Wrapping Up Week Two

As we wrap up our second week of this new school year, two things are absolutely certain; Little G still loves his math, and Reezle can't seem to get enough Spanish! She chatters her newly-learned words at every opportunity, and she seems to have a really good understanding and comprehension of the material.  Some words we are currently working on include: planta/plant, cara/face, hoja/leaf, formas/shapes, círculo/circle, triángulo/triangle, cuadrado/square, maleza/weeds, hermano y hermana/brother and sister, nosotros/we, ¿Por qué?/why, jugar/play, jardin/garden, ve/see.  Again, not a complete list, but ones we are becoming more familiar with in addition to the previous words.


 Despite being good at math, it remains Reezle's least favorite subject. Getting through the lessons can feel like I'm dragging her through the entire way. I wish she would realize that attitude is everything. Well, 98%, anyway. She makes it more difficult than it needs to be by creating her own distractions, those being her mood and behavior. I have no idea where she gets this trait from. At all. Ahem.

 

On the bright side, Reezle is an absolute delight to work with in every other subject. She's a smiling, interested, and enthusiastic learner, and that makes my part a lot more enjoyable. She also eagerly helps her brother when he runs into any issues, though honestly, this is very rare. Perhaps that is part of the allure! When she was in a traditional public school, she had many opportunities to help her classmates and really enjoyed being able to do so. Interestingly, she seems to be at such a similar academic place with her brother that they probably require each other's help about equally as often. I love it that they ask each other questions, and both enjoy helping the other figure something out.

We're going to do some work this weekend, in hopes of being able to escape to the larger "classroom" of the world sometime this coming week for a field trip.  The nice weather is calling, and fall is in the air.

Happy Friday!

Little G: Fall Benchmark Assessment

Little G just had his fall benchmark assessment.

He is 6 years old and in 1st grade (but taking 2nd grade curriculum, soon to be 3rd grade math). I asked if he could be assessed for reading fluency, which they typically do not assess as part of the fall benchmark for 1st graders. His teacher (all K12 students are assigned teachers through their state's school) was super about it and had the assessment up and ready in less than 5 minutes. She's great.


Little G read 115 words per minute. For perspective, Little G reads within average WCPM expectations for 4-6th graders in fall. Crazy. It's a little scary having a 6 year-old who is smarter than you, trust me on this. Ha!

For our next assessment, Mrs. C. has asked Little G to have a book to share with her. He is currently running back and forth from his room with various books, asking, "Mom? Do you think she would like this book? What about this book? Do you think she wants to hear about anatomy? What about cats?" He has two months to decide, hopefully that will be enough time. Heh.

Heading Into Week Two

We spent the weekend working ahead on some of our school subjects and getting familiarized with Reezle's Spanish course. I had been waiting on her teacher to explain how to log in to the course, but I hadn't heard back. As it turns out, simply logging in using Reezle's user info did the trick. She completed the first 3 units, and the course looks great! Little G is even following along.

Reezle spent a good amount of time enjoying some books and her favorite Poptropica computer game, while Little G worked on Math almost non-stop from the moment he woke up each day until he went to bed. It is rare to see the little guy without his math workbook. He encountered a bit of frustration when doing math problems which required him to borrow more than once, especially when zeros were involved. He is an extreme perfectionist and has absolutely no patience for his own mistakes. It took me a bit of time to convince him that it is a perfectly acceptable part of learning to make mistakes, and that these can even help us to learn better. He wasn't having it at first, but he eventually calmed down and accepted it. He did a retake on his assessment, and scored 100% the second time. He was fine after that, of course.

We also did some writing, vocabulary, analogies, and spelling, but typing out all of our spelling words for each unit - especially at the rate at which my kids are currently burning through them - is tedious and probably not enjoyable to read anyhow. Suffice it to say they are tackling some pretty challenging words and doing an exceptional job. I'm very proud of both of them.

Much like last year, we are continuing our hoopdance practice and doing mostly that and running for our physical education. We did a lot of it over the past week. I incorporate nutrition and information about how physical activity benefits the body into our PE curriculum. It seems there is a huge overlap between our health and PE material, so I kind of wing it with how much individual time we're giving to each. We probably do a lot more physical activity than I log for PE, all of it educational, but I was actually told to stop logging it last year due to the amount of hours. Heh. Better a bit more than needed than not enough, in my opinion.

On the agenda for tomorrow is Study Island, in addition to our typical studies. They changed the format and wow, what a positive change. Little G has his first Aimsweb assessment of the year later this week, and we're also planning a family field trip in the very near future. I love getting back into a routine again!

Schooled

So, I just got owned by an 8 year-old. My husband said, "Differentials. Don't you love them?"

Reezle chimes in and says, "I like differential equations."

I said, "Dude, you don't even know what a differential equation is."

