Life this week...
We started a major project this week. The backyard needs some work, and we really want to make it a more enjoyable place to just hang out. So, we are tearing up the grass just beyond the patio to put in a gravel patio area. We want to extend our concrete patio because it's just not enough room for the picnic table and grills and sitting. We also had a fireplace out here and want to have the area around it be gravel. I think what we are planning to do will be similar to
this project (just not as fancy). The first step for us is digging up the grass so we can take some of the dirt out to make it level with the rest of the yard.
Aaron ran the rototiller over this whole area once. Then again after we got the grass clumps out. It's getting there. We are also taking the dirt out and putting it in another part of the yard where the pool will go up.
Right here. Last time we had the pool up 2 years ago it wasn't completely level. We decided to make sure the yard is more level this time, so we are filling in with the dirt. That bundle in the background is the pool. The kids are very excited to get it up.
And, where the pool was being stored for the last 2 years left us a nice bare patch of dirt to plant our little garden. Alex planted these sunflower and corn seeds a few weeks ago, and it was time to put them in the ground, so we transplanted those this week. I was thankful we found a place to put them!
Hopefully I'll be able to share some completed pictures of this project over the course of the summer. This backyard needs so much work. It has way too many weeds and uneven grass and even a gopher/mole problem.
Homeschool this week...
I love to incorporate games into our week as much as I can. We played
The Scrambled States of America Game one day for geography. Did you know there's a book to go with this game? We'll be checking that out soon.
We started a
Canada Unit Study a few months ago. I think in the late Fall at the beginning of the school year. I had a hard time finding the energy to get back into it, but we finally did this week. Picked up right where we left off!
We did some labeling of the provinces and territories. I made
this map and it worked really well for some hands on work.
Alex labeled them on his map. I purchased these place mats last fall. Very handy for geography!
They have vocabulary words to write each day too. There are a total of 5 days of study for this unit study. We made it halfway through day 2 so far. So our study will continue on probably throughout the rest of June.
Completing some writing and math.
I rediscovered an old favorite,
Write Bonnie Rose. Such great pages for copywork in so many subjects.
Reviews we are working on...
We have one review that we are to start on this week, so more to come here!
Helpful homeschool tips and advice to share...
Don't underestimate the guides that you receive with curriculum. Whether they be a curriculum guide, teacher's manual, instructors guide, whatever it is called, they often have a ton of useful information. I am utilizing the curriculum guides from our Timberdoodle kits for many things. But, I'm especially using them to help guide the boys' summer reading. They have a reading challenge for each level, and we're using those lists to put together a summer reading list. Hopefully I'll have a post up soon to share those lists with you.
Places we're going and people we're seeing...
Didn't really go anywhere this week. But, I did hear that our local Wal store had closed early and blocked all entrances on Monday. We drove by to see for ourselves. It was true!
My favorite thing this week was...
We learned the importance of making sure our voices are heard through our voting so that the good may prevail. This was part of our family home church lesson last Sunday. Then we held a family vote.
The family vote was a blast. We voted about simple things such as what pet should we get, where should we camp, favorite dinner for special dinner night, etc. Each thing to vote on had 3 choices or a spot to write in something. It was fun to see what things the kids picked.
Things I'm working on...
Planning meals and learning how to use my new PC air fryer.
Random things the kids worked on...
Alex found this big pot and decided he wanted to paint it to look like a watermelon. We've been gathering pots for our little garden, and he decided this one needed a makeover. He painted the first layer. I painted the second layer and did most of the seeds. It was a good joint effort project.
Something I accomplished...
Nothing I accomplished other than all the yard work already talked about.
What we're reading...
We're reading Billy and Blaze books, Paddington bear books, and a lot of other random books. I just don't remember what! I need to start writing down what we read since I forget to take pictures of it.
Movies we watched...
This is a new prompt that I decided to add in this week. We usually watch a couple movies a week. Especially lately with not being able to go anywhere. This week we watched The Sound of Music. I forgot how much I like that movie. The songs get stuck in your head all week long.
Not much. I made chili and corn bread and a lot of usual meals, nothing real special.
That about wraps up this week. How was your week?
