What a week!!! Phew! After not having a Spring Break... I was really behind in keeping up with my online class! Then Brian was out-of-town at a conference from Sunday morning through Tuesday evening (about 7pm). The laundry and clutter in the house was starting to build up:/ And we've been having some beautiful weather... taking Momma outdoors not able to work on school or house work:)
Thankfully we had a good week!! Dinner with friends on Monday night while Brian was away (so nice for them to invite us not knowing Momma was holding down the fort). The circus on Wednesday night! And plenty of mornings/afternoons at home to work on our schoolwork and read some fun books;)
Bible
We read through a few stories each day from our Bible Storybook. With more great character forming conversations;) Such a sweet time!
Language Arts
Chris and Lydia worked together on Grammar and Spelling. They wrote out addresses and letters (about the circus) for neighbors and family. For spelling they did the "-ell and -all families" and the sight word "people".
We also worked through plenty of OPG reading lessons!! It's so great to see how both Lydia and Chris can read. I know they read better working with me than on their own (which is another step in the "learning to read" process) but it's soo relieving to have them at this stage! With my help Lydia began reading a library book I had picked out for her... at first she didn't want to read it because she thought the words were too hard, but as she started on that first page and saw all the words she knew her confidence soared and she was beaming that she could read (with some help) the book.
Anna worked hard on Grammar an Spelling as well:) She has been doing her individual reading as soon as she wakes up in the morning. She finished reading By the Shores of Silver Lake part of the Little House on the Prairie Series. One morning she handed me a book as I was pulling out our school books, she said she had finished the whole thing that morning:) It was American Girls : Changes for Felicity. This weekend she started Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo... I had planned to read it aloud, but Anna and I started it together and then she read over 10 chapters Sunday afternoon during "rest time"!
She's a reader, like her Momma and Daddy:)
Last week, Brian brought home the movie Hugo. It was a slower movie, but the kids loved it and begged to stay up late to finish watching it;) Little did we know it was also a book, we picked it up at the library !! The book is amazing...I've never read a book that included pictures as part of the story. It is called The Invention of Hugo Cabret! Don't be worried about how thick the book is... a LOT of pages are pictures that fit into the story and most pages aren't even full of words. It was a great read... the kids begged me NOT to stop:)
We also had plenty of conversations about how the book and movie differ which was fun, too! Definitely a good book!
Math
I don't have any pictures from our math this week :(
Anna started doing division! Since we are still really shaky on our math facts I was a little worried about starting division, but she is doing very well. I think seeing the facts a different way has helped her with the multiplication facts. It's also helpful that it's just the 2,5,7 families which she is getting stronger and quicker with!
Chris got to work on charts and measuring with our feet and then a ruler to see the actual length. Lydia is still working her way through beginning to learn all these facts.
All kids have been using the timer on their math fact sheets!! This was the area from Anna's testing that needed the most work... so it's exciting that we've overcome the worry about not finishing it all in the minute (or 4 minutes). And that they are all getting this much needed "fast" practice.
History and Science
This week our history and science lessons truly were connected. Our history topics were about Isaac Newton, John Locke and new farming techniques using the concept of being able to predict behavior of plants, soil and reproduction of animals.
For Isaac Newton we talked about his observations of the heavens and confirming Galileo's theories. We also talked about his formation of the Law of Gravity... the whole watching the apple drop story;) And of course that leads to a discussion about his laws of motion. While there were few activities listed in our activity book, there were some fun YouTube videos describing the laws and then using pencils on the table and the kids exerting forces on it;)
For John Locke, I explained that he thought people were born with no knowledge... "nothing in their heads", is what Chris says! I asked them what "sweet" means and they described foods. Like the activity guide suggested, I brought out some "sweet" items from the kitchen.... a semi-sweet chocolate chips, raisins, marshmallows and a bit of white granulated sugar. The kids got to try out each and tried to explain "sweet"... LOL... again using foods;) I know this activity stuck with them because when Brian asked them that night what they learned they said,"Mom let us eat white sugar from a bowl!".... LOL!! Totally like a teaspoon for all three;)
The kids drew pictures (Anna wrote out some of his key ideas) for John Locke. Both Lydia and Chris drew a picture of a king in jail their interpretation that if the king doesn't obey the contracted rules for the nation that he should be removed!
I think the farming ideas were a little above the kids! Anyway they colored the picture of one of the inventions. And then we did an activity that explained crop rotation. Anna and I had to follow the directions to put the crop in the right order of planting them.
It was a good reminder that farming isn't just sticking some plants into the ground! There really is a lot of science surrounding all the decisions farmers have to make. We also had some farming library books that I hope we can find time to read through to learn more before we jump into a new section;)
Tot in the Schoolroom
I often hear, "How do you school the older ones with the baby running around?"
So often I'm not sure how it all gets done:) And sometimes it doesn't! When Nate is needing attention I can often hold him in my lap, give him a snack or have one of the older kids take a break to play with him.
One morning as I had all the older ones at the table at the same time working (which is unusual in the morning while Nate is awake!), I heard Nate under the table. He was content as can be under the table playing...
it's messy, but it works for now!
We have another busy week this week... I have the final exam to prepare for my students and have their papers (and quizzes & finals) graded in the next two weeks, we have school at least 3 days this week, a field trip, grandparents coming at the end of the week, and Brian has a project for work he wants my help to complete which is going to require plenty of time the next two weeks!! Thankfully by May 11th most of my "extra" work will be completed and then it will be trying to get some more pre-packing/cleaning done:)
Linking up with Weekly Wrap-up.
