Okay so this "first" week of school wasn't as great as I hoped - but we did it. :)
I was sick and so were 3 of the kids. Kids are funny..I really didn't realize that E was sick until it took him over 30min to take a math test. This kid is a math genius & he sat there struggling thru his test! I was like seriously - you must be sick. He still made an A as did Chase so I guess that is good. Trying to teach in the midst of coughing fits was extremely annoying & my throat hurt so bad I struggled through our reading. What can you do, it is what it is. We learned this week and that is all that counts. Week 1 down!
So, Are you smarter than a 4th grader?
Question - Are lions and house cats part of the same Genus, Family or Species?
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
First Day of School
Today was our first day of school.
We were living in MN when I first started home schooling and they start school after Labor Day up there. I think that is a perfect time to start school, so we have kept it that way ever since.
This is my fourth year of home schooling our kids. I have decided to Blog about it, to put some of you grandparents out there at ease - you know who you are :) j/k . Not that I am going to Blog everyday (maybe I will?) or Blog "everything" we do -BUT this way you can know 'what' we are doing.
So today we started, we pushed through even though all of us are sick except R and we got it done. It took from 8:30am until 3:15 to do so (longer than I like but I like to be thorough).
This year I am hoping will be so much better than the last. Lil'c is older and I have a better plan of action when it comes to her. (Let's hope it goes well.) We will be finishing up our curriculum from last year until we get the new. That may sound bad, but SonLight is 1 1/2 years worth of work and we have never ordered our new curriculm before Nov. and we won't this year either. I like to finish it all - I hate to have things undone. It really bothers me!!
In some ways I feel I have a lot of ground to cover to catch up, but then when I hang out w/ other kids the same age and hear what they are learning I feel as if we are okay. Home Schooling and a public education are so different it is hard to compare what we are doing to what they do. With a 1:1 ratio- you can cover things a lot faster than when you are trying to teach a class of 15 -20 kids. Anyhow, so I think we are okay. I get really paranoid if I don't cross & dot everything!
So here we are ...year 4. Two fourth graders and a BIG first grader this year.
This is what our day looked like:
Pledges (yes we pledge,Bible,Christian Flag,US Flag) -->It's important in my opinion.
Bible
Spelling (we do Sequential Spelling- which was new to me last year, but I loved it! We take a test everyday. This type of spelling uses the AVKO (Audio, Visual, Kinesthetic, Oral) approach to spelling rather than the traditional approach. It uses tests as a learning device and not a method of evaluation. The test uses the word family approach sequentially. They correct their own mistakes, when they make them.
Dictation/Phonics & Readers : R- Mary on Horseback
MCP Word Study, Wordly Wise, Explode the Code - Vocabulary Enrichment
Math
History: R is studying about living long ago and the twins are learning about Johnny Tremain & Ben Franklin and History of the American People.
Science- Biology: The Butterfly Life Cycle
We will also be studying: Spanish and Typing (when Jeff hooks up the computer in the school room for me) :) - he's been busy.
The kids also belong to a co-op where they will be doing Human Anatomy, Legos, PE, Creative Writing and other electives. The Twins do Piano, R and C also take a sewing class. All of them are in or will be in a sport (Soccer, Volleyball, Flag Football) So they are busy and very socialized :) !
It was a full day and Lil'c played and ate and napped. R was very disappointed she had to eat a hot lunch in the cafeteria (fideo in the kitchen) and Lil'c was so cute holding the American Flag for our pledge.
So, that's it! I will post pics later this week for you, so you can see the kids classroom and lockers etc. Thank-you Papa Chewy and grandma Chewy for the new desk it is great to now have room for all my stuff.
We were living in MN when I first started home schooling and they start school after Labor Day up there. I think that is a perfect time to start school, so we have kept it that way ever since.
This is my fourth year of home schooling our kids. I have decided to Blog about it, to put some of you grandparents out there at ease - you know who you are :) j/k . Not that I am going to Blog everyday (maybe I will?) or Blog "everything" we do -BUT this way you can know 'what' we are doing.
So today we started, we pushed through even though all of us are sick except R and we got it done. It took from 8:30am until 3:15 to do so (longer than I like but I like to be thorough).
This year I am hoping will be so much better than the last. Lil'c is older and I have a better plan of action when it comes to her. (Let's hope it goes well.) We will be finishing up our curriculum from last year until we get the new. That may sound bad, but SonLight is 1 1/2 years worth of work and we have never ordered our new curriculm before Nov. and we won't this year either. I like to finish it all - I hate to have things undone. It really bothers me!!
In some ways I feel I have a lot of ground to cover to catch up, but then when I hang out w/ other kids the same age and hear what they are learning I feel as if we are okay. Home Schooling and a public education are so different it is hard to compare what we are doing to what they do. With a 1:1 ratio- you can cover things a lot faster than when you are trying to teach a class of 15 -20 kids. Anyhow, so I think we are okay. I get really paranoid if I don't cross & dot everything!
So here we are ...year 4. Two fourth graders and a BIG first grader this year.
This is what our day looked like:
Pledges (yes we pledge,Bible,Christian Flag,US Flag) -->It's important in my opinion.
Bible
Spelling (we do Sequential Spelling- which was new to me last year, but I loved it! We take a test everyday. This type of spelling uses the AVKO (Audio, Visual, Kinesthetic, Oral) approach to spelling rather than the traditional approach. It uses tests as a learning device and not a method of evaluation. The test uses the word family approach sequentially. They correct their own mistakes, when they make them.
