Our first week in to this Old-School Homeschool style has been a total blast. We are completely focused on art projects, and giving Ben something to do with his hands while we tuck the actual educational necessities around the edges. I even created a little weekly overview worksheet for lesson planning – with the giant Art Circle in the center to help me stay tuned in to what matters most to Ben.

In World History, we are studying Europe in the Middle Ages. This is how it went – when we were learning about the Feudal System and Guilds, Ben was making Parchment Paper and Illuminated Letters.

When we started learning about The Catholic Church in the Middle Ages, Ben was making Stained Glass Windows.

As we read through King Arthur in the original Olde English language with all the thee’s and thou’s and heavy-duty vocabulary – he was building a paper castle and a paper knight’s helmet.

He reads at a 9th grade level, and so vocabulary that challenges is fun for both of us. We have to dig my big, giant Dictionary out of storage this weekend, because we have some doosies to look up: assay, dolorous, defalcation, puissant, escutcheons, and oppugnant to name a few. We have guessed the meaning based on the context, but will go back once we’ve looked them up and reread those sections.

Ben wasn’t feeling well yesterday, and I foolishly took the advice of our clinic and took him to the Emergency Room. I say foolishly, because we sat there for 2 1/2 hours with a bunch of other super sick people breathing in their germs, before realizing that all we really needed was to rest, get lots of water, and hunker down with the flu to feel better. He started feeling better and we left. The lady at the counter said the clinic will always say to go to the ER, because they don’t want to get sued. Lesson learned. I felt like a hyper-vigilant mom wanting to take care of her kid, and I think we just got exposed to more germs than we needed. Anyway – the upside was that while he was in the ER waiting room, resting his eyes, and leaning on me, he wanted me to read King Arthur in the old language. He enjoys it.

Our favorite phrase, and the one he has taught to his little brother, and that I can hear being called out as a challenge before their various duels and wrestling matches is: “Turn thou hitherward, and do a battle with me!”

This is my first post for the Weekly Wrap-Up and I am looking forward to reading about other Homeschool families and what they are up to this week!