She said, "Yes, I do. It's like subtraction. It's about finding the difference."

Um. Duly noted.

Round 2 of K Assessments

My math-loving little buddy had his assessment today, and is doing great. I will get the actual reports soon and post them when I do. The highlight of his assessment was that he has the green light to go into 2nd grade math if he achieves (I think it was) 95% course completion by the end of March. Since it is the beginning of February, he started 5 weeks late, he finished the workbook, and he can complete a full unit in two days time if I let him move at his own pace, I feel like I can pretty much say that's the plan. He is absolutely beside himself with excitement! I've never known a child to love math like he does.

Have I mentioned he does not get this from me? Heh. I love numbers and have an exceptional memory for them, but I've never been so awesome at manipulating the numbers. So I find my son's ability fascinating and really cool. And I believe it will serve him very well in life.

He is a great reader, too. Kindergarten assessments don't include fluency (words per minute), but there is a site where you can calculate a child's fluency on your own. For Reezle, it was spot-on, and Little G really wants to try it. I'm sure he will rock it.

In other news, I think I might actually, finally get to talk to someone from the special services department at K12. I was kind of disgusted after my experiences locally and decided to focus on other things. It's time now, though.

And I'll say it again: I love homeschooling my children!

He Wins

I've been debating what to do about Little G and his obsession with math. Right now, he is a Kindergarten student, technically, but he is taking 1st grade math and language arts. He was taking 1st grade phonics as well, but he completed it. If I let him work at his own pace, he would have finished 1st grade math as well. Part of me thinks just letting him finish and move up to the next grade level in math would be better for him. Originally, I felt this would place undue burden on him and stress him out. But, as it turns out, he's a lot like his mama - if his mind doesn't have something to work on all the time, he gets moody and his mind finds things to work on.

The little dude has always loved numbers and math. He could add and subtract by preschool, and by the start of Kindergarten he was begging to do multiplication flashcards all the time. He loves chess and card games, can kick my butt at Sudoku, and is at his happiest when he is challenged. (But he hates to lose and has no tolerance for anything less than perfection from himself, which means meltdowns and tantrums...)

I'm at a point with him where I feel like pacing him with the rest of the 1st grade students in math is unfair to him. During math lessons, G is typically lying on the floor, answering questions I ask aloud, rolling his eyes and saying, "I know this already, mom. It's like preschool baby stuff." And I tell him, "Yes, G, but you have to demonstrate that you know this, so we have to at least do the assessments." His reward for getting through it is always something he enjoys that is also math-related (Sudoku puzzles, a website that has flashcard games, or workbooks, usually). I keep some grades 2 and 3 math workbooks on hand, hidden as a special treat; but he found and finished the remaining half of a 250-pager the other day when I thought he was coloring. It took him an hour. So, I think we'll start letting him do as much as he wants, and see where this leads.

In other G-related news, my little boy is growing up and developing a mind (and attitude!) of his own. I'm sad, nostalgic, and somewhat uncomfortable with his growing independence, and yet I am also proud of his developments. The fact that he has been so dependent on me for so long makes the transition difficult for me, I'll be honest. Heh, I know, I know, that's the selfish, but-he's-my-baby! part of me talking. He still has many needs (basics, like dressing, brushing his teeth, washing his hands) where he needs much more assistance than his age-matched peers, but intellectually he is light years ahead of the game. He gets so frustrated, knowing what he wants or needs to do, and having the hypotonia and motor issues that make his body a bit slow to catch up. We're doing a lot of sensory diet and OT activities, which change frequently to meet his ever-changing needs, and the results are coming quicker these days.

People always say that kids grow up so fast. It's amazing, though, as a parent. It all seems to happen in fast-forward, and I've come to a point where I try to savor the little moments because I know, before I know it, I will be thinking about how ages 8 and 6 were really so little.

Beautiful Autumn Days

The phone rang just before 5AM today. It was my husband's work calling, as sometimes happens. I couldn't find sleep again, so I figured it would be a good time to assess where we're at with school and put together a plan for getting back on track in terms of what the online school says we should be doing.

Every day, my children have some form of Language Arts. We read every day, taking turns. We have Technology daily as well, because I allow at least 30 minutes each day of educational computer games. This is a special interest for my son, who really enjoys ABCya and iXL. Another favorite of his is a website that allows him to put together meals and desserts with various ingredients. The boy loves to cook! My daughter loves it, too.

We also have music daily, because the kids and I just love music. It is a great way to boost energy ad improve mood in mere minutes with very little effort. Since the three of us love hooping, we usually take breaks by turning on some of the kids' favorite tunes and hooping for 20-40 minutes each day. We're all better prepared to focus on school work afterward, and it's keeping us fit and healthy. Since we can hoop indoors, even though it is more fun to hoop outdoors, it's a great activity for staying fit and active during the winter months. Nature has been very generous so far this year, though; the incredibly beautiful and warm autumn days might be part of the reason we're a tad behind on some of the OLS items. You know, maybe. Heh. But in this snowy part of the world, November doesn't typically offer much in the way of gorgeous autumn days that beg us to open all the doors and windows and head outside to hoop and swing. We're taking advantage when we can, before the snow starts falling. And I love the smell of autumn. Except when people are burning leaves, I could do without that.

