Discovering Us and the World http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Anatafuta/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Mon, 2 Feb 2009 21:31:00 -0600 Mon, 2 Feb 2009 21:31:00 -0600 Today, N and I got more than normal learning in today.  We read for 10 minutes this morning our Nature Reader.  Our nature reader talks about spiders and wasps.  It was amusing to myself of course, to watch N be so excited about reading about spiders and how some spiders hide in flowers from their prey.  So tomorrow, we will hunt down my magnifying glass to go out an look in the flowers to see if we can find any spiders hiding. Then for about 20 minutes was addition math to the hundredth place on the window and an 8-word problems worksheet. Then was spelling, which is copy work, and writing on N's skeleton project. N was pretty excited that we finally worked on that project.  And then N on his working on his spiderman drawings.  I am trying to talk him into making up a story to go along with the pictures.  That's not happening, but oh well. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Anatafuta/653817/ Mon, 2 Feb 2009 21:31:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Anatafuta/653817/ Someone last night was questioning me as to N's reading capabilities.  How do you know he's reading at this level?  Is he being tested, blah, blah, blah.  For guided reading as, they call it in the system, we read a set of readers from Pathway Readers, and he is reading at a certain level.  Before we left the system a year ago, there was mention of sight words students need to know for certain grade levels.  So since I was questioned about it, and probably questioning myself, I went and found this website and had N read the words to me, http://www.ccsd.edu/littletor/classes/second_grade/sight_words.htm and he  did excellent.  And then of course I was questioned about his social life.  Ignorance of the general public. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Anatafuta/651531/ Wed, 28 Jan 2009 12:27:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Anatafuta/651531/ Let give you the history of how he became to participate in the program. As many of you know, N likes to perform in front of people.  I just recently had some exchange students where I take N along with me to the participate with the students.  Well, while we were in class on a break, sure enough, N started singing and performing songs from High School Musical for the students.  Then one of the students even egged him on more by giving N the microphone.  My partner who worked with me with the exchange students was watching him and was amazed.  She invited him to participate. Well here he is giving his first public address: http://www.santamariatimes.com/articles/2009/01/19/news/centralcoast/news04.img I have gotten many, many compliments about how well he had read the small Biography on Martin Luther King, Jr. from the audience.  Many also inquired of his grade; of course came my response: "He's homeschooled."  :) http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Anatafuta/647339/ Mon, 19 Jan 2009 12:45:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Anatafuta/647339/ We have started a new sport I suppose you can say, geocaching.  We have gone out on three caches and have yet to find one.  Actually went out on the same one twice, because it's so close to my house supposedly.  N is enjoying going out on them.  I explained to him that this was like a treasure hunt.  And while we were out on one yesterday, I realized this is a good way to get out to discover nature, or just discover what's in the community.  But I want to find the one near by.  And since this is a new sport, I don't if the treasure that is hidden is actually hidden in the ground tree, is it marked or unmarked. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Anatafuta/645775/ Thu, 15 Jan 2009 10:49:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Anatafuta/645775/ N likes to perform, as some may know.  One day he was performing as usual for our Japanese exchange students.  The students were mesmorized by his performing and adults.  One adult was so mesmorized she asked if he could perform or read something at a Martin Luther King Day celebration.  So for days I thought of how I could make this assignment simplistic for me to put together for him.  Ah, I went onto Unitedstreaming.com and found a video segement that someone had put together on Martin Luther King for elementary age children.  N watched this video that had about 4 segments.  The segments were very short, no more than 2 minutes each.  After the first segement, I had him recite to me what he had heard in the clip.  He recited back good enough for his little attention span.  Then, an idea came to me to have him recite what he viewed to me, and I would type just what he recited back.  N really enjoyed doing that activity.  I would be typing along, and he'd be reading over my shoulders.  And if I didin't get something the way he wanted it, He'd tell me to do it a different way.  So anyways, we typed it up, and I am having him practice reading it in place of doing his regular reading, which takes about 10 minutes. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Anatafuta/643574/ Fri, 9 Jan 2009 23:22:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Anatafuta/643574/ Like most of you -- I'm assuming -- I try and focus some of N's learning around what he is interested and what I feel he should learn. Way back in August I had inquired of N what he wanted to learn about.  He said the solar system, which we just finished up doing, and the human skeleton.  Wow, so I ponder to myself, how can I do this where he will understand at his age level.  One would only need to gloss over the information. The solar sytem was simplistic.  The skeletal part is -- doesn't seem to be too simplistic to me.  I mean it could be simplistic, but for some reason I'm trying to make this harder than it needs to be. He is into the drums and music and performing.  I have so far read a couple of books on the different types of drums.  Ah, and I've just came up with an idea.  Since I have N do copywork, I will gather pictures of different types of drums and copy a sentence about each one.  I will use Unitedstreaming.com to find clips on people playing the different types of drums. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Anatafuta/643566/ Fri, 9 Jan 2009 23:12:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Anatafuta/643566/ Our learning this week will be about Japan, as We will be interacting with students from Japan.  I've been talking about the group with N for a couple of months now.   N is excited about seeing the students and being able to go on afternoon excursions with them this week.   I plan to give him an assignment for this week, to have each student write down in his journal where they are from so that we may find that city on the Japan map.  And hopefully we will make it to the library this week to find a book on Japan. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Anatafuta/637507/ Sun, 28 Dec 2008 22:39:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Anatafuta/637507/ Bang, Bang, Bang, that's what we'll be hearing a lot of this day forward. See, N has a bit of music interest.  One day he made a drum out of a cylophone bowl that had a lid and was banging on it like a drum.  So, one of my quests was to find him a drum.  I did find him a set, a toy set that is.  He was over joyed to have received this instrument. I have decided that these set of noice making equipment will be put to good use.  So as part of learning, I will be having N watch some musical show and listen to the drums and try to play the sound of the drums he's listening to.  By no means do I expect that he will be able to complete such a fete, but at least by doing this exercise he will be learning beats, and listening to music.  I have already started him out on this exercise once.  See we have a favorite musical movie called Drumline, a perfect start. And in the next month or so, we will be researching the other types of drums and learning about them.  He already knows of the bongo drum.  I think I will search out a concert that features drums.  Although I don't know that I'll find such variation here in the Santa Maria/Orcutt area. (one of the many reasons I miss the Bay Area, it's cultural learning)  http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Anatafuta/637218/ Sat, 27 Dec 2008 23:10:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Anatafuta/637218/ Who says that learning has to be during the daytime. Well, I had given N some cough syrup, Dimetap.  This medicine is keeping him up.  It's now 11:30 p. m. on Friday evening.  So since he wouldn't go to sleep, I decided to have him read a tad bit to me. From our A-squared curriculum a history for little folks.  After he read that for a bit.  He said he enjoyed reading it.  So I decided to print out the first 13 pages to read later on in the week. We then went online to look up information for our Space project that we have been working on of and on over a 2-month span.  Tonight we are working on Pluto.  We have been using this website to complete our project, http://library.thinkquest.org/5014/. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Anatafuta/636964/ Sat, 27 Dec 2008 01:32:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Anatafuta/636964/ Happy Kwanzaa to you everyone. Kwanzaa is an African American holiday celebrated the day after Christmas.   This is a holiday celebrating family, community, purpose, creativity, works, spirituality. N is excitedly looking forward to celebrating Kwanzaa.  This year I introduced him more to the holiday by us creating a simple lapbook about the holiday. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Anatafuta/636149/ Tue, 23 Dec 2008 23:48:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Anatafuta/636149/