Week 4: Discovering Learning Styles

We just wrapped up our fourth week! We are 1/9 of the way through our school year! Getting through the first month is usually the hardest. We are establishing a schedule, learning our routine, and getting used to our new books. We have started all of our subjects at this point and, so far, we are enjoying them all.

This week has been a week of learning about Lilly. I have posted  before about teaching Lilly to read, you can see it here. I have tried so many things with her. It seems like we always take two steps forward and one step back. I have found things that seem to work, but then it's like she forgets everything she learned.; or if she is tired, she just can't focus to do it.

I know she learns well and retains a lot when I read to her, and when we talk through things. Aidan does as well. That has made science, history, geography, Bible, and literature easy to teach. I read and we talk. Both kids retain well. I can use cds for Latin and the kids remember what they hear. Even Matthew has started singing Song School Latin with us! Lilly is also able to memorize math facts and Bible verses if we say them aloud together. She can use manipulatives to show understanding on math concepts.

Our real struggle has been finding a method that works for her for reading. I think I have finally found a combination of programs that works. I won't really know until we have been at it a little longer, but I am hopeful! I needed only one book to teach Aidan to read, but Lilly needs a multi sensory method. She needs to hear, see, touch, and manipulate the letters and words with her hands.

I started the year with Explode the Code and All About Spelling 1. We used the phonogram cards and an app on my phone to memorize all the sounds a letter can make. After 2 weeks she knew them all. She actually knew most of the sounds, but we needed to work on the letters that made 2-4 sounds. (That is Step 1 in the program.)

Now we are working on hearing sounds in words (step 2). She is great with hearing and identifying the first sound, and she can separate the sounds on her own. She is struggling with hearing the last sound in words. So we are working on that.

I decided we needed more drill, more practice. She would not, however, sit for me and drill, and I don't have all day to sit with her. We would both go crazy anyway! So I signed up for a free trial of Reading Eggs. She loves it! She has advanced from Map 2 to Map 5 or 6 in only 5 days. She would play all day if I let her! She is feeling more confident, and she begged to read to me last night. We pulled out a Bob Book and she sounded out the first few pages very easily. She got tired fast, so we stopped. I was so proud of her, and she was excited!

I am thrilled to have found something that seems to be working!

Now for our funny of the week. We were studying the Emancipation Proclamation. We read about Lincoln discussing the proclamation with his cabinet. Lilly looked at me with a look that said, "He was crazy!" And then she said, as she glanced at our kitchen cabinets, "He discussed it with his CABINET?!?!" I love when kids take things so literally. We followed up with a short civics lesson. Now she knows that he did not talk to his kitchen cabinets.

We had a productive and busy week. The only thing we were unable to do was our astronomy lab. It requires going outside on a clear night to look at the stars and draw pictures. If has been cloudy and rainy! If we get a clear night this weekend we will be outside to look at the stars!

Making Connections: A Week in Review - (August 25-29, 2014)

This week started out rough! We had a great time at Mema and Papa's house visiting with Nini and Marty. The kids and I spent two nights and Jonathan came up for dinner on Sunday night.

We did not get home until noon on Monday and I had a lot of prep work to get done for a staff meeting. Everyone was exhausted, so school did not really happen. Aidan did his math because it was a series of Kahn Academy videos and practice problems. Lilly slept. She woke up from her late nap with a fever of 103! Dinner and bed for everyone was about all I could handle!

Tuesday we all slept in, we did most of Monday and Tuesdays work. It was rough! It was really only a couple of hours of school work, but getting the kids to focus was a problem. We stopped before we got to do science, which means they missed out on the really fun stuff.

Wednesday we picked up with science first and my attempt at making school fun failed! I tried to do a fun science demonstration. You stick your hand in ice water, then you take it out and coat it in butter, lard, margarine - something to imitate blubber. Then you put your hand back in the water. Your hand should not be as cold. Well, it failed. I gave the kids rubber gloves that were way too big and they were not at all interested in coating their hands in butter. I did get this great picture of Lilly sticking her hand in the water!

Thursday Lilly continued to sleep off the last of her cold. She did not wake until 1pm! I had to leave at 3:30 so she got another break from school.

But Friday! Friday made up for all of the bad days this week! It made it all worth it! It was a day of making connections and watching lightbulbs go off. Some of those lightbulbs had to shine through some surly attitudes, but I saw them!

First - we finished up our study on the world's biomes. (If you want to see what we did for science this past year, you can find the posts here at Sandbox to Socrates. There are a few more that will go up once a month for the rest of the year.) As we looked at the Wetland habitats we came across a funny little animal called the axolotl. The kids were excited because this was one of the weird animals they talked about in VBS this summer, and we had seen one at the zoo! They love this funny looking little creature!

