Blessed Beyond Measure: Home's Cool: Week Four

This was cram week! We had to cram 5 days of school into 2 1/2 days!!! Monday was a holiday and even though we spent the morning finishing up a few things we didn't get done the previous week, most of the day was spent just playing. Which was a good thing, because my fatigue was at its worst that day and I needed a break to rest. Thursday was a complete bust for school as well. I woke up that morning very ill and did not manage to accomplish anything with the kids. So Friday we spent the morning at REACH, our home school co-op, and then all afternoon we did our best to finish everything planned for this week. Needless to say, it has been a crazy week and I am ready for the weekend!

Here is a little bit of what we learned this week...

Bible - This week our memory verse is John 8:12 "I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life" Before I introduced them to our verse this week, we started out in a dark bathroom and talked about how we stumble when there is no light. Then I turned on a flashlight and read the verse. We then went back to table to make a candle with the words, "Jesus, the light of the world" on it. Every time we light our candle we recite the verse.

History - This week we have learned a little about the Native Americans. We have briefly touched on many different tribes and their customs and lifestyles. We attempted to make a wigwam on Tuesday. I will admit that we failed miserably. Our wigwam looked like a flattened pumpkin, but the fun is in trying right?! The next day we made tepees. The kids really enjoyed painting their tepees and adding sticks to the top. They both grabbed some Lego men for their Indians. Isaac's tepee was a bit wobbly so he decided to tape it to an upside down bowl. Then he thought the bowl could be their basement. I am pretty sure tepees did not have basements but I will give Isaac and A+ for creativity and ingenuity!! We have also continued to read about Squanto and his adventures. They are both really getting into the story, as am I! At the end of the week, we used Native American sign language to communicate to each other.

Caleb really enjoyed painting

Isaac's tepee with a basement

Art - I found a Come Look With Me book about Native American art. So each day we have looked at at least 3 pictures of art and discussed them. Tuesday we looked at a picture drawn by Black Hawk of a dream like creature. Isaac and Julia drew their own dream creatures. I didn't get pictures of them this week. Isaac drew a monsterish creature and Julia drew a unicorn. Figures!

Science - We are finishing up Lesson 2 in our Apologia Botany book. We set up three bags of bean seeds and wet paper towels for a germination experiment. The first bag was taped to a window, the second was placed in a dark place, and the third was placed in the refrigerator. Each day we are measuring any growth and recording our findings. The herbs we planted and placed in our light hut a few weeks ago still haven't done a thing. I am hoping my brown thumb hasn't affected their chances of survival! We will just wait and see! I also forgot to get a picture of our science experiment. Really dropped the ball this week! Oh well!

Spelling - Isaac is still rocking along with spelling! Hallelujah!!!

Math - We had a break through this week concerning Isaac and his math. Tuesday I was going through some simple math problems with him.... mental math/math facts. I learned last week that a page full of math drill is overwhelming to him (his words) So we have been doing one problem at a time on the dry erase board. Even that seemed to cause frustration. He simply couldn't keep his attention on the task. So he asked if he could get up and practice his karate while I called out the problems to him. Why not?! You wouldn't believe the difference that made. As he moved through his karate movements it seemed to help bring organization to his brain and he easily answered all the questions without hesitation. Another confirmation that home school is the right choice for us. That would not have happened in a classroom. I have learned so much about how Isaac learns best the last few years. This was a huge break through for us!!!

Julia has continued to work on simple addition and was also introduced to simple subtraction. It all seems to come easily to her, but I am starting to see that we are finally getting to new material for her. Up to this point it was basically review. This is good. She needs to be challenged.

Spanish - Isaac hit a milestone today with Spanish and finally completed with 90% or higher everything in Lesson 1!!!! Julia is really close as well. She just needs to work on the vocabulary and grammar sections. I am loving Rosetta Stone. I love that it is something they can do independently and I feel like they are really learning a lot.

Language Arts/Reading - Isaac started learning the writing process this week. I worked with him to complete the planning and drafting stages. We are working on a story about our trip to the Witte museum. Julia has read 3 chapters of Andi's Pony Trouble (Circle C series). She has fun reading and doing all the activities that go with the book. Reading is definitely a strong suit for her. She constantly wants to read ahead.

As I mentioned above, we started our home school co-op this week. We attend REACH which is hosted by our church. We meet once a week for 3 hours. All three had a great first day. Isaac is finally feeling more comfortable and independent while there and had fun with his friends. Julia had a lot of fun seeing her friends from last year and meeting some new ones. And Caleb was so stinking cute with his Thomas backpack on.