15 January 2011

Weekly Wrap-Up: A Bird's Eye View


 
This week is what I would love to call an average week, but it was more like an above average week because we just never got into a good groove during the fall months of schooling. Have you had seasons where it felt like you were just plowing through what had to be accomplished? Fall was like that for us. We are in a groove right now, and I am loving it. The new routine is going well, and the kids are asking if we can do school this way all the time because they're loving it so much.

This routine breaks every rule I learned in all those education classes I took in college, but it's working. Isn't that what matters? I'm telling you this to say that doing things differently could be a good thing for you too. Isn't that why we homeschool? We're doing music appreciation and art before the bulk of our academics  followed by writing. Crazy, huh? If, like me, you once called yourself a professional teacher, it sounds like it, but my kids are thriving with this.  I know I mentioned this in last week's wrap-up, but now that we're two weeks into it, I couldn't help but report to you how well it is going.

Five in a Row, which was seriously neglected during the fall months, has been a blast this week. I'm ashamed to say how few books we have enjoyed together from this great resource this year, but we're on a mission to plow through one each week for the rest of this school year as I initially planned for the entire school year. It is one of the most enjoyable curriculum resources our family has ever discovered.  I wish I had understood what a great treasure this curriculum is when Lukas was younger. It is ideal for Ava, and our time spent reading and learning through Five in a Row is her favorite time of the day (and Lukas loves it too). This week, we read Climbing Kansas Mountains. Even if you aren't using Five in a Row, it is a delightful children's story. Check it out. Your young ones will love it!

We took a break over the holidays from reading the Narnia books. This week, we got back to it. We aren't reading through these as quickly as we normally would because our fall schedule ended up being more hectic than I hoped. We're almost finished with A Horse and His Boy. I don't want to give anything away, but we read one of my absolute favorite passages of the book tonight before the kids headed to bed. If you haven't read these books, do read them! I waited until this year to make sure both my kids were at a good age for them thinking that Ava might not really be ready, but I couldn't wait any longer to share them with Lukas. She is loving them just as much as Lukas. And me? I am absolutely loving sharing these books with my kids!

I filled our bird feeder this week. I've had a partial bag of seed in the shed for months, but I never got around to filling the feeder. This is such a simple thing that brings joy and learning to our household. My children love watching the birds and identifying them. Some of our favorites are purple finches, cardinals and blue jays. Today, Ava spontaneously pulled her nature journal off the shelf and drew a pair of cardinals which she had seen on the feeder, and she carefully colored them with art pencils so that they looked like a male and female cardinal. Isn't that what we want to inspire in our kids? 

I love my life and my time with my kids learning about our world together.  Who has a better job than this?


Looking for some great ideas? Find more WEEKLY WRAP-UP POSTS HERE.

2 comments:

  1. We haven't done much Five in a Row, but the book you read this week looks like a good one. Just added it to my library hold list. Thanks!

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  2. We've read through the Narnia series 2 times already, and are working on the 3rd. My girls are 11 and 12, and each time we read them they pick up more of the nuances and deeper meanings. We've found great joy in watching the birds on our feeder too!

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