Weekly Report...Week 25

I could tell you that it was a full moon this week without even looking. My boys have been squirrely and not acting themselves. We are talkin', "What mother planet are you from?" kind of craziness. In spite of all that, we were able to get some school work completed.

History (Both)

You may have noticed the title for this section has changed. It no longer says, "Tapestry of Grace". Well, that is because we are not using it any longer. You can find out why here. So rather than continue with Y2 and start the colonies next (Unit 3), I am going to wait and cover it next year using some other resources. In the mean time, we have been enjoying our unit on Shakespeare. On Wednesday, we read William Shakespeare and the Globe by Aliki. It told of his life, how he came to London, how the Globe was brought to life, how it died, and how it was brought to life again by a man named Samuel Wanamaker. It was a bitter sweet story as the ending tugged at mine and Magnus' heart strings. BUT...it gave Magnus a great idea. "Hey Mom. Can we build our own Globe Theater?" Yep...the rest of the day's lessons were thrown out the window. How could I say no to that? So, we got started on it. We have the stage made and only have the back part to finish. I will post pics of it when we are finished, but here is a little sneak peek...


As far as the rest of the year? Well, we are going to study Pirates. I found a great unit study from one of my favorite homeschool resources, Homeschool Share. If you are not familiar with this site, I highly recommend you click on it and check it out! I am just waiting for the copy of the book to come into the library.

Language Arts (Magnus)
We are still working through our test prep materials for the CA standardized test he has to take in a few weeks. You can read about my feelings on this here. He is doing remarkably well as we don't follow state standards.

Spelling...We started Phonetic Zoo this week. We got off to a rocky start, but by the end of the week he was asking to do his spelling. This has NEVER happened, people! NEVER. I posted about it here. He is even applying the rule we worked on this week in his other writing! He received 100% on his third attempt at the list. One more time and we'll be going onto the next list! Yippee, Magnus!

Phonics (Thane)
We are moving right along. I have found some readers that he loves reading. I think it is part of a whole curriculum, but we are only using the books. We also played some games from Happy Phonics and Starfall.com.

Math (Both)

Magnus...continuing with the test prep. I am getting a little worried, as so far in Right Start we have covered addition, money, time, some measuring, greater than/less than, and little subtraction. This test is going to cover addition, subtraction, multiplication, fractions, and some simple division. I have been explaining it to him as we come to it and he is catching on really well so I guess we'll just see what happens. Like I said, I just want him to feel confident when he goes in and feel good about how he did when he comes out. I don't care about the score.

Thane...we worked on partitioning 100's, place value, and quadrilaterals. I think I could double up the lessons we do a day, but I don't want him to finish Level B too fast. Magnus has yet to start Level C due to the test prep and I am not sure how he would like his younger brother working in the same level as he. I gently remind both of them, "God gave you strengths in different areas." And if you know my boys, I know you agree!

Science (Both)
We are still working through our Dinosaur unit. This week we were Paleontologist. We read Digging Up Dinosaurs by Aliki. Magnus tried to thwart my plans again by talking me into building a volcano for a diorama he is planning to build. This boy is never short of ideas! I did say no to this one. I didn't have it in me. Remember...full moon! They did do a fun interactive game on the internet and we completed some booklets for our lapbook. Oh, and they worked on a report on the T-Rex.

Latin (Magnus)
We did it! We completed chapter 10!

Misc.
We also did a fun art project using watercolor crayons. They were mimicking the fresco paintings found in the Minoan society.

P.A.C.T. Classes

Well, our charter school is on Spring Break this week and next so there are no classes. I know...I am a slave driver. No matter. We will get a break when we go camping the last two weeks in April!

Well, that about covers it. This weekend we hope to catch a UCDavis baseball game.

Weekly Report...Week 24

I really don't have much to report this week. We did some school work, but not enough of our regular subjects to merit a full blown weekly report. So, I guess I'll just let you know what we did do.

History and Literature... We are in the middle of a two week study on Shakespeare. We started off by learning about Queen Elizabeth I and life in England under her reign. Collin has read the boys various excerpts from Shakespeare in the original language and Magnus eats it up! We have also shown the boys scenes from Kenneth Branaugh's Much Ado About Nothing and again, Magnus can't get enough! He loves Dogberry and often quotes him around the house. It's the only time he gets away with saying "ass"! I found some great retellings of Shakespeare's plays written by Bruce Coville that are also beautifully illustrated. Magnus has read them over and over. His favorites are A Midsummer Nights Dream and Twelth Night. He has pretty much stayed away from the tragedies as he is very sensitive to things like that. Then...I came across this great lense on squidoo. Jimmie has the videos from Shakespeare's Animated Tales linked. I was skeptical at first, but then when the dialogue was true to the play, I fell in love! They are great and the boys have watched them over and over.

