5-1-08 Weekly HOD Check In!

This forum is for sharing what your week was like with Heart of Dakota. The goal is to post on Thursdays. You can share a picture, a blog link, a written synopsis, your favorite memory, or anything you want that shares your HOD excitement.

MamaMary
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5-1-08 Weekly HOD Check In!

Post by MamaMary » Thu May 01, 2008 3:05 pm

Ok Girls,

What was YOUR week Like?

You can post:

a- A picture
b- A blog Link
c- A written synopsis
d- Your favorite memory
e- Anything you want that shares your HOD excitement!


Important Note: If you are linking us to your blog, please make sure it's not just a general link, but to your specific post of HOD. That way if someone reads through these a year from now they can find your share without needing to hunt!
Mary, Mama to 4 amazing sons and wife to one incredible husband! Come check us out on the blog: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MamaMary/

MamaMary
Posts: 970
Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2008 7:52 am
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Mary's Weekly Check In!

Post by MamaMary » Thu May 01, 2008 3:08 pm

Oh My Goodness, We have had an AWESOME Week! I couldn't wait to share all our fun and excitement! We also had some big news that I've added.

To view pictures and Journal: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MamaMary/525596/
Mary, Mama to 4 amazing sons and wife to one incredible husband! Come check us out on the blog: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MamaMary/

6timeboymom
Posts: 417
Joined: Sun Aug 26, 2007 7:59 pm
Location: Iowa

Post by 6timeboymom » Thu May 01, 2008 3:35 pm

I haven't blogged about our week, but we've finished unit 4 in Bigger and the boys loved finishing up about Capt, John Smith and Pocahontas.
We then got Little Hearts in the mail this week, and Greyson started on that. He liked it so much we did the whole day in one day-I planned on doing the left page one day, the right page the next day...but he wouldn't let me! :lol:
Darci
mom to 6 great boys-"they've got me surrounded!!"
using: as much HOD as possible! :wink:

crlacey
Posts: 630
Joined: Thu Feb 14, 2008 1:13 pm
Location: NC

Post by crlacey » Fri May 02, 2008 6:21 am

This is our week back on doing school after two weeks off due to various illnesses. We finished week 3 and started week 4 in LHFHG.
The kids enjoyed doing the "collar of many colors" for Joseph in LHFHG. And we are really enjoying reading Reddy Fox. Science this week was also a hit. We tried smelling different spices and matching them to their container. Science was such a big hit, that I think we'll be adding in some animal science a few times a week. We loved the clap, stomp and write the number math activity so much that we played it again after DH came home from work. Because of the game, DD didn't even realize that she was practicing writing her numbers which normally she complains about.
Crystal
DD 20 married college graduate
DS 17 college student
DD 11 CTC

Finished: LHTH, LHFHG, BLHFHG, BHFHG, PHFHG, CTC, Res to Ref, Rev to Rev, MTMM, parts of WG and WH

crlacey
Posts: 630
Joined: Thu Feb 14, 2008 1:13 pm
Location: NC

Post by crlacey » Fri May 02, 2008 6:28 am

Congrats Mary! Welcome to God's family Seth!!
Crystal
DD 20 married college graduate
DS 17 college student
DD 11 CTC

Finished: LHTH, LHFHG, BLHFHG, BHFHG, PHFHG, CTC, Res to Ref, Rev to Rev, MTMM, parts of WG and WH

inHistiming
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Location: Central VA
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Post by inHistiming » Fri May 02, 2008 7:36 am

We have had a bit of an 'off' week in HOD this week. I have been preparing for SAT's next week, so we did a few practice tests, and then we had a field trip to our local zoo on Thursday. We had a great time watching the orangutans interact with the vet! :lol: There was the mom, 8 year old sister, and 2 year old brother. What a hoot!

We did read about Marie and her doll in Pioneers and Patriots, though. We learned a great lesson about taking care of our things. We were also interested in the information given about how the birch bark canoes were made. We have enjoyed learning the memory verse and art projects. Hailey really got into making her model of the types of clouds, as well as reading about them and trying to guess which type brings what kind of weather.

So, an abbreviated week, with no pictures. We still had fun anyway. I'm ready to get back into it full-time next week, though! We miss HOD when we don't do it. :?

beandip71
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Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2007 12:10 pm
Location: SoCal
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Post by beandip71 » Fri May 02, 2008 7:58 am

Here is a link to my blog with our week in review. :D

Gina

http://beandipblog.blogspot.com/2008/05 ... eview.html
CTC-10 y/o (dd)
Bigger-8 y/o (ds)

Carrie
Site Admin
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Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2007 8:39 pm

Post by Carrie » Fri May 02, 2008 8:03 am

This week in "Little Hearts..." my third son enjoyed listening for my voice while he was blindfolded and then pointing in the direction he thought the voice was coming from. This went along with the people who heard God's voice from heaven when Jesus was baptized by John.

