Year 3: Exploring Countries and Cultures, Marhaba Saudi Arabia!

          We spent a week in Saudi Arabia and then returned for another week after our scheduled break.  Did I mention that we take a break roughly every 6 weeks?  Sometimes it's five or seven, depending on our plans but I try and take a Sabbath every 6 weeks.  I typically use that time to catch up with my personal goals of organization and reading, but we always seem to have something scheduled during our weeks off and I don't get as much done.  That's okay though.  Summer is just around the corner!

     Since we had a break in the middle of our journey into Saudi Arabia, I felt like we didn't quite get into studying it as much.  To be honest, I even forgot to plan a meal for it.  We did however, read about David Livingstone, learn about our impact on the environment and about endangered species.

     The unfortunate thing about reading David Livingstone is that we did not enjoy it as much.  There were some things about his choices that did not sit well with us.  Even my daughter expressed her frustration with him!  Upon reading some of what other parents said, I was not the only one who felt that way.  Many parents expressed their concerns with the book but there were those who also shared their appreciation for its inclusion in the curriculum.  I just know that we will likely not read it again!

     As we were learning how our actions can affect our environment we brainstormed the things we can do to take care of the world God created for us.  Aside from not wasting water and recycling, we also discussed walking instead of driving.  We also talked about creating a compost bin.  That's in the works.

     Last but not least, during our break I had the opportunity to listen to a couple of webinars from Amongst Lovely Things and developed our Rule of Six.  I highly recommend it and that you go through it every school year, just to keep it up to date and in the right direction.

     That's about it.  Short and sweet.

   

Our Rule of Six

     Have you had the chance to check out Sarah Mackenzie's blog Amongst Lovely Things?  It's an enjoyable blog filled with excellent information.  She's also the driving force behind the Read-Aloud Revival and insightful, yet humble author of Teaching From Rest:  A Homeschooler's Guide to Unshakable Peace.  (I know, that's a lot of links, but come please come back to them later.  They're worth it!)

     Sarah's blog and book are filled with so much wonderful homeschool wisdom, but what makes it stand out are the podcasts and Master Classes (these are available to members).  I don't often get to listen to the podcasts but I recently "attended" a Master Class titled "Focus & Align".  From this class and this post, attendees were taught how to develop their own Rule of Six.  If you missed the class you can become a member and still listen to it.

      Now, I love this because I've been meaning to write our homeschool mission or philosophy and didn't know where to begin.  After the class and doing a little brainstorming, I finally came up with this:

     I'm printing it out and hanging it up!