My Weekly Homeschool Mother's journal

Life this week...

This week was fast. So fast that I'm trying to look back over the week, and all I can think is where did it go? And, what did we do? It feels like not much. I spent a lot of time getting the big boys' curriculum ordered and figuring out how our school will look now with all our new stuff. Oh, I guess I should update you all on that...we are with a new charter school, joined in November-ish. Joining after the school year started, and right before the Christmas break means that we are just now getting our curriculum for the school year. So, yeah, a little late of a start, but it's going to be so nice having all the holes and gaps filled in for curriculum. I got all 3 boys the Timberdoodle complete curriculum packages. Alex has the 3rd-grade kit. Aric the 6th, and Aaron the 8th. It feels like a lot of work/stuff/books right now. It all looks great though. I'm excited to dig in.

I only have pictures of Alex with his 3rd-grade curriculum since his arrived first (last weekend). The big boys' boxes arrived yesterday and we haven't opened them yet. So, here is one very excited 3rd grader with his new Timberdoodle curriculum!

Timberdoodle 3rd grade curriculum kit (non-religious, and minus a few items that we didn't need)

More of his Timberdoodle 3rd grade kit.

The rest of his Timberdoodle 3rd grade kit.

Homeschool this week...

We are currently doing a winter unit study, so we've been doing a lot of fun things involving winter including reading a lot of books about winter, learning about the seasons, weather, severe winter weather, vocabulary, science, and so much more. It has been fun.

YouTube has provided many great videos of winter-related learning and weather. It also provides great background noise of winter snowstorm sounds, or just calm peaceful snow falling by a lake. I just turned this on while we worked through our unit study lessons. So helpful to keep us on track and focused. Also very calming!

Alex also had a lot of fun checking out new curriculum items this week. His first Mobi math game was a little bumpy as we tried to figure it out. He was having a hard time understanding how the equations had to match up in all directions, and they had to be equal. We'll be playing this a lot! This is a great way to get some algebra skills!

All 3 boys are working through a cursive book of some sort. This is Aric's Cursive Logic book that he's still working through.

The 2 younger boys have also started a 3D modeling and design class through our charter. It was a doozy getting them both set up on the computer with cameras and sound, but it was fun for both of them to participate. It'll be fun to see what projects they create with this class.

Helpful homeschool tips and advice to share...

If you have a fidgety kid get some of this amazing stuff pictured below. Thinking putty. This particular kit came in Alex's new curriculum kit, but the "crazy Aaron's" brand thinking putty comes in all kinds of colors and glitters. We have been buying this stuff for years. It gives them something to do with their hands during lessons, read-aloud time, or anything where they have to sit and be still but need something to keep their hands occupied. This kit was fun, but most of the putty that we have bought before is just a tin of putty, no mixing required. I've even seen them at Target, but you can order it online from a lot of places too. It lasts for a long time and can be used over and over. That's my tip for the week!

Places we're going and people we're seeing...

This picture is from last week, but Alex and Aric went for their 2nd week of homeschool parkour class this week. They both have a good time, and it's SUCH great exercise. Full body workout for sure!

Random things the kids worked on...

So, I decided to invest in a Crayola marker sprayer airbrush kit when I saw them at the store recently because I hoped it would get the boys excited about something artistic and the price has come way down on them. I was also just really curious about how well these things work. I also have a ton of markers that we just need to use up. So, I picked one up. It actually works pretty amazingly. The boys pull it out at least daily now, and they create some cool pictures like this:

Something I accomplished...

I made some journals for the boys for our new scripture study program. Come Follow Me is our church's new home study program.  I wanted a place for the boys to put a reading chart, and any notes or thoughts. These were easy and cheap to throw together (made with a cheap sketchbook and scrapbook paper). I need to make one for myself too.

What we're reading...

We're discovering a lot of cool winter books and stories. I have a whole stack that we are still trying to make our way through, but I thought this story Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates was just lovely.

There are a lot of these ones too. Just the basics about winter. These can be pretty entertaining as well.

I'm cooking...

Let's just say I wanted to eat these ice cream snickers bars for dinner on more than one occasion this week. Not a lot of great cooking this week, but we survived! And, no, we didn't have Snickers bars every day. They are still happily residing in our freezer for a special treat.

I'm grateful for...

Planners, trackers, and calendars. I really would be lost without them. Lists too!