Week in Review 2/28 - 3/4

[Tree House Academy]

What was YOUR week Like?

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[Tree House Academy]

I am surprised to be the first to post my review this week. Ya'll are usually so much quicker than me!

We had a blessed week in our little homeschool this week using HOD.

Beyond Little Hearts

This week, we learned all about Betsy Ross and the sewing of the first American Flag. We also read about two very brave little colonists who stood their ground against the Red Coats when they came to plunder and steal from the houses of the colonist men who were away fighting the Revolutionary war.

Ds7 did lots of fun activities revolving around the flag. He drew it on his timeline and also on his poetry. We sang the star-spangled banner "poem" each day - mostly because he wanted to! But, hands down, his favorite Flag activitiy was THIS one:







He worked very hard on math this week and did well on his review lessons. I am so proud of the way he is learning math with Singapore! Next week, we are starting the concept of division!

[Tree House Academy]

Creation to Christ

My older ds had a wonderful week with CTC as well. He continued to study about Rome and he loves the book we are reading during read aloud time: "City." He drew Hannibal's elephant and I think he did a wonderful job! He also wrote his paragraph on Hannibal's journey with his elephants.





He enjoyed the poem this week and did really well on his painting.



But, by far, our favorite of the week was the game "Go Trade." We had an absolute BLAST! I have not laughed that much in a long time - he was so cute and when I would run out of cards and ask him for the same material I had just asked him for, he would just lose it with laughing. It was a hoot! Thanks for including something so cute and fun, Carrie!



I hope you all have a blessed weekend and a wonderful coming week!

[momtofive]

Sorry for the "whopper" pictures! It seems I can only do very little pictures or very big pictures!

Little Hands to Heaven
My littlest two dd's just love this curriculum! They are so eager to begin it each day and just love the Bible stories from the New Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes and of course, the song time, too. It's just perfect for them. My older of the two will start kindergarten next fall with LHFHG, and I know she'll be ready for it, because of the good foundation in skills she's learning this year! My littlest dd will be doing LHTH again next year with the other devotional. I may go half speed with her to stretch it out, but I'm not sure yet. She's having so much fun and learning a lot, but I think next year will be a bigger learning year for her to really cement the look and sounds of each letter.

Beyond-Week 20

This week in Beyond we finished our beloved Stories of the Pilgrims. It was somewhat sad, because the kids have both loved this book so much. Even my 10 yr. old said AAAAW, when I mentioned that it was the last day for that book! He's been listening in to the history stories and has also loved this book!!! Then we learned more about Puritan children and what their lives were like in Boys and Girls of Colonial Days. Both of the kids really enjoyed making a beautifully colored ribbon as their "Good Conduct Ribbon". This week's Bible verse and study was centered around idleness/laziness and being a diligent worker. This couldn't have come at a better time! We've been working on teaching them in our family devotions more about what God says about work and being diligent in it! They really took home a lot of great things from this weeks lessons!

I'm not sure what others are doing in the way of the poetry lessons for day two of each unit. Each day we do the copywork, but on day 2 the guide suggests cutting apart a photocopy of the poem, and having them put it in order. The kids have been loving this exercise and have become quite good at it. They always laugh so hard when I come along and mix up all their pieces and say, "Oh no, look what happened, your pieces are all mixed up! Sorry!" It's funny to them because I do the same thing each week and they know it's coming, and it cracks them up every time! Goofy kids! Anyway, they have to go back and forth between their pieces and the poem in the guide to match everything up and get them in the right order. I'm really pleased to see how much easier it is for them now.


I originally bought 1" binders for both my kiddos in Beyond. It has become necessary to get some bigger ones, as their work isn't fitting in these very well. So I purchased the 1 1/2" binders and maybe I should have gotten the 2" because they are quite full!! I think they will work for the rest of the year, though. The kids all get such great satisfaction from looking back at all the great projects they've done so far this year. I know this will be a wonderful keepsake for years to come!


Preparing-Week 20

My son continues to love Preparing Hearts each week. This week he conducted an experiment where he poked the shape of a constellation into tin foil and then used a flashlight (sun) to shine on a little man taped to the globe. He got a kick out of taping a little toy man to the globe! He has such fun with these experiments and learns so much while he does them.

