Week-In Review 2-22-10 to 2-26-10

[my3sons]

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!

[my3sons]

I have liked reading about each of your weeks here on the weekly check-in the past month. It is so neat to see HOD being enjoyed in each of your homes as much as I enjoy it in mine! We had a good week, and even though it is the last third of the year (a time that is usually the last of the long winter for us here), we are still having a blast with HOD.

Creation to Christ:
Wyatt is learning about Carthage getting defeated. He loved making different catapults and seeing how far he could launch his marshmallows. The other boys loved being the target and eating the marshmallows! The computer link was a blast, as it allowed him to experiment with force of gravity, amount of mass, and height and angle. Here are some pics of the catapult activities:


One of my very favorite things Wyatt did this week was his writing of a fable for "Write with the Best". I just have to share it here!

The Fox and the Coyote

The tall, handsome, skinny fox stared pride fully at himself in every pool, river, and stream he could find. He loved the way his scarlet red coat fit grace fully on him, and he often marveled at the way he imagined the animals looked adoringly at him. The coyote, on the other hand, thought himself to be an average looking chap with a brain bursting with flattery ideas. This flattering was mainly done in order to steal a delicious meal.

As the sun rose in the tree covered valley, the plants seemed to light up, reflecting the suns warm rays. As the fox pranced along the glistening river, he was so into looking at his reflection that he did not notice the gray coyote slowly creeping along after him devising a plan to get dinner without getting into harm’s way. The fox hungrily took off toward the hen house and shortly came out with a plump, juicy, big chicken. As the fox ran into the woods he was stopped by the coyote that had been following him.

Coyote exclaimed, “Good morning fox! How beautiful your coat and tail shine in the sunlight today.”

The fox proudly mumbled through a tuft of feathers, “Why thank you coyote. I, m sure you wish you were a mere reflection of me.”

Coyote answered, “Why yes! I would love to look like you. Your tail is perfectly combed and your ears are set just right. However, that chicken makes you look horrible for it is messing your fur up and making your mouth all nasty looking."

The fox with a look of shame on his face dropped the chicken and said aloud, “Oh, I this better go fix this mess up by the pond.

Thinking quickly coyote said, “I saw some beavers over there working on a dam. The water will be rippling, so you won’t be able to see your reflection. You’d better go over the hill to the big river, so that you can see your reflection better.

As the fox hurried off the coyote grabbed the chicken and headed home.

Moral:
A bit of flattery can make you forget what’s most important.

Here is Wyatt's watercolor painting of Robert Frost's poem about the night sky. With help, he continues to improve in this area :


We had a chat this week about giving our best effort in drawing/notebooking, as this is an area my ds can tend to rush through. I was happy with his notebooking about Galen:


This week Wyatt decided to set his alarm and get up early to do his independent things. He is a morning person, and I said this was fine, with some hesitation, as he tried this last year and it didn't work. I told him he could try to do Independent History, Independent Science (unless it was an experiment), and his Bible. He said very gravely, "Oh no, not Bible, Mom! I love to do that each morning when I come down right by the fireplace. It's kind of a neat way to start my day downstairs." That was music to my ears! If something is going to be super special, I sure love it to be Bible. I also said that I would not change what the rest of us were doing, our routine of the day, as that would mess everyone else up. I cannot believe it, but it worked today! He finished at 11 AM, and was beaming. His work was good, and he finished an hour earlier.

My middle ds also read his own Bible in his room (just on his own, not for HOD) and did his copywork, as well as coloring his poetry drawing early this morning. Then he too said, "I still want to read my Bible by the fireplace, Mom. I really love that time." So he read double today.

I think CTC is the first time this truly would have worked, as before this, he always needed my help too much. For BHFHG, my middle ds, I told him only the copywork and the Bible he reads on his own, and maybe his math flashcards could be done early. That's a big teaching year for me, and rightfully so - I am unwilling to give that up and let him wing it independently. For my oldest though, I think this will work well if he wants to do it. If not, I'm fine finishing at lunch time like we always do.

WHEW! Sorry this got long - it was just a week full of growth, and I had to share with all you wonderful ladies!

In Christ,
Julie

[my3sons]

Bigger Hearts for His Glory:
Riley is blooming before my eyes with BHFHG! Finally, my child who had such difficulty paying attention and listening attentively is making great strides in these areas. I am so proud of him! His narrations are becoming better, though we still have a ton of "and then"s in the middle of the narration, as well as thinking out loud, like "hmmm, what happened then?". But, he is starting at the beginning, has a middle, has an end, and has an uncanny ability to remember special names of people, places, and things (something that has been a frustration of mine with my oldest ds's narrating). He LOVES Phillis Wheatley, and I even see my oldest ds hanging out doing his work near us to listen in on it too.

