I've been super slack about writing on this blog for the past uh . . .six weeks maybe? We returned from Indiana and were home for three weeks before leaving for WA, home two days and off to CA for four more, then home for two weeks leading up to Turkey Day and Daddy's birthday and well, it's just been a bit of trying to keep it all together at the moment.
There's no way I could possibly quantify the learning we have done, but let's be honest. . .I've also been super slack about doing focused learning time with my 1st grader as well. As the holidays begin to pass and colder weather has us inside more often, and we are on the ground for a while, I find myself getting a restless feeling that says we are ready to really take on some routine again.
We will begin our second session of our co-op classes this week. I have taken on some new personal health goals. I'm trying to create a plan that will suit our current situation, watching a toddler until noon, having my own toddler who only naps about an hour each day, wanting to soak up any remaining ray of sunshine with my daughter's new found love of riding her bike in the park (which we've done once), and balancing my own personal needs/goals with a houseful of people who also need me, and a very crowded schedule, none of which seems to be able to go to the wayside.
I'd like to tackle a craft a day through December. Begin work on our ABCs with my younger one. Get some 18mo appropriate ideas for the little one I watch so we can all spend an hour or so at the table crafting/creating/learning each day. And just get down to business with a regular school routine for my oldest. Alani is NOT a child who does things on her own. Another mother might be able to leave an instrument lying out in plain site with music sheets open and available so that her child would pick up and do a practice on her own now and again, but my child wants to put on a concert each and every time, wants me to write down the name of the new piece she "plays" each day :) (free play of course and never written down, so it can never be repeated). My child wants me there to count out every half note and quarter note and every note we're playing, walking her through her practice. Therefore, if I do not make the time in my life for 30 minutes of violin practice each day, she will not be able to practice each day. This is why I always have to admit to her teacher that "we" did not get in much practice. I should just learn the violin along with her. . .wait, I AM! I feel like I can ply the violin just as well at this moment, as she can. I wonder if I should rent an instrument and pay her teacher :)
Alani and I have little discussions here and there "what's a mineral? why do we have them in our bodies?" Four thousand questions as we go along in Little House on the Prairie, stopping me every third sentence to repeat words or phrases she finds funny, but mostly doesn't understand. We talked about organically and non-organically grown potatoes and food last night, which stemmed (bwahahaha) from Little House and how sweet potatoes and have eyes. I had to tell her that these days, you can only plant organic potatoes, because those grown with a special pesticide INSIDE of them, are created so they won't sprout at all and we have to buy that company's products in order to grow our own.
She has continued in her weekly art class, where they are writing and illustrating a story at the moment. She's running around trying to teach people hand games and working on jumping rope and other things.
I wish our lives and our space were more organized, and maybe just MORE. . .
I talked to her about women's suffrage when I voted earlier this month, which piggy backed a discussion we had with her Girl Scout troop a few weeks earlier about the Millennium Development Goals of the UN for the GAA, where we had to tell a bunch of six year old girls that girls don't have the same privileges everywhere in the world. We didn't tell them that women still don't have equality in pay in the work force. . . heavens. . .my friend Amy's daughter said the funniest thing "Mom, I jumped really high and I broke the glass ceiling and I brought you back a man's job."
We are learning all the time, I'm trying to take more opportunity to stop and explain when she has a question, because she's more ready now to hear the explanations.
But this one. .. she's a lap learner. She reads better if I have my arm around her, than if I just sit next to her. She is proficient in math while she sits in my lap during her sister's naptime.
She has a mind for memorization. She does better to memorize the note patterns (DEF#) on a page and then play them from her head, than to watch them as she plays. She is learning sign language quite well and very excited about it. This week we will begin sewing and yoga and she'll continue in sign and art. I PLAN (ha) to do a T/Th/S routine of morning schoolwork while setting the littles to busy things, Airi with Alphabet work and H with. . .who knows what. . .coloring.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Week 5: International Homeschool Spirit Week
743 hours
I called last week a wash, but let's give it like 5 hours
743 hours
-5 hours
738 hours to go
EEK. . .I've been a bit slack about posting and there's just no way I'm going to go back and remember what we did two weeks ago! On Sunday we had a drive through KY, all the way through TN and into to AL! That ended up being a fun drive, the girls did pretty well, really, the scenery was gorgeous and at the end of it, homemade chicken curry and DEAR DEAR friends! We spent a couple of hours catching up, the girls made instant and new best friends, and then we hit the road again and headed back to Nashville.
Sunday was a long drive. . .one of the COOLEST things on Saturday was. . .well, besides crossing two states lines, was driving through Clarksville and seeing "Wilma Rudolph Parkway." I forgot she was from Clarksville, but I was able to excitedly point out the sign to Alani and then show her the second sign as we passed the actual parkway. . .she was pretty jazzed about that, since she LOVES her "Wilma Unlimited" book!
We swam back at the hotel and engaged in the nightly ritual of reading Little House in the Big Woods. . .which was so comforting as I took this final leg of the journey home with my two sweet girls and no one else. Then we snuggled down and fell fast asleep.
On Monday we headed to the pool for another 30 minutes before getting ready and checking out. Then we headed to downtown Nashville for a few hours before our 6pm flight. I was so excited to find that the TN state Capitol has a museum with a 100 years of Girl Scouting display, and it's free. We decided this would be our Monday activity. Monday kicked off "International Homeschool Spirit Week" and I was bound and determined to be part of it. The first day was "homeschool away from home." Is there any better way than to be 1200 miles from home? I think not! We hit the Nashville Farmer's Market, which includes an indoor food-court, Greek for lunch. Then walked the GIANT set of stairs up to the Capitol Building, only to find that it is closed for repairs until January! UGH. We waited on a friend who was supposed to meet us there, saw a statue of Jackson and Adams and read about James K. Polk and his wife, as well as the Catholic Church building.
We headed to our plane. On one of the flights Alani again poured over the safety card. I drew her another map of where we'd been, charting our course on the back of the SW in-flight service napkin, again and she worked on her Singapore Math workbook for about an hour. She did some Singapore math, which she LOVES and I think this is going to be the right math for us. I said "Alani, do you want to do some schoolwork?" And she scrunched her nose and whined "No" and I said, "Oh, I thought you could do some math." "MATH? MATH? I LOVE math! You didn't say it was math!" Well, okay then. . .there's apparently "school work" and "math." :) . . .homeschooling on a plane is DEFINITELY homeschool away from home!
In all of that I'd say we had a good 5 hours of school type work which included history, geography, the arts, math, healthy living and physical education :) We even stopped to ponder some funny looking acorns for a bit and stomp on them to see what the seeds looked like inside. . . science? I think so!
Getting back into the groove for the rest of the week was kind of tough. Tuesday was "comfy cozy" day. . .when do we NOT spend most of the day in our jammies? Tuesday evening was a tea for our new Girl Scout Daisies (2 have been added to our troop).
Wednesday. . . I took a new morning charge, so we spent all morning Wednesday getting the house cleaned up (after getting home at nearly midnight on Monday I couldn't even deal with it on Tuesday, though I did a little to prepare) . . .only to learn they'd be coming the next day. The girls worked on some crafting, which basically included lots of glue (it took four days for the white glue on Airi's project, to dry completely) and various colors, sizes and shapes of pipe cleaners/ fuzzy sticks. When Airi went down for a nap, the kitchen was so clean that I was able to let Alani freely "cook" up concoctions while I worked on dinner AT 1PM!!! It was like a solid hour or more of cooking and creating! Wednesday afternoon Lila and Clarissa came and then ice skating followed by small group. We missed "Crazy Sock Day."
Thursday was "Crazy Day" and we tried to dress the girls in silly patterns. I had to put nearly as much effort into cleaning the house on this morning, again, it's insane how easily it comes undone. Then we met with H's parents and sealed the deal. Alani practiced her violin a couple of times this day and there's really no telling how many games of "Sorry" she had engaged her father in by this point, as we'd been without a TV (toddler broken) since Tuesday evening. The game of Sorry is a great tool for math and strategy. Thursday evenings are pretty chill around here. I created Airi's Halloween costume, we were all in love, then I walked in the other room to start on Alani's and Airi decided she wants to be the same thing as her sister this year. . .argh!
Friday was "twin day." It's not tough to dress the girls alike :) We had Mr. H for the first time on Friday. The girls did all of the hard work and had a blast. We went to the park much earlier than we ever do, and before we knew it, 3 hours with this handsome little guy were over! Alani's violin teacher had to cancel on account of illness, so what we did in the evening, I can not remember, but by this point we were still not letting our girls know that they could watch all of their favorite shows on the computer yet, so games abound.
We played a lot of Ring-o-Flamingo during this week as well, a game the whole family could enjoy together. And each night we were still going strong with Little House in the Big Woods.
I set Alani to work on computer games a couple of times, but really, with the house cleaning and the new charge and the unpacking and getting back in the groove, we were lucky to get in ONE day of violin practice.
Saturday was a FOUR hour learning experience. We snagged free tickets to the new Museum of Natural History, free tickets to museums of your choice were available through the Smithsonian. You had to pre-order the free tickets, but it was a great opportunity to check out our new museum. I asked at the front how long it takes to get through and was told "about 2 hours." It took us FOUR! Four FULL hours! I was SO thankful that too many people were apparently home watching football games to come out and enjoy a free day at the museum, because it meant that there were not BILLIONS of people there. It was actually a little quiet, busy, but not bouncing off the walls busy. Plenty of room to move around, enjoy exhibits, do hands-on stuff without lines of people or small children shoving. SO wonderful and such a neat experience.
