Week in Review: October 28-November 1, 2013

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.

Post Reply
Maadrose
Posts: 116
Joined: Thu Mar 22, 2012 5:09 pm

Week in Review: October 28-November 1, 2013

Post by Maadrose » Fri Nov 01, 2013 6:13 pm

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!
"Big Mack"--Finishing up high school :)
"Cherry Berry Chiller"--geography
"Small fry"--Rev2Rev
"Happy Meal"--fun-school

http://sewhappilyeverafter.blogspot.com/
Http://roseacademyacademics.blogspot.com

Maadrose
Posts: 116
Joined: Thu Mar 22, 2012 5:09 pm

Re: Week in Review: October 28-November 1, 2013

Post by Maadrose » Fri Nov 01, 2013 6:14 pm

"Big Mack"--Finishing up high school :)
"Cherry Berry Chiller"--geography
"Small fry"--Rev2Rev
"Happy Meal"--fun-school

http://sewhappilyeverafter.blogspot.com/
Http://roseacademyacademics.blogspot.com

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

Re: Week in Review: October 28-November 1, 2013

Post by my3sons » Sat Nov 02, 2013 10:11 am

Maadrose - I had such fun reading your weekly check-in! :D :D :D Your dc are thriving with HOD - I can see by all of your neat pictures and descriptions. The books from Revival to Revolution are just great reads; I can see why your dd is taking them to bed and enjoying them cuddled up at night. The notebooking pages HOD makes sure do help our dc organize their work, and I LOVE the keepsake they make! It is helping me feel like I'm scrapbooking still, even though I'm just doing school with HOD. Your dd doing CTC is a lovely watercolor painter! My what a pretty painting she made! Even our sons, who are not gifted in that way, managed to have nice watercolor paintings from CTC. I like the directions are not so specific that dc who aren't so good at painting feel they cannot do the assignments. Everyone can paint and though the results are not stellar, a complete appreciation for the work that goes into a beautiful watercolor painting is certainly the end result. Your PHFHG dd sounds like my dc at that age - oh how they feel so special and grown up with their newfound independence in PHFHG! What a blessing! I bet she will enjoy her pet store. Your little Caden looks just precious. What a busy mama you are - you are doing such a wonderful job schooling your dc! May God bless you with many more days homeschooling with HOD together!
:D
In Christ,
Julie
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

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

Re: Week in Review: October 28-November 1, 2013

Post by my3sons » Sat Nov 02, 2013 11:38 am

World Geography
We just finished Unit 7, and we are having such a super year with World Geography! I don't know why I ever fretted over homeschooling in high school. I guess HOD didn't always have high school guides though. Well, homeschooling in high school with HOD has been wonderful thus far. :D

Wyatt is really enjoying the books he is reading. We have had some good discussions. I especially enjoyed discussing "Shane," the BJU Lit readings, and "Practical Happiness." But then, I've always been more of an LA gal (as in "language arts" not "Los Angeles" :wink: ). The notebooking pages HOD has produced are beautiful, and as usual, both Wyatt and I feel a sense of accomplishment as their pages are completed. Here Wyatt is with his notebook...
Image

Here are some close-ups of his notebook, and I must say I am taking a lot of joy from his drawing these days! Such an improvement from the black crayon scribbling over everything he was famous for early on in his coloring days! :lol:
Image Image

This guide has several keepsake notebooks - including the "Book of Centuries," which I am excited to see grow through his high school years. I think it will be something special to add to it each year across his high school years. I like that 'running through the years' together feeling...
Image

The "World Religions and Cultures" notebook has helped Wyatt take notes and summarize what he has learned. It has also been a place to ponder his own beliefs as a Christian. The partnering living books he has read have made quite an impact on Wyatt. I can tell by reading his 'bookmark' entries. "Mimosa" has especially impressed Wyatt. Her faith, under dire circumstances that began as one chance meeting with the Lord, is truly inspirational. I like to read Wyatt's bookmark responses. They are a window in to his heart and mind. Here is snapshot of his notebook...
Image

The Living Library is full of excellent books to read, and Wyatt loves that it provides and 'extra credit' opportunity. The one-sentence summary is harder to do than one would think. We use the WG's suggested parameters for checking the summary. When there are notes or prep to do, I have Wyatt jot his stars, clouds, question mark, etc. prep on the back of the paper, and then put his final on-sentence summary on the front. He has gotten quite good at it! Hooray! :D :D :D
Image

What a good week! Hope you had one, too!

