It’s way past my usual Friday afternoon or Saturday morning collage/week-in-review post, but I enjoy writing these up so much that I’m going to go ahead with it even though the week is officially over. I’ve been up to my eyeballs in over my head this weekend with preparing items for not one but two consignment sales (children’s clothing and furniture/housewares), ferrying Lulu back and forth (and attending with her) a piano competition, and shaking my head in dismay getting really excited about the remodeling of our schoolroom which has to be accomplished before we get to the real remodeling projects: the dining room and family room. We had a really great week of learning, though, and I don’t want to forget it!
1. We’ve focused on art a bit more this week than we have been lately. I positively love art–everything about it, from the process of actually making art to studying the works of great artists to reading about it. I have one child who loves it as much as I, so this week I encouraged her to participate in Sketch Tuesday while her sister had a doctor’s appointment. 
2. I remembered 
When I told her she was to draw something that might be found in a treasure chest, she decided almost immediately on a crown. I grabbed our Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of World History 
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4. Math went much better this week than it did last week, praise the Lord! I think “easy does it” needs to be my motto when it comes to letting Lulu settle into a new mathematical operation. Too, RS C lessons 87-90 involved using manipulatives to do the multi-digit subtraction and not depending so much of mental math entirely. (This was really the hard part for Lulu–keeping the numbers straight in her mind when doing the subtraction mentally. I encourage her to persevere and work on increasing her capacity to remember the numbers without writing them down because I think it’s important that she improve at this. For the record, the problems she was doing mentally involved mostly two-digit numbers, and we played several card games during the week to work on this skill.) She caught on quickly to using the abacus to do this multi-digit subtraction and then to using symbols to represent the various places and to represent the trading. It was a great math week for us, which was very welcome after a couple of weeks of really struggling. (How could it be bad, when you get to do your math dressed in your favorite kimono? )
Louise and I worked through a couple of lessons in RS B together. We finally got to a lesson that involved using the part-whole circle. This is still mostly review for her, but she is really enjoying the one-on-one attention. (Oh, and she was very excited to finally get to do a worksheet this week. 
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5. I could’ve entitled this post “Back in the Saddle Again with SotW”; this week we came full circle once again and started back using SotW volume 2 for our history. We left it way back in November when we started a unit of sorts about Native Americans (read about some of the resources we used here). After that it was Christmas and we went around the world again. After Christmas I tried out a hodgepodge of resources: Tapestry of Grace, Simply Charlotte Mason, doing my own thing. We’re pretty certain we’re joining a Classical Conversations community next year, so we’ll be back on the ancients again for that, so I was just discombobulated–should we continue on with our Middle Ages study, knowing that we’re backtracking next year? In the end, I decided just to go with it. Right now we need something simple and effective that doesn’t require me to do a lot of groundwork, so we stuck with reading chapter 11 (material we had actually already covered in other resources), doing a couple of notebooking pages, 
6. The DLM has taken apart every puzzle that he could get his hands on this week. Oh, and he has climbed into and out of our new cabinets (and mashed his fingers in the doors of them, too). {More about the new cabinets in a bit. . . }
7. We went outside as often as we could this week. I even sent the girls outside one day before lunch to do a bit of nature study inspired by the March issue of the Handbook of Nature Study newsletter. The weather has been very spring-like in northwest Alabama–cool and windy, but pleasant. I have to note one thing that happened this week that has nothing to do with nature study but everything to do with this picture. Often when I send the girls outside, Lulu will take a book along to read. (While I can certainly appreciate this, I usually send her outside to actually get some exercise. ) In language this week, among other things we finished the list of prepositions that we’ve been working on memorizing. (When I saw we, I mean it very loosely.) Lulu had to complete this sentence to illustrate using the preposition with: “I like to play with ______.” When I asked her to fill in the blank, she sat still for a minute and responded, “Books.” Yep. In other language news, it happened that lessons 68-71 in FLL volume 2 dealt with writing a friendly letter. It worked out nicely that Lulu had just written a letter to her penpal, so we just incorporated that into our lessons. We were able to zip through lessons 68-72 this week, and we can see the end in sight!
8. Thursday night science was more about solutions and mixtures by way of earth science. Steady Eddie pulled out the big guns and showed the girls a bunch of different types of rocks discussed how they were formed. (That’s pumice floating in the glass there, in case you’re like me and don’t remember everything you learned in eighth grade earth science.) The pièce de résistance at the end of the lesson: a vial of volcanic ash from Mount St. Helens! 
9. I have to mention this, though it really wasn’t a part of the official school week: Lulu earned a medal for participating in a local event called the Piano Olympics on Saturday. She played one song for a panel of judges and an audience, she took two written tests (theory and composers), and she completed two listening exercises in which she attended two short recitals and responded to all of the songs that were performed by circling descriptive words about each of the songs. We went back in the afternoon for an awards ceremony, and about twenty of the piano students were selected to perform in the honors recital. Most of the students chosen played more complicated pieces than Lulu is capable of playing yet, but it was a joy to listen to and watch these young pianists be recognized for their hard work and talent. Both girls practice the piano each day just after they do their morning chores and just before we begin with math. I hope that we can move from it being a duty to it being a delight (it hovers on the line most days) so that they can both grow into accomplished musicians.
