The past three weeks have been a blur, quite truthfully. We’ve been plugging along in our school work. Really – nothing overly exciting. Just routine. Normal. And life as it happens. But that’s what it’s all about, right?

This past week was more of a ‘catch-up’ week where we were tying up any loose ends, doing some review, and I spent some time packing and doing some last minute prep for speaking at Teach Them Diligently in Nashville (I’m sharing more on that below, so keep reading!).

The End is in Sight!

The winter months can be hard on a momma…and the kids. It was really exciting for the boys to see that we are ‘this’ close to finishing up science for the year. Once we’re done, we will work on some fun projects together, but science is one subject they love working on together, so if they ask – we do it!

Most Mornings…

This is the view that I have many mornings before school even starts. Kaleb is a get-it-going early boy. He typically pulls out his independent work long before school even starts (see – the blinds behind him aren’t even open yet!!!), pulls up a stool at the counter, and begins his work. If only I could pull some of that motivation and pour it into a few other kids…

Life with a Pre-Teen

One of my ‘goals’ the last few weeks was to take more pictures of a certain 6th grader residing in our home. I finally (after 2 weeks) realized why it’s so hard to get her picture. She intentionally hides when she thinks there is picture-potential. I’m dead serious.  So this is my attempt to document that she does indeed exist and participate in school with us.

I was able to sneak in an extra picture before she realized that I was snapping it (and held the dog up in front of her as a shield). She uses her bed as her reading space every day, just for a little added quiet time.

Hands on Multiplication and Division

Math with Kaleb has been – well, math. To make multiplication and division a little more hands-on, we’ve been using our Spielgaben set to create the numbers and show how the problem would be divided or multiplied out. It’s been a great tool to help him visualize the problems and put his problems into practice.

Moving into World War 2

There are two boys that are rather thrilled with all of the lessons on World War 2 (minus all the stuff on the Holocaust – that’s not so thrilling). There are endless tanks, weapons, and scenes being drawn during our lesson time.

McKenna loves to draw stick figure comic strips of each lesson – and I have to say, her ‘retelling’ of the Germans invading Russia in the middle of the cold, cold winter was pretty hilarious. While I never would have thought that comic strips would be a learning tool, it’s really amazing how much she retains from our lessons with her drawing. (And no, I don’t have a copy of it because she was a little too self-conscious about it. You’ll just have to take my word on all the laughing that went on when we saw her depiction of the Russians wearing puffy coats and staying nice and warm while the unprepared Germans shivered in the -60 temps).

Games and More Games

One thing that’s been happening every single day in our house – games. Between Battleship and Settlers of Catan, the kids have been little game fiends. Most mornings are started with Battleship before they even have breakfast (someone please tell me why I waited so long to buy this game?

Settlers of Catan has been one of my favorites though too. We’re going to start adding in some of the extensions this week and I can’t wait to see how that goes. I know that they are just games, but the conversations and time spent together have been so much fun – and there have definitely been some character-building moments as well too.

The Crazy Dog

Now that our puppy Addie is pretty much house-trained (PHEW, people – can I just say, PHEW!!!), she is up in the school room with us most of the time. She has an affinity for Ticonderoga pencils (what can I say, she has great taste). Unfortunately, she manages to ferret out every single pencil that we somehow missed picking up from the floor. On the bright side, the school room floor is looking DIVINE lately). Between the kids breaking the erasers off and her chewing the other end, I’m going to need to break the bank getting more pencils.

Flying, Speaking, and Learning at Teach Them Diligently

I cannot even begin to tell you how much of an HONOR it has been to be a part of Teach Them Diligently last year and this year. Before I go any further, I’ll tell you that I may have been mildly freaking out in the week or so before I had to fly out to Nashville. Like any momma, I may have been looking forward to a few days of no kiddo demands, but there was a new session that I was working on and frankly – it was a bit overwhelming for me.

Ironically, it was on balancing life and homeschool – and not being overwhelmed. (Oh yes, the IRONY people. It is not lost on me.)

But trying to figure out how to fit everything into a one hour session and actually have it be helpful to others – well, that right there can be just enough to throw me over the edge. My heart is SO MUCH to help and encourage you all – and I really didn’t want to have it be a big, fat bust. Yes, there’s a bit of pride in there too.

And can I tell you a little secret? I’m really truly not one that enjoys getting up and sharing in front of a large group of people. I’m more comfortable sharing with a small group, more like friends chatting over a cup of coffee. Or tea. Or water, if you prefer. This computer screen offers a whole lot of buffer in some ways, but I really know how much hearing something in person, from someone’s heart, makes a difference too.

This girl, my fabulous wonderful in-real-life friend Carisa from 1+1+1=1 has been such an amazing encouragement and well, FRIEND over the years. We joke that we are proof that you can meet normal people over the internet, but she is one person that I know God brought into my life at just the right time and I am so thankful that she is also a part of Teach Them Diligently as well. We have one session together and a few separate, and I am not afraid to admit that the opportunity to spend uninterrupted time with her is a huge bonus!

