We have had a couple of solid weeks.  Yes!  OS has an animal lap book almost completed and a PowerPoint of the New England colonies done.  We finished reading "Mr. Popper's Penguins" last week.  YS really enjoyed listening to this book.  OS is presenting a funny Shel Silverstein poem to our family as part of his Tall Tale Unit.  I was impressed by the inflection he used when he read it the first time...That must come naturally when they are read lots of different types of literature every day.

Made up a "game" to play with YS.  We took the letter cubes and cup from our Perquacky game.  On his turn, he rolled and then tried to find a word ending (-in,-an,on,un,am etc.).  Then he made as many words as possible with that family using the cubes he rolled before the timer ran out.  We kept a running list of our words and took turns.  The winner was the one with the most words in his/her list.  YS (5yr.old) thought this was great fun. 

Both boys went on a field trip with their grandparents yesterday...It was the last opportunity to take a tour of the GM plant.  How cool is this?  Their great-grandfather was on this field trip with them.  He retired from GM.  What a treasured day!  I didn't go on this trip because I was teaching my Kindergarten music class.  What a blessing to have family that supports our efforts to home school and "GETS IT" 

One of my main goals for my oldest son(8yr. old) is to help him become a stronger writer.  He is creative and discusses fantastic ideas but we haven't really spent a lot of time on the true mechanics of writing until this year.  MAN, I AM GLAD I WAITED!!!  I chose the four square method for this year.  It has been great for helping him organize his thoughts.  We spent a lot of time discussing SPARKLE words.  One springboard activity I did with him that really drove home the idea of using descriptive words to add interest in his writing was with word tiles.  (I bought the bucket at Wal-Mart.)  I made simple sentences and then asked him to add Sparkle words to the sentences.  We did this for several minutes and then he created his own sentences with the word tiles and added adjectives. 

I like the Four Square method for an introduction to writing.  It gives him a solid framework and direction.  I won't use this as his only method but for right now, it is helping him see writing as less of a chore.

One of my goals this year for my 8 yos is writing solid paragraphs and short stories.  We have found the 4-square method to be extremely helpful as an organizer.  Thankfully my son doesn't really mind writing so it isn't much of a struggle to work on this daily.  I feel the same about writing as I do reading, the more you do it the better you get at it.  I found one of those marble composition notebooks with pages that are half blank and half lined.  He doesn't enjoy drawing pictures much, but at least the option is there for him. 

This is also the first year that I have required him to answer history and science questions in complete sentences.  For now, I have asked him to use as many of the words from the question in his answer as possible.  We have discussed fragments vs. sentences.  Also, I have found that focusing on spelling in the answers of these questions is much more effective than a list for a test.  For my son, this is much more meaningful and sticks with him better because of the purpose. 

I so was never good at the journal thing...  Well, I need to discipline myself to do it.  Period.

We are a full 6 weeks into our school year.  This year I have a 5yr. old son and an 8 yr. old son schooling.  I am wiped! 

My 5 yr. old LOVE school!  He loves everything about school....EXCEPT the writing.  He is my creatively gifted one who wants nothing to do with the constraints of lines on the paper.  BUT he is taking off with the reading.  His short vowel sounds and consonants are all there.  We just introduced long vowel sounds.  He is memorizing his Bible verses.  He is learning his addition facts... Progress is being made.

Now, let's talk about my 8 yr. old.  He is gifted in a whole other direction.  I have finally decided to give up trying to answer his grade level.  It is a big old pain.  I admire his boldness.  The boy will talk to ANYONE (NO social dud here) about ANYTHING.  He seems to have a bit of knowledge about most things and is inquisitive about new ideas.  He has a fantastic ability to memorize.  He hears it once, it is in the brain.  He makes connnections with his knowledge that astound me.  He is keenly aware of current events, such as the economy and the election.  You knew it was coming.... BUT...  I am frustrated by the LAZINESS.  Ie. "I don't want to show my work, I do it in my head."  "I don't want to practice piano for a whole half hour, that is boring."  "I don't want to worry about spelling, many words don't follow the phonics rules anyway!"  I read a verse on Sat. that meant a lot to me Galatians 6:9  "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up"  I am a firm believer that what you do today will affect you 6 months from now.  I suppose if I want my boys who love their Savior now to be men for their Savior later I just have to STAY THE COURSE and trust in Him.

Later I will write about just how we stay the course at our house on a practical level.

My DH injured himself on Monday.  He had ot have emergency surgery on his hand after a battle with the snowblower.  Needless to say, this week has been all about making him comfortable and keeping the house quiet.  Unfortunately, that has meant we have done very little schooling.  I figure that is the beauty of homeschooling.  My OS has definetly learned a lot about what it means to be a family.  He has been serving his Daddy and helping me. 

I am so thankful my DH did not lose any fingers.  He lost the tip of one and broke two others.  The plastic surgeon reconstructed nail beds and dealt with the most injured finger.  It could have been so much work.  I thank God for being in control. 

