{The Week} Two Weeks Of Homeschooling and Life Adventures

In my life this week…

This week I will give a two week recap of what we have been up to lately.

In our homeschool this week…

We met for Week #21 and #22 of Classical Conversations. We only have two weeks left for the spring semester for Foundations/Essentials. The year has flown by!

 

Briyah is enjoying her studies in Ancient Civilizations and the Bible by Diana Waring. Briyah created a Greek Reader's Theater script and dressed in a Greek outfit as the narrator.

Diana Waring's Four Week Learning Cycle in History Revealed

The Ancient Civilizations and the Bible curriculum is geared for middle school and high school students, but Malachi joins in on the weekly activities with us. Each unit is based on Four Phases of Learning and support the Eight Intelligences. The assignments provide a wide variety of activities/projects to choose from to express learning.

 

We have a new visitor at our house. I am afraid this visitor has taken up residence under our garden shed. A humongous groundhog, which the kids have named Big Fat Willy, comes out from the garden shed each day to lie in the sun. The problem is that this groundhog is near the area where I am installing raised garden beds. Groundhogs can quickly ruin a garden.

We have a creek running through our neighborhood and in the early mornings you can find crayfish walking along the pavement. One large crayfish wandered into our yard and we brought it in for observation. We studied crustaceans for a few days. This was timely as we are having a crayfish dissection at our co-op in a couple of weeks. We plan to use a dissection kit and not live crayfish.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…

Homeschooling is such a blessing because you can dress in costume! This week the kids were characters in Hamlet, Egyptians, and a Russian immigrant family in the early 1900's. They are such a hoot!

You are never too young to have fun learning! Zolie is 2 years old and she loves exploring with the big kids. I am a firm believer in the benefits of the one room schoolhouse model where all ages can learn together.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

 

My family went to the Cincinnati Homeschool Convention for one day to assist Diana Waring in her booth. Diana's booth was extra busy this year as she had student projects on display for all three levels of her world history curriculum.

We were pleased to see that right across from Diana's booth was The Dig For Kids and The Better Mom by Patrick and Ruth Schwenk. Briyah is enjoying The Dig For Kids Bible study as I study through Luke with Good Morning Girls.

My favorite thing this week was…

We took a field trip to Morrow's Meadow in Yorktown with Uncle Brandon. Spring has finally arrived in Central Indiana and we can get outdoors in the sunshine and fresh air. It will not be too long and we will be able to explore the many creeks in our area. The water is still a wee bit cold.

Things I’m working on…

It is the fourth week of my eight week spring classes at Liberty University. Things have gone well this semester but I do have two research papers due in the seventh week. The next three weeks are going to be super busy. I need some extra brain power for sure!

This week we finished up week three of the spring study in Luke with Good Morning Girls. I facilitate an online group for this study and it helps keep me accountable to my daily morning Bible study.

I’m grateful for…

Malachi won the gecko contest at the Indianapolis Children's Museum! I am so excited for him! He named one of the geckos Digger and my sister entered to win. The voting for the name took place over a few weeks and he received the most votes. They are going to have an opportunity to visit the children's museum and have a meet and greet with the gecko.

We are studying Reptiles and Amphibians this month with The Handbook of Nature Study blog. If you subscribe to Barb's blog, you will receive a wonderful newsletter each month with a topic to study. The newsletter is typically a 10+ page PDF file and it includes great printables and activities for the month. You can follow the blog for weekly activities to correspond with the monthly theme. This is one of our favorite blogs! If you want to incorporate more nature study into your homeschooling, be sure to check it out!

I’m praying for…

This week we had a busy week of doctor appointments. The kids and I took a field trip to Community North in Indianapolis with Shaiya. She had an appointment with a spine specialist over her tailbone pain (coxxydia). She has been through blood tests, x-rays, ultrasounds, and an MRI. The spine specialist reviewed her tests and did not find any tumors, cysts, or a visible injury to her lower spine or tailbone region. We are thankful for the great news, but we are still uncertain why she is experiencing pain. The spine specialist referred her to physical therapy. We hope and pray she will get some pain relief soon!

My hubby had a Hida scan this week on his gall bladder and the test results came back. He is meeting with a surgeon this month and will be scheduled for surgery fairly quickly for the removal of his gall bladder. Thankfully he now has health insurance to help pay for some of the costs associated with this surgery. One of our hospital visits from his gall bladder issues (prior to having insurance) was $3000.

Each day I try to focus on thankfulness or my heart would be overwhelmed with uncertainties. We are living on half of the income that we once had and each month is a step of faith for us. Even with insurance, we worry about the mounting costs of our healthcare needs. This is the reality of life in 2013, and times are difficult for many families. Even so, we have so many things to be thankful for each and every single day.

Life is a precious gift. Each moment is a time to cherish.

Since the latter part of 2012, we have downsized as much as possible. Some of the steps we have taken include:

• Moved from a large home into a smaller 1200 square foot ranch
• Reduced our grocery budget to $400 monthly
• Gave away surplus furniture and household items that would not fit in our small home
• Stopped eating out in restaurants
• Barter with friends

We continue to explore how to simplify and live on less. If you have any tips, please share them!

One thing is for sure - God has always provided for our family, and He always will provide our every need. Everything we truly need is found in Him. He is our portion. He is our life. We may have lean times. We may have times of abundance. We need to learn to trust Him through all the circumstances and situations we experience.

Friends, whatever circumstances you are facing in life, trust in the Lord. He will provide for your every need, whether spiritually, emotionally, physically, relationally, or any other need that you have in life. If you feel anxious or overwhelmed, open God's Word and meditate upon His promises.

So how was your week? Are you busy as can be? I hope you are blessed in the Lord!

Linking Up With:

Friday Favorite Things

Homeschool Mother's Journal

Collage Friday

Weekly Wrap-Up