Last time I did a weekly wrap-up, I mentioned plans for some changes. We've been implementing those changes this week, and I am pleased with how it's going so far.
One big change is simply in our morning routine/schedules. Lindsey loves to sleep late, but with the promise of a Starbucks on the weekend as incentive, she has gotten up and ready by our goal of 10AM every day this week. "Ready" means showered, dressed, breakfast eaten, teeth brushed, and bed made. Last year I worked hard on developing the habit of a morning quiet time, and it's been a great blessing. But the past few weeks, I've been trying to figure out when and how to incorporate my work-out without messing up my habit of quiet time. After some experimenting, I've figured out I do best with tea & quiet time immediately after I get up, then a workout, then shower, then breakfast. All of that means I have to get myself up on time (6:30ish - 7AM) to get all of my stuff accomplished to be ready by 10AM, too.
The way we start our school days has changed significantly, too. At 10AM, we meet on the sofa to start our school day with prayer and Bible reading. This is the main how of how we're shifting our focus back to what's most important, reflecting our priorities by starting the day in God's word. For months, I've felt the importance of this, and I've been searching for ways to implement this focus in practical ways. So I read "The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach," and was delighted to find some answers I'd been seeking in regards to the hows of what I'd been wanting to do. Once I had bookcases {yay!}, I raided other areas of the house and ordered a few books online to stock our new Bible reference shelf.
The way we start our school days has changed significantly, too. At 10AM, we meet on the sofa to start our school day with prayer and Bible reading. This is the main how of how we're shifting our focus back to what's most important, reflecting our priorities by starting the day in God's word. For months, I've felt the importance of this, and I've been searching for ways to implement this focus in practical ways. So I read "The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach," and was delighted to find some answers I'd been seeking in regards to the hows of what I'd been wanting to do. Once I had bookcases {yay!}, I raided other areas of the house and ordered a few books online to stock our new Bible reference shelf.
Now we have a chronological "One Year Bible" we read from every morning, an illustrated Bible dictionary, a Bible commentary, a Bible concordance, the fabulous "Victor Journey Through the Bible," a couple of other Bible translations, "Family Guide to Biblical Holidays" (which we'll work into doing as unit studies), "What the Bible is All About for Young Explorers," a Bible atlas, and more. After our morning reading time, we pull out a couple of these and see what we can find to expand upon what we've learned in our reading. We haven't officially started creating a Bible notebook/portfolio yet, but we've talked about ideas for them, and will begin those soon. To help me learn more about what I'm teaching, I'm working through "30 Days to Understanding the Bible in 15 Minutes a Day."
More new stuff:
More new stuff:
- we've re-instated daily copywork
- we're trying to do at least one somewhat fun craft each week
- we're doing a weekly creative writing assignment, currently using "The Write Stuff Adventure"
- we're doing a weekly art lesson, mostly using "The Wonderful ART of Drawing Horses" by Barry Stebbing
- we're re-instating focusing on a weekly character trait.
This week was appreciative, with 1 Thessalonians 5:18 as our coinciding verse - I'm assigning a novel for each girl to read (one to a few chapters each day, depending on length), and we'll be re-instating narration (totally new concept for Lindsey) next week, I hope.
Lindsey is still totally loving her tumbling class, and currently trying to master her back tuck. Kathryn is still loving Girls In Action, and this week, she enjoyed meeting two ladies from Romania who work as missionaries. I think our readings, like in "Cry From The Streets" have peaked both girls' interest in missionaries.
My aunt Beckie currently has five 6-week-old Schnauzer puppies in her care, and the girls spent a few hours at her house loving on the pups yesterday afternoon. I consider that a great nature study. {grin} Now they are begging and begging for us to let them have the one pup who has not yet been claimed. Confession: it is very hard to be the reasonable-thinking mom here when I'm just a puppy-loving girl at heart!
My aunt Beckie currently has five 6-week-old Schnauzer puppies in her care, and the girls spent a few hours at her house loving on the pups yesterday afternoon. I consider that a great nature study. {grin} Now they are begging and begging for us to let them have the one pup who has not yet been claimed. Confession: it is very hard to be the reasonable-thinking mom here when I'm just a puppy-loving girl at heart!
