We had a very productive but busy week. It seems like we have been on the go quite a bit lately!
Zeke started speech therapy once a week on Tuesday mornings. The therapy center is an hour away from our home, so we leave at 8:15 and don't get back until 11:30. Fridays used to be our "short day" of school each week, but we've moved that to Tuesday. Mercie can do her schoolwork while I'm gone, but the boys aren't ready to do their schoolwork totally on their own. When I get back, we eat lunch and do their math, grammar, and handwriting.
Titus also started Tae-Kwon-Do, which is twice a week - Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:50-6:40. He really loves it so far! He is learning a lot and getting into shape - push-ups, crunches, squats, and leg lifts are the first things they do each session.
Mercie is playing tennis for the first time and enjoying it! She's playing with a local school that allows homeschoolers to play sports. She knows a few of the girls on the team, and she is a quick learner! Her tennis practice is on Tuesdays and Thursdays one week, and Monday, Wednesday, and Friday the next. It alternates, which is nice, but my Tuesdays are pretty full if you can't tell. She's also really busy with her horses. She loves horses and is training one of hers, Little Bit, to run barrels.
Eli plays basketball and is a starter for the Varsity team. His games are on Tuesdays (yep - Tuesdays) and Fridays with the occasional Monday game. I really love to watch him play! It's hard to juggle all of my Tuesday commitments, but my parents and my mother in law have been helping me get Titus and Mercie to practice when Eli has a game.
Silas is planning to play football on the junior high team this coming fall and has been trying to get in shape for that. He knows it's going to be tough, but he's really excited about it!
WHAT WE DID THIS WEEK:
Silas and Titus made ichthys out of modeling clay this week, as they're learning about the early church. They learned that it was sort of a secret code for Christians back then. If a Christian met someone on the road, he would draw the top arch of the fish symbol. If the other person was also a Christian, he would finish the symbol. They thought it was neat that they had "secret codes" in Bible times!
The history books we are reading are "Grandpa's Box" and "Fountain of Life." Silas just finished "Little Miriam of Galilee" and is anxious for his next book. He really enjoyed that book! I wasn't sure he would, since a girl is the main character and he's at the age where girls are gross, but he told me that I had to read it! I just started tonight. I love when my kids are at the age where they can give me "book recommendations!"
We're reading "Find the Constellations" for science, and to be honest, we're not feeling this book. We have learned a lot, and the boys enjoy going outside and finding the constellations we read about. The science is just so light in Heart of Dakota. I did something crazy and ordered a unit from Gather 'Round Homeschool to use with them - the Space Unit! It came in this week, and I'm so excited to start it on Monday! It looks fabulous.
Abeka grammar is going well - Titus is learning about commas and comma rules and Silas is learning about capitalization rules.
In math, Titus is learning about adding and subtraction fractions with like denominators. He's also been doing 2 digit by 2 digit multiplication and long division with remainders. He really needs to work on his multiplication and division facts, so we've added in some extra practice. He loves using two math dice (both numbered 0-9) and rolling them and multiplying them together. It's more fun than flashcards and just as effective.
Silas has been working on decimals, and so far he's doing great. Fractions still give him a bit of frustration (changing denominators, converting to improper or mixed numbers, reducing...) but so far he's got a good understanding of the decimal system.
Mercie is learning about word problems in Algebra - and I mean hard word problems like age problems. I have always hated those and never been good at them. Some of them she does in her head without writing down a formula, which impresses me! She is using VideoText Algebra and it seems to be working pretty well for her.
In history she has been learning about Holocaust. She is reading "The Shadow of His Hand" this week. She said she wasn't supposed to finish it yesterday, but it was so good she couldn't stop reading! Her next book is "I Am David." She's excited about that one.
In science she is reading "Atoms in the Family" about Enrico Fermi and said it's the most boring book she's ever read! It's teaching her diligence even when things aren't fun or easy, so she's going to finish it.
Zeke learned about the letter D and ducks, dogs, and donuts this week! I'll be posting a more in depth week in review for him tomorrow. For now here are a few snapshots!
Also I joined the Homeschool Review Crew again! It's my third time on the Crew and I'm really excited about it. I always thought it was fun to try out so many different curricula and games and books. We have discovered some favorites over the years!
Tuesday sounds like a doozy of a day! We're currently feeling like we're running ragged with just one kid being busy for 2 hours each night... never mind multiples! Sounds like everyone is doing great in their schooling though.
ReplyDeleteYes, it can get crazy! Thankfully I have help if I need it. Everyone is doing great. How are your boys?
DeleteIt is good to be reading about you all again. I had wondered not too many months ago about you so glad to see things going well. Hope you enjoy being back on the Crew. We decided we needed to step away and I do miss it. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I have missed being regular on here. Now that I'm on the Crew that is my accountability! I do understand having to step away because I've had to step away twice before. It can be a huge commitment for sure.
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