Weekly Report

What a week! We completed our hiatus from a couple of subjects to allow for more time to do some other projects & trips. And, if I do say so myself, good for me! : ) I always torture my children by trying to do it all and I have finally woken up to this frustrating reality and opted *in advance* to reduce the schedule to accommodate these special events and, (gasp!) enjoy them. Phew. Sometimes I can be such a slow learner when it comes to reading what my kids can actually handle.

Math: One of the few subjects that we never drop, no matter what. Sweet Pea has slowed down again, but she aced her Chapter 1 test in BJU and is moving through Chapter 2. The timer is the only way to keep her focused on her work and motivate her to a quicker completion. Today is the last day of this two-week cycle, so next week is back to RS Geometry. Cupcake has just started multiplication and she loves it! She "gets it" and has already recognized the patterns and how it's commutative, it's like addition, and she even has developed quick strategies for solving problems that are beyond her.

Science: This week's highlight was our trip to the aquarium on Tuesday! I posted one photo earlier this week, but here are a few more of the animals we enjoyed seeing and learning about. We still have a lot to learn about in our Zoology 2 book, but now we've got some great first-hand viewing to go along with it. As you approach the aquarium, the outdoor seal habitat welcomes you. This is fun because the seals are at eye-level to kids! Pinnipeds have been the subject of our recent reading so it was fun to seem them up close.
Just inside the doors, you can't miss the huge penguin exhibit...it's an open air exhibit that wraps around the whole first level, displaying three types of penguins. It was feeding time for the Rockhoppers. One dug in without waiting (left center)...and one big guy liked to stand with one wing out to "show off" a lot.
A whole area is dedicated to jellies right now. They are hard to photograph, but this one came out clear enough to enjoy their beauty.

In my earlier post about this trip, I included this link: New England Aquarium ,to show the huge central tank that is the highlight. These next photos are through its windows. The tiger sharks were quite intimidating!


This one captures a unique reflection of Sweet Pea enjoying this angel fish! TOG History & Writing: This has been our only other major focus this week. Sweet Pea has been writing a research report on Amelia Earhart & preparing to present her work at our local Biography Night this weekend in a sort of "who am I?" format. She will also be making a display of some kind and working on a presentation for co-op classes.This work will also be incorporated into our co-op's unit celebration in a few weeks. Meanwhile, Cupcake has been learning all about FDR for Biography Night, and has now completed 2 of her 3 paragraphs for her written report for me. For co-op, she is also working on a display board and maybe a diorama--she loves these and wants to have a family listening to a fireside chat. That's still in progress though. Our history reading in general this week has been focused on FDR and the New Deal...with some discussions on the frighteningly obvious parallels to our country's current economic crises. Talk about an object lesson!

Literature: This is often tied into TOG, so I rarely include it but this week, the girls have enjoyed re-reading some of their American Girl books about Kit. Cupcake, who I jokingly describe as one who "eats books for lunch" has devoured many books about the Great Depression: Potato, Saving Strawberry Farm, Leah's Pony, and more. I sometimes need to move her up to UG reading instead of LG but the content is sometimes too challenging...this is my ongoing dilemma with her.

Election Fun: Our local homeschool support group participated in the National Mock Election! This was great, as we had already dedicated a great deal of time to learning about candidates during the primaries. On Thursday this week, the mom who organized it all hosted a pizza party with a twist...we all voted in advance for pizza toppings. Of course the kids thought cheese would win, but this smart mom gave each person a card with info about them...state, gender, & race. So of the 20 people in the room, only 3 votes counted at first and eggplant pizza was ahead!! Then, as amendments to the Constitution passed, more votes counted, so veggie was in the lead, then pepperoni. Finally, when voting was open to all, cheese won out, but not before learning a fantastic lesson in election history. Kudos to our local friend who planned it all.

To add even more excitement to our week, we bought tickets for the girls to see Michael W. Smith & Steven Curtis Chapman in concert! What a fantastic show, but it sure did a number on our next morning. :) It was to be expected, and I felt it more important to enjoy this rare treat.

That's it! A long one this week. :)