Test Prep...
Ugh!!! This is one of the only things I hate about being registered with a charter school...standardized testing. I did have the attitude of, "Who gives a you know what" but, that has changed a bit. I don't want Magnus to go into an unfamiliar situation and feel like he has failed because he was not prepared. I want him to approach it with confidence. So, we have been doing some prep work. We have taken a break from our regular math and language arts studies to give this some attention. He hasn't minded. He has actually enjoyed it. But I do want to say... we are classical/Charlotte Mason homeschoolers. We do not follow the state standards and don't care to. As classical/Charlotte Mason homeschoolers I truly believe that I am giving my children the best education. An education that creates and nurtures a love of learning as well as rigorous academic standards. It does not matter to me how they compare to other kids. As long as I know they have done their best and have ended the school day feeling loved and cared for by me, what more could I want?

Field Trip...

We took a "field trip" to Napa with some friends. If you scroll down to the next post, you will be able to see some incredible pictures. I am not tooting my photography skills. I truly think it is impossible to mess up a photo of the amazing wildflowers we saw. They were amazing! And if you want a laugh, click on over to Zelda's post about the day. She is a hoot! And she captured some great pics too!


That about covers it for the week. I have decided that I am not going to end this post with a promise of pictures from the beach. It has not worked out for us to go the past 4 weeks and I don't want to jinx our chances of going this weekend.

Weekly Report...Week 23

Collin was on Spring Break this week so I intentionally planned a light week for us. I wanted to be able to leave our school work behind and go somewhere if we chose to. However, that didn't happen. Poor Collin was sick this whole week. :o( Still glad I didn't plan a lot though.

Tapestry of Grace (Both)
It was kind of a tricky subject this week. We learned about King Henry VIII and the joy he felt when he heard about Martin Luther and his dissatisfaction with the Catholic Church. King Henry needed a male heir and his wife did not provide one. The Pope would not let him remarry. So, The Church of England was formed. *We*, are Anglican. But...many an Anglican will tell you that the "Church" was already there in England and that this was not how it came to be. So, we'll go with that.

History...as I mentioned, we learned about King Henry VIII and all of his wives and their...(clearing throat)...ends. We also watched The Other Boleyn Girl. (Just kidding! I did though.)

Lapbooking...the boys completed a booklet I created about the wives of King Henry.

Language Arts (Magnus)

Grammar...learned about capitalizing proper nouns such as days of the weeks, months of the year, and holidays.

Spelling...this is a thorn in my side! I simply do not know what to do! I received the Phonetic Zoo, but it looks like the word lists are going to be too advanced for him. They don't recommend it until 3rd grade anyways. BUT...my charter school wants me to pilot the program. I just don't know. Andrew Pudewa of IEW suggested using All About Spelling before starting PZ. Doesn't he know that I was but I stopped using it? And I am not exactly sure why I stopped except that it seemed like Magnus just wasn't retaining the rules. Maybe that was not a good decision. Maybe we will have to revisit it. BUT...I also have Spelling Power and I like the looks of it. So many choices!!! Arrrgghhhh!!! Can I just not do spelling until next year?

Writing...only did a few lessons in WWE.

Phonics...completed a lesson in ETC.

Phonics (Thane)
Still working on the simple short vowel words. I had him read a couple readers I picked up at our charter school and he did so well. He asked if he could keep them because he was so excited about being able to read them easily. I am glad for my decision to take reading slow with him. He also played a little with starfall.com

Math (Both)

Magnus...HE IS FINISHED WITH LEVEL B!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yippee! I'll be moving him into Level C next week after I give him the Level B final test.

Thane...STARTED LEVEL B THIS WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Most of the lessons in the front are review so we are already up to lesson 24 or so. I have a feeling we are going to plow through this level. He sat in on most of Magnus' teaching time so he knows a lot of it already.

Science (Both)
We started our unit on Dinosaurs. The boys requested it and are very excited about it. We, of course, are going to take it from a creationist perspective, but do not think we are going to take it as far as "dinosaurs being on the ark". And then there is this whole "old earth", "new earth" thing. Why does it have to be so complicated? Anyhow, we read the creation story from the Bible, we read about the first fossil being discovered (an Iguanodon tooth) and that dinosaur means, "terrible lizard". We also reviewed the characteristics of a lizard. The boys completed a few booklets for their lapbooks. We are also going to do some research on our favorite dinosaurs and write a mini report on them. The boys are actually excited about that! I also have some fun projects to do in the coming weeks.

Latin (Magnus)
What? We were suppose to do Latin this week? I didn't get the memo.

