Weekly Wrap-Up: Making Reading Fun & Rockets

Wrapping up another school week to motivate me to plan for the next... hahha, just kidding;)

Bible
The kids and I have still been working on our Thankful Stars. I love hearing what they are thankful for... "clean beds", "zoo animals", "sunny days" and "a beautiful world".

We also read through Psalm 19 as review.

And the kids are working diligently (when I remind them... lol!!) on their Awana lessons. We have just ONE Awana night left and all three of my kids have just ONE lesson left to complete their books... the pressure is on... ha haa!! No really, they do want to finish, so we completed a lesson and practiced last week and we'll be doing the same this week. And poor Anna has 5 verses in the last lesson (I think some are review!!).

Language/Reading
Anna completed her 2nd to last Spelling Unit and 4 Grammer lessons. I feel like I've not been giving the kids enough opportunities to write, but I was soo impressed with Anna's Spelling Writing Assignment this week (completed alone!). Maybe I don't have to "worry"!

**The circled words were from her Spelling Unit. Gotta love those "untold" stories!!**

Chris worked a little each day on his reading lessons. It's been soo nice for him to have a "motivation" before each session! He already asked if playing with Play-Doh could be his "treat" for next week (sounds great to me!!).

One reading assignment, fit Chris's personality. He loved the story and read more than I had planned for him in that session. And he was soo excited about it, he asked if he could make sentences and draw a picture for it!


I also have to share this... one thing I am trying.trying.trying. is to make reading (especially for Chris) very interesting. Our book provides a SOLID reading foundation but it doesn't have ANY pictures & no work pages... nothing that initially gets kids attention!! So this week, I made cards for Chris while he worked on "to,two & too"). Every time he read one of those words in a sentence he had to punch the correct card.... he loved it:)



Lydia also had a few reading sessions. I feel like she's ready for more, but I'm just not sure where to fit it in... I"m really hoping this summer I can MAKE time for Lydia's reading lessons!

On Friday, we closed the reading book and opened our High Five magazine. Lydia, Chris and I gathered on the couch to read it together. Anna soon joined in. I enjoyed the break and getting to "kick back" a bit. I have to confess though, I'm really bad at trying to pronounce the Spanish phrases, so I found the audio High Five online and the kids listened to that story:)And some of the others, again, too:)

Math
Anna finished all of her Saxon 2 math work this week.... YAY!!! I love finishing books;) She'll still be working on math subjects and math facts this summer.

Chris and I worked on a few math lessons, there were a couple of long ones that I split up into two days;) He likes math, so we'll keep at our pace so he will still enjoy it and not too much is pushed on him!

Lydia did puzzles, counting and skip counting with us, and ixl.com!

Science
So last week I confessed that I really was having a hard time making Science fun and that's really bad considering we are doing outer space related stuff. This week I tried to "step it up" a bit.

Our first Science day we did rockets and the first astronauts. We read and then watched a couple of rocket launches on YouTube. Then we watched a little re-enactment of the first man to go into space. Very moving. But my kids like the hands-on stuff.... so I attempted to explain how rockets work against gravity using balloons (totally recommended in the books we had been reading)! They loved it;)

Our 2nd Science lesson was on the first spacecrafts of NASA. I found a great elementary coloring book from NASA with all their spaceships, astronauts, etc! As I read from a book written by Buzz Aldrin, the kids colored the things he referenced... so nice how it fit together. We also watched another video on Neil Armstrong walking on the Moon.

After our Science lesson the kids ran upstairs to play. I heard Legos (yay, more learning, creating!!). Sure enough... a rocket appeared in the school room as I was cleaning up:)


History
This week we studied Henry V, the Hundred Years War and Joan of Arc. The kids did the coloring pages and map work. We also were pretty good about reading some extra sources about Henry V and Joan of Arc.

We made crowns to play a game from the activity guide. The kids had fun making the crowns but they were too excited to PLAY outside that they didn't want to play the game!! And then we played a guessing game after reading about Joan of Arc.

