Saturday Notes:
We started the weekend off with snow. The forecast was 3-6 inches, which felt jarring after 60 degree weather just three days prior. It started snowing at our house at 8:00am and looked like someone was coating things in powdered sugar - so beautiful! Makayla had work and Emma had a birthday party to go to. The roads were very bad due to snow and so she ended up coming home early with me after about an hour at the party. I also hit the library drive thru to pick up two books and three board games that were in. Does your library offer board games? Ours does, as well as musical instruments and a lot of other things. The games we'll try out this snowy weekend are:
- Gobblet
- Forbidden Desert
- Codenames
In the afternoon it was still snowing so the kids and I played outside in it. Daddy kept his recovering knee inside along with Rebekah, who only spent a few minutes in the snow and didn't like it at all. Hot cocoa and marshmallows warmed everyone up afterwards. By evening it was still snowing and church was cancelled for the next day. We discovered that Codenames is really fun!
Sunday Notes:
We had a quiet day inside while it snowed more outside. We had church at home today, with singing, blessing and passing the sacrament, and a lesson focused around Matthew 2 and Luke 2. Mason's birthday party was postponed a week due to snow.
Monday Notes:
Beautiful snow outside means a slow, steady morning inside. A few of the kids seem to be fighting off a bit of a cold. We plodded through learning one subject at a time. We also filled out our Homeschool Book Club surveys. I make a survey when it is time to choose a new batch of book and each person in the families that attend get to vote on which books we should read. We have 14 books in the running this time. Everyone puts the books in order from 1 to 14 and the computer takes all the answers and tells us the winners from top to bottom. We know we will read at least the first 6 books. After that we will consider if there are any new books we want in the running or if we want to just continue down our original 14. Here are the books up for consideration:
- All of a Kind Family
- Owls in the Family
- The Chocolate Touch
- Little Lord Fauntleroy
- Caddie Woodlawn
- The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
- Little Men
- The Tower Treasure (Hardy Boys #1)
- Viking Quest: Raiders from Sea
- Beauty
- Ernest Shackleton
- The Girl Who Drew Butterflies
- Summer of the Monkeys
- Lost on a Mountain in Maine
In the afternoon we learned about Valley Forge and also about the Articles of Confederation. We listened to audio dramatizations and discussed the practical and not so practical aspects of the Articles of Confederation. After this Makayla and I made puppy chow. We didn't have chex cereal so we used cheerios and it worked wonderfully.
Tuesday Notes:
A slow school morning with kids working at their own pace started our day. I spent some focused time with the high school senior on college things. Then I checked the survey to get official results for our book club titles. The #1 pick was Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls, so that is what we are starting this week. I haven't read it in years and am looking forward to a warm summer read during this winter weather!
Wednesday Notes:
Seminary (early morning scripture study for high school kids from church) was cancelled today due to ice coating everything. Makayla let me know at 5:15am and said she planned to sleep in and not to wake her. Everyone else got up and moving between 6:00am and 7:30am, their natural wake up times. We had breakfast and then school began. Joesph, Emma, and I studied velocity in their science text. Samuel and I read Elevator Magic and talked about subtraction, then he did reading and handwriting. Daniel and I discussed a poem and did some language arts together. Joseph and Emma each researched interesting facts about tropical rainforests. Caleb and Oliver did spelling followed by math and reading. Mason started with reading, then math and handwriting. The bigs did language arts independently. Kinetic sand made an appearance all over the table with Tobias, Samuel, and Mason.
During snack time we had our history lesson. Today we learned about 4 types of government and played out scenarios of how those types of government can handle the needs and wants of their citizens. We learned about the pros and cons for different forms of government. We learned about specific rules that govern our country via the constitution and the rights and freedoms that are protected. This was the last lesson in Unit 3 of The Good and the Beautiful History 1. We move on to the 4th and final unit next. Topics unit 4 covers include:
In the afternoon I answered a phone call from a college in my role as guidance counselor and emailed off Makayla's transcripts to two colleges. Life feels so weird because more often these college-related to do's are happening right in the middle of feeding the baby and changing diapers. I can still call Rebekah a baby for a couple weeks, right? She isn't 1 year old quite yet.
This evening was my pack's Pinewood Derby. Caleb and Oliver both participated. It was a fun, simple evening with lots of families and friends cheering on the Cub Scouts, trouble shooting when one car stopped rolling down the track, and great sportsmanship by all the scouts.
