Day 20
7/7/11
We got started around 9 this morning- I had my new planner so I was all gung-ho about being organized. Math was first and from 9-9:45b both girls worked on counting money/ Then came reading comprehension and from 9:45-10:30 Lilly worked on Antonyms and Riley worked on naming words and word meanings. From 10:45- 11:15 we read and studied the American Revolution. Next came writing and the girls followed up their American revolution studies by writing "There were 13 colonies in 1776 and "Women wore 13 curls in support for patriots" After lunch we went to the computer for a bit of science from 1-1:30. There was a fun science site where we learned about Gross things in science like Poo, Pee and ear wax..lol
7/9/11
Math Riley worked on counting by tens and ones and Lilly worked on counting money. Then both girls worked on reading aloud.
Day 21
7/11/11
Math- Riley worked on shading and recognizing tens and ones and reading and writing number words. Lilly worked on Rounding and adding and subtraction. Both girls wanted to work on cursive writing for their writing assignments. Which proved to be somewhat frustrating for Riley but I admire her for trying. Social Studies we read about women heroines from the American Revolution and Science we read about Ocean animals from National Geographic Almanac
Day 22
7/12/11
From 9-10 the girls and I worked on telling time. They grasped the basic concepts but seemed really confused with the idea of adding time like 30 minutes. etc. At 11 we read about Annie Oakley for Social Studies then we wrote facts about her for our writing " Annie Oakley is little sure shot" and they practiced some more of their cursive writing.
Day 23
7/13/11
The girls read out loud from Annie Oakley and then we worked more on telling time. They also worked on rounding some more as well as reading comprehension.
Day 24
7/16/11
In Math Lilly worked on measurement using Inches and CM and Riley worked on Word Problems which involves her reading practice as well. Then both girls read aloud and worked with reading comprehension.
Day 25
7/18/11
For Social studies we talked about folklore and read a poem and brief exerpt from the life of john Chapman or Johnny Appleseed. Lilly read aloud "twas the night before Thanksgiving and Riley read Bears Big Blue House. For writing the Girls Wrote that apples are fruit and John Chapman is Johnny Appleseed. While discussing the life of Johnny Appleseed we followed the map of the US and tracked the areas he traveled.
Day 26
7/19/11
Today we read about Australia and the different animals that reside there. For writing the girls wrote "Marsupials have pouches. For Math we did a refresh on two digit regrouping and Riley worked on her tens and ones. Both girls read aloud and worked on Reading comprehension worksheets.
Day 27
7/22/11
Today we read more in our book of Heroines of the American Revolution then went back to working on telling time. We played a game that practiced on telling time via digital and regular clock. Lilly worked on cursive writing and Riley regular print "In the Beginning God created the heavens and the Earth". Both girls read aloud and worked on their language arts.
Day 28
7/25/11
We stopped by the Library over the weekend so for history today we read from a folklore book which gave a non-fiction view on the life of Johnny Chapman and then studied the cycles of an Apple Tree throughout the year from a book called "An Apple Tree Through the Year" by claudia Schnieper. For Writing the girls wrote "johnny chapman was born in 1775 and died in 1845." and "Apples become ripe in the fall' We watching natures most amazing disasters from National geographic then went to vacation bible school from 5:30-8 pm
Day 29
7/27/11- 7/28/11
We started the day with a trip to the playground and intended to come home and do HS but the day had other plans for us. Yet, we did go to vacation bible school and learn songs and bible verses. 7/28- we started by playing yard-sale and the girls and I took turns buying stuff from each other and counting the money and coins out to make different types of change. Then we pulled out our letters and practiced spelling words Penguin, funny pickle and One. They took a short break while I am catching up this blog and making lunch. After lunch the girls did their reading comprehension. Lillian focused on classifing different types of trees and groups of things and Riley did a word search with number words. Then we re-read "An Appletree Throughout the year" by Claudia Schneiper. Then the girls went swimming and as I made supper they wrote; "Ladybugs can eat 50 aphids per day and " An orchard is a group of fruit trees". We finished the day with our Bible lesson about changing seasons.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
180 days of Home School 2011-2012: Days 17-19 of 180
180 days of Home School 2011-2012: Days 17-19 of 180: "Day 17 7/2/11 Today we planned a field trip to visit the Cowpens, SC battlefield. This was the first time to visit for all of us, which i..."
Days 17-19 of 180
Day 17
7/2/11
Today we planned a field trip to visit the Cowpens, SC battlefield. This was the first time to visit for all of us, which is a shame since it is not far from our house. There was a whole days worth of events from colonial dress up, to a demonstration of the different guns and a shooting demonstration. There was talk of the reason for the Cowpens battlefield, which was the American Revolution. This is all wonderful since we are also celebrating the fourth of July which was brought about because of the American Revolution! Before we left for the days festivities the girls completed their reading comprehension, writing practice and rounding review. I was relieved they were able to fit this in since we got back waaaay past their bedtime! They also managed to squeeze in a movie from IMAX called Oceans. It was narrated by Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet. Very captivating!
