Ending Week 4

I know I really didn't write too much this week. We really just kind of tried to slide by and "get the week done." We did enjoy it, but I think there wasn't a whole lot of direction to give us to learn the United States of America. I know he learned a whole lot more if we had not studied, which is the point right? I think if I were to do this country again I would have had more resources (puzzle, game, song, etc.) to study with. I can understand though why they give USA an entire year for the kids to learn in Adventures. Oh well!

He is really enjoying the desert study for science! I'm glad that I got a video from the library about "surviving in the desert", because it really perked his interest. We've gotten to know some of the more famous kinds of animals, lizards, plants, cactus, etc. that live in the desert. And we both think it would be really neat to visit the desert immediately after it rained.

Again though we are not using our book basket as well as we should. I know that a big part of Exploring Countries & Cultures (ECC) is founded on the basket, so I need to be better about that. I just can't see us doing it every day. Maybe I'll highlight it to be done on Tuesdays & Thursdays?

I am surprised how long each chapter is for the read aloud. I was having him read it (which works fine at times), but recently I've been reading instead. It is very interesting to me and he doesn't want to stop when the chapter is done, which is a good sign. I do think there is a little too much info on "agencies" and the technical part of missionary work. Like I said, he is very attentive and seems to be enjoying the book, but there have been times where I thought it might be a little difficult of a read to follow.

Here's what HE said he learned within the past two weeks while we were in the U.S.A.:

What have you learned these past weeks?
I learned a lot about deserts. I learned about (lets see...) plants like cactus- the barrel cactus. I did a very neat project about the Navajo Indians and we have been praying for them. I learned about some plants that live and how they live in the desert without having water. We learned a lot of things about the flag of the United States. I learned the Anthem and the pledge. I learned what the flag stands for. I learned a lot of new states like Montana, Colorado, Texas.

What are some favorite things you did?
One of my favorite things was doing the Navajo Indian project - sand painting. The other was learning all of the Pledge of Allegiance and the Anthem. And just learning about the flag. Those are my two best things.

I did this when we finished up the "Intro" weeks too. (weeks 1 & 2) It sort of gives me a glimpse of what HE learned (not just what I pumped into his brain). I just type while he talks and then afterword we select a good picture of him doing a project in that section.

Of course here it is the last day for USA and I found out about two really great resources I could have used. If you happen across my blog before you hit usa, you need to go to this site:http://funschool.kaboose.com/ for lots of fun games. I was having trouble with some of the games, but it's a good site. And, I wish I would have found the book "The Scrambled States" which is at my library to go along with this week. OH well...

Goodbye United States...

Hello Mexico!