Week in Review: Jan. 6-10

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.

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

Week in Review: Jan. 6-10

Post by my3sons » Sat Jan 11, 2014 6:45 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!
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: Jan. 6-10

Post by my3sons » Sat Jan 11, 2014 7:34 pm

World Geography:
Wyatt's maps continue to grow in number, and they are turning out so well! :D The drawing directions are clear and the CD-ROM is easy to watch and follow, so he is doing this work with ease and enjoying it. Here is his map of Central America and the Caribbean...
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I am finding that Wyatt's written narrations are of excellent quality and seem to come extremely easily to him - hooray! :D I can only credit all of his many years of working on this skill with HOD's expert guidance. Looking back, from PHFHG, CTC, RTR, RevtoRev, and MTMM... all of these guides incrementally helped him progress in the skill of written narrations. The gradual increasing of length of sentences expected to be written, of editing steps taught to be moved through, of a larger amount of page numbers to narrate upon, of difficulty of text to narrate upon, of various subject matters to narrate upon (i.e. history, science, Storytime, etc.), all worked to help him become more and more adept at writing narrations. All of that work together through the years has made this skill in high school something I can just sit back and enjoy reading. :D Here is his latest written narration on Portugal...
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An area we are working on together is Wyatt's Essentials in Writing Grade 10. I absolutely LOVE the way Matthew teaches essay writing on his DVD! :D It is straight-forward, short, and models the thought process of writing well. I don't know that I've ever seen anything quite like it. It is just him talking with his big whiteboard and dry erase markers, but his cueing is excellent. The lessons are just the right length, with just the right amount of follow-up work, and his student book closely follows his DVD presentation, thus making the writing assignment have the necessary helps for success. This week, Wyatt had to choose an event he would like to travel back in time to see. He chose Christ's birth - which I was very excited about! What he needs help with is making his writing vivid and powerful, rather than just straightforward and logical. :wink: It surprises me, as his written narrations practically fly off the page at me with creativity and emotion and excellent vocabulary! So, I think what he is needing help with his developing his own style and trying to find fresh ways to say things with better transitions. I'm so glad we can work on this with the Essentials in Writing DVD as our guide. It is making it clear what we need to work on, and it is providing helps that work. :D

Foerster's Algebra 1 is something I am emphasizing in my teaching as well. I like Foerster's writing style - if you can say that about a math book, that is. :D It appeals to love of an order of steps that makes sense. Each step is clear and progresses well to the next. The order Foerster has dc work problems in makes total sense as each step builds upon the last. Looking at the last story problems, I'd be apt to say there is no way we'll be able to solve them - but the previous problems all lead up to it so nicely, that all of a sudden, there we are, solving those very difficult problems quite easily! :D :D :D Writing the formulas on a marker board for easy viewing, and constantly asking what each variable really stands for is a big help in working through the problems with success.
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Wyatt is largely independent in the rest of his subject areas, though I am making sure I check each box's work each day, and do whatever my teaching parts may be. We are having a good year together with Wyatt's first year of high school. :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: Jan. 6-10

Post by my3sons » Sat Jan 11, 2014 7:57 pm

Creation to Christ:
WE DID IT! :D :D :D Riley and I have finished CTC! I am so proud of him and how much he has grown from the start to the finish of this guide. :D This year was one of incredible growth for Riley. CTC really moves dc along in so many skills. Riley's written narrations have improved dramatically. He has gone from writing short narrations with little correct punctuation, to writing longer narrations with 90% correct punctuation, 100% capitalization, and few spelling errors. He also writes in an interesting manner and includes the main gist of the readings. Huge progress! :D

His oral narrations have improved as well. One of the most difficult things for Riley was to give the summary oral narration. He had difficulty keeping it to 5 sentences, and he also had trouble choosing what to say. At the beginning of the year, his narrations had lots of throwaway type information and moved through about the first tenth of the story. By the end, he has learned to choose his 5 sentences carefully, using lots of compound sentences :lol: , and move the story along so it's a good summary of all of it from start to finish. This practice each week was so important for progress to be made. :D

Following multiple step directions is another area of improvement. Riley has learned to use his CTC guide as a student planner, and follow directions directly out of the guide. This has helped him to become more and more successful with the subject areas that are meant to be independent. His notebook turned out so well, and he is very proud of it...
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Write with the Best, Vol. 1, has taken Riley's writing to the next level. This week's assignment had Riley writing poetry. All of HOD's poetry through the years has been so important to developing this skill. Not only has Riley learned to truly enjoy reading poetry, he has also learned enjoy writing it. All of the various poetry studies we have done from Beyond Little Hearts, Bigger Hearts, PHFHG, and now CTC, have helped him improve his own ability to write poetry. I really enjoyed Riley's poem about snow...
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Riley's always been creative and enjoyed bright vivid colors, and the Travel Logs he got to complete for his Geography gave him a neat outlet for this creativity. I liked the open-ended nature of this assignment, as it allowed him to choose what he found important and share that through pictures and words. The questions asked in the Geography book, in contrast, made him accountable for giving more specific answers to show what he retained from the readings. It was an excellent combination!
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These are just a few thoughts that come to mind, but for those of you at the start of CTC - you have some wonderful days ahead of you! :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: Jan. 6-10

