Updates and Reviews

I thought I'd post an update and review post since I'm totally not updated and let's not mention the review, because we are just keeping this train moving along. :O)

• Our 1 1/2 year old is doing much better. We're not sure what caused his tonsilitis, but it seems to have been viral. His white blood cell count got up to 27,000! We are back home now from the hospital and he is back to his old self. He is very normal for himself now(finding all kinds of things to get into) and I am very thankful he is well.
• In other news, I started a Sourdough Starter Saturday and can't wait to try it out. I think the brew is just about ready! This is my first time making my own from scratch. I hope to post on this soon. I know, this sounds sooooo exciting. But what can I say- I dig bread making!
• To review our school week- well....we're getting the essentials done but I think for Social Studies and Science we may take a more Five in a Row(very relaxed) sort of approach to finish off the year and start back on our Weaver next school year. I'm just tired and about to pop. Well, not quiet that big but I'm getting there. So maybe I'll make it more storytime about Einstein, the Caesars of Rome..A Bug collection..and whatever else my kids want to explore and learn about while we sit down and relax.
• The Spring Cleaning Challenge didn't happen much last week. The children did get at least half the baseboards done around the house, and I did get the curtains washed, but that's about it. Between doctor's appointments and a sick baby, plus the hospital stay, I'm just glad to be home.

Spring is almost here and the trees out my upstairs bathroom window are starting to bloom. The birds are getting loud again about 6 am and we are watching our tomato plants take off indoors. My husband bought me two semi dwarf apple trees a few days ago. We just need to figure out the perfect place to put them.

In the midst of all of life's concerns, God is always so good!

Our Week In Review

Well, I haven't got my camera battery issue taken cared of, and so I don't have any pictures. :o(

Around the House: This week in review should be pretty quick too, since I don't feel like we got much done. Except- I organized my kitchen cabinets and I feel like a new woman! Yes sirree...those kitchen items in their new locations make me feel like I have a brand new kitchen. There's nothing like changing where you keep the baking power.
We purchased some gamma lids for my 5 lb buckets where I keep my soft and hard wheat, my dehydrated refried beans, and oatmeal. It is now super easy to open them.

In School: 5 yr. old-

• This week we learned some new phonograms - and reviewed some that she doesn't quite have down: ed, ew, ey, ei, ar. We normally work thru her Hooked on Phonics workbook and in the meantime I teach her the phonograms from the original Writing Road to Reading method. She has also enjoyed reading from some of the early Abeka readers.
• In Math, I've introduced subtraction using cusienaire rods and she seems to like figuring them out. We also reviewed decimal street by having her take- say number 52 and in our place value mat making the number with rods. So she would pick out 5 ten rods and place them in the tens place, and 2 unit rods and place them in the ones place. She's getting good at this. She practiced counting by two's, tens, fives, and backwards from 20.

8yr.-

• In Math this week he is working on perimeters and subtraction with borrowing. He learned the concept of $ sign/decimal point verses the cent mark, and we used rods to demostrate the dollar and cent place values. We also spent more needed time playing some math games from Math Mouse games. The games involved addition and multiplication. (He used his skip counting facts to help him solve the multiplication problems.)
• L.A this week involved him working on his poem memory work. He spent time writing out a post card and mailing it. He also worked on copy work and dictation. He learned about adverbs this week and seems to understand them well. First Language Lessons does a really good job teaching this for a child his age.

10 yr. old-

• This week in math he learned about percentages/fractions, quadrilaterals, and two step word problems. He spent time playing during our math time with 8yr. old a game from Math Mouse games where he could work on fractions and multiplication while brother worked on addition and multiplication.
• In L.A. He also wrote out a postcard and and a letter to family and mailed out. He also reviewed adverbs- which were not really set in his mind well. We have been working on newspapers and so we researched a little a bout editors, publishers, opinions, facts, and the set up of the front page. He made a front page with Flag, Editorial, Index, and Top Story. He also spent some time writing some letters to our make-believe editor.

Other subjects-

• I can't say we did an awful lot of other subjects, except music has been a biggie around here for everyone. The children have begun playing Music Ace on the computer, and Music by Jumpstart.
• We visited the police station this week and the children got a chance to see what the inside of the station looks like and how the police files a report.
• 5yr. old has been commenting on how her nervous system seems to really get the message to her brain quickly about being cold after a shower.
• Avoiding the very appearance of evil seems to keep coming back into our conversations.

That's our review of the week. It seems I had a hard time moving on this week because we didn't really continue too much our science and social studies. I think that's ok though. Maybe we needed it. We should be covering insects next.

The weather is getting nice again and it makes me anxious for Spring.

