My friend Sherri and I were on the phone and it came to me... Instead of just doing US History, why couldn't we do Explorers?!! I started on www.enchantedlearning.com and went through their list of explorers (that comes with at least one worksheet per explorer and a printable bio)
We are definitely looking for any resources we can get on this one.
1) Christopher Newport
2)Ponce de Leon
3) Vitus J Bering
4) Robert Burke and William Willis
5) Vasco de Gama
6) Eric the Red and Leif Ericson
7) Christopher Columbus (Well it is Columbus Day Week)- have worksheets from the CC
8) Robert Ballard
9) Amerigo Vespucci
10) Henry Hudson - we have a activity book about him I found at a yard sale
11) Roald Amundsen
12) Magellan
13) Kit Carson
14) Richard Byrd
15) Robert La Salle
16) Alvar Nunez
17) Jaques Cousteau - have two worksheets from the CC and a field trip to the aquarium
18) Neil Armstrong - have worksheets from the CC
19) Buzz Aldrin- have a field trip to the space center planned
20) Sally Ride - have a biography book and a few worksheets from the CC
21) Sue Hendricson
22) Pedro Alvares Cabral
23) James Cook
24) Douglas Mawson
25) Sir Francis Drake
26) Daniel Boone
27) James Smith- have a few worksheets from the CC
28) Lewis and Clark- this is Coco's obsession! We have posters, books, the board game...
29) Robert Scott
30) Sir Walter Raleigh
31) Mae Jemison
32) Marco Polo
33) Jaques Cartier
34) Mary Kingsley
35) Jean Le Perouse
36) Petre Stryvesant
37) Hernan Cortes
38) Final Review and testing.
I have created a lapbook style worksheet for this so she will have a Bio on Mondays, a worksheet from enchantedlearning, a worksheet from me, a vocab sheet with a crossword or word scramble (Gotta love www.theteacherscorner.net) and we have lots and lots of maps that I also got from enchantedlearnig.
Typically we test every 10 weeks and I have made those too.
Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions? (or materials I can borrow?)
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Setting Up Coco's Curriculum for 4th grade- Science
God, I love this time of the year! Pulling books of the shelf, knowing that next year is a blank slate... Gives me goosebumps!
Heres what I have so far.
For Science we are going take Physical Science. The text book I have is for 7th grade but I used it to make a 38 week outline. Then I went online to the three or so of the sites we use for printables and found nearly all of the printables I will be using. (NO lol I didn't print them yet!) I also flipped through her Comprehensive Curriculum Grade 4 and found a few pages that would correlate. I am now hunting for either a grade appropriate text book or grade appropriate books on Amazon. (If anyone finds one LET ME KNOW lol)
Science week by week:
1) Intro to Physical Science - have tons of worksheets from the CC
2) Scientific Method
3) Scientific Method
4) Using Models- have worksheets from www.enchantedlearning.com
5) Measurements in Science- have worksheets from the CC
6) Measurements in Science- have a lesson plan from www.teacherspayteachers.com
7) Properties of Matter- have worksheets from the CC
8) Properties of Matter- have worksheets from the CC
9) Describing Matter
10) Chemical Properties
11) Physical Change- have a 6 page workbook I found at a book fair
12) Chemical Change - I only have a few experiments for these...
13) States of Matter
14) Laws of Matter
15) Changes of State
16) Changes of State
17) Elements - all I have for this one is a story book?...
18) Compounds
19) Mixtures
20) Review of the past three weeks
21) Solutions
22) Concentration/Solubility
23) Suspension/Collids
24) Motion- field trip planned to the Boomerang Guys House (hes a friend of mine)
25) Motion
26) Force
27) Friction
28) Gravity
29) Newtons Laws
30) Work
31) Simple Machines - have worksheets from www.teachervision.fen.com
32) Levers - have worksheets from teachervision
33) Planes/Wedges - have worksheets from teachervision
34) Screws/Wheels and Axles -have worksheets from teachervision
35) Pulleys - have worksheets from teachervision
36) Compound Machines -have worksheets from teachervision
37) Review and write paper
38) Review and testing
This Science seemed that I could make it a more hands on class. So I'm writing in Science Experiment Tuesdays.
We are using Science Project Ideas by Robert Gardner.
Heres what I have so far.
For Science we are going take Physical Science. The text book I have is for 7th grade but I used it to make a 38 week outline. Then I went online to the three or so of the sites we use for printables and found nearly all of the printables I will be using. (NO lol I didn't print them yet!) I also flipped through her Comprehensive Curriculum Grade 4 and found a few pages that would correlate. I am now hunting for either a grade appropriate text book or grade appropriate books on Amazon. (If anyone finds one LET ME KNOW lol)
Science week by week:
1) Intro to Physical Science - have tons of worksheets from the CC
2) Scientific Method
3) Scientific Method
4) Using Models- have worksheets from www.enchantedlearning.com
5) Measurements in Science- have worksheets from the CC
6) Measurements in Science- have a lesson plan from www.teacherspayteachers.com
7) Properties of Matter- have worksheets from the CC
8) Properties of Matter- have worksheets from the CC
9) Describing Matter
10) Chemical Properties
11) Physical Change- have a 6 page workbook I found at a book fair
12) Chemical Change - I only have a few experiments for these...
