Homeschool week in review (week 3)

Our homeschool year has officially, completely (finally!) launched! It was a good week.

Bible: Our Name of God for this week was Jehovah Nissi, The Lord is my banner. I really got a lot out of this one. In ancient times, a banner was carried into battle. I've always pictured the banner as a fabric flag, but we learned that the banner was much sturdier, made of wood or even metal. At the top, they would mount symbols of their values, much the way the American flag gives us a surge of patriotism. These banners served several purposes: first, to rally the troops in battle, second to guide the troops to safety or a meeting place, and third, as a sign of victory.

Moses built an alter and called it The LORD is my Banner. 

He said, "For hands were lifted up to the throne of the LORD. 

The LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.

Exodus 17:15-16

Math: Fractions for one, place value for the other. Math is not my dealio.

Grammar: Will is finishing up the first unit of his Grammar and will have his second test on Tuesday. Since Katie started a week later, she's a little past halfway in her first unit.

IEW (co-op class): Both kids' assignments came together fine. Honestly, I wish they were being asked to do a little more, since they're so familiar with IEW. They're doing a who/which clause and an adverb. No sentence starters, no banned words, no strong verbs. I think I'm going to start punching the assignments up a little.

Science (co-op class): Complete opposite of IEW. This class is reeeeeeallllly stretching us. Lots of homework and harder work than any of us are quite used to. They both had a test that went well, but I'm not sure they gained any confidence from that.

Literature: We are reading biographies this month. Both of the kids' books were written by Janet and Geoff Benge, but one is from the series "Christian Heroes: Then & Now" and the other is from "Heroes of History." I think Will is going to have an easier time talking about the character virtues of C.S. Lewis than Katie is with Milton Hershey.

History: We finished learned about PART A and PART B. Will and Katie turned in their first notebook projects. Will filled in a map showing the Central Powers and the Allied Powers in World War 1. Katie did a comic strip showing the life of Phan Boi Chau.