Today is pleasant, but overcast and somewhat gloomy. Reezle noted that the trees are quite bare now, though the remaining leaves are putting on quite a colorful show for us. The yellows and reds are absolutely brilliant and photo-worthy. Too bad my good camera is in need of major repairs. We took the gloomy day coupled with the 5AM start to my day as an opportunity to do a lot of work and catch up. Reezle really worked hard today, tackling several lessons in Math, Language Arts, Music, History, and Science. No complaints at all! I'm so proud of her. She is currently enjoying some free time on the computer since the majority of her lessons today did not involve a lot of screen time.

Little G spent most of the day curled up in the recliner with Reezle's Math workbook. He copies problems out of there onto scrap paper and asks me to print him worksheets. When Reezle gets stuck on a problem, he helps her understand it. The boy amazes me. He definitely did not get the math genes from Mama. He also helped Reezle with some of her spelling, as he has been doing since early last year. He picks things up so fast that there is very little effort involved in teaching him anything. Reezle does get frustrated with him, though. She is very bright herself, so being corrected by her brother, who is two years younger, doesn't always sit well. He just can't seem to help himself. I guess if there is some good to be found in it, the sibling rivalry element sure beats bullying, and it does seem to inspire Reezle to push herself more to really grasp the material. A little healthy competition is fine, as long as no one starts having self-esteem issues. So far, that doesn't appear to be the case.

My daughter is happier than she was last year. She does miss her friends, but she isn't having tummy aches all the time and is no longer extremely moody. She smiles more, enjoys her studying, and says that I make it fun. That warms my heart. Little G, well, I stand by the belief that traditional schools would not have been able to handle him. He gets so frustrated, even with first grade math, because he knows (or learns after one quick explanation) most of the material. He does not appear to be challenged even by his sister's second grade math, which he actually helps her with when she gets stuck. Too bad his conceptual understanding and whatever it is that goes on in his head doesn't translate well into actually teaching others; he becomes impatient rather quickly when others don't understand things as rapidly as he does. Boy, I suspect he is going to be a handful as he gets older!

We're all looking forward to the holidays while at the same time enjoying these amazing days that autumn is offering up before the snow flies. We've been fortunate not to have any of the white stuff yet. It's difficult to look forward to it when I know it's going to stick around until April. But at least the warmth of the holidays helps dampen the effects of the bitter chill and brighten even these dark days as the sun sets much too early for our liking.

After completing our first 9 weeks of homeschool and being well on our way into the next 9 weeks, we're all still enjoying our adventure...including watching the bus go by without making a stop here! It feels right being together and learning as a family. Yes, it can be hard work sometimes, but I can say without any doubt that this was absolutely the best choice for all of us.

Math is Everywhere

How much does my son love math? Today I was plotting the kids' height and weight on the CDC growth charts when the little guy walked up behind me and squealed with delight, "I want to do that!" Apparently, he thought it was some sort of math worksheet.

New Materials

These are Little G's first grade materials. My 5 year-old first grader is pretty stoked.

There is also new Math materials, not pictured here since it was a lot more of the same items we had for Kindergarten and I've already put them away. We do have Math+ Green now, and apparently the color change is pretty exciting stuff. There will be plenty of pictures soon.

The weather remains unseasonably warm and beautiful for October. My husband and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary yesterday, and the warmth and sunshine reminded me of the weather when we got married in 2001. I've got all of the windows open and we're taking advantage of these beautiful days before the dreaded snow starts to fly. Outdoor hooping for the win!

Art, Math...and Chicken Dancing

Today is brought to you by the letter M. M is for Math, and my son is now officially in 1st grade Math. You'd have thought Santa had just stopped by if you had been here this morning. We logged into the online school (OLS) and voila! there it was: Math+ Green. He jumped, he danced, he was all yeaaaauhh! Kudos to anyone who catches that reference.

It's funny, because I have a 5 year-old who comes out of his room each morning and either asks if his Math book has arrived yet, or wants to know if he can do Math first. Convincing him it is time to stop writing numbers and mathematical problems for the night when it is bedtime is no easy feat. You won't hear me complaining; it's not a video game controller and a bag of Cheetos I'm trying to get him to part with. If he really wants to sleep with the Sudoku puzzle book under his pillow so no one "messes with [his] puzzles", I'm cool with that.

I love this kid, and his cool, number-focused brain.

