Monday I am calling to pull Fairy from CAVA (k12). She will be homeschooled without a charter school as Princess' teacher can not take on anymore students and I do not want to add other teachers and expectations on to my already crazy schedule. That is the main reason we are pulling Fairy early.
I have a full week of lesson plans for all the kids completely outlined. I am as ready as I can be. I know I have to call the school, then on Tuesday I file the paperwork with the state. So I am prepared. But still really nervous as now it is completely on me and there is no real back up. But I know after homeschooling for almost 3 years that I can do it and once I get over the nervousness we will do great.
Fairy will be using Teaching Textbooks grade 3 for math. I had her try it yesterday and she loves it and she is doing well so far. We will also be doing a general math class as a family. I want to ensure we hit all the basics and that all the children are where they should be.
For language arts and reading she will be using Complete Curriculum Workbook 1st grade and Little House on the Prairie. She will be doing the same spelling as Princess so she will be working out of Spelling Workout B.
For science we are continuing as a family to study the human body. This week we will be studying the circulatory system and the digestive system. And in history we are going to be working from Vacation under the Volcano. We will be studying ancient Roman, especially Pompeii. But first we will be making a video of an interview with the caveman and drawing cave paintings.
For languages Fairy, Buddy and Baby Girl are studying ASL with Signing Time. I am currently looking for more ways to teach Fairy more as she is learning the signs very quickly. I am trying to learn them as well but am not doing that well.
Princess is continuing Spanish. Her teacher is ordering Little Pim for her. I know it is a young level but with that, the workbook and the computer programs we have I think she should be covered.
This is going to be an exciting week for our family but I hope it all goes smoothly.
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Saturday, November 23, 2013
School at Home and More Changes
We finished studying ancient Egypt at the start of the month. As our final project we made Egyptian bracelets and amulets from salt dough. The kids had so much fun. I took pictures of them making the bracelets and amulets, but not of them painting them.
I paired Princess and Buddy together. Fairy and Baby Girl worked together. I explained to the older girls I wanted them to ask the younger children the answer first to give them a chance. They worked well together and found all the answers with no fighting.
They used the computer to look up how many bones in the body. The bigger girls looked it up then the younger kids remembered it so that the older girls could write it down.
We are pulling Fairy from the K12 school we have been using. The girls will be working together to complete all the things they know for school.
We also finished the skeleton unit we were studying in Science. We watched Stanley the Skeleton and the kids learned so many of the bones. I took some pictures of them watching, measuring their bones and filling in their lapbooks.
I paired Princess and Buddy together. Fairy and Baby Girl worked together. I explained to the older girls I wanted them to ask the younger children the answer first to give them a chance. They worked well together and found all the answers with no fighting.
They used the computer to look up how many bones in the body. The bigger girls looked it up then the younger kids remembered it so that the older girls could write it down.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
School on the Go!
We have been so busy and Daddy had a motorcycle accident so I have not posted lately but we have taken lots of pictures so I am going to post them and add descriptions on a few posts. I do not want to over do it.
Princess doing math at the Veterans hospital. Daddy had appointments all morning so I took a crate with our school supplies and we fed the ducks and then sat down to do school. All the kids did great and focused really well. We have had to do this a few times lately.
The kids loved feeding the ducks.
We have also went to a field trip to the local pet store (went to get crickets). The workers were taking care of the snakes and were nice enough to allow the kids to hold one and to talk about their care, though they new we were not getting any.
The two smaller kids played with Lego's as I read from their history book. The older girls worked on math and literature. They finished it up pretty good and listened for the most part though at one point I had to put Fairy and Princess on separate tables because they were distracting each other.
Oh I almost forgot! Her is a picture of our school in a crate!
Princess doing math at the Veterans hospital. Daddy had appointments all morning so I took a crate with our school supplies and we fed the ducks and then sat down to do school. All the kids did great and focused really well. We have had to do this a few times lately.
The kids loved feeding the ducks.We have also went to a field trip to the local pet store (went to get crickets). The workers were taking care of the snakes and were nice enough to allow the kids to hold one and to talk about their care, though they new we were not getting any.
Princes loved the snake. She kept asking if we could get one. I am not getting a snake! Fairy did not want to hold the snake though she did pet him. Buddy enjoyed the snake too and was extremely careful with him. Baby Girl was fine until the snake moved, then she dropped him and refused to hold him or go near him anymore.
Yesterday is the last away from home group of pictures I am going to post. Daddy had more all day appointments and I did not do school at the hospital because the kids were all out of sorts. They finally calmed down when we took Daddy to school last night so we did school at Daddy's school!