P.A.C.T. Classes
The boys attended them.

I had to share this picture...

Magnus gets so excited about the books he reads and the things he reads in them that he tells all of his friends about them. Then, he grabs the book and starts reading parts of it to them. It's so cute!

I am crossing my fingers and hoping and praying we will be able to make it to the beach on Sunday! I need a beach break!!!

Oh, we are taking a little day trip to somewhere really cool next week with our friends, Zelda and Rick and kids. You'll have to check back next week to see where!

Hope you have a great weekend! :o)

Weekly Report...Week 22

It was a little tough getting back into the swing of things after being sick for so long, but we did it.

Tapestry of Grace (Both)
We are nearing the end of Unit 2 and as I start planning Unit 3, I may do things a little differently. We will begin studying US History with the formation of the thirteen colonies. I am thinking about straying away from the layout TOG has and doing something on my own, but still using some of their recommendations for reading. I'll post about this when the time comes. So until then, here is what we accomplished this week...not much.

History...listened to the SOTW audio about Martin Luther. We did have a pretty good discussion though.

Lapbooks...we completed a few booklets about Martin Luther and the 95 Theses.

Literature...I am having a real hard time following with the portions Magnus has read. Then, by the time the next week rolls around and he is suppose to finish the book, all motivation is gone. I need to figure out a way to really use this portion in our homeschool.

Language Arts (Magnus)

Grammar...he learned about using initials in place of people's actual names. He thought that was pretty cool and started writing only his initials on all of his schoolwork. I think it is pretty cute. He is pretty cute.

Spelling...still waiting to receive Phonetic Zoo in the mail. Dani, the advisor in charge of the classical part of our charter school, is going to be giving a seminar on spelling next week. We are going to listen to Andrew Pudewa speak about it. I am looking forward to it.

Writing...if you scroll down to the post below this one (Our Writing Stuff) you can see where we are at with it.

Phonics...still working in ETC 4 1/2. It's mainly "busy work" for the times he is finished with the work I gave him and I am still working with Thane.

Phonics (Thane)
We have parked ourselves at the simple short vowel words for awhile. I want him to get comfortable with reading. If he is not able to figure out a word after a couple of tries, he gets really frustrated. He has a hard time distinguishing between "b", "d", "p", "g", and "q". He gets them all mixed up.
He is still loving his ETC workbook though.

Math (Both)

Magnus...we worked on finding the perimeter and the diagonal. He thought is was pretty fun. Magnus will be finishing up Level B next week.

Thane...finished Level A (and was able to already sell it!) and is moving way ahead in Level B. I am able to skip several lessons as they are just review of A. I have a feeling we are going to be able to move through B quickly since he sat through many of Magnus' lessons.

Science (Both)
We read a fantastic book...The Boy Who Drew Birds. It is a story about John James Audubon. The illustrations in it are beautiful and the colors are very warm. Yes, I know I am a bird fanatic, but I know you would love this book too. The boys then colored some pages out of the Audubon Dover coloring book using a special technique Magnus has been using in his drawing class. They colored the picture with crayons really hard. Then they chose a single color of watercolor paint and brushed it over it. The effect was really nice. We will be starting a unit on Dinosaurs next week.

Latin (Magnus)
We reviewed his flashcards.

P.A.C.T. Classes
Well, we had to drop out of his science class. His teacher is unable to continue teaching it and someone else is taking over. However, they changed the day to Thursdays and I am not going to drive out to Sacramento 4 days a week.
Magnus was able to attend his Kidspiration, drawing, music appreciation, and PE classes.
Thane attended his Kindergarten, music appreciation, and PE classes.

On Tuesday afternoon, we went to the park for a play date with some other families from our charter school. the boys definitely out numbered the girls. We are going to make it an every Tuesday activity. Gives the kids a chance to...dare I say it?...SOCIALIZE...and us moms too.

Well, Collin is finished with his second quarter of his first year in grad. school. I am ssooooooo proud of him and his diligence. He had three 20 page papers and 2 presentations to give within the past 3 weeks. Oh, and yes, this was all during the time I laid in bed for a week and a half. He worked very hard and accomplished it all on time! Way to go, honey! So, this coming week is his Spring Break and we are going to make it to the beach even if it kills me!!!

Weekly Report...Week 21

Due to sickness...me this time...we were able to only get a bit of our work done.

Tapestry of Grace (Both)

History...we touched on Martin Luther and the Reformation.

Literature...Magnus is reading Thunderstorm in Church by Louise Vernon. It is a story about Martin Luther and he is really enjoying it.

Read Aloud...I started reading Mr. Pipes and Psalms and Hymns of the Reformation by Douglas Bond. The author is friends with Collin's parents.

