Updates

I know it's been a while since I've been on. Crazy, busy, no time for anything! That's how our lives are right now. So, this might be a long post filled with a lot of new info. Or it might be a short post. It all depends on how much I am able to get accomplished in the little time I have!

UPDATE #1

Rocket got glasses! At first he was sooo excited to get them. He was talking about getting them all the time. Finally, we get them and he doesn't like them :( Part of the problem is that he (unlike everyone else in our family) is far-sighted. So, after talking to the technicians at the eye doctor's, it seems they take a lot longer to adjust than near-sighted lenses do. So, we are constantly reminding him to put them on. 

I've got 2 words for you:

Jonathan Lipnicki (from Jerry Maguire-"Did you know the human brain weighs 7 pounds?")

UPDATE #2

We had a wonderful family home evening last night. It was Bond's turn for the lesson. He told us a wonderful story about David Whitmer, Joseph Smith, and Oliver Cowdery. It's too long to repeat, but it was an awesome story! After that, we played a rousing game of Stick Pull. In actuality, I'm surprised we don't play it more often, considering we have a house full of boys! 

UPDATE #3

School is going pretty well. It seems like it's taking us all day with all of our daily istractions, but at least we are accomplishing what's on our schedule. Here's an update from the past 2 weeks:

POKEMON KING continues to study Marco Polo and his adventures. We are also reading about Michelangelo. For History, we've studied Martin Luther and Queen Elizabeth I. Last week and the week before, we learned about the electric battery, the electromagnet, and the first dynamo for science. Pokemon King wasn't all that interested in that, but he did retain some of the information. For our Literature studies, we've been reading The Princess and the Goblin, Heroes-Perseus, and Parables of Nature: The Master of the Harvest. In addition to these, Math and English, he's continued quite nicely on Rosetta Stone German. He's finally reached the number portion. I think he's definitely glad he's through with the clown section! He hates clowns!

DINODUDE seems to have a shorter, smaller schedule, but he really enjoys his stories. He's also been studying Queen Elizabeth I along with Pokemon King. His History stories include Androcles & the Lion and King Alfred & the Beggar from Fifty Famous Stories Retold. For his science we continue to read Paddle to the Sea. His Literature studies include Shakespeare's The Tempest, Pinocchio (not the Disney version), How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin from Just So Stories, and various Aesop's Fables. Math and English are a piece of cake for him. He, too is attempting Rosetta Stone. He's not quite as far as Pokemon King, but he is progressing.

Our musician for this term is Franz Liszt. We have been listening to Les Preludes, Liebestraum, and Piano Sonata in B Minor. Pokemon King doesn't like to listen to music during schooltime, so we've been listening to it as we clean up the schoolroom at the end of the day. It's working quite nicely. 

This term's artist is Caspar David Friedrich. His works include: On Board a Sailing Ship and Moon Rising Over the Sea. One week we discuss the painting: what colors, textures were used, how it makes us feel, what we think is going on in the painting. Then we stop looking at it and see how many details we remember. The next week we review it a little, then they paint it from memory. 

Pokemon King's On Board a Sailing Ship

Pokemon King's Moon Rising Over the Sea

Dinodude's On Board a Sailing Ship

Dinodude's Moon Rising Over the Sea 

And here are some pictures that Rocket drew:

So, that about sums up a little bit of what we've been up to. Wally's been staying late after school most days practicing hard for the spring musical. Babymoon continues to amuse us with just being here!