Thanksgiving By Ourselves (128/180)

D and J went to ballet and R went to Parkour.

All the kids went to their MAHC classes.  In Little House Cooking, we made butter:

The girls did a lot of drawing just about everywhere they went:

On Thanksgiving and before we cooked and cooked and cooked - everyone helped at some point - and feasted!

We also took a bike/hike in the woods:

D taught J how to climb a favorite piece of furniture:

We did not do much formal lesson work this week due to the holiday.

I did read our chapter book to them.

All the kids attended their religious education classes and sang in church.

This week included 5 'days of instruction'.

Cake It! (123/180)

All the kids have been enjoying How to Cake It.  R made a cake in the style:

R went to Parkour.

All the kids went to their MAHC classes and W went to his Teen program classes.

W played D and D twice.

W and R received clean bills of health at the dentist.

We got our passport pictures taken.

We did more NeighborhoodLoveNotes with our actual neighbors this time.  D and J did some of these:

R played soccer.

All the kids attended their religious education classes and sang in church.  This week included a collection of food for a homeless family (living in a shelter) to have a Thanksgiving meal.

W and R read independently (but didn't finish anything).

I read to them:

I Know an Old Teacher by Anne Bowen


Louise, The Adventures of a Chicken by Kate DiCamillo


Bartholomew and the Oobleck by Dr. Seuss




W, R and D used LOF.

R and D did some copywork.

They all watched documentaries and listened to podcasts and discussed current events.

#NeighborhoodLoveNotes (117/180)

D and J went to ballet, R went to Parkour.

All four kids went to the polls with a parent or grandparent.  All four were deeply distressed and disappointed by the election results, in developmentally appropriate ways.

They all went to their MAHC classes, and W went to his Teen Program classes as well.  Here's R in an obstacle course: 

D, R and W had soccer.  W's team took second place for the season.

D, R and W tried out a new Parkour gym in the neighborhood:  

W played Dungeons and Dragons twice.  

I took R, D, and J to the Art Museum:

They all attended their Religious Education classes and sang in church.  We did Neighborhood Love Notes outside as part of RE.  These are the ones D and W made.

W worked with LOF.  

R read independently:

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown


I read to them:

Rap A Tap Tap by Leo Dillon


Stranger in the Woods: A Photographic Fantasy by Carl R. Sams II


They exercised and walked and biked.

They watched documentaries and listened to podcasts.

This week included 7 "days of instruction".

Halloween (110/180)

We all dressed up for Halloween and went trick or treating with friends:

Zombie Farmer

Her lamb

The whole crew, showing also her cows

Samurai

Monster Ninja

Hanging out

The kids went to all of their classes at MAHC.  W attended his Teen program classes as well.  Here he is in Applied Geometry:

They all went to soccer practice and games.

W played Dungeons and Dragons twice.

On Friday they went to see a Step Afrika! dance performance at the Annenberg Center.  I was sick, so I didn't attend.  They hung out with friends and W took a selfie with Ben:

Except D (who was sick) they attended their RE classes and sung in church.  W wrote, prepared, and led a Dungeons and Dragons adventure for his RE class.

Due to illness, it was not much of a week for organized lessons.  R & D did use LOF.  

They watched documentaries, listened to podcasts, and we discussed current events (i.e., civics.)

They exercised and walked and biked as usual.

This week included 6 'days of instruction'.

Absentee Voting! (104/180)

D and J had their family observation at their ballet classes:

Robin went to Parkour.

All the kids went to their new session of classes at MAHC.  R and D started the day in my Little House Cooking class where we made fried salt pork with gravy and corn bread:

D's other classes are Art and Listen and Draw.  R's other classes are Robotics and Special Surprise, which this week was making Junkins:

  W's other classes are Drama/Improv and Hands-On Geometry (literally, in this case ...):

He also attended his Teen Program classes.

All the kids had soccer practice and games.

Wolfy played D and D once because we had a cold.

They got to go play laser tag at a birthday party!

We carved pumpkins:

And the kids helped me complete and prepare to mail my absentee ballot.  I may still be able to go vote on November 8, but since I am on-call for two births right now, I don't want to miss my chance.  In PA they will invalidate my absentee ballot if I show up at the polls.

They all attended their religious education classes and sang in church.

W and R read independently (W didn't finish anything, but here are the books R read:)

Fuzzy Yellow Ducklings by Matthew Van Fleet


All Fall Down by Helen Oxenbury


Animal Time! by Tom Arma


Touch and Feel Halloween by DK Publishing


Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet Ahlberg


Tickle, Tickle by Helen Oxenbury


Mama Mama by Jean Marzollo


I read to them:

Chocolate Me! by Taye Diggs


George and Martha: One More Time by James Marshall


W, R and D worked with LOF.

They listened to podcasts and watched documentaries.  This week they were especially excited about How to Cake It on YouTube.

They exercised and walked/biked regularly.

This week included 6 'days of instruction'.