The Crabb Family: Homeschool Weekly Wrap-Up, January 7-14

We eased back into our regular homeschool routine this week. I spent some time after Christmas reflecting on what was and wasn't working in our schooling. One of the conclusions that I came to was that I needed to RELAX. My kids learn so much more when I take a simpler approach to their lessons and allow more flexibility in our schedule. Plus, when I take the pressure off of myself to check off everything on 'the List', I am a much more pleasant mama to be around. Happy mama = happy kids.

So now I make a shorter list based on what one homeschool blogger advises- plan on your worst day scenario, not your best. What is the minimal you want to get done? Plan for those and then everything else is gravy. This allows us to go down 'rabbit holes' of study without feeling like I need to rush them through whatever they are learning to get back to what's on The List.

Ellie and I went with Sam to TCPS on Monday and stayed for Morning Chapel. Such a sweet time to see those kids dancing and singing praises to God. Then Ellie and I spent the rest of the day cleaning house, playing outside and shopping for fabric for her new big girl bed- I can't take the Disney Princess motif much longer.

The rest of the week we focused on studying Polar Regions and reviewing material from the first semester:

Bible- We finished up the story of Ruth and then reviewed all that we've read since Genesis 1. I was blown away by how much Sam remembered from passages we read months ago. Ellie remembered a good bit too, although she gets her stories mixed up in the cutest ways (Joseph led his people out of Egypt to Bethlehem to have the baby Jesus). We also added figures to our Book of Time and talked about the years that passed between some of the Old Testament stories and Jesus' birth. We added Galatians 5:23 to our memory verses and reviewed the other 15 verses we've learned since September. I continue to be amazed at both Sam and Ellie's ability to recall Scripture. I pray that God's word is really taking root in their hearts as well as their minds.

Circle Time- I've relaxed our Circle Time a good bit. I was spending so much time every night prepping and then becoming supremely annoyed when the kids didn't participate exactly how I'd envisioned. I tried to remember why I had decided to include a Circle Time in our schooling to begin with- to provide our family a time of togetherness and spiritual nourishment to start off the day. With that in mind, I simplified our time to include breakfast together at the table (NOT in front of the TV as it has been for all of December), Papa's Devotions, a short prayer, reading aloud to the kids, Scripture memory, singing and some good old silliness.

Social Studies- Following Sam's lead, we studied the Arctic and Antarctica. We read lots about the differences and similarities between the two regions and located both on our globe. We learned about how people live in the Arctic in Children Like Me, read about the extreme temperatures and long periods of daylight and darkness, looked up facts in our atlas and learned about glaciers, icebergs and ice floes from the encyclopedia. Sam constructed an Antarctic Food Web chart almost entirely on his own and loved learning all about the animals of both regions. We learned about the earth's axis, the equator and Northern and Southern hemispheres. We also watched a Magic School Bus episode on the Arctic. The kids played with the GeoPuzzle a lot and Sam surprised me by naming every state on a blank U.S. map.

Language Arts- Sam wrote thank you notes for his Christmas presents and we filled out a Time Capsule questionnaire- a cute little survey to reopen next New Year's and read together. We reviewed last semester's spelling words and learned a new week's worth. We also did some copywork and handwriting, which he still doesn't love, and studied homophones.

Reading- We read a good bit together- Louise Cheese, Bugs!, Beginner Bible, Dinosaurs Before Dinner, Fancy Nancy Splendiferous Christmas, Amelia Bedelia, Who's Eating Who, Children Like Me, Horses and Ponies, Balto, The Jesus Storybook Bible, Egermeier's Story Bible, Knights Before Noon, Mummies in the Morning and Pirates. Sam is able to read at the level of almost all of these books and so we often alternate pages. He has also been listening to Magic Tree House audio CD's and reading along.

Math- Sam has now completed through Lesson 17 in Math-U-See. He complains of hating math and I actually am beginning to wonder if this is the right curriculum for him. I am planning on trying some Living Math books in the coming weeks to see if those help both his interest and mastery.

Preschool- Most of Ellie's preschool this week consisted of reading together, singing songs and sitting in on brother's lessons. We also made a Fruit of the Spirit mini book and a Snowflake counting project. And one morning I decided to be that fun craftsy mom and we played with shaving cream snow. It was messy and sticky and the kids loved it. Messy crafts still make me crazy but I'm trying to let go :).

Science- I started a modified fast this week and by Thursday I felt so physically exhausted that I pretty much cancelled school and put in DVD's all afternoon. Thank God for Magic School Bus. The kids learned about animals, states of matter, weather patterns, coral reefs, tidal waves, the rainforest, simple machines, magnetism, insects and the human body. Science- check.

Recreational Time- Another goal for this year is to make sure my kids are getting plenty of time to play and be kids. I actually think that's when some of the best learning takes place. In addition to Ellie's dance class, we spent lots of time outside in the 60 degree weather last week, had tickle fights and pillow fights, played trains, princesses, dinosaurs, Doc McStuffins, polar bears, whales, dollhouses, Mommy-Baby, Bible Trivia, Memory, puzzles and lots of Legos.

Life Lessons- There are some basic life lessons that we are focusing on this month- chores, allowance and money management; sleeping in our own beds all night and not coming out of our rooms til 7:00 a.m.; Ellie moving to a big girl bed; playing games and being a good sport; developing a room time routine and general neatness and tidiness. I am also trying to cultivate a strong bond between Sam and Ellie. They are generally great friends and play very well together but they can be very competitive and fight alot as well. In the mornings, if they are playing and not fighting, I will delay the start of any official school work. And when I eavesdrop, I realize there is a lot of learning going on there too- Sam reading books aloud to Ellie, pretend games that involve all sorts of complex characters, role playing, etc. This freedom to nurture the sibling relationship in my children is one of the things I love about homeschool.

Reading in the car while sister's at dance