Weekly Wrap-up ~ Oh My Computer Woes

I have had such extreme computer issues lately that it has just been too much of a hassle to even attempt to blog. I think some things may finally be resolved so I'm going to give it a try. I am still having issues with photos, which completely irritates me, but I did manage to get some posted!

We have been so busy the past three weeks and have accomplished much! I continue to be very proud of the progress of our school year. The kids are working so hard, and we are enjoying our lessons.

There is much talk these days in homeschool circles about a Morning Basket, which is basically a way to start your day together in a special way. Although we don't literally use a basket filled with those items, we do have our "Morning Basket" time each day. The kids start with a simple spelling worksheet that gets their brains moving. Then they copy a verse from Proverbs in cursive handwriting. We are using a free printable. It only has about 30 verses so when they have completed them they will just start over. I figure if they write those verses several times this year they will be hiding them in their hearts.

After Proverbs copywork we get our daily dose of current events with Carl Azuz and CNN Student News. We conclude our Morning Basket time with a read aloud. So far this year we have read Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo and The Island of Dr. Libris by Chris Grabenstein.

It's then time to jump into Pre-Algebra and Grammar. These tend to be our most tedious subjects requiring the most brain power, so we get them done early in the day with the promise of lunch break coming soon.

Before we break for lunch we read aloud together out of McGuffey's and copy a paragraph or stanza from our reading. Then the kids get about 15-30 minutes of personal reading time.

After lunch we tackle Missouri History, Literature, Greek Mythology, and Astronomy.

In Missouri History we read a chapter out of Missouri: Then and Now and typically answer some review questions. On Fridays we watch a corresponding video and do some additional activities at the end of the chapter. Tomorrow I will share about our latest field trip.

Astronomy and Greek Mythology have been a little weird for us. We are using curriculum from Memoria Press, and we have found that it's just too classical for us. Our way is just not the memorization kind of way without seeing it used in some tangible way in real life. We just need to read about these things and see them in action. Memorization just bores us.

So, we are changing things up a big with the book Signs and Seasons by Jay Ryan. This is a living book that tells more of a story of astronomy and how it relates to God's creation and the world in which we live. We are going to supplement with the Memoria Press materials when those topics are discussed in Signs and Seasons and then will study the Greek myths when the Memoria Press materials refer to them.

So we have now been sitting at the table together right after lunch with a cup of green tea to read together out of Signs and Seasons. We have no specific pages scheduled to read. Instead we read aloud for a while and discuss. It allows us to follow rabbit trails and seek out answers. We want to do more hands on projects (there are some in the back of the book) and some art. So this past week we did some pastel art projects of the sun and the moon as we were discussing luminaries.

Brynne continues to work through Module 1 of Apologia's Exploring Creation Through General Science in her extra time to additionally prepare her for 7th grade public school next year. In the past couple of weeks she has done a few experiments.

This past week we finished The Lightning Thief from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. We are really enjoying this series so far! This week we will start Sea of Monsters.

Our weekly enrichment class with our friends has the girls doing some creative writing each week. They are having fun. The boys have been doing some STEM activities. Honestly, they don't seem to be enjoying it as much as I had hoped. The girls actually jump in on their activities and seem to have more fun with it. Both boys have expressed an interest in geography and history. So I am looking to change things up with the use of an old favorite, Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? We'll see if that garners some interest.

I also have something else fun planned for us to do starting this week using the new television show Timeless.

I am hoping I can get back into a regular routine of blogging about our schooling and our regular life's activities. It's now fall and we have some fun things planned!


2016-2017 School Hours Logged: 189.5 hours, including 31.5 hours outside home. Plus Summer Hours Logged: 141.5 hours, including 54 hours outside home.