Serenity Academy | |
Back to BloggingWell, it's been awhile since I updated this. This summer was kind of slow schooling wise. My whole schedule got disorganized and I couldn't seem to get it back on track. In the middle of summer I got my school in gear though and I can now happily say we're back to it full time.There have been a few changes. We've decided to no longer use Abeka math due to some issues that arose. We're now using Saxon math, which my husband is okay with as we're following a slightly different schedule than normal, that moves at a little faster pace. Which will be good for Xander... and if Lucas needs to go a little slower we can do that as well. Saxon seems to be working for us. Although it might be a little annoying for Xander, going through the review parts right now... but he could use a little brushing up on some of his math facts. I have to say that Writing With Ease has been wonderful for us as well. Although I recommend buying just the work books instead of the texts. The workbook gives you all the lessons and the text is not needed really. Xander is really enjoying science right now, we're learning about weather. Science seems to be his favorite subject this year and has asked me to do it every other day with him instead of twice a week like last year. In history we're currenly working on the time period of when Augustine brought Christianity over to Britain. While I find it facsinating, Xander isn't as interested in history as he was last year. Lucas likes his Singapore Math for kindergarten. He asked me to do two pages instead of just one. We're currently working on same, different, big, little etc. For phonics work The Ordinary Parent's Guide seems to be working. He can now tell you the vowels and all their sounds. We're starting to practice wrting his letters. I'm not very adament about it. I don't think it's all that important that he can write out the letters at his age. But we're trying and he definitly gets an A for effort. In 'social studies' we're learning about different community workrs. This week we covered judges, pilots, and postal carriers. We're also reading some science books on animals. Aiden isn't really doing school but he likes to pretend he is. He reads board books when I'm reading to Lucas. (He's welcome to listen to the stories, however he can't seem to sit still for those right now.) He also likes to color when the other two are doing their seat work. Field Trip!Well, last Friday was an absolute beautiful day. And to make things even better... my husband happened to have a day off! There was no way I could make the boys do school on such a blessed day. So we decided to go to the zoo... and it's the first trip of the season. And boy did we have a lot of fun!The first thing we saw was the otters. And the little guys were swimming around and playing. They swam right up to the glass. The boys were overjoyed and Aiden just giggled when the otter swam up to them. The tigers were also showing off.. one was preening and making noises that weren't quite like growls. It was almost like he was showing off his vocal cords. The lions were even a little active... but mostly because the male lion was looking for shade and one of the lionesses kind of batted him away from her shady place. The polar bears weren't swimming... which was somewhat of a disappointment (the Detroit zoo has this amazing exhibit where you can walk through and the polar bears can actually swim over you) but one of them was playing around. The kangaroo exhibit is also one that is pretty awesome. You actually walk through the exhibit and its completely open. The can even hop across your path. There were a couple of them hopping but no where near the path... but it was still pretty cool to see. And that was just some of what we saw. It was a great day. On the more traditional academic front we had a fairly good week. Xander is loving the human body unit in science. He can name most of the major bones (which is what we learned last week) and he'll rattle them off at random sometimes. In history he's enjoying Rome as we just started that ancient civilization. He found it fun drawing on the story similarities of Romulus and Remus to Moses. Not to mention he now knows the names Romulus and Remus, so when I watched an episode of the original Star Trek he was all excited when he heard the names of the Romulan howme world. Oh not to mention his new favorite word is etruscan. In math he can now do his speed drills in under 40 seconds which has been a huge improvement. Lucas has been steadily trucking alone with his numbers and letters. We're still having problems with the recognition of the letter s but we're persevering! His colors and shapes we have no problems with. He even knows crescent, oval and diamond. He can now count to 11 with no problems, we're still having some trouble with the teens. But hey he is only 3, so we're taking it slow. Thankfully this week will be our week off in the rotation. We'll have one day to make up for missing Friday... but we can handle it. We need the rest of the week off though. It's time for us to just have fun. We'll break in our new Professor Noggin games I think. I'm sure Xander will want to work on some of his history lapbooks. The boy can't seem to get enough history! My Week In ReviewWell the week started out wonderfully. School was a breeze. Xander and Lucas did their chores with no problems and no whines. And that lasted until Wednesday. Then it became probably one of the worst weeks in our little homeschool.First lets just say... I