Tag: Weekly Review

Week in Review: October 2-6

Grace-Filled Writer

I missed last week’s peek into our week, but it was a good week! It was just very busy. So here what this last week looked like!

With our new schoolroom setup I work with the girls in the living room or the kitchen. This is working really well and we have even done his with spelling! We still love All About Spelling and picked back up with it this week. I did the lesson with the girls individually then I dictated their words to them all together. We’ve been doing it this way for a couple of years and I have them trained pretty well to cue me to repeat a word and let me know when they are ready for the next one all with silent indicators. 
Grace – 2nd grade: Bigger Hearts for His Glory Unit 9
I am enjoying the guides with Grace so much more than the first two times around. I know exactly what to expect and because her sisters are more independent I can more fully enjoy the activities! This week she began learning about Benjamin Franklin. She learned about his childhood and life as a young man. One of the things she learned was how he and some other boys made a wharf in the water to make it easier to go fishing. This is her working on that. She had a lot of fun and made a beautiful little wharf! 
Rose – 7th Grade: Revival to Revolution Unit 1
 Yay for the start of a new guide! Rose is always excited when we begin a new guide and this is getting into one of her favorite periods of history. She is so good at staying on task now and studying on her own. Rose is usually very excited to share about what she is reading with whomever will listen. This week she settled in by beginning to read about George Washington. It’s really fun to see her growing into such a diligent young lady in school but also in other areas. She loved having fresh notebooking pages to use and shifted from using permanent markers to colored pencils this year for her timeline. 
Beth – 5th Grade: Creation to Christ Unit 15

I was so encouraged this week! Beth’s complaining has settled down significantly! There is no reason I can pinpoint or anything we have changed. I’m really just praising the Lord for the change! Heart issues are the biggest stumbling block to a successful school day. She’s doing well with her studies and is enjoying our addition of foreign language. I’m assigning them time each day with DuoLingo and a couple of days with Signing Time. She also really likes that I’ve added daily reading from a biography of their choice. We have a wonderful selection of these on a shelf and I just ask they read one chapter a day.
Really good week! This coming week will be interesting and we have quite a bit of

Peek at our Week: September 11-15

Grace-Filled Writer
We are back to our full routine with school! Monday was my first day back teaching English to 13 homeschooled 12-14-year-olds. This is my 8th year doing this and I absolutely love my job! We are also back to our regular Heart of Dakota studies (Finally!). The girls also had their first day of their science class on Wednesday. After their class there was a great big welcome back picnic. My husband says I’ve been peopled out this week. I think he’s right because I’m exhausted! 

 Beth (5th Grade) – Creation to Christ: Unit 12

Beth has not been as excited about school this year. It makes me sad, but I know this is just a season and it will pass. She is really smart and school always comes easy. Since we started Creation to Christ there has been more complaints about the work. I remember Rose going through this as well. I don’t allow the complaining to go far and she knows better than to whine or gripe with a bad attitude. 

Overall she did very well this week even though I had to have Beth redo some assignments that weren’t completed quite as well as I knew she could. This did not make her happy as you can imagine, but she did redo them and they were much better! I do hope her grumbling attitude passes soon, but until then we will just continue on. 
Rose (7th Grade) – Resurrection to Reformation: Unit 34 
One more week and Rose will have finished this guide! She worked some over the summer and we are really close to finishing up. Our pup Penny has enjoyed having our routine back on track. She likes snuggling while the girls read. She is anxious to finish this guide and head into the next! 
She is continuing on with UnLock Prealgebra from Unlock Math. We reviewed this at the end of last year and it has been a good fit for her. She’s also finishing up some review work from over the summer. We will then pick up again in Principles in Mathematics. 
She’ll be completing the same literature course I teach to my class, but at home. We will give this a try and see how it works! So far, it’s been good!
Grace (2nd Grade) – Bigger Hearts for His Glory Unit 6
Yup, this is school with Grace! She’s such an eager learner and Heart of Dakota is the perfect fit for her. She’s always ready to jump into whatever the activity is and she makes certain we do the activities! This week she practiced playing jumping games like colonial children would have. She sure can get some height! She also learned about William Penn and Benny West. She has asked to read her history independently this year. I don’t usually encourage this until later on, but she is more than ready with comprehension and can narrate what she reads beautifully. I’ll happily read to her when she wants me to, but for now I’ll allow her to continue to read on her own.
Where Beth is complaining about almost every assignment, Grace always asks if there is more she can do. She eagerly completes her grammar, math, and history without any complaint. Hopefully her joy for learning will rub off onto her older sister! 
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To end our week we will enjoy another day at the zoo!

