Week in Review {May 3, 2013}

 

We have come a long way this week.  I have changed a few things up a bit as far as chores and responsibilities.  I will write up a post about that after I have given it a few weeks to see if it holds up.  But we are part way into the second week of it and so far I am pleased.

You will see a few changes that have happed throughout this post.

One of the changes is that I have the older two take turns reading Katey science books out loud.  This benefits from this are many.  They get a brush up on science and reading out loud as well as bonding time and Katey gets her science in.

Another change is that I had each of the kids create “keepsake boxes”.  They are basic paper, filing boxes and they can put special projects or items in as they wish.  We talked about how they are not to be filled with junk.  The items need to actually be special to them.  I have hopes that we/they will go through them when they are full and decide again what is worth keeping.

 

 

I have created rewards for Katey to become motivated to do her schoolwork.  She struggles to get through everything each day.  She is excited to earn this Weather Kid Kit .  She has to complete all of her schoolwork for 15 days to earn this. 

Other Happenings

Softball season has started back up here and Emily is playing great this year.  It is really neat to see how she improves each year.  It is a sport she loves playing and she got on a really great team this year.  She hasn’t witnessed or experienced any bullying, which she has seen on other teams.  The real team commitment shows too.  They haven’t lost a game yet.  (knock on wood)

I let the younger kids have a picnic for dinner one night!  They thought this was so neat since picnics at our house are usually for a snack or lunch.

One day I opened my fridge to find this!

A fridge full of animals. 

 

We went to the store one day and they had bunnies.  Tyler was so excited.  He kept talking about how cute they were.  He had to have his picture taken next to them.

We had gotten word that the Kyle Petty Ride for Charity was coming through our town.  We decided to take a lunch break and head over to that.

We got to meet Kyle Petty.

We also got to meet Hershel Walker – NFL player. 

 

 

School Happenings

 

Katey has been making amazing strides in math, thanks to Math U See. She started the book Beta in January and completed lesson 23 this week.  I am going to order the next book for her to begin in about 3-5 weeks.

While she is still not where the state thinks she should be in reading I have seen her make vast improvements since the beginning of the year.  I wondered if she was ever going to read.  She is still sounding out words and working on some phonics rules, as well as fluency.  It will all come to her if we just keep practicing.  I am sure.

Tommy and Emily both had State CRT Testing this week and we spent time each day doing test prep in place of science.  We continued in our history read aloud, Sacagawea.  We are taking that slow and clicking on the links and following rabbit trails as they come. This has been great.

Emily has gotten to Chapter 15 in Life of Fred--Decimals and Percents .  She is Life of Fred books.  This is the second one she will complete this year.

She also began Hunter Education classes. 

Her book of choice to read this week has been The Homework Machine .

Tommy has gotten to Chapter 27 in Life of Fred : Pre-Algebra 2 with Economics .  This is also the second Life of Fred book this year for him.

He is almost through with the first module of English Grammar 101.  This course has been perfect for him.  Each lesson is short and to the point.

Tommy’s favorite subject has definitely been High School Prep.  (Review coming soon) He has been reading through this daily and has gotten great advice from it.  I love the motivation it is giving him to plan and prepare for his future.

He isn’t really into a book right now.  His daily reading has come from many places, magazines, websites, or smaller books.  I am hoping next week to get him into the new book series by Susan Marlow.  Badge of Honor (Goldtown Adventures)

 

I am trying out a Paperless Home Organization System. (Review coming soon on that too). I can already see the time I am saving.  WOW!!   This is one I can’t wait to tell you all about!!

 

Disclaimer: There are affiliate links in this post. There are also freebies. There are also just links to products without affiliate links. I'm trying to show what we did and where you can find it, not to sell you a product...although if you decide to buy one of them, please feel free to use the links and support a fellow homeschooler. Thank you!