Home School Weekly Digest

I took so many pictures last week I needed to put them into a slideshow! We had a full week and enjoyed many hands on activities...which is only one of the many great parts of Hope's curriculum. We made hasty pudding...like in the song "Yankee Doodle"(which we listened to a few times)...there is a line that says "the men and boys were thick as hasty pudding". Hasty pudding is milk and cornmeal cooked till thick. We enjoyed it with butter and maple syrup. We learned about Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War. We used berry ink and a quill pen to write our names like John Hancock did. Here is the dictation that Hope did from the book we just finished. Very cool story...if your kids like to listen to you read aloud I really recommend this book: Sarah Whitcher's Story by Elizabeth Yates. It's about a little girl who got lost and her bravery, her father's unwavering faith in God and a stranger who had a dream (or vision) about her and walked 30 miles to help find her (which he did). Ollie (mentioned in Hope's dictation) was a bear whom Sarah mistook for her family dog.

Here is a picture Hope drew with the quill pen and berry ink. I think it's for you Abby!

I tried my name...it was a bit difficult to figure out the quill pen. Hope wrote the other names. The ink was bright purple and dried really dark purple. I am thankful for modern pens after trying out the quill.

Owen did two days of school this week. We have one day left in the first unit (Ss, sun, Jesus is the light of the world). Each unit has 6 days of work and we are taking our sweet time. Owen needs to develop better small motor skills and hand eye coordination. I brought out salt (couldn't find my cornmeal) and poured it on a cookie tray for him to practice writing in. He loved it! He also made a sun dial and practiced writing with a pencil.

~Rose