As promised, I have more Reezle art to share with you. Though I know her ability is impressive, she continues to amaze me with the things she comes up with. Here is a sampling of her work from the past week:




I love these. Her art brings me joy. It always has. I believe there is something of who a person is in everything they create, like a little fingerprint on the world. Maybe that sounds silly, but, I don't know. When she was about 4 years old, I bought her a really big 3-ring binder and a bunch of clear sheets to tuck her art safely into. We keep adding to it, and it has grown so much over time. I love that she has this little personal portfolio, but honestly, I can't bear to part with most of her art. They are personal expressions of who she is, of what she is thinking, of what touches her heart.

The weather this week is amazing. It is everything I love about autumn, from the warm and sunny days to the cool nights that beg for chili to be made and breads to be baked. They make me think of family, of my babies. My daughter will celebrate her 8th birthday this month. Our beautiful weather is also perfect for PE class. In addition to playing outside and doing some good old-fashioned being-a-kid stuff, we have been learning The Chicken Dance, The Electric Slide, and the Hokey Pokey. Maybe I'm just getting old, but the Chicken Dance is quite a workout! A fun one, though. Our living room was full of sweet little laughter this morning as we wiggled and flapped our wings and danced in circles. And in case I have forgotten to mention how much I love being with my children and homeschooling - I know, I know. But I do. So much. And I count my blessings daily.

Math and Science Cookies

Just before bed last night, Little G listed various examples of sentences for each type of punctuation (exclamation point, question mark, etc.). When he was done, he said, "Are you going to post that on Facebook? Or are you going to put that on the blog?" Alright, little dude. So here it is; Little G, after a bit of a struggle initially, has learned proper punctuation. And syllables. You want confusion? Try teaching a kid with a communication disorder the difference between number of syllables and number of word sounds. It's not a good time, people. Ugh. I think those two items would have been separated in lessons by weeks, but as of the second day of the fifth week of Kindergarten, my son has completed every bit of Kindergarten Phonics and is now ready for first grade material with more enthusiasm than most kids show at an amusement park.

The other day, we baked cookies for Math (counting cookies) and Science (measuring). I let the kids follow the directions and do the mixing and pouring themselves. Now, I won't say they were the most perfect cookies ever, but they were edible and actually kind of tasty.




They were quite proud of their cookies, as you can see from their little hands presenting them to you. And in case you're wondering, the third picture of them was taken while they were watching the cookies bake. Yes, yes, they did. And, if I do say so myself, this is the most fun I've ever had doing Science and Math.

The cookies we made were snickerdoodles, and the recipe was not ours. You can find the one we used here on allrecipes.com. Oh and, um, it is best viewed with Google Chrome and ad blocker plus. Enjoy!

Our Happy Monday

Our happy Monday was a busy Monday. I discovered the joys of coffee yesterday, at wits end with this constant exhaustion I feel due to my inability to sleep like a normal person. So today I tried it again, and discovered (or should I say rediscovered?) the joy of heart palpitations. Caffeine and I don't get along. I knew it 15 years ago, but somehow I thought that exhaustion might trump caffeine intolerance. Nope. So, on to my next plan to feel less zombie-like during our school days. You know, once I figure out what that is.

One of the many things I am enjoying about homeschooling is the flexibility of both scheduling and curriculum content. I'm always supplementing with something, and I find that the internet truly is a wonderful resource. A History lesson about the 7 continents and their well-known landmarks, geography, and climate are much more interesting with the aid of YouTube videos. When I was in school, we basically had one or two pictures in a textbook (sometimes) and our imaginations. Videos about the Great Barrier Reef (Australia), the Great Wall of China (Asia), castles (Europe), The Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, and Mt. Rushmore (North America, obviously), penguins (Antarctica), rainforests and macaws (South America), and giraffes (Africa) kept both of the kids engaged and interested. Better yet? They were talking about it for the rest of the day. Good stuff.

For art class, while discussing how Joan Miro lived in Barcelona, Spain and went to study art in Paris, France, we used Google Maps (including street view) to find out what both places look like and how far away from home he went to study (roughly 11 hours by today's travel, in case you were wondering). Reezle decided she would like to visit Barcelona and Paris, especially after we visited the Eiffel Tower via Google's street view. And today, we looked at various images of the earth while we studied the earth's poles and the equator.



An abstract drawing R made for Art using shapes and lines.

With week four of homeschool underway, we're all still loving it. Little G had his assessment yesterday and, like his sister and just as we expected, he scored well above and received the same recommendations as R. Officially, he will be starting some first grade curriculum, probably later this week. He is very excited and keeps asking me to check the OLS (online school) to see if it is there yet, even though I told him it probably won't be until later in the week or possible even next week. He finished his Kindergarten Math book tonight after dinner, so it will be mostly Study Island and working through the remaining Kindergarten lessons in the OLS to keep him busy while we wait for the new curriculum to update on the site.

