Quiet Please...Testing in Progress

Do Number 15.  Stop when you come to the stop sign.  Do you understand what you are to do?


You may begin.

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We're doing our first standardized test with Henry this week.  It's the CAT (California Achievement Test) and it's long.  We'll be testing over three days. 

Today we did some language testing and one of the first math portions.  We still have six segments left, including more language, science, social studies and more math as well.  Our testing time today was a little long; we did four segments and both of us were over it by the middle of the last segment.  I think three each day will be perfect.

It will be interesting to see how he does on this test.  I think for the next year we will try out the Peabody test which is an oral test.  It's quicker and the results are given immediately.  Honestly, I thought the CAT would be easier because I get to administer it and we do it at home when we're ready.  I also thought it would be cheaper.  Turns out with shipping back and forth and copying the answer sheets so we have his test in case it gets lost in the mail, I'm pretty sure it's cheaper to do the Peabody with an examiner!

Henry's allergies are really bad right now and because of that I am a little concerned there might be a negative effect on his test scores.  But really, this is his first experience with a standardized test format, so I'm not sure how accurate it will really be anyway.  I cringe thinking of having to give the kids these tests every year--we only had to do it every few years in public school--which is another reason for trying out the Peabody.  Currently my plan is to do the Peabody (if I like it) two or three years in a row and then intersperse some CAT tests in there.  That way, the kids will have experience with the test format, which will be useful for them later on, we have some reference points (we can compare like tests) and we don't all get burnt out on filling in the bubble and reading the directions exactly as the book says and all that jazz.  It seems like a good plan for now, but as usual, who knows what will actually happen?  That's what's great about homeschooling--when I find something that fits the kids' and my needs better, we can make a change.

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This is the end of this part of our work.  Make sure your marks are heavy and dark and that you have completely erased any marks you do not want.


Close your book.

Fall Nesting

My apologies for my absence from the blog.  I've been away from the computer a bit lately.  It's late summer which means my allergies are starting to kick in (not as bad as some years, but man, the bad days are bad), and that means I get tired and lazy and don't do much.  I've also been doing a lot of planning for projects lately, and getting ready for the "new" school "year" for the kids.  I have the annoying quotation marks there because we don't really start and stop with years like a traditional school does.  We are planning on starting up with our more regular routine sometime in September, after our annual family trip the week of Labor Day.  Projects I'm planning include more Christmas presents (I have a few things started/planned) and other kinds of gifts to make, and also decluttering the house.  We've sold a fair amount of the old baby stuff we don't need anymore.  It's a little sad but it helps to open up the storage space and make a little money.  Oh, and we're also trying to refinance the house.  So I guess there's a bit going on even though it doesn't really look like I'm doing much.

I think this planning urge has something to do with fall coming.  My urge to get ready for fall and winter this year is really strong for some reason.  I don't know if it's because it's been so hot this summer or if it means there's a cold winter coming or what, but I just keep getting the urge to get the house ready, knit things, preserve food, etc.  It's pretty strange, because of the intensity of the feeling.  But it's fun, because these are all things I enjoy doing.

I will be doing more blog updates in the next few days.  I have some things I'd like to share.  Probably not as exciting for you to read as they are for me (before and after of our decluttering anyone?) but they're things I'm either really excited about (in my own lame way) or things I'm proud of.  Some of these posts will be over in my craft blog and some will be here.  You'll have to stay tuned to find out about them...

Oh, and I promise we'll have pictures again sometime very soon. 

Pet Mania

We've been watching our friends' hermit crabs this week.  It's touched off a bit of "pet mania" around here.  An aquarium has been in the plans for us for some time now.  Maybe at Christmas?  But Henry especially has been yearning (yes, that's definitely the word for it) for his own pets because of the crabs.

The crabs were a source of endless fascination for him until...well...it ended.  Because the food is smelly, and because we discovered gerbils.  Currently, we've got books from the library checked out to read all about keeping gerbils and setting up aquariums.  Henry's researching his pet.  He's saving up money (we promised to match his amounts to help him out).  I think he's leaning toward having gerbils in his room instead of an aquarium at this point--but we have to make sure we can make up our own, healthy, food mix for them.  You see, normally gerbil food contains a lot of oats, wheat, and sometimes barley.  We just can't take that risk now.  So we're trying to find a good mix of seeds and other ingredients that we could feed the little guys safely.  We'll still have to be very careful with the mix because of possible cross-contamination, though, so Brad and I haven't decided for sure if it's worth the risk at this point.  Henry might have to end up with a little aquarium with glowing neon fish instead (which he really likes too). 

