We have reached the point in the school year where it is time to begin evaluating the materials we used and deciding if we want to use the next level in the fall. This is always a fun time of the year because I love shopping. I'm not buying things yet but I am making my list (and checking it twice!).
Our choice in Singapore math was a good one and we will continue to use it. It is getting harder for Babalu but we are working through 3A/3B slowly. Rookie is flying through his books but first grade math is pretty easy compared to third. I've been grateful for that.
Our experience with the biology book from Pandia Press has been fairly positive and the kids have enjoyed it. It is nice having the info given to us, then a worksheet and then an activity. I also appreciate that we don't have to do science every day so it gives us flexibility.
Our Language Arts and reading have been acceptable but not great and we will not continue with Sonlight or the Evan Moor daily workbooks. I have tried to like Sonlight's programs but I just can't. I'm not sure why. But I do love many of the books they suggest so I am using their lists as a starting point for read alouds and the boy's reading lists.
Our history using pandia press and our geography using various things has not been as successful and I had hoped. But these are hard subjects to get my boys interested in and I'm hoping that with more activities next year will be better. They are learning the basics and at their ages this is all I ask of them this year.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
There is an end in sight
We are finally nearing the end of the school year. Rookie will finish two more books this week and both he and Babalu are set to finish their math books before the end of the year (there was some question with Babalu but he has been working hard and getting things done). Our science is also finished but we we may begin our summer science this week or next week. History and geography have pretty much finished and over all were still not terribly successful subjects. Each year we homeschool it gets better. Maybe next year it will finally work out to the point I call is successful. My rough planning of next year has many fun activities planned and several fun field trips planned. My boys learn history and geography best through activities.
In terms of planning this year has been a learning experience. I've determined that shopping trips must happen either in the evenings or on weekends (Unless Big Daddy is off work and can take care of the school work while I'm gone). All planning must happen over the summer and I must keep very detailed records of scheduling. If I don't I will forget things. I also must use the library more, especially for fun reading.
Scouts is also basically finished until the new school year. We still have our ceremony to give the boy's their badges but all den meetings are over so whatever the boys haven't finished is on them. I will be planning our wolf year from start to finish over the summer and presenting our plans to the parents at the first or second den meeting so they know exactly what we are doing and when. Leading the Tigers was mostly a fun experience and I'm looking forward to Big Daddy and I leading the Wolfs next year.
In terms of planning this year has been a learning experience. I've determined that shopping trips must happen either in the evenings or on weekends (Unless Big Daddy is off work and can take care of the school work while I'm gone). All planning must happen over the summer and I must keep very detailed records of scheduling. If I don't I will forget things. I also must use the library more, especially for fun reading.
Scouts is also basically finished until the new school year. We still have our ceremony to give the boy's their badges but all den meetings are over so whatever the boys haven't finished is on them. I will be planning our wolf year from start to finish over the summer and presenting our plans to the parents at the first or second den meeting so they know exactly what we are doing and when. Leading the Tigers was mostly a fun experience and I'm looking forward to Big Daddy and I leading the Wolfs next year.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
When your child reads above grade level...
Since Babalu learned to read in Kindergarten (at 4!!) he has been an amazing reader for his age (and gender, little boys tend to read later than little girls). Right now he can read 5/6 grade books but he can't really do a language arts program geared towards those grades. This has been a huge challenge for me in terms of finding a good program. At the moment we are working through Sonlight's 4th grade LA curriculum and he is enjoying most of the books and being challenged by the worksheets (Sonlight has excellent books but the actual curriculum isn't a good fit for us). It gets frustrating. For next year my plan is this-
- To use a LA program geared toward his grade level/age (in this case, redoing 4th grade)
- A good portion of his English grade will be independently reading books at his level of ability with book reports.
- These independant books will come from a pre made list that Big Daddy and I come up with. He will have to choose one at a time. We will take his tastes into account when we choose these books and the list will have more books than we intend for him to read so that he has a lot of options.
Hopefully he enjoys this. I may actually start this sooner than August, perhaps in a couple of weeks.
I suck at ending posts.
The End.
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Awaiting Spring
Spring seems to have sprung early this year but I am refusing to believe that the winter rain is over until we hit April 1st. In the mean time I will try to enjoy the beautiful sunny days even though I know what they mean- the possibility of severe drought. Our plans to redo our lawns are being put off in an effort to save water and our plans for a veggie garden are in question for the same reason. I guess the time to teach the boys about water conservation is here.
It has been hard to get back into schoolwork since our trip plus babysitting but we have figured out a schedule for those days. Basically our days are switched- morning work (which is easy to do with a baby on my lap) in the afternoon and afternoon work in the morning before he arrives. This actually works so well I may make it the usual schedule.
Snuggle Puppy is coming along with his colors and numbers. He is finally more interested in reading the books that I choose and is happy to practice his colors in that way and count. He can count to three and then goes back to one. So very cute. I think in the fall he will certainly be ready for "real" school. Hopefully he will be excited about doing school with his brothers. He does love to sit with them and so his "workbooks"- cheap workbooks from the dollar section at Target that he colors in.
