Learning about magnets on Science Day.
Using the "force" to move the paper-clip.
On the day that the kids in this county head out for their first day of school we are wrapping up our fourth week of school. So it seems like a good time to reflect.
I feel like we are hitting a good stride. I am comfortable and familiar enough with the curriculum that preparation time is pretty minimal now, and I have a good system going. We also have a good feel for how long it takes to complete the work (about 2 hours) so it continues to be do-able and fits well into our days.
The first 2 weeks I had pretty much cleared our schedule and we stayed at home. That was actually a welcome and relaxing break for us! The attitude in the house was very calm and relaxed. About 2 weeks ago our schedule started to get busier with the addition of other activities. This has made it feel like we need to "fit in" school or "get it over with" so that we can do other things. I don't really like that attitude toward our school time. So I may have to do some re-evaluation of our daily activities. I understand that there are going to be some weeks that are busier than others, but I also think that I have some influence on the mood that is set in the house by choosing how busy we are going to be.
Here is a brief rundown of each subject:
Math - Jeremiah can pretty much do all his math work on his own. We have completed 19 lessons. The Horizons math program is based on repetition and building on concepts in small steps. At first I thought this might bore Jeremiah but he seems ok with it. I like that he can work through it on his own, do a test every 10 lessons, and I can see that he is not missing any foundational concepts.
Core (History, Geography, Social Studies, Read-Alouds) - We love the Sonlight Core materials! So far we have studied the first civilizations of Mesopotamia (Sumer), Egypt, Crete, India & Babylon. We have also learned about the science of Archeology. We have read Charlotte's Web and Homer Price and are now on Mr. Popper's Penguins. The boys love read aloud time. They beg to do the vocabulary words and are content to listen to me read until my voice gets hoarse. We also love learning about other countries by reading a book called Missionary Stories with the Millers.
Language Arts - Consists of copywork, 10 spelling words each week, learning a rule of grammar, then doing some creative writing to put the rule into practice. Nice bite sized pieces of work each day with a good mix of the practical and creative. Jeremiah also does A Reason for Handwriting work each afternoon while Nathaniel naps.
Science - We finish all our other work by Thursday and reserve Friday for Science. The past 3 weeks we have been learning about magnets. The boys watch a few short experiments on a DVD then do the experiments themselves. Jeremiah has a science notebook that he writes all his observations in. We are also learning about animals through a combination of books and computer fun.
The most challenging thing for me is remembering to keep things fun and flexible yet also consistent. But I love watching the kids learn, and learning along with them.
I feel like we are hitting a good stride. I am comfortable and familiar enough with the curriculum that preparation time is pretty minimal now, and I have a good system going. We also have a good feel for how long it takes to complete the work (about 2 hours) so it continues to be do-able and fits well into our days.
The first 2 weeks I had pretty much cleared our schedule and we stayed at home. That was actually a welcome and relaxing break for us! The attitude in the house was very calm and relaxed. About 2 weeks ago our schedule started to get busier with the addition of other activities. This has made it feel like we need to "fit in" school or "get it over with" so that we can do other things. I don't really like that attitude toward our school time. So I may have to do some re-evaluation of our daily activities. I understand that there are going to be some weeks that are busier than others, but I also think that I have some influence on the mood that is set in the house by choosing how busy we are going to be.
Here is a brief rundown of each subject:
Math - Jeremiah can pretty much do all his math work on his own. We have completed 19 lessons. The Horizons math program is based on repetition and building on concepts in small steps. At first I thought this might bore Jeremiah but he seems ok with it. I like that he can work through it on his own, do a test every 10 lessons, and I can see that he is not missing any foundational concepts.
Core (History, Geography, Social Studies, Read-Alouds) - We love the Sonlight Core materials! So far we have studied the first civilizations of Mesopotamia (Sumer), Egypt, Crete, India & Babylon. We have also learned about the science of Archeology. We have read Charlotte's Web and Homer Price and are now on Mr. Popper's Penguins. The boys love read aloud time. They beg to do the vocabulary words and are content to listen to me read until my voice gets hoarse. We also love learning about other countries by reading a book called Missionary Stories with the Millers.
Language Arts - Consists of copywork, 10 spelling words each week, learning a rule of grammar, then doing some creative writing to put the rule into practice. Nice bite sized pieces of work each day with a good mix of the practical and creative. Jeremiah also does A Reason for Handwriting work each afternoon while Nathaniel naps.
Science - We finish all our other work by Thursday and reserve Friday for Science. The past 3 weeks we have been learning about magnets. The boys watch a few short experiments on a DVD then do the experiments themselves. Jeremiah has a science notebook that he writes all his observations in. We are also learning about animals through a combination of books and computer fun.
The most challenging thing for me is remembering to keep things fun and flexible yet also consistent. But I love watching the kids learn, and learning along with them.
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