It's possible, in the future, we might consider a membership here. For now, it was a great springboard for considering which avenue to go with science. Alani was too busy trying everything out. . .but it wasn't overwhelming, which was wonderful. No one cried the whole trip. . .amazing, considering Airi was three hours overdue for a nap by the time we left!!! Maybe this week we'll revisit some of what we saw and Alani might be able to consider and decide whether she wants to learn about dinosaurs, plants, animals, land, water, bugs, solar system, rocks. . .it was full of 1st grade science options :)
What a very very full week! Just now, reviewing it, I hadn't realized there were so very many learning opportunities or hours in this week!
19 hours in my estimation, though actually there were more!
Wait. . . wait. . .we came home from a super long day at the Museum, put Airi down for a nap and I tested Alani for placement for her math. She got all of the answers for the 1b section, but I had to talk her through a lot of it. I didn't even test her for 1a, because I know she can breeze through it. So we're going to start at 1b and hope that's a good fit.
I'm soon going to have to break this down into daily blog posts about our learning, because I hope it will become more focused, but also because there are photos I want to share and extras I want to write. . .maybe I just have to keep that for my personal blog :)
20 hours!
I called last week a wash, but let's give it like 5 hours
743 hours
-5 hours
738 hours to go
EEK. . .I've been a bit slack about posting and there's just no way I'm going to go back and remember what we did two weeks ago! On Sunday we had a drive through KY, all the way through TN and into to AL! That ended up being a fun drive, the girls did pretty well, really, the scenery was gorgeous and at the end of it, homemade chicken curry and DEAR DEAR friends! We spent a couple of hours catching up, the girls made instant and new best friends, and then we hit the road again and headed back to Nashville.
Sunday was a long drive. . .one of the COOLEST things on Saturday was. . .well, besides crossing two states lines, was driving through Clarksville and seeing "Wilma Rudolph Parkway." I forgot she was from Clarksville, but I was able to excitedly point out the sign to Alani and then show her the second sign as we passed the actual parkway. . .she was pretty jazzed about that, since she LOVES her "Wilma Unlimited" book!
We swam back at the hotel and engaged in the nightly ritual of reading Little House in the Big Woods. . .which was so comforting as I took this final leg of the journey home with my two sweet girls and no one else. Then we snuggled down and fell fast asleep.
On Monday we headed to the pool for another 30 minutes before getting ready and checking out. Then we headed to downtown Nashville for a few hours before our 6pm flight. I was so excited to find that the TN state Capitol has a museum with a 100 years of Girl Scouting display, and it's free. We decided this would be our Monday activity. Monday kicked off "International Homeschool Spirit Week" and I was bound and determined to be part of it. The first day was "homeschool away from home." Is there any better way than to be 1200 miles from home? I think not! We hit the Nashville Farmer's Market, which includes an indoor food-court, Greek for lunch. Then walked the GIANT set of stairs up to the Capitol Building, only to find that it is closed for repairs until January! UGH. We waited on a friend who was supposed to meet us there, saw a statue of Jackson and Adams and read about James K. Polk and his wife, as well as the Catholic Church building.
In all of that I'd say we had a good 5 hours of school type work which included history, geography, the arts, math, healthy living and physical education :) We even stopped to ponder some funny looking acorns for a bit and stomp on them to see what the seeds looked like inside. . . science? I think so!
Getting back into the groove for the rest of the week was kind of tough. Tuesday was "comfy cozy" day. . .when do we NOT spend most of the day in our jammies? Tuesday evening was a tea for our new Girl Scout Daisies (2 have been added to our troop).
Wednesday. . . I took a new morning charge, so we spent all morning Wednesday getting the house cleaned up (after getting home at nearly midnight on Monday I couldn't even deal with it on Tuesday, though I did a little to prepare) . . .only to learn they'd be coming the next day. The girls worked on some crafting, which basically included lots of glue (it took four days for the white glue on Airi's project, to dry completely) and various colors, sizes and shapes of pipe cleaners/ fuzzy sticks. When Airi went down for a nap, the kitchen was so clean that I was able to let Alani freely "cook" up concoctions while I worked on dinner AT 1PM!!! It was like a solid hour or more of cooking and creating! Wednesday afternoon Lila and Clarissa came and then ice skating followed by small group. We missed "Crazy Sock Day."
Thursday was "Crazy Day" and we tried to dress the girls in silly patterns. I had to put nearly as much effort into cleaning the house on this morning, again, it's insane how easily it comes undone. Then we met with H's parents and sealed the deal. Alani practiced her violin a couple of times this day and there's really no telling how many games of "Sorry" she had engaged her father in by this point, as we'd been without a TV (toddler broken) since Tuesday evening. The game of Sorry is a great tool for math and strategy. Thursday evenings are pretty chill around here. I created Airi's Halloween costume, we were all in love, then I walked in the other room to start on Alani's and Airi decided she wants to be the same thing as her sister this year. . .argh!
Friday was "twin day." It's not tough to dress the girls alike :) We had Mr. H for the first time on Friday. The girls did all of the hard work and had a blast. We went to the park much earlier than we ever do, and before we knew it, 3 hours with this handsome little guy were over! Alani's violin teacher had to cancel on account of illness, so what we did in the evening, I can not remember, but by this point we were still not letting our girls know that they could watch all of their favorite shows on the computer yet, so games abound.
We played a lot of Ring-o-Flamingo during this week as well, a game the whole family could enjoy together. And each night we were still going strong with Little House in the Big Woods.
I set Alani to work on computer games a couple of times, but really, with the house cleaning and the new charge and the unpacking and getting back in the groove, we were lucky to get in ONE day of violin practice.
Saturday was a FOUR hour learning experience. We snagged free tickets to the new Museum of Natural History, free tickets to museums of your choice were available through the Smithsonian. You had to pre-order the free tickets, but it was a great opportunity to check out our new museum. I asked at the front how long it takes to get through and was told "about 2 hours." It took us FOUR! Four FULL hours! I was SO thankful that too many people were apparently home watching football games to come out and enjoy a free day at the museum, because it meant that there were not BILLIONS of people there. It was actually a little quiet, busy, but not bouncing off the walls busy. Plenty of room to move around, enjoy exhibits, do hands-on stuff without lines of people or small children shoving. SO wonderful and such a neat experience.
It's possible, in the future, we might consider a membership here. For now, it was a great springboard for considering which avenue to go with science. Alani was too busy trying everything out. . .but it wasn't overwhelming, which was wonderful. No one cried the whole trip. . .amazing, considering Airi was three hours overdue for a nap by the time we left!!! Maybe this week we'll revisit some of what we saw and Alani might be able to consider and decide whether she wants to learn about dinosaurs, plants, animals, land, water, bugs, solar system, rocks. . .it was full of 1st grade science options :)
What a very very full week! Just now, reviewing it, I hadn't realized there were so very many learning opportunities or hours in this week!
19 hours in my estimation, though actually there were more!
Wait. . . wait. . .we came home from a super long day at the Museum, put Airi down for a nap and I tested Alani for placement for her math. She got all of the answers for the 1b section, but I had to talk her through a lot of it. I didn't even test her for 1a, because I know she can breeze through it. So we're going to start at 1b and hope that's a good fit.
I'm soon going to have to break this down into daily blog posts about our learning, because I hope it will become more focused, but also because there are photos I want to share and extras I want to write. . .maybe I just have to keep that for my personal blog :)
20 hours!
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Week 4: Homeschool Away from Home
765 Hours to go
-22.25 hours in week 3
743 Hours left (I'll round up)
Sunday Alani worked on a Girl Scout Project with her Grammy. They also played countless games of yahtzee and checkers. I should count all of this time. Game playing, especially for a 6 year old, is a great way to learn decision making, quick counting, multiplication, addition, strategy, and with Yahtzee she also got to practice writing her numbers. But I can't tell you how many countless hours were spent playing one of these two games. She played checkers with her Grampa, her Grammy and her cousins. She also ran around with an old friend for a few hours and we had church. I count church for "school" hours because it includes history, singing, and craft time, as well as listening to stories, memorization, copywork. . .church has it all, really :)
Alani did violin practice twice while we were in IN . . .oops! But that probably totaled 30 minutes, since she had a lot more to practice this time around.
Monday Alani spent about 30 minutes doing a presentation and in discussion with a group of women Grammy gets together with for bible study. I would say that 30 minutes of presenting something she'd partially memorized, oration, public speaking. . .that's ALL learning time in my book. Then she watched an educational animal DVD for an hour. More game playing. Coloring.
As I watch this school year unfolding before us and realize that this year I am discovering so much about who I am as a mother/teacher and how we will work together as a diad and triad as well, I feel that I'm falling in line with my OWN way of doing things :) I am seeing so much wisdom in recent information I've read which states that until the age of 7, free-play is the greatest learning environment for children. And information that a friend has shared about one of the "most intelligent" (how that's quantified, I'm not sure) cultures in the world, not starting formal schooling until about age 8. I've talked to other friends who homeschool and don't start until age 7. I've watched my own daughter change from a child I thought would be completely unteachable through anything other than arts and crafts, eight months ago, into a child who proclaims that she LOVES math and school and become a believer in myself that we CAN do this without as much pain as I thought it would cause, because I'm waiting on my own child's readiness.
I don't have to hold her back where she is strong and at the moment, I don't have to push too hard where she is not, because she will become more ready to be pushed, as time goes on. I am trying to take more opportunities to deliberately teach her things of the world when we are out and about, things like money management, decision making, but also "that's the sign for bathroom." :) And she seizes opportunities to figure out the world, for instance, she spent about an hour pouring over the safety card in the seat back pocket on the airplane. . .that's important stuff. She knows how to order her own in-flight beverage, without fearing speaking up, saying what she wants, or feeling she shouldn't speak directly to adults with authority on things she understands. She might speak quietly to a group of women about her Girl Scout project, but she CHOSE to do that project, at this time, even when she knew that part of it meant presenting to a group of women she didn't know well, and she was public speaking, even if quietly.
