Language Arts/Foreign Language:
*Sarah read (theme 4 of the Houghton Mifflin series) for review of consonant blends
*Sarah read A Fine Spring Day in Houghton Mifflin Theme 8: Our Earth
*Mia read Hot Dog (theme 4 of the HM series)
Math:
*Sarah and Mia learned about Daylight Savings Time
*Sarah did greater than/less than using negative and positive numbers
Social Studies:
Science:
*Sarah and Mia completed the Prehistory section of the Usborne IL Encyclopedia of World History
*Sarah learned about evolution
*Sarah learned about early mammals and birds of the Eosene period
Physical Education:
Art:
*Sarah worked on playing Fur Elise by ear
Religion:
*At RE, Mia did Session 19: Learning About Our Church; Sarah talked about different ideas of God and drew a picture of God. We talked about all the different ideas of god that people have.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Week beginning 3/7/10
Language Arts/Foreign Language:
*Sarah wrote a letter to a pen pal (practicing penmanship and learning letter composition - greeting, seven complete sentences, closing)
*Sarah and Mia reviewed use of the Spanish phrases for liking/not liking (Me gusta, etc.)
*Mia played Japanese games on the JumpStart Languages CD-Rom
*Adam traced letters of the alphabet (capitol) *I read Oso Pardo, Oso Pardo to Aaden, Adam, and Mia (six times to Aaden)
*Aaden learned the ASL signs for HOT, COLD, and SING/MUSIC
Math:
*Sarah and Mia drilled addition and subtraction facts with flashcards (Mia to 10, Sarah to 20)
*Sarah ordered numbers
*Sarah learned about making and using bar graphs
*Sarah practiced using a calendar, and the months/seasons
*Sarah practiced counting money, matching sets of coins to a different set of coins of an equal amount
*Sarah practiced counting by 5s, 10s, and 100s
*Sarah learned about negative numbers, and practiced greater than/less than with numbers including negative numbers
*Mia ordered numbers
*Mia learned to use a bar graph
*Mia practiced counting to 100
*Mia did addition problems
*Mia learned about fractions (1/4, 1/3, ½), and "taught" them to Sarah
Social Studies:
Science:
*Adam and Aaden explored “Water” (ocean, lake, rivers, rain, and around the house)
*Sarah learned about mixtures, blends, and solutions
*Sarah learned about gravity and began exploring the solar system
Physical Education:
*Sarah, Mia, Adam, and Aaden practiced gymnastics
*Sarah, Mia, and Adam played Red Light Green Light, Duck Duck Goose, Simon Says, and tag with neighborhood friends
*Sarah did push ups and pull ups
Art:
*Sarah, Mia, Adam, and Aaden played on the keyboard
*Sarah made notes on a staff and worked on playing Fur Elise by ear
Religion:
Monday was a beautiful spring day, and the kids and I took a walk around the neighborhood. Tuesday was Park Day, and it was a gorgeous day for playing at the park with our homeschool friends! The rest of the week the kids had afternoons of playing outside with their neighborhood friends.
*Sarah wrote a letter to a pen pal (practicing penmanship and learning letter composition - greeting, seven complete sentences, closing)
*Sarah and Mia reviewed use of the Spanish phrases for liking/not liking (Me gusta, etc.)
