Homeschooling in March

This was a weird month, in some ways we were incredibly productive, on the other hand there was a two week period there where I don’t really remember much going on because various kids were sick.

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In my life this month…

The boys turned 12.  That was a pretty big deal event, it’s really cool to see the young men they are turning into.

In other news, we passed around some kind of cold, which always makes homeschooling hard when 1/3 of the kids are out sick.  We had some storms, which meant we got to splash in puddles.

It’s bluebonnet season, so that means we got pictures in the bluebonnets.  One of my favorite activities.  I’ll do a separate post about that later, because tradition and all.

In our homeschool this month…

Let’s see, I’ve actually been somewhat up to date with blogging on stuff we did.  Superman and I put together a solar car and experimented with his solar panels.  The kids gave presentations to President Truman giving him advice on whether or not he should drop the atomic bomb.  We’ve reached that point in 20th century history it’s hard to have lots of hands-on lessons, but it does lead to lots of debates (Should the United States enter the Korean War or Should the United States enter the Vietnam War).  It really does get complicated.  We’re also watching the Compass Classroom Modernity videos.  They’re a bit high level for my kids, but it’s got lots to discuss, and I wish I’d had them back when we started modern history to talk through all of the philosophical changes beyond learning facts.

But, in all reality it is above the kids level right now, so we’re mainly watching them, not making it a big discussion.

Oh, and we finished a whole slew of books this past month between listening to them, OR just being slow in watching the movies, so here’s what we watched:

• Holes
• Pollyanna*
• Treasure Island*
• Bridge to Terebithia*

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

This was a month of some field trips.  We went to Sherwood Forest and got to see an amazing falconry show.  The kids and I went to the Austin Rodeo and got to see a live cow milking (I know we’re such city folk).  Then today the kids went with friends to a local farm and got to pick strawberries (I was at a memorial service for a friend).

Games we’re playing

I got my latest Kickstarter game, Pack ‘O Games, and we’ve been playing the different games from that.  But, here’s what we’ve played:

• My Dwarves Fly
• Kingdom Builders*
• Shadows of Brimstone*
• Konexi

My favorite thing this month…

Bluebonnets!  I always yell out whenever I see a particularly pretty patch as we drive down the street.

What’s working/not working for us…

We all have a pretty bad case of Spring Fever, so we have been a history lesson a day, rather than our usual block schedule and getting a lot more done.  At the rate we’re going we should be done around Easter, but definitely before May.  SCORE!

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

I love this quote from Chuck Colson from our Watergate lesson in Mystery of History 4*.

“I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren’t true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world-and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks. You’re telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.”

On my blog in case you missed it…

I noticed old favorites have resumed their usual spot at the top.

Oh and don’t miss out on this giveaway/discount code: World War 1 unit

• Tips on Teaching Highly Distractible Kids
• Prayer Stations– I’ll be doing this one with Princess’ AHG troop in a few weeks
• Temptation of Jesus lesson
• World War 2 movies for the whole family– I need to update this with the most recent movies that have come out
• Moses and the 10 Plagues activities– I was one of the people looking at this post this past month, at least 3 of the times it was viewed