Funny as it is, as I feel myself doing the "unschool" thing, all of the material that appeals to me comes from Well-trained mind. But even then, I do not have to follow a rigid schedule of schooling, even when choosing a classical education. . .we can adapt ANYTHING to our life, our way of learning together. I've been acquiring books slowly due to cost or sharing with other families. And each time I learn a little more. I actually learned this bit in week 5, but while I'm backtracking and sharing thoughts, I'll just share here. The "first language lessons" book was the first book that told me, straight out, 1st graders are not actually physically capable of large amounts of copywork! Writing with Ease eluded to it being difficult, and I was approaching it much like the Violin, it feels weird to hold something that way or in that position or tuck your elbow under, but your mind will begin to take over for your muscles and fall into place and those muscles will build up in a way that it becomes natural for them. The same with writing, right? Nope. . .apparently the 6-8 word copywork sentences in Writing with Ease were supposed to give me the clue that that's about as much as I should even expect from my 6 year old. . . PHEW! I just thought she was whiny :)
While in IN, we really didn't do any focused school work. We read Little House each night, by request from Alani. She played a thousand games of checkers and Yahtzee, practiced her violin twice and played with her cousins a lot.
Back on Track
Tuesday it was cousin time, game playing and Build-a-Bear.
Wednesday it was a carnival that her Grammy and Grampa put on, with a mad-hatter tea, and swimming in the evening (Physical education, strategy, playing well with others).
Thursday it was more Build-a-Bear and then a nature walk with the cousins (who are also homeschooled, quite separately from our decision to do so). The nature walk was probably the most school-like activity that we did during the trip, well, the Indiana part of the trip. And wouldn't you know it? MORE game playing with her Grammy :)
Friday we headed to Kentucky. . .there was probably a geography lesson in there, but between "she touched me" type comments, mom not having the appropriate snacks (though I had like 12 options) and needing stuffed animals from the trunk, necessitating pulling over on the side of the highway. . .I just let the geography lessons slide. We did end up at an old 1880s settlement after dark, so again, there was probably something historical to share there, but I didn't :)
Saturday was a wedding . . . it was lots of playing with a favorite Miss Rae and being REALLY helpful, and riding in a limo three times.
Though there were learning opportunities this week, we'll call this week a wash, because I honestly could not count up the hours spent playing checkers and yahtzee and listening to stories from her Grammy about her own past (okay, I don't know if Alani was around for those. . . but I was sure learning a thing or two).
-22.25 hours in week 3
743 Hours left (I'll round up)
Sunday Alani worked on a Girl Scout Project with her Grammy. They also played countless games of yahtzee and checkers. I should count all of this time. Game playing, especially for a 6 year old, is a great way to learn decision making, quick counting, multiplication, addition, strategy, and with Yahtzee she also got to practice writing her numbers. But I can't tell you how many countless hours were spent playing one of these two games. She played checkers with her Grampa, her Grammy and her cousins. She also ran around with an old friend for a few hours and we had church. I count church for "school" hours because it includes history, singing, and craft time, as well as listening to stories, memorization, copywork. . .church has it all, really :)
Alani did violin practice twice while we were in IN . . .oops! But that probably totaled 30 minutes, since she had a lot more to practice this time around.
Monday Alani spent about 30 minutes doing a presentation and in discussion with a group of women Grammy gets together with for bible study. I would say that 30 minutes of presenting something she'd partially memorized, oration, public speaking. . .that's ALL learning time in my book. Then she watched an educational animal DVD for an hour. More game playing. Coloring.
As I watch this school year unfolding before us and realize that this year I am discovering so much about who I am as a mother/teacher and how we will work together as a diad and triad as well, I feel that I'm falling in line with my OWN way of doing things :) I am seeing so much wisdom in recent information I've read which states that until the age of 7, free-play is the greatest learning environment for children. And information that a friend has shared about one of the "most intelligent" (how that's quantified, I'm not sure) cultures in the world, not starting formal schooling until about age 8. I've talked to other friends who homeschool and don't start until age 7. I've watched my own daughter change from a child I thought would be completely unteachable through anything other than arts and crafts, eight months ago, into a child who proclaims that she LOVES math and school and become a believer in myself that we CAN do this without as much pain as I thought it would cause, because I'm waiting on my own child's readiness.
I don't have to hold her back where she is strong and at the moment, I don't have to push too hard where she is not, because she will become more ready to be pushed, as time goes on. I am trying to take more opportunities to deliberately teach her things of the world when we are out and about, things like money management, decision making, but also "that's the sign for bathroom." :) And she seizes opportunities to figure out the world, for instance, she spent about an hour pouring over the safety card in the seat back pocket on the airplane. . .that's important stuff. She knows how to order her own in-flight beverage, without fearing speaking up, saying what she wants, or feeling she shouldn't speak directly to adults with authority on things she understands. She might speak quietly to a group of women about her Girl Scout project, but she CHOSE to do that project, at this time, even when she knew that part of it meant presenting to a group of women she didn't know well, and she was public speaking, even if quietly.
Funny as it is, as I feel myself doing the "unschool" thing, all of the material that appeals to me comes from Well-trained mind. But even then, I do not have to follow a rigid schedule of schooling, even when choosing a classical education. . .we can adapt ANYTHING to our life, our way of learning together. I've been acquiring books slowly due to cost or sharing with other families. And each time I learn a little more. I actually learned this bit in week 5, but while I'm backtracking and sharing thoughts, I'll just share here. The "first language lessons" book was the first book that told me, straight out, 1st graders are not actually physically capable of large amounts of copywork! Writing with Ease eluded to it being difficult, and I was approaching it much like the Violin, it feels weird to hold something that way or in that position or tuck your elbow under, but your mind will begin to take over for your muscles and fall into place and those muscles will build up in a way that it becomes natural for them. The same with writing, right? Nope. . .apparently the 6-8 word copywork sentences in Writing with Ease were supposed to give me the clue that that's about as much as I should even expect from my 6 year old. . . PHEW! I just thought she was whiny :)
While in IN, we really didn't do any focused school work. We read Little House each night, by request from Alani. She played a thousand games of checkers and Yahtzee, practiced her violin twice and played with her cousins a lot.
Back on Track
Tuesday it was cousin time, game playing and Build-a-Bear.
Wednesday it was a carnival that her Grammy and Grampa put on, with a mad-hatter tea, and swimming in the evening (Physical education, strategy, playing well with others).
Thursday it was more Build-a-Bear and then a nature walk with the cousins (who are also homeschooled, quite separately from our decision to do so). The nature walk was probably the most school-like activity that we did during the trip, well, the Indiana part of the trip. And wouldn't you know it? MORE game playing with her Grammy :)
Friday we headed to Kentucky. . .there was probably a geography lesson in there, but between "she touched me" type comments, mom not having the appropriate snacks (though I had like 12 options) and needing stuffed animals from the trunk, necessitating pulling over on the side of the highway. . .I just let the geography lessons slide. We did end up at an old 1880s settlement after dark, so again, there was probably something historical to share there, but I didn't :)
Saturday was a wedding . . . it was lots of playing with a favorite Miss Rae and being REALLY helpful, and riding in a limo three times.
Though there were learning opportunities this week, we'll call this week a wash, because I honestly could not count up the hours spent playing checkers and yahtzee and listening to stories from her Grammy about her own past (okay, I don't know if Alani was around for those. . . but I was sure learning a thing or two).
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Week Three
786 to start the week
-21 more hours down
765 hours to go
Sunday Alani practiced her violin, which takes like 7 whole minutes. . .but 7 minutes is 7 minutes, MAN!
Monday is our family's day off. I'm generally gone during the morning and Mike gone in the afternoon, with something as a family in the evening.
Today it poured rain, I asked Alani if she wanted to start a weather journal. . .she was more interested in hiding under a blanket with her sister during the storm. . .I'm okay with that. Any time they can play happily together, is a good time for me.
During naptime we did reading today, even though Monday is a day I allow more TV watching and less thinking :)
Monday:
Math-30 minutes computer games
Alani reading to me "Dream Big Pig" -20 minutes (half of the book)
Little House in the Big Woods-I read to Alani 15 minutes
She started violin practice, but was so hungry that she was totally breaking down on her FIRST of five "show-me" bow and violin placement. That's all that's required this week. I don't know if she's discouraged because it's just awkward at this moment for the hand placement, or if she's frustrated because she wants to already know how to PLAY, but has to do this ground work first. . .she said she was JUST hungry and that's why she was upset. We'll try again before bedtime.
1.25 hours of school on our day off. . .fantastic :)
Tuesday:
ABCs & Alliteration-30 mins leapfrog show
35 mins yoga-PE/healthy living
1.75 hours Wheeler Farm-notebooking and making observations about animals (will translate to copywork and handwriting later) Science
More leapfrog-30 minutes
Discussion on respecting Authority (with GS troop)-20 mins
1 hour-Fire Dept.
45m round trip walk from fire dept
2 hours monopoly with daddy on wii-makes math and reasoning and decision making, fun
30 more minutes leap frog
Today was a big day of educational opportunities
about 7.5 hours
Last night I asked for a poll on whether I should teach Alani from BrightStarts or Singapore. . . mixed reviews and even some additional suggestions. I was slightly appalled to hear from a parent of one of her peers that math hasn't even been introduced to the kids yet and they are three weeks in to school. It's all been reading. At least if I do a different subject every day or every few days, I'm still offering more well-rounding than the public schools who are focusing almost solely on one subject at the moment.
