Homeschool Discoveries

We had a real snow storm last weekend (over 10 inches!), so this was the sight at our house:

Many years this isn’t really news in Minnesota, but this is our first “big” snow in almost two years! Last winter was very dry, and our biggest one-day-snow-total was only about 4 inches.  The last big snow similar to this was was way back in February of 2011.   The kids had a blast playing outside and helping with the shoveling.  And we were very grateful for help from friends and neighbors to get our long sidewalk shoveled out (my husband broke his leg in a bike accident last month and is still on crutches!).

Learning Highlights this week:

• Miss M (8, 3rd grade) did school in her prairie dress on Monday.  She is seen here reading her assigned historical fiction for the week – The Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz.  Miss M also picked a few other titles to read from the book basket this week.  We didn’t do a ton of history reading all together — Just a little bit of “A New Nation” by the Maestros.  Miss M and I are working on another history-related title at bedtime, Carry on Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham.
• Mr. K (3.5) asked for more “school work” this week.  I printed out the letter pages from the free Preschool Daily Learning Notebook @ Confessions of a Homeschooler, and he really enjoyed those!
• I planned this to mostly be a review/practice week for math.  Mr K (5.5, grade K) and I practiced some of the adding strategies in Right Start B (completing the 10, 9’s trick, Two 5’s trick), including playing “Adding War” with numbers 4-10.
• Miss M wanted practice on her 7’s and 8’s facts in multiplication, so we played some Speed, a really fun skip counting game from Highhill Educational Supplies.  I also planned on having her review finding area in inches and centimeters, a topic we just did a couple months ago in RightStart C, and is repeated in RightStart D.   I guess I must have skipped or glossed terms like “square inches” and “centimeters squared” though for the most part in RS C — because that totally threw Miss M for a loop.  We’re still working on that terminology.
• Not pictured: We did spelling as usual (Miss M will finish lesson 19 today in Logic of English and Mr. E is pretty much finished with Lesson 7).  Mr. E read a couple I See Sam books, and also wanted to start reading The Cat in the Hat.   Miss M read and notebooked another chapter of Sassafras Science Adventures: Zoology.

Fun Highlights of our Week:

1. Sorting out our “done bin” of artwork and miscellaneous school work.  The boys in particular create A LOT of artwork.  Some of the best from the year got scanned in and turned into a calendar to give as gifts.
2. Making homemade Christmas cards
3. Miss M made a “fire” and “S’mores” for her favorite doll, Raggedy Ann, to enjoy. 🙂
4. This is our attempt at an advent wreath.  We are doing a weekly family devotional for advent this year with Everyday Emmanuel from “What’s in the Bible?” and their video Why Do We Call it Christmas? 
5. Strawberry Jello Spritz — made with a vintage “cookie gun” from my childhood.
6. Chocolate Peanut Butter Holiday Bark
7. Baby J (13.5 months) is cruising super well now…and that means a much higher level of chaos.  😉  Maybe I didn’t really think so clearly about all the consequences when we put this much-lower table in the school room.  Baby J is just super curious about everything, and is trying to figure out how to open every drawer and cabinet, press every button in his reach, and even open the fridge to pull things out (somehow none of the other kids ever tried that as toddlers).
8. Mr. E had a bit of a fever and a cough yesterday, so he couldn’t go to our co-op for the Christmas party.  I was able to drop off the older two kids so they could still go to co-op.  Mr. E didn’t seem too upset at missing co-op — he got a strawberry shake and watched videos/played iPad for the afternoon.  I was probably more bummed than him to miss eating cookies and seeing friends I haven’t seen for five weeks and won’t see again until after Christmas!
9. Mr E, excited to show us crafts he made at co-op.  The kids made crafts, did a gift exchange, ate yummy treats and still did their regular classes too.  🙂

I’m looking forward to another day of laid-back learning today (The older two kids may be getting a touch of a sore throat/cough as well), and a fun weekend with more preparations for Christmas.  The two older kids will also get to sing in the church service along with other kids from church — so I am really hoping they can fight off whatever bug it is that has hit our house!

Have a wonderful weekend! I’m linking up with Collage Friday and the Weekly Wrap-Up.