Third Quarter 2015-2016

Third quarter was a little longer for us since I chose to wait to end it until our break. This gave us a chance to work ahead a bit and I feel confident we will make it through pretty much all of our curriculum by the desired ending date.

This quarter we studied the book of Esther. This is one of my favorite stories. As we read about Esther being taken from her family and placed in the palace, where she may or may not have been chosen to be the new queen, we never saw her get angry or bitter over her circumstances. She continued to listen to instruction from her cousin Mordecai and to seek the Lord through fasting. Because of this, she found favor with the king and was able to use her position to save her people. In Mordecai we see a man who lived out his faith. He remained steadfast in refusing to bow to the evil Haman. And even though he was raised to a high position, he still sought the good for his people. Even though God is never mentioned in this book, we see how He worked out His plan and purpose in His perfect time. This book reminds us that God has a plan for each of our lives. He wants us to love Him, to give our hearts fully to Jesus, to learn His Word, and to share His Son with others. And by trusting in Him, we never need to be afraid.

Third quarter history began our study of the growth of the nations, specifically what the author of our
book titled "The Age of Reason." We learned about astronomers such as Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler, and Galileo; writers Michel de Montaigne, William Shakespeare and Cervantes; philosopher Rene Descartes ("I think, therefore I am") as well as the beginnings of our nation -  the founding of

Jamestown, John Smyth, Pocahontas, the pilgrims, Squanto, John Winthrop and the Puritans.  We also had fun reading about sumo wrestlers and ninjas in Japan as well as the aboriginal people in Australia. I am especially fond of Squanto and how he willing helped the pilgrims in spite of the great loss of his people and his multiple captures by Europeans. It is also refreshing to read about men who were known as great thinkers, such as Francis Bacon, Galileo and Rene Descartes, who also believed in God.

In science we covered the nervous and endocrine systems. Our body is a fascinating network of nerve
highways sending signals constantly; this, along with the special chemicals, called hormones, that tell our cells what to do, control our bodies. We also learned about our senses. The sense of touch is

considered a general sense because it occurs all over your body; but we have five special senses which include the traditional sight, hearing, smell and taste as well as balance. These are considered special because they occur as a result of specific organs. Our final unit of study this quarter was on the integumentary system, otherwise known as the skin. This system is responsible for regulating your body temperature, preventing infection, protecting you from the harmful rays of the sun, keeping you from dehydrating and producing vitamin D.

We are so close to completing our IEW. I really liked this quarter how they took two of the very first paragraphs they wrote and re-wrote them using all of the dress ups they've learned this year. You could really see a difference in their writing. I may share them on another post. We left off with the kids creating a brain inventory of things they knew about and would be interested in writing about. They each wrote a two paragraph essay about one topic and they will write one more next quarter to finish up. I am really glad I chose to do this curriculum this year. It will lay a nice foundation for future writing.

In language Joshua completed his book study on "Meet Addy." It's an American Girl book, but the topic of slavery was important to read about and understand. He didn't mind reading it, but wasn't interested in continuing her story with the other books in her series as Ellie was. Josh also learned about folk tales and how to give an oral presentation. He gets embarrassed doing this in front of us, but I pressed him to do it and he did a good job. Ellie's main focus this quarter was reading Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing". We tried to read from the book recommended by the
curriculum, but it was challenging for both of us. I was grateful to find "No Fear Shakespeare" which had it in modern language. I read it to Ellie with her following along to keep track of who was speaking. After each scene she had to write a summary about what was taking place. It was not easy, but we made it through!

We only did one field trip with our homeschool group this quarter which was to the Columbia Memorial Space Center in Downey.

The rest we'd either already done or didn't appeal to us. As a family, however, we went to the Forever Wild Animal Sanctuary in Phelan.

I was able to get away this quarter for a little break when I attended our church's women's retreat. It was a much needed time of refreshment and I am glad I went.

We also visited the  California Science Center to see the Journey to Space Exhibition and movie.

During our break following the end of the quarter we enjoyed celebrating birthdays and Easter with friends and family.

Some days I ask myself why I ever chose this lifestyle because it is very challenging. And other days I just bask in the beauty of it all. We definitely have our ups and downs, but ultimately, this is what we feel the Lord has called us to do for this season of life. As bad as some days can be, I have to remind myself of the fruit I do see. God has placed me here "for such a time as this" and if I keep my heart and mind focused on Him and seek His guidance, then I know it will all work out for out good and His glory. On my own I surely fail; but with the Lord I can do all things. So we take one day, one week, one month, one quarter at a time. And little by little we make our way through this homeschooling journey. I can see the finish line. . . Summer's coming!