End of the Week Wrap-Up {Week 29}

I don't know about you, but I think spring fever has hit our house. It has been a struggle to focus around here! I can remember when I was in school and the weather began to warm up, it was SO hard to think about my lessons. And when you're at home I can only imagine how much harder it is for my kids to focus on these warm and sunny spring days when they're just dying to get out and play. So I'm trying to be much more flexible these days and remind myself that it just as important as their studies some days.

In fact, I feel as though I am in a process of relearning how to teach my children. Their learning styles are growing and developing and I am learning so much more about how they learn--especially my son. Since discovering some of his learning struggles I am having to rethink how I do things with him. Even small changes can make big differences and get much better results! I have to say that this past week and a half have been SO MUCH better than maybe the whole year thus far has been.

This may be the year that I truly come to grips with the reality that we don't have to do everything in our curriculum, too. Not that we actually do everything. But mostly everything. But I'm being more realistic this year and keeping the bigger picture in mind.

This week our homeschool group hosted our 2nd annual Literature Fair. So we have primarily focused on our projects for that for the past few days.

The Princess did her project on The Case of the Counterfeit Coin: a Brains Benton Mystery. Mr. B did his on The Lemonade War.

My daughter had a difficult time just narrowing her choice down to one because she (like me) has so many favorite books! My son needed a lot more encouragement (like me saying "you have to participate") but in the end he got excited since he'd just read this book and did a great job on his as well. He especially enjoyed serving lemonade at his display board:)

Now I'm ready for a relaxing weekend after a busy week! I just might be in my pj's by 6pm on a Friday tonight! LOL

This post is linked to the Weekly Wrap-Up at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

The Making of an Egyptian Death Mask

We are learning all about the ancient world this year with Story of the World I and loving it! We've been learning a lot about Egypt, of course, which is completely fascinating. Most recently we have studied the New Kingdom of Egypt, which includes the story of King Tut. So we decided making an Egyptian death mask in the style of King Tut's would be a fun project. First since it was too cold at the time to paper mache in the garage (it probably would have frozen instead of dried-ha) and it was too messy to do it in the house, we decided to pick up a couple of cheap craft masks at Hobby Lobby. Next we cut out cardboard shapes to complete the shape of the death mask, attaching them with hot glue. Vince even put a little detail on the *beard* with the hot glue per The Princess' request. Then the kiddos started to paint them with this metallic gold tempera paint. It worked okay for the cardboard, but would not coat the plastic of the mask. We thought maybe a second coat ...

One Way I Refresh During the Summer as a Homeschool Mom

As our homeschool takes some time off this summer, my mind almost never stops thinking of and planning ahead for the upcoming school year. This is probably because I'm Type A and an obsessive planner...lol Whatever the reason, I do enjoy this season of planning. But I also need to be refreshed as a homeschool mom. Homeschooling can be incredibly exhausting and all-consuming. It's not easy and it's a lot of responsibility. And I take that very seriously when I am researching curriculum and planning toward the next school year. So also taking some time to rejuvenate and refocus myself is very important. How do I do this? Each summer I take some time to read something inspiring and motivating that speaks to me as a homeschool mom. Some of my fave reads from past years--that I have nearby on my shelf and refer to often--are Educating the Wholehearted Child, The Well-Trained Mind, The Charlotte Mason Companion, A T...

Arkansas' Crimson Clover

One of my favorite things about Spring is the crimson clover that grows along the highways and interstates here in Arkansas. I say Arkansas because this is where I first grew to love it. We actually saw some in Mississippi on our way here and I saw it in our town in Alabama for the first time this year. But it spreads like that, each year it grows and looks even more beautiful. I'm not sure who decided to plant it in the medians of the interstates , but it was genius! It seeds itself and just comes back more lush the next year. I always want to take pictures, but of course it's almost always in the median of a very busy interstate~which is a little dangerous for photography. However, the other day I found the perfect patch of it on the side of a not-too-busy highway, so Vince obliged me and pulled over:) Isn't it beautiful? I just had to share it with you...

my blessed life

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