Home School Weekly

I didn't do a 'wrap-up' last week because it was so busy....so I don't want to miss it again. I'll try to re-cap the past 2 weeks as briefly as I can.

MATH:
We made great progress in math (more so with the twins). On more than one day we did double lessons. It's a little harder with Abby because her lessons are a little more intense and longer. But we are moving along. I have set up goals in all the subjects, to reach a certain place by April 15th....I'm praying we can accomplish that.
Everyone has completed a math test (2 for the twins) and is doing well. Abby is starting a new chapter and it will cover percents. The twins are wrapping up a chapter on adding and subtracting fractions.

SPELLING:
We finally got some spelling done! Abby did a whole week, test, and has started another lesson. She has always done really well in spelling...praying it stays that way:)
The twins will take a test on Monday. Peter struggles a little more than Hannah, but with some extra attention he can do well. This week's words are hard for Peter....."interrupt, underneath, elevator, neighbor, etc..."we just have to take it slow, and sometimes we have to test twice (and combine the scores).

ENGLISH/GRAMMAR:
Abby is continuing her lessons on writing a research paper. She completed her rough draft (her paper is on the Alamo) and will type it out on Monday.
The twins are making good progress in their English.....some days we do 2 lessons....the ones that are easier and somewhat 'review'. They are working on different types of verbs right now, and will continue that topic for the next couple of weeks. I want to be done with this Unit by April 15th....doable, but with much focus and determination!

VOCABULARY:
Abby hasn't done any work in her vocab book the past couple of weeks....it's not something we do every week. But she did finish up her Explode the Code book and ended up with a 95/A on the whole book. The twins are moving through their Explode the Code book.....probably just a couple more weeks in that. Then we'll be through for the year.

READING:
Abby is still reading The Bronze Bow......she is about 1/2 through it, doing some vocabulary from that and answering discussion questions on the book. Peter is reading a Boxcar Children book....that's about his level. Hannah is still reading Little House on the Prairie.

HISTORY/SCIENCE
Co-op:
Right now, they are getting their history and science at Co-op. In New Mexico History they are learning about the Santa Fe trail and the explorers involved in that. They are doing a biography on a famous explorer and it is due on Thursday. They will just be starting that paper on Monday so we will have to really focus on that this coming week. Two weeks ago they had a "spanish" day....they got to dress up in spanish attire and they made homemade tortillas with all the trimmings. It was a fun day for them :)
For science they are studying bees at co-op. The kids LOVE this class! They have really enjoyed making their lapbooks and telling me all about what they have learned. They have even been 'bee hunting' here at the camp and love to get up close and personal with them (now that they know which ones will sting and which ones won't). They are also writing a paper in this class. Abby is writing hers on the different kinds of bees (queen, worker and drone), Peter is writing his on the Queen Bee and all her duties, and Hannah is writing hers on the life cycle of a honey bee. All they have left to do is type them out.
It's really time consuming for the twins to write research papers....they haven't studied how to do that in detail yet so I have to walk them through most of it. I helped them with their outlines but they are responsible for actually writing out the paragraphs. It's tempting to help them more, but I need to let them do that. They DO know how to write paragraphs so I just need to let them work it out.
We only have one more week of co-op so we will go back to doing history and science at home. We will pick back up in American History but I don't know what we will do for science. We only have about 6 more weeks of school so it needs to just be a short study.

HANDWRITING:
I've started doing handwriting with the twins again.....something I have neglected since Christmas.

BIBLE QUIZZING:
We just finished up our last tournament for the year. We studied the whole book of John this year and they have learned lots....me too!! They won every tournament except one. This weekend they scored more points than they ever have. Abby really did a great job and really stepped up and was actually competitive. The twins are the youngest in the whole program, but they manage to answer a couple.

Extra Stuff:
Awana.....Peter just finished one of his books. He is very excited about that.
Piano......The girls are doing really well. Hannah is working on "Were You There".....hoping it will be ready in time for Easter and she can play at church. Abby is really loving the "fast" songs. She loves to memorize those and play them over and over :)
Gymnastics......They all really enjoy it and are showing improvement. Peter has only been involved in it for a few months but he is doing really well.
Home Ec........The girls are involved in a 7 year course.....although Hannah technically shouldn't start until 6th grade (she is in 4th), I am letting her start in some of the areas. She and Abby are both doing the knitting and doing well. Still working on their scarves and also working on nice washcloths for a birthday gift. Abby may finish hers up on her next lesson....Hannah probably has 2 more lessons. In the area of cooking, I am only letting Abby do the actual required cooking for the course. Hannah wants to cook so I am letting her do more "box" recipes right now. But Abby is really enjoying the cooking part of it. This week she made whole wheat tortillas, fruit kabobs with strawberry dip, and banana bread. She did all the list making, shopping and preparing for each recipe. She also (outside the course) made some peanut butter cookies. She just loves to bake.....not sure where she gets it! Hannah made a lemon cake with lemon icing, and Peter found a recipe for Honey Bee Cookies and made a batch for the Bees co-op class....big hit!
PE.....Abby is the only one involved in the homeschool pe class. They are doing floor hockey right now, but in a couple weeks I heard they will be doing frisbee golf....a favorite out here at the camp!! :)

So that's a 2 week wrap up....again, it doesn't feel like much but I have to take what I can get and keep moving forward. Makes me want to get some school done TODAY....on a SUNDAY! But I will try to control my urge and wait until tomorrow :) Today we will attempt to rest.....tomorrow will be here soon enough! :)