Heart of Dakota Weekly Check-In Oct. 9-13

Heart of Dakota Weekly Check-In

Oct. 9-13

What a whirlwind week this has been!  Photobucket, which is where I usually post my HOD weekly check-in, is no longer working. So, I have returned to my blog, after a 4 year hiatus.  Sorry, dear blog!    It is good to be back!

This is a super busy time of year for our family, as alongside my husband's regular full-time job, he has an additional job on the weekends of guiding for pheasant hunting.  I realize how much he does to keep our home working properly and our boys busy with helping out with work and with having outdoor fun.  I also realize how much we miss him when he is gone!  As they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder.  

Emmett is our youngest son, and he is in 5th grade doing Creation to Christ.  He is having a wonderful year, and I already see such gains in independence, in writing/reading abilities, and in following directions carefully.  He is especially enjoying the read-aloud Storytime part of the plans.  We've been reading Boy of the Pyramids, which is a fantastic mystery set in Egypt!  One of his favorite Storytime follow-ups is retelling the story in oral narration form with props of his choice.  He actually counts the days until this comes up in the assessment rotation for Storytime!  Here he is retelling the story with some of his favorite props (his Beanie Balz), using gems (glass beads), and a litter for transporting nobility (a tray).  He loves this assessment, and I can tell he remembers the story well!

 Emmett did a fun pre reading activity with his Drawn into the Heart of Reading book, Cabin on Trouble Creek this week, and his brothers enjoyed helping him out!  For his History Project, Emmett made a breastplate like the one Aaron would have worn, and it turned out so well!

 Finally, Emmett added two new watercolor paintings to his Robert Frost poetry appreciation portfolio.  The first one is a watercolor painting in response to "Fireflies in the Garden" and the second is in response to "Gathering Leaves" (of which we have been doing a LOT of lately)!

Riley is in 9th grade doing the World Geography guide, and I'm so proud of his transition to high school!  In Mapping the World with Art, he made a star chart like the one Chinese geographers used to map stars & constellations.  He also made a neat map of Viking Voyages, which he and his little brother used to play a game...

He also read some fascinating stories in his A Book of Discovery history book and completed his written narration and mapping skills in WG History Notebook...

Wyatt is in 12th grade doing the USII guide, and he has been studying British Imperialism, the Lindbergh Baby, Socialism in America, Hoover, and FDR.  He has read some Great Documents in U.S. History that provide excellent primary source documents alongside his more narrative readings of Mystery of History. He loves history, but he is also really enjoying his What You Aren't Being Told About Astronomy DVDs and his New Astronomy Book readings and projects.  Economics, Personal Finance, and College Algebra rounded out an excellent week of homeschooling!