Homeschooling Week in Review - Week 1

Our first week of school is over!!  For the most part it was a good week, although we did have a few hiccups.  Josiah was sick most of the week, so we kept things light for him.

Since its still summer, we are balancing school with summer activities.   Monday morning, Aaron, Caleb and Rachel went to watch friends show their goats at the 4-H fair.  They were back home by 9:30, so we were able to start our first day of school without too much delay.  Aaron took Jada and Sarah with him Tuesday for a quick visit with his family.   It was so much easier to get work done without Sarah around!!   Wednesday afternoon, Aaron and the boys went to see the new Harry Potter movie at the IMAX in 3D.  Then, we all went to see it at the drive-in Thursday night.

Most of all we, along with most of our country, have been trying to avoid the heat!!  Our air conditioners made it through the week ... but we were worried several times as they struggled to keep up!   When it's hot like this, you might as well do school, right?

Caleb made a mega tent in the family room.

This Year's Curriculum


All Together:
History - Sonlight Core E - 2nd Half of American History
Geography - A Childs Geography: Explore His Earth
Science - Units on Animals, Human Body, and Plants
Art - Artist study on Mary Cassatt and Artistic Pursuits
Memory Work
Bible - Family Bible Study with Dad

Caleb (6th Grade)

Math - Horizons 6

Grammar - Growing With Grammar 6

Writing - Jump In!, OUTLINING

Spelling - All About Spelling

Greek - Elementary Greek

Science - Finishing Sonlight Science 5

Literature/Reading - Sonlight Core E

Josiah (4th Grade)

Math - Horizons 4

Grammar - Growing with Grammar 4

Handwriting - A Reason for Handwriting C

Writing - Writing with Ease 2

Spelling - AAS

Literature/Reading - Mix of Sonlight Core E the old Core 2 Advanced Readers (not sure what they're          

                                  called now)

Greek - Hey Andrew Teach me Some Greek Level 1

Rachel (2nd Grade)

Math - Horizons 2

Phonics - Explode the Code books 4-6

Grammar - First Language Lessons

Spelling - AAS

Handwriting - Italics C

Writing - WWE 1

Reading  - Sonlight Grade 3 Readers

Jada (1st Grade)

Math - Horizons 1

Phonics - Explode the Code books

Grammar - FLL

Spelling - AAS

Handwriting - Italics B

Writing - WWE 1

Reading - Sonlight Core 1 Readers

Writing - WWE 1

Sarah:

Anything we can find to keep her busy!!!   

Preschool/Montessori activities

Potty Training (in the fall)

Alex:

Learning to sit, crawl, and walk!!!  

Staying out of trouble

This week we've been doing a unit on South America.   We've done a lot of map work and the boys have really enjoyed it.  We learned about Simon Bolivar and his quest to liberate South America.  In science, we're learning the difference between vertebrates and invertebrates.  We also learned about echinoderms.  In geography, we learned some fun facts about this place we all call home.  We also discussed homeless people and spent some time looking through Material World: A Global Family Portrait.  I think it really impacted the kids to see just how much we have.

Looking at a starfish a little bit closer.

Making their Postcards Home for Geography.