All that said, once the conference started and the sessions were underway, I felt such a peace and excitement. For those of you that came up and introduced yourselves to me – thank you! It is so wonderful to connect with you and hear from you all in person and means more than you will ever know. Your sweet patience as we waited for the tech guy to get started, sharing seats and spots with other parents – just made it something absolutely amazing. For those of you who had to sit behind me and had a lovely view of my bum instead of the powerpoint – you have huge hugs (and apologies) from me.

(And if you were in my session, you’ll understand when I say I’m crying right now – but also laughing because of the entire bum comment above).

For those of you not in the Nashville area – well, I’d love to connect with you in either Atlanta, Ohio, or Dallas for Teach Them Diligently. I had the opportunity to sit and listen to a few sessions and can’t wait to hear more at the upcoming events. I promise you will be encouraged beyond measure! 

Well, that’s the super-long wrap up of the last few weeks. What have YOU been up to?

Linking up this week with Collage Friday and Weekly Wrap-up!

The last two weeks have gotten us back into a groove (finally!). Taking a week off was much needed, but those winter blahs have set in around here. We’ve had a lot of snow and don’t even get me started on the cold. YIKES! Let’s just say I’m not a fan and would rather be curled up by the fireplace, under a warm blanket, with a  cup of tea, and reading a book. It definitely makes it hard to get in the mood to do school!  But maybe that’s just me.

And somehow – despite my goals from last time – I have no pictures of McKenna (again) other than the one where I fed the girls chocolate cake before breakfast (because I am a FABULOUS mom and wanted it out of the house so I wouldn’t eat it). Meanwhile, I will snack on apples and drink lots of water, ok?

Learning Multiplication with Carrying

Even though he could use the laptop, Kaleb has decided to use just the textbook with me for Teaching Textbooks 3. The past two weeks we have learned about writing dollars and cents out (and that decimal point) and multiplication with carrying. Boy wonder figured it out on the first try! Woot!

Cooking with Mom

Sometimes the days get frustrating and attitudes get cranky – and both parties involved need a little bonding time. Zachary and I had a rough day one Monday, so we ended up in the kitchen making cookies for co-op the next day. I often forget that 1:1 time with the kids is so very important and can make a world of difference in both of our attitudes. Zachary loves to bake and I definitely do not let him help out enough – because to tell the truth, sometimes (ok, many times) it is easier and faster to do it myself. But in that, I miss out on moments like these when he is in his element and having fun. And in the end – all is good.

Portable Homeschool

One of the great things of homeschool is we are portable and able to move anywhere. Because let’s face it, the bed is way more comfy than a desk.

Building Rockets and Growing Crystals

One of the projects for Laurianna’s science class was building a rocket. Not nearly as intricate as her boat or glider, but still fun! The kids didn’t get a chance to test them out because it was SO VERY cold and we were feeling rather nice at the time, so testing will have to be another week.

After talking about crystals, Laurianna used salt and water to grow crystals as part of an experiment (the coloring is from the paper they are on).

The Benefits of Co-op

One of the things that I love about having Laurianna in a small in-home co-op is the chance to work with friends and bounce ideas off them. The group we are a part of has four teens (all working on 9th grade subjects) and we meet weekly for science and literature. I’ve been teaching the lit class this year and it has really been quite a bit of fun.

For each of the books that we’re reading the kids have a 500-600 word paper due. While revisions and suggestions from parents are great, the kids have really enjoyed the weeks of peer reviews where they all read over each others’ papers and give their honest feedback (at times hilarious). It can be really intimidating to share your work with others, but they have been CHAMPS in this process.

Maybe your kids are different, but I can sometimes tell mine that an idea in a paper needs some tweaking or doesn’t make sense and said child doesn’t necessarily agree with the changes. But the same words or ideas from friends – well, suddenly it’s a whole new ballgame (wink).  It has been MUCH fun this year walking the high school road with several other friends.

If you’re interested, you can see our Peer Review Form here – it’s not fancy, but it’s been a great help to us this year.

Ending the Week on a GREAT Note!

Laurianna and I were able to help out at one of the Rock and Worship Roadshow concerts. You all – do yourself a favor and see if there is a show coming your way. It was absolutely amazing. We volunteered to help with Compassion during the concert, but were able to enjoy the entire concert and hear I Am They, Group 1 Crew, Crowder, Tedashii, Jamie Grace (Laurianna’s favorite!), Matt Maher, and Mercy Me. Loved it so much! Tickets were only $10 and it was something we hope to definitely attend next year too – with the entire family!

Needless to say, it was a great way to wrap up our week. It was a late night, but this girl and I needed some time together – and worshiping and serving were a great way to do that!

That’s it for the last two weeks – how has your homeschool time been going? Be sure to share either in the comments or link up with one of the ladies below!

Linking up this week with Collage Friday and Weekly Wrap-up!