Language Arts (Magnus)

Grammar...moving right along in his Growing with Grammar. I like this program.

Spelling...well, I had planned to start Spelling Power this week, then the Administrator of our charter school okayed the purchase of Phonetic Zoo and asked me to pilot the program. So, I am waiting for that to be ordered and given to me. I hope it'll work. If not, then we'll give Spelling Power a shot.

Writing...we did a few days of the Writing With Ease program. I also started watching the Teaching Writing Style and Structure videos from Institute for Excellence in Writing. This is good stuff! I am very excited about this. However, since we just started the WWE, I thought about putting off the IEW until next year. But, after talking it over with the classical advisor at our charter school, I am going to continue WWE three days a week and then work on the "key word outlines" only for the other two days. I plan to use the Christian Liberty Press Nature Readers and the Usborne Encyclopedia of World History for text for the outlining.

Phonics...even though he reads at a Jr. High level, I am still having him work through the Explode the Code workbooks. He is on book 4 1/2 right now.

Phonics (Thane)
His reading continues to improve, however, I think I may be pushing him a little fast. I am going to slow things down a bit, play some games and read from some easy readers like the Bob books. He is my "workbook" kid so I also have him completing the Explode the Code books. He is working on book 1 1/2 now.

Math (Both)
A strange thing happened this week. Thane and Magnus were both learning the same thing in each of their books. Of course Magnus' was a bit more advanced, but with the way Thane has been with numbers, I just had him doing Magnus' work. So, they got to do their math lesson together. It was about using nonstandard units of measure (like a paper clip, our feet, markers, ect.) to measure things. They both enjoyed it.

Science (Both)
Due to me being sick, we did get to it. No worries...there is always next week. Besides, if I am feeling better, we are planning a trip to the ocean to look at tide pools on Sunday. Say your prayers!

Latin (Magnus)
He did chapter 9 which was a review of the previous 3 chapters.

P.A.C.T. Classes
The boys were able to attend all of them this week with the exception of Science. Ms. Carla was ill again.

Be sure to come back the beginning of next week to check out the pictures from the beach!

Weekly Report...Week 20

We had a "thumbs up" kind of week. We completed everything I had planned with the exception of the history project. I just can't seem to get on the ball with that. Especially if there is a lot of prep work involved.

Tapestry of Grace (Both)
I still can't shake the feeling that I am not using this program to it's potential, even in the grammar stage. I think I need to add in some read alouds. Maybe start doing the read alouds they have scheduled or even reading one of the in-depth history books they suggest. I will have to give this some more thought.

History...this is the week Magnus has been waiting for. We learned about the Mayans, the Aztecs, and the Incas. We discussed the influence the Spanish explorers had on their daily life and survival. Exploration and Conquest continues to be a big hit around here.

Mapwork...we labeled the different tribes on a map of Central/South America. I didn't realize the Inca Empire was so big!

Literature...Magnus is reading Morning Girl by Michael Dorris. It's been kind of a challenge due to the fact that he has discovered the Redwall series by Brian Jacques and only wants to read them. These books are roughly 350 pages each and he has read three of them since this past weekend!

Language Arts (Magnus)

Grammar...more review of sentence structure this week.

Spelling...I decided not to start the program this week. I needed to spend sometime familiarizing myself with it and learning how to teach it. Granted, that hasn't happened, but I hope to get to it this weekend.

Writing...we started Writing With Ease Level 2 this week. So far so good. Narration needs work...he gives ALL the details, but it'll come in time.
On a side note...our charter school purchase the Teaching Writing: Structure and Style by Andrew Pudewa DVDS and notebooks. Some other moms and I are going to work through the series on Monday afternoons and then get a co-op going so we can work through the Student Writing Intensive Level A with our kids. Not sure I am going to join in with the co-op...I want Magnus to work through WWE before we tackle SWI A. I may save that for next year. Regardless, I am excited about having other moms to do this with.

Phonics (Thane)

Every day, my choice to change to Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading is reinforced. Thane is moving along. When I tell him it's time for reading he gabs his book, plops on the love seat, and waits for me to join him. The snuggles make it so worth it! We finished the easy short vowel sounds and will move onto blends next week. It will definitely be more of a challenge. We'll see how he does.

Also started him on the Explode the Code books. He loves them and gave them a thumbs up!

Math

Magnus...he has completed worksheets everyday this week on four digit addition. On top of that, I introduced him to subtraction (finally). He understood it quickly.

Thane...work on telling time. With there only being digital clocks in our house, working with the "hands" proved to be a little hard. Will have to continue working on this concept a bit.

