Week In Review: Zoey's Crib, Shopping, and Homeschooling!

This was our second week of school, and it went even better than last week. We are all pleased with the curriculum we are using. I feel like I've finally come to the place where I'm not always looking for the next best thing. I can be content using something that may not be the best but works for our family. Last week I was pretty detailed our week-in-review post, but this week I'll just touch on the favorite moments from the week.

Homeschooling

Our favorite moments were definitely the science experiments and demonstrations. I like how there are usually several scheduled in each week. The boys can do them pretty much on their own. Having a box with almost all of the supplies needed has also made things much simpler. 

Titus is learning about the weather right now. He did an experiment to see how hot and cold air molecules move to make currents in the water and air. We put a pan of lukewarm water on top of some cups and placed a cup of boiling water under one end and a cup of ice under the other. After waiting a few minutes, he placed a drop of food coloring at each end. He watched how the cold and hot molecules moved and made different currents.

Silas learned about friction and did an experiment with a block of wood and sandpaper to show how friction slows down a moving object. 

My favorite moments were also listening to the boys give narrations of their history lessons. I love to see how much they retain and what parts of the lessons most interest them. Titus also has read the past three chapters of Farmer Boy on his own and that is a definite favorite for me!

Geography Drill! He really needs to learn basic geography.

Zeke learned the letter F this week. He made a cute paper plate fish with tissue paper squares. I love paper plate crafts!

I was also really pleased that he can recognize the numbers 1-5 and know what value they represent. I had him lay out the number cards and then count the correct amount of glass beads for each card. He did this activity with zero help from me!

He made his alphabet collage using Foil and Felt pieces and completed several other worksheets. Most of these are available in my Etsy shop. 

Doctor's Visit and Shopping Trip

Thursdays are my doctor days. I make the hour and half long trek to the doctor's office each week. I've been taking one child with me each week to spend some one-on-one time with them before Zoey arrives, and this week was Titus's week. My blood pressure has been high the past few visits, and they've done bloodwork to check for preeclampsia signs. So far, my bloodwork has been normal even though my blood pressure is 140/82-165/92. Next week I start my weekly ultrasounds, so I'm excited about that! I'm 35 weeks now.

Titus has been needing some new tennis shoes and wanting a pair of Hey Dude shoes like his older siblings. We bought him a pair of both! He was super excited about them. He also got a new pair of jeans and a nice shirt for church, two t-shirts, and a hoodie for this fall. We met Mikaela (she lives there now while she's going to school) and ate lunch in the mall (they had Yummy Japan). I wound up buying everyone a surprise from the mall - new shirts for the older kids and a pair of Hey Dudes for Zeke. He needed a nice pair for church (he usually wears his Crocs!). 

New western shirt

Zoey's Crib

When we got home Thursday, my dad came and took Titus to TKD for me. Eli put Zoey's crib together for me! It's a mini-crib, so it fits really nicely in front of our window in our bedroom. It matches our bed really well, too. 

I cannot wait for her to sleep in here! I'm so excited about her arrival. I have co-slept with the last three babies, but I'm honestly not wanting to co-sleep this time around. I'm hoping she'll sleep in the crib from day one!

We also got tons of rain this week - nearly 8 inches! It was so dry that it's almost all drained off the roads already. I'm SO ready for cooler temperatures, but they're still at least a month away.

What was your favorite homeschooling moment this week?

Blogging From A to Z: Middle School Thoughts on Monday

Middle school can be a difficult time for homeschoolers. Your child is not in elementary school anymore and doesn't need as much handholding, but they are not in high school yet and are not ready to be totally independent in their learning. They want to do things independently, yet they still need some scaffolding in their daily work. They can also be a bit grumpy at times since this age group is typically going through puberty, with all of the hormones and mood swings that accompany it!

Silas in the middle

Middle school can also be a wonderful time for homeschoolers. You have this extra time with your pre-teen and teenager that you would miss out on if they were in public school. You can offer them the help they may need, the one-on-one time that is invaluable for kids of all ages. You can cater to your child's interests and feed their curiosity about different topics. 

7th grade workload

One of the things I always try to remind myself of is that my middle-schoolers are in a big transition stage, not just in school but in life. They are outgrowing many of their childish behaviors and hobbies and at the same time trying to see where they fit in the world of teenagers. They may still have the desire to play with toys or watch shows that are geared toward younger kids while at the same time have no desire to play with their younger siblings or do things with younger friends. They could be asking for their own phones or social media - something you may not be ready to give them.

I try to spend time with him in his environment 

Middle school can be tough - both for you and your child! Having plenty of patience and offering grace to your child (even when we think they don't deserve it) will help you both cope. Take the time to listen to your child, putting away your phone and any other distractions. Allow your child to have small "tantrums", trying to get to the root of the problem. Discuss ways to handle the larger workload in their school and try to give them as much independence as they can bear without burdening them. 

