Week in Review Link Up: July 2-July 8

This week was busy, and I didn't get too many pictures. Rod was off work Saturday through Tuesday so we got to spend some time together when he wasn't working. Farm life keeps you busy - there are no vacations. There is always something to do!

Titus went to 4H Camp Monday through Thursday this week. It was his first time at 4H Camp and his third and final camp of this summer. 

We had Codebreakers at church Wednesday night. Attendance has been down a lot this summer. There were only 9 kids there last night. I'm still doing it though because it's important for me to have something available to the kids this summer. Silas and Mercie put on the puppet show and made all the kids laugh.

Zeke has been reviewing his letters starting this week. We're using The Gentle+Classical Preschool Morning Binder pages as worksheets. We're doing one letter a day - building the letter, tracing and finding the letter, and then I have one more activity available. We're also doing one number a day. He's doing great! There are just some letters he isn't very familiar with and others he knows really well. I'd like him to have a good review before we begin this fall.

Letter A: 

We built the letter with red pom poms then used our Attribute Apples to sort by color and then size.

Letter B:

We build the letter using buttons, and then he stuck bird feathers into a colander.

Letter C: 

We built the letter using linking cubes, and then he built towers with the linking cubes to match the number flashcards.

Letter D:

We build the letter using dinosaurs. He then counted dinosaurs for each number flashcard.

Letter E:

We built the letter using wooden blocks. We reviewed all of the letters and sounds a-e. He also did a few clip cards - a popsicle shape set and sunshine color matching. Both of these are available in my etsy shop - link in sidebar!

I got back on Instagram! I post lots of pictures and stories, so follow me there! It's @meganrussell383.

How was your week? Link up any posts from this week below!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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FREE Alphabet Art Resource!

I love creating resources for Zeke to use! I have an Etsy shop where I sell loads of digital products, such as toddler curriculum, dot marker pages, clip cards, and flashcards. I also sell a few busy bags right now. I did have quite a few different options, but when Zoey came along I removed most of them for now.

I have decided to start offering some of my resources for free here on my blog! Some of these resources are listed in my Etsy shop already and some will be new resources that I offer here for free for a limited time before I list them on Etsy.

Today I'm offering these Alphabet Art templates! This set comes with the Toddler Curriculum Bundle or you can buy it separately for $3.00. Every letter becomes an object that begins with that letter! A becomes an apple, K becomes a kite, T becomes a train track, and Z becomes a zoo! 

You will need a few supplies to complete some of these crafts, like ribbon, pipe cleaners, or googly eyes. Most of the templates don't require anything extra though! 

This is a great way to get in some letter review this summer before school starts. It's also great for a letter of the week program or to add to a unit study.

If you decide to download this resource, please leave me a comment as a thank-you! And I would love to hear how you are planning to use it. 

To download the Alphabet Art package, just click the link below!

Alphabet Art

Week in Review Link Up: June 25-July1

(I'd love to get my link-up going again! It may take awhile, but I'm patient. If you're interested, you can link up any of your posts from this week below. Thanks!)

This week was hot. We had heat advisories almost all week with heat indexes of 112-116 degrees. Needless to say, the little ones and I enjoyed lots of time indoors playing. Silas and Titus have had to pick up a lot of slack this week with Eli being gone to Nicaragua for a month and Mercie being gone to church camp for the week. 

All of the farm chores fell on their shoulders, but they really stepped up and got everything done. Feeding chickens, horses, dogs, cat, and cows is just the beginning - they had to check every single water trough daily (especially with it being so hot, it was vital to make sure the animals had plenty of water), pick up limbs from our quarter mile long driveway after some severe thunderstorms, and help my father-in-law lay poly pipe so we can water our beans and corn. They stayed busy! 

As a reward, my mother-in-law took them to see the new Indiana Jones movie last night. They loved it but they did say it had too much language in it. Silas commented that at one point he thought he was going to have to walk out on it! 

