Cyrus
*Math
Saxon Math 5/4, lessons 17-21
*Language Arts
10 spelling words (printable workbook I bought from Scholastic)
Lessons 3-5 in Intermediate Language Lessons
Finish The Whipping Boy
*Other
Half hour daily piano practice, one piano lesson
Cassia
*Math
Saxon Math 2, lessons 22-26
*Language Arts
Finish lesson 4 in The Reading Lesson
Finish lesson 2 in ETC
Re-read Bob Books 1-3, try 4 and 5
*Other
Ballet lesson, daily ballet exercises (15 minutes)
Both Children
*History
Lessons 2-3 or 4 in Time Travelers New World Explorers (including activities)
*Science
We're gearing back up for Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding, and will start "officially" next week with life cycles and food webs. We're focusing on threads B (Life Science) and D (Earth & Space Science) for spring, then we'll move into A (Nature of Matter) and C (Physical Science) in the fall, all in preparation for using Elementary Science Education by next winter. I realize that BFSU is targeted at K-2nd, but it is easy to add in higher level materials for Cyrus. I'm hoping that these books will get us through at least 6th grade with him! This week we are simply reviewing some of the important concepts Nebel says to have on place before moving forward in any of the threads, such as organizing things into categories.
*Art & Art Appreciation
Read about Piet Mondrian
Complete an art project based on Mondrian
Try out lesson one in Phonics of Drawing
*Music & Music Appreciation
Intro to ? New composer of the month will be on Classics for Kids on Tuesday
Listen to pieces from the composer of the month
*Nature studies
We need to start taking a weekly nature walk. I think we'll just head down to one of the creekside paths. The kids also need to collect and press leaves and/or wildflowers for a 4H art project.
*Literature
We're reading a couple of chapters from The Secret Garden each day. We're also continuing with Norse mythology.
Pages
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Monday, January 31, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Our week in review....
It has been a good week, although I must say my idea of having a "school time" hasn't been so successful, which does not mean I'm giving up on it! However, we did homeschool FOUR days this week, which to me is pretty impressive! We generally aim for a 4 day workweek anyhow, so I am happy with this.
Math
Both the kids are moving along in Saxon. I moved each of them forward another 5 lessons with no trouble. Since we did so little the first half of the year, we are "behind" as to where I intended to be by now, but that's okay, since we're making such good progress. I introduced Cyrus to the concept of negative numbers this week, which he thinks is the strangest idea. How can you have less than nothing? I gave him the concrete idea of bank accounts being overdrafted (not that I ever have had any personal experience with that), that when a bank covers a payment you made without there being enough money, you owe them money... you have a negative balance. He seems to get it. We also worked on more regrouping, and a review of borrowing in subtraction.
Cassia is getting better with number identification. I give large credit for this to her Nonna (my mom) who has recently spent patient hours playing Uno with Cassia (and occasionally Cyrus, and sometimes myself). Cassia also loves coloring odds/evens, rows and columns in 100 number charts in different colors, patterns, etc., which I think is good for developing an awareness of the numbers. She is doing well with Saxon, and for some reason I can't quite fathom loves the 5 minute addition/subtraction challenge pages!
Language Arts
Cyrus is continuing to read through the Percy Jackson series... he is on book two now. He skipped his "assigned" reading this week - The Whipping Boy - but we'll get back to that next week. He did some work in Writing Tales, mostly grammar review, and most of that was nouns. I am planning to try him out on Intermediate Language Lessons next week instead, as I think the greater variety of the assignments will be beneficial. I have been struggling lately, planning out his writing path for next year, and looking through ILL, I think I will likely go that route. I like that there are three levels, for fourth through sixth grades, so if it works well with him I don't have to change again for a while! I'll put up a review next week on this and let you know what I think of the change!
Cassia continues to work in Explode the Code and The Reading Lesson. She is doing so well! I dug out our Bob Books from when Cyrus was littler, and she read through the first three with no trouble in under 10 minutes. She getting faster in building comprehension and I think we're ready to move to a whole lesson (from The Reading Lesson) a week, meaning she'll be reading, theoretically, at a second grade level by June! She is even trying to find and put together words she knows in her Ramona books, on street signs, and so forth. I am so excited to see this after all the trouble we have had with reading!!!
History
We reviewed lesson 1 in New World Explorers, and continued to read through Norse mythology. We didn't do as much as I hoped, in part because we had a lot of other activities this week. I do plan to be more disciplined in this next week. We are planning to bake spice cookies today, as some of the explorers were looking for routes to the Far East for exotic spices.
