Week In Review 2-26-09

[Kathleen]

Yikes!! I knew it had been a few weeks - but 5 - since I came to share our week with you!! Last night I got caught up on the last 2 weeks which I hadn't even read. I love the peek into all your lives. Thanks for sharing!

Jessi - it looks like LHFHG is going great in your house! What fun! I'm so glad that it's working well for Emma (and all your extras ).

Carrie - I loved reading about your "gum tree". That will for sure be a hit at my house! I was just telling my husband yesterday that we've got a gum OBSESSION going here. I get the question many times a day, "Mom, can I have some gum?!?" (Or it's variation..."May I have some pink gum?" "May I have some orange gum?" "May I have some hot gum?") Even though the answer is almost always no...the enthusiasm is not waning.

We have been continuing to progress beautifully with HOD. My lack of computer time has come from several extras that took a lot of weekend time, some unexpected nice weather and TONS of time outside , and starting to side our house. I'll have to give you before and after pictures when we're done. They're pretty dramatic since we debated what to do and prayed about our options for at least a year, and then once we knew what we were going to do it took the siding an extra month to get here than the expected. So, rather than starting in August, it showed up mid-September and we lost our window to get it done before harvest and winter. But the blessing of nice days peppered in has made for a start in progress. (My husband Mike and his dad are the crew for the job...so with the dairy and all I bet we'll have it done somewhere in the 2 months-1 year range.)

I just can't say enough good things about Bigger. I am thoroughly enjoying this time with Grant this year. I love the focus on godly character and the scripture we're memorizing. I love even more the way that we look at all of our studies in view of the the Word of God. This ability to think discerningly will be invaluable for him! I am continuing to enjoy watching the flow of history through the eyes of our American heroes (whether prominent or not). I'm as excited as Grant is to read our stories for the day! Some of our favorites from the last 5 weeks have been...Daniel Boone (We especially liked the story of his daughter Jemima who left a trail for the dads to find them after captured by the Indians. I'm still finding bits of toilet paper around the house left for the search party! This was an ongoing game for several days!), Robert Fulton and the Steamboat, Lewis and Clark, and Francis Scott Key and the Star-Spangled Banner.
Here's a picture of the US with the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers to show why Lewis and Clark chose the Missouri to follow for their trek west. (Electical tape is a good sub if your run out of masking tape. )


Grant's favorite activity was the art project we did this week. We made this to go along with the Star-Spangled banner. He loved showing the "bombs bursting in air"! I knew Allison and Garret would enjoy this, too, so we all made one. What a fun idea, Carrie!


Grant says that his favorite parts of the day are still Storytime and Science. We're into Pioneer Sampler now for science. It is a beautiful book. I love the pictures! I love the depiction of pioneer life, too. Here are a couple of things we tried for our science exploration. Grant is measuring how tall his dog Hunter is with his hands (and Hunter is thinking it's time for us to go on a jog or bike ride with him ). The next picture is the fence that Grant built yesterday. I love the stile to cross it with! I have a terrible time for real getting caught in fences when we're out on our "rough hikes" as a family.


I'll start a new post with highlights for my LHTH'ers...
Kathleen

[Kathleen]

Allison and Garret eagerly look forward to their time with me in LHTH every day! We continue to have so much fun! This is exactly what early learning should look like! We covered letters K, L, M, N, and most of O!

When we were doing letter "L", Garret made sure that I knew (every day! ) that on the Letter Factory they lick big lollipops for the letter "L". It just so "happened" that Wal-Mart got in huge lollipops which they displayed by the entrance that week. So we had a lollipop party to celebrate being done with letter "L" and watched the Letter Factory together.


Making "M's" on the mirror or window. (This is a great way to get them clean every month or 2. )


Our playdough "N's". (Grant did a demonstration for 4-H on making playdough...which he also did for 4-H days and our model meeting...so we have a lot of homemade playdough right now!)


Here are some of out highlights acting our the Bible stories, too. Here is my little praise band praising God for the temple!


Here are the ravens bringing food to Elijah and sorting it into a muffin tin...


Here Alli is seeing if her cup of oil is bottomless. Nope! It was a m-m-miracle!!


I was surprised when we did the activity where we were filling in cracks to fix God's house. My 2 did not like the feel of the oatmeal mixed with water to patch with!


They got into it though...


Here's an activity that went with Job's life. We had 5 things to represent his wealth and then I took them away. We were "subtracting" and then "adding" again. The fact that Job didn't say, "Hey, that's not fair!!" was a good lesson for our house.


I'm always so thankful for the encouragement here on the HOD board! You ladies are great!! And, I hope that each and every one of you had a wonderful week with your kids!
Kathleen

[MamaMary]

Oh Kathleen, these pictures were priceless! You are doing such a GREAT job mommy!

[Jessi]

Georgette- The skits sound like a lot of fun! I always retain more when I am doing something as opposed to just reading or listening. It really cements it more! I have never heard of Donut Man...but anything with donut in the title has to be good.

