April 22-26th, 2013 SL Core E, Week 24

April 22-26th, 2013

SL Core E,

Week 24

This was the big IOWA Testing week; so very much unusual for us.  Last year Dd really was nervous and out of sorts about doing 'real' testing, so I had set it up that after each day we would play, play, play.  So, this year she actually looked forward to testing---which was a wonderful change!!!  And to keep my word, we did play and have a very FUN week.  Monday and Tuesday we had our normal schedule--Monday lessons, and Tuesday lessons and Swim & Gym (Junior Lifeguard Training).  Wed., Thur., and Fri. we both spent the mornings at BPL for testing.  I volunteered to be a "proctor" and give testing to other students.

Wed. after testing we went to a friends house to eat our picnic since it was cold and rainy.  Dd got to play with her friend and I got to have tea and chat for over an hour!

Thur. we took one of Dd's friends to Arbuckle Park and hiked the trail after we ate our picnic lunch.  Then we invited her back to our house and played board games and had a good afternoon.  We also did the Rocket Car with our friend again in the street.  It worked better when Dh helped; but Dd had fun being the director of it, I think.  I'll add pictures of this later!

Fri. we brought that same friend, and her younger brother (who is the same age as Dd) to Blast Off Park.  Many of the hs'ers from our testing group went there to eat lunch and play together.  We had a good time with all our friends.  Afterwards I took Dd to Orange Leaf for ice cream and then to Lowe's to pick up some flowers for our yard.  We had a nice afternoon together.  

I have to say somewhere how awful it was to test at my beloved BPL.  I have lived in Brownsburg since 2006 and have sung the praises of my library since my very first visit, until this week.  As our group of students and mothers arrived in a back section, not part of the library, and waited for our leader to arrive--the "President of the library" yelled at our group to be quiet...in the most rude and offensive ways.  It was really horrible.  I was very much ashamed of "my" library, TRULY.  To say my feelings were hurt by this, is an understatement.  She yelled at us Wed. and Thurs. morning and afternoon.  By Friday we all were all very much improved and MUCH quieter.  There were still a few loud students and one loud toddler, but luckily we didn't get yelled at on Friday!! The oddest part is we all arrived a little before our testing started at 9am, and the library opens at 9am.  We were yelled at because "People are trying to study...."  when really there wasn't practically anyone else in the whole library at 9:05am!!!  How odd is that?!!!  I have always felt so comfortable and at home there---and this week was really a bummer to experience such a response from "my" library.  I guess it really isn't "my" library after all!!!  What a reality check for me...

Last Sunday we (Dh, Dd, and I) had a great time with our Rocket bottle kit.  Dd put it together and then we all went out into the street in front of our house to set it off with vinegar and baking soda...over and over again!  It was fun! 

Serious Fun

    
Wednesday we had a minister apply for our opening at our church, so we had dinner and a special service.  He was very young- 20's or early 30's--and is in the running for the position.  It was nice to go to church on Wednesday.  I wish we had that option every week.

Here is our lessons for the week:

Bible:
Proverbs 27, 28, and 29
Ezekiel 1-10

History:
Landmark History of the American People, Vol. 2
The Story of the USA, Book 3
South America 12-15

Oxford Illustrated Book of American Children's Poems

Add-in Reader: in process

Behind Rebel Lines: The Incredible Story of Emma Edmonds, Civil War Spy by Seymour Reit

Language Arts:
AAS: 4: Step 18--worked on Mon. & Tue.

Math:
Math U See: 18 F (Mon.)

Art:

Dd just came up with this all on her own---no kit, I was really surprised to see this completed!  She did this while we listened to our Lamplighter audio this week.

Painted a frog- Giz & Grampy wanted their bird bath frog repainted for the summer.

Sand paintings--this was a birthday gift kit

Audio:
Lamplighter: A Peep Behind the Scenes by Mrs. O.F. Walton---finished
http://store.lamplighter.net/da---peep-behind-the-scenes-a---dramatic-audio-cd-p64.aspx

DVD:
Magic School Bus:
Going Batty,
In A Haunted House,
Flexes It's Muscles

Movie:

Life of Pi Starring Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Tabu and Gérard Depardieu

Life of Pi---what an odd movie.  The first 1/4 of the movie is about the main character's search for God.  He looks to Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism and figures a way to incorporate ALL into his own religion, all at the same time.  This was very interesting to me, and reminded me of my college years when I researched all the religions and tried to see which one was 'right' for me.  His family (with the exception of his mother) really doesn't understand his quest for morality.  I wish the movie would have kept going down this very interesting path for the rest of the movie; but it made a sharp turn and left his religious pursuit by the side of the road.  There were a few mentions of God, and in his darkest moments he did cry out to God---but the story became more about his survival than about his pursuit of clarity regarding God.  


History: Family RA:

All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel by Erich Maria Remarque

Dh has been reading to us most evenings a book he thought would be good to add in due to us getting to WWI.  I don't think he realized how much he would have to edit, or how graphic it can sometimes get.  I'm not sure we are sure we picked a good book to read to our 11 year old; but we are pecking away at it carefully.