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What was YOUR week Like?

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Preparing Hearts for His Glory
Unit 4

Reading about History
This unit was all about the climate changing after the Flood. Emmett cannot wait to read “Life in the Great Ice Age.” I’ve noticed an improvement in his listening comprehension, as he can answer each level of Bloom’s Taxonomy’s questions within our oral discussions on Day 1 of the plans much better now. Before, he could only answer the easier levels, like ‘comprehension’ and ‘knowledge’ – but now, he is already starting to answer more fully (without prompting and rereading of the questions) the ‘analysis’ and ‘synthesis’ and ‘evaluation’ levels. Progress – hooray!

I really appreciate the way written narrations are taught, as this is a new skill in this guide this year. It sets him up for success! This week’s written narration about CHOW went well, but it was due to my reading it first, him rereading a smaller section, my asking him given guided questions and writing his answers in short phrases on a markerboard, and then him referring to the markerboard as he composed his written narration. Love this!


Storytime
What can be better than reading the Bible for Storytime?!? The Bible was chronologically sprinkled in with “Life in the Great Ice Age.” I love this! It shows Emmett that the Bible IS history, and also a wonderful (true) story to be told again and again as well!


Rotating History
Emmett’s timeline grows, sneaking up his bedroom door… and research online of the Rosetta Stone…


History Project
Emmett used clay to create a map of where Noah’s Ark landed, as well as where the Tower of Babel was probably located. He carved the rivers in his clay, using CHOW’s map as a reference. Then he made toothpick flag labels of the places and stuck them in his clay. Adding water and ice cubes to his clay map to fill the rivers and represent the ice wall was his favorite part of his project!


Independent History Study
Emmett drew the Tower of Babel this week. He also wrote several paragraphs in cursive about it, copying from his “Draw and Write…” book. Cursive is beginning to come a bit easier to him now, though it is still not his favorite.


Poetry
I cried during poetry this week (yes, my hormones are out of whack, but still there was a good reason). We are studying Robert Louis Stevenson’s poetry this year, and this week’s poem was “To Any Reader”. It’s about a child playing by the garden, and someone looking out the window only to see the child has suddenly gone away – because he has grown up… he is now just a ‘child of air’ that lingers in the garden there… a memory. Well, we have a garden. We have a window. I look out it often to see the boys playing there. It just hit me that someday – not all that long from now – I won’t see them playing there anymore. They will be all grown up and those scenes I see every day out my window will just be memories. Grab the Kleenex box – here I go again just typing this! Anyway – a reminder to cherish this blessing of homeschooling. Emmett wrote a lovely stanza himself…



Bible Study
Learning Psalm 1:1-6 – love this picture of my little one enjoying his Bible music!


Language Arts
Review time in grammar, and marching forward with harder dictation passages for spelling! DITHOR’s Silent Conversation with brother Riley was a fun activity this week!


Math Exploration
Multiplication and division, here we come! Markerboards are a favorite of mine to use in these lessons. It gives Emmett more space, and he likes to write with the markers. During our ‘math round table’ teaching session, where I teach each of the boys their math in intervals, we have our snack/drink time. Right now, hot cocoa is the favorite!


Science Exploration
For science notebooking, I often write the portion he needs to write in cursive on a markerboard for his reference. It helps his cursive be neater and is a visual reminder of how to form the letters! The big hit this week was the making of the cactus with toothpick spines. We went in the dark closet and used a flashlight to show how the spines cast shadows on the cactus to cool it. He loves his cactus so much he ‘pets’ it each day and greets it in the morning. Oh dear! Our home is becoming a museum of history projects we cannot throw away.



In Christ,
Julie

Missions to Modern Marvels
Unit 4

Reading about History and Independent History and Rotating History…
Riley learned about The Fight for Land in the U.S. and for Independence in Hawaii and Cuba. He’s been reading Rescue and Redeem, All American History, The Story of the World, and Great Events in American History. I love the rich, varied, balanced, chronological view of history these resources give. Here you can see his typed written narration about Ka’iulani – the Hawaiian princess, his timeline entries about HI being annexed to the U.S., the Era of Cattle Drives, and the ship The Maine from the Spanish American War.


Storytime…
Riley keeps adding to his bookmark as he reads “God’s Adventurer.” He likes being able to choose his response and express his own opinion. I like that he is just getting to enjoy reading the books without a lot of over-detailed follow-ups that would ruin the enjoyment of reading the book for him. That’s not the purpose of this part of the plans. I notice he remembers his storytime readings long after they are done – probably because he’s really connected with them!


History Project…
Riley has been learning about Hawaii and its princess Ka’iulani. He made his own lei (Hawaiian flower necklace) for his history project this week. He spent a long time on it, getting his flowers to be just the right colors he liked. He really enjoys getting creative with these history projects, and I’m thankful for the way there is not “one right way” they need to turn out to be “perfect”! This allows for much individual creativity. I like that though all of our children will have completed all of HOD’s guides (Lord willing), none of their history projects will be identical.