No pics, but a historical week;)

Other
Summer-itis has really set in around here.... the weather was really nice this week and after soo much rain last week we really hated being inside too long. So Monday we laid down the books early and went strawberry picking;)

Pic of the Week
I know you want to see Nate climbing or with fits full of strawberries chow-ing down;) But the pic I loved the most was this one


Chris' excited and happy expression after the deflating balloon went buzzing through the schoolroom:) Fun and excited learning...

moments like those that I am soo thankful I get to be a homeschooling mom:)

Linking up to Weekly Wrap Up:)

Weekly Wrap-Up: Highlights, Counting Macaroni and Puppet Show Reality

Where did the week go???

Seriously between teething, colds and grocery shopping, I'm not sure how it's already time to share our week.

We did have one non-"traditional" school day. On Wednesday, after Anna spent an hour on "independent" work, Brian took both girls with him on a church trip to see a local ministry. They were excited about going and had a blast with church members! I took the boys to the library, quick stop at a friend's and the grocery store... the adventurous life of a SAHM:) LOL!!

Everyone gathered back at home and we decided to forgo school for the afternoon and push naps until later in the afternoon so we could enjoy the amazingly warm and beautiful weather;) Nice walk to the post office and 20 dirty little toes to wash:)

Here's a look at our week by subject!!

Bible
We're continuing to work on Psalm 19:) It's soo exciting to see the verses that the kids remember and I"m soo amazed that we're almost done the whole chapter!! I LOVE that my kids enjoy memorizing Scripture and it's amazing how easy it when it's reviewed over and over.

In fact they surprised me at lunch today by reciting the kiddie meal prayer,"God is great, God is good..." They said the WHOLE thing!! I think between Awana snacktime and meals with the Woods, they've picked it up;) They are such sponges at this age!!

We're also working hard on our Awana material, Anna is working on learning the books of the OT!! We've been listening to Wee Sing Bible Songs since they were tiny, so it's cute to hear her trying to sing the song.

Reading
Anna read a Magic Tree House and Frecklejuice:) I also introduced her to recording the books she is reading onto a Reading Log that I got from Jolanthe @ Homeschool Creations!! I like that she has to find important info about each book like the author, publisher, etc!! And that it has a beginning date and an ending date;) Now if we can keep track of the new words;)

ANna and I also completed lessons in grammer and spelling. I am motivated to make a grammer definition game/poster to help us memorize all the great grammer definitions:) If it's good maybe I can figure out how to share it;)

Chris worked through a lesson or two from OPG... he's doing well, but we're taking it SLOW to keep it fun!!I'm soo thankful for what he is learning and retaining... teaching kids to read was one of my greatest fears in homeschooling because it's soo important and affects all the other subjects!!

Lydia practiced more of her word families from the first few reading lessons of OPG. But we're really still needing to practice before we press on... so that's what we worked on... the "-ad, -an, -am, -et and -ed" families!! We'll be here for a while, better to stay and have a solid foundation:)

One fun way for Lydia to practice these families (without Mommy or her sister) is with the Leap Frog Word Whammer.



We have a subscription to Highlights magazine.... Lydia LOVES these!! So this week we started reading the February edition. I have to admit that many months the kids look through this magazine themselves. But since Friday was a little more "laid back" we read the stories together and tried out the game which corresponded to one of the stories:)

And I just found the link to Audio Editions of the magazine:)So you can listen to the stories... or now my Lydia can "read" her magazine and I can figure out to pronounce the Spanish phrases right;)

Math
We completed 4 or 5 lessons from Saxon this week:) Both kids having assessments and doing very well;)

One of Anna's lesson activities was to count a box of macaroni. Boy, oh, boy.... LOL!! Anyway, we guessed how many and then the next day we counted... grouping by 10's... thank goodness! Lydia was brave enough to help for a bit, at first counting out tens like Anna.


But soon we found a different way for Lydia to sort out 100 that was easier for her:)



















The girls counted out like 600 and then Anna and I finished counting almost a thousand more after lunch... yes, there were 1,559 of those things in that box!!

Chris is doing soo well in math with Saxon. I really debated this year starting him on Saxon because it's not very bright and attention attracting and b/c it's the 1st grade curriculum! But Chris really likes it and ASKs to do math and his worksheet. I think it's all the manipulatives with each lesson, it goes slow so he's not been stressed out and it's one-on-one time with Mommy:)

This week he "learned" some math facts, funny thing was that he already knew them...

