Homeschool Mother's Journal: In Which Six More Weeks of Winter Doesn't Seem So Bad

In our homeschool this week...  we continued on our merry way for the most part, with everything going quite smoothly.  We added a little extra science by looking at the Celestial Almanack, and decided to get started on the second book on ecology we'll be looking at this year, Exploring the World Around You.  In music, we studied Giuseppe Verdi, so I gave the kids a little introduction to opera.  We got started studying France in Social Studies.

Back before Christmas I had planned to build a Stonehenge model out of rice krispie treats, but we never got to it and forgot all about it.  Until Wednesday.  We made peanut butter rice krispie treats in the late afternoon, and when we got home from church activities, we cut it into pieces and quickly put together a model that lasted a few minutes before being devoured by its builders.  I don't know how educational it was in the long run, but it was yummy! LOL

Co-op was enjoyable again this week, and my class worked on some basics of structual engineering.  REAL basic, but we learned about load and stability and efficiency by building some structures out of straws and pipe cleaners, and playing some Jenga.

In other news...  Monday evening I got to enjoy an evening out with moms from my homeschool group.  We shared our reasons for homeschooling (you can read about mine in this blog entry), and how those reasons may have changed over the years, and encouraged each other.  Always a good time.

The weather was beautiful this week, and Kennady was out in short sleeves on Wednesday working on her softball skills.

 

Landon is off to his first ever winter retreat with the church youth group this weekend.  I am holding out hope that he will remember to take off his glasses during any wrestling matches.

My favorite thing this week... the weather! Let me just say this - if we get six more weeks of this kind of winter, I'd be totally okay with that.  Happy Groundhog Day, indeed.

What's working/not working for us...  thankfully, the truck is working again! Last Saturday the brakes were sketchy, and Sunday morning we had no brakes whatsoever, which meant begging a ride to and from church.  Good thing we live close to the church and could work that out.  We made do with just one vehicle for a couple days until we could get the brakes fixed on Wednesday afternoon.  Of course there are still some other minor repair things that need doing on both vehicles, but at least they work!

Questions/thoughts I have...  I'm starting to think ahead to the upcoming curriculum fairs and wondering what we'll do next year.  Some decisions have already been made, and I am hoping that I won't have to buy much this year.

A photo/video/quote or link to share...
Okay, this is a beer commercial, but I loved it.  Why are beer commercials some of the best out there?  Anyway, this is a preview of one that will air during the SuperBowl, and it's pretty hard not to sport a smile while watching it. 

On the bookshelf...

• The Begotten by Lisa T. Bergren
• The Skin Map by Stephen R. Lawhead
• A House for My Name by Peter J. Leithart

Blogged about Lawhead's Arthur, which I finished last week, and about Tasha Alexander's And Only to Deceive which I read this week.

A Parting Shot...

This post is linked to The Homeschool Chick - see if other homeschoolers are ready for more winter too.