Weekly Report: Week Twenty-Two (days 106-110)

We had an amazingly smooth transition back to school this week. I admit that it probably helped that I didn't have EG practice piano (her teacher's assignment over the holiday break was to "look in the Christmas book" and try to play some of the other songs for fun), and I know it helped that EG & FB didn't have Master's Academy this week, but it was still nice. They are gearing up for our upcoming Disney trip by watching or rewatching all the Disney classic animated films. This is, of course, great fun, and they can't quite believe I'm letting them watching movies during the schoolweek. They're also enthralled by one of their Christmas presents–They Might Be Giant's Here Comes Science.

EG
• Spent her history time with the later Roman Empire, from Caesar & Augustus through the decline and fall. She'll keep reading about that time period for the next couple of weeks.

• Is excited that she's nearly completed Life of Fred: Advanced Algebra. Today was the last actual instruction in the book.

• Still isn't registered for the second semester of her online course for critical thinking. I was assured that she was first on the waiting list, and that it likely wouldn't be a problem, but it's been almost a month now with no news. Second semester starts at the beginning of February. Yikes!

FB
• Started Right Start B at last. The first few lessons have been review, but the break seems to have done him well. I also realized we only have about 45 pages left in The Orange Book of Miquon! Given we have seventy days of school remaining, I may have to get The Red Book sooner than I thought.

• Still loves history best of all. This week, he learned all about the ancient Americas. One of the books we read, Who Were the First North Americans?, was so awfully biased and strange that I found myself editing as I read it to him. I can't in good conscience recommend it, and I'm seriously considering getting rid of it. It seemed dismissive at best of Native American customs and beliefs. On the other hand, The Lost World of the Anasazi is very well-done, and worth purchasing if it can't be found in the library.

• Is acing his spelling each week, which makes me think he may not need a full week per lesson, at least in book A.

PC
• Is still not talking as much as she should be, but we're getting there.

• Is the impetus for all of us slowly shifting to gluten-free.

• Thinks that marching is the best thing ever this week.

I
• am cautiously optimistic about going gluten-free

• have been knitting up a storm. Since Christmas, I've finished four projects, nearly finished three more (two need felting, one needs fringe, but the knitting portion is completed), and today I'm making a coin purse to be felted. Good grief.

• am doing my annual re-read of certain homeschooling books. I'm working on WTM first, and taking notes. I hope to finish it off by mid-next week, because I really need to switch gears for a week or so and do Disney planning. Then it'll be back to homeschooling and re-reading more books.