Week-in-Review: September 28 - October 2

This week was a little different from our normal...I feel like I'm writing that all the time! Perhaps I need to realize there really isn't a "normal" when it comes to homeschooling, or life in general really. The beauty of homeschooling is that when regular life throws us some abnormal along the way we can bend and flex to accommodate with ease.

So what threw us off our normal this week? 

Just a little something we like to call Global Focus Week! 

International workers Raymond and Mary Ebbett joined us for 4 days, sharing about what God is doing in Spain. Twice a year we are blessed to hear about what is happening around the world within our denomination as well as in cooperation with other organizations on behalf of the gospel all around the world. Talk about a wonderful learning opportunity! In addition to hearing all about God's work, they also brushed up on their geography, a bit of European history, and a few words of Spanish! 

Since we were out late every evening and I know from previous experience that my girls will be super tired and have a harder time focusing. So we kept school focused on Bible and history knowing these are the most fun for them to do. They also completed several chapters in Life of Fred and continued in their books assigned for literature. 

Heart of Dakota is so rich that even only using the history and Bible for the week we still had a full school week. Here are a few highlights...

Grace: Little Hearts for His Glory Unit 26

Grace has started reading some of her history on her own and her sisters also love reading with her. I'm sure this is part of being the littlest learner in the house and her observations of all that has gone on around her for as long as she can remember. She enjoyed learning about George Washington in her readings. 

This week she also enjoyed using a manipulative called a 100s board with tiles. We have a couple of very good friends who happen to be retired teachers and bless us with some wonderful treasures every now and then. This wonderful gem came with a great book with all sorts of activities for all elementary ages. And it came to us just as Grace began studying the patterns found in the 100s board. 

Beth: Preparing Hearts for His Glory Unit 4 (1st half)

Rose is really enjoying this guide. She especially liked the book Life in the Great Ice Age. Half-pace has been perfect for her just as it was for her older sister. She has really gotten into drawing with Draw and Write Through History. I've also been excited that see almost overnight her print has become amazingly neater. She does not prefer cursive, but we are persevering and I hope to see this improving soon as well. 

Right now Beth is reading Diary of a Real Payne. This Christian fiction enthralled Rose when she read it a couple of years ago and Beth has been giggling her way through as well! I love when my girls recommend books to each other. It's so fun to see them sharing their joy of reading together. 

Rose: Creation to Christ Unit 21

Rose really loves her studies. Quite often she will work ahead without telling me because she loves what she is learning. We moved this week into the life of Christ. We use a different Bible from Master Books and I really like it even though some of the chapters are missing. When that happens she just reads from the actual text in Scripture. 

She really enjoyed getting back into Life of Fred this week. We used it consistently last year but had not added it back in since we started back full-schedule yet. I'm so grateful for that series as it helped her love math again!

Don't forget to check out what else was happening in the Heart of Dakota world in other homes this past week! 

An InLinkz Link-up