13) States of Matter
14) Laws of Matter
15) Changes of State
16) Changes of State
17) Elements - all I have for this one is a story book?...
18) Compounds
19) Mixtures
20) Review of the past three weeks
21) Solutions
22) Concentration/Solubility
23) Suspension/Collids
24) Motion- field trip planned to the Boomerang Guys House (hes a friend of mine)
25) Motion
26) Force
27) Friction
28) Gravity
29) Newtons Laws
30) Work
31) Simple Machines - have worksheets from www.teachervision.fen.com
32) Levers - have worksheets from teachervision
33) Planes/Wedges - have worksheets from teachervision
34) Screws/Wheels and Axles -have worksheets from teachervision
35) Pulleys - have worksheets from teachervision
36) Compound Machines -have worksheets from teachervision
37) Review and write paper
38) Review and testing
This Science seemed that I could make it a more hands on class. So I'm writing in Science Experiment Tuesdays.
We are using Science Project Ideas by Robert Gardner.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Open Swim at MRC
Today we got to take a tour and testout the poll at the Massilion Rec Center.
While the entire deal looks pretty good, I doubt I'm going to let the kids participate.
Nacho had so much fun and I will let him go with Lara. He doesnt need lessons though.
Lola had fun too, but clearly has a hard time listening to directions. During the tour, we couldnt find Lola and turns out she got in the pool all by herself.
Coco had a great time and she may need the lessons as well. She took lessons last year, but afte watching her, I dont think she retained much of the lessons.
Fifi, had the worst time of all the children. She wasnt allowed to go in the regular pool, the lazy float pool, or on the waterslides. They claimed that regardless of swimming ability, she was too little. Then halfway through the swim session, the lifeguards started getting whistle happy and it seemed the rules changed. Fifi wasnt allowed in the sprinkler area alone (I was sitting outside the fence and could clearly see her at all times) This made me think twice about coming back. I would have to hold Fifi's hand the entire time. We'll see what happens.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Getting Ready For the Next School Year
Preparing For Next School Year
Many of you aren’t done for this school year. You are just finishing up your state testing and feel the weight of another month or so of school. We, however, finished about two weeks ago. 960 hours and 218 days of school and we are starting to look ahead to next year.
My eldest two children, Nacho and Lola, have decided they would like to try OHVA in lieu of traditional homeschooling. I’m hoping this works well for them. At the same time, I have some smaller activities and lessons planned for them.
Nacho, starting 9th grade will be taking Algebra, Physical Science, Modern World Studies, Computer Literacy and Literacy Analysis with OHVA. Together he and I also created a Required Reading List and daily, weekly and monthly goals charts. I felt making these with him will help keep him interested and accountable for his schooling. I will post links to them, when I figure out how to use adobe.
Lola, starting 7th grade will be taking Health 7, Intermediate Art, World History, French 1, Life Science, Pre-Algebra, and Technology. She made a goal of studying in Paris her freshman year of college, so she will be taking French instead of Spanish. She is also not taking ASL this year. She and I created a Required Reading List and her goal charts as well. Lola is not very interested in homeschooling this year. She feels she’s missing out on important social opportunities. We created a day planner to show her how much time she spends with friends and how many outside activities she is involved in. Granted we are taking the summer off from theater, cheerleading and music lesson, she still has skating, swimming, play group and Tween Movie Nights.
Coco will be starting 4th grade with traditional homeschool. I have already bought my Comprehensive Curriculum Grade 4. Over the past school year I fell in love with the Scholastic Workbooks. They have individual workbooks for vocabulary, grammar, math, social studies and science. We also got the ones for telling time, geography and health and safety. Here is an Amazon link to Coco’s 4th grade writing practice book. We are also working more on chore charts with Coco then daily goals. I hate hate hate repeating myself to her about picking up her clothes. This way she has, in writing, what she needs to do before she can go outside or play with the Wii.
Fifi is very excited to be starting the 1st grade. In the state of Ohio she would just now be allowed to start Kindergarten but, we did all of that work last year. Her Comprehensive Curriculum Grade 1 has been ordered as well as her Scholastic Workbooks. We also renewed our memberships to www.enchantedlearning.com, www.teachervision.com, and www.instructorweb.com I love these sites and their printables! At only $20 a year, they are totally worth it.
Our summer plans, while slowed down from the rest of the year are chock full of field trips, group activities and a few vacations. Keep an eye out for those updates!
Many of you aren’t done for this school year. You are just finishing up your state testing and feel the weight of another month or so of school. We, however, finished about two weeks ago. 960 hours and 218 days of school and we are starting to look ahead to next year.
