Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Week Three of 2013-2014

Week Three: September 2nd through the 6th

Kindergarten
        Doesn't everyone do their kindergarten work while wearing the crown they made at Sunday School??? Faith had a great week, though we've learned not to bother doing seatwork anywhere near her naptime. She's beginning to take pride in getting her handwriting done well and tries to erase messy letters before I can see them. Math and reading are moving along nicely. The "I could conquer the world if you'd just LET me" side of her gets easily cramped by too many instructions. She's learning to put up a halt hand when she needs me to stop.


Third Grade

    Grace called it her best week yet. She's really getting a good groove started for the year.
Grammar: For awhile I thought she should be in the 5 book instead of the 4 book, but 4 hasn't been too light. Forward, ho!
Spelling: She aced the first two lessons in the 4 book.
Writing: She outlined, analyzed and immitated, and rewrote The Town Mouse and The Country Mouse.
Literature: Narnia has become a family event. We read chapters 9-12 this week. Love!
Math: Strong week. She's officially over the new curricula learning curve, and loves the little riddles Horizons 4 puts in.
Latin: Finished her second week on lesson 2, and got a perfect score on the quiz.
Science: She dug into The Sun chapter and did a few notebooking pages. She's enjoying this in spite of herself.
History: Cain and Abel card this week. She read the Genesis chapters herself (full translation, not a children's), drew illustrations in her notebook, and filled the front of a notebook page with her summary.






Fifth Grade



         That expression pretty much sums up Honor's opinion of this week.
Grammar: Strong start. The 5 book doesn't stand a chance.
Spelling: He hit a snag near the end of last year's 4 book, and powered right over it.
Writing: He's still in the grammar review portion of Wordsmith Apprentice, and made it through the poetry section.
Literature: His only Narnia complaint is reading a mere chapter a day. "But you're just getting to the good part!"
Math: Another strong week. He really enjoys Horizons.
Latin: Finished chapter 6, and is doing great on the grammar

Reading Father Christmas Letters by J.R.R. Tolkien,
after the Father Christmas chapter in Narnia


Science: He learned about the Woolworth Building, and did a couple projects to use what he's learned about steal beam structures. Thus the marshmallow toothpick building. ;-)  
History:  Cain and Abel card. He's making noise that history isn't moving fast enough. This is toned down on purpose so he has more time to get carried away with Narnia and Architecture. I reminded him of that, and for now we're sticking to the plan.





Eighth Grade

     Joy also said it was the best week yet of this school year.
Grammar: Part of chapter 2 tripped her, but I think it was summer brain rust related.
Writing: She could not be happier with Jump In. On Fridays I have her pick one writing she did during the week to edit and rewrite.
Literature: She finished up chapter 1, read chapter two in The Annotated Hobbit, and spent a day focused on Tolkien's dragons, which included some pre-LOTR poetry, drawing, and internet research. She's reading The Wind in the Willows on the side. Think about it. Compare Wind in the Willows to hobbits. Seriously.
Math: 89% or B+ on her first chapter test, in spite of summer brain rust
Latin: She's still averaging two chapters a week.
Architecture: She fell in love with the Woolworth Building. The gothic cathedral elements had her swooning over the pictures. She and Honor were both yelling out names of the skyscrapers they recognize while the younger girls were watching Home Alone 2. It was hilarious.
Astronomy: Finished chapter one of Astronomy in the 21st Century, and watched the first episode of Experiencing Hubble: Understanding the Greatest Images in the Universe
History: Lessons 5 and 6 of Ancient Egypt this week - She mentioned that she hasn't really covered any new ground yet, but she is enjoying the Beautiful Feet format and the mapping assignments particularly. Another history to keep an eye on...



Ninth Grade
(Kindly ignore the pots. I can homeschool five kids or
I can keep the house very clean, but never both at the
same time!)


    Justice started this week strong, but still has some time management issues to conquer. Summer rust gets those too.
English:  Sticking to those page goals and working strong.
Tolkien Literature: We attempted getting through all the Mythgard Institute Hobbit lectures.
Math: He's starting to gain some confidence.
Greek: Phonics, that look much like Faith's! Say the letter, say the sound/s, write the letter. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Science: He's getting more comfortable here, and getting closer to microscope work and hearing the word dissection made it seem less like a just-get-the-box-checked subject.
History: Finished the Mesopotamia section in Human Odyssey, wrote about it, and did some mapwork.
Mythology: Researched and read various flood myths from around the world.



    Little Valor was his quirky, fun, adorable self. Though, if you look away for two seconds at Half Price Books, he helps himself out of the toddler seat and into the narrow basket instead. O_o






2 comments:

  1. What a fun week! Trips to the books store are always an adventure with little ones. Did he convince you to buy a new picture book? I'm a sucker for those beautiful photos.

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  2. I love how you name them all after virtues! Great week!

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