Homeschool Stories

Jacob's Blog Entry

2011-10-11T15:48:00.000-04:00

Jacob's Writing/Grammar assignment for today.

Dislike : I don't like school because it is boring when I have to wait for Mommy. I don't like science because my microscope doesn't even work!

I also dislike writing. It takes up too much time.

Like : I do like a few things about school. I like reading and math. I really like lunch! I like about everything not mentioned in the Dislike section. I like computer time also. I can play something educational on the computer, but the best thing of all is definitely FINISHING!!!

Microscopes and Barbarians

2011-09-14T23:10:00.002-04:00

Today started with science for Jacob. Let's just say my microscope-using-skills could use a little brushing up. It took a few different tries, but we were finally able to see a few skin cells. Unlike high school, I did manage to not break any slides or slide covers! With a little more practice, I think I'll be confident enough to be able to assist him. And yes, that's Liberty peeking over the table at me. Such a cutie!

And here she is again munching on some cheerios.

Last year after Halloween, I bought costumes for this year on clearance. Well it just so happens that the ones I found for the boys were a knight and barbarian. Perfect for our study on the fall of Rome at the hands of the barbarians! The boys dressed up today and did a little role-play fight while Leanna looked on.

Sir Joshua the Brave

Jacob the Barbarian

Sword fighting

Jacob is triumphant!

And So It Begins....

2011-09-13T22:33:00.000-04:00

It's been a long time since I've blogged about our school adventures! The last two years have been crazy with different life issues so blogging took a back burner. We still schooled, but very non-traditionally with a lot of unschooling. This year will be different.

Yes, this year we'll be buckling down and keeping a tighter schedule. Yesterday was our first day and things went extremely well. We now have a 5th grader, 3rd grader, 1st grader and a very mobile 16 month old tottering around. We're starting our school day at 9am with a short Bible devotion. The next 5.5 hours are scheduled out in thirty minute increments for each subject, including lunch and a 15 minute snack break. After today though I'm thinking about trimming the times down. The kids work very fast and we've been able to cover the needed material with time left over. My goal has always been to finish by lunch time so maybe we'll get to that.

We're using a few new things for curriculum this year. Tim picked out LIFEPAC for science for both Jacob and Joshua. It's a little bit more "textbook" than I like, but it can be self-guided which is a big help since Jacob can mostly work on his own.

For grammar, I found Mastering the Mechanics for all three levels. I ordered them online so we're still waiting to get them in. I'm very excited about starting and keeping the same format with each child.

Today we started reading The Story of the World: The Middle Ages: From the Fall of Rome to the Rise of the Renaissance. History is one of my favorites because of the classical approach we're using. If I could have learned this way, I think I would have enjoyed it so much more! I'm looking forward to finding some supplemental activities to bring history alive.

Math and spelling are staying the same, progressing at our own speed. At Tim's request, we'll also be doing US Geography. And then there's the usual extra activities. The kids are excited that they each have 30 minutes of "educational" computer time on the schedule. We also got MOSI passes again this year with the IMAX so we can go see movies any time we want.

All in all, we're all pretty excited about starting the new year. It's going to be a great one!

Working hard on handwriting

Individual reading time. Not sure how MY bed was chosen as the spot.

An Egyptian Experiment

2010-03-31T16:27:00.005-04:00

The shaduf consists of an upright frame on which is suspended a long pole or branch, at a distance of about one-fifth of its length from one end. At the long end of this pole hangs a bucket, skin bag, or bitumen-coated reed basket, while the short end carries a weight (clay, stone, or similar) which serves as the counterpoise of a lever. When correctly balanced, the counterweight will support a half-filled bucket, so some effort is used to pull an empty bucket down to the water, but only the same effort is needed to lift a full bucket.

With an almost effortless swinging and lifting motion, the waterproof vessel is used to scoop up and carry water from one body of water (typically, a river or pond) to another. At the end of each movement, the water is emptied out into runnels that convey the water along irrigation ditches in the required direction.

We decided to build our shaduf out of k'nex using the design for making a lever. It worked really well except for swiveling from left to right. But it gave the kids a good idea of how the Egyptians got water from the Nile River to irrigate their crops. Jacob wasn't interested in helping at first, but once we get the water out, he joined in.

Tying the "bucket" onto the shaduf

Seeing how it works. You can see Jacob is getting interested.

Scooping up the water

Scooping more water. Jacob decided it was pretty cool after all.

March Update

2010-03-19T11:58:00.003-04:00

Time for an update on our schooling adventures! We've been pretty busy these past few weeks, making up for the time we lost last fall. The plan now is to finish a few subjects before Baby #4 makes her appearance and continue a few subjects into the summer.

Joshua is doing very well with reading. I keep reminding myself, it doesn't matter how many workbook pages he gets done, the goal of phonics is for him to read. His phonics curriculum is one thing we'll be continuing through the summer in order to finish. He hasn't yet developed a love for reading, probably due to the struggles that he has with it. But we keep trudging along and I know he'll get it.

