Ani is doing two lessons of school a day right now. It’s amazing how much school she can get through in a short amount of time when she focuses. Her goal is to finish 8th grade before her aunt and cousin arrive. At the rate she’s going she won’t quite do that. If she doesn’t, she’ll do one lesson a day until she finishes. She’ll keep doing her misspelled word cards every day until she runs out of them and a lesson of math every day through the summer.

Cameron is just over a quarter into 4th grade currently. I’m not sure exactly what I’ll do with him. I may have him stop after lesson 60 or I may have him keep going until my sister gets here and then stop. I may have him continue a subject or two a day through the summer so he’s only doing an hour or two of school a day. Since he’s about 1/2 grade or so behind and wants to catch up to his age mates, keeping up a partial schedule would probably make sense. No matter what we do, he’ll do his reading flashcards until they run out, and read some from his Hank Zipzer books and a do a lesson of math every day.

Fritz has just over three weeks of 1st grade left. He’ll finish naturally before my sister arrives. He’s halfway through second grade math. We’ll keep doing that (two or three lessons a day) until he finishes and then he may or may not do a Teaching Textbooks Math 4 lesson a day for the rest of the summer (probably not since he’s already so far ahead in math – though he loves “playing the math game” and may insist on doing it anyway). He’ll also keep doing his sight word cards until they run out. He’ll read aloud to me every day and work on his Calvert Script as well.

Adrian will probably just keep on doing pre-k three times a week through the summer. Or he may not do anything at all. He’s been saying he wants to do school more often, though, so we’ll probably keep going as usual with him. School is only 10-15 minutes a day for him so it’s not like it takes very long anyway.

My plan is to go back to school the day after Labor Day… though Ani, who is quite excited about having her first ever summer break, has already said we ought to go back at least a week earlier. Haven’t even started and she’s already wanting to shorten it!

She watched a BrainPop video on magnetism. She read a section of Electricity and Magnetism and we discussed it. She did the second test of Teaching Textbooks Algebra I (24/25). (lesson 98) She did two grammar exercises in Elements of Language. She read some in Elements of Language and wrote her rough draft of a personal response to a poem. She read some in her US History book. She did an activity page in her History and Geography Workbook. She did lesson 20 of Teaching Textbooks Algebra I.

(lesson 99) She edited and typed her poem response paper. She took a misspelled words test. She read some in her US History book. She did a page in her History and Geography Workbook. She read a section in Electricity and Magnetism. She did lesson 21 of Teaching Textbooks Algebra I. (test 100) She took her 5th set of tests. She took Spelling (83%), Grammar (96%), Vocabulary (94%), History (89%), Geography (91%), and Science (70%) tests.

She did lesson 22 of Teaching Textbooks Algebra I. (lesson 101) She did lesson 23 of Teaching Textbooks Algebra I. She read some in Elements of Language and we talked about the big research paper she is going to write over the next few weeks. She got a new spelling list. She read chapter 16 of True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and we discussed it. She watched a Discovery Streaming video on inventions and industry.

She read some in her US History book. We talked about the poles of magnets. She read some in The Growing Vocabulary and worked with some vocabulary words. (lesson 102) She did lesson 24 of Teaching Textbooks Algebra I. She read about conjunctions in Elements of Language and did a grammar exercise. She got a new spelling list. She read chapter 17 of True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and we discussed it. She read some in her US History book. She did a page in her History and Geography Workbook. She read some in The Growing Vocabulary and worked with some vocabulary words.

She read some in Electricity and Magnetism and we discussed it. (lesson 103) Ani read some in Elements of Language about interjections and did a grammar exercise. She read some more in Elements of Language and did a composition activity. She took a misspelled words test. She read chapter 18 of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and we discussed it. She read some in her US History book. She went over some web browsing basics. (lesson 104) She read some in Elements of Language and did a composition activity. She read chapter 19 of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and we discussed it. She watched a Discovery Streaming video on Teddy Roosevelt. She read some in her US History book. She went over information about URLs. She read a section in Electricity and Magnetism. She did lessons 25 and 26 of Teaching Textbooks Algebra I.

