Linking up with Weird Unsocialized Home Schoolers for their Weekly Wrap up. Click HERE for info/to join!
The I States are what we focused on this week: Idaho, Illinois, Indiana and Iowa!
We talked about unique vending machines –Idaho has one in their airport with french fries, and someone I know just opened the FIRST PIZZA ATM in the US <– no kidding, it’s a real thing! The rest of the I states are kind of plain <–see what I did there? so we did art that coincided with a fun ATM, a superhero (Metropolis, IL is the home of Superman), an ‘Indy’ car, and their own new farm product. They have free art time any other time they want, so having themes is just trying to break them out of their own ‘box’.. not that it works, see below? Piggy vending <– I CAN’T WIN!
It’s also been a month of some heart ache for me. Both our church and our library are struggling. Long story short, ‘old’ people don’t want to pay taxes for a library they don’t use. So I’m attending desperate meetings on both accounts. I’m trying to keep faith. I’m trying to help. I feel SO helpless. See the Skippy Jon Jones guy in the picture? The kids LOVE their kits from the library. It’s insane how much we use it, probably 50 books if not more a week. Since I’m at meetings a couple of nights a week and not home, I keep getting behind at night. I’ve finally put together the first 4 weeks of school on the Friday of the 4th week.
I am doing a lot of hurry up cleaning and struggling how to get the baby taken care of at the same time as meeting everyone else’s needs. Everyone seems to need me all at once, but with the big kids have a month long routine now for their homework, they are pretty independent on enough of their work that I can change a diaper or feed the baby *most* of the time without an emergency! I got a couple of color-specific notebooks for the kids and write down their assignments on the weekend for the week ahead. I wish I’d taken a picture, on Monday (Labor day) morning, I snuck in a shower ALONE! while my husband made pancakes for the kids. Glorious!
The the tattoos on the middle top picture? Those are rewards for 100% spelling tests. They seemed to need a motivator as they didn’t want to ‘study’ on Thursdays. So we got those on amazon and let them dangle. It’s not like they couldn’t have a new one any time they asked, but those little tattoos just for getting an A on their spelling seemed to be a reward enough to study, and for that I am grateful!
Resources:
Scrambled States of America BOARD GAME! <–fabulous!
Name that state flash cards (Teachers pay teachers, Kindergarten Princess)
First 2 pages of ‘mystery19’ from BuildABundle sale mystery package this year. Features state ‘fact’ info and a bit of history.
Topical Books in particular we’re reading the info out of THIS ONE that shows topography and THIS ONE that shows fun facts.
Books the kids are reading on their own: K-1st / 2nd-3rd