Jacob is tackling the parts of speech in grammar. He can identify nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. He's having fun incorporating some of these new words into his creative writing. I always love to read the things he comes up with.

Leanna can read the phonics alphabet chart without any help now - which means she knows all the letter sounds and clue words. We've worked a tiny bit on blending letters, but she doesn't seem completely ready.

Math is going very well for both boys. We'll definitely finish up by June. Joshua is telling time to the minute and Jacob is having fun drawing shapes on coordinate planes. Leanna is practicing counting and adding.

Science and history continue to be the favorite subjects. We are into animals now in science and are learning the characteristics of each classification. The kids are adding things to their Creation notebooks all the time. This week we learned about fish and next week we're onto birds. We'll finish up with a trip to the zoo to see all the different animals we learned about!

We're almost done with Tirzah for history. The kids are enjoying the story and so am I. Our next project is to make an shaduf (pronounced shay-doof), which the Egyptians used to get water from the Nile River to their crops. I also have a few other things planned, I just need to find the energy!

Jacob is also studying Florida history and putting together a State scrapbook. I'm hoping to end the study with a trip to the http://www.tampabayhistorycenter.org/index.html which has several exhibits on Florida history as well as history of our specific area.

All in all, we've had a great time the last few weeks. We've gotten a lot accomplished and the kids are really enjoying learning. There have been a few rough days, but many more days that remind me why I love homeschooling.

Fish Collages for their Creation notebook

My Budding Artists

2010-03-14T18:36:00.001-04:00

For science this week, each of the kids drew the life cycle of a frog for their Creation notebooks. They had a sample to look at and I think all of them did a fantastic job!

Jacob

Joshua

Leanna

Wordless Wednesday

2010-02-24T18:53:00.002-05:00

Jacob's favorite Olympic Sport (if you click the picture, it will enlarge so you can read it)

Science Fair Winner

2010-02-11T14:08:00.012-05:00

Jacob participated in the Homeschool Science Fair at MOSI today. His project was to make a battery out of nickels and pennies and experiment with the different number of coins. His hypothesis was that the more coins he used, the higher the voltage the battery would produce.

He had to mix vinegar and salt to make an electrolyte solution that would enable the electrolytes to pass through. He did 3 stacks - 4 of each coin, 8 of each, and 12 of each. And he was correct, the stack with 24 total coins produced the highest voltage. He used daddy's multimeter to measure the voltage. And just for fun, Papa gave us a small low voltage LED light to experiment with and see if we could get it to light up.

We ran two trials, well a few more really, but only two that we reported, and the data was different. Jacob learned, with some help from one of daddy's co-workers, that the difference in voltage readings could be due to the current not flowing exactly the same since the coins are not completely flat. If they don't make a good connection, the voltage won't be as high.

For the fair today, Jacob built another coin battery (we couldn't save the old one because the electrolyte solution dries and it stops working) to show the judges and have on display. I helped him get everything set up and made sure he had the multimeter and the LED light working. Then parents have to leave. The kids are left to face the judges completely alone. They are questioned by 3 judges, are expected to be able to explain their project and answer any questions. I took the two others and we went to waste an hour or so playing at the museum.

After the judging was over, I reclaimed Jacob and we headed for a quick lunch break. That was when he broke the news that the multimeter's batteries died. Great, I thought, there went his chance of winning. He told me one judge got to see it working, then they found some batteries to let him use to show the other two judges. Whew, crisis avoided and I felt much better. He said that he was able to show the judges the voltage, the LED light, and explain about why his experiment had different data for the two trials.

On to the awards! There were not as many participants this year, probably less than half of what there was last year. There were five in his age group, ages 6 to 9 years. Out of those five kids, Jacob won first place!!! He was so proud of himself and we were both proud of him!! He decided all the hard work and effort was worth it.

Jacob mixing the salt for the electrolyte solution.

Wetting the paper towel pieces that go in between the coins

Helping Daddy measure the voltage

Yea, it lights up!

The finished project - Money Power

At the fair setting up

Testing to make sure it's working

The winners for ages 6 - 9 years

First Place!!!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-02-10T20:32:00.001-05:00

Reading to your kids

2010-02-04T13:50:00.006-05:00

Our current list of read-alouds:

Tirzah
Mummies & Pyramids (Magic Tree House Research Guide)
Space: A Nonfiction Companion to Midnight on the Moon (Magic Tree House Research Guide) - starting this one today
The Tale of Despereaux- yes, we're still working our way through this one
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - I'll count this one even though it's daddy's book with the kids, which I consider above and beyond "school".

And on the shelf ready to be started within the next week or so are:

Mummies in the Morning (Magic Tree House, No. 3)
Hour of the Olympics (Magic Tree House #16)
How to Make a Mummy Talk

Why so much reading, you ask? And why all at the same time? This is the part of our homeschool that has been shaped by the Charlotte Mason method.

For example, Charlotte’s students used living books rather than dry textbooks. Living books are usually written in story form by one author who has a passion for the subject. A living book makes the subject “come alive.”

