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What was YOUR week Like?

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Little Hearts for His Glory
Emmett got to milk his first cow this week just like his Papa used to! We read about Free and Equal, a cow that a little gal named aptly during the American Revolution. General Corwallis from the British side took the little gal's cow for his militia. She walked down the road and demanded her cow, Free and Equal, be returned to her. He agreed, as any girl that was that brave certainly deserved her cow back. This was one of those '5 minute join in activities' I have talked about with our kiddos. They do different guides, but the '5 minute join in's' happen on fun things like this all of the time. Some general rules for the joining in we adhere to are the child whose guide it is gets to shine, they get to do the fun activity, they get to explain it, they get to be the one leading it, and the others may join in to watch or to participate in a secondary way (i.e. sometimes as a cheering audience, and other times as secondary 'milkers' as in this activity) We do this with snacks from activities, with baking activities, with poetry readings, with re-enactments, with 'news broadcasts, with many DITHOR activities, with science activities, etc. The other kiddos who are doing different HOD guides join in for the 5 minute heighth of fun, making sure to be more spectators and encouragers than anything, and this way they participate in the hype without stealing the thunder or taking over (and without getting behind on their own important school appropriate for their own age). Everyone loves '5 minute join-ins' - but everyone is glad to go back to their own school as well, and complete it on time with plenty of time for all-together time the rest of the day and night! Meet the milker and his helpers ...


We had George Washington himself visit our homeschool this week thanks to the fun history activities in LHFHG! Emmett has learned so much about this incredible man that it was extra special to make his tricorn hat and powdered wig for his history project. I think he makes a dashing George Washington!


The hands-on activities like Dramatic Play in LHFHG stimulate dc's creativity so much, that it just flows over into other parts of the school day. During another baking project, Wyatt joined in with Emmett to help him don his best apron, as well as make a special 'beard,' which I guess is how Emmett envisions himself as a chef! Wyatt has a 45 minute playtime with Emmett each day, and many times I let him finish out a fun hands-on activity from LHFHG that Emmett and I have started. The two have a blast together, and have donned the name "Quick Time Chefs" for themselves and their LHFHG baking projects!


One of the best things about homeschooling with HOD is it helps me keep Christ at the center of our school day every single day! This is not in a contrived way, but in a way that really gets to our kiddos' hearts. I depend on this, as I would not be as diligent nor as creative about this on the fly. LHFHG's Storytime follow-ups are helping Emmett with beginning writing skills, as well as with beginning oral narration skills. After reading how Buster Bear and Farmer Brown's boy reacted to being afraid (by running),Emmett had to write how he reacts to fear. It made my heart want to burst when he said "praying with Mom." HOD is SUCH a BLESSING!


Emmett is super inspired by stickers these days. I've gone to standing near him and slapping on a sticker every time he does a super duper handwriting letter. As you can see, I loved just about all of them this time - progress!!!


In Christ,
Julie

Creation to Christ:
The science bird notebooking assignments partnered with the "Birds of the Air" living book have sparked a huge interest in Riley! He loves taking his time and adding to his notebook,and it is turning out so lovely. I am glad we splurged a bit and got him a special moleskin book. He really looks forward to adding more to his special book each week, and I am enjoying this form of assessment so much too!


The mapping in CTC has added much to the history. It pairs with the living books so well, and I like the balance of teacher-directed (Geography of the Holy Lands), independent (Map Trek), and semi-independent (travel log). It has been a neat way to approach geography that further explains history and seems to 'stick!'


Riley's history project had him whipping up a batch of Hamantashens, as well as constructing a gragger. He got to practice his oral narration skills as he retold the story of Esther, shaking his gragger and serving us (his very happy guests) Hamantashens. They tasted amazing - another HOD recipe to add to the recipe book.


Riley is taking his time to do his best work on his timeline and the rest of his notebooking these days. Going half-speed has been the perfect pacing for him right now, though I guess it's more 2/3 or 3/4 speed. What we have settled on is his working within 2 pages of his plans and moving forward. During his teacher-directed time, we do teacher-directed work. During his independent block of time in our schedule, he does his independent work. He works until the time is up and gets as far as he does, at the very least half-speed. He works from 2 pages at a time, so that he cannot get 'off' and too far ahead and in different places in the guide for different boxes, as this makes a mess of things. So, he either works on left and right pages, or moving ahead, right and left pages. This keeps the balance in order but helps him use his time well. Here is his notebook so far this week...


In Christ,
Julie

Missions to Modern Times:
Wyatt read about the Montgomery Bus Boycott. He was amazed at the tenacity of all involved, and the Storytime book "Freedom Walkers" really made it come to life. I am so glad the Geography guide will retain living books such as these. They fill such a need for painting a picture that really shows what it would have been like to be right in the middle of things, living that life, going through that experience. They teach empathy, compassion, respect, and so many other character traits I want my sons to have. They also help Wyatt remember history in a very personal, meaningful way. Never is history reduced to a bunch of dates and facts to be memorized. It is instead a story that he can call to memory years later. He will remember Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, and the Montgomery Bus Boycott for years to come in a way I can't. It's a handicap of my public school upbringing and the way I was taught history, I guess. It makes me so, so, happy that his history experience with HOD is so special it is worth remembering!