Day 18
7/4/11
Today we also took a small time in the morning to practice rounding, reading, and writing. Then we were off to the Scheile museum for their 4th of July activities. They were offering free science experiments for kids! They had several experiments with mixing dofferent items to show acids and bases and also mixing ingredients to make FLUBBER!! Love it! Then we were off to look at the cave exhibits, the native american, and all the animals of various spots in the world! LOVE the schiel museum. All these field trips and the girls wont know how to act tomorrow when we have a regular school day.lol when we got home we have a brief instance of storms. I used this time to turn off the TV and read to the girls more about the American Revolution out of a book we picked up at Cowpens battlefield called "If You lived at the time of the American Revolution" by Kay Moore.
Day 19
7/5/11
Today was our cleaning day so we got started with school around 11:30. We have these bags of letters the girls have been eager to play with so I asked them if they wanted to play a spelling game, AND THEY DID!! YAY So I put up a barrier between them and had them to use the letters to spell various words! After lunch we practiced reading. Riley read me "My Home" by Joy Cowley and "pop up Sea" by Patrick Watson
7/2/11
Today we planned a field trip to visit the Cowpens, SC battlefield. This was the first time to visit for all of us, which is a shame since it is not far from our house. There was a whole days worth of events from colonial dress up, to a demonstration of the different guns and a shooting demonstration. There was talk of the reason for the Cowpens battlefield, which was the American Revolution. This is all wonderful since we are also celebrating the fourth of July which was brought about because of the American Revolution! Before we left for the days festivities the girls completed their reading comprehension, writing practice and rounding review. I was relieved they were able to fit this in since we got back waaaay past their bedtime! They also managed to squeeze in a movie from IMAX called Oceans. It was narrated by Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet. Very captivating!
Day 18
7/4/11
Today we also took a small time in the morning to practice rounding, reading, and writing. Then we were off to the Scheile museum for their 4th of July activities. They were offering free science experiments for kids! They had several experiments with mixing dofferent items to show acids and bases and also mixing ingredients to make FLUBBER!! Love it! Then we were off to look at the cave exhibits, the native american, and all the animals of various spots in the world! LOVE the schiel museum. All these field trips and the girls wont know how to act tomorrow when we have a regular school day.lol when we got home we have a brief instance of storms. I used this time to turn off the TV and read to the girls more about the American Revolution out of a book we picked up at Cowpens battlefield called "If You lived at the time of the American Revolution" by Kay Moore.
Day 19
7/5/11
Today was our cleaning day so we got started with school around 11:30. We have these bags of letters the girls have been eager to play with so I asked them if they wanted to play a spelling game, AND THEY DID!! YAY So I put up a barrier between them and had them to use the letters to spell various words! After lunch we practiced reading. Riley read me "My Home" by Joy Cowley and "pop up Sea" by Patrick Watson
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Day 16 of 180
Day 16
6/29/11
I wanted to teach the girls a new math skill today so we decided to work on rounding. I taught the girls how to round to the nearest 10 (10,20, 30 etc.) They both took to it after a little bit of work. this is definately a skill that will take a little reinforcement. Not to shabby since it is listed as a second grade requirement and Rye is only 1st grade!
Next Lilly worked on analogies and a problem solving grid and also reading comprehension and telling wether a story is fiction or nonfiction. Riley worked on the "at" family words, reading and recognizing different types of punctuation.
Both girls worked on reading books at their respective levels and then I read "Birds At Your Fingertips" by Judy Nayer.
The last tidbit we covered was a brief overview of the war of 1812 and how this lead Lawyer Francis Scott Key into writing the Star spangled Banner. For writing the girls wrote " An Ostrich is the fastest two-legged creature and largets bird" "A hummingbird is the smallest bird in the world" "Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner" and The Star Spangled banner became the national anthem in 1931.
6/29/11
I wanted to teach the girls a new math skill today so we decided to work on rounding. I taught the girls how to round to the nearest 10 (10,20, 30 etc.) They both took to it after a little bit of work. this is definately a skill that will take a little reinforcement. Not to shabby since it is listed as a second grade requirement and Rye is only 1st grade!
Next Lilly worked on analogies and a problem solving grid and also reading comprehension and telling wether a story is fiction or nonfiction. Riley worked on the "at" family words, reading and recognizing different types of punctuation.
Both girls worked on reading books at their respective levels and then I read "Birds At Your Fingertips" by Judy Nayer.
The last tidbit we covered was a brief overview of the war of 1812 and how this lead Lawyer Francis Scott Key into writing the Star spangled Banner. For writing the girls wrote " An Ostrich is the fastest two-legged creature and largets bird" "A hummingbird is the smallest bird in the world" "Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner" and The Star Spangled banner became the national anthem in 1931.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
July 4th Ideas!! 2011
Well, we have been learning about America's birthday this week and working on little activities everyday. I think we will do a little extra something special for the 4th this year though. I went over these songs with the girls today and I think we will put together a show for our friends and family.
Designs In The Sky
(sung to "Frere Jacques")
Fourth of July, Fourth of July,
It is fun, it is fun.
A picnic in the park,
And then after dark,
Designs in the sky, Fourth of July.
On the Fourth of July...
(sung to "London Bridge")
It's our country's birthday,
Birthday, birthday.
