Weekly Report: And so it goes....

I could list my desired schedule and this week's actual schedule and provide you with a pretty good laugh. I won't though, so you'll just have to believe me.

And, remember, (I tell myself) we glory in our tribulations. They certainly do humble a person.

Nevertheless...despite our intestinal illnesses (which did not last very long), and other distractions...

(You see that? Of all the weeks Anna could have picked to really want to wear underwear, it had to be this week. I didn't want to discourage it, because the thought of not having to buy diapers is very appealing. After a few "mistakes" however, I'm revisiting that thought.)





(We're still house hunting. Grrr.)





...we did get a fair amount of school work done. In an effort to "keep things simple" and "minimize screen time" I'm going to scale back these weekly reports. I will. I will.

The Middle Ages: The Early Days of Great Britain

We were a little scared of the mild version of Beowulf in this chapter. Grendel is pretty freaky, no matter what.

We were impressed with how the Celts were able to drive off the Romans. We also enjoyed making these double headed ax blades. Then the kids REALLY enjoyed pretending to be Celts and Romans and Anglos and Saxons. It's not hard to imagine why everyone fought so much. :)



Early American History: Individuality
We enjoyed reading about Leif Ericksson. His individual talents helped him find a new land. We talked about the principle of individuality. We observed our own thumb prints and noticed how they were all different. Our certain external and internal characteristics enable us to fulfill our God-given purpose and call.





Art: Imagine and Observe
We did both of these this week and this was the result. Pretty nice, eh?







Latin: Lesson 3 Verbs
Our Latin verbs were: navigo, porto, oro, laboro, and specto. Can you find some English derivatives?

This poor pictures is of our Latin prayer that we are learning.



Outdoor Hour/Science: Observation
While we were on a nature walk, we sketched pictures of things we observed. Then we tried to look harder and made list of our "second" observation.







Math: We reviewed the last 5 lessons in our previous books. Sam was so excited this week--he finished 100 division facts in less than 5 minutes FOR THE FIRST TIME! Woo hoo!

Music: We love Tchaikovsky! It's been so nice to listen to his music this week. I've been fascinated by his life's story. In fact, I was thinking it would make a really great movie. Some of our favorite pieces so far (other than the Nutcracker Suite, Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake): Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, The Seasons: June, and the 1812 Oveture.
Sam and Elise both learned new songs on the piano last week.

Writing/ Spelling/ Grammar: We had spelling lists this week. Everyone did pretty well. For writing I had Sam and Elise write a story telling how the star got in the apple core. They both had interesting theories. Elise's involved aliens, Sam's involved evolution.

Preschool: We want to do school too!
Claire really wanted to do "school" work this week. I have some preschool print outs that she's been working on. She and Anna love to write on the white board. My BFF, Loretta, introduced me to a neat program called "Teach Me Mommy." They've got some really fun activities and I have the book on hold at the library. Thanks Loretta!






Scripture Study: Jacob 1- 3
We're going to finish reading Jacob and then we will begin reading from the New Testament in the mornings.

These are strong words that Jacob gives his people. It's just so sad that in such a short time the people of Nephi fell from a state of righteousness to wickedness. The fact that the Lamanite fathers are faithful to their wives and children makes them more righteous than the Nephites.
It must have been hard for Jacob to reproach his people so strongly, but it shows his dedication to the Lord, and we are grateful for the reminders to live righteously all these thousand years later.