According to my friend..I'm not into ♥'s this Valentine Season. (Our Week in Review)

I can't believe how quickly this week has gone by! Maybe I was productive, because I don't have a dry load of laundry waiting for me to fold and put away right now.

Around the House: We did the basics. While school is in session around here, that's about all we get done. (Specially, if I'm pregnant.)
Today, I had a prenatal visit and the glucouse test. I got to see the baby in the 4D ultrasound. She's got chubby cheeks and weighs 3lbs. 10 oz. according to the ultrasound measurements. I've gained about 25lbs. Could this be why I'm seemingly hungry every few hours?
I had enough bread to get me by till this weekend. I should be making bread this Saturday.

School: 5 yr. old-

• In Math this week we have been working on simple addition, and decimal street. She's getting better at recognizing the difference between the units(ones) and the tens. Also, worked on the hundreds.
• In reading, she has been reading from her HOP reader and reviewing her phonograms. Her new sounds this week are: ew, tch, oy, oi, ph. We review all her sounds almost every day and she's starting to pick them out in words she notices around and about.
• For music this week, she has began to teach herself Rocky Top and continues to practice the other songs she can play by ear. She also made up her own little song that she plays with different complimenting notes, hands together.

8 yr. old-

• In Math, we are learning to skip count by 12's learning to calculate inches by feet. Working on subtraction facts/addition. In Math U See, working on Magic Squares and area. Reviewed random skip counting from multiplication 2's-10's.
• L.A. Reviewed past memorized poems, four types of sentences. Worked on direct and indirect quotations, narration/dictation, adjectives.
• In music, didn't practice too much and picked a different song for a Fiddle Competition.

10 yr. old-

• We did much better this week because I got my act together and corrected each math lesson that day and so he made corrections that same day. Introduced multiple-digit multiplication (ex. 23x42=).
• L.A we are working on newspapers. Pulled out our handy dandy typewritter. Would you believe the ink still worked? It did. And they typed away. They have been playing with it and decided they would be reporters. We're covering research on Ben Franklin and Peter Zenger's involvement in the printing of newspapers. Worked on odd verbs. Copied poem to a poem format, typed, and printed out to mail to River of Words Poetry Contest. Worked on vocabulary definitions and their parts in speech. Also worked on contractions and possesive pronouns, which he has trouble on.
• In Music, he also didn't practice much this week and needs to spend good practice time to prepare well for recital. (I'm not sure why they didn't practice much?? Maybe it was the weather. It was just so nice outside.)

In Science and Social Studies-(Dear friend says I should post pictures and tell you how I'm not into hearts but more into brains.)

We began our study about the brain this week. We read about the five senses, traced the brain and labeled it, and dissected a cow's brain. We also disscussed which parts do what and a few things that hinder us from solving problems.

Here's a few of their speculations during our dissection: (Which involved me cutting the brain in half and showing them the two hemispheres. Letting them touch the cerebrum, cerebellum, and medula. They were to take notice of the different texture for the 3 different parts.)

"Is that what our brain really looks like?"
"Is it really that soft?"

I was amazed at how little a cow's brain is. Also the cerebellum is small and it took me a while to recognize it since I was looking for something about half the size of the cerebrum. Instead it was about 1/5 of the size of the cerebrum. I thought this would be a really queazy project, but it turned out that it didn't bother me any more than dealing with the liver, gizzards, stew meat from a turkey or beef cut.

Was it worth it? Definitely. The children were amazed and the safety issue of how important it is for them to care for their head really hit home. This is one memory that won't be forgotten. Sadly, I couldn't get any pictures because I was having trouble charging my camera.

Well, there you have it. A whole week in review. I forgot to mention that our Bible lesson covered Achan's sin and Israel's battle with the city of Ai. God isn't mocked, and sin seriously separates us from Him. Perhaps our study wanted us to think a little more on premeditated sin. What do you think?

Hope you have a very nice Happy Valentine's Day. ♥♥♥

Quick Late Review of the Week..w/ a spin on things.

It seems that I've gotten a little behind on this review of the week thing. I might not always have one. This one is going to be a little different since I need to make it quick and I really had more thoughts to share on my week's events than I did details.

Around the House: I don't feel I was very productive this week. I got my bathrooms cleaned, we got our taxes done, the laundry is progressing, and school is steadily moving along.
Sometimes, I look at my progress and it could be pretty disappointing if compared to other ladies who seem to have it so put together. But then I remind myself, that for one thing comparing oneself to another is not wise since each have their own cross to bare, and that perfect or not, I will get to it- whatever it may be someday. Oh..., I didn't get my bread done.