Post by my3sons » Sat Jan 11, 2014 8:13 pm

Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory:
Emmett is cruising along in Beyond. :D He looks forward to the history stories so much, especially Stories of the Pilgrims - he can't wait for me to read them! :D He also loves to do science experiments and often continues doing them (again) long after we've done them once. :D We have been getting about 3-4 days of plans done each week. This coming week, Riley will be done with CTC and starting RTR half-speed, and at that time, I'll go full-speed with Emmett in Beyond. I have found the need to focus more on one child than another at certain times, and HOD makes this super easy to do with the flexible way the guides are written. The time to focus on Emmett is coming up, as in next week. :D I'll be half-speed with Riley starting RTR, and though Wyatt is full-speed in WG, he is about halfway through it, so he is in an excellent routine. :D

The biggest area of improvements for Emmett so far have been in LA and math. His writing has gradually gotten neater and smaller. Now we are working on correctly copying the capital letters and punctuation carefully. In reading the ERS, his answers to the oral comprehension questions have really improved. It has helped for me to put my hands close together at the start of his answers, and gradually move them apart as he answers to continue him to keep adding to his answer until my hands are wide and "this big" to show a super answer was given. :D Now we are working on him stopping at punctuation as he reads aloud. I slide my finger along under the sentence slowly and smoothing as he's reading (sometimes moving ahead of where he is) and pausing at punctuation to show he needs to stop/pause. This is making sense to him as he can hear it sounds right to pause there.

For math, Emmett is loving the hands-on activities HOD has planned. This week the highlight was when he got to race his race car up and down the number line to solve addition problems...
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What a good week with my littlest sweetie! :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

Samuel'sMommy
Posts: 647
Joined: Thu Jun 05, 2008 1:59 pm
Location: TN
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Re: Week in Review: Jan. 6-10

Post by Samuel'sMommy » Sat Jan 11, 2014 9:05 pm

Julie, your boys look like they are having so much fun. I can't wait to get to the upper guides with my little guy!

I'm so excited to be posting here again. We had a great first week with Beyond! I wrote all about it on my blog.

http://cherish-each-moment.blogspot.com ... eek-1.html
Stephanie
Wife to Adam for 25 years
Mom to Samuel (18 - freshman in college), Isaiah (8), and Judah (4) through the miracle of adoption
Using and loving LHTH & BLHFHG

Loved using LHTH, LHFHG, BLHFHG, BHFHG, PHFHG, CTC, & RTR!

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

Re: Week in Review: Jan. 6-10

Post by lissiejo » Sat Jan 11, 2014 10:58 pm

A good week back :) Oh how I missed the routine!

http://gracefilledhomeschooling.blogspo ... -6-10.html

Little Hands to Heaven: Off Week
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Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory: Unit 13
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Preparing Hearts for His Glory: Unit 8 (1st half)
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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: Jan. 6-10

Post by my3sons » Sun Jan 12, 2014 7:23 pm

lissiejo - I enjoyed reading your blog about your week with HOD! :D Your girls are doing so well! What beautiful writing they have! :D We too loved "The Bears on Hemlock Mountain," and we never tire of reading about the pilgrims. They are truly an inspiration to our family and a reminder to be thankful for all we have. I wish we had the kind of 'snow' here your little gal made. I'd like to trade ours in about now for some styrofoam. :lol: I agree - HOD has made our sons' hearts more tender toward the Lord too. Thanks for sharing about your week! :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: Jan. 6-10

Post by my3sons » Sun Jan 12, 2014 7:29 pm

Stephanie - oh my how Samuel has grown - still just as cute as ever though! :D I had such fun reading about your start to Beyond! :D The blubber experiment was a favorite of our sons as well, and Samuel's shield turned out well. I was most impressed with Samuel's character traits for Louis Braille though - WOW! Deep thinker... that boy. "Bravery," "eagerness,"... impressive vocabulary and quite insightful. I am thankful HOD teaches reading skills so well too. Simply reading volumes of books just can't do that, and learning the genres, story elements, Godly character traits, etc. just deepens first comprehension and then overall enjoyment as much more can be delved into and connected. What a great start - way to go Samuel and way to go Samuel's Mommy! :D :D :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

MelInKansas
Posts: 1700
Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2010 7:32 pm

Re: Week in Review: Jan. 6-10

Post by MelInKansas » Mon Jan 13, 2014 12:02 am

Oh nice to read everyone's recaps of your weeks! Congrats to Riley and Julie on finishing CTC this week! What a big step, and I enjoyed reading all the things he learned and improved in while doing CTC. Can't wait to hear about your weeks in RTR too.

