Aug. 15, 2009 - Student Photo Week: Not Back-to-School Blog Hop
My students were very excited for their first day a couple weeks ago. I missed the curriculum sharing week so I am going to combine it with this week.
First up is my fourth grader. How is that even possible?
Lulu is becoming quite a young lady. She has a big heart and wears it on her sleeve. Her personality is very giving and compassionate. She rejoices with others and also cries for them. She has often wanted to pray about something for a friend. I am so excited to see what God has in store for her.
Her individual work is listed below:
Bible - An emphasis on personal devotion Math - RightStart Mathematics Level E Spelling - Spelling Wisdom (copywork and dictation approach) Grammar - Daily Grams 4 Writing - Writing Strands Level 3
Next up is my third grader.
Monkey always has a smile on her face. She loves to laugh. She has been determined from day one to do her own thing. Monkey loves the Lord and she will not be swayed. I know that God will use her in a great way. During prayer time I can always hear her saying her prayers right along with me. She is a hard worker and is not afraid to get dirty.
Her individual work is listed below:
Bible - Reading through the New Testament Math - RightStart Mathematics Level D Spelling - Spelling Wisdom (copywork and dictation approach) Grammar - Daily Grams 3 Writing - Writing Strands Level 2
Lulu and Monkey do a lot of work together as well. Here is their combined work:
History - We are going to use a unit study approach this year. I started out with the four year Classical cycle. Last year I switched to Ambleside Online and our cycle got a little off. I am going to try to get back on the four year cycle this year with unit studies. We are starting out with a small unit to finish up the Colonial period. The girls are preparing individual reports and one together. I'm looking forward to seeing what they come up with.
Geography - Minn of the Mississippi and Paddle to the Sea (Both books are by Holling C. Holling. We read three of his books last year and the girls loved all of them. They were excited to start Minn this week.)
Literature Readings - Robinson Crusoe, Kidnapped, The Incredible Journey, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Paul Revere's Ride, and Rip Van Winkle (Selections taken from Ambleside Online)
Biographies - Poor Richard and Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution
Science - It Couldn't Just Happen (Give facts that support creation and disprove evolution) and a focus on physics this year
Spanish - Let's Speak Spanish workbooks
Poetry - Alfred Lord Tennyson, Emily Dickinson, and William Wordsworth
The girls will also have gym, art, Keepers of the Home, creative literature, science units, and choir at our co-op.
Last, but not least, is our preschooler.
Lil adds a lot of spice to our family. She is Lulu and Monkey all mixed into one. She has qualities that link her to both her sisters. Lil wants to learn so bad. She complains that I don't have enough planned for her to do and her sisters complain that she gets more free time than they do.
I am planning to do a mixture of things with her this year. We did not finish our ABC notebook last year. That's first up. And then we will see. I had wanted to have more planned out for her by now, but it just did not happen.
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a great year.
Aug. 9, 2009 - School Room Week - Not Back-to-School Blog Hop
Our school room has changed some from last year. James made us a new table and computer desk! The girls and I are very excited about this table.
It's a marker board table. We all four have our own spot at the table with two shelves to store our books. The girls have their pencil box, abacus, ruler, etc. on the top shelf. The bottom shelf houses their basket that holds their workbooks, notebooks, and binder. And we get to write on it :)
I have not had a chance to redo our bulletin board for this year. That is on my list, my very long list. The white cabinet houses all our art supplies.
The brown bookshelves, which bugs both James and I now that everything else is white, house all our curriculum, resource books, storybooks, and manipulatives. The white shelves house my office supplies and help support the new computer area. Della, our cat, is a regular at the school table.
This is such a space saver. I am so thankful that my husband is talented in building. He blesses us with so many wonderful things.
Tonight was our annual EXPO at our co-op. The girls have been working on their entries all week. Lulu and Monkey entered the science competition together. They built two greenhouses out of a crate. They planted herbs. One greenhouse received light 24/7. The other greenhouse was lit for 12 hours and then off for 12 hours. Their questions was, "Do plants need time without light?". The result of their experiment was no. The herbs that received constant light sprouted faster and grew much larger than the herbs that received less light. It ended up being a really great project.
Lulu also entered the spelling bee, a drawing, and a Lego creation.
