Week in Review: September 15-19

We had a really good week overall. Last year it took maybe 2 or 3 months to feel like we were in a routine. Even then it wasn't a consistent routine for a lot of different reasons. I'm so grateful this year to God for good health as we start out this year. I know there will be bumps, but starting off healthy is just such a wonderful feeling.








Oh, and I have last week's post, but completely forgot to share it anywhere last week! So you can click here to see what last week looked like.

Grace: Preschool

We are plugging away at our "preschool" curriculum which is actually kindergarten level work. She's reading at a beginning 1st grade level and I found out by accident she already gets the concepts behind addition. She is flying through the the ABC series from Rod and Staff. To be honest, I think she could handle the work in Little Hearts for His Glory, but I want to make sure I'm ready to add in another guide! We'll see how things go.

She completes her work so well and then I let her have some time on the computer, usually PBS kids. She likes having a little freedom to play and I love letting her. Our computer is used from a friend and we can set it so they can only go to particular websites. Recently she's also been using Nick Jr.

We have some art projects from a preschool Abeka book that was passed down to us. They are super simple, but Grace loves them so we did one this week with her hand print and footprint! They didn't exactly fit in either square.

My girls using Heart of Dakota guides!

They study well together and enjoy listening to each other's history and read alouds. I'm so thankful for what I feel is an academically rigorous guide, but doesn't feel academically rigorous to them. It just feels fun!

I give the girls the English tests from Rod and Staff and they just happened to both be taking one on the same day. That won't usually happen, but they thought it was pretty neat!

Beth: 2nd grade, Bigger Hearts for His Glory Unit 3

This is by far my favorite picture of the week. Beth almost always goes outside to read her literature. Even when it is raining she'll sit on our porch swing. Sometimes she doesn't look very comfortable, but she always looks happy!

Going through Bigger Hearts for His Glory this second time has been a breeze. I've been trying to analyze why and I think it is because my Beth isn't as hard on herself as Rose tends to be. I appreciate Rose's desire to do well, but Beth's easy going nature is making the whole process much easier. 

One thing Beth seems to really love each week is the timeline. She as introduced to this last year in Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory and was excited to start all over again. She also seems more interested in the history, however, it is partly due to my figuring out I needed to give her something to do. I figured this out with Rose, but not for several units in. Thankfully I remembered this at the start and so my second little sweetie benefits. Right now she's working on a 3D village of Jamestown we snagged back when Scholastic was having a dollar sale. 

Beth has been really interested in biographies recently, even just for fun evening reading. This is a really neat biography series is brand new and we got the opportunity to review one of the titles! They are all about people from the Bible and incredibly engaging for my daughter. You can read my full review here!

Both of my girls have been faithfully working on their typing skills. Typing Tournament is what I recommend for anyone looking for a kids typing program. We reviewed this last year and several months later they still beg to play it even if I don't plan to have them do it each day. Beth is doing great. She hasn't passed the first test yet, but she doesn't care because she keeps getting higher and higher scores making her more determined than ever to pass it. She loves the games and so does Rose. Grace is the only one frustrated by it because as 4, she's just not ready. 

Rose: 4th Grade, Preparing Hearts for His Glory Unit 22

Rose is really enjoying school this year. Remember how I said before Bigger is easier because Beth is more laid back than Rose was when she went through the guide? Well I'm very pleased Rose seems to have relaxed a lot and genuinely is enjoying the process. We still have our moments where her perfectionism rears its ugly head, but they are becoming fewer each week. She is happier with herself and her accomplishments and tells me almost every day how much she loves homeschooling. She is why we started. Her intense nature and inward focus on her work was not a good fit for a traditional classroom. She is such a sweet girl and extends grace to those around her all the time. I'm so thankful she isn't as hard on herself as she was in the past. 

For anyone just starting out on the Heart of Dakota Path who feels the writing is light, do not worry. I honestly felt the same way at the beginning, mostly because I didn't fully understand that Heart of Dakota follows a Charlotte Mason methodology. Now that we are 5 guides into this program I am totally sold. Rose is becoming and excellent non-fiction writer and it is coming easily. It didn't at first, but it has so far this year. I love her creative poems with inspiration drawing from our weekly poetry units. I'm really excited for the creative writing in Hearts for Him Through Time: Creation to Christ which we're on track to start in January. 

She was seriously sitting like this thinking while we were working on her creative writing for poetry. I love that we're talking about similes, metaphors, and personification. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love this curriculum and I fall more in love with it every week! 

And then my husband gave me this crazy awesome t-shirt! Icing on the cake for my week. Before anyone asks, I would LOVE to share the link with you, BUT it isn't in the website anymore. T-Spring is the company and it seems to have been just a one-time thing. Sorry!





Great week at our house. It feels so good to say this, but honestly, I know very well what tough weeks look like. Take a look at most of my weeks in review from last year! I'd love to hear from you. How was your week? Good? Tough? Somewhere in between? Please share!