Week in Review, 1/9-1/13...

We are finally "back in school" and had a good week to start off with!

Language Arts...

Bug worked on spelling, using The Natural Speller and a homemade worksheet. I have decided, to save myself time and effort, that we'll simply use the same format on binder paper in the future. I had him alphabetize the words on day one, write them each twice on day two, and write sentences for them on days three and four, with day five being test day.

He worked on a lesson in Igniting Your Writing, and did some free writing about cars, a major passion in his life. He also did some copywork from Treasure Island, and did a beautiful job! There were a couple of minor mistakes on the first try, so I had him go back and correct them.

He continued to read from the Percy Jackson series, and is eagerly awaiting another Jeff Kinney book, Cabin Fever, which we ordered just this week. I imagine that the day it arrives, we'll have a hard time getting him to sleep at all!

Cricket and I focused on reading, which will remain the focus of her language arts for the time being. She read from The Bug in the Jug Wants a Hug, and made word families based off of her reading, and reviewed several stories in The Reading Lesson. She completed a lesson in Explode the Code, aced her spelling test (also in ETC), and started a new unit (review).


Math...
For our "regular" math, we used mostly Math Mammoth this week, with a little Developmental Mathematics thrown in at Cricket's request. Bug focused on understanding division, and did a worksheet on converting measurements and estimating. Cricket worked on adding hundreds and tens, as well as some measurement work, and another 100 chart (good practice).

For our other, living math, we read Measuring Penny and made these really cool GallonBots, which are now hanging in my kitchen. Cricket helped measure ingredients for cooking, and Bug estimated our grocery bill, adding in each item as we shopped.

History...
This was the week of the Big Bang! We read a little in Voyages Through Time: The Beginning and then we read Big Bang. We watched Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking (episode 3 to be specific)... and we talked a lot about space, emptiness, planets, suns, the earth, and so on. Next week we're studying the formation of the earth, and then we'll move into fossils and archeology.

Science...
Well, we started out with a unit in life sciences from The Lab of Mr. Q, but it just didn't really suit us. I figured we were getting plenty of science with history this week, so I dropped it. Instead, I have decided on a return to Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding. I have gone through my flow chart, crossed off all the topics we're familiar with, combined others, etc. I really like the looks of the second volume for next fall, so we're using this to gear up for that! I got a great idea from a message board to incorporate notebooking with BFSU, which is to put in dividers labeled with the four threads in the book, then add narrations, drawings, lab sheets, etc. to those sections as we go - a fun weekend project for me to set it up!

Nature Studies...
We're reading a very informative, and delightful, book called The Moon of the Moles. The illustrations are lovely, and both kids are enjoying the story as well. We'll probably wrap this up next week, and then start The Moon of the Owls. We're also reading from The Tarantula in My Purse, which is simply hilarious!

Next week I really hope to get into the swing of Outdoor Hour Challenges again. I signed up for the free newsletter, so we get a challenge emailed to us weekly. I think we might be able to do that on Thursdays, since that afternoon is clear from anything else at the moment.


Other...
We listened to some Schubert. We made a casserole for a sick friend and her family. We had a blast, as always, at our park day. We continued reading from The Hobbit and I read from The Sisters Grimm: The Fairy Tale Detectives to Cricket (I think Bug was listening in as well)...

No fancy weekend plans, just a nice quiet time at home. I have three days off which is quite nice! Don't forget to go over and check out more homeschool weekly wrap-ups at