Year 2, Weeks 8 and 9

     So, I'm seeing a steadfast pattern; writing up two weeks in one post.  In my defense, I hurt my leg a couple of weeks ago and was stuck on the couch icing, compressing and elevating.  Thank God it's on the mend!

     Anyway, Week 8 brought us to the First Thanksgiving.  My kids thought it was funny that there was pumpkin present at the the First Thanksgiving, but no pumpkin pie.  Suggesting that we do the same in a couple of months for our Thanksgiving meal was not so funny to them.  I also suggested we have deer, since that was served during that First Thanksgiving as well.  That didn't sound appealing to them either.  I was just trying change things up.  Hashtag fail?  By the way, I make a fantastic Paleo pumpkin pie and my Thanksgiving shopping list is nearly perfect.  I digress (because I LOVE Thanksgiving and am drooling, just a bit).

     In Week 9 we read "Paul Revere's Ride" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  The book we happened to have also had a map showing where Revere rode that fateful night.  We also watched a couple of episodes of Liberty's Kids.  It's still on sale on Amazon, so if your kids are American History fans (or perhaps you would like to spark their interest) then purchase it now!

     This week we also read a few stories out of The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (Published by Dover.  I'm including that information in case you are interested in purchasing the book.  The Dover publication is an unabridged republished version of the what was first published in 1889.  Basically, this book goes way back.)  We read Little Red Riding Hood and both of my kids were surprised by the ending.  My daughter in particular, was taken aback but giggled at the, ahem, not so happy ending.

     We're reading The Blue Fairy Book as part of our English Lessons Through Literature, known to my kids as ELTL.  I love it.  Both of my kids love it.  The books that we get to read are fantastic and are beautifully written.  Not to mention free!

     When they aren't trying to take a peek at more stories from The Blue Fairy Book and they happen to be done with their work early (before it's time for the next subject) they either review their CC memory work or play a word game I found at Lakeshore.  This usually only happens on Fridays since I've made it so that their workload is a little bit lighter on that day.

     The Roll and Write Word Games helps both of them with spelling and building their vocabulary.  I can't tell if they prefer to do review or play the game since they enjoy both, but below is a picture of them playing the game:

   
     That's it for now.  Oh, wait...The Principal surprised our kids with a day off!  He actually got up, bid us all farewell and left the house.  A few minutes later he came back home and confused surprised the kids.  They were happy to have him there for their school day.  We even got to see my stepdaughter at work and the kids got to have a treat!  It was a nice change of pace for all of us.

     Now, that's it.  Have a wonderful and blessed week!

Linked up at Managing Your Blessings|The Homeschool Mother's Journal

Year 2, Weeks 6 and 7

     Can I just say...oops I did it again!  I forgot to sit down and write about our previous week so now I'm having to play catch-up AGAIN.  I hope this isn't a pattern.

     Week 6 brought us to the end of our California Missions study.  I'm making use of every inch of available wall space in our house so this is a picture of their maps hanging in our hallway:

     I think their favorite part was mapping the Missions.  We're planning a trip to visit as many of them as we can to get an up-close look.

     Week 7 also kicked off our first week of Classical Conversations, thus our History curriculum shifted to coincide with Cycle 3 of CC.  This CC year, I'm also a tutor and am enjoying getting my kids' feedback as I practice the lessons with them.  They let me know what works and what's fun.

     My favorite part of homeschooling?  My kids get to read books that I select and at their own pace.  When we go to the library the kids get to pick books they want to read while I select books that I've already chosen for our curriculum.  Every day they read at least one book of their choice and a book from our curriculum.  This week I accidentally returned a book that they had read but apparently wanted to read again and reference during their studies.  Another oops.  I won't do that again.  Below are picture of my kids reading away.

     Have you read The Core by Leigh Bortins?  If you haven't you should, even if you're not a homeschooler.  It gives great insight into the kinds of books your kids should be reading and the levels they should be reading at to increase their vocabulary and comprehension.  See that book my daughter is reading?  It's for grades 3-7.  A very wide range, but my daughter is only 6 (technically a first grader) and is able to read and understand it.  I thank God for blessing me with another voracious reader in the family!

     That's it for now.  Hopefully, I won't forget Week 8.