The First Few Weeks



Whirl. Wind. That's how I would describe the beginning of our school year.
With four children grades first through ninth being educated at home, with three of these children participating in three different fall sports, with two of these children taking piano lessons, and all four of these children participating or volunteering in a midweek ministry at our church...well, yeah, whirl wind describes these past few weeks quite well.

1. {places we are going} - One of those fall sports is girls' volleyball. That's my oldest daughter gearing up to serve. It is her first year playing with the team and I'm pretty sure this is gonna be a long term thing for her. She loves it!

2. {places we are going} - What is summer without a trip to the beach, especially when it really is only a day trip from your home? At least that is what we said when we realized we hadn't been there all summer long. So, we packed up and headed to the shore for a day. My youngest is pictured jumping the in coming tide.

3. {in our homeschool this week} - I taught a former pirate turned football player. 

4. {in our homeschool this week} - We have been adding some living math books to their daily math practice.

5. {in our homeschool this week} - One of my favorite chapter books to read aloud is Wind in the Willows. We started this year by reading, and laughing our way, through it.

6. {things I'm working on} - Thursday of last week, our family decided to switch the family room and homeschool room by moving everything around. We did it all in one day. Now, we are organizing the new room as we use it. That's my desk pictured above. The bag is part of a program found here.

{I'm grateful for overhearing this conversation.} My oldest son to a sister: "No really, you should read this...I'm not sure how to best explain it and even if I really like it,...but it sure is well written." He was referring to After Twenty Years, by O. Henry - a short story he was using in his literary analysis class.



{my favorite thing this week} Science observations and lessons are quickly becoming a family favorite. Pictured above are a science demonstration one of my daughters did during a co-op class, a bird we observed at the beach (it went in the bird journal), a cicada shell my youngest found at a family cook out, the bug collection we are accumulating, and the bird feeder my youngest made during his science co-op class.

For those interested ~
Bug collection is housed in a shallow 12" square scrapbook paper plastic bin with a lid found at AC Moore. I found a piece of Styrofoam to fit and adhered it to the bottom of the bin. We use straight pins to 'pin' the bugs into place.

Bird feeder is half an orange with the fruit scooped out and filled with a mixture of peanut butter, oats, raisins and orange juice. Instructions on how to cut and hang the orange half are found here.

On a side note, I found a great idea for bird seed ornaments to give as gifts here while searching the web for 'how to make a bird feeder'. Of course, I pinned it for later and will be returning to it as the holidays get closer.



Find more weekly wrap-ups at:
Collage Friday at Homegrown Learners
Homeschool Mother's Journal at So You Call Yourself a Homeschooler?




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11 comments:

  1. Dorie, I'm inspired to make the bird seed ornaments. Maybe we'll do those as Christmas gifts this year. Thanks!

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    1. Your welcome :-) They really are super easy to make and look great. They do 'wilt' a bit with time, but if you are giving them close to when you make them, they will still look terrific.

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  2. Sounds like a busy few weeks, but it also sounds like fabulous learning is happening in your homeschool!

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    1. Thanks Marla. It really feels like we are on the go more than stationary right now, but I know it is only for a season. Doing this post reminded me of how much the children really are learning as the weeks go by.

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  3. Love the bug collection. My daughter says that starting one is one of our next projects! It looks like you guys are having a great start to the school year!

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    1. I never thought I'd get into collecting bugs with the children, but it has been a hoot. The pinning of them is still a bit squeamish for me though...

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  4. Great start to the school year! I hope e room switch works well for you. It's so nice to overhear snippets of conversation like between your children. I live when my daughter says similar things to friends. It makes this all worth it. Have another great week!

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    1. Agreed - overhearing them say such things is wonderful and encouraging!

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  5. Great projects. I believe doing them help kids to really retain learning.

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    1. Me too. Something about processing the information really helps in retention.

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  6. I empathise with the whirwind, Dorie! It's a bit like that around here too with all the activities my little extrovert wants to do, and now the younger one is getting more sociable too... yikes! I can't imagine how I'd cope with four!!

    Your week sounds lovely though - well done on managing a trip to the beach!

    We love living maths too. Have you seen Hwee at The Tiger Chronicles' Wind in the Willows unit study? I'm enjoying it very much.

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