Day 2!!

My favorite part today?  hmmmmmmmmmm.....maybe that Eli slept until 11 and we schooled about 3 1/2 without him? :-)

I guess I better say Writing.  Handwriting is an area that I have miserably failed the boys.  But this year I wanted to grab that bull by the horns and straighten it out.  So back in June I went to the CHEK homeschool conference in Louisville and met Iris Hatfield.  She has written New American Cursive  Penmanship Program published by Memoria Press.  Actually I had purchased the books before I met her...but once I met her and she gently talked me through the program...I felt empowered.  Thanks Iris!  It is our second day and the boys are loving it and begging for more than 10 minutes on writing :-)

She also introduced me to Twist 'n Write pencils...so we are off to a fun start on our writing.

Day 1 of School!!

Our Latin lesson for the day:

to one of you: Salve!

to all of you:  Salvete!

"Hello"

It was a lovely day of school!  I over slept.  And the boys woke up so they purposely let me sleep in...how quick they learn. :-)

 None the less...we got started and had a successful day.  Ben started his third grade studies, Nate first grade and Eli is following along with the boys Science, History, Christian Studies, and Latin...but for him we will still do Montessori activities along with follow the Highlands Latin Schools 2 day a week Jr. Kindergarten.  In a short while we will begin learning the memory work for Classical Conversations and attending the Friday school.

Here is a picture of Nate starting his History notebook for Story of the World Vol.One....I am sooooo excited about a history that has hands on projects all along.  This is going to be a fun year.  I feel a little guilty about getting to learn along and enjoy the experiences with the boys.

My little knight

Last week I finally went to one of Bens fencing sessions.  Lets just say...he has a big heart and I hope that he makes a man of valor.

First Grade Science

Right now in Bens science we are studying plants.  I decided to do a unit study to add along with the text...I guess I will save it for the spring...but do my research all winter.    I want to focus on our little family garden and preserving the fruits.  Last summer our garden was washed away in the spring rains.So I did not get to do my usual gardening and canning.  As my own vegetable supply has began to wither away I am planning for next years garden.  What a perfect opportunity for my children.  Not only to raise their own food but the knowledge of how to do so.  Our classroom will be moving out the garden for some of our learning. Come soon spring!!

How much can we actually get from our small garden area?
Watch!

Field Trip: St.Louis Science Center

Building arches...out of foam blocks

...pillow blocks

Sky walk across the interstate.  Looking down on the cars.

using radar to see how fast the cars are going

binochlars to see ahead

checking out the planet Mars

walking down the time corridar of Space exploration

Moon sauce in honor of Neil Armstrong...posted the pic for my cousins from Wapakoneta :)

Step on the scale and it tells you how much you would have to pay for a ride in space....{I didnt take a pic of my amount :)}

Oh yeah the Science Center is F*R*E*E!!!

Field Trip: Museum of Westward Exploration St.Louis

One of the great things about homeschooling is taking a field trip while everyone else is in school...you get the full attention of the curators! And dont have to wait in lines!

Pajama Day!

Okay so we dont really have an official "PAJAMA DAY" here at our school...but many days we do get dressed later than we start school :)
Linking our party to:

Feild trip

Our annual trip to the pumpkin patch was the perfect feild trip to go along with our Autumn Treasures lapbook study that we are doing.  Also in science we are studying the five senses...and what more of a perfect place to use all of the senses than a farm!

Candy Corn!!

So I am preparing to do a study in Autumn this week with Ben. I bought the Autumn Treasures by Amanda Bennett and I found this amazing video...all you will ever need to know about Candy Corn!!  Check back soon to see the lapbook that we make!!

First Day --of Homeschool Co-op

so Thursday was our first day of Enrichment classes with one of our homeschool groups.  Ben and Nate were both excited to get new backpacks and attend classes and hopefully make new friends.

Eli got to go too...he just used Nates backpack from last year.  All he had to take was a pull-up, wipes and a snack.

Homeschool Product Review: Learning Pallette

I am in love with the Learning Palette from Learning Wrap Ups!  This game can be expanded by adding new card packets.  It is so much more than "busy" work...The student even check and corrects his project as part of the whole process.  I purchased one base and card kits for each of the boys.  Even my four year old can learn with it and check himself while I work with my six year old.  I purchased my first set from a store but then found that I could save $$$$$ by purchasing the card kits directly from  Learning Wrap ups.

DAY 38!

37 lessons and one field trip so far!  And here is basically our schedule that we try to maintain:

Wipe off board that I got at the dollar spot in Target!!

My pocket chart (also from Targets dollar spot) and the cards made from blank sentence strips from the Dollar Tree.  Here you see an exercise to determine when to use which "k" ending sound.

Crayola wipe off chart for spelling practice.

http://www.starfall.com/

For computer center time.  Great FREE early elementary language arts study.

Nates Alpabet cards---from the Dollar Tree!!

Totally awesome BINGO games...first grade level from Targets Dollar Spot.

Nate working on his coloring.

Great find at KSS this week....there are so many projects that we can do with this in our Science Center.  Also...if you have more than on student...buy an extra magnetic wand.

The boys try different items to make a magnetic maze on cookie sheets.

Ben reading...leisurely.

Keeping schooling fun.

In Love With Penmanship!!!!

After several lessons in the traditional ABEKA cursive writing for first graders...we gave up in tears.  So I made a trip to the local teacher supply store and paid too much money for a hand writing book that brought more tears.  There had to be an easier way to get caught up and be a good "printer"--and as the fine motor skills develop--a great "cursive writer".  Finally I found this book from Christan Light Publications.

65 lessons that direct correctly made letters in a simple format.  Now our writing class is a happy and interesting time!  Ben loves the information in each lesson about the different animals.  But most of all he is encouraged that he is learning to make beautiful manuscript.  The best $5.50 that I have spent on homeschooling writing curriculum.

Week Four!!

So here we are in our fourth week of homeschooling!  We schooled 15 days this month--which is really great seeing that we had a holiday and out of town guests!  The deal was that I could home school the month of July as a trial run and if it wasn't working out then the children would attend government school.  Things are going great and everyone is learning!  Praise God!  On Sunday an old college roommate --that works in Taiwan as a missionary called me and was coming on Monday!!  So we schooled Monday and cleaned like the President (well maybe not)  was visiting.

Jen and I...I tried to find a picture of us from the early 90s  but our hair was too big to get in the picture!!

We tried a little bit of "Charlotte Mason" home school technique and took a picnic to a local park....made leaf rubbings and just enjoyed being out in nature...may try this again in the fall when it isn't 96 degrees in the shade.

rubbing from the end of a bleacher set.

Massive leaf...glad that I don't have any of these trees to rake :)

Ever wonder wonder how things look at a child's eye level? {note to self: keep the camera put away!!}

So next week public schools start back.  we start @ lesson #16 & study more on our Australia unit study.