*Mia played Japanese games on the JumpStart Languages CD-Rom
*Adam traced letters of the alphabet (capitol) *I read Oso Pardo, Oso Pardo to Aaden, Adam, and Mia (six times to Aaden)
*Aaden learned the ASL signs for HOT, COLD, and SING/MUSIC
Math:
*Sarah and Mia drilled addition and subtraction facts with flashcards (Mia to 10, Sarah to 20)
*Sarah ordered numbers
*Sarah learned about making and using bar graphs
*Sarah practiced using a calendar, and the months/seasons
*Sarah practiced counting money, matching sets of coins to a different set of coins of an equal amount
*Sarah practiced counting by 5s, 10s, and 100s
*Sarah learned about negative numbers, and practiced greater than/less than with numbers including negative numbers
*Mia ordered numbers
*Mia learned to use a bar graph
*Mia practiced counting to 100
*Mia did addition problems
*Mia learned about fractions (1/4, 1/3, ½), and "taught" them to Sarah
Social Studies:
Science:
*Adam and Aaden explored “Water” (ocean, lake, rivers, rain, and around the house)
*Sarah learned about mixtures, blends, and solutions
*Sarah learned about gravity and began exploring the solar system
Physical Education:
*Sarah, Mia, Adam, and Aaden practiced gymnastics
*Sarah, Mia, and Adam played Red Light Green Light, Duck Duck Goose, Simon Says, and tag with neighborhood friends
*Sarah did push ups and pull ups
Art:
*Sarah, Mia, Adam, and Aaden played on the keyboard
*Sarah made notes on a staff and worked on playing Fur Elise by ear
Religion:
Monday was a beautiful spring day, and the kids and I took a walk around the neighborhood. Tuesday was Park Day, and it was a gorgeous day for playing at the park with our homeschool friends! The rest of the week the kids had afternoons of playing outside with their neighborhood friends.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Week beginning 2/28/10
Language Arts/Foreign Language:
*Sarah read a short story "Luke and Freddie" in back issue of Ladybug magazine
*Sarah worked on mastery of consonant blends (such as FR-, DR-, SPR-, SPL-, SW-, SC-, CR-, )
*Sarah and Mia practiced silent-E words and two-vowel sounds such as OA, EA, etc, and words ending in -ED and -ING She practiced breaking down two-syllable words, and read some compound words.
*Sarah read Mouse Mess (Scholastic Guided Reading Level J/DRA Level 18-20)
*Mia read Eat Your Peas, Louise (Guided Reading Level E/DRA Level 7-8)
*Aaden learned the ASL sign for MOUSE, CAT, HORSE
Math:
*Sarah practiced identifying ones, tens, hundreds, and thousands places
*Sarah learned about unit prices
Social Studies:
Science:
*Sarah learned about electric eels
*Mia learned about electric eels and flying fish
*Adam watched videos on reptiles - lizards and alligators
Physical Education:
*Sarah worked on flexibility (hamstrings, quads, abs, straddle and side splits)
*Sarah and Mia practiced gymnastics at home (drills, forward and backward rolls, cartwheels, handstands, bridges and backbends)
*Sarah and Mia read more of The Young Gymnast: A Young Enthusiast's Guide to Gymnastics
*Sarah and Mia learned some yoga asanas (half moon, warrior, lotus, etc)
Art:
*Sarah and Mia learned about woodwind, brass, string, and percussion instruments. Discussed violin, viola, cello, string bass, guitar, mandolin, banjo, dulcimer; piccolo, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, tuba.
*Sarah and Mia listened to classical music and identified different instrument sounds, and we discussed tempo
*Sarah, Mia, Adam, and Aaden played on the keyboard.
*Sarah read Starting Painting (Usborne First Skills) chapter "Experimenting"
*Sarah and Mia painted using brushes, as well as experimenting with different objects (plastic fork, plastic knife, cap, leaf, etc) to make different lines
*Adam and Aaden blended colors and painted
Religion:
*Sarah and I explored the book Gods and Goddesses: A Treasury of Deities and Tales from World Mythology
And also fun this week - Aaden started putting together two-word sentences for the first time "Mama boop" (Mama's book) "Pay Sah" (Play Sarah) "Bye Da" (Bye Daddy) :-)
On Saturday, the children enjoyed a birthday party for their friend Isaac. The photo below was taken after they broke the pinata and gathered up all the candy!
*Sarah read a short story "Luke and Freddie" in back issue of Ladybug magazine
*Sarah worked on mastery of consonant blends (such as FR-, DR-, SPR-, SPL-, SW-, SC-, CR-, )
*Sarah and Mia practiced silent-E words and two-vowel sounds such as OA, EA, etc, and words ending in -ED and -ING She practiced breaking down two-syllable words, and read some compound words.