President Study/State Study…
Riley learned about James Monroe for his President Study this week…


He also added to his SD State Study by cutting pictures out of tourist brochures (they look identical the pictures we just took ourselves when visiting Mt. Rushmore and hiking in the Black Hills)…


Nature Journal/Biblical Self-Image…
This CM inspired part of the plans is a favorite time of the day for Riley. He will try to work ahead in other subject areas just to have more time in the day to devote to his nature journal. This will be a neat keepsake of this year! For Biblical Self-Image, Riley continues to see the pillars of his ‘house’ go up, which he loves as imagery for building his foundation on Christ…


Bible Quiet Time…
Riley has chosen to write all of his Scripture memory work in cursive for his Common Place Book because it is special to him. He got the idea from big brother Wyatt, I think, but I love it anyway! What can deserve special reverence – even in the form of special cursive writing – more than God’s Word! He also is doing well and learning much from his Faith at Work Bible Study…


Language Arts…
In DITHOR, Riley has been learning about the Mystery genre, as well as the Godly character traits of discretion, loyalty, discernment, and fairness. He’s learned about the opposites of these traits as well, and he’s applying them to his life. I love this practical application of the plans! We approach it from the standpoint that we all have things to work on, and we all want to help each other rather than point fingers at one another. It’s a collective effort, as there is not one of us that is perfect! He’s also been learning about the importance of ‘clues’ in a mystery, and how identifying them can help him be the detective that ‘solves’ the case!


Diagramming sentences is nothing to sneeze at anymore in Grammar! But, he’s doing well with it, especially now that he is in the habit of doing it daily…


Riley finished his story for WWTB II this week, and it turned out well!



Math Exploration…
Riley is learning about combining like terms, not so easy a concept yet..


Science Exploration… “Exploring the World of Chemistry” is written by a favorite science nonfiction author of ours, John Hudson Tiner. Charlotte Mason would agree this author fits the bill of a ‘living books author.’ He is passionate about science, and he has studied it his entire life. Plus, he manages to write about science in a narrative way – not an easy task. I remember quite dull science textbooks being the common method of teaching way back when I was in public school. I would have liked science so much better learning it this way! And, there are still quizzes, so Riley is getting used to that method of assessment too (but I’m glad it’s not in every subject area).


What can be more exciting than swirling purple and pink chemicals that can change colors with the drop of a liquid? Not much according to Riley. He is loving his CHEM C500 Kit! He’s also learning much from the Lab Form, which has a flow chart to follow as he completes his experiment…




In Christ,
Julie

United States 1 High School
Unit 19
U.S. History box and History Activities box… Using “America: The Last Best Hope”, Wyatt planned for a detailed oral narration. Per instructions, I read the first sentence of each paragraph to give him points to narrate upon. He also used his US1 journal as a visual aid during his detailed oral narration. The narration was in regard to Jefferson possibly being re-elected for U.S. President, Burr not being honest as Vice-President and running for NY Governor, Harrison not supporting Bur, and a deadly duel between the two resulting in Hamilton’s death. Box 2 of the notebook shows a choice of topic headings that require notes upon viewing the American Testimony DVD Set entitled “The Jefferson Years.” I am glad Wyatt is learning to take notes from a viewed media source, such as a DVD. This is an important skill for him to learn, as many colleges/universities deliver instruction via online resources. The Annual Message to Congress, which is part of Box 3, shows Jefferson’s address to Congress in 1806. Discussion of this primary source document was part of the history activities this week as well…


Wyatt is learning so much from the different types of oral/written narrations he is completing this year. The high-lighting/note-taking elements of this narration remind me of the skills needed to study for tests in college – excellent skills to acquire prior to college!


For History Activities, Wyatt completed the War of 1812 map using several different resources…


Here is Wyatt’s Book of Centuries entries for this week as well…


Living Library…
Wyatt has been enjoying The Journeyman, though much hardship has happened. He can hardly stop reading this book, as he just has to know what happens next!


Government… Wyatt is truly enjoying his “A Noble Experiment” Government course. Here is this week’s entry…


Foreign Language…
For Spanish, Wyatt took his Self Test 4 this week. I am glad he is able to look back as needed, as this is a lot to remember…


Constitutional Literacy/Devotional Bible Study rotating subjects… For Constitutional Literacy this week, here is Wyatt’s bulleted question and researched response…


Bible… Wyatt is studying 1 Corinthians 12 and 13 this week in Bible. I am glad he is reading through the New Testament. Daily Bible study is a priority for us in homeschooling.


Science with Lab… Time for Chemistry experiments! Wyatt is really enjoying his Chemistry text, and his experiments have gone well thus far – hooray!


Every year I try to do a few new ‘special’ things, just for fun. This year, I purchased a candle for each of the boy’s tables. They can light it whenever they feel like it, just during school. They love it!


In Christ,
Julie

Here is our week http://graceandfur.blogspot.com/2016/10 ... 10-14.html.