http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcmyworld/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:11:00 -0600 Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:11:00 -0600 with blog posts lately.  Seems there are too many other things to fill my waking hours.  We went to my Dad's ranch this weekend for an early Thanksgiving.  Always an enjoyable time.  We were even able to hunt arrowheads, a favorite pasttime on Sunday afternoons when I was growing up.  I didn't find any arrowheads, only pieces of pottery and petrified wood.  I was able to share the experience with my kiddos, pointing out to them the signs of long ago Indians in the area, specifically the gray "burnt rocks" indicating there had been a camp/cooking fire. We expect to move Mom into the back house this week.  She's begun bringing boxes over, but we need to get the final certificate of occupancy, hopefully Wednesday.  School - I'm looking forward to next semester, hoping things will be more settled by then.  We've learned a bit about the Hittites, Cretes, etc this week, coinciding with our study of Israel preparing to enter the promised land.  We're also studying communication.  I'm pretty sure I didn't do a very good job teaching about telecommunications, lasers and satellites.  Science is my weakest subject and it shows!  C had a good math week.  We use MUS with her, but she rarely enjoys math.  This week, though, she got the concepts quickly, aced most of her work, and even said math might be her favorite subject!  I'm keeping this short so I can get some prep time in for school tomorrow.  Hoping your Thanksgiving week is filled with reminders of God's faithfulness.  http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcmyworld/746773/ Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:11:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcmyworld/746773/ School, that is.  Between remodel errands, working part-time and watching three small children a couple of times a week, our school times have been hit and miss.  But today was a good day, so I'll go to sleep with that thought to comfort me! In Bible, we're currently in Joshua 2 reading about the spies and Rahab.  With Weaver, our other studies correlate and have included communication and espionage.  So part of our school time yesterday included a trip to the mall where we trailed an unsuspecting shopper, trying to get information, such as what they were shopping for, apparent moods, etc.  The kids had a lot of fun with that.  Then today, K's writing assignment in Writing Strands had him hide and watch while someone did a good deed, then prepare to report on it in writing.  I had dh help out with this by putting away the clean dishes.  It seemed to go right along with our spying activities.  We've also discussed communication, and will have some fun with codes in the next day or two. Dh's near and dear cousin is in the hospital following surgery for a brain aneurysm.  Your prayers are appreciated.  The back house should be completed in about two weeks, hopefully in time to get my mother moved in before Thanksgiving.  I'm sure she'd like to be settled in her own place by then.  Tomorrow's plans include more remodel errands - buying the last of the light fixtures, Art at the Library program with a couple of other homeschool friends, karate in the evening, and whatever school we happen to get to.  I want to make sure we get in the three R's and Bible if nothing else. I'm looking forward to an extra hour of sleep this weekend?  How about you? http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcmyworld/740556/ Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:32:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcmyworld/740556/ I'm not nearly as creative as many others in the workbox craze, but I do like that it helps my children do a portion of their work independently.  This has been a big help on days when I work outside the home, or even when I'm working from home with pressing deadlines.  So tomorrow's workboxes are planned as followes: K - 3rd grade 1.  Bible time with Mom - We're in Joshua ch.1  2. Learning about the earth's hemispheres. This one will involve paint and a styrofoam ball. He should enjoy. 3. Math - Tomorrow he'll cover two lessons, since much of this is still review from what he learned in Saxon 3.  He does this work independently, leaving me time to work with C. 4.  Handwriting - just a sheet from a generic cursive writing book. Tomorrow's letter of emphasis is J 5.  Spelling - a couple of exercises in his Spelling Workout D workbook 6.  Reading - Make a paper bag puppet for one of the characters in a book he just finished (Ralph S. Mouse) then tell the main points of the story using the puppet. - He doesn't enjoy writing, so a formal book report doesn't work well yet. Hopefully this will also help him with his presentation skills. 7. Working on an exercise in Writing Strands.  We're only on our second exercise so it's hard to tell if this book is going to be a good fit for us through the year.  It's started very gently, which has helped with K. I can see improvement in his writing from last year, but know we're not yet up to par.  Funny that he's such a reluctant writer, considering that I supplement our income with writing.  Doesn't look like C is going to have the writing bug either 8. Journal - free writing time. 6 minutes. 9. Keyboard practice. He's doing pretty well with this so far this year. 10. First Language Lessons Grade 3 - Tomorrow's emphasis is on narrating a passage I'll read aloud. 11. UTAWG - Uninterrupted time alone with God. This has been very informal and unstructured.  I turn him loose with his Bible and a journal.  Lately he's been reading in Genesis and is up to chapter 24 I think. Lots of workboxers do a better job of incorporating fun into their workboxes than I do.  