*Sarah read Mouse Mess (Scholastic Guided Reading Level J/DRA Level 18-20)
*Mia read Eat Your Peas, Louise (Guided Reading Level E/DRA Level 7-8)
*Aaden learned the ASL sign for MOUSE, CAT, HORSE
Math:
*Sarah practiced identifying ones, tens, hundreds, and thousands places
*Sarah learned about unit prices
Social Studies:
Science:
*Sarah learned about electric eels
*Mia learned about electric eels and flying fish
*Adam watched videos on reptiles - lizards and alligators
Physical Education:
*Sarah worked on flexibility (hamstrings, quads, abs, straddle and side splits)
*Sarah and Mia practiced gymnastics at home (drills, forward and backward rolls, cartwheels, handstands, bridges and backbends)
*Sarah and Mia read more of The Young Gymnast: A Young Enthusiast's Guide to Gymnastics
*Sarah and Mia learned some yoga asanas (half moon, warrior, lotus, etc)
Art:
*Sarah and Mia learned about woodwind, brass, string, and percussion instruments. Discussed violin, viola, cello, string bass, guitar, mandolin, banjo, dulcimer; piccolo, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, tuba.
*Sarah and Mia listened to classical music and identified different instrument sounds, and we discussed tempo
*Sarah, Mia, Adam, and Aaden played on the keyboard.
*Sarah read Starting Painting (Usborne First Skills) chapter "Experimenting"
*Sarah and Mia painted using brushes, as well as experimenting with different objects (plastic fork, plastic knife, cap, leaf, etc) to make different lines
*Adam and Aaden blended colors and painted
Religion:
*Sarah and I explored the book Gods and Goddesses: A Treasury of Deities and Tales from World Mythology
And also fun this week - Aaden started putting together two-word sentences for the first time "Mama boop" (Mama's book) "Pay Sah" (Play Sarah) "Bye Da" (Bye Daddy) :-)
On Saturday, the children enjoyed a birthday party for their friend Isaac. The photo below was taken after they broke the pinata and gathered up all the candy!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Week beginning 2/21/10
Language Arts/Foreign Languages:
*I read Dinosaurs at Dark aloud to Sarah, Mia, and Adam
*Sarah and Mia took turns reading the I Can Read (Level 1) book Dinosaur Time
*Sarah and Mia played Hennings Haus (German online games) - colors, articles of clothing
*Sarah and Mia practiced German color words (We played "I Spy")
*Sarah learned Spanish words cama and silla, and words for liking/not liking: me gusta, no me gusta, me encanta, odio, mi favorito es...
*Sarah and I read Three Little Pigs (a We Both Read book, Level 1)
*Mia and I read Too Many Cats (a We Both Read book, Level K)
Math:
*Sarah and Mia did measuring and sorting according to size
*Sarah practiced identifying coins and their amount
*Sarah practiced telling time
*Sarah and Mia did addition and subtraction problems
*Sarah played games at Funbrain.com's Math Arcade
*Mia practiced counting to 100.
*Adam practiced counting to 10.
Social Studies:
*I read "What is History" from the SOTW to Sarah and Mia
*Read The Story of Soha: A Girl From Ancient Egypt to Sarah
*Sarah and Mia watched the NatGeo Egypt video (Ancient Egypt)
*Sarah and Mia watched the NatGeo Japan video (Fire and Water festival, Mount Fuji)
Science:
*We read the Usborne IL Encyclopedia of World History: Early Life, Early Fish, Early Mammals
*Sarah, Mia, and Adam learned about dinosaurs (see LA/FL above, Dinosaur Time, as well as Dinosaurs A-Z, and the Usborne IL Encyclopedia of World History section on dinosaurs)
*Sarah and Mia watched a frog dissection video
*Sarah learned about conservation of resources
*Sarah learned about conductivity (follow-up to electricity study last week)
*Sarah watched videos about dunkleosteus, orthocone, nothosaurus, cymbospodylus, sea scorpion, basilosauras, styxosaur, megalodon, and others. Learned about fossilization. New vocabulary: sediment, vertebrates, extinct; reviewed vocab carnivore/herbivore/omnivore from last week
*Sarah watched video on orcas in the wild with Dad
*Sarah visited the BBC.com page Science and Nature: Sea Monsters
*Dad introduced Sarah to the concept of ages: pre-Cambrian, Cambrian, etc. using the prehistory timeline
*Sarah explored human anatomy online (skeleton, tooth, cardiovascular system, female reproductive system, excretory system)
*Mia watched video about dunkleosteus and orthocone
*Mia explored human anatomy online (skeleton, tooth, cardiovascular system, eye)
*Adam watched "Land of Giants" from Walking With Dinosaurs, watched megaladon and dunkleosteus videos
Art:
*Sarah, Mia, and Adam painted with watercolors
*Sarah and Mia began exploring the book Starting Painting
*Sarah made art with found/recycled objects (bottles, cardboard)
*Sarah played the Usborne online keyboard with notes and stave
*Adam made a snow scene with "soap paint"
Physical Education:
*Sarah and Mia had jiu jitsu class, and at home worked on take downs and positions (Adam did MMA with Cody)
*Sarah practiced forward rolls, backward rolls, cartwheels, one-handed cartwheels, backbends, bridges, headstands, and handstands. Mia practiced forward rolls, backward rolls, and cartwheels.
