I thought I would let ya’ll in on our homeschooling by sharing about our week. We had a really good week and got a lot done.
We started the princess on My Father’s World Kindergarten. She has already been working with us on handwriting, doing simple addition, and chiming in on discussions. So, we started the formal lessons. We’ll see how much she stays interested to see how to proceed. Mostly, she will be learning about letters and numbers and be included in the “heavy” stuff with the prince.
Bible
We continued our memory verse from last week: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 We talked about what the verse means and how we can share God’s light.On Wednesday, my father-in-law stopped by to drop some things off. I told him that we were gathering our recyclables to put by the road for pick-up. He joked (I think) that we could come get his too. So, when we took ours to the road, we went over to his house and carried his out too. We shared God’s light by helping elderly people.
On Friday, we made a sun out of waxed paper and crayon shavings. This was a project for Bible as well as Science. Spelling
We started to learn about consonant blends. These were a little tricky to get a grip on. We did our two days of practice and our two days of quizzes. There just wasn’t a good grasp. So, we took a third quiz on Friday. As we read back through the list before “turning in” our paper, we looked for letters out of order, extra letters, and letters what were turned the wrong way. The prince was checking the word “drop” and proudly (also jokingly) announced that “the ‘O’ is not turned the wrong way.” Gotta love him.English
We finished up our handwriting review. Come back on Monday for the Queen’s review of the product we used. We started real grammar lessons. I found some of the dictation hard to teach because his spelling is not up to some of the words in the dictation lesson. I see it as a challenge for both of us and will work itself out.History
The Pilgrims were the main focus of our History of the U.S. studies. This went right along with our read-aloud since week 3 – Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims. We finished the read-aloud on Thursday, but the prince and princess just wanted to start it over again. We made an oiled paper window to see what it would have been like for the Pilgrims since they didn’t have glass. We also planted corn and beans like Squanto taught the Pilgrims to … sort of.
I don’t think Squanto’s fish were quite like these…
This corn planting led to (pop)corn eating while watching A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving … in August … why save it for only once a year? The Queen needed the quiet time to regain her sanity today.
When we were showing God’s light by helping the elderly, we saw some magazines that would be of help in our studies. He told us to take all we wanted. We were also allowed to take the non-recyclable item too … a dreamcatcher from the Native Americans of the Great Plains. This gave us a chance to talk about legends.
Music
We started learning America, lyrics by Samuel Smith in 1832. Did you know he wrote all four verses in only 30 minutes?Science
We have been talking about our universe. This week, we learned about the sun, Proxima Centauri, Betelgeuse (beetle juice), and constellations like the Big Dipper, Little Dipper, Ursa Major, and Ursa Minor.The prince has been complaining about his back hurting lately. After not finding a reason for it, we decided that perhaps he should start seeing our wonderful chiropractor. This also gave us a chance to talk about how all our muscles are attached to our skeleton (and how chiropractors don’t like you saying “crack” when talking about their work.)
Math
We are doing a lot of review. Last Spring, when I tried to give the prince a placement exam, he wouldn’t cooperate. So, I started him at a level below where he really should be. It is a good review though and he is speeding through a lot of it.This morning, I had the opportunity for some quiet time outside before everyone else woke up. I should have taken my camera! I heard and then saw (what I call) a ringtail hawk on a fence post about half-way up the driveway. I tried to get my cell-phone camera out, but the bird flew away. I also found four pumpkins that looked ready for fall. They are, however, on plants that are dying. So, they may not be real hardy for keeping. I think they just turned orange because the plant is dead and the pumpkins haven’t reached full maturity.
This has been a really fun week. I’m linking to I’m Lovin’ It, Friday Farm Girls, Weekly Wrap Up, Feature Yourself Friday, and Weekly Wrap-Up.
The grass is green. It’s good to be
Friday, August 27, 2010
August 28, 2010 at 11:37 AM
Hi, Beverly! So glad you could join us at Friday FarmGirls! What kind of critters do you have? My oldest is on his way to a life of sheep farming; he's in college now, getting an Associates Degree in Ag. Production and Farm Management, then will look for an apprenticeship on a pasture-based, organic sheep farm, then...Lord willing...will start his own organic production farm.
Sounds like a great start to your homeschool year, pace yourself! I'm looking at the end of those years looming large before me, what a wonderful season of life it has been!
Have a blessed weekend, and please do visit again!
IllinoisLori at Plans4You, home of Friday FarmGirls @ Heart