heartofdakota.com

Ok Girls,

What was YOUR week Like?

You can post:

a- A picture
b- A blog Link
c- A written synopsis
d- Your favorite memory
e- Anything you want that shares your HOD excitement!

Important Note: If you are linking us to your blog, please make sure it's not just a general link, but to your specific post of HOD. That way if someone reads through these a year from now they can find your share without needing to hunt!

We finished Beyond today! It is bittersweet, but we have been having such fun setting up for Bigger that I think our sadness has passed. Beyond has been such a blessing. I am in awe of everything Big J has learned in this guide. Carrie has certainly done a wonderful job of setting up the HOD guides for our kiddos to reach their full potential. Little J is an honorary graduate as he has tagged along for much of it. We have made the decision not to start him in Little Hearts for another 6-12 months, so he will just keep tagging along with brother as he wishes for awhile.


We finished up the week by making the "earth layers" in edible form (pudding, chocolate chips, and graham crackers)! Yummy!


Today we "painted" a picture of the clouds Jesus will return in. I couldn't get the finished product to photograph so the color would turn out , but they had fun and it looked nice.


We are looking forward to beginning Bigger at half speed next week. My "new guide resolution" is to post weekly updates more often. I am thinking if I just always post a week behind I might be able to do it. That would give me a whole week to get my pictures downloaded into photobucket.

I would like to share one success that actually still kind of surprised me as I was putting Beyond away. Narration has been our thorn in the flesh, as we have seen very slooowwww progress in this particular area. Yet as I was filing the type written narrations for Beyond, the narration from week 24 made me take in my breath. I remember doing the narration and thinking it was good at the time, but as I read it now I realize how far my little guy has come.
Here is a summary of our narrations:
Weeks on end: blank look
More weeks on end: "I don't know"
More weeks on end: "I can't remember"
Somewhere in the beginning of Beyond a breakthrough: "Papa asked Benjamin to make a sign. Benjamin made three signs. He wanted to paint the sign. Papa said he could only use darker colors instead of brighter colors. The family worked to get ready for the meeting."
Many more weeks of shrugs, but that was a start

WEEK 24:
"There was a storm of fresh water and Pagoo was trying to get away from the fresh water and all the other fish were by instinct trying to get away. And the storm quit and then Pagoo's shell got cracked and shattered and parts started to fall off. And then he went and found some other hermits and found a shell. He poked another hermit crab and then he found some other hermit crabs and charged them and they shut their doors and their shells were being banged up against one another. Then they saw it was only Pagoo and he was naked and they chased him out of tidepool town."

I don't get that many words everyday, but we do actually have words now! I think there is light at the end of the tunnel. Bigger will give us lots of practice and we are looking forward to it.

Hello, All. I haven't visited the boards for a while and need to go catch up. Here's a link to our Schooling Highlights For October.
http://www.inchristalonefamily.com/2011 ... -2011.html
Enjoy the weekend!

This week the kids enjoyed creating a crook and making Egyptian bread. It was a hot week for us here in Australia. But we accomplished lots.

Take a look at my pics if you want at www.anne.homeschooladventures.blogspot.com.

Hi ladies,
I can't wait to read all your blog posts after the kids and husband are fed.

Countrymom, we also ate some layers of the earth this week, as we learned about soil layers. Pics here: http://www.broomandcrown.com/2011/11/we ... nit-6.html
(and congrats on your breakthrough with narration!)

This was a whirlwind week! The boys are deer hunting, so we only did school 3 days this week. It simply flew by! Then there was a ton of baking and cooking for the men and the boys, and they were off. I am praying for their safety, and also for my little Emmett to get better, as he is sick with the flu.

Revival to Revolution:
This week, Wyatt's history project was hasty pudding. It was mmmm, mmmm, good. All of the boys enjoyed it.


One thing I have made it a point to do this year is check each box of work Wyatt is doing. I have several follow-up times when I check in with him, asking the follow-up questions, having him recite his Bible memory verse, discussing editing changes that are needed, having him orally answer the questions in the guide about the paintings / the Storytime readings / the Primary Source Document readings etc. I initial each box next to his initial, and this is my way of making sure I have done my part to make sure he has understood all that he has done for the day. I don't embellish on what is planned in the guide. I don't add more questions, or quiz him on the key ideas, or require him to write answers he was supposed to ponder, but I do simply ask what is already asked in the box. It goes quickly and helps me keep on top of keeping him accountable.

Preparing Hearts for His Glory:
I snapped more pics of Riley this week than Wyatt, I think because I am just continually amazed at how well PHFHG is going for Riley. I remember thinking when Wyatt got to PHFHG that everything we'd done in years past in HOD just came together so well and all of a sudden, independent work was successful, skills were just in full-bloom, and retention was happening across the board so nicely. Well, the same is true now for Riley. He is just blossoming! I am so thankful for the way HOD transitions dc into independent learning, incremental skills, and CM style of learning. It is just all coming together, and I love what I see!

