Weekly Wrap-up ~ Writing Saves the Day

Our days are continuing to move along nicely. There haven't been too many bells and whistles, which I guess is a good thing, right?

This week we have been starting with a "math problem of the day", which is a math problem from the day before with which we have had difficulty. We do it on the white board together. Since math is Eli's strong suit, it seems to get him jump started.

Speaking of math, our MEP lessons have gotten hard! We are about 1/3 of the way through the 2nd grade level, and they have spent this week doing double-digit math and subtraction problems in their heads with borrowing and carrying. There are definitely periods of frustration and exhaustion, but they are really getting it! (Can I say they are better at it than me??)

Grammar, spelling, and reading are moving along nicely. We are reading aloud James and the Giant Peach and are enjoying it a lot!

Our unit studies have seemed a little dry to me so far this year, and I realized after a conversation with both Eli and Brynne that they would really like to do more geographical studies. So we will be starting that this week. I am hoping it will light a match to our days.

At the end of each week, our writing assignments always seem to stand out! We are using Write Shop Primary A, and we LOVE it! It was our Favorite Resource this week. I am thrilled with the movement of the lessons and the creativity from the kids. When I am feeling down about what we are accomplishing, it occurs to me that their writing skills are improving exponentially, which is something I did not expect for this year. So, ultimately, I am happy.

Here are a few other highlights from the week ...

1. After watching the Purina Dog Competition on t.v., Eli and Brynne decided to spend some of their PE time this week training Crusoe. I think they all had fun (and Crusoe got lots of extra treats!)!

2. In the writing assignment for Write Shop this week, Eli was stuck coming up with a story around the theme of "Trains". I explained to him that every time he plays with his toys, he is telling a story but just not writing it down. So, I got him some Lego trains that he had put together previously. He played with the trains and his Lego characters and ended up writing a lengthy story, longer than the required five sentences. It ended up not being about trains, but it was really good! He just needed a little inspiration to keep moving.

3. In rowing Clown of God by Tomie DePaola, we made a mixture in science. Eli and Brynne made homemade chicken noodle soup for our dinner that night. They actually made the whole soup, with just instructions from me. They were able to see the science of mixtures in real life.

We ended the week with the kids all participating in the school's homecoming parade. Dawson did all of the detail on the bulldogs on his class float.

Eli helped lead the parade with his Boy Scout pack.

And Brynne rode on the trailer with the Septemberfest wee queen candidates.

It was a fun way to end the week!!!

Linking up with Collage Friday, Weekly Wrap-up, and Favorite Resource this Week.