Science

Continued learning about birds this week. We focused on their development. They completed a few worksheets and watched a great video about eggs. It showed the development of the chicken and the process an egg goes through from the farm to the grocery store.

Latin
Yea for me! We actually did it this week! The boys got a kick out of the song this week. They even made up a dance to it. I had to listen to it at least 10 times every day!

(Yes, Magnus is dressed up like an Indian. You'll see why.)

Magnus also built a model of a casa (house) and had to label the porta (door), murus (wall), and fenestra (windows). He got pretty creative.

P.A.C.T. Classes

Magnus
Science...cancelled this week
Kidspiration...did something. Not sure what.
Drawing...is working on a drawing of a weaver bird. Can't wait to see that one!
Music Appreciation...we attended a school program instead
PE...we attended a school program instead

Thane
Mrs. P's Kindergarten Class..."N" Week...he shared is Nerf gun.
Music Appreciation...we attended a school program instead
PE...we attended a school program instead

Wednesday, our charter school invited a Native American to come talk to the kids about the life of a Plains Indian. Lizard Woman (her name...I love it!) brought all kinds of things to show the kids. Later, they got to try their hand at the Bow and Arrow. My little, creative, "I have to immerse myself" child dressed up like an Indian. I love that it doesn't matter to him if the other kids are going to do it or not (they didn't). He does it because he wants to.

Thanks for stopping by! See you next week!

Weekly Report...Week 19

Due to sickness...again...this was a light week.

Tapestry of Grace (Both)

History...Read about Magellan and his explorations. It sadden us to hear that he died before reaching India, his final destination. The boys are really enjoying the book Exploration and Conquest by Betsy and Giulio Maestro. I had to talk to them a bit about slavery and that was difficult.

Literature...Magnus has misplaced I, Juan de Pareja so he was unable to finish it. He better find it because I can only renew it one more time!

Lapbooks...we finally finished putting our Middle Ages lapbook together.

Language Arts (Magnus)

Grammar...still reviewing sentences, fragments, and questions.

Spelling...I received Spelling Power and we did the survey and placement tests. According to that, he is at a 4.5 grade level in spelling. I don't see how that is possible. Anyhow, it said to start him on flow list D, but I think I will start him on C. He likes the idea of only doing spelling 15 minutes a day. We'll see how he likes it after next week when I show him exactly how he is suppose to study the list words. There are several steps involved and I don't think that is going to sit too well with him. He thinks he has better ways of doing things. (Where does he get that?)


Writing...we are going to be starting Writing With Ease next week. Narration and dictation just aren't getting done. This will aid in that as well as provide him with much needed copywork. I am excited about it.

Phonics (Thane)
Ordinary Parent's Guide for Teaching Reading is working beautifully! He is reading the words and not the pictures! He likes the optional activities at the end of some of the lessons and I have been adding in some of the games from Happy Phonics.

Math

Magnus...learned 4 digit addition this week. According to the book, we were supposed to take 5 days to work on the concept on the abacus and then "several days" doing it on paper. Well, we did 3 problems on the abacus and then moved onto paper. He got it! He understood it! We spent the rest of the week doing the worksheets. He is very proud of himself...I am proud of him too!

Thane...I didn't do any formal lessons with him since he was under the weather. He did ask to do some worksheet though. I gave him a sheet of 45 problems with questions where the answers would be from 1-50. Problems like 28+13 and 17+12. He only missed 8 of them!

(Think this child is tired of having his picture taken?)

Science (Both)
We started studying birds this week. We learned about their beaks, feet, and feathers. The boys have shown interest in bird watching in the past...I know where they get that from...and they are able to identify several. We have several hawks in our area and when they hear it's call, they rush out the door to try to locate it. I like being able to share my interests with them.

Latin (Magnus)
I had really good intentions. Doesn't that count for something?

PACT Classes: Magnus
Science...Monday was a holiday
Kidspiration...Monday was a holiday
Drawing...drew
Music Appreciation...cancelled for some reason
PE...didn't go due to illness

Thane
Mrs. P's Kindergarten Class...didn't attend due to illness, but we worked on his worksheets.
Music Appreciation...cancelled for some reason
PE...didn't go due to illness

Thankfully Thane was feeling better so we were able to go on the Aerospace Museum Field Trip on Thursday. Be sure to check out all of the great pictures! If you didn't click on the link, then just scroll down...it's the next post.


Thanks for stopping by! See you next week!

Weekly Report...Week 18

Not much happened this week as far as school goes. Magnus was sick from Saturday to Thursday with a fever and cough. Then, Thane woke up with it on Thursday. Thankfully it didn't last long for him. Collin and I have both been fighting it off.

Tapestry of Grace (Both)
This week we learned about Christopher Columbus.

