March is Here!

Written by Rachel, March 8, 2013

In my life this week…
I finally took down the Christmas lights from the outdoor railing around the front porch.  I am ready for SPRING!  Of course, it snowed two days later!  Ha!  Crocus leaves are still popping up through the mulch and I can't wait to see their delicate flowers bloom.

In our homeschool this week…

We are feeling a little bit of ease this week with a break from CC next Monday.  We have already completed Weeks 13-18 and this is our last official break before our last 6 weeks of CC for this school year!  It always comes around so quickly!  We have had a full schedule with all subjects, but has been needing to focus some extra time on our research reports.  We will not actually take next week off of school, because we already have a trip planned for April, but it is nice to have a "catch-up" week before the kids present their Faces of History papers when we return. 

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share… 
We used to do more "hands-on" activities, making things with clay or craft supplies when the kids were younger.  We used to read aloud more and drew more pictures or built pyramids with Legos.  {Sigh!}  At 10 and 12 years old, my kids are getting "big!"  They have more information to read and write about now.  However, I think I have been neglecting these outlets.  It was so great to partipate in some group "craft" activities during our science club to enrich our studies of volcanoes and the ocean floor.  My son even brought the volcano into class for his presentation last week.  So, I am going to try to remember that even my "tweens" might still enjoy getting out the craft supplies or Legos.  We are never too old for creativity!

My favorite thing this week was…

My son actually WROTE something on the board in our Essentials class on Monday!  He has never written anything that the whole group could see.  Of course, he was copying a sentence that his team had already worked on, but I was floored that he volunteered!! I did not make a big deal about it, or even take a picture, but my hear was singing!

 I also loved seeing daughter use every spare minute of her time to ...READ!  After being inspired by the orchestral music in her ballet class, she was so excited to read the first Harry Potter book.  Her cousin, who is 9 months younger, decided that she was ready to read them, too, and so the race began.  Although she did not like "competing" to see who would finish first, my daughter has never read a book so quickly.  I think that little bit of peer pressure will only help her reading fluency!

I am reading ...
Prescriptions for the Doctor's Wife and Help for your Unique Marriage by Debby Read
The Mystery of the Roman Ransom by Henry Winterfield (a read aloud with the kids)
The Rise of Rome by Anthony Everitt  (an interesting history narrative that I only get a few pages of at night)
and Chapter 8 of Luke for my Bible study 

I am working on...

I am watching the dvd's of upcoming IEW writing units and planning those for the rest of the semester.  I think that using the basic 3 or 5 paragraph report structure with a creative writing project will be a fun change from doing research reports for the last few weeks.

I am grateful for... 

Family, friends, and signs of spring!

I am praying for...

We are still praying for my Nini and her new living arrangements.  It is extremely difficult to make this kind of change after living in the same house for almost 70 years!

Hop on over to the Hip Homeschool Hop, The Homeschool Mother's Journal, Collage Friday,  and Weekly Wrap-up.  Have a great week!
Rachel