heartofdakota.com

Ok Girls,

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!

Important Note: If you are linking us to your blog, please make sure it's not just a general link, but to your specific post of HOD. That way if someone reads through these a year from now they can find your share without needing to hunt!

I am going to try to report in this year. We are just finishing unit 3 in Beyond, going 1/2 speed and trying to get into a regular schedule. We are thoroughly enjoying Beyond, it is a great program.

Below is the picture Big J drew to illustrate the poem this week (it is the UPHILL poem, with a hill and inn at the end). He is doing much better already with the poetry section. In the beginning he could not come up with a name and wasn't sure how to translate what I was reading into a drawing. This week he was ready to start drawing before I was done.


We had a spelling list funny this week. Dh had to teach Big J one day because of my schedule and even though I went over it all with him the night before, he could not figure out where the spelling words were. Big J knew they were looking for flashcards and pulled out the reading flashcards from chapter 15 of TRL. Poor kid, dh said he was flustered at first but then pulled himself together and just wrote the words. Dh stopped at 11 words because he remembered I had said there were 10 words. Amazingly Big J spelled 7 out of 11 correctly - pretty good considering he is only doing spelling list 1 in Beyond and these were words like every, only, etc. I guess we are learning to spell as well as read!

Ever since we talked about the horizon and the world being round for history Big J has been telling me about the horizon. Yesterday we were driving up a really big overpass and Big J said, "I can tell the world is round mommy." I just love the way he remembers everything we are learning in HOD. It was a good week, despite schedule problems.

I skipped several week but am trying to catch up on my blog. My week is here:

http://tabatha-world.blogspot.com/

Hope you enjoy!

Countrymom,

Isn't it fun to see your son growing into his skills and see him progress! I got a chuckle from your share about your dear hubby doing the spelling flashcards wrong and your son trying to find the right flashcards. It sounds like something that could definitely happen at our house! You can be so proud of the words he got right though.

Tabrett,

I thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog! Marshmallows ARE very motivating. My boys love any manipulative they can eat! I loved the boat/penny activity too with the "Hurricane Joshua". I was also really nodding my head in agreement as I read your thoughts on the Biblical stages of learning. I fully agree that there is nothing more important than beginning with the word of God!

Blessings,
Carrie

Tabrett...how cool that you graduated from App state. I am over that way (Boone) about once a week and live very nearby!

You can see our 2nd week with Beyond here. I've written up in a different format and I don't know that I like it that well for my blog (I love reading others' written in a similar format), but I didn't want to re-do it all. It just doesn't have as much warmth or really show how much fun we were having. So let me just say that we're loving our time in Beyond. Thank you, Carrie, as this has seriously been the easiest start to a new school year and the least stressful of any year I've ever had.

Well, this week our life flexed and HOD flexed right along with us! A relative in town, school picture day, and gotta-be-done-this-MORNING errands dumped into our week just as we were getting "the schedule" down Thankfully, we were able to readjust, prioritize, and were able to finish the week successfully! The boys are really enjoying HOD and after limping through last year burned out and overwhelmed, we are having FUN even during a busy week like this one. I continue to be surprised at my "first and a half" grader who joins us for Bible, History time, Story time, and this week the cave art project also, and demonstrating that he is learning the material even as he is at the table working on his math/phonics/handwriting. Wow! LOVE HOD and so grateful the Lord led us here!

We had yet another amazing week with CTC and Beyond! We took Monday off as a Holiday, so HOD flexed with us and Day 1 of the guide started on Tuesday.

Our favorite things in CTC this week were the Hebrew head dress and the Hebrew meal. ds is really loving his notebooking pages and artwork as well. He takes great pride in his notebook pages these days and is working very hard on them - taking his time. We have not done the paragraph yet this week because we are just on day 3 (Thurs are co-op days, so we do not do the curriculum on those days) but I wanted to post the picture of Joseph's coat of many colors. Ds made holes and blood and copied the passage from the book about how the brothers did these things to the coat to deceive their father into thinking Joseph was dead.

ds6 had a great week with Beyond as well. We also took Monday off, but we do not take co-op days off. His curriculum is a 5-day plan and it really doesn't take us that long to do. He has so much fun doing it too!

This week, we did the poem "Daybreak" and he is really doing well on his copy work. His spelling needs some work and this week, we decided to write the words he missed a few times each and then write them in the air, on the table with his finger, spell them in the car, etc. It must have worked...he did great on his spelling "test" today. (We are using list 2 in Beyond).

We also had a good time learning what a dike was and how it worked. Even though the book explained it well, my ds could not visualize it until we made the one of playdough. It really clicked then.

We also finished the book "Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin." We weren't supposed to finish until the next lesson, but neither of us could bear to stop today just as we got to the part where they are having the dedication of the house!!! So, we finished it. Yesterday, ds was asked to retell the story as I write what he says. He did a great job...and then we underlined the main idea. When he was finished, he asked if he could draw a picture. I said, "sure" and have just really enjoyed his little horses! Are those funny/cute or what? I love the little smiles he put on them. It looks just like him smiling. He is such a sweet little one.

