This Week… Studies and Socializing & 30 Days to Give Thanks Day 17

This Week…

Oh I am so tired after all the planning for this weeks Thanksgiving festivities at our homeschool group.

Bible: 

Progressing forward in Exodus, Jonathan began to walk with the Israelites out of Egypt. He read how the Lord led them by a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night. We talked about how He still leads us today through the study of the Word and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  He read how that rather leading them the shortest route to the land of Canaan, He diverted them toward the Desert of Sin, or the Sinai Peninsula because if they went through the land of the Philistines they would face war and then want to turn back to Egypt. He led them to the safety of the mountains. Next week he will read how they crossed the Red Sea. Excitement!!!

Literature:

In the Golden Goblet we continued our reading. Ranofer was given an opportunity by the goldsmith Rekh to fashion some tiny gold leaves for a necklace, this thrilled Ranofer because he longed to be a goldsmith’s apprentice rather than a paid porter. He and Heqet are becoming fast friends. Heqet has a quirky sense of humor and is constantly trying to get
Ranofer to smile. So far he is sticking with his decision to NOT be a thief, when Ibni offers him the wineskin with the stolen gold, he refused to take it saying that Gebu didn’t want it. When he arrived home that night, he discovered what his decision would cost him as Gebu beat him badly.
Little Man is starting to wonder about the evil that exists inside of Gebu. He is questioning why he is so mean, and what Ranofer is going to do about it. This book is leading my son down a path of conflict/resolution discovery that I did not imagine he was quite ready for. 

Spelling:

I hate to admit this. I have reverted back to our previous workbook lessons. I have struggled this year with the unit study format of spelling. I can see how the incorporation of these words is beneficial to him. I cannot however wrap my mind around how to incorporate grammar into the vocabulary study. Perhaps when Little Man is a bit older this will work better. I simply felt that there was no real progression in this type of study. So it’s back to 5th grade Spelling Skills from Flashkids by Harcourt. He will just pick up where he left off last year, in lesson 16. 

Math:

Little Man is still working with Khan Academy. I have however backed off of Algebra. Why? It is not because he is incapable of doing this work, in fact, it’s quite the opposite reason. I have instead moved him back into some basic math principles in the hopes of encouraging him. He gets so very frustrated when he misses just one problem. I am hoping that by going back and doing basic math he can buld up his confidence in his ability. 

This plan is backfiring on me. You see he has decided that in order to do math “right” he isn’t allowed to write down and solve the problem, but that he must do the problem in his head. He says it’s faster. As we all know though, faster isn’t always better. Sometimes he rushes through and fails to fully read the problem, sometimes he forgets to “carry the 1” in his head. He sometimes, just misses a step. When he gets a problem wrong the emotional intensity comes rushing forth and I’m left with a screaming child who is difficult to calm down. Perfectionism is becoming a very real issue and we are needing to search out the best way of teaching him that he is not perfect and that is o.k. 

Still, he does want to complete all the basic math functions so that he can receive the Khan Academy Mastery Badges. So what’s a mom/teacher to do? O.K. I’m really asking here, what am I to do here? Anyone have any real advice on math instruction for the perfectionist gifted math student?

Science:

We’ve delved into the facts about feathers. He learned that birds molt, by shedding their feathers and growing new ones. He learned that there are 5 types of feathers. He learned that the shaft of the feather is made from keratin just like our fingernails. He learned about the soft part of the feathers and that even though they look like long strands of hair they are really made up of hundreds tiny little hairlike structures that bind together form a vane. 

At the feeder we have continued watching the beautiful female red-bellied woodpecker. The usual assortment of chickadees and nuthatches, sparrows and finches. I do have to say we have a particularly beautiful female house finch with deep red coloring. This week we have also watched as a water thrush has joined the fray. I’m still hoping for some waxwings. I have to go pick up some more feed, I’m going to see if I can find some dried berries to add to the mix. 

Socialization:

The Thanksgiving Celebration at yesterdays support group meeting afforded a wonderful opportunity for little man to socialize. 

Additionally, He was offered and accepted his first paying job. Ms. Joyce publishes a quarterly genealogy newsletter. He helped her by adding mailing labels to the envelopes needing to be sent out. She said, that she had to show him how rushing leads to sloppy work and that slow and right is better. She also had to tell him that sometimes work is “boring” but that if we want to get paid, we have to stick with it. He worked for 1 1/2 hours and earned $10. What a really good lesson!!!! Thanks Ms. Joyce.

My Devotional Study:

I reviewed the correlation between the sanctification of the priests in the Old Testament and the sanctification of the priests (christians) in the New Testament. I was able to see that it was through the washing of water that the priests were cleansed, and that if they failed in their duties they would die. The same is true of us. You can read more about this at my Devotions post  Worship

Day 17: Warm Beds

Today I am thankful for my warm bed. I slept good last night. Most likely because of the busy, active day that I had yesterday. I was tired, really tired. So I slept. Little Man came crawling into my bed early this morning. He too was tired, he slept until well past 11:00 this morning. Beloved is away and with him away the fire went out last night. There is a chill in the house this morning and I am truly grateful for the warm bed which blessed me with gentle rest last night.

Proverbs 7:16
I have spread my bed with tapestry, Colored coverings of Egyptian linen.

Blessed Father I thank you for providing me with comfort. I thank you for blessing my home with the things which are needed for comfortable rest. You O Heavenly Lord know the needs of your servants and abundantly supply them, even those things which we know not that we need. You take care of them. You have told us through Jesus that if we just set our minds on seeking your kingdom that you will add unto us the things which we need. You are faithful and sure with your promises. I praise you Father, I praise you Jesus and I praise you Spirit for your mercies are new EVERY morning. Thank you for blessing me with a bed of comfort. Thank you through the name of thou Blessed Son Jesus.

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