It's our country's birthday,
On the Fourth of July!
On Independence Day...
(sung to "Mary Had a Little Lamb")
Fireworks go snap, snap, snap!
Crack, crack, crack!
Zap, zap, zap!
Fireworks make me clap, clap, clap
On Independence Day!
Way Up In The Sky...
(sung to "Row, Row, Row Your Boat")
Wave, wave, wave the flag,
Hold it very high.
Watch the colors gently wave,
Way up in the sky.
March, march, march around,
Hold the flag up high.
Wave, wave, wave the flag,
Way up in the sky.
I will add our craft ideas to this as the week goes on so stay tuned!!
Designs In The Sky
(sung to "Frere Jacques")
Fourth of July, Fourth of July,
It is fun, it is fun.
A picnic in the park,
And then after dark,
Designs in the sky, Fourth of July.
On the Fourth of July...
(sung to "London Bridge")
It's our country's birthday,
Birthday, birthday.
It's our country's birthday,
On the Fourth of July!
On Independence Day...
(sung to "Mary Had a Little Lamb")
Fireworks go snap, snap, snap!
Crack, crack, crack!
Zap, zap, zap!
Fireworks make me clap, clap, clap
On Independence Day!
Way Up In The Sky...
(sung to "Row, Row, Row Your Boat")
Wave, wave, wave the flag,
Hold it very high.
Watch the colors gently wave,
Way up in the sky.
March, march, march around,
Hold the flag up high.
Wave, wave, wave the flag,
Way up in the sky.
I will add our craft ideas to this as the week goes on so stay tuned!!
Day 14 and 15 of 180
Day 14
6/27/11
Today we decided to start going over all of the needed math skills on ixl.com.We started with "Probability and Statistics (more likely, less likely and equally likely)" Lilly took 9 minutes and got 19/20 correct and Riley took 8 minutes and got 20/20.
We watched a short video on National Geographic.com about California Grunion. It was titled "Fish walks on beach". It lasted about 4 minutes and was pretty interesting about how the Grunion breed.
For math worksheets Riley wrote her numbers to 100 and learned to count by tens and ones. ex: three tens and three ones makes 33. Lilly worked on add/subtract regrouping. Which I think is safe to say she's got it. We will definately be moving to rounding next.
For Reading Comprehension Riley worked on reading sentences & matching them to pictures. Lilly read 2 stories and answered questions then worked with letter teams sh. ch, wh and th.
For writing Lilly continued practicing cursive letters and Riley wrote upper and lower case alphabet.
For Social Studies/Art the girls made a mosaic of the US flag by cutting and pasting red/white and Blue magazine clippings and learned that Betsy Ross designed the american flag.
In Science I wanted to keep with the fourth of July theme so we looked up a red, white and blue bird out of a bird journal we checked out at the library. Our Red bird was a cardinal, White bird was a Snow bunting, and Blue was a Blue Grosbeak.
Day 15
6/28/11
I've been meaning to include more computer activities for the girls, so we started some basic typing today to get familiar with the keyboard. Both girls practiced for 30 minutes apiece. Then we went onto ixl.com to practice money, identifying names and values. Both girls did pretty good. Lilly got 18/20 and Riley also 18/20
Then Riley read "Who Lays Eggs" by Bruce Larkin and also "My mother Is Mine" by Marion Dane Bauer and Lilly read My Mother is Mine.
After a break I read "Bird" by DK (discovery keds) eye know and "Animals a Visual Encyclopedia" also by DK. I enjoyed this time with them, they really seemed interested in birds. We discussed parts of birds like wings, beak, feet (webbed, etc). We discussed the different shapes of beaks and what types of foods they eat. We also discussed what the different eggs look like and why. Both girls were able to recite most of this information back which really shows they paid attention.LOVE IT!
We took a moment to go outside and hunt for ants for our ant farm. We found 2 and they seem a tad lethargic.lol Might have to try again on that.
Its been a long day but we still haven't covered writing or social studies so we looked up Independence day online and talked briefly about how it came about. We have already covered this but i want to reinforce what they've learned so we covered it again. Then I had them write "July 4th is Independence Day" "The flag has 13 stripes" "Hummingbirds wings are very fast" and "Ducks have webbed feet"
6/27/11
Today we decided to start going over all of the needed math skills on ixl.com.We started with "Probability and Statistics (more likely, less likely and equally likely)" Lilly took 9 minutes and got 19/20 correct and Riley took 8 minutes and got 20/20.
We watched a short video on National Geographic.com about California Grunion. It was titled "Fish walks on beach". It lasted about 4 minutes and was pretty interesting about how the Grunion breed.
For math worksheets Riley wrote her numbers to 100 and learned to count by tens and ones. ex: three tens and three ones makes 33. Lilly worked on add/subtract regrouping. Which I think is safe to say she's got it. We will definately be moving to rounding next.
For Reading Comprehension Riley worked on reading sentences & matching them to pictures. Lilly read 2 stories and answered questions then worked with letter teams sh. ch, wh and th.
For writing Lilly continued practicing cursive letters and Riley wrote upper and lower case alphabet.