Tirzah is an example of a living book we're using for Ancient Egypt. The author tells the story of Tirzah, an Israelite girl, living under the rule of the Pharaoh. They are waiting for Moses to lead the people out of Egypt. Although we just started, the kids are excited about listening to what happens next. And because of their knowledge of Bible stories, they already know what will happen when the last plague hits Egypt and the Israelites are finally allowed to leave.

Although some may not, I consider many of the Magic Tree House books to be good living books for us. Yes, they may not be the highest quality literature, but they captivate my children and we have learned so much from them. I have found books that cover both history and science topics, as shown in the lists above.

Now to my confession. I never really enjoyed reading to my kids when they were tiny. Yes, we're all told how important it is to read every day to your baby. But really, how boring is The Cat in the Hat when you've read it 100 times already to the same child who really couldn't care less? My love of reading to my kids started to develop over the past year and a half to two years. What could be more exciting than having your kids hanging on to every word of Charlotte's Web, The Trumpet of the Swan, or The Tale of Despereaux? And hang they do, waiting for what will happen next. Even Leanna, at 4 years old, follows along, listening intently. Now, do they sit quietly in one spot, never moving, doing nothing but listening? Heck no, not in this house! We typically pile on my bed for our read-alouds and Jacob will usually snuggle beside me. The other two are either on the bed or the floor, sometimes coloring, sometimes playing quietly with toys, but listening all the same. Then comes one of my favorite parts, narration.

A key component of Charlotte Mason’s method is narration. In simple terms, narration is telling back in your own words what you just read or heard. It’s a wonderful evaluation tool that requires much thinking and assimilating on the student’s part.

Jacob is developing wonderful narration skills and can repeat, almost word for word sometimes, what he has just heard. Joshua participates a little, mostly with lots of prompts from me asking what happened. And Leanna will try and answer a question or two. But I know they are listening, even if they can't remember every detail. We also do drawing/coloring narration. All three kids are great at coloring what they have just listened to.

My other favorite part is listening to Jacob read, especially when he has asked for a turn. One of our main goals for our children's educations has been to instill a love for reading. I think we've done a fairly decent job with Jacob. He literally devours books that are above his age level and reads any time he can get a chance. Hearing him read from the Bible, our read-aloud, or even from his favorite comic strip, Calvin & Hobbes, makes my heart swell with pride. Joshua's reading skills are coming along and I hope that it will be soon that he can join in on reading aloud to the family.

My only complaint about our read-alouds? Not having enough time. I struggle with fitting it in and some days we don't get to read at all. Those other things, like math and language arts, seem to get in the way. I had a lofty goal of reading for an hour or two every single day. Of course, that hasn't happened, which is why it's taking us months and months to get through one book. But the kids remember. They only need small reminders of what happened when we last read and we are back to the adventure in the book.

With all that said, I think it's time to grab our space research guide, snuggle up in bed, and launch a rocket into space to see what we can learn about the solar system.

Starting our Journery to Ancient Egypt

2010-02-02T15:59:00.008-05:00

We started our study of Ancient Egypt by creating a salt dough map of Egypt. It's amazing what you can learn from salt, flour, and a pizza box!

The kids measured and mixed the ingredients, then patted it out into the shape of the country. They each took a turn painting some of the water and the land. We labeled the different parts and talked about why they were important. We learned why Upper Egypt is actually south of Lower Egypt. It's higher in elevation, which is also why the Nile River flows north. We learned that the Nile River is the world's longest river and that the Sahara Desert is the world's largest desert. We talked about why the terrain is grassy along the coasts, but desert and dry where there is no water.

The best part is that they remembered everything we talked about and shared it with daddy at dinner. We also started reading Mummies & Pyramids (Magic Tree House Research Guide). Today we're planning on making a reed boat, using straws for reeds, to show the type of boat the Egyptians used on the Nile River. Check back for more pictures!

Nature study: Trees

2010-01-25T13:38:00.007-05:00

Today we spent some time outside looking at the oak tree in our front yard. The kids each drew a picture of it and picked a leaf to go in their Creation notebooks. Jacob did a "Tree Detective" worksheet, noting the trunk texture, leaf shape, type of nut/seed of the tree, etc. It was very windy and the kids had to weight their papers down with rocks!

A Story

2010-01-21T15:17:00.000-05:00

Wordless Wednesday: Picking out flowers

2010-01-20T12:22:00.002-05:00

Scientific progress

2010-01-19T20:36:00.004-05:00

Just an update on our experiments. Our bean seed has sprouted nicely. Tomorrow the kids will draw one more picture showing the progress. Then we're going to plant it in some soil.

You can see how the bean part opened up at the top now and leaves are emerging.

The carnation drinking the yellow water has turned a dull, yellowish color.

And the carnation drinking the red water has at least one flower that has turned a pretty pinkish hue.

I'm not completely sure about the rock candy. The water level is going down some, showing evaporation is happening, but the string doesn't seem to have any crystals on it yet. We'll keep waiting.

