In Our Life This Week:
I hereby deem the first week of Operation “No More Checked Boxes” a success.† Keilee said it was the best week she has had in a long time.
This week just felt right. It flowed like I have been wanting our weeks to flow.† There was no stress or rushing.† I loved it and so did Kei.
We decided to go the Fair Friday night and were both disappointed.† We basically paid $10 to walk around in a circle.† There was no prize winning pigs or pies or blue ribbon cupcakes.† I think our fair isn’t big enough for things like that.† Next year we have a lead on a real, honest to goodness “Country Fair” that we are going to attend.
Monday was Co-op. We are still making some decisions about Spanish.† I help with Keilee’s cooking class so I am able to take pictures!† They made a breakfast casserole. The Teacher asked who had peeled potatoes and only Keilee and one other girl had done it.† When they began peeling Keilee was seriously done minutes before the next closest one! Who knew she was a peeling connoisseur!† She has been peeling and chopping for years.
My Mother collected aprons and I have them.† Every week Keilee takes a different apron to wear in cooking class.† I love this connected thread between my Mom and Kei.
For Science I had bought this book at a Thrift store that she wanted to work on.† It is about Keilee’s favorite subject, Animals.† The first lesson was about Asymmetrical, Bilateral and Radial shapes in the animal world.† She also did this really cool poster.† We were actually surprised at how small the Mammal Kingdom was in comparison to all Animals.
Then we watched Brain Pop and the video of the day was about Invertebrates and Bilateral and Radial animals.† We couldn’t believe it!† Then I was looking on YouTube and found a Crash Course Biology episode about the same topic!
In History we learned about the horrible conditions that factory workers lived with during the turn of the century.† We read in our “History of Us” book about Andrew Carnegie whose first job was a Bobbin boy in a factory in New York.† Then we read “The Bobbin Girl” that I had checked out from the library a couple of weeks ago which led to watching a documentary about the Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911 in NYC.† Flowed, I tell you it just flowed.
I saw a really neat calendar on Instagram that was free on Se7en’s blog† site.† I showed it to Kei and she decided to make her own. I really liked how she ‘hid’ the word OCTOBER in the drawing.
Britney came over Wednesday and they made cupcakes.† I had seen this really cool ‘Tootsie Roll’ flower and they decided to make some for their cupcakes.† I think things got pretty silly at the end of the decorating.† Like a cupcake with ONLY icing…
Keilee LOVES documentaries.† She is always telling me something and I ask her how she knew that and she says, “A documentary on Netflix”.† Here are some lists of the best Documentaries on Netflix.† Of course read before you let your kids watch.† Netflix Documentaries are my “Favorite Resource” this week.
Documentaries about Cities
Various Documentaries
75 Must Watch Documentaries on Netflix
Along with all of this we had play practice twice, Kei knitting and crocheted every day, she read her book for hours, she listened to Beethoven and Elvis Presley while doing some drawing, there was cartwheels and acorn gathering and so much more.† I loved this week so much and so did she.
A link to share:
I would like to share a link. This is an article written by Salman Khan of Khan Academy fame.† Read it and see what you think.† My first thought was…”Hey this is HOMESCHOOLING”
I spent MANY hours this week on the phone with my best friend Carla.† She is moving this week and we can’t wait to be able to visit them in the Spring.† I am over the moon that we have reconnected and get to talk so much.† She is cracking me up with Pinterest.† She LOVES it and she hates any kind of social network.† She calls me saying, “Karen WHY is this person following me on Pinterest, make them stop!” Too funny.
Next week we are hoping for more of the same.† This weekend we have some awesome places to go that we are really excited about.
Until next week…
Homeschooling Rocks!
Karen
ìYou can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives.î† ~ Clay P. Bedford
Happily linking up with
Mary @ “Collage Friday”
Susan @ “Favorite Resources”
iHomeschool Network @ “Homeschool Mother’s Journal“
I love documentaries too. I have a whole slew of them in my Netflix Queue. I love that outfit she’s wearing with the jean jacket. So cute!!