Second,  as we studied the Wetlands further we came across the term delta. Aidan remembered the Nile Delta from our ancient history studies. He also happened to cover the letter Delta in his Greek this week. Finally, on Friday, we were covering the Jewish religion in our geography/world religions study. We read about the Jewish captivity in Egypt and were able to find Egypt on a map by looking for - guess what? The Nile Delta! They love how it all interweaves so neatly, even if they don't say it. You can see it in their faces!

Third, this week for geography we studied Israel, its location, climate, history, and people. I included the section from our World Religions book on Judaism in this week's studies. We read about Abraham and Moses. For AWANAS, Lilly is studying the story of Moses and working on a long Bible verse to go with the story. For our history timeline, today was the Exodus! We are also working our way through the Narnia books and that has included some discussion of World War II. Today, Aidan and I talked a little bit about the Holocaust. It is a tough subject, but I think we had a nice introduction to the topic and we will be ready to talk about it in more detail as we study World War II later this year. I did not plan for any of this to overlap so neatly! I just love that it did!

Finally, through gritted teeth and frustration that I was making her do something she "knows," Lilly was able to do all of her addition facts from memory! Up until now we had been relying heavily on our manipulatives and pictures in her book. She would not look at me because she was mad about having to recite them, but she did them all without counting!! Math and reading are hard for her, she is my artistic child. Today was HUGE!

Our bad week turned out to be pretty amazing. This is one of those weeks when we really see the benefits of homeschooling. The kids got to spend that extra 12 hours with their Aunt and Uncle, then we caught up on sleep, and we could still do a little schoolwork, even with sickies. In addition, knowing everything they are studying allows me to help them make these connections, which in turn helps cement things in their brains. Sometimes I work hard to plan them and make them work, but I love it when they just happen!

Our First Week of 4th Grade and 1st Grade! (Aug 18-22, 2014)

So, I am a little late with this post. We had our first week of school last week. It has been a whirlwind of a weekend though! My sister was in town and I had to get paperwork in order for the first day of classes at the studio, hire a new teacher, make sure everyone knew their schedules, and prepare for a staff meeting! It's been crazy!

Anyway, back to our first week of school. We finished everything I had planned! Need I say more? That really is quite an accomplishment! (Really, we even did a little extra work. I know, I know - now I am bragging! I'll stop!) We took first day of school pictures. I thought we would get a cute picture on the dome in the back yard. You can see how that turned out.

Our attempt at a fun first day of school picture...they were a mess!

First day of 1st grade.

Monday started out great! I woke my sleepy head, Lilly, up by blasting the Veggie Tales song "Billy Joe McGuffery" through the whole house. I love this song! All of the kids loved it and we had a dance party as we played it a few times. After breakfast we did math, science, history, a president report, Latin, Greek, English grammar, literature, and art. I was so proud of my hard working kiddos!

He would not let me take his picture! He kept making faces!

Tuesday we started the day with a playdate at the splash pad. The kids had fun, and I had a nice visit with friends I had not seen in a few months. It was great! I did totally fail at taking pictures though. We were all too busy having fun. Aidan finished all of his work when we got home. Lilly and I did short school, she is no good for school work in the afternoon. We ended the day with our first FLL meeting. Aidan cannot wait to start programming a robot!

Wednesday and Thursday were just normal school days. They were smooth sailing.

Friday, I attempted something new. We packed up school and went to the library. We waited for Lilly to wake up and so we got there late. Everyone brought their preschoolers after morning preK was over. It was not the quiet, relaxed environment I was looking forward to. Plus, I failed to be sure that my box of school goodies would fit in the stroller - it didn't. This made everything more difficult. I had to lug the heavy box in and trust Aidan to push the stroller with the Matthew.

The kids enjoyed the change of scenery. Matthew played with the trains and puzzles. Aidan and Lilly found a pile of books and movies. I found a few good books as well.

I had promised a trip to the YMCA to swim. It was a good thing I called first - the pool is closed for a couple of weeks! I had one very disappointed fish named Lilly.

Not everything went as planned, but schoolwork happened with little to no fighting. I know that not every week will be so smooth, but I am thankful for such a great start to the year! Now on to week two!

Field Trip! Science Museum Oklahoma!

We took a field trip to the Omniplex almost every year from 1st to 12th grade. It was fun, but eventually we had done everything. There was nothing new and it was not as much fun as it had been.

When Aidan was 4 or 5, we took him to the The Oklahoma Science Museum (new name for the Omniplex) and it was the same as it had been the last time I went with school. Aidan loved it, it was all new to him, but we did not go back for a while.

Last year, we purchased a family pass to SMO because they had started adding new exhibits and there were some fun things for the kids to play with. We went almost weekly for the first two months. Then we went once or twice a month. We have been less in the last few months, but our pass has been a great investment! Every time we go, there is something new!

