In my life this week…
We had a our portfolio review last Sunday so that was basically the highlight of the week. It went well and is far easier than getting everything photographed and shared. I do have some things that I need to remember for next time. One is that I need a checklist for each kid so I remember what I need to cover. Second we should send the electronic versions of their writing ahead of the meeting. I also need to prep the kids more for questions. The other good thing is we already have our report cards and what prescribed learning outcomes we have covered already. I like checking off all the boxes even though I only need to do 80%. Scary that our public schools are under the same rules. All three kids are doing fine with all A’s or B’s.

We played another board game this week. This time we played “Ticket to Ride”. The object of the game is to connect cities with trains, to complete your routes which are secret but may overlap with other people’s routes and to make the longest route. It is a lot of fun but it takes about two hours to play. Thus Ian asleep at the switch at the end of the game. This time we let Ian have his own trains but he was helped significantly by mommy. I managed to win but it was close to the end. Philip was winning and I could see that and it caused me to take more risks which paid off while his didn’t.

I’m Cleaning…

I got back to cleaning this week and continued in the storeroom. I tackled one side of a set of shelves. Some went under the stairs which was planned I got one large box for donate and garbage that will have to go in my can a bit at a time. We still had our old leaky tent that has been replaced for years. And don’t ask why we still had diapers…

In our homeschool this week…
With the portfolios done it is also time to switch topics in science and social studies. Margaret will be going resources in both. So we need to identify what are resources, are they renewable or not. We will also track what various resource become. On the social studies side we need to look at where they are and how we get at them. We also tie the BC gold rush into that along with the Chinese immigrants who took part in it and the building of the railway,
Philip is doing ecosystems this semester. I found him a course on Khan Acadamy that deals with boidiversity. He has already finished the first section. Of course science is his favorite subject.
On the social studies side he will be doing Ancient Greece and Rome. First we are going to do a brief section on Egypt and the pyramids since all the books on Greece in the library are out. The public system must be doing the same thing.
Things you might have missed…

I did another Women in Science post this week. This one is on Sandra Faber. She studies the formation of galaxies and the structure of the universe.
Women in Science – Sandra Faber
Video to share…
This group has been brought to my attention a couple of times in the last week. They have some really nice Christmas Carols. My favorite is the one below but I also really like Little Drummer Boy and Carol of the Bells.
Linking up at:
We love Ticket to Ride! It does take a while to play, but is so much fun. I most often win, but the others get their turn occasionally. I’m fairly competitive and can be ruthless (like taking routes I don’t need yet to block others). The longest continuous track is a coveted award here too, so not only are we trying to fulfill our routes, but also keep all our track continuous.
I’m happy that your semester evaluations went well and the kids had such good scores. It’s always a learning experience, no matter how many times you do things. I hope next semester is just as successful.
Glad the portfolio review went so well! It looks like you had a fun night of game playing too. I think after playing for two hours I’d be joining Ian!
Glad your review went well. Oh I love that group! My daughter and I saw them win the competition. My kids love science too. And all your cleaning is motivating me. We are hoping to paint (or our older kids are doing it to earn money). I’m dropping in from weekly wrap up.