Weekly Wrap Up

I like the term "weekly wrap up" that others use on their blogs.  Writing about one's week does tend to "wrap" it up.  So I thought I would use it, too. 

The snow storm you already know about.  I am happy to report that the weather is much calmer now.  I was just outside taking this picture of the gorgeous sunrise.  The picture didn't capture it very well.  The colors are just beautiful.  There is no wind.  I love the sound of the crunchy frozen ground.  As I walk in the snow it goes, "crunch, crunch."  The sound of the vehicle traveling east on the gravel road had a good crunchy sound as well.  Those are two things about winter that I like.

I also noticed the half waning moon high up in the middle of the sky.  There were a few wispy clouds floating past it which made it look a little mysterious.

I really am a morning person.  I so appreciate being the only person awake at this time.  I like having my dog, Ellyana, sitting on my feet keeping them warm and keeping me company.  And I love my nice hot coffee.

I am running late this morning.  Tim was just home when I got up so we sat and visited for awhile.  He went to bed and won't be up until late afternoon so it was nice to have some alone time with him. 

I was happy that I was able to find Tim some of the lined jeans he likes to wear for work.  Each year we get him a couple new pair.  He likes the brand from WalMart.  I have been checking each time I go to WalMart but hadn't been there for a few weeks.  Instead of looking all around I asked a clerk working in that section if they had any while I was in the store yesterday.  She said they didn't.  As I was walking out of that area I saw a rack of them!  I should have gone back to show her where they were, but didn't.  I was especially glad they still had two pair left in his size.  That should get him through the winter.

The produce warehouse where he works is kept cool year round.  Tim feels the cold and has a hard time in the winter.  He is in and out of the warehouse as he is the one that has to deal with the semis and their trailers.  He can get pretty cold working outside hooking up trailers and getting the trucks running before he backs them into the garage where the loading docks are.  Wearing the lined pants helps a little with that.

We had a good day in town yesterday.  I'm so glad I didn't attempt to drive up on Wednesday.  We got to the library and got the books and videos that will fill our school book basket for the next three weeks.  It was nice to finish our shopping and errands and get home before dark.

Daniel wanted some coveralls.  He had noticed last year that they had some at WalMart.  Since he has a good pair of snow pants I wasn't about to buy him any coveralls.  He was quite willing to use his own money to get them.  I would rather see him spend his money on that than a new toy.  The reason he wanted coveralls had to do with he fact that his dad and his older brother both wear them and he likes that they have zippers down the outside of both legs making it easier to get on and off.

This post was supposed to be a "weekly wrap up" about our activities in school.  So I had best get to that.

Leah studied "U-u-us" in Kindergarten.  Not only did she do activities enforcing the "u" sound in "us" she got to do some fun things in science learning about the 5 senses.  Each day we briefly studied each sense.  For the sense of touch I put some items in a bag and she tried to guess what they were by touching them.  I think she got them all right.  I made sounds for the sense of hearing that she was good at guessing, too.  I had her smell some things while blindfolded.  Yesterday I put 10 items on her desk.  We went over what each one was.  Then I had her leave the room while I took one of them away.  When she came back in she tried to remember what wasn't there.  She thought it would be so easy but she couldn't remember every time what was missing.  We kept doing this until she was down to one item.  I loved her expressions as she realized she didn't know and when she did.  Today we will do a blindfolded taste test.

In Bible she learned the words "God made us wonderful."  We read some verses detailing how wonderful we are made and verses about our eyes and ears.

Daniel has been doing so well in his reading!  Yesterday he read his whole Bible portion which was 40 verses.  As his reading improves so does his comprehension.  One big thing in the Charlotte Mason style of learning is narration.  After he or I read he summarizes what has been read.  This helps with retention.  Lately I notice this is easier for him, too.

In ancient history he is up to the time of Jacob.  Yesterday he read about how Jacob deceived his brother, Esau.  Today he will read about Jacob fleeing to Haran.  After he reads I read from the Victor Journey Through The Bible book which goes over the geography of the area, what the area looks like, and any other interesting facts that deal with that particular reading.  It reinforces what was read in the Bible.

Daniel is still working on fractions in math.  He had a review this week as well.  In division skills he is awesome.

In science we did some fun experiments with air and water.  For one of the experiments he made about 10 holes in a drinking straw.  Then he challenged his dad to a race to see who could drink their water the fastest.  Since the straw with the holes in it couldn't create a good vacuum Tim had a hard time getting any water to come up in his straw.  We all laughed about this.

In art he studied some more about Egyptian art and tried his hand at a few projects.  In music we listened to Vivaldi's "Autumn" after listening to the explanation of what was being portrayed. 

Oh, my, it is getting late and I must get ready for the day.  I'm glad that Friday is a "light" day in school as I have all my house work to do.  Since we are invited out to dinner to my cousin's after church I don't have to get a meal ready for tomorrow.  I've got some stew meat thawed and plan to make a hearty beef stew for supper tonight.

Have a good weekend.