Saturday School- ABCs, Ancient China, and Fantasy plus Historical Fiction

 What?  School on Saturday!?!  NOOOO!  Just kidding!  That is just the update title and so I can keep the alliteration going.  I have been so super super blessed to homeschool not just my preschooler and a friend this year but to also have a first grader at home and by Christmas my prayer is to have all my children home.  But I am going to try to tell you what we are learning about and the curriculum choices I have made and how they are working.

We will start with Preschool.  I use Little Hands to Heaven and Letter of the Week.  The simple idea of one letter a week with a week of review after every 4 letters is so fun.  We have a friend who joins with us a couple times a week.  We are going at a slower pace because of lack of consistency but life is never consistent so we just roll with it!  This week we have been focused on the review and sounds of A, B, C, D.  And we have started putting all our work together in an Alphabet and Preschool Memory Book.  Here is a picture of Lucy's:

Lucy's favorite page

 Ariana is my first grader.  We work on a generic math and reading workbook that you can probably find from any educational book seller.  But our main focus is Year 1 of Easy Peasy for two reasons- one is because it is completely free!  (a huge plus when I am not sure if homeschooling will be a more permanent, consistent option) and two because she can read very well and she wanted to learn about things she would otherwise not have time for in a traditional public school setting (especially Bible Study).   For History we are learning about Ancient China and are putting together a lapbook.  I love the idea of lapbooks but putting them together can be a challenge for the non-creative or thinking out of the box type personality.  I get ideas from the Easy Peasy Facebook groups so that is extremely helpful.  We did copy work with Confucius quotes, read about Emperor Quin, and the Terra Cotta Warriors while listening to zither music.  The best way to learn!

For Science this week we have been focusing on the cardiac muscles and circulatory system.  This is the first time we have really hit a road block.  She hasn't been able to understand the concept very well (it IS a little tough) maybe with a couple books it will stick but for now we have just Youtubed multiple children's videos explaining it.  This one is a little crazy but it is funny because of the Willy Wonka reference.

Wall Body- looks a little like a cyclops but she insisted on a very large mouth.

For Art we are finishing up some Egyptian work we had started with at the beginning of the school year.  We used Play-Dough to make a pyramid.  It was far from perfect but it gave us a chance to practice patience and hopefully gave her the concept of how long and how much work went into creating real sculptures.

Pyramid Sculpture

Trying some Hieroglyphics. 

Hermione is liking school only OK.  It was so fun to have her home for a couple of days while parent teacher conferences were taking place.  She is very open to the idea of coming home after Christmas.  She is not too keen on her teacher- which isn't a reason to pull her out- but I sure wouldn't want her to get discouraged during her testing year if I can help it.  Currently she is just about to finish Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.  She is a big fan of these books and I held her back from this one but I felt so bad about that I gave in just a few weeks ago and she is just about done!  Love that she loves them!  Love that she loves reading!

Lastly for our read aloud this week I have chosen Sarah, Plain and Tall.  I never realized how short this book is and so simple.  It is beautiful, touching story about a sister and brother whose father sends for a bride.  Her name is Sarah and she is plain and tall.  She loves and misses the sea.  But she is kind.  We haven't finished it- though it is very short.  Excited for the rest of the school year and all the learning we will do together.