Anna had taught him and Lydia their doubles facts while they pretended playing school... ha ha haa, I should just let ANna teach them:)

Science
We are starting our Astronomy unit that should bring us into the summer:) Whoa!! I've been a little hesitant to start because there are soo many different things to cover and I"m trying to work through it in a logical manner...

So this week we started with what we know about our Earth as a planet... really a review from a week of learning about Earth in the fall. We read some library books and flipping through our projects from the fall, but we didn't do anything amazing or creative this week.... which a motivator to this momma to find some really great stuff for us in the next few weeks:)

History
This week we studied Charles Martel and Charlemagne:) The kids loved the fighting and adventure aspect of the stories! They also really enjoy the coloring pages and they colored the puppets in the hopes of putting on a puppet show for us using some of the key figures in Charlemagne's life:) And I finally broke down and ordered a book to help with some of these middle ages fellows that aren't normally covered in children's books... so we got to read about Charles the Hammer and Pepin and Charlemagne in that book as well;)

We DID do the puppet show... hmm, very basic!

I have to admit that I was a little annoyed that the kids didn't put forth much effort.... BUT they are 6, 5, and 4 studying France in the 700 and 800's!! And we really didn't have a lot of EXCITING material to actually have the puppets act out....

so maybe when we cover this again in 4 years, our puppet show might ROCK!! Until then, I was really pleased that they know all the names of the characters AND how they relate to Charlemagne....

I have to admit that I didn't know these names before this week, besides Charlemagne!!

I'm linking up to Weekly Wrap-up:)

Homeschooling Week in Review

I always want to share what our weeks look like.... nothing really exciting, just fun to share with some pictures!!

So here goes by subject:)

Bible
I am forgetting where I read this quote, but somewhere in the last few weeks I read this,"Our kids should be more familiar with the Bible stories and Scripture than their Saxon lessons!" Ouch!! I'm not sure how many days we zoom through the lessons to eat lunch at a decent hour and skip over our memory verses or lessons.

That being said, the kids and I were very intentional last week to work on their (but it ends up being mine too) Awana verses. And these times always begin conversations about what the verses mean and how can we obey them. And for Cubbies we've enjoyed the little activities although some weeks we don't completely finish:(

We're also trudging our way through Psalm 19... we had taken a break from working on them. But it's such a beautiful and foundational psalm;) SO we're back, and last week we memorized

¹¹ They are a warning to your servant,
a great reward for those who obey them.

Math
All together we've been learning the number families, something I've wanted to start since our friends visited in Oct:) So this week we started the 3's... I told the kids the little rhyme that we sang in softball, "3, 6, 9, batter looks like Frankenstein", just to be silly. They have been butchering that rhyme all week... argh... it's hard to listen... LOL!!

Chris has been ROCKing Saxon 1.... I planned for him to do one lesson every other day because I thought he wouldn't want to sit through the meeting book, lesson and practice sheets.... but I was WAY wrong! He LOVES it and asks to complete all his math;) And just beams when he finishes and I get to lather on the praise:)

In fact, he got tired of waiting on me to start math, so he made his OWN worksheet:) And then completed it. And he was super excited to start counting pennies and drawing pictures for word problems;)

Anna continues to buzz through Saxon 2:) She was excited to finally start carrying over in her addition problems. And this was the 1st week she had a 100 problems in 5 minutes challenge... she did a little more than half during the allotted time... I was really glad she STUCK it OUT and that every problem she completed was RIGHT... which is more important to me:)

Lydia has been working on puzzles, math manipulatives and a matching games. She counts with us and hears all that is going on during math times... she can't wait to start something more formal;)

Reading
Chris and Lydia are slowly working through Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading. A few days we deviated and I let them pick little readers to work through.... like Bob Books or LeapFrog Phonics books:) While I'd love for them to buzz through it, I really want them to LOVE reading... so my goal is 10+ minutes a day versus completing a certain amount or a lesson!

