Thursday, September 17, 2009
A shirt for Tristan
Hayley has been making a lot of clothes for Webkinz and other animals with her knifty knitter. The other day she decided to try making a shirt for Tristan and he loves it! The stitching with the knifty knitter is not as tight as is really needed for a sweater or shirt but Hayley got the general idea right. She has so much fun with her knifty knitter set.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
2 weeks into the new HS year assessment
We have completed 2 full weeks in our new year. It's time to assess what is working, what is not, what is fitting, is not fitting or can fit into the schedule.
Trevor- Teaching Company high school courses and Math u See. So far so good, he is easing into a routine. This is not much different than what he did last year and it seems this type of learning, heavy on video, daily discussion and a small amount of written work is the best fit for him.
Hayley-Switched on Schoolhouse computer based learning with Math U See separately for math. These are both new to us this year. It has been hard to get going with the SOS but now that she has, Hayley feels she does want to use the computer curriculum this year. I think the Math U See will be very beneficial to her as math seems to be her least favorite subject. She also joins the younger boys for all our "extras" such as Spanish and drawing.
Colin and Tristan- math
Aleks Math free trial- not a good fit, neither boy likes it. Probaby good that they don't-it's expensive! LOL
SOS computer based math- tried it, not a good fit. Going to try to return or sell.
Math Blaster for the DS handheld-fun a keeper
CLE ,math continued from last year as we still have several of the workbooks left. They like it except for the days when the lessons are 4,5,6 pages long! Also they enjoy the variety of topics in each lesson but I must admit I feel they need to learn more in depth too.
Math U See- going to try this with them.
Could Math U See on Mon-Wed-Fri and CLE on Tues, Thurs be the ideal fit for them? It's what I'm going to try next with a view towards transitioning to MUS when the CLE books run out, to simplify.
Colin- Language arts
SOS Language arts- doesn't seem to be a good fit. He will return to CLE LA for now (and yes I have Galore Park but haven't managed to try it yet! It seems like such a good idea but will I manage to implement it this year) Was using Beyond the Code for reading and comprehension last year but finds it too "young" this year. Now will use Christian Liberty Nature Readers starting this week.
Tristan-laguage arts
Easy- same as last year is working great
ETC online and Clicknread online
Has outgrown-CLE learning to read, plan to sell TM and teaching materials as I no longer have anyone coming up learning to read.
All together
La Clase Divertida Spanish- Love it, the kids are retaining- a keeper. Surprisingly a highlight of our days so far.
Real Science 4 Kids- I had wanted to try this so much but it's not a keeper. The readings don't seem to hold the kids attention. The experiments are fun but we have done a lot of them ourselves in the past. Will plan to sell and put that money towards the 3 outside science classes the kids have this year. Not the best fit for children who have already done a lot of science with their older siblings.
USA history through literature, crafts and day trips- a good fit for this year no plans to change this.
The next trip planned is a WW2 re-enactment if we can make the date work-somewhat of a longshot at this point. This weeks read aloud will be Sarah Witcher's Story which is set in New Hampshire during pioneer times. We were given (thanks Karen!!) a hands and hearts early American history craft kit and I'm going to look through this weekend to see which craft might work well this week. Looking into- trip to Indian Museum.
Drawing basics with Thomas Kincaide. Love it, keeper.
Latin-argh, we still didn't fit it in! This week for sure.
Geography- going well we have spent these two weeks on parts of the USA, need one more week for that and then will move on to my country a week plan.
Outside classes and activities----
Animal Academy-FUN a keeper
4H- Not going to be a good fit after all, long drive there and the core group is quite young, larger commitment than I originally understood.
Classes and activities with the relaxed HS group- Magic class was great looking forward to a water rockets activity with them this week. Will plan to pick and choose from activities on the long list of choices they offer.
Monthly Mixed Class Day- no update as it starts this week
Girl Scouts and Cub scouts- start soon
Homeschool soccer- different coaches than last year schedule isn't out yet.
