Weekly Wrap 21

 

 

This week has been great. I love our new schedule and man do we get everything done this way. I wish I would have been more intentional about fixing our slump before now, BUT I'm just happy that it has got done. The kids have come to understand the entire schedule and Lexi even wore a watch a few times this week because we do keep to a strict 30 minute time for everything.

Alexis is having a lot of fun with a review item from Apologia. She loves it. I have enjoyed watching her read and learn and do the experiments within. She has a favorite though... The notebooking journal!! 

Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day and we celebrated this just by going over some basic history of his life and legacy left behind. The kids do this every year or so. I try to change what I do just so they have knowledge of what the day means. We did do school. We didn't take it off for a holiday.

We also started a new review item on Monday. We received Gods Great Covenant: Old Testament 1. We will tell you more about it in our upcoming review! However let me just say I have really enjoyed it so far. It's great to talk to your kids about the Bible and read it but I do feel like putting some work into the Bible will help them retain the information better. I am truly blessed to have children that enjoy learning about God.

 

Tuesday we enjoyed getting to treat hubby's sister to a birthday supper. Since moving down closer to family we have really enjoyed having people over. She actually comes normally once a week to eat supper with us and laugh, joke and just talk with us. We love her so much. I had text her asking her if we could steal her on her birthday and I was totally shocked when she said she didn't have plans!!! I was so happy because I knew just what I was fixing her. Baked Spaghetti, Salad and garlic toast with sweet tea and a slice of cheesecake!! Her favorites! The kids had made her birthday cards and we had to run to Wal-Mart that day so they begged to "buy" her something so we choose a gorgeous set of pink roses for her to enjoy. The funny part was as soon as she walked in she commented on mine in a vase on the table and said how long it had been since she received any. It was so sweet to be able to show her we loved her with something she hadn't had in a long time.

The rest of our week was just schooling as normal! 

Kyle had to make a birdhouse out of a milk carton in his science this week and he enjoyed that. He decorated the milk carton and then enjoyed climbing the tree to place it high up in. I hope that a bird will enjoy the home because he is monitoring it. He has also really started liking his Business Math - Pet Shop. He has made his logo which I posted a couple weeks ago and has moved along to making an inventory list of his first order and pricing all the items. He had to figure his cost for the items and then the markup which was a little hard for him but he actually wouldn't use a calculator. I'm proud of that however I will totally tell on myself, since hubby wasn't here to check I totally had to use the calculator to check the problems. I know horrible but I'm just keeping it real! I'm not good at math and I have learned and gotten better over the homeschooling years but still have much to learn and refresh on.

We have made so much progress on All About Spelling with this new schedule I just can't be thankful enough. He is doing really great with the rules and me reviewing.

Kyle also joined me for my Luke Bible study. We are on week two with Good Morning Girls. They posted a child study and so he said he would enjoy it with me.

Alexis really enjoyed her science review item this week. She loves the notebooking journal and does it without being asked or lead to complete. She enjoyed the experiment this week too. She laughed and really enjoyed it. Look for my review soon. She is doing so great with her multiplication. The new math is a huge hit with her and Zachary. She and I had some rare alone time this week, Thursday to be exact and we hit Fatz(her favorite place) wide open for lunch. We ate for under $11, then we went to the library(one of her favorite places she got the next Little House on the Prairie book) and to the Dollar Store because she wanted a few things. We bought some decorations for Valentines and came home to decorate our large picture window. It was a wonderful evening of mother daughter time that we rarely get. 

She also finished her gigantic book!! She finished Little House on the Prairie in two weeks. I am very proud of her for this. The book was huge and she is only 9 and finished it all on her own. I read a few chapters here and there but only because I wanted to read to her not because she asked me. Not only did she love reading it but she was able to comprehend it wonderfully too!

Zachary has had some issues this week. He is the only one that isn't thrilled about the schedule. He thinks it’s to long for him to have to do school. However he gets more breaks just the time is outlined on what to do. He loves his math book. He is really learning more of a variety now which was some of the highlights of changing to something new. He is learning to tell time and learning to add up to the thousands place. He is also working on a review from Handwriting Without Tears. He has mixed feelings about this but that’s alright we will work that out or maybe we won't, but I love it. Does that count?

 

All About Reading has took a turn in the slow lane. He is really trying so hard that he's getting frustrated with himself. I see him losing the love for it. So I have talked with Kevin and we are just going slow and kinda back tracking to make sure he feels comfortable before we try to move back forward. He has picked up the /ch/ /th/ and /sh/ blend really well but more than that is to much for his little self right now.

 

He has been learning about Birds still this week and we wrapped that up.

We did a craft this week!! Woohoo me!! I know that’s awful; however I’m trying to be more intentional remember that’s my word for 2013. We made borax snowflakes and they turned out so pretty. The kids really didn’t think it would work. I told them it would look like real snowflakes after it soaked all night. Still they didn’t believe me, so the next morning they were ready and guess what? They looked like they had been iced over for a while. The colored pipe cleaners really made it look awesome.

 You use 1 cup hot water to 3 tbsp Borax to fill up whatever container your going to use. Stir and try to dissolve the Borax,  Then just allow them to soak over night and this will be your results. (BTW it took 9 cups of water for my container)

 

Today is National Opposite Day and man oh man have my kids had fun and I mean F U N with this one! It’s sleeting at our house and we are getting ice and a little snow but more ice than anything. So I am just praying we keep power! The kids said mom maybe our snow flakes could really have ice on them by the end of the day.....

I started exercising this week. I have been feeling blah and get tired easy so I thought I was going to do something about it while I still could. I am exercising 3 days a week for 45 minutes to a Jillian Michels DVD. Might I also add that the first day I thought I had done so well got through the majority of it and by night I wasn't sore. I woke the next morning barely able to walk for about the first 10 minutes of the morning!!!!! Kids had fun with that one. I am no longer sore on my legs... It moved to my stomach!