Middle School Monday

Mercie is in 7th grade, smack in the middle of middle school! Sometimes she gets overlooked in my Homeschool Highlights, so I decided I would dedicate Mondays to her - Middle School Mondays! (I used to have a Junior High Junction link up for my older two, but I like Middle School Mondays better.) Also, I meant to get this posted yesterday (which was actually Monday) but life happens.

Mercie is using Apologia's General Science course this year and loves it. Today she had a super fun experiment with soap. I'm sure many of you have done this before, but we never have! I happened to have a bar of Ivory soap in my closet left over from our Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.

She stuck the soap in water and noticed that it floats. That is because Ivory soap has air bubbles inside of it.

She cut the soap open and observed the air bubbles.

Next she put the soap on a paper plate in the microwave for 60 seconds! All the kids gathered around the microwave (in one chair!) to watch what happened.

The soap expanded so much! It was so neat to touch and feel. I didn't read the lesson in the book, so I'm not sure what the object of this experiment was, but all the kids thought it was pretty fantastic.

What did your middle schooler do today?

7th grade Week In Review: August 31- September 4, 2015

Mikaela had a very creative and productive week this week!

In History {America the Beautiful by the Notgrass Company}, she had to make a Pocahontas Museum. She did a really good job! She had 10 exhibits to make, but I'll only show you a few.

"Pocahontas would take corn and furs to John Smith, who at the time lived at Jamestown."

"Pocahontas changed her religion to Christianity..."

Pocahontas's baby boy.

She has mapping and timeline activities almost every day, and a lesson review and activity every day. We are only on her third week of this curriculum, but she loves it! It is such a great and thorough curriculum, and she can do it mostly independently. She reads a lesson each day, and then a passage in We The People, which is a collection of documents, songs, stories, poems, and articles from the past. She also has a "Thinking Biblically" section each day, where she looks up scriptures and applies it to her lesson. There are at least 5 extra activities listed for each lesson, and while you don't have to do all of them, she usually does because she loves them. Here are a few examples of her timeline and maps {which is ongoing}.

For science, {Science in the Ancient World by Jay Wile}, she had some more experiments. We did a cool one Wednesday. She had to put vinegar and baking soda into a 2-liter bottle. We lit a candle, and then turned the bottle sideways, being careful not to spill any, and the gas caused the candle to go out! We did it several times because it was so neat.

In math, she is still adding and subtracting, multiplying and diving fractions. She is on the third book in the Key to Fractions series. She is getting a little tired of fractions, but she could probably do them in her sleep now, and that was my goal!

For grammar, she is using Easy Grammar Plus, and finding direct objects, adverbs, and prepositional phrases like a pro.

She is continuing in Spectrum Writing 7. She loves to write, and this twice weekly workbook is just perfect. It's not too much, but it keeps her creative juices flowing while giving her some direction and teaching her rules. I don't worry too much about her spelling errors, because that is her weakness and I want her to enjoy writing. I did correct them on one of her writing assignments and made her re-write it.

She is doing great in art, and her drawing has improved.

We just started Drawn into the Heart of Reading this week, and boy are we loving it! It is such a fun, easy reading program.

I didn't take pictures of her workbook {some of the questions are personal}, but she did have an activity today. She had to draw a cover for her book to make people want to read it. She did a great job {and yes I know she misspelled 'manor.}

I am so proud of her for being so motivated. We have found curriculum that works for her, allows her to have her independence, and is teaching her so much.

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.

Week in Review: August 17-21, 2015

We completed unit 4 in Bigger Hearts and Little Hearts this week, and Unit 3 in Little Hands. We had another great week, and I am still amazed that I have found such a perfect curriculum for our family.

Bigger Hearts for His Glory {unit 4}

In history, we read some more about John Smith and Pocahontas. We read about how the Indians and white settlers bartered. The kids each had a baggie with some snacks in it, and they had to barter with each other to trade items. They had fun, but they both agreed using a debit card/cash was easier than trading!

They made an acrostic with Pocahontas's name.

 They made a world map with graham crackers and icing. That was the best activity! They had so much fun, but it wasn't easy to "nibble" the crackers into the correct shape!

 We defined vocabulary words. Mercie gets to choose one of three each week, and she chose wigwam. Eli has to define all three.

We also designed a piece of paper like an Indian blanket.

In science, we learned more about the seashore and the animals that live on the seashore or in the tides. We learned how scientist group mollusks. I picked up a bag of shells from the Dollar Tree, and that was very helpful for the kids. They enjoyed being able to pick up, touch, and see the shells and the types of things they would be drawing.

We started a notebook page, and drew pictures of different invertebrates.

We read a poem titled "The Arrow", and it was our favorite so far! 

We learned the rest of the song "Holy, Holy, Holy". This is a beautiful song, and we love to sing it! We find ourselves singing it sporadically throughout the day! 

The kids memorized Proverbs 3:30, and we talked about being trustworthy.

They continued working in Rod and Staff English and Singapore math. Mercie still has handwriting, and they both have Bible studies. They also do spelling. 

Eli learned more about the skeletal system in "God's Design for the Human Body." {Not Heart of Dakota} He label a skeleton, glued a skeleton together, and performed an experiment. He put one chicken bone in a cup of vinegar, and left on in the open air for two days. He then had to try to break the bones. The one in the vinegar would not break, and it was very flexible! The one left in the open broke very easily. 

{trying to break the bone that soaked in vinegar}

We had a very full week, but school only takes us 2 or 2 1/2 hours! 

Little Hearts for His Glory {unit 4}

Silas had a very productive week this week. He sounded out a few words! We are back to using the "Reading Made Easy" book. He is doing fabulous, but he doesn't like to do it very long! 

He is learning how to write numbers in math. He can count very well, and recognizes his numbers. He has trouble writing, but we are working on it! He used M&M's to make patterns in math. 

He memorized Proverbs 3:5 this week.

He learned about Joseph being sold into slavery, and then about Moses, the burning bush and appealing to Pharaoh to let the people go.

{Egyptian collar}

{Moses in the basket}

 We read some more in "Reddy Fox", and he colored a picture. He also had to "warn" Grandfather Frog that Farmer Brown's boy was hunting! He doesn't remember everything I read, but he seems to listen partially.

He also worked in Thinking Skills workbook, did handwriting, and we acted out the Bible stories. I don't get a lot of pictures of us doing dramatic play, because I am usually doing it right along with him!

I think Little Hearts...is perfect for Kindergarten. It is so gentle, yet he is picking up so much! I am so proud of how motivated he is for a 5 year old. We do his school first thing in the morning, while the older ones are doing independent work.

Little Hands to Heaven {unit 3}

We didn't do school every day this week, but I managed to get a few pictures. He glued colored paper to a letter C.

 More color matching!

 Putting star stickers on the night sky. He also made a tent for Abraham out of an index card.

He is only 3, and I am not pushing school on him at all. If he wants to do it, we do it. If he doesn't, we don't! He picks up so much from listening to the other kids, and I am more than happy to let him be a baby longer!