Reezle will also be starting curriculum for the next grade level because she is assessing out of Math and Language Arts; I'm just waiting to hear back from our second grade teacher on when. I'm just happy that both of them are so interested in learning. Or, um, all three of them if you count the cat; she hasn't missed a lesson yet.

Fall is definitely in the air, with cool nights that bring thoughts of changing leaves, Halloween, squash soup and cups of cocoa to mind. This is my favorite season, the only downside of which is the fact that my least favorite season follows. For now, we enjoy. I hope to make some homemade applesauce with the kids, and we will be making apple shirts soon, which I can hardly wait to post about!

Grade 2 Assessments

Below are the results from R's Grade 2 assessments in reading and math:


That little blue dot at the top of the charts, well above the "Above Average" line, is where R scored. The recommendation on both is, "Consider need for individualized instruction." I did consider that need, and thus we are homeschooling.

Her confidence after seeing her accomplishments in print has soared, and we knocked out quite a few lessons in Math yesterday. She is really looking forward to the Grade 3 Math curriculum.

Little G's assessment is on Monday, and I expect similar results. He is more than halfway through his Math workbook and has 27 of 36 units of Phonics completed, just 15 days into the school year. He keeps saying, "I want to learn stuff." Hopefully when the grade 1 curriculum materials arrive, he will. He's already coveting his big sister's Math workbook.

This year ought to prove interesting! Any doubts or concerns I had are pretty much gone at this point, and we have some fun activities coming up on our Fall calendar. They are happy and thriving, and I couldn't ask for more.

Language Arts and Science

For Language Arts today, R's assignment included reading aloud. She could choose a passage from a book she enjoys, a poem she memorized, or something she had written herself. She chose to read an entire (short) book and a story she wrote about our cat. I was thoroughly impressed with how well she did! She started with the story she wrote, standing straight and tall, making great eye contact with her audience (me and Little G), speaking clearly and with expression (smiles) and feeling, holding her composition book low so we could see her sweet little face, and she had both of us smiling through the whole thing. Afterward, she read Harry The Dirty Dog with he same great enthusiasm, lots of smiles, and tons of great eye contact.

As for G, the boy starts his mornings by hugging his beloved Math workbook. Now, I've never witnessed that kind of enthusiasm from kids in bricks and mortar schools. One of the things that bothered me most about sending my kids to school was the concern that they would lose the love of learning they both have.

Even our cat has something to say about traditional schools...

Or, okay, maybe she was just yawning instead of acting all ferocious and scary. Sticky is probably the calmest, most tolerant cat on the face of the planet.

R also enjoyed some Science experiments today. We discussed bouncy balls and which would bounce higher and why. She did trials and recorded what happened each time, dropping them from different heights. She also compared how an empty water bottle versus her bear's brush compared in "bounciness". The water bottle won, in case you're wondering. It won big. The brush just sort of hit the floor like a brick.

We also did an experiment to learn whether salt would dissolve more quickly in hot versus cold water. Hot won, of course, and we discussed why and what other things hot water is used for dissolving (dirt on our clothes in the washing machine, messes on the table after dinner, and so forth). The salt-in-water experiment is a fun one, which is more fascinating for kids than you might expect. We did this years ago when she was in preschool, though she doesn't remember. I recommend it! For our next Science lesson, I think we're going to cook up something extra fun...but I'm keeping it a secret for now.

And last, but certainly not least, we have a really fun new game that counts for Phonics and PE. I was having difficulty helping Little G grasp the concept of syllables. He reads well and has mastered spelling and grammar surprisingly well for his age, but syllables were just not getting through because of his speech issues. I never even considered that, but it makes sense. His words are sometimes broken up into extra syllables that don't exist. Another homeschooling parent on one of the groups I belong to suggested that boys sometimes like more full body movements, and so jumping might be better than clapping. What a wonderful suggestion this turned out to be! Little G loves to jump (it was one of his first words, actually), so we tried it. It was magic, let me tell you! Within about 10 jumps, he knew exactly what syllables meant. Clapping did nothing of the sort for him. We did our new jumping game for about 20 minutes and he loved every single smiling jump.

On Monday, I am going to add continents in. We can toss our inflatable globe to each other while saying the continents as we jump and figuring out how many syllables are in each one. Phonics, PE, and History all in one!

Week Three Begins With Health

Welcome to week three!


I did one of my middle of the night shopping trips last night. I have to do that once in a while. Driving down nearly empty roads with the music cranked up to a level sure to cause hearing impairment someday, windows down just far enough to take in remainders of the sweet summer air, and arriving at a store where it looks virtually abandoned instead of crowded are all among my preferred ways of going shopping. While there, I found a ginormous box of 120 Crayola crayons. Pretty sure ginormous isn't a word, but clearly that's not stopping me from using it. The kids were pretty stoked this morning when they found that sitting on their study table.