Monkey entered a painting and baked a hot fudge cake. This cake is very neat. She added the mixture for the cake to the pan first. Then she topped it with the hot fudge mixture. I poured the boiling water over the cake. When it bakes, the two layers switch places. The hot fudge is under the cake. Very cool!
Lil entered a painting, a Lego creation, and photography. Her photography entry was from Monster Jam, of course.
I am very proud of the hard work the girls put into their projects. They were extra excited tonight since Ms. Lana came to see all their items on display. Thanks Ms. Lana!!!
Life sure gets in the way sometimes, doesn't it? I have so many things I want to share but can never seem to find the time to post. I have also wanted to change the style of my blog around for awhile now. I am not sure if I like this new design yet. I will leave it up for a few days and see how if it has grown on me at all. There are more changes I want to make.
Anyway...on to the updates. School is going really well for us this year. I am seeing big results this year. Monkey has busted forth with her reading abilities. She took a reading assessment test this week and scored a reading level in the 9th month of 4th grade. I am so proud of her! Monkey is in 2nd grade at home, but she is only 6!!! I have not given Lulu a reading assessment for a long time. I will try to do one with her next week and she where she scores.
Both girls are doing really well in math this year too. Lulu is sailing through multiplication. She began division this week along with a more in-depth look at fractions. She finally likes math. RightStart Mathematics is a great program.
Lil can recognize A and M. We are learning E this week. She knows 1, 2, 3, and 4. School is a lot easier with her this year. And I am happy to be able to say that she is not spending her time watching movies. She is either working on something in the schoolroom or playing with her toys in her room. I have seen so much growth, dare I say maturity, in her over the past few months.
I have lots of pictures to post soon. I had planned on doing that tonight, but my computer will not recognize my SD card at the moment.
We just completed our first week of school! The girls had a good time this week and so did I. It was nice to get back into a routine. The routine still needs some tweeking and a few things added to it but nice none the less.
Monkey flew through her week of phonics. She is reading so much better. I really think all the reading for fun over the summer did it. Now for Bible her and Lulu have been taking turns reading our selection for the day. Lulu reads from the Old Testament one day and Monkey reads from the New Testament the next. It is working out really well. Math also went well for both girls.
Lil has been wanting to do her school work each day too. She has done some of her activity bags, a sequencing page, painting, and handwriting. Last year when I would try to get her to do some pre-writing worksheets she would just scribble on them. She had no desire to follow the dotted lines. This time, though, she did really well at tracing the lines. She is very excited about her work. This week we are going to start on the letter A. I want her to be able to recognize the letters and their sounds. Lil is going to be making an ABC Notebook this year. She is 3 1/2 so all of this will be done as her desire stays with it. If she does not want to or looses interest we will put it away for another day.
JBQ will be starting soon for Lulu and Monkey. They are looking forward to it this year. We have just briefly begun to review the 10 point questions. Lulu will also be learning 20 point questions this year. We have to really get started on those. Their first match will not be until the first of October. So we only have about five weeks.
I hope everyone has a great start to their school year.
Apr. 5, 2008 - Looking Forward - Home Education Week
What are your goals for home education? What do you hope to instill in your children? Are you planning any changes to how you educate your children?
My goals for home education are pretty simple.
1.I want my girls to know Jesus as their personal Savior.
2.I want them to be knowledgeable in the Word.
3.I want them to have a servant’s heart.
4.I want them to know how to learn, how to find the answers they are seeking, and how to ask for help.
5.I want them to love learning!
I hope to be able to teach my girls what it means to be a godly woman, modest, humble, and submissive.It is my desire that my girls will desire to be a help meet to their husbands and stay home with their children.I pray that they will see those two things as their main ministry.
I am planning to implement more of Charlotte Mason’s teachings.I have been researching different ways to accomplish a CM education.It will mean lots of changes for us next year.I am stumped right now about history and science.I like the four year cycle from WTM.So I still have decisions to make.Remember, this is not easy for me!
Apr. 4, 2008 - In Their Own Words - Home Education Week
Share your children’s home education experience in their own words. What have they said about their education? What are their likes and dislikes? Share some stories, some quotes, or turn your blog over to your children for the day.
