Weekly Check in Dec 4 - Dec 9

[countrymom]

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!

[countrymom]

Another great week with Bigger 1/2 speed. Big J added his first square to the time line this week. I decided to use index cards this time and the only wall space in the house big enough to accommodate the dimensions of the timeline was the laundry room Here is Big J using "Draw Write Now" to draw his ship.


It is kind of a stretch for him:



Here is his science notebook entry for unit 2. We did cursive during Beyond so I let him choose to write his text in cursive or printing.


I snapped this picture so I could comment how much I love, love the Rod and Staff English. I love how the books are so spiritual and not only are we learning how to build sentences, but we are learning what kind of sentences God would want us to use.

[KristinNitz]

Had another great week doing Unit 11 of Bigger. We got to end of a very Yummy note! We like that. Now they are outside buring off all the sugary energy!

http://nutbugs.com/heart-of-dakota-week-11-update/

[creativemommy]

Our HOD box arrived this morning (Thank you Austin boys for super-fast shipping!) and we began this afternoon! I was going to wait until Monday, but my dd pulled her books across the table as I unloaded the box and was ready to start - how could I say no!?

It is so nice to be back in the groove with HOD!

We started Bigger and LHFHG today, but I didn't take pics or update my blog yet so I'll just share in text.

My ds (doing Bigger) was actually "excited" about dictation! WOW! He nailed it and loved making a pencil checkmark next to the #1 to show he did it perfectly. He LOVED learning about Columbus. He understood the poem. I loved the Bible/Devotional with him today about persistence - He enjoyed using the dictionary & reading the verses about asking for wisdom. He's super-excited about the science books.

My dd (doing LHFHG) made a family tree (we expanded on the history reading) using construction paper and white labels. She listened to Reddy Fox (I found a notebook to be her "doodle pad" as I read - it helps her sit still and listen intently while coloring). She was able to answer questions I asked her after reading it. Yeah! She was happy to do all the motions with the poem/song for the first unit, too. She begged to do more pages in Thinking Skills, but I told her only one.

[KristinBeth]

Hi ladies! My update of the week focused on the hands-on aspect of Little Hearts. I've sung the praises of the activities before, because the kids love them so much, and it's a great way to get my 2 year old involved.

http://www.broomandcrown.com/2011/12/we ... rning.html

[LynnH]

Here is a blog post showing highlights from the last 2 weeks doing RTR http://graceandfur.blogspot.com/2011/12 ... 12511.html

[my3sons]

Revival to Revolution:
Wyatt turned 12 today, and I woke up to the sound of him retelling the differences between the way Frederick the Great from Prussia and the King of France acted after the 7 Years' War. He said, "Frederick the Great went around in common clothes and helped him rebuild his whole country. He even gave the farmers whose land was damaged 5 years with no taxes. The King of France went home, and even though his country was in debt and starving, he kept on buying jewels for his wife..." Anyway, he retold this whole historical event to Riley, whom he shares a room with. Then, Wyatt told the story of Old Hickory (Andrew Jackson) at Horse Shoe Bend, which he read about in one of his own books. I just love how HOD's learning spills over into life, and how CM's style of oral narration becomes a way of life. It was just neat to listen to!

Wyatt made a cockade for his history project, and it turned out so well. He had to follow directions for measuring, cutting, gluing, and folding. Learning the skill of following step by step directions is helping him with so many things in life. Learning new board games, baking various recipes, building a huge cardboard "discovery kids" castle and drawbridge that I got on clearance - those are just a few of the things he has had to use these skills for this week.


He is enjoying seeing his collection of maps he is making grow. There is much to learn from these activities. I see how they are helping him visualize the terrain of what he is reading about in history. I like how he has to reference several different maps for his Geography. He handles this so well on standardized testing (in fact last year he already scored at the high school level in this area). It is just covered so well in HOD through the years!


I am really impressed with the way R & S English is teaching Wyatt to outline. He did an outline on 2 kinds of animals that help sustain the highland people. The structure they give is just enough to make it clear how to outline, without being too much.


RevtoRev's History Notebooking is just lovely, and it is neat to see everything Wyatt is doing being put in a beautiful keepsake for this year. He really has been working hard on drawing, writing, and working neatly and creatively this year. I am happy with his work!


Singapore math has taught the foundations of math so well, that Wyatt is tacking some pretty tough concepts with ease. I like to hear him think out loud as he figures out problems. This is not a unique habit to him. His younger brother who is also doing Singapore math "thinks aloud" like this too. I think it is because Singapore teaches dc to THINK through problems so well!