*Sarah worked on flexibility
*Sarah and Mia began reading The Young Gymnast: A Young Enthusiast's Guide to Gymnastics
Religion:
*Sarah learned about caring for the Earth (UU Principle 7) and Adam explored "Snow." Mia's class did Session 16: How Families Change; the book read was I'll Always Love You.
*Sarah heard about the Egyptian concept of ma'at, and about some of the gods of Ancient Egypt (Sekhmet, Hathor, Amun, Inubis, Osiris, Isis, etc.)
*I read Dinosaurs at Dark aloud to Sarah, Mia, and Adam
*Sarah and Mia took turns reading the I Can Read (Level 1) book Dinosaur Time
*Sarah and Mia played Hennings Haus (German online games) - colors, articles of clothing
*Sarah and Mia practiced German color words (We played "I Spy")
*Sarah learned Spanish words cama and silla, and words for liking/not liking: me gusta, no me gusta, me encanta, odio, mi favorito es...
*Sarah and I read Three Little Pigs (a We Both Read book, Level 1)
*Mia and I read Too Many Cats (a We Both Read book, Level K)
Math:
*Sarah and Mia did measuring and sorting according to size
*Sarah practiced identifying coins and their amount
*Sarah practiced telling time
*Sarah and Mia did addition and subtraction problems
*Sarah played games at Funbrain.com's Math Arcade
*Mia practiced counting to 100.
*Adam practiced counting to 10.
Social Studies:
*I read "What is History" from the SOTW to Sarah and Mia
*Read The Story of Soha: A Girl From Ancient Egypt to Sarah
*Sarah and Mia watched the NatGeo Egypt video (Ancient Egypt)
*Sarah and Mia watched the NatGeo Japan video (Fire and Water festival, Mount Fuji)
Science:
*We read the Usborne IL Encyclopedia of World History: Early Life, Early Fish, Early Mammals
*Sarah, Mia, and Adam learned about dinosaurs (see LA/FL above, Dinosaur Time, as well as Dinosaurs A-Z, and the Usborne IL Encyclopedia of World History section on dinosaurs)
*Sarah and Mia watched a frog dissection video
*Sarah learned about conservation of resources
*Sarah learned about conductivity (follow-up to electricity study last week)
*Sarah watched videos about dunkleosteus, orthocone, nothosaurus, cymbospodylus, sea scorpion, basilosauras, styxosaur, megalodon, and others. Learned about fossilization. New vocabulary: sediment, vertebrates, extinct; reviewed vocab carnivore/herbivore/omnivore from last week
*Sarah watched video on orcas in the wild with Dad
*Sarah visited the BBC.com page Science and Nature: Sea Monsters
*Dad introduced Sarah to the concept of ages: pre-Cambrian, Cambrian, etc. using the prehistory timeline
*Sarah explored human anatomy online (skeleton, tooth, cardiovascular system, female reproductive system, excretory system)
*Mia watched video about dunkleosteus and orthocone
*Mia explored human anatomy online (skeleton, tooth, cardiovascular system, eye)
*Adam watched "Land of Giants" from Walking With Dinosaurs, watched megaladon and dunkleosteus videos
Art:
*Sarah, Mia, and Adam painted with watercolors
*Sarah and Mia began exploring the book Starting Painting
*Sarah made art with found/recycled objects (bottles, cardboard)
*Sarah played the Usborne online keyboard with notes and stave
*Adam made a snow scene with "soap paint"
Physical Education:
*Sarah and Mia had jiu jitsu class, and at home worked on take downs and positions (Adam did MMA with Cody)
*Sarah practiced forward rolls, backward rolls, cartwheels, one-handed cartwheels, backbends, bridges, headstands, and handstands. Mia practiced forward rolls, backward rolls, and cartwheels.