For Social Studies/Art the girls made a mosaic of the US flag by cutting and pasting red/white and Blue magazine clippings and learned that Betsy Ross designed the american flag.
In Science I wanted to keep with the fourth of July theme so we looked up a red, white and blue bird out of a bird journal we checked out at the library. Our Red bird was a cardinal, White bird was a Snow bunting, and Blue was a Blue Grosbeak.
Day 15
6/28/11
I've been meaning to include more computer activities for the girls, so we started some basic typing today to get familiar with the keyboard. Both girls practiced for 30 minutes apiece. Then we went onto ixl.com to practice money, identifying names and values. Both girls did pretty good. Lilly got 18/20 and Riley also 18/20
Then Riley read "Who Lays Eggs" by Bruce Larkin and also "My mother Is Mine" by Marion Dane Bauer and Lilly read My Mother is Mine.
After a break I read "Bird" by DK (discovery keds) eye know and "Animals a Visual Encyclopedia" also by DK. I enjoyed this time with them, they really seemed interested in birds. We discussed parts of birds like wings, beak, feet (webbed, etc). We discussed the different shapes of beaks and what types of foods they eat. We also discussed what the different eggs look like and why. Both girls were able to recite most of this information back which really shows they paid attention.LOVE IT!
We took a moment to go outside and hunt for ants for our ant farm. We found 2 and they seem a tad lethargic.lol Might have to try again on that.
Its been a long day but we still haven't covered writing or social studies so we looked up Independence day online and talked briefly about how it came about. We have already covered this but i want to reinforce what they've learned so we covered it again. Then I had them write "July 4th is Independence Day" "The flag has 13 stripes" "Hummingbirds wings are very fast" and "Ducks have webbed feet"
Monday, June 27, 2011
Days 12 and 13 of 180
Day 12
6/23/11
I wasn't going to homeschool today since yesterday it was a struggle and I thought they may need a break. Yet, when the arguing started then I knew they needed something to do so I pulled out some worksheets. They both worked on reading comprehension. spelling, syllables snd math. Then I let them watch the March of Penguins again, since we are headed to the library tomorrow and need to return it. It's a good documentary about the life of the Emperor Peguin; very sad at times.
We also started learning a song for the fourth of July. I'll post a blog on our upcoming holiday activities next. We also decided today was a good day to make our Milk Carton bird feeders. They were very simple to make and I think we have plans to hang feeders ALL over our yard now. WATCH OUT EMPTY MILK JUGS!
Day 13
6/24/11
Today, We spiced it up! It was obvious, even though I've tried to keep it interesting, that the girls were getting bored. Soooo Today is free planetarium day at the Shiele Museum in Gastonia, NC. I have been doing some research on the Schiele and found that they have a family membership for $75 per year. They change around their exhibits about every 3 months. If we went only when they have exhibit changes then that would still be four trips and WAY worth our money. Let me just mention though, they have it GOING ON! I picked up a pamphlet while I was there and there are tons of events scheduled at the museum. Notjust any events either, I'm talking stuff the girls WILL LOVE. They have a biologist coming to show up close different types of bats. They LOVE bats! OK, yes I'm excited and this will help break up any boredom the girls feel like they are being subjected to.lol
The museum trip was fun we stayed around 2.5 hours. They watched a planetarium show on the 9 planets, we looked at an Indian exhibit, a cave exhibit and lots and lots of different animals! We were definately not done at 5 but it was closing so we had to leave. Riley picked out a beautiful ametheyst rock for her gift shop item and Lilly got a bow and Arrow.
She now wants to be an Indian when she grows up. I looked up the Cherokee Indian festival in Cherokee, NC on august 26th and 27th this year. Definately going!
We will be taking the weekend off since the girls have learned so much, but next week we will be focusing on American history centered around Independence day (Social Studies), Birds (Science), reading , Rounding in (Math), (Writing)- Lilly, cursive/ Riley Complete sentences with proper capitalization and punctuation. Tuesday there is a movie at the library and Saturday an event in Cowpens for the 4th of July! It should be a fun week!
6/23/11
I wasn't going to homeschool today since yesterday it was a struggle and I thought they may need a break. Yet, when the arguing started then I knew they needed something to do so I pulled out some worksheets. They both worked on reading comprehension. spelling, syllables snd math. Then I let them watch the March of Penguins again, since we are headed to the library tomorrow and need to return it. It's a good documentary about the life of the Emperor Peguin; very sad at times.
We also started learning a song for the fourth of July. I'll post a blog on our upcoming holiday activities next. We also decided today was a good day to make our Milk Carton bird feeders. They were very simple to make and I think we have plans to hang feeders ALL over our yard now. WATCH OUT EMPTY MILK JUGS!
