Weekly Wrap UP

Since returning home from Vacation the kids and I have been getting back into our routines which includes a little school every day.  There has been a little hiccup to our routine as I have been in severe neck and shoulder pain for the past two weeks:(!  After several trips to the Doctor it looks like I may have spinal spondylitis and I may need to see an orthro specialist in the very near future.  Somehow I am plugging along and with the kids helping I am managing but just barely.  I need to lay down several times a day with a ice or heat pack to cope with the discomfort.

For school the kids are doing just the basics with a few fun things thrown in, currently we are only doing a four day schedule.  Until I hurt myself we had planned to take one day off to do something fun  so far I have managed to survived a trip to the movies to see "Inside Out" and a trip to the community pool.  Both times I have needed to take my trusty ice pack along to help keep the pain to within manageable levels.  It is not quite what we had planned but it will do for now.

I have finally allowed MarioFan to use the calculator for his long division problems since he appears to have trouble lining up so many numbers.  He understands the the basic concept but with his poor handwriting skills it was becoming a very frustrating experience, and he was beginning to think he was bad with math, which is not the case.

For History we have been working on understanding the Gold Rush Fever that hit the nation in the mid 1800's.  Next week we are starting to explore the antebellum years leading up to the Civil War

Firedrake is working on this Microsoft power point program independently 

MarioFan completed the Microsoft Power point last year and is now working on understanding Excel program

Firedrake has been taking private drawing lessons once a week

and these are just two of the drawings she has done.  

The kids are working on a Minecraft Presidents class.  I know there are many different Minecraft options out there but my kids have done many classes with 'Homeschool with MineCraft' so check it out here.  The prices are reasonable and my kids enjoy them.

For Science we are working on understanding the Reproductive system and continuing to add to our human body lap book.  We have spent the entire year covering the systems of the Human body should be done today if all goes well!

The kids are also doing some writing with MarioFan continuing using the IEW program.  Firedrake on the other hand has been writing short stories and working on a novel.  She just finished a short story recently that has blown us away with how good it was.  I am looking into finding ways to have her stories publish.  Two years ago she won a writing contest with one of her stories but we haven't entered anything recently and I want to change that as Firedrake's goal is to be a writer!  if you have any suggestion for publishing children's stories let me know.