It cracks me up that my last post here was the first week of camp.....that says a lot about how the summer went....BUSY! But really, I did start another blog for the camp season

www.brokenarrowbibleranch.blogspot.com

I updated there all summer :)

So I am going to 'attempt' to start blogging here again....
to be honest, I don't have much to say these days except to let you know how schooling is going, since that is pretty much all I do with my days right now. All day, every day......
I am not even really able to do much ministry right now because of it (and soccer)....a busy time in my life, but one that will hopefully pay off one day....*key word, hopefully

So I am going to try to start doing the weekly homeschool updates again....it helps to see it all written out....makes me feel like I actually accomplished something, especially those weeks when I feel like the exact opposite!

We actually started the 3rd week of August, but we had done a few things before that. Since a lot of the math was review, we started that beforehand...so we are officially in our 5th week of school and for the most part, we are on schedule to be halfway done by Christmas. Trying to not take too many unscheduled days off this year. Sometimes I can't help it with the camp schedule being so 'unplanned' but it is my PLAN to stay focused and aggressive about the school schedule.

ABBY:
Math....For the most part we are still in a review: we did all the basics and now we have moved into reviewing units of measure and working with them mentally. She does not love math, but is pushing through it...grades aren't that great.
English....Again, some review, but some new stuff added. She is not grasping a lot of the concepts: predicate nominatives, predicate adjectives, noun of direct address, adverb clauses, etc....and on top of that, the diagramming is killing her. I love to diagram but she does not, so it makes it hard. I am looking up extra work for her online to help.
Spelling....She has very challenging words, but is doing fairly well with it....it's not so much a struggle for her.
Reading....I'm surprised that she is not doing as well in this area....she LOVES to read and spends hours a week doing it, but she just does not do that well with doing the work that goes along with it....just not putting the thought in that's needed to do it right. The grades she is making in this subject is not reflective of her true level of reading, which is disappointing.
History....one of my favorites...not sure how much she enjoys it! Again, she understands it,but does not do well on the study questions at the end of the chapter so therefore her grade is not all that great. She covered maps/globes in the first chapter (I had no idea how expensive globes were! wow!), she studied Europe in the second chapter and now she is studying Asia...THAT has her attention because she LOVES China. I checked out extra books at the library so she could do more research on it....I will have her write a report on some aspect of it in the next couple of weeks. I read all the chapters each kid does so I feel like all I do is read history and science...I have more homework than they do!
Science....She studied the "orderliness" of God's world in the first chapter...she loved doing the project where she had to go outside and find examples of "order" in nature....she found many plants and then cut out pictures of animals that exemplify God's order in the world. She also did a project where she had to make a pendulum...Dad helped her with that one. She is now beginning to study cells (I like this part!) so we bought a microscope and are ready to study the tiny details of God's world.

PETER AND HANNAH:
Math....Like Abby, they are beginning with reviewing a lot of last year's work. Right now they are just finishing up studying fractions....they both did well, but most of the problems Peter missed was because he didn't reduce all the way correctly....just in a hurry, I think.
English.....mostly review...they too are doing some diagramming but it's pretty basic. There seems to be more work on paragraphs which is a struggle for both of them, esp Peter. His spelling is pretty weak and he still does not grasp sentence structure. Hannah struggles with thought flow....guess it will click, one day...
Spelling....They both are doing ok in this area...Peter struggles a little more than Hannah though. They work together a lot, quizzing each other and working on the assignments together.
Reading....HELP!!!! Again, Hannah does a little better, but they both are not very strong in reading comprehension. Reading outloud helps,but I still have to work through the questions with them. But this is the first time with this curriculum and it's a little intense....I am hoping to slowly get them doing it on their own...
History....they seem to really enjoy this subject. Their first Unit was on the US and Canada...they enjoyed tracing and labeling the maps....both did well on their tests. Now they are beginning their study on First Americans and in addition to their assigned school work, I have books for them from the library. Peter will study Squanto and Hannah will study Pocahantas....I am reading all the books first (3 each) so hopefully I will be knowledgeable on each figure, too. They will probably have to do a speech on their character.
Science...their first Unit was on science as an overview.....different branches of science, the scientific method, etc. Now they are starting their study of anthropods...they LOVE that kind of stuff! We are still doing some experiments from the last unit, too.

MARISSA:
She is my niece who is living with us for the year... I am still figuring out what she knows and doesn't know, since I didn't actually school her last year (she was public school).
Math....she seems to be doing ok with this. She is using her fingers less and less and improving on her speed drills. She did not know how to count any money when she started but now she is doing pretty well with dimes, nickles and pennies. She is doing 3 digit addition (not carrying though).
English....she seems to have a good idea on what a sentence is and the different kinds. That is pretty much all the lessons have covered so far.
Handwriting....she has been taught to write some letters/numbers incorrectly but is working to correct that. Otherwise she does pretty well with her penmenship.
Phonics and Reading.....this is where a lot of the crying happens. The curriculum is too hard for her, I'm pretty sure. She does not read very well and didn't know the difference between a long and short vowel...and for some reason, can't grasp it. So it doesn't matter how many times I explain the 'rules' to her, she just can't get it....but we are praying that it will just "click" soon. The daily reading lesson takes over an hour if I sit down and help her...if I don't, it can take well over 2 hours. I"m kinda at a loss here....
History and Science....She cannot read the lessons in these subjects so I do most of that for her, although I do have her read parts of it....but the comprehension (no matter which way we do it) is very low. The questions are too hard for her to do alone. In History she is studying different types of "land" (hill country, plains, mountains, etc) and mostly covering the land of Canada. In Science she has already studied the seasons (brand new concept to her) and now we are looking at seeds, weeds and wildflowers. We have collected several types of seeds and will be working on finding some of the wildflowers she is studying. She enjoys the hands on type stuff!
Spelling....she does really well in this subject, but she just can't read and understand the directions in the lessons on her own. Good speller :)

I know that was a lot...I'm sure most of you didn't even make it to this paragraph! But that is the last MONTH in a nutshell...from now on, it will just be a 'week' in review!
Both Abby and Hannah are still taking piano lessons and knitting lessons. They are finishing up scarves from last year and they have both already done a heart shaped potholder. They will be starting their hat and mittens in the next couple of weeks.
All the kids are involved in soccer and it consumes a lot of our time...but they love it and we want to try and give them a few of the opportunities in town.
Abby is also taking art lessons...she is working with water colors now and will be entering a piece in the upcoming art show...she is excited.

We are starting up our home school group for the year.....we have a lot planned. I am on the leadership committee, along with 2 other women and we are working well together to offer many different activities for our local home schoolers.

Pray as we move through this week....one day at a time!