Week in Review: Nov. 25-29

[my3sons]

What was YOUR week Like?

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[my3sons]

Creation to Christ:
We had a shorter week of school due to Thanksgiving, but it was still a good one! Riley is becoming more and more successful with independence in CTC. I am glad, as he is in the final units of it, and soon he will have upped skills and independence in RTR. He likes to join big brother Wyatt and get up early to start school now. He usually has 3 independent boxes from CTC done by early morning chore time. I can tell he is very proud of this accomplishment. He likes to tell me how many boxes he has completed... "3 boxes today, Mom... I know, WOW, right?!?" He's such a cheerful person. I love that about him.

Riley and I enjoyed our "Genesis Finding Our Roots" discussions and activities together this week. We were able to see God's hand at work through the genealogy records kept so carefully in the Bible. Riley enjoyed the math activities along with it, figuring out the age of each man, and seeing the correlation between genealogy and history records. Getting out his earlier assignment from the start of the year where he recorded Adam's genealogy was neat. It just had that feeling of everything coming together. The Prophecy Chart has had the same impact on Riley. It is incredible to see God's plan unfold, knowing He has everything all planned out before it even is happening. That kind of mindset surely is a comfort as we walk through cancer with my Dad right now. Here Riley is with his Genesis assignment...


For R & S English, Riley had to take notes on reptiles from 2 different resources, mesh his notes, and write a report. He did a good job! The only thing he struggled with was remembering to write in paragraphs, but we fixed that together. This is why I've found I never stray too far away from the dc's side when doing grammar (or math). It is worth the extra time to stay near and make corrections earlier rather than later.


Who knew dollar store glitter glue could be such a hit?!? Glitter glue colors of gold, red, and silver can be found at the dollar stores now due to the Christmas season, and I picked them up knowing we used glitter from time to time with HOD. Well, Riley was tickled pink! He used the gold right away to outline his poetry copywork...


I just had to snap a picture of Riley with his dictation. This passage was about Patrick Henry, in which he is quoted saying "Give me liberty, or give me death!" All of a sudden Riley burst into a passionate reading of his dictation for me! I had to look twice - was it Riley, or Patrick Henry sitting at my table?!? I do so love how HOD is making my dc adore history - it even shows in dictation!


In Christ,
Julie

[my3sons]

Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory:
The marker board is a marvelous tool for me right now with Emmett. I pull that little gem out so often. For timeline pictures, I do a rough (and I do mean ROUGH) sketch of what he is to draw, as well as write the timeline entry words under the sketch. This helps him so much, as he just gets stuck staring at the paper otherwise, trying to think how to begin. The rough sketch takes 10 seconds and gets him started right away. It also shows him I don't expect him to draw a perfect picture.

I use the marker board for rough sketches (and again, I do mean ROUGH ), for little pictures to go around his poetry copy work. He appreciates this and is able to start drawing immediately then. I used to feel sad seeing other dc's pictures they drew for activities such as these, but I don't anymore. My sons are not natural artists, though Riley is probably the most blessed in this regard - even he is not a stellar artist. I have had to ask myself if they have done their best and completed all of the assignment. If they have, I count it as good enough.


For science, Emmett and I had such fun with water! We've been reading about the Mayflower, and it was a neat tie-in to science to do this water experiment. In a ziplock bag, Emmett filled it water, added blue coloring, and shook it. Then, I held the bag and he added a few drops of oil. After that, he poured in some salt. He learned from this that oil rises to the surface of water as it is lighter and does not mix with water. Then, he learned when the salt was added, it mixed with the oil and began to sink to the bottom. I like best of all that Emmett was the little scientist in this experiment. He did it all, save the sealing of the bag (I thought I better make sure about that step). So many other science curriculums I've used in the past 20 years I've taught have had ME being the scientist - ME doing the experiments - and ME making the connections. This was because though the experiments looked good on paper, in actually doing the experiments, teachers had to take them over. They were just too difficult. HOD's experiments let the CHILD be the scientist and do the fun stuff. Our dc all love science, and they all do well with it, so I guess it is working!


For spelling, one day each week has Emmett copy 3 sentences using his words. He comes up with the sentences, I write them on the marker board, and he copies them on his own marker board. This is such a good assignment on so many levels. He is thinking what the words mean and having to use them properly in context within sentences. He is practicing spelling the words properly WITHIN sentences, which is naturally how we have to write, as opposed to just making lists. Finally, he is writing sentences properly with capital letters and punctuation. I know from having done this with my other older dc, this one day a week each week in spelling is a big help to doing dictation well.


Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

In Christ,
Julie

[my3sons]

World Geography:
Wyatt is in the middle of "Treasure Island" for Lit, and he cannot wait to read the next portion! Riley can't wait either, because he insists on hearing Wyatt's oral narrations on it. Riley had an assignment a few weeks back in CTC for WWTB that had him using an excerpt from "Treasure Island" as an excellent example of writing. Ever since then, Riley has insisted on hearing Wyatt's oral narrations for "Treasure Island." I have learned a lot by listening in on them, standing more outside the room. Wyatt is SO animated and full of life saying his oral narration for Riley, and Riley is on the edge of his seat listening with rapt attention the whole narration. It has reminded me of the importance of me listening to oral narrations with interest and with an animated look upon my face (as CM would have said to do). Wyatt's written narrations have been so good for "Treasure Island" - probably thanks to Riley's ability to just enjoy Wyatt's narrating. One of my favorite lines he wrote was ... Cries of horror rose from every rascally throat when they found a great gaping whole right where the treasure should be... Here is Wyatt's written narration...


Foerster's Algebra 1 has been such a blessing in our home. Wyatt enjoys math and though the assignments are longer (this is high school math now ), he can do them simply by following Foerster's excellent lead. Believe it or not, Foerster even has a dry wit and quick sense of humor. He finds ways to make story problems witty that I find hard to explain. He really is quite a funny guy!


Wyatt and I are enjoying our midpoint meeting times together. We find we have much to say during discussions, and we both enjoy the back and forth. Wyatt has a fun sense of humor that I (mostly) find quite entertaining. He likes his hot tea with a ton of lemon juice (think puckering up), and I like my coffee super strong. We meet each day and find we enjoy what HOD has the two of us doing together. Sure, there are days math is harder or grammar is longer or Writing Essentials makes him work a little harder, and then his attitude can take a dip down on the happy scale. However, they are few and far between, and more and more, he is understanding that HIS attitude as well as MINE drives the day. I was reminded of the importance of starting our homeschooling day on time, not answering the phone and getting carried away talking, and being FULLY PRESENT as I homeschool. Carrie wrote an excellent Facebook tip on being FULLY PRESENT, and I buckled down, took her advice, and boy did the day flow better.

Homeschooling sure has benefits. What kid in school can hop out the door and pet his favorite cat in the middle of his school day (see the picture below where Whiskers the cat is waiting on deck for Wyatt)? What kid can hug his little brother? Eat his favorite snack? Make his favorite drink? Hug his mother? Chat with his Dad on the phone? Lay on a comfy couch with a ton of pillows to read his INTERESTING history book? Sit in front of the fireplace to do his writing assignment? Pray with me when I get a tough phone call about my Dad's health? My kid. That's who. And why? All because we are homeschooling. What a blessing! Hope you had a great week and another one ahead of you!


In Christ,
Julie