Snapshots of Our Homeschool Fun, Week 3

 

 

  

1-3.  Trip to museum—cool model of Earth; sweet Jesse playing at the museum; awesome pic of jellyfish!

4.  Jack making words in a matching fashion with Boggle Jr.

5.  Joe’s dragon drawing.  He named him Charlocke.

6.  The boys had some fun with Magic Nuudles. 

7.  We read Itsy Bitsy Spider a lot this week!  It’s one of Jack’s favorites.  These socks of mine remind me of this book every time I put them on.

8.  It was a good week.  School is going well.  (picture is of a bottle top of Hungry Jack pancake syrup, always loved the happy face inside it)

9.  Laundry—always there for me, just waiting and I let it wait.

**Notes**All of the kids are doing great with Sonlight.  The weeks are so much easier than last year.  I needed this so badly.  I’m thankful for the ease of planning and prep and the lighter load I am carrying thus far.  It’s making school time so much more enjoyable and memorable for me with the kids because I’m not as stressed.  All of the boys are enjoying our reading time together each day.  We read covered up on the couch together a lot and I like it.  It’s one of my favorite times of the day.  Jack is making lots of progress with holding a pencil, developing a desire to write and learn the alphabet.  Bless his heart, he’s really got that desire inside him and it’s starting to blossom.  It’s made me so happy to watch him the last few weeks as I realize all that’s inside that sweet, little head of his.  Teaching Textbooks is working out great for Joe.  He really, really enjoys it, looks forward to it each day.  Sonlight LA is going well for both Joe and Hanna.  There is a flow to it each week, a pattern and we’re all getting used to it.  I love that their writing assignments build upon the previous one each day of the week.  I finally feel like there won’t be gaps and it’s wonderful not wondering if I’m teaching it all/enough/in the right order, etc.  Hanna’s school is all going good with the exception of Math.  Life of Fred is just not cutting it for her right now.  She’s having some problems understanding the instructional part/picking out the how-to in the story of each lesson.  I ordered Teaching Textbooks Algebra 1 for her and we’ll be doing that from here on out again with Life of Fred as a supplement/extra credit, so to speak.  I’m a bit disappointed, but whatever it takes to help her understand I’ll do it.

All in all a really good start to our school year.  I couldn’t ask for more.  I’m so thankful for this time each day with my sweet children.  The days can be long and challenging sometimes and lots of things go undone around my house, but I know in my heart this is time I’ll never have with them again and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

I’m linking this post to:  Collage Friday, iPhone Photo Dump, Weekly Wrap-Up

Snapshots of Our Homeschool Fun

1-3.  Color mixing fun with paints as we read the books Mouse Paint and Warthog Paints.

4-6.  Fun with Angus Lost and some awesome cardboard doghouses Daddy made for the boys.

7-12.  Pinterest inspired volcanoes with baking soda, food coloring tinted vinegar and droppers.  The boys LOVED this!

13.  Jack has been writing letters at random the last couple weeks.  I am so excited at his interest in writing!  He had no idea he wrote the word ‘Hi’, but he was happy to find out he actually made a word when he asked me what letters he wrote and I explained it.  So proud of him!

14.  ABC perception puzzles for the little boys.

Inspiration:  Pinterest and Delightful Learning

Linking up to Collage Friday, Preschool Corner and 5K Too and Weekly Wrap-Up

Homeschool Happenings

(8/6 – 8/10)  In our homeschool this week…It was our first official week of the new school year for me and the boys.  Hanna just finished up her year and standardized testing the end of July so she is taking a breather.  It was also our first week using Sonlight.  It’s way too early for me to go on and on about how much I love our new curriculum, but I’ll just say it was a very, very good week.  One I needed badly to give me hope and encouragement for our year ahead and I’m so grateful for this bright spot right now.

In preschool the little boys and I read lots and lots of books each morning.  Jack worked on dot-to-dots, cutting and learning the ABC song with me.  We used our flannel board for storytelling and counting with our felt numbers and objects. 

My favorite thing this week was making sun bread with Jack and Jesse…We read Sun Bread and then made our own together.  They were SO good for this and it was FUN!  Made me so happy inside.