*Sarah worked on flexibility
*Sarah and Mia began reading The Young Gymnast: A Young Enthusiast's Guide to Gymnastics
Religion:
*Sarah learned about caring for the Earth (UU Principle 7) and Adam explored "Snow." Mia's class did Session 16: How Families Change; the book read was I'll Always Love You.
*Sarah heard about the Egyptian concept of ma'at, and about some of the gods of Ancient Egypt (Sekhmet, Hathor, Amun, Inubis, Osiris, Isis, etc.)
Monday, February 15, 2010
Week beginning 2/14/10
For the week of 2/14/10 to 2/20/10
Language Arts and Foreign Languages:
*I read aloud Mummies in the Morning - vocabulary: oasis, mirage, pyramid, sarcophagus
*Sarah learned Spanish words for body parts
*Sarah read Yo! Yes?
*Sarah did Three Little Plays and Chinese Fables in the I'm Reading section on starfall.com
*Mia did Silly Turkey (short U sound) on starfall.com
*Adam independently counted to five in Spanish.
*Adam and Aaden repeated numbers in Spanish to ten
*Adam and Aaden did Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in ASL
*Adam and Aaden copied the ASL fingerspelling alphabet
Math:
*I read One Hundred Hungry Ants to Mia, Adam, and Aaden
*Sarah was introduced to Roman numerals I, II, III, IV, IIV, IIIV, V, VI, VII, VIII, X, C, and M
*Mia and Adam learned "whole" and "half" (review for Mia)
Social Studies:
*Sarah, Mia, and I read the Usborne IL Encyclopedia of Ancient History chapter on Egypt
*Sarah and Mia looked at photos of "What the World Eats" showing weekly groceries in some different families in different countries around the world
*Sarah and Mia watched a detailed but child-friendly online video with Dad about the mummification process of Ancient Egypt
*Sarah and Mia learned about Ancient Egypt
Science:
*Sarah, Mia and Adam learned about some different dinosaurs (including a new one: ornithomimus), new word: paleontologist
*Sarah and Mia, (and Adam) learned about the scientific method - hypothesis, test, observe
*Sarah and Mia looked at the timeline from formation of the Earth, through life appearing, to dinosaurs, to current.
*Sarah explored insect camouflage
*Sarah learned about electricity; watched Electricity For Kids 1 (electric circuits, conventional current flow, electrons, voltage, switch, conducting) and Electricity for Kids 2 (magnets, attract/repel, polarity, compass)
*Mia watched an electricity for kids video
Physical Education:
*Sarah and Mia learned about relay races.
*Sarah, Mia, and Adam attended their gymnastics classes on Thursday (the last class of this session) and then afterward we stayed for open gym time where Aaden was able to explore the gym and equipment as well. At home, the children worked on forward rolls, backward rolls, cartwheels, handstands, bridges, backbends, and back walkovers (at their level.)
Art:
*Mia blended primary colors to make secondary colors.
There was a special treat this week! After church at the beginning of the week (an intergenerational service, so there were no RE classes) there was a Kids' Valentine's Day Dance. The kids had a lot of fun dancing and getting to play with children they don't get to spend a lot of purely social time with, and then afterwards the girls were awesome and helped fold up and put away some of the chairs.
Tuesday we went to an "after Valentine's Valentine party" with our friends - the children exchanged Valentines and had lots of fun playing dress up and with Play Dough together. A snowstorm brought lots of opportunities on Wednesday for outside snow play with snowball fights, fort building, snowmen, and sledding with neighborhood friends. Saturday, Sarah and Mia went with two of their friends to Chuck E Cheese's for an afternoon of fun, and a quick trip to see the train station (where the photo at right was taken.)