In Christ,
Julie
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

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

Re: Week in Review: October 28-November 1, 2013

Post by my3sons » Sat Nov 02, 2013 12:00 pm

Creation to Christ
Riley is in the last third of CTC, and it sure is a happy place to be. :D The growth from the start of this guide to now has been tremendous. The last third of a guide, I must say, is my favorite place to be. I just feel such a sense of accomplishment, and I can tell the dc do too. They can tell how much they've grown from the start. It gives such a feeling of contentment. :D

Riley has decided to get up early to do some of his independent boxes. While he attempted this at the end last year in the beginning of CTC, I must say that it is just this year that his getting up has been truly successful. He is so cheerful about it, and it is something he has taken ownership of. I never wake him nor tell him he has to do it. I can hear him tell his older brother to make sure he gets up the next morning, but even that is unnecessary now, as Riley is in a good routine with it on his own. He feels so grown up! Working across the hall from big brother with his light on early in the morning in his bedroom - I can hear him whistling. He is happy to greet his day this way. What a change! :D I think before he thought he 'should' get up, but never truly 'wanted' to - and sense I never forced him to - well, it just didn't always happen. This year - he's very much in charge of it himself. Success! :D

Riley still loves to color. He's always been a fan of bright colors, which is fun to see splashed across the page of his CTC notebook. He is also a neat writer - both in print and in cursive. I know this is a blessing. He did not, however, show the same natural affinity with the use of punctuation. So, while Riley's notebook pages have always been lovely to look at, it is the punctuation I now see that makes this mom's day. :D Progress - hooray! :)
Image

For many, many science experiments, Riley would sporadically skip steps. The results, of course, were not great. This was a learning process! Just now, I feel he is able to follow steps of directions in order, completely, from start to finish for his CTC science experiments. I only help a little now, to clarify now and then, but on the whole - he is able to do it himself...
Image

This is a favorite of mine. Riley dressed his buddy as a Roman soldier for his CTC history project. He then dressed him explaining to the rest of us what each piece of clothing was for. Everyone enjoyed it! :D Tiger is ready for war.
Image Image

Another favorite memory of mine from this week was Riley's DITHOR project. He chose a puppet show. Wyatt, Riley, and Emmett all planned it together without me, and it was such fun to attend! They assigned me a small narrator part to read at the beginning, but otherwise, they did it all. I love the fact that my high school student and my first grader joined in - such a special memory! I'm so glad for these times together. Here is a picture of them performing "Gold in That Thar' Soup" from Dust River Gulch...
Image

I'm going to attempt to link the video we took of the puppet play here...
Image

In Christ,
Julie
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

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

Re: Week in Review: October 28-November 1, 2013

Post by my3sons » Sat Nov 02, 2013 12:12 pm

Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory
Emmett and I are in Unit 6 of Beyond, and it has been a pretty easy transition from Little Hearts. His school day is just the right length of time for it to be challenging, yet fun, and he still has plenty of free time to create, explore, and just play! :D He really is enjoying learning about the pilgrims. "Stories of the Pilgrims" is one of his favorite books for me to read. He always wants me to read more, but I'm glad to stop and have him super excited to hear the next part the next day! Making his history art projects has been fun. Here he is with his growing tulip. He liked to raise the straw stem up and down and watch it grow. He did it over and over for my dh when he came home from work! :D
Image

Science experiments - especially those with food or with water - have been a major hit with Emmett in Beyond! :D Here he is paddling with first a webbed foot and then a non-webbed foot...
Image

We are reading "Sword in the Tree" for Storytime, and Emmett is giving some of the best oral narrations he has given. This is my third time reading this book (having read it when doing Beyond two previous times through the years with my two older sons), and I still love it. Every chapter ends with a cliffhanger. Emmett is reading "Prairie School" from the Emerging Readers Set now. It has been exciting to see his reading ability grow and grow from the start of the ERS to now.

