Thursday, February 14, 2013

A Peak at Our Week: Session 3 Week 7 - And We're Off on Vacation!

In My Life This Week
Snow. Lots and lots of snow. A part of me was hoping that spring would come early, in February, but I forgot for a sec that we're in Maine. ::wink:: Forgot? Hard to imagine, I know, but we've been down to bare ground for weeks and weeks and I got used to it. I even pulled out the hiking backpacks! What was I thinking? Anyway, we were hit with a blizzard Friday and Saturday and over 2 feet of snow piled up and blew around in frigid gusts. Our newly purchased shovels are definitely "broken in" now...and one is just plain BROKEN!



Things I Worked On
✔ Organizing Papers Into Portfolios
✔ Shoveling
✔ Planning for Session 4
 Cleaning up the Van

My Favorite Thing
Happy birthday to some GREAT kids! White Pine turned 14 and Balsam Fir turned 8 this week. Would you believe they were both due on the SAME DAY 6 years apart? 


Homeschool High School
::echo:: Very little to report this week! White Pine had a few pages to complete in his Biology Coloring Book and an Algebra test, but otherwise he had a "week of leisure" (i.e. sleeping in until lunch when I would let him)...IF you don't count the copious amounts of shoveling and cleaning up after a "hurricane" hit his bedroom. ::wink:: It all comes from 6 weeks of long, mostly focused school days and voila! his session goals were met early. 

Homeschool Elementary
In my quest to find a math program that flows well for both Balsam Fir and I, I ordered and received Math-U-See Beta and he started it this week. He flew through lesson 1 and I suspect most of Delta will be EXCELLENT review for him. We called it LEGO MATH because of the blocks! ::wink::


SM Accomplishments
The Royal Diaries: Cleopatra VII, Word Builder, Reading Comprehension, Decimals, Fractions, Percentage, Digestive System, Anglo-Saxons, Mapwork

BF Accomplishments
Flat Stanley, Target Word Wall, Writer's Notebook, Word Builder, Place Value, Addition Facts, Plant Germination, Anglo-Saxons, Mapwork

Books, Books, Books!
The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe has been a BIG hit around here! We're almost finished with it, so we'll bring along Prince Caspian on our travels next week too.

People We Saw, Places We Went
☃ Boy Scout Merit Badge College (WP)  Scouts (BF) ☃ Visit Family (All) ☃ Basketball (SM) ☃ Ice Cream Parlor  Library  Ice Skating  Clarinet/Band (SM) 

Something to Share


Thanks for stopping by Our Side of the Mountain! I'm linking up to these wonderful blog hops. Why not click over and read more homeschool happenings. And don't forget our 3rd Explorers blog hop is this Sunday!

25 comments:

  1. Monkey Man crossed over to Boy Scouts this past Sunday! I can't believe he is that old already! Little Monkey turns 8 on Saturday.. I'm not ready for that either.

    I just purchased a nice hiking backpack for my hubby. It was what he wanted for his birthday (only 3 months early). He can't wait to go hiking this summer.

    Enjoy your week off!

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    1. Oh, backpacks and hiking! ::grin:: Not this week, but the following I may be linking up a post for the Explorers Blog Hop on our hiking essentials if you want to check it out. I have it started, but wondering if it's too early? I'll keep you POSTED.

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  2. Have a great vacation! The snow looks lovely, but I am sure in the amount you got, it is anything but fun. Happy birthday to your boys.

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  3. That is a lot of snow! Wow! Happy birthday to your boys :)

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  4. Your snow is beautiful! We're still looking at bare ground here and temperatures are supposed to be up in the 50's next week -- unseasonably warm. Glad you had a great birthday celebration with your boys.

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  5. Happy Birthday to your boys!! Beautiful pics of the snow too :) Have a great break and a great weekend!!