History...We listened to the chapter in SOTW that pertains to Columbus. The boys created some booklets to go into our lapbooking notebooks. Magnus has also read several books about Columbus on his own. I have a basket full of books that relate to what we are learning in history and science and he is always eager to read the treasures.

Literature...Magnus is continuing to read I, Juan de Pareja. He has had nothing but good things to say about it. Hopefully we will be able to discuss it next week.

Language Art (Magnus)

Grammar...did not get done this week
Spelling...waiting for Spelling Power to arrive.

Phonics (Thane)
We played a few games from Happy Phonics, but formal lessons did not happen this week.

Math

Magnus...I printed off a few worksheets from the internet for him to do. Also worked a bit more with place value.

Thane...this kid begs me for worksheets! I gave him a few that included addition up to 20. On a sheet that had 45 problems (which he wanted to do all) he only missed one! We have been skipping some lessons in his book as I feel he knows what 8+2 equals.

Science (Both)
We finished reading One Small Square: the Woods this week. I had the boys draw pictures of a scene from the woods. They had to include at least one mammal, one tree, one amphibian or reptile, one fungus, one bird, and one insect.

Latin (Magnus)
Nope...didn't happen

PACT Classes
Magnus...Unable to attend any because he was sick.

Thane...attended Mrs. P's Kindergarten Class and had a Valentine's Day Party.

Thane and I also went on a field trip with our charter school to see the play Swiss Family Robinson. This was the first play Thane has attended and he LOVED it! It was very entertaining. Unfortunately Magnus was too sick to join us.

Hopefully this weekend will bring much rest for us. See you next week!

Weekly Report...Week 17

Wanna know what I did this week? I googled our local school district. I was at the end of my rope and desperate. Am I going to send my boys to school? No. But, for an afternoon, I considered it. That being said, attitudes changed and work got done. It was a tough one.

Tapestry of Grace (Both)

We started Unit 2 of Year 2 this week. I found this week to be fascinating as we concentrated on the a few of the artists from the Renaissance...Michelangelo, DaVinci, and Giotto (even though he was in the 13th century).

History...we read Mike Venezia's books about Michelangelo and DaVinci. We also listened to The Story of the World vol. 2 audio of the chapter about the Renaissance.

Literature...we read Mario's Angels and answered the questions on the Student Activity Page. Magnus is also in the process of reading I, Juan de Pareja.

Project...the boys colored a picture of Da Vinci's Mona Lisa and pretended to be Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel. I taped paper to the ceiling above their loft beds, handed them a tub of markers, and let them get their creative juices flowing.


The picture "painting' didn't last long on the ceiling. They complained of their necks hurting. I told them, "Michelangelo had to be in that position for 4 years"! Anyhow, they finished them on the wall.

Language Arts (Magnus)

Grammar...He started Level Two this week of Growing with Grammar. It was pretty much review, but he was able to do it independently. One of the big blow ups we had this week was in this subject. Thankfully it seems to have been resolved and you can read about it here. I really encourage you to click on the link if you have a child who struggles with the process of handwriting.

Spelling...I think I am going to try a different approach with him. I love All About Spelling and the phonetic approach it takes, but the rules are not cementing and they only work for less than half of the words in the English language. I still want to teach them to him, but not have them be the basis/foundation of the program. I am looking into Spelling Power.

Phonics (Thane)
Well, we started The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading this week. I was a little worried about it keeping Thane's attention since it does not have the bling that Sing, Spell, Read, and Write has, but he seems to like it. I have been encouraging him in saying that he is truly reading now by looking at the words and not the pictures. That seems to help. I still hope to find time to look in my big bin of Happy Phonics games to add a bit of fun to it.

Math

Magnus...we worked on skip counting some more and the concepts of whole, half, and quarter.


Thane...well, we did about 10 lessons this week. It's hard to justify doing problems like 10+3 when he is figuring out 85+25 mentally! But, I am still going to press on and finish Level A with him just to make sure we don't miss anything foundational. At this rate, he'll be moving into Level B just about the same time Magnus finishes it (in about a month)! I am also going to print off some addition worksheet for him to do "for fun" (his words!).

Science (Both)
We read some more from One Small Square: Woods. Do me a favor...click on the link and look at the cover of the book. Don't look intently, but just look as you would at one of those weird posters with the wavy lines that showed a 3 D image. Does the image on the lower left hand corner look like a zebra stretching his neck to you? It freaks me out every time because that is what I see and then I think, "what is a zebra doing in the woods?". Call me crazy, I know. Anyhow, the boys drew life cycles of a butterfly/moth. I had also planned on going on a small nature hike this morning, but it's raining. Luckily, part of our gigantic patio (it's bigger than our living area!) is covered so the boys are still able to be outside.

