Week in Review - Week 5

I am still running a week behind in my Week in Reviews so we actually just finished Week 6 but I'll be discussing Week 5 in this Week in Review. Last week was a rough week and I'm not quite sure why. I just know at the end of the week, I was truly glad to be done with the school week. My oldest was far more snarkier than usual, my middle son seemed to have more trouble focusing than usual, and my youngest spent an entire afternoon crying about everything which is unusual for him. Not every day goes by smoothly, though, and the week was also filled with bright moments to offset the grey ones. I can take courage in the fact that bad days (and bad weeks for that matter) no longer cause me to have doubts about our homeschooling decision. I know that things will get better. And like the heroine Scarlett O'Hara said, "Tomorrow is another day."

The children's independent work is all going well. I am so happy that I learned about workboxes over the summer. The workbox system is working so very well for my boys.

• Amber finished Teaching Textbooks 7 and has started Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra. Even though she has commented on her own blog that Pre-Algebra sounds like a disease, she has made the transition with no complaining. So far, though, her lessons have been review and the longer I homeschool, the more I think review is a good thing. I, on the other hand, very much miss the self-grading aspect of Teaching Textbooks 7.


• Duncan (3rd grade) and Mason (5th grade) are making tremendous progress in typing. They are both using Typing Instructor for Kids Version 4. I am amazed everytime I see my little one getting faster and faster with his keyboarding skills.


• Spanish has become one of Amber's favorite subjects - interesting since she didn't really want to take a foreign language. I am taking the course along with her and, of course, I'm behind. Hopefully, I can catch up soon. I am so very impressed with Rosetta Stone Homeschool.

We continued forward in our unit study of the American Revolution last week. We focused on the first battles of the war and I read "The Battles of Lexington and Concord" by Lucia Raatma, Compass Point Books aloud to the children. We also watched several videos:

• Inventors of the World: Benjamin Franklin - Schlessinger Media


• The American Revolution for Students, Declaring Independence 1774-1776, Schlessinger Media


• Great Americans for Children, Revolutionary War Heroes, Schlessinger Media


• Will You Sign Here, John Hancock by Jean Fritz - DVD

The children enjoyed all of the videos and I found them all quite well-done and educational. The only one that wasn't a good fit for us was the John Hancock video - I think it was just too young for my children. I highly recommend the videos from Schlessinger Media. I can often find high-quality, educational videos that go along well with topics we are studying in science and history. While my local branch library rarely has them in stock, I can put them on reserve from other libraries in the system.


We completed an apple tree nature study at a local apple orchard. The children were more interested in running up and down the hill in the orchard than studying the apple trees, but, we did get out in nature. They did look at apple trees. We did buy fresh apples. We did buy a pumpkin, Indian corn, and gourds for our art project. I say success!


Definitely the highlight of the week for me was our weekly art lesson. Last week, the art lesson focused on Composition. We completed a still-life autumnal painting. I thought the autumnal arrangement was just lovely. The children kept rearranging things but we finally all agreed on a still-life arrangement.

We used our "little boxes" to focus in on one part of the still-life. Then we used that image from inside our "little box" to draw our still-life. I just had to jump up from my own artwork to take a picture of my little on looking through his little box. Too cute!After drawing, we all began to paint our pictures. Mason, my most artsy child, really doesn't like painting all that much. I just assumed he would love all things art - hmmm, not so much. He loves to work with clay and drawing. All the rest of us love to paint!For somebody who claims he doesn't like to paint, I think Mason did a great job with his still-life painting.Amber's still-life painting is lovely as well. She has been enjoying art and I have noticed that she has been doing more art projects in her spare time. I'm so glad to see that as she has quite a bit of talent in this area.Duncan's project is full of color and life. I love to see the joy in his face as he creates art. He is always so happy with his projects.Lastly, here is my still-life painting. While I certainly have extremely little talent, I have been enjoying the art class immensely. When I was painting last Friday, I could feel the stress leaving my body.

Another week of learning and togetherness...this past week reminded me of the parenting paradox that I have heard many times since I became a mother - "The days are long but the years go by quickly." I try to remember to savor the days before they blend too quickly into years.

If you would like to see what other homeschoolers did this week, check out the Week in Review at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.