(lessons 105 and 106) She read some in Elements of Language and did two grammar activities. She did a 5 paragraph summary of the Book of Mormon (she had to pick a non-fiction book she had recently read and that’s the only one she could think of). She took a misspelled words test and got two new spelling lists. She read chapters 20 and 21 of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and we discussed them. She read a section in Electricity and Magnetism and we discussed it. She watched a BrainPop video on Static Electricity. She worked with the prefixes post-, poster-, and pre-. She read some in The Growing Vocabulary on idioms. She did an activity identifying the countries and capitals of Central America on a page in her History and Geography Workbook. She read some in her US History book. She did lesson 27 and test 3 (88%) of Teaching Textbooks Algebra I.

He watched a Discovery Streaming video on place. He did two pages in Maps*Globes*Graphs. He did a geography activity page. He watched a BrainPop video on subject and predicate. He did a unit in his Grammar & Usage workbook. He read two pages in his Science book. He did lesson 11 of Teaching Textbooks Math 4. (lesson 43) He wrote an e-mail and sent it. He did a lesson in Sequential Spelling I. He read a chapter in I Got a D in Salami (finished it). He did typing and handwriting copywork. He went over his reading flash cards. He did four pages in his Phonics workbook. He did three pages in Vocabulary Connections. He read a story, Greece vs. Persia, in A Child’s History of the World and we discussed it. He did the outline for the story in his CHOW workbook. He wrote Yangtze River and Huang River in Chinese calligraphy. He did lesson 12 of Teaching Textbooks Math 4.

(lesson 44) He did a lesson in Sequential Spelling I. He read a chapter in The Day of the Iguana. He did typing and handwriting copywork. He went over his reading flash cards. He started planning his next composition (the first to have more than one paragraph). I read The Charge of the Light Brigade to him and we discussed it. He did a unit on simple subjects in his Grammar & Usage workbook. He watched a Discovery Streaming video on plate tectonics and Earth movements. He read eight pages in his Science book and we discussed it. He did lesson 13 of Teaching Textbooks Math 4.

(lesson 45) He did a lesson in Sequential Spelling I. He read a chapter in The Day of the Iguana. He did typing and handwriting copywork. He went over his reading flash cards. He wrote his two paragraph essay. He read 8 pages of Robinson Crusoe.

He read a story in A Child’s History of the World. He did the outline in his CHOW workbook on it. We went over how the Earth’s surface changes. He did lesson 14 of Teaching Textbooks Math 4. (lesson 46) He did a lesson in Sequential Spelling I. He read a chapter in The Day of the Iguana. He did typing and handwriting copywork. He went over his reading flash cards. He interviewed Ani and me in preparation for writing a three paragraph essay. He read six pages in Robinson Crusoe and we discussed it. He read a story in A Child’s History of the World and we discussed it. He did the outline about it in his CHOW workbook. He watched a Discovery Streaming video on mountains, erosion, and weathering. He read eight pages in his Science book. He did a science activity page. He did quiz 2 of Teaching Textbooks Math 4 (100%).

(core lesson 135) He made a story map of Frog Helps Snake. He went over making words plural by adding -es. He read Peaches, Screeches from Phonics Library and we discussed it. He went over his word wall words. He went over using was and were in sentences. We went over his name, address, and phone number and when he’d have to give it out. He wrote My brother and I will eat lunch., I see a fat cat., Sam, Bob, and I went for a walk., and I would like a pieces of cake, please. in Calvert Script. He took a spelling test. He got 4/6 of his regular words and 1/2 of his bonus words correct. I read a page in his Science book to him and we discussed it. He did a science activity page. I read the poem Boats Sail on the Rivers to him. He made an underwater scene using crayons and watercolors. (math lesson 69 and review 7) He did four pages in Calvert Math and two pages in his math practice book. (core lesson 136) I read Natural Habits to him and we discussed it. He put words together from sounds and then took off the beginning and ending sounds to make new words. He learned what oi, oy, aw, and au say. He read several words and wrote several. He did two reading work pages. We worked on adding the suffixes -ful, -ly, and -y to words. He did a reading work page. He read Jenny’s Big Voice from Phonics Library and we discussed it.

