Collage Friday - It's Raining, It's Pouring!
Friday, January 18, 2013 at 5:00AM
This week I've been singing rain songs and reciting rain poems.
It has rained EVERY.DAY.THIS.WEEK. We're going slightly stir crazy if you must know.
My victory for the week was a trip to the library, with the promise of Dollar Store ice cream treats for the kids. They were so good all day just knowing we would get out and have ice cream! I snuck in a Starbucks after the library and it was a great day!
As I was putting together this post I realized there were no outdoor pictures (except my cute rain boots).
When I taught school we used to do a cute little activity on rainy days called a "Rain Rondo." It consisted of:
- singing Rain, Rain, Go Away
- singing It's Raining, It's Pouring
- saying the poem in the picture above with a steady beat
We did all three of these things in different patterns, with different instruments and would come up with a "rainy day performance". It was always a lot of fun and kids looked forward to rainy days in music class.
I did a little of that with my kids this week and they thought it was fun, too.
The advantage to a rainy week was that we did A LOT of schoolwork and A LOT of reading aloud.
*At the writing of this post we had to miss our Thursday co-op because of a sick child. Everyone seemed to be going stir crazy, so we made some yummy cookies and had fancy grilled cheese (Pepperjack cheese, avocado, bacon and apple slices - oh my!) for dinner.
Let's hope this is a short lived illness.
It was a good week with Anna's creativity and schoolwork.
She has nearly finished her unit study about Galen - The History of Science. She's learned so much, and we get to spend some time this weekend with a friend who has a degree in forensic science. Anna has always been fascinated with ancient medicine. When we studied ancients she obsessed about mummies for several months. She thinks the world of Galen is fascinating, and so do I.
Some creative time was spent with mini American Girl dolls, too. She picked up carpet squares at Home Depot and made rugs for the dolls, complete with cardboard furniture, etc... I love that she still enjoys doing this kind of thing.
She is also working hard on her literature fair project. She has read The Quilt Walk
I completed the 10 Day Shakeology Challenge. (I'm down 5 lbs. since Jan. 2!) I'm feeling the best I have felt in a long time. No sugar and no Coke Zero agrees with me.
The whole family has made the change to healthy eating. One night for dinner I made healthy chicken nuggets (recipe coming next week!) and sweet potatoes and everyone was very happy.
Lunches always seemed to mystify me, but for the past few weeks I've been serving lots of fresh fruit, pb&j whole wheat wrap-ups, and healthy soups.
I'm not keeping any junk in the house and the kids really don't miss it.
A book that has been eye opening for me is The Inflammation Syndrome: Your Nutrition Plan for Great Health, Weight Loss, and Pain-Free Living
LEGO learning is in full swing!
I gave Grant an old silverware organizer and he has been taking apart sets and remaking them into different creations. The silverware holder is a good way for him to sort his pieces for each project.
Some of the things he makes amaze me. He has so much time to just create and dream. I love that about homeschooling.
Do you see the Bilbo Baggins minifig? I love LEGO because it has sparked Grant's interest in The Hobbit. We are nearly done reading it aloud and he plays with his Hobbit sets the entire time. He has said he wants to do The Hobbit
News from the blog this week:
- Free Martin Luther King, Jr. copywork and resources
- Whole Wheat Oatmeal Raisin Muffins
- SQUILT Lesson #6 - Mozart's Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
How was your homeschool week? I'd love for you to join Collage Friday. The rules are simple: Write a post with photo collages documenting your homeschool week. Grab the Collage Friday button (in my sidebar) or text link back to this post. Then, sign the linky and visit a few others who have linked as well. This is a great way to gain ideas and offer support and encouragement.
Reader Comments (23)
Well done on the 5lbs! I need you at my house giving our family a lecture on nutrition. I shudder to think of the sugar we've eaten this week! We did a unit on snow and felt compelled to sprinkle icing sugar on everything!! Next week hopefully we'll back to normal with a dog unit (my dog doesn't eat icing sugar, thank goodness!) Have a great week, keep up the good work!
