Week in Review: April 9-13

(Pssst...read through this post to find a special offer just to my readers!)

This is what real-life homeschooling looks like! Sunglasses on her head inside, blankets all over from early morning snuggles, crayons from who knows what, doggy toys scattered around, and still learning happens. We have a schoolroom and the girls each have a desk, but honestly, most of their learning occurs elsewhere. One of my daughters likes order and chooses spots without chaos for her learning. This girl seems to thrive with a little clutter in her world. We have a group "clean up" time all around the downstairs after school is done and before I begin teaching piano lessons. 

Here are some more aspects of our week...

Grace (2nd Grade): Bigger Hearts for His Glory Unit 21

When Grace wakes up in the morning she often comes downstairs and snuggles under a blanket. This week was still pretty chilly in North Carolina, so she kept her blanket handy all over the house. This is actually one of Beth's blankets, but it is super warm and snuggly so we all take turns using it! 

Grace enjoys grammar as much as her sisters with Rod and Staff. It usually only takes 10-15 minutes as we do the majority orally and I will often skip over some practice if I know it will be redundant. No matter what the current research says, I see great value in structured grammar lessons and diagramming. Understanding how the sentence parts work together does help in creating new sentences! 

In history this week she read about Andrew Jackson. I skipped a lot of this reading. It was violent and dark in a way I didn't want to delve. I remember skipping most of it with my other two as well. I also don't particularly care for how positively he is portrayed. There are so many things about this man that does not make him a hero of history. While I am careful about how detailed I present some of the horrible events of our history, I also am honest with my daughters about these events. 

Beth (5th Grade): Creation to Christ Unit 28

Here is a close-up of that same scene I have at the top. See what a little cropping can do? She's working on giant numbers and learning how to use a calculator. Our tablets can do so many things! 

We are closing in on the finish line of this guide. She has grown so much this year physically, academically, and spiritually. Ten has been a difficult year for her after her unexpected and unexplained hospital stay in the fall. She is incredibly healthy now and hasn't had any repeat episodes. We are watchful, knowing there could be an underlying issue, but thankful that at the moment she is living completely normal without any lasting issues. 

I'm excited for her to get into the next guide which will focus heavily on the medieval period. I think she will really get into this! We will be reading abridged versions of Shakespeare's plays over the summer all together which will correlate with her guide next year. I have to admit, I don't really love Shakespeare, but I adore this title from Usborne! It's beautiful and I'm enjoying reading it myself first!


My dear friend and book consultant, Julie Kent, is offering a 15% discount just to my readers for any orders placed through this link between now and June 1st. Simply place your order through this link (make sure it says consultant: Julie Kent and event: Grace-Filled Homeschooling) and after you place your order, Julie will be in touch with you to refund 15% of your book purchase price (excluding tax and shipping) either through PayPal or check in the mail. All orders will help earn free books for our local children's hospital where Beth stayed last fall.

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Rose (7th Grade): Revival to Revolution Unit 13

Penny is usually hanging around of of my gals during their studies. She loves to snuggle right with them! Rose uses her tablet more and more for school. Since it is larger it works like a mini computer. On this day she was continuing through her Spanish curriculum. She asked to take this foreign language this year because she feels God is calling her to the mission field one day. 

She has decided to continue through her history over the summer. I am going to have her read the books and complete the notebooking pages although she may not finish the rest. This way she can be ready to start the next guide in the fall. We have also decided to go ahead and work through a high school English course next year. She's quite advanced in reading and writing and she is quite excited about the prospect. I've been pleased with her diligence this year and she is often done with school early, leaving her time to pursue more interests. 

One goal I have given her is to read through our collection of 30 or so abridged classics by the end of the summer. This will give her a working knowledge of quite a bit of literature without needing to delve into all of the books yet. I've always been an advocate of abridged classics and think they are excellent ways to introduce these works to kids. I'm also struck that there are many "classic" novels which I think are just awful. Sometimes understanding the story is enough and I don't think it is necessary to actually read them. I'm also left wondering, who decides what makes a classic? Why are some absolutely horrible novels considered must-reads? 

And I leave you to ponder those thoughts. I would love to hear what you think, so comment below! 

Take a lot at what some other homeschoolers are doing this week!