Guess that's it, a good year so far and realistically the couple things that aren't working for us will free up more time for things that are so no loss there.
Trevor- Teaching Company high school courses and Math u See. So far so good, he is easing into a routine. This is not much different than what he did last year and it seems this type of learning, heavy on video, daily discussion and a small amount of written work is the best fit for him.
Hayley-Switched on Schoolhouse computer based learning with Math U See separately for math. These are both new to us this year. It has been hard to get going with the SOS but now that she has, Hayley feels she does want to use the computer curriculum this year. I think the Math U See will be very beneficial to her as math seems to be her least favorite subject. She also joins the younger boys for all our "extras" such as Spanish and drawing.
Colin and Tristan- math
Aleks Math free trial- not a good fit, neither boy likes it. Probaby good that they don't-it's expensive! LOL
SOS computer based math- tried it, not a good fit. Going to try to return or sell.
Math Blaster for the DS handheld-fun a keeper
CLE ,math continued from last year as we still have several of the workbooks left. They like it except for the days when the lessons are 4,5,6 pages long! Also they enjoy the variety of topics in each lesson but I must admit I feel they need to learn more in depth too.
Math U See- going to try this with them.
Could Math U See on Mon-Wed-Fri and CLE on Tues, Thurs be the ideal fit for them? It's what I'm going to try next with a view towards transitioning to MUS when the CLE books run out, to simplify.
Colin- Language arts
SOS Language arts- doesn't seem to be a good fit. He will return to CLE LA for now (and yes I have Galore Park but haven't managed to try it yet! It seems like such a good idea but will I manage to implement it this year) Was using Beyond the Code for reading and comprehension last year but finds it too "young" this year. Now will use Christian Liberty Nature Readers starting this week.
Tristan-laguage arts
Easy- same as last year is working great
ETC online and Clicknread online
Has outgrown-CLE learning to read, plan to sell TM and teaching materials as I no longer have anyone coming up learning to read.
All together
La Clase Divertida Spanish- Love it, the kids are retaining- a keeper. Surprisingly a highlight of our days so far.
Real Science 4 Kids- I had wanted to try this so much but it's not a keeper. The readings don't seem to hold the kids attention. The experiments are fun but we have done a lot of them ourselves in the past. Will plan to sell and put that money towards the 3 outside science classes the kids have this year. Not the best fit for children who have already done a lot of science with their older siblings.
USA history through literature, crafts and day trips- a good fit for this year no plans to change this.
The next trip planned is a WW2 re-enactment if we can make the date work-somewhat of a longshot at this point. This weeks read aloud will be Sarah Witcher's Story which is set in New Hampshire during pioneer times. We were given (thanks Karen!!) a hands and hearts early American history craft kit and I'm going to look through this weekend to see which craft might work well this week. Looking into- trip to Indian Museum.
Drawing basics with Thomas Kincaide. Love it, keeper.
Latin-argh, we still didn't fit it in! This week for sure.
Geography- going well we have spent these two weeks on parts of the USA, need one more week for that and then will move on to my country a week plan.
Outside classes and activities----
Animal Academy-FUN a keeper
4H- Not going to be a good fit after all, long drive there and the core group is quite young, larger commitment than I originally understood.
Classes and activities with the relaxed HS group- Magic class was great looking forward to a water rockets activity with them this week. Will plan to pick and choose from activities on the long list of choices they offer.
Monthly Mixed Class Day- no update as it starts this week
Girl Scouts and Cub scouts- start soon
Homeschool soccer- different coaches than last year schedule isn't out yet.
Guess that's it, a good year so far and realistically the couple things that aren't working for us will free up more time for things that are so no loss there.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
A Wild Day
We set out early this morning for the kids first Animal Academy class. They will be going once a month all year to learn about and work with animals of all kinds, pets, farm, wild, exotic, wild and crazy, just all sorts of animals. Today was a tour of the facility and a chance to meet many of the animals. The kids also learned some animal classification. Each month hereafter they will work with a specific animal group. Next month I think is snakes. This is an awesome class, the only catch is that it's 2 hours away!