The two smaller kids played with Lego's as I read from their history book. The older girls worked on math and literature. They finished it up pretty good and listened for the most part though at one point I had to put Fairy and Princess on separate tables because they were distracting each other.
Oh I almost forgot! Her is a picture of our school in a crate!
Monday, October 14, 2013
Trying Something Old Again
When Fairy was a preschooler and Princess had just started homeschooling we found a great website. The kids loved sitting down around the computer and listening to Ms. Cullen, more than they did just me. We had a plan and stuck with it. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays were preschool. I used it to set things up and give me some great ideas. We eventually went out and made some of our own lesson plans to add in the other two days.
Now that Baby Girl is showing such an interest in doing school, and Buddy will enjoy it also I have pulled the website back up. They have changed it up a bit and added so much more. It is a great site! We will be using it with the younger to kids this week. We will be working on the Space theme. I think they will love it.
Buddy will also be working some off Lesson Pathways, another great lesson plan site. Here are both their websites if you would like to visit.
http://cullensabcs.com/ninasmommy/DIY_Online_Preschool
and
lessonpathways.com
Now that Baby Girl is showing such an interest in doing school, and Buddy will enjoy it also I have pulled the website back up. They have changed it up a bit and added so much more. It is a great site! We will be using it with the younger to kids this week. We will be working on the Space theme. I think they will love it.
Buddy will also be working some off Lesson Pathways, another great lesson plan site. Here are both their websites if you would like to visit.
http://cullensabcs.com/ninasmommy/DIY_Online_Preschool
and
lessonpathways.com
Monday, October 7, 2013
Been awhile
So I have not been blogging every week like I would like. I am having a hard time because we are so busy.
Princess received her math books and we have to go next week to pick up the last of her books from the charter school. I am thinking I got the wrong level in math. It is pretty easy for her and she is flying through it. We are studying history this month and learning about Ancient Egypt. I think this is going to be a 2 month journey though. She is learning it and loving it. We made the Nile river valley in play do the other day. She wrote a paper on the Planets, though it has taken her a month, she just needs to correct it and it will be good. She had a great thought process but her spelling is horrible. This is a picture of her corn husk doll from Co-Op. They are studying pioneer days.
Fairy was advanced to the spelling part of her Phonics. She is ahead in reading and math. We are behind in History and Science but I am taking my time in those so that we can explore those more deeply. We are also behind in art but I do not like K12's art program, so I do not care about that at all.
Buddy is spelling 3 letter words and loving it. I inserted a picture. We need to focus more on his handwriting as it is sloppy and some of it is backwards. I think he is doing fairly well for only being 4 1/2 though. He is enjoying being in class for co-op and having so much fun with addition and subtraction. He is sitting in on History with his sisters and suprising me with answers about ancient Egypt. He is also trying to teach his baby sister how to write a lower case A.
Baby girl learned to write the Letter A. She goes up the mountain, down the mountain and across the bridge. She likes to do school and loves that she gets to go to an art class at co-op. Though she hates going back to the nursery after class is over. She is such a funny little girl. The picture below is of her writing the letter A.
For circle time we hung up our huge calendar from Lakeshore Learning. It is amazing and it is so much fun to use. We stuck our flag behind it and underneath is a small calendar on poster board for us to work with patterns, plus I take that to co-op. We also have color and shape posters below it.
On one wall I have Buddy and Baby Girl's learning tables. They have nursery rhymes, numbers and the alphabet on their walls. They are also going to get chalkboard paint on part of the walls so they can write on the walls there. Above each child's desk, or table I put a few fun things as well. They have things they made, birthday cards and their graduation certificates from last year.
Here is a picture of our other wall, we have our frog tank on the children's bookshelf that will stay down stairs. The cursive writing chart, so Princess can see it. A few boxes of junk we need to put in the shed. And the bookshelf I am taking upstairs. We still have a long way to go but we are getting there and the kids are still learning and loving it.
Princess received her math books and we have to go next week to pick up the last of her books from the charter school. I am thinking I got the wrong level in math. It is pretty easy for her and she is flying through it. We are studying history this month and learning about Ancient Egypt. I think this is going to be a 2 month journey though. She is learning it and loving it. We made the Nile river valley in play do the other day. She wrote a paper on the Planets, though it has taken her a month, she just needs to correct it and it will be good. She had a great thought process but her spelling is horrible. This is a picture of her corn husk doll from Co-Op. They are studying pioneer days.Fairy was advanced to the spelling part of her Phonics. She is ahead in reading and math. We are behind in History and Science but I am taking my time in those so that we can explore those more deeply. We are also behind in art but I do not like K12's art program, so I do not care about that at all.
