Homegrown Learners

This has been a busy week. Many odds and ends have been taken care of, and LOTS of schoolwork has been completed.

We will be driving to Florida next week and staying a few days with my mom and dad. Then, my dear husband will drive the kids all the way home (11 hours!) while I stay in sunny SW Florida for The BEECH Retreat.

As I'm preparing for all of this, I am so thankful for ENERGY --- energy that I did not have even a month ago.

Since participating in the Shakeology 10 Day Challenge I have adopted a whole new way of life. I've lost 8 lbs. and am feeling wonderful. Our whole family is happier. I've been cooking healthier meals, and focusing more on the physical and mental health of everyone in our home.

In short, life is changing, and for the better!

Even thought it has been freezing outside, the kids and I have been shooting baskets each afternoon. I feel like I've got the energy and stamina to keep up with my children, and I'm so thankful for this time that I have with them.

1. Our spelling curriculum is Spelling Workout. Both Anna and Grant work on their own levels each week. I LOVE these workbooks. This week, however, I downloaded the app, My Spelling Test, for them to take their tests. What fun! I enter the words on the iPad and speak them, too. Then, the kids take the test by listening to me and typing in the words. It keeps track of their progress and we can even email the results to dad.

2. We have been writing Thank You Notes this week for birthday and Christmas gifts. Sadly, I think this is becoming a lost art. It's a great way to practice writing skills and show someone you appreciate them.

3. The Story of the World Volume 3 is ready to go when we return home from vacation. Anna updated her timeline. We use a book from The Sonlight Curriculum - Book of Time. This took her several hours. The children's grasp of history is amazing to me. I am so glad we study history chronologically!

4. We are nearly finished with The Hobbit Everyone is enjoying it so much. I've been printing coloring sheets to keep Grant busy while we read. He was particularly impressed with Gandalf this week.

5. Lots of quiet reading was done this week. Here's what they are reading:

The Camp-Out Mystery (The Boxcar Children, No. 27) - We own nearly all of the Boxcar books. I'm so thankful my mom got us started on this series many years ago.

Nasty, Stinky Sneakers - a very cute book for little boys - Grant is loving this one.

Fablehaven Complete Set (Boxed Set): Fablehaven; Rise of the Evening Star; Grip of the Shadow Plague; Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary; Keys to the Demon Prison - Anna is enthralled with this series. She's read almost every one of them.

6. Math is going very well this year. Anna feels confident in her math skills now (she didn't last year) thanks to the rigors of Saxon. We are using Math 7 / 6: Homeschool Set and have a very good middle school math class, too.

7. The kids finished their respective levels of The Complete Writer: Writing with Ease:. (Anna - Level 4 and Grant - Level 1). This is another piece of curriculum that just WORKS for us. I love most anything by Susan Wise Bauer, and this is no exception.

In an effort to stay healthy, I am blogging about the changes we are making in our home.

I shared a recipe for Healthy Chicken Nuggets on the blog this week.

Part of our changes include me using Plan to Eat faithfully, and planning healthy recipes.

I sit down each Saturday evening and plan the meals for the week. Then, Sunday afternoon I shop for the week. I had to take a picture of it this week, because I just love how neat the groceries looked in the back of my husband's little Honda Fit. I love being organized and prepared, don't you?

Starting each day with a Shakeology shake is making all the difference in my life.

This Beef Vegetable Soup was wonderful. I put it in the crockpot and we had a warm dinner that everyone enjoyed.

I also made Diner Meatloaf Muffins. Traditional Meatloaf was always a favorite of my family's... I just sought out a more healthy recipe and served it with green beans and crescent rolls.

I didn't get any pictures of our first day of co-op this week. The kids were glad to be back in the swing of things and to see their friends. Grant is taking a math class and the science of baseball. Anna is taking a catering class and assisting a teacher in the two year old class.

News from the blog this week:

How was your homeschool week? I'd love for you to join Collage Friday. The rules are simple: Write a post with photo collages documenting your homeschool week. Grab the Collage Friday button (in my sidebar) or text link back to this post. Then, sign the linky and visit a few others who have linked as well. This is a great way to gain ideas and offer support and encouragement.

Check back next week for Collage Friday -- with a short edition from the BEACH!