And this is why we switched

2010-01-19T17:39:00.004-05:00

This is Joshua's writing on regular notebook paper.

And this is his writing on the Handwriting Without Tears paper.

I am so glad that we made this switch. The paper alone is a much better fit for him, but also he's relearning how to form all the letters and numbers.

Making Progress

2010-01-15T12:41:00.004-05:00

Our flowers are slowly beginning to slightly turn colors. If you look very closely, you can see a bit of green in the first and red in the second. If you click the pictures, they will show up larger.

Our bean has also sprouted! It has a tiny root coming out the bottom and a stem coming out the top. Very exciting!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-01-13T18:50:00.002-05:00

Rock Candy and a Seed

2010-01-12T20:28:00.013-05:00

As part of our study of rocks and crystals, we are experimenting with making our own rock candy. Each child got their own jar, picked a color, and is making a string of candy. I sure hope it turns out!

We're also sprouting a bean seed in a jar with a wet paper towel.

Writing

2010-01-11T23:17:00.004-05:00

Jacob's copywork for today. Please ignore the fact that he forgot his name and used his brother's instead.

Joshua started Handwriting Without Tears last week. He is doing the first grade book which reviews capitals, numbers and then works on lowercase letters. I already think that it's going to be an excellent choice to correct the bad writing habits he has.

Leanna started the Handwriting Without Tears Kindergarten book. She will learn each of the capitals, numbers and then some lowercase letters. She is thrilled to have her own book and is doing quite well with it so far. She can write most of the capitals already, but I believe this will help to ensure she doesn't develop any bad writing habits and help her transition smoothly into lowercase writing.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-01-06T18:39:00.002-05:00

Back to work!

2010-01-05T21:37:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we started back to school after our Christmas break. I must say that I haven't encountered any of the attitude problems that typically prevail after any kind of break we have. There has been a little resistance here and there, but none of the stubbornness that is usual. Maybe my eldest child is maturing? One can hope.

We started back full swing in hopes of getting back into a regular school routine. The last few months have been difficult with me being sick and now that I'm feeling better, we need to make up for lost time. We're doubling up on history lessons for a few weeks in an attempt to finish up the first unit of our curriculum. I am anxious to get through it because the second unit begins our study on Ancient Egypt and I have so many fun, hands-on activities planned. I'm looking forward to it and I think the kids will really have fun.

Science is going well. We just started Day Three of creation and are learning about rocks and the rock cycle. We're going to grow rock candy and possibly some salt crystals. After that, we get to start studying about plants, sprouting a bean seed, growing a bean plant in a box showing how it will grow towards the light, and the typical "memorize the parts of a plant" stuff. It's so fun doing this with all the kids and seeing each of them gain something from it at their own level. The best part is seeing them excited about learning. They were thrilled tonight when I returned from the library with a bunch of books of the different types of rocks we talked about.

I discovered a fun new way to practice math facts. With Jacob, I use 3 dice. Each roll, he adds two dice and then multiplies the sum by the third die. He loves this game and it's great practice for his times tables. Joshua uses two dice and adds them together to practice his addition facts. Both boys are somewhat lacking in their math facts so I'm excited to have found something that they love doing.

Joshua and Leanna will both be starting new handwriting curriculum Handwriting Without Tears tomorrow. I'm hoping it lives up to its name. Leanna was excitedly looking through her new workbook today while Joshua was just glad we didn't have to start it today. But I think it will be a wonderful addition to our schedule and give them both the writing foundation that they need. I struggle with Joshua's writing ability and I'm hoping this will be the answer.

This week, Jacob started dictation. We started with a short poem by Robert Louis Stevenson. I was very impressed with how well he did and he was quick to point out that he only misspelled one word on "my very first time ever!"

Dictation is the method Charlotte Mason used to teach spelling and reinforce grammar and composition skills to her students. For a dictation exercise, give the child a copy of a selected passage and instruct the child to study the passage until he is sure of the spelling of all the words and knows of all the capitalization and punctuation. When the child is ready, dictate the passage one line or sentence at a time, saying each line or sentence only once and pausing while the child writes it. Be on the alert to catch any misspelling and correct it immediately. Start with short passages for younger children and progress to paragraphs and pages for older children. Charlotte started using dictation exercises with children around the third or fourth grades.

Jacob is in the next to last unit of his Pippi Longstocking grammer study. We're going to finish up reading the book this week and all three kids have asked about watching the movie. I'm excited about their enthusiasm. Jacob has done extremely well with the grammar study despite the fact that it may be above his grade level. I'm proud of the work that he's done on it. I do admit, I'll be glad when we're through. At that point, we're going to take things slower in grammar and focus on really solidifying parts of speech and sentence structure. In place of the study, he'll be working on a Florida scrapbook. So yes, I'm excited to get started with something new.

Overall, I'm very pleased with how well things are going. I will try and get some pictures put up of what we're working on very soon.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-12-16T14:43:00.002-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

2009-12-09T13:50:00.002-05:00

Grinchmas!