was called in for jury duty this week. Luckily it was only one day and ended up only a half day... but the day was shot. I was tired and cranky and annoyed as anything when I got home. We did some school work.. but nothing major. It was a disaster from the start. I blame myself completely for this. I was not in the mood and shouldn't have pushed school. But I wanted to stay on schedule.... silly me. I ended up only doing math and science. Then today... oh my... I don't know what was going through Xander's head. He was not willing to do anything and was out and out defiant SEVERAL times. I was almost pulling out my hair. First it was math.. he didn't want to finish it because I pointed out a problem he got wrong. (He's my perfectionist) Then in reading he didn't feel like working out a tough word that we just learned the phonics rule for. Then closer to bedtime it was time to start picking up the playroom. Once again... he didn't want to... needless to say he went to bed a half hour early. It was just a tough day. There was however a light at the end of the tunnel. My order from Rainbow Resource was finally shipped this morning. There was a delay on one of my Singapore books. But come Monday we should finally get our book box! It'll be like Christmas. Even the boys were excited that next year's school books are on the way! So Far, So GoodSo far this week has been absolutely wonderful school wise, even with a sick teacher on Monday. Since this weekend's excursions I've given Xander a little more work. And he seems to be doing it wonderfully. This past weekend I also tested his reading level with 2 different tests. And according to both my 5 year old who isn't even supposed to be doing first grade work yet... is reading at a fifth grade level. He's reading more on his own and I even see that it helps him retain a little bit more of what we're learning. It's also made narrations pages a lot easier too. I have to prompt him less! And that I'm completely happy with.He seems to like a little more added responsibility to the work as well. I think he things it makes him older and he's always trying to prove that he's a big boy. I'm amazed at how much that little boy retains. He's even helping his little brother with letter recognition. And that even seems to be helping Lucas a little bit. When we did letter flash cards today he only missed four letters as opposed to his usual 8 or 10. Aiden however has been my problem child. He seems to think I'm only his mommy! He hates sharing my time with the other two boys. Luckily some wonderful ladies on one of the message boards I frequent gave me some suggestions on what to do with them. JOYFUL THOUGHTS -I love having an hour to myself sometimes to do with as I please. I could read books, surf the net, watch one of my favorite programs. (I'm addicted to Jericho right now and I just watched the latest episode. Good stuff.) -I love ground turkey tacos. And I'm happy my family did too. It was a big hit tonight! Scheduling ConcernsSo I was looking through our math book, and we're just over halfway through with it. Now if you go by the average 'school' year, we're a little bit behind. (Not really... considering Xander and Lucas are both ahead of what their respective levels). We've not even done 100 days of school. Now I'm starting to panic because people on other message boards are almost done with their school work for the year. It still seems like we have so much to do compared with the rest of these homeschoolers.So now would be the time to step back and look at the choices I've made through the year. I have to remember that I chose to do a full year, with no massive breaks. I didn't this because I've noticed that after long breaks, it takes Xander a longer time to get back into the swing of things. So what we have been doing is having 3 weeks of school and then one off. (I know, I know... I've mentioned this before.) So of course we'll be slightly behind. So really it's not big deal. But still it seems like this year is taking forever. And it's not even that I'm not enjoying it. I just hate feeling like I'm behind. UGH... maybe I should just stop comparing myself to others and just focus on what's working for us. Because really... this schedule is working for us. I like to think that my children are even thriving with it. So I just have to keep reminding myself... that hey.... what I'm doing is working. JOYFUL THOUGHTS -I love the period around St. Patrick's Day.... I love to indulge on McDonald's Shamrock Shakes -I love how my kids can just do or say something out of the blue that just lifts my spirits. A Better StartWell, today has been better than all of last week. I didn't come across one problem. In fact Lucas only had to go into a time out once and Xander was well behaved in both school and not in school. There were no problems with him not wanting to do his work. They cleaned up the play room when it was time to. And even though we started actual school work late... we still got done around the same time we used to. So today was very, very good.Xander today learned how to draw lines of a certain length in both cm and in. He also learned how to count by threes. I'm amazed at how easily he picked it up. But that's Xander for you... tell him how to do things once and he just gets it. The other school work was also done well, he's learning pronouns and the like. He's loving the Greek myths. It amazes me how much he actually absorbs and remembers. Right now he's reading, by himself an adaptation of Treasure Island. I love watching my