HS Week 5, Review

This week was a good week, but it started off a little rocky.  We had a normal day on Monday (math, english, art, PE, etc), and then external circumstances threw me off on Tuesday, which had me rethinking my whole schedule of homeschool, which led to us not doing very much on Tuesday or Wednesday.  BUT, we finished the week stronger than ever, so I'm feeling good about the week.

On Wednesday Keira did review worksheets of money, while I taught Garrett the basics.  This was in prep for Thursday, because on Thursday we created a store in our house.  We had a pet store, a grocery store, and a restaurant.  We labeled all the things with simple dollar amounts, and played.  There were lists of things they needed to pick up for their grandma (me), and they had to add up the amount that it cost when they got to the cashier (me, later).  Then at lunch time Keira helped me make a menu and then we played restaurant and they had to add up their menu items to see how much their lunch would cost.  We were all in character, having fun with it.  ;)  It was a fun way to practice math for everyone.  Even Libby, who doesn't quite understand the dollar values.


This week at PE the kids started off by doing dribbling and passing drills, and then they played games against each other (little kids vs little kids, big kids vs big kids).  Keira scored a goal, and Garrett proudly told me that he was the goalie and they scored two goals while he was goalie.  lol  Whoops!  Maybe goalie isn't the best position for him.

Garrett and Libby practicing dribbling with each other.

Keira practicing passing with her team.

Will and I, playing on the sidelines.  He has a mini soccer ball that he loves playing with while he watches his siblings.

This week we introduced the art that we'll be doing this year.  We talked about how in addition to science, God used art to create the earth (have I mentioned how much I love tying God into every subject, and "always remembering Him"?!!).  We took turns giving examples of beautiful things in nature that showed examples of art, and then we talked about the Elements of Art.  There are 7 elements, and for each one I showed them an example of a professional piece that I found on the computer.  Then it was time for their own art projects!  Yea!  ;)  I gave them giant pieces of paper, they folded it into 8 sections, and then we proceeded to create 7 miniature examples of each element of art.

For the "shapes" element, Keira used circles that were connected to make a "y".  For "form" she showed me how she can make a 3D rectangle.

We only used red, blue, yellow, black, and white paints for the parts that needed paint.  They learned how to make secondary colors and how to make one color different hues (an example of the element, value).  

For texture we went around the house with a crayon and did rubbings of different things.

After their paint was dry we cut out each rectangle and made it into a book, so now they can refer to it throughout the year.

On the way to PE we took turns pointing out different elements of art that we saw as we drove along (ie, "What example of lines do you see?").  The kids were enthusiastic to participate, and it really helped drive the point home.  I think they understand the elements of art a little better now.
In the upcoming weeks we'll do more detailed art projects focusing on one element at a time.  I'm so blessed to not only have my mom live nearby, but she also supports me in this endeavor and has agreed to be the kids' art teacher from now on.  The kids are excited for that!  Heck, so am I!!  :D


One thing I noticed this week was the effects that homeschooling has had on their social life.  Surprisingly, it was a positive change!  Let me back track for a minute to give perspective.  When Keira was younger she was very outgoing and friendly.  Last year in school something changed and she became very shy and nervous around other people.  I think the social pressure at school got to her, because she became very anxious about standing out in even the smallest way (we're talking tears for fear that her plain shirt will look different), and she got incredibly shy around other kids.  Well, once a week, nearly every week, since June we have consistently been going to park day with a bunch of other people who homeschool.  There is some consistency in who is there, but there are always new people to meet there.  At first she was by my side, nervous about making new friends, but she's been getting more and more outgoing as the weeks go by.  This month we added in another day in the week to go to PE with a different group of people, so now we have two days a week that we're out playing with new friends.  Fast forward to this week.  We went somewhere completely new, with new kids playing around them, and without much reservation at all, all of my kids joined the others and started to make new friends!!  :D  I think with all the groups we've been hanging around lately, they've been learning how to make friends easier, and aren't as reserved at jumping in and joining the fun.  It is a very reassuring thing to see happen, and I'm sure glad to see Keira starting to return to her old, outgoing self again.  :)