Plugging Along

One bad thing about homeschooling is we don't take snow days. I figure we might as well get a bunch of work done when the weather isn't fit for anything else, but it's a little difficult as facebook lets me know about all those lucky people getting the day off.

But the good thing about homeschooling is we take "beautiful weather" days!! :) So we plugged along through this week thinking about those gorgeous couple days we'll get the end of March when we are really tired of doing school when we'll leave the books on the shelves and go outside!!

I'm afraid we didn't have a very exciting week. We got lots accomplished (we even logged 31 hours if you count the three-hour viewing of Return of the King at the completion of our Lord of the Rings unit!) but it wasn't a lot of fun stuff that I took pictures of. I was very happy with our final exam over the Lord of the Rings and the kids earned grades of 96% and 85%. Next week they'll finish polishing their essays and deliver a speech and it will all be over. They are already talking about diving back into the trilogy to read it "just for fun". I'm glad I didn't kill their enjoyment with the endless vocabulary words, literary terms, discussion, essays and tests! I would go on and on again about how thrilled I was with this curriculum, but I see the eyes starting to roll already as I've gushed quite enough.

I am excited about Briana's quilting class and the fact that she finished the top of her first quilt! I think it is simply beautiful, and she's really happy with it too. It's a nine patch baby quilt and she is really excited to learn the quilting process. I don't sew (at all!) but I love that she has discovered and pursued her own interest in these crafts like sewing and knitting.

The big activity for the little ones this week was crafts, crafts, and more crafts! I stocked up on pom pom balls, feathers, googly eyes and all sorts of fun stuff to get their creative juices flowing. We've been cutting and gluing and painting like nobody's business. Easton wants to do crafts every day.
My favorite part is listening to their creative explanations and descriptions of what they've made. Each piece of artwork is also designated for special people in their lives (if I ever get around to mailing them!)
Easton even ventured outside with spray bottles filled with water and food coloring to make designs in the snow.
I was a little hesitant about buying the Design & Drill set as I thought it was rather pricey, but I just had a feeling it would see lots of use from our three little ones. I now don't regret a penny of that purchase.
Easton especially loves to play with it and it's a great toy to keep him productively entertained while I'm working with the older kids. He just needs a little help here and there, and was very proud of the flag he made this week.
His new chore is to fill the humidifier. We have found this especially necessary for Kiana and Tyrell's skin, and it seems to help everyone with winter cold symptoms. I love his diligence in carefully filling it every morning. He thinks he is really big stuff!