Homeschool This Week

 

This post is linked up to Weird Unsocialized Homeschooler's Weekly Wrap-Up and The Homeschool Mother's Journal

I'm really proud of how well Emily is doing this year.  We have really big changes going on and coming up over the next few months.  She is taking it so well and is so resilient.  Such a good kid.  I think this is going to be a great learning opportunity!!  

 In my life this week… We are busy packing.  We are moving to New Hampshire temporarily due to a family issue.  BIG upheaval.   

In our homeschool this week… Lots of good reading going on with Little Women and Pride and Prejudice.  Then there's math, world history, biology, still studying the book of Luke, practicing cursive (it's getting MUCH better, finally!!)  nature study, French, and finishing up our president study of George Washington with more reading and videos.   

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share… 

I am inspired by… the changing of the seasons - all the beautiful gifts from God.  

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…as noted above - in the  next week to ten days we are going to be driving from Michigan to New Hampshire with a stop in Niagara Falls and the Adirondack Mountains!  Should be an exciting adventure.   

I’m reading…finishing up A Year with Austen and reading for mother/daughter book club Pride and Prejudice 

I’m cooking…Tonight I'm making breaded pork chops, steamed broccoli and carrots, and stuffing.  

I’m grateful for…my awesome kids. 

I’m praying for…my best friend, the election, our country.  

A photo, video, link, or quote to share… this is NOT my picture - but they are pictures of the area of our home for the next few months:  

 

  
 

Homeschool Mother's Week in Review

 I am linked up this week to the Homeschool Mother's Journal as well as Weird, Unsocialized Homeschooler's Weekly Wrap Up!

*****I will be posting a HUGE list of freebie links later this week - for all subjects.  I have been working on the list for a couple of months now!  Feel free to bookmark me or follow me or even leave me a comment with your email address and I will share this list of free homeschool resources with you! ********

In my life this week…  This week was a tough one.  I found out that my best friend in the world (who lives several states away) may have breast cancer.  Her mammogram came back showing three lumps - so she is in the midst of more testing.  The same day I found this out, my 16-year-old was coming home from school with her best friend driving (also 16) and they got into a small car accident.  Jennah was very torn up and scared.  No one was hurt and there was very little damage, but it was still very traumatic! 
 
In our homeschool this week… We got a lot done this week.  We finished up the first chapter of Biology,  did several math lessons, and focused on George Washington this week.  Emily read about GW in "To the Best of My Ability" and "Presidents", and we watched the first episode of "The Story of Us" - which mentions GW toward the end. 

In poetry we discussed Lewis Carroll - and I was surprised to read in his biography what an unfortunate type of man he was!  We read a few of his poems, including "Jabberwocky". 
          In  current events we are continuing to cover the 2012 election, mostly using the news  and                      newspapers as well as these great resources! 

          Emily is working through the book of Luke in the Bible, writing out a verse daily.  She will have "Ann of Green Gables" finished up this weekend!  So excited to be sharing great literature with my daughters!

We did not get to nature study again this week :(   I am making it the focus of one day next week!  We are going for a short drive one day this week to Family Christian Bookstore to pick up "My Bible Journal:  A Journey Through the Bible for Kids"  -  it's not available at the FCB closest to our home - and while we are in the area, we are going to utilize a local park for a nature walk!  I hope to get some great pictures for next week.
          
I am inspired by… the thought that some time in the next 6 months - 1 year my children and I will be living in our own little home. 
 
Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…  church on Sunday, visiting with my parents on Thursday and Saturday, Jake has a football game on Thursday as well.  That's about it so far!
 
My favorite thing this week was….. sharing a pair of earbuds to listen to "The Story of US" on our little laptop!
 
What’s working/not working for us… What is NOT working for me is that Netflix removed "The Story of Us" from streaming :(   I was looking forward to watching the entire series with Emily!
 
Questions/thoughts I have… Emily really wants to work French back into our homeschool.  I don't think we can do another complete subject at this point - but I decided to use a workbook I found at the used bookstore which uses stickers, flash cards, and a workbook to learn some conversational French. 
 
Things I’m working on…..Really deciding where my future is!  Our world is still right on the edge right now. 
 
