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What was YOUR week Like?

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This was our first week back and it went so wonderfully beyond my imagination.

My son, who rarely has anything good to say about school, actually said it felt good to get back to the business of learning. It makes him feel professional.

My children were complaining about the books I selected for DITHOR, but by the time we completed the kick off activity (scavenger hunt-bring me something for travel) and Day 1's pre-reading activities, they were begging to get started. Dd11 was assigned Phoebe the Spy and Riding Freedom, ds10 The Black Stallion, Toliver's Secret for my dd7.

I was hoping my two youngest as well as strongest readers would be able to complete certain boxes independently while I helped with my oldest who has a severe reading difference (most likely dyslexia) with all of her boxes. All my kids amazed me. The youngest two were able to complete more boxes independently then I had initially planned on transferring to them. My oldest is completing many boxes semi-independently with me helping her read every now and then. We normally school year round, but took a much needed six week break. Before the break, I was weary my children would not be able to transition to working independently. The break was just what my kids need to come back matured and ready to step up.

As part of independent learning, I am having my kids study their verses independently when they wake up and discuss and answer questions later. What joy it has been to hear my daughters continue without prompting on non-school days<3

Our wonderful schedule we finally found the last two month of last year's schooling after a year and half of fiddling still works, so now I can put time messing with that to other things.

Those are my highlights this week. I love HOD and the growth in spirit and academics it has produced in my children. God is good!

Thanks for sharing! I'm so glad you guys had a great first week!

This was not our first week of school, we've been pretty much at it since the beginning of July. But this was the first week of LHFHG for my 3rd daughter and she LOVED it. She really shone through all the activities and showed me she is more than ready for it. I also was so happy that the activities kept her engaged and interested, and how well she is doing with new levels of challenge in handwriting and math.

My oldest did Unit 22 of Preparing and my 2nd did Unit 29 of Beyond. Both were excellent. We are back into Child's History of the World in Preparing and I am really appreciating the semi-Biblical perspective in this book and the discussion of "right and wrong" and worldviews of the different cultures. We are post-Christ, Roman empire and then started reading about the Germanic tribes and cultures. I told her we are descended from those Germanic peoples. She wasn't impressed.

Beyond was a joy as always. Last week was about the family that went West on the Ohio River. The Geography and mapping activities were especially meaningful and I am seeing her get a better grasp on the U.S. geography through this. We've found rivers, states, and learned about areas we would not have. Even though I have done Beyond before, I still learn something new practically every week. I started reading A Little Princess to my daughter for Realistic Fiction. I had read this book before I started reading it to her, and oh boy! It is an emotional, gripping read. My daughter is fascinated by it, even though the book is a lot longer than others I have used for storytime. I also love the activities that help her enter into the story, narrate, and show she gets what she is hearing.

Since we started LHFHG, even with a new schedule which schedules some time for his older sisters to interact more intentionally with the 2YO (reading to him, playing games, putting him in his room) I have found he is very fussy and throwing a lot of tantrums that seem to be based on him not getting enough attention from me. I am praying about how to deal with this. I used to have a little more interaction with him earlier in the day, and I should probably find a way to add that back in. Even the perfect schedule needs tweaking, and I know mine is always far from perfect. I am pretty no-nonsense about tantrums and have not had any children with which we have struggled with it for very long, but I do need wisdom from the Lord.

And pregnancy is making me very tired. Sigh. Again I trust the Lord to supply. We have had a great week last week with HOD and this week has also been wonderful! Blessings to others.