My eldest two children, Nacho and Lola, have decided they would like to try OHVA in lieu of traditional homeschooling. I’m hoping this works well for them. At the same time, I have some smaller activities and lessons planned for them.
Nacho, starting 9th grade will be taking Algebra, Physical Science, Modern World Studies, Computer Literacy and Literacy Analysis with OHVA. Together he and I also created a Required Reading List and daily, weekly and monthly goals charts. I felt making these with him will help keep him interested and accountable for his schooling. I will post links to them, when I figure out how to use adobe.
Lola, starting 7th grade will be taking Health 7, Intermediate Art, World History, French 1, Life Science, Pre-Algebra, and Technology. She made a goal of studying in Paris her freshman year of college, so she will be taking French instead of Spanish. She is also not taking ASL this year. She and I created a Required Reading List and her goal charts as well. Lola is not very interested in homeschooling this year. She feels she’s missing out on important social opportunities. We created a day planner to show her how much time she spends with friends and how many outside activities she is involved in. Granted we are taking the summer off from theater, cheerleading and music lesson, she still has skating, swimming, play group and Tween Movie Nights.
Coco will be starting 4th grade with traditional homeschool. I have already bought my Comprehensive Curriculum Grade 4. Over the past school year I fell in love with the Scholastic Workbooks. They have individual workbooks for vocabulary, grammar, math, social studies and science. We also got the ones for telling time, geography and health and safety. Here is an Amazon link to Coco’s 4th grade writing practice book. We are also working more on chore charts with Coco then daily goals. I hate hate hate repeating myself to her about picking up her clothes. This way she has, in writing, what she needs to do before she can go outside or play with the Wii.
Fifi is very excited to be starting the 1st grade. In the state of Ohio she would just now be allowed to start Kindergarten but, we did all of that work last year. Her Comprehensive Curriculum Grade 1 has been ordered as well as her Scholastic Workbooks. We also renewed our memberships to www.enchantedlearning.com, www.teachervision.com, and www.instructorweb.com I love these sites and their printables! At only $20 a year, they are totally worth it.
Our summer plans, while slowed down from the rest of the year are chock full of field trips, group activities and a few vacations. Keep an eye out for those updates!
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
Totally Cheating
Well that is the name of our blog and our school. LOL. www.homeschoolingheathens.blogspot.com
This is what I wrote to answer questions within a few of my homeschooling groups on how I homeschool without OHVA or some other prepackaged curriculum. Forgive the format, I just cut and paste it here. I will have another blog up soon about out VERY BUSY weekend!!
I am Dani and, I homeschool my 4 ungrateful heathens. I blog about it almost weekly LOL (I forget A LOT LOL) I am not sure what to classify myself as. I use a traditional classroom setting, a truck load of worksheets, a chalk board, a kitchen, and independent study for my older two.
Fifi is my preschooler/kindergartener. She will be 5 in November and is doing Kindergarten work but is considered a Preschooler here in OH. The week she is working with Eric Carle books.(yes again for those that read my other blog). We are using the words for spelling and Spanish. We are using the pictures for art (recreation) We are working using his bugs for math with basic addition (none of the sums are more than 20) I must admit, we went to Applebee's and they were giving children these little pamphlets for Eric Carle's work so I asked for extra (I now have 10 or so) and the have mazes, puzzles, and other games. We also picked up a spider puzzle and made Mr. Carle's bugs our of playdough (noting size relationships and shapes). Last but not least, we read as many of the books as we could find in our collection and at the library.
Coco is my 3rd grader. She is 8 years old. She was diagnosed with PPD and high functioning autism but I cant see it and neither can my friends. She is shy and a bit immature for her age. She is also the most loving and considerate child I have ever known. Each week she particpates in a creative writing class, roller skating lessons, theater programs, art classes, and, girl scouts.
Lola is my 6th ot 7th grader. She is 11 years old. She particpates in cheerleading, girl scouts, theater programs, art classes, and Japanese Anime Club. She loves school and loves being in charge. I have found that letting her lead some of the younger childrens classes allows me to have some free time to cook lunch, start dinner, do laundry... You know, " mom things"This is our first week without the added child (We were homeschooling an extra child but is didn't work out)
I try to keep Coco and Lola doing similar things just at a different level as much as possible. The only differences are Science where Coco is studying Earth Science and Lola is studying Human Anatomy and Math. however, this month their Math is the same.
We are starting fractions in math. I have this great kit my mother sent us from CT called Ready to Learn Fractions and Decimals. We also use my "Bible" the Comprehensive Curriculum's Best of Grade 3 (Grade 6 for Lola). We use www.aaaspell.com and www.aaamath.com for alot of our work and practice. All of the older children use these at some point each week. Spelling every week is pretty much the same. We get our word list for www.aaaspell.com and make flashcards on Monday, Write sentences using the words in a way that makes sense on Tuesdays. I make crossword puzzles on www.theteacherscorner.net for Wednesdays and a word scramble on Thursdays. We also put our words in ABC order on Thursdays. On Fridays we talk about their parts of speech and what ways the words can be used (i.e. note is a noun and a verb but if we make it notable it is a __? What about music notes?...) We don't test for grades, we test because they want to.
