This week has been full of lots of wonderful moments together! My dc are well-placed in different HOD guides, but that doesn't mean we don't enjoy things HOD has planned together sometimes! Some things just lend themselves well to others jumping in on occasion. I try to let the kids each shine in their own guides because our dc are very far apart in ages and abilities, and they just feel so special being the 'star of the show' in their own guides However, we love to join together for things that lend themselves well for it. Listening to someone read poetry (especially their own) and clapping for them is a group activity where the others can become the audience cheering another on. Re-enacting a history story or a Biblical event can become a group event easily and is such fun to do together! DITHOR kickoffs and final projects offer another great way to join in together. Listening to each other's oral narrations can sometimes be entertaining, provided the person giving the narration enjoys it and likes to 'rise to the occasion.' Watching a science experiment someone is doing and letting them be the scientist showing what they learned is fun too! Listening to someone read something they have written into a microphone and ooing and ahhhing as they finish is neat too.
Soooo, while all the dc did well in their own guides this week, this weekly review is to showcase the things they enjoyed together!
For DITHOR, we wrapped up our nonfiction genre with a museum exhibit of the Pony Express. Each of the boys made 3 index cards to describe the event they were exhibiting in our 'museum.' They then used their creativity to set up scenes acting out their descriptions. They read their cards, and showed off their displays as they did so! Even my dh thought it was pretty neat!
You can see the shootouts, the exciting rides, the race to get the mail delivered, the people who tried to steal the mail en route, the object timeline of the changes in transportation that led up to the Pony Express, the labeled route, and the dangerous terrain of mountains and bandits!
In MTMM, the boys enjoyed watching 'Professor Scientist Wyatt' as he has dubbed himself these days showcase the 'magical' turning of colors of chemicals in test tubes... many oohs and ahhhs from the little one especially!
In CTC, the boys also loved hearing Riley read his Robert Frost poem. He then shared a fact about Robert Frost, shared what the poem reminded him of, and asked the audience to share their reflections...
The kickoff for our next DITHOR genre of Folk Tales was a b-l-a-s-t!!!
I let Wyatt chose the kickoff as it's his last year to do DITHOR, sniff, sniff. He picked the kickoff where I write certain events to listen for and accompanying actions for the boys do as they hear each event while I read the folk tale aloud. We used "How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head." The actions are on the markerboard, and I snapped pictures of them doing each one - toooooooo cute and such fun!
In CTC, all the boys enjoyed Riley's science experiment about how our ability to see and our ability to smell are inter-related and effect one another! They loved this tasty science experiment...
Finally, in LHTH, the most moving one... we read in the Bible about The Last Supper and what Jesus meant when He spoke about His body being broken and HIs blood being poured out. The prayers the boys each shared after this were so reverent - they understood the seriousness of this and truly were so thankful for our Savior Jesus dying for us on the cross...
If you read this far, thanks! I am sitting in a hospital room overnight with my dear, dear little Emmett who is so dehydrated from throwing up so many times from the flu that he has been hospitalized and put on an IV. I am dependent upon the Lord for his recovery, and would love your prayers. I hope you had a good week, and if your dc are healthy, give them an extra kiss tonight!
In Christ,
Julie
Last Thanksgiving out son was in there (until late Wednesday night), so I can empathize. We're praying for your family!
So I've been a little too tired to blog and post. But I wanted to share my girls' projects today, because I think they're so cute. 