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  6. You have snow. Here, our cherry tree is blooming and the birds are singing like it's already spring. We never get much snow here in Georgia, but usually at least a few pretty dustings. So far this year I haven't seen a single snowflake. I'm sure it would get old if we had to live with it, but I wouldn't mind if you could send one of those snowfalls down this way! ;)

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    1. I would if I could, Jamie! LOL We haven't actually had a really snowy season, but this last snowstorm made up for it!

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  7. Wow, to all that snow! My kids have been begging for snow, but we've only had a light dusting one or two days this year.
    I'm curious to know more about how you break your homeschool year into sessions. Do you take a break in between each one? It's my first year homeschooling, and I definitely hit the winter blahs this year. I need to figure out a better system for next year, I think.
    Pam

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    1. This is our first year with this new schedule, and it came about because we ALWAYS seem to burn out around April but still have 6 weeks or so of school to complete. Between warmer, sunnier weather and needing an extended break, those weeks can be very challenging. ::wink::

      So, this year I have scheduled 5 6-7 week sessions with a 1-2 week break between them. (Christmas gets 2 weeks off, but otherwise just 1.) During our weeks off I catch up our (required) portfolios, plan for the next session, and we continue activities (such as scouts) but no "formal" school. Picture an unschooling week! I'm hoping that come THIS APRIL we'll be OK to finish the year strong in early June.

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  8. Your snow is absolutely beautiful! We got missed in Indiana. My kids LOVE Narnia as well! We love the Focus on the Family Audio Theater of the books! We have friends whose two kids were born on the same day 3 years apart! How cool is that and fun for your boys!

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  9. I'm glad you enjoyed The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe..we'll be reading the series soon.
    I think I'm ready for spring now, too!

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  10. Your weeks always seems so happy and wonderful. I love reading the posts about your week. Thanks for hosting the History and Geography meme for all those weeks! Have a wonderful vacation!

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  11. We are almost down to bare ground but I keep expecting another storm. It is way to warm for this time of year.

    I was thinking of the homeschooling families that I follow back East with that storm hitting.

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  12. Awesome week. We sure would love some of that snow. We haven't had any this year.
    Blessings, dawn

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  13. I love snow pictures almost as much as I love pictures of books. I love the Narnia series and can't wait to read them again with my youngest.

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  14. The snow pictures are beautiful. I have been able to enjoy the Narnia series 3x now...and I will get it in one more time when the baby gets that age. Love it! Thanks for linking up to HammockTracks.

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  15. I love the snow. A few weeks back you posted that your oldest was using Grammer 101 do you use the free version or did you purchase the $40 version with added tests? Also I noticed that you use Excellence in Literature. I am thinking about purchasing that as well. Thank you.

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    1. It's actually an on-line curriculum that we use called English Grammar 101. The link is this: http://englishgrammar101.com/

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  16. That was A LOT of snow Jessy. I think us Southerners would die if we got that much snow! Keilee just started reading the first Narnia book and she is very excited about it. I think your sessions sound really good. What a great way to avoid burnout. Stay warm!!

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  17. Visiting from HMJ. Wonderful snow pics. You had a productive week. Keep up the great work.

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  18. Wow! That's a lot of snow!

    Very cool that your boys share a birthday:) It just makes that day twice the fun!

    I love that last graphic you shared about the qualities not measured on tests. So true! Thanks for sharing.

    Have a nice trip:)

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  19. Lego math rocks!! I hope and pray it's just what he needed.

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  20. I am totally going to steal the "Lego Math" thing to try to convince our kids that Math U See is actually super fun!!!

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  21. My kids are 5 days short of being 5 years apart. They did not have the same original due date but as it came closer time for my daughter to arrive, the doctor predicted her being born on my son's birthday. He wanted a little sister but did not want to share his birthday so my sweet doctor helped us out a little and she was born 5 days before his birthday. Anyway, I understand the birthdays in the same week thing. Looks like you all had a great week. I always enjoy reading your posts. Blessings!

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