Our Week In Review

This week has been really fun. It was nice to get back into more productive days. The previous week we were sick and had a very light load. After being in the house for an entire week, we decided that on Monday we were getting out of the house to check out the WORLD OF THE PHARAOHS exhibit at the Arkansas Arts Center. It was a members only day that began at noon so we made quick work of our chores and school work and headed that way. We really enjoyed the exhibit. We purchased some "Egyptian Dig" toys and the children had a great time scraping and brushing the baked sand to find the mummy parts buried inside.

Tuesday was our usual busy day. We had afternoon speech and occupational therapy appointments that consumed most of our afternoon time. That's a normal part of life for this crew.

On Wednesday, we finished up our chores and school work and headed to the bike trail. The weather was around 70 degrees which is warm for this time of year but we sure enjoyed it.

Thursday was much the same with some board games thrown in for practicing those math facts. The afternoon was full of more bike riding and enjoying this wonderful weather.

Friday we had great fun at our homeschool group ARTS & CRAFTS day of the month. We made recycled gift wrap out of newspapers, paint, spray paint stencils and anything else we came up with. The children had a blast!

All throughout the week the children progressed in their school work. Michael completed another chapter or two in his novel. He has initiated "political" conversation numerous times relating what he's been learning about in his Economics and Government studies. He is progressing nicely in all his work, and he is happy to be finished with radicals for the time being. Mattison has been working really hard on her DECODE ABC exercises and practicing her reading in THE CAT IN THE HAT. She is making huge strides in her reading, and I am proud of her hard work. Mason has progressed nicely in his book as well. He has been building things and drawing a great deal lately. It is a newly discovered talent he has.

Our read aloud has been THE STORIES OF THE PILGRIMS (1910). We just love reading about things that really happened. It coincided this week with homeschool Freebies ebook downloads. The download had an additional part to the book that is not included in mine, so I am happy to have that extra available. From the same resource also this week came a book called MARY OF PLYMOUTH: A STORY OF THE PILGRIM SETTLEMENT by James Otis. This is a book also published in 1910 that tells the story of the Pilgrims through the eyes of a young girl named Mary. We are going to make some notebooking pages relating to our readings to put in our history notebook.

This week has been great! I was reminded of a few really important things - first that we need to get out and play and explore more. It's been really fun this week. Second, I was reminded of how fun board games are, even for practicing those monotonous math facts. It's funny how I'll forget about having some great game and then I come across it and wonder why I hadn't been using it more. The third thing I was reminded of was the blessing it is for us to homeschool, specifically for the freedom to teach my children the real reason this country was preserved and protected - for freedom of religion. As we have been reading about the pilgrims, I have been so moved by the hardships and persecution they endured. I am shocked at how many times they were put into jail because they worshipped according to the dictates of their own conscience. I am grateful that my children can pray aloud EVERY time they eat, at home and at school. I am thankful that we can include God and his plan in everything we learn about. I am thankful for the freedom to sing songs about the Lord, to write and read about Him daily. I hold this freedom so very dear.

For more Weekly Wrap Ups, check out Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Field Trip to Ancient Egypt

We took a field trip today to view the Pharaoh exhibit at the Arts Center. It was really neat to see ancient hieroglyphs in person, along with the pottery, weapons, statues, clothing, and mummies. Mason had to be called back to join the rest of us several times. He was in such a hurry to get to the mummy room that he just couldn't take the time to read the plaques or really study the detail of anything. I was finally able to get him interested in some things and he did listen as I read the plaques, but his mind was the mummies. Once we made it to the mummy room, he was so revved up he just went from display to display. There were various mummies there, even a kitten mummy. Once we finished viewing the mummy room, we went back through the exhibit to catch anything we missed. Mason's favorite part of the exhibit was the large black Sarcophagus standing up against the center wall. Mattison couldn't decide what she liked best. Michael enjoyed reading the plaques about Ancient Egyptian family life and religion and my favorite part was the the art work as a whole - from the carvings of hieroglyphs in stone, the detail in the statues, and the handmade beads and jewelery to the bright colored dishes and pottery. I was impressed with their ingenuity. They were able to accomplish great things without the use of machines and the technology we are so accustomed to today.

As I speak, the children are working away on their "Find a Mummy" toy from the gift shop. It is a mummy hidden in a baked dirt-like substance. They have little archaeology tools for the "dig". Mattison has found some of her mummy pieces, but Mason hasn't. He said he needs a big hammer to get his out. I'm afraid he still has quite a bit to learn about being an archaeologist.

Another Literary Treasure - Caddie Woodlawn

Tonight we finished reading CADDIE WOODLAWN by Carol Ryrie Brink. This book was originally published in 1935 and was awarded the John Newbery Medal for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. Caddie's adventures provide an exciting and authentic picture of life on the Wisconsin frontier in the 1860s. If you enjoy reading about real people (as Mason puts it) or if you found pleasure in reading THE LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE series, then you might really enjoy this neat book.

