The Homeschool Mother's Journal

In my life this week...

This week has been a very welcoming "back to normal" sort of week.  Our weather here was actually a little bit warm {its Louisiana, 20 one day 80 the next}, so the kids were able to get outside and work off some of that late January energy on the trampoline.  I have also been spending alot of time going back and forth to Baton Rouge because my grandmother had surgery 2 weeks ago and is still requiring alot of attention from the family. She is seeming to be doing a great deal better this week though, which is music to my soul.  Karsyn's birthday is next weekend, so I am busy starting to plan doing last minute preparations for her party.  She will be 8 and I can hardly believe it!!  Most of my spare time has been spent on my new MacBook Pro {that the big daddy got me for Christmas}, which I love like another child.  I am a huge Mac fan and have had our desktop for a couple of years, but I hated being confined to the school room to play research on the internet.  It is nice to plan for the next school week from my bed after everyone is asleep.  LOVE!  In addition to planning for school, these days have been spent planning for something else.  Something big. Something that I really can't talk much about right now because its too new, but that I will be talking about ALOT really soon.  Like you will probably get sick of hearing me talk about it.  But for now, its tucked away in my heart until things become more clear.  

In our homeschool this week...

We are still getting into our groove from the holidays.  Finally this week has felt normal and both girls told me how happy they were to be back in school.  We have begun an amazing unit study for science on bird migration that is just unreal to say the least.  We have been studying about why birds migrate, why some don't, which ones do and where they go.  We have watched the documentary Winged Migration on youtube that I would recommend for everyone, even if you aren't studying bird migration.  It is a great movie.  We will be participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count  in February which seems to be so fun.  Science has proven to be our most loved subject.  This year we are doing Apologia's Exploring Creation: Flying Creature's of the 5th day, and it is great!!  This semester I want to make sure Science doesn't get pushed to the back burner, like it sometimes did in the fall.  

This week we also took the week to learn {Karsyn} and review {Kamryn} liquid measurement conversion.  We had lots of fun measuring beans and water and kool aid and playing a very fun game that I found online.  If you are doing liquid measurements it is a must for those visual and kinesthetic learners!!  Comment and I will be happy to email it to you.  

In language, Karsyn is memorizing the poem The Year.  She is also learning about interjections!

Kamryn is diagramming like a mad woman and has just started PREPOSITIONS!!  

We started a new Bible curriculum after the holidays after seeing it here and I am in LOVE!!  There are no other words.  This is exactly what I have been looking for in a Bible curriculum that I just couldn't find, until now.  I ordered it immediately and the girls love it.  Plus they do the majority of it on their own which means they are looking up scripture and interpreting scripture and all that good stuff.  There is also a scripture memory program with the curriculum that we are also doing.  So far the girls have both memorized 1 Corinthians 13:1-3.  They will know all the way to verse 7 by the end of February and I couldn't be more proud.  I strongly recommend this Bible curriculum. 

Places We are Going and People We are Seeing...

We didn't have any field trips this week, but we are now going to gymnastics every week and the girls LOVE it!!!  I wish I would have enrolled them years ago!!  They go to a fantastic gym and have an amazing teacher, and we all love to go!!!  They are also still in piano every week and continue to love that as well.  It is so wonderful to begin to see your children come into their own and find their likes and dislikes.  They are certainly loving what they are doing now!  

This weekend is the first LSU girls gymnastics meet at home, and we will be going to that.  I think the girls will love it.  

We are also finding time to get together with friends.  In this cold weather, a play date will save some sanity...QUICK!!

My favorite thing this week was...

By far the Winged Migration movie.  It was fantastic and we enjoyed cuddling up on the couch with hot chocolate to watch it.

What's working or not working for us...

I am definitely going to go another route for history next year.  While we are having fun on our around the world journey, creating your own curriculum week after week is exhausting.  I never thought I would say this, but I'm gonna need history to come in a box next year!!  LOL

I am also finding myself drifting farther and farther away from my traditional side and becoming more and more Charlotte Mason-ey!  I like her.  Alot!

Homeschool Thoughts and Questions I have...

I am really searching for history curriculum.  I am looking for something with good living books, and something simple.  I like Winter Promise {but don't know anybody who actually uses it} and Sonlight {but some of my mentors in blog land are not going back to it next year}.  I think I need a Homeschool Moms Blogging Conference so I can meet all of these ladies that I look up to and that inspire me and pick their brains in person.  That is really what I want!!  Like before I need to order history curriculum.

A Photo to Share...

Because of the cold weather, we spend alot of time a few minutes playing on PhotoBooth!!  Here is one of our favorites this week.  We laugh so hard we cry!!

** This post is inspired by Sue at The Homeschool Chick, who has begun keeping a journal of the happenings in her homeschool.  She has inspired me to do the same.  Im linked up at The Homeschool Chick with other moms who want to document their days.  I love the idea!!