I gave the girls a writing assignment for this one. I told them to write about why they liked being homeschooled. They posted their responses on their blogs.
Lulu(8) said: "I like homeschooling because I'm taught what's right and not what's wrong. I get to spend time with my mom and my sisters. The last thing I like is that my mom is there to help me whenever I get confused on something."
Monkey(6) said: "I like homeschool because you get to be with your family. It is fun. My teacher is my mom. It is fun. I like to do school with my sister and my mom. My mom is the best teacher. I like my mom and my sisters."
Lil(3) said: "I like to go out in the rain." Once again, I'm not too sure how her brain works...
One day we were heading to the grocery store because a big ice storm was headed our way. We went in the middle of the day while public school was supposed to be in. As we were sitting at the light school buses drove past us. I said, "I guess they went ahead and released the kids from school." From the back seat Monkey says, "Does that mean we don't have to finish school when we get home?". My response was, "Yes, you have to finish school!". Monkey says, "That's not fair. I wish I was public schooled today." Too which I replied, "Yeah, but you would not wish that at 6:00 in the morning when you would have to get out of bed."
Apr. 3, 2008 - Show and Tell - Home Education Week
Show off those talents. Share a story, a special moment, a piece of artwork. Any accomplishment, great or small, is fair game.
I had a very special moment when I was senior in high school. I went to Washington, D.C. to work in soup kitchens feeding the homeless. It was an amazing experience. There were so many people pouring into the places where we were helping. I remember seeing "kids" that were only a year or two older than me and they were homeless. I was so thankful for my family at that moment. I knew in my heart that I would always have a place to go if I needed help.
One afternoon, instead of working in the homeless shelters, we went to help at an after-school program for elementary aged children. It was heart breaking for me. I have always loved kids. I started babysitting when I was 12. I remember helping them with their homework and playing games with them. They loved the attention. I know from their faces and some of the things that they were talking about that their home lives were not what God desired for them. I broke my heart to know what they were seeing in their moms and dads and whoever else was around. But even though it was a sad moment, it was precious too. I knew that God would take those little seeds we were planting in those kids and do a mighty work that only He could do. I am thankful that I went.
Apr. 2, 2008 - Recipe for Success - Home Education Week
It is also National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day! So share a recipe…figuratively, as in two parts love, one part creativity, or literally, as in a super quick, nutritious meal your kids scarf up. Think about what you do in the day, what helps keep it organized and you sane (or how you got past that need for organization and saneness!), and curriculum materials you find effective.
My "recipe" for an organized, sane day calls for:
1. A full serving of the Word of God. If I miss this, my day will not be "organized" or "sane". But if I have my serving and have it to the fullest then my day will fall into place one way or another. It may not always happen the way I think or plan for it to, but stuff gets done. The Lord knows what stage of life we are in. He knows that we have many different plates to serve throughout our days. He is gracious to meet us where we are. I may not always be able to work in my local soup kitchen, help with that great new ministry at church, volunteer at the hospital, cook meals for friends, etc., etc. Right now my number one ministry is to my husband and my girls. I can do those other things as time allows, but only when it does not take away from my main ministry. God ordained the family before the church. Sometimes we get that out of order. And we have all heard well meaning people say, "But you're home ALL DAY." They do not understand and that's okay. We know in our hearts that we are doing what God has called us to do.
2. The ability to say "No".
3. Labels, labels, and more labels. I do not feel like I am not really that organized. However, I do have lots of labels on tubs, drawers, and notebooks.
4. Fun!
5. Lesson plans. I used to plan day by day and it drove me crazy. I am now to the point where I make up my lesson plans a couple weeks at a time.
6. Be flexible. Even though I do the lesson plans I do not stress if the plans get rearranged or even canceled.
7. Fun!
8. Last, but certainly not least, PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!
When all of this is thrown in the pot it usually produces happy children and happy parents. We have our days like everyone else. But overall our family is a blessing to each of us.
Welcome to our blog! I hope you enjoy your visit. We are a homeschooling family of 5. Our approach is eclectic, but leaning more and more towards Charlotte Mason. Our girls are 9, 7, and 4. Never a dull moment as we desire to teach our girls in the ways of the Lord.