So this year is 2/3 grade and Pre-K.  New challenges have presented themselves.  DH has gotten real busy with his career and his schedule is erratic.  A BLESSING of homeschooling is the flexibility we have with OUR schedule.  Here is my quick overview:

Bible-- Still absolutely loving Covenant Home Curriculum for this subject.  We discovered the Bible on DVD available in KJV, by book,  at one of our dollar store.  My son has really enjoyed these since he doesn't need me in order to do his lesson and can follow along in his own Bible.  This does not replace our time together, but I have found that sometimes he enjoys listening to someone else.  Since we are in the Old Testament, some of those names and places can be rough for a second year reader.  I think the narrator demonstrates a good story telling type reading of the Bible.  It isn't monotone at all so I think it is a good model for him.

Math--Love Love Love Saxon.  We have hit multiplication and it is great!  We are struglling with timed test.  We are getting at least an acceptable amount done, but just as it was with Victory Drill, my son is never in a hurry for anyone.

Grammar-- We finished English for the Well Trained Mind and needed something new so we went to Easy Grammar 3/4.  My DS has a natural bent towards grammar.  We are really taking off with Easy Grammar.  Since it is really two, even 3 grade levels ahead of his natural age, I wasn't really sure how it would work.  It has been terrific!  It is wild to hear him talk about the "O.P." and the D. O."  We memorized our prepositions to the tune of Yankee Doodle.  This is out here on the web somewhere.  I will look for it.

More to come in the next post.

1) ONE HOMESCHOOLING BOOK YOU HAVE ENJOYED

     I don't have a book title, but I enjoyed reading Susan Weiss Bauer's newsletter about a typical day in her home.  Yeah, I am not the only one!!!

2) ONE RESOURCE YOU WOULDN'T BE WITHOUT

     I concer, the internet.  With all of its faults, it is still by far, the most used resource I have.

3) ONE RESOURCE YOU WISH YOU HAD NEVER BOUGHT

     I can't really think of one.  I am blessed with several friends to network with for materials.  I research everything before buying.  A good deal of the time I just borrow.

4) ONE RESOURCE YOU ENJOYED LAST YEAR.

     We LOVE LOVE LOVE "Grammar for the Well Trained Mind"  I am jealous of my children- no laborious worksheets.  I love the extra snuggle time with them though!

5) ONE RESOURCE YOU WILL BE USING NEXT YEAR

We are using the big book of Spanish we got at Walmart.  My son likes it because there are lots of worksheets with little coloring activities.  We study Spanish 3 times a week.

6) ONE RESOURCE YOU WOULD LIKE TO BUY

     I want my own set of McGuffey Readers.  My sons enjoy the stories.

7) ONE RESOURCE YOU WISH EXISTED

     I am not a group kinda gal.  I know homeschool GROUPS exist.   I would however, like to find a few homeschool moms I can have consistent coffee hour with to share prayer concerns about homeschooling and ideas, and rants, and raves.  I would love that hour of refreshment- even on the phone or online...  Hmm..         

8) ONE HOMESCHOOLING CATALOGUE YOU ENJOY READING

Seriously?  Enjoy reading???  Well, I do like getting the Rainbow Resource Catalogue.  Pretty much any home school catalogue.  I like to see what is out there.  I am a junkie.

9) ONE HOMESCHOOLING WEBSITE YOU USE REGULARLY

I come to this one often to read what other parents are feeling, doing, thinking...

10) TAG 5 PEOPLE

I am coming for you! =)

Can I add one question????  Where do you find your best curriculum deals?  Well, thanks for asking!!!!!!!  I get sweaty palms just THINKING about a trip to Goodwill or another thrift store.  I get such awesome things there.  Books, kits, etc.                        
 

I can't pretend to be lofty and say that we schooled all summer with our workbooks and flashcards, our victory drill and our long afternoons spent reading.  No, actually, we spent the summer looking at STUFF and just living.  We went to Chicago  to the zoo, we swam and we swam and we swam.... We took hikes in the woods and watched water bugs, mud daubers and butterflies.  We played at the park, and we swam and we swam and we swam.  My YS was potty trained this summer; he just turned 3 in May.  My OS learned how to swim without waterwings.  My YS learned how to swim with just water wings.  I learned how to watch from the side of the pool. We did Vacation Bible School.  We rode on 3 boats, one train, one el...We went to President Grant's home and asked questions.  We camped, learned to put bait on a hook ourselves, cast our own reel, reel our own fish in....  We learned the 23rd Psalm.  We were TOGETHER as a FAMILY... and it was GREAT!!

     And now, as I am EVERY August, I am in a bit of mourning.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE summer.  I love the dirt between my kids toes from wearing sandals.  I love their sweaty little peaceful faces sleeping.  I love not needing to bundle up 10 minutes ahead of time to go on an errand.  I love taking the trash out in my PJs instead of my PARKA!   I love the freedom to just BE... to have NO particular plan for the day other than waking up and eating 3 meals.  I love having time to listen to every little idea that the boys dream up and the invitation I am extended to hear such tales.  SUMMER.....mmmmm

     SNAP!!!!!  Reality!!!  Oh no, did he forget all that we did in school???  Will he still know how to spell his name, whip off VD words, find the verb in the sentence???  Ah Yes, then in Sunday school OS is reciting his Bible verses to his teacher and he is squinting to READ the words off the picture cue cards!!!!!  HA! Shameful, but... All is not lost!  He sits down to read a book to his brother who is DESPERATELY seeking a reading buddy...  YS is describing his pool ring toys by their COLORS and he is counting to 20 to play hide and go seek with his "Bubba"....

     MMMMMMMMM...... SUMMER!