Language Arts this week is Homonyms. I get alot of my worksheets from my CC book but I also use www.enchantedlearning.com. It is $20 a year but totally worth it! Lola is using her CC book as well. She is also still working with compound words, prefixes and suffixes.
Science this week is a review of landforms for Coco. We finishing up the Earth and moving on to Oceans next week. We use mostly books from the library and http://www.enchantedlearning.com/ for our worksheets and lesson ideas.Lola is working with the Human Brain. She started the Nervous System last week. Next week we will be moving on the the senses and how they work and why. I also get alot of her Science worksheets from enchantedlearning. I get some of her work from www.bogglesworldesl.com too. Some weeks we just read about the systems and I have to make my own worksheets too. This week, we got lucky and the worksheets were on www.enchantedlearning.com
Geography this week is Florida. Last week was Delaware. We are going in alphabetical order. Each week we start with reading the Celebrate the States book during lunch of the state we are starting. Lola also loves to make the state flag out of construction paper every week. Then on Tuesday we do an art project pertaining to the state. Wednesday we work with the states history. I usually make a quiz sheet on important historic facts but sometimes they find something they want to run with. (when studying CA they were hooked on Levi Strauss and the gold rush...) Thursdays is all about the wackiest facts we can find in books and online about the states. It is also the day we make our Thank You Cards for our friends in that state who sent us the information, map, magnet and list of fun facts. If you want to be one of those friends let me know LOL... Friday is the day we do our worksheet from www.abcteach.comThey color in the flag and write out in complete sentences the three most memorable facts about the state. We also use enchantedlearning.com for geography and www.nationalatlas.gov for maps and facts.
The girls are also taking sign language. They use Micky Flodin's Books and Signing Time videos. We have all of the videos and 4 of the books now. They teach themselves a few (up to 10) new words a day and on Fridays they show me what they have learned. Once a month they put on a show for the folks at the library. The third Thursday of the month is Seniors Night. They write and produce their own "shows" including costumes, music and script. We were going to take a class with other homeschoolers but it wouldn't work into our schedule. We do try ot attemd some of the field trips if not classes with the other homeschoolers in the area. Mostly for my sanity. I have made some wonderful friends within the two groups we belong to.
Coco also takes a creative writing class on Wednesday nights at the same library. We do weekly creative writing projects as well. Each month we focus on a type of writing (i.e. Legends, poetry, fables, fairy tales...) This month we are doing poetry. I have gotten the girls to write a poem a day whether it be
M-makes me breakfast
O-outstanding reader
M-makes me lunch
M-Makes me dinner
Y-Yells when I don't do my work (written by Nahco age 14)
to
Roses are Red
Violets are Blue
Lola stinks
Exactly like Poo (by Coco age 8)
Nacho is my 8th or 9th grader. He is 14 years old. He has PTSD and is moody and sullen most of the time. He pretty much hates all schooling except his World Studies. He takes Japanese Anime, Cooking Classes, Boy Scouts, Fusion Classes and Guitar Lessons. Nacho is a huge help to me when it comes to almost everything not school related. He babysits, does laundry, dishes, takes care of the pets... He just hates school. He hates writing anything out.
We use alot of text books bought online for Nacho. Once a week I write out assignments on his sheet and once a week, I read what he finished. Some weeks, we redo what was done the week before.In math we are beginning Algebra. We are talking about Quadratic Equations. I use the book(s) and the white board to try to explain them. We also use www.aaamath.com and www.aaaknow.com Im science we are talking about matter. We also have a few science text books and a workbook. I love www.amazon.comThat is where I get most of my books. We also have this great book Middle School Science Experiments. Nacho loves randomly picking out an experiment and doing it.
Instead of regular old geography, Nahco is doing a World Study. Each month he focuses on a new place in the world and studies their Mythology, Religion, Foods, Languages, Herb Lore, Politics (which he hates) and History (again he hates) We cook their foods, research recipes, listen to and view their languages (www.youtube.com is excellent for this!), and attempt to discuss their politics. We also have our own version of lap-booking. Nacho Has specific binders for Herb Lore and Mythology. Each week or so he adds more pages from what he is learning. For Herb Lore he puts them in a usage category. For Mythology they are ordered by regions. This month is Japan.
Nacho also studies Wicca and takes classes monthly at a local pagan store. These are the highlight of his month! www.spiritapothecary.com The owner Matt teaches classes on incense making (this month was Samhaim incense including all of the herb lore) He also helps Nacho from home. I love this store!! Check them out. Saturday the owners held a pot luck dinner that was geared to helping me homeschool. Regional foods, regional music, regional herb lore and mythology books... even regional jewelery! I cant help but advertise for them. LOL
Nacho and Lola also take Spanish both online and with books. We use www.livemocha.com, Rosetta Stone and Ariba! This is one of their chosen independent studies.As well as Nacho's World Studies cooking, Nahco, Lola and Coco all take "home ec" This means they cook for the family two or three times a week. This is everything from muffins (from a box) to full dinners for their grandparents. I belong to a group on www.Cafemom.com called the Cooking Cafe. You can check it out for a list of what they will be making this week and recipes.