We will definitely keep you posted about what we decide and also include pictures of our new friends whenever they come to live with us.

Dad's Visit

So Dad--Kelly--came to visit over the last weekend of July.  He had a meeting in the Cities so he took a weekend to stay with us and then went to his meeting.

I'm sad/mad at myself a bit because I didn't take any pictures.  Whenever someone's visiting and we're having fun, I always forget to take pictures.  So, alas, I have none to show this time.   Sorry.

When he got here, I took the light rail from the Mall of Themerica (Mall of America for those of you out of the loop around here--that's what the kids called it for a long time!) to the airport to pick Dad up.  We had some lunch and did some shopping at IKEA across the street and then headed home.

We took a day trip up north to Jay Cooke State Park, had a picnic lunch, hiked along the beautiful St. Louis River, and then drove up to Duluth to try to catch a glimpse of the Tall Ships in the harbor that day.  It was too hard to see them and there was a bad combination of heavy traffic and construction there, so we had to turn around and head home.

We took a walk around the neighborhood (in the forest part), we had dinner at Todd and Brian's house to celebrate Todd's birthday, and we just generally had a good time.

We were sad to drop Dad off at his hotel on Monday afternoon, and we're definitely looking forward to the next time we get to see him!

We're going to be floating soon...

It's been so hot and humid!  I'm so thankful for my central air this summer.  Last summer we only used it for a few days and this summer, well, it's like a survival tool.  Tropical humidity and 90+ degree temps are tough going without it.

It's been raining a LOT too.  That goes with the humidity.  Our grass won't dry out and we're getting mildew on our plants.  The other day it rained so hard (and was windy--it was a storm) it looked like a hurricane outside.  It was literally white outside our windows and the ones that were getting rain on them looked like we were going through a car wash or something.  Solid sheets of water.  We've had that maybe once or twice since we lived here, but it's always shocking to see.  2+ inches of rain are falling per hour in these storms and the cities are flooding--up to the hoods of cars.

We're waiting for more rain tonight and tomorrow and then we're supposed to get a break in the weather for at least a few days--75-85 degree temps never sounded so good. 

This is one reason why I love Minnesota's climate--it may be harsh, but it sure makes you appreciate whatever season comes next!  

Yes, this is what I do with my life

A three-legged dog walks into a bar and says, "I'm looking for the man who shot my paw."

What do you call a guy who never farts in public?
A private tutor.

What did the psychiatrist say to the man who walked into his office wearing nothing but Saran Wrap?
I can clearly see you're nuts.

What happened when the butcher backed into his meat grinder?
He got a little behind in his work.

What happens to a pastor who eats a chili dog?
He sits in his own pew.

What do you call a man with no arms and no legs playing in leaves?
Russell.

A grasshopper walks into a bar.  The bartender says, "Hey!  We have a drink named after you!"
The grasshopper says, "Why would anyone name a drink Bob?"

A horse walks into a bar.  The bartender asks, "Hey buddy, why the long face?"

What does a vegan zombie eat?
Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaains.


There are many more, but I'll stop for now.


P.S.  Currently, at Chez Kringler, we're (I'm) working on the following:  Not shipping the children off to Idaho to live with Grandma and Grandpa on a semi-permanent basis, starting to do some canning, and randomly taking cover during violent summer storms.  My giant tomato plant (giant as in "taller than me") was knocked over last night, and took the smaller one with it.  I'm waiting to see if it lives...

Northern Lights?

Update 8/5/10:
We didn't see much last night.  There were some faint green streaks early at night to our north, but nothing dramatic, unfortunately.  Tonight might be better.  I found (through the Updraft blog) this amazing site about meteors (which I saw last night, looking for the Aurora), Aurora, etc.  It's called spaceweather.com and it's got some pretty awesome information and pictures!  Check it out for pictures of last night's Lights in Europe:  http://spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=05&month=08&year=2010

Check out this Updraft blog post about the recent solar storm and resulting Aurora Borealis.  The picture from space of the Aurora is stunning.

We're hoping to see the Northern Lights tonight.  Fingers crossed!

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/updraft/

Fascinating Mayo Clinic study on celiac disease

Here's a new article from Mayo that's definitely worth reading.  It talks about how celiac disease is becoming a "public health issue"--their words.  The researchers at Mayo had an opportunity to study blood from the 1950s and compare it with blood from people the same age today--and they found that celiac is much more prevalent.  The article also discuss what they hope to learn about celiac in the near future. 

Fascinating (and short) article--please read it!

http://discoverysedge.mayo.edu/celiac-disease/