School: Friday night we sat down and started talking. We do that quite a bit around here. The conversation went from talking about piano to Einstein's childhood.
Einstein lived with facination with light, the stars, space. He liked all the things that perhaps had me in knots when I took trig and physics in highschool. (By the way, I dropped trig and physics after the 1st quarter because it was beyond me, I didn't need the credit, and my teacher recommend it.) He loved the things he loved to learn and avoided the very things he didn't.
He had to go back and learn the things he avoided to get to the goals he wanted and loved.
We have continued our poem studies and the children have submitted one poem for a contest and are in the procees of submitting a second one this week. Here's an outstanding resource link for writing contests: http://homeschoolwriters.com/
They have a contest going on right now, w/ a deadline of Feb. 14th, in which the children who get a price will be awarded their poem published in a book and a trip to Washington DC. The topic for this one is nature. Most submissions are free, and many include K-12th.

There has been and on going discussion at our home between the 4th grader and the 2nd grader concerning whether Thomas Edison or Samuel Morse were more important.
In co-op we made slime as an experiment to help the children remember Thomas Edison.
He is a great example of how to try again.

I have decided to spend a little more time in the MathUSee foundations workbook and put Miquon on hold for a bit. Alternating is good, specially since we're a workbook ahead in Miquon and sometimes it gets sticky. Or should I say, icky?
Saxon 54 Math, what could I say about Saxon? I love Saxon Math 54. 4th grader knows his timetables/division impressively well, and though he gets 3-8 wrong problems in a lesson(30 problems in all), it is mostly out of lack of attention or lazyness to write out the problem. I love the way it is set up and teaching from his lesson book has never been easier for me. At least easier than Miquon.

In other news- we let the boys join a church sports program and play basketball. I have mixed feelings about sports. I really, really do. Not so much when they're young, but all things change when they get older. So it has been 2 yrs. since the last time they played sports. Except in P.E. Why my mixed feelings? I want them to have a rounded education. Not centered on one thing alone. This, I feel, we have done well at so far. Sports brings mixed feelings because of what goes on as they get older. I have provided for the children a selective socialization of friends that I felt would not damage the labor of love that has gone into homeschooling them. Sports for some reason, seem to attract attitudes as they age that I don't want to allow the boys to perceive as becoming of a Christian. So....it will be monitored and kept on low priority.

Our Bible Study this week was about avoiding the very appearance of evil. When we don't avoid the appearance of evil than perhaps we are not our brother's keeper, nor our own. For we bring distaste to the gospel. We just don't care, and God wants us to.

Well, this is all for now. I have many more thoughts to share, but like Thomas Edison said,
"...Not enough time..."

Sincerely,

Our Week In Review

This is my 2nd time doing Our Week in Review and I had anticipation to get to it.

Around Our House-
Dear Husband had a week off from work. I can't tell you how high in cloud nine I was Monday and Tuesday. He has worked just about straight since after Christmas, and has been gone almost every weekend. The saying (and don't laugh if I get it wrong) "Distance makes the heart grow fonder," is so true. I appreciate that man so much more now than ever. Not just because he is the provider of our home, my husband, and partner in this journey of mine, but because he's my friend. And I missed him alot. So let me tell you what went on around our house...

• Daddy and the boys cleaned the van in and out. He also steam cleaned the living room carpet.
• I'm not sure what I did.....except for the normal cooking, cleaning/laundry, school, etc. This is probably due to the fact that I was on cloud nine. Oh, I did make my five loaves of bread.

School-

5yr. old:

• In Reading/Phonics, we played Happy Phonics games this week. We used games that reviewed ch, wh, sh, th, long sound of e, first sound of ea, ee, and the famous er,ir,ur,wor,ear,our. Her newest sounds are ng, oa, igh, tch. Played several times this week Curious George Reading and Phonics on the computer.
• *Math- We worked on patterns and she made some of her own. I gave her a jump rope this week and she has been using it to practice counting and of course jumping! She also read to me lottery numbers from our Chinese cookie fortunes. (This was a good exercise, because the numbers were random and not in order.) Reviewed decimal street again.

*Music- Practicing her Ode the Joy, but mostly Long Long Ago. She can now play the melody with both hands at the same time.

8yr. old:

• Math- Began continued work in Miquon on subtraction.
• L.A- For his reading, he has been reading orally Beautiful Stories for Children. He bought himself "In His Steps, What Would Jesus Do."(an illustrated adapted classic version) from a swap your used books bookstore. He learned about quotation marks this week and we reviewed the helping verbs list.
• Music- Practiced violin alone this week. He said he really liked his new song "Dixie" and practiced it more than needed because he finally got the right note in the tough part of the song.

