Outside my Window ... the forecast is for rain. I have been most disappointed in our lack of snow and cold weather so far this year. I am definitely a winter person and am ready for the cold, cold days where we burrow in and home. Last week's slight flurries were such a tease.
I am thinking ... on this quote that I read:
"Christ is the head of this household,
the unseen guest at every meal,
the silent listener to every conversation."
Considering having that stapled to my arm as a reminder ... or maybe just hung up on the wall somewhere. : )
"Christ is the head of this household,
the unseen guest at every meal,
the silent listener to every conversation."
Considering having that stapled to my arm as a reminder ... or maybe just hung up on the wall somewhere. : )
I am thankful for ... New days with new mercies. The last few weeks have had some rough school days for me and one student in particular, but I'm so thankful that every day we wake up with a chance to do it over (and better) again.
In the learning room ... We started a unit study on Ben Franklin yesterday (Monday) and N1 and I are already enjoying it. We've been reading, coloring maps of the thirteen colonies, and, coincidentally, today (the 17th) is Ben's birthday! We are using the lapbook/unit study materials from Homeschool Share along with the book by the D'Auliare's and supplementing with some other books about the same time period in Colonial America. N1 and I just finished a lapbook on The Courage of Sarah Noble and reading the book together and working on it in this format seemed to be a good fit for us so we're trying it again with Ben.
The little girls and I have been reading and lapbooking our way through Owl Moon and The Snowy Day and having a ball. Really, I'm learning that if you give a kindergartener (and a preschooler) some paper, glue sticks and a pair of scissors, they will have a ball and learn in spite of themselves. This week we'll either read and tie some activities to The Ox-Cart Man or Caps for Sale. I'm leaning towards Caps for Sale because it's one I've never done with the girls and it was a favorite of mine as a child. : )
The rest of our schooling seems to be humming along well although we seems to have misplaced science lately and I need to get that back in the rotation. N1 is about half way through her math for this year - we've started fraction and double-digit addition. N2 is, truthfully, bored to tears with her kindergarten math that we've been working through, and I'm contemplating bumping her on to 1st grade math. She's listened to N1's math for the past three years now and I think it would be a better fit. I was supposed to work on that this past weekend, but time got away from me...
In the learning room ... We started a unit study on Ben Franklin yesterday (Monday) and N1 and I are already enjoying it. We've been reading, coloring maps of the thirteen colonies, and, coincidentally, today (the 17th) is Ben's birthday! We are using the lapbook/unit study materials from Homeschool Share along with the book by the D'Auliare's and supplementing with some other books about the same time period in Colonial America. N1 and I just finished a lapbook on The Courage of Sarah Noble and reading the book together and working on it in this format seemed to be a good fit for us so we're trying it again with Ben.
The little girls and I have been reading and lapbooking our way through Owl Moon and The Snowy Day and having a ball. Really, I'm learning that if you give a kindergartener (and a preschooler) some paper, glue sticks and a pair of scissors, they will have a ball and learn in spite of themselves. This week we'll either read and tie some activities to The Ox-Cart Man or Caps for Sale. I'm leaning towards Caps for Sale because it's one I've never done with the girls and it was a favorite of mine as a child. : )
The rest of our schooling seems to be humming along well although we seems to have misplaced science lately and I need to get that back in the rotation. N1 is about half way through her math for this year - we've started fraction and double-digit addition. N2 is, truthfully, bored to tears with her kindergarten math that we've been working through, and I'm contemplating bumping her on to 1st grade math. She's listened to N1's math for the past three years now and I think it would be a better fit. I was supposed to work on that this past weekend, but time got away from me...
From the kitchen ... lots of salads and fresh veggies. Coming down off the sugar high of the holidays. I have a ten year anniversary coming up in August and that is my goal for getting in a bit better shape. My favorite lunch of late has been spinach salad with dried cranberries or cherries and walnuts.
I am creating ... I'm almost done with week 2 of Project Life - a little more journaling and I can share.
I am going ... Hmm. This week isn't too crazy (what's up with that?) Other than Bible study on Friday morning, and a couple evening activities this week, our days our blissfully quiet.
I am wearing ... jammies. About time to get moving and get dressed.
I am reading ... working my way through Beyond Opinion for January's Reading to Know bookclub. It's slow going, but I've about finished chapter 3 and it's time to knuckle down and finish (or, truthfully, artfully skim the book and see what I can glean that way). : ) I did finish The Story Girl last night for the LM Mongomery reading challenge - it's always fun to revisit old friends. Up next ... way too many that I want to read and not enough time to fit it all in. What I'm not reading right now? Social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) I'm gaining back minutes I didn't realize I was losing and I like that.
I am hoping ... for snow! : )
I am hearing ... the littlest girl is sitting here on my lap while I type and I hear the rumblings of a couple other munchkins stirring. My time here is almost up...
Around the house ... I love our house. The longer we live here, and the more we are settling in ... I'm just so thankful for our home and my husband's hard work that is providing it for us. That said ... this house that I love really needs to be vacuumed today.
One of my favorite things ... date nights. They have been few and far between and I'm working on rectifying that. : )
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week ... this week looks fairly light on the calendar. A few regular evening activities but otherwise, fairly quiet. We have a little girl gearing up to turn six at the end of the month so it won't stay quiet!
A photo ...
A photo ...
It's a good thing he's so cute. Yes, that's a pink cowboy boot that got an unfortunate dunking. He is both quiet and fast. A deadly combination in my opinion.
Yes, our Dear Little Man likes the toilet, too, as we recently discussed. :-)
ReplyDeleteI read a Ben Franklin book to my girls recently--aCybils nominee--that y'all might like. It's in my TO BE REVIEWED stack. :-). I can get you the title if you're interested.
Levi is hoping for snow with you!! The picture is oh so telling!!! I loved doing Benjamin Franklin. I'm sure kids would love lap books -- or would have -- perhaps we'll never get to them. It's amazing how much the children learn on their own. That is a good way of putting it. Providing them the environment -- good books, good music, yummy food, tape, scissors, glue, discussions, outdoor observations, field trips -- so much learning 'just' happens. Yet it is work to provide those things too. But way more fun than lots of workbook pages.
ReplyDeleteQuiet and fast is tricky! =D Bookworm3 is starting to get into EVERYTHING these days and it's catching me completely off guard! Yesterday as soon as I had cleaned up and set to rights one situation, I would turn around and discover her in another mess. How is this happening?!
ReplyDeleteBeyond Opinion and artfully skimming. I confess that's what I'm doing also. I hope. Gotta buckle down and just DO it because if I don't finish it by the end of January I'm afraid I just WON"T because it's such a challenge to read!
The day can begin and end in pjs as far as I'm concerned. I'll test this theory today and let you know. =)
Well that makes me feel better if you think it’s challenging! : ) I’m definitely finding good nuggets of stuff in there as I read, but I just don’t have long enough chunks of time to really spend so that my brain is fully engaged with it!
DeleteWe have that same Franklin book. LOVE D'Aulaire books. Our homeschool has been boiled down to basics: LifePACs/Explode the Code and Math. On a good day we read our science book. I've decided that for the rest of the year we'll alternate science and history each month. Next month we'll focus on Little House in the Big Woods with our history. It's all about doing what works for this season. :)
ReplyDeleteI need to get our science back in the rotation as well. We’ve been having such a fun time with our history reading that I have let it slip. I’m hoping to start doing some alternating myself with our history and science like I did in the fall – the system worked, but the holidays totally threw me off with the extra holiday studies that we did.
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