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Ok Girls,

What was YOUR week Like?

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THIS WEEK

So I didn't figure out how to put pictures up...yet ...but here is an overview of my HSweek so far

Natalie (RTR) age 12 - I made Saladin out of a pop bottle. He turned out great! Then we tried the Chinese Noodles. They've been drying for a while now and we've all been snacking on the dry, uncooked noodles-they are great snacks! Now to boil them/cook them...if they are not all gone within a few days! Today I learned about Marco Polo and filled out some of the workboxes. I also completed the mapping today for Marco's journey. It was pretty interesting to read/learn about him. All in all, Resurrection to Reformation is an excellent program, definitely one that I am enjoying!

Posted by Natalie

We have completed 8 days of Bigger 1/2 speed now and are LOVING it! Big J keeps saying over and over how he "loves this schoolwork." He now has many favorite subjects as well. I can already see we are going to be learning and building so many skills. Here he is putting all his weight into sinking his ball with air. He compared that to throwing a penny in the sink and watching it sink immediately.


Big J did an awesome job of putting his oceans and continents on his "world" and I know that is due to the foundation laid in the previous two guides. He still sings the "Leap, leap in North America" song.


He did his first mapping assignment today and did a good job. I have a fine point marker on my shopping list because by the time he colored you couldn't see his labels and he tried to write over it with crayon which did not turn out well.


We are reading Pedro's journal from the extension list and it is adding a lot to our study, plus satisfies Big J's desire to "Keep reading" a little more. I plan to read all of the story books from the extension list as we go. We have made the decision to start LHFHG at 1/2 speed with little brother in a couple of weeks so stay tuned!

Revival to Revolution:
I am just feeling incredibly thankful for the ease of use of HOD this season. I don't know about all of you, but I am one tired mama this Christmas season! I just turned 40, maybe that has something to do with it. From running here and there for this or that in my nonhomeschooling life, HOD is my calm, happy part of my day. I look forward to counting on that one part of my day being a stabilizing constant this busy season. My hubby is gone 10 out of 14 days and nights, and that brings me to another thing I am so thankful for - our countrymen serving in our military - and you many homeschooling moms who are on the home front on your own many days and nights. I have a tiny glimpse of what that must be like, and I just am so incredibly impressed by each of you homeschooling military wives!!! May God bless you and your families richly this Christmas and coming New Year.

We are just to the point of having one great day after another with RevtoRev now. My role is shifting as the overseer of learning at this point, with some focused teaching segments interspersed. Wyatt is more in charge now, and believe me when I say he LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVES that! He's growing up, just a week shy of being 12 years old. He's 5 foot 2 inches tall already, and very much the man of the house the multiple times my dh is gone. I am so thankful that it is delineated which parts of the guide are his to do, which parts are ours to do together, and which parts we share that responsibility for. It makes things so much less stressful. There is no conversation like, "I don't need your help on this", or "You should do this part for me", or "Maybe this is optional". It's just so well laid-out, and as my ds is growing up before my eyes and longing for more independence, it is helping me manage that quite effortlessly.

Science is a perfect example of this. Wyatt gets up at 6 AM to do his physical science independently. It has difficult concepts, an extensive vocabulary, a lot of building of contraptions, a ton of experiments, and still - he is doing it independently with great success. His logbook makes it easy for me to stay on top of, and he loves it.


History projects, with a bunch of steps, not a problem...


Maps that match the history we are learning are teaching great mapping and reference skills, and yet, he is doing them all with ease...


"Drawn into the Heart of Reading" projects have been such fun and taught a variety of skills. This week, Wyatt and Riley finished up their fantasy books, and Wyatt did a Lit Kit of his book's setting (a castle), a backdrop (the story's events), and 5 objects that represented the events in the story (placed in the castle). Last, he retold his story using the things he'd made and his objects he'd chosen. There are so many skills in this one project, I'm not even going to try to name them. And, we had so much fun with it! Here are some pics from it...