I also gifted them with a copy of the First Human Body Encyclopedia from the DK First Reference Series. It is a colorful, detailed, beautiful hardcover book that does a great job of introducing some real biology and health to younger children. It's perfect for the homeschooling family because it goes beyond the very basics of various body systems and supplements any curriculum nicely. I give this 5/5 stars and would highly recommend it. However, if you cringe at anything that is not in cartoon-only form or want your children to believe that the stork brings babies, it's probably best to skip this one. If, on the other hand, you're pretty up front about things, you're sure to love this encyclopedia as much as we do.


Another little gem in our homeschool lineup this week is a National Geographic magazine my husband picked up from the store the other day. I won't tell you how much it cost, and I actually didn't want to know because he was expressing such disbelief over it himself, but he had this burning urge to tell me it was over $15. Hmm. Apparently I felt the same burning urge, because now you know. I dealt with it by shrugging and calling it curriculum enhancement. After I flipped through the pages, I realized it was an absolutely perfect companion to our history lessons right now, as it is filled with wildlife from the various continents and we are studying the continents in both K and 2. And uh, it's not like I'm exactly in any position to be shocked at the cost of a magazine anyhow, even if it hadn't proven to be the most perfectly-timed issue of National Geographic ever.

Our current goal is plowing through the Kindergarten Math as soon as possible. Little G was quite disappointed when he had to go over shapes and colors this morning, concepts he mastered before age 3, while R was doing these:

I printed an extra copy for G to enjoy on his own. He got them all correct. No surprise there.

In non-academic news, I've been throwing around the idea of family game night for some time, but it never seems to actually happen. I'm a bit disappointed in myself about that. My previous excuse was that traditional school ate all of our free time and left us with barely enough for sleep and washing. That is clearly not a problem now, as we have our evenings to ourselves and are no longer rushed between homework, bathtime, and earlier bedtimes. Baths can be taken earlier, bedtime is an hour later than when we did traditional school, and homework is non-existent. Except for when, you know, they ask to do school work during off hours (and they often do, because they love it!). So, game night. We're going to do that. And I am blogging about it here and now to hold myself to it!

Quote of the Day

"Woah, this checkpoint practice is so awesome!" - Little G, on his Math assignment.

Wednesday Randomness

Dear Study Island,

I am using you. Yes, using you. Not to test what my children know, as is your intended purpose, but to assess what I need to focus most on when I am teaching them and to determine their strengths so I can use those strengths to their benefit. Or maybe that is part of your purpose. I dunno. But I'm using you. So yeah.

-Mama Bonn

It's been a long day, so you'll have to forgive my case of mommybrain/whatever that letter above was. Our lessons began this morning and didn't really wrap up until late this evening. We didn't need to go on that long, but material-related interests kept sprouting up like flowers after a thunderstorm and we went with it.

Miss R seems to be taking quite an interest in 9/11 this year. You'll hear no complaints from me; I am addicted to political and historical documentaries and events, and there are no shortage of these on the topic of 9/11. There is a short Nick News program called What Happened?, available in full on the Nickelodeon website. We watched that together, but it did not answer all of her questions. She has many questions about everything. (I like that.) So I also let her watch some of the live news coverage from that day, explaining what it felt like and what I thought about as I watched it unfold that morning. She had many questions, and I answered them as best I could, but told her that some questions simply cannot be answered.

On other matters, I am learning what works for my children and what doesn't. Strangers were in charge of my daughter's education for two years, so I am at a bit of a disadvantage with her compared to my son in terms of knowing her learning style and academic strengths and weaknesses. I find that the way some of the material is presented makes it more complicated than it actually is. For example, R is learning place values in Math, working with base 10 blocks and doing regrouping exercises. While these exercises are quite valuable, she already knows how to add two-digit and three-digit numbers, and can't understand why she has to basically back track and break down into simpler terms what is already fairly easy for her. But, since she actually seems to struggle with it to some degree, I am going to have her do an activity where she draws hundreds, tens, and ones blocks instead of working with the actual 3-D blocks. Since she is drawn to drawing (heh, I are so funny), I figure maybe that will help. You know, especially if I encourage the use of multiple crayon colors.

For PE, we're doing a lot of hooping for now. We can practice indoors or out. The weather has either been ridiculously hot or chilly and rainy recently, but once we get a nice day with some sunshine I will be taking some blogworthy pictures of our happy hooping. For now, these photos of G and myself will have to do.


R is a pro at this, and G is catching on quickly! Only occasionally do we have a hoop go flying while trying a new trick...and it's usually mine. It's so cool to watch my children learn new things, from Math to hooping and everything in between. We are all really enjoying this experience, and I am so thankful for it.