2009-12-07T18:04:00.006-05:00

Today we started our Christmas "break", which really consists of some educational things pertaining to Christmas. This week we're reading "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas", learning about Christmas, St. Nick, caves (like the one the Grinch lived in), and making a lapbook to put it all together in. All three kids enjoyed the story, making their own Grinch mask, and having some hot chocolate with marshmallows.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-12-02T15:38:00.001-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

2009-11-25T20:53:00.006-05:00

Creative writing, turkeys, and more

2009-11-24T12:52:00.006-05:00

Instead of copy work today, Jacob wrote a story about Joshua's hamster, Hammie. He wrote two pages and illustrated them both. I'm always very proud of the creative writing that he does. He has a great imagination and it really comes out in his writing. He also usually enjoys creative writing much more than just copying something.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, Leanna made a pine cone turkey! Great practice for her fine motor skills and a craft project always makes her happy.

We also got quite a bit of other things accomplished today. Quid agis? Jacob knows that means how are you? in Latin. Today I think he would answer with Sum bene, which means I am good. We also read about Abraham, Lot and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; Miles Standish and the Pilgrims and Indians; and both boys practiced their new math concepts. Joshua is doing well with phonics and today he worked on writing a lowercase g. He confuses it with e which makes his work very difficult to read. We did an experiment with water to show how some things float and some sink.

We're on the way out the door to MOSI for even more science! Our days are jam-packed with learning, even if it's not a formal school setting.

Copywork

2009-11-23T15:08:00.004-05:00

Copywork is not a favorite at our house. But how else do you better your penmanship? And it's an area that I always seem to have my expectations too high and forget to loosen up. Jacob writes in both print and cursive, but seems to prefer cursive. Of course, he'd rather not write at all. I need to look into typing software for him so he can pursue that.

Soocer Champs

2009-11-22T17:48:00.004-05:00

Jacob and Leanna just finished up a great soccer season. It was lots of fun and they both did wonderful.

Wind and more wind!

2009-11-12T19:46:00.003-05:00

In science we've been studying about air, air pressure, wind, and all the other things that go along with the atmosphere. We've learned how air effects everything around it, how powerful it can be, and most important, who controls the wind.

Luke 8:22-25 (King James Version)

²²Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go
over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth.
²³But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.

²⁴And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.
²⁵And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the

winds and water, and they obey him.

To be able to see the effects of the wind, we conducted an experiment with an origami boat. We placed the boat in a dish of water and blew "wind" to make the boat move. Light wind caused the boat to move back and forth slowly, but hard wind made our little boat capsize. The kids loved doing the experiment and had lots of fun blowing the boat back and forth.

not much happening here

2009-10-28T18:29:00.005-04:00

Unfortunately, I don't have much to blog about because we haven't been getting much done! I have been very sick with pregnancy related issues and school has taken somewhat of a back burner. I'd like to think that it's a month or so of an unschooling phase because even without formal teaching, my kids never stop learning.

Our garden is growing well which is exciting for all of us. The pea plants have pods, the zuchinni are blooming, and the beans are coming along slowly. I'm looking forward to our first "fruits".

Leanna is enjoying her weekly ballet class and just had her first performance. I wasn't sure she was going to make it since mommy was working and daddy wasn't too excited about taking all 3 kids to a Halloween festival by himself. But he was a trooper and after much begging on their part, agreed to it. She did wonderful and the pictures are just priceless! She's really quite a natural.

PE is going very well for Jacob. Last week they swam and he passed the swim test. He had to swim the full length of the pool, which looked Olympic sized??, and then tread water for 30 seconds. I was so proud!

it's October!

2009-10-05T15:59:00.004-04:00

Well, it's October! We took a field trip to Busch Gardens in celebration of my birthday. The kids enjoyed seeing the animals and they rode a few of the rides.

The last few weeks have been rather slow for our schooling. I was sick, then the kids were sick, then surprise! I'm pregnant! Yes, two weeks ago we found out that we're expecting baby #4. So now I'm dealing with all the wonderful first trimester morning sickness and exhaustion. We're taking it a day at a time and just trying to get done what we can. Today we focused on math and phonics/grammar. Not a whole lot, but we did get some accomplished. Tomorrow we'll work on science and history. As long as we manage to get something done every day, I don't feel bad. Hopefully in a few weeks I'll start feeling better and we can get back to our normal schedule.

Ballet

2009-09-19T15:50:00.002-04:00

color wheel and water play

2009-09-15T14:54:00.005-04:00

We made a color wheel that shows that the color light actually contains all the colors.

Here's a video of Jacob demonstrating and me explaining how it works.

Joshua is learning about fractions and the relationship between parts of something to its whole. I used measuring cups and water to show him that (2) 1/2s equal 1 whole, (3) 1/3s equal 1 whole, and (4) 1/4s equal one whole. We had a lot of fun, only took about 10 mins, and he really grasped the concept.

another week gone by

2009-09-13T21:30:00.005-04:00

We wrapped up our second week of school with a field trip to the Florida Aquarium. Tim was home and able to go with us so that was a treat for all.