The kickoff for our next DITHOR genre (mystery) was such fun everybody got involved - even the little guy! I read "Piggins" a picture book mystery, and they had to add actions and sounds that fit with the mystery as I read it. This took them a bit to figure out. First, they just played the instruments, but then they started getting into it more and falling down, screaming (for when the necklace was stolen), flipped off the lights when the lights went out in the story, tripped the thief, etc. What fun!


What a super week! I hope you had a good one too!
In Christ,
Julie

Preparing Hearts for His Glory:
Riley asked if he could get up early and do his science like his older brother does. I have always said "no" to this, as it is a privilege to be able to do this, and it something I expect a certain amount of maturity to have shown itself to be able to do. Well, I decided Riley has shown himself ready, and so far, so good. In fact, it's been great! Wyatt and Riley get up, tiptoe downstairs do their independent science, and then tiptoe back upstairs to do their Bible Quiet TImes (Riley can only do this 2 days each week, as 2 days are independent and 2 are with me). Then, they usually have free time left just to read or work on a project like an erector set or something. It's a very nice way for them to ease into their day, and I like the independence it teaches them. I make sure to follow up and check their science work, discuss the key ideas with them briefly, ask any questions noted in the boxes, and have them say their Bible verses for me each day. It works well! Here Riley tested out different kinds of seeds and how they travel - I thought he did a super job on his lab sheet!


I am enjoying the connections Riley is making sooooo much. The Bible connected to the history, the history connected to the science, the science connected to the writing, the poetry connected to the history, the geography connected to the history, the research connected to the history project, and so on and so forth! It truly is amazing to see. Here's a map Riley made with a key, cut apart, and had fun reassembling as a puzzle for the 12 tribes of Israel...


Here Riley wrote a detailed description of a desert, trying to parallel the vivid descriptions Robert Louis Stevenson gave in his poem about a river...


Here Riley drew David as he was getting ready to battle Goliath...


Here is a quail and the Ark of the covenant Riley drew that also were both an integral part of the history we read this week...


Riley did a Lit Kit project for DITHOR this week along with his older brother Wyatt. Riley's was a canister (oatmeal can) with objects that represent the story's beginning, middle, and end placed inside it, and for the outside, he made a paper with 4 sections - one for the title, cover, and author; and 3 sections for the beginning, middle, and end. He labeled each of the objects with a tag explaining their connection to the story, and he retold the story by taking the objects out of the canister in order one at a time, while also using the pictures he'd drawn to help him. He did a good job, but of course can continue to improve on the smoothness of his presentation. I was proud of how he did for his age!


We are having such fun in PHFHG together - my sweet boy is going through an incredible growing period right now - and PHFHG is teaching him so much! I'm glad I get to teach it.
In Christ,
Julie

So here's our week, I warn you it mostly just a recap of how the kids our doing. It's just been to busy and crazy around here and I haven't take many pics and without pics I"m forget exactly what we have accomplished. SO, this is more about how we are doing and what we are looking forward to in the next few days.
Hope everyone is having a wonderful beginning to their month!
http://mycrazybutjoyfulandblessedadvent ... ecaps.html

Little Hearts for His Glory:
Emmett and I are going through LHFHG leisurely at half-speed, and having such a fun time of it. It just is so fun to do with him! We curl up on the couch, and enjoy every little reading. I am especially thankful for the way "History for Little Pilgrims" and the "Family Time Bible" are working together to tell the story of history. They repeat just enough of the same story, while adding just enough of each of their own new information, to help Emmett get the big points of each history unit. I like how the art projects and Bible study tie in so well to the history too, as this is another way to respond to what he is learning that helps him understand what is happening even more fully.

Emmett especially loved his this art project.


I've always loved "A Reason for Handwriting K", and "Do It Carefully/Finding the Answers". They teach fine motor skills in such a way that every little one can be successful. Emmett likes to pick a sticker for each page he does and hang it on the fridge for all to marvel at.


LHFHG really has his wheels turning. He is asking a lot of questions about God, heaven, sin, Adam and Eve, and so much more. I am so glad we can have these talks and that HOD helps us do this so naturally. It really is a blessing. It is fun to teach several different guides - such variety for me. I hope you all had a wonderful week!