A few chapters back, we came upon a real treasure. First, I'll give you some background information. Caddie is very much a tomboy, she has always run wild with her brothers. Caddie and her brothers had been playing pranks on their "prim and proper", "too-good-for-Wisconsin" cousin who has come to visit them. The last prank has been one too many, and mother is furious about it. She harshly punishes Caddie but lets the boys out of it. Caddie is so stung by the injustice of her taking all the punishment, that she has decided to run away and join the Indians after everyone goes to sleep for the night. Caddie's father comes up to the loft and checks on all the girls before retiring to bed. Caddie is pretending to be asleep but father knows better and sits on her bed and talks to her.

"Perhaps Mother was a little hasty today, Caddie," he said. "She really loves you very much, and, you see, she expects more of you than she would of someone she didn't care about. It's a strange thing, but somehow we expect more of girls than of boys. It is the sisters and wives and mothers, you know, Caddie who keep the world sweet and beautiful. What a rough world it would be if there were only men and boys in it, doing things in their rough way! A woman's task is to teach them gentleness and courtesy and love and kindness. It's a big task, too, Caddie - harder than cutting trees or building mills or damming rivers. It takes nerve and courage and patience, but good women have those things. They have them just as much as the men who build bridges and carve roads through the wilderness. A woman's work is something fine and noble to grow up to, and it is just as important as a man's. But no man could ever do it so well. I don't want you to be the silly, affected person with the fine clothes and manner whom folks sometimes call a lady. No, that is not what i want for you, my little girl. I want you to be a woman with a wise and understanding heart, healthy in body and honest in mind. Do you think you would like to be growing up into that woman now? How about it Caddie, Have we run with the colts long enough?

That was just one of the treasures in this book. I think it is wonderful and am looking forward to reading the sequel MAGICAL MELONS.

Fun is an Important Tool!

I think this is something I've learned while homeschooling and something I need regular reminding of. People are willing to do more or harder things if those things are fun.

Our Monday of Music

Not that long ago, we started a program called READING MUSIC NOTES WITH EASE. The children really enjoyed learning about the note characters. Their retention has been fantastic even through a bought of colds and a week long break. You can read our previous music post here.

I decided to let the children use their newly acquired knowledge to start to learn JINGLE BELLS. Since they know the notes on the piano, my oldest son wrote out the note names for my two youngest. I had to help my oldest get started since he had not learned the notes but only the relationship when he took piano lessons.

BBB BBB BD G AB

Mattie took right to it! She played it happily. After finger pecking through it several times, I placed her hands on the piano - each finger on it's own key and had her spider walk her fingers. This can be challenging for any child, but especially for a child with delayed fine motor skills.

She focused on moving her fingers in order. It was quite a workout. And then it hit me - It is a workout! It's an enjoyable exercise for her fine motor skills! She can't wait to show her Occupational Therapist what she is working on.

So, how did Mason take to it? Well.... the way he takes to almost everything. He fussed and got upset and didn't want to have anything to do with it after his first attempt. If you have a perfectionist or 3 in your family like me, you might recognize this. By later this afternoon, I expect he will be sitting at the piano, plucking away JINGLE BELLS on his own terms. Then he'll invite me to come watch him and give me a huge hug and smile.

and that will be music to my ears.

We begin learning the notes on the G Staff tomorrow, again using the memorable characters from the program. Who knows... maybe we will make some honey cake in honor of Middle C.

Field Trip to the Corn Maze

Today we joined some other homeschooling kids and went to the CORN MAZE and PUMPKIN PATCH. It was fun.... and muddy. Don't you just love field trips?

1..2..3..Funny Face!

I enjoyed the smaller maze with Mattie and Mason while all the other kids took on the large maze. We were the lucky ones, by way of mud anyway. Here is an aerial view of this year's maze.

...getting lost in the maze

...posing for silly pictures

...admiring the huge pumpkins

...living a sensory kid's dream! A huge tub of dent corn!

...climbing through hay tunnels

...viewing really cute animals

We've had record breaking rainfall here, but what's a little mud among friends?

Our homeschool group has a wide range of ages - from baby to college student. I used to worry that certain field trips wouldn't appeal to the older kids; I quickly learned that worry was unwarranted. Kids just like to get together. They make their own fun as you can see from these pictures.

History Timeline Notebook - updated

When it comes to History, we've tried many approaches. We've used timelines to get a bigger picture of how everything fits together. We've also studied history by event rather than chronologically, but this HISTORY NOTEBOOK put them all together. I purchased a notebook and these cool dividers at Staples. I labeled them according to dates. We've only been using this for a few months but we love adding to our notebook. Here is the plan - as we are studying the 50 states, we will place a state page under that date that it became a state. When we study an artist, scientist, inventor or what have you, we can catalogue a page of our study under the appropriately dated tab. With each subject not just History, we will be adding to this growing time line; the more we study the fatter it will get. We can scan historical or living books and place them, along with a summary, in the appropriate date for memory joggers. This also offers a great place to put those wonderful maps of long ago for future reference to see how territories and country borders have changed. I'm really excited about seeing all the connections, from places all over the world. So far I have the 15th -20th century tabbed for every decade. I plan to enlarge the time periods on the earlier history tabs soon. Here is another picture of our notebook. This is one of those great pieces of inspiration from above. I feel grateful to be given such great ideas, that are apparently so much greater than my own.