Weekend Wrap Up

1. Last week we completed our first ever "Math Week" here at Chez Ouiz, and I must say it was a resounding success!

Last Sunday, as I was finishing up homeschooling planning for the week, I took a moment to look over some of the math assignments I had given the kids, and I was discouraged by what I saw. It was obvious that there was some serious confusion going on, and there was no way I could go on with the plan I had without addressing these issues. So, I set my plan aside for a week, and declared Monday to be the start of Math Week.

I set up our (free!) overhead projector on the dining room table and channeled my favorite math teacher from high school. For three hours every day, we did nothing but math -- fractions, pre-algebra, sales tax (the hardest concept of all, for some reason), positive/negative numbers, etc etc etc. I actually got to "play teacher," the kids sat at a table and (gasp) took notes, and we had a blast!

To be fair, I can't call it a success until I see how the next few weeks go, but for now, I will consider it a huge step in the right direction since ALL of my children said, "Mom, I think I LIKE math now!"

Praise the Lord!

2. Victory #2 --  I finished Thomas' Dr. Who scarf! He had a whole Dr. Who ensemble going earlier today, but of course I never got around to taking the picture... so I just went back to the boys' room and asked him to model it for you, and here it is!

3. We are now going to see whether cayenne pepper does, or does not, help during the cold/flu season. Those who know me IRL know that I douse almost everything with cayenne pepper -- breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Will this keep me from getting colds this year? I'd like to think of this as a scientific experiment in progress. I did get one cold this season but, unlike years past, it was fairly mild -- bad cough, but not that horrible "I'm-so-stuffed-up-I-can't-breathe" bit that makes colds so evil.

Grace and Marie just came down with a cold this evening, so the experiment is on!