His writing and coloring have just taken off! I am sooooooooo glad that we are doing BHFHG half-speed. I am loving him being able to grow into it and just blossom. It is very interesting doing BHFHG with my second ds, and I cannot help compare the 2 of them. My oldest ds has never been one to get into drawing and coloring, projects, etc., while my middle ds is a natural at that kind of thing. I am enjoying this side of Riley so much with BHFHG. But I remember doing BHFHG with Wyatt, and with him, I enjoyed his excellent narrations, his ability to focus so well, and his attitude of finishing school promptly and well. It's just neat to be able to have done it with both of them, and I imagine when my third ds does it, that will be a new experience as well. Here is Riley's poetry copywork and drawings, his timeline, and his DITHOR Student Book:


One of Riley's favorite things to do are the Science Experiments. In fact, that is the one drawback in his mind to doing BHFHG half-speed. Oh well, something to appreciate about doing it full-speed next year, right? Here he is experimenting with a pliers, tweezers, and clothes pin (which represent birds' beaks), to pick up different sized cereal pieces (which represent insects/small bugs on the strandline of the seashore) to eat. He would have done this for HOURS, and big brother had to come join him for a bit and try his "beak" at it!


I am really enjoying this slow-paced start to BHFHG with my little guy. I definitely recommend it for anyone doing BHFHG with a student on the young side of the target age range.

In Christ,
Julie

[creativemommy]

I've neglected posting the past few weeks and don't have any fun pics to post today. But wanted to say that no matter how cRaZy bUsY our weeks are, we get school done! This week was especially busy with family at our home Mon & Tues, dentist appts Wed AM, dr. appt Wed PM, needy baby on Thurs (wanting to be held constantly due to her ear infection) and packing to leave for a weekend trip today along with everything normal that occurs in our week. Yet we managed to get Unit 22 of LHTH and LHFHG finished for my oldest two kiddos. I know it's only because of how HOD is designed! It's a blessing to go into our school room in the morning, open the guide and go!!!

My 6yo ds is enjoying learning about the men who spread the Gospel and the Reformation. Last week in the car we were listening to one of our Newsboys CDs and one of their songs came on that talked about Patrick and the Irish nation. His ears perked up because we had just read about it. It was great to see him make a connection!

My 3yo dd woke up last Saturday and was LEAPING across the dining room asking me when we'll do school today. I was glad my husband was there at the table with me to hear her question and see her excitement over school. I was sad to tell her it was Saturday and we weren't planning on doing school in the school room.

[my3sons]

Little Hands to Heaven:
Emmett does his Fingerplay (or the portions of it he knows best) throughout the day now, just for fun. He breaks into it all of a sudden with a big grin and lots of gusto. My dh loves it! The big hit of this week was hands-down the crossing of the Red Sea. I had everyone do it with Emmett, and they all really got into it. We only took about 5 minutes to throw it together, so it didn't make the rest of their day off, and they loved acting it out. Riley was Moses holding up his staff so the Red Sea parted. If you look carefully, there is a tall man following Moses across representing the Israelites (he is actually the mobile character Wyatt made for his DITHOR project for Buffalo Bill ). Then Wyatt and Emmett are dressed up as the Egyptians racing across the Red Sea, and ultimately perishing when it washed back over them. We acted this out a handful of times - they loved it!


Close seconds and thirds for big hits this week were the painting of the fish in the Red Sea as it parted, and the gathering manna:


Emmett is starting to hold his markers more correctly and be able to trace some dotted letters too, so that's exciting:


We're loving Little Hands. Hope you had a good week!
In Christ,
Julie

[Mom4Him]

It has been another fun-filled week with LHTH!! Although, besides for school, it has been a crazy week- Mommy falling down the steps while carrying baby (just bruises on mommy, baby was just fine ), almost starting the house on fire , our furnace going out (son in the beginning stages of hypothermia before we noticed )... It has been a week of remembering the many, many blessings God has given us, for despite a few bumps & bruises & shivers & a terribly smelly house- we are all doing well & God is so very good!! We have been blessed to be doing LHTH each day to focus our minds & our hearts on God!
This week we learned about Daniel...
Everyone really enjoys reading from our Bible...

We also really enjoy the music each day! This week we danced with animals, pretended we were dancing angels & played instruments to the music...

We really enjoyed all of the dramatic play activities... pretending to be Daniel praying, the hand writing on the wall, playing hide & seek with our animals...

One of our favorites was reinacting Daniel in the lions den! We each took turns being Daniel, the lions, and the angel...my almost 2-year-old has been walking around closing everyone's mouths the rest of the day.

We had sooo much fun with the art project- coloring & cutting (such great fine-motor skills) & they were all so proud of their finished projects!

I hope you all had a wonderful week as well (minus the falls & burns... ). I've really enjoyed reading about everyone's weeks & look forward to seeing what everyone else has been up to!

