Sunshine: 11 Februrary

I started with handwriting. My next work was math--I did two pages of adding columns. Next, Mom and I studied my First Holy Communion catechism book and I glued some prayers I had copied into my FHC album. I did my lenten meditation from "My Path to Heaven." I worked on polishing up my memory work on Psalm 42. Lastly, Firstborn and I worked on our new Mass album...mostly Firstborn.

Oh yes, and then I wrote a loong thank you card to my Grandmama and Papa.

~submitted by Sunshine

Firstborn: 11 Februrary

Today math was the first thing I did; practicing more with the rule of four and its uses with addition and subtraction of fractions. Tomorrow I will take the test.

Second item was handwriting...a single page was enough for today. Latin was next. I worked in the Libera Historia on sentence translation. (Mom says someday I'll thank her for this. We'll see.) After that, I drilled my typing exercises; I even got up to 48wpm on one game!

Last, Sunshine and I started working on our Mass Album. Sunshine has memorized Psalm 42 and I copied it into our album. Tomorrow I will go over my pencil draft with ink and we'll add a border.

Update on the crystal growing experiment: Mom thought the experiment was a total bust, so she didn't say much about it. But, just now I told her what a huge success it has been. A deliciously sweet success. Success that I have been eating before she sees it. I just showed her a huge crystal that had grown overnight. I didn't know she wanted to take a picture of it; the picture will have to wait until tomorrow or the next day.

~submitted by Firstborn

Firstborn, 6 February

Today I did handwriting work; I wrote little reminder sayings such as "Spring forward, Fall back." In history, Sushine and I worked on another page of our North American Explorers book. Today we focused on Madoc who was a 15th century explorer who came to America.

Next I did my Lenten retreat from My Path to Heaven, studying the first picture and then reading about it and discussing it with Mom. Following that, I made math corrections from yesterday's work. I couldn't find my test book, so I will have to take that test another day. Lastly, I took my Latin test on the imperfect form and got it perfect!

~submitted by Firstborn
Ash Wednesday

Sunshine, 4 February

Back from a week of sickness...

Today I started with handwriting (two pages of it). I wrote numbers from 1 to 9 and the names of colors. And then I did two pages of math. I am learning to add dollars. This was a challenge for me; but I did it! More numbers in Latin...I learned to say one through five (unus, duo, tres, quattuor, and quinque). We also reviewed the whole vocabulary.

Lastly I worked again on my memory work of Psalm 42.

~submitted by Sunshine

Firstborn: 4 February

After an entire week off for sickness, I returned, reluctantly, to work today. The weather is burning up at 80* with sunny skies. Anyway, I began with Journey North reports. I recorded the sunrise and sunset times for our city and for Mystery classes #1 and #2. I learned how to figure out the photoperiod and made a photoperiod graph for my city.

Next I worked on handwriting. And then, onto math. In math today, I continued to make equivalent fractions and added fractions with common denominators. We also practiced speed work on addition flash cards.

Lastly I worked on my Latin endings. I am learning imperfect tense endings: -bam, -bas, -bat, -bamus, -batis, and -bant. Then we reviewed for tomorrow's quiz.

~submitted by Firstborn

this week

fevers and sore throats have us out of commission...

For the record

Almamater reporting here...

Last Friday, Firstborn, Sunshine and Rosebud attended a Mozart piano concert and we did no additional school work. Actually it was a bit of a crazy-chase around sort of day. But I think they enjoyed the concert in the morning and the change of pace.

Today (Monday 28 Jan), we really didn't do much work either. Sunshine is really under the weather. But we did put our pens to paper and get a whole lot of Christmas thank you cards written up. Hoping to finish tomorrow or Thursday so that these are sure to be out before Lent begins next week.

We are trying to finish up our latest "Caroline" book, too, so that we can concentrate on more spiritual reading during Lent. I am also hoping to use "My Path to Heaven" to guide the children on a bit of a retreat during the forty days. (That link, crazily enough, takes you to Target online, where apparently you can purchase this book) For our read alouds, we'll concentrate on saints and the like. Yikes! It's all just around the corner...

Firstborn 24 January

Latin was at the top of my day. I completed two Latin mazes and began Chapter 16 in my LFC workbook. We began learning the Imperfect (Past) Tense endings. They are: ~bam, ~bas, ~bat, ~bamus, ~batis, ~bant.

Next I did a review page of italics handwriting. And then, completed three pages of math. Tomorrow I will take the Lesson 4 Test. I also worked on my keyboarding, mostly review.

In history, I listened with Sunshine to the story of Pocahonas and Jamestown while drawing. And we had a short meteorology lesson about light and refraction. Refraction is when light waves bend because the light is going through different densities.

My candy experiment looks the same as yesterday afternoon: yellow-ish water with a string in it. This morning I was doing a electrical experiment and tried to build a dimmer with my sisters. We made stinky smoke. Rosebud ran away. Oh, and the resistor is very hot to the touch, by the way.

~submitted by Firstborn

Sunshine 24 January

The first work I did today was handwriting. My pages today were practicing the uppercase Y and lower case z in italics print. I completed 2 pages of work.

In math (Beta), I continued on to the next two pages. I am working on rounding to the nearest 100 with addition and subtraction.

I continued to prepare for my First Holy Communion by copying my Prayer after Confession into my album. The prayer is:

My Jesus, I thank you for washing

away my sins

in Your precious blood.

Help me to accept my cross each day

and not to hurt You.

I love You with my

whole heart and soul.

I have also memorized Psalm 42 (Douay-Rheims) and will recite it on Sunday night for my family:

Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause from the

nation that is not holy: deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man.

For thou art God my strength: why has thou cast me off?

and why do I go sorrowful whilst the enemy afflicteth me?

Send forth thy light and thy truth:

they have conducted me and brought me unto thy holy hill,

and into thy tabernacles.

And I will go in to the altar of God:

to Go who giveth joy to my youth.

To thee, O God my God, I will give praise upon the harp:

why art thou sad, O my soul? and why dost thou disquiet me?

Hope in God, for I will still give praise to him:

the salvation of my countenance, and my God.

Lastly, Mom read a history lesson to us. We learned about Pocahontas and Jamestown.

~submitted by Sunshine

Firstborn, 23 January

I started out my work today by completing a Latin translation word find. It was a great a challenge to do, but it was fun. Next I began Lesson 4 in my math book. In this lesson, I am working on converting fractions (2/3 = 4/6).

I made a map of Leif Ericsson's route from Greenland to North America, coloring the countries and labelling the route. In meteorlogical studies, we looked at the effect of light. I did an experiment shining a flashlight into a glass pitcher of milk and water. Looking in from opposite the light, the liquid ("sky') was bluish, but from the same side as the light, the liquid appeared yellow.

In the afternoon, I did an independent experiment where I boiled water and added sugar to dissolve. Later I put a thread in it and I am hoping delicious sugar crystals will form on the thread. We'll find out in about three days.

I also practiced my piano pieces, "Amarylis" and "Auld Lang Syne."

~submitted by Firstborn