Our evening schedule has been changing a bit. Our Monday has co-op, swim practice, baseball practice and Cub Scouts. One right after the other with only enough time to drive to the various places around town and to grab a very quick dinner between swimming and baseball. Thankfully the only overlaps are between baseball and Scouts so Rookie misses an hour of practice but it isn't a big deal, his coach understands. On Wednesday there is also swimming and baseball so Rookie and whoever takes him to practice has about 20 minutes to eat before heading out. We haven't quite figured out what to eat those two days aside from sandwiches but I'm sure we will think of something. Our Saturday afternoons are also going to be taken up with baseball, Rookie has practice from 4pm until it is too dark to see the ball. The coach is harder than the tball coach and poor Rookie's legs were sore from all the running- Coach Luca makes the kids run when they don't listen. I like this in a coach, it will only help Rookie improve. He has so much potential, he just needs someone to hone it (and I'm not just saying that because I'm his Mommy, he does have a certain amount of natural athletic ability).
Another new thing- Babalu is having braces put on this Wednesday! He is very excited even though he knows it will hurt. This is just phase 1- 8 brackets for 15 months. Then of course retainers until it is time for phase 2. I can't wait until it is over and he has straight teeth (he has never had straight teeth, his baby teeth were crooked).
It has been hard to get back into schoolwork since our trip plus babysitting but we have figured out a schedule for those days. Basically our days are switched- morning work (which is easy to do with a baby on my lap) in the afternoon and afternoon work in the morning before he arrives. This actually works so well I may make it the usual schedule.
Snuggle Puppy is coming along with his colors and numbers. He is finally more interested in reading the books that I choose and is happy to practice his colors in that way and count. He can count to three and then goes back to one. So very cute. I think in the fall he will certainly be ready for "real" school. Hopefully he will be excited about doing school with his brothers. He does love to sit with them and so his "workbooks"- cheap workbooks from the dollar section at Target that he colors in.
Our evening schedule has been changing a bit. Our Monday has co-op, swim practice, baseball practice and Cub Scouts. One right after the other with only enough time to drive to the various places around town and to grab a very quick dinner between swimming and baseball. Thankfully the only overlaps are between baseball and Scouts so Rookie misses an hour of practice but it isn't a big deal, his coach understands. On Wednesday there is also swimming and baseball so Rookie and whoever takes him to practice has about 20 minutes to eat before heading out. We haven't quite figured out what to eat those two days aside from sandwiches but I'm sure we will think of something. Our Saturday afternoons are also going to be taken up with baseball, Rookie has practice from 4pm until it is too dark to see the ball. The coach is harder than the tball coach and poor Rookie's legs were sore from all the running- Coach Luca makes the kids run when they don't listen. I like this in a coach, it will only help Rookie improve. He has so much potential, he just needs someone to hone it (and I'm not just saying that because I'm his Mommy, he does have a certain amount of natural athletic ability).
Another new thing- Babalu is having braces put on this Wednesday! He is very excited even though he knows it will hurt. This is just phase 1- 8 brackets for 15 months. Then of course retainers until it is time for phase 2. I can't wait until it is over and he has straight teeth (he has never had straight teeth, his baby teeth were crooked).
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Trip to Texas Part 3 & 4- Visit With Bubbe and The Drive Home
We had a wonderful visit with my Mom. The big boys stayed with her every night for a sleepover and loved it. That was what they had been so looking forward to about visiting her. They were so well behaved and didn't bug anyone (Bubbe lives with Auntie C and Uncle D). Snuggle Puppy, Big Daddy and I stayed at a local hotel each night which was nice and quiet. Snuggle Puppy has discovered the joy of pushing the button on the elevator. He was so cute.
We did many fun things during our trip to the Houston area. In one day we squeezed in the Children's Museum of Houston and the Downtown Aquarium (where E and her sons Big B and Little B joined us). Both places were amazing. The aquarium has a train that drives through a shark tunnel. So cool.
The next day we went to the Johnson Space Center and it was amazing. For me this is a Bucket List item so for me this was the best part of the trip. We took a tram tour and saw one of the mission control rooms which was empty because they were not using it, they don't allow tours to see the mission control being used. They did have a video feed of another control room that was being used but there were only a few people in it because it was a weekend. Babalu and Rookie asked very good questions and the docent was very patient. We also learned about the Orion Project, NASA's mission to send people to Mars. MARS!!!!! OMG MARS!!!!! So excited to be able to follow this project. They will begin testing the vehicle this fall and in about 10 or so years actually reach Mars. It will be a 6 month trip to get there, about a year actually spend at Mars and 6 months back. That is a long mission. We also saw one of the Saturn V rockets. You can't imagine how amazing it is. It is huge and awe inspiring. Even Snuggle Puppy was fascinated with it... many minutes hearing "Look Mommy, rocket!". There were also other pretty neat things to see at the Space Center- films, galleries, demonstrations. It was great. I spent way too much on souvenirs but I was determined to buy the boys NASA tshirts and little toys (they choose small space shuttles... 2 Enterprise and 1 Atlantis) as well as 2 small birthday presents. Plus a freaking cool magnet. If we are ever in East Texas again we will go back to the Space Center (or maybe go out there just to go back, it was awesome).