In "Little Hearts...", my little guy also enjoyed painting his paper with water and then adding drops of purple food coloring to the water painting to see if we turned our water to wine. This went along with our lesson on how amazing it was that Jesus could turn water to wine! My son adores the pictures and the stories in "The Family-Time Bible". He pours over it before we start our lessons each day, and I can tell that he really thinks of each of the people in the stories as real people now. :D

It is a review week for our songs and memory verses in "Little Hearts...", and I am always surprised at how many of the verses my little one has hidden in his heart. I'm thankful for the systematic memorization of verses each week scheduled in the plans, or we honestly wouldn't get it done. :wink:

This week in "Bigger Hearts...", my third son is really enjoying the poem for Unit 31 about being out in the fields with God. He loves imagery, as he is so visual, and this poem is loaded with it. It makes me long for spring weather. 8)

Also, in "Bigger...", my son is really taking in "The Story of the Wright Brothers....". He thoroughly enjoyed making and experimenting with various styles of paper airplanes to see which was the best flyer (and then explaining why). He's also begun Thomas Edison for science and is asking questions about everything now, just like Thomas! My son loved the egg experiment as he squeezed it in his hand, yet it didn't break (showing why a goose can sit on an egg without breaking it). :wink:

In "Bigger...", he also learned about why thin ice looks lighter colored than thick ice, when we froze water in a bowl (and checked a couple of different times as it was freezing). This went along with Thomas Edison in science too, because he fell through the ice while skating on the pond (after being warned about thin ice)!

We're getting closer to finishing with our timeline for the year in "Bigger..." too, and my son is very pleased with how his is turning out. He took special care this year with his intricate little drawings. :D

In our Rod and Staff English scheduled in "Bigger..", my son has been struggling a bit with the lessons on alphabetical order. He didn't have that skill down as much as I'd thought. So, this was an excellent time to work on it, as standardized testing is coming in a few weeks! :lol:

I hope each of your week's were blessed ones! Mary, we rejoice with you and your little Seth! :D

Blessings,
Carrie

MamaMary
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Post by MamaMary » Fri May 02, 2008 8:23 am

Girls, I just LOVE our Week In Review Time! I feel like I know your families and as I read your shares or look at your pictures it spurs me on, in MY journey! What a wonderful family the Lord has given us here at the HOD boards.

Gina, I enjoyed your week in review. I thought your science went so well with InHisTime's share. They went to a farm many of your ape family friends :D I bet you cannot wait to finish up, "Little Hearts"!? Not so much for the break (though breaks are good) but also that sense of accomplishment and completion. I have to tell you that I will miss your Week In Reviews this summer :( But I know you'll be back next year!

6timeboymom- Isn't it funny how we can have those perfect plans and they can be changed in a moment! You finished the WHOLE day, both sides of the manuel in one day! I love the story of Pochontas too!

Crystal- I cannot wait to do the spice activity. I LOVE the activities we do. They are so memoriable. BTW, thank YOU for welcoming my Seth into the Kingdom! Three down, one to go. My heart will rejoice with little Jacob makes that decision.

Carrie- You know what amazes me? I have learned to expect excellence in the academic area's, but how did you get so creative with art and activity? When I talk with other moms who are also using HOD, we all share that this is what we've always wanted (simplicity/fun/purposeful) but could not find and could not do on our own. Thank YOU for following the Lord's leading and in those moments of being tired or feeling deadlines, know that HE is being glorified! (((Warm Appreciative Hugs)))



Mary, Mama to 4 amazing sons and wife to one incredible husband! Come check us out on the blog: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MamaMary/