Science
On Tuesday, I taught my monthly science class through 4H. This month we studied light, color and sound. I explained how sounds travels as vibrations, and how white light is made up of all the colors. I showed them, with a flashlight and the reverse side of a cd, how light is made of the entire rainbow. We made plastic cup phones and straw horns, spinning color wheels, and we found out how many colors there are in washable markers. In addition, the kids watched a couple of hours of Mythbusters, and played physics games on the computer.
Since the second level has been released, I am seriously reconsidering Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding, which I started to use and then abandoned. I went ahead and bought the ebook. I plan to start this in the fall, and between now and then, we'll do the threads from the first book that the author says are basically "prerequisites" for the second volume. I think this will build a more cohesive understanding of science than jumping around in unit studies, although the kids are still welcome to pursue their own scientific interests as well. I think Catherine Levison wrote something about that... that in a Charlotte Mason education, since the lessons are short, there is plenty of outside time for the children to follow their own interests.
Other
We also had an art project this week, making the main portion of some placemats. The kids did wet-on-wet watercolor paintings. During the next two months, we'll gather and press some leaves and wildflowers, which will then be laminated onto the paintings, and presto! Placemats! The kids also got to explore a creekbed, a culvert, a fairy house made of interwoven branches, and a treehouse out back while the paintings started to dry (enough so we could take them home and store them away safely). They had a blast! Unfortunately for Cyrus, the boy he really hit it off with is moving away in a couple of months. I suggested that Cyrus ask him if he would like a penpal (a very practical way to work on writing).
Cyrus had his second piano lesson. He is doing quite well and has moved on to slightly harder songs for next week. He really likes his teacher and is happy to be learning to read music as well as play it. He is really good about practicing.
Cassia moved to a different ballet class this week, as it is easier for my schedule. Her new teacher is seemingly more patient, and is teaching them more advanced work. Cassia seemed able to keep up for the most part and I am sure she'll do better once she settles into the new class. While both classes she's gone to have been for 7-8 year olds, this one seems to have more of the latter and to be more demanding. She really liked her new teacher. as did I (from watching through the big windows and listening).
M is back in school, taking the first part of his paramedic classes. He was really, really nervous the first night, but found he loves it! The class is very hands-on which is a strong point for him, much like his son. I arranged my work schedule so that I could be home with the kids while he is in class, and I am enjoying the once weekly evening to ourselves.
Next week I start back to school. I am nervous about math (statistics) but hopefully I will get through it and then have my bachelor's degree in May, at long looooooong last!
On the whole, it has been a good week. We got most of the work I had planned done, although I would like a better history focus next week, and maybe more science.
Math
Both the kids are moving along in Saxon. I moved each of them forward another 5 lessons with no trouble. Since we did so little the first half of the year, we are "behind" as to where I intended to be by now, but that's okay, since we're making such good progress. I introduced Cyrus to the concept of negative numbers this week, which he thinks is the strangest idea. How can you have less than nothing? I gave him the concrete idea of bank accounts being overdrafted (not that I ever have had any personal experience with that), that when a bank covers a payment you made without there being enough money, you owe them money... you have a negative balance. He seems to get it. We also worked on more regrouping, and a review of borrowing in subtraction.
Cassia is getting better with number identification. I give large credit for this to her Nonna (my mom) who has recently spent patient hours playing Uno with Cassia (and occasionally Cyrus, and sometimes myself). Cassia also loves coloring odds/evens, rows and columns in 100 number charts in different colors, patterns, etc., which I think is good for developing an awareness of the numbers. She is doing well with Saxon, and for some reason I can't quite fathom loves the 5 minute addition/subtraction challenge pages!
Language Arts
Cyrus is continuing to read through the Percy Jackson series... he is on book two now. He skipped his "assigned" reading this week - The Whipping Boy - but we'll get back to that next week. He did some work in Writing Tales, mostly grammar review, and most of that was nouns. I am planning to try him out on Intermediate Language Lessons next week instead, as I think the greater variety of the assignments will be beneficial. I have been struggling lately, planning out his writing path for next year, and looking through ILL, I think I will likely go that route. I like that there are three levels, for fourth through sixth grades, so if it works well with him I don't have to change again for a while! I'll put up a review next week on this and let you know what I think of the change!
