We had a great week of school. I took Wednesday off (headache) but I decided not to try to make up the work on Thursday & today. We've got a good groove on & I don't want to mess with it. We can make up these "lost" days during Thanksgiving week.
Math is going exceptionally well for both boys. Jimmy still has issues doing his work quickly, but he is showing definite improvements. Caleb loves doing his worksheets. When Jimmy did this curriculum (Saxon grade 1), we did side A of the worksheets; doing both sides was too much for him. Caleb, however, does both willingly.
Writing is going very smoothly for Caleb, which surprised me. He didn't seem that eager to do school & has some issues sitting still. But give him an assignment, & he's golden! Jimmy struggles with creative writing. He much prefers to write when he "knows" the answer.
Reading is very much the opposite. Caleb doesn't like being made to read. Jimmy is reading chapter books with me (a chapter a day; I read first, then he reads, then I ask reading comprehension questions). Once he figured out that I was asking for the details in chapter one, he began reading very carefully. Today, he even answered my questions before I got a chance to ask! I guess I'm getting a little predictable. lol
Friday, September 30, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
Back to school!
We started our school year on Tuesday, after returning from our "field trip" weekend to Boston. More on that later.
We had an interesting start to school. I learned that my kids retained a LOT from last year. Jimmy dove right in, and Caleb's counting actually improved! Since this was our first summer with virtually no school, I was a little anxious about how it would go. On the other hand, Jimmy definitely proved that he is out of practice sitting still through aaaaalllllllllll of school time. Caleb is somewhat squirmy as well, but he's great as long as he had work to do. I think Jimmy is just going to have to get used to it - I already have the workload down to bare bones.
I designed my own lesson planner based on a few great ideas I got from June's homeschool conference plus several googled websites. I highly recommend every homeschooler to design one themselves, since we are all so individual & unique. (That's one of the best things about homeschooling, after all!) Even those of us who aren't very technological can do it; I found a bunch of websites with forms ready to customize & print.
Anyhoo, my planner has a section for our family schedule, our "together" school work (Bible & our main curriculum - varies from Five in a Row, Story of the World history, and Physics), Jimmy's work (math, spelling, journal, reading, & memory work), Caleb's work (math, handwriting, journal, reading, & Catechism), my to-do list, and dinner menu planning. Best part - when that no longer works for us, I can create & print new forms!
About our field trip - we met Daddy in Boston (in between two of his business trips) to spend the weekend with generous friends - the Stanleys - who bravely faced a long day of walking with two potentially cranky boys. Turns out the boys were too busy flirting with Mrs. Stanley & trying to impress Mr. Stanley to be very cranky. lol We limited the sights to see based on what the boys already learned & what we thought they could appreciate. So we saw the birthplace of Johnny Appleseed, part of the road Paul Revere (and the British) traveled, the U.S.S. Constitution, Paul Revere's house, the Old North Church, and the Boston Public Gardens. We read Paul Revere's ride over the summer, which covered Paul Revere's house, the Old North Church, and the minuteman trail. The Public Garden is the setting for Make Way for Ducklings (we re-read the book next to the statues of the duck family from the story). We had stayed in the town where Johnny Appleseed was born, so it was a great opportunity to introduce the story to the boys as well as give Randy & I an opportunity to learn the true story behind the legend. And the U.S.S. Constitution... well, old boats like that are just plain cool! Unfortunately, I don't have many pictures from the trip because my camera had a full memory card & an empty battery. Sigh.
I think we're off to a fabulous start. Here's to a great school year!
We had an interesting start to school. I learned that my kids retained a LOT from last year. Jimmy dove right in, and Caleb's counting actually improved! Since this was our first summer with virtually no school, I was a little anxious about how it would go. On the other hand, Jimmy definitely proved that he is out of practice sitting still through aaaaalllllllllll of school time. Caleb is somewhat squirmy as well, but he's great as long as he had work to do. I think Jimmy is just going to have to get used to it - I already have the workload down to bare bones.
I designed my own lesson planner based on a few great ideas I got from June's homeschool conference plus several googled websites. I highly recommend every homeschooler to design one themselves, since we are all so individual & unique. (That's one of the best things about homeschooling, after all!) Even those of us who aren't very technological can do it; I found a bunch of websites with forms ready to customize & print.
Anyhoo, my planner has a section for our family schedule, our "together" school work (Bible & our main curriculum - varies from Five in a Row, Story of the World history, and Physics), Jimmy's work (math, spelling, journal, reading, & memory work), Caleb's work (math, handwriting, journal, reading, & Catechism), my to-do list, and dinner menu planning. Best part - when that no longer works for us, I can create & print new forms!
About our field trip - we met Daddy in Boston (in between two of his business trips) to spend the weekend with generous friends - the Stanleys - who bravely faced a long day of walking with two potentially cranky boys. Turns out the boys were too busy flirting with Mrs. Stanley & trying to impress Mr. Stanley to be very cranky. lol We limited the sights to see based on what the boys already learned & what we thought they could appreciate. So we saw the birthplace of Johnny Appleseed, part of the road Paul Revere (and the British) traveled, the U.S.S. Constitution, Paul Revere's house, the Old North Church, and the Boston Public Gardens. We read Paul Revere's ride over the summer, which covered Paul Revere's house, the Old North Church, and the minuteman trail. The Public Garden is the setting for Make Way for Ducklings (we re-read the book next to the statues of the duck family from the story). We had stayed in the town where Johnny Appleseed was born, so it was a great opportunity to introduce the story to the boys as well as give Randy & I an opportunity to learn the true story behind the legend. And the U.S.S. Constitution... well, old boats like that are just plain cool! Unfortunately, I don't have many pictures from the trip because my camera had a full memory card & an empty battery. Sigh.
I think we're off to a fabulous start. Here's to a great school year!
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Ready to start next week
Just about wrapped up school prep. I finally decided that I didn't like any lesson planners out there so I made my own. Surprisingly enough, I enjoyed doing it & it didn't take much time! (The longest time was probably spent on "decorating" it with clipart. lol) I found a binder with a fabric spine that allows you to fold it over like a spiral notebook. Score! I was expecting to have Staples bind it for me, but now I can add, subtract, & change things to my heart's content.
In all of the planner design stuff going on, I nearly forgot to print out stuff for the boys' notebooks. I designed a calendar for them to fill in, made a monthly weather chart for Caleb's math lessons, and printed out maps for Jimmy's geography memory work.
All that's left now is to put together the boys' binders & finish filling out the last two sections of the memory work cards. I'd also like to better organize the school cart (where I'll store all of my teacher supplies in the school room), but I think that may have to wait until we actually get into it. I'm not quite sure yet what I'll need to have on hand on a daily basis for this year.
We're almost there!!
In all of the planner design stuff going on, I nearly forgot to print out stuff for the boys' notebooks. I designed a calendar for them to fill in, made a monthly weather chart for Caleb's math lessons, and printed out maps for Jimmy's geography memory work.
All that's left now is to put together the boys' binders & finish filling out the last two sections of the memory work cards. I'd also like to better organize the school cart (where I'll store all of my teacher supplies in the school room), but I think that may have to wait until we actually get into it. I'm not quite sure yet what I'll need to have on hand on a daily basis for this year.
We're almost there!!
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