We also visited the Houston Museum of Natural Science. I was pretty neat. They had a giant gallery full of fossils and models of dinosaur skeletons. It was pretty neat. All the boys loved that part. They also had exhibits of Ancient Egypt and Native Americans, African animals, Texas animal and jewels. There was a hands-on area in the basement that they boys enjoyed.
If you're wondering how we afforded to go to all of these things I'll tell you- we bought 5 of the Houston City Passes. We bought 3 adult passes (we bought one for my Mom so she could join us) and 2 kids (because Snuggle Puppy wasn't old enough for his own pass so we had to pay out of pocket for him at a couple of places). These saved us so much money.
Our drive home was fantastic. We managed to miss most of the traffic in Houston by using the HOV lane. We were able to spend about 4 hours visiting with my Uncle R in San Antonio which was great, he has never met the boys and had only met Michael once and that was more than 10 years ago. We also met our friend at a McDonald's. He was driving to Pensacola Florida for Navy stuff and we couldn't resist meeting up . We didn't have much time but it was still nice. Plus it gave the kids a change to stretch their legs. Overall the kids were so good on the way home and on the entire trip.
It feels so good to be home, 2 weeks is a long time. I have to go grocery shopping after breakfast (which I will make when I finish this post) because we don't have much food in the house. Tomorrow our normal routine starts again. Or maybe one more day off, it really was a long trip.
We did many fun things during our trip to the Houston area. In one day we squeezed in the Children's Museum of Houston and the Downtown Aquarium (where E and her sons Big B and Little B joined us). Both places were amazing. The aquarium has a train that drives through a shark tunnel. So cool.
The next day we went to the Johnson Space Center and it was amazing. For me this is a Bucket List item so for me this was the best part of the trip. We took a tram tour and saw one of the mission control rooms which was empty because they were not using it, they don't allow tours to see the mission control being used. They did have a video feed of another control room that was being used but there were only a few people in it because it was a weekend. Babalu and Rookie asked very good questions and the docent was very patient. We also learned about the Orion Project, NASA's mission to send people to Mars. MARS!!!!! OMG MARS!!!!! So excited to be able to follow this project. They will begin testing the vehicle this fall and in about 10 or so years actually reach Mars. It will be a 6 month trip to get there, about a year actually spend at Mars and 6 months back. That is a long mission. We also saw one of the Saturn V rockets. You can't imagine how amazing it is. It is huge and awe inspiring. Even Snuggle Puppy was fascinated with it... many minutes hearing "Look Mommy, rocket!". There were also other pretty neat things to see at the Space Center- films, galleries, demonstrations. It was great. I spent way too much on souvenirs but I was determined to buy the boys NASA tshirts and little toys (they choose small space shuttles... 2 Enterprise and 1 Atlantis) as well as 2 small birthday presents. Plus a freaking cool magnet. If we are ever in East Texas again we will go back to the Space Center (or maybe go out there just to go back, it was awesome).
We also visited the Houston Museum of Natural Science. I was pretty neat. They had a giant gallery full of fossils and models of dinosaur skeletons. It was pretty neat. All the boys loved that part. They also had exhibits of Ancient Egypt and Native Americans, African animals, Texas animal and jewels. There was a hands-on area in the basement that they boys enjoyed.
If you're wondering how we afforded to go to all of these things I'll tell you- we bought 5 of the Houston City Passes. We bought 3 adult passes (we bought one for my Mom so she could join us) and 2 kids (because Snuggle Puppy wasn't old enough for his own pass so we had to pay out of pocket for him at a couple of places). These saved us so much money.
Our drive home was fantastic. We managed to miss most of the traffic in Houston by using the HOV lane. We were able to spend about 4 hours visiting with my Uncle R in San Antonio which was great, he has never met the boys and had only met Michael once and that was more than 10 years ago. We also met our friend at a McDonald's. He was driving to Pensacola Florida for Navy stuff and we couldn't resist meeting up . We didn't have much time but it was still nice. Plus it gave the kids a change to stretch their legs. Overall the kids were so good on the way home and on the entire trip.
It feels so good to be home, 2 weeks is a long time. I have to go grocery shopping after breakfast (which I will make when I finish this post) because we don't have much food in the house. Tomorrow our normal routine starts again. Or maybe one more day off, it really was a long trip.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Trip to Texas Part 1 & 2- The Drive & Visit with Grandma L and Grandpa J
We made it to Texas to days ago. We left Friday evening and put in a few hours of driving in. On Saturday, Sunday, and Monday we drove between 7 and 8 hours and it went great. The kids were amazingly well behaved. Babalu and Rookie took nice turns on the Nintendo DS and an old phone for entertainment (as well as books and a Minecraft coloring book). Snuggle Puppy sat in his seat and played with his trains, looked out the window and ate snacks the whole way. I read books (finished one short one and am nearly done with two more, I was alternating every chapter or two) and then out in a half day of driving while Big Daddy slept. I passed the time listening to podcasts from the "Stuff You Missed in History Class" show and it was a blast. I'm a history nerd.
