Weekly Wrap-up: Session 1 Week 6

You will find something more in woods than in books. Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from masters.

- Saint Bernard

In My Life This Week

Do you have a specific day that you plan school? Or are you like me and take the time when you can? ::wink:: On Monday, Blue Spruce took Sugar Maple and Balsam Fir to a 19th century history museum with the Cub Scout pack. With 2 of the kids gone and White Pine working independently, I had a quiet day to catch up and plan some special stuff coming up. Whoop!

Maine requires portfolios and I find spending a little time throughout the year on them much better than doing it all at the end before assessments. ::wink:: So, I went through completed papers, added Post-its with additional information to the corners if needed, and organized them into 3 ring binders. I'm quite happy with where we are in our studies!

L to R: Slipping Math into Sugar Maple's Portfolio, Mini Gourds From the Last of the
Garden, and Folded Mini-Books for our Election Lapbook

I printed out an Election Lapbook from Homeschool Share and cut and folded the mini-books that the younger Saplings will work on next week. And then planned our first LITERATURE TEA of the year! Instead of poetry, we'll be sharing famous presidential speeches and patriotic music to go along with our unit study and having All-American food. So, help me out, what says "American" to you when it comes to food and drink? (Something besides Coca Cola and hot dogs! ::laugh::)

Homeschool High
Thoreau. He's just not White Pine's favorite author. So, we decided to have him skip the next Thoreau book and move onto Emerson this week. Aren't we compromising homeschool parents? ::snicker:: White Pine does need to finish his Thoreau writing though, and he's finding Self-reliance only a tad more enjoyable than Walden. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do...and then move onto the more enjoyable stuff.

Accomplishments:
Self-reliance (Emerson), Thoreau Author Profile/Creative Writing, Grammar: Prepositional, Adjective and Adverbial Phrases, Algebra: Factors and Coefficients, Distributive Property, Exponents, and Volume, Biology: Aquatic Ecosystems, Lab: Observing Succession, and Populations, Australia Mapwork/Geography, Boy Scout Court of Honor, Soccer

Homeschool Elementary
Sugar Maple has a friend who has experienced a lot of teasing from peers because she stutters. Compelled to support her friend and other kids, she wrote a letter to the newspaper editor, asking others to stand up against bullying. I'm quite proud of her for deciding to take a public stand...and her letter is going to be published!

She learned to crochet potholders when Nannie Lobster visited this weekend. She'll be making a bunch of these to give out as Christmas gifts. And Balsam Fir finished up the drink coasters from last week, spraying them with a shiny clear coat and gluing on felt. Adding handicrafts has been a HUGE POSITIVE this school year!

Have you seen "The Lorax"? It's a cute animated movie with a good message, and Balsam Fir LOVES it! So, I was able to download a creative writing page from Suesstastic Classroom Inspirations and Balsam Fir answered the question "If I was the Lorax, this is how I would help our Earth...". He had his first lessons in the writing process!

L to R: Balsam Fir with his Lorax 'Tache, His Writing, and His Lego Lorax Tree

Oh, and I did you know that in 1972 an animated show of The Lorax came out?

We also finished Botany Chapter 4 on pollination with our mini-books and our look at phototropism with our Plant Maze Box, and reviewed our SOTW readings with our timeline cards. (Yes, we ultimately decided to continue SOTW and save CHOW for another year.) We'll be taking a break from these studies to focus on our Science in a Bag review and the election unit study.

L to R: SOTW Wall Timeline and  Bean Plant Finds Light
in our Plant Box Maze

Sugar Maple's Accomplishments:
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Sea of Monsters (Riordan), Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Titan's Curse (Riordan), Published Letter to the Editor (Bullying), Soccer, Crochet: Potholders, Willowbrook Historical Museum, Mapwork, Sensory Writing, Samson Spelling, Multiplication, Cursive, Spanish (Feelings), ZooWhiz, Library

Balsam Fir's Accomplishments:
Nate the Great and the Snowy Trail (Sharmat), Willowbrook Historical Museum, Origami Animals, Creative Writing, Handwriting, Samson Spelling/Sight Words, Proper Nouns, Addition/Subtraction, Measurement (cm), Coin War (FAVORITE RESOURCE), Spanish (Feelings), Calendar, Library, Mapwork

Something to Share

Well, that's a wrap from Our Side of the Mountain! Oh, did you miss our field trip on the Kanc? Click here to see some beautiful waterfalls. As always, thanks for visiting! We'll see you next week!