October 25 - 29

WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS

PRESTON

Preston read Act 3, Scenes 1-5 in King Lear for his Shakespeare class.  He also wrote a paper about "How do Lear's friends - and yours - show their affection?"  

He also worked on more of his memorization of the Declaration of Independence.  I can't wait for him to know the whole thing.  It is amazing to listen to him!

MARISSA

Marissa read Meriwhether Lewis for her book discussion for her Ninja Scholar class.  One of her favorite parts were when they started on the road down the Missouri River and met the Indians, especially a chief named Black Buffalo.  He liked peace instead of fighting.  She also liked when Meriwhether put out the fire when the Indians attacked at their house when he was young.  That was really fast and smart thinking.  

Marissa also made a barn owl because they were very common at the time of the last two books that they have read for class (Benjamin Rush and Meriwhether Lewis).  Other common birds of the time were robins, eagles, and starlings.  

CALEB

Caleb learned about Teddy Roosevelt and the value of enthusiasm in his Heroic Youth class this week.  They learned to be explorers with the globe, searched through explorer books, put together puzzles and drew pictures about things they are enthusiastic about.  

I love watching things he learns about transfer to every day life.  I found him in the van waiting to go home flipping through an atlas I had left in there.  Makes my heart happy! 

OTHER

FAMILY DANCE

The kids and Marcos (dad) went to a family dance with our school last Friday.  My father passed away and so I could not attend as I had to meet with the mortuary that day.  The kids had delicious food and then danced the night away with a fun cowboy theme.  The dance even took place in a barn!  How great is that?

HALLOWEEN FUN

Marissa and Caleb had a great time decorating the house with Halloween decorations.  They did it all on their own while I was helping take care of my dad.  I came home to a very spooky, festive home.  

Caleb got to make "earth juice" in his Musikgarten class with root beer and dry ice.  He was so fascinated that we had to learn all about dry ice when we got home from his class.  

October 18 - 22

WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS

PRESTON

Preston participated in an interactive activity in his Shakespeare class this week.  They had to come up with a machine and figure out how to create it using their bodies.  Here are a couple of pictures from the activity.  

Preston also writes an opinion paper weekly for his Key of Liberty class.  This is the paper he wrote this week.  

MARISSA

Marissa was so lucky and got to go on ANOTHER field trip with her class.  They went to the Ogden Nature Center.  They learned about Native Americans and how they lived.  They lived in a "tuk-ee-up" which is grasses put down with mud and a dome-shaped base.  A few years later, they started making teepees.  They used around 15 buffalo skins to make one teepee.  

Marissa also wrote a really cool poem about using your voice.  I didn't even know she had written this until she showed me.  It's been a really challenging year for our family with our oldest son (who is 17).  We also just found out that my dad (Grandpa Mike) has liver failure and it's terminal.  Marissa's poem was in response to her frustration at some of the choices her brother was making.  It's awesome to realize kids are ALWAYS learning and growing. 

CALEB

Caleb had a busy week!  He learned about the flag Betsy Ross sewed in Heroic Youth.  He also learned "sol mi do" patterns in his Musikmakers at the Keyboard class.  He was SO EXCITED to get to SEE what the music he is playing actually looked like.  

We've been working hard on reading.  I was so impressed when he read the whole "Little Bear" book in one longer session.  His reading is definitely improving and so is his confidence.  

OTHER

COOKING

Marissa and Caleb helped me make potato soup and rolls this week.  They practiced dicing potatoes and following a recipe.  They had so much fun and want to help with every meal! 

October 11 - 15

WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS

PRESTON

Preston participated in a service project in his leadership class.  They tied blankets to donate to Afghan refugees.  I love that service is a part of his overall education.  

Preston also read "William Bradford: Pilgrim Boy" for his Key of Liberty class and book discussion.  His teacher told me after class that his comments are quite deep and insightful.  Gotta love this kid!

MARISSA

Marissa took place in the book discussion on Benjamin Rush this week.  They made homemade candles and talked about how that was the only kind of light they had at night back in the 1700s.  She LOVED making homemade candles and already used hers at home.  

Marissa also started using a new cursive program.  She learned cursive last year so this year she is practicing her cursive using poetry.  She LOVES her new book and I love that she is getting exposed to beautiful poetry at the same time.  

CALEB

Caleb is always excited about math book.  This week we read two Sir Cumference books.  We have also slowly been working through a couple fun math books from the library.  We also are working through Life of Fred books slowly during our morning reading as a family.  Caleb also LOVES practicing math facts with Imagine Math Facts.  This week he was working on multiplication.  

Caleb finished his print handwriting book this week.  We are going to slowly start learning cursive to see if that is easier with his fine motor challenges.  

Caleb also created his own game this week.  It was a combination of Risk and Monopoly using army soldiers, money, dominoes and vehicle math manipulatives.  :)

October 4 - 8

WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS

PRESTON

Preston had a presentation in his Key of Liberty class.  It was on the 1st and 2nd Continental Congress.  He did a great job!  He also created a stop motion video to show the class at the end of his presentation.  It was awesome!  

MARISSA

Marissa had a great week!  She created a screen printed bag from a Doodle Crate.  She drew a picture of grandma when grandma came to help with some language arts and math one day.  She also learned several magic tricks to perform for the family.  She loves learning and is getting so much out of her classes and her individual work at home.  

Marissa also finished reading Benjamin Rush for her book discussion.  She loved the book and took so many notes.  It's so much fun watching her learn and grow! 

CALEB

Caleb is working hard on reading.  He has been reading stories from the "Big Red Book of Beginner Books" and is doing such a great job.  He's also working on All About Reading Level 2 and working very slowly through a new handwriting curriculum.  

Caleb has also been learning about doing hard things.  He got to demonstrate this by running and jumping over a chair during class this week.  It is great watching him stretch and grow with a few peers.  

OTHER

FORT BUENAVENTURA

Marissa and Caleb both got to go on an amazing field trip to Fort Buenaventura this week.  They heard from real mountain men who live off the land, make their own tools, sleep on straw beds, and know all sorts of stories and facts about where sayings and other cultural things originated.  Marissa could not stop talking about it and decided to document it in a paper she typed up.  She did a great job! 

September 27 - October 1

WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS

PRESTON

Preston got to participate in a simulation in his Key of Liberty class.  There were people dressed up like the 1700s who acted out different parts to create a realistic feeling that the kids were actually there.  It was a very cool experience for Preston.  

MARISSA

Marissa learned about North America for Geography this week.  She traced the shape and labeled the different countries. 

She also worked on grammar diagramming sentences.  We also read a couple of books to help learn about the importance of grammar and punctuation.  

CALEB

Caleb worked on learning about engineering and building using cups this week.  He stacked several different types of plastic cups to see how high he could built walls and towers without having them fall down.  He enlisted Marissa's help a couple of times as well.  

He also had a great time learning about heroes in his class and creating structures with play dough.  They have been studying Abraham Lincoln and he has learned so much.  

OTHER

FALL

We had fun this week reading about Autumn and creating different things with fall leaves.  Marissa's Doodle Crate arrived and happened to be a project to create a tree so she did that as well.  It was a lot of fun!