Learning Snapshots November

Discussion intro to United States government, voting, Office of Presidency 

Wildfires, tree life & death, regrowth, purposes, clearing, observation

 local gold mining history, tools, local deer & turkey

 Thanksgiving: history, being thankful

 Ice skating

 Wild Animal Park: following a map, burrowing animals, gorillas - diet, keeper feeding talk, size & comparing, animals of Africa, & more!

 Baking, following directions, measuring

 Building, following a plan, drawing

My Son & I Are Different

It was a Saturday morning, probably about 6:00. I was drinking coffee and feeding the baby. Luke came in and announced that we were going to spend the morning "getting this house organized." Organization is far from being my strong point. It drives my son crazy. He preceded to draw a map of the house and then number the rooms or areas in order of priority, the visual plan for the day. He took at least a few minutes to show me his map and explain the plan in very careful and simple terms. He wanted to get started and I told him I'd meet him at the hallway cabinet (#1) as soon as I finished feeding the baby. After about five minutes he came back into the room; stomping, frustrated, tearing his map to shreds, and declaring "this is never going to work in this house!" I held back laughter and felt genuinely sorry for him at the same time - poor organized kid trying to survive in this crazy house with two unorganized parents. This episode made me realize a few things. The first, that in a few years - Praise God - I'll have a kid who will actually be able to bring some order to this place! Secondly, I realized that he would do better with a school work space that was his own and could be organized. I had been preparing an area for a desk because it's not rocket science for a mom and teacher to think a desk is a good idea but I hadn't realized just how critical it would be. I got the desk in place a lot faster after this Saturday morning episode and really haven't struggled much over the independent school work since. He can leave his separate books and work set out just how he wants them. He set up a cup with a few pencils and a few crayons. It's all right there for him, laid out, organized, not touched and moved about by unorganized people.

Learning Snapshots October

 

Pumpkins, life cycle, seeds, uses, harvest, types of squash

Motors

 Frogs & essentials for life (frogs found in closed cooler)

 Stencils, writing names, capital letters



Dad's work, basic concepts of hydraulics/design/geometry

     READING

Guinea pigs, origination in wild, research skills, public speaking skills

Learning Snapshots September

 Intro to sight words

 Luke creates lots of his own (practice) writing for real purposes - signs, books, cards, & more

 practice forming letters with Play-Doh

Playing school. "To teach is to learn twice."

 Cutting, collages, fine motor skills

 Sport skills class: kicking, throwing, catching, batting, hand/foot - eye coordination

 Read Aloud Charlotte's Web with comprehension & learning about spiders . . . . It was just perfect that while Luke was in the pool a spider decided to capture a bee for his observation!

 Working with numbers - Number Bingo - recognizing amounts, number & word form

 Gardening, vegetables, how plants grow, what they need, caring for plants, parts of plants, flowering plants, blackberries

 Cooking, measuring

 Farm life, plants, animal care, horse safety, intro to riding

 Fish hatchery & helping care for the fish

Learning about Fall












We have read numerous short stories. Luke is just beginning to grasp the concept of trying to sound out simple words. We work daily on days of the week and weekly on calendar skills. He continues to work in Word Building & Math workbooks & I work to add depth & different types of activities to supplement/deepen topics covered in the workbooks. He regularly works with math concepts on his own initiative - counting, building, comparing. He loves to draw & loves to create written works on his own initiative. We are taking care plants & his animals at home daily.

Libraries & Tooth Fairies

My kids are playing library. They have to whisper and they've been playing happily for about the last half hour. They thought of this on their own but I'll definitely be reminding them of this fabulous activity in the future.

At times I get a glimpse of how my 5-year-old's thinking really is more advanced than my 3-year-old's. While playing library, he kept asking her when the book was due. And she kept repeating, "it doesn't DO anything unless you read it. It's just a book." He kept asking. She kept answering, each time emphasizing different words and so frustrated that he just didn't get it. They make me smile. They're playing happily and quietly; they're funny, and even the baby gets to play (sit in the room and get handed baby books to chew on).

Another noteworthy thing happened today, my son lost his first tooth! I wasn't expecting this yet. I hadn't thought through the whole tooth fairy thing. Trying to be purposeful, I'd at least like to think it through before automatically doing it. Input or variations on the whole tooth fairy thing are welcome.  :)

1 Month In

1 Month In: lessons learned, thankful for, frustrations, & observations in no particular order.

• Trader Joe's sells delicious pound+ chocolate bars; these make school@home days, school@school days, & even weekend days go much better!
• This was a good week: Kindergartener did well in at-home & at-school learning goals & was generally happy with a good attitude.
• Bad week = tears for both mom & kindergartener; fit & clinging to mom instead of going to class in the morning; bad attitude & no morale in learning goals. A classroom teacher who truly has a heart for my kid as an individual makes all the difference in the world.
• I thought I'd want more free play time at school in a kindergartener's day but I was wrong. There was already too much for my kinder . . . . although he's adjusting now . . . . He likes structure. He likes an adult he's bonded to nearby. Lots of kids in a seemingly chaotic mess with no organized activity was not his idea of a good time; overwhelming! Thankful for a classroom teacher who will give up her very limited time to herself to help him feel comfortable and adjust.
• Bible & prayer time with kiddos first thing in the morning.
• School activities that feel like work to kindergartener should be done in small chunks with fun activities as breaks and sweet rewards for hard work with a good attitude.
• I had heard other homeschool moms ponder what to do with a younger sibling during lessons with the older child. I had shrugged this off, knowing that my 3-year-old would be more than happy & capable to join right along with us. What I didn't foresee is that in oral activities, she can answer at least as quickly as her brother . . . . which is discouraging to brother . . . . so yes, often I do need to figure out separate activities.
• We are 1 month in & just starting to settle into routines. Routines make life easier.
• There is no way I can stay 'down the hill' for the 6 at-school hours. Maybe 'can' isn't the right word but most days to maintain sanity for myself & 2 little ones, coming home is key. Although I do love being 'down the hill' for shopping & errands.
• The opportunities to snap a photo of hands-on learning are more plentiful than my ability to always have the camera ready & too abundant to actually post all the incredible learning going on! Viewed through the right lens, life is full to the max with learning activities.

Learning Snapshots. August

 Days of week, following written directions, sequencing, & learning to get themselves ready for the day
















Zoo: Fossilization, types of reptiles, identifying rattlesnakes, reading reptile house information and recognizing poisonous species, elephants, giraffes, & more



Tomato worm metamorphosis project

 School on-site 2 days/week

Gymnastics









Library story & craft time & checking out books

Practicing writing & tracing letters in sugar & chalk

Math workbook

Library finds: rainforest DVD & POOH audio to turn our driving time into literature time