Educational Report: Week of January 12, 2014

Last week went so much smoother than the first. Thank you to everyone who lifted us up in prayers! Thursday was our toughest day- probably because we took Wednesday "off" from formal lessons & it was hard for a few children to jump back in the next day. Dawn's suggestion to put the entire week of assignments on one page for the children helped- the children enjoy seeing what's ahead of them for the week. They also enjoy working ahead so they can have more free time later in the week, though I reserve the right to add to their workload. ;)


I'm still working on our schedule- thinking through how to get done what we need to in the best way with 8 children! We're getting things accomplished but it seems to be taking way too long. We're trying something new this week & I'm hoping it's the key to success! At least, success for this season of life. I've learned that schedules with growing families change constantly.


I'm still working on that Home Education tab at the top. :) Hopefully, these reports make sense. There are a lot of children to report on & I don't want to turn these posts into a novel. Let me know if this seems too confusing!


We did memory time three times this week. The goal is four times each week because Wednesdays are our piano & errand day, though I'd like to organize some things for the van. Anyway, I'm glad we at least restarted the habit of memory time. Most of our work was review, which helped us ease back into it. We continued our composer study of Bach, listening to Chaconne performed by Jascha Heifetz every morning at breakfast. This time of listening each morning is a highlight of our day. Sadly, we never got to our read aloud. :(


For history this week, we simply read- independently & read alouds. Jonathan nagged- I mean, asked- me everyday to do the lapbook. I'm glad he is enjoying it! Patricia finished reading Henry V & continued with Beowulf & History of Christianity. She took several "opportunities," which is Dr. Grant's way of saying quizzes. :) We covered two more lectures on monasticism and Henry V & met with the Arendse family via Facetime for discussion.


Patricia & Benjamin finished up their first module of science which continued to cover the history of science. We even finished one experiment on density! (Two more left to do before we can move on to the next module.) They prepared for their first quiz this Monday by completing study guides & drilling each other. Benjamin is stressed out about the quiz but I'm sure he'll do fine! It's been a good learning opportunity. The younger children completed 2 lessons on flowers & pollination. They did narration pages & drawing for each lesson.


Thanks to Nanny, we did art this week! Yahoo! She came Thursday afternoon to help me teach Elizabeth & Abigail embroidery (they are each making a bread cloth) and the boys knitting (they are each working on a washcloth). Patricia did some embroidery. The children were consistent with piano practice, as well as their stringed instruments. We had our first piano lesson since December on Saturday instead of Wednesday- not at all ideal but it was great to get back to lessons!


I covered one lesson of PAL reading with Jonathan & Elizabeth this week. Our two lessons of PAL writing continued to cover "ly" adverbs- we made lists & then had fun writing several sentences. Abigail enjoyed doing "lessons" with mama several times this week. She's always apart of what everyone else is doing but she especially enjoys some one-on-one time with mama.


Everyone did several lessons of spelling and copywork of either the Bible and/or cursive pages. Jonathan & Elizabeth also copied their memory time science & history sentences. Benjamin completed another lesson in his vocabulary workbook. He really likes it! Latin for everyone was review this week. Math wasn't as consistent with daily lessons but we did get back to daily Calculadder drills & flashcards. Formal lessons in grammar consisted of Fix-It for the three older children and chapter one of Our Mother Tongue for the older two. Writing came via narrations & Matthias also completed the 2 lessons from week 1 of Writing with Ease, Level 4- the dictation was long and hard but we muddled through. It will come in time. Logic for the older three were various Critical Thinking & Mindbender pages. Patricia and Benjamin began Art of Argument this week- they do the lessons independently & then meet with Eric twice a week in the evenings. YEAH for a hubby who is helping with lessons- I couldn't do it alone! Younger ones did several pages of Explode the Code. Everyone was consistent with their personal Bible reading and the three older children did Balance the Sword several days.


Finally, we've been enjoying reading several books beyond just literature for history. Reading aloud is such a great way to teach without appearing to teach. Plus, it's just great fun! Elizabeth & Jonathan continued to read aloud to me daily, as well as to each other. I found Matthias reading aloud a new series to Jonathan during quiet time. Not very quiet but I was thrilled!