We are doing well staying on schedule with our subjects. In fact, Mr. B is a little ahead in at least one of his subjects and I'm thrilled with that. The Princess is right on track, too! Of course, this is only week 3~I get that~but still it feels good to be tracking well.
Our Bible lessons have been going very well. We are studying a character trait each month and this month's trait is loyalty. I am pleased with how much the kiddos are retaining~they seem to enjoy the lessons a lot.
In history we have been learning about the early inhabitants of the Nile River Delta and have just started talking about Egypt. We made White Crown King crowns to wear (this is a fun quick project using wax paper, just don't expect these to stand the test of time...haha).
We also created our own model of the Nile River. We *flooded* it and will continue to do that weekly until our *crops* start growing. I love these kinds of projects, I'm glad my kiddos do, too!
(our *ingredients*)
(potting soil for our *crops)
(creating our riverbed and lining it with pebbles)
(planting our grass seed)
(our *flooded* Nile River)Our Language Arts are going well. The Princess does well with her Grammar studies and loves that we are reading through Robinson Crusoe (I'm enjoying it, too!). She doing very well with Spelling (A Reason for Spelling) as well, but I am wondering if that is a necessary subject for her. It seems redundant to me and while she's liking the workbook just fine, I don't know that it's a good use of her time. It just seems like extra busy work. I'd love to hear your thoughts on Spelling.
Mr. B is doing great with handwriting and also with his phonics lessons. We have just finished working through our short vowels and have just started our long vowels. Yesterday I decided it was time to start with his first reader (which was one of my own first grade readers). He did awesome!! He read the first 3 *stories*!! I am one proud mama:)
In science we have been learning all about the sun. We are all loving our astronomy study!! Each kiddo is also notebooking through this study. Mr. B is doing age-appropriate work and I am collecting it all in a notebook to make a lapbook at the end of the study. The Princess is using the Apologia corresponding notebook.
We did the whole burn-a-hole-in-a-leaf-with-a-magnifying-glass experiment this week:) I had never actually tried that and it was exciting to watch the leaf begin to smoke and then flame.
The most fun thing about science this week though was the rise of the Harvest Moon. You can read more about our backyard astronomy here. And I will leave you with a fun little video that my hubby made with footage from the autumnal equinox (I hope you like 80's music..heehee).Super Harvest Moon from Vince Farrell on Vimeo.
Have a great weekend!!
This post is linked to the Weekly Wrap-Up at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.
Comments
RE: spelling. One of mine is a natural speller (which is how I am) and the other struggles. The spelling program we're using now is for ages 8 to adult, so I was able to test both and find where they should be within the program. I no longer feel that I'm wasting the natural speller's time with workbook activities. Plus I feel that my other child (the unnatural speller??) wil benefit for an organized and disciplined approach.
Just my two cents!
So glad you guys had a great week! Enjoy your weekend!
I can't let my kids see your post, they will want to be in your 'class'! The spelling program that Ellen mentioned (and was praised by others) is one that I've thought about using but haven't gotten around to it. Both of my kids are not that great at spelling- lol they get it from their dad!
Thank you for stopping by today :)
Have a great weekend!
As for spelling, I have one son who is just a natural speller. I have never had to formally do anything with him when it comes to spelling, but when I have tested him, he has always spelled three to four years ahead of his grade level. One of my other sons, though, is a terrible speller. It seems to not much matter what I tried to do...he just cannot spell. Teaching him to see when something "looks right" helped a bit I guess, but not much else. He may have benefitted from a very structured spelling program over a long period of time. I think if your daughter is not struggling with spelling, then why make her do it just for the sake of it? That is just my humble opinion and I have been known to be wrong before, so take it for what it's worth!!!
(I need to do the "burn the hole in the leaf experiment" and then hide the magnifying glass)
Beautiful blog.
Rachel