Week in Review 3-20

[Jessi]

Let's put it this way...Emma likes the huge pictures on the back of the handwriting page in A reason for Handwriting because she likes to color. The actual handwriting part is ok, but she rushes through it and gets frustrated because it clearly shows "how" you should write the letter when her brain is thinking opposite. My thoughts are that if she is getting the same results doing it her way then I have no problem if she isn't going counterclockwise on rounded letters. I do think there is a LOT of repetition on the handwriting side, not sure what HWT is like for K though as we only used the prek version (and I didn't like how they taught the kids to write curvy letters like d and c and the number 2). I'd say your Right-handed kids would like it and I do love the fact that from first grade on, A reason for Handwriting has the kids working on a bible verse for the week. But I know she is going to be taught cursive in second and so I am for sure going back to HWT in second...perhaps when she starts Beyond even for first grade just to get her used to HWT before cursive.

Nice to know our girls are very similar! We can brainstorm and commiserate with each other since we are so close together in LHFHG and they are lefties!!! YEAH!

[Samuel'sMommy]

Jessi - I loved your pictures! The cloud activities sounded so fun. I also loved the picture of your little guy after his nap. He looked so happy. Your daughter looked like she was having so much fun doing school.

Sam - The trip to the farm looked like fun. I bet my little guy would love something like that. We may have to find a farm around here and go on a field trip. I get such great ideas from this board! Good job for Spiderman connecting his actions to the story. I love how HOD helps them make those connections to everyday life!

Dorla - I love the grasshopper! Your son did a great job with it! And, I love his face in the bottom picture.

Julie - I love seeing your pictures! Tell Wyatt way to go on reciting his scripture. That is amazing! I love Riley's smile in the picture where he's holding the heart he made.

Jen - What a great field trip! I'll hvae to remember that for when we get to BHFHG in a few years. (We are a couple of hours away from Stones River but it would make a fun field trip.) I love the picture of your daughter acting out the soldiers crossing the river.

Laurie - I love that Odessa is asking to do school on a Saturday. You must be making it tons of fun for her! I loved the drawing she did in her book that she made. I loved the picture of Nadia curled up asleep in her chair and also the AWANA pics with Sophie and Odessa. Samuel's in cubbies too, but so far we haven't had any fun themes like crazy hair. That would be so much fun though.

[funkmomma71]

Everyone seems to be having fun with school! Course everyone is doing HOD, so fun is expected.

I haven't posted in the last couple of weeks, my work schedule has been crazy so we haven't been going full speed. My husband has done school a few times with my dd, she seems to like the shake-up.

We are doing 4-5 days a week, so we are now on Unit 26, day 2 in LHFHG. We have been learning about the early settlers and George Washington and now are moving into the Revolution. We had fun making a topographical map, she loves hands on activities. This week she did an art project using both crayons and watercolor, I guess you could call it a twofer. Oh, she has been just loving the Rhymes, usually she does them 2-3 times each day.

We are now reading Buster Bear, today she had to pantomine her narration, ahhhhh, peace and quiet!!! Her listening comprehension skills have greatly improved and she can now answer questions about a reading without much hesitation and usually correctly.

Phonics lessons have become much easier; we cut out the writing the sentences out onto index cards since I feel she was ready to move at a faster pace than doing them would allow. When I read aloud to her she is constantly pointing out words she knows and trying to read along with me. Today, she was reading notes off of our family whiteboard, including the word "cheerleading" without any help.

Thankfully math is last, because she loves to do more than what is in the lesson. She usually asks to do "just one more" problem, which is great, but by then my ds is waking up so I let her do more on whiteboard. There are definitely worse problems to deal with than a child who wants to do more math!

Thank-you ladies for sharing your experiences, it is such an encouragement! I can't wait to get to Beyond, Bigger and Preparing.

Blessings,
Nancy

[Dustybug]

Jessi--That is precious that your LO is retaining such info! It's amazing what they absorb. I love that you turned your walk into a cloud hunt. Just shows how homeschooling can happen any where, any time! Your kids are precious!

Sam--I'm impressed on your DS relating that he was "serving time!" I probably would have giggled at my own children if they did that though. I need to work on my poker face. lol. Love the farm pictures, that looks like fun! That's wonderful that your DS' handwriting is improving! WTG on completing his first copywork!

Stephanie--I'm so glad that someone else who is doing LHTH is posting. You are way ahead of me, but I still love to see what you are doing! My DD loves tape day too.

Dorla---I had a good chuckle at "He loved eating the head" because as soon as I read that it was made out of edible playdough, I just knew that was coming. lol

Julie---Your toddler sounds like mine. She loves to fix hair. WTG Wyatt for reciting all of that! I bet you are so proud!

Jen--Going to a battlefield sounds like so much fun! I grew up in D.C. and VA and visiting battlefields has always been a think I love to do! My hubby is a real history buff, esp. when it comes to the Civil War, so he would have loved that! BTW, your DD has BEAUTIFUL eyes!

Laurie--How cute that your DD made her own little Adam and Eve book! I love your blog!

