After five years in school, will homeschooling be a fit for our family? Walk with us as we try to find out!

Friday, January 6, 2012

Weekly Wrap Up: The Party's Over


Joining the Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers  once again...

I hope you and yours had a wonderful Christmas and New Years!  We had a holiday that was filled with emotions that ran the gamut from deep sorrow to full joy and everywhere else in between.  If you have not yet seen my post from Wednesday, please go there now.  It's the most important message I could share here and I don't want you to miss it!  Thank you to all who prayed for my requests these past weeks.  If you are moved to leave a comment on that post, I know it would be a blessing to my cousins!

We started back to school on Monday, even though RA had the day off.  I figured since we do not have co-op for the next few Fridays, if we started school on Monday this week, we could enjoy a week of half days and it has worked out great!  Actually this week has been pretty similar to the week before the break in that we are still focusing mostly on Math, Grammar and History.

TS 1 and I have been plugging along in our review of the work he has completed in grammar so far.  He is taking notes and doing additional practice in a notebook we are creating.  We also added a few more items to the Mini-Office we are creating.  The goal is that he will use it as a reference tool when working on grammar once he returns to the curriculum.  I think we have about one more week of review and then I'd like to give him a test to see how much he has retained.  After that, I hope he can return to the curriculum.  (My Type A, check the box on the checklist and FOR GOODNESS SAKES! STAY ON SCHEDULE! personality can't handle much more delay!)

Math is going well for both test subjects so far.  They each took a Unit Test this week and did extremely well.  TS 1 is working on mastering multiple digit long division and it is tedious work.  I've spent a lot of time this week providing moral support for him as he plods through many long problems each day, but the end is in sight!  In the next six weeks or so, he will finish the Delta level of Math-U-See and begin work with fractions in the Epsilon level.  TS 2 learned how to write numbers in standard and expanded notation up to the hundred-thousands place this week.  I was impressed with how quickly he caught on to the concept. Impressed, and thankful, because I was not sure how else to explain it to him if he hadn't understood the lesson!

We are winding up our study of the Middle Ages with Tapestry of Grace.  We should finish the unit in the next two weeks or so.  We are planning a Medieval Feast as a unit celebration to showcase our work and newfound knowledge.  Up to this point, I have not been using the tests and quizzes that I purchased with TOG much.  I don't think, at this age, testing is a helpful evaluation tool in subjects such as history.  However, I do plan on giving TS 1 the Unit Exam and doing an oral review of the unit with TS 2 when we finish up.    At any rate, I know I have learned a ton :)

How were your holidays and your return to school or home school?

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