Mary, I love the new header and look to the blog! Way to go on the 5 pounds...I think I found what you lost...hheheeh...
Glad I got to link up! THanks for hosting!
Yea for you and 5lbs gone! Our lunches are pretty boring and the kids eat a lot of the same thing over and over. Sorry you have had so much rain, our weather has been cold but the sun has been out and that always helps. Although we normally have days and days of gray weather in the winter. Looking forward to some good weather soon :)
I am working on my post to link!
You may want to research an alkaline diet. I read Alkalize or Die (which is a bit extreme in my opinion) BUT I learned a great deal about what foods are alkaline, acidic and why we want to keep an alkaline pH. Alkaline foods reduce inflammation.
Congratulations on keeping to your goal. What a great way to begin the new year!
~Jess
My goodness our children are similar, Mary! I, too, love all the time for creativity (be it sewing or Lego) that they get through homeschooling.
Yay for healthy changes! We made changes as Daddy (our main chef) lost 75 pounds. We all feel better and though the kids balked at the beginning they now notice how different they feel if they get a lot of sugar. (Like at Grandma's!)
Thanks again for SQUILT (used it yesterday and loved it) and the MLK lessson (on tap for Monday!).
We had 6 days of cold rain here too! I am so glad it is not raining today. I love the food you are making. Hopefully, I will get my post up later today.
blessings, Dawn
I just love that photo of your rain boots! It has been a bit dreary this week, hasn't it? Love how you turned it around to learning. Thanks for hostessing us each week Mary.
The SUN is supposed to be out here today! Yippeeee!!!!
Congrats on the 5 pounds! That's great!
Good job on the no sugar! I've been sugar and grain free for 2 weeks now and I can't believe how much better I feel! I now know that all my pain was not due to spine issues! I'm convinced much of it is perhaps Candida. I'm going to take a look at the book you mentioned. I really hope it stops raining for you soon! Have a happy and sunny weekend!
I have two things to confess that your blog has evoked out of my memory. First, with respect to the rain. I know what you say when you say IT.RAINED.EVERY.DAY.THIS.WEEK. It may sound really stupid, but that is one of the main reasons why when we were looking to move we moved away from western PA. No place in the country receives more cloudy days and rainy days than western PA. (Even Seattle has less rain and cloudy days than western PA!) I remember our last winter there we went 45 days without seeing the sun once (30 days in a row is fairly routine). It was like living under a thick gray bedsheet for a month and a half. So yeah ... I get that. I remember driving home the day in mid-January when the sun finally broke through the clouds and I actually cried. God bless this sunny state I now live in ... even if we did get a solid week of desperately needed rain.
Second, I'm glad you posted about Grant's desire to just build with legos. I had forgotten just how many hours I would spend myself with random lego pieces just building strange vehicles. I never built too many buildings unless I was following a plan. But I loved making vehicles with all kinds of strange devices. Good times of childhood.
So, thanks for the memories!
What a great week! I loved reading about it. I loved your study of the variations of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star!
This morning is the first day that the sun's come out here too this week. My six year old asked me, "Why is it so bright outside?" and I tried hard not to laugh! I didn't take as many pictures as usual for my weekly update, and I think it's mostly due to the dreary weather.
Congrats on the five pounds! That's awesome!
The misting rain, fog, and clouds finally broke for us today - We can so understand those rainy days feeling cooped up. I like the rain poem and songs with rhythm and instruments - I think I'll try it the next rainy day (which selfishly I hope isn't for awhile - it is so good to get outside!) Such a great way to organize those tiny lego pieces, and portable too!
Finally, today, rewarded with gorgeous sunshine! We too were beginning to feel low because of the dreary days. But what fun when we get to read aloud for long stretches at the kitchen table. We are enjoying The Secret Garden right now! Blessings!
Way to go on your healthy eating habits and weight loss, Mary!
I'm liking the sound of that healthy grilled cheese too. I might have to try that here:)
We got The Quilt Walk at the library and are hoping to read it next week.
Glad the rain is gone...that made for a long week, I know!
