Coming out of the bubble

Each winter, just after Winter Solstice, my family and I head into hibernation mode. We go places less, though we do go outside, it is limited for me as I don't like the extreme cold...at all! LOL We also tend to watch more TV as a family and spend many an evening eating dinner in front of the boob tube. But we also play a lot of games, and do A LOT of schoolwork.

You see I plan for this hibernation each winter by making our units of study intense and full of a lot of independent reading as well as read alouds by me and this is when each child does a research  paper. This years paper was on WWII as we spent months studying WHY it happened, all the main players, Hitler from birth to death, and how ordinary people were slowly and systematically turned into uncaring beings capable of atrocities (and yes, how some caved under the fear of "doing to others so it won't be done to you") We read about brave women and girls who hid, transported, and ultimately saved many who would have been put to death by the Nazis. We learned about those who stood up and refused to join Hitlers German pride train that ultimately was a train wreck for humanity. So with all this study under their belts, they embarked on the culmination of our second trimester. And both children did amazing jobs.

We also studied astonomy and an intense grammar  course. And we completely finished our Saxon Math text books by March 2nd. Not that that was the end of math for us. The children will now get weekly packets reviewing the concepts that gave them trouble. 

But now that winter is waning (I know, I know, there is 8 inches of snow on the ground, what am I talking about) and the light is returning, we are entering our spring units in school. These are the fun units full of art and planning and planting our garden. We are going to learn yoga and read fun books, not just informational books. We will study the Human Body and learn how to do laundry. As the days get warmer, we will spend more time outdoors, less inside. The TV will be replaced with family badmiton. So come on spring!