Up early and on the road by 7:45. It was cold, 36 degrees, hence the jackets.
Tristan tries out Math Blaster for the DS, he said this is better than I thought it would be. Looks like he's thinking hard here!
When we arrived it was hard to know what to look at first and I know we didn't see all the animals. It was great fun!
after 2 plus hours o just plain FUN it was time to head home...and lunchtime too. Chip and dip in the backseat and goodies in the front to pass around. A car picnic.
Up early and on the road by 7:45. It was cold, 36 degrees, hence the jackets.
Tristan tries out Math Blaster for the DS, he said this is better than I thought it would be. Looks like he's thinking hard here!
When we arrived it was hard to know what to look at first and I know we didn't see all the animals. It was great fun!
after 2 plus hours o just plain FUN it was time to head home...and lunchtime too. Chip and dip in the backseat and goodies in the front to pass around. A car picnic.
The children can't wait until next month to go see all their new animal friends again. When asked favorites Hayley said pigs and tarantulas. Tristan liked the monkeys, sugar glider and lemur best, Colin chose the lizards and crocodiles!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Creativity is...
Today was creative too, so if my house is messy now you know why...all together: "Creativity is Messy"!
Hayley made hats and shirts for several of her and Tristan's Webkinz with her knifty knitter (that knifty knitter stuff gets lots of use good buy for anyone thinking of getting a set!).
We watched the first lesson in Thomas Kincade's Drawing basics. I didn't get pictures of every one's. Tristan's is the most dramatic though as he said I can't draw ANY thing. Before the video lesson. Well he learned that you can draw EVERY thing with just straight lines and curved lines. 
Next picture the scene Tristan decided to do after the lesson using strategies he learned.
Hayley made hats and shirts for several of her and Tristan's Webkinz with her knifty knitter (that knifty knitter stuff gets lots of use good buy for anyone thinking of getting a set!).
We watched the first lesson in Thomas Kincade's Drawing basics. I didn't get pictures of every one's. Tristan's is the most dramatic though as he said I can't draw ANY thing. Before the video lesson. Well he learned that you can draw EVERY thing with just straight lines and curved lines.
First picture boat from lesson
Next picture the scene Tristan decided to do after the lesson using strategies he learned.
Not bad at all for someone who said they can't draw anything, I think this is quite something indeed and it will be going on the wall!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Don't Mind the Mess & a game of I-Spy
Don't mind the mess, one of my favorite sayings is "creativity is messy". Thus, so far this week we must be very creative! In our Spanish lessons we had crafts to make and in our science we made molecules with candy. The four kids each have some books of their own going too so the living room and beyond has been downright messy so far this week. All in good fun and learning though!
aren't we nice to share our science with the dogs.
I-Spy
aren't we nice to share our science with the dogs.
I-Spy
Candies and toothpicks for science experimentation. A candy ethane molecule. Color wheels, paper and markers for Spanish. Workbooks for 3r's. Pencils that haven't gotten lost yet. Stuffed animals to help do the work. Shoebox "car" for stuffed animals. Math manipulatives in a green bowl. Trail mix in a green bowl. Hope nobody grabbed a snack from the wrong green bowl. File folders and pencil boxes. Teachers manuals to help me stay focused. Lastly a medicine cup because Colin has a cold.