Math and Kitty

After a wonderful long weekend with the family, class resumed this morning. Weekends are so much more enjoyable now that my children aren't being shipped off to the public school cookie cutter assembly line, because I no longer have to dread the beginning of the week. I am mommy all the time, the way it should be, instead of having a school system tell me when and/or if I can parent my child between the hours of 9-3.

I apologize. To my readers and to myself. I made this quiet little promise that I wasn't going to be negative about public school. But I've going to have to modify that. I will state my personal feelings about our personal experience from time to time, and much of that has some bitterness involved. I do want to be clear that I am not judging any parent's decision to send their child to public schools. Am I judging the school system in general, though? Yes.

On a lighter and much more fun note, here is Little G and his furry study buddy:

In this photo, G illustrates the only problem I have encountered so far; he wants to do math all. the. time. He would complete that book inside of a week if I let him, I'm fairly certain. We've been using workbooks with the kids for years, and he particularly enjoys the math ones. He burned through the preschool one in less than a week, so we bought him a Kindergarten one. He was through that one in a few days as well, so we bought him a first grade workbook. That one actually lasted a couple of weeks. In the weeks before the start of this academic year, Little G had adopted the math portions of his sister's second grade math workbook and was addicted to Sudoku puzzles. While visiting my grandma several months ago, G asked (and answered) loudly, "What is 1 + 2 + 3 + 4? It's 10!!!" The kid has some sort of little calculator center in his head. It's very cool. And I'm just a little envious.

I asked R today what her favorite subject is. She said Language Arts, Science, and Art. I noticed Math did not make the list. She's very good at it, so I guess that is what counts. I want very much for my children to do well in math, because it will open so many more doors for them. I think R prefers subjects she doesn't have to try at because she doesn't tolerate anything less than perfect from herself. I try to point out that mistakes are part of the learning process, and that taking some calculated risks is critical to getting anywhere in life. But she hesitates, because she just loathes anything she perceives as failure on her part. Sigh. I wish I could get her to lighten up.

But, these being our worst school-related issues, I can't complain. No bullies walk these halls, transportation isn't an issue, and every day is Bring Your Pet to School Day! Still loving it? Yes.

Groovy

We're finding a groove.

I am more grateful now than ever about finishing up my last few college credits via correspondence courses. It gave me an idea of what a partially web-based school curriculum would be like, taught me time management in terms of independent learning, and gave me the confidence to do teach my children using a method which can be very personally rewarding for students. I loved independent learning, and it appears that my children are feeling the same way.

Today we experienced our first Elluminate sessions with each of their virtual academy teachers. This is where students and/or parents/learning coaches have virtual conferences and assemblies via an online sort of Skype-like interface. It was a fun, highly interactive, and very informative experience for us. The children even had a chance to doodle on a white board, a program similar to Paint, with their classmates. It seemed a bit overwhelming at first, but it was actually very user-friendly and fun to use.

We are becoming comfortable with our scheduling very quickly and beginning to settle into a routine that works for us. It's not nearly as scary as it feels just starting out, and I am already identifying places where we can supplement some of the things I was hoping to fit in. Study Island (mentioned in my previous post) is something we enjoy doing pretty much any time of the day, since both R and G like to test their knowledge. The most difficult part for me so far is letting R answer her own questions on the assessments even when I know she's wrong. That is part of the learning process, and her skills need to be evaluated for what they are. I write down any areas where she seems to have hesitation, and come up with a fun way to help her understand it better. The main issue for her seems to be with reading all possible answers before making a selection, and following instructions, not the actual material. She is still Accelerated or Advanced across the board, so I'm not concerned. Similarly, Little G has scored Advanced in all of his assessments, never getting below 100% on any of them thus far.

This Kindergarten Phonics, though...ugh. It's frustrating the heck out of G - not because he doesn't know it, but because he's bored to tears. It's like asking a 9 year-old to do sight word flash cards. He was (no joke here) helping R study for her first grade spelling tests and instructing her on the proper way to pluralize words when he was in preschool last year because he had already mastered what she was learning. I will never forget hearing R mutter something in frustration at her desk as G said, very animated with hands going and all, "You have to drop the Y and add an I-E-S, sissy." I wrote a quick note to his teacher and asked if we could at least change his Study Island Reading items to first grade. She's awesome about getting back to us quickly, so I should know something as soon as tomorrow.

Since the Kindergarten Phonics is what it is, I am having G join in R's Phonics and Language Arts lessons. I even print extra worksheets for him so he can actually do the work, too. And I supplement a lot in this area. In addition to the curriculum, they both have at least an hour of independent reading each day. We also make time to take turns reading aloud to each other after we break for lunch. It is a relaxing way to get their minds back into thinking mode.