Right now he gets plenty of "fun" outside of school time and I really need to emphasize their true subjects.  We miss days or subjects often enough with other commitments that I want to "hit the books" when we can.   And for C - 1st grade 1 and 2 - Same as above. 3. MUS - Working on <, > and =.  It's always a struggle with C. She says she doesn't get it, but does fine on the problems when she puts effort into it.  The problem is she'd rather moan and groan than just do it.  I pray for her regularly!  4. Reading - reading aloud from an Abeka reader that I stumbled across. I'd like to have more of these, but not willing to pay the full price from Abeka. I can always find something else for her to read aloud from. Also will review some lessons from Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading making up silly sentences using recently learned words. 5 and 6 - Pages in her phonics (Horizons) and Spelling (Spectrum) workbooks.  7 - Journal - Free writing, though lately she's taken the lazy way out and has chosen to write "I don't know what to write" over and over. I'm hoping this is a fad that will pass.  Refer to her #3 above! 8. UTAWG 9. First Language Lessons - 1st grade. Learning about common and proper nouns. 10. Writing - Learning about sentences and writing some sentences.  I use a workbook for this, though I don't remember the publisher off the top of my head.  I think that if I have two reluctant writers, I'm not presenting it well as the teacher. 11. Let's Play Library - she set up a bookstore in the living room today, allowing customers to purchase from her stock of books. So since all the stuff is out in the middle of the room anyway, thought I'd take advantage of it and let her play with a library set I printed up from http://homeschooling.about.com/od/freeprintables/ss/library.htm We'll probably also babysit for our neighbors who are trying to learn Mongolian as they will be relocating there within a month.  And hoping to squeeze in a trip to the library.  Hubby is traveling this week, so we're able to school into the evening if needed.  Thanks for reading along! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcmyworld/735686/ Mon, 12 Oct 2009 23:36:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcmyworld/735686/   When posting about our recent projects, I forgot to include our windsocks.  We've been learning about explorers and how they used the wind to help navigate their routes.  Windsocks seemed like a fitting project.  Now, off to get in some math! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcmyworld/734421/ Thu, 8 Oct 2009 13:33:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcmyworld/734421/ Our core subjects haven't gotten as much attention as I'd like lately, but we've gotten in several art projects lately.  I had intentionally wanted to increase the number and scope of art or arts & crafts projects this year since that is something C enjoys so much. C's Self Portrait - I have a friend that does art projects in the classroom for her PS daughter.  She wanted to share this with my kids, so we went over to her house today.  Before completing their portraits, they studied a self-portrait by Van Gogh, one by Kahlo, and a couple of others.  She and K really enjoyed this project. K's Self Portrait - His is as if he's standing in front of our house.  The house is behind him, along with a tree in our back yard. The brown on his face is a Band-Aid, due to a recent run-in with the fence.    The kids participate in an Art Around the World project at the library each month. September's project was bolo ties.  I never would have come up with this one on my own! Then on our own we did these offsetting striped pictures.  K's is a dinosaur, while C chose a fish theme.  They liked how these turned out.   And finally, a couple of weeks ago we did seasonal trees. C's are on the left and go in order - spring, summer, fall and winter.  K chose to do some modern trees (pink, purple and striped) and his are spring, autumn, winter, summer.    If only they enjoyed the core subjects as much as art! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcmyworld/734415/ Thu, 8 Oct 2009 13:00:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcmyworld/734415/ Today was a reasonably good day. I haven't been anywhere!  No errands, no outside classes, no working outside the home.  And it feels so good to just stay home!  I babysat for the neighbor for a couple of hours (friends who are headed to Mongolia to live in about 5 weeks) but we had managed to get most of our schoolwork done before they came over. We are continuing to do a modified version of workboxes around here.  It's allowed me to have the kids work through a few boxes while I'm at work, so that not everything is on hold until I get home.  I still need to be more intentional about including fun boxes and hopefully this will come with practice. My creativity has been a bit slow in recent months! We went to the State Fair on Monday. Dh and my mother were able to go with us. Here they let homeschoolers choose a day to attend, notify them ahead of time, and admission is free. Yay!! I forgot to take the camera and it's been so long since I've included photos in a post.  Add that to my "must do soon" list. Then on Tues & Wed I worked a few hours at the office.  