Since Sunday I kind of put my foot down about at least watching educational cartoons for the two allowable shows in the morning. I also prefer at least just cartoons for the evening, maybe an occasional Disney teenage focused show, will be okay. Alani has taken an interest in responsibly choosing ONLY leapfrog today and is excited to help her sister learn. . .it's very sweet and wonderful, making my job a little easier.
The girls wandered all of Wheeler Farm holding hands today, pretty much the sweetest thing. Airi also wanted to hold Alani's hand throughout the fire station and on the walk all the way to Sofi's house. Preciousness. . .when they are in wide open spaces, they get along SO well. It just goes to show that being cooped up in the house IS part of the reason for their quarreling most days. Airi helped me with the dishes tonight "Mom, I need my spongeBOB toe I tan wash dishes." Washing dishes with a toddler isn't always easy or convenient, but it sure is much more pleasant :)
Wednesday
Co-op meeting 10-11:30
I worked on pruning tomatoes while girls watched leap frog 12-1
No nap!!! GRRR!!!
Renee and girls showed up about 3
Ice skating 4:30-5:30
small group 7-8
4.5
In talking with friends lately, about which math program to go with, I've learned that math curriculum in particular, assumes that kids are taking a whole summer off from school, therefore a lot of the start of a new "year" of math ends up being review. I don't currently have intention to have a huge break from school. . .heck, we're barely even STARTING school. I assume that a day here and there, or even a week here and there, will be devoted to travel, to errands, to someone being sick, or whatever comes along. I also assume, since our belief and focus is on learning in life, the learning CAN'T actually ever stop.
I'm not overly prepared or organized. I kind of feel out Alani. If Alani is begging to do school work, we do something, if Alani seems a little low or whiny or overly tired, we're just NOT going to get as much done. I really don't want to fight with my kid every day about school. Generally speaking she's pretty interested and excited each day to learn something new. She request math and handwriting. We got "Writing with Ease" this afternoon and she happily requested to do copywork for a pretty long section at TEN at night! And she did it, she was even correcting and reminding me that I'd forgotten to dot an "i" here and there!
On Thursday morning she got up and said she WANTED to finish her copywork and do her violin practice! She finished the copywork, though there was also a show on, so it took a while, but she did a fantastic job. I was doing the "test" to see if I should start her at 1st or 2nd year. As far as copywork, she's totally capable, but I'm not sure she's ready yet for the oral reading comprehension of such a large section of reading. I also think there might be some building blocks in the "year 1" section that are important. So I'm going to start there.
Each day is challenging, either there is a toddler to deal with or someone else's schedule. Errands that need running, etc. I'm not prepared to spend the whole day doing school-type stuff. I'm not even prepared to schedule it out. I did sit down the other night and jot down some ideas for the week, before we leave town, of things I'd like to see us do each day. It's not hard and fast. If something comes up, it does. . . but at least when we ARE home and available, I know what things we could do with a toddler around and what things we should strive to do during naptime. That's been helpful.
Thursday
Leap Frog and Bo On The Go
Copywork for 30 minutes (during show)
Yoga 35 minutes
We got ready and ran an errand with two stops
1:30-4 art class!!!
4-4:20 Alani read
4:20-4:45 Writing with Ease "Day 2"
Violin 45
6 hours
(19.75)
I honestly don't know how we'd get in everything I want to get in on a daily basis. . .writing practice, reading, math, spelling, vocab, history, art, craft, yoga. . .sometimes it just happens and it's easy. . .one change I've made this week is that I'd like yoga to be t/th, so I put out the mats the night before and put the DVD in the player. . .at least that way, it nags at me and I can't avoid it or forget. I know the rhythm is coming . . . I want to be sure not to compare our experience to that of other people's. . .the lovely and beautiful thing about homeschooling is that it's about OUR family and what works for us. . .I think I'm more unschooling than I realized I would be comfortable with, I just have to be sure that I let myself be okay with that!
And Friday my girls were sick. . . little learning goes on when littles are sick and the mama just HAS to get ready for a trip. That doesn't mean that there weren't some computer math games or some leapfrog on television, but in all honesty, I don't remember what we did. . . I just remember that Airi threw up all over me in the night, many times, and Alani complained of her belly most of the day, and that I was busy getting clothes washed, last minute items purchased and things packed up for 10 days of traveling ahead of us.
Friday will get an hour, because I'm feeling generous and forgetful.
Since I try to take these weeks through Saturday, on Saturday Alani did spent at least an hour working on the Singapore Math 1A workbook and I drew our traveling route in pencil on the back of a Southwest napkin, where they have a great little map of the US.
So Saturday gets
1.5 hours!
I also don't know how many times I read Little House this week, for bedtime stories, but I count that, because it's our "classic" book or "good literature" right now :) And it is BELOVED!
So that puts us at 22.25
-21 more hours down
765 hours to go
Sunday Alani practiced her violin, which takes like 7 whole minutes. . .but 7 minutes is 7 minutes, MAN!
Today it poured rain, I asked Alani if she wanted to start a weather journal. . .she was more interested in hiding under a blanket with her sister during the storm. . .I'm okay with that. Any time they can play happily together, is a good time for me.
During naptime we did reading today, even though Monday is a day I allow more TV watching and less thinking :)
Monday:
Math-30 minutes computer games
Alani reading to me "Dream Big Pig" -20 minutes (half of the book)
Little House in the Big Woods-I read to Alani 15 minutes
She started violin practice, but was so hungry that she was totally breaking down on her FIRST of five "show-me" bow and violin placement. That's all that's required this week. I don't know if she's discouraged because it's just awkward at this moment for the hand placement, or if she's frustrated because she wants to already know how to PLAY, but has to do this ground work first. . .she said she was JUST hungry and that's why she was upset. We'll try again before bedtime.
1.25 hours of school on our day off. . .fantastic :)
Tuesday:
ABCs & Alliteration-30 mins leapfrog show
35 mins yoga-PE/healthy living
1.75 hours Wheeler Farm-notebooking and making observations about animals (will translate to copywork and handwriting later) Science
More leapfrog-30 minutes
Discussion on respecting Authority (with GS troop)-20 mins
1 hour-Fire Dept.
45m round trip walk from fire dept
2 hours monopoly with daddy on wii-makes math and reasoning and decision making, fun
30 more minutes leap frog
Today was a big day of educational opportunities
about 7.5 hours
Last night I asked for a poll on whether I should teach Alani from BrightStarts or Singapore. . . mixed reviews and even some additional suggestions. I was slightly appalled to hear from a parent of one of her peers that math hasn't even been introduced to the kids yet and they are three weeks in to school. It's all been reading. At least if I do a different subject every day or every few days, I'm still offering more well-rounding than the public schools who are focusing almost solely on one subject at the moment.
Since Sunday I kind of put my foot down about at least watching educational cartoons for the two allowable shows in the morning. I also prefer at least just cartoons for the evening, maybe an occasional Disney teenage focused show, will be okay. Alani has taken an interest in responsibly choosing ONLY leapfrog today and is excited to help her sister learn. . .it's very sweet and wonderful, making my job a little easier.
The girls wandered all of Wheeler Farm holding hands today, pretty much the sweetest thing. Airi also wanted to hold Alani's hand throughout the fire station and on the walk all the way to Sofi's house. Preciousness. . .when they are in wide open spaces, they get along SO well. It just goes to show that being cooped up in the house IS part of the reason for their quarreling most days. Airi helped me with the dishes tonight "Mom, I need my spongeBOB toe I tan wash dishes." Washing dishes with a toddler isn't always easy or convenient, but it sure is much more pleasant :)
Wednesday
Co-op meeting 10-11:30
I worked on pruning tomatoes while girls watched leap frog 12-1
No nap!!! GRRR!!!
Renee and girls showed up about 3
Ice skating 4:30-5:30
small group 7-8
4.5
In talking with friends lately, about which math program to go with, I've learned that math curriculum in particular, assumes that kids are taking a whole summer off from school, therefore a lot of the start of a new "year" of math ends up being review. I don't currently have intention to have a huge break from school. . .heck, we're barely even STARTING school. I assume that a day here and there, or even a week here and there, will be devoted to travel, to errands, to someone being sick, or whatever comes along. I also assume, since our belief and focus is on learning in life, the learning CAN'T actually ever stop.
I'm not overly prepared or organized. I kind of feel out Alani. If Alani is begging to do school work, we do something, if Alani seems a little low or whiny or overly tired, we're just NOT going to get as much done. I really don't want to fight with my kid every day about school. Generally speaking she's pretty interested and excited each day to learn something new. She request math and handwriting. We got "Writing with Ease" this afternoon and she happily requested to do copywork for a pretty long section at TEN at night! And she did it, she was even correcting and reminding me that I'd forgotten to dot an "i" here and there!
On Thursday morning she got up and said she WANTED to finish her copywork and do her violin practice! She finished the copywork, though there was also a show on, so it took a while, but she did a fantastic job. I was doing the "test" to see if I should start her at 1st or 2nd year. As far as copywork, she's totally capable, but I'm not sure she's ready yet for the oral reading comprehension of such a large section of reading. I also think there might be some building blocks in the "year 1" section that are important. So I'm going to start there.
Each day is challenging, either there is a toddler to deal with or someone else's schedule. Errands that need running, etc. I'm not prepared to spend the whole day doing school-type stuff. I'm not even prepared to schedule it out. I did sit down the other night and jot down some ideas for the week, before we leave town, of things I'd like to see us do each day. It's not hard and fast. If something comes up, it does. . . but at least when we ARE home and available, I know what things we could do with a toddler around and what things we should strive to do during naptime. That's been helpful.
Thursday
Leap Frog and Bo On The Go
Copywork for 30 minutes (during show)
Yoga 35 minutes
We got ready and ran an errand with two stops
1:30-4 art class!!!