We managed to book hotels with free breakfasts so that was supposed to be taken care of. The last morning the breakfast provided was so horrible that I splurged on drive thru from McDonald's. We did picnic lunches every day to save money and that went well. Dinner was bought at various fast food places. The last night on the road we were all tired so we ordered pizza and had it delivered to our room. The kids thought that was awesome. I just liked that I didn't have to go anywhere in a town with an annoying collusion of highways and nothing that I could really see from the parking lot.
We arrived at the Mother-in-Law's home on Monday evening. The boys are having a blast. Grandpa J took them fishing in his pond twice (once for "catch and release" and once more for keeping) and there are 6 cat fish in the fridge waiting to be cooked tonight. They also went to two of the local volunteer fire stations where Grandpa J is a volunteer to see the vehicles. Babalu wants to be a fire fighter now. There are also goats here including one that was born yesterday (he is one from a set of twins. He made it through the birth but his sister didn't). We are hoping that he survived the night so we can see him today. The boys are also loving playing with their 1 year old cousin, Baby B. He is such a social little guy, a nice change from Snuggle Puppy who is not social at all.
I had a nice visit with my Mother-in-Law yesterday while the guys were at the fire stations. She spends a lot time in bed because of her health so I hadn't really had a chance to chat with her yet. I heard a few new stories about when Big Daddy was tiny. I love hearing about him. And she thinks our boys are wonderful which is always nice to hear (and I think it true, my boys are the best!).
I think today we are planning to hang out around the house and see the baby goat. Tomorrow I'm hoping we can check out the very small zoo near by. On Friday after breakfast we are headed to my Mom's place about 3 hours south of our current location. We have a busy visit with her as long as the weather cooperates. I'll post more about that later...
We managed to book hotels with free breakfasts so that was supposed to be taken care of. The last morning the breakfast provided was so horrible that I splurged on drive thru from McDonald's. We did picnic lunches every day to save money and that went well. Dinner was bought at various fast food places. The last night on the road we were all tired so we ordered pizza and had it delivered to our room. The kids thought that was awesome. I just liked that I didn't have to go anywhere in a town with an annoying collusion of highways and nothing that I could really see from the parking lot.
We arrived at the Mother-in-Law's home on Monday evening. The boys are having a blast. Grandpa J took them fishing in his pond twice (once for "catch and release" and once more for keeping) and there are 6 cat fish in the fridge waiting to be cooked tonight. They also went to two of the local volunteer fire stations where Grandpa J is a volunteer to see the vehicles. Babalu wants to be a fire fighter now. There are also goats here including one that was born yesterday (he is one from a set of twins. He made it through the birth but his sister didn't). We are hoping that he survived the night so we can see him today. The boys are also loving playing with their 1 year old cousin, Baby B. He is such a social little guy, a nice change from Snuggle Puppy who is not social at all.
I had a nice visit with my Mother-in-Law yesterday while the guys were at the fire stations. She spends a lot time in bed because of her health so I hadn't really had a chance to chat with her yet. I heard a few new stories about when Big Daddy was tiny. I love hearing about him. And she thinks our boys are wonderful which is always nice to hear (and I think it true, my boys are the best!).
I think today we are planning to hang out around the house and see the baby goat. Tomorrow I'm hoping we can check out the very small zoo near by. On Friday after breakfast we are headed to my Mom's place about 3 hours south of our current location. We have a busy visit with her as long as the weather cooperates. I'll post more about that later...
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Week 20
Ever had a week where there is so much outside stuff going on that only the minimum gets accomplished? That has been thing week. Monday Big Daddy was home plus we had co-op (which we skipped because the kids wanted to hang out with Daddy), Tuesday the kids started choir practice (which they loved!) then we ran errands and yesterday we had to sit at the car dealership for several hours waiting for the car to have it's oil changed and all that. Today we get to go back and have 2 new tires put on the car. Tomorrow looks like a normal Friday so we can get Cub Scout work done. But the kids have been fairly good and are getting what they can finished. Next week is week 21 and after that we take 2 weeks off for a road trip :)
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Back to the grind stone (AKA Week 19)
We have begun our new semester of school. So far (half way through the week) we are doing fairly well. The kids haven't been complaining too much and I think they are happy with their work.
Our read aloud schedule is so messed up that I'm not even going to think about it until after our road trip to Texas. We fell very behind. The same with history but I'm not concerned with that. We do the bits that are interesting to the boys and that is mostly kings/knights/battles/dragons. Thankfully the middle ages are full of that sort of thing.
Our read aloud schedule is so messed up that I'm not even going to think about it until after our road trip to Texas. We fell very behind. The same with history but I'm not concerned with that. We do the bits that are interesting to the boys and that is mostly kings/knights/battles/dragons. Thankfully the middle ages are full of that sort of thing.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Winter Break
The last couple of weeks have been nice. The Biggies each had a day at zoo camp and all three of them had a weekend at their Nonni's house.
