Learning with the Landes Family: Highlights from Week 1

Three words.... I. Am. Exhausted.

Either I am having to adjust to the school schedule again after being off for the summer or our days are really packed with homeschooling from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. non-stop, or I am just getting older. Or all three. Most definitely all three.

It has been a busy week to say the least, however it was a successful and enjoyable week indeed. I am pleased to say that all those hours of planning during the summer have paid off. The flow of our day is working out perfectly with the exception of Morning meeting when Benjamin is cranky and ready for a nap.Can't be helped. The older two are doing a bang up job on their independent work and managing with the work stations and timers wonderfully. My time with Caleb works out to be about 1 1/2 hours which is just about the length of Benjamin's morning nap. Right now I am basking in the smooth schedule knowing full well that it could all come crashing down at any moment. A healthy dose of reality and flexibility is key in home schooling!

A few highlights and snapshots from Week 1

Caleb continues to surprise me with how well he is doing with school so far. He is still very much at that age of a very short attention span and lots of wiggles and giggles, however he has been very successful with everything I have asked him to do. The only issue I have seen from him so far is the 100 Easy Lessons book. If the lesson drags, then he gets tired of it quickly. I can understand that. I may have to cut those lessons in half if he gets antsy. He worked on a lot of counting and fine motor skills this week, but his favorite part is reading Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? We will be spending two weeks on each Before FIAR book. Have I mentioned how much I love to sit on the couch and cuddle with him as we read? One of my favorite moments of the day.

Journaling outside... finding something outside to draw. He chose a tree.

Loving Jesse Bear!

counting gummy bears

He has made great improvements in his ability to write his name

Sidewalk chalk

Sorting gummy bears

Working on counting with one to one correspondence while playing Hi Ho Cherry Oh

We are using the book Hymns for a Kid's Heart this year. Each week we will learn about a different hymn. This week it is "Holy Holy Holy", one of my all time favorites. In the book we read about the author of the song and read a devotional written by Joni Eareckson Tada. In the devotional a question was posed. "Will heaven be boring?" Though my kids would not admit it I know they have wondered about this. I have. In the devotional Joni describes a kaleidoscope and how each time you look at it the colors and pattern change. Each time you see something new and different. She related this to God. In heaven we will never tire of praising God because every time we get a glimpse of Him we will see another part of His beauty and won't be able to help ourselves from praising him singing, "Holy Holy Holy" I hope that every time they look through a kaleidoscope they will remember this lesson and continually praise God smiling as they think on how magnificent and glorious our Father is. Will heaven be boring? No way!!!

Julia's journal after this lesson

Isaac and Julia started their piano lessons on Tuesday with Sue Vanley. They both enjoyed their first lesson and are motivated to practice and learn. I think they are finally at the right age to attempt something like this without a lot of frustration. Piano lessons will be every Tuesday morning.

SAINTS also started this week and will be every Tuesday afternoon. So Tuesdays will be busy without any regular school planned. Isaac and Julia absolutely love to go to PE. It is a solid three hours of great, fun exercise in a positive, Christian environment. The coaches are great with the kids and spend time praying with them at the end of class. I feel so blessed to have organizations like this available for my children.

For one part of our art curriculum this year we will be going through the book God and the History of Art. The very first lesson was about frustration. I won't name names but a certain someone in my house needed to hear this lesson. This certain someone gets super frustrated when things are just right, especially in art. As part of the first lesson the kids learned about Joni Eareckson Tada and then had to copy a drawing by holding the pencil in their mouths. I asked my certain someone if this activity was frustrating. The response, "No because I expected to it to be bad" That wasn't quite what we were going for, but we'll get there eventually.

I LOVE science, especially Apologia Science. This year we are studying Flying Creatures and completed one of our first experiments (not really an experiment, just an object lesson really) We learned about how birds fly, about the difference in the speed of air over and below the wings which causes a difference in air pressure. We did a fun activity to demonstrate this using a cup of water and two straws. When blowing the air over the top of the straw in the cup of water, the air pressure changes causing the water in the straw to spurt out. The expressions on my kids faces the first time this happened was priceless. I love hearing them laugh and enjoy learning something new. They had fun spraying each other with the water!

I am really liking our new Spelling curriculum. We have tried several over the years with not much success. This year we are using A Reason for Spelling and thankfully I have both Isaac and Julia in the same book. Throughout each lesson there are a lot of different ways to learn and practice the spelling words... auditory, tactile, etc. This week we went outside where the kids could write their spelling words with sidewalk chalk. Lots of tactile feedback.... too much according to Isaac. He apparently hates the feel of chalk in his hand.
Note to self: choose different extension activity next time.

Even though Isaac was not a fan of the sidewalk chalk, I am happy to report that they both got all of their words right on the end of the week test.

The majority of our week was centered on learning about and preparing for the Sabbath. We are using the book Celebrating Biblical Feasts throughout the year and will have the opportunity to learn about and participate in many different feasts and observances. I am truly most excited about this.I would like to write an entire different post about what I experienced and learned through observing the Sabbath. It was such a meaningful experience for all of us. My prayer for my family is that these experiences be imprinted on our hearts not as mere events but as a clear picture of Christ.

braiding the challah


Making challah

Turned out beautiful and yummy

Both Isaac and Julia made challah coverings. This is Julia's

Julia and Caleb made candlestick fruit to go with our dinner

Our family at the Sabbath table

Gabe blessing Caleb. I cried as he said a blessing for each of our children.

Gabe blessing Isaac

Gabe blessing Julia. I love how she is looking at her Papa.

Gabe read Proverbs 31 to me. I cried...again!

We actually had red wine in the house. (we don't like wine, so this was odd) The kids DID NOT like the wine

Isaac taking a sip of the wine as we passed the cup

Caleb's reaction was priceless

Julia scrunched up her nose. Not a fan of wine. Good thing!

I captured this picture of Caleb at the end of the evening as he quietly sat and stared at the candles. Shalom? Yes, indeed!


And sweet Benjamin was content to rest in his Papa's arms. What a picture of how God wraps His loving arms around us.

As I mentioned above, there is so much to share about our Sabbath. I will be back to write a separate post all about that. Here are a few more pics from the week...

Had to share one of Julia's journals from this week. Isn't she so sweet?!