Week 5: It's Not Just the Kids Who Learn Things!

Do you know what a comma spice is? I do, now. I have a Master's Degree. I wrote more research papers during high school, undergrad, and grad school than I can count; but I honestly had no idea what a comma splice was. I remember Dr. J, one of my graduate professors, writing it on many of my papers. I really had no idea what it meant. I did not ask either. Why? I went to a good high school. I studied grammar. I was supposed to know what it was! So, I attempted to fix them by rewriting the whole sentence. Little did I know how easy the fix was if I had just asked!

Last week the lessons in our Rod and Staff English book were about different kinds of sentences and sentence errors - compound sentences, compound subjects/predicates, fragments, run-on, and the dreaded comma spice!

In case you answered "no" to my first question, a comma splice is the joining of two sentences into a compound sentence with only a comma. You need a conjunction to go with that comma. Simple right? Here is an example:

          Comma Spice: Aidan made cookies, Lilly decorated them.
          Correct: Aidan made cookies, and Lilly decorated them.

That is only one of many things I learned last week. I learned some history, some astronomy, and some geography too. Not everything I learn is academic in nature. I learn to be more flexible everyday. I learn how to meet the needs of my kids. I learn better how to meet my needs for rest and recharging while still caring for my children.

I learned that Matthew can be entertained by acing cards!

Homeschool is not School at Home.

Lilly has struggled with reading and writing. She writes letters backwards. She reverses letters as she reads. She tires quickly when we work on reading. Last week she asked for one of Aidan's cursive worksheets. She has been very artistic since she first learned to hold a crayon, so I gave her a cursive work sheet.  I taught her to sign her name as well as a few of her favorite words. She loves to write in cursive! I would not have tried to teach a 6 year old cursive because that is not what I did in school.

I am learning more and more how to step out of the mindset that things must be done the way they are done in schools. Just when I think I have overcome that mindset - my kids prove that it is still deeply ingrained in my thought processes.

I am Easily Distracted

I plan. Our entire school year is planned in an online planner. I plan crock pot or quick meals for our busy days. We have chore charts. We still always seem to be struggling and fighting to get it all done.

I put my phone and the computer away last week. I don't usually answer phone calls during school, but I will answer a text or check Facebook. Last week I did not. I checked first thing in the morning, and I checked after dinner. There were a few other times I checked Facebook when I was stuck in the car, etc. We were so efficient! We had free time. I was not distracted.

We also kept the TV off for most of the day, and I took the kids out of the house so there would be less computer time.

Everyone Needs Rewards, Even Mom...Especially Mom

I take away computer time. I take away toys. I take away TV time. I send them outside. I send them to their rooms. These are my methods for getting school done. Last Monday was a breeze. It was the best and easiest day of homeschooling we have ever had! We were done with EVERYTHING by 11:30. We had not rushed through anything. We started a little early, and the kids worked hard.

I made a spontaneous decision that we should have a picnic and play at the park. Then we went to the library, the kids favorite place to go. Tuesday and Wednesday went just as smoothly. It was a great week. The rewards they earned by being efficient made an impression.

The time outside, sitting in the sun and watching my children play helped me recharge. We were all happy. I hope to give them more rewards that are not things, but time. Time with me and time doing the things they enjoy. That is the best motivator.

Lilly at Marshmallow Madness

Week 1 of First Grade and PreSchool!

This week was great! We completed everything that was planned! Tomorrow we celebrate with swimming and a sleepover!

Aidan worked through the Introduction and Chapter 1 of The Story of the World Vol 1: Ancient Times. He loved it! Everyday he wanted to do more. We started his lapbook and plan to do an archeological dig in our backyard this weekend. He flew through his math and English Grammar. After our first day we switched to Rod and Staff English 2. We are much happier now! In science we started learning about taxonomy.

Lilly has mastered the letter A! She LOVES to "do school." We spend time each day on our letter and the sound it makes. We practiced the number 1 and drawing squares. Her favorite part was reciting "Hey Diddle Diddle." This is one of her favorite nursery rhymes!


I worked on getting the last of our supplies together - I laminated all of our history timeline cards today! When I came home, Jonathan and the kids had washed the windows!! I have a beautiful view of our garden now...although there is not much growing right now. It was a wonderful surprise.

Back to School - First Grade and PreSchool!

Last year we decided to homeschool Aidan for a number of reasons:

• He was ready for kindergarten; but he could not begin kindergarten because he missed the birthday cut off by a couple of weeks.
• He wanted to homeschool.
• It works really well with our crazy schedule! 
• And – it means I get that much more time with my favorite little boy.

We did not use a structured curriculum for Kindergarten. I used Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know. I purchased a few math and phonics books from various stores and everything else came from the library. We worked every day; we covered math, reading, spelling, science, geography, and history. I kept telling myself that if I failed at homeschooling, there was no loss, he could just start Kindergarten in public school this year and he would not be behind.

I gave him the CATe test in April (the first grade test because when I looked at what was covered, we had done everything on that test!) He scored in Stanine 7, 8, and 9 on everything except computation (he scored in Stanine 5). That put him average with a first grade student for computation, and above average on math concepts and reading comprehension. Seeing his progress and how easy it was to accomplish so much with Aidan convinced me that I really  CAN do this.

After much thought, research, and some placement testing this is what will be doing this year!

Singapore Math 2A & 2B with the Intensive Practice and Challenging Word Problems

The Story of the World Volume 1: Ancient Times by Susan Wise Bauer

Real Science 4 Kids, Biology Pre-Level 1

Shurley English Level 1 (although after looking it over and trying it today, we may switch to Rod and Staff Grade 2.)

Spelling Plus and Dictation by Susan Anthony

Classical Conversations Foundations, Cycle 1 (at home)

What Your First Grader Should Know by E.D. Hirsch, Jr (for Literature, Geography and a little extra history reading)

We started everything except Classical Conversations today, we will start that in September. History and Science are on alternating days so we did history today and we will do science tomorrow!

Now for my Lilly! She wanted to start school with her Bubby, so I am using the Letter of the Week Curriculum by Brightly Beaming Resources. This week we learn the letter A, the number 1, we study squares, the theme is cow, and the vocabulary word is calf. 

We colored a printout of the letter A, practiced writing it on the board, and said its sound. We looked at pictures of a cow and calves, and we practiced the number 1.

Over all a successful first day! It was a little rough getting Aidan going, but we finished what was on our lesson plan (and then some). Now we are lounging in the house, avoiding the heat!