In my life this week… We dejunked. After several years of not having energy to do a thorough job, this year I can. I went through so many boxes of clothes! And so much can move on to bless other people! We have a lot more physical space now, and I have a lot more mental space as well. That makes a huge difference in my ability to focus on homeschooling.
In our homeschool this week… Everyone finished his or her schoolwork by Thursday! That’s the first time this year.
Miss 8 completed English for the Thoughtful Child and started Primary Language Lessons. Miss 10 finished Key to Decimals, booklet 2. Mr 16 completed Lifeviews: Make a Christian Impact on Culture and Society by R.C. Sproul, which has lead to fascinating discussions.
And Miss 13 is enjoying Script Frenzy, similar to NaNoWriMo, that encourages authors to write a script in a month. To our huge amazement, she has fallen in love with the grade 8 Gauss competition practice tests, and does them in her spare time.
Places we’re going and people we’re seeing… Mr. 16 is attending a youth conference, for the first time. Miss 18 is exploring the Friesian Islands today. Lucky girl! Miss 13 and Miss 10 bike over to the neighbor’s every day to care for the cats. Other than grocery stores, the driver’s testing office, the library, and a Good Friday church service, we did not go out much this week.
My favorite things this week were…
- Being finished schoolwork by Thursday.
- Miss 13’s delight at discovering that the graphs she was drawing for algebra (in colored pencils so they would look pretty) were related to the concepts she was learning in physical science, and her horror at the idea that all of that was related to calculus.
- Going for a walk and seeing a green rock, orange roots, purple bark, red twigs, and pink bark!
What’s working/not working for us… I love How to Read a Book. It is, I think, the foundational book in our homeschool high school, other than the Bible. Besides teaching our teens how to really learn from books, it also introduces them to careful logic and great books.
Homeschool questions/thoughts I have… How will I implement The Writer’s Workshop in our family? This book explains the most sensible approach to writing I’ve yet come across: the age-old concept of learning from the masters themselves. However, The Writer’s Workshop is written for college students and needs a bit of adaptation for younger people, even though the approach is still valid. I’ll be reviewing this soon.
A photo, video, link, or quote to share… Our family’s favorite site for grade 7-12 math problems. Doing the old exams teaches both problem-solving skills and logical thinking, and has greatly benefitted our children.
This post is linked to The Homeschool Mother’s Journal and Weekly Wrap Up at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.