Homeschool Notes: Week 32

Last Friday
I just needed to put a really quick note in here because Mason finished All About Reading level 3 and was super excited about it. He started level 3 exactly two months ago to the day (I had to look it up). He truly flew through this level, reading the reader. I can count on one hand the number of times he needed a new concept taught. He's moving forward into level 4 next week. Caleb moved forward into level 3 last week and reading has not yet clicked for him into complete fluency, but he is seeing measurable improvement. I'll say it again, this is the beauty of homeschooling! Each child can go at their own pace in every subject. Caleb has been done with his math curriculum for at least a month, while Mason, on the other hand, has 1/3 of his book yet to go. Teach the child, not the curriculum.

Saturday
Friday night I threw up in the middle of the night. Saturday I spent as much time not moving as possible, fighting nausea. The older three kids had the Spring Formal, I got to do the girls' hair before they headed out. According to their chatter they all had a good time at the dance.

Sunday
I was feeling better but Rebekah had a runny nose, so I stayed home with the youngest 3 kids. Jason spoke in Sacrament meeting and based his talk around one of the General Conference talks from last weekend, called Your Priesthood Playbook.

While the church group was gone I baked a cake and made two 13x9 pans of peanut butter pie. Sunday evening some extended family came over to celebrate this month's birthdays - mine and my husbands. He'll be 41 and I'll be 38 by the end of the month. Family time was fun and noisy as usual.

Monday
The beginning of a new school week went well. All of the usual lessons happened around our table, on the couch, at the computer, in bedrooms, etc. We decided to finish up the marine biology unit this week. Our zoo trip last week was great, the kids loved seeing so many things we had talked about, including live coral, fish, and sharks. We also saw some animals we were going to talk about this week (sea turtles, herons, and penguins). Today we read a few books about Jacques Cousteau and a few about penguins. The kids were fascinated with various things they learned. Here are the highlights:

• Cousteau was an explorer, inventor (aqualung), videographer, Navy sailor, and author.
• He bought an old military warship named Calypso and converted into a research ship.
• Emperor penguin moms lay one egg, pass it off to dad, and then go to sea for several months to eat. Meanwhile, penguin dads skip eating for several months while keeping the egg and then young chick warm on their feet and under their belly. 
• There are 17 penguin species and some live in warm climates, others cold. 
• Some penguins can stay underwater for up to 25 minutes and dive 1000 feet deep in the ocean.

We also had some unplanned lessons on this day. We watched as Notre Dame burnt in a large fire. We talked about Notre Dame, the Rose Windows, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, the bells, the history of the cathedral, Catholicism, firefighting, courage, bravery, hope, God, faith, hard work, and mourning with those that mourn. What a sad event that will impact so many people.

Tuesday
I am almost as excited about the last month of school as the kids are. We have one month left of school after this week. Everything seems more interesting, more fun to do. Maybe it is just the spring weather improving our moods? Joseph, Emma, and Daniel will finish their levels of The Good and the Beautiful Language Arts next week. We sat down to chat about what they will do for the last 3 weeks of school. Each one chose to do a book study with me. I prepared a list of books for each to choose from individually today, so I can track down copies of each book before next week. Daniel and Emma each chose The Westing Game (which Joseph already read and liked this year). Joseph chose Ender's Game. I'm excited to reread each book along with my kids and have some Socratic discussion with them.

In the afternoon the main attraction for our next science unit for the elementary kids arrived - two cups of live caterpillars. We will be studying butterflies and caterpillars next!

Wednesday
This morning two of my kids chose to start their school work off with writing. Each of the younger kids need to do a writing project related to our recent science studies, so they started that today. Mason wrote about herons. Oliver and Caleb chose sea turtles. Daniel wrote about penguins.

There was a lot of math help, listening to kids reading aloud, and science help today. Basically, a normal Wednesday of school.

Once afternoon hit I made a trip to the library and found a few copies of the books my kids picked to read. I hit Aldi for fresh fruit for Cub Scouts tonight. We're doing a cooking night. The boys will be making homemade pizzas, a fruit salad, and rice crispy treats.

Later that night: The cooking was a hit, the food was delicious, and nobody cut themselves. That is a big win with a kitchen full of Cub Scouts.

Thursday
My favorite morning learning was simply the many books read with various children. After school we also did a few small house projects, including spring blanket switch where we get out sheets flat sheets and put away all but one of the warmer blankets on the beds. We live in an old house that stays pretty hot upstairs all summer, even with air conditioning running downstairs. Yesterday the temperature reached 80F outside, so upstairs was pretty warm all afternoon and evening.

Friday
Today has flown and instead of taking notes I just enjoyed the day. We are looking forward to celebrating Easter and have been talking about Jesus Christ, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection as the more secular Easter symbols have caught the kids' eyes.

I'm off to listen to a podcast and then make dinner. Happy Friday everyone!