Sunday was Eli's 18th birthday! We didn't have a big celebration but we gave him some gifts. I bought an ice cream cake since that's his favorite! I did promise to buy him a mini-fridge for college this fall as part of his gift. I didn't want to buy it now because I didn't know where I'd store it until then.

Tuesday I went with Mikaela to her doctor's appointment. She had another ultrasound to check her placenta (it's low-lying, almost covering her cervix). We got to see little Mikenna and everything looked great with her. Mikaela and I did some shopping at TJ Maxx, Dillard's, Carters, and Bath and Body Works. She also took some clothes to Once Upon a Child (a consignment store) and earned some money. We found several outfits with tags on them there, too!

The boys and I made some pickles and pickled okra with cucumbers and okra from our garden. They also chopped up about fifteen bell peppers and we put those in the freezers to use in soups and casseroles. We have lots of cherry tomatoes and I gave a big bag to Mikaela and my mother-in-law. 

We had our Wednesday night program at church, Codebreakers. Silas and Titus put on a puppet show for us to introduce the Bible lesson and it was so funny! I think the kids are enjoying it each week.

Eli and my parents left for Nicaragua Thursday morning. He's having a great time so far! They've traveled horseback in the mountains already. It's going to be a long month without him, but I know he's having a wonderful experience. He gets to preach tonight!

My favorite moment from the week:

When I got to church Sunday morning, my niece, Laylah, and I were matching! We had to get a picture.

How was your week? Link up any of your posts from the week here. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

6th Grade Curriculum Choices for 2023/2024

Titus's curriculum choices for this next school year look a lot like Silas's, but I decided to make a separate post for him anyway!

Saxon Math 7/6 with Nicole the Math Lady subscription

Titus has used Math Lessons for a Living Education up until now, and he had one more level to go! He asked me to start "The Math Lady" math this year, and I figured it wouldn't hurt a thing! Saxon 7/6 is for sixth graders or seventh graders who struggle with math. Silas used this level last year and I think Titus will do well with it. I love that math is one subject I don't have to teach!

Writers in Residence 

I used this with Mikaela and Eli, and when I saw it on clearance for less than a dollar (from $80), I knew I had to buy it to try it with the boys! It's an independent, self-teaching writing program that worked really well for my older kids.

Language Smarts Level E

We used this as a review product last year, and I absolutely loved it. Titus is about halfway finished so we will work three times a week in this workbook and finish it up this year.

The Story of Civilization Volume One

We will use this a family three days a week with additional readings, maps, notebooking, and crafts. I'm planning to give each of the kids a blank notebook to be their Narration Notebooks, where they'll write narrations, draw pictures and diagrams, label maps and glue them in, and even some timeline entries.

Great Science Adventures: The World of Plants

Titus will use this with Silas. There are foldable books, notebooking, experiments, and other projects that we will use with this, also with a Narration Notebook. This will be done three days a week.

Readers in Residence

Again, this was on clearance for less than a dollar so I wanted to try it with the boys! It will be his literature for the year, and if we decided we don't like it then I won't feel bad about spending a dollar on it.

We will also have Co-Op classes on Thursdays, which is new for us! He will be taking three classes - "Show and Tell - An Intro to Public Speaking", "History Pockets: Ancient Greece" (taught by me!), and "FUNdamental Skills." I'm super excited about this year!

DIY Sensory Cards for Baby

I created these sensory cards for Zoey and she absolutely loved them. In fact, even Zeke enjoyed feeling the different textures! They were really simple to make and I think they'll last for a while. I may even make a few more with some different textures.

I used some wood squares that Silas uses with his wood burning kit. These were purchased on Amazon in bulk, but you can also buy them in smaller packages. 

I cut a piece of felt, a piece of bubble wrap, a piece of sandpaper, and a piece of foil to fit the squares. I hot glued them to the wood squares, but you could also use wood glue. That's it! It was a quick and easy craft and Zoey spent a good ten minutes playing with the cards, which is a long time for a 9-month old.

Have you ever made sensory cards? What other textures should I make?