4-4:20 Alani read
4:20-4:45 Writing with Ease "Day 2"
Violin 45
6 hours
(19.75)
I honestly don't know how we'd get in everything I want to get in on a daily basis. . .writing practice, reading, math, spelling, vocab, history, art, craft, yoga. . .sometimes it just happens and it's easy. . .one change I've made this week is that I'd like yoga to be t/th, so I put out the mats the night before and put the DVD in the player. . .at least that way, it nags at me and I can't avoid it or forget. I know the rhythm is coming . . . I want to be sure not to compare our experience to that of other people's. . .the lovely and beautiful thing about homeschooling is that it's about OUR family and what works for us. . .I think I'm more unschooling than I realized I would be comfortable with, I just have to be sure that I let myself be okay with that!
And Friday my girls were sick. . . little learning goes on when littles are sick and the mama just HAS to get ready for a trip. That doesn't mean that there weren't some computer math games or some leapfrog on television, but in all honesty, I don't remember what we did. . . I just remember that Airi threw up all over me in the night, many times, and Alani complained of her belly most of the day, and that I was busy getting clothes washed, last minute items purchased and things packed up for 10 days of traveling ahead of us.
Friday will get an hour, because I'm feeling generous and forgetful.
Since I try to take these weeks through Saturday, on Saturday Alani did spent at least an hour working on the Singapore Math 1A workbook and I drew our traveling route in pencil on the back of a Southwest napkin, where they have a great little map of the US.
So Saturday gets
1.5 hours!
I also don't know how many times I read Little House this week, for bedtime stories, but I count that, because it's our "classic" book or "good literature" right now :) And it is BELOVED!
So that puts us at 22.25
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Week 2
810 hours to start
-24 hours (week 1)
Only 786 hours to go. . .I should get one of those "baby tickers" to show my progress :)
Monday: Labor Day
1.5 hours Birth Rally-Social Studies (yeah, on a holiday) & Healthy Living. She might be a little young for a Govt Class, but this would also qualify, I guess that's the "S.S." requirement at this age
1 hour math-Unit 7 measures and geometry
20m-Unit 1: Parts of Speech- Nouns
Handwriting (for above)
Do I use the centimeters or measuring? :) UH, yeah!
Finished Unit 7 of Math section. . .finally we can move on
Computer Math-1 hour
30 minutes: Made pizza dough with Mike-measures and "the arts"
Reminds herself to check her answers twice:
"I don't have to make up silly ways to remind Alani to check her work, she does it all on her own "OH, I should have checked twice, just like Santa checks his naughty and nice list." bwahahahahaha. . .I did try to make it rhyme "Always check twice, like Santa checks who's naughty and nice." But she corrected me and went back to saying it her own way :)
Tuesday: La Leche League
Spent the morning watching shows, then I went off to LLL while Mike took them to the mall. . .I'm sure they learned SOMETHING there right? Then they were at LLL with me playing with friends.
1 hour-Phonics workbook "bl" "br" and "ch" blends, this also included reading and writing practice
Tuesday was a day a little light on the schooling, then she taught her sister how to play Go Ballerina
Wednesday: Cafe Debriefing
2 hours Park and Water Play
During naptime: 5 games of mastermind and 1 "go ballerina"
Followed by at least 1, maybe 2 hours of Phonics workbook
Both girls helped in different parts of making dinner
Airi on the porch making "snow" with a little sifter and flour, then she moved on to using the meat tenderizer to beat up the dead lavendar plant. . .discovery :)
1.5 hours small group: Singing and playing outside
I've had to reevaluate what homeschool is going to look like in this house, particularly this first year of giving it the old college try. Homeschooling is not a set of hours in a row at the moment. It's mostly workbooks, because they are stretching Alani's mind and giving her daily practice at reading, writing, sounds, math, etc. It's free reading time and I really do need to be focusing more time on reading something "classic" with her too. It's asking her to quietly do phonics blend sounds while I get her sister to sleep at whatever time of day Airi decides is naptime. It's checking her work between washing dishes, when she completes one of the pages. It's also a lot about getting outside and being active, as well as meeting new people or playing with common friends.
So on Thursday, homeschool looked like:
2 hours of playing with a brand new friend (Beach) who is older and has very different interests than her own, and a fairly new friend (Marley) who she really seems to easily click with.
1 hour of hanging around with her dad as he taught differently abled people how to make calzones (Diego & David, adult men)
1 hour of art class, where she painted in a class WITH David and Diego, which pushed her outside her comfort zone when considering it, but she completely enjoyed once she was there
20 minutes (at least)-Math drills where she asked me to give her "10s and 1s" equations to figure out
1.5 hours of phonics-blending sounds workbook (which included listening to directions, reading, handwriting and phonics)
and 2 hours of playing with good friends (Abigail, Nora and Zoey) and another completely new friend (Leona) while playing dress up and make-believe during a Girl Scout parent meeting
That's nearly 8 hours hours of learning about new people and new interests, the arts, a little "school" type work and moving around a whole lot. . .and today, that's what school looked like. Tomorrow I'm going to clean off the table, because we're having guests. . . and then I was thinking that maybe we could get into this book about artists that I really want to embrace, use the table for some creative space, get the little one involved. And Alani, though she complained about having to do yoga a second day in a row (which we didn't) last week, said today that she absolutely loves yoga. . .so we need to make sure that's back on our priority list.
Today I pulled out "Little House in the Big Woods." I've owned it since I was 9, and never read it. . .I have the entire series. I think reading "a good classic book" will really enhance our time together during naptimes. And making sure she had reading time every day too. I know there will be times when we hurry up through something and times when we are finding our compass. . .I thought I had a great plan, I got derailed after day 1 and I've been leery of doing anything similar again. . .but if at first you don't succeed, find another way around :)
I realized yesterday that our current schedule is working for us at the moment. And today, while talking with a friend about how things are going with this new chapter of our lives, I verbalized (and have been feeling) that some of our more focused, purposeful book learning, seems to naturally begin around January. It just feels more natural at that time of year when we are forced inside and I don't desire to leave or run "quick" errands, etc. For now, we'll still get together with people in the mornings before naptime, or do our own thing, or run errands. It would seem that just running from store to store is enough stimulation for my little one to require a "normal" midday nap, as was the case today.
So this morning we shopped for a friend's birthday, and new fall clothes for my big kid, who is SIX now and has pants that aren't getting any longer, in her dresser drawers. We bought wigs for halloween :) Then Airi went easily down for a nap when we got home, while Alani worked on her Phonics blends again.
Sometimes there is a personal expectation. *I* feel like a good (homeschooling) mom when we do the work we *should* do. . . but should we? Or should we just look for the learning opportunities as the day goes? This is our second week for the girls getting an "allowance" (or really just some spending money). It has given Alani a real sense of responsibility and pause. The first week it was like "I'm ready to spend this NOW." But as the week went on and the dollars grew thin, she had to consider her purchases. Today she got her money again. Then she asked if we could buy something at the store. I said "Sure, it's $4" and she said "Then I'd only have ONE dollar left for the week?" Her sister saw the same item and it was something large enough to share, so I proposed "If you'd like this, would you like to go in on it? That leaves you each with $3 this week." And they were excited about that. It helped that I said I would buy the last icee of the season with MY money instead of theirs tonight :)
This week Alani FINALLY got her free fair ticket in the mail, for reading ten books all on her own before mid-summer. It also came with a free ride ticket and a free drink ticket. We've decided we don't have the money to do the fair this year. When considering the options, we came up with either Mike taking her on his own, or all of us going together, both options cost nearly the same amount, depending on which date we were to choose. Then Mike said "Why don't we offer to buy Alani's ticket from her?" So we decided to do that and she chose an activity that the whole family could for the same $10. . .we'll be going to Nicklemania on Monday, as a family :)
I got Alani a cool new "magic multiplication" board and she had so much fun asking me multiplication equations on all of our drives today
Math-30 minutes (oh and "10s and 1s" drills with Beta too)
Violin-30 minutes
Phonics-30 minutes
A light day-I'm trying to create a modified loose, but more structured (at least a list of things I'd like to accomplish each day) plan to begin implementing next week. I have a feeling I'll be revising and revising almost the entire year as our rhythms change with changing toddlers, changing seasons and changing needs (and HOPEFULLY changing spaces too) this first official year of homeschool.
I'm looking forward to starting with our co-op, our history book, and getting a copy of our first Fred book from my friend "CJ" next week.
20.5 is where we end this week. . .oh, maybe 21
I thought there would be something school-like on Saturday. We did go to the Farmer's market, so there was the 30 minutes of walking/wandering and then Alani making some purchases with cash she had in hand. After that it was a birthday party and our annual "Pig Pickin'" where a hundred or so people show up to devour an entire pig that's been cooking on the giant grill in our backyard since 4am. . . but there was really nothing to learn there, seriously NOTHING!
We even forgot to practice violin. . the FIRST day of practice and we forgot!!! OOPS! We promise to do our practice on Sunday Miss Mindy.
-24 hours (week 1)
Only 786 hours to go. . .I should get one of those "baby tickers" to show my progress :)
Monday: Labor Day
1.5 hours Birth Rally-Social Studies (yeah, on a holiday) & Healthy Living. She might be a little young for a Govt Class, but this would also qualify, I guess that's the "S.S." requirement at this age
1 hour math-Unit 7 measures and geometry
20m-Unit 1: Parts of Speech- Nouns
Handwriting (for above)
Do I use the centimeters or measuring? :) UH, yeah!
