This week we are back to "normal", or whatever that means for us! It's been a bit of a harsh reality.... we had loved the relaxing days over the holidays, and then a week of snow (even though we schooled throughout the weather) just slowed everything down quite a bit. We took the day off on Monday (since dad was home) and resumed Tuesday.
Now that our Co-Op has started we do not have much school on Thursdays (co-op is 12:30-3:00 and piano lessons right after). We always choose a great book to listen to on CD on the way there and back (this time we are working on Heidi - I had forgotten how I LOVE that story). If you click the link for Heidi you will find a free .mp3 audio download! How cool is that? We got ours at the library, but I found this and thought I would share. Here's what the co-op classes for the kids look like this semester:
No-Sew Blanket Fun
Hands On Projects
GMan:
I Want Candy! (a fun math class)
Music and Movement (taught by yours truly!)
I cannot tell you how much I love our co-op. We are comprised of nearly 100 families and just over 200 children. The class offerings are amazing, and the friendship and fellowship is the highlight of our week. I am thankful to be a part of such a talented and devoted group of families.
The rest of our week broke down like this:
Math: lots and lots of drills for Miss B, preparing for her final test in this book. She is not a huge fan of math, but I have started giving her little rewards along the way and it is helping. GMan loves math and begs me for timed drills each day - he is quickly zipping through the first grade Horizons book.
Grammar: I am confident Miss B has her prepositions memorized and we LOVE EASY GRAMMAR! More First Language Lessons for Grant - this week included initials, abbreviations, and spelling of the winter months.
Spelling: Sequential Spelling - we are up to test 70 now for Miss B. She can spell recommend! Yippee -- that word always confused me growing up.
Reading: Miss B continues to read whatever she can get her hands on.... this week she began The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan. GMan got ahold of some Boxcar children readers and loved them, so they kept him busy this week. He also wants to read a Magic Treehouse so badly all by himself, but he usually peters out after 10 minutes! The kids also read to the dogs at our local library - the P.A.W.S. Canine Assistance Program - they do this once every couple of months and just love it. Here they are with Kool-Joe and Zoe.
History:
We completed Story of The World (Volume 1) chapters 2 and 3, about the Nile River and Hieroglyphics and Cunieform writings. This has been so interesting for the kids. They work in their notebooks while I am reading to them, and we do the map activities together after I read. I love the way it incorporates geography! We are nearly finished reading The Boy of the Painted Cave to go
along with this section of SOTW. What an excellent book. GMan's favorite book this week was Bill and Pete go Down the Nile, and he loved practicing his cunieform and hieroglyphics! This afternoon we will paint rocks with their favorite symbols.
Wow -- no science this week -- unintentional, but we just did not have time, so next week we will get back to that. I think we may devote one day to science activities. I am still trying to get a definitive plan for science, but I like the kids to choose what they learn in this area. We also need to get back to Miss B's writing program - she was doing so well before Christmas and I don't want to lose that confidence. She writes letters and also writes summaries in her SOTW notebook, but we need to do more.
Two last tidbits. I am so proud of Miss B for finishing knitting her first project!! (well, she is 1/2 way finished) She has been working with a friend of mine to knit a pair of fingerless gloves, and she finished the first one last Sunday! Yeah Miss B!!!
My favorite part of the week was going to dinner in downtown Atlanta with my husband then to see The Blue Man Group! We had a rare entire evening to ourselves and enjoyed every minute. The Blue Man Group was incredible... we laughed so hard we almost cried and the music was so awesome. Go see them if you get the chance -- but don't take the kids because it gets a little adult in sections.
I hope your week was good - and go see what other homeschoolers have been up to at Kris' Weekly Wrap-Up at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.