Cassia continues to work in Explode the Code and The Reading Lesson. She is doing so well! I dug out our Bob Books from when Cyrus was littler, and she read through the first three with no trouble in under 10 minutes. She getting faster in building comprehension and I think we're ready to move to a whole lesson (from The Reading Lesson) a week, meaning she'll be reading, theoretically, at a second grade level by June! She is even trying to find and put together words she knows in her Ramona books, on street signs, and so forth. I am so excited to see this after all the trouble we have had with reading!!!
History
We reviewed lesson 1 in New World Explorers, and continued to read through Norse mythology. We didn't do as much as I hoped, in part because we had a lot of other activities this week. I do plan to be more disciplined in this next week. We are planning to bake spice cookies today, as some of the explorers were looking for routes to the Far East for exotic spices.
Science
On Tuesday, I taught my monthly science class through 4H. This month we studied light, color and sound. I explained how sounds travels as vibrations, and how white light is made up of all the colors. I showed them, with a flashlight and the reverse side of a cd, how light is made of the entire rainbow. We made plastic cup phones and straw horns, spinning color wheels, and we found out how many colors there are in washable markers. In addition, the kids watched a couple of hours of Mythbusters, and played physics games on the computer.
Since the second level has been released, I am seriously reconsidering Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding, which I started to use and then abandoned. I went ahead and bought the ebook. I plan to start this in the fall, and between now and then, we'll do the threads from the first book that the author says are basically "prerequisites" for the second volume. I think this will build a more cohesive understanding of science than jumping around in unit studies, although the kids are still welcome to pursue their own scientific interests as well. I think Catherine Levison wrote something about that... that in a Charlotte Mason education, since the lessons are short, there is plenty of outside time for the children to follow their own interests.
Other
We also had an art project this week, making the main portion of some placemats. The kids did wet-on-wet watercolor paintings. During the next two months, we'll gather and press some leaves and wildflowers, which will then be laminated onto the paintings, and presto! Placemats! The kids also got to explore a creekbed, a culvert, a fairy house made of interwoven branches, and a treehouse out back while the paintings started to dry (enough so we could take them home and store them away safely). They had a blast! Unfortunately for Cyrus, the boy he really hit it off with is moving away in a couple of months. I suggested that Cyrus ask him if he would like a penpal (a very practical way to work on writing).
Cyrus had his second piano lesson. He is doing quite well and has moved on to slightly harder songs for next week. He really likes his teacher and is happy to be learning to read music as well as play it. He is really good about practicing.
Cassia moved to a different ballet class this week, as it is easier for my schedule. Her new teacher is seemingly more patient, and is teaching them more advanced work. Cassia seemed able to keep up for the most part and I am sure she'll do better once she settles into the new class. While both classes she's gone to have been for 7-8 year olds, this one seems to have more of the latter and to be more demanding. She really liked her new teacher. as did I (from watching through the big windows and listening).
M is back in school, taking the first part of his paramedic classes. He was really, really nervous the first night, but found he loves it! The class is very hands-on which is a strong point for him, much like his son. I arranged my work schedule so that I could be home with the kids while he is in class, and I am enjoying the once weekly evening to ourselves.
Next week I start back to school. I am nervous about math (statistics) but hopefully I will get through it and then have my bachelor's degree in May, at long looooooong last!
On the whole, it has been a good week. We got most of the work I had planned done, although I would like a better history focus next week, and maybe more science.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Trying something a bit new...
We're relaxed homeschoolers - I'll be clear about that right off the bat. While the kids do have a bedtime, they get up whenever in the morning. School work, when it gets done, usually is done late afternoon. BUT, I want to try something a bit different next week, for a WHOLE week, and see how it goes... scheduling. Yes, actually having a planned time to wake them up, and to get going on the school work. I know, very radical, aren't I?
I also decided to simplify a bit. Instead of having two spines for history (Time Travelers and Hakim's History of US OR Pratt's American History Stories) that I have to mix together, I am dropping down to one. I want to give New World Explorers our full effort, as I truly believe that we're we to actually use it, the kids would both enjoy and learn from it. Yes, I'll still be adding in a few extra activities, documentaries/mvies and read alouds, but I am simplifying even those. And we'll take much the same approach for science.
My goal is to be done with seated school work by 11:30 or noon each day, which seems perfectly reasonable. They'll be doing language arts, math, Latin and history daily, science twice a week, art once a week, and park day once a week - the other day is for roller skating or 4H. Simple and straightforward.
