Diamond: The Dopple Ganger Chronicles by G.P. Taylor- a book review

2011-05-21T13:53:00.000-04:00

Book #3 in the Dopple Ganger series Though this was the first in this series for me this is actually the third book in The Dopple Ganger Chronicles**. This installment follows the twin girls, Sadie & Saskia Dopple, along with their friend Erik, as they find themselves tangled up in a plot thick with kidnapping, car chases, poisoning, & explosions... a good guy vs. bad guy action-adventure

On the needles

2011-05-10T09:50:00.000-04:00

...this is a repeat for my bestest buddy (emailed to her yesterday from my phone) but thought I'd post it here for the rest of my friends and what few followers I have. This is row 13 of a new top-down cardigan I'm knitting for the toddler. --- good thing she's not a larger size! It's a rather slow go. Lol I bought the pdf pattern called TULIP : a colorful cardigan for baby by Lindsay

A First for Us

2011-05-01T09:31:00.001-04:00

I've picked corn, I've picked apples, I've picked grapes, I've picked 'maters, I've picked lettuce. I've never picked strawberries. Until yesterday. Friday afternoon I got an email from an area farm inviting "us" to come pick organic strawberries. How on earth could I pass that up? So yesterday we got up early, ate, dressed, & packed a small cooler of snacks & drinks. We were out of the house

Dinner helper

2011-04-26T16:58:00.000-04:00

Instead of the chicken I'd planned for dinner I decided to make a batch of whole wheat-cinnamon pancakes (with extras going into the freezer.)Well, lucky me, I had a lil' helper. Here she is stirring the batter. Lol*Sent on the Sprint Now Network from my BlackBerry*

A Lovely Afternoon

2011-04-19T16:46:00.000-04:00

The teenager was again "up and at 'em" bright and early this morning. I awoke to her finishing up making a batch of cinnamon rolls for breakfast and heading out to the backyard to do her school work. After Baby G and I got around and going we headed out to the commissary around 9am. After lunch of pot stickers and yogurt we hopped into the car for a quick run to another grocery up the road a