Mohaus Schoolhouse Week 14

Week 14 of our homeschool was a partial week because of Thanksgiving, but we still managed to squeeze in fun and learning.

Sunday night we hosted a Friendsgiving then Monday we had a group of Homeschool friends over to celebrate Thanksgiving. The kids looked for leaves in our yard for a craft, while also climbing our rock walls and sliding down the hill in the leaves. We used the leaves to make turkeys while I read the book, Gobble Gobble Crash to the kids. Lunch was leftovers from our Friendsgiving as well as slices of deli turkey and mac-and-cheese. The kids, and moms, had a lovely time together.

On Tuesday Jack and I did our regular schedule of schoolwork and also had the opportunity to see how many different kinds of birds are in our back yard right now. There were a dozen or so bluebirds, sparrows, cardinals, a blue jay and even a woodpecker. That evening we enjoyed the annual Chili & Pie Supper with our church family.

Wednesday we met up with a local hiking club to hike and play by the Piney River just north of Spring City my boys had a blast tramping around the woods with a gaggle of other little boys (Isaac has a rough start to the hike but eventually came around).

Thursday we slept in and then met my little brother at Cracker Barrel in Lookout Valley for Thanksgiving brunch.

After our delicious breakfast we took the boys to explore the Boulders on Lookout and then took advantage of our National Park pass and visited Point Park on the top of Lookout Mountain. We were blessed with amazing weather. 

After hiking we headed across town to visit with Daniel’s dad and his wife and her family. And enjoyed a Thanksgiving Meal with them. The kids were excited to have a ton of kids to play with, and are always glad to see their Grandpa and Abuela.

Friday the kids enjoyed more visiting and playing with their Uncle. We took the kids to the Pumpkin Patch Playground and then their Uncle Mark treated us to treats at Pruitts. And we showed him the Brow view on the way home. 

That night we enjoyed the boat parade downtown at Chattanooga’s Cheer at the Pier and ended the night with Jack pulling his first loose tooth and fireworks.

Saturday was more playing and getting the house ready to decorate for Christmas. That night my brother watched the boys while Daniel and I actually went on a date.

Our weeks are a constant state of hands on learning. Some weeks are more fun focused than others but always some kind of learning is taking place.

What Our Homeschool Looked Like in November:
Week 12 (Nov. 4-10)
Week 13 (Nov. 11-17)
Week 14 (Nov. 18-24)
Week 15 (Nov. 25-Dec. 1)

Mohaus Schoolhouse Week 13

Last week was week 13 of our homeschool and it was a busy one. Monday was Veterans Day and Jack was still riding the high of turning seven. 

Tuesday we woke up to no power and spent the morning at the coffee shop where we learned all about teeth in honor of Jack’s very first loose tooth.

On the podcast front we listened to a Past and the Curious episode about the Statue of Liberty and learned all sorts of interesting facts, which I later tried to stump my dad with. But he is a walking encyclopedia, the Google before there was google, and he already knew everything we had to share.

We are listening to Peter Pan and also started listening to The Little Pilgrims Progress — which I wasn’t sure if jack would understand or like. It turns out it is one of his favorite books to listen to. 

For memorization, we have moved on from lines from A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Robert Frost to lines from Romeo and Juliet, and the poem “If” by Rudyard Kipling.

I am reading aloud The Mysterious Howling and The One and Only Ivan. Jack is progressing with writing and our language arts program, and somehow got a 4th grade placement on the Prodigy Math App. Either he knows more than what I have taught him or he takes after me and is really good at guessing (though the test was not all multiple choice).

I enjoyed attending Isaac’s Thanksgiving Feast at preschool on Thursday, and then Friday we had a field trip to Audobon Acres to participate in Pioneer Days with friends, which we all loved.

It perfectly dovetailed in with our recent completion of Little House in the Big Woods. 

Saturday our family attended the Hickory Hills Youth Trials Clinic where both boys got to practice new skills and also came home with 2nd place finishes in their respective skill groups.

Sunday we ended our week by hosting friends for our third annual Friendsgiving.

This time of year is always crazy busy and I am grateful for all the time that homeschool allows for our family to be together.

What Our Homeschool Looked Like in November:
Week 12 (Nov. 4-10)
Week 13 (Nov. 11-17)
Week 14 (Nov. 18-24)
Week 15 (Nov. 25-Dec. 1)

Mohaus Schoolhouse Week 12

I think doubt is one of the hardest parts of doing anything worth doing, and as I have experienced recently, Homeschool is not immune to that doubt. Week 12 of our year feels like we are finally overcoming some of that doubt and finding our groove. I’m sure I’ll lose my way again, but with reminders from friends and research and resources to guide me along, hopefully I always find my way back.

It feels like we were just celebrating Halloween and my birthday. And suddenly Jack is now seven and Thanksgiving is just around the corner. I need to focus on making sure we find moments to savor during this busy season of life.

During our 12th week Jack rediscovered his love for math. Swapping curriculums and also starting the free math app, Prodigy, has him loving numbers again.

We finished the Young Ben Franklin podcast last week and followed up with researching more about Ben Franklin this week with books like Now & Ben (I highly recommend this book). We read the poem, "The Man from Snowy River," and it reminded me of my sister (it’s her favorite movie) and has me wanting to show the boys the scene of the cowboys rounding up the horses in the mountains.

We are continuing to love The Past and the Curious and Same Page podcasts. This was our last week to listen to "The Road Less Taken" and an excerpt from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Jack and I now have both of these passages memorized. We ended the week by reading Ella Bella Ballerina and the Midsummer Night's Dream. Jack thought the part about a man named Bottom being turned into a half-man half-donkey was hilarious. I’m hoping to get ahold of the full play and read it to him soon. Another podcast we have discovered is Grimm, Grimmer, Grimmest. Both my boys are enjoying this spin on the Grimms Brothers tales.

We learned about civic duty and a little bit of politics as Jack went with me to vote in this year’s mid-term elections.

We read from several nature books on our weekly hike to Green Gorge and savored the season and each other’s company.

Before the weather turned colder, we enjoyed park time with bikes, knowing those moments may be limited for a bit.

Isaac’s class performed Daniel in the Lions Den for preschool chapel and Jack enjoyed helping me make cookies for the Homeschool program at the Y.

We ended the week with surprise guests— my sister and her kids came up from Florida to celebrate Jack’s 7th Birthday weekend with us. We had a lovely weekend with family and friends.

It looks like this week will fly by and we will be celebrating Thanksgiving before we know it!

What Our Homeschool Looked Like in November:
Week 12 (Nov. 4-10)
Week 13 (Nov. 11-17)
Week 14 (Nov. 18-24)
Week 15 (Nov. 25-Dec. 1)