Weekly Wrap-Up #4

We started this week with the excitement of the Presidential Election. The boys accompanied us to the voting booths on Tuesday, so they could see part of the process in action. Fortunately, we made it to the polls after the before work crowd and just before the lunch break crowd, so there was no line. We were in and out in no time and I'm pretty sure the most exciting thing to the boys was the machine that we fed the ballots into.

And the stickers.

 After the excitement of going to vote, there was much sitting around and waiting in the afternoon.

While we waited, I impressed my husband with my knowledge of the electoral college.

Him: "I think California is worth 56 electoral votes."
Me: "55 actually. And Florida is 29. Ohio 18, of course."
Him: Turns to me with look of shock and amazement.

You learn a lot when you homeschool.
  

With every electronic device we had at our disposal,  we spent the evening watching, listening and plotting the results on the electoral map as they came in. The two older boys managed to stay awake for a good part of it. About a half an hour later and they would have heard Ohio, and shortly thereafter the election,  called for President Obama.  I have to say, being a voter in Ohio made things a little more exciting this year.  Our state was kind of a big deal.

When the boys woke up on Wednesday, I let them know how it all turned out and we looked at the most recent electoral map of the U.S. together. Then we moved on with the rest of our week.

We worked on our Thanksgiving History Pockets.  I've used a couple of the "Pockets" books by Evan-Moor, and have found them to be a nice supplement to various things we are learning about.

I find them to be an easy way to incorporate some hands-on activities into our week, especially for lazy people like me.  The books usually include a variety of projects, making it appeal to each of the boys and also easy to adapt to their grade-level.

Our study of Thanksgiving includes taking a look into the 12 different claims to this holiday, using our Calendar Connections and library books.

 Thanks to a trip to the library early in the week, the boys have spent a lot of time reading this week. They always spend a lot of time reading, but nothing keeps them quiet and occupied like a new pile of books.

Except maybe Legos, of course.

There is this moment with each of the boys, where all the phonics and sight word practice comes together and it all just clicks. This "moment" has been happening lately with my first-grader and I feel so grateful to be a witness to it. 

That sums up our week. The older boys are off raking leaves with their Cub Scout Pack today - fortunately it's a beautiful day outside! It's my understanding that they'll be rewarded with some donuts at the end of their efforts, too.

I hope your week was a good one!

~ Dori