Pop Goes the Weasel

I waited too long before writing a post.  Can't remember what we did today!

It was The Tortoise and the Hare for a story.  Complete with the props I created last night.  Bubba 1 is going to be so disappointed when mama tells him a story with just words and NO props!!

We worked on letters. Bubba 1 knows his alphabet, getting him to write them is another thing.  Today was G g.

The highlight of the day was music!  With our curriculum they gave us a music break cd to play songs for a kind of down time.  By far the boys love this time!!  Seeing them dance to Pop Goes the Weasel still makes me smile hours later.

Tomorrow...another day!

Props for Tomorrow

Tomorrow the letter G for Giraffe....and the tortoise and the hare!

Yes I know it's a sea turtle but it'll work in a pinch!

Technology Rocks

This is a test of my new feed burner.  I have to say again how awesome Calvert is.  They actually have a section in the curriculum to teach basic technology to Kindergartners.  My son LOVES it!!  It is great to teach him how to use a mouse, click and drag and to double click. He has the rest of his life to practice!! I am very  much a hands on learner.  I like trial and error.

So that is the end of my test.  Come back soon to read more of my homeschool journey.

Monday, Monday

Friday was pretty much a review day.  It was hard to focus.  We were supposed to be going on vacation but then Irene decided that she wanted to blow stuff around and douse us.  Everything felt off balance.  We did finish all the reading activities that needed to be done and read some books together.

Today is Monday and it's a new day!!

We did our book work and read some books together...including The Little Engine That Could.   The library has a TON of great books. We read a learn to read book that talked about manners and saying please.  For a little bubba, that is VERY important and needs LOTS of work!  Bubba #1 LOVES dinosaurs and I found this great book called Tyrannosaurus Math.  There's another one based on a character called Sebastian Pig.  He goes on little adventures and they intertwine math in it. The one we read today was a camping trip and things kept disappearing.  It totally had Bubba #1 doing math and not knowing he was doing it!

This afternoon I am combining a craft and alphabet review.  We're reviewing A-F.  I found a great site called No Time For Flashcards. They had a really fun idea for making or decorating the letters to coincide with the letter.  So the A looks like an alligator...the B is a bee....C a caterpillar.....D a dinosaur....E an Elephant....and F a Flower.

Once the glue dries...we are going to use paint to decorate the C with fingerprints for the caterpillar...and finish the elephant, dinosaur, bee and alligator.  It is super fun!!

The finished product

Check out the website tomorrow for more adventures!!! 

Thursday Blahs

Thursday was a blah day.  Everyone was tired and cranky.  We finished all the "required" parts of schoolwork but didn't put much effort into the enrichments.  I'm sure that won't be the only or last day that happens.  The key was to try and be excited about the basics!

Day 3 - Wednesday Hump Day

We had a light curriculum today...just reading and practicing the letter C and a game about FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS...a must have for the mama of any little boy!  We read the three little pigs and talked about how important it was to use the right materials for the right job and that doing a job right is more important than doing it quickly.

In the Calvert Program, one of the HUGE benefits is the enrichment activities that the kids can do online.  It's a program called Brain Pop.  Yesterday we talked about seasons and what they were so today he watched a video about seasons.  The videos showed him what happens with the weather, temperature and how the activities are different each season.  After yesterdays earthquake event, we talked about Earthquakes and watched a couple of videos about what happens in an earthquake. Tomorrow we're going to talk about what to do in an earthquake.

Onward and upward.

day 2...getting in a groove

Today was a day of huge excitement!  We had an earthquake!! Oh and it was our second day of school. AND now we have a hurricane bearing down on the area.  What a great teaching moment...to talk about geology and weather all in the same week!

We are getting into a schooling groove.  I love the curriculum.  It gets me going in the right direction and I can test different methods of teaching to see what helps Bubba #1 be at his best.

In Math, we had a game where I flipped over a card with a number 1-10 and Bubba had to count out game pieces that matched the number.  He LOVED it and asked if we could play it again tomorrow.

Tomorrow is a light curriculum day so I think we'll go out walking with a notebook so Bubba #1 can make some observations and practice drawing!

Night!

Day 1...In the beginning...

Yesterday was our first day of school.

 I was pleasantly surprised that it went well.  I didn't feel as prepared as I should be but Bubba #1 didn't mind and enjoyed listening to stories, doing a little math, and practicing letters. The little Bubba sat in his chair and ate cheerios and read books while Bubba #1 and I worked on school work.

I finished a bible lesson "Made by God".  It's a cross between creation and all about me lesson.

days of creation

God saw it was good.

I am God's creation.

Getting Ready

I finally got Bubba #1's math books in the mail.  I am still waiting for the sign language dvds and we'll be all set.

I bought 3 plastic boxes yesterday that I can put the academic stuff in for each day. Each subject will be in a file folder inside the box for that day.  We are going to try 3 full days for now...so we'll be on a M,W, F and then a T, TH, F  for a rotating weekly schedule.

So here's where we are at.

We are using the Calvert curriculum for all subjects but Math.  Nate will be using it for writing, reading, spelling, science.  They have a Teaching Service you can add to the program but we decided not to do that for Kindergarten.  We will purchase it for the elementary grades though.

For Math, I am using the Horizons K program.  I wanted to introduce him to the basics and it really isn't introduced until 1st grade.

For Bible, I am using the AWANA Sparks program for bible verse memory and adding my own lesson plans for going through the bible.

I am teaching him basic sign language, which he LOVES.  He calls it the "hand alphabet".  I'd like to teach him some Greek, Latin and basic Spanish too.

For Teacher Mom, I am part  of a homeschooling group.  I've joined a couple of yahoo groups that deal with different parts of homeschooling like lap-booking, note-booking, unit studies, curriculum garage sales, home-school buyers co-op and the like.

My awesome husband let me buy a subscription for ABC Teach which has all kinds of teaching resources-workbook pages, lesson plans, it is HEAVEN!!

For now that's it!  It's getting to be real and I am still excited!!

Fun, Fear and Follies

We got our school in a box on Friday!!

I am super excited AND a little anxious.  

My kindergartner loves to learn.  He asks lots of questions and most of them are pretty insightful!  The anxious part comes from trying to give my oldest the attention he needs, and one of the main reasons we homeschooled, and keeping the littlest one busy.

I've started getting the lesson plans together for the first week of school.  I wanted to start this week but we are going on a camping trip the last week of August.  I think it would be hard to get started, take a week off, and then get started again, especially in the first year.  

While on vacation, we'll be visiting the VA Aquarium and Marine Science Center. I am working on putting together a lapbook based on the animals we'll see in the aquarium for Nate to work on.