The MTMM Notebooking pages show photos and memorabilia from the modern times that make the people and events just jump off the page and into Wyatt's mind. They are really something. The primary source documents and the speeches are deep. They are stirring. They too will be etched in his mind, and mine as well, as the "Worthy Words" is a teacher-directed assignment that I enjoy doing with him. The way poetry is always interspersed throughout the years has made the reading of classical poetry, and even the reading of primary source documents in which many speakers utilize imagery/metaphors/similes of their own or quotes from others, much easier for Wyatt to decipher and enjoy. The classical poetry has been beautifully linked to the history, and we have really enjoyed reading and discussing its inuendos together. Who would have thought my teenager and I would grow to love classical poetry, primary source documents, and historical speeches together? I would never have believed it if you'd told me this would happen - HOD truly is teaching Wyatt and I to love learning! ALL learning. It really is giving us some special memories together. Oh, and if any of you lovely moms have some dc that don't like to draw and color - HOD's noteboooking and Draw and Write Through History have managed to turn Wyatt into a pretty good artist, if you ask this mama, at least. Coming from coloring everything with a black crayon in scribbles just to be done in K, he has come a looooooooooong way.


Wyatt's science has been so successful. I like the lab forms, and he loves the chem set. It is a great pairing along with the living books that bring it all to life!


The Bible Quiet Time study Wyatt has been doing first thing in the morning is such a neat way for him to start his day. I want him to have this as a lifelong habit, and I know starting it at a young age will help this habit be easier to continue. The study has been independent and rich. The prayer starters have helped Wyatt's prayer life become so personal. I can tell because I have him pray for our family at breakfast. I love to hear him pray. I also can tell because he writes a sentence about his personal prayers in his Bible study book. I like to read these each day and write a brief comment. It is how I know he prays for my dad who had cancer, for me with my thyroid, for my dh and his back pain, for my brother-in-law's health concerns, for our good health overall, for children in other countries he's read about in his Biblical worldview, and so much more. It is such a blessing to read each day.


"Write with the Best 2" had Wyatt writing a lit critique for "Treasure Island." I loved reading it, and the lessons helped break up the assignment nicely so he could focus on each part of his critique as he wrote...


R & S English had Wyatt writing a descriptive paragraph about a stray cat. Ironically, we had a stray cat that we just rescued from our tree, so the assignment was timely.


In Christ,
Julie

LHTH
We finished unit 5, and started unit 6. My dd has enjoyed it, except she feels it's not enough! She constantly asks to do more school.
I have added some more workbooks which she loves. I am also sincerely considering doing 2 lessons on the days she begs for more.
One of her new favorite things is the Count on Me worksheet. All in all a good week.

LHFHG Unit 12
Still breezing through Math & FM skills books. He is also doing very well on TRL, as long as it doesn't exceed 2 pages a day.
He is more confident in his reading now, and will purposely misread a word - hoping I will catch it! Quite a sense of humor he has!
He is really enjoying the Danny Meadow Mouse book, mainly because Reddy Fox shows up. We are working on his oral question/answers.
He does great if he has to write something because he's a visual/hands-on learner, not an audio learner.

Bigger Hearts Unit 23
Learning about Horace Greeley and various American authors. He was especially impressed with Prescott, due to the fact he was practically blind.
Gave the best oral narration that day. He actually does very well on most narrations, because he is extremely audio - he remembers everything he hears for days.
He also did an excellent job on the poetry copywork. Normally he gets very frustrated copying several sentences, but he did 4 each day with no problems (other than forgetting to indent). Storytime is Non-fiction, and we started a new book today. Our previous one wasn't working so we are now reading Nine True Dolphin Stories. He loves it. R&S went very well this week, and the ETC books we add in- today he did 3 pages in 5 minutes! Math has hit a low point, but we are taking it slowly. I was allowing him to do 1-2 problems, then move on to something else for a few minutes, before heading back. Once we are done with this concept, we will be back on a concept he excells at.

Enough rambling. Have a great weekend!

The last 2 weeks in Beyond Little Hearts:
http://mimishouse2005.blogspot.com/2013 ... h-and.html

We had a very busy, but very fun week! I'm so grateful for the ease of HOD when we have other events which interrupt our regular schedule!

http://gracefilledhomeschooling.blogspo ... h-4-8.html

LHTH: Week off


LHFHG: Unit 21


BHFHG: Unit 23

We loved learning about The California Gold Rush this week. By The Great Horn Spoon is the perfect reader to read while we study this time period. The more we move forward through the guide I realize how much thought was put into each box. We love HOD so much

BHFHG Unit 25:
http://www.monarchroom.com/2013/03/hear ... eview.html