It was nice to be back in a real school routine this week. We did part of Unit 20 in LHTH, Unit 11, and 2 days of Unit 12 in Beyond, and Unit 2 in Preparing.

LHTH - we haven't done in about a month. It was so much fun. Now I have a 22 month old son to jump around with his sister doing the Rhyme in Motion. My DD would love to have an art project every day, that is what she asks for. I am glad we have started doing color pages, cutting and pasting is one of her favorite things to do, and she had fun going through the magazine picking out yellow things to cut out. We also started the letter Q, which my DD already was a little familiar with, but not as much as some other letters.

Beyond - my daughter is blooming in Beyond and I am really enjoying all of the activities. I don't necessarily remember each one, but I still love how everything flows together and am excited for how she is learning and growing. This one is doing well with handwriting, and I have been gradually bumping up the number of lines she is to copy. It paid off as she made a "Thank you" card for her Sunday School teachers. Without any lines on the card she copied "Thank you for teaching Sunday School" and the teachers' names and she did a great job! I should have taken a picture. Spelling continues to be a bit of a challenge for her, and again we get to work on character as we try and try again when things are hard. In fact that is the topic of the poem we finished this week, Don't Give Up. But unfortunately I think the meaning of the poem went a little over her head as the vocabulary was difficult, or maybe it was the way the poem was written. Well, it can be a message to me also, Don't Give Up.

Preparing - I was planning to continue with 1/2 speed, but on Friday I had told my DD we were going to speed it up a little and so.... she was ready and excited to do that so we did! Instead of 1/2 speed we did 4/5 speed this week. Seems weird I know, that was just how it worked out. I wanted us to be done before lunch (even if lunch runs a little late sometimes) so that was about what we could accomplish before lunch. 8 boxes. Now there are actually only 7 boxes for her to finish up on Monday from day 4.

I LOVE Preparing. I love the ways it is challenging her and making her think. I love the Storytime boxes where she is making connections to her own life. I love the way poetry elements are being discussed and how she is "writing" lines of poetry. The 2 poetry selections we have done so far were really inspiring, and then adding in a story about the poet is really good too. I think I might learn more this year than my DD does! She is doing well with independent work so far, I think giving her more time and focus has helped her to apply herself and do a better job, and I see her blooming even in that area.

My prayer is just that in the next few weeks, even though I am preparing to get busier again with weekly activities and responsibilities, that we can continue to put a lot of energy into school and see this kind of fruit. I know many times I am overwhelmed or I have other tasks on my plate and it feels like school gets pushed aside a little bit.
Melissa
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases
His mercies never come to an end"

DD12 - Rev to Rev + DITHOR 6/7/8
DD10 - CTC + DITHOR 2/3
DD7 - Bigger + ERs
DS5 - LHFHG
DD2 - ABC123
2 babies in heaven

waterandclay
Posts: 83
Joined: Tue Jan 31, 2012 7:19 pm

Re: Week in Review: Jan. 6-10

Post by waterandclay » Mon Jan 13, 2014 9:25 am

I haven't posted an update here in a while. Can I say just how much I love HOD? The boys are learning so much. More and more I am thankful for all the hard work that went into planning these guides!

We had our first week back after Christmas break. We're so glad to be back to our routines :)

Unit 17 in Beyond:
http://www.monarchroom.com/2014/01/hear ... ek-17.html

Unit 17 in Creation to Christ:
http://www.monarchroom.com/2014/01/hod- ... 17-in.html

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

Re: Week in Review: Jan. 6-10

Post by my3sons » Mon Jan 13, 2014 2:07 pm

MelInKansas wrote:Oh nice to read everyone's recaps of your weeks! Congrats to Riley and Julie on finishing CTC this week! What a big step, and I enjoyed reading all the things he learned and improved in while doing CTC. Can't wait to hear about your weeks in RTR too.
Thanks so much! It does feel like a big deal to me. He grew so much in CTC! I'm very proud of him and his growth over the year and a half it took him to do CTC. Thanks for celebrating with me! :D