Anna continues to work through library books to add to her reading log as well as working through her grammer and spelling books:) She also read fairy tales originated in France to Lydia and Chris and with me;) And some cave books;)

Anna also had to write some letters to family and friends as part of her grammer. She dictated what she wanted written as I wrote it on paper, but then she got to type it out:) She enjoyed learning how to work on the computer and I like extending activities to include other skills;)

Science
We took on two topics last week just to push our way through so we can start Space and Astronomy in Feb:) So we talked about Caves and Mountains... pretty simple;)

For caves we read through our main book, read library books and then I had the kids illustrate things that they'd find in a cave! So we had bats, bears, Stalactites and Stalagmites, underground rivers, etc all on papers. And then we built a cave in Chris' room using his bunk bed and couch. Poor Andrea called as I was rearranging the room pushing the couch to build our cave;)

Our Mountain lessons were also very simple!! One thing that was "new" to the kids were avalanches and we covered that with some fun educational online videos:) And I wanted them to know some of the mountain terms... snowline, peaks, pass, etc!! There was a cool printable graphic that I never had the chance to print... so we MADE our own by painting a mountain range with the different terms...


Of course they all look different by age:)
I thought Chris' was cute with mountain climbers on each peak:) And little mountains in front of the big ones;)
I was soo impressed with Anna's though.... I helped her with an outline of some mountains, but she did all the outlining, painting and following the different mountain layers herself....

I HAD to display it!!
(thanks to Uncle Scott and Aunt Bea, I think I found a great spot for the easel and the artwork!!)

History
We are starting to work through Western Europe in the Middle Ages... so this we studied Clovis and the beginning of France (hence the French fairy tales). While we dove into books about modern Paris and France (learning a little culture) thanks to our amazing and soo very awesome children's librarian (and sweet friend), we don't have alot of resources about soo many of the topics covered in SOTW.

We used the Activity guide this week for the Clovis coloring sheets and making a Fleur de lis symbol:) And then I love using the SOTW resources collected by this awesome homeschooling blogger. So my kids have at least heard of someone named Clovis and the start of France... something I DIDN't know until this week:)

Other:)
We also jumped into the world of Legos:) Chris received a few smaller sets for Christmas that he really liked. SO this weekend we pulled out Brian and Uncle Scott's old sets.... WHOA!! These kids have been building ever since... it's soo great to see what they create and soo much better for them than just sitting in front of the TV during "down times":)

(can you see Chris saying "awesome" in this blurry pic as Brian pulled out his Legos for the kids to play with????)


Our dining table (which we always eat on) has been covered in Legos for days:) And while they are tucked neatly away right now, I don't see them staying neatly away for very long:)

Well that's about it.... I have some pics of what Nate (the Great) was up to while we attempted to school... he is becoming quite the "distraction"!!! More motivation to school HARD while he's napping;)

Thanks to all the homeschooling ladies who weekly share what you are doing, you all inspire;)

Homeschooling Through History: Biblical Times Fun

This week I had a few goals:

prepare and practice a chore system.... check
practice having a school time.... check
continue through history lessons.... check
have fun.... oh, yeah!

But what I didn't plan was how much fun we'd have with history this week!!! The plan for this year is to do history together during our morning, so this week we did history in the morning with everyone:) What was nice was that the two chapters we completed were relatively short and very familiar... Jesus's life and the Jewish nation under Roman rule!

We read the chapters and did the narration exercises over 3 days, but then for Anna's reading we worked through an Abeka reader called Growing Up Where Jesus Lived. I had picked it up at a consignment sale for $1!! But it was such a fun reader and just above Anna's level so it could challenge, but not frustrate, her!

Between the activity suggestions in the Story of the World Activity Book and then little things we added in after reading the Abeka reader.... we had so much fun:)

We made Crosses out of tissue paper, looked almost like stained glass:) They turned out sooo well... and all the glue washed off us, our clothes and the table!

Then we made dreidels! And really had fun playing dreidel with Smarties and then chocolate chips with Daddy after lunch!!

Then today we tried to do some of the activities that the people of Jesus' time would have had to do. The kids especially liked trying to carry "pitchers" of water on their heads:)

We definitely had some "spills"....
we wouldn't have gotten much water home to cook and clean with!
But we had a blast!! Lydia was a little reluctant to try... but she did:)



Finally we tried our shoulders... and that worked a lot better.
Chris is a natural:)
Even manages two containers!!!
This was supposed to be all three kids with "pitchers" on their heads... but you see Lydia's in mid-air!!!! I"m sure the neighbors are wondering WHAt In The World we are doing and teaching the kids... LOL!!!

