WEEK IN REVIEW

We have managed to get through our second week of school!! School this year is looking MUCH different than it did last year. Last year I was concentrating on 9th grade and 4th grade - this year, it's 5th grade and kindergarten. Quite a change. We have transitioned into our routines now and it is going better and better every day. This week in Bible, one of our scriptures was "The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of the Lord stands forever". We decided to see that in action. The girls picked flowers and grass out of our yard and we taped them onto our papers.

A few days later, the flowers and grasses were most definitely withered.

We enjoyed an art project using leaves and pastels. We learned about lines.

We began our Geography studies this week - we love these Geopuzzles to supplement what we study in Geography and History. Each puzzle piece is shaped like the nation or state it represents. This week we focused on Europe. We love listening to Geography Songs while we do these puzzles. The girls enjoyed working in their workbooks learning about how maps work. For Banana - learning about longitude, lattitude, the hemispheres, equators, and such. Boo learned about how maps work, maps of bedrooms, and maps of towns. She is a map-lovin fool!!

This weather has been beautiful here - our windows have been open day and night for weeks now. Banana decided to do her math outside one day, and suddenly spotted a bald eagle soaring overhead!!

Of course, math was set aside for a while so that we could do some nature observation. Banana was just about beside herself with watching this incredible bird. We have seen a bald eagle in our neighborhood before - but we only spot him once every few years.

(I did not take this picture - but this is exactly what it looked like through the binoculars). The girls enjoyed sketching the eagle after their observations.

The same day Banana spotted the eagle, she also discovered this little baby bunny living under the steps of our front door. She has enjoyed leaving carrots out for him - we wonder how many are under there. I think we have filled our quota on "nature observation" this week! :)

The boys have enjoyed hanging out in the school room with us lately...

and enjoyed their bones too!!

Bailey gets completely worn out after listening to so many school lessons... :)

Our fall schedule is back in full swing. I try to fiercely guard our family time, and not be too busy running everyone in different directions, but once our fall schedule picks up - it's gets so difficult! We are committed to having dinner together every night as a family, sitting down at the dinner table, and it has been wonderful to really connect each evening. The younger girls are getting much better about self-control and manners, not interrupting each other, and waiting to be excused. Punkin is busy on Mondays and Wednesdays with choir after school, Tuesdays Banana has girls chorus at church, Thursdays are really tricky - we school in the morning and the girls have homeschool co-op from 12:45 to 4:00. I have been using this time to schedule my newborn photography sessions. Then Boo is off to ballet - Thursday's are a little crazy - but we are all back home in time for dinner together. Fridays are horseback riding after school for them all at the barn, with Saturdays full of Boo's soccer and Punkin volunteering at the therapeutic riding stables. We are staying busy, but I think it's not too much at this point. So far, our transition has been a smooth one - our girls really thrive on order, structure and routine - so getting back to that has been a good thing!

I'm linking up over at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers!! (love that name)