The most exciting area of growth for me to see though has been in Emmett's writing. In just 6 weeks, he has gone from writing very big with no spaces to writing on wide-lined notebook paper! I am so proud of him. I would have never believed this were possible. He has really decided to give it his all, and I have been dedicating myself to helping him and to staying by his side instead of wandering off during his copywork. It has paid off! HOORAY! :D
Image Image Image Image Image

In Christ,
Julie
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

lissiejo
Posts: 506
Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2012 11:44 am

Re: Week in Review: October 28-November 1, 2013

Post by lissiejo » Sat Nov 02, 2013 3:11 pm

http://gracefilledhomeschooling.blogspo ... ber-1.html

Yay for a week of feeling better!

Little Hands to Heaven: Unit 26
Image

Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory: Unit 8
Image

Preparing Hearts for His Glory: Unit 4 (2nd half)
Image
Last edited by lissiejo on Sun Nov 03, 2013 8:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Melissa (Pastor's wife in NC)

http://gracefilledhomeschooling.blogspot.com
Rose (12-years-old) - Revival to Revolution
Beth (10-years-old) - Creation to Christ
Grace (8-years-old) - Bigger Hearts for His Glory

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

Re: Week in Review: October 28-November 1, 2013

Post by my3sons » Sun Nov 03, 2013 5:33 pm

lissiejo - It looks like a great week of homeschooling with HOD! :D I had to smile at your studious oldest - my oldest is the same! :) I to think the Lord equips these oldest dc of ours to lead. I'm so glad your little Grace is remembering her letter sounds well. We found Little Hands to Heaven to be a huge help in this endeavor as well. Your young Beth doing Beyond Little Hearts has lovely writing! I am doing Beyond with my son, Emmett, right now too, and I could not agree with you more about being glad the discipleship being built right in the daily plans. I find that I need this help with my second and third dc more and more. It seems I am better at focusing on these things with my oldest the first time around, and needing more reminders to do so with my next dc the second and third times around. I am oh so thankful to HOD for this, as it really is where my heart is, but my head can take over and lead too often if I'm not careful! HOD helps me balance the need for academics AND faith-building matters of the heart. Preparing Hearts is a favorite guide of mine to teach. "Grandpa's Box" is an all-time favorite book of ours. I am glad you and Rose are enjoying it together! Our dc loved their PHFHG timelines so much that both of their timelines (completed 4 years apart) remained hanging up staircase style inside our closet together for years. Only the tearing down of that closet on a recent house renovation was reason enough for them to 'let' us take them down! You are doing such a terrifc job homeschooling your dc - keep up the good work, and may God bless you with many more happy days such as these in the weeks to come! :D

In Christ,
Julie
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

lissiejo
Posts: 506
Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2012 11:44 am

Re: Week in Review: October 28-November 1, 2013

Post by lissiejo » Sun Nov 03, 2013 8:59 pm

Thank you so much Julie! Hearing encouraging words from veteran homeschooling mamas just means so much to me!
Melissa (Pastor's wife in NC)

http://gracefilledhomeschooling.blogspot.com
Rose (12-years-old) - Revival to Revolution
Beth (10-years-old) - Creation to Christ
Grace (8-years-old) - Bigger Hearts for His Glory

LynnH
Posts: 1846
Joined: Sun Jan 25, 2009 12:41 pm
Location: OH
Contact:

Re: Week in Review: October 28-November 1, 2013

Post by LynnH » Mon Nov 04, 2013 3:20 pm

Love looking at everyone's week. Julie, I love seeing some day to day of the Geography guide. It helps me already start to figure out how to make the notebooking pages work for Noah.

Here is a link to my blog with some pictures for the last 2 weeks of MTMM http://graceandfur.blogspot.com/2013/11 ... 82013.html
Mom to:
dd 22 college graduate and employed as an Intervention Specialist
ds 18 US2, Loved Preparing, CTC , RTR , Rev to Rev, MTMM ,WG, WH and US1
http://www.graceandfur.blogspot.com/

Post Reply