Language Arts and Foreign Languages:
*I read aloud Mummies in the Morning - vocabulary: oasis, mirage, pyramid, sarcophagus
*Sarah learned Spanish words for body parts
*Sarah read Yo! Yes?
*Sarah did Three Little Plays and Chinese Fables in the I'm Reading section on starfall.com
*Mia did Silly Turkey (short U sound) on starfall.com
*Adam independently counted to five in Spanish.
*Adam and Aaden repeated numbers in Spanish to ten
*Adam and Aaden did Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in ASL
*Adam and Aaden copied the ASL fingerspelling alphabet
Math:
*I read One Hundred Hungry Ants to Mia, Adam, and Aaden
*Sarah was introduced to Roman numerals I, II, III, IV, IIV, IIIV, V, VI, VII, VIII, X, C, and M
*Mia and Adam learned "whole" and "half" (review for Mia)
Social Studies:
*Sarah, Mia, and I read the Usborne IL Encyclopedia of Ancient History chapter on Egypt
*Sarah and Mia looked at photos of "What the World Eats" showing weekly groceries in some different families in different countries around the world
*Sarah and Mia watched a detailed but child-friendly online video with Dad about the mummification process of Ancient Egypt
*Sarah and Mia learned about Ancient Egypt
Science:
*Sarah, Mia and Adam learned about some different dinosaurs (including a new one: ornithomimus), new word: paleontologist
*Sarah and Mia, (and Adam) learned about the scientific method - hypothesis, test, observe
*Sarah and Mia looked at the timeline from formation of the Earth, through life appearing, to dinosaurs, to current.
*Sarah explored insect camouflage
*Sarah learned about electricity; watched Electricity For Kids 1 (electric circuits, conventional current flow, electrons, voltage, switch, conducting) and Electricity for Kids 2 (magnets, attract/repel, polarity, compass)
*Mia watched an electricity for kids video
Physical Education:
*Sarah and Mia learned about relay races.
*Sarah, Mia, and Adam attended their gymnastics classes on Thursday (the last class of this session) and then afterward we stayed for open gym time where Aaden was able to explore the gym and equipment as well. At home, the children worked on forward rolls, backward rolls, cartwheels, handstands, bridges, backbends, and back walkovers (at their level.)
Art:
*Mia blended primary colors to make secondary colors.
There was a special treat this week! After church at the beginning of the week (an intergenerational service, so there were no RE classes) there was a Kids' Valentine's Day Dance. The kids had a lot of fun dancing and getting to play with children they don't get to spend a lot of purely social time with, and then afterwards the girls were awesome and helped fold up and put away some of the chairs.
Tuesday we went to an "after Valentine's Valentine party" with our friends - the children exchanged Valentines and had lots of fun playing dress up and with Play Dough together. A snowstorm brought lots of opportunities on Wednesday for outside snow play with snowball fights, fort building, snowmen, and sledding with neighborhood friends. Saturday, Sarah and Mia went with two of their friends to Chuck E Cheese's for an afternoon of fun, and a quick trip to see the train station (where the photo at right was taken.)
Last Week
Week beginning February 7, 2010
Language Arts and Foreign Languages:
*I read aloud a different classic fairy tale each night (including The Red Shoes, Little Match Girl, and The Emperor's New Clothes) and then we discussed the stories. Also, Dad read East of the Sun, West of the Moon and Puss In Boots.
*I read Brown Bear, Brown Bear each night for the boys, and also the Spanish translation, Oso Pardo, Oso Pardo, for everyone.
*We all practiced fingerspelling the ASL alphabet each night.
*Sarah and Mia read Eat Your Peas, Louise (Guided Reading Level E/DRA Level 6-8) aloud, twice each
*Sarah and Mia read The Mighty Little Lion Hunter (a "We Both Read" level 1 book) aloud, twice each.
*Sarah copied sentences from a phonics reader that is slightly above her current reading level (Animal Adventures, which is Theme 6 in the Houghton Mifflin Phonics Library) as well as from a book that is in Spanish (Hablo Espanol con Perico)
*Mia worked on starfall.com doing the Valentine "Connecting Words" (Reading/sentence creation using phrases), "Word Hunt" (finding the correct word to finish the sentence), and "Zac the Rat" (phonics based story using short A)
*Adam copied an "A."