Another "experience" was to have lunch in the living room... "sitting" on towels using a low table (or the homeschool table bench... hehee). Anna and I made bread from scratch, then served fresh fruits, and cooked carrots. We tried to make it authentic by taking the focus of the meal off the MEAT by using lunch meat. I didn't take pictures... too much going on!

Best history classes I've ever been apart of:)

Just another reason I am soo thankful that we are continuing to homeschool this year.... not only do they get to learn cool stuff, but I get to do it with them!!

WW: Lucky and Charming Boys

Happy St Patrick's Day!!

Aren't they soo cute in their green:)

A couple of years ago we thought it would be fun to celebrate St Patrick's Day with an "Irish meal".... LOL!! not sure if corned beef and cabbage is considered "Irish".... but it's the ONE time each year we try it;) So that's what we'll be having with some mashed potatos for our dinner;)

This year I did a little more preparation! And the kids and have some St Patrick's Day fun activities to do.... but as I was getting information I found the background of St Patrick's Day or at least WHO St. Patrick was.... basically a missionary to Ireland.

So as we "celebrate" with our "Irish meal" and fun little St Patty's Day activites, we will also talk about what it means to be a missionary and the call that all Christians have to share their faith with others;)

You can find some other picture posts at Wordless Wednesday, 5 Minutes for Mom and Go Graham Go!!!

Getting Creative with reading

I started out teaching Christopher to read using Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading. I LOVE this book... it's very comprehensive and logical! And it's very SIMPLE.

It's the simplicity of it that doesn't fit my boy:) He's ACTIVE!! He likes everything to be hands-on and require movement!! So reading has been going SLOW... like maybe completing a lesson every few weeks!! Painfully slow for THIS Mommy.... but I had to step back and ask myself when did teaching Christopher to read became some type of "race"!!!

So that's when I decided that him becoming a SOLID reader (a probably an excited learner) was going to require me to get a little creative and spend the necessary time to let him ENJOY learning. And that it was going to take some time but if he emerges out of "school" with a SOLID foundation, a joy for learning and a "happy heart"... then "school" has been successful:)

LOL.... let me tell you that I have a 100% little boy on my hands:) When I first picked up our workbook for him I cringed at the monster theme throughout the book.... hmm, my son LOVES it!!! He loves counting the fangs or horns. He asks to draw monsters like the book when he is finished a couple of pages. He ASKS to do his workbook... I can now handle the monsters:)

On top of his workbook and Ordinary Parents, we also use sight words... it's not uncommon to hear him SHOUTING his sight words.... yes, we play the little "say it loud, say it like a mouse, etc"... it's noisy, but he thinks it's FUN and he does it!!!! They also love flipping over the cards and then having to say the words... of course, Mommy always has to take a turn too:)

Another gem for reading has been "acting it out"!! Once he reads some words he's ready to draw a picture, make a story or build it!! I studied how to teach highschoolers math in college... not how to get my son to learn to read!!! LOL!!! So these little fun activities are totally NOT me... but honestly if he can re-read the words and remembers that the "u" says /uh/ like in "hut"!! Then count me IN!!! (Yes, I did build a hut in my living room, that Chris and Lydia played in for almost an hour!! And then Anna got a turn!!)

I'm going to be honest, even though some may whole-heartedly disagree, but I also offer a piece of candy for reading work completed with "willing hearts". I like it when they don't ask.... but when they are needing that extra motivation to read their words, I'm glad it's there. You'd think the kids would "go through" candy... but I seriously have candy from last Easter and Halloween still in my cabinets... so they obviously don't get much:)

Christopher has just finished a major section of Ordinary Parents. And the book even suggests to have a time to reveiw if they are not solid then to repeat or wait a few months. Instead of just reviewing the lessons or dropping reading, we have used a few other resources during this "break".... one is Starfall-they have a great Learn to Read section divided up by concepts!!

The other is BOB books!! I like the simplicity, how small they are (don't intimidate the kids), that they incorporate one/two concepts at a time and require kids to know sight words. The BEST news is that Chris likes these two resources, too!!!

