Sunday, September 28, 2014

Week 8

A glimpse at week 8:




We spent a lot of time OUTSIDE this week! Lyndie is getting harder and harder to .....corral during our school days. We've found if we move the classroom outside that she will play and we can get school work done!




 Picking up Sissy from co-op class - checking out the slide!




Xander finished reading Adam of the Road this week. His job for literature class was the "Summarizer." He had a graphic organizer where he wrote the key ideas from the chapters for this week.


What would you and your favorite character talk about if you were to meet?

                My favorite character is Adam. Adam is my favorite character because he has been really nice throughout the book, he loves and cares for his family, and he is loyal to his dog.  I think we would talk about music. I have always wanted to learn how to play an instrument. Adam is a minstrel so he plays his harp and sings for everyone.  I think we would have a good conversation. Maybe I would ask him if I could join him and Roger on their adventures.   If Adam and I were to meet, we would not only have a good conversation, but also an exciting journey! 



 On Tuesdays, while Kaelee is at co-op, these two are best buddies!

 Lyndie got her first cold of the season this week. Friday, we ran her to the chiropractor for an adjustment. She likes to fill out paperwork!

 Latin is Kaelee's favorite subject. She makes a flashcard for every vocabulary word they study. She keeps them alphabetized in her flashcard box. She spreads them out when she reviews and randomly chooses cards to quiz herself on. We also use quizlet online as a study aid.




 Friday morning geography!




Weekly library trip







 Kaelee's girl scout meeting was cancelled this week due to illness and we used the time to do some shopping!

 


 We finished the weekend celebrating Lyndie's half birthday!









Week 7

A glimpse at Week 7:

 Friday we work on geography - all together after breakfast. Both Kaelee and Xander are working on drawing and labeling a world map. We started with a blackline master and they label the continents and the oceans.

Kaelee and Xander are also both working on labeling a USA blackline map and knowing all the state capitals.

In addition to the family geography, Kaelee is working on Central America this week - labeling the countries, capitals and major landforms/features.


Lyndie insists on doing school when we do - so she worked on her letters this week.


Another family goal that we are working on is our multiplication facts - and the speed. During the week both kids practice with flashcards. On Fridays, they take timed tests. I may be using their competitive natures to my advantage in this area!


This week in Science, Kaelee studied mollusks. We pulled out a picture of our Saint Simons trip from a few years ago. At the touch tank, she was able to explore different mollusks.

 This week we had several "technology free" days. The kids did a great job of entertaining themselves without screens. I see this definitely being a part of our week from now on.



 A week wouldn't be complete without a trip to the library! We are regulars.

 We made a stop to register Xander for basketball this week and decided to enjoy the beautiful weather at the park.

Lyndie was paticularly excited about the ducks! She kept chasing them yelling "QUACK!"


On Tuesdays, when we pick Kaelee up from co-op classes, we often get out of the car and enjoy the playground. Lyndie yells "SWING" the minute she sees the church.

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Week 6

This week deserves a "I survived week 6!" t-shirt. 



Kaelee and I are REALLY working on time management skills. Her very laid back, mellow approach to life is fabulous. However, it means every assignment can drag on for HOURS. And not productive meaningful hours, just distracted, all over the place hours. 

We decided that next week we are going to try a "timer approach." I'm going to pick up some timers during our Walmart run this evening. We are going to set the timer for one hour at the beginning of each subject. Her goal is to finish WITH time remaining so she can study and review the material. 



Xman is reading Adam of the Road. This week we got to the conflict which he says makes the book much more interesting!

He was excited to be the discussion director in Literature class this week. That meant as we prepared for his class, he had to record possible discussion questions to lead his group in answering. He took his role very seriously and did a great job.

Each week he writes a "reader response" paragraph for class. I'm really proud of how well thought out his responses are. Here is his choice for this week:

        My favorite scene is when Adam goes back for Roger. Roger and Adam were both looking for Nick in Guilford.  Adam sees Nick and then runs off after him. By the time Roger could turn his head, Adam was already gone. Adam chased Jenkin, who had Nick, for a long time until they got to the ferry. He then jumps in and swims until he falls on land. When he wakes the next morning, he goes to look for Roger.

 This was the most interesting part of the book to me. I think Adam went back for Roger because he is caring and did not want to leave his dad behind. It would have been easier for Adam to keep going after Nick, the dog. I enjoyed reading this scene because it was exciting.


We are working on Lyndie's napping skills but she's not a fan.


This week Kaelee is studying trees in science. She chose two topics to investigate - "how do you identify trees?" and "what is one tree that is significant to me?"

She used the Field Guide to Trees of North America to research how you identify different types of trees.

For her significant to me tree, she chose the Banyan Tree. When we visited Legoland, we saw one within the portion that used to be Cypress Gardens.



In history, Xander created a salt dough map of the Byzantine Empire focusing on the location of the Dead Sea and other key features.


A big part of our week is baseball! Xman is enjoying playing for the Angels. He had two games this week.



His biggest fan chose to wear her new batgirl costume to the game to cheer him on!


We found this treasure at our local thrift store - new addition for recess!


 We make at least one trip to the library each week - this week we went 3 times. Yes, 3 times. My readers were racing through their books!


Lyndie does school right along with us - she's a natural homeschooler!



For Science this week we talked about how perfectly we are made. Xander was challenged to tape 3 of his fingers together on both hands and go about his daily activities. How did this change how he approached his daily chores? I heard the word chores and immediately thought - wow, I love this experiment. Find the vacuum!




Saturday, September 6, 2014

Mount Vesuvius Erupts!


One of the topics Xander studied in history this week was Pompeii, and the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

Who can study that without creating their own volcano?


First he built a mountain around an empty water bottle.


 Using a funnel, he added baking soda.

 Then dish soap.


We added a little red food coloring, and then the distilled white vinegar.

And stand back!


Mount Vesuvius erupted. We talked about how at first it was a slow eruption so some people's lives were spared as they had time to escape.

But eventually, it covered all of Pompeii - buried it.


Week 5

 We started out our week taking a half day off for Labor Day. With both Kaelee and Xander having classes outside the house this year, we have a weekly schedule that we have to stick with or else we get too far behind! Both kids worked on some larger projects so there wouldn't as much left for the remainder of the week, and then we enjoyed the rest of the day as a family.


Pool party Labor Day weekend




Tuesday we made our weekly library stop. Kaelee had a book club meeting and we took snacks and made an afternoon of it! 



Xman checked out some new joke books to keep us on our toes!


We enjoyed a nice snack at the picnic table right outside the library.


Lyndie is very much into exploring new places - she was fascinated with the wooden structure behind the picnic table.



Thursday it RAINED. That awesome summer afternoon kind of rain. So, what else was there to do? 

PLAY IN IT! 







Mid week Kaelee went on a field trip with some friends to the Michael C. Carlos Museum. They enjoyed the museum tour, a scavenger hunt and then an afternoon of picnicking and swimming and fellowship. 




Keeping Lyndie entertained during school hours has become a full time job. We divided her toys into baskets and rooms and try to rotate her through them each day - taking turns who plays animals, reads books, colors, etc.


Friday mornings we do geography all together through map drawing. Everyone (including me!) practices their map drawing skills. This week Kaelee is working on being able to sketch the entire United States, each state/capital and all major landforms/features. Xander and I are still working on the 7 continents and oceans!




Lyndie's new phrase is "me too." This week she got her own pencil box and spiral notebook. When we do school, "me too" does too!



For our fun Friday activity this week we played Multiplication Monsters of the Deep. It is sort of like go fish - in that you ask other players for the missing cards you need, and draw from the pile if they say "go fish." I like that it presents the "missing information" in different ways.

Such as:

9 X ____ = 45

or ___ X 4 = 12

In the first example, I would ask "do you have an orange 5 (the blanks are color coded in the game)?

Or, do you have a green 3 in the second example.