Day 13
6/24/11
Today, We spiced it up! It was obvious, even though I've tried to keep it interesting, that the girls were getting bored. Soooo Today is free planetarium day at the Shiele Museum in Gastonia, NC. I have been doing some research on the Schiele and found that they have a family membership for $75 per year. They change around their exhibits about every 3 months. If we went only when they have exhibit changes then that would still be four trips and WAY worth our money. Let me just mention though, they have it GOING ON! I picked up a pamphlet while I was there and there are tons of events scheduled at the museum. Notjust any events either, I'm talking stuff the girls WILL LOVE. They have a biologist coming to show up close different types of bats. They LOVE bats! OK, yes I'm excited and this will help break up any boredom the girls feel like they are being subjected to.lol
The museum trip was fun we stayed around 2.5 hours. They watched a planetarium show on the 9 planets, we looked at an Indian exhibit, a cave exhibit and lots and lots of different animals! We were definately not done at 5 but it was closing so we had to leave. Riley picked out a beautiful ametheyst rock for her gift shop item and Lilly got a bow and Arrow.
She now wants to be an Indian when she grows up. I looked up the Cherokee Indian festival in Cherokee, NC on august 26th and 27th this year. Definately going!
We will be taking the weekend off since the girls have learned so much, but next week we will be focusing on American history centered around Independence day (Social Studies), Birds (Science), reading , Rounding in (Math), (Writing)- Lilly, cursive/ Riley Complete sentences with proper capitalization and punctuation. Tuesday there is a movie at the library and Saturday an event in Cowpens for the 4th of July! It should be a fun week!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Day 10 and 11 of 180
6/21/11
Day 10
Well today was a bit different. The girls and I helped watch a good friends little girl who is 5 months old. So between Brody at 8 months and Katie, we had to be creative to get out schooling in. While waiting to pick up Katie the girls and I read out of the National Geographic 2011 Almanac. Pretty interesting stuff! Then when we got home, between baby time, we did quite a few worksheet and self driven work. Both girls did a variety of reading comprehension and math sheets, about 5 apiece. Lilly got the bright idea of doing an experiment with a crayon. She wanted to see how long it would take to melt. So we marked the time we put the crayon outside then check the progress in 15 minute intervals. Conclusion: It takes an hour. We did not go to the extreme of calculating the temperature or attempt other factors- maybe a later date.
Finally the girls worked with their spelling words by cutting the various letters to spell the word and pasting.
6/22/11
Day 11
First thing this morning we finished up the spelling word project and then took a break and watched Species Hunter.
The girls seem to be dragging today, so I really had to stay on top of them.
After some food I had them start their math worksheets. Then Riley had to work with reading and reading comprehension and writing and Lilly worked with syllables, reading comprehension and cursive writing. They ended the day by making necklaces!
This does not seem like much but it was about 5 pages front and back per child plus the other activities. Added to the fact that they are dragging made for a loooonng day. I think we may have a day off tomorrow :)
Day 10
Well today was a bit different. The girls and I helped watch a good friends little girl who is 5 months old. So between Brody at 8 months and Katie, we had to be creative to get out schooling in. While waiting to pick up Katie the girls and I read out of the National Geographic 2011 Almanac. Pretty interesting stuff! Then when we got home, between baby time, we did quite a few worksheet and self driven work. Both girls did a variety of reading comprehension and math sheets, about 5 apiece. Lilly got the bright idea of doing an experiment with a crayon. She wanted to see how long it would take to melt. So we marked the time we put the crayon outside then check the progress in 15 minute intervals. Conclusion: It takes an hour. We did not go to the extreme of calculating the temperature or attempt other factors- maybe a later date.
Finally the girls worked with their spelling words by cutting the various letters to spell the word and pasting.
6/22/11
Day 11
First thing this morning we finished up the spelling word project and then took a break and watched Species Hunter.
The girls seem to be dragging today, so I really had to stay on top of them.
After some food I had them start their math worksheets. Then Riley had to work with reading and reading comprehension and writing and Lilly worked with syllables, reading comprehension and cursive writing. They ended the day by making necklaces!
This does not seem like much but it was about 5 pages front and back per child plus the other activities. Added to the fact that they are dragging made for a loooonng day. I think we may have a day off tomorrow :)
Monday, June 20, 2011
Day 9 of 180
This morning the girls and I went to clean the VFW post. I really like them coming with me doing this because it teaches responsibility and how to earn money. So far the purchases we've gotten with their money has been mostly driven by me as I am trying to get them on the right track as far as purchaing things that are "Educational". We have gotten and ant farm, Multiplication rock, binoculars (bird watching) and a compass. I think we might make milk carton birdfeeders to hand to help our chances of bird watching.
Anywho, I have been using their writing assignments to tach them spelling as well, but I think we need a bit extra focus on reading and spelling so I started the day by asking them what they wanted their spelling words to be. They came up with 12 words; crazy, New York, Tennessee, weird, bottle, baby, funny, alligator, curtain, horse, painting and animals. They will write those words today and get familiar with them. We may try making a picture out of them or a game with the letters tomorrow.
Riley is a beginner reader and I am working with her on getting better so she will have more freedom as to what activities she does. We read for 30 minutes out of Barbie Thumbelina, which totaled to 5 pages. She had trouble with some of the simpler words so I had her practice them separately. ( they, are, all, live, three, out, their, truck)
While we were doing this Lilly was working on regrouping addition and subtraction and writing her spelling words. I also gave her a couple sheets for syllabels. It's a new concept so I will sit with her in a bit to make sure she understands.
