We are continuing our study of Alaska for our US Geography Unit Study.
So far this week we have read:
Stickeen: John Muir and the Brave Little Dog
By: John Muir, as retold by Donnell Rubay
Illustrated by: Christopher Canyon
I thought this was a GREAT story of courage (on the part of the dog)... perhaps a bit of stupidity on the part of the human! Then, again... there is a fine line between bravery and stupidity sometimes! :)
Storm Boy
By: Paul Owen Lewis
This one was NOT a favorite of mine. I actually thought about throwing it away. It is a myth/legend and it is just too weird for my taste.
Northern Lights
By: D. M. Souza
I LOVED this one. It took us two days to read. It was a great science book that explained the natural phenomenon of auroras, specifically aurora borealis, The Northern Lights!
I have always been fascinated with The Northern Lights and have always wanted to see them! A few years ago, there was a greenish glow in the sky for several nights in a row. I wondered if it might be the Northern Lights, but speculated that Washington state was too far south for such a wonder... after reading this book and seeing the spectacular photos I am very sure that I DID, in fact, see a bit of The Northern Lights at that time! They have actually been seen as far south as MEXICO at times! I did not know that!
Furthermore, did you know that you can call a phone recording at the Space Environment Service Center in Boulder, Colorado (303-497-3235) to find out what the K Index is for that night? If the K Index is five or higher that means that there is enough disturbance in the Earth's magnetic field that an aurora may be visible well south of Canada!
In other homeschooling news:
We had two weeks kind of "OFF"... Daddy and the boys went camping for 4 days and we girls did Spring Cleaning and had some fun girls only time. After the boys and Daddy got back home we started back up on a landscaping project we are working on. (I'll have to post pictures soon!)
That Saturday was our Final Quiz Match! We took First, by the way! (watch for photos in the near future!)
Then, the next day we had lunch with the other family on the Quiz Team to celebrate the end of the season and our victory and that same evening Russ' Dad and step-mom arrived with their RV!
We worked on the yard work and visited all week long! And then there was the part where my very dear friend, Diana, had an emergency apendectomy last week. She is doing better everyday and I am thankful that since my husband and in-laws were here I was able to be of some help to her.
This week we are back to our "normal" schedule (for the most part). We are taking it a bit slow b/c some of the children have been feeling icky. Only that one explosive sickness (the one day we were in the car, of course), but I am thankful that was the end of that part of the sickness. I got right to the herbs and all the other children just FEEL kind of under the weather.
Today, I put together the state notebook we will be using for this US Geography Unit Study.
We are easing into our Spring schedule now that our required 180 days is done. I actually have 4 different schedules that I work off of. You may have noticed that our schedule changes every 3 months. I do that because variety is the spice of life and prevents burn-out, I think! We try to take a week or two off in beween each schedule change instead of taking the Summer off and it works well for us!
In the Spring we go to a semi-light schedule (posted below). The Summer Schedule is our lightest and more hands-on than the rest of the year. In the Fall we add subjects back in one at a time and by Winter time we are settled in for the long-haul when the rain prevents us from spending much time outdoors.
6:30 AM Parents Up
7:00 AM Childen Up and start Chores
7:30 AM Breakfast and Clean-Up
8:00 AM Start Laundry and Quiet Reading Time (as well as writing a summary of what was read)
9:00 AM Scripture Memory/ Devotions (currently Galatians chapter 1)
Prayer
Mondays: Bible History
Tuesdays: Art or Classical Music
Wednesday: Science (just finished our Snow Lapbooks... finally!)
Thursdays: US Geography and/or History
Fridays: Grammar Songs or Math Game (or various other fun activities to review)
10:00 AM Math and Math Drill Time
10:30 AM Journal Time for younger children. (They may write on whatever subject they chose Mon.-Thurs. Friday they are assigned a topic for Composition). Kaitlyn is working on Learn to Write the Novel Way so she is not required to write in her journal, but often does so just for fun! Sometimes the children ask to blog what they wrote.
11:00 AM Penmanship and Memorization Review. I type up one-two verses of our scripture memorization with StartWrite and the children neatly write and then memorize that verse. (This week we are focusing on Gal. 1:1-5)
At this same time the four older children take turns practicing their typing with Mavis Beacon. Hannah is allowed some computer time about twice a week to play on Starfall.Com, or Webkinz.
After the school room is cleaned up we have lunch.
After lunch time is cleaned up the children have "recess" and I go over things the children need help with (i.e. math, etc.)
Throughout the afternoon is our Life Skill of the Day...(This is a newer addition to our schedule and I am LOVING it!)
This week: Monday: Laundry and Ironing
Tuesday: Hospitality (Preparing and Bringing a Meal to a Sick Friend)
Wednesday: Dusting, Vaccuuming and Mopping (when I finish this LONG entry!)
Thursday: Garbage and Yard Work Day
Friday: Probably will be Errands Day, if no one feels nauseous by then!
(Monday and Thursday the weekly activities are always the same. The rest of the days rotate around scheduled events, appointments, need for groceries, etc.)
Around 3 we have snack.
Around 5 I start dinner.
6PM Dinner Time and clean up.
7-8 Movie Time or a Read-Aloud with Daddy
8 PM Bedtime for children
8-10... I usually blog, read, crochet or chat on MOMYS.COM (on Wednesday nights) while hubby watches a movie or reads.
10PM Bedtime
I am planning to add Karate time in the mid afternoon. (Maybe around 2 each day.) We bought the Homeschool Karate DVDS, but we have a really old DVD player and so they have to watch them on the downstairs computer which is usually being used for email or blogging. So I need to just work it into the routine.
In the Summer time we will go with an even lighter schedule. In the Summertime we do Vacation Stations or Summer Bridge workbooks in the mornings and work on a unit study in the afternoons. This year's unit studies are Beautiful Feet's The History of Science and Hands of a Child's Egypt lapbooks. (To kick off Beautiful's Ancient History that I plan to do in the Fall!)
Next week will be standardized testing and evaluations week. So that will take precedence for the week and then onto the above schedule.
One more thing I plan to implement in the future is Long -Term Projects... something that takes 4-12 weeks to work on... like the landscaping project we are working on, or crocheting or sewing something,etc.) I want each child to plan and work on their chose project a little each day with a deadline in place and perhaps a small incentive for meeting their goals. Just an idea that I have.
Okay... if you made it through this long and probably boring post you are my hero! I would have fallen asleep from lack of interest back after the Northern Lights book review! Perhaps this should have been two or more entries!
Now I MUST go do LIFE SKILLS time with my children! Don't stop me now. I so love mopping after all! 
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