Daddy is also helping to supplement their curriculum. In the evenings and on the weekends, he is often doing math flashcards with them (addition, subtraction, and multiplication) or playing skill games like chess, checkers, or memory. I love this, because it is a great way for them to spend special time with Daddy while also learning. This is not anything new, but now that we have specific things to study, he discusses a lot of what they are learning.

We're all looking forward to getting started tomorrow. R has already asked me if I have printed out our lesson plans for the day yet. I have. We talked a little about what we have planned for the day, and she was literally jumping with joy about Science because we will be going around measuring things. And, for Music, stuffed animals will be participating. How cool is that!?

Very cool, indeed.

Our First Day of Homeschool

This morning started off with a quote from Little G that left me giggling for hours afterward. Don't ask me why, it just did. R said "wowzers" about something, to which Little G responded very matter of factly with, "Wowzers. More than one wowzer."

To get things rolling, I decided to start R's first day of homeschool with a simple, fun assignment where she would write five sentences about herself or what she did over the summer. I wasn't sure what to expect, since she didn't do much writing over the summer, but she didn't miss a beat! She did a great job.

Little G was eager to get started on Math, and since part of his lesson involved the use of scissors (which I quickly learned he did not even know how to hold properly), I figured it would be a good idea to give him a head start so he could have some practice time cutting paper. He remained a bit awkward handling the scissors, but he caught on very quickly. There was a mild meltdown because his shapes did not meet his own personal criteria for perfection, but I reminded him that it is practice which makes us good at things. "Everything you know, you've learned," I explained to him. That helped. And so did the fun activity I had planned to go along with R's grade 2 Math lesson - counting to 100 using objects. We used fruity Cheerios!

I did a little more cabinet organizing while R and G enjoyed eating that particular portion of their Math lesson. We have all kinds of cool stuff in there now, from paints and clay and bubble wands to seeds and a mineral kit and goggles to math manipulatives, music DVDs, a tambourine and a slide whistle. And it is sure to keep growing.

After snack time, we continued Math with our workbooks. We've been using workbooks for learning since they were old enough to circle pictures and identify numbers and letters, so these are a lot of fun for them and they both loved this portion of the lesson...dare I say almost as much as the Cheerios?


We also did some Language Arts, during which Little G enjoyed a poem about roller skating and part of Cinderella (we read the remainder next lesson). R started reading Clara and the Bookwagon, which she is really enjoying so far. Little G enjoyed it also, when his sister read aloud for us, just as she enjoyed as G and I took turns reading Cinderella. Their only disappointment was that they both wanted to finish their stories. This seems like more of an asset than a detriment, though, since it gives them something specific to look forward to next lesson.

And finally, Art! R looked at a few different types of art and had an opportunity to create some art of her own. The options for what to create were completely open, which is a lot of fun when you have a creative little spirit like she has, and she chose an underwater theme. Can you see the school of fish, the hammerhead shark, the frog, the fish on the hook, and the fishermen (and fisherwomen, as R insisted) in the boats at the top of the water? (I mistakenly cropped the other boats out of the photo due to the angle at which I took the photo.)

She has an amazing creative ability that I lack, so I really admire her talent. Also, see how the water is three shades of blue? She explained that this is because of "different lighting causing the water to appear different shades of blue depending on where you are looking from". Seriously? She rocks. And this is the stuff I am so thrilled to be a part of. I was missing out on all of this when she was in a bricks and mortar school.

Staying organized, avoiding meltdowns due to G's self-imposed perfectionism, keeping it fun, sticking to the lesson plan, thinking of how to change the lesson plan into a more convenient block schedule, allowing more time due to the fact that G likes to learn everything his sister is learning in addition to his own lessons, reading, drawing, printing papers, checking e-mail, fixing meals and snacks, and pretty much neglecting all actual household chores for the day has left me more than a little tired. But I also feel good, with a definite sense of accomplishment. We even made time for PE activity today (we listened to music and danced, jumped, clapped, and spun in circles to the various beats). My two little students kept me busy, but happily so. Though I will say this; I think teachers are underpaid.

The icing on the cake of our first day of homeschool was my husband coming home with a bamboo plant for me. I thought it so very fitting, lucky bamboo today. And I love bamboo! Such a sweet and thoughtful surprise.

And yes, that is our furry homeschool companion there in the background, perched atop the couch cushions my children have stacked in a fort-like configuration. That's Sticky the cat. But she's not sticky at all, I promise. Well, at least not on days when we don't count fruity Cheerios for math.

Tomorrow is the day school starts for our local public schools. I fully anticipate the bus stopping and beeping here at 8AM, wondering why we're not all out there waiting for it. I'll be waving it along and calling the transportation department to let them know we will not be there this year. R will just be rolling out of bed and asking for me to do her hair instead of leaving the house for 8 hours for day 1 of 180, and tomorrow we might just take some of our lessons outside to enjoy this amazing August weather. Together.

Wherever your little ones are learning this year, I wish you a happy school year!