***Update***
Well, after reading about the incredible things that can be found living in and under fallen logs, we decided to not worry about the rain and go investigate some dead logs nearby...





Latin (Magnus)
Unfortunately, with all of the drama this week, we didn't get to it. I hope to make this more of a priority.

PACT classes:
Magnus
Science...teacher was sick this week so he didn't have it.
Drawing...worked on drawing a flower in a vase and then painted it (I think).
Kidspiration...finished his Abe Lincoln thingy. Still unsure what exactly this class is.
Music Appreciation...studied Mozart and different movements of music.
PE...He had trouble running around the track twice last week due to a cramp and his time was a little over 9 minutes. This week he ran/jogged/walked it in 5 something!

Thane
Mrs. P's Kindergarten Class...it was K week this week. He brought some of his knights for sharing time.
Music Appreciation...see Mangus'
PE...Not sure where this kids gets all of his energy (yes I do...Collin!) He ran twice around the track in 4 minutes 3 seconds.

The boys also attended AWANA this week. Thane is an official Spark now as he earned his vest and book. No more Cubbies. Collin and I enjoyed some uninterrupted conversation over dinner!

Thanks for coming by! I hope you have an enjoyable weekend! See you next week! :o)

Weekly Report...Week 16

Get y'all's twang on and sing along with me..."I'm back in the saddle again"!

Tapestry of Grace (Both)
We finished Unit 1 of Year 2 this week. No, slacker mom didn't plan a "end of the unit" party. BUT, I have talked with another PACT/Natomas (our charter school) mom and we are hoping to have some sort of Middle Ages party at the end of the school year. Complete with costumes, drama, and tournaments!

***Here is what Barb said about my "slacker mom" comment:

Brittney,

I just wanted to say something about the "slacker mam" comment. You are in no way a slacker mom, not from where I sit. Everyone just has different styles. You may not have end of the unit celebrations every time but if you are planning a tournament at the end of school....you are far ahead of most. I would never take on such an undertaking and that is why we do little mini end of unit things. What we do sounds more like what you did with your pirate lunch where the boys dressed up, you had some food, and it was fun...a pirate celebration and it was what the boys wanted to do. Most of the time, simple is better.

No slacking in your house from what I read. :)

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

She is right. I am not a "slacker mom" and I need to not be so hard on myself. Thanks, Barb!

History...Learned about the Gutenberg press and the impact it made.

Literature...Magnus and I discussed A Door in the Wall using the student activity pages from TOG. He really enjoyed the story and told me, in complete detail, his favorite parts.

We will be starting Unit 2, the Renaissance and the Reformation, next week. I have been planning every detail of the next 9 weeks the past few days. Making library lists, reserving books, making copies of maps and SAP's, figuring out projects and activities (I am not following the ones TOG has listed), and gathering supplies. It has been a lot of work, but it'll make the weeks ahead less stressful.

Language Arts (Magnus)

Grammar...WE DID IT!!!! We finally finished Level 1 of Growing With Grammar! Yippee! He'll be starting Level 2 next week.

Spelling...this week I dictated 5 sentences to him from the ends of the previous lessons. I wanted to have him work on his word and letter spacing as well as spelling the words correctly. He did pretty good. Still trying to find time to figure out how to review the rules with him.

Collin and I got Magnus a copy of Treasure Island for his birthday. Collin has been reading it aloud to them before bed. This whole week has been nothing but Pirates! Here they are having lunch but what you can't see is they are/were dressed like pirates and had brought out all of their pirate stuff. It was cute. We have been enjoying fantastic weather.

Phonics (Thane)
You can scroll down to the post below this one, or click here, to see what is going on in this area. We will be starting The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading next week.

Math

Magnus...we did more mental math and worked with even and odd numbers. Even+Even=Even, Odd+Odd=Even, and Odd+Even=Odd. He also got a kick out of this trick...the word "odd" has three letters in it and three is an odd number. The word "even"has four letters in it and four is an even number. Yep...he is a "word" kid. Oh, and worked more with skip counting forwards and backwards.

Thane...worked on partitioning out "10" and played Go to the Dump...it's like Go Fish, but instead of pairs, you make multiples of ten. I never won.

Science (Both)
This continues to be my favorite subject and the boys really get into it too. We started reading another Donald Silver book, One Small Square: Woods. We read about trees, their leaves and bark, and the purpose of both. *I* found it interesting and learned some new things. The boys then drew a diagram of the inside of a leaf and we took off on a nature hike.
We rode our bikes to the Arboretum to do some bark and leaf rubbings for our notebooks.

Collin and Thane

Magnus doing some bike repairs.