He listened to and identified words ending in aw and oy. He told me a new version of Frog Helps Snake. We talked about visualizing what is read. He went over his word wall words. He corrected capital letters and punctation of Calvert Script sentences. He got a new spelling list. He did a page in Calvert Speller. He watched a BrianPop video on changing states of matter. I read two pages of his science book to him and we discussed it. (math lessons 70 and 71) He worked on reading time to the hour and half hour. He did two pages in Calvert Math and two pages of his math practice book. (core lesson 137) He got the new sight words BABY, EDGE, ENOUGH, GARDEN, ONLY, SHARP, TOGETHER, and WATCHED. He went over all his word wall words. He did three reading work pages. He read The Surprise Family in Wonders and we discussed it.

We worked on dividing words into syllables. We talked about habits certain animals have. He made up a story about why cats lick their fur. We went over proper names having capital letters. He wrote some proper names in Calvert Script. He did a page in Calvert Speller. He watched a Discovery Streaming video on bartering vs. money. He did an explore activity in Explore Your World I. (math lessons 72 and 73) He learned to tell time to the quarter hour and reasonable lengths of time for various activities. He did three pages in Calvert Math and two pages in his math practice book. (core lesson 138) He put together words from sounds and made new words by removing the beginning and ending sounds of those words. He reread The Surprise Family in Wonders and we discussed it again. He did a reading work page. He compared and contrasted hens and ducklings with a venn diagram. We went over pronouns that show ownership. He did a reading work page. We went over describing words. He did another reading work page. He told me what he would put in a newspaper article about The Surprise Family. He went over his word wall words. He found words that should be capitalized in something written in Calvert Script. He took a spelling pretest. I read ten pages of his Science book to him and we discussed it.

He did a science activity page. I read Roosters and Hens to him. (math lessons 74 and 75) He learned how to tell time to 5 minutes. He did four pages of Calvert Math and three pages of his math practice book. (core lesson 139) He read some words that end in -es. He copied some -es words. He read a science article in Wonders and we discussed it. He made a word web about birds. We went over comparisons (-er and -est). He did a reading work page. He went over his word wall words. He wrote the seven days of the week in Calvert Script. He did a page in Calvert Speller. He watched a Discovery Streaming video on retail stores. He did an explore activity in Explore Your World I.

I read The Chickens to him from Stories and Poems. He did a fruit matching activity page…

…and an animal matching activity page in Road to Reading.

He identified letters on the A-Z Puzzle.

We played “I am Thinking of…”. (lesson 103) We talked about farms using a picture in Open Eyes. I read Two Farmers in the Read-To-Me Storybook to him. He identified identical pairs of pictures on a Kindergarten Fun sheet.

He colored the picture of the farm in Open Eyes.

He danced to Oats, Peas, Beans.

(lesson 104) We talked about farm animals using a picture in Open Eyes.

He went over the concept of 5 using a page in Path to Math.

He added what was missing to pictures in a Road to Reading activity.

I read The Cow in Stories and Poems to him. He played The Three Billy Goats Gruff with his brothers.

She did an activity in her History and Geography Workbook. She did lesson 16 in Teaching Textbooks Algebra I. (lesson 94) She revised and edited her book review. She read some in her US History book. She read some in Astronomy and we discussed it. She did lesson 17 of Teaching Textbooks Algebra I. (lesson 95) She read some in Elements of Language and did a grammar exercise. She got a new spelling list. She read the last section of Astronomy and we discussed it. She worked with the prefixes ex- and inter-. She did an activity page in her History and Geography Workbook. She did lesson 18 of Teaching Textbooks Algebra I. (lesson 96) She typed her book review. She got a new spelling list. She read some in her US History book. She read some in her new science book, Electricity and Magnetism and we discussed it. She worked with synonyms for the words ask and say. She did lesson 19 in Teaching Textbooks Algebra I.