Not many, but combined with all the remodel errands, it seems like there's never enough time to do everything I want us to do for school. So though I had planned to work a few hours today, it seemed more beneficial to stay home and have a real school day. K's workboxes for the day included Bible study (a review of Deuteronomy with me), spelling test on the computer (100%!), journaling, exercise in Writing Strands (his writing skills are below where they should be), Saxon math 5/4 using DIVE CD (day 2 of this. So far, so good, but I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop), reading Ralph S. Mouse, UTAWG (Uninterrupted time alone with God), handwriting (learning cursive), our first ever hymn study and P.E. (trampoline time). We still have a couple of things on the agenda for this evening while Dh is at church teaching. C's workboxes also included Deutronomy,  spelling and phonics worksheets, journaling, her first lesson in MUS Beta (attitude issues with this today), reading alone and with me, sequencing events in a series of pictures, UTAWG (she wrote out a really sweet prayer!) and a couple of lessons from Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading. I plan to have them both work on latchhook projects they have in progress while I watch  Survivor tonight. Yes, now you know one of my main vices. There's very few redeeming attributes to the show, though I understand there is a Christian in the cast. Not sure which one she is or how her beliefs will play out. Dh brought home our annual sack of green chile. I think he got 20 pounds already roasted.  We then just freeze it in smaller bags so it will be ready when needed throughout the year.  The smell of roasted green chile is heavenly to this NM gal.  Wonder what smells we'll have in heaven? And can someone clue me in?  I'm pretty technologically illiterate. What is an ipod vs  an mp3 player? Which one is the most beneficial to the homeschooling mom and family? Thanks for your input Robin  http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcmyworld/730157/ Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:57:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcmyworld/730157/ Wow, the first few days/weeks are tough after taking most of the summer off.  K, who has a naturally ability with math, is really struggling. Multiplication and division just aren't becoming automatic yet.  I have to come up with another angle to present this material so that he can retain it and understand it better.  Funny, he can figure out a division problem such as 648 divided by 4 in his head (slowly) but can't do it using the algorithm and putting pencil to paper.  And his mind wanders so much when he does his fact problems.  He does better if I say it out loud, have him repeat it, then give me the answer. But to simply look at the problem and write the answer is enough to have me pull my hair out! C, I think she does need review of the end of MUS Alpha, but her's is less about not remembering how, and more about a lack of diligence and effort. She'd rather say she can't or give the wrong answer rather than just get it done correctly.  She's a perfect example of "stubborn to her own hurt." Can't imagine where she gets that from!! I think the workboxes will work ok for us once we get in the swing.  But this week, I've worked every morning, usually have an errand or two in the afternoons, so we're starting schoolwork so late that our focus isn't what I'd hoped. But next week, I won't be working as dh will be traveling again. So we'll be able to have school in the mornings with fresh minds and hearts.  Hopefully it will be just the ticket to get our year rolling. I have incorporated a few more fun things so far - a benefit of the workboxes. I've tentatively planned out the boxes for the week considering how many days for spelling, vocab, math, etc. Then I've purposefully left some of the boxes empty in my planning, specifically to insert fun things.  And I'm working on implementing more arts & crafts for my dd - playing to her strengths and weaknesses.  I still (and will probably always) struggle with feelings that I am neglecting my kids when I spend time helping my family, working outside the home, working on the remodel, caring for other children, etc. I would love to be able to simply sit at the table or the sofa or the floor for uninterrupted days of focused learning. But it doesn't appear that's the life God has called me to  - at least not at this season. So instead, I pray to make wise use of the blocks of time we do have. God knows the futures He has in store for my children, so I am trying to trust Him to prepare them for those futures.  They are such a blessing. I cannot believe that God would love me so much as to give me the gift of caring for these children, watching them grow and learn, giving and receiving love.  It's overwhelming to me, a sinner like Paul - even a chief among sinners.  So off I go for more hugs and kisses. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcmyworld/725863/ Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:05:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcmyworld/725863/ didn't look like most of our weeks will, hopefully. We had one "formal" day of school, complete with workboxes. Then an errand & travel day, followed by a few field trip filled days.  We managed to take in: Tucson Children's Museum - the kids enjoyed, but not as much as the Baltimore Children's Museum last fall. International Wildlife Museum - I liked this one. Over 450 stuffed animals, some pictured in their habitats. Very informative, plenty of hands-on, and reasonably priced. T-Rex Museum - K liked this one. It was a bit hokey and too evolutionistic for my tastes, but we met another homeschool family while on the tour and had a nice conversation about what our follow-up conversations with the kids would be about evolution vs. creation. Reid Park Zoo - A small zoo in Tucson, but very well kept.  Their animals seemed much cleaner than the ones at our local zoo. Tombstone - There was a special Rendezvous with the Gunfighters weekend going on. Unfortunately, we were pressed for time and didn't get to take in all the activities. We were able to see a short funny gunfighting skit with a couple of bumbling bad guys and an over the hill sheriff.  