kids learn. Lucas is really coming along. Still learning to count, his alphabet, shapes, colors, etc. I think I've mentioned before that he's a visual learner. It's a different challenge than what Xander was. I have to do things differently. But I roll with the punches and Lucas is doing wonderfully too. I'm very proud. JOYFUL THOUGHTS -I love opening my eyes in the morning and listening to my children talk and play with each other. My kids are usually up before me, and they go into the play room or play Legos in their bedroom. And it's absolutely amazing how well the get along sometimes. -I going to the movies. I don't do it often, but there is just something about the whole movie theater experience. Kind of Happy the Week is OverI think this is the first week of this school year where I'm actually happy the weekend is here. Sure there were some good things that happened this week. But there were times when both Lucas and Xander were very trying. Today in and of itself was very mild. Xander did his work with no problems. There were no open displays of defiance, no crossed arms, no protruding lower lip, no stomping of feet. It was a blessedly easy day. Lucas as well did his work happily. He even listened to the rest of The Wanderings of Odysseus as I read it to Xander. Like I said it was all in all a good day.How ever... after school was done and the younger two took their naps, it was time to clean the playroom. For some reason... my kids like to take every single toy out. We've tried to get them to do the whole one at a time thing. But it doesn't seem to sink in. It can be so aggravating. And then when the time comes to pick up... it's like pulling teeth. And if you don't sit there and watch them like a hawk... they just end up playing AND NOTHING GET'S DONE. I don't know why I'm surprised by this. I did the same thing when I was a child. I now know why my parents got so frustrated with me. I guess the old saying 'what goes around, comes around,' is true. Remind me to tell my dad (who was the one who was most annoyed by the mess) that I'm very, very sorry. Well, I'm sorry I didn't give an update on yesterday's goings on. My husband and I had a mini-date night. After the kids were in bed (that's usually when I get a chance to blog) we decided to pop in a net-flix movie that we've had for awhile. It was Mission Impossible 3. Let me tell you... I was not impressed. I've decided I am not a fan of J. J. Abrams. I was disappointed in Cloverfield and unimpressed with Lost after the first season. And unfortunatly this doesn't bode well for the new Star Trek Movie coming out next year. (Yes, I am a Trekkie and probably one of the biggest geeks ever). JOYFUL THOUGHTS -I'm happy my husband knows when I'm very stressed and I just can't take on the extra task of cooking dinner. He ordered us pizza for dinner to night and I had the night off -I love the smell of books, old, new... it doesn't matter. I love to walk into libraries and book stores and simply enjoy the smell. I don't know what it is about the paper they use to print on. I just love it. More Trying TimesOkay, so today I noticed something. Xander is a perfectionist in every sense of the word. He hates being wrong. It gets to the point where if he does get something wrong... he simply gives up. He will actually will stop working if he makes a mistake. It absolutely drives me insane!Take for instance today in math. I told him to count from 50 to 125 by fives. He started out just fine. Then around 100 he started to mess up a little. Not a very big deal. I know he knows how to count by fives past 100. He just stumbled a little. But I did correct him, I feel I was gentle in doing so. I didn't act angry, I didn't act upset. I simply said... 'oops, you made a mistake, let's try that again.' Well he wasn't having any of that. He just looked at me with a small pout upon his lips and crossed his arms. Finally I was able to coax him into working again and the day went fine. Until the same thing happened when we were working on Spelling Workouts. He read the directions wrong and I asked him to read the directions again. He could even tell me what he did wrong. But he was close to tears because he got something wrong. What is one supposed to do with a little guy who holds such high standards in himself!?! No I admit I do expect a lot from my kids. But in what I do expect I know they can do. I don't allow laziness or slacking off simply because they don't feel like working. But I never ever have gotten angry with them for making mistakes. I don't don't understand where he gets this from. I don't feel like I'm perfectionist. My husband might be a little, but not to the extent Xander is. Is it a genetic thing? My mother-in-law is the biggest perfectionist I've ever known. It's just something that has left me pondering. And it makes for a very difficult school day sometimes! Lucas on the other hand is the complete opposite. He's so laid back and he just takes everything in stride. It amazes me how different those two can be. All three of my little guys have different personalities. It is completely amazing. JOYFUL THOUGHTS -I'm happy to have an amazing extended family that is supportive and nonjudgmental. No matter how 'weird' my choices are (ie homebirth, homeschooling). -I'm happy to have 4 wonderful friends that I've kept through highschool and beyond. I don't know how I would get through life without them. And Today... Nearly PerfectionAnd today... with school, there were no hitches. Xander was in probably the best mood for school today