10yr. old:

• Math- spent the week taking test and making corrections of past 10 lessons. I could let it go, but I feel that math requires attention and accuracy. Some of the mistakes were because he was too busy cutting up with his brother. :0)
  
• L.A- In English, he worked on Cinquain poetry. This was a good type of poetry to review/teach parts of speech. Also, worked on Limericks. Reviewed difference between linking verbs and helping verbs.
• Music- practiced his piano. He has two pieces he has begun working on for the March recital.

Social Studies/Bible:

• This includes everyone since we're all learning about the same things in our studies, just at different levels. Our S.S stems from the children of Israel walking around the city of Jericho 7 times and blowing their trumpets. We read together about Bach and the children listened to Back Comes to Call by Classical Kids. 10yr. old read to 8yr. old about Beethoven.

• We also covered aspects of music like dynamics, tone, tempo by singing hymns and traditional songs loud,soft,fast,and slow. And by listening to songs that changed the feel from happy to bouncy or smooth to boisterous. We watched The King and I.

I meant to also cover Hymn Writers with an Adventures in Odyssey but we didn't get to that. We will probably get to it tomorrow.

Art: We painted this week. The boys have been learning about painting in their co-op class, so they painted some more at home.

Co-op: Co-op went well for me this week. I taught in our 1st and 2nd grade class about Benjamin Franklin and they made a sort of kite lapbook. And 5yr. old covered the letter "P" in her class by having a Princess Tea Party.

The children are so excited because someone has given us a trampoline! (with net) And I am too. Maybe they can wear some of that boy energy out bouncing to their hearts' delight. This will help my starting to get very achy ligaments and pregnant joints a break. Did I mention how much I love Spring?

Our Week in Review

I got this idea from Lighthouse Academy Homeschool Blog and thought it was a nifty one. I'm sure it will be tailored as we move along. We'll see how long it lasts. :o)


Around the House: Organized the school closet(it was getting unbearable), made 5 loaves of bread, rearranged my bedroom(I must do this once a year, but I think this time it's just right.) Went through the girl's toybox and finally took a large bag and misc. to the thrift store. I wasted a lot of time on my blog. Hubby has been working a lot of hours/days for several weeks and it seems that I miss him a lot, so what do I do?- Blog. Is this even good for me?



In School:

Bible- The Walls of Jericho and Talking to God.

With 5 yr. old-

• L.A - reviewed these phonograms, which includes all their sounds a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,l,m,n,o,p,qu,r,s,t,u,v,w,x,y,z, or, ar, ow, oo, ck, wh, er(her)ir(first)ur(church)wor(worships) ear(learns) our(courage), sh, ch, ee, ai, ay, th. (I'll only cover the ones she's learning next time. )She's learning some new ones.. igh, oa, ea, ng.


• Social Studies- Looked at the book Castle by David Macaulay. We are learning about why there were or are walls around a city or castle. Learned about Handel and his Messiah from books and Classical Kids.


• Science- She told me what Lava is in our conversations about rocks. We were talking about Igneous rocks and she was describing to me how they are made.


• Math- Covered a concept from MathUSee with her, Decimal Street. How to know whether 20 is written like 20 or 02 from a Kindergartner's point of view? Tell me how many tens live in the tens house. How many live in the units house? (Because only up to 9 can live there.)


• Music- Though I'm really torn whether to even go there because I've been there(started my first at 5) and done that(learned I should have waiting till 7). She taught herself Ode the Joy by herself and is now learning Long, Long Ago with a little help from me. Right hand only. What am I going to do???

With 8 and 10 yr old-

• Social Studies- Learned about the Berlin Wall, The Great Wall of China. Discussed why we have walls. Began study on music with Handel. I've included on the sidebar a Classics for Kids Podcast. I tried to teach the concept that most have the ability to enjoy music, but some are given the gift to make it. (5yr. seems to have been case in point) 8yr. old was shocked that she could play Ode the Joy so quickly and now was starting on Long,Long Ago)


• Science-They researched rocks and made a chart to describe. Went looking for rocks to classify outdoors.


• Math- Good grief..... 10 yr. old has geometry terms like isosceles, equilaterals, translation...


• L.A- 8 yr. old wrote his first thank you letter to our neighbor. An official letter with opening, greeting, body, closing, and signature. He also addressed the envelope. This was to thank her for the nice goodies she brought to them during Christmas. 10yr. decided he would do the same. He's been reading a lot of Shel Sylverstein and writing different types of poetry.

The children played in the snow twice this week. We actually got snow and enough cold weather to cancel church and co-op. But it didn't last long.(I'm so glad.) The crocuses in my front yard have peaked their pretty color. Could it be that Spring will soon be here? I hope so.

Maybe the weekly review shouldn't be this thorough.