Raising Arrows
Large Family Homeschool Life – Week 29 of 2021
Come find out what went on in our large family home and homeschool this week in July!
Read all of the Large Family Homeschool Life posts HERE >>
WARNING: This week was pretty bland and slow because I was recovering from COVID. I only had a few hours each day where I felt good, and the days when I was nauseous were really bad. But, I decided to include this weekly update because I know many of you struggle with various ailments from chronic disease to temporary morning sickness to a virus spreading through the house, and I figured it would be good to see what a week like that looked like. That said, the week I was really sick with COVID, I did NOTHING. Some weeks are like that, and you have my permission to pare everything way down and pick back up when you can.
MONDAY
Today was the first post-COVID day I felt like doing something that took mental energy, so we did a pared-down version of school. I still felt like I was slugging through water, but it felt good to at least *try* to do something normal.
We did our Grapevine Bible lessons (read my review), read in Our Island Story, and worked on our map of the European Reformation from Tapestry of Grace. We also started a new read-aloud – The Second Mrs. Giaconda.
I got very tired and woozy during the read-aloud, so I laid down afterward and ended up taking a 2 hour nap!
When I felt a bit better, I helped the littles with their schoolwork and even looked over Mountain Guide for their next lessons. We ended up reading a really cute book named Waiting for the Biblioburro and making books out of cardstock like in the story.
By the way, many people ask me about all the books suggested in curricula like The Peaceful Press and Tapestry of Grace. No, I do not buy ALL of the books. I do order via Interlibrary Loan quite a few at our local library, but even then, I do not get ALL of the books. Get what you can and what interests you, supplement with other titles if you can’t find the exact one, and don’t stress about it!
Later that evening, Ty got some groceries since I’m still not up to shopping despite being out of quarantine. I did manage a VERY short and VERY slow walk around the neighborhood (we’re talking 2 cul-de-sacs here). I’m anxious to get back to my usual speed!
TUESDAY
Each day I’m a bit better and more energetic. I even ate breakfast – 2 fried eggs with salsa – on the deck this morning!
For school, we did GrapeVine, and read about Henry VIII in Our Island Story and in Story of the World.
Henry VIII has always fascinated me, so I decided to share something a little extra with the kids. There is a woman who uses Photoshop to “update” people from the past so we can relate better to them. The project is called Royalty Now, and below is the video of Henry and his wives.
We also read more in The Second Mrs. Giaconda. Megan (20) walked in and recognized it from when I assigned the book to her as a literature selection when we last studied this time period.
Aspen and Mercy made a mountain scene with dirt on the back deck. The lesson plans from Mountain Guide suggested clay, but Mercy has been a little naughty with clay lately (getting it all over the table and her toys!), so I gave the girls some potting soil instead and put them outside.
By the way, I improvise A LOT with our curricula! You don’t have to do everything just the way it is listed for your children to enjoy and understand the lesson!
Mercy also worked in her Rod & Staff workbook, and Aspen worked on reading new words in phonics. I’ve noticed the 3 week break we took because of vacation and sickness has done her good! She’s retaining the letter sounds so much better! Sometimes kids just need a bit of time.
After lunch, I fell asleep while reading Looking Back – the final book in a series about a Swedish woman who emigrated to the Kansas prairie in the late 1800’s. It’s such a good series, I intend to read it to the children when we come to that time period!
After I woke up from my short nap, I wrote my post about How Homemakers Used to Meal Plan. While we were on vacation, I had written out the entire post on paper, so it was simple to transfer it to the blog.
I’ve also done a podcast on this topic: