This last week was a little crazy, and we did not get a lot done. Oh well! We did do a couple math lessons, and some Get Ready for the Code. OPGTTR and Art did not make the cut. :)
We did do our science lesson. Yeah! We are still learning about forests, and this week we focused on moose. We read all about them, and then K colored a picture and told me her favorite thing about moose. I write this under the picture that she colors, and I know I am going to love looking back at these. She says some really random things sometimes! Later in the week we read If You Give A Moose A Muffin, and made a moose puppet. (I'll put a picture up tomorrow; it's so cute!) She loved this and she is still playing with it days later. She now wants to make a princess puppet, so I am going to figure that out this week.
This upcoming week will be even more crazy than last week, so we shall see what we are able to accomplish. I figure as long as we read everyday, then we're good! I had luckily planned to take a week off soon, so we can catch up a little then on other things if we want to.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Week 8
This week went alright. I don't know why, but by Thursday I was feeling done for the week. I think it may have had to do with the fact that I didn't have a printer to print out my plans for the week. Sad that I need that, but I think it may have helped with my motivation. I really hate when there is a box I can't check off!
READING
My daughter does not like OPGTTR. I can't say that I really do either. I want to, but I'm not sure it is going to work for us. She is much more of a worksheet girl then a listening girl. I was hoping it would improve her listening skills, but I think she is just bored. I decided on Friday to skip ahead to lesson 27 where the reading actually begins. She was a little more interested, but still resistant. I think we may be taking a little break from this and then try again in a few weeks.
MATH
This week she started counting to 20. She is doing pretty good, but will sometimes mix up numbers 14 - 16. We continued review of number 7, and did some fun games that are in the Abeka K4 numbers curriculum.
PHONICS
She started the Get Set for the Code B book on Monday and finished the first letter (P) on Friday. She loves doing this book, and I usually have to make her stop. This is why I am thinking I may need a reading program that is a little more hands on and worksheet oriented. I may give Abeka a try, since I already have the workbook (the numbers one included the LA as well). I just need to get the teachers manual.
SCIENCE
This week we continued learning about forests, and focused on the forest floor. K made a page in her notebook about hedgehogs. We looked them up in our animal encyclopedia, and read a few books from the library about hedgehogs.
ART
We didn't do anything this week. :O
SONLIGHT
We read one book a day from Sonlight P3/4, and then read books from the library and our own library. This week we only read our Monday and Tuesday books (Baby Looks from Eloise Wilkin's Stories and A Boy, A Dog, and a Frog), and of course lots of fairy books!
Hopefully, next week I will get some more of the fun stuff done. I have a new printer, so I will have a better chance!
READING
My daughter does not like OPGTTR. I can't say that I really do either. I want to, but I'm not sure it is going to work for us. She is much more of a worksheet girl then a listening girl. I was hoping it would improve her listening skills, but I think she is just bored. I decided on Friday to skip ahead to lesson 27 where the reading actually begins. She was a little more interested, but still resistant. I think we may be taking a little break from this and then try again in a few weeks.
MATH
This week she started counting to 20. She is doing pretty good, but will sometimes mix up numbers 14 - 16. We continued review of number 7, and did some fun games that are in the Abeka K4 numbers curriculum.
PHONICS
She started the Get Set for the Code B book on Monday and finished the first letter (P) on Friday. She loves doing this book, and I usually have to make her stop. This is why I am thinking I may need a reading program that is a little more hands on and worksheet oriented. I may give Abeka a try, since I already have the workbook (the numbers one included the LA as well). I just need to get the teachers manual.
SCIENCE
This week we continued learning about forests, and focused on the forest floor. K made a page in her notebook about hedgehogs. We looked them up in our animal encyclopedia, and read a few books from the library about hedgehogs.
ART
We didn't do anything this week. :O
SONLIGHT
We read one book a day from Sonlight P3/4, and then read books from the library and our own library. This week we only read our Monday and Tuesday books (Baby Looks from Eloise Wilkin's Stories and A Boy, A Dog, and a Frog), and of course lots of fairy books!
Hopefully, next week I will get some more of the fun stuff done. I have a new printer, so I will have a better chance!
Friday, August 21, 2009
Weeks 2 - 7
My intention was to post at least once a week about what we were doing, but life got in the way...again! Everything is starting to return to normal, so hopefully I will get myself to do a weekly summary.
School has been going great! K is learning so much, and she is really enjoying it. She told me the other day that she was a genius. Of course she is! ;)
This last week I started a new schedule, because I was having a hard time getting going in the morning. So far what we are doing now is working really well. Usually we are all up by 6:30 or 7, so we eat and hang out down stairs for awhile (ie. watch Curious George while I have coffee). At 8 we go upstairs and have calendar time. She puts the number on the calendar for the day and we count up to that number. We then sing the days of the week song, and talk about the weather. So far it has only been sunny, so that hasn't been too exciting. We then play a game or I just turn on music and let them dance around.
Reading
We are using The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading. We finished lesson 15 this week, and will finish reviewing the letter sounds in the next couple of weeks. Once we reach lesson 27, she will start putting the sounds together and actually reading! Once she is reading, we will use BOB and Hooked on Phonics books for practice. (about 10 minutes)
Math
We are using Abeka K4 Numbers curriculum. So far it has just been review for her, but she loves it. Every week or so you learn about a new number, and we just got to number 7. There are a lot of hands on activities along with the workbook. It's definitely more work for me then some other programs would be, but I feel like she will be very prepared for arithmetic after going through this curriculum. We will probably finish it before the year is over, so we will start Singapore Math at that point. (10-15 minutes)
Well, I have run out of time (baby is awake), so I will summarize phonics, science, art, and Sonlight in my next post. Ok, it may take more than one!
School has been going great! K is learning so much, and she is really enjoying it. She told me the other day that she was a genius. Of course she is! ;)
This last week I started a new schedule, because I was having a hard time getting going in the morning. So far what we are doing now is working really well. Usually we are all up by 6:30 or 7, so we eat and hang out down stairs for awhile (ie. watch Curious George while I have coffee). At 8 we go upstairs and have calendar time. She puts the number on the calendar for the day and we count up to that number. We then sing the days of the week song, and talk about the weather. So far it has only been sunny, so that hasn't been too exciting. We then play a game or I just turn on music and let them dance around.
Reading
We are using The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading. We finished lesson 15 this week, and will finish reviewing the letter sounds in the next couple of weeks. Once we reach lesson 27, she will start putting the sounds together and actually reading! Once she is reading, we will use BOB and Hooked on Phonics books for practice. (about 10 minutes)
Math
We are using Abeka K4 Numbers curriculum. So far it has just been review for her, but she loves it. Every week or so you learn about a new number, and we just got to number 7. There are a lot of hands on activities along with the workbook. It's definitely more work for me then some other programs would be, but I feel like she will be very prepared for arithmetic after going through this curriculum. We will probably finish it before the year is over, so we will start Singapore Math at that point. (10-15 minutes)
Well, I have run out of time (baby is awake), so I will summarize phonics, science, art, and Sonlight in my next post. Ok, it may take more than one!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Week 1!
We started preschool on Monday, and it went really well! Here is a little synopsis of what our days/weeks look like.
On Monday, we started the day with Abeka K4 math. It starts out pretty easy (numbers 1-3), but K enjoyed doing the activities. It's very hands on, which is great for her. You actually only use the workbook once or twice a week until later in the year. So far I am very happy I chose this!
We moved on to phonics and reading from there. I had only planned to do 2 or 3 pages in Get Ready for the Code a, but she kept asking to do more. The first day she did 7 pages! I am going to have to hurry up and get the next book. For reading we are using The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading and Hooked on Phonics. I am using both because I am trying to figure out what will be best for her. She keeps asking to learn to read, but then when we sit down with either program she gets very antsy. We are just taking it slow, and eventually she will learn to read...hopefully!
Next on our agenda is science. I just made up a little science curriculum based on the DK First Nature Encyclopedia. Thanks Ruth for giving me the idea to just make it up myself! Basically, we look over each section (2 pages) and talk about it. Then I had her draw a picture of something that we talked about. Later in the week we pick one animal that lives in the area discussed, and learn more about that animal.