The kids enjoyed that. I hope we can go back sometime and stay longer. Extended P.E. - Hours spent in the hotel swimming pool Social skills - Met up with friends of my dh's and a friend of mine from high school. Kids got to play with other new children, and spend time patiently waiting for the adults to finish up our catching up. Life Skills - I think anytime we travel we develop additional lifeskills - from ordering meals at restaurants, to navigating the maps of the various museums we went to, to budgeting the limited money they brought along for souvenirs. We'll take tomorrow off to regroup, catch up on laundry and plan the week. Then back at it on Tuesday.  Hope your week was one filled with learning and loving! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcmyworld/724486/ Sun, 6 Sep 2009 19:11:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcmyworld/724486/ Lots of extra stuff going on. Computer issues, vehicle issues, remodel issues, and the never ending "too much stuff on my plate issues." Ok, done with the whining. On to other things. Looks like we'll only get in one "formal" day of school this week. I had hoped to get some additional bookwork in tomorrow before heading out to join hubby i Tucson for a few days, but tomorrow looks pretty well shot, due to the aforementioned "issues." The kids did reasonably well, today.  Of course, we've forgotten what math even is, much less how to actually solve problems. But attitudes were ok, and we worked through our workboxes pretty much as I had anticipated. C seems to have misplaced her "Yes, I can" attitude, substituting it with a "this is too hard" one instead. Hopefully, we'll switch back to the better one soon. A friend came over to pick my brain as she and her husband are considering homeschooling their 1st and 4th graders. Good thing she didn't stay for the whole day. She might have run screaming and pulling her hair!  The good in today?  I wouldn't trade learning with my kids for anything in the world. They both enjoyed their time reading their Bibles. K's journaling went ok, and we had a good trip to the library. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for a public school teacher who has 25 of these kids who've forgotten everything they ever knew, and must be retrained over the course of the next few weeks. I think our re-training period will be much shorter than many of our PS counterparts. At least I hope so! Blessings to you. Looking forward to a new day tomorrow. So glad His mercies are new everyday! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcmyworld/723117/ Tue, 1 Sep 2009 21:27:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcmyworld/723117/ Looks like we're actually going to start school tomorrow.  I've spent much of today preparing and organizing and am looking forward to getting back to a routine.  Only for a couple of days though as the kids and I will join dh in Tucson on Wednesday.  He's teaching a class there, so we'll go and play tourist while he's working.  I think it's the closest thing we're going to get to a vacation this year.  I, of course, plan to throw in a couple of educational activities or stops. The kids are simply looking forward to enjoying the hotel's swimming pool. We still have a few things straggling from last spring that we didn't finish, so we'll start with those and a fairly light load.  We need to finish up a lapbook on the book of Numbers, and K needs to complete his last 5 lessons in Saxon Math 3 before we move on to the next level. We will be attempting to implement the Workbox system that's all the rage these days.  (As a non-conformist, it's difficult to accept doing what everyone else is doing!)  I think it will help me with scheduling, making sure those once a week areas of study actually get included, rather than left out.  And I'm hoping it will increase self-motivation/independence in the kiddos. While nothing is set in stone, these are the curriculum choices we're currently anticipating: K-3rd grade Bible, science and social studies - Weaver Vol 3 - American Revolution through the Civil War Math - Saxon 5/4 with DIVE instruction.  I'm concerned this will be too much for K. While he will "get" the concepts, I think the computer presentation and expected work level may be too much for him.  We'll slow it down though and take it at his level.  He's working a year ahead of grade, but of course, his organizational and concentrational skills aren't a year ahead! - (Yes, I know concentrational isn't a word. Couldn't think of one more appropriate.) Language Arts - a combination of First Language Lessons 3, Wordly Wise, Spelling Workout D by Modern Curriculum Press, Writing Strands and Wisdom Words. My concern here would be with Writing Strands. We've not used it before and writing is K's weakness. We'll supplement with other things as needed, Spanish - various workbooks, games, etc, but I'm really hoping to get he and C into a local Spanish class for children. Waiting on a call back. Life Skills - Contenders for the Faith Other items will be added from time to time, including art, keyboarding, karate and piano.   C's curriculum - 1st grade Bible, science and social studies - Weaver along with her brother Math - MUS, finishing up Alpha and planning to start Beta within 2 weeks. Language Arts - Again, a variety. AOP for phonics, Spectrum Spelling and whatever on-hand resources I have to strengthen skills. Life Skills - Keepers of the Faith. Also planning some regular craft time with Goggy (my mom) since she will be living nearby in a few weeks. C will also be involved in Spanish and art, and probably piano.   Listing it out it all seems pretty simple and easy to implement. So why is my dining table covered with additional programs and resources?!! Ah, one of the joys of homeschooling - adjusting to meet the needs of my children as individuals. Hoping your school year is off to a great start! And if you haven't started yet, I hope you are looking forward with anticipation!   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcmyworld/722756/ Mon, 31 Aug 2009 23:57:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcmyworld/722756/