The Homeschool Mother's Journal

 

Wow what a week we have had.  I feel like we actually were able to accomplish everything I set out to do.  That does not happen very often around here.

In My Life This Week:  This was a great week for me.  I was feeling a little on the down side the last few weeks, but this week my spirits were lifted.  I have decided to try to dive deeper into my faith this Lenten season and I can honestly say my overall feeling inside has changed.  I have a sense of peace inside, which in turn as lightened my anxiety level.  As I shared earlier this week, we celebrated Happy Hearts Day for Ash.  This was great fun and it was really refreshing to see where she was six years ago and where she is now.  It was so much fun to have family here to celebrate with us.   St.Patrick's Day was filled with crafts, which turned out awesome.  I guess I would wrap up our week as very fulfilling.

In Our Homeschool This Week:  Last week I was struggling with Tay during History.  I am really considering making a change in this area next year, but have decided to stick with what I have for this year.  I wanted to change things up for her a bit to make the subject of history more interesting and fun.  Tay really likes the way the Apologia Science is formatted, so we now follow the same format for history.  Her textbook is written as if it were a story.  The chapters are short and at the end of each chapter there is a study summary, activities, and a study test.  As we do we science, we read the history chapter as a read aloud.  During the reading process I would stop and ask her some Tay a few questions. At the end of reading, the two of us went over the study summary orally together.  Tay then chose an activity to do, which is usually some kind of art project.  After all this was completed I had her complete the study test on her own.  She really enjoyed this.  I am planning on doing history this way for the rest of the year.  Ash is now reading and spelling!  So exciting.  I am very pleased with her progress and am excited to see her more relaxed during reading time.  She is still working on counting by 10's and addition as well as subtraction.  We have been working on handwriting, which is a struggle for her because her hand tires so quickly.  Buddy is coming along nicely.  He is counting objects really well and we are going to start working on shapes this week.  I am also putting together a unit for him on ocean life, which in not done yet, for the weeks to come.

Places We Are Going/People We Are Seeing:  Yesterday we had a baby shower for my Sister In Law.  It was so much fun.  My brother and his wife came in from out of town for the shower.  The girls helped put it all together along with my Mom, my two Aunts, and my cousin.  It was nice to see family I had not seen in a while.  We also celebrated Happy Hearts Day this week with family, which was a blast!  Ash had her second dog training lesson with Bella.  They are both doing very well.

My Favorite Thing This Week:  There was so much happening here this week that it is hard for me to come up with just one.  I think that my favorite thing this week was watching Ash, Buddy and Bella chasing bubbles in the backyard.  They were all having so much fun and it took all the worries of life away for a moment.

What Is Working/Not Working For Us:  Well, last week I stated that history was not working for us, but now that we have changed things up a bit it is working great.  Sometime it is good to think outside the box.

Homeschool Questions/Thoughts I Have:  I have been thinking a lot lately on how to add a little spice to our school days.  I really enjoy the days that we take time away from the books and do special crafts or learning units on a particular subject.  I also enjoy watching the girls work together as a team.  This does not happen very often, but when it does it is a wonderful sight to see.

A Photo/Quote/Or Video To Share:  In our study of Lent, I came across this little prayer:

"Jesus, no matter what happens today; I'm splashing myself with hope."

I hope you have enjoyed reading about our week.  If you would like to participate or read about what others are doing this week, hop on over The Homeschool Chick.

Blessings,