And finally, here is the link to my blog post about our week in LHTH:
http://reachtothemoonandback.blogspot.c ... eek-4.html

[Kathleen]

I just love sitting down to read about everyone's week! I think everyone had great weeks, too!! (And we're all in different places...so we all have great things to look forward to. ) I won't list out my favorite things about all of your weeks, because I'd just be repeating. But, I did thoroughly enjoy the peek into your lives.

Grant's favorite part of school this week was his DITHOR project. He just finished reading folk tales, and chose to do the Godly Character Trait Project. Our character trait that we were focusing on was virtue. We read several scripture passages about the different virtues that the Holy Spirit produces in our lives when we are cooperating with Him, and then his assignment was to think of an action he could take to show love and kindness to someone. He chose to bake a cake and take it to Grandma and Grandpa because he knew they were lonely since Michelle and Matthew went back to college. So, we went to Wal-Mart and got a German Chocolate cake mix (Grandma's favorite ), and he baked a cake. He also made a great card to deliver with it. Here's the little cake-baker.


We're still learning a lot from Pioneer Sampler in science, too. Grant has decided that he's going to get that book out this summer and do ALL the experiments that are described in it. That will actually be a fun thing for him to do I think. This week he got to finger-spin some cotton. (I didn't take a pic of that.) And, we also experimented with dyeing "fabric" - paper towels.

Today he made a drinking pouch like the peddler in the book did. Paper is a little "leakier" than canvas, I'm sure. But, he made several for himself and Alli and Garret to use for snacks.


Grant is really liking his growing history notebook, too. He's proud of all the work he has in there. Here he's making a page about Louisa May Alcott. It has a poem of hers that motivated her to work cheerfully while she was doing laundry for her family. He's making clothes to hang on the line. This was actually an art project, but he wanted to save it in his notebook since it will fit.


And, here's a shot of one of our math activities. Grant made a pictograph of the silverware I pulled out of the dishwasher.


Another fun week on the record.
Kathleen

[Kathleen]

Allison and Garret finished reading about Daniel this week. We love acting out the Bible stories. We always have to do them all 3 times, too. So we can make sure everyone gets a chance to play each role. They loved being a "spy" watching Daniel pray.

Here are some pictures of our art project...which is a lion with a closed mouth. (They're fringing the mane here.)


And...the finished products.


Since it was a letter review week, we made some cinnamon "L's".


And, they got to make letters on white boards. Allison thinks this is a great treat! She loves to write anytime, anywhere. She wrote all of our names. Garret made "O's" , and scribbled...and erased.


We just started the unit on Baby Jesus this week, too. We would have made it a little further with that, but we took a day off for a trip to the library for a puppet show. We're in rural NE Kansas, but 3 times a year the library brings in a puppet theater from Kansas City that puts on a show they've written for the kids. Usually it's a version of a classic children's book. This time the show was the Emperor's New Clothes, and the puppets were all South Pole characters...the Emperor being an Emperor Penguin. It was a fun little treat!

Ok, now I'm off to take the kids on 4-wheeler rides!
Kathleen

[netpea]

Oh Ladies, what wonderful ideas you all have! Our week was much lighter than usual. I am still unable to read to the kiddos, so my 8yo is doing the readings and we've put our fantasy book on hold till I can read again. We've kept up with the 3R's but not done all the activities. Hopefully this week will be closer to normal. I'm so glad Spring is here. Perhaps we can all get healthy now!

On a happy note, my daughter is blossoming in her reading. She is on Unit 16 in TRL but she has now read through all of the Early Reader's Bible (on her own, not to me) and is now reading her Beginner's Bible on her own. She even found a mistake in the Beginner's Bible last night. In the story of Joseph and the coat, it says Joseph's brothers wanted to loved as much as JACOB. It should say Joseph. I've read that story to them many times, and not noticed the mistake, she found it though...

[gestep]

We are ALL learning already!! We just started Bigger and were oing over the lesson for geography-putting index cards on a ball for the 7 continents and 5 oceans. My husband was just getting home from work and asked "5 oceans?? I thought there were only 4." Well back in our day, many years ago we were taught 4 oceans so where is this new ocean coming from? Since I had no clue either, I googled it and found out prior to 1957 there were 5 oceans listed but in 1957 the Antarctic/Southern Ocean was dropped until it was officially added again in 2000. Wow, was he ever impressed. I was impressed with HOD when I started researching it, but seeing it in action teaching the whole family put me over the top
We are loving R&S English, done orally on the couch and will drop our other spelling program and just go with the spelling lists and dictation. My life is so organized (at least the school part of it-LOL) and planned out. My worries are lightened and stress is way down-no more searching for new curriculum. How freeing HOD is-can you tell we are loving it?
Thank you Carrie for a wonderful program and all of the hard work you have done and are continuing to do. HOD is an answer to my prayers

Gina

[Carrie]

Gina,

I'm so glad that you are having a good start to your HOD journey! I love to hear that your stress is down and that you're enjoying your days. That is a huge blessing to me too.

Blessings,
Carrie

[spidermansmum]

Nancy-Its great to read about what we will be doing in a few weeks-The topocgraphical graph sound like alot of fun and its good that your Dh is teaching some of the schoolwork.
Kathleen-I loved Grants dishwasher graph -that is homeschooling.Allison's writing is great.I love Garretts face in the pic of the finished lion
Gina I love learning along with my family too.