First two weeks - Part I

We have completed the first two weeks of our new school year. Thought I would blog about how it's going. I need to split this post up into two parts, since it was getting rather long.

The home is not falling apart. There are moving boxes in the dining room, which I wish were not there, but other than that, things are staying decent. (We are not moving, nor have we recently moved. The boxes are for some things that will have to go up to the attic, but they just haven't moved yet. I guess I'm anticipating putting up summer clothes, but I think we are about a month away from that, so I should get them out of the way.)

We will be adding a few things in the next two or three weeks, such as science. I started with the "bare bones," to keep it simple while we started, so we will have to add some things as we go.

Bible Time: We are starting out with Bible time and allowing more time to really get into the Word. Last year we did more of a devotional or character trait each day. Now we are reading from The Day by Day Kids Bible. We read one day's reading per day, but we won't get through it in one year since we do not school 7 days a week. I read the selection aloud, usually pausing after each paragraph or two and alternate asking the kids to narrate back that portion. Peanut (9) is doing well with that, Junior (7) is not doing as well.

From my reading of other homeschoolers' experiences, I believe that is typical for his age. I try not to make a big deal about it when he is not able to. There is the natural competition between the two of them, however. My new plan is to read a longer passage when it is Peanut's turn, so she will be more challenged, and the differences between them will not be so obvious.

We have been using the book, 1001 Ways to Teach Your Child About the Bible by Kathy Reimer. This book was recommended by Heart of Wisdom. I am really liking it. One day we talked about how King Ahab prayed to Baal for rain. Elijah told King Ahab that he had made God angry by doing this, and that it would not rain for three years. After reading that story, we did a science experiment about how rain clouds form. Another day, we talked about how through Elijah, God helped a widow to never run out of oil and flour. We made a cake from a cake mix that called for oil. Not Biblically accurate, but fun!

Tomorrow I will finish posting about the rest of our first two weeks.