I’m reading…  I have been reading "The Covenant" - a freebie for my Nook by Beverly Lewis.  I read it once before a long time ago.  I'm also reading"All Roads Lead to Austen" another freebie.  It's putting me in the mood to re-read some Austen!  Which is a good thing, as our new hs book club chose "Pride and Prejudice" for our first mother-daughter book!  Exciting!
 
I’m cooking… this morning I made banana chocolate-chip pancakes with turkey bacon and made some pumpkin muffins this afternoon.  This week I plan to make some bbq ribs in the Crockpot one night and some taco soup too.  Love the cooler weather!
 
I’m grateful for… So so grateful that my daughter was not hurt in the car accident!
 
I’m praying for…my friend Heather - that the lumps in her breasts will be non-cancerous.  Praying for the upcoming election, as I am very frightened about the future of our country.

Have a very blessed week and enjoy every moment with your children!

Sherry

Week in Review

Sharing this post today with Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers' Weekly Wrap Up and Homeschool Mother's Journal! 

• In my life this week…  I am still looking for a full-time job.  Financially things are pretty dire - but God provides and I have every faith that things will work out to His will. 
• In our homeschool this week… See below for a complete review of our first two weeks! 
• I am inspired by… classic novels!  Some for their lovely simple stories, others for their wealth of history, and  yet others for the beautiful language.  Getting tangled up in wordy jumbles and then straightening them smooth is one of life's joys!
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• Places we’re going and people we’re seeing… I decided we needed to slow down this week.  Too much running around all summer, too many activities, too many mindless jaunts.  This week we visited my parents, helped a friend in need, and went to church.  Today we will go for a nature walk as yesterday's weather did not cooperate!
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• My favorite thing this week was…Emily asking to ADD a subject to our homeschool.  She wants to learn about the presidents!  I don't believe she has ever asked to add an entire subject before.....
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• What’s working/not working for us… I wanted Beautiful Girlhood to work for us - but she is just not connecting with it.  I've tried several times.  :/
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• Questions/thoughts I have… Once I DO have a full-time job - how will I balance homeschooling?  I had been fortunate all these years to work only part time out of the home and the rest at home.  Emme was allowed to go to the office with me.  I know we can do it - but I also know it will make things more difficult.
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• Things I’m working on…I've been making scripture journals.  Drawing, cutting and pasting, etc.  I'll share them one of these days....
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• I’m reading… I just finished "The Widow of Larkspur Inn" which was a freebie for my Nook (Kindle too)  It was just SO good and it made me yearn to live in a small country town in the late 1800s!
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• I’m cooking… I used the Crockpot a few times this week - I made a beef roast with potatoes, onions, and carrots and a delicious navy bean soup.  I love that fall is nearly upon us!  I love cooking in the autumn and winter months.
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• I’m grateful for…the health of my family! 
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• I’m praying for…salvation for those close to me who do not know the Lord.

Biology – We were able to purchase a wonderful used middle school Biography text for less than $3.00 last week.  We’re learning about how scientists come up with their hypotheses and test them to reveal new theories.  Also looking at different things (for example, mold) to prove if it is a living thing – Does it grow? Does it move? Does it reproduce?

History ­– We are doing a little review of early American history for the next couple of weeks. Then we will pick up at WWI.

Math – Emily’s nemesis, lol.  More review of decimals this week.  We are keeping the lessons short and going through a single concept at a time. 

Literature – Emily has read the first 12 chapters of “Anne of Green Gables”.  We’ve done some vocabulary work, map work (Prince Edward Island), character description using Anne, narration, questions from a free unit study, and have utilized “The Anne of Green Gables Treasury” – a book with some background information about the books and author.  There is a blueprint of Marilla & Matthew’s home that I just love! 

I am reading aloud “Little Women”.  I’ve only finished 2 chapters.  Emily says it is “boring” so far.  It’s one of my most beloved books, so I am going to carry on!

Current Events -  We are working on an elections notebook.  Emily did several pages for the book this past week using pictures and articles from the local newspaper.  Along with this we’re learning about the branches of government (refresher, we studied this 4 years ago as well). 

Poetry -  I’m trying to keep the poetry we are reading on a close timeline with the books we are reading.  That way Emily can imagine that Anne or the March girls may have read the same poetry she is.  We’ve been studying Emily Dickinson these first two weeks. 

