I am trying to post a little wrap-up of each week of grades seven, four and five year old kindergarten year throughout the 36 weeks I have planned for school this year. I hope this will encourage mothers that are homeschooling multiple children (or who want to but are worried!), and encourage mothers that even homeschooling children of multiple ages who are far apart in age is doable. You can find weeks sixteen and seventeen here and further in back posts you can find a post pertaining to the first two days of school this year which gives insight to our general daily rhythm.
Living With The Seasons: We had some beautiful weather this week and made extra effort to be outside. The children roller bladed and biked quite a bit, we went to the park and overall everyone seemed to be in better spirits for it. This weekend temperatures are supposed to drop into the teens with a possibility of sleet or maybe even snow on Monday, so maybe there will be something out there to play in this week!
Kindergarten: We are still doing our “King Winter” circle with expansion into gnomes and dwarves hard at work. Whittling has been a fun pasttime this week, along with more painting and baking. We have been working hard on social things this week, because I see a real need for this youngest child to be with children of his own age to play. It is wonderful for him to have time to be the inventor of ideas and play, and not just playing what an older sibling has laid our for him to play. 
Fourth Grade: We finished our Norse Mythology block. We finished our drawing of Ragnarokk, did a wet on wet painting for The New Beginning, finished a Table of Contents with a form drawing. We also did quite a bit of grammar review and math. Next week we are on to the second block in Man and Animal, which will be quite fun.
We are still working on choir and ribbon practice for music theory, horseback riding, and also a small handwork project.
Seventh Grade: We finished up our Africa block with our drawings and summary on East Africa and The Spirituality of Ethiopia, a summary and map of Central Africa with the travels and life of David Livingstone and Henry Stanley; and lastly a summary of Southern Africa and a beautiful oil pastel drawing of Zulu women. Each block we do this year seems to get better and better with an upswing in drawings and intricacy. I really love that, and can see where the curriculum is both coming to a culmination and also laying the groundwork for Waldorf homeschooling high school. It is very exciting!
I would suggest scheduling this block in between Perspective Drawing and Human Physiology. I think it is a good “art bridge” between these areas of perspective and drawing the human form….
We started our Physiology block with a focus on the threefold human being. I have many thoughts on this subject, especially for my Christian readers, so that may need to be another post.
Our seventh grader is hard at work on her presentation for 4-H for public speaking – an eight minute speech on natural horsemanship. This has been a lot of work for her and a large step up from the 4th to 6th grade level.
I am in the midst of ordering supplies for fifth and eighth grade. I have laid out two block for fifth grade and have changed the order of our eighth grade blocks yet again. I am finding the laying out of eighth grade to be difficult.
Would love to hear what you are working on in your homeschooling this week!
Blessings,
Carrie
The Parenting Passageway 
Carrie, I am just curious…are all your kids in 4-H? Is your club open to all or a homeschool club? How do you blend 4-H into your homeschool and lessons? We are also part of 4-H, both my kids, and our club is gratefully for homeschoolers, so it helps with community. I love it, but have to be careful to keep a balance with the inconsistent schedule projects can make. 4th and 1st grade here and I am having to shelve Norse Myths for now. My girl has struggled with it. We are moving into People and Animal, too. 1st grade we are closing up a LA block and moving into math.
Hi Nicola,
Our two grades aged children attend 4H meetings, our oldest has done many of the judging events/public speaking last year and this year. Our fourth grader is not especially interested, unless it comes to doing shooting/archery. The 4H meetings we attend is a homeschool meeting, so it is afternoons once a month. I don’t do anything special to blend that curriculum with ours, but really only my oldest is participating outside of meetings. Thank you for sharing what you are working on!
Blessings,
Carrie
Thanks for the reply, Carrie. Our 4-H is a club meeting once a month, but also monthly meetings for any/all projects one participates in. I re-read what I wrote and my comment about shelving Norse Myths didn’t come out the way I meant. I think it isn’t what my girl is needing right now, so I am trying to shift around and come back to NM later. I will need to pull grammar into People and Animal as I go.
Nicola –
Why do you think the Norse Myths was not speaking to your daughter at this time?
Blessings, hugs,
Carrie
Carrie, while my daughter is perfectly age appropriate for Waldorf 4th, she has always been ‘young’ for her age. Something similar happened with Old Testament last year. She also has anxiety, so struggles with stories in which there are a lot of struggles, naughtiness, evil, etc. I don’t want to avoid those things, but I have to balance and figure out when to push and when to back off. Warmly, Nicola
That makes perfect, sense, Nicola. 🙂
Blessings,
Carrie
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