Week in Review: September 4-8

Grace-Filled Writer
Well, we had fun this week! The girls spent last weekend with my parents and we spent Labor Day with them. It is wonderful to live so close! 
We went on a field trip to the zoo on Tuesday and it was just delightful! It was so quiet there with they year started for traditional schools. We had a really nice time walking around and the weather was cooler too! 
This week had our last dip in the pool for the summer! 
And now for the most exciting news! I worked this summer on two courses for SchoolhouseTeachers.com! They are now available with your subscription. I’m so happy with both of them!
https://schoolhouseteachers.com/dap/a/?a=45587&p=www.schoolhouseteachers.com/staff-n-teachers/melissa-williamson/

https://schoolhouseteachers.com/dap/a/?a=45587&p=www.schoolhouseteachers.com/staff-n-teachers/melissa-williamson/

Week in Review: August 21-25

Grace-Filled Writer

We have had a really good week. We are working on school, but I decided to still wait on starting our full Heart of Dakota schedule in favor of continuing our learning together. So we have pushed on with our state studies and are now half-way through! As we learn the states in each region the girls memorize their capitals and locations. We learn other info too, but that is all I’m asking them to recall. So far they are doing a spectacular job on the quizzes I give them! We are moving on into the Great-Lakes region and the mid-western states next week.

Monday we of course had fun with the Eclipse! My husband and I enjoyed it the most. We were in a region with 93% totality and it was still amazing. The girls wandered in and out to view it, but my husband and I stayed outside most of the time. Rose (my oldest) snapped a couple shots with my camera because she knows I rarely get in them! This next picture of the girls watching cracks me up. I have no clue what Grace was looking at and she was indeed wearing her eclipse glasses!

 We have also been heavily focused on art! We a have had the opportunity to work with a good friend of mine who has created a spectacular historical art program. Take Time for Art is phenomenal in content and fun or all of us! Take some time to check out their website when you have the chance and be on the lookout for a full review from me in the coming weeks!

I also started teaching my full piano schedule again. There are 34 students on my roster this year including my own three girls and two nieces and a nephew I teach via Skype. I cannot say enough what a blessing it is to have this small business out of my home!

We ended our week with some fun! My husband’s birthday is this weekend so he decided it would be fun to do a mini-golf outing together. It was so much fun and we were blessed with a significantly cooler day than we’ve had in weeks!

Week in Review: Week of August 14-18

Grace-Filled Writer

We kicked off this week with our “official” back to school week! We have been continuing with school all summer, but this was more or less back to full schedule. We are waiting another week before starting with our Heart of Dakota studies because I have some group learning things I wanted to finish with the girls.

The girls said they loved our new schoolroom setup and it seemed to work really well for us.
I don’t have as many pictures because we had a few mornings where the girls stayed in their pjs really late! They worked on literature, grammar, spelling, and mathematics individually. We also had an inventors study we have been working through and we continued our study of the states. We moved down into the southern states. There were a lot more to cover and it may take more review than our previous regions! 

One new addition is consistent foreign language studies! A very dear friend blessed us with the Signing Time series. I am working it into the schedule a few times a week. The girls seem to be really excite about that. I’m also giving them DuoLingo time a few days a week. This is a great first exposure to foreign languages in a really safe and affordable venue. Finally Rose is studying Spanish with schoolhouseteachers.com (affiliate link). This again is a really nice, gentle way to study foreign language. I do not feel a need to push this intensely and have found the girls to be eager learners, enjoying their toe dips into various foreign languages.
That was our week! How as yours?

Week in Review: August 7-11

Grace-Filled Writer
Wow…this week has been soooooo full! And I don’t even feel like we accomplished much. I already hadn’t planned on doing school and I’m glad!
Sunday  
My in-laws arrived, we had church, celebrated Rose’s birthday early
 
Monday  
We start to empty the living room in preparation for new carpet coming on Wednesday and my in-laws left
Tuesday
We celebrated Rose’s birthday for real (She is now 12!!!!) and finished emptying the living room. 
Wednesday 
 I pack the girls up and we head out to the library and to shop while my husband stayed home to get the new carpet…and their van broke down so no new carpet!
 
Thursday  
New carpet (For REAL this time!) and the girls and I shopped again. Then we started putting things back. 

 

Friday  

We finished putting the living room in order and my sweet neighbor came over and helped! Then my in-laws got here again. 
So I’m looking forward to some time this weekend to work on a major writing project. It’s a good feeling though because most of the house is now organized. I’ll also be prepping for next week and our official start of school! 
How was your week?

Week in Review: July 31 – August 4

Grace-Filled Writer

Our New Schoolroom as been a big hit! The girls loved it and have told me repeatedly how much better it feels, less chaotic. I agree that it makes me very happy to just walk in! Now to make sure we keep it this neat…
Two of my girlies were working at their desks and the other was reading outside. They have been able to focus well with the new arrangement and Rose especially likes our setup. 
This week Rose worked on more Pre-Algebra work, Grace is almost finished with 2nd grade math, and Beth is working on some Pre-Algebra. They are each reading a biography which will carry on into the school year. Just one chapter a day and they are enjoying it! This week they are reading about Daniel Boon (Rose), Helen Keller (Beth), and George Washington (Grace). They are also reading a literature book of their choice. After they finish their current novels I will be assigning one to them. 
We will be taking next week off as we enjoy a visit with my in-laws and getting new carpet. There may be a field trip later in the week. We’ll have to see! The following week we will be back to Heart of Dakota and our regular curriculum in full swing. Yay! We are already for our normal routine again!