Both girls seemed a bit burned out from the sit down work so I loaded a www.coolmath-games.com and the girls played feedfribit addition for about 30 minutes. This was REALLY simple math like 0+) etc. yet, every level they advanced a new number was introduced. Lilly was able to get up to level 19 before she got tired and Riley got to level 5 because she had a hard time comprhending the idea of 0 + __= 1. the blank really threw her off.lol She did her best though. I am not really counting that for math as it was more learning computer skills since their math skills are a bit more advanced.
Okay Lilly is in complete understanding of syllables now and Riley worked on pattern recognition. They finnished the day with writing the remainder of their spelling words and reading a couple more pages of "America The Making of a Nation". This book is Awesome. I thought it was dry at first because the girls only like a couple pages at a time, but when Lilly came to me and told me about the Liberty Bell later the next day, I was sold!
The girls homework for tonight is reading. Lilly has to read the first 16 pages of "Frog and Toad Together" by Arnold Lobel and Riley "It's a Group" by Bruce Larkin. they can practice it separately but must read it outloud to an adult before the end of the night.
Anywho, I have been using their writing assignments to tach them spelling as well, but I think we need a bit extra focus on reading and spelling so I started the day by asking them what they wanted their spelling words to be. They came up with 12 words; crazy, New York, Tennessee, weird, bottle, baby, funny, alligator, curtain, horse, painting and animals. They will write those words today and get familiar with them. We may try making a picture out of them or a game with the letters tomorrow.
Riley is a beginner reader and I am working with her on getting better so she will have more freedom as to what activities she does. We read for 30 minutes out of Barbie Thumbelina, which totaled to 5 pages. She had trouble with some of the simpler words so I had her practice them separately. ( they, are, all, live, three, out, their, truck)
While we were doing this Lilly was working on regrouping addition and subtraction and writing her spelling words. I also gave her a couple sheets for syllabels. It's a new concept so I will sit with her in a bit to make sure she understands.
Both girls seemed a bit burned out from the sit down work so I loaded a www.coolmath-games.com and the girls played feedfribit addition for about 30 minutes. This was REALLY simple math like 0+) etc. yet, every level they advanced a new number was introduced. Lilly was able to get up to level 19 before she got tired and Riley got to level 5 because she had a hard time comprhending the idea of 0 + __= 1. the blank really threw her off.lol She did her best though. I am not really counting that for math as it was more learning computer skills since their math skills are a bit more advanced.
Okay Lilly is in complete understanding of syllables now and Riley worked on pattern recognition. They finnished the day with writing the remainder of their spelling words and reading a couple more pages of "America The Making of a Nation". This book is Awesome. I thought it was dry at first because the girls only like a couple pages at a time, but when Lilly came to me and told me about the Liberty Bell later the next day, I was sold!
The girls homework for tonight is reading. Lilly has to read the first 16 pages of "Frog and Toad Together" by Arnold Lobel and Riley "It's a Group" by Bruce Larkin. they can practice it separately but must read it outloud to an adult before the end of the night.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Day 8 of 180
I spent some time this morning trying to find local homeschool groups that we might be able to arrange some get together with. So far nothing has come of my efforts, but I will keep trying.
We started around 10:30 (kind of late) by reading and discussing "America The Making of a Nation" by Charlie Samuels. While this book is VERY informative, both girls had the glazed over, wanna take a nap look, by the third page.
Since it was near lunchtime we gathered a quick picnic of peanut butter and honey sandwiches, juice, and bananas and headed to the playhouse.
After our picnic we walked the yard looking for interesting plants and trees, gathered leaves and brought them inside to identify with "An Instant Guide to Trees" and "An Instant Guide to Wildflowers" by Eleanor Lawrence and Cecilia Fitzsimons. I had the girls glue the plants to paper and search through the books to try and identify them, then I labeled them. We are create a field journal of our own with the specimens we locate!
We started around 10:30 (kind of late) by reading and discussing "America The Making of a Nation" by Charlie Samuels. While this book is VERY informative, both girls had the glazed over, wanna take a nap look, by the third page.
Since it was near lunchtime we gathered a quick picnic of peanut butter and honey sandwiches, juice, and bananas and headed to the playhouse.
After our picnic we walked the yard looking for interesting plants and trees, gathered leaves and brought them inside to identify with "An Instant Guide to Trees" and "An Instant Guide to Wildflowers" by Eleanor Lawrence and Cecilia Fitzsimons. I had the girls glue the plants to paper and search through the books to try and identify them, then I labeled them. We are create a field journal of our own with the specimens we locate!
We got a good start to our field journal. we found and identified yellow poplar, Dandelion, clover and a couple more I can't remember off the top of my head. After a play break and some study time for me I wanted the girls to squeeze in their writing and math assignments for the day. Lately I have been testing the waters with the girls on their math skills and they seem to be doing really well. Today, though has been a long day, so I figure we will do a bit of review. Riley had to do subtraction- no regrouping yet some 2 digit. Lilly 2 digit regrouping addition. Then for writing they had to write "The Declaration of Independence was signed July 4th 1776" and "There are 50 stars on the U.S. flag." It's been a busy day for us all so I am proud.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Day 7 of 180
June 16th, 2011
Well I guess from all of my unplanning of the days events and the fact that I rely on no one curriculum to teach the kids, that I am an eclectic homeschooler. So now that I have correctly identified my label I can tell about todays events. :)
We needed to make a trip to the Gaffney, SC library since our books are due back tomorrow so I gathered them up and we read a handful that had been negelcted. They were " I Can Read, Too #1 by Dave & Pat Sargent and also #3, "Watch Me Throw The Ball" by Mo Willems (Love this author), "Butterfiles & Moths" by Bobbie Kalman and Tammy Everts, and "Little Tiger" by Barron's.