The other day as we practiced the words for a new Bob book (keeps him from getting too frustrated when trying to read a new book for the first time), I pulled out the wipeboard to write all the words from that book. And he loved being able to pick which words he could read and wiping them off himself.... who knew, it could be soo much fun:)

The next time we did it, I pulled out the camera and actually got him doing it... gotta love the "real life" with him erasing words without reading them correctly.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I'm sure my Chris is much like other little boys! I am challenged to make his "school time" enjoyable while encouraging him to make progress!! So this video was great for me to see later and really see what he's doing (kind of like the coaches re-watching previous games... LOL!!!). And I rejoice in some of the subjects that he has taken off in... he loves science, he's got an amazing memory for facts about animals and stories, he's great at building and drawing, and he knows sooo many dinosaurs by name and what they eat..... there's a BOY for you:)

I never imagined schooling my kids at home would require soo much of my time, energy or stretch me to be creative. But it has!! And I wouldn't trade it for the world;)

WW - Another note from Anna

A little sweeter than the one before.

And a great reminder to me to take the time to encourage my kids in the Lord, even while they are little, because they are listening and their little hearts are sensitive to Him.

More Wordless Wednesday at
Wordless Wednesday, 5 Minutes for Mom and Go Graham Go!!!

WFMW: Homeschooling with Smaller Ones

I wish when people asked how I homeschool Anna with Chris and Lydia, I had a plan for them to follow. Or I could invite them over to my well-structured house and let them watch a homeschooling pro at work!!!! But that's not the way it works.... at least for us.



While Anna's schoolwork takes up the majority of our schooltime, Lydia and Christopher also get a taste of "structure" each day. And I can honestly say that it's getting easier.... maybe I'm learning, or they're starting to catch the idea of routine??? But we're enjoying our mornings together... no matter how frazzled and exhausted I am at 2pm:)

So here I humbly present what I have learned during my year homeschooling, especially with preschoolers running around:

1. Be realistic! While we have worked through what we have set out to accomplish this year, there are some things that we have had to tweak due to LIFE (younger siblings, 1st year schooling, preggo momma). One is our history, we have fallen way behind, but the greatest news that we HOMESCHOOL and we'll have the summer to finish up and enjoy our readings and maybe get to more projects:) Also be realistic with EXPECTATIONS of the younger ones, they aren't going to be quiet and play independently (without messes) for 2-3 hours alone (maybe yours will but mine won't)!! And my 5 yr old isn't going to do her work independently while I tend to the younger ones... she's young herself;)

2. Use Naptime!! Lydia and Chris have times where they know to be quiet while Anna and I work on reading assignments, grammer and her math lesson. But Anna and I really use naptimes to work on history and reading aloud.

3. Include the whole group when possible! We have enjoyed doing our Bible stories, Awana verse practice, science and some history and reading aloud together. Lydia and Chris love to be included in some of Anna's fun projects or interesting reading. For example, they'll color the history pages along side her.... it's actually really nice because Anna doesn't feel like she's the only one working and the little ones like doing "big kid" school with Anna.

4. Find time to work with each individually!! This is soo important. Lydia loves school and asks daily to work in her workbook or do letters. And I think since she's asking, it's the right time to start her on the school path. Also Chris is in the early stages of reading, he NEEDS me to work next to him and spend time daily encouraging his efforts and pushing him forward!! So I have attempted to work with them for a little bit each day.... sometimes it's 15 minutes, other days Chris is really into his reading and it's 30 or 40 (a really, really good day).

5. Be creative and flexible. With preschoolers or those starting structured mommy-teacher time, I've had to learn to be flexible and creative with how to help them get through the task. Sometimes it's drawing a picture with the reading or making a game out of it. I'll do another post on this one SOON!!

6. Have special school toys ready (STATIONS)! I have toys that are used during schooltimes (or special occassions) only. And when Anna and I need the "quiet" time I pull out the "secret weapons". We have started calling these times STATIONS! So they each play with something different that they have choosen or that I have laid out for them. When they are done at their STATION, they have to clean it up and then they can trade or move to another STATION. Occassionally they can work together at one STATION... depending on what Anna and I are doing because they can get kind of loud and the mess is usually bigger:)
**** I actually would like to get a little more structured with this idea. One idea is to have a jar where they could pick the STATIONS for that morning/week. It could also blend in nicely with the workboxes/files idea for more educationally structured activities for Lydia or Chris next year!!****


7. Be patient and encouraging!! I think that is one of my motto and themes this year! I've really been trying to find ways to praise the kids during the day and especially during schooltime when I'm focused on the specific tasks that I feel like need to be completed;) But the kids THRIVE on me being patient and encouraging.... providing them with a loving and postive environment.


