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Ok Fellow HOD Homeschoolers,

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!

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Here is our week in the WG guide http://www.graceandfur.blogspot.com/201 ... -2014.html.

Thanks for posting! Your son looks like he is doing really well! I can't do a good job of drawing maps at all, so I am impressed with what he has done, because it's better than I would do!

We had a great week last week, in spite of it being a VERY busy week for me. My kiddos are all doing really well in their guides and I am enjoying what they are learning and doing. My oldest did Unit 32 of Preparing, my 2nd did Unit 3 of Bigger and my 3rd did Unit 9 of LHFHG.

Preparing is in the colonization of America era. I appreciated the chapter on Latin America, I have to admit I learned quite a few things from that chapter. Today (day 4) we read some about the development of music in Europe and some famous composers. My DD has enjoyed reading about Mozart and listening to his music (though our Zeezok CD doesn't work but fortunately I know where she can listen to some others). Also the perspective of the European settlers has really always bothered me. I think this is generally glossed over in the history books we read. Why did they think they had the right to come and call the land their own? Going along with this, she is reading the Sign of the Beaver for DITHOR (Historical Fiction). I appreciate how this book shows the pride of the Native Americans as well as their knowledge and the good things they knew. I really enjoyed reading it myself. Thankfully things like written narrations and poetry writing have been getting alot better. Today in R&S 3 she was supposed to write a letter to someone and she dashed the whole thing off pretty quickly. Granted, it was a letter to a friend about what she wanted to write about, but I was very pleased. We have often had tears and discussions about her not wanting to do writing assignments. She has even started a letter to one of her favorite authors, all on her own. We will hopefully send it soon.

Bigger last week we talked about Henry Hudson and some of the other explorers from England who were still trying to find that way to China and India somehow. They grew bolder and had some great ideas, too bad they were so far off in their assumptions She loves R&S 2 and does really well with her copywork and notebooking projects. She even thinks the vocabulary is interesting! I guess it would be interesting if it wasn't so difficult. I have been helping her find the words somewhat and with the writing of the definitions and sentences. She is going through the Christian Liberty Nature Reader for the ER books and really likes it. I actually got the whole set from someone and may see if she wants to read one of the others. Though I don't want her to burn out on nature books. But I do think the facts in the book are so interesting, and so does she (I think).

LHFHG is going well, my DD really enjoys the readings, especially Peter Rabbit. She really likes every part of it. We are back on a good roll with reading and she is doing it happily. Right now I limit her to one page per day, even when she wants to read more. We just finished Lesson 4 so I think she is doing pretty well for being just barely 5 and having just started it. I think we will continue to try to keep it slow and steady.

Blessings to all the others on this HOD journey!

Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory:
"American Pioneers and Patriots" is quickly becoming an all-time favorite book of Emmett's, thanks to Beyond Little Hearts! We've been reading about the O' Neils making their way to Indiana, and there have been many adventures and mishaps along the way. While Molly was watching her younger sibling who was a baby, she sat under a tree leaning against its trunk. A wildcat was in the branches above them, and her brother Johnny took careful aim, and saved the girls with a swift shot. This earned him his first rifle - which was 4 feet long! Emmett loved marching around the house with his 4 foot long yard stick/12 inch ruler makeshift gun, and I thought once again how brave men began as brave little boys and grew from there.


In science, we learned about the different phases of the moon - the New Moon, waxing Crescent, First Quarter Moon, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Last Quarter Moon, and Waning Crescent. Emmett loved the activity of eating different portions of banana to show what the moon would look like in each of its phases, and then flipping them to see and name their opposites. The science book "God's Wonderful Works" is so bright with vivid pictures, has a very narrative quality to it, and it compliments the history theme so well - BUT, and I love best about it is that it is God honoring! Creation without the Creator seems devoid of knowledge to me, and life science is all about Creation. I cannot imagine learning it any differently!


In Math, Emmett is learning to sequence and order numbers between '1' and '100,' identify patterns, add 'tens' and 'ones,' and count up or back by 1's or 10's. He is getting it! The hands-on activities are really helping. One day, we opened a book that had over 100 pages, and he had to find a page and tell me its number, as well as telling the page number that came before and after it. Another day we wrote two numbers with a blank between them (i.e. 20 ___ 50), and Emmett had to list a number that could come between them. We talked about how many numbers would come between them. We counted up by 1's and 10's, and we counted down by 1's and 10's. I can see all of this leading up to the 100's chart so well, which is what we will do next week. The pictures on the math workbook make it easy to see bundles of 10 and extra ones, which helps him easily add 'tens' and 'ones.'


In Storytime, we are reading "All of a Kind Family" for the realistic fiction genre. He is practicing his oral narrating, and I appreciate the tips the guide gives to help me guide him in this skill. It is such a good idea to have me model this skill for him off and on, as the guide has me do. The reminder to tell the most important points and add details from the story to the retelling without OVERWHELMING the student is a good tip for ME. I remember going totally overboard way back when I was teaching my now high school student in Beyond. I totally overdid it, gave a very lonnnnngggggg oral narration with tons of details, and when I finished I think I had convinced him he would never be able to orally narrate well. So, I really am thankful for the reminders in the guide about how to go about doing this, and I have learned to read more carefully so I don't miss these very helpful little teaching tips that make big differences in the success of building the skill at hand. Sometimes, in a pinch, I will have one of the older boys read Emmett's Storytime book to him. I don't do it often, but they both certainly enjoy it when I do! It is kind of a special moment to see 2 of my dc curled up on the couch reading a good book together and enjoying it so much. Homeschooling is such a blessing to our family!


In Christ,
Julie

Resurrection to Reformation:
Riley has been reading about the Italian Renaissance, the Inquisition, and Ivan the Great this week. He loved drawing his timeline, and he took care to make it colorful and neat. He did his written narration about Ivan the Great.


One of his favorite things to do this week was to recreate Fra Angelico's "The Annunciation." His "Mystery of History" book showed the beautiful completed artwork, and it also has a black and white lined artwork for him to try his hand at. He was so proud of the results!


Using Map Trek maps alongside the World History Atlas has been such a good way for Riley to visualize all that he is reading about in history. Tracing, coloring, labeling, researching maps in this way has taught him so much. It takes many skills to utilize several maps to mesh what has been learned all together. He really understands how to read maps so well, but more than that, he understands how they link to understanding history.


In science, Riley read about the layers of the atmosphere. His notebooking assignment turned out so well! He really worked hard on it. I am glad the notebooking assignments provide enough structure for guidance, but enough flexibility for him to make them his own. It's neat to see how his notebooking assignments turn out differently than his older brother Wyatt's did back when he did this guide, and yet they both show they understood what they learned.


In Drawn into the Heart of Reading, Riley and Emmett had a blast with their kickoff for the nonfiction genre! They re-enacted Washington's crossing of the Delaware. They had Wyatt and I come and watch, and it was a hoot! We then worked on Main Idea for a story element. These skills are vital preparation for high school lit. I am so thankful for all of our years doing DITHOR with Wyatt! It makes me appreciate each part of DITHOR all the more with my younger two dc.


For Storytime, Riley is enjoying "Ink on His Fingers." His oral narrations have been so exciting to listen to! He can hardly wait to read to see what is going to happen next!


In Christ,
Julie