We learned about Day 1 of creation and light this week in science. We talked about shadows, traced the kid's shadows on the driveway with chalk, and made a sundial. Yes, it's a paper birthday cup and a pencil, but it showed the kids how the shadow moves a

Leanna started ballet classes this week. She is absolutely too cute! She loved the class and wasn't shy at all. There is only one other little girl in the class with her so it's very one on one. They'll combine with the other two pre-ballet classes for performances and the first one will be late October.

first week done!

2009-09-04T23:25:00.008-04:00

We made it through our first week of school!

It was a very busy week. Besides just getting started, all 3 kids had science classes on Tuesday at the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI). Thursday we had reading group, PE, then our monthly homeschool meeting. Lots going on!

MOSI classes went pretty well. Joshua cried and screamed about getting left there, but was able to calm down and enjoy the class. Leanna had a great time making clouds from cotton balls, touching a cloud, and making a weather chart.

PE went great this week. Jacob participated and did very well at kickball. He needs some practice on stretching though. LOL

Reading groups also went well. I am leading the youngest group and have Leanna, Joshua and one other little girl. We had a great time with the book Harry the Dirty Dog this month and I can't wait to pick my selection for next month. Jacob's group is reading The Boxcar Children and he seems excited.

We had a few challenges this week with attitudes and my getting sick, but still managed to get everything I had planned done. I get complaints about doing some of the things, but once we get started they all seem to enjoy it.

Jacob's tall tale

Leanna's handwriting

Joshua's cursive handwriting

First week

2009-09-02T12:46:00.009-04:00

Monday was our first day of school! Joshua and Leanna were very excited to get started. Jacob needed a lot of persuasion. But we managed to get the day finished.

We're starting each day with history which so far has just been reading from the Bible. It's been a nice way to transition into our school day and seems to be working to get the kids ready to start.

Science is another favorite. So far, we've read through the Creation story in Genesis and started our Creation notebooks. I have a lot of fun stuff planned for the year and we're all excited about finally starting.

Joshua is starting cursive and doing very well. He's also ahead in Phonics because of last year so we're just doing some review to start.

Leanna has impressed me with her writing and how much she remembers of her letter sounds. She's doing 2-3 pages from her books a day and at this rate, I'm going to run out of stuff for her by the end of the month!

Jacob isn't impressed with Latin, but we've only done one day. He's doing well with spelling. He tested at a 4.8 grade level on his survey test. He's also enjoying the grammar book he's starting.

We're reading Pippi Longstocking as a family and although the kids say they don't like it, they all seem to listen and enjoy it. Yesterday we walked backwards just like Pippi does! Jacob is doing a unit study about the book that has vocab, comprehension, spelling, and grammar. The first day of it was rough, but yesterday went better.

Our new math curriculum is going very well. We're starting slow to get an idea of where the boys are at and the best place to start. Today we did a few practice problems and played Rummy-kub and that was math! They enjoyed that.

We're participating in quite a few extra activities this year. Jacob is doing weekly PE at the local YMCA. Last Thursday was the first class and didn't go very well. I"m hoping for a better attitude tomorrow. Tomorrow is also the start of our monthly reading group with the homeschool group. Yesterday was the first of monthly MOSI (Museum of Science and Industry) classes. Tonight is the beginning of Awana for everyone at church. And next week Leanna starts ballet! We're very busy this year!!

Getting Closer

2009-08-17T23:48:00.006-04:00

We're nearing the end of August and the beginning of our school year. We haven't quite decided what day will be our actual first day and we still need to have Joshua's kindergarten graduation, so we're in no real hurry.

I ordered the last of our books tonight. A science workbook, a few "living books", some easy readers, and a Latin program. More stuff to wait in anticipation for!

Since our math will be way more hands on this year, I made up "store" cards. Instead of dragging a bunch of stuff together to play store, I made up cards with items and prices that we can use. I can't wait to use them and I know the kids will have fun with it. It's amazing to see how much they learn just through games and other "life" events. Leanna was reading a book today and showed me what page she was on and read the number 22. Obviously, she's paying attention to something!

The boys are getting used to the idea of school starting back. We've been talking about it for a bit now, kind of easing them back into it. The beginning has typically been a tough transition period for Jacob and if I can avoid that all, it'd be great. He thinks we should start the first of September. LOL We went and bought a few supplies and they all were mostly excited about that. Each got to pick out a lunch box, which will be used for days when we're gone most of the day with our home school group or on field trips. That was a big hit.

Jacob is also excited about starting P.E. Next week will be the first class. They are held weekly at the YMCA through our home school group. I'm really excited because it will be something that he gets to do on his own, without me or any siblings there.

K'nex education

2009-08-10T13:44:00.007-04:00

The kids and I built a balance with our K'nex Levers and pulleys set. We mixed in colors, matching, counting, skip counting, following directions, and physics so there was something for each kid's level. They were all very proud of the end result.

They came!