8. Don't forget the basics:) Part of our school day is the kids completing their "morning chores". While most don't consider this part of schooling, for preschoolers it is:) They have to learn to do basic chores: dress themselves, tidy up their rooms, pottying alone, etc!! And I think giving them a structure at beginning of their day helps them come to the school table with a heart that is ready to follow directions sweetly... which makes ANY school day very pleasant:)


lastly....

9. Play/Free time is needed. At first I felt really guilty if Chris and Lydia didn't have the hours of school time that Anna was getting.... instead they'd be in their rooms playing. But at 2,3,4 yrs old, they need that time to learn how to play alone and together. So once I was giving each the individual time that they could handle (LOL), I no longer felt bad when they are busy catching dinosaurs or caring for babies while Anna and I finish up math and language arts;)

I sound like I have it all together..... that's not the case. There are always things I'd love to incorporate or do differently. But right now I'm thankful for the little bit of structure we do get to enjoy during "school mornings".

Come next August, it will be a whole, NEW game as Nathaniel and his routine will definitely affect our routine:) Any advice about homeschooling with an infant???

Saturday Sentences

As I was working around the house I heard the kids playing... this was what I heard from Anna:

Let's do school. Everyone get your Bibles...

Ok, so today we are talking
about what God has created....

He made the sky, bird and then trees.
He made us and our hearts.... he made our hearts so that he can live in our
hearts and tell us what to do.

Everyone got a turn being the "teacher"... that means you get to tell the others what to do while you stand behind the dehumidifier! And you refer to everyone using their full name.... first, middle and last.... so funny to hear them say eachother's full names.

Anna ended her turn being teacher by leading everyone in the song "Home on the Range". But then it got silly.... they subsitituted the forgotten words with BOINK... so it all ended up in giggles:)

5 and Reading, What's next?

I have many goals for our homeschooling time together....

One is that my kids learn to read and LOVE it!! Anna has been reading for awhile but it was only when I ask her to or during our school time. At night she'll look through books but I was never sure if she was actually attempting to read the words or not.

I picked up an Dick and Jane collection of readers a couple of years ago. While Dick and Jane is of the sight word philosophy of reading, Anna has really enjoyed reading these collection of stories. They are easier for her since she can sound out the few words she doesn't know.

I like that she LIKES them and that they are building her confidence in reading alone.... well, somewhat alone... Brian and I like to stay close so we can hear her read.... it's so great:)

Yesterday Brian did school with the kids while I was out. I didn't get to read with her and I missed it:) So I recorded some of our reading time from the afternooon.... gotta love "school" when it happens snuggled together on the couch:)

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Now I need to figure out another series of books for her. There are readers at Walmart but they usually contain words that are not "beginner" level. So those books aren't exactly what I'm looking for. And I love books that encourage our family values and love and knowledge of the Lord. Any suggestions??

Today we will be at the library reading time!! I am soo thankful for our library staff... they have already been a great source of resources for our family and homeschooling:)

Works for Me - Teaching a 3-yr Old to Read

I thought I'd try this meme....You can find all sorts of "how to" posts by visiting We Are THAT Family.

A couple of times I have mentioned the STRUGGLE Anna and I went through to complete the Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons ... I had my hesitations in starting that method. We did learn how to work together and we got through it:) I Don't recommend that book or method.

I knew I was NOT going to use the same book for Christopher..... Christopher!!?? He's only 3!!!!

Christopher has know ALL of his letters (upper and lower case) and letter sounds for over a year now because of Leap Frog Letter factory DVD... it's an amazing video!! Then at church one night he was writing letters and he brought me his notebook with C A T written. He looked at me and said, "Mommy, I wrote the word "cat"." It was then I KNEW he was ready.

My homeschooling-mentor suggested I try using The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading by Jessie Wise. By flipping through the book I realized how simplistically basic, yet comprehensive it is! I saw that in the earlier lessons there were concepts taught that Anna had never been exposed to in 100 Easy Lessons !