Our trip today was no disappointment. We started in a play area for the kids. Last time we went, these "roller coaster" pieces were not out and the kids were very disappointed. Today, they were in a bigger, more open space and they set up some great tracks to roll the balls down.

A series of new displays let kids experiment with the principles electricity and air.

The new Tinkering Garage lets kids take things apart or build with circuit blocks. Aidan dismantled a cell phone, a remote, and a drill. Then both kids built circuits with light bulbs, buzzers, fans, batteries, and switches. We spent most of our time here!

Matthew loved putting together tubes for golf balls to roll through. 

We also watched the science show - lots of explosions! We rode the Segway and we played in the shadow box. 

I love playing with the kids at the science museum and I cannot wait to see all the new displays they were making room for! There was construction going on in at least 3 areas. Everytime they have opened something new, it has been great. We are excited!

Free Kindle Books!

I am always looking for new books on education to read. I have read everything our library has on home education and a few on general education theory. I have been reading and studying homeschooling for 5 years now. I still learn something new from every book I read. I gain new inspiration with each book. This is the time of year that I need a few new books to get me ready to start the new year. I decided to search the Amazon.com free Kindle library for some new reading today. Here is what I found:

Education in The Home, The Kindergarten, and The Primary School by Elizabeth P. Peabody

The Montessori Method Scientific Pedagogy as Applied to Child Education in 'The Children's Houses' with Additions and Revisions by the Author 

and

Dr. Montessori's Own Handbook

by Maria Montessori
School Options: Discover your options for schooling your kids (Them Kids Book 2)by Them Kids

And for some fun classic reading:

The War of the Worldsby HG Wells

Fables for Children, Stories for Children, Natural Science Stories, Popular Education, Decembrists, Moral Talesby Leo Tolstoy

I am excited to start reading through this list. They are all downloaded to my Kindle and ready to go! I hope you find something interesting!

Budget Friendly Homeschooling

There are a multitude of ways to homeschool on a tight budget. I have found list after list of free education websites. I have even used some of them as a part of our school:

Xtra Math

Star Fall

Typing Web

Teach Your Monster to Read

Homeschool Share

Khan Academy

I have found all of these sites to be great supplements to our school work. They are great for busy days or days when I am sick and I just cannot get to everything with the kids. For our homeschool, we need more than free websites. How can you purchase all of that curriculum on a tight budget? It takes work, patience, and planning.

First, you have to decide what you want. This can be a daunting task. What curriculum will work for your child? Assuming you have decided, then you start to shop. I usually start at Rainbow Resource. They have great prices for everything I have looked at and if you order enough at once, you get free shipping!

After I check Rainbow Resource, I check Amazon.com. I have found books I wanted for literature free or very cheap on my Kindle. I have also made several great purchases of used books through the Market Place. EBay has also been great for a few deals. But my best deals have come out of extreme preplanning!

After extensive research, I decided on the grammar, science, and math programs I wanted for my oldest. I knew I wanted to use them for several years. I found a bundle of 4 levels of the grammar program I selected. I purchased four years worth of grammar for less than the price of one year new. When they arrived, all but one book was like new! 

We began using a science program that I loved! I purchased the first year new at convention and received a discount and free shipping (convention is a great place to shop if you want new!) While exploring one day, we came across a garage sale of a homeschooling family. They were selling 3 semesters' worth of the next levels of our science program! I purchased them all for $25 total (Savings of close to $100)! 

I love the Core Knowledge Group's series What Your.....Needs to Know. When all of the Borders stores closed, I found 4 years worth for a couple of dollars each!

I scour the books at the library book sale to see what I can buy to supplement or build courses with. I have a collection of books on events of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars in America. I have a large collection of cultural geography books for kids and a good selection of science books of various topics. I could check similar books out when we reach the subjects/topics, but I tend to run up library fines. The book sale saves me a significant amount in library fines!

A member of our homeschool group was selling the second year of our history curriculum a year before I would need it. I knew what I needed and how much it would cost new, so I bought it a year in advance.

I was only able to purchase these great deals because I had planned for the full grammar stage from the beginning. I found good deals at off purchase times - this saved me money and spread out my purchases. Rather than spending all of my curriculum money at one time, I spent a little here and a little there. It has made curriculum purchases much less painful.

I have already begun planning for logic and rhetoric stage. I have a general idea of what I want to use and am collecting items as I find them for free or cheap. My bookshelves are busting at the seams, but I am okay with that.

What if we don't like a curriculum choice and I have bought several years worth of books in advance? That is okay! I have not spent enough on most of these things to be worried about it. Plus, I can always resell them. I did this with the first grammar program I purchased. I bought one year, used. We tried it for a week and we were miserable! I sold it online and made back the money I spent on it. There will always be a homeschool family who loves the program you hate. You just have to find them!

Plan ahead and shop smart and you can have the curriculum you really want without spending a fortune! As my cousin Jama always says, "Prior planning prevents poor performance." Or in this case - significant savings!