Kathleen- Can I just say you take the best pictures of your kiddos. As I read your posts, I could tell the story behind the pictures even without your commentary. You have expressive kids and they are truly fun to "watch" learn. I just have to say that your electrical tape outline of America was pretty amazing! Good job. I want to burst some "bombs" now myself. hehehe And Allison and Garret's eyes with the lollipops just tickled my funny bone. Thanks for sharing!

[gracelikerain]

Jessi,
I loved your blog....wonderful music. Your pics of your kids are great. They are so cute! The doughnut man videos are fabulous! Even my 11 likes to put them on. They make her "feel" good. I feel the same way. The music & the way he teaches is memorable.

Jennifer,
That story of you in church with the parlytic song from the videos really made me smile! I know just what you mean! I love those songs. They really help cement God's truths.

Julie,
I also do much better with music & memory verses etc. I have thought the same thing about being in prison & singing praise songs! If that ever happens I hope we will be together singing!! BTW I love your ds's timeline. I didn't think of putting it on poster board. Since I didn't have a spare door we are doing the accordion & we love it but I like the idea of having it all visible at once when you pull it out!

Kathleen,
I LOVE your pics! That is a great map!! Your dc are so excited & happy learning. What gift HOD truly is.......

Carrie, you amaze me...teaching 3 programs. You are so organized!

Mary, it was so nice to see your boys! They look like they are enjoying their learning! How is Seth? I hope you are all doing well. I read on your blog about your hospital experience with Seth. It really blessed me. God has been speaking similar things into my heart about my 11dd's anxiety issues. I even told her that this was an opportunity to take what the enemy means for harm & turn it into a tool to draw close to "her" Jesus. Learning to trust HIM. As mothers we want to fix their hurts & take all their pain but that is not always our job as we lead them to the Father.....I'm learning so much......

Bless you all!!!

[spidermansmum]

We are struggling to get back into our routine after our vacation.Since we have been back we have had 3 hosital check up and we have 2 more next week[nothing serious they all seem to hit in the same fortnight]As a result we have spent two weeks covering week 20.
Its been wonderful to teach all about the kings of England-as we are in England,It might suprise you to know that the national curriculum here doesnt cover an overview of the kings of England-It favours in depth study of a few era's.So its been wonderful to educate my son On KIng Alfred and king Richard.There is a statue of King Alfred an hours drive away and Im hoping we can take him to see it soon.I included how alfred burnt the cakes .
His writing is coming along nicely.His reading is coming along too.For some reason we are struggled with Grandfather Frog .Its really hard to keep his attention -which is odd because we havent ever come accross this before with the Thornton Burgees book.I am hoping the next book appeals more.We are moving nicely along with Singapore Math 1B.
I must update later with some pictures
Kathleen the lollypop party looked like it was alot of fun.
Mama Mary it s lovely to see all of your children working at the table and looking so well.

[my3sons]

Kathleen- Rich sided our first house we lived in, so I totally know how busy that can be. It took him all summer, but I was so thankful for it by the time he was done. He did it by himself, I'm still not sure how - but when he has become determined to do something, it usually gets done one way or another. I cannot believe how much Garret has grown! I loved seeing your pics - it is obvious your dc love school, and LOVE their teacher!!! That's a homeschool mom's greatest compliment. I'm definitely going to have to get some lollipops like that - that just looked too fun.

In Christ,
Julie

[my3sons]

We are struggling to get back into our routine after our vacation.Since we have been back we have had 3 hosital check up and we have 2 more next week[nothing serious they all seem to hit in the same fortnight]As a result we have spent two weeks covering week 20.
Its been wonderful to teach all about the kings of England-as we are in England,It might suprise you to know that the national curriculum here doesnt cover an overview of the kings of England-It favours in depth study of a few era's.So its been wonderful to educate my son On KIng Alfred and king Richard.There is a statue of King Alfred an hours drive away and Im hoping we can take him to see it soon.I included how alfred burnt the cakes .
His writing is coming along nicely.His reading is coming along too.For some reason we are struggled with Grandfather Frog .Its really hard to keep his attention -which is odd because we havent ever come accross this before with the Thornton Burgees book.I am hoping the next book appeals more.We are moving nicely along with Singapore Math 1B.
I must update later with some pictures
Kathleen the lollypop party looked like it was alot of fun.
Mama Mary it slobely to see all of your children working at the table and looking so well.

Sam - I had a lot of doctor's appointments last year, and I know how that can be difficult. It just makes it near to impossible to really get into a good routine sometimes. I am praying for you to be able to settle back into a steady, less stressful pace, and I think that alone will help your little one with enjoying Grandfather Frog more; the reason I say that is because last year we had missed reading Reddy Fox for about a week due to sickness and doctor's visits, and my ds actually said, "Why is Reddy Fox wearing a dress?" while looking at a picture of Granny Fox. I told him that was Granny Fox, and he said, "You're kidding. There are TWO foxes - I didn't know that." Granny Fox is a big part of that story, so I was less than thrilled he'd forgotten her - but that's what happens when we haven't read a book for awhile. Little ones honestly forget. They don't have that ability that we possess to put a book down and come back to it in a week as if we'd never stopped reading it. Anyway, I'm hoping after these next few appointments, you don't have to go to any for a bit. It is just so nice to be home, isn't it?!?

