Homeschool Week 6

We just finished up our sixth week of homeschool for this school year.  It seems to be passing quickly.  The boys are having a great time and seem to be learning a lot.  Rarely do they complain about school or the work that I ask them to do.  Don't get me wrong- they have their moments but more times than not they complete their tasks with a positive attitude.  I know it won't always be this way so I am trying to enjoy it while it lasts.

Our Bible lessons for the week were "God Calls Abram" and "Lot Chooses the Best Land".  We have talked a lot lately about following God, doing things God's way and not our own, and making choices that honor God.  Our Doctrinal Drill was on the Bible.  We began learning three new songs:  "God Bless America", "Jesus Bids Us Shine", and "Rolled Away".  Cruz began learning his new scripture passage Psalm 34: 8-14.  I love starting our mornings with Bible.  It sets a great tone for the rest of the school day.


In language Cruz finished up his first workbook of the year by completing letter Z in our review of the alphabet.  It is always a celebration time when we complete a workbook.

Ben continued learning shapes.  This week he studied triangles.   I forgot to mention it in my last post but we recently began a study on Community Helpers.  We learn about a new one each week.  Last week we learned about pastors.  This week we learned about firemen.  There are twelve in all so we will continue this over the next several weeks. 

In Math, Cruz's lessons were on counting to 100 and skip counting by 10. 

Cruz writing to 100

Ben is counting to 10 and practicing writing numbers 1-6.

Ben doing math on our white board

number writing practice

I would show him a number flashcard and he would have to draw that number of "toppings" on his pizza.  He loved this!

counting noodles and sorting them into the right colored cup

another fun matching math game- count the objects and put the right number card on top

In History we studied the Mayflower. 

here are the boys Mayflower boats they made

We began our second History read aloud book.  We read a chapter each night at bedtime.

We learned about the States of South Carolina and Maryland.  Our volunteer teams all come from South Carolina so the boys had extra interest in that one.  In addition to reading in our book about each State we also watch a few tourism videos on YouTube about them.

Our Science lessons were on gravity.  The boys enjoy our science lessons most of all.  We do History on Monday and Tuesday.  On Wednesday we study the States.  We end the week with Science on Thursday and Friday.  I like doing it last because it ends the week on a fun note. 

Our first experiment was called "Who Can Beat Gravity?"  We blew up balloons and tried to keep them from falling to the ground. 

You can tell by their faces just how much they loved doing this!

This experiment was called "Galileo's Drop".  We took several objects and tested them to see which objects would hit the ground first.  We were testing to see if size and weight made a difference in gravity.

Ben about to drop a ball and a marble

Another experiment we did was make parachutes.  Here is Cruz cutting a square out of tissue paper to make his.

Before assembling them they wanted to add some stickers for decoration.

Cruz's parachute made from tissue paper, thread, a paper clip, and some tape.  Simple and fun.

testing his parachute

Our last experiment was called Painting with Gravity.  We squeezed drops of paint onto a piece of paper at gradual heights to see that the higher you go the bigger the splatter.

Our art lesson was drawing a baby leopard.

I think we will look back and get a lot of laughs from these animal drawings one day.

I'll leave you with one of our wild moments of the week.  Normally our school room is pretty quiet and orderly.  One morning I called David in to do something for me and all of a sudden all chaos broke loose. The boys attacked him and it turned into full blown play mode.  

They grabbed him by the legs and would not let him leave. 

Before I knew it they were down on the floor wrestling, giggling, and having a great time.  Every now and then a little distraction is not so bad.  I just wish I wasn't the one who had to calm them down and get them focused again.  More coffee, please!