Okay. Now we are back to normal, or the "normal" we are going to have this year. We successfully completed our first real full week of school. That means all subjects have been incorporated into our week. And, it was an excellent week!
Let me start with Dawson. As you know, he decided to go back to public school now that we are in a small town. I knew he was ready and was excited for him to go to the same high school from where I graduated. The first couple of days were really hard, as they are for any new student at a new school. But this week has been much better. He has made some friends, knows kids in every class, is enjoying the majority of his classes, and is really getting into his schoolwork. He is feeling very confident academically, and I couldn't be happier with how seriously he is taking his work. I am very proud of him! (He did end up with a horrid cold at the end of the week, and had to come home from school at noon. He's been in bed ever since.)
The other change for us this year is that we brought Eli home for his first year of homeschooling. He and Brynne are both third graders, but really doing a combination of 2nd and 3rd grade work this year. (Shhhh ... don't tell them.)
By far, our Favorite Resource this Week was our Grapevine Studies Stick Figuring Through the Bible lessons. We have been starting our day with it and both Eli and Brynne LOVE it! They memorized Genesis 1:1 and 1:31, and were able to recite to me what God created on each of the 6 days, and to explain why God rested on the 7th day. It think this might end up being our favorite subject of the school year. We are using the Old Testment Overview, Level 3-4. It's really designed for tweens, but I have just modified the lessons each day to emphasize the drawings, verse memorization, and review.
Some highlights from our week are shown in our Collage:
1. We did a unit study on Caves this week. As part of that, we learned about all of the animals that live in caves, including Bats. We did an experiment of amplifying sound with our special "ears". This helps bats who cannot see in the caves when they are flying.
2. The pricklies from the Sweetgum Tree. This is one of the 15 trees we will be identifying in the next month.
3. Math is one of the favorite subjects of the day.
4. We are reviewing an excellent PE program that has us exercising every day! The kids have really enjoyed it! Even our dogs get in on the action. Eli, however, gets exhausted!
5. We started using All About Spelling this week. We went ahead and started with Level 1, even though they are both pretty good spellers already. They have really enjoyed the tokens and letter tiles.
While on a walk last week, we came upon the pricklies from the Sweetgum Tree. My kids immediately started asking questions about them. So, we pulled a couple off the tree to bring home to examine. A big topic that I want to cover in Nature this year is to learn the flora and fauna of our new state and city. AND we are reviewing a great new product about trees, so this all tied in nicely! We went to the park for Nature yesterday, and while there we identified 15 different trees! We took pictures of each tree and a closeup of it's leaves and anything else that would help us identify it. We are going to have one heck of a tree journal when we are done!
In our writing lessons, our topic has been "I am Special". So, for art this week, I had each of the kids sit on the bathroom sink and look at him/herself in the mirror. Then they used their new, very fun, window markers to draw and color themselves by tracing their faces on the mirror. It was actually a lot harder than we thought it would be. So, they each did one of their own and then I helped them with another one. They turned out pretty cute!
This was an exhausting week! We got a lot done, and even went swimming one afternoon. I had to spend some time with my grandma at the nursing home, so we had to take a couple of breaks here and there so I could go check on her. But, otherwise, it was an amazing week!
Last night my mom, Brynne, and I went to a nearby town to watch Kyndal cheer at the first foodball game of her senior year.
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| See her doing a back handspring on the left side of the photo? |
How was your week? Are you back at it full time?
In case you missed any of my posts this week, here is a recap:
You can also catch up on my Not Back-to-School Blog Hop posts:
I am linking up this week to Weekly Wrap-up, Favorite Resource this Week, and Collage Friday.
Sounds like a great week! I know it's probably challenging to have students at home and at school as far as scheduling things goes. It sounds like you handled it beautifully!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great looking week! And I know exactly which fitness curriculum because I'm tired out from it. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat is that you're using for an AAS board? We need something big like that!
Funny you mentioned Grapevine Studies... I just downloaded the Creation lesson today! I'll be using it with my Sunday School class tomorrow. The stick figures look like such fun, and I've heard so many good things about Grapevine. We may just be doing more.
ReplyDeleteI hope your son gets to feeling better - and I'm glad he is adjusting to school. I know that does your mama's heart good!
Thanks for linking!
It's looking like you all had a very good week!! I am glad to hear that Dawson is settling in well, and that your routine is going pretty smoothly for you. Thanks for linking up and sharing at Favorite Resources :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun week! I love all of the pictures!
ReplyDelete