Tomorrow it is back to the grindstone. I have to spend an hour or two prepping. Our Co-op resumes tomorrow as does Babalu's swim practice. Next week Scouts resumes and the boy's begin choir practice. Big Daddy and I decided that they needed something artsy and choir is a good outlet for kids who aren't into art. Another new thing is that on Friday's (for I don't know how long) we will be looking after a friend's baby (who I shall call Bam Bam). We are super excited, he is a sweet little thing and will enjoy him very much.
Because of our schedule of activities our weekly schedule will be pretty different. The kids are in different choirs but they meet back-to-back so I will have one boy doing daily work while the other in singing. I'm hoping it works out. I still have to work out the particulars.
We also have begun the preparations for our road trip at the end of the month. I want the house clean and organized before we leave. Plus the sheer amount of things one must bring for a family of 5 for two weeks is crazy, even with doing laundry a few times. The main purpose of the trip is to deliver my mother's things to her so I can make room in my garage. I hope we can fit everything in our van or at the very least fit all of the heavy things. My mother could stock a library with all of her books.
Tomorrow it is back to the grindstone. I have to spend an hour or two prepping. Our Co-op resumes tomorrow as does Babalu's swim practice. Next week Scouts resumes and the boy's begin choir practice. Big Daddy and I decided that they needed something artsy and choir is a good outlet for kids who aren't into art. Another new thing is that on Friday's (for I don't know how long) we will be looking after a friend's baby (who I shall call Bam Bam). We are super excited, he is a sweet little thing and will enjoy him very much.
Because of our schedule of activities our weekly schedule will be pretty different. The kids are in different choirs but they meet back-to-back so I will have one boy doing daily work while the other in singing. I'm hoping it works out. I still have to work out the particulars.
We also have begun the preparations for our road trip at the end of the month. I want the house clean and organized before we leave. Plus the sheer amount of things one must bring for a family of 5 for two weeks is crazy, even with doing laundry a few times. The main purpose of the trip is to deliver my mother's things to her so I can make room in my garage. I hope we can fit everything in our van or at the very least fit all of the heavy things. My mother could stock a library with all of her books.
Friday, December 20, 2013
Homeschool Resolutions 2014
I decided to make a list of homeschool resolutions for 2014, print them out and keep them somewhere that I will see easily to remind me to keep them. Here they are-
1. Have more fun! Life isn't just for school and school doesn't have to be boring.
2. Keep to our schedule. Don't skip subjects and try and make them up later, those days are not fun. Read out loud every day.
3. Spend more time on art and music. Clarinet lessons twice a week and 15 minutes of practice each day for Babalu. Practice singing for 10 or 15 minutes a couple days a week. Paint more, color the driveway in a beautiful spring mural.
4. Find a way to make history exciting. Study more war leaders and battles. Get together with friends to reenact famous events.
5. Take a day once a month (preferably the last day, right before grocery shopping) and make it a "life skills day". Use the day to clean the house and make the kids help. These skills are just as important as what they learn in school. Take the afternoon and bake with them. Let them do all the measuring.
1. Have more fun! Life isn't just for school and school doesn't have to be boring.
2. Keep to our schedule. Don't skip subjects and try and make them up later, those days are not fun. Read out loud every day.
3. Spend more time on art and music. Clarinet lessons twice a week and 15 minutes of practice each day for Babalu. Practice singing for 10 or 15 minutes a couple days a week. Paint more, color the driveway in a beautiful spring mural.
4. Find a way to make history exciting. Study more war leaders and battles. Get together with friends to reenact famous events.
5. Take a day once a month (preferably the last day, right before grocery shopping) and make it a "life skills day". Use the day to clean the house and make the kids help. These skills are just as important as what they learn in school. Take the afternoon and bake with them. Let them do all the measuring.
Bad blogger :(
I feel like a horrible blogger for leaving such an enormous gab between posts. So sorry Mom! I'm planning to start devoting an evening a week to blogging to keep this updated. This will also give me a break from World of Warcraft. I generally only play after the kids go to bed but I shouldn't play every night.
We are just about finished with our first semester! We have math to finish for Rookie (he will finish up today) and poor Babalu has to work all through his winter break on his multiplication and division facts. We have taken a break from his math books (Singapore 3A/3B) until he has these memorized through 12. We are working on 6 right now. 2-5 were super easy as will be 10 and 11. This break also serves as a time for Babalu to have a break from division with remainders which is what he was working on (rather unsuccessfully) when we started our break a couple of weeks ago. I'm a big believer in taking a break when something is frustrating you. It worked for the subtraction with re-grouping like a charm so I'm hoping it will this time. He should still finish his books by the middle of June and if not we will keep working through the summer.
We are taking a short break from our science curriculum to spend time studying two topics that are very interesting to the boys- dinosaurs and astronomy. When we return from our trip to Texas in February we will resume our normal study of science but for now we are enjoying the change of pace. We used the Magic School Bus Dino Kit. It was great but I did not like the model of the T-Rex (the pieces were not numbered and they didn't fit together very well) and we did not use it. We may finally put together the model of the dragon that we have or I may save it for a unit study over the summer (who wouldn't want to spend their summer learning about dragons?!). For astronomy we are using the Magic School Bus Solar System Kit. I'm super excited about it. We will start it in January.