Finished Unit 7 of Math section. . .finally we can move on
Computer Math-1 hour
30 minutes: Made pizza dough with Mike-measures and "the arts"
Reminds herself to check her answers twice:
"I don't have to make up silly ways to remind Alani to check her work, she does it all on her own "OH, I should have checked twice, just like Santa checks his naughty and nice list." bwahahahahaha. . .I did try to make it rhyme "Always check twice, like Santa checks who's naughty and nice." But she corrected me and went back to saying it her own way :)
Tuesday: La Leche League
Spent the morning watching shows, then I went off to LLL while Mike took them to the mall. . .I'm sure they learned SOMETHING there right? Then they were at LLL with me playing with friends.
1 hour-Phonics workbook "bl" "br" and "ch" blends, this also included reading and writing practice
Tuesday was a day a little light on the schooling, then she taught her sister how to play Go Ballerina
Wednesday: Cafe Debriefing
2 hours Park and Water Play
During naptime: 5 games of mastermind and 1 "go ballerina"
Followed by at least 1, maybe 2 hours of Phonics workbook
Both girls helped in different parts of making dinner
Airi on the porch making "snow" with a little sifter and flour, then she moved on to using the meat tenderizer to beat up the dead lavendar plant. . .discovery :)
1.5 hours small group: Singing and playing outside
I've had to reevaluate what homeschool is going to look like in this house, particularly this first year of giving it the old college try. Homeschooling is not a set of hours in a row at the moment. It's mostly workbooks, because they are stretching Alani's mind and giving her daily practice at reading, writing, sounds, math, etc. It's free reading time and I really do need to be focusing more time on reading something "classic" with her too. It's asking her to quietly do phonics blend sounds while I get her sister to sleep at whatever time of day Airi decides is naptime. It's checking her work between washing dishes, when she completes one of the pages. It's also a lot about getting outside and being active, as well as meeting new people or playing with common friends.
So on Thursday, homeschool looked like:
2 hours of playing with a brand new friend (Beach) who is older and has very different interests than her own, and a fairly new friend (Marley) who she really seems to easily click with.
1 hour of hanging around with her dad as he taught differently abled people how to make calzones (Diego & David, adult men)
1 hour of art class, where she painted in a class WITH David and Diego, which pushed her outside her comfort zone when considering it, but she completely enjoyed once she was there
20 minutes (at least)-Math drills where she asked me to give her "10s and 1s" equations to figure out
1.5 hours of phonics-blending sounds workbook (which included listening to directions, reading, handwriting and phonics)
and 2 hours of playing with good friends (Abigail, Nora and Zoey) and another completely new friend (Leona) while playing dress up and make-believe during a Girl Scout parent meeting
That's nearly 8 hours hours of learning about new people and new interests, the arts, a little "school" type work and moving around a whole lot. . .and today, that's what school looked like. Tomorrow I'm going to clean off the table, because we're having guests. . . and then I was thinking that maybe we could get into this book about artists that I really want to embrace, use the table for some creative space, get the little one involved. And Alani, though she complained about having to do yoga a second day in a row (which we didn't) last week, said today that she absolutely loves yoga. . .so we need to make sure that's back on our priority list.
Today I pulled out "Little House in the Big Woods." I've owned it since I was 9, and never read it. . .I have the entire series. I think reading "a good classic book" will really enhance our time together during naptimes. And making sure she had reading time every day too. I know there will be times when we hurry up through something and times when we are finding our compass. . .I thought I had a great plan, I got derailed after day 1 and I've been leery of doing anything similar again. . .but if at first you don't succeed, find another way around :)
So this morning we shopped for a friend's birthday, and new fall clothes for my big kid, who is SIX now and has pants that aren't getting any longer, in her dresser drawers. We bought wigs for halloween :) Then Airi went easily down for a nap when we got home, while Alani worked on her Phonics blends again.
Sometimes there is a personal expectation. *I* feel like a good (homeschooling) mom when we do the work we *should* do. . . but should we? Or should we just look for the learning opportunities as the day goes? This is our second week for the girls getting an "allowance" (or really just some spending money). It has given Alani a real sense of responsibility and pause. The first week it was like "I'm ready to spend this NOW." But as the week went on and the dollars grew thin, she had to consider her purchases. Today she got her money again. Then she asked if we could buy something at the store. I said "Sure, it's $4" and she said "Then I'd only have ONE dollar left for the week?" Her sister saw the same item and it was something large enough to share, so I proposed "If you'd like this, would you like to go in on it? That leaves you each with $3 this week." And they were excited about that. It helped that I said I would buy the last icee of the season with MY money instead of theirs tonight :)
This week Alani FINALLY got her free fair ticket in the mail, for reading ten books all on her own before mid-summer. It also came with a free ride ticket and a free drink ticket. We've decided we don't have the money to do the fair this year. When considering the options, we came up with either Mike taking her on his own, or all of us going together, both options cost nearly the same amount, depending on which date we were to choose. Then Mike said "Why don't we offer to buy Alani's ticket from her?" So we decided to do that and she chose an activity that the whole family could for the same $10. . .we'll be going to Nicklemania on Monday, as a family :)
I got Alani a cool new "magic multiplication" board and she had so much fun asking me multiplication equations on all of our drives today
Math-30 minutes (oh and "10s and 1s" drills with Beta too)
Violin-30 minutes
Phonics-30 minutes
I'm looking forward to starting with our co-op, our history book, and getting a copy of our first Fred book from my friend "CJ" next week.
20.5 is where we end this week. . .oh, maybe 21
I thought there would be something school-like on Saturday. We did go to the Farmer's market, so there was the 30 minutes of walking/wandering and then Alani making some purchases with cash she had in hand. After that it was a birthday party and our annual "Pig Pickin'" where a hundred or so people show up to devour an entire pig that's been cooking on the giant grill in our backyard since 4am. . . but there was really nothing to learn there, seriously NOTHING!
We even forgot to practice violin. . the FIRST day of practice and we forgot!!! OOPS! We promise to do our practice on Sunday Miss Mindy.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Homeschooling Week 1
Readers be warned: This is my journaling as I go, so it may be really messy to read. . .it's a first and only draft, almost always!
Day 1: Monday
Turned in my affadavit to the School Board!!! It's REAL!
2 hours of math "complete curriculum" unit 1 (math)
1 hour ice skating practice (healthy living/PE)
Day 2: Tuesday
2 hours park play with Marley (S.S. & Healthy Living)
2 hours math "complete curriculum" Unit 2 (math)
2 hours math (computer play)
Day 3: (official first day of school) funny. . .received my affadavit in the mail this morning just as we were beginning. Wednesday
35 minutes Yoga
30 minutes reading "Sylvie"
1 hour "complete curriculum Unit 3 (math)
30 minutes writing ("First Day of First Grade" sheet)
2 hours church small group (arts-singing, S.S., healthy living/PE)
1 hour math games online
Today was our first official day of school, at least the day I'd prepared for with a little planning. I've apparently misplaced Alani's history book. . .UGH. . .I am so excited about using this. I still don't know what we're supposed to do for science, but I think maybe we'll go with some of the books Miss Kay gave us a couple of years ago and start with the body! So many subjects intersect that sometimes I'm not sure where they fit, but I'm just counting everything we do as we go along each week. I'm going to TRY to log it weekly. It won't be a curriculum, it won't always have a certain order, but I do want to track what life-learning we do.
Monday night we went out to get a new "first day" outfit and a backpack. I wasn't sure I wanted to do a backpack, because it's just one more "bag" in our house, but I decided that I actually love all of those "back to school" traditions, I'm not doing this to be "non-traditional" or "buck commercialism" I'm just doing this because this is the way that seems right for US. I'm not even in a place where I think it's right for ALL kids, but it's right for MY kids. Since I'm also photo crazy, of course I want a "first day of school" photo! Airi REALLY wanted a backpack too, but I just decided we'd hand down Alani's ladybug backpack. I promised Airi there was a backpack waiting for her at home, thankfully this was good enough. As a birthday gift from last year, she had a little soft lunch pail which still had the tags on it, so I was also able to present that to her as "brand new."
You won't believe what kind of impact a back pack can have on the confidence of EVERYONE in the house! Alani was so proud to show hers off to her dad and Airi was a proud little monster toting her own new backpack around. In the end, the reason I decided on a backpack was multi-fold 1) I struggle with organization, at least this would offer a specific bag that could and would hold school supplies and books so we wouldn't be searching for books EVERY single day (case in point, I can't find Story of the World at the moment, when I thought it was with the math art books, all of which I CAN find) 2) It would make Alani feel more official at the start of the year and also feel responsible for her school belongs and 3) Well, it's just plain fun isn't it? To get a new backpack at the start of the school year? Surely we don't have to give up all rituals, routines and traditions of "going back to school" even though we never left!
Alani has been so excited about math, she insists on doing math each day, even though I didn't want to start until Wednesday. She asks to do math every day "When can I do more math?" and is really just a crack up "OOH, YAY, more graphs!" This whole week has been exciting for her. We went to get fitted for a violin on Tuesday, so this new thing she wants to do will also add to her list of activities that "count" for school (the arts). It's going to be a fun adventure!!!
Wednesday:
Today we officially started school with 35 minutes of yoga. Airi enjoyed part of it, then played with her foam craft clay stuff on her yoga mat the rest of the time. She actually SEEMED to do quite well for the entire morning as Alani did school. BUT. . .