The boys sportin' their cool nature study backpacks.



(Thane's)

(Magnus')


Latin (Magnus)
We finished the activities in Chapter 7 and I got my flashcards made. Now we just need to put them to use!

The boys have gotten settled into all of their classes at PACT. They both have said their favorite class is P.E....go figure!

Magnus' classes are: Science (studying plants), Kidspiration (a computer class that aids in the creative writing process), drawing, Music Appreciation (using Themes to Remember), and P.E.

Thane's classes are: Mrs. P's Kindergarten Class, Music Appreciation, and P.E.

I have gotten to spend some time chatting with other moms. It is amazing what a little bit of adult conversation can do to a person! Even if all we talk about is kids and curricula! :o)

Thanks for coming by! I'll see you next week!

Weekly Report...Week 15

I have finally made it over the hump. This week was better than the previous two. It might have something to do with classes starting with the boys, we found an AWANA Club finally, and I got to connect with some other homeschool moms including the great ladies I met at the park last Friday. Call me crazy, but human interaction is necessary.

Tapestry of Grace (Both)
I still feel like I am not using the program up to its potential. I know the boys are learning what they need, at least that is the impression I am getting, and that these are the years for introducing events and people, but I am still having to fight the urge to do more. We are not doing more, but it is a struggle. I will probably look back on these posts when Magnus is in the Rhetoric stage and think, "What I wouldn't give to be back in the simplicity of it all".

History...We are in Week 9 of Year 2 Unit One. I am regretting my decision, at the beginning of the year, to complete each "week" in two. We are behind now. No worries...learning is still taking place no matter what the pace, right!?! We learned about the 100 Years War...which Magnus pointed out actually lasted 120...Joan of Arc, the War of the Roses, and what all the interest the Towers of London hold. Magnus asked me, "Mom, which side was God on? The French or the English?". Wowzer! "Well honey, it's complicated. Want a cookie?". Here is a picture of a battle Magnus recreated with his Playmobil guys and blocks. The person on the horse is Joan.

He drew a picture of a Joan of Arc battle as well...


Literature...Magnus read A Door in the Wall by Marguerite De Angeli. He claimed he read it all, but I have a feeling he skipped a bit. Note to self: Get on the ball with the narrations! He did say he really liked it too. I think I will have him reread it next week and after a couple of chapters, have him narrate it back to me. There are also some Student Activity Pages in TOG I may have him complete.

Language Arts (Magnus)

Grammar...worked on homonyms and rhyming words. Easy peasy...hey, that rhymes!

Spelling...worked on Step 7 of Level 2 and played around on spellingcity.com. Didn't have a chance to look at what to do about reviewing. Maybe I'll have a chance next week.

Phonics (Thane)
Working on the short "i". He is still doing well. I need to go through our Happy Phonics to see what games are appropriate for what we are learning and break those out. I really need to considering it took me 9 hours to cut all the game pieces out! We checked out some of the starfall puzzles from our charter school and he also got to mess around on starfall .com for awhile.


Math

Magnus...We worked a lot on mental math this week. The lessons said to introduce the concepts we were working on with the abacus, but since he is really catching on, I skipped that part and just had him to it in his head. He is really proud of himself and it is great to see his confidence grow.

Thane...Moving right along. His lessons are easy for him, but I don't want to miss something that might bite me in the you-know-what later if I skip it. He enjoys doing the worksheets and since Right Start doesn't really use worksheets, especially in Level A, I am going to find some online for him to do. Can't hurt to practice!

Science (Both)

So, we finished reading our One Small Square...Desert Cactus book last week and we did not get to our lapbooking over the weekend (I told you not to hold me to it!) so we finished it up this week. I plan to write a separate post about it soon.

Latin (Magnus)
We did part of a chapter and need to finish the rest next week. I am in the process of creating flashcards for him to study with and might create a bingo game soon. Been thinking about what to do after we are done with Song School Latin, and I am leaning towards doing Minimus. I already own it and the boys enjoy the comic book format. Is it considered "twaddle" if it is written in Latin?

Thane playing around on the GeoSafari we are borrowing from the school.


Tuesday the boys went to there first night at AWANA since moving here. Thane is now a Spark instead of a Cubbie. I won't hear, "And we hop because we're happy and we hop and shout for joy!" anymore. There are several boys from our charter school who attend so that is good. Collin and I were able to enjoy a quiet dinner together with no distractions.

Thanks for stopping by this week! See you next! Oh, if you think about it, would you mind coming by on Sunday? There is going to be a very special post and would love for you to comment! See you then! :o)

***If you read the post about my neighborhood, you should check out the comment my brother left. He added some more memories and thoughts. It really was a great neighborhood!***