Yellow-Footed Tortoise

The skin and scales of the yellow-footed tortoise are black, brown and yellow. This tortoise is found in South America. These tortoises are widely used around the world for trade. They make sounds like a baby cooing and they each have their own special body language. This tortoise will eat grasses, fallen fruit, plants, snails and worms.

We did some online research together and I cut/pasted some information into a Word Doc.  Then I double spaced it and had him use a highlighter to mark his keywords.  We quickly made a simple outline with those words.  The outline prompted him to fill in the details himself rather than just copying the information from online word-for-word.  I acted as his scribe (to help with the "young boy's don't like writing issues) and then typed it up for him (editing nothing).  He is very happy with the end product and I'm excited to see his growth.

Once again I'm using a curriculum that people think you can't use until children are much older and we are enjoying great success with it.  You just have to adapt it to meet your needs and be willing to find the essence rather than implementing it "by the letter".

Yeah!  Happy day in our homeschool. 

Pickles is organizing a book about South American plants and animals this week so we'll get to practice our skills some more this week.

I've been gone for awhile because it seemed like I was running to obstacles whenever I logged on to blog.  First it was picture issues (sizing, saving, and locating) and then I was struggling to edit an existing post.  I just decided to walk away and focus on life.  So, here I am with no fun picture but I'm at least able to get in to post something new. 

It is hard to believe but we are about to begin our fifth week of school.  Wow!  The time is flying by already and it has been relatively "bump-free".  I am so glad that we started school early this year.  We have a good pace going and things are just gearing-up for the fall.  I'm hoping we can move into the fall activities without much additional stress on our routine. 

Pickles is enjoying learning all about the Middle Ages.  This week he has been devouring the Jim Weiss CD we purchased about King Arthur.  I think he has listend to it at least fifteen times.  He had a bit of a fever last week and was fighting a bit of a cough but we forged ahead to complete some school.  Later he made me laugh when he said, "School is fun even when you're sick!".  He did have a dose of tylenol and seemed improved at that moment but still it was cute. 

He also seems to have taken to the Institute for Excellence in Writing techniques that I've been grafting into our day.  We are mainly employing the Key Word Outline model this year as a method to complete our history narratives.  I've been typing up our selection for the week (something from the Core History reading in TOG Y2) and having Pickles use a highlighter to choose the key words.  The next day we reread, make our outline and retell the selection from memory.  Sometimes I will join in and try to retell it too.  He thinks this is funny because I'm not usually as good at it as he is.  Pickles has an amazing memory!

Pumpkin is also really enjoying her first year of preschool.  She has a late fall birthday so we've decided to wait to do her Kindergarten year.  She'll do two years of preschool and then start Kindergarten in 2011.  She desparately wants to learn to read but I just don't think she's ready for the process of blending the letter sounds into words.  We'll see as the year goes on but I'm really happy with the things we are using now.  We are working through this for Language and this for Reasoning/Mathematics.  I've found these resources to be just the right amount of challenge, fun and comfort for her.  I think she will do great this year.  I'm so excited to she her growing-up!  She is learning so much more "outside" of the books this year and we are praying that her heart would continue to be moulded by the loving hands of our Great God. 

Well, that is our school update for the time being.  Things are moving along and seem to be going well.  I praise God for the insight and wisdom God blessed us with during the planning and preparation process for this year.  I've found myself very thankful for the time we spent in prayer and planning because it is already reaping benefits of time, structure, and purposeful days.

I began a Wedding Ring lap quilt for my dh nine years ago (I think) before we moved to Arkansas and had children.  I finished this month as a really belated Father's Day gift for the bestest dad ever.

I was excited to finally cross that UFO (UnFinished Object) off my list but more importantly I'm happy to see something I made blessing my family.