For physical activity Babalu is doing swimming. He joined a local swim team and is working hard to improve. We may begin a routine of activity at home like jumping jacks, push-ups, crunches and the like. They enjoy that sort of this. They have also been asking to begin weight training. Rookie starts baseball when we return home from Texas. His league names the teams after real baseball teams. Last year he played T-Ball for the Mets and this year he will play Rookie level ball for the Angels. My mom is over the moon with excitement that her boy is playing for her favorite team.
I'm very excited to being doing more art with the boys. I'm going to steal an idea that a friend of mine came up with- a poster uniting the elements of design. That will be a nice way to finish up the spring semester.
I'm looking forward to a fresh start in January. I'm also looking forward to a couple of weeks off from school (aside from Babalu's math facts which shouldn't take more than an hour each day and probably not even that long).
We are just about finished with our first semester! We have math to finish for Rookie (he will finish up today) and poor Babalu has to work all through his winter break on his multiplication and division facts. We have taken a break from his math books (Singapore 3A/3B) until he has these memorized through 12. We are working on 6 right now. 2-5 were super easy as will be 10 and 11. This break also serves as a time for Babalu to have a break from division with remainders which is what he was working on (rather unsuccessfully) when we started our break a couple of weeks ago. I'm a big believer in taking a break when something is frustrating you. It worked for the subtraction with re-grouping like a charm so I'm hoping it will this time. He should still finish his books by the middle of June and if not we will keep working through the summer.
We are taking a short break from our science curriculum to spend time studying two topics that are very interesting to the boys- dinosaurs and astronomy. When we return from our trip to Texas in February we will resume our normal study of science but for now we are enjoying the change of pace. We used the Magic School Bus Dino Kit. It was great but I did not like the model of the T-Rex (the pieces were not numbered and they didn't fit together very well) and we did not use it. We may finally put together the model of the dragon that we have or I may save it for a unit study over the summer (who wouldn't want to spend their summer learning about dragons?!). For astronomy we are using the Magic School Bus Solar System Kit. I'm super excited about it. We will start it in January.
For physical activity Babalu is doing swimming. He joined a local swim team and is working hard to improve. We may begin a routine of activity at home like jumping jacks, push-ups, crunches and the like. They enjoy that sort of this. They have also been asking to begin weight training. Rookie starts baseball when we return home from Texas. His league names the teams after real baseball teams. Last year he played T-Ball for the Mets and this year he will play Rookie level ball for the Angels. My mom is over the moon with excitement that her boy is playing for her favorite team.
I'm very excited to being doing more art with the boys. I'm going to steal an idea that a friend of mine came up with- a poster uniting the elements of design. That will be a nice way to finish up the spring semester.
I'm looking forward to a fresh start in January. I'm also looking forward to a couple of weeks off from school (aside from Babalu's math facts which shouldn't take more than an hour each day and probably not even that long).
Monday, November 25, 2013
Cub Scout Nova Award
A few weeks ago I discovered an award for scouts that is right up our ally- the Nova Award. This can be earned from Wolf Scout (the second rank in Cub Scouts) all the way through Boy Scouts and Venturing. I'm not sure how it works for the Boy Scouts since I don't have one but I do have the book for the Cub Scouts so anything I may be typing is in regards to that age group.
Basically what it is the BSA is trying to encourage the boys to learn more about the STEM subjects- Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. You can see why I'm so excited. There is also the Supernova Award that Babalu will be earning (Rookie is a Tiger and isn't old enough to begin his Nova work) for Cub Scouts and a separate one of Webelos (that he will be earning next year). It is a more in depth look at the STEM subjects and when he is a Webelo it has to be done under the direction of a mentor. Thankfully the Cub Scout award can be done with me.
For Babalu's Nova journey he has decided to begin with the science and engineering awards. I told him that he will get school credit for the work so he is excited about it. Next year he will work on the technology and math awards. It is a lot of work but he is determined to see it through. Plus he gets a really cool patch. When we plan all the work out hopefully I will be able to blog again about it.
*Sorry Mom for not blogging more*
Basically what it is the BSA is trying to encourage the boys to learn more about the STEM subjects- Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. You can see why I'm so excited. There is also the Supernova Award that Babalu will be earning (Rookie is a Tiger and isn't old enough to begin his Nova work) for Cub Scouts and a separate one of Webelos (that he will be earning next year). It is a more in depth look at the STEM subjects and when he is a Webelo it has to be done under the direction of a mentor. Thankfully the Cub Scout award can be done with me.
For Babalu's Nova journey he has decided to begin with the science and engineering awards. I told him that he will get school credit for the work so he is excited about it. Next year he will work on the technology and math awards. It is a lot of work but he is determined to see it through. Plus he gets a really cool patch. When we plan all the work out hopefully I will be able to blog again about it.
*Sorry Mom for not blogging more*
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Update
The blog has been pretty quiet (sorry, Mom!). Life has been getting in the way of blogging and even schooling (illness and injury). Here are some things I'm planning for the next few months-
- Christmas Around the world Unit Study (our main focus in December!)
