Weekly Wrap-up: Week 7

I can not believe we have just completed week number 7 of our homeschooling. Time has most certainly flown by over these past weeks. Veteran homeschoolers – does it always go by this quickly? Since this is our first year, I am a bit amazed at how much we both have learned.
What I have learned:
– To find ways to make the lesson more fun. For example, this week we began learning about bones. Little Buddy is fascinated with Ben 10 figures that you click together to make aliens or monsters or something like that. So, I asked him to bring his figures to our schoolroom for a little hands-on exercise. I think he was in shock that I actually asked him to bring toys to class. Anyway, after we made a couple of different “aliens,” I asked him what these aliens had in common with humans. I took it back to the aliens by asking him to draw what he thought their bone structure would look like compared to humans. The lesson went from there.
– To always begin the day with our Bible lesson and prayer. How simple is that? Well, there have been two times in the past seven weeks that I rushed into our schoolwork and missed Bible as our priority of the morning. (I know, I am ashamed still.) What did I notice on these days? Well, for one, I was not in the right frame of mind (obviously) and from me being off-kilter, Little Buddy was as well. When we begin our mornings with the Bible lesson and then a prayer from that lesson, our entire day just flows better.
– A ton of other things. The quick list – take a break when Little Buddy or I either one run out of steam. It’s okay to have school in the afternoons, in the car, in the RV, at the lake, or in a different room of the house (even outside) sometimes. A routine really does help. Little boys definitely need to run and have active, hands-on learning time.
What Little Buddy has learned.
– Mom means what she says the first time. Being an only child, Little Buddy has been able to “make deals” a good bit in his short life. He knows my pattern. Well, my pattern has changed and now he’s getting used to knowing that I mean what I say the first time and not the nine billionth.
– Yes, we do have school today. Even though he asked to start school in late June, there are some days that his first question when he gets out of the bed in the mornings is, “do we have school today.” After me saying, “yes, we have school today.” since that day in late June, he is now understanding the pattern.

– I hope a ton more. If you ask him what he learned today, he might say, “that Macbeth was greedy like Lot.” OR he might say, “Nothing much.”
So, where does that leave us for our plans for week 8? Well, we have got a whole bunch of fun stuff and many “learning opportunities” planned.

1. We are making a Flat Stanley and plan to send him traveling. You can read about the Flat Stanley Travels project at Heart of the Matter online.
2. We continue our studies of bones. We’ll be completing a lab project with a chicken bone. It’s part of Bob Jones Science curriculum.
3. We have two field trips planned for next week. The first is to the mummy exhibit in Atlanta at Emory University and the other is to the Fox to see Grease with Taylor Hicks.
4. For recreation, definitely more golf. Lessons and practice.

Thanks so much to Kris at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers for hosting this wonderful weekly wrap-up. I enjoy visiting with the other homeschoolers who link up each week. You know, sharing ideas and fun projects really helps the entire homeschooling community. That is surely where I have gained so much. There, prayer, and listening to Little Buddy.