We also watched a video about mass and matter, various kids did assorted computer or video lessons and we were all done by noontime both Monday and Tuesday. A good week so far.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
a full week
Back to home education this week after a very nice summer indeed. We enjoyed the hot summer, well the second half was hot, first half was rain, an opportunity to take several day trips to zoo's beaches and historical places and just relaxing. It was time to get back to the books and computers and DVD's even video games . This week we started La Clase Divertida Spanish, Real Science 4 Kids Chemistry and Switched on Schoolhouse. All those were new to us. The Spanish was a hit, the science was mixed, the science experiment was just looking up ingredients on foods and products and then finding them on the periodic table. The Switched on Schoolhouse gave us computer troubles and impatience troubles. We also did some mapping and geography which gave us an opportunity to reminisce about trips taken this summer. Mapping was the summer part of our geography curriculum. Played a geography center game (Evan -Moor Geography centers 4th-6th), Started adding US States to a map. Some Nintendo ds games came in the mail My French Coach and Math Blaster, Not sure if the kids have tried them yet as they are mainly for car trips. Tristan got on the computer each day this week to use Explode the code online and Clicknread. Both of these are subscriptions which I find very helpful for kids learning to read and spell. Another new to us curriculum is A Reason for Handwriting. Just the right fit, short, simple to use, effective. I think this will be a good addition to our days or the younger three. Things we did not get started were Trevor's teaching company subjects. Still undecided is math, this is something Colin and Hayley (and maybe Tristan) were going to use Switched on Schoolhouse for. We had so many problems that the kids used leftover CLE books from last year on Thursday and Friday. I like the CLE but the kids sometimes think the lessons are long. I am thinking seriously of making a clean break and using all Math U See for the children's math and not switching any more. I need to simplify that subject and I have even had some levels given to me and some loaned. Things we planned but did not start this week are Latin, just didn't fit it in but ready to next week and Drawing Basics by Thomas Kincade, waiting on additional student books for that.
On the outside activities front. We started back to Park days with one homeschool group and met some new homeschoolers through a magic class sponsered by another homeschool group. Next week we head to Massachusetts for Animal Academy where the kids will learn how to care for, raise and rescue a variety of animals and then decide whether we can add another commitment, a homeschool 4H group starts up on Friday. The following week we start monthly mixed class days with a homeschool group. The classes my kids have chosen has changed and they wont have art now but will have Mad Science and a hands on wild animals and geography class.
In addition to all this we had all the usual animal care, the baby fish are doing well. We had drop in company and a little time in the pool, not much though, it's getting colder.
The week in pictures
Concentrating-Tristan's fine motor skills have improved greatly over the summer.
That littlest Pet Shop ad in there was given to me by Hayley as a hint for Christimas-with nearly every little pet on it circled as a wish list item! How many little pets does one need?!
What is really in these foods and cleaners and pool chemicals? Junk foods held the best possibilities for multiple hits on the periodic table!
Park Day
One, two, three, four (?) down the slide and then we go around again.
Magic
Tristan got to be a magicians helper, all my pictures came out so dark though!
On the outside activities front. We started back to Park days with one homeschool group and met some new homeschoolers through a magic class sponsered by another homeschool group. Next week we head to Massachusetts for Animal Academy where the kids will learn how to care for, raise and rescue a variety of animals and then decide whether we can add another commitment, a homeschool 4H group starts up on Friday. The following week we start monthly mixed class days with a homeschool group. The classes my kids have chosen has changed and they wont have art now but will have Mad Science and a hands on wild animals and geography class.
In addition to all this we had all the usual animal care, the baby fish are doing well. We had drop in company and a little time in the pool, not much though, it's getting colder.
The week in pictures
Concentrating-Tristan's fine motor skills have improved greatly over the summer.
That littlest Pet Shop ad in there was given to me by Hayley as a hint for Christimas-with nearly every little pet on it circled as a wish list item! How many little pets does one need?!
What is really in these foods and cleaners and pool chemicals? Junk foods held the best possibilities for multiple hits on the periodic table!
Park Day
One, two, three, four (?) down the slide and then we go around again.
Magic
Tristan got to be a magicians helper, all my pictures came out so dark though!
A busy, yet not overwhelming week. I am so glad that we didn't sign up for anything that meets weekly or gives homework this year. Monthly or bi-monthly activities and being able to keep to our own curriculum choices and schedules work best for our family.
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