Tour 1 Week 9

 

I was sure I would have this post written days ago. On Monday morning the week stretched before us; lazy (but productive!) days off our normal school routine, Thanksgiving visit with Nana and Papa and decorating for Christmas.  I decided we would take a much-needed break from our usual school work since we've been moving along since September without any time off. Yet somewhere there must be an unwritten rule that vacation time moves faster than regular time. 

This week included more mask sewing, Thanksgiving, (I found myself in a grocery store the day before, despite my best efforts), and finally, Christmas decorating. I'm trying not to get too excited about the prediction for snow tomorrow...

The six year-old was fascinated by my sewing machine - as were all his brothers before him.

What a different world it would be if we all held the inquisitive nature of a six year-old.

Exhausting - but different.

He also likes to work on his own stitching when he sees his mama doing hers. Our upcoming art projects include sewing (quilts) and stitching and I can't wait. 

Our previous week's school time included learning about Davy Crocket and the Alamo, Samuel Morse and the invention of the Telegraph, the Oregon Trail and Henry David Thoreau. We also learned about the Mid-Atlantic States and added their information to our geography notebooks. 

Elusive Teens in the Background!

We continued learning about Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Beethoven and J.J. Audobon. The weather even cooperated with our nature drawing for art, during which time the boys practiced all of the concepts and sketching skills they've been learning. 

For science, we learned about Butterflies and Frogs and made a diagram of each of their life cycles. 

In other news, College Boy has a sunnier disposition now that he's involved in a group project and thus interacting (virtually) with other nerds computer science students. His first semester is coming to an end and I know he's looking forward to a break after working so hard. 

The High Schooler wrote a short story that just blew me away - even though I already knew he was a talented writer. If you're reading this and would like me to share his story with you, please let me know. 

The other teen continues his tinkering with Arduino and has taught himself quite a bit - near as I can tell anyway.  His current project is constructing and programming an electric die. 

We've also enjoyed walks in the sunshine and hide-and-seek at the playground. 

Winter weather will be moving in this week, which is a welcome addition to the Advent season if you ask me.  

Hopefully the sunshine sticks around though. I'm a much happier person when the sun is shining. 

Some resources we used last week:

Books:

• Catholic Schoolhouse Tour Guide and Art Book
• Sassafras Science Adventures Zoology
• A Picture Book of Davy Crockett
• If you Traveled West in a Covered Wagon
• Who Was Davy Crockett?
• The Oregon Trail
• Super Simple Telegraph Projects
• Samuel F.B. Morse: Inventor and Code Creator
• Apples to Oregon
• From Tadpole to Frog
• Frogs
• From Caterpillars to Butterflies
• Great Migrations: Butterflies
• DK Rainforest
• Little House in the Big Woods (current read-aloud)
• Ludwig Beethoven and the Chiming Tower Bells

Other Resources:

• Catholic Brain (Adventure Catechism - we'll be doing Advent/Jesse Tree lessons next)
• Wild Kratts (relevant animal episodes)
• Classics For Kids (I mainly use Amazon Music to play Beethoven music during the week)
• Brainpop  
• PBS Learning media

I hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving!

~ Dori

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