Why the "crackdown"? I think the routine will be beneficial, for them and me. It leaves afternoons free for play, field trips, roller skating, housework, etc. And developing the habit of sitting down to work may be handy for them if I do have a new job in the fall, and they do part of their homeschooling with my mom... the math and language arts parts. And we won't be hurrying to cram it all in before I go to work in the evenings which is how it works now. Maybe if we do it this way, we'll have time for the crafts, artwork and other fun bits, instead of stressing to fit in the basics.
So I am in the midst of printing out stuff for history and science lapbooks, placing library books and videos on hold, and coming up with a rough lesson plan. Wish me luck!
I also decided to simplify a bit. Instead of having two spines for history (Time Travelers and Hakim's History of US OR Pratt's American History Stories) that I have to mix together, I am dropping down to one. I want to give New World Explorers our full effort, as I truly believe that we're we to actually use it, the kids would both enjoy and learn from it. Yes, I'll still be adding in a few extra activities, documentaries/mvies and read alouds, but I am simplifying even those. And we'll take much the same approach for science.
My goal is to be done with seated school work by 11:30 or noon each day, which seems perfectly reasonable. They'll be doing language arts, math, Latin and history daily, science twice a week, art once a week, and park day once a week - the other day is for roller skating or 4H. Simple and straightforward.
Why the "crackdown"? I think the routine will be beneficial, for them and me. It leaves afternoons free for play, field trips, roller skating, housework, etc. And developing the habit of sitting down to work may be handy for them if I do have a new job in the fall, and they do part of their homeschooling with my mom... the math and language arts parts. And we won't be hurrying to cram it all in before I go to work in the evenings which is how it works now. Maybe if we do it this way, we'll have time for the crafts, artwork and other fun bits, instead of stressing to fit in the basics.
So I am in the midst of printing out stuff for history and science lapbooks, placing library books and videos on hold, and coming up with a rough lesson plan. Wish me luck!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Handwriting thoughts...
I am thinking about handwriting right now because a lady on a homeschooling message board I frequent asked if it is important that children follow the instructions in the Handwriting Without Tears series and always start their letters at the top. Several people responded, saying yes, it is very important, and should be enforced. However, I can't say I've come to the same conclusion. Cyrus used HWOT off and on from kindergarten through second grade. He frequently starts letters "the wrong way", yet he has better handwriting than nearly anyone else in our home. For Cassia, being left-handed means that starting some letters the wrong way works better. Hmmm. What are your thoughts on developing proper handwriting skills? I have the handwriting I do because my great-grandmother assisted me. Her methods of teaching beautiful script and cursive were different than what I learned at school, but they worked.
In other news, yes, we are homeschooling again. We actually "hit the books" three days last week, and are aiming for at least 4 this week! So here's a brief progress report...
Cyrus - loving Saxon Math 5/4 again. I don't make him write out the problems because he doesn't need to. I simply compare his answers to the problems in the text. Out of the three lessons he did, he has scored a perfect 26 out of 26 each time in the mixed practice, kind of. He did get a couple of sequencing problems wrong, but I simply pointed out that the answers were not correct and had him rework them.
He's also doing well in Writing Tales. He's done some vocabulary work, grammar, and copywork, and is working on a rough draft of The Elves and the Shoemaker. I showed him how to access and use an online children's dictionary since we have misplaced our regular edition. He started reading The Whipping Boy as his assigned book, just a couple of short chapters a day.
He has also spent some time browsing our new selection of encyclopedias! A coworker gave us an entire set of a children's encyclopedia from 2007. It is wonderful to have on hand. He is currently more than halfway through Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief, and has already placed the second book on hold at the library.
Cassia - She is moving on to lesson 4 in The Reading Lesson. I've had her do some word family activities to go along, using letter cards and a whiteboard to reinforce what she is reading. Her reading skills, although developing sloooowly, are developing! I am searching the house for my collection of Bob Books for further reinforcement. Oh, and no, she does NOT like Funnix. She thinks it is too slow ("point to the peanut, point to the ice cream"). Oh well, at least I didn't waste any money on it!
Mathmatically, she's doing well. She's moved through a few more lessons in Saxon Math 2. I have her do just one side of the worksheet, and then if she struggles with anything, we do that problem on the back of the worksheet as well.
We're continuing to read Beezus and Ramona, along with various other books.
Both - We're really enjoying Norse mythology. I hope to read Leif the Lucky this week. Cyrus made a really neat 3D map of the routes Erik and Leif Eriksson took in venturing to Greenland and the Americas back in 1000 AD (roughly). We traced the same routes on our globe to see how far they traveled. I plan to spend this week and next wrapping up our Viking studies, then we can move on to other explorers. I have some projects in mind from our Viking crafts book, and I want to dig out the coloring books today too.