Nature Study – I want to do more of this, and soon!  We’re studying trees right now.  Using the HBNS along with “Trees: Science Nature Guide”.  Only starting at the moment – hope to get in a good study with art work on Friday!  She has drawn a few pictures from memory this week of a robin and a monarch butterfly in flowers.

Bible Study – Emily is reading through Luke using her “Young Women of Faith Bible, NIV” and using their study guides.  We’re doing memorization verses and she is also reading some Bible stories in a free book on Kindle for PC.

Shakespeare – We are doing a very light pre-study of Shakespeare – using “Irresistible Shakespeare” from Scholastic.  This week we studied two different types of openings in Shakespeare’s plays.  Next term we will be studying a play (to be decided) and hopefully attending a local production.

Copywork - Not sure if her cursive will ever be legible!  All three of my children have the most unfortunate penmanship! We’re finishing up “Pictures in Cursive” from Queen Homeschool.  I will probably order another when this one is completed.  It can’t hurt to keep on practicing!

Phys Ed – Emily has been doing some arm exercises, walking, and some balance exercises over the past two weeks.  We’re trying to get in the habit of walking 30 minutes 5x weekly.

Presidents – I was not planning on studying presidents at this point – but Emily asked to do it – so who am I to refuse?  We brought out our president flashcards, and my sister happened to have 2 books on the presidents.  She was getting familiar with them and their parties this week.  Next week we will take one-two weeks on each president, in order.  Doing a notebook page (or 2 or 3 depending) on each. 

Middle School Curriculum

 This post has been linked up to the Weird, Unsocialized Homeschooler Weekly Wrap Up! 

Emily and I went to get some homeschool supplies today.  We have new notebooks, folders, binders, pencils, sharpener, erasers, stickers, note cards, highlighters, and of course an Angry Birds pencil topper :)    I have a teacher's notebook all clean and new, waiting for my plans to be laid out in ink!

Seeing as we are on the waiting list for the online public school, I am hitting all of the online curriculum, books, links, freebies, and ideas that I can to put together a very eclectic, CM-ish first semester of 7th grade.

I am also planning our first day of NOT back to school!  The Detroit Institute of Art has just passed three county millages so we will now be able to go for free!  I am SO happy about this!  So I am thinking of having a day of art.  Maybe draw some of the traditional art, then find something beautiful in the not-so beautiful areas of Detroit with their boarded up windows, broken glass in the street, piled-high tires in driveways, and crumbling brick facades.  Finally I think a picnic in the park on the river - beauty in nature.  They are all just ideas tumbling around in my head right now - so I will need to fine tune!

Another thing that Em has really become independent about is her musical taste.  She prefers music that is sung by females, fun, upbeat, and danceable.  So I want to find some Christian music that will draw her in so that I am not having to constantly listen to the words of all the songs she likes!

I think she'd really like Britt Nicole - who sings Christian pop songs.  That and V. Rose, BarlowGirl and Kari Jobe.   I see some i-Tunes purchases in my near future!

I decided to use Complete Curriculum  for her core subjects of math, science, social studies, and language arts.   We'll be starting out with Beautiful Girlhood, using Pearables for home economics, and reading daily devotions, starting in Matthew.  I'll be following Ambleside for art, music (composers & hymns), current events, and poetry.  Old Fashioned Education for their literature recommendations which can be read online and biographies.  For French I'm using a few different websites - we are still just at the learning words stage.  Last year third semester we began learning numbers, colors, family names, and a few others.  We'll continue from there.  Oh!  And for nature study I'm following along with The Handbook of Nature Study blog with the book by Anna Comstock. 

I plan to use the notebooking approach in several subjects.  We'll continue our nature journals, book of centuries, and start new ones for other subjects.

The first book of the year will be Ann of Green Gables.  I read this to Em several years ago, but now I am going to have her read the series herself.  I hope she enjoys it as much as I did, reading it just a few years ago as an adult.

I think that's about it!  I'm trying to get it all written down in that new teacher's journal of mine!  Hopefully I'll have the first few weeks hammered out by the time school starts on the 4th!

Sherry

The Middle School Years

I absolutely cannot believe that it is that time of the year again!  I am simply amazed how quickly time flies. 