Dictation/Phonics & Readers : R- Mary on Horseback
MCP Word Study, Wordly Wise, Explode the Code - Vocabulary Enrichment
Math
History: R is studying about living long ago and the twins are learning about Johnny Tremain & Ben Franklin and History of the American People.
Science- Biology: The Butterfly Life Cycle
We will also be studying: Spanish and Typing (when Jeff hooks up the computer in the school room for me) :) - he's been busy.
The kids also belong to a co-op where they will be doing Human Anatomy, Legos, PE, Creative Writing and other electives. The Twins do Piano, R and C also take a sewing class. All of them are in or will be in a sport (Soccer, Volleyball, Flag Football) So they are busy and very socialized :) !
It was a full day and Lil'c played and ate and napped. R was very disappointed she had to eat a hot lunch in the cafeteria (fideo in the kitchen) and Lil'c was so cute holding the American Flag for our pledge.
So, that's it! I will post pics later this week for you, so you can see the kids classroom and lockers etc. Thank-you Papa Chewy and grandma Chewy for the new desk it is great to now have room for all my stuff.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Coco died. He got hit by a car on Tuesday. My dad just told me. He couldn't bring himself to tell me until tonight. He's very sad and heart broken.
I am seriously sad. I can't stop crying (I don't know why)
Don't know how I am going to tell my kids about this. They loved him soo much.
I feel bad for my dad, that dog meant so much to him. Now he is alone again and his house is quiet.
Very sad :(.
Coco could be such a pain in the bottom-but I still felt like I was his mom I guess.
I wasn't always a very good one.
It is sad that he is gone.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Funny things kids say/ think
"he's probably like, 'she's going to take me out'."
(Me speaking out loud to myself while trying to park my huge tank of a vehicle and getting to close to another car where a guy was outside of it laughing at me.)
-So, I run in to pick up our to go food & (so does this guy)and when I get back into the car , there is some conversation going on and R is trying to ask me a question and the others are saying "no R, it's nothing, it's nothing mom". So I am like "what R?" She asks me if I am going to go out with that guy. I am like what?!? She says because you said "you were going to take him out.." OH!! NO!! Apparently they had had a whole discussion while I was getting the food about how I was going to take this guy out on a date. Two of them thought I was and the other was like "no, mom's married.." Goodness I could have gotten into some serious trouble over that!
-------------------
Drinking and Driving
Me talking to the kids about choices people make and how one day they will have to decide for themselves where they stand, etc.
R all serious says "well daddy drinks and drives" and I was like NO!! he doesn't
-she totally missed the whole alcohol part so, I had to explain that.
Our kids are going to get us arrested! :)
(Me speaking out loud to myself while trying to park my huge tank of a vehicle and getting to close to another car where a guy was outside of it laughing at me.)
-So, I run in to pick up our to go food & (so does this guy)and when I get back into the car , there is some conversation going on and R is trying to ask me a question and the others are saying "no R, it's nothing, it's nothing mom". So I am like "what R?" She asks me if I am going to go out with that guy. I am like what?!? She says because you said "you were going to take him out.." OH!! NO!! Apparently they had had a whole discussion while I was getting the food about how I was going to take this guy out on a date. Two of them thought I was and the other was like "no, mom's married.." Goodness I could have gotten into some serious trouble over that!
-------------------
Drinking and Driving
Me talking to the kids about choices people make and how one day they will have to decide for themselves where they stand, etc.
R all serious says "well daddy drinks and drives" and I was like NO!! he doesn't
-she totally missed the whole alcohol part so, I had to explain that.
Our kids are going to get us arrested! :)
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Lil'c in Wonderland
(picture is terrible and the video is too long. took it from my phone)
- R has a doll house she had brought downstairs for us to play horsies w/with (in lil c's area) anyhow, she left it there. Later on in the day when lil'c woke up from her nap, I caught her playing in the house trying to walk up the grand staircase, it was so funny..she thought she could climb these little stairs. Then later that night I caught her trying over and over again to sit on the chair. Made me laugh. This is all I could get, took me a while to remember "I've got to record these things!"
- R has a doll house she had brought downstairs for us to play horsies w/with (in lil c's area) anyhow, she left it there. Later on in the day when lil'c woke up from her nap, I caught her playing in the house trying to walk up the grand staircase, it was so funny..she thought she could climb these little stairs. Then later that night I caught her trying over and over again to sit on the chair. Made me laugh. This is all I could get, took me a while to remember "I've got to record these things!"
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Ice Cream Party #3
R lost her first tooth! Last week they were all upstairs playing Mario Kart and she came down all serious and told me "mom, I can't play MK anymore" I said "why?" (thinking there had been a fight or something). she said, "because my tooth is loose (she wiggles it for me w/ her tongue) and I might get too excited and swallow it." She was so serious, I couldn't help myself & just busted out laughing so hard and then so did she.. it was funny...guess you had to be there :)
So anyhow.. we celebrated w/ our traditional ice cream party! - and tooth fairy visit, of course. Can't tell you how excited and proud she is about this ! Here she is all big and proud.
So anyhow.. we celebrated w/ our traditional ice cream party! - and tooth fairy visit, of course. Can't tell you how excited and proud she is about this ! Here she is all big and proud.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Port Aransas
Lil' C LOVED the ocean, could not keep her out of it! No matter how much water she swallowed or sand she got in her face, she'd just pull herself together and head back out.
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