then I've seen him in a little while. He did all his work happily and with no complaints. I love when we have days like this. He listened and obeyed. I was just totally amazed.His math test was excellent as usual. Not a single one wrong. (Which is a good thing considering he would've been in tears if he had even just one wrong.) In science right now he choose to take this week to learn about kangaroos. He was able to narrate the the small reading section we did on them with very little prompting. He also filled out the lapbook page for them all by himself. We're also almost done with his phonics program. We have maybe 30 lessons left. I can't believe how well he's doing with reading. He doesn't seem to need much help, even with the longer words. I also read two chapters of The Wanderings of Odysseus to him. He also did very well with narrating what we read on this. (It was very cute, we read about Hermes coming to the island of Calypso to give her the message that she should let Odysseus go. And Xander went on to recollect some other stories about Hermes from the myths we've read.) Right now Xander doing some reading (he doesn't have to, so this is all fun) He's reading a Magic Tree House book and looking up stuff in the research guide as he's reading it. Lucas on the other hand had a few hitches today. He was in a playful mood and didn't really feel like working. He would tease me and pretend he didn't know the alphabet. Luckily I kept my cool and didn't get very upset. I took it all in stride and just had fun with him. But he does now know what a crescent shape is. He liked coloring the shapes that I drew him. Coloring is is favorite part of school time and try to give him a little bit of coloring time everyday. I think he's a very artistic soul. Aiden was his usual adorable self today. Lots of smiles and cuddles from his end. Still being stubborn with the walking though. But I'm going to work on my patience with that one. And lastly... it is SNOWING again. I have never been so sick of the white stuff in all my life. I'm completely totally and utterly sick of this weather. I think it's had something to do with my bouts of depression lately. I can't wait until this winter is over. JOYFUL THOUGHTS -I love when my little boys come up to me for no reason and just gives him a hug. Or when they say 'I love you Mommy' for no reason at all. (Lucas just did both) - I love long talks with my husband. We have so much in common and sometimes we can just talk for hours) Not PerfectionSo today didn't go as badly as I thought it would. There were a few hitches. Mostly they were problems that are not just school problems but down right disobedience from Xander. It's something that has just surfaced in the past few days. I think he's once again testing his boundaries. It's just one of those trying times that he goes through every once in awhile. It will soon stop once he realize he's not going to get away with stuff.Anyways, back to school. We started with math, and that actually went very well. Most of it was review as we have a test tomorrow. (For some reason Xander gets super excited about tests. Kids are so funny when they're young.) From there we went on to grammar. We're starting pronouns. I'm not sure he gets it.. but they were just introduced. I know that if I stick with it... he'll get it. And he wasn't giving it his full attention. He gets that way after a little bit of time off. Then we moved on to history. During the week we'll continue with Greece and we're currently focusing on Sparta and Athens. I'm surprised by how much he picked up. He was able to discuss both of them with me. He even surprised me when I asked him who Plato was and he said that Plato was a philosopher. I was only expecting him to say he was a famous man in Ancient Greece. Another pleasant surprise today was when we did a spelling test that we had missed two weeks ago. I wanted to give him a break and wasn't going to make him take it. But he insisted and he go all the words right! I must say I was most impressed. Lucas has also been doing very well. This theme he was most excited because the theme of the week is the moon. He loved looking at pictures of different phases of the moon. He liked acting out Hey Diddle Diddle. And I must say he learning to play catch most efficiently. His remembrance of the Alphabet continues to increase each day. And his speech continues to improve daily. Potty training is also going amazingly well in just the past two days. He's even starting going all by himself with no help from anyone. Aiden gets very excited when it is time to read the Bible every morning. And he continues his own little prayers. He's completely adorable when he does it. His walking however is not coming around as I might like. I'm not worried about his late development. I know he'll catch up. It's just frustrating because I think it's sheer laziness on his part. He walks along everything, bookshelves, walls, tables, couches... you name it. He even uses his little toy walker to get along. He just refuses to let go and do it by himself. I just have to be patient... it's not one of my strong suits. My little guys are growing up. JOYFUL THOUGHTS -I couldn't be more happier that my children have a natural thirst for learning. They love reading books, they love looking at new things, and they always want to know more. -I love that I was able to find my soul mate. I wouldn't want to share my life with anyone else. { Last Page } { Page 1 of 2 } { Next Page } |
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