Buddy is spelling 3 letter words and loving it. I inserted a picture. We need to focus more on his handwriting as it is sloppy and some of it is backwards. I think he is doing fairly well for only being 4 1/2 though. He is enjoying being in class for co-op and having so much fun with addition and subtraction. He is sitting in on History with his sisters and suprising me with answers about ancient Egypt. He is also trying to teach his baby sister how to write a lower case A.Baby girl learned to write the Letter A. She goes up the mountain, down the mountain and across the bridge. She likes to do school and loves that she gets to go to an art class at co-op. Though she hates going back to the nursery after class is over. She is such a funny little girl. The picture below is of her writing the letter A.
The other thing we have been doing is setting up the class room. I am trying to get rid of clutter and give the children more floor space. I am almost done so I added a few pictures. We still have to take a bookshelf upstairs and get a little more organized.
For circle time we hung up our huge calendar from Lakeshore Learning. It is amazing and it is so much fun to use. We stuck our flag behind it and underneath is a small calendar on poster board for us to work with patterns, plus I take that to co-op. We also have color and shape posters below it.
On one wall I have Buddy and Baby Girl's learning tables. They have nursery rhymes, numbers and the alphabet on their walls. They are also going to get chalkboard paint on part of the walls so they can write on the walls there. Above each child's desk, or table I put a few fun things as well. They have things they made, birthday cards and their graduation certificates from last year.
Here is a picture of Fairy and her desk. I am still organizing so it is not the neatest. On the other side of her desk is Princess's.Here is a picture of our other wall, we have our frog tank on the children's bookshelf that will stay down stairs. The cursive writing chart, so Princess can see it. A few boxes of junk we need to put in the shed. And the bookshelf I am taking upstairs. We still have a long way to go but we are getting there and the kids are still learning and loving it.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Homeschooling whys for Our Family
I love homeschooling my children. Some nights like tonight I stay awake and worry though. But I have a feeling no matter where they are I will worry about them and if I am doing the right thing.
I have so much on my plate right now. I have 4 wonderful children I homeschool. A house to clean and care for. We have 8 pets and 2 fish tanks I care for daily. And last but not least I have a husband who I have to love and provide some attention for, or our marriage would fall apart. I also have to teach a class to 9 students and take Nina to school weekly.
I have learned since I first fell in love, that love is something you have to work at to keep. It will be 10 years October 14th since I promised to love and cherish my husband and our love is still going.
My children are the ones on my mind tonight though. Their schooling takes up a good chunk of my time.
Princess chose to be traditionally homeschooled this year and we went through a public charter. The teacher assigned to us is awesome. She found out we planned to read the Little House on the Prairie series for Lit and she brought in her own books for Princess to use. We get to pick and choose what we want to do with very little over sight. Princess and I are loving her new math program, though I think I should have picked a higher grade as most of the work seems like 2nd grade stuff. She is studying ancient Egypt in History and when we are done with that we will be studying the human body in Science.
Fairy is still using k12 which is a public school at home program and I have very little say in what we do. But she is enjoying it and I love watching her learn.
Buddy decided this year was the year he wanted to learn to read. He is picking it up well though we are having to come up with some pretty active ways to learn reading.
Baby Girl wants to do school so bad. So she will sit in on lessons with the other kids and I print worksheets daily so she can have work to do as well. I do help her with them and she seems really interested in doing the worksheets correctly this year, though I do not expect it.
All of that is just for normal learning and done by noon, but as soon as nap is over we are usually looking something up or answering questions, singing the alphabet, signing the alphabet or teaching the kids to cook.
We are busy and happy, but it is a lot of work to keep on top of everything. I do not think there are enough hours in the day. I feel almost always behind. But watching my children learn and grow, which they were not doing in public school, is so much fun.
This is why when people say I should put my children in public school I say no thank you. My kids are active, everyday learners. We learn everywhere we go. The store, zoo, amusement park, regaular park, even the back yard is a place to pick up more knowledge. While I could do that with them in public school it was not as fun for us. Learning has become fun to our family again.
Homeschooling, keeping up with 4 kids, 8 pets and a husband, plus the house is hard work. It is not something everyone wants or should do. But for those that do want this life all the hard work and love put into it is worth it.
