Weekly Report

A little slow on the report this week but it's been a busy time with Cupcake having a birthday and lots of other fun stuff going on.

Bible: We are using Explorer's Bible study books but I'm wanting more for the girls, so I am investigating some other devotional studies we might be able to do together. I really want a combination of doctrinal studies and life application. Any ideas?

Math: Sweet Pea is working through her BJU lessons quite nicely and after some trouble with estimation, we're moving on with more confidence...I hope. :) Cupcake is moving quickly through mental addition practice and some more card games we've learned this week. Practicing multiples is something she enjoys too. We're going a little slowly but she loves math and I know things will pick up when we have more time...she goes in spurts of wanting to a few lessons a day down to skipping a day by accident in place of other additional work so it's hard to complain.

Grammar: Lessons will be on hiatus until Nov. 3rd due to all this next week holds.

TOG History: We finished week 9 and began week 10 this week (a Wednesday to Wednesday schedule for co-op). Readings this week focused on FDR, his New Deal, Dust Bowl, and other related topics. Cupcake enjoyed reading multiple fantastic picture books on these topics, and Sweet Pea read them all too (for fun) as well as a Dear America book. Both read an FDR biography and the related assigned readings in History of US and others. We experimented with a TOG lapbook for this unit...had to cut and paste it all ourselves but the pages were printed. We have a few more pieces to put in, but here's how it looks right now.

TOG Writing: Sweet Pea completed her keyword outline for a report on Amelia Earhart. On Friday, she began the writing, completing at least the first paragraph, for which she is quite proud. Cupcake completed a challenging keyword outline about FDR for her co-op class, and is working towards a final project due in a couple weeks...some of which is writing. She, too, began the actual writing and completed her first paragraph Friday.

Special Projects: Our local homeschool support group is doing a Biography Night next weekend and the oldest two are participating by being Amelia Earhart & FDR! Perfect way to blend their TOG/co-op research with a biography night! They will be in character to present their person to the group, and they will have a display board as well. We'll be able to double-dip a bit and use some of this at our co-op Unit Celebration later in November.

Science: This was the highlight of the week! Coffee Man orchestrated a great experiment about blubber...yes blubber. They are learning about whales, seals, and other ocean mammals, and so they learned about how well blubber insulates. It involved a timer, ice water, latex gloves, and shortening. Blubber wins, hands down...no pun intended. :) Here are the pics:

So there you have it! Another week with our party of five. :)