If you have found the gaps, yes, I don't make Nacho take a Language Arts. He is required to read and dissect short stories, poems, plays and what not. Its like pulling teeth from an angry croc. We do all his Language Arts work out loud, over dinner most nights.
One top of all of this, all three of the older children are required to read 30 minutes each day and log what they have read (with a summary) in their reading logs. They choose their own books for the most part. www.bookadventures.comhelped alot!
This is what I wrote to answer questions within a few of my homeschooling groups on how I homeschool without OHVA or some other prepackaged curriculum. Forgive the format, I just cut and paste it here. I will have another blog up soon about out VERY BUSY weekend!!
I am Dani and, I homeschool my 4 ungrateful heathens. I blog about it almost weekly LOL (I forget A LOT LOL) I am not sure what to classify myself as. I use a traditional classroom setting, a truck load of worksheets, a chalk board, a kitchen, and independent study for my older two.
Fifi is my preschooler/kindergartener. She will be 5 in November and is doing Kindergarten work but is considered a Preschooler here in OH. The week she is working with Eric Carle books.(yes again for those that read my other blog). We are using the words for spelling and Spanish. We are using the pictures for art (recreation) We are working using his bugs for math with basic addition (none of the sums are more than 20) I must admit, we went to Applebee's and they were giving children these little pamphlets for Eric Carle's work so I asked for extra (I now have 10 or so) and the have mazes, puzzles, and other games. We also picked up a spider puzzle and made Mr. Carle's bugs our of playdough (noting size relationships and shapes). Last but not least, we read as many of the books as we could find in our collection and at the library.
Coco is my 3rd grader. She is 8 years old. She was diagnosed with PPD and high functioning autism but I cant see it and neither can my friends. She is shy and a bit immature for her age. She is also the most loving and considerate child I have ever known. Each week she particpates in a creative writing class, roller skating lessons, theater programs, art classes, and, girl scouts.
Lola is my 6th ot 7th grader. She is 11 years old. She particpates in cheerleading, girl scouts, theater programs, art classes, and Japanese Anime Club. She loves school and loves being in charge. I have found that letting her lead some of the younger childrens classes allows me to have some free time to cook lunch, start dinner, do laundry... You know, " mom things"This is our first week without the added child (We were homeschooling an extra child but is didn't work out)
I try to keep Coco and Lola doing similar things just at a different level as much as possible. The only differences are Science where Coco is studying Earth Science and Lola is studying Human Anatomy and Math. however, this month their Math is the same.
We are starting fractions in math. I have this great kit my mother sent us from CT called Ready to Learn Fractions and Decimals. We also use my "Bible" the Comprehensive Curriculum's Best of Grade 3 (Grade 6 for Lola). We use www.aaaspell.com and www.aaamath.com for alot of our work and practice. All of the older children use these at some point each week. Spelling every week is pretty much the same. We get our word list for www.aaaspell.com and make flashcards on Monday, Write sentences using the words in a way that makes sense on Tuesdays. I make crossword puzzles on www.theteacherscorner.net for Wednesdays and a word scramble on Thursdays. We also put our words in ABC order on Thursdays. On Fridays we talk about their parts of speech and what ways the words can be used (i.e. note is a noun and a verb but if we make it notable it is a __? What about music notes?...) We don't test for grades, we test because they want to.
Language Arts this week is Homonyms. I get alot of my worksheets from my CC book but I also use www.enchantedlearning.com. It is $20 a year but totally worth it! Lola is using her CC book as well. She is also still working with compound words, prefixes and suffixes.
Science this week is a review of landforms for Coco. We finishing up the Earth and moving on to Oceans next week. We use mostly books from the library and http://www.enchantedlearning.com/ for our worksheets and lesson ideas.Lola is working with the Human Brain. She started the Nervous System last week. Next week we will be moving on the the senses and how they work and why. I also get alot of her Science worksheets from enchantedlearning. I get some of her work from www.bogglesworldesl.com too. Some weeks we just read about the systems and I have to make my own worksheets too. This week, we got lucky and the worksheets were on www.enchantedlearning.com
Geography this week is Florida. Last week was Delaware. We are going in alphabetical order. Each week we start with reading the Celebrate the States book during lunch of the state we are starting. Lola also loves to make the state flag out of construction paper every week. Then on Tuesday we do an art project pertaining to the state. Wednesday we work with the states history. I usually make a quiz sheet on important historic facts but sometimes they find something they want to run with. (when studying CA they were hooked on Levi Strauss and the gold rush...) Thursdays is all about the wackiest facts we can find in books and online about the states. It is also the day we make our Thank You Cards for our friends in that state who sent us the information, map, magnet and list of fun facts. If you want to be one of those friends let me know LOL... Friday is the day we do our worksheet from www.abcteach.comThey color in the flag and write out in complete sentences the three most memorable facts about the state. We also use enchantedlearning.com for geography and www.nationalatlas.gov for maps and facts.
