Weekly Wrap-Up

This has been a fabulous week. It is so refreshing to actually be at home much of the week, without field trips or various appointments! Monday was the last day for K-8 co-op classes until January, so Duncan and I both feel free and easy just knowing that he doesn't have co-op homework to do and I have one less class to prepare for.

On Tuesday our support group's teen group did a service project at our local Habitat for Humanity Restore. We had about 20 teens come out to help, and we could probably help there every day and barely make a dent! In the picture above, Laurel and a couple other girls are going through bags of clothing and sorting it. That particular pile was 8 feet high, and we did about 10 bags in two hours. We plan to make this a regular monthly teen service project.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday have just been regular mostly-at-home days. Duncan and I did only history on Wednesday and finished nearly the whole week's worth of our Sonlight World History. We also managed to get in a couple lessons in grammar. We are currently working through The Guide to Grammar and Writing, after having done First Language Lessons K-4 and Easy Grammar 5th-7th. He loves the interactive quizzes at the end of each lesson and is doing incredibly well.

Today we actually had our first art day since September, using watercolor projects from the Usborne Complete Book of Art Ideas. My intention was to do art every Friday with Duncan, but it just seems like something always comes up. I'm also threw in a little classical music study to make it a solid Fine Arts Friday, which is something I was so good about doing when I started homeschooling 14 years ago! I'm using the e-book Beethoven Who? by Marcia K. Washburn for our music studies.

Laurel is doing great in all of her classes. She's just such an organized, motivated student. This week I did an in-class exam in my high school World Literature and Geography class, and she said she really kind of enjoyed doing it. Usually I give take-home tests so that I can use my limited class time (1 hour 20 minutes per week) for discussions, etc. But after the "What College Profs Wish Freshmen Knew" seminar, I realized that I was doing my students a disservice by not testing them in class. (Be sure to visit the link above for my ongoing posts on that fantastic seminar.)

She should be finishing up her American Heritage Girls Stars and Stripes project (equivalent of the Eagle Scout) next week, and she's also preparing to take the ACT for the first time next month. December 15 is going to be a landmark day for us: she'll be done with the ACT and Jesse will arrive home from his semester in Italy!

And that's all the excitement around here for this week. Well, except for our rat adventures. (The rat, by the way, is now dead.)

Linked up with the Weekly Wrap-Up