Last week was not much of a science-y week. While the kids are enjoying an occasional chemistry experiment, they don't seem to want to really focus on it much at this point. Instead, they are both fascinated by all things astronomical. I don't mind switching! I have lined up some good documentaries on Netflix through our Wii. Cyrus is building a solar system mobile from a kit he got for Christmas. I think we may do a few months of astronomy studies and then move into earth science. I have plenty of resources for both. In the meantime, they can continue their occasional chemistry experiemts and we'll do a more formal study of that branch of science later.
We had our book club meeting with 4H last week, discussing The Saturdays. The leader asked some good questions, and then the kids made collages of an activity they would like to do, given a Saturday to themselves. The whole thing was finished off with the creation of ice cream sundaes (or as one girl called them, ice cream Saturdays), since one of the characters in the book had a sundae on her Saturday. Next month's book is Beverly Cleary's The Mouse and the Motorcycle, which Cyrus loves. I also want to read The Smoky House (by Elizabeth Goudge) to them at some point.
And that's it for now. Hope you're all having a good New Year so far!
In other news, yes, we are homeschooling again. We actually "hit the books" three days last week, and are aiming for at least 4 this week! So here's a brief progress report...
Cyrus - loving Saxon Math 5/4 again. I don't make him write out the problems because he doesn't need to. I simply compare his answers to the problems in the text. Out of the three lessons he did, he has scored a perfect 26 out of 26 each time in the mixed practice, kind of. He did get a couple of sequencing problems wrong, but I simply pointed out that the answers were not correct and had him rework them.
He's also doing well in Writing Tales. He's done some vocabulary work, grammar, and copywork, and is working on a rough draft of The Elves and the Shoemaker. I showed him how to access and use an online children's dictionary since we have misplaced our regular edition. He started reading The Whipping Boy as his assigned book, just a couple of short chapters a day.
He has also spent some time browsing our new selection of encyclopedias! A coworker gave us an entire set of a children's encyclopedia from 2007. It is wonderful to have on hand. He is currently more than halfway through Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief, and has already placed the second book on hold at the library.
Cassia - She is moving on to lesson 4 in The Reading Lesson. I've had her do some word family activities to go along, using letter cards and a whiteboard to reinforce what she is reading. Her reading skills, although developing sloooowly, are developing! I am searching the house for my collection of Bob Books for further reinforcement. Oh, and no, she does NOT like Funnix. She thinks it is too slow ("point to the peanut, point to the ice cream"). Oh well, at least I didn't waste any money on it!
Mathmatically, she's doing well. She's moved through a few more lessons in Saxon Math 2. I have her do just one side of the worksheet, and then if she struggles with anything, we do that problem on the back of the worksheet as well.
We're continuing to read Beezus and Ramona, along with various other books.
Both - We're really enjoying Norse mythology. I hope to read Leif the Lucky this week. Cyrus made a really neat 3D map of the routes Erik and Leif Eriksson took in venturing to Greenland and the Americas back in 1000 AD (roughly). We traced the same routes on our globe to see how far they traveled. I plan to spend this week and next wrapping up our Viking studies, then we can move on to other explorers. I have some projects in mind from our Viking crafts book, and I want to dig out the coloring books today too.
Last week was not much of a science-y week. While the kids are enjoying an occasional chemistry experiment, they don't seem to want to really focus on it much at this point. Instead, they are both fascinated by all things astronomical. I don't mind switching! I have lined up some good documentaries on Netflix through our Wii. Cyrus is building a solar system mobile from a kit he got for Christmas. I think we may do a few months of astronomy studies and then move into earth science. I have plenty of resources for both. In the meantime, they can continue their occasional chemistry experiemts and we'll do a more formal study of that branch of science later.
We had our book club meeting with 4H last week, discussing The Saturdays. The leader asked some good questions, and then the kids made collages of an activity they would like to do, given a Saturday to themselves. The whole thing was finished off with the creation of ice cream sundaes (or as one girl called them, ice cream Saturdays), since one of the characters in the book had a sundae on her Saturday. Next month's book is Beverly Cleary's The Mouse and the Motorcycle, which Cyrus loves. I also want to read The Smoky House (by Elizabeth Goudge) to them at some point.
And that's it for now. Hope you're all having a good New Year so far!