my3sons
Posts: 10698
Joined: Sun Aug 26, 2007 7:08 pm
Location: South Dakota

Post by my3sons » Fri May 02, 2008 11:08 am

Little Hearts for His Glory:
Below you can see my ds fishing like the Indians we read about in history. They got in their canoes at night, lit a fire inside the canoe to stun the fish with its light, and then they speared the fish. In the picture, my ds has turned out the lights, and is shining the flashlight on our "waxed paper" floating fish in the sink. He's spearing the fish with his toothpick "spear". He LOVED this activity and will always remember the creative and unique way that the Indians caught their fish! Great fun!
Image
Bigger Hearts for His Glory, with Drawn into the Heart of Reading:
Image
I asked my ds what his favorite part of homeschool was this week, and he said right away, "Drawn into the Heart of Reading". When I asked him why, he said he loves reading all of the different books (from different genres), and he loves the discussions we have. I told him I love talking about his DITHR books with him too. This fits right with another post I just made about DITHR on the HOD main board, and how its type of questioning really fosters wonderful comprehension skills and teaches my ds to make great connections with his books. I'll put a link to that post here too, in case anyone's interested:
http://www.heartofdakota.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=1069
Looking forward to reading everybody's posts here - I already read Mary's, and as usual - I was very inspired! Thanks, Mary, for your encouraging nature!

In Christ,
Julie :o
Enjoyed LHTH to USII
Currently using USI
Wife to Rich for 28 years
Mother to 3 sons, ages 23, 20, and 16
Sister to Carrie

mom2boys030507
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Post by mom2boys030507 » Fri May 02, 2008 1:23 pm

We have had a good week. We read about Lewis and Clark's adventure. Bryce enjoyed painting a river scene and singing the rhyme. He also decided to read 3 days worth of bible stories in one day. He just wanted to keep going and going. I love listening to him read.

Julie: I remeber doing that fishing experiment. My boys loved it too. I think they went fishing 4 or 5 times before the water was going everywhere and we had to stop. Your post about DITHOR makes me very excited to get there, yet the questions for the emerging readers are generating good disscussions now.
Karen - mom to Bryce 02/03, Micah 03/05, and Matthew 05/07

MamaMary
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Post by MamaMary » Fri May 02, 2008 1:37 pm

Oh Julie,

I LOVE that picture of your little one "fishing". His little socked feet and big ol' smile just made my day!!! I think that picture should go in the catalog! :D

mom2boys- It sounds like you all had a wonderful week as well!
Mary, Mama to 4 amazing sons and wife to one incredible husband! Come check us out on the blog: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MamaMary/

Melanie
Posts: 777
Joined: Mon Aug 27, 2007 6:37 pm
Location: north Missouri

Post by Melanie » Fri May 02, 2008 2:23 pm

Unit 29 Little Hearts

I think Gina and Karen and I are all in the same place!! :D

We loved our history stories this week. We sang "Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier" and "The Star Spangled Banner" for fun to tie into the stories. We loved the art projects and science as well. We also watched the Little House on the Prairie episodes where they go out west and prospect for gold....great tie in as this episode spoke about the greediness that finding gold caused. We also loved the rhyme for this week...today we had to do it 3x in a row!!

We were sad to end Buster Bear...my son is really into bears. But, we started Jerry Muskrat and looked up info in all of our animal books about muskrats, found a picture to color on the internet and made an entry in our nature journals about them, so I think they were excited to start a new book.

We are still plugging away at LLATL, but I went ahead and started some spelling from Beyond.....it went GREAT! They thought spelling was fun...who knew simple little index cards would do such a trick!

OK...our big news. I decided to go ahead and give Singapore math a shot. We love RightStart, but I didn't have the funds to purchase the next level. We tried MUS (it was free) and while I enjoy the tricks on the DVD the Mr. Demme gives, my kids did not like the worksheets at all. (RightStart doesn't have many worksheets, so it could've been that they are just not used to them.) Well, Singapore has been a huge hit!! So far, everythings been review. I put them lower than what they placed so we could get used to the "style" of the books. I just hope this continues.

We had a great week and look forward to the Civil War next week!
:D Mel

Julie... my kids loved that fishing with fire activity!!

Chrystal... we loved the spices activity when we did that one!

Mary...so happy for your sweet Seth!

Carrie...the water to wine was a big hit here as well.

I really enjoy this time of sharing. This is my doughnut and diet soda break!! My kiddos are outside playing with their newly caught pet frogs which we had to look up and correctly identify. It seems they're always learning, even at play!
Using LHFHG with
ds - '00
dd - '00
dd - '02

MamaMary
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Post by MamaMary » Fri May 02, 2008 2:25 pm

Melanie wrote: This is my doughnut and diet soda break!!
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Mary, Mama to 4 amazing sons and wife to one incredible husband! Come check us out on the blog: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MamaMary/

Melanie
Posts: 777
Joined: Mon Aug 27, 2007 6:37 pm
Location: north Missouri

Post by Melanie » Fri May 02, 2008 2:59 pm

Not an original idea...got it from Julie, the other diet dr. pepper queen! :lol:
Using LHFHG with
ds - '00
dd - '00
dd - '02

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