He loves to grill!

Make sure your middle-schooler is getting plenty of sleep! It's tempting to stay awake late, playing video games or watching a movie. It's recommended that children ages 6-12 get 9-12 hours of sleep a night, while children ages 13-18 need 8-10. Turning off screens an hour before sleeping also helps your child fall asleep and stay asleep. 

Most of all, enjoy this time with your middle-schooler! Play games together, go on fun fieldtrips, and laugh with (and at!) each other often. 

What’s your favorite thing about middle school?

This post is part of my series of Middle School Monday!

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First Week of School!

I think we had a very productive first week of homeschool this week! So far, I'm really pleased with all of the curriculum choices we made and how well they're working with my boys. I'll break it down into each grade level and try to hit on the highlights of the week. This first week may be a bit lengthy.

First day of school breakfast - you can tell who looks more excited!

SILAS - 7th GRADE

I can't believe he is in middle school this year! He is really taking ownership of his schoolwork and doing most of it with zero help from me. 

Physical Science - He had several fun experiments/demonstrations this week that helped him visualize the concepts he is learning (the different types of energy). He completes his workbook pages with minimal help from me and does the experiments totally on his own (while I try to snap pictures!). 

shooting a rubber band at a target 

he made a ramp for a toy car

swinging a tennis ball around his head

learning about momentum with dominos, golf balls, and ping pong balls

World History - He reads the assigned pages on his own, gives me a narration when prompted, and completes his workbook pages all on his own. He brings them to me to check before putting them in his binder.

Writing Strands - Again, this has been done completely by him. It's a bit easy right now, but I want him to start slow with writing instruction. I do want to add in some grammar review each day, even just parts of speech.

Progeny Press - He finished reading chapters 6-8 this week and completed most of the questions for these chapters. We do this together for the most part, while he answers aloud and I help him condense the answer into a short enough response to write down. He loves the book he's reading - The Last Battle - and his comprehension of the story has really surprised me. 

Saxon Math 7/6 - He is using Nicole the Math Lady with this, and he says she makes things so simple to understand! He completed six lessons so far. I do not make him work all the problems in the problem set.

TITUS - 5th GRADE

So far, I've been sitting with him for his lessons, but I hope to be able to give him a bit more independence as time goes on. 

Science - He had a few experiments this week to show air pressure and that air has weight. I was really surprised how he read all of the lessons aloud in their entirety to me because he hates to read. he remembered so much from each lesson! He completed his workbook pages with little help.

learning that air has weight

air pressure

American History - He learned about Native Americans this week, one of his favorite topics! He also read these pages aloud and remembered quite a bit! He really enjoyed these workbook pages, including researching a tribe of his choice and writing a mini-report! 

Language Lessons for a Living Education - I like this workbook so far, and he can do it mostly on his own. He liked reading the Bible story, drawing the picture, and the copy work on Day 4! It is quick but looks like it's going to be a good variety of topics. 

Language Smarts E - This was a review workbook that I wanted Titus to keep using. He did some worksheets on prefixes and suffixes this week. 

Math Lessons for a Living Education - We love this series, and he was reviewing addition and subtraction this week, so it was totally on his own. 

Progeny Press - We finished reading the assigned chapters in Farmer Boy and finished the corresponding pages for those. He remembers a lot from this book, even though we take turns reading pages because he finds it challenging. There are a lot of details and descriptions in this book!

ZEKE - PRESCHOOL 3

The Gentle + Classical Preschool - We read Last Stop on Market Street three times this week. He enjoys this book! He learned the letter L and reviewed counting to five and counting five different objects. We did his memory cards each day, and he liked being able to hold them himself and recite the information. His nursery rhyme was Rain, Rain, Go Away and he would randomly recite it throughout the week!

counting five crayons

he can recognize the numbers 1-5

We did a fun rain in a jar experiment that I've done several times with my kids. He loved it!

We mixed red and yellow and made orange! He also did a red and orange sorting worksheet I created for him.

He also completed some worksheets from my Preschool Learning Journal and some that I created for him to go with his theme and letter this week. He loves worksheets and wants several a day.

he put a sticker in each circle

he filled the L with leaf stickers

he traced his letters and gave the lion a mane in an AB pattern

reading numbers and placing leaf stickers on the tree

he cut and glue a tiny green leaf to the tree - can you spot it?

this set is available in my Etsy shop - alphabet collage worksheets

he made this adorable paper plate lion! He drew the whiskers and mouth himself

he cut the edges to make a mane

Mercie starts her school Monday. It's going to be weird to have her gone during the day four days a week, but I know she is going to love it. Eli had his last first day of high school this week. It's bittersweet! Have you started school yet?

My high school senior!

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