I was ill prepared that though my toddler seemed contended to hang out, coloring on her TY notes for her birthday, while Alani and I worked on school all morning, and even participated in about half of the yoga "class" she became a complete bear in the afternoon due to 1) giant sugar cookie 2) no other food 3) daddy being home when it should have been naptime 4)no AM stimulation either social or physical and 5) severe lack of focused attention on her. She was nasty all afternoon, shouting at me, slamming doors, saying "PINE" and "I don't like you!" sweeping things ON to the floor from other surfaces. I put her in the bedroom for like a single minute as she cried "no mommy, no mommy, no mommy" because I needed to cool off and pick up a mess she'd made, during which time she peed in the corner of the room because she was mad at me. Later she would say "PINE I will go in the bedyume by myself" or tell me how I had to go into the bedroom and be alone if i was naughty . . it really hurt her feelings that i'd done that, but I needed the moment!!! I also kept telling her she needed to spend time alone if she was going to be hurtful and nasty towards people. Eventually Alani was playing a game on the computer, so Airi and I went into the bedroom where she performed shows and I read to her and she put on jewelry and this seemed to smooth us over, she just wanted me undivided attention, even saying things when I'd leave the room "don't leave me mama" and "are you coming back to be with me mama?" POOR kid. . .obviously this AM school schedule is not going to work, she needs friends and stimulation and attention before naptime if she's going to get down to a nap easily and securely. So I think we might need to start with yoga, then plan to leave the house for an hour or so, doing focused school time with alani during naptime and beyond. We also need to cut a LOT of sugar!!! ALL OF US!!! And I need to get them eating better, more consistently and more protein.
Day 4: Thursday
1 hour of crying (mom)
3 hours of playing with friends: dress up, problem solving, washing babies
2 hours of math (I swear, she does this on her own!)
I often forget to note how long she plays on the computer, but she's learning some computer proficiency as well as always playing a math game, it's nearly an hour each day
Thursday was a normal day as we've always known it. The morning was rough, carry over from yesterday. We headed to Melissa's at noon and spent 3 hours there, just playing. Social interaction. I guess we can cross of three hours of social studies or maybe the arts (dress up), or "healthy living" (mothering their dollies) or eh, I'm SURE recess is counted too, right? There is so much learning in just socializing with other kids during this age particularly, and working with kids of other ages too (the little sisters). .. learning never really stops.
Back at home we had another 2 hours of math. Alani has decided she will not work on any other part of the "complete curriculum" workbook until she finishes all of the math. There are seven units of math and she's doing nearly a full unit each day. I also found her history book!
Day 7: Friday
2 hours math
Reading
Friday we picked up Alani's violin. We also started a new "allowance" system, which is going to continue to solidify the concepts surrounding money we've begun working on, first in Girl Scouts a month ago and now, today, as the math unit Alani worked on, coins. Another 2 hours of math and some practice reading.
Day 6: Saturday
30 minute walk
1 hour at farmer's market (SS)
Purchased music stand from woman in Bountiful, it has a rich history and is over 50 years (probably much older) old
Saturday, yeah, we even did some learning on Saturday, another hour working on "time" and beginning a unit on geometry and measurement. I'm really excited about moving on from this curriculum. I think she's really able to pick up on math concepts, at least on first grade math. We're going to do Life of Fred from here and also get her a workbook for the "gifted" math student, to see how she does with that.
We also did the Farmer's market on Saturday and the girls insisted on walking, so 30 minutes of "healthy living" added to an hour of farmer's market, Alani spending her own money and learning even more about "healthy living."
The learning is in life, and by logging here I want to remind myself and others that we are learning these "core" and basic things so much of the day. I hope in the coming weeks we'll be able to get a better handle on how the flow of school will work. At this point it's really easy to work on math with Alani, but every day she talks about how excited she is to do school work. I think she likes the mind stimulation but more than anything, she enjoys the focused attention from her mom. I hope this continues to spill into her life and I can find a balance for our whole family as we school in years ahead.
I have to admit this first week had significant struggles and difficulties, but I have to put on my "problem solver" hat and start working things out with my girls instead of being reactionary.
Day 1: Monday
Turned in my affadavit to the School Board!!! It's REAL!
2 hours of math "complete curriculum" unit 1 (math)
1 hour ice skating practice (healthy living/PE)
Day 2: Tuesday
2 hours park play with Marley (S.S. & Healthy Living)
2 hours math "complete curriculum" Unit 2 (math)
2 hours math (computer play)
Day 3: (official first day of school) funny. . .received my affadavit in the mail this morning just as we were beginning. Wednesday
35 minutes Yoga
30 minutes reading "Sylvie"
1 hour "complete curriculum Unit 3 (math)
30 minutes writing ("First Day of First Grade" sheet)
2 hours church small group (arts-singing, S.S., healthy living/PE)
1 hour math games online
Today was our first official day of school, at least the day I'd prepared for with a little planning. I've apparently misplaced Alani's history book. . .UGH. . .I am so excited about using this. I still don't know what we're supposed to do for science, but I think maybe we'll go with some of the books Miss Kay gave us a couple of years ago and start with the body! So many subjects intersect that sometimes I'm not sure where they fit, but I'm just counting everything we do as we go along each week. I'm going to TRY to log it weekly. It won't be a curriculum, it won't always have a certain order, but I do want to track what life-learning we do.
Monday night we went out to get a new "first day" outfit and a backpack. I wasn't sure I wanted to do a backpack, because it's just one more "bag" in our house, but I decided that I actually love all of those "back to school" traditions, I'm not doing this to be "non-traditional" or "buck commercialism" I'm just doing this because this is the way that seems right for US. I'm not even in a place where I think it's right for ALL kids, but it's right for MY kids. Since I'm also photo crazy, of course I want a "first day of school" photo! Airi REALLY wanted a backpack too, but I just decided we'd hand down Alani's ladybug backpack. I promised Airi there was a backpack waiting for her at home, thankfully this was good enough. As a birthday gift from last year, she had a little soft lunch pail which still had the tags on it, so I was also able to present that to her as "brand new."
You won't believe what kind of impact a back pack can have on the confidence of EVERYONE in the house! Alani was so proud to show hers off to her dad and Airi was a proud little monster toting her own new backpack around. In the end, the reason I decided on a backpack was multi-fold 1) I struggle with organization, at least this would offer a specific bag that could and would hold school supplies and books so we wouldn't be searching for books EVERY single day (case in point, I can't find Story of the World at the moment, when I thought it was with the math art books, all of which I CAN find) 2) It would make Alani feel more official at the start of the year and also feel responsible for her school belongs and 3) Well, it's just plain fun isn't it? To get a new backpack at the start of the school year? Surely we don't have to give up all rituals, routines and traditions of "going back to school" even though we never left!
Alani has been so excited about math, she insists on doing math each day, even though I didn't want to start until Wednesday. She asks to do math every day "When can I do more math?" and is really just a crack up "OOH, YAY, more graphs!" This whole week has been exciting for her. We went to get fitted for a violin on Tuesday, so this new thing she wants to do will also add to her list of activities that "count" for school (the arts). It's going to be a fun adventure!!!
Wednesday:
Today we officially started school with 35 minutes of yoga. Airi enjoyed part of it, then played with her foam craft clay stuff on her yoga mat the rest of the time. She actually SEEMED to do quite well for the entire morning as Alani did school. BUT. . .
I was ill prepared that though my toddler seemed contended to hang out, coloring on her TY notes for her birthday, while Alani and I worked on school all morning, and even participated in about half of the yoga "class" she became a complete bear in the afternoon due to 1) giant sugar cookie 2) no other food 3) daddy being home when it should have been naptime 4)no AM stimulation either social or physical and 5) severe lack of focused attention on her. She was nasty all afternoon, shouting at me, slamming doors, saying "PINE" and "I don't like you!" sweeping things ON to the floor from other surfaces. I put her in the bedroom for like a single minute as she cried "no mommy, no mommy, no mommy" because I needed to cool off and pick up a mess she'd made, during which time she peed in the corner of the room because she was mad at me. Later she would say "PINE I will go in the bedyume by myself" or tell me how I had to go into the bedroom and be alone if i was naughty . . it really hurt her feelings that i'd done that, but I needed the moment!!! I also kept telling her she needed to spend time alone if she was going to be hurtful and nasty towards people. Eventually Alani was playing a game on the computer, so Airi and I went into the bedroom where she performed shows and I read to her and she put on jewelry and this seemed to smooth us over, she just wanted me undivided attention, even saying things when I'd leave the room "don't leave me mama" and "are you coming back to be with me mama?" POOR kid. . .obviously this AM school schedule is not going to work, she needs friends and stimulation and attention before naptime if she's going to get down to a nap easily and securely. So I think we might need to start with yoga, then plan to leave the house for an hour or so, doing focused school time with alani during naptime and beyond. We also need to cut a LOT of sugar!!! ALL OF US!!! And I need to get them eating better, more consistently and more protein.
Day 4: Thursday
1 hour of crying (mom)
3 hours of playing with friends: dress up, problem solving, washing babies
2 hours of math (I swear, she does this on her own!)
I often forget to note how long she plays on the computer, but she's learning some computer proficiency as well as always playing a math game, it's nearly an hour each day
Thursday was a normal day as we've always known it. The morning was rough, carry over from yesterday. We headed to Melissa's at noon and spent 3 hours there, just playing. Social interaction. I guess we can cross of three hours of social studies or maybe the arts (dress up), or "healthy living" (mothering their dollies) or eh, I'm SURE recess is counted too, right? There is so much learning in just socializing with other kids during this age particularly, and working with kids of other ages too (the little sisters). .. learning never really stops.
Back at home we had another 2 hours of math. Alani has decided she will not work on any other part of the "complete curriculum" workbook until she finishes all of the math. There are seven units of math and she's doing nearly a full unit each day. I also found her history book!
Day 7: Friday
2 hours math
Reading
Friday we picked up Alani's violin. We also started a new "allowance" system, which is going to continue to solidify the concepts surrounding money we've begun working on, first in Girl Scouts a month ago and now, today, as the math unit Alani worked on, coins. Another 2 hours of math and some practice reading.