2009-07-03T23:11:00.001-04:00

Our science and history books came today! I am so excited to be able to read through them. Looks like a lot of exciting stuff!

science and history

2009-07-02T17:32:00.003-04:00

I finally ordered a curriculum for science and history/geography. It's by Simply Charlotte Mason and I am so excited about it! The science is 106 Days of Creation Studies. It goes through each day of creation expanding on what was created that day. It's obviously very Biblical based and mainly consists of Bible reading, reading other books, and hands-on activities and field trips. No textbooks!

History/Geography will be a similar approach. Using the Bible and other selected books, we'll be studying Genesis through Deuteronomy and Ancient Egypt. No textbooks, just Bible reading, other books and hands-on activities.

The best part of both of these is that because it is real life stuff, the kids won't think of it as school or boring. It will be fun stuff that will encourage their love of reading as well as journaling, drawing, and other activities. And all three children will be participating.

Indian longhouse Diorama

2009-07-01T16:02:00.002-04:00

Jacob wanted to build a real longhouse with popsicle sticks, so of course we did. It was a lot of fun, the kids enjoyed putting the whole diorama together.

The Longhouse

2009-06-01T10:23:00.000-04:00

This week we're learning about the Iroquois Indians. Little Bear, from The Indian in the Cupboard, is Iroquois so we're tying it in. The kids learned that this tribe didn't live in tepees, but instead lived in what is called a longhouse. We made our own paper longhouse, each child got to color a section of it. Jacob wants to make a bigger one out of popsicle sticks complete with the fencing that would have been around the village of longhouses.

Homeschool Convention

2009-05-30T10:26:00.001-04:00

I'm on a homeschool high as Tim and I spent last week at the FPEA (Florida Parent-Educators Association) Annual Homeschool Convention. We had a great time attending vendor workshops and perusing the vendor hall full of different curriculum and resources. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to keep our children at home and have control over what they're learning. Even with the difficult days, I wouldn't trade spending this time with them for anything.

We're taking a different approach next year and I believe it will help in making our difficult days fewer and farther between. Less texbook/workbook stuff and more hands-on and literature based learning. I'm excited that we have settled on a few of our curriculum choices. For Joshua we will be sticking with Abeka for phonics, language arts and cursive writing. His books came this week and he actually seemed excited while looking through them. For both boys we'll be trying a new math curriculum called Math on the Level. Like it's name, you teach math on the child's level rather than grade level. This will allow Jacob to move as fast as he wants with less repetitive workbook pages to slow him down. I think it will also be a good fit for Joshua if he needs to move at a slower pace. And the great thing is that it's set-up for preK through pre-algebra so I'll be able to start some of the activites with Leanna! Jacob will be starting Spelling Power for spelling, a book that goes from 3rd grade level all the way through high school. I also got him Barron's Painless Grammar (for only $5.88 at Sam's Club!) that covers 3rd-4th grade grammar. We'll be combining that with at least two unit studies from Total Language Plus. I ordered the unit study books for Pippi Longstocking and The Sign of the Beaver and am anxiously awaiting their arrival. Using literature as the teaching tool, the study will combine vocabulary, grammar, creative writing, etc. to cover all his language arts. The only things we haven't quite settled on are history and science. We both feel that this is the time to start something more formal, but I do not want to do a textbook approach. We're looking at a few options from Simply Charlotte Mason that look promising. The best part is that with the literature studies and whatever we choose for history and science, I'll be able to incorporate activities for all 3 children. Jacob will also be taking PE once a week at the YMCA with our homeschool group.

end of the year

2009-05-30T10:26:00.000-04:00

Well, it's that time! We have officially ended our school year. Jacob made all A's this year and completed his coursework for 2nd grade. Joshua did very well with kindergarten and is excited about graduation.

While our formal studies have ended, we will continue to do some informal things throughout the summer. Just don't tell the kids it's school, they think it's fun stuff! We're working on finishing up The Indian in the Cupboard then we'll be starting a The Tale Of Despereaux unit study.

We're also taking a trip to MI in June and will use that as a teaching opportunity. Flat Stanley (more to come on him LOL) will be traveling with us and will start our Flat Stanley geography project.

Leanna wrote her name!

2009-05-08T10:22:00.000-04:00

Leanna's been working on writing, mostly just tracing letters and playing at it. I'm not concerned with anything other than letting her "do schoolwork" since she begs and getting her familiar with things. She's been "writing her name" as she thinks, but it's usually one or two right letters mixed with a jumble of others. Today she wrote her name on her paper all by herself! It was during reading time so the kids were all quiet and I'm pretty sure nobody helped her spell it. I'm so excited!

another update

2009-05-08T10:16:00.000-04:00

We're getting closer to the end of our school year! We should be officially done by the end of May, but are going to continue some things throughout the summer. We have all been enjoying the read-aloud unit study so I am planning on keeping that going.

We finished The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The kids really enjoyed the book and I'm so proud that Jacob was able to read a good portion of it himself. Joshua is already asking to read the next one. I picked up an animated version on video from the library and am planning on making it a fun family night to wrap things up.

