Heart of Dakota: Week in Review {August 31- September 4, 2015}

We completed Unit 6 in Bigger Hearts and Little Hearts this week! Man, these units are flying by!

Bigger Hearts: Unit 6

In History, we read about William Penn and Benjamin West. Benjamin West was a painter, and when he was a child, he used berry juice to paint. He also used hairs from his cat's tail to make brushes! We painted a picture with juice:

We also made a notebooking page about Benjamin West. They drew pictures of an art palate and wrote facts about Benjamin in the "paints".

We did some jumping games like the Indians used to have. That was a lot of fun!

In science, we learned about natural remedies that the colonists used. Some of them didn't work {like wolf fangs hung around your neck giving you courage or bleeding you to reduce a fever}, but some of them did {like willow bark curing headaches}. They made a notebook page listing a few remedies that worked, and a few that didn't.

We did a demonstration where we learned how the body fights off infection.

We also learned about simple and compound leaves, and are going outside later to find some examples of each.

We read the poem "For A Child" this week, and the kids illustrated it.

We memorized Proverbs 3:3-4, and talked about the character trait Faithfulness.

We also started Drawn into the Heart of Reading this week, and we LOVE it so far. Mercie read "Buffalo Bill and the Pony Express" this week, and will be starting on Dolphin Adventure Monday. Eli is reading "Cabin on Trouble Creek". We started in the Adventure genre. This week, Eli made a bookmark and filled out a few sheets, and Mercie filled out a few sheets and we had some discussion. It doesn't take long at all, and I think it will be very beneficial for their literature analysis skills.

Eli learned about the nervous system and brain this week in God's Design for the Human Body. He had some fun brain exercises and had to color the three major parts of the brain and the nervous system. 

Eli is learning about singular possessive and plural possessive nouns in grammar. He is finding it a little confusing, but we are working on it. Here is a chart he made today:

He is adding and subtracting mixed fractions in math like he's been doing it all of his life.

Mercie is learning about nouns in grammar, and adding with carrying in math. She does well in Singapore math.

Little Hearts for His Glory: Unit 6

Silas is continuing to enjoy Little Hearts. He learned about Joshua and Jericho this week. We had fun singing "Joshua fought the Battle of Jericho" and doing the Rhyme in Motion. He made this craft with the red rope hanging out of Rahab's window.

We read about the sun and moon stood still while the battle was still going on, and he drew a moon and a sun on opposite sides of the earth. We talked about how the sun shines during the day and the moon at night.

He also made an edible model of the dirt. The first layer is chocolate chips, the second is crushed cookies, and sliced almonds on top. He  mixed it with chocolate pudding and had a nice sugary snack!

He is still learning to recognize the numbers 6-10. He can recognize 10, but 6-9 he is having trouble with. He made flashcards with the corresponding number of stickers. He also used a ziploc bag filled with dish soap to practice writing his numbers. This actually helped a lot.

We are still working through Reading Made Easy, and we are on lesson 12. He is having so much trouble sounding out the words, that we may take a break from it. I printed out the first 30 pages of Simply Phonics from Shoelace Books. We are going to start with that Monday and see how he progresses.

He worked on a few pages in his thinking skills book and his handwriting book. Here is a page where he had to write his name.

I also started speech with him today with Super Star Speech. It looks like a great program, and I'm hoping with improved speech, reading will come easier. He was in an IEP when we were at home in Louisiana {at the public school}, but it didn't help at all. So, instead of putting him in an IEP in Ohio, we are going to do our best at home.

That was our week! Thanks for reading such a long post.

Week in Review: August 24-August 28, 2015

This week has just flown by! I am so amazed at how simple Heart of Dakota makes my job as a homeschool mom. Each week, I sound like a walking advertisement for HOD, but, seriously, it is THAT good.

Bigger Hearts for His Glory {unit 5}

In history this week, we read about Myles Standish and Squanto, the Mayflower, Pilgrims, and Chief Massasoit {not in that order}. We made Indian sand paintings.

We also made a "needs" and "wants" chart with magazine pictures. {You can probably guess which one was done by a girl and which one was done by a boy.}

We defined vocabulary words.

We added to our timeline, and mapped the Mayflower's journey {but I didn't get a picture}.

In science this week, we added vertebrates to our Animal Kingdom sheet. The kids love drawing the animals!

We also did an experiment about germs. We rubbed lotion on our hands, then I sprinkled plenty of glitter on them. The glitter represented germs. They had to try to wash the glitter off with a dry paper towel, cold water, and then warm, soapy water. The warm, soapy water is the only thing that got all the glitter off their hands. They really understand now why it is so important to wash your hands with warm, soapy water!

Our poem this week was titled "Each In His Own Tongue", and the kids illustrated it.

We are learning the song "O For a Thousand Tongues", and it is just beautiful. The kids enjoy singing each day.

Our verse this week was Proverbs 18:10, 'The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The godly run to it and are safe.' We talked about responsibility and how to be responsible to God.

In math, Mercie learned how to add with carrying. She caught on pretty fast.

 She continued learning how to write proper sentences in grammar, and aced her spelling test again.

Eli is reviewing fractions in math, and diagramming compound subjects, predicates, and sentences.

In his science this week, he learned about the muscular system. He had to color the different muscles in the body, do a few activities showing how to strengthen muscles, and draw the anatomy of the foot.

They both also had Bible study, and Mercie continued with her handwriting. I let her pick any page in the book to do each day, as long as the whole workbook gets done.

And that about wraps up our week in Bigger Hearts!

Little Hearts for His Glory {unit 5}

Silas learned about Moses this week. We had a fun Rhyme in Motion, and I'm glad he enjoys doing them {because they are fun for me, too!}. 

 He made a paper airplane quail, and we had fun flying it and trying to "catch" it like the Israelites did in the wilderness.

We made an edible "calf" like the one the Israelites did when Moses was receiving the Ten Commandments from God. He got to eat it, like Moses made the people do with the calf.

In science, he learned about clouds {correlating with God leading the people by a cloud}. We made a cotton ball cloud "rain", and then we glued three types of clouds {cotton balls} to a worksheet.

We only complete two lessons in Reading Made Easy {although we did it every day!} He is stuck on a few sounds, but he can sound out several words with the -ap ending. We played Bingo with chocolate chips and his word cards.

He is still working on handwriting, and is having trouble forming letters and numbers correctly. He traced his memory verse worksheet, and I am still pleasantly surprised at how quickly he remembers his verse each week.

We continued reading in Reddy Fox, and he had to draw a picture of his house. He wasn't sure if he wanted to draw our "real" house {in Louisiana} or this rental house {in Ohio}. I'm not sure what the final product was...

He made a number chart with dot stickers in math, and is excellent and counting objects to 10 and recognizing the number. We are working on writing the numbers...

I am proud of my little man for being such a cooperative kindergartener! He is retaining so much, and I am enjoying every moment.

Little Hands to Heaven {unit 4...sort of}

My three year old decided to cut school this week, and he did two days worth. He put dot stickers on a "D", and did our Finger Play. He also glued 4 women on the number 4 worksheet. We are going to do the rest next week.

So that was our week in review! I'll write my 7th grader's week in review tomorrow.