(Due to a dentist appointment, getting braces, and a Marvel superhero marathon leading up to the 12:01 am showing of The Avengers, Cameron only did school one day this week. The other days he just did his reading flash cards.)

He did an explore activity in Explore Your World I. I read a poem about wasps to him. (math lessons 63 and 64) He learned how to subtract two-digit numbers with regrouping. He did two pages in Calvert Math and two pages in his math practice book. (core lesson 133) He put sounds together into words and then took off beginning and ending sounds to make new words. He wrote the plurals of several words. He reread The New Friend in Wonders to me (he sang the whole thing) and we discussed it. He did a reading work page. We talked about the main parts of a story. He identified the parts of Johnny Appleseed. He did a reading work page. We talked about words that can indicate other words (such as friend and buddy). He did a reading work page.

He worked on correctly using the words was and were in sentences. He did a reading work page. We talked about writing an invitation. He went over his word wall words. He wrote red, yellow, blue, green, purple, orange, brown, black, and white in Calvert Script. He took a pretest of his spelling words. I read three pages in his Science book to him and we discussed it. He did a science activity page (which was an experiment). He tried to mix (individually) dish soap, a penny, oil, baking soda, blue food coloring, apple juice, pepper, and salt with water to see if it would dissolve.

I read The Little Kittens to him. (math lessons 65 and 66) He did more double-digit subtraction with regrouping. He also learned how to answer questions by making a chart. He did two pages in Calvert Math and two pages in his math practice book. (core lesson 134) I read two poems in Wonders to him and we discussed them. He read and wrote several words ending in -y. He made a word web with the center being “I feel.” We went over the parts of a sentence. He wrote one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, and nine in Calvert Script. He did a page in Calvert Speller. He watched a Discovery Streaming video on products that workers make. He did an explore activity, including an activity page, in Explore Your World I.

He chose The Light-Hearted Fairy from Stories and Poems for me to read to him. He colored a page of brown things in Road to Reading.

He played Jump in the Bramble Bush.

(lesson 101) He looked at a picture of vegetables in Open Eyes and we talked about where they are grown. I read The Three Little Pigs in Stories and Poems to him. I really don’t care for the version in the Pre-K version (two of the pigs get eaten and the wolf died; the Kindergarten version is the more typical one that you hear). Adrian wasn’t fazed by it. He did a Kindergarten Fun sheet. He identified the pictures that we exactly the same.

We sang Old MacDonald Had a Farm. I was surprised at how much of it he could sing on his own. It’s not a song we sing a whole lot.

He mimed doing things such as feeding chickens and harvesting plants.

Once all the cooking is done, I stand back and admire the freezers for a little while. It is a truly wonderful thing to have 30 meals ready and waiting in the freezer.

Keeping the kitchen cleaned up while cooking makes it easy to leave the kitchen shining and clean when you are all done.

Most mornings we bring something up from the freezer to thaw. A few recipes don’t need to be thawed and a few go in the crockpot in the morning so they need to be pulled out the night before. Choosing one of those requires a little advance planning. Finishing the meals for dinner usually just takes a little while (often a side dish needs to be added, too) and we’re ready to eat. This is great because by the end of the day, especially if school took longer than usually, I’m tired.

To keep track of the meals we have waiting to be eaten, I print out a list of them. As time goes on and we eat them, we cross them out. This helps us both to know when it’s getting to be time to do another round of once a month cooking and to make sure we don’t forget about anything that’s waiting to be eaten.

Once a month cooking takes some concentrated time and is a bit painful for my feet, but it’s totally worth the time savings every day. I do a lot of recipes at once, but there are people that do just a few meals at a time. Some even just double or triple freezable meals when they make it for dinner and put the extra in the freezer for later. No matter how you do it, I totally recommend once a month cooking!