This Week

This week was the most productive week we have had in a while! I was able to really do a full schedule of school with Aidan AND do some work with Lilly!!

Aidan did math and grammar everyday, we moved onto a new spelling rule and word list, we studied a science chapter, and we covered 3 history chapters! Aidan was excited to work on his history lap book again, I have not had the energy for the extra work and mess.

Lilly also worked on her letter lapbook. We only have 7 letters to go! But the biggest news for Lilly is that she decided it was time to start reading. We started Phonics Pathways this week. She has learned the five short vowel sounds, and 2-3 consonants. I was worried about blending, but the second day we worked on it, she started to get it! Yeah, Lilly!









It has been beautiful, so we played outside some this week. Lilly practiced her gymnastics moves on the swingset rings.

Thursday, we had co-op and the kids had a visit from the fire department. They spoke to the kids about fire safety and brought several trucks with them.










We have had a pretty good week, topped off by a visit from my sister. The kids have missed their Aunt Nini and were so happy to see her! We are looking forward to another great week!

Wildlife Expo!

Today was a GREAT day! I started the day with a quick trip to the library book sale. I picked up several great history books on ancient civilizations to go along with our study of the ancients this year. I found a couple of books on Egypt and Mummies, a few on Greece, and a copy of the Epic of Gilgamesh! We just talked about that story, and now we can read the full version. I came home with a box full of books for only $12!

Next we headed off to the Wildlife Expo, but we passed a few garage sales on the way. I picked up a few more history books and the last in a science series we are using (normally $70 - I paid $20!). The kids found a few toys as well. It was a great day for shopping!

Finally! We made it to the Lazy E Arena and this is what we did:

  Archery!

The kids had to go back and shoot a second time. Jonathan popped the balloon and won a back pack for the kids.

 Learning to cast a fishing line! Lilly hit the target the first few times. (With a little help.)

 Digging for bugs in compost....worms, sow bugs, and much, much more.

Yes...they are petting a skunk!! Don't worry, it can't spray!

Studying the fish of Oklahoma.

 Gooseknocking. 

The point is to knock the head off the geese.

Look at that action shot of Lilly!

 

Giant paddlefish - this one was about 10 years old and 30 pounds. 

They can be up to 135 pounds. The kids both touched it, but there was a string attached to the mouth and the attendant moved it when people touched the fish. Lilly jumped back a few feet!

And she was done!

Aidan's Birthday Week!

We had a lot of fun this week and also managed to accomplish A LOT!! We started the week with a trip to the State Fair of Oklahoma. We took the kids to see Disney's Toy Story on Ice, Aidan held a duck at the Duck Races, we saw some amazing dog tricks, learned about sea lions, walked through a petting zoo, ate Indian Tacos, pizza on a stick, and cotton candy! The kids also went on a bunch of rides and Aidan won a red light-saber at a game booth!

For school, Aidan and I made a deal; If he completed all 5 days worth of work in 4 days, he could have his birthday off. He did successfully complete all of his work, and then some. We are now a few days ahead in math and one day ahead in grammar!

We celebrated this morning with brownies for breakfast, some Mario Kart, and lots of laziness. We will make up for that tomorrow at the Wildlife Expo. Aidan has been looking forward to this for 2 months! Then, on Sunday, we have his birthday party. It is a big week for us!

 Watching Disney on Ice. They LOVED it!!

At the petting zoo - Alpaca, Kangaroo, and Lilly petting a goat!

Aidan getting ready to race his duck!

Letting it go!

He could not stop smiling while he jumped! It was so much fun to watch!

Lilly LOVED Dumbo!

The lighting was awful for pictures, but there is a sea lion on the left and the kids are in the center.

The Oklahoma Science Museum

Today we went on our first field trip of the year! We had some fun at the Oklahoma Science Museum (formally known as the Omniplex). Aidan and Lilly loved it! We watched a live science presentation on Physics....there were explosions and a vortex cannon! Most of the exhibits have been around since I was in elementary school, it brought back memories of my many field trips to the Omniplex. We ended the day at the Planetarium. I loved seeing all of the constellations -  but I think the kids were too tired. Here are some pictures from our adventure.

 

This was moments before she lit a match and made the bubbles explode in Jonathan's hand! It was loud and cool! We were a little surprised by the loud explosion, it was not what we expected!

Sounding the train whistle!

He loved all the planes in the aviation section!

Lilly loves to pose for the camera.

A bunch of hams!

Again....she poses!

By the aircraft carrier model.

Pendulum swings.

That girl!! What can you do!

Segway track! This was so cool!

This is basically a giant computer operated etch-a-sketch. He watched it create an awesome design!

Creating wind tunnel experiments!

We had a lot of fun today! Aidan passed out early tonight, he wore himself out :)