What an awesome week, Karen! I absolutely love that there were no “check boxes” and everything you did looks like so much fun. It amazes me how creative your daughter is. I want to show her work to all of my kiddos for inspiration! :-))) I want to read this post again so I can check into everything you mentioned. Sorry about the fair. I wish we had a real fair around here, too. I know my kids would love it. We just have to move into the country someday! I can’t wait to hear all about your weekend! I’m sure it was wonderful.
Sounds like you guys had a great week. We also would love to attend a true “country fair”. Our local one is small and boring, in my opinion anyway.
Blessings
Diane
I was just reading through the blog your recommended. What an amazing resource of information! I just happened to find a post with lots of information about Paul Revere. We are going to do the Freedom Trail in Boston in early December. Talk about flow!
I love it when weeks and learning flow and I agree with you 100% that too many boxes and checklists take away the ability to just flow.
I love reading about your weeks. I am at a crossroads right now in my blogging and you are a source of inspiration in which direction I want/need to move in. Thank you.
Oh Karen! What a beautiful week! I am so happy for you and Keilee that the week flowed so well 😀
I love that you have an apron collection of your mother’s and that Keilee wears them <3
I'm sorry the fair was such a disappointment…that stinks!
I really like Kei's poster of the animal kingdom!! In fact, there are so many things in this post that I love you'd get tired of me listing them all 😉
Thanks for linking at Favorite Resources. I am checking out those documentary links right now…
What a beautiful week! I love that everything flowed for you two this week:) I hope this is just the beginning of your journey into joyful learning. I love the apron connection. I have a small collection of vintage aprons that I love, but they aren’t sentimental in value. But I do feel the same as you whenever Molly gets out my grandmother’s recipes and uses them.
Karen,
What a wonderful list of documentaries. I can’t wait to add many of them to my netflix list. It often amazes me how many children are not raised cooking. What a fun and educational class. Have a wonderful weekend.
Blessings, Dawn
Oh, I am sooooo thrilled for your “no checked boxes” week – and to read about your apron tradition, which really touched my heart!
Yay for both of you!
I love how your week just flowed and how the resources you needed were there when you needed them–how awesome and amazing and wonderful–seemed like God was well at work in your homeschool this week!!!
Now you have me totally excited about doing the ‘Story of Us”–my grandfather came here from Italy in 1916 and was a button boy and a bobbin boy–then a shoeshine boy and finally a barber. My grandmother came here from Sicily in 1920 and worked as a seamstress in a sweatshop down in the Fashion District–she has stories about the HORRIBLE conditions and the start of unions to end those conditions and how people who were forming the unions “went missing” and the other workers all assumed the factory owners killed them because they did not want to unionize–I have no idea if they really killed them or not, she just thought they might have.
I LOVE the apron story and the apron Keilee is wearing in that photo!
We need to talk soon!
I am so happy to hear that Operation No Check Boxes was a success! I love, and am impressed by, the wide variety of the methods and topics that you covered in one week! Lots of beauty!
You inspire me. Truly, you do. Not only do your comments on my blog posts make me happy and keep me blogging, but reading this wrap-up posts of yours give me so many ideas.
Thank you for being my friend 🙂
Sounds like a truly delightful week, really! I love to wear aprons and would love to have some of my grandmother’s, what a special treat for your daughter. As my kids get older we are using documentaries more and more, they really are such a good resource. I’m going to check out those lists and the story from Khan, thanks for sharing! Have a great weekend.
Oh, Karen! I’m thrilled to read your free week was successful! Isn’t it amazing how so many opportunities fall into our laps at precisely the right moment? I stand back in awe whenever I locate the perfect book or video to match what we’re reading or studying. Kudos to you! Thank you for including the documentary links – I’ve been on the fence about Netflix. I hear some love it while others hate it so I’ve yet to sign up. And I’ve also wondered if there are educational documentaries available. Glad to see they do! I really like Khan Academy online. My oldest struggles with math and their online practice problems and videos have been a big help, to us both! Have a fabulous weekend!