Weekly Report 3-28-08

We had some Nature time this week at our local park. The bay isn't the cleanest around, and we have to be careful to wash our hands after, but Nature Girl just loved stomping around in her orange flowered boots, picking up large snail shells and listening to the water on the shore. We saw many hawks, and maybe even an eagle or two (there are quite a few further down the peninsula).

We had so much fun that we invited some friends to join us. The park has a great new playground, too--

Nature Girl's birthday is coming up, so we are going to rent an itty, bitty cabin on the grounds of this park, and spend the night star gazing and playing with fire. (Shhh, she doesn't know she's getting a telescope for her present from us!)

We finished the SOTW chapter on the Rus on Friday. We read some wonderful Russian folktales, and started Chancy and the Grand Rascal, which is written by the same guy who did By the Great Horn Spoon, which we previously enjoyed. Chancy tells the story of a young boy's search for his siblings, who were fostered out during the last part of the 1800's. It's a great way to learn about life along the Ohio River. Funny, too! I have fond memories of my brother reading this in the car on a trip to see faraway family, and laughing his head off.

Here's a picture of Vladimir the Great Nature Girl colored for history. I love how she used several colors to make his skin. Following are also some history notebook pages for the week. I let her copy from the white board instead of taking narrations.

This week, it's on to Suleiman, then the Plague. Can't wait.

Film Buff starts driving class this week. Everyone stay off the roads in NoVA! LOL He has a retreat this weekend; Sky may go, too. FB has also started Write@Home's Essay 1 class, and is doing very well. I hope it gives him enough instruction to be able to start writing more essay answers to test questions, and to give him confidence and ability in the SAT's. We are reading Cry, the Beloved Country this week, and he's up to 1970 in History. We have several wonderful movies coming to supplement his history--as I've said, it's my desire to acquaint him with at least some of the "Canon of American Film." He's looking now at VCU for film school, but we will see.