The girls are also taking sign language. They use Micky Flodin's Books and Signing Time videos. We have all of the videos and 4 of the books now. They teach themselves a few (up to 10) new words a day and on Fridays they show me what they have learned. Once a month they put on a show for the folks at the library. The third Thursday of the month is Seniors Night. They write and produce their own "shows" including costumes, music and script. We were going to take a class with other homeschoolers but it wouldn't work into our schedule. We do try ot attemd some of the field trips if not classes with the other homeschoolers in the area. Mostly for my sanity. I have made some wonderful friends within the two groups we belong to.
Coco also takes a creative writing class on Wednesday nights at the same library. We do weekly creative writing projects as well. Each month we focus on a type of writing (i.e. Legends, poetry, fables, fairy tales...) This month we are doing poetry. I have gotten the girls to write a poem a day whether it be
M-makes me breakfast
O-outstanding reader
M-makes me lunch
M-Makes me dinner
Y-Yells when I don't do my work (written by Nahco age 14)
to
Roses are Red
Violets are Blue
Lola stinks
Exactly like Poo (by Coco age 8)
Nacho is my 8th or 9th grader. He is 14 years old. He has PTSD and is moody and sullen most of the time. He pretty much hates all schooling except his World Studies. He takes Japanese Anime, Cooking Classes, Boy Scouts, Fusion Classes and Guitar Lessons. Nacho is a huge help to me when it comes to almost everything not school related. He babysits, does laundry, dishes, takes care of the pets... He just hates school. He hates writing anything out.
We use alot of text books bought online for Nacho. Once a week I write out assignments on his sheet and once a week, I read what he finished. Some weeks, we redo what was done the week before.In math we are beginning Algebra. We are talking about Quadratic Equations. I use the book(s) and the white board to try to explain them. We also use www.aaamath.com and www.aaaknow.com Im science we are talking about matter. We also have a few science text books and a workbook. I love www.amazon.comThat is where I get most of my books. We also have this great book Middle School Science Experiments. Nacho loves randomly picking out an experiment and doing it.
Instead of regular old geography, Nahco is doing a World Study. Each month he focuses on a new place in the world and studies their Mythology, Religion, Foods, Languages, Herb Lore, Politics (which he hates) and History (again he hates) We cook their foods, research recipes, listen to and view their languages (www.youtube.com is excellent for this!), and attempt to discuss their politics. We also have our own version of lap-booking. Nacho Has specific binders for Herb Lore and Mythology. Each week or so he adds more pages from what he is learning. For Herb Lore he puts them in a usage category. For Mythology they are ordered by regions. This month is Japan.
Nacho also studies Wicca and takes classes monthly at a local pagan store. These are the highlight of his month! www.spiritapothecary.com The owner Matt teaches classes on incense making (this month was Samhaim incense including all of the herb lore) He also helps Nacho from home. I love this store!! Check them out. Saturday the owners held a pot luck dinner that was geared to helping me homeschool. Regional foods, regional music, regional herb lore and mythology books... even regional jewelery! I cant help but advertise for them. LOL
Nacho and Lola also take Spanish both online and with books. We use www.livemocha.com, Rosetta Stone and Ariba! This is one of their chosen independent studies.As well as Nacho's World Studies cooking, Nahco, Lola and Coco all take "home ec" This means they cook for the family two or three times a week. This is everything from muffins (from a box) to full dinners for their grandparents. I belong to a group on www.Cafemom.com called the Cooking Cafe. You can check it out for a list of what they will be making this week and recipes.
If you have found the gaps, yes, I don't make Nacho take a Language Arts. He is required to read and dissect short stories, poems, plays and what not. Its like pulling teeth from an angry croc. We do all his Language Arts work out loud, over dinner most nights.
One top of all of this, all three of the older children are required to read 30 minutes each day and log what they have read (with a summary) in their reading logs. They choose their own books for the most part. www.bookadventures.comhelped alot!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Holy Crap its Ocotber 8th!
I am a bad bad blogger. I think about you dear blog, I really do. Then my world crowds in around me and silly things like actually homeschooling my children take precedence. Seriously we have been busy. We have fought illnesses, braved making new friends, watched Gabe at his attempts with dating (which Hello he isnt allowed to date!) We have been grounded, gone on job interviews for jobs we dont want, lost a tooth, gotten haircuts... I wont promise to write more often cause I hate breaking promises. I will try to be a bit more consistent though.
Fifi:
In the past two weeks, Fifi my darling Fifi has master Addition with gummy bears, skittles, Care Bears and is now.. completely out of order, working with money. She gets it. She hasnt really ever worked with subtraction but to her money makes sense (cents LOL I am so tired I am slap happy)
Fifi is also working with more three letter spelling words. She insists on doing the same things Coco does so she is trying to write sentences, put them in ABC order and do a crossword puzzle. Umm, yeah, shes 4. She cant write sentences, ABC order requires ALOT of help and I can't make crossword puzzles with 3 lettered words. If anyone knows a site that will let me, tell me.
