One of the many, many things I love about homeschooling is that we can do as little or as much as we need to do on any given day. This week, Kathryn was sick with strep throat so her energy level was very low. In fact, on Wednesday, after we came home from the doctor, she slept more than four hours on the sofa, and then slept a full night; she needed lots of sleep to recuperate! But even that day, we did several of our Ambleside readings, and had strep tests explained to us at the doctor's office, so we still managed to do a bit of school that day!
Despite Kathryn's strep this week, we did finish our weekly Ambleside history and literature readings, completed a few math lessons, did an art/etiquette lesson in Little Annie's Art Book, and read about Cherokee Indians. Kathryn read The Math and Science of Nature on Biltmore Estate, which is the booklet we were given at the homeschool festival at Biltmore last week. It gives some really great examples of how math and science apply in real life in things like: using a compass and reading a map; forestry, including"reading" a tree stump, and how great trees are at cleaning the air; the geometry of quilting; recycling and re-using and composting; erosion control; the power of water and how a water wheel works; and making butter, including a recipe for buttermilk biscuits! Very appropriate reading for Earth Day and Arbor Day, too! I'd like to expand upon some of this later, but it was good from-the-sofa schooling for this week.
Now, Kathryn is reading the planting instructions on the seed packet for her baby carrots and wanting to get outside to plant those, as well as our strawberry plant, and a few tomato plants. I don't want her to overdo it, so we might wait another day or two, but I love that she's excited about the garden. If you need a little more motivation to go play in the dirt, please read my post at Heart of the Matter online homeschooling magazine, Gardening with Kids: A Treasure-Trove of Nature Study!
Despite Kathryn's strep this week, we did finish our weekly Ambleside history and literature readings, completed a few math lessons, did an art/etiquette lesson in Little Annie's Art Book, and read about Cherokee Indians. Kathryn read The Math and Science of Nature on Biltmore Estate, which is the booklet we were given at the homeschool festival at Biltmore last week. It gives some really great examples of how math and science apply in real life in things like: using a compass and reading a map; forestry, including"reading" a tree stump, and how great trees are at cleaning the air; the geometry of quilting; recycling and re-using and composting; erosion control; the power of water and how a water wheel works; and making butter, including a recipe for buttermilk biscuits! Very appropriate reading for Earth Day and Arbor Day, too! I'd like to expand upon some of this later, but it was good from-the-sofa schooling for this week.
Now, Kathryn is reading the planting instructions on the seed packet for her baby carrots and wanting to get outside to plant those, as well as our strawberry plant, and a few tomato plants. I don't want her to overdo it, so we might wait another day or two, but I love that she's excited about the garden. If you need a little more motivation to go play in the dirt, please read my post at Heart of the Matter online homeschooling magazine, Gardening with Kids: A Treasure-Trove of Nature Study!