Tuesday we read Little Blue and Little Yellow and then had some color mixing fun with homemade play doh. We read Big Bear Small Bear and then did an activity with the bucket balance and our counting bears family.  While Jack did this, Jesse used the tongs and a small ladle to transfer little rocks into an ice cube tray.  Joe and I read about cave people—what they wore, ate, how they obtained their food and lived, and dinosaurs in history.  He made a cave painting using crumpled brown paper and chalks.  In Science we read about different animals and also learned about magnets.  Joe did a stick/not stick experiment with magnets.  Now, I thought he would think this was way too simple to be fun, but he LOVED it!  Even though it’s something he’s done before, he really acted like it was super :-). In my life this week…I’m thankful for a wonderful first week of school and time to work on things like this: …de-cluttering my entire home.  It’s going pretty well.  Got a great start and going to make myself keep plugging away at it.  It’s the closets and drawers.  They are exploding.

A photo I’d like to share…rocking my sweet Jesse to sleep each night.  This is the most peaceful time of day for me.  Lately my days have just seemed so chaotic, busy, out of sorts, but at the end of each day when I sit down and hold Jesse, watch him fall asleep snuggled into me, listen to his breathing, I am reminded of just how blessed I am and everything seems ok.

Inspiration:

• Snacks and Stories
• Art Lessons for Kids

I’m linking up to:  The Homeschool Mother’s Journal, Collage Friday, Preschool Corner {& 5K too} and Weekly Wrap-Up.

2012-2013 Curriculum

 

We began our new school year Monday.  I was really nervous about the start of a new year.  I haven’t been nervous in years past.  This will be our fourth year homeschooling.  Last year was by far the hardest year I’ve encountered yet as a homeschool mom.  I came to the conclusion that it was due to several factors—using a very teacher intensive curriculum with my oldest son (Five in a Row) and having two very, very busy, curious, get into everything under the sun as fast as you can blink your eyes little ones.  Things sailed along smoothly with Hanna, thankfully. 

There was no way I could face another year that I thought would be anywhere near as hard for me as last year and with the level of burnout I experienced.  Around January I started looking for other curriculums to use.  I knew I could not continue on with Five in a Row even though we all loved our time with it.  It just involved too much for a mama like me with an all or nothing personality!  I had looked at Sonlight several times since I began homeschool, but never heavily considered it, honestly, because of it’s cost.  After lots of looking and lots of thinking, I finally decided to give Sonlight a try for all of the kids this year.  I will say though, I did not purchase full Cores/packages.  I am using our public library system as much as possible.  I was able to get almost every book for Hanna (Core W) from our library, and I’ve already looked ahead to next year for her (Core 100) and see that I can get every single one from the library!  So, do not let the high price hold you back from trying Sonlight before you check out your local library.

Here is our line up for the 2012-2013 school year:

Jack (age 4), Jesse (age 3)

• Sonlight P3/4
• Before Five in a Row and Preschool Packs around the web as I feel time and energy permit (for fun and ‘extras’).
• Lots of learning games, activities,, Kumon workbooks, etc.

Joe (age 7)

• Sonlight Core A 
• Sonlight Language Arts 2
• Sonlight Science B
• Apologia Elementary Science books (all 6) as supplemental reading
• Living Books
• Wordly Wise 3000
• Teaching Textbooks Math 3
• Life of Fred Elementary series

Hanna (age 13)

• Sonlight Core W
• Advanced Winston Grammar
• Inspiration Software
• Life of Fred Beginning Algebra (with the home companion and practice books)
• Apologia Physical Science
• English from the Roots Up, Volume 2
• Typing (1st Semester), Computer/Keyboarding (2nd Semester)
• 3D Art at local Homeschool Academy

*We will fulfill art, PE, etc. through hands-on activities and classes within our community and homeschool co-op.

My goals for this upcoming school year have changed so much since we started homeschooling.  What I want most from this upcoming year is for us to love learning together, read together everyday and enjoy living, laughing and learning together more than we ever have. 

Our first week of school has gone very well.  I feel like we’ve gotten off to a really good start.  I’ve had time to spend with each of my children daily teaching them, reading along side them and I haven’t felt stretched too thin.  So far I can see Sonlight being nothing but a blessing for us (I know it’s only the first week though!) and I am starting our year feeling very positive and with a renewed passion for homeschooling!  I am so thankful for the wonderful week we have had!