Happy Mother's Day to you all!
We had another good week although we got a little off track towards the end. Some unexpected doctor's appointments came up and we had to compact our days a bit at the end of the week. I also only remembered to get my camera out one day, just so you don't think my kids wear the same thing every day or something!
Before I go into our week...how about a giveaway?!?!?! Just click on the CD cover below to see how delightful this CD is! (You'll also get to hear my three darlings sing!)
Now me as we review our week!
Little Hearts for His Glory: Unit 14
Grace begged me to read her history this week. She reads aloud which is good because I can make sure she is understanding what she is reading. Her favorite story this week was when Jesus had the children come to Him even though His disciples said He was too busy. This is such a good reminder for me too. In the busyness of our days I can't forget that Christ made children His priority and made sure they knew it. I need to follow His example in this more fully.
Rose helped Grace with her handwriting on this day, helping her make sure she formed her letters correctly. We still love Fundanoodle and Grace is much happier now that we are moving more quickly. I would have her practice the same letter more than one day in this book at first because she needed shorter amount of practice in order to stay neat, but she has matured past this and does one letter every two days with Handwriting Without Tears on the in-between days.
We are moving right along with All About Spelling, level 1. She reviewed her phonograms herself some and did a great job with that, so we moved onto segmenting words by each letter. Well be moving on to actually using the tiles next week which she is very excited to do.
Bigger Hearts for His Glory: Unit 25
Since we had to catch up some during the week Beth read this history assignment by herself. She loves finding each of the numbers on the map in the Journeys in Time book for each reading. This is her favorite of the history books.
Beth does not care to read A First Book in American History herself so she will often color a colonial coloring book while I read to her. I'm fine with her coloring or drawing while I read as long as she can accurately tell me what I read to her afterwards. If she cannot, then she has to read it on her own again and then tell me about it.
I love this picture. Beth twirls her hair all the time while she studies. This is just her normal thinking state. She also tends to pace while she recites verses for homeschool or for Awana at church. She's very studious these days and works hard to finish quickly most of the time, which is nice as I think ahead to Preparing next year and the big jump it is to that guide.
Creation to Christ: Unit 8
We started off the week with Arithmetic Village and King David Divide to practice more division and learn about remainders. These sweet little books teach the concepts behind the traditional math so clearly. Rose is 9 and I wasn't sure she would want to use this, but when I asked her she was really excited.
Rose still completed her Math Mammoth pages. I'm very excited that she finally realizes she is not "bad" at math. This has been something I have been trying to help her understand since we started homeschooling in 1st grade. Because she struggled with the pressure of timed tests she believed she wasn't good at math. At some point in the last couple of weeks she looked up at me during her math lesson and said, "Mommy, maybe I really am good at math. What do you think?" Oh yes, sweetheart! You are very good at math! I'm so grateful she has finally realized her ability is not measured in a timed test.
For story time this week Rose read the Book of Ruth. We used I Am Ruth, an incredible book from New Leaf Publishing which includes amazing photography as well as cultural and historical background information on each chapter. The entire book from Scripture is included. I had Rose look at the pictures before she read the chapter and she really enjoyed it.
I love, love, love how independent Rose is becoming through Heart of Dakota. I still oversee her learning and we discuss what she is learning, but as a 9-year-old 4th grader she is becoming more and more in charge of her own knowledge. I'm merely a facilitator. What is really cool is that she now knows how to find out information on her own when she has a question. She understands to look words up in a dictionary, information in an encyclopedia, and even more details in resource books using the index. What is even better is that it is her idea to look things up instead of just asking me the answer. I'm more than happy to help her, but seeing her mature in this way because of Heart of Dakota is such a blessing.
Here is our history project for the week. She loves the projects. Rose parted the red sea with paper. I love that I just give her the guide and the materials and she can usually figure it out on her own. Learning at its best!
I had some great health news this week as I anticipated the possibility of another thyroid surgery. It was heavy on my mind and made it hard to focus. I also had some news about a good friend that grieved my heart. Our neighbor from Florida and one of my students when I was teaching full-time early on in our marriage lost her baby unexpectedly a few days ago from either SIDs or a medical complication. My heart grieves for this family. If you have a moment, pray for this family as they grieve the loss of their beautiful baby girl, Ella.
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