Week 3 in Review

Better late than never, right? I've been enjoying my Labor Day weekend a little too much to get my weekly report done, but I do want to try to keep up with my reports this year. Overall, it was another good week, although looking over my planning page I noticed we did miss a few things -- some purposely, a couple I just plain forgot. That's what happens when you don't look at the planner as often as you should! And I've also figured out why it is so important to get your planning done before the start of the school year. I decided at the last minute to switch spelling programs, and now I can't seem to find enough time to figure out how to use it! I thought for sure with a 3-day weekend I could get it done, but instead I got other projects done, like bathing the dogs, painting a kitchen stool, and finally returning a pair of jeans I bought for Ryne last December! I'm almost beginning to wonder if perhaps I am subconsciously avoiding spelling, LOL!

Ryne: He continues to do well with math, having completed the lesson on finding area of a rectangle or square. He enjoyed working on memorizing his first poem for the year. I don't personally select the poems he memorizes, since poetry is included in First Language Lessons, but I have been very happy with all the poems in each FLL book. This week he started "Afternoon on a Hill" by Edna St. Vincent Millay. Another highlight of the week for Ryne was having his first Cub Scout den meeting for the year.

Grace: So far, so good with subtraction! She reviewed 3 lessons this week that she completed late last spring. But the next lesson (subtracting 9's) is where she really struggled, forcing us to take a break. I have a few ideas on how to help her through this lesson, so we'll see if she's ready for it yet.

Anna: The adjustment to away-school gets better each week. She loves her school and is working hard. They are reading Tom Sawyer right now, but are forbidden to read ahead and it is killing her!

Bible: Having completed the introductory chapters in Discovering Jesus in Exodus, we were reacquainted ourselves with the pattern of the main text we were introduced to in the DJiGenesis last year. Each four chapter section has a "glory story" that illustrates the memory verse and the covenantal theme, as well as a fictional story line designed to encourage personal application of the truths. This week our glory story was about baby Moses, the covenantal theme was "trust," and the verse was 20:7, "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God." In addition to DJiE, we continued our daily Bible stories, and began working on memorizing the first five books of the Bible.

Science: We completed a lesson on precipitation and made a rain gauge (we've collected a whopping one-eighth of an inch of rain so far!). We also completed Outdoor Hour Challenge #3, which you can read about here. We were honored to have one of the photos I took of the kids on our second challenge chosen as The Handbook of Nature Study's photo of the week. As of tonight, you can still see us about half-way down the side bar.

History: Our focus this week was Jamestown and the Powhatan Indians (think Pocahontas). There were too many good books to choose from this week, so sadly I had to return a few to the library that looked like they could have been good. Below are the favorites of what we did read.

Three Ships Come Sailing, Gilchrist Waring

The Lord is My Shepherd, Ill. Tasha Tudor

The Jamestown Colony, Brendan January

Powhatan Indians, Suzanne Morgan Williams

Fine Arts: We started learning about the viola, and reviewed the same hymn and patriotic song from previous weeks. We almost completed unit 3 of Artistic Pursuits, except that the project called for water color crayons again, which I did not buy until Saturday, so the project had to wait. Another component of our fine arts schedule is piano lessons, and from listening to the kids practice you would think it is Christmas time already! They have all started learning their pieces for our church Christmas program. The instructor wanted the kids to really challenge themselves, so it will be fun to see how they progress over the next few months.

Other: Friday afternoon we had a play date with some friends from church who also homeschool. They have a boy and girl both close in age to Ryne and Grace, so hopefully we can do this often. I think we moms need it almost more than the kids!

With three weeks completed, we've had a nice transition as we move into high-gear with extracurricular activities. Swimming, Cub Scouts, and my ladies Bible study started last week, Sunday School started yesterday, Catechism starts Wednesday, and ballet resumes next week. And somewhere in the middle of it all, I am going to learn how to use our spelling program!

Happy Homeschooling!