Thankfully we had a good week!! Dinner with friends on Monday night while Brian was away (so nice for them to invite us not knowing Momma was holding down the fort). The circus on Wednesday night! And plenty of mornings/afternoons at home to work on our schoolwork and read some fun books;)
Bible
We read through a few stories each day from our Bible Storybook. With more great character forming conversations;) Such a sweet time!
Language Arts
Chris and Lydia worked together on Grammar and Spelling. They wrote out addresses and letters (about the circus) for neighbors and family. For spelling they did the "-ell and -all families" and the sight word "people".
We also worked through plenty of OPG reading lessons!! It's so great to see how both Lydia and Chris can read. I know they read better working with me than on their own (which is another step in the "learning to read" process) but it's soo relieving to have them at this stage! With my help Lydia began reading a library book I had picked out for her... at first she didn't want to read it because she thought the words were too hard, but as she started on that first page and saw all the words she knew her confidence soared and she was beaming that she could read (with some help) the book.
Anna worked hard on Grammar an Spelling as well:) She has been doing her individual reading as soon as she wakes up in the morning. She finished reading By the Shores of Silver Lake part of the Little House on the Prairie Series. One morning she handed me a book as I was pulling out our school books, she said she had finished the whole thing that morning:) It was American Girls : Changes for Felicity. This weekend she started Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo... I had planned to read it aloud, but Anna and I started it together and then she read over 10 chapters Sunday afternoon during "rest time"!
She's a reader, like her Momma and Daddy:)
Last week, Brian brought home the movie Hugo. It was a slower movie, but the kids loved it and begged to stay up late to finish watching it;) Little did we know it was also a book, we picked it up at the library !! The book is amazing...I've never read a book that included pictures as part of the story. It is called The Invention of Hugo Cabret! Don't be worried about how thick the book is... a LOT of pages are pictures that fit into the story and most pages aren't even full of words. It was a great read... the kids begged me NOT to stop:)We also had plenty of conversations about how the book and movie differ which was fun, too! Definitely a good book!
Math
I don't have any pictures from our math this week :(
Anna started doing division! Since we are still really shaky on our math facts I was a little worried about starting division, but she is doing very well. I think seeing the facts a different way has helped her with the multiplication facts. It's also helpful that it's just the 2,5,7 families which she is getting stronger and quicker with!
Chris got to work on charts and measuring with our feet and then a ruler to see the actual length. Lydia is still working her way through beginning to learn all these facts.
All kids have been using the timer on their math fact sheets!! This was the area from Anna's testing that needed the most work... so it's exciting that we've overcome the worry about not finishing it all in the minute (or 4 minutes). And that they are all getting this much needed "fast" practice.
History and Science
This week our history and science lessons truly were connected. Our history topics were about Isaac Newton, John Locke and new farming techniques using the concept of being able to predict behavior of plants, soil and reproduction of animals.
For Isaac Newton we talked about his observations of the heavens and confirming Galileo's theories. We also talked about his formation of the Law of Gravity... the whole watching the apple drop story;) And of course that leads to a discussion about his laws of motion. While there were few activities listed in our activity book, there were some fun YouTube videos describing the laws and then using pencils on the table and the kids exerting forces on it;)
For John Locke, I explained that he thought people were born with no knowledge... "nothing in their heads", is what Chris says! I asked them what "sweet" means and they described foods. Like the activity guide suggested, I brought out some "sweet" items from the kitchen.... a semi-sweet chocolate chips, raisins, marshmallows and a bit of white granulated sugar. The kids got to try out each and tried to explain "sweet"... LOL... again using foods;) I know this activity stuck with them because when Brian asked them that night what they learned they said,"Mom let us eat white sugar from a bowl!".... LOL!! Totally like a teaspoon for all three;)
The kids drew pictures (Anna wrote out some of his key ideas) for John Locke. Both Lydia and Chris drew a picture of a king in jail their interpretation that if the king doesn't obey the contracted rules for the nation that he should be removed!
I think the farming ideas were a little above the kids! Anyway they colored the picture of one of the inventions. And then we did an activity that explained crop rotation. Anna and I had to follow the directions to put the crop in the right order of planting them.
It was a good reminder that farming isn't just sticking some plants into the ground! There really is a lot of science surrounding all the decisions farmers have to make. We also had some farming library books that I hope we can find time to read through to learn more before we jump into a new section;)
Tot in the Schoolroom
I often hear, "How do you school the older ones with the baby running around?"
So often I'm not sure how it all gets done:) And sometimes it doesn't! When Nate is needing attention I can often hold him in my lap, give him a snack or have one of the older kids take a break to play with him.
One morning as I had all the older ones at the table at the same time working (which is unusual in the morning while Nate is awake!), I heard Nate under the table. He was content as can be under the table playing...
it's messy, but it works for now!
We have another busy week this week... I have the final exam to prepare for my students and have their papers (and quizzes & finals) graded in the next two weeks, we have school at least 3 days this week, a field trip, grandparents coming at the end of the week, and Brian has a project for work he wants my help to complete which is going to require plenty of time the next two weeks!! Thankfully by May 11th most of my "extra" work will be completed and then it will be trying to get some more pre-packing/cleaning done:)
Linking up with Weekly Wrap-up.
3 comments:
We've just read Hugo Cabret as part of a reading club at our home ed group. My children loved it even the three year old liked the picture of the rocket going into the eye of the man on the moon!
Mine liked that picture, too! It's a very lasting image... Chris drew his own picture of the rocket going into the eye of the man on the moon!
It sounds like a busy week, but a good one! I've not heard of Hugo Cabret before, I'll look into that one.
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