We just started The Indian in the Cupboard as our next book. The kids weren't too excited, in fact Jacob hid the book from me so I wouldn't start reading. But once I got them interested in coloring a picture of an Indian, I was able to start reading. I think they will enjoy it the more we get into it and hopefully they will end up captivated and wanting to know what happens. I've never read the book so it's a new story for me. I'm excited about adding some history about Indians into it and plan on having each of the children notebook about what they've learned. I bought a unit study for Jacob and he'll be doing quite a bit with comprehension, vocabulary, as well as creative writing and other activities.

The younger two are doing well with their basic stuff. Joshua is really getting a handle on math. Leanna can say about half the letter sounds by herself now.

Jacob is wrapping on the formal part of his school year. Phonics and writing are done, we're just finishing up some testing. We have a few more concepts for math, but it will be easy for him to get those done and finish.

Tim and I are excited about attending the FPEA Homeschool Convention in 2 weeks. We're looking forward to looking at some different curriculum opportunities as well as attending workshops by vendors and speakers.

The kids have been having their own self-guided art class lately. They get into the craft supplies and I just let them go at it and their imaginations run wild. This morning they made puppets with foam stickers and popsicle sticks. Then they each did a puppet show for me. They also got their animals to watch.

Jacob

2009-04-19T10:10:00.000-04:00

Part of Classical learning is narration, listening to something being read and then narrating back what you heard. We're incorporating that into our homeschooling style. In addition, I am having Jacob read and then draw about what he's read. These are two pictures he did after reading a few pages out of one of his nature books. This was done independently during rest time - which means I was laying down. LOL

new stuff

2009-03-25T10:09:00.000-04:00

I'm really excited about things lately. We're getting close to the end of our school year. Jacob has mostly phonics and writing review through the end of the year. So we'll be able to use some time to get into some other stuff. In math, he's working on multiplication and division.

Joshua has really come a long way with his reading. He's working on 1st grade level phonics. I'm really proud of the effort he's been putting into it lately. I think he understands the concepts of adding and subtracting, but still needs practice. Partly because he's lazy and doesn't want to think about counting up or down.

Leanna can count objects to five all on her own! She's also working on phonics, learning all the letter sounds. She can almost sing the ABC song all the way through without help.

We just started reading The Chronicles of Narnia. We're going to make kind of a unit study of it and stick some science and social studies in with the literature. The kids are all enjoying the story and Jacob is learning some great new words. We also watched some youtube clips about WWII and got to hear an air raid siren. The kids all designed a map of their own imaginary country. We're also planning on making Turkish delight.

The best part is that Jacob is able to read it on his own, with little to no trouble. He has great reading skills and we're very proud of the level he's at.

update!

2009-02-04T10:08:00.000-05:00

So I'm not good at keeping a blog updated. But I suppose actually getting school work done is more important than writing about it. LOL

We are almost halfway through our school year. Jacob is already looking forward to summer break. The year is going well though and I'm pleased with our overall progress.

Jacob is finally getting into some harder math stuff. He picks it up really easy though so he's easy to teach. He hates to practice writing, but still needs it. He's written his own letters, addressed envelopes and mailed them all by himself. Lots of fun for him! He'll be starting a journal soon and that should be interesting. He's made it through phonics so now we're just focusing on language rules, reading faster, and spelling. Nothing too formal for science or history, just learning as we go. He's participating in the Museum of Science and Industry's Homeschool Science Fair this year. We're working on the project and he'll present it next Thursday, Feb 12th, at the Fair.

Joshua is doing well with math. He is adding and subtracting mostly without help. He still writes some of the numbers backwards and is iffy on counting. He's learned his short and long vowel sounds and is doing well with reading. Mostly short words and phonics blends from the phonics handbook, but also some very short books. Handwriting is his downfall, mostly due to lack of motivation. I'm taking it real show with him, one letter a day. I imagine he'll go through a few more ABC workbooks before the end of the year. Bouncing on the trampoline has definitely helped him get out some of his energy and be able to concentrate better.

Leanna is doing her own little preschool thing. He is getting very good at cutting and pasting, although she holds the scissors backwards. She likes to trace letters, but most of the time doesn't care for trying to write them herself. She still hasn't got counting down so the extent of her math skills is counting to 5. LOL She definitely has a creative side and tends to be perfectionist. And she loves working which is half the battle.

a new year

2008-09-03T19:11:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the first day of our new school year. Everyone was pretty excited to get started. We now have a 2nd grader, kindergartner and a preschooler!

Joshua's flowers

2008-05-01T19:08:00.000-04:00

Today Joshua colored and cut out flower blooms to glue onto a page with plants. He did a great job! His cutting skills have improved a lot since the beginning of this year. He is so proud of his work!

Abraham Lincoln

2008-04-01T18:00:00.000-04:00

One of Jacob's assignments in February (2008) was to write a story about Abraham Lincoln. He did a great job and I'm so proud of him!