I actually did it! I posted my own pictures without any help from dd. Only they got too big!!!! What did I do wrong? DD's home. Maybe she can tell me.

Anyway, we had a pretty good week in LHFHG. My pictures are out of order, but I will explain. The red poster is a visual schedule of LHFHG. I put a picture for each box and then made laminated 'buttons ( Super, Well done, A+, etc.) with velcro to put on each picture as Angie completes each box. However, we start working and usually end up finishing or almost finishing the days work before any buttons are even put on. It looks nice, though. Angie made her quail the other day. After seeing the pic on the message board of one that was made with colorful feathers, she decided she wanted colorful feathers on hers. Then she wanted to pretend that we were the Israelites gathering manna. So, I got some old oyster crackers that were in my cupboard and scattered some on the floor for us to gather. She would say something to me like, "Mother, come and see!" Then I would say something like, "God gave us food!" Then both of us would say, "Thank you, God!." Then we would pick up the crackers and put them in our baskets. No, we didn't eat them after they were on the floor. I gave dd some clean ones to eat. They were a tad stale, but she didn't mind.

I really look forward to HOD every day. I think Angie is enjoying it as well, until there are frustrations with handwriting. Hopefully with some changes, it will go better. I want to switch her to A Reason For Handwriting. She's getting frustrated with HWT. She has been doing wonderful with memorizing her verses. And she is loving Reddy Fox. When we finish the daily chapter and I close the book, she will grab it and say, "No, no, read more!" She teases now, because she knows I will tell her she has to wait. I think we have two chapters left.

I'm so excited that I can do these pictures, but I need to shrink them. Thanks, Julie and Marcee for help with the link.

Edit: I noticed they all did shrink down. Wow! I can't believe I actually did this!

Wow!! What a wonderful week everyone has had!! I LOVE reading everyone's updates!! You are all doing such a great job!
We have finished the first two units in LHFHG & had a wonderful time! Please visit this post to read about our weeks...
http://ourfamilyforhisglory.blogspot.co ... glory.html
Jessica

Everyone's week looks like so much fun. Thanks for posting, ladies. It's a great encouragment.

Hello ladies! I really enjoyed reading about your weeks. Hopefully I'll be the next one to learn how to post photos . It is so neat to read about others doing Beyond as we are. We had the BEST first week with Beyond, not just the girls, but myself too. I don't know when I've been so relaxed in the evening knowing the next day is all spelled out for me. In past years it always seemed like the next day came before I was ever ready and this year I actually cannot wait for each morning . Amazing. We had great fun each day. My 2 and 3 year olds actually participated in some of the activities too! Making the shields and a field of crops were favorites of all 4 dds. But the absolute highlight of my week was a letter from my oldest dd which read, "Mom, thank you for making this the BEST WEEK EVER!" Wow, thank YOU HOD for making this our best week ever. Blessings to all.

My oldest 2 dc finished up Unit 4 in LHTH & BEYOND I didn't have much time to take pictures or blog, so there's just one post for the week highlighting ds's science activities...

http://ourlittlethinkers.blogspot.com/2 ... ience.html

Edwena,
I loved seeing the pictures of your kiddos. Your son and daughter are truly precious. It was amazing to read over everything you've already accomplished this year! I'm so glad you're loving HOD! Thanks for sharing!

grayce467,
It truly is a blessing when the curriculum can flex along with you, isn't it! Life seems full of busy weeks, and I know what you mean about it being wonderful to still be able to acccomplish what you want in spite of it! I'm thrilled you're enjoying your start to your year.

Rebecca,
I thoroughly enjoyed seeing your Hebrew meal. We enjoyed our so much! Your son's notebook pages are so well-done. I loved seeing my son taking time with his notebook in CTC last year too. It is truly a keepsake now that it is done. Benjamin West was a favorite here too. It was such a good story and hard to put down! I like the dam your younger son built. My son needed to build the dam to understand it too, so I was glad that activity was in the guide.

psreit,
I am so proud of you for being able to post pictures. It is something I do not know how to do yet! So, you're amazing in my book. It was neat to see your sweet daughter enjoying her school so much. What a cute story about the colorful quail and the manna.

Jessica,
What a beautiful blog you have put together! Your girls are absolutely precious. I loved seeing their smiling faces as they showed their cross pictures and their heart pictures too. It's amazing how many dominoes fit into their boats isn't it! I must admit I am always amazed by that experiment too.

Gina,
I am so glad that you are feeling less stress with your school year and able to enjoy your evenings more not wondering about school the next day! I know exactly what you mean and it is as if a burden has been lifted! So, I'm praising the Lord with you for a great start to your year!

creativemommy,
Thanks for the fun peak into your week with your link. What a neat blog you have! I enjoyed seeing your kiddos and reading about your son's prediction and surprise over the number of water drops that fit on the nickel. Surface tension is amazing!

Thanks to each of you who take time to share with one another! I know it uplifts and encouarges so many as we share our homeschool journey together.

Blessings,
Carrie