Etiquette and stuff

I am loving the cooler weather, and being able to have my windows open.

Especially after seeing last month’s electric bill. Yikes!

I enrolled the kids in a once a month etiquette class (some of you may be thinking "it's about time!), which started last week. They had to dress up so Fatso wore a suit, and all 3 girls wore skirts (first time they’ve worn them at the same time), Hoodie Girl did NOT wear her ever-present High School Musical Hoodie, and I forgot to take a picture! Well, there is always next month.

The young men had to be “gentlemen” and escort the ladies. Fatso was an excellent escort, but at home complained that he would never use any of this in real life. “Mom, they act like girls are idiots who can’t decide on their own where to sit. I don’t know any girls that stupid!”

Czarina and Hoodie Girl particularly enjoyed learning the Fox Trot and Jitterbug, and had fun talking everything over once they got home.

One of the young men who escorted one of them was quite good looking, and as they talked about him they dubbed him “Prince Charming”. I asked what Prince Charming’s real name was, and Czarina said they didn’t know. When I pointed out that everyone was wearing name tags, they looked at each other and laughed. Well, there is always next month.

Our Homeschool co-op started September 8. We are there from 8:30-3:45 on Mondays. Then they have homework to do the rest of the week. Fatso & Space Cadet are taking US History and Spanish II, respectively. During the rest of the time they go to study hall or the nearby library and work on their other subjects. Czarina and Hoodie Girl (both 8th grade) have General Science, Art, Literature (which I teach, and is tied into History), History, and Hoodie Girl also has Writing.

The homework has been a pretty heavy load, especially when we add our other subjects, like Math and Bible Quizzing for both of them, and helping Czarina to learn to read and write English. I am thankful that this year Hoodie Girl has been almost entirely independent and very diligent in getting her work done. I have been working with Czarina from the time we get up in the morning until about 4:00 each day, and we are both wearing out. I have to read all the 8th grade work to her and then explain what everything means in 2nd grade English. She flunked her first science test, but I have figured out a way to help her study for the next test. In Literature, it took us forever to get through The Witch of Blackbird Pond. She enjoyed the basic storyline, but there was a LOT she didn’t understand. The next book is Johnny Tremain, and I have decided that Czarina gets to watch the movie so she understands the class discussions, but we will read instead the Felicity series from American Girl. She should be able to read most of that herself with a little help.

In History we started with an overview of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance/Reformation period, as a prelude to the discovery and founding of America. She remembers Martin Luther as “The man who started Halloween.”* Actually she is doing pretty well in History. . . on her first quiz, she actually found a mistake the teacher made. The multiple choice question was “Who started the Reformation,” and Martin Luther was not listed as a choice.

Okay, I guess it's time to get back to planning for my next Lit class. . .


*For those of you who are not history geeks, Martin Luther is credited with starting the Reformation when he nailed his 95 theses on the Wittenberg Church door on October 31, 1517. As I keep reminding Czarina, he really had nothing to do with Halloween.