Week 1 MFW - Rome to the Reformation - Rome, tablets, and cells

Here are a few highlights from our week...

Although we are just beginning Week 1 of My Father's World, Rome to the Reformation, we have actually just completed our 3rd week of school. We like to start off slow and build up. I think this helps the kids better transition from their 'summer break' mentality to their 'back to school' mentality.

The first week, we only did language, reading, writing, and spelling. The 2nd week we added in math. This week, we added in MFW-RtR.

Art/Music

The RtR art/music part begins next week...we'll see how my blue-eyed boy handles it this year. Last year, it was hit and miss with what he enjoyed and what he didn't. My brown-eyed girl likes art so much that she is taking an art class through co-op this year. 

Bible
I think How the Bible Came to Us will be a great asset. It is easy reading and easy for kids to understand. It appears to be a simple overview of not only what is in the Bible, but how it got there, and  how this information changed (and continues to change) the world.

We did not do the suggested 'Make your own Bible library' activity. My kids are already very familiar with the books of the Bible, and while it is a cutesy craft, I just didn't see much of a benefit from completing this activity.


History
Ancient World and Roman Empire are going to be a great assets at well - colorful, easy reading, and eye-catching. My kids like taking turns reading the information on each page. 

Steams of Civilization?  Eh...not so much. It's just not my favorite book. Granted, it is full of information, but there's nothing catchy about it. It's like words were just vomited up on a page. With that being said, we complete all of the other required reading first and then I just paraphrase and touch on any new and/or pertinent information found in Streams of Civ..

The kids had fun making their wax writing tablets. I just purchased 2 wooden 4x6 picture frames (half off at Hobby Lobby) and the kids painted and decorated them with the colors and designs of their choice. We ended up making our own non-hardenig clay b/c I went off and bought the wrong kind. It turned out ok in the end though. Not sure how long we'll keep these tablets around though. I'm sure the flour will begin to mold after a while :/

*Update on the tablets - they lasted only a few days. Our dog found them and decided they tasted good...so, rather than having slobbered on, half eaten objects in their bedrooms, they opted to trash em.*


Science

Utilizing the book The Human Body for Every Kid, we started our studies off with cells and cell membranes. The kids drew and labeled diagrams of a cell, but we did not do the 'Model Cell' activity b/c the kids had a basic understanding of that already. 

We did complete the 'Passing Through' activity though to help them better understand how a cell membrane functions. We also watched a goofy rap video about cells as well as a short cell membrane video. 

All in all, it was a pretty good week. I think the kids are really going to enjoy studying Rome to the reformation this year :-D

I hope your school year is off to a great start as well!