In Christ,
Julie

Nice work, Emmett! Julie, you look like you are having so much fun with your boys! Any hints on how to capture your LO's in pictures would be great. It interrupts our day too much, and I think I don't know what to take pictures of.

We're on LHFHG Unit 7 Day 3. This week we decided to do the RH full-speed and the LH half speed, for now, until Shana really feels like she can do all of LHFHG in a day and not just crawl over the finish line. Part of our problem is that I still have my hands in too many things and haven't pulled them out yet. Once we do that and she grows just a TAD more I think we can do LHFHG full-speed.

Part of the other change is that we are going to move to the ER's from Beyond, including the Beginner's Bible. Shana really is a good reader. Tonight she read her entire devotional out loud to the family before going to bed. She's been concealing her abilities till this week.

We're also moving quickly through Fine Motor Skills and Math. However, because we really need the solid foundation in American History, I'm not leaping her entirely to Beyond. Also, we really need the "Rhymes" exposure as well as the narrative practice.

Heidi in AK wrote:...Nice work, Emmett! Julie, you look like you are having so much fun with your boys! Any hints on how to capture your LO's in pictures would be great. It interrupts our day too much, and I think I don't know what to take pictures of...

Thanks so much, Heidi! I agree - it is tricky to take pics without interrupting the flow of the activity. The one thing that has helped me the most is to just have my camera charged and ready to grab off the windowsill. I usually end up snapping one during a working phase of a project that I don't have them pose for, and another at the end where they hold up their finished project. That is so great that Shana took off and just read her whole devotional to you - smart little cookie! It sounds like you had a super week - I hope you have a great weekend too!

In Christ,
Julie

Hello! Looks like everyone had another great week.

We split up LHFHG Unit 8 over two weeks due to our travel plans over Thanksgiving. We talked about David and Goliath, David becoming king, Solomon's wisdom and building the temple. Our verse of the week (two weeks, actually) was "When I am afraid I will trust in you". Good timing, because my 5 year old has been waking up in the middle of the night, scared of the dark. Memorizing Bible verses is going extremely well for the intended student and her little sister. They are well-chosen verses for little hearts and souls.

Here is my daughter showing what it looks like to be afraid when challenged by a 9 foot tall giant named Goliath. She puts her trust in God and fires her slingshot. POW!


In math we worked on measuring and weight this week (non-standard units). Here she is showing off her own "foot" size and her own handspan. This measuring was a challenge for her because of some of her fine motor struggles, holding the unit of measure in place or properly moving it over. She kept trying, though!


We also scooped out 1/2 cup measures of various items, and "weighed" them to determine which was heavier, even though they were the same amount. This was done in the "baby nursery" play area. In case anyone is wondering, pink Himalayan rock salt is heavier than dried beans.


In reading, we finished Lesson 18 in The Reading Lesson - we should finish by the end of the year and be ready to move on to the Emerging Readers! An interesting thing in our storytime with the Thornton Burgess Books (currently Peter Cottontail), my daughter is very shy to answer the questions at the end of the lesson. She talks in an itty bitty voice because she is a perfectionist and doesn't want to say anything wrong (her 2 year old sister will shout out the answers though, and is correct 98% of the time!). But during and after a story, my 5 year old will dramatize the story, playing all the roles herself or using her stuffed animals.

Another great week - my daughter always asks "what's in the curriculum today?", even on weekends. I have to restrain her and keep to the plans or she would want to go too fast (I want her hands and her confidence to catch up with her quick mind!) Not a bad problem to have, in my book. HTH!

We have completed Unit 8 of preparing this week. We have learned about the 12 tribes of Israel. The kids sketched the map of the tribes and created a puzzle from the cut-out pieces. We finiahed reading Tirzah, a book that we all enjoyed as we followed the Israelites in the desert. They learned about imagery and used this new skill to write about the desert.

All of our week can be viewed at www.anne-homeschooladventures.blogspot.com

Week 10 of Bigger done and completed. Here is my blog post.
http://nutbugs.com/heart-of-dakota-week-10-update/

I have done an absolutely TERRIBLE job of keeping up to day with our weekly check-ins this year. One of my New Year's Resolutions is to do better on that!!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!