Trekking down the Nile - Our Week in Review

This week was all about the Nile. If you have not had a chance to read about our LEGO interpretation of "Mystery of the Nile", I'd encourage you to do so - it will give you a pretty good idea of what we were up to this week.


We studied the Nile: where it comes from, the countries it passes through, who has tried to navigate it from beginning to end (and failed), where it ends up...you name it and we've studied it. We watched the movie, we checked the book from the library, we've Googled it, we've looked at it on satellite imagery. We are continuing to "flood" our Nile models as well.


Lots of Nile Love going on here, in addition to the "Three Rs", that is!


I sat down and looked at where we stand with regard to math and it looks like both The Boy and The Girl are on track to wrap up their current math curricula right around Christmas break. PERFECT! So I'll be ordering the next level for each of them in the next few weeks. They are both excited to be moving so quickly. I am amazed.


One of my goals with regard to homeschooling is to foster as much independence within my children as possible when it comes to their educations. One way I am doing this is with their "Daily Folder" - a notebook with their chores, copywork, memory work, Daily Geography, and other small assignments that they are quite capable of accomplishing on their own, with little parental oversight. They are both enjoying the folder and have even taken to working ahead in them - doing all of their copywork and Daily Geography in one sitting or during their free time. It's great to see them take responsibility for their work rather than waiting for me to dish it out.


Chemistry this week wrapped up the first chapter and now we move into molecules and bonds. The Co-op that we are a part of will be taking a break this coming week so the kids and I are going to put together a few of our own experiments from a book we picked up at the library titled Fizz, Bubble, & Flash. They are excited and, if the experiments go as well as I think they will, I'll be running them again at Co-op in a few weeks!


It's hard to believe we are already 6 weeks into our homeschool year. I am enjoying it so far and I think the kids are as well. This week, we stopped by their former public school to say hi to some friends and their old teachers and, while they both enjoyed seeing everyone, neither of them expressed much in the way of sadness or longing to be back there. And now that soccer is over, they will be able to spend more time during the weekday afternoons and evenings playing with their friends in the neighborhood, which will be good for them!


This weekend is nuts - two final soccer games, two end-of-the-year soccer parties, a birthday sleepover with NINE (9!) nine-year-olds, church, BMX state finals, and Ohana group all mixed in. I might need the next week to recover from my weekend!




Pau.




- hfs