Week 25 ~ Colds, Chicago Fire, and Picture Book Biographies

On My Mind ~ We almost escaped winter without illness. But it was not to be. We are all in different stages of a head cold. I think I got it the worst! It is just never good for Mom to be slower than the kiddos. I am amazed how much we got done with all of us mopey and yucky. I scratched our original school plans first thing Monday morning and decided to just read books, play games and watch educational movies.

What We Read ~

• The Great Fire (An excellent book about the Chicago Fire)
• Bud Not Buddy
• Lost Boy The Story of the Man Who Created Peter Pan
• Shooting for the Moon -- The Amazing Life and Times of Annie Oakley
• Obama Only In America (I was disappointed in this picture book biography of our current president and will keep my eye out for a better one.)
• Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves Deputy U.S. Marshal
• Grammar A Basher Book

The kids also read several books on their research topics for the upcoming statewide Festival of Knowledge.

Games We Played ~

• Apples to Apples
• Yahtzee
• Payday (at least four times)

Shows We Watched ~

• CNN Student News
• How'd They Build That ~ Firetrucks
• IMAX film on horses
• Documentary, The Great Chicago Fire

What the Kids Liked Best ~ The kids especially enjoyed two things this week. They really are getting into their research projects for the Festival of Knowledge. It is exciting to see them bloom and take the iniative in their own projects. They have all grown so much since last year. They also really enjoyed looking at melted artifacts from the Chicago Fire and trying to figure out what they were. I found this great activity at The Chicago Historic Society online (see top pictures of the collage).

All the Rest ~ We did some math and grammar this week. Little Red Riding Hood and Tom Sawyer will be taking the required state test next week so I wanted to get in a little bit of review. They will be taking the CAT test at home. I have not decided how to test Goldilocks yet. In the past I have taken her in to be tested by a professional with the Woodcock Johnson Test of Achievement. The woman I took her to in the past has left the practice. Goldilocks is more complicated than her siblings, because she is so far behind her grade level that I can't order the grade level for her age and hope to see any success for her. It would just be a hopeless and upsetting experience. I am probably going to order the Hewitt Pass Test for Homeschoolers. It has different levels within each grade and I can order a grade lower than Goldilocks is currently.  They also give lots of advice with the test results.  My oldest was successful with this form of testing.

Well, that is all for us this week.

Blessings, Dawn