Pinatas, Library Books, and Pilgrims

...a weekly wrap-up

Honestly, it is hard to believe we have completed over 1/3 of our school year already. Where did the time go? I love these weekly posts of wrapping up our activities. They help me catalog and remember what we have done, where we have gone, and all we have learned...

What's working for us...using up old craft supplies and kits is economical. It is a good thing!
What's not working for us...old craft supplies which should have been thrown out. The paper mache was impossible to work with and was a lot messier than we had anticipated. I thought it would be easier than newspaper and flour, since it was a kit and all. Not so much! Next time, newspaper and flour it is, or maybe a fresh kit. However, the children had fun and this week, after two weeks of waiting for it to dry, finally got to paint their creations.{4}

Places we've gone...include the library!

{1} We found an illustrated Around the World in Eighty Days, which is the book our oldest daughter is finishing this week. Robert Ingpen's illustrations looked interesting, and my daughter wanted to check out the book just for the pictures.


{2} Additionally, we found a nonfiction book about the Dust Bowl. Our oldest son had finished Out of the Dust a couple weeks ago. It probably would have been better to have this book while he was reading it. However, the book is still fresh in his memory and Years of Dust: The Story of the Dust Bowl, by Albert Marrin is quite interesting on its own.

In our homeschool this week...
{3} We found three interesting books about our 50 states this week at the library. Each is a fabulous way to review previously learned information as well as learn a few more interesting tidbits about each state. The books are:

• United Tweets of America: 50 State Birds, by Hudson Talbott
• Go, Go America, by Dan Yaccarino
• The Train of States, by Peter Sis

I'm reading skimming...American Passage: The History of Ellis Island, by Vincent J. Cannato and Denied, Detained, Deported, by Ann Bausum. After reading a few Thanksgiving/Immigrant stories to the children, I was interested in learning a bit more about American Immigration and found a few books at the library to read.

A photo to share…Have you seen this? I was so excited when I turned the page of this year's Compassion Gift Catalog and saw this picture:

An opportunity to help "Teach an impoverished mother to read and write" so she in turn will be prepared to teach her own children. As I continue to teach my youngest to read, how can I not think of helping another mom learn to do the same?





Find more weekly wrap-ups at: