We're finding our way with Classical Conversations -- learning simple ways to expand upon the memory work, and also learning that sometimes the memory work in Foundations really is ENOUGH.
The first 6 weeks has ended and I'm BLOWN AWAY by what both of my children have learned since we started. I cannot stop singing the praises of CC to everyone we know.
Next week we will be on a fall break - one whole week of no schoolwork. I'm looking forward to the break, because it has been a BUSY 8 weeks since we began in August.
We have no special plans for the week, just a little boy's room that needs some updating, and hopefully some time for a couple of field trips and several mornings of NO ALARM CLOCKS!
I'm very excited to be attending Blogging Concentrated with my husband next weekend - and I will also get to see my dear friend Tricia and her husband.
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I am dedicated to exposing my children to the fine arts as much as possible. It is one of the biggest benefits of homeschooling - spending time on so many BEAUTIFUL and WORTHY pieces of art and music. I like that Classical Conversations incorporates all of this in such a natural way.
This week we talked a lot about daVinci and Michelangelo.
Grant read Who Was Leonardo daVinci and we also played a lot of The Renaissance Art Game (this is such a beautiful resource for Renaissance art appreciation). (Even though Anna isn't in Foundations or Essentials she is picking up on everything we are doing - I sneak in art and music during meal times and she plops down to watch various documentaries with us.)
Miscellaneous Happenings
Grant has been playing a little Verdi piece on the piano from one of his operas. So, I turned on Beethoven's Wig and we talked a little about Verdi. (He will be one of the composers in Volume 3 of SQUILT.)
Anna is preparing for a Piano Sonatina Festival in November. She has had to practice a good amount each day to keep up with what her teacher has assigned. Between her practicing and her children's choir rehearsals she gets in so much music each week. This makes me happy (and I think it makes her happy, too).
The brief art lessons at CC have intrigued Grant as well. This week, for his presentation, he chose to draw a Medieval Castle using perspective. I was really proud of him.
We have also spent A LOT of time at the ballpark. Normally we have 3 games each week. I have to admit this wears me out and sometimes I get frustrated with the time commitment, but Grant LOVES it, and our family goes to the games together and knows so much about the sport. There's just something about a cool fall evening at the ball field cheering for my favorite first baseman!
Anna's Week
I am getting used to being much more "hands off" with Anna's work this year. (Believe me, this has been difficult for me - I was so used to being involved, but I am learning that now is the time to beging stepping away.)
The goal of Challenge A is to create students that can self manage. The entire year is a learning process, and I can see so clearly Leigh Bortin's intent when she created this program.
It is impressive.
Each week for science Anna is assigned a broad topic to research.
She must complete an outline for each of two sources and then fuse those two outlines into one. Then, she has to write a paragraph about her research and present for her class. A sketch also accompanies each topic.
There is a lot of planning that goes into this - finding sources, actually DOING the research, completing the outlines, then typing the paragraph and bibliography and completing her sketch. At this point she is able to do all of this independently.
I don't remember writing bibliographies unassisted until at least high school.
This week her topic was mollusks, which really interested her. She pulled out shells from an old family trip to the beach and sketched a scallop shell.
So far she has researched 7 topics and made 7 seven presentations. I love the skills involved from start to finish.
Geography is also moving right along. I wrote a post about geography this week, too. My camera shy child is holding up her board with North America, Central America, and the Greater and Lesser Antilles. This week she is working on South America.
I am trying to do all of the Latin alongside Anna this year. It is challenging to say the least. Right now we are learning third declension and I think my 41 year old brain may explode!
Over the weekend Anna and I went to a wedding shower - she got to be a toilet paper bride! All of the games were fun for Anna, and I think seeing girls 10 years older than her who are college graduates, working, and getting married, was fun, too.
More LEGO Goodness!
A box arrived over the weekend...
Grant cannot wait to dig into the LEGO WeDo curriculum. He already starting experimenting with the bricks, but I am particularly excited to block off a chunk of time to use this resource - where you can program your LEGO creations!
Extras
- My favorite crock pot recipe right now is French-Dip Sandwiches... I don't know what I would do without Plan To Eat - so easy to catalog my recipes, create shopping lists, and plan our week of meals.
- I finished The Shop on Blossom Street and am waiting for the next book in the series to come. This series is entertaining, easy to read, and a total escape for me!
- We finalized our Florida vacation plans for November - I am so looking forward to a full seven days in Naples and Casey Key, with a stop to see my good friend Jen on the way home!
- I am seeing a chiropractor about my back - she is the FIRST person who I have seen that is actually treating me as a PERSON... and not just suggesting a procedure or offering a prescription. I'm hopeful that my back will start feeling better. I have a pretty bad case of degenerative disc disease (which I'm very young for), but this doctor feels I can rebuild an affected disc and take other steps towards overall health that will improve my pain level. So much of getting better is me putting ME first and asking for the help I need. (Can you relate?)
I hope you can join me for Collage Friday! How has your week been? We have a great community of homeschool support here!
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