All three of my girls are also going to be in a play next month. Lola got one of the leads and Coco got a decent part and Fifi is grouped with all the other preschoolers in the play. We have rehearsals three to 5 days a week for the next month. I will youtube the play for those that want to see it.
Coco:
Coco is in the process of learning fractions. We have completed the math facts through the 12's table and are working on moving on to the wonderful world of fractions. My mom bought this great kit a few weeks ago and Coco was so excited to break it out. Its called Five Fun Ways to Learn Fractions and Decimals. I think she got it at the Christmas Tree Shop.
Since Mimi has stopped coming here, Coco has done so much better with her spelling and language arts. We are working with punctuation in Language Arts but in three days she was though periods and such. She is working on semi colons, commas, and quotation marks now. I am using the CC for most of it. I love our Comprehensive Curriculum guides. I bought new ones for next year and the year after for Coco and Fifi. Lola wants to go to public school next year.
In Science we are revisiting the formations of the planet. Apparently, Coco was distracted the first time. We are doing it over again as we start our chapter on lithospheres. We started working with matter but she knew it as well as I did so we went backwards for a bit.
We are finally on Delaware. The girls insisted we actually study Connecticut. They liked the easy week LOL. We made art projects of historical moments in CT history. We looked up all of our friends and family on the maps. We talked about the land forms that we had been too, the state parks, the beaches, the mountains... Now we are on Delaware.
Both of the older girls are now taking ASL as an independent study. I have provided them the books and videos and they are learning with each other. Once a week, they show me what they have learned.
Coco is also taking a new creative writing class at the library. She loves it!
Lola:
Lola has started fractions again too. We are reviewing adding and subtracting fractions from last year before we start the tough stuff.
Her spelling is damned near perfect as always. They are all still using http://www.aaaspell.com/ and http://www.theteacherscorner.net/ for most of our spelling needs. I love that aaaspell puts all of my work together for me and theteacherscorner lets me make crossword puzzles, word scrambles, word searches, math sheets and more...
We are working on the nervous system in Science now. It is not as easy as I thought it would be. I have been searching online for a body systems workbook. There are very little printable work for certain systems so we are just reading and talking about it. I have had to read the work first and make my own worksheets for her. A few of our sites have some printables like http://www.enchantedlearning.com/ and even theteacherscorner. Todd also went online and found some National Geographic specials on the human body. If anyone has any ideas on how to teach specific systems please let me know. Later this month we are starting the skeletal system, I plan to use the Hannah Montana Bone Dance song lol.
All four kids have been working with poetry this month. We worked on legends last month. The girls each wrote 2 legends and this month they have written a million poems. I have everything from
M-Makes me breakfast
O-Outstanding reader
M-Makes me lunch
M-makes me dinner
Y-Why because she love us.
Roses are red
Violets are blue
Lola stinks
Just like poo
We are now reading Shel Silverstien with Fifi and Coco and Emily Dickenson with Lola. Nacho is reading Poe but not saying much about what he is reading. I would hate to ruin poetry for him but quizzing him.
Lola is also learning Spanish, ASL and Creative Writing independently. I get some great stuff from her when I don't tell her what to do. I wish that worked with all of them but alas, I have Nacho...
Nachos entire homeschooled day comes from the text books we bought online. Every Sunday I sit down and review the work he did do independently and write out his next weeks schedule. He also spends about three hours every Sunday catching up and finishing the work he didn't do. This system, as much as it drives the controlling neat freak in me crazy, works for him. He understands the work. He asks questions and is actually doing quite well. It drives me nutty that he does it all in one day but hey... whatever works right?
I know he is working on quadratic expressions, properties of matter, Vikings, Norse mythology, building an herbal remedy for eczema (which he has) and poetry. He isn't writing any but he is reading them and I honestly think that is more important.
He working on 6 to 8 Spanish verbs a week in three tenses and making sentences that make sense on weekends. He is using some of the http://www.livemocha.com/ stuff and some Rosetta Stone but not much, he doesn't like them.
All in all, we are finally making some friends here. We have been able to get out and go on a homeschool field trip with them. Nacho has a sudeo girlfriend who is also not allowed to date. Lola loves the whole play thing and being the center of attention. Coco loves her creative writing class and roller skating. When asked what her favorite part of the writing class she replied, no one else from our family is there... And Fifi loves her art projects and roller skating. She is also loving the fact that we got for her all of the Disney classics on DVD so she can watch movies that seem like old hat to us but sadly they are all new to her. She loves Robin Hood and Cinderella. Who knew she had never seen them?
