Our weeks contain so much learning - it is impossible to document all that I want to in each Collage Friday.
Each week I have been alternating writing about my son and daughter and what they are doing in Classical Conversations. This seems to work well, so I will stick with this format.
Last week I gave you a peek into my son's at home memory work for Foundations.
This week I'll give you a glimpse into my daughter's world of Challenge A, and also show you a fun project our family completed this week.
If you've followed along here for any length of time, you know that this year has held big changes for our homeschool. Learning has been formalized much more for my seventh grader.
It has been a BIG adjustment, and there have been bumps in the road. When we see, however, how much she is learning and the PRIDE she has in her accomplishments, we know it's all worth it.
The biggest reason we chose Classical Conversations Challenge A program for Anna was the quality of the academic work, with the overarching goal of knowing God and making Him known.
Studying Latin
An area that seemed daunting at first was Latin. We had TRIED to study Latin before and it just never worked. I believe the books Anna is using (Henle Latin) combined with the accountability of a group setting is helping us to be more successful this time around.
I loved the very beginning of the Henle First Year Latin text - it emphasized to the student that Latin is rigorous and challenging. It takes a lot of time and effort. Practice, repetition, and memorization is key.
Latin isn't just a language. It is a DISCIPLINE that will serve you well in other areas of your life.
We are finding this to be true.
Each week Anna has vocabulary, rules to memorize, translations, declensions, and diagramming sentences. It IS a lot of work, but well worth the effort.
The resources we are using:
Anna's tutor guides her through the assigned material, and I follow up at home. It's wonderful to have Miss Nancy as a resource to help us!
{If we weren't doing CC this year, I think I would still choose Henle Latin, but probably purchase the study guide for the text through Memoria Press.}
My words of wisdom to you: Latin really isn't that tough. It just requires discipline and a commitment to much hard work. Give it a shot!
Dad's Fire Pit Project
This past summer my husband spent a day taking the kids' old swing set out of the back yard. While it was a sad time, he promised them he had plans for something fun (once the weather cooled off!)
Well, the weather cooled just a bit, and my husband started to work on a backyard fire pit area. He enlisted the help of the kids and was able to complete this project in just a few days.
Wednesday was his birthday, and he took it off so they could finish.
The area was already dug out and had a frame (from where the swing set was). They cleared out the area and got to work.
It took careful measurement to know just how much mulch and river rock to purchase. (I think I heard someone talking about the area of a circle.)
Using this great YouTube tutorial, the actual fire pit was pretty easy.
The kids helped with most of the project. My husband is a great dad.
Basically, he built the fire pit from the tutorial, then measured a 5 foot radius around the pit and lined this with stones.
Inside the circle went river rock, and outside the circle went mulch.
There is a small sandbox area that still needs perennials (that's next week!), and then it will be finished.
One fire pit, ready for kids and S'Mores!
The last big happening of the week was the release of SQUILT Volume 2: Classical Composers. This volume will be on sale for $6.99 through MIDNIGHT TONIGHT (9/13), then it will go up to the normal price of $8.99.
That's it for this week! I hope you can join me for Collage Friday!
If you'd like to link, you can do so in a couple of ways:
- Enter your link below. Be sure to link to your post with photo collages and link back to this post (or include the Collage Friday button on your blog).
- Share your photo collage(s) on Instagram, FB, G+, or Twitter - use the hashtag #collagefriday so I can find you!