He also finished Little Miriam this week and gave such a great oral narration on it. He just loves the books he's reading this year and they are really becoming so much more than stories to read for school. This year he is connecting on such a deeper level with what he's reading, than he's ever done in years past. Grandpa's Box continues to be a book that both he and I look forward to reading each day. It's sad because we'll be ending this book soon, too! We learned all about Saul and the kind of man he was before the Lord took hold of his life and he became the Paul we know and love. It was just amazing as he put himself into the time frame and tried to imagine what it was like for the apostles right after Christ's resurrection. Ds10 and I also had some great conversations about this in relation to what we've both been reading in Acts. We didn't know it, but we've both been doing our own Bible time reading each morning in the book of Acts, so this weeks lessons really fit so perfectly to what we've been reading on our own!

Fountain of Life is fast becoming our favorite read aloud so far this year. What a great book! We are learning so much about Jewish customs and culture and all about the feasts that they had and how it all fits in to what we're reading in the Bible. This book has us hooked!

Ds10 also made an ichthys symbol this week out of applesauce and a lot of cinnamon. He was really sceptical about how this one would work out, and he really did great with it. He's learning to trust the guide and follow through with the instructions and see what great projects come from it. Now his whole binder smells so good. . . .like apple pie!

I wish I had more pictures, but we were so busy enjoying it all, I didn't take time to get the camera! I'll try better next week!

Have a great week to come!

[tnahid]

Wow, I love the notebooks you made with the Beyond front page on them! That is a GREAT idea! Thank you!

[KristinBeth]

This week my little girls worked on Unit 8 of Little Hands To Heaven, learning about the Exodus and doing a fun project - watercolors making a path through the Red Sea. Here is a link to their fun project:
http://www.broomandcrown.com/2011/03/re ... -blue.html

[Kathleen]

Ladies, it looks like you all had fabulous weeks!

Rebecca, that American flag looks YUMMY! We're getting excited to start Beyond in 7 more school days! It'll be my 1st trip through that guide. Looks like a good one. We must be right ahead of you in CTC. I'm going to have to ask Grant about the trading game though. I somehow missed out on that one! I think he either played it with Allison on Grandma (when we were getting ready to go to a Dairy Conference)....but I think I need a shot at it. Looks fun!

Lisa - I loved the peek into your week. We've enjoyed some of those very things you shared about. And the ones in Beyond I have to look forward to. (I personally can't wait for the poetry!) Now that Grant does it more independently in CTC, I miss being in on it daily.

Kristin - I absolutely LOVED your sparkly path through the Red Sea, and the princessed crossing it. So fun! I bet Carrie never envisioned that when she was writing for her boys.

Kathleen

[Kathleen]

It looks like the last time I shared about our week....was OCTOBER! Yep, I knew it had been a while!

We've been having a fabulous time with HOD this year! Our days have been full but very enjoyable (however time with the computer has not been a part of them - obviously). Asa was born and is now 6 months old, we're running 3 guides: CTC, LHFHG (with basics from Beyond), and LHTH, aanndd I'm enjoying homeschooling my kids & being a wife and mother. This year, more than ever, I am loving the open-and-go HOD guides. Thank you Carrie! I want to be able to be with my kids and enjoy them while I have the chance! (And the weeks that I don't particularly enjoy them, it is most definitely not HOD's fault. We get our share of the occasional attitude & discipline problems.)

Here is a link to our week. http://ourhoppinhomeontherange.blogspot ... -days.html

In case you want a little sneak peek...here's a teaser.
Garret's BIG news.


Allison & Asa aboard the U.S.S. Constitution.


And, our DELICIOUS Roman Meal.


Hope to see you all again next week!
Kathleen

[KristinBeth]

I love looking at all of these photos and knowing some of the fun things we have to look forward to!
Kathleen, I laughed out loud when I saw Please Fold Me Island on your blog. Brilliant!

[momtofive]

Kathleen,

So good to see your week in review!!!! I have only just started posting week in review, but had always looked forward to seeing what your sweet family was doing for school. We missed you! So glad everyone is well and enjoying HOD! Your little guy is sure getting big!

Blessings!