Weekly Wrap-up September 18

It was a good week, with few bumps in the road. I think we might have actually had a week without tears at all. That's always an accomplishment.

We began a seventeen week long study of The American Civil War. This week we talked about the conditions/climate of American leading up to the war. Discussions were lively and writing was inspired. Looking forward to this unit. I've pieced together a thorough investigation of the War using a great piece of curriculum I found through the Civil War Trust, writing by my bell-weather in history, Howard Zinn, and a plan for local field trips related to Civil War.

Much to Embree's joy, we took a trip to the Louisville Zoo on Friday. The weather was gorgeous, with temps in the low 70s. I don't think we've ever seen so much activity from the animals. Our friends Cam and Karina joined us, which made our day even more fun. Embree could choose one animal each time and just watch it for hours. This trip, it was the sea lion. He was happy in the cooler weather and enjoyed the attention, splashing the kids each time he swam by them. There was time for Brice to play on every playground, balance on every wall, and get up close and personal with goats in the petting zoo. It was a much needed day of fun.

Brice's new obsession: maps. He is so interested in where we are on maps.He carried the zoo map with him all day on Friday, locating where we were in relation to the animals on the map. His favorite activity, though, is determining on the world map where dinos originated; Carnitaurus in Argentina, T-Rex in North America, etc. Whatever works, right?

This is the last week in our first grading period. We'll be wrapping up our study of the artist, Monet, and the composer, DeBussy. Reeves will finish his study of the writing of Rudyard Kipling, and Embree will finish her study of The Secret Garden. Reeves and Todd start their father/son book club this week, reading Sign of the Beaver. Looking forward to new literature, new artists and musicians, a brand new engineering challenge...but I'll save that for next week, after we've begun.

We enjoyed a fun neighborhood cookout last night and celebrated Todd's 45th birthday with  sweet potato pie. Happy Birthday Sweetheart! We love you bunches!

Have a great week!
Namaste