Fifi:
In the past two weeks, Fifi my darling Fifi has master Addition with gummy bears, skittles, Care Bears and is now.. completely out of order, working with money. She gets it. She hasnt really ever worked with subtraction but to her money makes sense (cents LOL I am so tired I am slap happy)
Fifi is also working with more three letter spelling words. She insists on doing the same things Coco does so she is trying to write sentences, put them in ABC order and do a crossword puzzle. Umm, yeah, shes 4. She cant write sentences, ABC order requires ALOT of help and I can't make crossword puzzles with 3 lettered words. If anyone knows a site that will let me, tell me.
All three of my girls are also going to be in a play next month. Lola got one of the leads and Coco got a decent part and Fifi is grouped with all the other preschoolers in the play. We have rehearsals three to 5 days a week for the next month. I will youtube the play for those that want to see it.
Coco:
Coco is in the process of learning fractions. We have completed the math facts through the 12's table and are working on moving on to the wonderful world of fractions. My mom bought this great kit a few weeks ago and Coco was so excited to break it out. Its called Five Fun Ways to Learn Fractions and Decimals. I think she got it at the Christmas Tree Shop.
Since Mimi has stopped coming here, Coco has done so much better with her spelling and language arts. We are working with punctuation in Language Arts but in three days she was though periods and such. She is working on semi colons, commas, and quotation marks now. I am using the CC for most of it. I love our Comprehensive Curriculum guides. I bought new ones for next year and the year after for Coco and Fifi. Lola wants to go to public school next year.
In Science we are revisiting the formations of the planet. Apparently, Coco was distracted the first time. We are doing it over again as we start our chapter on lithospheres. We started working with matter but she knew it as well as I did so we went backwards for a bit.
We are finally on Delaware. The girls insisted we actually study Connecticut. They liked the easy week LOL. We made art projects of historical moments in CT history. We looked up all of our friends and family on the maps. We talked about the land forms that we had been too, the state parks, the beaches, the mountains... Now we are on Delaware.
Both of the older girls are now taking ASL as an independent study. I have provided them the books and videos and they are learning with each other. Once a week, they show me what they have learned.
Coco is also taking a new creative writing class at the library. She loves it!
Lola:
Lola has started fractions again too. We are reviewing adding and subtracting fractions from last year before we start the tough stuff.
Her spelling is damned near perfect as always. They are all still using http://www.aaaspell.com/ and http://www.theteacherscorner.net/ for most of our spelling needs. I love that aaaspell puts all of my work together for me and theteacherscorner lets me make crossword puzzles, word scrambles, word searches, math sheets and more...
We are working on the nervous system in Science now. It is not as easy as I thought it would be. I have been searching online for a body systems workbook. There are very little printable work for certain systems so we are just reading and talking about it. I have had to read the work first and make my own worksheets for her. A few of our sites have some printables like http://www.enchantedlearning.com/ and even theteacherscorner. Todd also went online and found some National Geographic specials on the human body. If anyone has any ideas on how to teach specific systems please let me know. Later this month we are starting the skeletal system, I plan to use the Hannah Montana Bone Dance song lol.
All four kids have been working with poetry this month. We worked on legends last month. The girls each wrote 2 legends and this month they have written a million poems. I have everything from
M-Makes me breakfast
O-Outstanding reader
M-Makes me lunch
M-makes me dinner
Y-Why because she love us.
Roses are red
Violets are blue
Lola stinks
Just like poo
We are now reading Shel Silverstien with Fifi and Coco and Emily Dickenson with Lola. Nacho is reading Poe but not saying much about what he is reading. I would hate to ruin poetry for him but quizzing him.
Lola is also learning Spanish, ASL and Creative Writing independently. I get some great stuff from her when I don't tell her what to do. I wish that worked with all of them but alas, I have Nacho...
Nachos entire homeschooled day comes from the text books we bought online. Every Sunday I sit down and review the work he did do independently and write out his next weeks schedule. He also spends about three hours every Sunday catching up and finishing the work he didn't do. This system, as much as it drives the controlling neat freak in me crazy, works for him. He understands the work. He asks questions and is actually doing quite well. It drives me nutty that he does it all in one day but hey... whatever works right?
I know he is working on quadratic expressions, properties of matter, Vikings, Norse mythology, building an herbal remedy for eczema (which he has) and poetry. He isn't writing any but he is reading them and I honestly think that is more important.
He working on 6 to 8 Spanish verbs a week in three tenses and making sentences that make sense on weekends. He is using some of the http://www.livemocha.com/ stuff and some Rosetta Stone but not much, he doesn't like them.
All in all, we are finally making some friends here. We have been able to get out and go on a homeschool field trip with them. Nacho has a sudeo girlfriend who is also not allowed to date. Lola loves the whole play thing and being the center of attention. Coco loves her creative writing class and roller skating. When asked what her favorite part of the writing class she replied, no one else from our family is there... And Fifi loves her art projects and roller skating. She is also loving the fact that we got for her all of the Disney classics on DVD so she can watch movies that seem like old hat to us but sadly they are all new to her. She loves Robin Hood and Cinderella. Who knew she had never seen them?
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