In Christ,
Julie

[MamaMary]

Mama Mary it slobely to see all of your children working at the table and looking so well.

Thank you so much Sam! I am shocked that your country doesn't cover the kings and think it's so cool that you're getting it covered in HOD! Also, I totally understand what you mean about getting into the groove. We have missed many weeks of HOD due to dads cancer, my blood pressure issue's early on and lately Seth's seizures. Hang in there friend. It will slow down and you'll get back into your routine.

Mary writes after reading Julie's response and being blessed by it as well!

[Dustybug]

Hello all! This was my very first week of homeschooling...ever! I was so excited to start though! We didn't begin until Wednesday because we were still waiting on our Big Thoughts for Little People book to come in the mail. I've decided to do LHTH every other day and then fill in the other days with complementary supplementation.

Here's my blog post about our first three days:
http://reachtothemoonandback.blogspot.c ... -real.html

My little Gabriella has been so excited for school that yesterday when I told her we weren't going to do it on the weekend, she cried! Who would have thought that? lol

I can't wait to get further in and keep learning from all of you other HOD ladies!

[MamaMary]

Dusty, I LOVED your blog entry! You are doing a GREAT job. It looks like you and your little sweetie had a BLAST! I can't wait to read your updates each week

[my3sons]

Dusty - What a great first week homeschooling! You are so wise to take pictures of it - how I wish I had done that with our dc - I guess there is always our last ds, so I have one more shot at that. Gabriella looked precious painting and creating. She is blessed to have such a dedicated mom. I think that is so cute that she cried when she found out she couldn't do school on the weekend. Now, that's a memory to hold on to during the journey of homeschooling - too cute!

In Christ,
Julie

[spidermansmum]

I edited my typo.
Im so grateful for the encouragement .

Its been wonderful to teach all about the kings of England-as we are in England,It might suprise you to know that the national curriculum here doesnt cover an overview of the kings of England-It favours in depth study of a few era's.So its been wonderful to educate my son On KIng Alfred and king Richard.There is a statue of King Alfred an hours drive away and Im hoping we can take him to see it soon.I included how alfred burnt the cakes .


Sam - I had a lot of doctor's appointments last year, and I know how that can be difficult. It just makes it near to impossible to really get into a good routine sometimes. I am praying for you to be able to settle back into a steady, less stressful pace, and I think that alone will help your little one with enjoying Grandfather Frog more; the reason I say that is because last year we had missed reading Reddy Fox for about a week due to sickness and doctor's visits, and my ds actually said, "Why is Reddy Fox wearing a dress?" while looking at a picture of Granny Fox. I told him that was Granny Fox, and he said, "You're kidding. There are TWO foxes - I didn't know that." Granny Fox is a big part of that story, so I was less than thrilled he'd forgotten her - but that's what happens when we haven't read a book for awhile. Little ones honestly forget. They don't have that ability that we possess to put a book down and come back to it in a week as if we'd never stopped reading it. Anyway, I'm hoping after these next few appointments, you don't have to go to any for a bit. It is just so nice to be home, isn't it?!?

In Christ,
Julie

Julie -Thankyou for that I hadnt thought about how many breaks we had had whilst reading this book and I feel encouraged to keep going and finish the last chapter and hopefully we will quickly get back into a routine .Providing everyones blood work comes back okay-we are done for a few months.

Mama Mary it slobely to see all of your children working at the table and looking so well.

Thank you so much Sam! I am shocked that your country doesn't cover the kings and think it's so cool that you're getting it covered in HOD! Also, I totally understand what you mean about getting into the groove. We have missed many weeks of HOD due to dads cancer, my blood pressure issue's early on and lately Seth's seizures. Hang in there friend. It will slow down and you'll get back into your routine.

Mary writes after reading Julie's response and being blessed by it as well!

Thankyou.
Im trying to decide whether to add to the next few weeks of HOD which cover american history a few more stories about English history.I have Our Island History but it seems a bit violent and for a very literal child[he has aspergers] Im nervous.I studied American History for my History GCSE and liked it so Im leaning towards continuing with HOD .I think I might post in the main board about this....
Thankyou
Sam

[Jessi]

Sam- Glad you are able to teach about the kings of England. Weird how they don't teach that. Is it just understood that everyone knows? Not sure. And how cool that you can visit statues of those kings in real life! Hope things settle in for you.

Dusty- you have a VERY cute blog! Loved it. Gabby is a doll! And I am so glad that you had such a great first week. I liked the "earth" craft. What a neat idea. You did a great job of exposing her to the letter A!

[spidermansmum]

Dusty -I enjoyed reading your blog.