After dropping the books off we went to Education Express so the girls could see if they found anything educational to spend their money on. They did really well, and ended up getting an Ant Farm and Multiplication Rock! Then of course they took their money and gave it to the cashier.
Then we headed to the playground to burn some energy before heading to the Blacksburg Library to watch a magic show with Sarah Dippity.
The magic show was AWESOMELY (not a word, right?) cute. Anywho, they enjoyed it and then we proceeded to check out as many books and movies as we could carry and headed home so we could play with them.lol
After supper we popped in a movie called Species Hunter. Pretty cool tale from National Geographic about a biologist Marc Van Roosmalen and his journey through forests of Brazil looking for new species of animals.
As if we didn't do enough for the day we took a couple minutes to set up out ant hill. The ants that you get from Insect Lore do not include a quessn ant as that is apparently against the US department of agriculture. I had some trouble with their website insectlore.com in trying to get the ants so I am thinking about headed to our backyard..hmmmm Despite the trouble with the site theire are very cute and educational activities galore on the site! Definately going to be checking that out again. Ok time for mommy time,,,,
Well I guess from all of my unplanning of the days events and the fact that I rely on no one curriculum to teach the kids, that I am an eclectic homeschooler. So now that I have correctly identified my label I can tell about todays events. :)
We needed to make a trip to the Gaffney, SC library since our books are due back tomorrow so I gathered them up and we read a handful that had been negelcted. They were " I Can Read, Too #1 by Dave & Pat Sargent and also #3, "Watch Me Throw The Ball" by Mo Willems (Love this author), "Butterfiles & Moths" by Bobbie Kalman and Tammy Everts, and "Little Tiger" by Barron's.
The magic show was AWESOMELY (not a word, right?) cute. Anywho, they enjoyed it and then we proceeded to check out as many books and movies as we could carry and headed home so we could play with them.lol
After supper we popped in a movie called Species Hunter. Pretty cool tale from National Geographic about a biologist Marc Van Roosmalen and his journey through forests of Brazil looking for new species of animals.
As if we didn't do enough for the day we took a couple minutes to set up out ant hill. The ants that you get from Insect Lore do not include a quessn ant as that is apparently against the US department of agriculture. I had some trouble with their website insectlore.com in trying to get the ants so I am thinking about headed to our backyard..hmmmm Despite the trouble with the site theire are very cute and educational activities galore on the site! Definately going to be checking that out again. Ok time for mommy time,,,,
Fathers Day!!
Had to share this cute song:
To the tune of you are my sunshine
I love you daddy
My dearest daddy
You make me happy
When I am sad
I want to tell you
I really love you!
When I'm with you
I am so glad.
I also found a cute cupcake recipe. GRILL CUPCAKES- Too Cute Check it out!!
http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/dessert-recipes/cupcake-recipes/holiday-seasonal-cupcakes/
This site has a lot of cute EASY craft ideas for kids to make:
http://crafts.slides.kaboose.com/283-quick-easy-father-s-day-crafts
The girls seemed to like this poem the best-
http://crafts.kaboose.com/i-love-you-daddy-poem.html
Our cupcakes:
To the tune of you are my sunshine
I love you daddy
My dearest daddy
You make me happy
When I am sad
I want to tell you
I really love you!
When I'm with you
I am so glad.
I also found a cute cupcake recipe. GRILL CUPCAKES- Too Cute Check it out!!
http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/dessert-recipes/cupcake-recipes/holiday-seasonal-cupcakes/
This site has a lot of cute EASY craft ideas for kids to make:
http://crafts.slides.kaboose.com/283-quick-easy-father-s-day-crafts
The girls seemed to like this poem the best-
http://crafts.kaboose.com/i-love-you-daddy-poem.html
Our cupcakes:
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Day 6 of 180
I got the bright idea of making the one blog for the required 180 days of the home school year as opposed to making separate blogs for the months through out the year. I know, I know, If only I had that bright idea from the start. But I didn't so the first 5 days are under the June 2011 blog.
So before I track todays activities I just wanted to add some "general information" about home schooling for those who might not know. Which I feel the need to do in light of recent conversations and common misconceptions.
1. It has been shown that home school children have higher success with education than children in private schools.
2. Home schooling does NOT mean your child will lack in social skills. They are not locked in the dark. They do have field trips and plenty of outings that allow them to have social interaction.
3. Different states and different types of home schooling have different requirements. We are not required to take tests and a report card does not have to be letter grades. For their bi-annual progress report I can provide a summary of the topics we have covered in each of the areas; Writing, Math, Social Studies, Science and Reading and that pretty much covers it.