[LynnH]

I love reading all these each week. It is especially fun to see the guides we didn't do since we just started homeschooling. Julie, Noah and Wyatt are a lot alike. I had the talk with Noah this week about the quality of work on his notebooking pages. I had to laugh when I saw that in your post. I love Wyatt's story.
Here is the link to my update for the week. http://graceandfur.blogspot.com/2010/02 ... 22-10.html

[3musketeers]

Ladies,

How I love having some time to sit down and read about everyone's week. Mom4him, your sweet testimony of how our God is good even in the midst of all the craziness you had this week is such a blessing to me this morning. I fell down some stairs with my youngest ds when he was a baby. Every one was o.k. but it scared me to death. I'm glad to hear all are safe and see all the fun you had with HOD despite circumstances.Creativemommy, I love the way HOD is structured too. I too always seem to get school accomplished no matter what life brings. It seems you had quite a bit of stuff going. I hope your younger one's ear is better. Ear infections can keep moms tuckered out as well as the dc. Julie, I loved Wyatt's fable. I especially chuckled at this part:

making your mouth all nasty looking.

I could totally see my boys saying something similar. I also know how boys can throw together a chariot chase scene through the Red Sea in no time flat. My boys have tons of costumes that they too love to act out things. Our week looked a lot like yours since we have boys in the same guides. Lynnh, I enjoyed your peak into Preparing. We are headed that way next fall .

[3musketeers]

Our week in review is sadly again w/o pics. I am just not very computer saavy. Dh says that he will help me post pics one day. Today will not be the day. We are running to a B-day party here in a bit. But here are some highlights from our week:

Bigger:
Dss learned about Robert Fulton and the steam boat. They loved making their "Roman Candle" etching picture. I'm not sure we did it right, but they loved every minute of it. I jotted some notes down for next time we hit Bigger with younger ds, so I will be in the "know". Both boys were teasing me that I had more paint on me than them, and they were the ones doing the project. They also enjoyed mixing the paint with flour, detergent, and glue. That was a totally new concept to them. I can only imagine those wheels turning now . I also combined the "Blood Plague" water play for youngest ds in LHTH, that we missed last week, with our "Paddle Wheel" activity. So we had a paddle wheel going in our red food colored water and we added on talking about God parting the water in the Red Sea (since that is the lesson we had that day). I also had to talk with oldest ds about his neatness on his time line. I will know next time to make nifty boxes (mental note). Thanks Julie for the pic in your post. My ds has had trouble alotting space for each entry, some are too big and some too small. We have discussed "not to make them too big before." ("Boxes remember boxes" when I make one for younger ds later down the road. Good idea. ). Can I say how I love the poem "The Harbor" and how it just went so well with everything we learned about Fulton.

We finished One Small Square Woods. The mold is finally gone . The boys loved it when it got all gross and disgusting looking. I can't believe how much fun they had learning about owls' wingspans. I found John Audubon's book "Birds of North America" at 1/2 Price Books for $7. He had a pic of each of the owls mentioned. So the boys got to look at the owls we were measuring wing span for. They compared their wingspan to the ones we measured. I have 2 barn owls and a hawk owl.

[3musketeers]

LHTH:

Youngest ds is loving learning about Moses. He was so excited he finally got to do the water play I promised. He also enjoyed follow the leader. I wrapped up in a light blue throw blanket and said I was the "cloud by day" and he had to follow me. He laughed the whole time saying "mom you are not a cloud" . The songs are just so catchy. "OH Oh Oh Oh Woo Hoo." We also parted the Red Sea like Julie, but we used blankets and ds's toy soldiers. Santa Anna's army (for those unfamiliar with Texas history, he was the general of the Mexican army during Texas' independence from Mexico) were the Egyptians and the Toy Story soldiers were the Israelites. Of course Santa Anna's men were swept away in the blanket. They never win . Wait, remember the Alamo ? I hope ds is not confused since we did go see a musical play about "The Alamo" on Tuesday. Ds's cutting amazes me. He did not like cutting jewelry pics out of magazines this week. Maybe he thought it was for girls. But he cut quite a few without any help from me. Yea!

[annaz]

We're on Bigger Unit 17:
We're still rotting our banana for Science on "What is mold?" This is just the first day. It should be interesting to see what it'll look like come Monday. Friday, there wasn't too much change. It was brown. But the rat thing? Mmmm...How does she know rats would like this?



DD is enjoying history and really loved the Revolutionary War. She wanted more war reinactments, but we've finished that portion. This week we're studying Daniel Boone, which she always wants to read more. I thought this was cute as she taped him swinging. She laughed at it saying that he wanted him to land in the bush (that's what that is on the left). LOL!



Yesterday, we made the trail outside with torn papertowels. She loved it! Thanks Carrie!

[Carrie]

Ladies,

I loved your weekly check-ins! It inspires me to keep on going too! It's great to gather together and share our thoughts from the week. I know it makes me take notice of how much we really have accomplished each week. My boys are growing up way too fast for my comfort!

Blessings,
Carrie

[Rebecca]

Julie...
You always inspire me.
You are such a great mom!
Thanks for posting,
Rebecca

[my3sons]

Rebecca - Thank you! I consider myself a completely uninspiring person most days , so this was so nice to hear. I keep good company here on the board, where ladies like yourself are so encouraging that I cannot help but enjoy my homeschooling. Thanks - you made my day!

In Christ,
Julie