Thursday Notes:
It feels a bit repetitive to say it was a nice, quiet morning of school, but that is our winter homeschooling reality. Everyone worked, read, and listened to me read Summer of the Monkeys. We also made sure things like our solar lantern were charged because we have more snow and ice in the forecast. Makayla worked during the afternoon while at home we tackled a few random chores, including vacuuming out the couch cushions, tightening screws on the triple bunk beds, and hanging a new shower curtain.
I've spent some time today thinking about what 'continuing education' conference I want to do for my homeschool teacher role. Every other year or so I attend a conference. The last several times that has been the Midwest Homeschool Convention in Cincinnati. This convention has over 300 classes in a 2 1/2 day period and a vendor hall to browse and shop with more than 140 booths. I enjoy my time there and over the years have been able to attend many interesting classes. I could attend this convention in late April and it is open to all attendees, there is no cap to how many tickets they sell.
This year there is another possibility, one that is unique. Julie Bogart, of Brave Writer fame, is hosting an all day conference in July centered around her soon-to-be-released new book, The Brave Learner. I have followed Julie for years, met her in person, listened to her podcast, watched her FB and IG Live videos, used many of her homeschool materials, and attended a one day seminar she had several years ago for a homeschool group in Cincinnati (I drove the 3 hours down and loved it). For this year's conference all of Julie's presentations are new. That is very exciting to me, as I am familiar with many of the speakers and presentations at the Midwest Homeschool Convention from attended several times. This conference is limited to 300 tickets, which go on sale next week. The drawback to this conference is the price, which is a good deal more than the price of the Midwest Convention. Will it be worth the cost? Knowing Julie's philosophies, almost certainly!
I'm still undecided and praying on it.
Friday Notes:
It was a glorious morning with highly motivated children who worked through school cheerfully. These days are wonderful! We were all busily engaged in school work, along with doing laundry, cooking, cleaning, and keeping track of the little ones. Rebekah is discovering the joy of books and loves sitting on someone's lap to flip pages in a board book. Tobias has been especially interested in building with Legos lately. We met Queen Victoria and learned about her life, reign, and some of the British colonial areas of the 1800s in history. We read more of Summer of the Monkeys and the kids are already hooked. I love good read alouds!
Tonight another snow storm will arrive. Current estimates by the national weather service say to expect 5"-8" of snow and ice. Our plan is to stay snuggled up at home. We will rotate the board games we have downstairs for ones from the attic, and maybe find a movie to watch as a family.
That is a peek at our week. Happy Friday!
Tuesday Notes:
A slow school morning with kids working at their own pace started our day. I spent some focused time with the high school senior on college things. Then I checked the survey to get official results for our book club titles. The #1 pick was Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls, so that is what we are starting this week. I haven't read it in years and am looking forward to a warm summer read during this winter weather!
Wednesday Notes:
Seminary (early morning scripture study for high school kids from church) was cancelled today due to ice coating everything. Makayla let me know at 5:15am and said she planned to sleep in and not to wake her. Everyone else got up and moving between 6:00am and 7:30am, their natural wake up times. We had breakfast and then school began. Joesph, Emma, and I studied velocity in their science text. Samuel and I read Elevator Magic and talked about subtraction, then he did reading and handwriting. Daniel and I discussed a poem and did some language arts together. Joseph and Emma each researched interesting facts about tropical rainforests. Caleb and Oliver did spelling followed by math and reading. Mason started with reading, then math and handwriting. The bigs did language arts independently. Kinetic sand made an appearance all over the table with Tobias, Samuel, and Mason.
During snack time we had our history lesson. Today we learned about 4 types of government and played out scenarios of how those types of government can handle the needs and wants of their citizens. We learned about the pros and cons for different forms of government. We learned about specific rules that govern our country via the constitution and the rights and freedoms that are protected. This was the last lesson in Unit 3 of The Good and the Beautiful History 1. We move on to the 4th and final unit next. Topics unit 4 covers include:
- Queen Victoria and the British Empire
- The Foreign Missionary Movement
- Charles Darwin
- George Stephenson and the Steam Engine
- Florence Nightingale
- The Irish Famine
- The History of Flight
- The Cold War
- The Space Race
- Ronald Regan
- The Fall of Communism
In the afternoon I answered a phone call from a college in my role as guidance counselor and emailed off Makayla's transcripts to two colleges. Life feels so weird because more often these college-related to do's are happening right in the middle of feeding the baby and changing diapers. I can still call Rebekah a baby for a couple weeks, right? She isn't 1 year old quite yet.
 |
| A view down the track |
This evening was my pack's Pinewood Derby. Caleb and Oliver both participated. It was a fun, simple evening with lots of families and friends cheering on the Cub Scouts, trouble shooting when one car stopped rolling down the track, and great sportsmanship by all the scouts.
