We eased back into our homeschool routine this week after enjoying some summer fun last month. While not perfect, I was pleasantly surprised at how the transition went. It can be really hard for my children to transition from the freedoms of break to the more structured ‘school days’. I intentionally kept this week just a little lighter and shorter to help ease the transition and we were finished most days by lunch time.
For our first week of volume one of Story of the World we did the introduction lesson. This is a shorter chapter that explains history and archeology. This was very much a review for my older children and we kept it fun and simple. I read the chapter aloud and then we did a fun chocolate chip cookie archeology activity.
My four year old helped me bake cookies with chocolate chips and pecans in them. Then each child was given a cookie, a toothpick, and a pastry brush. They used the ‘tools’ to excavate the cookie and count how many chocolate chips and how many pecans were in their cookie. Then we snacked on cookies and milk! The activity was a big hit but if I had it to do over again I would have purchased some small paintbrushes to use instead of the pastry brushes just to have the sizing work out better.
Then one night this week we settled in for a family viewing of The Magic School Bus Shows and Tells. This fun and lighthearted show has a great explanation of archeology and had the children laughing while they learned. If your children are new to these concepts, you might want to include some of the other activities from the activity book or our free lesson resources guide.
In other Story of the World news I have updated the book list through chapter 26! I’m hoping to work on it some more this weekend and I am still on pace to be finished by the end of September with all 42 chapters. Check it out and let me know in the comments if there are any great books that I missed.
Next we will dive into chapter one and learn about the earliest people and the nomadic way of life. I’m looking forward to letting them do a cave art activity. We will be reading the chapter and completing both the map from the activity guide and a Nomadic Life notebooking page. I am hopeful that the notebooking pages will be a good way for them to show me what they learned and help it ‘cement’ into their memories.
In our Apologia Science text we were learning about gravity, friction, traction, and drag. This was a lot of fun and they are excited to finish the chapter next week. We had the chance to look at their bikes and the hand brakes that they use to see how friction is used to stop their bikes. In addition to a few other small science experiments that were included with that chapter, we decided to make a homemade slip and slide and test out what they had learned about friction and using a lubricant to reduce friction. It maybe September here but the weather is still quite warm so this was a fun way to cool off on a Friday afternoon and probably their favorite activity this week.
The preschooler had great fun learning about the letter A and doing chalk pastel art lessons on his trampoline! We have all been enjoying working through the Forensic Faith book that we are reviewing and I can’t wait to share more about that with you in a few weeks. The older children did a wind in the trees art lesson that turned out really cute. Just in case you think that our week seems to have gone too smoothly or easily, I will say that we lost a DVD that was integral to my son’s writing curriculum and my daughter is missing her science notebooking journal. There were also some moments where we had to work through issues with them, but all in all it was a good first week back and we are excited to see what this year brings.
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Deals and Freebies!
As we enter into the fall season and return to our routines it often feels much like a new year and a chance to start over. What are you doing to get/stay healthy? I am trying to drink more water and take daily walks.
If you are looking for some starting over with a healthier lifestyle you might want to check out the Healthy Living Bundle that is on sale for just a few days. At only $37 for 93 ebooks, ecourses, and printable packs it is an excellent deal. This includes help with allergies, nutrition, gardening, exercise and more.
Free 5 Day Learning without Worksheets Challenge: FREE 5-Day Learning Challenge We have done several of her different challenges in the past and they are lots of fun and easy to implement.
Free Makeover Your Morning 5 Day Challenge! This is a great way to help re-focus and get your day off on the right foot.
Harry The Happy Mouse (Free on Kindle)
Illustrated Would You Rather Book (Free on Kindle)
Enrichment Studies has a great free fine arts memory match game this month!
Free Help Your Child’s Memory Book from All About Learning Press!
The Schoolin' Swag Blog 