Weekly Wrap-Up: The One with the Love Languages, Too Much Castle, and New Curriculum

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Weekly Wrap-Up

Happy Friday! This week wasn’t nearly as exciting as last week – but I think that’s probably a good thing. We were able to knuckle down and get a lot of schoolwork done.

The week started with another breakfast date – this time with Josh. I told Brian I should take Josh for breakfast every day. I could tell a huge difference in his attitude on Monday. Quality time is high on his list of love languages.

Brian and I have been spending quality time together catching up on Castle episodes. We may be slightly addicted. We started with Season 3. Once we’re completely caught up, we’ll go back and watch Seasons 1 and 2. There is a method to our madness, but it’s probably too convoluted to make sense here.

Basically, Brian saw a cliff-hanger on the reruns and we were trying to go back far enough for all that to make sense without going all the way back to the beginning. We’ve been watching two or three episodes most nights. (There’s no telling how many we’ll watch tonight since he’s off tomorrow.) It’s a sickness – but it’s fun having something that we both enjoy. I’m usually not much of a TV-watcher.

school helper

(Everybody needs a little help with schoolwork from time to time.)

So I mentioned that we’ve made some changes to our curriculum. I’m going to be posting full reviews in a few months, but I’ll tell you a bit about what we’re doing now. We finished the Trail Guide to Learning series, but the next level, Journeys to the Ancient World, isn’t available yet. We want to use it when it’s ready, so I went back to another curriculum choice that we’ve enjoyed in the past, History Odyssey and REAL Science Odyssey.

We skipped to the Middle Ages in History Odyssey because I want to be able to double-back and use Journeys to the Ancient World when it’s ready. We’re using Level 2 in both the Middle Ages book and biology.

I really like the way the Trail Guide series is set up with reading several books over the course of six weeks and completing a new unit each six weeks, so I’m trying to use History Odyssey that way, too. I picked up the first four books – I’m reading two aloud and the kids are reading two independently – and my goal is to get through the lessons covered by those books during our first six weeks.

I’m probably making it sound more complicated than it is, but so far it’s working well and we’re really enjoying the literature selectionsAdam of the Road, Beowulf, A Door in the Wall, and The Trumpeter of Krakow.

reading help

(This isn’t the world’s best picture because my phone takes lousy pictures, but it was too funny not to share. I had lots of help with read aloud time this week. Oh, and, yeah, my chair has seen its better days, but it’s so comfy.)

Science is going well, too. I’m not really too worried about the six week units with it. We’re just working our way through the book. We did get a little derailed yesterday since it was far too cold to do the science lab, which required being outside. That’s a drawback, I suppose, to starting a new curriculum in January. If we’d started in the fall like normal people we’d probably have had great weather for the lab.

Like I said, not too exciting a week, but sometimes those are my favorite kind.

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Kris Bales is a newly-retired homeschool mom and the quirky, Christ-following, painfully honest founder (and former owner) of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She has a pretty serious addiction to sweet tea and Words with Friends. Kris and her husband of over 30 years are parents to three amazing homeschool grads. They share their home with three dogs, two cats, a ball python, a bearded dragon, and seven birds.

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15 Comments

  1. I love the idea of morning breakfast dates one to one. Mine aren’t old enough that I can leave the older ones to babysit yet…but soon! I walk in the evenings and try to include one of the children. We have five very, very chatty children so for that hour walk I don’t get a word in edgeways (no matter which child I take – they’re all as bad as each other!) and I feel completely befuddled when I get home!
    I love the photo of you with all the animals. I always have lots of help with read alouds – usually four of the five children trying to cram themselves onto my lap as well as a couple of cats. Good job I have a large lap to fit them all on. I knew there was a reason not to give up chocolate!
    Have a lovely weekend Kris!

  2. And here I thought we were the only ones with large dogs who think they’re tiny lap dogs! Love this week’s photos, especially the one of Josh and the cat – they both look like they’re intensely focused on the work!

    You chair reminds me a little of the dad’s recliner on Frasier.

  3. Thanks for all the link-ups!! I love reading about your family every week. You’re the first blog I ever read and are still one of my favorites!

    1. Yep, it’s always been true with him. Sometimes when I’m seeing a grumpy attitude, backtalk, or even more than normal bickering with siblings, I tell myself, “He’s asking for some quality time.” I don’t always get it right, but I love that I do often recognize it for what it is and respond appropriately instead of getting angry.

  4. My dog sleeps under my desk and the cat is always nearby while we are in our classroom; however, if I move to the couch to read or have class by the fire, they are on us. Love that.

    Looks like another great week for you.
    Blessings,
    Em

  5. We’ll be using Real Science Odyssey level 2 for Biology as well. We’re hoping to start this coming week. Late summer here so we should be okay getting outside for that first lab!

  6. Haha! Love that pic. I’m glad you shared it even if it was on your phone. A memory is a memory!
    Also, thanks for sharing your switch in curriculum. Great to hear others do that as well 🙂

  7. We started new curriculum this week, too! I’m so glad that over the past 6 years of homeschooling I’ve learned it’s okay to let something go that just isn’t working for your family. This has proven to be a huge blessing to me this year:)

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