We are really enjoying DITHOR 6/7/8 with Wyatt. He likes the level of independence he has, while also enjoys the collaboration with his younger brother on kickoffs, projects, and "All Levels Together" days. The two of us enjoy our discussions, and I like reading his thoughts within his DITHOR Student Book. He is LOVING his mystery "The Invisible Friend"!!! It really is an excellent book!


We are enjoying RevtoRev so much! You can read more about how much we are enjoying RevtoRev at this link...
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=10760

Hope you all had a great week!
In Christ,
Julie

[my3sons]

Preparing Hearts for His Glory:
Riley is a rhymer - who knew? We have been getting into a good groove with his creative writing for poetry, and suddenly, out of nowhere, came this ability to rhyme well - and also to hear good rhythm. HOORAY! We had some more difficult times at the start of the creative writing for poetry, and this week was just plain fun together. Here he is with his poem - I think you'll be able to read it on the second picture...


I am thankful for an odd reason for the comprehension questions in science this week - Riley is using periods and capital letters now! He is finally transferring those copywork and dictation skills to his own writing. The first quite a few units' worth of answers to science comprehension questions were "capital letter and punctuation free". It's nice to see they've joined his answers now. (This photo was taken before I had him correct his spelling, so MICROSCOPE was fixed, rest assured - you can't write a word that BIG and not have to fix it if it's misspelled.


Triple digit times single digit multiplication was tricky at first, but something just absolutely clicked this week, and he is so loving it. He likes to talk through it out loud, and he's very exuberant about it! We like to use the markerboard, as it gives a bigger work area and lets us focus on one problem at a time without the clutter on a page. I could not be happier with the things Singapore math is teaching our dc.


Riley continues to LOVE the science in PHFHG! I like how it ties into the history. Science is often such a separate entity of its own. I love how it is linked to other things Riley is learning. I can see him really being able to imagine what it must have been like to cross the desert for Moses and the Israelites because he can visualize the specific challenges of the desert thanks to all he is learning in science, "One Small Square: Cactus Desert". Here Riley put molding clay in the bottom of a pan and crushed cereal pieces into to signify the hard, baked desert. When he poured water on it, it ran right off, and this portrayed how even when it does rain in torrents in the desert, the sun-baked surface can't absorb much water.


This progressive science notebooking assignment was fun. Each unit as Riley learned more and more about the desert, he added more and more to his picture. He hung it on the fridge to show Dad - he was so happy with the end picture:


We've been learning about the meanings of different names in history, and Riley enjoyed the research project where he got to look up the meaning of various names we'd read about, as well as his own (and we did choose it with this meaning in mind).


I am seeing improvements in Riley's written narrations. They are all good, as I am partnering with him to help his finished project be good, but he is taking over more and more of it himself, and I am working alongside him to help him keep improving week after week.


Riley's Common Place Book is off to a beautiful start. I credit HOD's pick of "Cheerful Cursive" for his lovely writing. I have not done one other thing to teach him cursive.


Riley's enjoying his "Mystery of Pelican Cove" for DITHOR, and he is doing a good job with his DITHOR Student Book. This is his second year doing the DITHOR Student Book, and I can see real improvement from that consistency.


Lots of good things happening here - I hope you had a great week too!
In Christ,
Julie

[my3sons]

Little Hearts for His Glory:
My little Emmett and I are taking a leisurely trip through LHFHG half-speed and smelling the roses as we do. No surprise, one of his favorite activities this week was his math activity that involved chocolate chips. He wrote the numbers under the cookies and put the appropriate number of chocolate chips on each of the cookies. HOD's hands-on activities that match EB Singapore math are excellent ways to introduce beginning math skills. All of dc have done them, and they all love math. I think it's definitely due in part to the fun activities they get to do with HOD for math.


Everyone had to join in the fun of the boat activity this week. Emmett built his own tin foil boat and then got to float it. He then had to add counters to it, seeing how many it took to sink it. Well, Emmett managed to build the unsinkable boat. 234 counters - and she was still floating! All the boys had to come see Emmett's magnificent feat!


The Fingerplays have been such fun for Emmett. He has gone from falling on and off the couch and saying about every other phrase, to carefully doing each motion and saying it all, repeating after my model of course. Way to go little guy! Here he is saying ...
This is Noah's boat
float, float, float


And, Now they must get out
go, go, go


My little one brings me such joy. I am so glad we get to have this time together! What a blessing!
In Christ,
Julie

[KristinBeth]

Julie, I love the "unsinkable boat" and the looks on your boys' faces. Precious!

[anne cochrane]

We started Christmas Holidays last week . The kids and I were ready. So we have spent the week doing Christmassy things.

Take a look if u wish

www.anne-homeschooladventures.blogspot.com