Homeschooling Journal: April 2014 Part 12

This is what we did in our homeschool at the end of April. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! Read on to see all of our adventures.

Homeschooling Journal: February 2014 Part 6

Take a look at what we did at the end of February. :) Better late than never, right? :)

A.C.E. (Accelerated Christian Education)
To learn more, CLICK HERE.

K and I have been absolutely loving A.C.E. I adjust it to our needs and schedule and it is working out so well that we will continue using it indefinitely. As he finishes his PACEs (booklets) and memorizes Scripture, he gets a golden star each time and that is an encouragement to him. He is doing great with this program. It isn't individualized yet (as it is in the older grades), but that is ok. It gives us an opportunity to develop a special rapport that we couldn't if he were just working on his own.

The best part about it is that I grew up with this program and now I get to use it with my child. Eventually, A will use it, too. :)

Montessori Science (Botany): Parts of a Fruit

We read some information on the different kinds of fruit and how their seeds are different, but they all produce matching plants out of those seeds.
We also studied our nomenclature key cards and observed an actual fruit (an apple, cut in half).
Then he matched the 3-part nomenclature cards.
fruit, pericarp, exocarp, mesocarp, endocarp

I am looking into adding more parts the next time around (seeds, blossom end, stem, leaf).

Homeschooling Journal: February 2014 Part 3

Baking Fun!

They love helping me bake cookies. They almost have more fun baking them over eating them!

Naughty... It only took me a minute to run the sheets to the washer and when I got back, this is what I found.

Montessori Botany: Parts of a Flower

                                           
This is a lesson that we will be looking at more in depth in Classical Conversations in a few weeks, so I thought it was very timely to study this very basic introduction to the parts of a flower.

Montessori Botany: Parts of a stem, a leaf, a seed

Parts of a Stem

Definitions

1. Stem: The main part of the plant that is above ground and that supports the branches, leaves, flowers, fruit, etc.

2. Node: The section where the leaf branches out of the stem.

3. Internode: The part of the stem that is between two nodes.

4. Axil: The area on the onside or upper end of the node that helps support the branch or leaf. It looks like a tiny bud on top of the node.

                                   

Homeschooling September 2013 Part 4

This is the sign we have on our homeschool room. It says Huānyíng (welcome) in Mandarin Chinese. I got it when I went to China. I wasn't sure why I was getting it or how I would use it, but I am glad I finally found a way to put it to good use.

Homeschooling September 2013 Part 2

Inspiration...

Play Time

The kids were keeping themselves busy playing 
with their Mr. Potato Heads before church.

"Field Trip" to Texas (Roadhouse)

                       

                         

Monsoon Season = Beauty

Chores

This guy has been amazing at completing his morning chores.
He does everything by himself now, except for bushing his teeth and hair.

Spanish: Los Colores (Introduction)

For Spanish, the kids learned these four colors. They watched a 
short video from Preschool Prep Company on the colors in Spanish 
and then made these matching cards. They all did great!

Bible: Kidz Klub

Kidz Klub is like a VBS program that the Chapel runs and it goes on during the school year. The kids gather together for 45 minutes to sing, learn a Scripture verse, hang out together and learn a Bible lesson.

Then they have 3 rotations: snack (I'm in charge of that), a game that applies some of the principles learned during the lesson and review time (this is where the kids review info about the lesson).

K loves it and it is fun hanging out there. He is adjusting well to being with older kids and following directions. I am glad we are doing this! And I love wearing the awesome girly aprons my friend donated to the Chapel. I get to wear one every time I help out with snacks! :)

                       

       

          

Monsoon Season = Fun

Mud and puddles, heavy rain and lightning. Beautiful. Fun. Rare. Extremely rare here. When it first started raining, K asked me while looking up at the sky, "But mom, where are the sprinklers?" hahaha

Music: Notes

Today in music, we did a review for M (new student). 
We made a "Note Tree" showing how a Whole Note can be divided 
all the way down into Eighth Notes. Of course you could go crazy 
and add sixteenth notes, but that seemed a little much!
We did our Solfege (Do-Re-Mi) with both signs and full body movement.
We talked about percussion and how we can bang on the counter, our bodies, etc. and practice counting our beats.
Finally we discussed the Dynamics of music and sang our Spanish version of "Are You Sleeping."

                         

Science Experiments: Salt & Ice

We will be learning what salt does to ice, experimenting with the results and making color crystals. Please dress your kiddos in play clothes as we will be working with food coloring. I will make them makeshift aprons but we all know we can get carried away sometimes! I will briefly be teaching everyone how we measure our temperature, as it ties in with our lesson.

Our memory verse last week:

French: Greetings

In French, we reviewed greeting and learned some more vocabulary. They were a little "out of it" since we were having it at the gym. There were guys constantly peeking in to see if they could
use that room, etc, so it's definitely best to do it at my house. Plus, everyone else can get lunch started or whatever at home, instead of having to wait there.  Back to topic, they remembered most of the vocabulary learned previously and they loved singing the Ratounet (French) song.
They were all engaged and participating really well. We made cards with some greeting words and phrases and played a game to match them up. They even took some of them home.  
Bonjour-Hello
Au Revoir-Goodbye
Ça va?-Is everything alright?
Comment allez-vous?-How are you?
Bien-Good/Well

                      

While I teach ballet, my neighbor, S, takes the boys and plays sports and plays games with them.

