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The Weekly Wrap-up: a Trolley, a Birthday and Co-op

Can I just say, I am so glad to wrap this week up! Not that it's been all bad, but it's sure been a doozy!

Monday we had probably the best Monday of school since...I can't even remember. It was great: we got started on time, got all of our subjects finished, the kids had good attitudes, the list goes on and on... I wish every day could be that good!

In Bible we finished our month's study in Character Sketches I on *Orderliness* this week. I hope that these character studies will stick with the kids for years to come. Really, we are just scraping the surface this year because there's so much more in the books but much of it is just *too old* for them right now. I hope to go back in the years to come and go more in-depth with them.

Math is going well with both kiddos. While it's not The Princess' fave subject, she is really doing great with moving right into multiplication. I love that Horizons laid such a solid foundation for learning multiplication!

We are plugging along with grammar, but I am really hoping for something much more interesting next year. Still doing research on that! Feel free to weigh in on that in the comments:) Mr. B and I are liking his new grammar book for this semester much better. It's Language Lessons for Little Ones 2, although a lot of it is review for him it is very Charlotte Mason and incorporates art, etc. to make it more interesting.

We have a little growing experiment going on with our history. We began this a couple of weeks ago, but I don't think I've mentioned it. We planted some lima bean seeds in two different containers, one being marked *famine*. One bowl is receiving water regularly, the one marked *famine* not so much. Ironically, I think we over-watered the regular bowl and the *famine* bowl has been growing much better...haha We remedied that this week though and things are looking better:) This little experiment ties into what we've been learning about ancient Egypt and the famine they experienced there.

(bowl getting regular watering)

(our *famine* bowl)


Tuesday came and we realized quickly that it needed to be a field trip day. Let's just suffice it to say that it is a daily challenge having two households merging together and sometimes you just need to get out.

We had an awesome day though! We rode our local trolley and visited their shop~you can read more about that field trip here. After that we took a driving tour of our local historic district, then grabbed some lunch and headed to our local nature center (a family fave!), then we wrapped up our day playing at the park. Pure family therapy!!

(trolley ride)

(at the nature center watching a green snake eat a cricket)

(nature scavenger hunt)

(crafting/coloring in the discovery room at the nature center)


(at the park)

Wednesday was one of those days where I was ready to throw in the towel~or at least spend the day napping. Just being honest... I feel like I'm on a roller coaster these days due to our living situation and this week was probably the result of a build-up of frustration with our lack of regular schedule and space. And that's all I have to say about Wednesday...:)

Thursday was Vince's birthday~yea! We started the day at Denny's getting Vince's free birthday breakfast. Then we came home to finish making his birthday cake~a new recipe for Black Forest cake. We really just spent the day doing things together as a family.

The weather was wonderful and the kids enjoyed some great outdoor time. They got very creative and made a *museum* with a musical performance area in the backyard. They charged .25 for *museum* admission and .10 for the musical performance....a lesson in entrepreneurship!
I did manage to sneak in a history lesson during the outdoor playtime. We read our chapter and they did their map work outside~it really was beautiful weather! Our lesson was on the Assyrians and afterward the kiddos built a Lego Assyrian which turned out very cute.

Friday finally came~thank goodness! It was our first day of Spring co-op classes for with our homeschool group. This Spring we are only have 2 hours of classes and the kids are taking a couple of fun ones: Lego Action Contraptions and Crafts. Both of them were big hits! I'm a helper in them, so I got to have fun with them, too.


After co-op the kids and I went to the park for a quick picnic lunch and a good leg-stretch on the playground. Then we were off to our new library for a tour and some activities.

The librarian gave us a tour, read to the kids, had some crafts and snacks and also a fun scavenger hunt to help them learn about the Dewey Decimal system. The kids had a great time!

By the time we got home I was entirely wiped out! I *handed* them over to Vince and literally crashed on the bed for a couple of hours. I think I could have slept through the rest of the afternoon and night, but I dragged myself off the bed for a while. And here I am:) Now I'm off to bed again. Thank goodness tomorrow is Saturday!

Have a great weekend!!

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