I know what you mean about being glad to get back into a routine. After the craziness of the Christmas season and the joy of seeing my niece getting married in OK on New Year's Eve, it feels like we are finally settling back into 'normal' life. Reading about your little dd in LHTH made me miss those days with a sweet little one. :( :D I bet it is just precious to see do her art projects and color pages. That is wonderful that dd in Beyond was able to write a Thank You note! I think remembering to write thank you's is becoming a lost art. I just got one from my sister in the mail for cutting the cake and doing dishes til 2 AM at the wedding, and though I would have been fine had she not sent one, it's on my windowsill and brings me joy each time I see it. Kudos to you for having dd take the time to thank her S.S. teachers! :D I love that poem in Beyond. We are doing it now as well, and it is a good reminder to ME right now in certain areas of life that are heavy or sad. What in the world would I do without my Lord at the helm in my life?!? I often think it is a very good thing I am not in charge. I loved reading about your dd in PHFHG. I'm glad she is making connections to her life - so important and evidence of growth in maturity not only in skills but in faith. The poetry writing in PHFHG was a favorite of mine, and it sounds like it is one of dd's favorites too. That really was the start of a love of creative writing for each of our sons. I get the 4/5 of the day getting done thing - that is what is happening with Emmett pretty much. I can also relate to your prayer - I will pray it for the both of us! :D Thank you so much for sharing here - I value your posts and presence here.

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

4Hispraise
Posts: 308
Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2009 9:30 pm

Re: Week in Review: Jan. 6-10

Post by 4Hispraise » Mon Jan 13, 2014 4:39 pm

Here is our week in review. It may actually be the first one I've posted all school year...but we are so, so enjoying HOD. :D

My oldest is completing Missions to Modern Marvels with extensions and some additional materials to make it high school credit worthy.

My littlest guy is completing Little Hearts for His Glory. So wish that I had found HOD when we started the homeschooling journey with our oldest - it would have made homeschooling so much more joy-filled! The days are so fluid and fruitful!

http://bloomingoodlife.blogspot.com/201 ... -home.html
Shelly- bride of 22 yrs. to My Hero
Mom to 2 treasures on earth, and 2 treasures in Heaven
DS - 16
DS - 7 Bigger Hearts For His Glory

tlb81003
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Aug 09, 2010 3:30 pm
Location: southwestern WA

Re: Week in Review: Jan. 6-10

Post by tlb81003 » Mon Jan 13, 2014 8:11 pm

I love checking in here and reading all of your weeks in review. I think I'd like to join in starting next week. I must remember to take more pictures of our week.

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

Re: Week in Review: Jan. 6-10

Post by my3sons » Sun Jan 19, 2014 2:12 pm

4Hispraise wrote:Here is our week in review. It may actually be the first one I've posted all school year...but we are so, so enjoying HOD. :D

My oldest is completing Missions to Modern Marvels with extensions and some additional materials to make it high school credit worthy.

My littlest guy is completing Little Hearts for His Glory. So wish that I had found HOD when we started the homeschooling journey with our oldest - it would have made homeschooling so much more joy-filled! The days are so fluid and fruitful!

http://bloomingoodlife.blogspot.com/201 ... -home.html
I loved reading about your dc's week! :D 4Hispraise - you yourself have an extremely narrative way of writing! I just thoroughly enjoyed your style of writing and wanted to share that. :D I too loved how LHFHG tugged at our dc's hearts and taught them much about the Lord, and Martin Luther's struggle with coming to grips with understanding how man could ever be right with God was certainly a deeper topic we too loved delving in with LHFHG. How special that God orchestrated your older ds's HOD Bible memorization with his Bible quizzing he is also doing! God is so good, isn't He? He truly is in the smallest details of life. I agree with you about Rod and Staff English too - it's so good I'll never switch. It's just hands-down the best way I've found to teach grammar (as well as many more English skills). I am so sorry to hear that you recently have been suffering from migraines. I am praying that you are now feeling better and on the road to recovery. Thanks for sharing your week here! I will be posting asking for pictures for MTMM soon, as I'm starting that photobook. If you get the chance to snap some pictures I could use - I'd sure love that! :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: Jan. 6-10

Post by my3sons » Sun Jan 19, 2014 2:15 pm

tlb81003 wrote:I love checking in here and reading all of your weeks in review. I think I'd like to join in starting next week. I must remember to take more pictures of our week.
YES - JOIN IN!!! :D I'd love to see your pictures and hear about your week, as I'm sure everyone else would too! :D :D :D Here's a neat idea we have loved - put the pictures you have taken of your HOD Week In Reviews on a digital photoframe at the end of the year! We set a little 5 x 7 digital photoframe on our kitchen windowsill, and another one in our bathroom on the counter, and the dc LOVE seeing their past years of homeschooling in pictures. My dh enjoys it too, as do visitors. They marvel at the progress that is so easy to see from year to year! Just an idea - but certainly - post here when you can!!! :D :D :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

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