Emme has truly been a bump on a log for the past couple of months, and I will blame mostly myself!  There have been a lot of family issues over the summer and I have been on a tremendous journey of faith.  We've done a few nature walks and she has been reading a lot - so I will be happy with that!

School doesn't officially start until September 4th, as I am following the same school calendar as my two older children do.  However, we are going to start some pre-school activities just to get into the swing of things!

One hour daily of mandatory reading for both of us!  I probably read double that every day, but I know it helps if we are reading at the same time for it to be more consistent. 

We will be starting Beautiful Girlhood along with using the Companion Guide and this great blog, B'Twixt & B'Tween, that has lessons for each chapter! 

We'll be watching a few videos on Netflix about history and animals over the next few weeks too. 

The Blue Planet and The Story of Us are two series I've chosen. 

Here is a study guide for The Story of Us.  Here is an activity guide.

Study guide for The Blue Planet video 6, The Coral Seas

I have a few hikes planned for the girls and I as well.  And that is about all we'll do over the next few weeks until school officially starts!  I'm working on a mixture of curriculum this year.  I had planned to start with an online public school but there is a long waiting list - so I suppose that will just have to wait until 2nd semester!  So until that time I am going to be doing a very eclectic mix of Charlotte Mason, notebooking, and using Easy Peasy Homeschool as well!

Looking forward to a good year,

Sherry 

HS Mother's Journal

This post is linked up at The Homeschool Chick! 

My life this week…  This week started out TOUGH.  Emily was so sick and it brought me to tears just to look at her - pale face, big round eyes :(   Valentine's Day was her 12th birthday and she was too sick to even get out from under the covers.  Thanks to God that she is now fully recovered and we celebrated her birthday yesterday! 


My favorite thing this week was… obviously it was seeing Emily recover!  I requested prayer from friends and family and she made the fastest recovery I've ever seen!  One minute she was weak, tired, and sad and the next she was back to normal! 



In our homeschool this week… Again, not too much going on there.  She spent some time writing stories and drawing pictures.  We did some vocabulary work, a little bit of science, and not much else.  Back to normal on Monday!


Questions/thoughts I have…  Answering the question of what homeschool subject do I hate, it has to be math.  Emily really hates it and it is very difficult for her.  I have not found a way for her to enjoy it.  We just take it as slow as she needs to go and move at her pace!  If anyone has any ideas how to make math more fun for a 12-year-old, I'm all ears!  


A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

A free Mardi Gras lapbook on Squidoo

and a funny: 

Have a blessed week with your homeschoolers!

Sherry

Weekly Wrap Up - Sick Kid Edition

Em's been really sick this week with a bacterial infection - so not much schoolwork was done. 

I would have to say that this week was all about the "unschooling".   I guess I'm part unschooler, part Charlotte Mason, part traditional, and a little piece of just about everything else!  LOL  You don't get much more eclectic than that. 

This post is linked up with Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers!

We found the most awesome free link through Homeschool Freebies and checked out the size of the universe.  If you haven't gone to this site, it's a must see!  Amazing to realize just how small we are in the gist of things.

Another wonderful link that was posted this week was Free Rice.  I've seen similar ones before, but on this site you can practice multiplication tables, geography, language skills and even human anatomy while 'earning' rice that will be donated to the hungry.  I think it's a great way to give your child a heart to give while practicing skills. 

Oddly enough, I got the song from Lady & the Tramp stuck in my head and sang it to Emme "We are Siamese if you please, We are Siamese if you don't please" - remember that?  We looked up the clip on You Tube which led us to a study of racism in Disney movies.  I remember going to see "Aladdin" in the theater with my ex-husband on one of our first dates.  (He's from Jordan)  I remember feeling uncomfortable with the portrayal of several of the Arab characters in the movie - very stereotypical.  Anyway - I'm not banning Disney movies or anything - but there were some pretty disgraceful portrayals of Latinos, African-Americans, Arabs, Orientals, etc. 

Emily also worked a lot on her creative writing skills and drawing - she is writing and illustrating two different stories. 

Anything to keep a kid busy when they are sick!

By the way - she is fully recovered now and we will be back to full speed Monday!

Sherry