Desk Work

I found this little votive candle holder at Target. It was a beautiful wooden base and five glass containers. Did I mention it was on Clearance for only $3.50? It was perfect to sort the colored pencils and markers. We have #1 greys, blacks and whites (including pencils since they're grey), #2 reds, oranges and pinks, #3 greens, #4 blues and purples and #5 yellows and browns.

This is a new 100 chart, but we were using it for Ordinal Numbers. K did awesome finding the numbers and giving me the ordinal number names (basically, just adding the "th" at the end).

Memory verses:

Montessori Science (Botany): Parts of a Plant

                        

Montessori Language Arts: Metal Insets

We started out with a bit of a Mathematics lesson. We needed to cut paper
to fit in our metal insets work, so I used a ruler and scissors along with a pencil and measured the squares, then traced lines on paper that measure the same as the squares. We cut them out and they fit really well.
Now, onto our Language Arts lesson!

For more information on this incredibly awesome work, click here.

And I couldn't help myself and use this teachable moment as a teachable moment for Geography! I taught K about latitude and longitude. Perfect!

Chinese: I Love My Family

These are some of the materials I use to teach the kids some (simplified) Mandarin Chinese. We all LOVE it! It is super fun!

The kids learned how to say: I love my family, I love my dad, I love my mom, I love my older brother, I love my older sister, I love my little brother, I love my little sister, and I love myself. Awesomeness!!!!

Montessori Culture (Geography): Penpal and Postcard Exchange

K got a letter from his penpal and he couldn't be more excited! Thank you, H, and mom! :)

Play Time

                                 

Baby girl just floored me with this one! She was in the tub and I just casually asked her the names of the letters. She is bilingual (at least), no doubt! This is adorable. (This video may not be copied or used without the owner's permission)

Chores

This is one of the thing on his afternoon chores list: baking with mom. This afternoon chore list is strictly voluntary, but for every 10 checks he gets, he earns 3 tokens for Chuck E. Cheese's. When he reaches at least 10 tokens, we can stop by to use them up. He likes this idea, but I think he will like it even more when he actually gets to go and use them and earn tickets to exchange for prizes. I will get him a piggy bank especially for his tickets. It will be a good introduction to "saving."

We will never forget... 9/11

Library Visit

                             

Instead of homeschooling... don't you just love being able to do that and catch up later?! He's young; he can totally afford to do that!

Well, "THE DAY" is here! This is the very first time that I have to homeschool K while little sister is awake and in the schoolroom with us. K fell asleep at the same time as sister was napping, so they were both going to be awake during our homeschooling time. Yikes. I was expecting the worst, but it never happened (yay). I mean, it wasn't ideal in my view because K was distracted/excited that she was there, but she was paying attention and absorbing everything right along with him! Wow! Couldn't pay anyone to do it this well! hahaha
She was in the pack and play the entire time and did better and better as the lesson progressed. No crying or whining, just a tiny bit or whimpering every now and again. K did better as well. He had to go to timeout a couple of times before he settled down. I was taking it easy and taking it slow. I was aware that this would require more patience than usual. But I had a backup plan: let he watch an educational video in the living room (while on her high chair) while we were busy. Again, undesirable and not ideal for me, but at least I had a plan b. No need for it at all. I am no glad! He adjusted perfectly. I hope there can come a time when we can all have quiet time (aka nap) at the same time and then homeschool with baby girl there so she can start learning higher level stuff, too. She'd love it! We might try it again soon. I loved having her there!

I placed a golden basket by the schoolroom door to leave our shoes and toys there to wait for us to be done with our lessons. Works like a charm!

               

Montessori Mathematics: Sandpaper Numbers

For more information on the Sandpaper Numbers and how to use them,    click here.

She's watching and observing. Absorbing it all. Love it!

Montessori Culture (Geography): The Continents

                   

Placing the continents in order (as they appear on a world map). On a side note, notice that K is learning in his pajamas. Awesome! Where else can you do that?! I love homeschooling (especially when I get to teach while wearing my pajamas).

             

                            

                         

Inspiration...

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WHOSE CHILD IS THIS?

'Whose child is this? ' I asked one day
Seeing a little one out at play
'Mine', said the parent with a tender smile
'Mine to keep a little while
To bathe his hands and comb his hair
To tell him what he is to wear
To prepare him that he may always be good
And each day do the things he should'

'Whose child is this? ' I asked again
As the door opened and someone came in
'Mine', said the teacher with the same tender smile
'Mine, to keep just for a little while
To teach him how to be gentle and kind
To train and direct his dear little mind
To help him live by every rule
And get the best he can from school'

'Whose child is this? ' I ask once more
Just as the little one entered the door
'Ours' said the parent and the teacher as they smiled
And each took the hand of the little child
'Ours to love and train together
Ours this blessed task forever.'
                       ~Winter Galz

I get to be both mom and teacher of my children! 
What a completely surreal privilege and blessing!
______________________________________

Field Trip

                      

More Inspiration...