Weekly update week of 8/22/11

We started our new school year on Tuesday.  We started with the official first day of school pics.

N. has grown so much this year.  He is almost as tall as S. and she isn't happy about it. 
N. jumped right in to RTR.  We have taken each box a little slower than usual so I can make sure he sees what is different this year and also I can make sure he knows what is expected of him.  He always starts his day with his bible quiet time.  He is studying Philippians this year and memorizing Philippians 1.  I think he is going to like the bible study book he is doing.  He and I are reading Boyhood and Beyond together and he learned this week to see God in His creation.  Tomorrow he wants to go to a park to spend some time really observing all the wonderful things God has made.  I see a maturity in his bible discussions that I didn't see last year. 
One day a week he is doing a picture study using the book "Looking at pictures".  He really enjoyed studying a painting and then trying to see how much of it we could each remember.  For my visual learner this was right up his alley and much easier for him then narrating after he reads.
In Science we switched things up a little since he had already done the Apologia Astronomy book so he is doing Answers in Genesis Wind and Weather book.  He enjoyed the 2 small experiments we did this week.  He did a great written narration about Joseph Priestly.
In History he is reading "Peril and Peace" and learned about Paul, Polycarp, Justin the Martyr and Constantine.  He enjoys this book, but oral and written narration from it are a little tough for him at this point. I think all the hard  names confuse him.  With a little help he did do a nice written narration.
His history project this week was a Roman Arch with a background.  This is where I am seeing the biggest gains.  He paid close attention to the quality of his work and really took his time each day with this.  Here it is with the background almost done and before he painted the arch.

When we finished the week N. said he thought it was a good first week and a few nights when his Dad would ask him what his favorite part of the day was he said "I can't pick, I like it all." 

The End of Summer

I can't believe summer is almost over.  We are starting school next week.  On Monday I will meet with each kid and talk about goals and expectations for the summer and give them an overview of their curriculum.  On Tuesday we will dive right in.

It has been a wonderful summer.  S. and  N. went to church camp and had a wonderful time and came back with new spiritual things to focus on.  S. has been working 15-20 hours a week.  N. went on a local mission week and had a fantastic time and even let his true goofy self show by break dancing at a concert in the park.  The adults and teens on the trip got a real kick out of seeing this side of the boy they thought was shy and quiet. 

We just got back from a vacation in PA.  Went to the Pittsburgh zoo, Hershey Chocolate World, Gettysburg and Amish Country.  We stayed at a farm bed and breakfast and had a fantastic time.  N. is now convinced he wants to be a farmer.  He was up and talking to the sheep by 6:45 each morning and would stay out in the barnyard until dark.

S. had been more unsure about staying on a farm because she said she was afraid of chickens and didn't like goats.  She ended up loving collecting the eggs and even attempted to milk a goat.  Her favorite thing was the sunset ATV ride that the owner of the farm took us on.

It was a fantastic end to summer and I think we are now ready to dig in to a new, and hopefully wonderful school year.  I have been scheduling things in homeschool tracker all summer.  Sarah is taking a pretty tough load of classes.  Noah is moving on to the next Heart of Dakota guide entitled Resurrection to Reformation. It will include longer reading and more challenging, thought provoking activities.  I am looking forward to seeing his progress this year.