*Adam matched Spanish shape words to the matching shape on the literacycenter.net Early Childhood Spanish page
*Aaden repeated numbers in Spanish up to ten, and tried to copy the ASL fingerspelling alphabet.
Math:
*Sarah and Mia learned a little about banking and were introduced to budgeting.
*Sarah practiced counting by twos and fives to 100.
*Sarah practiced telling time.
*Mia worked on counting to 100 (first on starfall.com and then with me) and on basic addition.
*Adam began to show interest in counting everything he saw.
Physical Education:
*Sarah, Mia, and Adam went to gymnastics classes on Thursday, and at home practiced: forward rolls, forward rolls with straddle, forward rolls with pike, cartwheels, bridges, handstands, tuck jumps and straddle jumps. (Aaden participated in this.) [The children were dissuaded from rigging up a makeshift balance beam in the house, so they got no practice in that area.]
Social Studies:
*Sarah and Mia and I read about different climates around the world (desert, tropical, temperate, etc.) and discussed living in those areas.
*We briefly reviewed continents, and talked about the Equator and Poles.
*We looked at a series of photographs of people living, working, and playing in India, China, Vietnam, Laos, Tibet, Pakistan, Cambodia, Peru, and Ghana, and discussed the photos.
*Sarah and Mia learned about desert living.
*Sarah and Mia learned a bit about gender roles in the past.
Science:
*Sarah and Mia investigated batteries online, to find out how they work.
*Sarah learned about carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores with Dad.
*Sarah, Mia, and I read about camels and their adaptations to their climate.
*We discussed climates (see Social Studies above) - this includes weather, animals and plants, and orbit/tilt of the earth.
*Mia learned about decomposition and decay.
Art:
*Sarah and Mia have been making Valentines and related crafts, using the book Valentine's Day: Things to Make and Do.
*Adam made a pasta necklace.
*Sarah has been working on drawing people without using solid outlines.
*Both girls are working on improving their mermaid drawings, and have been doing a lot of telling elaborate mermaid stories with drawings.
*Sarah sketched what she saw going on around her, such as Mia and Adam playing on the couch, or Mia twirling a cloth above her head.
*Adam has begun to say "black" when he means black, instead of "brown" which was covering both colors.
Religion:
*Sarah and I discussed some Muslim and Hindu beliefs, as well as some cultures' beliefs about spirits and protections/wards like bells on a baby's cap, etc.
*In RE at the beginning of the week, Mia's class did the second half of lesson 15, My Family: All Kinds of Families. The book read was Heather Has Two Mommies. Sarah was in Children's Chapel with the older children, and they discussed treating people kindly. Afterward, they all made Valentine's together in the nursery with a few other children while the parents were in a meeting.
We missed our homeschool get-togethers last week, but Sarah, of course, has spent a few afternoons playing with her neighborhood friends when they get home from school. We're looking forward to seeing our hs friends a couple times this coming week, starting with an After Valentine's Valentine's party tomorrow afternoon, homeschool playgroup on Thursday, and the last gymnastics class of this session on Thursday.
Language Arts and Foreign Languages:
*I read aloud a different classic fairy tale each night (including The Red Shoes, Little Match Girl, and The Emperor's New Clothes) and then we discussed the stories. Also, Dad read East of the Sun, West of the Moon and Puss In Boots.
*I read Brown Bear, Brown Bear each night for the boys, and also the Spanish translation, Oso Pardo, Oso Pardo, for everyone.
*We all practiced fingerspelling the ASL alphabet each night.
*Sarah and Mia read Eat Your Peas, Louise (Guided Reading Level E/DRA Level 6-8) aloud, twice each
*Sarah and Mia read The Mighty Little Lion Hunter (a "We Both Read" level 1 book) aloud, twice each.
