Anyway, the week for Skip was mostly review, but some new stuff was introduced. For Harry, mostly new concepts.
In Bible we've been studying using the talents God has given us, Obeying, and Manners, and why parents discipline their children. I gotta tell you, when we were talking about how the Bible commands parents to correct their children when they do wrong, it was like a light bulb turned on in Skip's head. Truly. I think until then, he figured we got up each day asking oruselves how we could aggravate them with useless rules!
Both boys LOVE this class, and look foward to the informality of it. We sit on the couch and read our devotions, discuss the lessons, and sometimes do a little project.
In Math, Skip has reviewed up to the number 10. Writing the nubmer, counting to it, sorting in groups of, etc. etc. etc. We've also worked on Right & Left, Sequence, More &Less. We've also learned about graphs, and identifying "the most" and "the least", and ordering numbers to 10. On his first assesssment today, he scored 100%.
We came up with a game for both boys to learn R & L, and to teach Harry body parts at the same time. Both boys line up on the far end of the room and I put down 10 colored pieces of cardstock. I then alternately give them commands - (i.e. Point to your LEFT left, hop on your RIGHT foot, etc.) If they get it right the first time, they advance to the next spot, until finally reaching me and the candy dish I keep on my desk! While taking Grammie to the Hospital for bloodwork this week we also practiced LOTS of right turns and left turns. They enjoyed that!
Harry is up to the number 6. We write, we sort, we recognize, we match, and then do it some more. We'll do a number a week til 20 - giving plenty of time to digest each number. One of his favorite things to do in regards to math is spot the numbers I ask him to find when out somewhere. In the car, in the store, ANYWHERE we go! It keeps him busy, and out of mischief! Overall, he seems to reallly enjoy this subject, so we'll keep pluggin' along! Both boys are still working on colors - color words for Skip and recognizing & naming colors for Harry.
Science continues on sight, and how it allows us to recognize colors, shapes & size. In addition to our boring seat work, we 've played seat bingo, and looked for shapes/colors EVERYWHERE we've gone this week! We've learned, small, smaller, smallest, & big, bigger biggest, and have mastered the color words. In regards to shapes, Skip has learned to "define" the shapes - i.e. - "a square has four equal sides" or "a rectangle has 4 sides, 2 long, 2 short). Harry has about finished his review of circles and squares, having no difficulty spotting, drawing, recognizing them. It's been VERY easy going for him, even though we've gone at a quicker pace than we will in the future. Since we have 10 theme books to finish in 9 calendar months, I'm going a bit faster in the beginning so by; Oct. when the work becomes more difficult, we slow to a "normal" pace and still be done by the first week of May!
In History & Geography we've continued with Lesson 1 (of 10) in I AM A SPECIAL PERSON. Using the same theory above as far a pace, we're making great progress, we're on schedule and enjoying the material. We're learning how we are all different, all have different strengths, and all need to use those strengths to His glory. One assisngment was physical features - hair color, eyes, etc. Skip was quite proud to learn he has made it to the 4' mark! We also learned about using manners, and what the Bible teaches about it. I challenged him to use his manners even when he didn't want to this coming weekend - giving this example:
If you ask me he can swim and I say yes, it's easy and natural to respond with "Thank you, Mommy".
But, if my response is no, then it's a bit more difficult to be politely respond with "Okay Mommy" than "Puh-leeeeeease?" He got the drift and I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays out :) We are almost done with Theme 1, and look forward to the next which is on Sound & communication.
Using the new headphones he got for his b'day to watch Barney!
He's done So well - I am SO proud of him!
Ta-da! The desk!
In Penmanship both boys continue to improve on their letter formation and have become so much neater. Skip is SO neat compared to last year! Intuitively he has started making his lettors/words much smaller, more in line with how one writes "normally". He still has a funky way of making some letters, but I'm finding earch time we re-inforce the correct way to form letters, he catches on! Worse comes to worse, he can be a Dr. Nobody can understand THEIR handwriting! Harry is still going through erasers faster than I can buy them, but, the fact is he LOVES erasing, and I suspsect doesn't try hard the first time so he erase and start over! Whatever - it keeps him occupied!
This week for Reading we chose "Caps for Sale" and "One Fish, Two fish" as a class. We read each twice - concentrating on different things (colors and then numbers) each time. I love Caps for Sale, and will likely be reading it to them for a long time to come! With the review of colors for them, these books tie in nicely!"
Journal entries this week included: When I look in the mirror..., I love my family because..., I like my frined _____because...., and My favorite toy is...! At $3.00 this Journal book was a great find! It gives you the idea for each entry, and has a place on each page for a picture to accompany your entry. Can't say enough about it!
Our field trip on Harry's birthday to the Ocean Explorium was of course lots of fun too. We learned not only about sea animals, but why we need to keep our water clean, the solar system (GREAT exhibit) and even world population!
It did take me almost a full two weeks to figure it all out but I do think we're in a groove now, and have got our schedule set for the foreseeable future. Just gotta keep a few things in mind:
1. Keep laptop upstairs unless we're using it!
2. Use the first 90 minutes (before recess) to get a big chunk of Harry's "required" work done.
3. Alternate "writing" time with "DVD" or "Quiet play time" evenly after recess time - or else he loses it!
4. Stick to three new concepts a week for Harry! One new letter is a given. Then alternate a new number, color, shape, sorting concept, etc.
5. Reward, reward, reward.
Finally, Mike managed to refinish Harry's desk last weekend, and now he has his own BEAUTIFUL antique school desk - like Skips! Mike did an AWESOME job and Harry couldn't be happier! Love the way they can store their "books 'n stuff"inside, eliminating most of the "where's my" problems! Now, if I can just teach BOTH boys to sit in them when they're workin' I'd be a happy homeschoolin' mommy!
3D Planet Exhibit - showing how we go from day to night
Top 10 pollutants you find at the beach - this one hit home with the boys, loving the ocean the way they do!
1 comments:
Love it!
The desk does look GREAT! YAY!!!
I bet Harry is thrilled with it.
Sounds like you are in a groove and things are going well.
Sounds like both boys are hard workers-that makes your job a bit easier.
I love the sound of the journal-where did you find it?
And as for your Bible time-Ditto. When we started teaching Aidan the principals behind discipline, it was like a light bulb went off for him as well. Though with us it wasn't school curriculum, it was: Shepherding a Child's Heart, by Ted Tripp-Awesome AWESOME book!
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