4. In order to home school, I am registered through the Palmetto State Association of Homeschools. this fulfills my legal obligations.
5 Finaly, The other things I need to keep on hand is a journal of our activities (this Blog) and a portfolio that includes samples of their work ( which is also partially fulfilled through this blog) including handouts, pamphlets from field trips, reading booklist etc.
Useful Link for the beginning homeschooler: www.hslda.org
Day 6 of 180
6/15/11
We started today around 10am, since we had a meeting at 9am at the Cherokee county WIC office in Gaffney, SC. On the way home the girls said they wanted to learn about bats, deer, bugs and Hawaii. Quite the array of topics, but I'm game. When we got home they made themselves a turkey and cheese sandwhich with mayo and mustard (only minor assistance) and I picked out some books. We read " Where's that Bat" by Barbara Brenner and "Bats A Nature-Fact Book" by D.J Arneson, to cover their first request and fulfill our science requirements.
Since I feel like we are always lacking in Social Studies I picked "Career Day" by Anen Rockwell to discuss different types of jobs that are available. then we read "Stranger in the Woods" by Carl R. Sams II & Jean Stoick, which is a cute story about a snowman that these little kids made that has nuts, seed and carrots to feed animals. Ther is also a movie that goes along with this book which has beautiful photography.
Onto Writing- I had them write "Call 911 in an emergency" and "Bats are mammals." 10 times each.I am hoping that the writing helps them retain this information. Yesterday they wrote their phone #'s for the second time and I gave them candy if they were able to correctly repeat it.
After a movie and lunch break the girls got out the crayones and drew pictures of what they want to be when they grow up. After all the careers we talked about they are going to be a princess and a rockstar, Classic!
We still needed to do some math so I pulled out some worksheets I made up awhile back. I gave Riley a sheet on regrouping two digit addition and regrouping math. That is a second grade activity but I just wanted to see how she would handle it. Can you say SUPERSTAR.lol she had a small amount of hangups, but really did good for her first time doing it. Lilly worked on her regrouping subtraction and writing cursive letters b and c.
This is a lot for one day and we have more than met out requirements but I had Riley do some flashcards to help read basic words and threw in a dvd of 1000 places to see before you die that told about Brazil and Italy. Thats all she wrote for day 6. I'll try to add some pics for the day a little later. :)
So before I track todays activities I just wanted to add some "general information" about home schooling for those who might not know. Which I feel the need to do in light of recent conversations and common misconceptions.
1. It has been shown that home school children have higher success with education than children in private schools.
2. Home schooling does NOT mean your child will lack in social skills. They are not locked in the dark. They do have field trips and plenty of outings that allow them to have social interaction.
3. Different states and different types of home schooling have different requirements. We are not required to take tests and a report card does not have to be letter grades. For their bi-annual progress report I can provide a summary of the topics we have covered in each of the areas; Writing, Math, Social Studies, Science and Reading and that pretty much covers it.
4. In order to home school, I am registered through the Palmetto State Association of Homeschools. this fulfills my legal obligations.
5 Finaly, The other things I need to keep on hand is a journal of our activities (this Blog) and a portfolio that includes samples of their work ( which is also partially fulfilled through this blog) including handouts, pamphlets from field trips, reading booklist etc.
Useful Link for the beginning homeschooler: www.hslda.org
Day 6 of 180
6/15/11
We started today around 10am, since we had a meeting at 9am at the Cherokee county WIC office in Gaffney, SC. On the way home the girls said they wanted to learn about bats, deer, bugs and Hawaii. Quite the array of topics, but I'm game. When we got home they made themselves a turkey and cheese sandwhich with mayo and mustard (only minor assistance) and I picked out some books. We read " Where's that Bat" by Barbara Brenner and "Bats A Nature-Fact Book" by D.J Arneson, to cover their first request and fulfill our science requirements.
Since I feel like we are always lacking in Social Studies I picked "Career Day" by Anen Rockwell to discuss different types of jobs that are available. then we read "Stranger in the Woods" by Carl R. Sams II & Jean Stoick, which is a cute story about a snowman that these little kids made that has nuts, seed and carrots to feed animals. Ther is also a movie that goes along with this book which has beautiful photography.
Onto Writing- I had them write "Call 911 in an emergency" and "Bats are mammals." 10 times each.I am hoping that the writing helps them retain this information. Yesterday they wrote their phone #'s for the second time and I gave them candy if they were able to correctly repeat it.
After a movie and lunch break the girls got out the crayones and drew pictures of what they want to be when they grow up. After all the careers we talked about they are going to be a princess and a rockstar, Classic!
We still needed to do some math so I pulled out some worksheets I made up awhile back. I gave Riley a sheet on regrouping two digit addition and regrouping math. That is a second grade activity but I just wanted to see how she would handle it. Can you say SUPERSTAR.lol she had a small amount of hangups, but really did good for her first time doing it. Lilly worked on her regrouping subtraction and writing cursive letters b and c.
This is a lot for one day and we have more than met out requirements but I had Riley do some flashcards to help read basic words and threw in a dvd of 1000 places to see before you die that told about Brazil and Italy. Thats all she wrote for day 6. I'll try to add some pics for the day a little later. :)
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