Baking! Riley is baking. He is learning to follow simple recipes, and he is doing well with it. This is coming from the child who was frightened to make mac and cheese in the microwave. He is loving learning to cook and bake, and PHFHG is helping him be successful in it with small steps and simple recipes that relate to history. Here are Riley's Egyptian pastries - which everyone enjoyed...


Drawing! Riley is drawing lovely pictures with "Draw and Write Through History". Check out his latest...


Cursive! Riley is loving writing cursive and doing a nice job with it...


These are just a few areas Riley is blooming in, but I am thrilled with his progress overall.

Little Hearts for His Glory:
Emmett is enjoying LHFHG so much. I like how it teaches Christ is at the center of history, and that all of history is His Story. What a great way to begin a 1 year sweep of history! Emmett enjoyed this collage he made for history this week...


He is surprising me by how well he is listening to "History for Little Pilgrims". He does fairly well with this, and I remember this being a tougher skill for our other dc. I'm glad he is being taught to gradually hone his listening skills with books with fewer pictures. The readings are just short enough to keep his attention, and just long enough with just enough pictures to stretch him.

Handwriting is coming along for little Emmett. Of course, he has quite a way to go on this, but I'm happy with how he is starting off with it. Here he is proudly showing his handwriting paper...


Emmett loves math. HOD's hands-on activities make it so fun, and they really help him have lots of bodily-kinesthetic ways to connect with what he's learning. Here he traced (in dishsoap in a ziplock bag) a number of something he'd counted. In the first picture, he counted the markers, and in the second the bananas...


Well, it was a short week, but a good one! I hope you had a great week too!
In Christ,
Julie

This was a different kind of week for us. My oldest started public school in 6th grade on Tuesday so I am now only schooling my 9yo. We are still adjusting to the new schedules for everyone, we're not used to get up so early. This is the first time my almost two year old had to get up at 6:30!

My 9yo DD completed Unit 9 of BHFHG this week. She is doing some of the readings independently now but not every day. She also does the extension package readings but I don't always do the followup activities with her. She is really starting to shine in Bigger Hearts. I am looking forward to next week with her!

The toddler on the other hand, has been more of a challenge this week since she is off her normal schedule. Hopefully she will adjust quickly and get back to her usual happy bouncy self.

I typed a novel, then my tablet froze & I lost itall! We finished LHFHG Unit 5 today. Soil layers next week Kristin! I also plan to be more consistent about taking pictures & blogging.

We dropped our co-op this week, and I know the Lord directed & will bless more time with HOD. We all want to go 4 days a week, rather than half speed.

Hi all, sorry I didn't share any of the last two weeks, it has been busy and hectic around here! My husband was gone the week before last at a conference, and last week all 3 of my girls were in a wedding - 3 flower girls! It was great fun and we were all blessed, though it did throw normal schedules off a bit!

We are enjoying crisp fall weather, sunshine, a little rain, and we did unit 13 of Beyond this week. It was so nice to be back on our regular routine, and thanks to some thought and some good advice here on the board our days are running much more smoothly now. Everyone is happier and we are really enjoying our time!

Our history this week was about the first Thanksgiving. The reading and activities inspired my oldest and now she really wants to do a little "show" for her grandparents and aunt and uncle at Thanksgiving time depicting the first Thanksgiving. I think this is going to be fun, I need to fight against my frustration that we have to add "one more thing" to work on in our week. She has even had me pray that she would do a show that honors God, well I can certainly pray for that!

Math this week is patterns, she has been breezing through that, and we love the activities going along with them. Pattern snacks... mmm.... it reminds me of our time in LHFHG because it seemed like most of the activities there were food related, so we had our "math snack" every day.

I have been looking back at the pictures I have taken of school work this year and I am definitely going to create a photobook or memory book of some kind by the end of our school year (I guess I'll have to squeeze that in before baby comes along since this school year will probably be ending a bit early for us with our new arrival). It is so amazing, I have really enjoyed the memories we have made and the things we have learned this year.

countrymom - thanks your post gives me hope! My DD isn't quite as silent when asked to do narration, but it is difficult for her, and I hope and pray to see that kind of progress!

Another great week with Unit 9 of Bigger.

http://nutbugs.com/heart-of-dakota-bigg ... -9-update/

I'm a few days late to be posting but here's our week!
http://mycrazybutjoyfulandblessedadvent ... ecaps.html

Ladies,

Thanks so much for taking time to share about your week! I loved reading your updates and just want to encourage each of you that you are really doing a great job! It can get so hectic this time of year, and it is good to take a moment during this busy season to feel good about what you are accomplishing each week!

Blessings,
Carrie

Here is my weekly wrap up. We finished Bigger week 14 http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.co ... de-14.html