- Poetry Unit Study
- Fairy Tales Unit Study
- Alamo Unit Study (since we are going to see the Alamo on our trip to Texas in February)
We had our awesome trip to Las Vegas. I highly recommend the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay and the Titanic artifact exhibition at the Luxor to people with kids (although only the Titanic exhibition if your child is interested and can handle the museum atmosphere). The Shark Reef was a blast for all of us, Snuggle Puppy especially loved it. We live 6 hours from Vegas and we only did 1 night so it was a very long two days but Snuggle Puppy did great in the car. He even used the potty! The whole way there and back! And has been using it consistently, even when he is in underwear and away from the house! Except for #2. I won't walk about that, though.
I want to throw a shout out to the Las Vegas Hotel. Their casino is smoke free so when you are eating at the buffet (which we did for dinner, we wanted the kids to experience a Las Vegas buffet) you aren't tasting smoke. Also it is off the strip a bit if that is important to anyone. The only down side was that the 2 beds in the room were doubles and not queens as is normal in hotels. But over all a nice stay. The wind in the morning when we were going back the car was so strong that poor Snuggle Puppy couldn't walk straight. Thankfully he didn't mind Mommy having to carry him.
Friday, October 4, 2013
Things have been a little nuts with appointments and errands and things so no highlights the last two weeks. I have a couple of pics on my instagram that I can post. The boys were learning about classifying animals.
Today is the end of our first "quarter". In other words, day 45 or week 9. My hope is that everything can be caught up by today. Or by the end of the weekend. The shut down has cancelled Big Daddy's military work this weekend so we have an unexpected weekend with Daddy! We have planned a few educational activities (the fun stuff we don't have time for during the week) and we are selling Cub Scout popcorn on Saturday morning. We are also thinking of heading to a local-ish Renaissance Fair (it is about 45 minutes away). Who knows. But I'm not letting this weekend go to waste!
Today is the end of our first "quarter". In other words, day 45 or week 9. My hope is that everything can be caught up by today. Or by the end of the weekend. The shut down has cancelled Big Daddy's military work this weekend so we have an unexpected weekend with Daddy! We have planned a few educational activities (the fun stuff we don't have time for during the week) and we are selling Cub Scout popcorn on Saturday morning. We are also thinking of heading to a local-ish Renaissance Fair (it is about 45 minutes away). Who knows. But I'm not letting this weekend go to waste!
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Geography revision
I have decided to throw out the old plan for studying world geography and just go with whatever country Top Secret Adventures and Little Passports has sent us. We can build around the info we receive from them and also incorporate our Expedition Earth. We have not received out first Little Passports shipment (it should be arriving soon) so I can't say too much about it but we love Top Secret Adventures by Highlights. Mystery and adventure really appeal to Babalu and Rookie so it is a good fit.
We have several TSA packets waiting for us on the shelf. They are Australia, Mexico, Greece, and South Africa (we also have Japan which we have already done). One is also on the way. I gather from LP's Facebook page that Brazil will be arriving soon so we are set for the next few weeks.
We have several TSA packets waiting for us on the shelf. They are Australia, Mexico, Greece, and South Africa (we also have Japan which we have already done). One is also on the way. I gather from LP's Facebook page that Brazil will be arriving soon so we are set for the next few weeks.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
I also wanted to announce that Snuggle Puppy did so well in his class at our co-op! He looked sad for a few minutes but after that he was wonderful. So happy for him.
Also I assisted in the k-3 room yesterday. The kids learned about Eric Carle and made a lap book about The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The lady leading managed to tie in the days of the week as well as story sequencing. She rocked and the kids loved her. I hope I do as well when it is my turn to teach!
Also I assisted in the k-3 room yesterday. The kids learned about Eric Carle and made a lap book about The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The lady leading managed to tie in the days of the week as well as story sequencing. She rocked and the kids loved her. I hope I do as well when it is my turn to teach!
Tiger Den meeting 1 & 2
We have done two meetings so far and both have been mostly trying to get the boys to learn all of the things they need to know to earn their Bobcat badge. All new scouts have to earn this regardless of their age. To earn it they have to know things like the Cub Scout Promise and the Law of the Pack and all that cute stuff.
To earn the Tiger badge the boys have to complete 5 achievements and there are there three components- a family oriented component, a den oriented component and a "go and see it" component. Last week we completed our den activity for achievement 1- "Making My Family Special" by making scrapbooks. The family activity is to do a chore with your parent so Rookie and I (and Babalu) filled a bucket with warm and soapy water to scrub Snuggle Puppy's new (to us) playhouse. I know that one boy did this at home but I have to email the rest of the parents (which I am going to try to do every Thursday or Friday) to remind them to do it. I love that there are activities that the boys are required to do as a family.
Last night's meeting was a blast. After 20 or so minutes of listening to Big Daddy drill the boys on their Promise and Law I reminded him that we had a game to play. I had written the Law and the Promise three times each on card stock and then cut each line up. The boys were to put the lines in order. Then one of them decided that we (Big Daddy and I) hide the pieces for them to find. At first I was a little unsure about that but it turned out to be the best part. They had a chance to get up and RUN around and made the whole thing more fun. It also made us realize that at the beginning of each meaning we needed to spend 5 minutes "getting the wiggles out". Only 2 of the boys don't really need this but 3 of them do (including Rookie!). After all this I'm confident that at our next pack meeting (end of October, in fact we will come home from Las Vegas about 5 minutes before we have to be at the meeting) all 5 of them will earn their Bobcat badge.