In the afternoon, we have read-aloud time. I bought Sonlight P3/4, and I think it will work really well. There are so many great stories in this program, and so far K has liked all of them. There isn't really a curriculum that goes along with this, but there is a list of the books and a little activity you can do with each one. This week we read The Cat Club, Goodnight Moon, Baby Says, and the poem "Singing Time". I try to do read-aloud time for 20 to 30 minutes, so I let her pick whatever stories she wants after our Sonlight story for the day.
We finish the school day with art! She either does a Kumon book or an art project (painting, etc.). Eventually, I will add in some kind of music, but I haven't decided what I want to do yet. I wasn't sure if all of this would be too much, but not counting the read-aloud and the art, it was only 15 - 30 minutes of work per day. :)
On Monday, we started the day with Abeka K4 math. It starts out pretty easy (numbers 1-3), but K enjoyed doing the activities. It's very hands on, which is great for her. You actually only use the workbook once or twice a week until later in the year. So far I am very happy I chose this!
We moved on to phonics and reading from there. I had only planned to do 2 or 3 pages in Get Ready for the Code a, but she kept asking to do more. The first day she did 7 pages! I am going to have to hurry up and get the next book. For reading we are using The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading and Hooked on Phonics. I am using both because I am trying to figure out what will be best for her. She keeps asking to learn to read, but then when we sit down with either program she gets very antsy. We are just taking it slow, and eventually she will learn to read...hopefully!
Next on our agenda is science. I just made up a little science curriculum based on the DK First Nature Encyclopedia. Thanks Ruth for giving me the idea to just make it up myself! Basically, we look over each section (2 pages) and talk about it. Then I had her draw a picture of something that we talked about. Later in the week we pick one animal that lives in the area discussed, and learn more about that animal.
In the afternoon, we have read-aloud time. I bought Sonlight P3/4, and I think it will work really well. There are so many great stories in this program, and so far K has liked all of them. There isn't really a curriculum that goes along with this, but there is a list of the books and a little activity you can do with each one. This week we read The Cat Club, Goodnight Moon, Baby Says, and the poem "Singing Time". I try to do read-aloud time for 20 to 30 minutes, so I let her pick whatever stories she wants after our Sonlight story for the day.
We finish the school day with art! She either does a Kumon book or an art project (painting, etc.). Eventually, I will add in some kind of music, but I haven't decided what I want to do yet. I wasn't sure if all of this would be too much, but not counting the read-aloud and the art, it was only 15 - 30 minutes of work per day. :)
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Preschool
Even though I plan to homeschool, I was going to send my daughter to preschool. I thought it would be nice to have some time alone with my son, and it would give my daughter some time with her friends. BUT with the economy the way it is, it is hard to justify paying $175 a month for something she doesn't really need. She already knows everything she would learn in preschool, so I have decided to officially start the homeschooling journey a year earlier than I had planned.
My daughter, K (I'm not going to use her real name on here since this blog is public), is 3. She loves learning (in short stints), and she needs structure. She is artistic and imaginative, so I want to keep this fun and not overwhelm her. I decided to go with the Sonlight P3/4 program, because it is low key and she loves reading (listening) to stories. We will also be doing all the things I have listed over there in my curriculum list, but at most 10 min/3 times a week. I will be posting every week about what we are doing, how I like the curriculum I am using, and on how K is progressing. I am a planner, so I will write about what I plan to do in the future as well.
My goals for this year are:
- she will be reading on her own by the end of the school year (May '10)
- her attention span will be longer
- she will have mastered numbers 11 -20 (she is really good up to 12 right now)
We are going to start on July 6, and I am very excited to get going on this adventure!
My daughter, K (I'm not going to use her real name on here since this blog is public), is 3. She loves learning (in short stints), and she needs structure. She is artistic and imaginative, so I want to keep this fun and not overwhelm her. I decided to go with the Sonlight P3/4 program, because it is low key and she loves reading (listening) to stories. We will also be doing all the things I have listed over there in my curriculum list, but at most 10 min/3 times a week. I will be posting every week about what we are doing, how I like the curriculum I am using, and on how K is progressing. I am a planner, so I will write about what I plan to do in the future as well.
My goals for this year are:
- she will be reading on her own by the end of the school year (May '10)
- her attention span will be longer
- she will have mastered numbers 11 -20 (she is really good up to 12 right now)
We are going to start on July 6, and I am very excited to get going on this adventure!
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