Congratulations on your healthier lifestyle choices...it leads to weight loss every time. Congrats on the 5 lbs. Singing the rain songs was a very creative way to have fun and incorporate music! Nice. We got all of that rain also...
Way to go on the healthy eating & weight loss. We strive to be healthy here too. In fact, my husband and I decided we needed to put our health above academics this year. So before we hit the books (or work in my husband's case) we all make sure to get some kind of exercise. I am finding getting up and out for all of us has increased productivity in other areas!
When I was pregnant with my Grant I was borderline gestational diabetic and had to go on a low carb / high protein diet and walk every single day. I felt the best I had ever felt in my life - all while pregnant. My doctor's advice was to eat the same, but not so strict, once I wasn't pregnant anymore. HIs advice was to take an 80/20 approach - eat healthy 80% of the time while allowing indulgences the other 20% of the time - keeping in mind that an indulgence doesn't mean 20% of my diet is sugar. He said he has seen so many people fail who went into healthy eating with an all or none attitude and striving to eat right 100% of the time - moderation is key. We've been following this since (though I did go through a bout of depression last year and my eating was off, thus I gained - ugh) and I can say it has been great. I love to bake, and I would bake daily if I could, but instead we bake on Tuesdays and enjoy or special treats without guilt. Occasionally we will also have a treat during family movie night on Fridays. We also limit our eating out to just a few times per month - I know we could eat out healthy, but I'd rather save my indulgence (and money) for something fun. The rest of the time we load up on making healthy meals, lots of fruits and vegetables, smoothies, etc.
In addition to all this we move, move, move. I was having some lower back issues and sore, sore hips - something that disappeared completely when I was pregnant with Grant. The light bulb finally clicked and I realized it was the daily walking I did. I've been walking almost daily since and the lower back pain is gone and the hip pain is almost gone too. We hit the trails 3-4 times per week, otherwise we just walk the neighborhood. We hike a lot - like 5-7 mile hikes (my 8-year-old naturalist is in heaven!). And I think we are going to start biking just as soon as we figure out a toddler seat and a way to haul our bikes to local trails.
Oh, and I drink a TON of water (four 24-oz bottles per day minimum). I actually just added this about a month ago or so. I was still suffering from headaches that I always assumed were from too much sugar. But having cut it way back and then getting headaches on days when the only sugar I had came from fruit I had to figure something out. Someone suggested I might be dehydrated and to up my water intake way up. Funny enough, I had another light bulb moment when I realized I drank a lot of water when pregnant and didn't have any headaches. I added in all the water and haven't had one headache since.
Okay, I have clearly written a novel. I wish you the best of luck in your journey to healthy and look forward to following along. I'm off to get us ready for a trip to the farmer's market for some fresh food :)
I gots three thing ta say:
1. I was SO GLAD when Knoxville finally got SNOW instead of rain on Friday, so I know how ya feel...
2. EXCELLENT JOB on keeping the healthy flow going in your home!
3. Whenever our families meet one day (and I do forsee it happening), your Grant and my Garrett will get along famously, since they will probably play with each others' Hobbit Legos the entire time. :0)
The new look is just BEE-U-TEE-FUL!! I love it!!
And I'm over rain too. But not enough to welcome snow in its place. lol
We have been on better eating and exercise mode since October. We are maybe not as strict as you have been- we use the "eat this, not that" books as a guide to better choices. But we also keep no sugary treats of any kind in the house or soda. I love how every good choice we make makes us stronger for the next one. Good luck with all of your changes!! I am going over to look at the book you linked- I purchased one on a similar topic. I found it very informative, but without a lot of practical information on to implement change in our diet to meet the problems outlined. Thanks for sharing!
Have missed the Collage for the past couple of weeks. I've had the flu :( and when Momma ain't happy, nobody's happy... Love the new look of your blog, Mary. Be blessed!
~ Kim
Great week, Mary! I have been working on having healthier things for my family to eat. I look forward to your healthy nuggets recipe. As always, I love the Legos!
Sounds like a great week Mary! :) I hope the illness was, in fact, short-lived. Lauren is feeling very sick today :( That grilled cheese sounds awesome! Way to go on all the healthy habits :)