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Weekly Wrap-Up: The Back to School Edition


Ok, so this week was our back to school week and I am happy to report that we made it though.

On Monday, we had our trip to the strong Museum, which the kids really enjoyed. You can see a slideshow of it here.



Tuesday we hit the books. The kids were not that enthusiastic, but I have kids that rather play all day rather than doing anything else.



To start things off, I had them draw a picture with the name of their grade at the top. They enjoyed that.Then we moved on to Bible. It is the first time that I will use a curriculum. I have to admit I like it, except for the planning part, but that's ok, I am getting more and more into the planning thing. I am so much more relaxed that way. I think the kids like the curriculum too, which of course is a good thing. We are studying how to think biblically, and our first stop was learning about Wisdom.

Here is what they drew today while I was reading a story about baby Moses:



I am rather glad that we were able to keep on schedule the whole week, and thus, were able to accomplish what I had planned.

Between Tuesday and today we covered  Bible, English (the book arrived on Tuesday), Math, Handwriting and Geography. No Science because the books, I hope, are on their way.

I had to tweaked a few things from my schedule, but overall it happened as planned. I am hoping to write a post specifically on our homeschool schedule in the near future.





Another highlight of the week was starting unit 1 of Tapestry of Grace. I had planned to do it 2 times a week, but I think 3 times is a more realistic schedule. The first day was a bit difficult, but the other 2 days went better. Especially since we tacked the salt map dough of Egypt project, and the kids had fun working on it.





More pictures to come as the project is not completed (it had to dry). . .

On Wednesday, I had a bit of resistance to school time, so thanks to a post that I read (I think it was at The Homeschool Village) I had a little talk with my oldest and we smoothed things out. It was enlightening to understand his take and see where his hurdle is, namely, he wants to get done with school so that he can go and play. Except that, he was doing that by dawdling, not gonna happen . . . So we had a nice talk and the rest of the week went much better. I think just giving him an ear did magic in his brain.

I had a nice boost of encouragement from my hubby as well on that day. He reminded me that they are learning, even if they are fighting it, and that the enthusiasm will come with maturity, as they realize the value of focused and intentional learning. He reminded me that my fear of them hating school was unfounded, as kids don't necessary hate school because of the amount of work, but because of the lack of relevancy of the learning, having to wake up early to go to school, extra homework, name it. The key is, as you make them do the work that is needed, you need to also show them that it is not empty and useless work. Plus kids do need to learn discipline and hard work, and that is not necessarily a pleasant thing.

I try to keep things short and to the point. They know and understand the need for Math, English, Geography, History and Science.

The only down of this week is that I did not get to start Latin, but I'll give it a few weeks before attempting it. Zach actually asked me why we need to learn Latin, just to illustrate my earlier point.

Anyway enough rambling. That was our week in a nutshell.

For more weekly wrap-up go hop on over to Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Comments

Tricia said…
Oh what happy memories making the salt dough map! We also study with Tapestry and love it. Sounds to me like you had a great first week! These weekly wrap ups always help me to see that we really are learning - in spite of, even though... :)
Marsha said…
Yay, Joelle! I know it feels good to get that first week under your belt! Way to go!

I'm interested to know what Latin curriculum you're using. I've always heard not to start Latin until at least the 3rd grade. I can't remember what grades your boys are in, but we started Latin last year and my 43 year old brain is having a hard time with all the cases, declensions, and conjugations! So if they struggle, don't be too concerned.

We start on Monday, and although I'm excited (and all but one of them are excited,) I'm kind of dreading that first week. It's tough to get all our brains reacclimated to the school schedule and I'll be glad when week one is done!
Heather said…
"I think just giving him an ear did magic in his brain." I agree....and that is something I have to remind myself to do all the time, actually STOP and LISTEN to my kiddos. :)
Giggly Girls said…
Looks like a great first week. I love the shot of the boys brushing the giant teeth. So fun!

Can't wait to see the finished map.
Amber said…
Your husband sounds like a wise man! It looks like you had a great week.
joelle said…
He certainly is. He is a blessing from the Lord, godly and wise. BTW I am your new follower.
Casey said…
Love these pictures - your family looks like it has such fun!
I loved the field trip and carousel picture. One of our all-time favorite field trips was to see how carousel horses were made. Amazing.

Sounds like you're off to a great start. We don't always have those perfect days, but that certainly doesn't mean that learning isn't still taking place. Some of our best fruit came from the midst of our struggles. What a wise woman to take the time to talk to your son and hear things from his point of view.

Blessings to you! Thanks for stopping by... :)
Phyllis said…
Looks like you had a very productive week!
Mrs Random said…
There will always be days when there's a bit more resistance to schooling. But hey, there are days when I really struggle to be motivated, and I'm the "teacher"!

Keep at it, you look like you're doing great!
Mrs Random said…
*sheepish grin*

I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't always get around to commenting. Often I read blogs while i'm eating my lunch (during our 'recess' time), and I can't eat and type at the same time....so comments don't happen much!

This weekend I made a goal for myself to not only READ blogs (which i love doing) but to leave a few comments.

Thanks for reminding my poor sluggish brain who you were!
missmoe said…
Thank-goodness for the encouragement from husbands! Sounds like a pretty good week. The kids will get into school routine and things will go more smoothly. Thanks for sharing your week even though it wasn't perfect. Sometimes I think we need to share the not so good times as well as the great time.

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