In Our Schoolwork This Week:

This week we finished up several projects that have been a few weeks in the coming.  Needless to say, I felt super productive because of this.  Sometimes when you’re caught in the middle of a chapter book, the middle of a lapbook, the middle of the YEAR things begin to feel like they will never end.  We got to check off some major projects from our list this week which felt really great!

We Celebrated Dr. Seuss Day!

Here are some great ideas I put in a post celebrating Dr. Seuss Day.  I’ll have the finished product of what we actually did next week!  The day is not over yet…

We finally finished our Birds Unit:

We’ve been working on our birds unit for a couple weeks now and it felt really good to finally wrap it up.  The finished lapbook will soon be available as a free download.

We finished reading “The Boxcar Children” book #1:

It was a great read from cover to cover.  After each chapter, my oldest wrote a short narration to summarize the chapter in his reading journal.  We then, concluded the book with a creative writing assignment.  You can see the pictures below to get a feel for how we incorporate writing with our reading lessons.

Here’s the reading journal we use.  Just from your local Walmart.  But, I love the lined paper and space at the top for drawing. It’s perfect for manuscript or beginner cursive writers.

Here’s an example of a narration that he wrote at the end of a chapter.

For our creative writing assignment at the end of a chapter book, I usually give him a prompt.  This book’s prompt was: “If you were an adult, how would you help children who don’t have parents?”  Below was his response.  I feel like a really proud mama.  It is well said.

Our Phonics Readers arrived from Amazon:

Every time we get an Amazon package it feels like Christmas.  We start jumping up and down when we see the UPS truck at our house.  Inside the box this week:  My Kindergartner was in desperate need of more phonics readers.  His current Abeka program does not come with that many, so we sprung for a set from Pearson Learning.  They are colorful, engaging, and the set even includes a Teacher’s Guide.  I’m in love with these readers, and I think I’ll definitely be ordering more.

Things I’m Working On:

I just finished up knitting up a really cute set fingerless mitts.  I just have to weave in the ends.  Now I only have to figure out what to do with the leftover yarn.  Perhaps a matching cowl?

I also finished compiling a great list of books for the library.  I have a 2nd grader that already is going through books like water so, I have to work hard to stay ahead of his learning curve.  Here’s the final list, I’ve compiled and made available on the blog.

Challenges:

This week it has been bitterly cold, with the temperatures dipping down into the teens at night.  During the day it hasn’t made it out of the 30′s.  Normally, my boys are playing outside even in the winter.  But, with temps this cold we’ve had to get really creative with some indoor play.

Needless to say, I will be really greatful to see 40 degrees this weekend!  These boys need a jungle gym!!

Reflections for the week:

I am hugely encouraged by the voice of my Heavenly Father as he speaks to me daily.  It’s our privilege as His children to hear his voice, respond to his heart, and be directed by his hand.  I am grateful for the constant access to His presence that I have as His daughter.  It is the context for all of my life, and the one thing that makes everything else make sense.  This week I am encouraged at greater levels of peace, power, and sense of fulfillment that come from walking in alignment to His presence.  Walking as His child really is from Glory to Glory.  Be encouraged and know that you have the greatest resource, the greatest Teacher available to you 24/7!  You are not alone! And, days like today (March 1st) remind me that Spring is already here, if I just look up!

Thanks for taking the time to read about our week!  This post is part of the following link ups.  If you want to read more you can click the links below for a lot of posts from other homeschoolers in the journey.  

• Homeschool Mother’s Journal
• Homegrown Learners
• Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers