Lesson update

We're having a lot of fun this week. This is week three in our new history unit trial run. Phase three (or week three) is the hands-on week. So far we've had some fun things, even if we did forget to make our Challah bread yesterday! We'll have to make it up today. Monday C researched clothing in Ancient Israel. She just loves designing clothes. It started when my father in law brought her samples from his store (custom draperies), and the Barbie Fashion Company began. This week she researched and designed various fashions which unfortunately all look very much alike, but that's the style and not the designer I've been told. :) Yesterday she focused on food and eating habits. She read and researched the Biblical dietary laws as well as what types of crops and such would be available then. It was really interesting to hear her opinions on the subject. We were going to make "Challah in a Bag" but the day got away from us. I'll post pictures and a recipe if it goes well today. I think the rest of the week is going to focus on the daily practices of the faith of the Ancient Israelites... the Sabbath and Biblical Holidays. Of course, it will only be a surface look since we're spending two days on it, but we'll cover each more in depth as we approach them.

Math has been very slim this week since most of the approximation assignments involve groups, and our little home doesn't have groups! I thought of organizing something through email, but honestly with everything going on I just didn't have it in me this week. We're going to start the chapter on Graphing next week. (I just don't like starting a new chapter on a Thursday or Friday!) I did have a very exciting find last night though on Paper Back Swap. Someone listed Math Smart Junior 2! We have had such great success with using Math Smart Junior this year that I really wanted to be able to use the second book next year. This will give us a nice buffer so that we can start with something along the lines of Life of Fred or some other Algebra text in 7th grade. I'm really excited that it will be here, and all it cost me was a book credit. This has to be one of the most economical curriculum purchases that I've made in a long time. :)

I was also able to pick up the first Word Smart Junior as well. We have the second book on the shelf, and though I like the style and set up I really need to start with the first book. We'll add that in and perhaps our Vocabulary Vine work that we never integrated as planned this school year. She's had such good success with Spelling this year that I want to expand it into additional Vocabulary work since the subject interests her. I've found that I'm really relaxing a lot this year and just "going with the flow." It has made such a big difference. She was ready to focus on Spelling and it improved. She's ready to focus on Vocabulary, and though her word usage and understanding has always been stellar, there is always room for improvement. We may add in copy work and dictation as we take a break from formal writing, and then once we get started again I really feel like she'll make big strides in that area if she has stronger spelling and vocabulary skills.

All other subjects are going well. I'm very excited that we're heading into Ancient Greece next because it will give us a chance to expand our art history and music appreciation studies. I still need to sit and organize our "phases" so that it comes together a bit better than this unit, but hopefully I'll be able to work on that some this weekend. I was tempted to buy the Diana Waring materials for Ancient History just for the last few units, but I was a good girl and passed on it. :) I do, though, think that we'll keep the weekly phase rotation rather than daily rotation while using the HOW materials that I have. I like this blend of approaches, and it works well. We've got three units left after Ancient Israel: Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, and a unit called The Messiah which covers the early church.

We don't have as much to show on paper this year simply because I've backed off of forcing her to have a high level of output, but we have tons of research notes and outlines that she has made during her reading, which I think is a good skill set to develop as well. I think I'm finding myself re-evaluating everything since I have to evaluate what we are doing as far as church and such. Just call me a soul searching. (Here's hoping I don't annoy my husband. lol)