Thursday Notes:
It feels a bit repetitive to say it was a nice, quiet morning of school, but that is our winter homeschooling reality. Everyone worked, read, and listened to me read Summer of the Monkeys. We also made sure things like our solar lantern were charged because we have more snow and ice in the forecast. Makayla worked during the afternoon while at home we tackled a few random chores, including vacuuming out the couch cushions, tightening screws on the triple bunk beds, and hanging a new shower curtain.
I've spent some time today thinking about what 'continuing education' conference I want to do for my homeschool teacher role. Every other year or so I attend a conference. The last several times that has been the Midwest Homeschool Convention in Cincinnati. This convention has over 300 classes in a 2 1/2 day period and a vendor hall to browse and shop with more than 140 booths. I enjoy my time there and over the years have been able to attend many interesting classes. I could attend this convention in late April and it is open to all attendees, there is no cap to how many tickets they sell.
This year there is another possibility, one that is unique. Julie Bogart, of Brave Writer fame, is hosting an all day conference in July centered around her soon-to-be-released new book, The Brave Learner. I have followed Julie for years, met her in person, listened to her podcast, watched her FB and IG Live videos, used many of her homeschool materials, and attended a one day seminar she had several years ago for a homeschool group in Cincinnati (I drove the 3 hours down and loved it). For this year's conference all of Julie's presentations are new. That is very exciting to me, as I am familiar with many of the speakers and presentations at the Midwest Homeschool Convention from attended several times. This conference is limited to 300 tickets, which go on sale next week. The drawback to this conference is the price, which is a good deal more than the price of the Midwest Convention. Will it be worth the cost? Knowing Julie's philosophies, almost certainly!
I'm still undecided and praying on it.
Friday Notes:
It was a glorious morning with highly motivated children who worked through school cheerfully. These days are wonderful! We were all busily engaged in school work, along with doing laundry, cooking, cleaning, and keeping track of the little ones. Rebekah is discovering the joy of books and loves sitting on someone's lap to flip pages in a board book. Tobias has been especially interested in building with Legos lately. We met Queen Victoria and learned about her life, reign, and some of the British colonial areas of the 1800s in history. We read more of Summer of the Monkeys and the kids are already hooked. I love good read alouds!
Tonight another snow storm will arrive. Current estimates by the national weather service say to expect 5"-8" of snow and ice. Our plan is to stay snuggled up at home. We will rotate the board games we have downstairs for ones from the attic, and maybe find a movie to watch as a family.
That is a peek at our week. Happy Friday!
I can't wait to hear what you think of codenames. I have been thinking about getting that one. It sounds like a peaceful week with lots of snow play. I hope you get more snow and less ice.
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Dawn
After playing it for several days we decided it isn't one we will buy. It was fun, but because you are giving 1 word clues for the cards and there is a limited number of cards in the box it won't take a family long before you end up with repeats. You can give the same clue for the card you saw in an earlier game and everyone will begin to remember it, making it less a guessing/deduction game and less fun.
ReplyDeleteYou can keep calling Rebekah a baby for quite a while! Our "babies" are 4 and nearly 4, and we've been practicing not calling them babies for a couple of years now, but we still slip sometimes. :)
ReplyDeleteWe have Codenames, and we love it. We don't find the chance to repeat anything because the random combinations and the goal to find a single clue that encompasses as many cards as possible makes for a completely unique situation each time. Once Pixie got her team 4 different cards at once with the clue "Star Wars" (2 words, but one term, so we allowed it). Never again have those same 4 cards appeared, so never again has that clue worked. We find it a huge challenge to arrange and rearrange the words in each game into the most efficient clue-giving arrangement. At any rate, we find great variety, and we're not tired of it even after a year.
I sure wish Makayla success in her college applications! And I hope you all stay safe and keep your power in the oncoming storms!