Happy Birthday, Miss K

It is hard to believe that she is 8 today. (It took me a few days to get this up. She has been 8 for 3 days.)

She wanted a party with balloons, hats, cake and presents. Summer birthdays are hard as so many people are traveling. We had a party with cousins on Grandma's patio.



We had cupcakes and I made cake pops. There was a nice breeze which made it cool but also made it hard to light the candles. I think she had some help blowing them out.



Happy birthday, Miss K. You are a blessing and we continue to see how God loves you and has preserved your life from a tiny baby who needs two operations to an eight year old who is healthy.

You keep us laughing and amazed at the things you do and say.

 

 

 

Queen Hatsheput

We were eating lunch and the discussion was about who Alexander the Great married. Daddy and mama said he didn't marry but J was sure he did and went and found the book we had gotten from the library. He flipped and flipped through the book until he found that. Yeah! for getting books out of the library and even more Yeah knowing that my son reads them.

Miss K didn't want to be left out of the conversation so she says what comes to her mind, "Hatsheput". I listened and realized that she had been paying attention as we have been reading our sailing history. Maybe not that much attention because when I asked what country she was queen of she replied, "England". Maybe she was stuck on England because Daddy had just returned from England. Daddy didn't know who that was. J was able to tell us that she was an Egyptian queen who because a trade route on the Nile River. Yes!

We have very interesting lunchtime discussions at our house.

End of the Year Wrap-up

We finished our year June 30 though we really didn't do much school that last week. J was at camp and so Miss K and I took a break and worked on some projects around the house. We did mail our year end papers and then at the same time we mailed our paperwork for next year.

Miss K finished the year reading four books. Yeah! She is reading all kinds of things now. She read the menu "cheese or pepperoni pizza". She sits on Daddy's lap while he is working and reads parts of his emails. She tries to read the shopping list and read "cake" instead of "Coke". Guess she prefers cake.

I read 145 books to her this past year. We discovered some fun books thanks to the 1000 Classical book reading list.

We finished Saxon Math K and we began Saxon Math 1. We finished all 100 Lessons of Teach your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. She loved her History for Little Pilgrims and then we finished the year reading other books. We read various science books. She enjoyed looking at the DK First Human Body Encyclopedia. She wants Grammar and spelling because her brother has those things.

I read 56 books to J. I think some of his books were longer and at the same time he read more himself. He read 34 books that were recorded in the reading list. I am sure he read a few more that didn't make it to the list.

He finished Saxon 54 math with a bit of tears. Math is not his favorite subject but we are working on improving that and working on our attitude. He loved diagramming sentences which was new this year. CC Memory Master was his big accomplishment and gave him a good foundation for this year. His writing has improved so much.

I finished my 3rd year of homeschooling. I think I have figured out a bit of what we like and don't like; what works and what doesn't work for us. We are ready for next year. I have written my objectives, send them in, and even received my "have a good year" letter.

Blueberry Jam

I made blueberry jam the other week. I keep meaning to take a picture of the jam neatly spread on the bread but I eat it before I have time to take a picture. I could take a picture of the container but at this point there is so little left you could barely tell what it was. I am not a big jam person so just the fact that I eat it must say something about the taste.

So in case you want to make some that won't last long enough for a picture, here is the recipe.

5 cups blueberries

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (I just used the bottle that I have in the refrigerator)

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (I just used the salt in the cabinet)

In a medium saucepan, combine the blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, and salt. Mash with a potato masher or wooden spoon until the berries have released their juices. (11 year old boys do a great job at this part)

Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has thickened, 18 to 25 minutes. Transfer to containers and refrigerate for up to 1 month (I doubt it will last that long) or freeze up to 1 year.

Tip: This recipe can also be made with two 10-ounce bas of frozen blueberries instead of fresh. Cook the frozen berries for 2 to 3 minutes before mashing, then reduce the total cooking time to 15 to 17 minutes.

I tore this page out of an old Real Simple Magazine.