*Sarah copied sentences from a phonics reader that is slightly above her current reading level (Animal Adventures, which is Theme 6 in the Houghton Mifflin Phonics Library) as well as from a book that is in Spanish (Hablo Espanol con Perico)
*Mia worked on starfall.com doing the Valentine "Connecting Words" (Reading/sentence creation using phrases), "Word Hunt" (finding the correct word to finish the sentence), and "Zac the Rat" (phonics based story using short A)
*Adam copied an "A."
*Adam matched Spanish shape words to the matching shape on the literacycenter.net Early Childhood Spanish page
*Aaden repeated numbers in Spanish up to ten, and tried to copy the ASL fingerspelling alphabet.
Math:
*Sarah and Mia learned a little about banking and were introduced to budgeting.
*Sarah practiced counting by twos and fives to 100.
*Sarah practiced telling time.
*Mia worked on counting to 100 (first on starfall.com and then with me) and on basic addition.
*Adam began to show interest in counting everything he saw.
Physical Education:
*Sarah, Mia, and Adam went to gymnastics classes on Thursday, and at home practiced: forward rolls, forward rolls with straddle, forward rolls with pike, cartwheels, bridges, handstands, tuck jumps and straddle jumps. (Aaden participated in this.) [The children were dissuaded from rigging up a makeshift balance beam in the house, so they got no practice in that area.]
Social Studies:
*Sarah and Mia and I read about different climates around the world (desert, tropical, temperate, etc.) and discussed living in those areas.
*We briefly reviewed continents, and talked about the Equator and Poles.
*We looked at a series of photographs of people living, working, and playing in India, China, Vietnam, Laos, Tibet, Pakistan, Cambodia, Peru, and Ghana, and discussed the photos.
*Sarah and Mia learned about desert living.
*Sarah and Mia learned a bit about gender roles in the past.
Science:
*Sarah and Mia investigated batteries online, to find out how they work.
*Sarah learned about carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores with Dad.
*Sarah, Mia, and I read about camels and their adaptations to their climate.
*We discussed climates (see Social Studies above) - this includes weather, animals and plants, and orbit/tilt of the earth.
*Mia learned about decomposition and decay.
Art:
*Sarah and Mia have been making Valentines and related crafts, using the book Valentine's Day: Things to Make and Do.
*Adam made a pasta necklace.
*Sarah has been working on drawing people without using solid outlines.
*Both girls are working on improving their mermaid drawings, and have been doing a lot of telling elaborate mermaid stories with drawings.
*Sarah sketched what she saw going on around her, such as Mia and Adam playing on the couch, or Mia twirling a cloth above her head.
*Adam has begun to say "black" when he means black, instead of "brown" which was covering both colors.
Religion:
*Sarah and I discussed some Muslim and Hindu beliefs, as well as some cultures' beliefs about spirits and protections/wards like bells on a baby's cap, etc.
*In RE at the beginning of the week, Mia's class did the second half of lesson 15, My Family: All Kinds of Families. The book read was Heather Has Two Mommies. Sarah was in Children's Chapel with the older children, and they discussed treating people kindly. Afterward, they all made Valentine's together in the nursery with a few other children while the parents were in a meeting.
We missed our homeschool get-togethers last week, but Sarah, of course, has spent a few afternoons playing with her neighborhood friends when they get home from school. We're looking forward to seeing our hs friends a couple times this coming week, starting with an After Valentine's Valentine's party tomorrow afternoon, homeschool playgroup on Thursday, and the last gymnastics class of this session on Thursday.
New blog purpose!
This is the first year that I've had a child who is "in the system" and in just a few months, she'll be required by the state to either take a standardized test or have a portfolio reviewed by a certified teacher. We're choosing the portfolio option, but I've not been very diligent at record keeping -- especially difficult when the learning and academics aspects of life are pretty free-flowing, spontaneous, and interwoven in the fabric of the rest of life. I have an overstuffed folder of drawings and writings and scribbles, and a stack of different things that are widely recognized as learning... but it's a jumble. My theory is that this blog can serve as a sort of record that helps me keep things organized so that when "portfolio time" rolls around, I will actually have a framework and basis to build said portfolio around, something that demonstrates to this random certified teacher that my school-age child is, in fact, learning, progressing, growing, and experiencing. I will naturally also be including the similar exploits and antics of her younger siblings.
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