I have so much on my plate right now. I have 4 wonderful children I homeschool. A house to clean and care for. We have 8 pets and 2 fish tanks I care for daily. And last but not least I have a husband who I have to love and provide some attention for, or our marriage would fall apart. I also have to teach a class to 9 students and take Nina to school weekly.
I have learned since I first fell in love, that love is something you have to work at to keep. It will be 10 years October 14th since I promised to love and cherish my husband and our love is still going.
My children are the ones on my mind tonight though. Their schooling takes up a good chunk of my time.
Princess chose to be traditionally homeschooled this year and we went through a public charter. The teacher assigned to us is awesome. She found out we planned to read the Little House on the Prairie series for Lit and she brought in her own books for Princess to use. We get to pick and choose what we want to do with very little over sight. Princess and I are loving her new math program, though I think I should have picked a higher grade as most of the work seems like 2nd grade stuff. She is studying ancient Egypt in History and when we are done with that we will be studying the human body in Science.
Fairy is still using k12 which is a public school at home program and I have very little say in what we do. But she is enjoying it and I love watching her learn.
Buddy decided this year was the year he wanted to learn to read. He is picking it up well though we are having to come up with some pretty active ways to learn reading.
Baby Girl wants to do school so bad. So she will sit in on lessons with the other kids and I print worksheets daily so she can have work to do as well. I do help her with them and she seems really interested in doing the worksheets correctly this year, though I do not expect it.
All of that is just for normal learning and done by noon, but as soon as nap is over we are usually looking something up or answering questions, singing the alphabet, signing the alphabet or teaching the kids to cook.
We are busy and happy, but it is a lot of work to keep on top of everything. I do not think there are enough hours in the day. I feel almost always behind. But watching my children learn and grow, which they were not doing in public school, is so much fun.
This is why when people say I should put my children in public school I say no thank you. My kids are active, everyday learners. We learn everywhere we go. The store, zoo, amusement park, regaular park, even the back yard is a place to pick up more knowledge. While I could do that with them in public school it was not as fun for us. Learning has become fun to our family again.
Homeschooling, keeping up with 4 kids, 8 pets and a husband, plus the house is hard work. It is not something everyone wants or should do. But for those that do want this life all the hard work and love put into it is worth it.
Friday, September 13, 2013
Busy Busy Week, First Co-op Day
This week has been crazy. Monday started off well and all the children finished all their work. Tuesday I realized I had not finished plans for our first Co-op day (I am teaching Early Reading and Math). So I gave the older 2 girls their work for the day and started printing, cutting, gluing and planning the lesson.
They did not do any of their work for Tuesday, Wednesday (I was still working in the school room but on Co-op stuff), or Thursday.
Thursday we had co-op and it went off very well. My class worked on lapbooks (never, ever doing that again for 9 children) and we read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Here are the two sites I used to print the lapbooks:
http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/blog/2010/03/chicka-chicka-boom-boom-lapbook.html
and http://lapbooksbycarisa.homestead.com/CHickaBoomTotBook.html. Both have lots of fun stuff for younger kids.
I also helped out in water color poetry and drama, then we left to go to Jui Jitsu.
Princess took Living History, Spanish and Drama. Fairy took Living History, Lego Building and Apologia Astronomy. Buddy took Early Math and Reading, and Art History. Baby Girl attended Art History also. The other classes the youngest 2 were in the Nursery. The mom's who taught the classes were great and the kids had so much fun and were still telling me about stuff today.
Today we spent catching up on work and they will have to work some tomorrow to catch up completely. Hopefully they will get it all done tomorrow.
They did not do any of their work for Tuesday, Wednesday (I was still working in the school room but on Co-op stuff), or Thursday.
Thursday we had co-op and it went off very well. My class worked on lapbooks (never, ever doing that again for 9 children) and we read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Here are the two sites I used to print the lapbooks:
http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/blog/2010/03/chicka-chicka-boom-boom-lapbook.html
and http://lapbooksbycarisa.homestead.com/CHickaBoomTotBook.html. Both have lots of fun stuff for younger kids.
I also helped out in water color poetry and drama, then we left to go to Jui Jitsu.
Princess took Living History, Spanish and Drama. Fairy took Living History, Lego Building and Apologia Astronomy. Buddy took Early Math and Reading, and Art History. Baby Girl attended Art History also. The other classes the youngest 2 were in the Nursery. The mom's who taught the classes were great and the kids had so much fun and were still telling me about stuff today.
Today we spent catching up on work and they will have to work some tomorrow to catch up completely. Hopefully they will get it all done tomorrow.
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