Oh, we did other things, too: some reading, handwriting practice (the bane of my existence as a homeschooling mother!), spelling (only one lesson, alas), etc. We went out for errands and library runs on two days: Thursday and Friday. On Fun Friday we enjoyed free hot chocolate at the library’s coffee shop (all proceeds in this wonderful little cafe benefit the library!) thanks to our completion of the library’s winter reading program. We then walked over to the city’s art center to take in the art exhibited from a juried art competition for junior high and high school students. We saw everything from crayons melted on canvases to a gorgeous dress made of hundreds of strips of fabric and everything in between. It was a lovely way to spend the morning.
This week felt really good, the best we’ve had in a long, long time. Much of it depends on me and my being in a place of peace and contentment about what we’re doing. That’s why it’s so important for me to really know why we’re doing things, curriculum-wise. If I feel like it’s a waste of time or too something (hard, easy, whatever) for the girls, I’m not going to be at peace with what we’re doing. And now it’s time to start planning for next year.
I can’t not include a few shots of what we’re doing in the house. (All of these pictures are in-transition mess pictures, but you get the idea.) We’re moving the built-in bookcases that Steady Eddie made many years ago for our family room down into the school room, but not before he installs cabinets along the wall in the school room and paints them. For that to happen, all the books and the bookshelf had to be moved up into the kitchen. Yes, I have a full-to-overflowing bookcase in my kitchen. I guess it’s official now: we’re a homeschooling family.
My girls were quite taken in by this story and usually begged for just one more chapter each time our read-aloud session came to an end. They also drew several comparisons between it and another Newbery winner, 
Another Medieval read-aloud we have shared in the past few weeks is Castle by David Macaulay. Winner of a 1978 Caldecott honor, Castle is the fictional tale of the building of a castle in Wales. More informational than plot-driven, this black-and-white picture book gives a detailed description of how the castle is built from below ground and up. Obviously, David Macaulay‘s line drawings are amazing. I honestly think this one might best be read individually so that the reader can sit and soak up the description, flip back to the glossary to learn the meaning of a technical term or two, and study the drawings. As it was we read it over several days, stopping when I felt my brain couldn’t take any more description (or the DLM demanded my attention, or both). I do not visualize things easily, so perhaps I am playing to my own weakness here; Louise actually recognized the word portcullis (and not just the word, but what it
Lincoln and His Boys by Rosemary Wells (yes, of Max and Ruby fame) is a short chapter book that my girls and I devoured in one lunchtime sitting. Divided into three vignettes and written from the perspective of first Willie, then Willie and Tad, and finally Tad alone, this beautifully written story paints a picture of Lincoln as the loving and devoted father he was. The story begins with Willie and and his father traveling to Chicago to the courthouse in June of 1859. It is on this trip that Lincoln announces to Willie that yes, he is running for president. In this chapter we see Lincoln’s easy way with people, as well as some of his idiosyncrasies. The second portion, written from both Tad and Willie’s perspectives, deals with the time immediately following Lincoln’s election to president and the Lincolns’ subsequent move to Washington, D.C. Part of this chapter takes place in the train on the way to D.C.; the other takes place in the White House. We get to see what the Lincoln’s family life might’ve been like, including the relationship between Tad and Willie’s older brother, Robert, and the rest of the family. Willie dies at the beginning of the last section, so it’s told from Tad’s perspective. We see the Lincolns’ deep, deep grief, both individual and corporate. Of course, President Lincoln’s grief is two-pronged; grief over his son and grief over the nation. The book ends with the ending of the Civil War, with Tad by his father’s side. I’ve made this book sound very somber and serious, and there are a great many somber episodes in the story; however, mostly this book paints Lincoln as a doting, jovial father. In the author note at the end of the book, Wells states that “Lincoln’s life may be more thoroughly documented than any other person’s in history” and that every single thing that happens in this story is factual, though the dialogue and cicumstances may be invented. I know that the character of Lincoln has been mythologized down through time, but I think this book portrays him as an imperfect man with some idiosyncrasies and flaws, but one with pure motives who loved his family and his country. I have to mention the illustrations by P.J. Lynch; they are lovely color portraits that look very old-fashioned and depict a warmth in the relationships of the Lincolns. We loved this story. Highly Recommended. (Candlewick, 2009)
Books about George Washington aren’t quite as easy to come by as ones about Lincoln, but I found a good one in Big George by Anne Rockwell. This story focuses on Washington’s personality and character as the subtitle, How a Shy Boy Became President, indicates. Of course, there are plenty of details of how he actually became president, too. We really, really like this one. One of my favorite parts is how Rockwell points out several times that Washington had a bad temper but learned to control it. This isn’t done in a moralizing way, but rather it makes him seem like a real person. The illustrations in this story, done in gouache and pencil by Matt Phelan, are very expressive, with the slightly messy and muted look that I love. This is an excellent picture biography of Washington’s growing up and adult years. We’ve read 
