Weekly Wrap Up~ Third Week of September

In the interest of better record keeping I am changing my Wrap Ups from seasonal to weekly this year. We tried for some school routine in August with some fits and starts, but that didn't go so well, for obvious health related reasons. So here we are, the third week of September, and getting our groove on. Works for us. ( I must add that the three older kids started their commonwealth classes three weeks ago. They have been very inspired by great mentors and are well in the thick of "educational pursuits". Didn't want them to think I thought they were slacking.)

For M-9 ~
Five in a Row~ M-9 and I have enjoyed our school routine so much after getting home from the hospital. We sit on the porch swing on the lower deck with my favorite view and read, talk and draw. We focused our studies for the week on our Five in a Row curriculum Vol. 4. The Raft is a great book. Wisconsin, vocabulary, geography, art appreciation, nature study and drawing and a walk on the property looking for deciduous trees and conifers for science. Perfect.

Poetry, Math, and Form Drawing~ To my mind, these all go together. Patterns, rhythm, flow and beauty. We love Life of Fred and recently bought the elementary series to go with our higher grades. When M-9 is having a bad day, Fred cheers her up. How many math books can you say that about? We combined the coin counting book (and real coins, of course) with fractions.

Grammar and Stuff~ M-9 received Mad Libs as a get well gift. We have played Mad Libs since L-15 was 4 years old for our grammar studies and love them. It was great to get some new books as ours were all used up. I found the presidential puzzle in the Target dollar bin and M-9 has done it so much I'm teasing her that she is practicing to do it with her eyes closed.

Reading~ M-9 loves to read. These are the books she has read this week, just for fun.
Chapter books:
Betsy-Tacy
Homer Price
Time Cat
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
Mrs. Piggle Wiggle's Magic
Molly's Pilgrim
The Courage of Sarah Noble
The Box Car Children Caboose Mystery
Magic Tree House Christmas in Camelot
Picture Books/Readers:
Hanna's Cold Winter
Mary Geddy's Day (A Girl in Colonial Williamsburg)
George Washington and the General's Dog
Little Hawk's New Name
*There were probably more, but that was all that was by her bed. :)

C-13 and P-12~
Basically they do most everything together. This year they are both taking classes at our commonwealth school. They are in the same Shakespeare class so they have been watching lots of Shakespeare plays together. When I say lots, I'm talking 10-12. In about a week and a half. There are other kids in the class that read, watched or listened to 26 works of Shakespeare (non abridged, Shakespearean language) in one week, so my guys are taking it a little more leisurely. But seriously, anything over 2 Shakespeare plays in a lifetime is a lot to me. (I'm hearing a gasp from my friend Melanie!)
They are writing papers for their classes, reading for discussions and on their own and they have math books in their beds, so I'm happy.

L-15 is doing some really challenging stuff this year and I can't even keep up with her. We have a mentor meeting once or twice a week and she tells me everything she's doing, but it's all her. She is completely in charge and very motivated. Maybe I'll write about it some time, but now I'm worn out. :)