Day 6: Saturday
30 minute walk
1 hour at farmer's market (SS)
Purchased music stand from woman in Bountiful, it has a rich history and is over 50 years (probably much older) old
Saturday, yeah, we even did some learning on Saturday, another hour working on "time" and beginning a unit on geometry and measurement. I'm really excited about moving on from this curriculum. I think she's really able to pick up on math concepts, at least on first grade math. We're going to do Life of Fred from here and also get her a workbook for the "gifted" math student, to see how she does with that.
We also did the Farmer's market on Saturday and the girls insisted on walking, so 30 minutes of "healthy living" added to an hour of farmer's market, Alani spending her own money and learning even more about "healthy living."
The learning is in life, and by logging here I want to remind myself and others that we are learning these "core" and basic things so much of the day. I hope in the coming weeks we'll be able to get a better handle on how the flow of school will work. At this point it's really easy to work on math with Alani, but every day she talks about how excited she is to do school work. I think she likes the mind stimulation but more than anything, she enjoys the focused attention from her mom. I hope this continues to spill into her life and I can find a balance for our whole family as we school in years ahead.
I have to admit this first week had significant struggles and difficulties, but I have to put on my "problem solver" hat and start working things out with my girls instead of being reactionary.
Friday, August 17, 2012
I think I'm forming a plan
So many thoughts and confusion regarding homeschooling. Is it right for us? YES. . .am I scared to death that in 12 years my kids will not know what they need to know to have a future where they can decide to take any path they want? YESSSS!
In some ways it is coming to me more naturally, in that this time last year I thought I'd spend some time working out how to homeschool and felt completely overwhelmed and unready to even consider the options.
Through the year ideas, thoughts, resources, have all come my way. And it is so apparent to me that even Alani's readiness has made me more excited and willing to delve in. A year ago we just were not "here."
We "did" kindergarten by not doing much of anything, other than trying to get her reading. Talking with friends who have their children in conventional school for kindergarten this past year, I found that Alani wasn't missing out on much other than time away from me and busy work. Some kids went into the year not even knowing their letters, or letter sounds and others went in as proficient readers. All came out as basic readers. (Here's our "first day of kindergarten" obligatory photo)
Funny that many of the things we've learned in Girl Scouts this past year and will continue to learn, go along with what ALL K and 1st graders are learning. Mike says not to mix up HS and GS, but I think they go hand in hand at the moment. We'll be learning to care for animals and our environment and learned about taking care of a garden last year. . . HAND IN HAND with 1st grader abilities, interests and curriculum!
Alani is reading okay, not super proficiently, but she's reading. It helps if I read a page to her and then she reads it back. The information is fresh, some of the hard words she can remember but not read through. And I think it really helps her to HEAR the idea and where this page or story is going, so when she reads it, she knows why words are appearing or that certain words make sense in the context. I THINK she can put together a sequence of events from a book and repeat back to me the theme after hearing it.
In the past couple of months she has been more excited about reading, whether it's time with me or just interest in learning and getting better at something she's realized she actually CAN do, I'm not sure, probably a little bit of both. She hasn't been doing the whiny thing and doesn't get nearly as overwhelmed at pages with a lot of text, in fact, she often requests being able to read them. Today she said "this is a lot of words for me to read, but I can do it!" She was very confident. That's what I want her to be, confident. And she does have a handle on recognizing punctuation, reading accordingly, so that's really great.
I am completely overwhelmed on how to teach her spelling. If "ai" "ay" "a_e" "eigh" "ei" and "ea" all say the long A, how will she ever know which to use when??? The same goes for all of the vowels. She still mixes up lower case b,d,p and sometimes m,w. She is sometimes unsure of a j/g situation and of course, there's no hard and fast rule for when a c sounds like a k and when it sounds like an s. I mostly let her work through using the rules she knows, sounding out and flowing together one letter at a time until she creates some semblance of a word and then can often put together what that made up word sounds like, but she knows she doesn't know ALL words of the world and perhaps the word she's just sounded out is just some new word she's never heard and would now like to know the definition of. It works 8/10 times that she can work out a word and make sense of it.
Perhaps the spelling just comes with time and it's okay if she spells 8 "ate" until she's actually 8?! I try to point out things like the different ways to spell words, like "two, too, to" and when you use each version. She is noticing those things on her own as well.
I feel we have the arts and history covered with her extra curricular activities and story of the world. Math is coming along and I don't worry about it much, as long as I know what she should know by the end of her 1st grade year, I feel confident I can get her there. Science shouldn't be too much of a leap, I've been told they learn about plants. So I'm sure we'll touch on some of it while doing Earth & Sky with the GS troop and again, as long as I know what she needs to know about plants, I can be sure we have the resources. I think we're going to be okay this year!
I think it would be good to add in some social studies, awareness of where she is in the world, but we've been doing that a little at a time as she plays games on the computer and has started wanting to look at the globe, she plays a game where she has to put the states (or countries) into a continent (or country).
I wonder if a science time devoted to animals and outer space would also fit into this year? I'm sure they would!
This is also part of what overwhelms me. . .I love the concept of unit studies which tie in all subjects with one story. . .is this a way to go? or should I have a way of teaching math and history and L/A separately from one another? Can we build well enough, particularly in math? Perhaps I can pull some units I like and use those for our L/A portion, adding new stories to our repertoire, then adapting the math as we go?
And then there's always the option of just going with that one ladies full 1st grade curriculum, it has bible, God based history and science, basic L/A requirements, math games. . .all worked in.
I should probably sit down and write out a plan. . .but when is there time? School starts in a week or two or it already started a week or two ago and I feel under the gun now. . .except, honestly, I think we could take two more years to make some hard and fast decisions about our schooling and she'd probably still be right on par with her peers!
This year will likely be my year of hit and miss, fumble and stumble and pick it up and start a different way. . . and we'll figure it out together! We are both a whole year wiser than we were last fall, right?! Maybe I'll get her a backpack this year. . . nah, I don't need another backpack!
In some ways it is coming to me more naturally, in that this time last year I thought I'd spend some time working out how to homeschool and felt completely overwhelmed and unready to even consider the options.
Through the year ideas, thoughts, resources, have all come my way. And it is so apparent to me that even Alani's readiness has made me more excited and willing to delve in. A year ago we just were not "here."
We "did" kindergarten by not doing much of anything, other than trying to get her reading. Talking with friends who have their children in conventional school for kindergarten this past year, I found that Alani wasn't missing out on much other than time away from me and busy work. Some kids went into the year not even knowing their letters, or letter sounds and others went in as proficient readers. All came out as basic readers. (Here's our "first day of kindergarten" obligatory photo)
Alani is reading okay, not super proficiently, but she's reading. It helps if I read a page to her and then she reads it back. The information is fresh, some of the hard words she can remember but not read through. And I think it really helps her to HEAR the idea and where this page or story is going, so when she reads it, she knows why words are appearing or that certain words make sense in the context. I THINK she can put together a sequence of events from a book and repeat back to me the theme after hearing it.
In the past couple of months she has been more excited about reading, whether it's time with me or just interest in learning and getting better at something she's realized she actually CAN do, I'm not sure, probably a little bit of both. She hasn't been doing the whiny thing and doesn't get nearly as overwhelmed at pages with a lot of text, in fact, she often requests being able to read them. Today she said "this is a lot of words for me to read, but I can do it!" She was very confident. That's what I want her to be, confident. And she does have a handle on recognizing punctuation, reading accordingly, so that's really great.
I am completely overwhelmed on how to teach her spelling. If "ai" "ay" "a_e" "eigh" "ei" and "ea" all say the long A, how will she ever know which to use when??? The same goes for all of the vowels. She still mixes up lower case b,d,p and sometimes m,w. She is sometimes unsure of a j/g situation and of course, there's no hard and fast rule for when a c sounds like a k and when it sounds like an s. I mostly let her work through using the rules she knows, sounding out and flowing together one letter at a time until she creates some semblance of a word and then can often put together what that made up word sounds like, but she knows she doesn't know ALL words of the world and perhaps the word she's just sounded out is just some new word she's never heard and would now like to know the definition of. It works 8/10 times that she can work out a word and make sense of it.
Perhaps the spelling just comes with time and it's okay if she spells 8 "ate" until she's actually 8?! I try to point out things like the different ways to spell words, like "two, too, to" and when you use each version. She is noticing those things on her own as well.
I feel we have the arts and history covered with her extra curricular activities and story of the world. Math is coming along and I don't worry about it much, as long as I know what she should know by the end of her 1st grade year, I feel confident I can get her there. Science shouldn't be too much of a leap, I've been told they learn about plants. So I'm sure we'll touch on some of it while doing Earth & Sky with the GS troop and again, as long as I know what she needs to know about plants, I can be sure we have the resources. I think we're going to be okay this year!
I think it would be good to add in some social studies, awareness of where she is in the world, but we've been doing that a little at a time as she plays games on the computer and has started wanting to look at the globe, she plays a game where she has to put the states (or countries) into a continent (or country).
I wonder if a science time devoted to animals and outer space would also fit into this year? I'm sure they would!
This is also part of what overwhelms me. . .I love the concept of unit studies which tie in all subjects with one story. . .is this a way to go? or should I have a way of teaching math and history and L/A separately from one another? Can we build well enough, particularly in math? Perhaps I can pull some units I like and use those for our L/A portion, adding new stories to our repertoire, then adapting the math as we go?
And then there's always the option of just going with that one ladies full 1st grade curriculum, it has bible, God based history and science, basic L/A requirements, math games. . .all worked in.
I should probably sit down and write out a plan. . .but when is there time? School starts in a week or two or it already started a week or two ago and I feel under the gun now. . .except, honestly, I think we could take two more years to make some hard and fast decisions about our schooling and she'd probably still be right on par with her peers!
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