We do have one boy who is going through some family changes and is a bit of a challenge to detach from Mom but I'm hoping that if we keep it fun he will stay interested.
Our next meeting we are going to be working on achievement #3- "Keeping Myself Healthy and Safe". When I made the plan for the meeting (centered around nutrition and fire safety) I will post about it. I wasn't able to find a lot of blogs for this sort of thing so I'm hoping when someone Googles for ideas my blog comes up and can be helpful.
In case anyone is wondering Babalu is going to earn his Bobcat Badge when his little brother does, he knows everything. Last night he said "quiz me Mommy", it was adorable.
Both boys have electives and belt loops to earn on top of the 12 achievements Babalu has to learn for his Bear Badges. And both of the boys are very ambitious with the electives and belt loops they choose to earn, especially Babalu, and they will be very busy (and broke because many of Babalu's electives require things we don't have around the house) doing all of the work. I'm working on a plan to help them earn similar (or in the case of belt loops the same) requirements together and, where I can, include it in our school work. I'm hoping to document the work they do to post on here so that Bubbe can see all the way from Texas.
To earn the Tiger badge the boys have to complete 5 achievements and there are there three components- a family oriented component, a den oriented component and a "go and see it" component. Last week we completed our den activity for achievement 1- "Making My Family Special" by making scrapbooks. The family activity is to do a chore with your parent so Rookie and I (and Babalu) filled a bucket with warm and soapy water to scrub Snuggle Puppy's new (to us) playhouse. I know that one boy did this at home but I have to email the rest of the parents (which I am going to try to do every Thursday or Friday) to remind them to do it. I love that there are activities that the boys are required to do as a family.
Last night's meeting was a blast. After 20 or so minutes of listening to Big Daddy drill the boys on their Promise and Law I reminded him that we had a game to play. I had written the Law and the Promise three times each on card stock and then cut each line up. The boys were to put the lines in order. Then one of them decided that we (Big Daddy and I) hide the pieces for them to find. At first I was a little unsure about that but it turned out to be the best part. They had a chance to get up and RUN around and made the whole thing more fun. It also made us realize that at the beginning of each meaning we needed to spend 5 minutes "getting the wiggles out". Only 2 of the boys don't really need this but 3 of them do (including Rookie!). After all this I'm confident that at our next pack meeting (end of October, in fact we will come home from Las Vegas about 5 minutes before we have to be at the meeting) all 5 of them will earn their Bobcat badge.
We do have one boy who is going through some family changes and is a bit of a challenge to detach from Mom but I'm hoping that if we keep it fun he will stay interested.
Our next meeting we are going to be working on achievement #3- "Keeping Myself Healthy and Safe". When I made the plan for the meeting (centered around nutrition and fire safety) I will post about it. I wasn't able to find a lot of blogs for this sort of thing so I'm hoping when someone Googles for ideas my blog comes up and can be helpful.
In case anyone is wondering Babalu is going to earn his Bobcat Badge when his little brother does, he knows everything. Last night he said "quiz me Mommy", it was adorable.
Both boys have electives and belt loops to earn on top of the 12 achievements Babalu has to learn for his Bear Badges. And both of the boys are very ambitious with the electives and belt loops they choose to earn, especially Babalu, and they will be very busy (and broke because many of Babalu's electives require things we don't have around the house) doing all of the work. I'm working on a plan to help them earn similar (or in the case of belt loops the same) requirements together and, where I can, include it in our school work. I'm hoping to document the work they do to post on here so that Bubbe can see all the way from Texas.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Weekly Highlight {week 7}
Last week's highlight was impulsively joining a home school co-op. On Monday afternoons we head over to a local church and the kids have a 2 hour class about a famous person. The K-3 class learned about Johnny Appleseed and the preschool class learned about Mozart. Snuggle Puppy was still recovering from a tummy bug (that I thought he was completely over but apparently was wrong. Thankfully it wasn't contagious.) so I had to stay with him in his class. Tomorrow I'm assisting in the K-3 class so hopefully he will cooperate for his teachers. The big boys made friends with the other boys in their class and had a blast playing after class last week. Hopefully it will continue to go well. I'll admit that I'm a little hesitant about it because we aren't Christians and the co-op is at a Baptist church. But hopefully as long as we are respectful and not rubbing it in people's faces it won't be a problem.
In a few weeks I am leading the preschool class and I decided to read one of the James Harriot stories (because they are semi autobiographical) to the kiddies and have them make sheep out of construction paper, googly eyes and cotton balls.
In a few weeks I am leading the preschool class and I decided to read one of the James Harriot stories (because they are semi autobiographical) to the kiddies and have them make sheep out of construction paper, googly eyes and cotton balls.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Throwback Thursday
Little Rookie at Knott's Berry Farm. It was right after Halloween so his Happy Potter tattoo is still on his forehead. He was 2.5 years old years old.
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