Apparently, I'm the winner this week.  I'm the last healthy one standing, but it may not last long, as I've got swollen glands.  But, at least I'm still here.

     Despite sickness, we are chugging along.  A couple things popped up that I'll journal below:

History: We studied about Martin Luther this week. ("Is the the one who said, 'I had a dream?'")  We giggled as we read SOTW's little poem to remember the number and outcomes of Henry VIII's wives:

divorced, beheaded, died

divorced, beheaded survived.

I don't think I'll ever forget this piece of trivia!

Science: Noeo's got this great book scheduled about the scientific method. 

It does a great job of explaining the scientific method and possible biases scientists might face as they interpret their results.  Towards the end of the book, we'll be trying to design an experiment to answer a question and walk through the scientific method setp-by-step.  Unfortunately that won't be for another week or so;  we're going to focus on History next week because we'll be studying the Renaissance, and there is so much to cover that Hugs is going to love.

Latin:  I really think Latin is an important subject.  I'm very pro-Latin in our homeschool, but just having a hard time getting to it daily.  We did complete our Lesson 16 this week (names of some of the constellations), but I'm just not excited about it like I was last year.  I'm trying to figure out why.  My first inclination is "go shopping" and buy a new curriculum -- something with a  WOW factor in it.  I'm considering either Lively Latin or Latin for Children.  Both seem to have a variety of learning activities in them, which I think is what we need. 

Language Arts: I've really stepped up the pace of All-About-Spelling.  He doesn't need all the foundation that is covered in Level 1.  Certainly, he needed the phonogram information, something we'd never covered before, and just slowing down to segment words into their phonograms was a helpful review.   I suspect we can finish level 1 next week and move on to level 2, which will give us more on the syllabication rules, which is what we need for spelling and reading.  Hugs is a good reader, but I think his difficulty with longer multisyllable words (words he's never seen before and words of 4-5 syllables) are holding back his comprehension. 

     AAS and FLL-3 are really my time drains right now.  They just suck a bunch of time out ofmy morning and make me feel like I'm neglecting the other two boys.  So, I don't know that we'll stick with AAS as Hug's main spelling program.  I will need to reassess after we finish AAS level 2, which hopefully will be by Christmas.  If we can go back to our ACSI Spelling program, or return to Spelling Workout [we finished B mid-2nd grade] that would mesh better with the needs of the other boys.

     In other news, we are tracking my mom's Asian cruise on our wall map, we missed CBS this week (because of all the sniffles), but did go to our first homeschool swim lesson and gym class!  Both those activities were well received by Hugs and Smiles;  Giggles not so much since he didn't get to do anything.

     After dinner tonight, I had a big "duh" moment.  I've just tonight gone ahead and transferred our Bible verse memorization lyrics into Start Write software and we'll use those for our handwriting practice rather than the Reason for Handwriting verses.  This will help with memorization and handwriting at the same time.  Two bangs for the buck.  Exactly what I need right now.

     I've also decided I need to do more  in the kitchen with the boys.   This week, they were in charge of peeling the carrots.  I'd like to get them more involved with some meal prep, so I'll be looking at ways to encourage their help