It’s been a week of being thankful. I am so thankful for the flexibility we have in homeschooling. This has been most evident by our studies the last couple of weeks. Oh sure, we’ve been talking about and covering some of the expected things for this time of year – the holidays and weather, etc. We’ve also been having fun and learning and studying things not previously planned. Over the past month or so, a few topics came up – a question here, a wondering there, and now, that is what we are learning about.
The “unit study” has just sort of fallen together. We love Patricia Polacco books, so when our library received a new one, it came home with us. The Blessing Cup is a companion to The Keeping Quilt (25 years old this year – wow!). Set in the early 1900’s, telling stories of a Jewish Russian immigrant family, sharing their traditions. Do you hear it, too? (Yes, this means we will be watching Fiddler on the Roof tomorrow.)
We’ve been slowly fitting in the historical American Girl books this year. We have not read any of Rebecca’s books – until now. They just fit right in with our other library selections (love it!). We’ve been using one of the wonderful lapbooks from In the Hands of a Child to record what we’ve been learning.
In our latest issue of Home School Enrichment magazine (Nov/Dec), Amy Peutz writes about Adventures in History (pg 32). This issue is about the Maccabees. There is a link within to download a F*R*E*E lapbook (from the great ladies of In the Hands of a Child) that goes along with the Maccabee revolt. For all of you who don’t know, this is the story behind Chanukah.
Even more neat, was that we realized that Chanukah starts this week – sunset on Wednesday November 27th. We’re still working out what foods we’ll make, but you know we will be making something yummy! Perhaps, latkes or doughnuts — or both!
Flexibility — just one of the many reasons I am Thankful for Homeschooling!
For a limited time you can get a one-year subscription to Home School Enrichment magazine for only $17.97 (saving over the regular price of $21.97/year) — that’s a print magazine for my fellow magazine junkies who like to feel the pages in their hands. Don’t delay though, the sale goes away at the end of the month.
