Heart of Dakota: Bigger Week 15

We had an exceptionally fantastic week this week. You see my daughter took a huge step in school this week. Usually she can sometimes be disruptive during the readings and when I ask her to retell, of course after I read and after my son retells, her answer, most of the time, is I don't remember. But not this week., She was on top of it this week. She even asked to retell before my son on a few occasions. And during her phonics/reading lesson…OMGosh, what leaps and bounds she did this week. All this time, I was not sure she was listening and guess what? She was!

As far as HOD goes, of course it was a good week. I can not recall a bad week yet. Our geography lesson was fun. We drew the Delaware River on a piece of paper and then my son got his army men and the kids had the battle of the British/Cornwallis and General Washington and the crossing of the Delaware River. They enjoyed this activity, but my son asked why he had to play the British each time?

Our Bible verse was Proverbs 13:13. Oh boy! I got to use this one on several occasions this week. I love natural consequences and how they work to really hit home a Bible verse you are memorizing. And the character study was a good one too. Initiative. This one was used during an argument the two of the children had the other day. My question to them was who will take the initiative to apologize? It worked out good. Oh yea, and of course I used it several times to ask who was going to take the initiative to give me a kiss. They both ran to me so they could be the first ones. LOL. I enjoyed that!

During art class this week the kids were learning about drawing portraits. I was their model. My daughter did real good on her first try. My son, on the other hand, took 3 tries to finally get it. But once he got it he did a great job. I think what was tripping him up was the fact we were using a new medium…chalk. He had really never used chalk before so I think he was just trying to get used to it. Anyway, yes, I had pigtails in my hair if you are wondering why they drew my hair that way.

We really enjoyed science this week. I know I have seen some reviews saying the science is weak, but really it is complete! Learning about the leaf and tree was a joy for the kids. My daughter could not say the words correctly. She says them like this, "phototsisasis and clarpill". At least she has the right idea and understands what we are talking about. We did some leaf rubbings which turned out real pretty. Just looking at a leaf real close up under a magnifying glass and learn about the parts of a trunk of the tree was actually exciting to them. It was a very good week for science. On Saturday we plan to go to the Park for a hike and try to look for galls on leaves and look for the burrowing bugs in the tree trunks. Or at least I hope to. Today I have a fever, so we shall see.

OK, the Lincoln Logs activity was so much fun. They built the tower like Marion had built and they even made a flat top for the toy soldiers to stand on and fight. They once again had fun acting out the battle of Marion and the British armies. Can I just stop right here for a minute and say that I have such an appreciation for our forefathers now that I never had growing up. I only wish my teachers would have taught me American History the way my children are learning it. This has been such a great experience for them as well as me.

Of course the kids did their timeline this week and for the note booking project we drew a map of New Jersey and Delaware and the River in which Washington crossed to fight the British. And after we were all done doing our projects today, the kids really wanted to look through their history and science notebooks. That was fun. Dad even came in for a moment and looked too. I, and even the children, were amazed at how much we have learned in just 15 weeks of school so far. My son said, "We really have learned a lot. It does not feel like it!" Just in case you were wondering, I love this program. I think it is the most comprehensive curriculum I have used even though I do not use the spelling and reading program. Next year I will use the reading program with my son, I just thought it was way too much for him this year. I can tell already that he will be ready for it next year. If you are just contemplating what to do for your school curriculum, I highly recommend Heart of Dakota.

Oh gosh, I almost forgot. My daughter came in this afternoon with a paper plate filled with dirt and two worms. One thing I can say about homeschooling is my kids are not growing up being scared of God's creation. I am really glad about that. We will see you all next week.

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