In our regular life this week…
It seems that, hopefully, the last blast of cold winter air has blown through Missouri. The sun started shining on Thursday afternoon and the temps were warmer. Yesterday it was a sunny 67 degrees and felt glorious! Today it was in the mid 70's, which was perfect for Kyndal's senior prom (except the wind was right at 25 MPH. Thankfully Kyndal's hair stayed tight!). She and I also ordered her graduation announcements this week. In just one month I will be the mom of a graduate. So weird. Our biggest moment of excitement this week was the seasonal reopening of the Dairy Queen. Otherwise it has just been a regular week at home with Scouts, church, and good ol' housework, cooking, grocery shopping, reading, and playing.
In our homeschool this week…
A couple of days this week were good and a couple were, um, not so good .... Getting back into school after a week in Florida and then another week off at home was difficult. There were tears, grumbles, and time outs .. and the kids were hard to get along with, too. On the hard days, we scaled back a bit and took lots of deep breaths while lowering expectations. On the good days, we plowed forward and even made up some work. Some weeks are just like this. We have the winter blahs and spring fever all at the same time.
Bible - We learned about God's instructions to Moses on the building of the Tabernacle and the significance of the components of it. With God's tearing of the veil at Jesus' crucifixion discussed on Easter, the kids were able to understand the significance of the veil separating the Holy of Holies.
Spanish - We did a review of the first six chapters of Song School Spanish and then worked on Chapter 7, items found in a school.
Writing - The kids are moving along nicely with Handwriting Without Tears - Cursive. They are doing so good, and enjoy it! Brynne has started writing cursive whenever she can.
Spelling - We moved on to Book 2 of All About Spelling. Our new skill is writing dictated sentences without me repeating them.
Math - We are continuously working on multiplication facts. Math-U-See Gamma is such a good fit for us in our multiplication studies! Additionally the kids are playing with Multiplication Wrap-ups (my Favorite Resource this Week) and a fun game we are reviewing for the Schoolhouse Review Crew called Math Rider.
Reading - We are all reading independently and I am reading aloud the Spiderwick Chronicles series. We also did an activity day surrounding the book Stick Man by Julia Donaldson.
Science - We have done lots of experiments about Light this week by using Supercharged Science, another Schoolhouse Review product.
Art - We learned about Vassily (Wassily) Kandinsky and then did a couple of separate abstract art projects.
Nature - We headed to the park to work on our Reptile Grid. (And see below for a great field trip we went on ... )
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| The thumbs-up picture was right before Eli fell into the water. Hilarious!! We tried to catch tadpoles, but no luck. The tadpoles caught him, instead. |
Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
We went with our neighbor and her son to see Serengeti Steve on Tuesday night at a nearby school. We saw snakes (including an anaconda), a lizard, a scorpion, a crocodile, and a tarantula which ended up on top of MY head and walked down my face. The kids were not happy! Although it felt creepy, I am not afraid of spiders so it wasn't a big deal. If that would have been a snake, I would have dropped dead. Regretfully, nobody took any pictures. I think my face looked something like this, though. (Although I had my mouth clamped completely shut! I didn't want that little bugger crawling into my mouth!)
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| What reptile is that in the bottom right corner? Oh, that's Dawson and his friend getting ready to go to Sonic. Don't ask. |
A favorite thing this week was…
definitely not the tarantula walking down my face! Strangely, with the ups and downs of our attitudes this week, our favorite thing was our pj day on Thursday. We were relaxed all day but still got a lot done. Everybody was happy.
What's in the kitchen this week ...
What we're reading ...
Eli: Captain Underpants (the third and fourth books) by Dav Pilkey
Brynne: Buddy and Rascal (Puppy Place) by Ellen Miles
Things we're working on…
Tacos, sloppy joes, chicken and pasta, spaghetti, ham and beans, baked potatoes, banana muffins, french toast.
What we're reading ...
Mom: The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin, Becoming a Titus 2 Woman by Martha Peace, Created to be His Helpmeet by Debi Pearl, Papa's Pearls by Diane Flynn Keith, Lucinda's Secret (Spiderwick Chronicles - Book 3) by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black (our current read-aloud).
Eli: Captain Underpants (the third and fourth books) by Dav Pilkey
Brynne: Buddy and Rascal (Puppy Place) by Ellen Miles
We are working on some good reviews right now. We are doing some fun science, a GREAT math facts game, and will be learning about Vikings next week. The Schoolhouse Review Crew opportunities we have been given this year have enriched our schooling SO MUCH!
I’m grateful for…
the peek-a-boo of warmer weather. After being in Florida for a week and then coming back to dreary Missouri, I realized that we are so ready for Spring and Summer! My exercise schedule has completely deteriorated because I don't want to brave any cold weather. But now that it's warmer I'll be going back on my walk in the mornings, riding my bike as many places as possible, and going on walks with the kids.
I rewarded my kids this week by…
taking them to Dairy Queen for lunch on opening day, taking them to see Serengeti Steve after a day of good attitudes and hard work, and going to the park for a nature day.
- I reviewed Math-U-See ~ Gamma for the Schoolhouse Review Crew.
- C was for Cousins in Blogging Through the Alphabet.
- I gave a glimpse into our Easter celebration.
- No fooling, we shared our First Day of April.
- I revealed Phase I of our new Outdoor Classroom!
- We had some fun with Stick Man.
- I joined the Reading Aloud Challenge with Footprints in the Butter.
As you can see, we were VERY busy this week! Next week will be just as busy. Come back for posts on Kyndal's senior prom, the latest Blog Cruise with the Schoolhouse Review Crew revealing some great reads, my review of Supercharged Science, a new Linky I will be sponsoring (and this one involves your HUBBY!), and our plans for Earth Day (it's April 22nd!).
A photo, video, link, or quote to share (silly, serious or both!)…
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| A treat from Dawson when he went to the store one evening. |
We are happily linking up this week at the following sites:
The spider on the face ~ HECK NO!!!!!!! {{shiver}}
ReplyDeleteLooks like a fun filled week. Dawson is sweet to bring you candy :)
Oh. What else did you write about? I'm still thinking about that spider! :wink: My youngest should be moving onto MUS Gamma part way through next year. We started Beta in mid-January and he probably won't finish it this year, but I think we've finally found a math that works. I hope! Good to see the reviews! A graduate?! Yikes! LOL But how awesome!
ReplyDeleteI understand the winter blahs and spring fever all at the same time. My kids have been pretty crabby recently, too. I like what you say about taking a deep breath and lowering expectations. Those are WISE words!
ReplyDeleteI'm feeling faint just contemplating the tarantula thing! I can handle anything except spiders!
ReplyDeleteI love the Kandinsky art project - pinning it right now!
I've read Debi Pearl's book. As a woman born in the 60's I actually had a hard time with some of it. I didn't realize how much "feminism" I'd been ingrained with. It is an excellent book though. What I would call "a hard word".
ReplyDeleteOh my! That spider pic makes my skin crawl!
ReplyDeleteLove your Kandinsky inspired art...beautiful. We are enjoying the warmer temps and the chance to get outside and enjoy nature too.
Great photos! It really looks like a fun week...except for the spider;)