Week in Review: July 24-28

Grace-Filled Writer

What a week! It has been anything but relaxing, but still really great! Daily school occurred and the girls continued reading their chosen literature book, chosen biography, and daily math assignments. We also spent some more time at the pool with friends and relaxed. Sadly, I have no pictures of this. What I DO have pictures of is our homeschool room/music room makeover!

Here is a before…

This has been our setup for several years. I have always had our desks (at one time tables) in the center of the room. This met our needs well when the girls were little and each needed me accessible for the majority of their learning. Alas, as much as it is hard to admit, they are growing up. With Grace (the youngest) quickly approaching age 8, it was time for a change. They are all significantly more independent and they want to be so. They often will have several items on their school list done for the day before I “officially” start our school day. It’s an incredible place to be, and I am needed, but not to the full right-in-their face extent I had been. We needed to make a change that would work better for all of us. 
The initial prompting for this change was that we were given (YES! GIVEN!) enough leftover flooring from friends who moved in to redo the entire room. I was overjoyed to get this old carpet up! The girls and I cleared most of the room on Thursday afternoon. My husband and I moved the big furniture and then took the girls to my parent’s house. I need to give a HUGE thank you to my parents who kept the girls for several days so we could do this more easily!   
My husband and I spent half of Friday morning putting down the flooring. 
Officially this is considered the dining room of the house. We don’t need a formal dining room. We certainly aren’t formal and using the room for school and as a music room so I can teach piano from home serves a much better purpose! 
We then spent Friday afternoon placing the furniture and Saturday was spent re-filling the shelves. I am absolutely in love with the after of this room!!!! 

The only thing in the same spot is our corner cabinet because it is the only place it will fit! Every shelf is housing a different item than it was before. You will notice the girls’ desks are against the wall now. I have found for the last several months when I do work with the girls individually it is easier for us to move to another room so we don’t distract and disturb whoever is working independently. They will absolutely still have freedom to move elsewhere in the house or outside to work, but I think they will like this setup better. You’ll also notice I don’t have a desk anymore. I don’t really need one since I’m working with the girls in other rooms. I have my teacher guides handy on a shelf and that is perfect for now. I may need to adjust some things, but I am incredibly excited about this new setup! 
Our solar system posters are still hanging across the room! You just can’t see them. If you are interested in those this is a link:
http://www.teachersnotebook.com/…/solar-system-poster-set
 They are slightly different than mine, but really a great set!  

I’d love to hear if you have recently redone a room for school or restructured your organization in some way. Please share in a comment if you have something new for your school year!

Week in Review: July 17-21

Grace-Filled Writer
Lots of good learning happened this week! But no pictures. I just got busy and the camera never came out. Oh well! 
The girls are working on lots of math, literature of their choice, a biography of their choice, and we are memorizing the states by region on the map as well as their capitals. We started in New England and they have mastered the first 6 with ease. We are enjoying working with some material we are reviewing and just in general having a great summer break from our “routine” curriculum. Experience has taught me that by mid-August the break will have served its purpose and we will all be ready to be back on schedule with Heart of Dakota.
These days are bittersweet in so many ways as my girls are getting older. Two daughters in double digits can make my heart squeeze sometimes, but we are also enjoying one another greatly. We are playing lots of games. Yahtzee is the current favorite. Our neighborhood has a pool and we are taking full advantage of that. Even with the wicked hot summer days we have been having the morning and evenings are still a good time to swim. We are laughing and playing and generally just having fun. This doesn’t mean there aren’t those moments. 
You know the ones. The ones when Mommy has to give the look, the ones when one of the three is angry at another, or when I have to say for the 4th time to do a very simple task from around the house. Those moments are still happening regularly, but I’m sensing a shift in the relationship with my daughters. They are still my little girls in so many ways, but more and more we are having deeper, longer conversations. I treasure these in my heart and when it starts to squeeze with the bittersweet thoughts of my girls growing up I push them away with prayer and memories of the sweet moments we are having.

Week in Review: July 10-14

Grace-Filled Writer
I’m starting a new feature on the blog called For the Soul! 

Well…we drove home from Florida on Monday. What a WONDERFUL time with family! We were able to spend a short amount of time with my husband’s grandmother as well. We love her so very much but her mind is fading with some form of dementia. The times we spend with her now are so precious for all of us.

 The rest of the week was spent
1. unpacking and doing laundry
2. cleaning the house
3. catching up on reviews
4. catching up on scrapbooking
This morning we rewarded ourselves for our hard work all week with a field trip to the zoo. The girls had an adventure on the high ropes obstacle course! I was so proud of all of them, but especially Beth because she has a pretty strong fear of heights. They were so brave!

Next week will bring more regular school again. We won’t be at “full school” yet, but we will be learning!