Christopher is a normal, active 3-yr old boy! So even though the lessons are short and cover just one concept, I've been taking it SLOW and used other tricks:)

• We do half a lesson for 2 days and then review the next. I'm not sure if I will be doing this the whole time or not. But he's young and I'd MUCH, MUCH rather have him enjoy learning and REALLY understand before moving on. He's doing great:)
  
• We use the magnetic letters almost daily! For him it's easier to use the letters to make the words and manipulate the letters than just sounding out the words in the book. And it's more fun and hands-on:) He's a boy!!!


• He loves Smarties. So when he reads sentences or a list of words, he gets a Smartie.... hahhaa, a serving size is like 15, he'll get 5 or 6 at the most for one lesson. It gives him something to work for/immmediate motivation!


• Make a game out of it!! I'll write the words on cards and then the ones he flips over he has to say:) he loves this:)
  
• Practice during free time. While he's drawing or coloring, I'll ask if he remembers how to spell "jet". Or sounding out our words outside with chalk. Rhyming words that we are learning to read. Or making silly stories with the words and he'll try to spell with the magnetic letters!!
  
• Make it a fun and relaxed environment!!! AKA.... be patient
  
• Encourage him!

***For both of my kids, learning to read has also been a time of learning to work together and establishing the mommy teacher/kid student relationship. It truely is a journey! But I can't describe how awesome it is to hear Anna reading!!

***Keep in mind there are TONS of different reading programs out there. I am just so thankful we found one that "fits" us and the goals I had for my kids:) I love the SOLID program that Ordinary Parents provides for us! Thanks Erica!!

Chores in Undies

Maybe because we're still in the potty training mode, or because he likes "swimming" (AKA taking off his clothes until his BBP and all the couch cushions and doing cannon balls into the stack of cushions... the couch- our inside trampoline)...

But I can not keep clothes on Christopher!! The other day the kids were "helping" me with chores and this is what I saw:



Ha ha haaa!! The good thing about him and Lydia wearing less clothing is that my laundry doesn't get piled as high:)

BTW... teaching 3-year olds chores is fun!!! They still want to "copy" us and so he thought it was a treat to sort the silverware:)

Off to get cleaned up for my date night with Brian:)YAY!!

Our Wednesday chats....

After the kids played a while in the nursery at church this evening, I sat down with them and talked through the Bible stories that they have been working through during Sunday School (and that I use throughout the week to re-enforce what they have learned in Sunday School).

So I quickly went through the story of Josiah and we concentrated on what he did after his servant and priest found the Word of the Lord in the temple. I shared how they read it to all the people, how the king "torn his robe" because he was so upset(saddened) that the people hadn't obeyed God's Word.

After I finished reading, Anna looked up at me and said," Mommy, why did the king 'rip his pants'?" Hah ahaa... what a hoot!!!

I also asked her "Why do we obey God?" I mean this is a good question for anyone.... it monitors our internal motivation and gives us the reason to follow what God has laid out in His Word!! Even when it is hard!!!

Do you know what my darling answered??? "To tell other people about Jesus and because that is what He tells us to do." No bad for an almost 4 yr old!!!

I did guide her through her memory verse from February that said "We love Him because He first loved us." That obeying God is a way we can show Him we love Him. So we obey out of love for God, too!!!

Father, please help me to capture all the moments I can to guide my children to You, Your perfect love and Your wonderful plan for their lives. Let me not be distracted by all the plans of my own heart and chores that always need to be done. Help me to guide them through my own love for You seen in my actions, attitude and words.

Just a Few Pictures of Our Home Pre-School :)

I'm not sure how many people actually knew HOW MUCH I struggled with whether or not to send Anna to preschool last August. It was a very tough decision! I firmly believe that we need to make our own decisions for our families....so I totally understand both sides, which is why I struggled soo much!!

But we decided that the best thing for us (for many reasons) was to keep them home and hopefully home for a while as we enter into homeschooling in the upcoming years. So here are some of our activities in our day today:

Bible time and writing in our PJs:

Training little ones to help with chores:

Playing with "beans" learning hand-eye coordination for Christopher and addition for Anna- pouring smaller cups into the larger one (2 + 6 = 8) :

I've been so very thankful for this year of home pre-school. I know we made the right decision for our troops. I couldn't imagine Christopher during the morning without his most favorite pal, Anna!! I've also enjoyed seeing the kids excited about learning their letters.....using flash cards the kids will compete to see who recognizes the letter first!!! (Christopher usually says the phonetic sound and Anna will say the name of the letter.)