Yucky Worms by Vivian French is a random library book that made its way into our cart a few weeks ago, and I’m so glad it did! If I had found this book even six months from now, I’m afraid the window of opportunity for optimal enjoyment of it by my girls would’ve been almost closed. As it stands, I’d say this one was most enjoyed by six year old Louise; seven-and-a-half year old Lulu was almost too old for it already. This is an informational book tucked into a cozy little grandmother-grandson gardening tale. Grandmother teaches grandson all about earthworms and why they’re important after he wants to “throw away” an earthworm she digs up. The book contains a diagram with the parts of the earthworm labeled, shown underground so that it’s a part of the story that doesn’t interfere with the story’s flow. Also included are several other underground scenes depicting things like earthworm tunnels, earthworms coming to the surface for food or water, and earthworms hibernating deep in the earth during cold times. These underground illustrations and the garden illustrations, all done in pencil and gouache by Jessica Ahlberg, help create a very interesting and visually pleasing whole. Facts are scattered through the illustrations, and the earthworms “speak” to each other and the reader through speech balloons, which is one element of the book I find a little out-of-sync with the sweet tone of the story. However, I think this might actually make it more appealing to kids who are slightly older than might otherwise enjoy this tale. This is actually a book that would work better as an independent (or at least one-on-one or a few) read because of all the extra information. It’s a nice overview of a common animal that will surely be a part of our outdoors experiences as we approach spring. 
History books are usually met with enthusiasm here at the House of Hope. Alphabet books, however, are not. In Ben Franklin: His Wit and Wisdom from A to Z, Alan Schroeder has written a nonfiction picture book that combines history (and and biography!) into an A to Z format that even my alphabet-dissing girls enjoy.
Press Here by Hervé Tullet is a conceptual picture book that made quite a splash in the book bloggy world. It’s an interactive picture book, though not in the way one might expect: instead of pull tabs and pop-ups (that spell premature death for a library book), this book simply begs to be touched–pressed, rubbed, shaken, tilted. This might be called a story-less picture book; instead, when the reader or listener follows the directions printed on one page, the result is seen on the next. For example, the first page reads, “PRESS HERE AND TURN THE PAGE.” Above the text is a lone, yellow swirl of color. Turning the page (not, of course, before PRESSING HERE) reveals that the single dot has turned into two. And so on. Yes, it’s fun and unexpected. My girls like it, but I’m going to admit a prejudice here: this one reminds me a little too much of all the technological gizmos we have constantly begging for our attention, when what 
I was really excited to get my hands on Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow? by Susan A. Shea to use with our science studies. Back several months ago now I was looking for nonfiction picture books to use for a science lesson about determining whether things are living or nonliving. When I saw this title on the Cybils site, I thought it would be a perfect fit for our lesson. Alas, no library in our area had it then and neither did Amazon. When it was finally in stock at Amazon, I ordered it, thinking we could use it as a sort of review of that lesson. This book actually didn’t live up to the expectations that I had of it, but as it turns out, they were probably false expectations to begin with. This isn’t so much a science-y picture book (although it is that just a little) as it is a fun-with-words picture book. Here are the words from one of the opening spreads:
I have also read I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen, though I didn’t manage to write up a review when I actually had it in my possession. Like the other two books above, I like it, but not quite as much as almost everyone else seems to. It just doesn’t have what I like most in a picture book–beautiful, lavish illustrations and a compelling story line. It is humorous, even slightly sarcastic, and for that reason I think many children (maybe especially those who don’t like the type of book I like) will enjoy it. Like 
I’ve reviewed already is Me. . . Jane by Patrick McDonnell
I don’t think I’ve ever done this before (well, except for the times I’ve gone on and on and on about how much my girls love all things Laura Ingalls Wilder), but I’m highlighting a book today that 
The Book of Indians by Holling C. Holling probably isn’t politically correct, so I’m risking something by even posting about it. 
I’ve had Jim Arnosky’s Thunder Birds: Nature’s Flying Predators in my to-be-reviewed stack for a while; in fact, it has gone back to the library once and been re-shelved since I first read it, and I’ve found it and re-checked it out again, so badly did I want to feature it here at Hope Is the Word. When 
Star of the Sea: A Day in the Life of a Starfish by Janet Halfmann is just about as perfect as a nonfiction picture book can get, especially for the young elementary grade set. It has the right balance of detail and nuance, making this an informational book that has a lot of narrative appeal. The ochre sea star is the star of this story, and because she is singled out and the details of her life are told in story form, we grow fond of her and really care about what happens to her. While Sea Star definitely isn’t anthropomorphized, Janet Halfmann manages to really endear her to reader, simply through her excellent writing:
