Weekly Report~ February 6, 2009

Another week has flown by in the blink of an eye. I have no new photos to share and nothing very exciting to report~ yup, it's definitely February. D did unit 2 in his new math book, and seems to be enjoying it so far. He especially likes the exercises that have you figure out a problem and then spell out a secret code. He completed his ETC book 2 and will be starting book 3 next Monday (or possibly today, we'll see how it goes). We're reading about Mexico but didn't get to it as much as I would've liked to. I'm hoping to catch up a bit over the weekend. His handwriting is improving.....slowly..... as long as he concentrates while writing his letters.

As for the rest of the family, DH enjoyed his trip to Florida with his father and came home with fun goodies for everyone. He gave D a real, working pirate pocket watch that thrilled D to pieces. It's also been useful in teaching D more about telling time. B has been flourishing lately in so many ways, especially with his wanting to "write" in his notebook all day long and scribble pictures. He loves using his scissors and markers (Daddy even had to make a special trip to the store just to buy him more since his wore out), and continues to love play-doh. As for me?? Well, LOST has started again, I finally dug out my scrapbook supplies and photos (first time since before the holidays), and I sold my first item ever on Ebay. Nothing too exciting, but like I said, it's February in New England.

Weekly Report~ January 30, 2009

And the snow just keeps on coming!! We had a 'snow day' on Wednesday and spent the day building Zoobs, reading the rest of The Invention of Hugo Cabret (part one), and playing in the snow. I haven't been keeping up with my weekly reports lately due to transitioning to my new (awesome) computer. I am now located downstairs right in the middle of all the action, which I love. But I've yet to install Word, Excel, and my photo software..... which are the three main things I use for recording/planning our school and blogging. In the meantime, I've snuck back upstairs to the old computer in hopes of posting a quick report.

D continues to show great progress in reading. It has come so naturally for him, and for that I am grateful. He has completed his Singapore EarlyBird 2B workbook, so yesterday we began first grade math (Singapore Primary Math 1A standards edition). I want him to master his math facts before proceeding to the next level, but he gets bored and frustrated with too much repetition. So we spent two weeks playing math games, finishing up EB 2B, and doing some worksheets before jumping into our new book. D really enjoyed our unit on outer space, but to my surprise B has become fascinated with all things space as well. He proclaimed he wants to be an astronaut when he grows up, builds Lego spaceships all day long, and often wants me to read space books throughout the day. It's fun to see his personality taking shape and his interests developing.

The rest of the week we spent going to homeschool gym class, finishing up D's Explode the Code 2 workbook, working on handwriting, and reading Hugo Cabret (D loves loves loves this book.... thank you Uncle K and Uncle C). It is truly the most unique, captivating read aloud we've ever done and it has inspired D to find a little notebook and fill it with sketches and 'secrets' of all kinds.

Weekly Report~ January 16, 2009

I came downstairs yesterday morning to find the boys side by side, D playing his Leapster and B "working on my computer" as he would say. If you know my kids, you would realize how rare moments like this are. Although they *do* seem to be happening a bit more often lately. After awhile I told D to turn off his game and get ready for school. He said, "Just one more game, mom. Besides, I'm doing math so this IS school". I couldn't argue with that logic, and gave in to the 'just one more game' request.

This week of school has been fantastic. I'm not quite sure why the change in attitude, but D has done his work quickly and neatly. When he puts his mind to it, his lessons get done in less than an hour. Maybe he's finally realizing that when his work gets done, it leaves more time for playing. Another difference this week is that we started a homeschool gym class. It meets twice a week for 1.5 hours at a time. I think getting out of the house, being around other kids, and running around playing sports for a few hours was just what the boys needed to burn off all that pent-up energy that's been brewing.

Here's a summary of our week:

Handwriting~ Cc, Dd, Ee
ETC~ Lesson 8, began Lesson 9
Reading~ OPG Lesson 85-87; LSLF "Funny Ann"
Math~ P.66, Lesson 18, Review 1, Power Math Unit 11 (p. 211-213)
Social Studies~ Read Bimwili & The Zimwi; Mirandy and Brother Wind with narration; mapwork
Science~ Began unit on Astronomy: Read Sun, Moon and Stars and crafts (made a space telescope)
Music~ Listened to classical music and The Musical Life of Gustav Mole book/CD
Religion~ Bible stories

Weekly Report~ January 9, 2009

Our first week back to school after a couple weeks off for the holidays was filled with activity. Admittedly, Monday was disasterous. D wanted nothing to do with anything even remotely related to school. Somehow we managed to get through that day, and the rest of the week flew by. We spent an afternoon at the Children's Museum where D played with anyone and everyone while B played on the computer designing kaleidoscopic images. Wednesday and Thursday were snowy days so we had some much-needed outdoor time in between lessons.

We are currently studying Africa and the boys really seem to be enjoying the stories as well as the African Playground CD I've been playing for them. D especially enjoyed By The Baobab Tree (book on CD with accompanying song) by John Archambault, so we expanded on his interest by making our own baobab tree and putting on a show with our new puppet theater. I love being able to go off on little tangents now and again when D shows excitement about something.
As for the core subjects, D is reviewing counting by 10's to 100, simple addition, and money. He continues to read from OPG, about a page per day. This week he learned about "ai" blends, along with homophones such as made/maid and plane/plain. And finally, he continues working through his handwriting book and ETC (phonics).

Homeschoolers Don't Get Snow Days

Winter has hit New England hard this year, resulting in an abundance of power outages, icy roads, and snow days for the school kids. It's a nice feeling to wake up to a blizzard and not have to worry about whether or not school is cancelled, and how dangerous the roads will be. We just carry on with our day as usual~ play a bit in the morning, get ready for the day, do some schoolwork, take a break, eat some lunch, do some more work and then play, play, play. This week we spent a generous amount of time outdoors, which is so refreshing after being cooped up inside so much last month. The boys got these nifty snow toys for Christmas and they spent an entire afternoon building forts and perfecting the art of snowball making (and throwing). The weather is calling for more snow flurries today and tomorrow, and I say, "Bring it on!"

Not Even January and....

It's not even January and we've already blown through the two large bins I filled with "junk" for the boys to use for arts & crafts, inventions or whatever creation they're currently contemplating. Items that were meant to last throughout the long winter months, to come in handy on those (many) bitter days when it's too cold to go outside and we've run out of ideas for indoor play. Items that took me all summer to save---empty plastic fruit jars, yogurt containers, oatmeal containers, juice bottles, lids, toilet paper/paper towel tubes, and cardboard of all shapes and sizes---have all been given new life in the form of pirate ships (see photo), rockets, airplanes, houses and boats. I love when the boys let their creativity and imaginations guide them in their play. Especially when it's a joint effort like it was today, with a lot of sharing of ideas and materials and virtually no arguing or physical combat. The problem arises after they've gone to bed and DH and I are tripping over everything, wondering where to keep all of their "stuff". Exactly what IS the protocol for how long one should keep a rocket-house-that-turns-into-a-submarine before sneaking it into the trash, while the owner is sleeping, and still be considered a good parent??

It's That Time of Year

Warm up a mug of milk, stir in 2-3 tablespoons of milk chocolate flavored Ovaltine, toss in a small handful of Hershey's semi-sweet chocolate chips, and top with as many mini marshmallows as you can fit. It's time to kick back and enjoy the holidays.

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas~ Keep warm, healthy, and enjoy the unfolding of 2009!!