Workboxes 4/24

Box #1 - Getting to the last part of Bambi by Felix Salton

Box #2 - Nature Study!  Today we studied squirrels and fern fronds.

We read about Feisty the Squirrel in our Ecojournals and the illistration on the side made Logan ask questions. 

It was such a PERFECT time to ask about fern fronds that I made him put his rainboots back on come out and look at our ferns.  The fronds are different…  They do not curl quite as much as the ones in the book, but they were still really fun to look at!

Cyan found a safe spot from the rain under the eves and drew a beautiful picture of our broken cherry tree that is currently blooming.

Box #3: Into the Forest game of food chains!  Both kids thought this was fun. 

Box #4 - Bob Book #4 and he passed it with flying colors!

Box #5 - Spindle Boxes to work on numbers. 

These are self correcting so it was cool to see him figure out what he was supposed to do and correct himself.

Box #6 - Writing his name with the proper spaces and case.  This still needs some work, but he’s got his whole name down really well (readable to anyone) so I am not pushing hard… just working slowly.

Box #7 - 1 - 10 Dot to Dot.  I added a ruler so he could make better straight lines.

Box #8 - Kumon book page from First Rhyming Words

Box #9 - pattern blocks.  It’s the first one I have added that has no color coding to it.  He did GREAT although he used pieces I wouldn’t have, which actually thrilled me because he figured it out all on his own.

Box #10 - This one has no picture and I am not sure why, but it was a movie on Geography and Maps from the library.  It had a lot of new vocabulary so we will be visiting it again before I expect him to apply any of the information, but it’s good to get those mental boxes started with good info early. 

Workboxes 4/17 - Mouse Feet and Fir Trees

Box #1 - A chapter from Bambi by Felix Salten.

Box #2 - Nature Study.

Today was a focus on the trees we had in our yard. We took out Fun with Nature book out and discovered that in our yard we have a Maple (which is JUST starting to leaf), 4 HUGE Douglas Fir trees, and a Cherry.

We also discovered that the woodchips we just got to put under the apple tree area is from a Cedar tree. We could tell because there were a few small branches we could identify in the Fun with Nature book.

Logan decided to focus his picture on the Doug Fir. We talked about the specifics of the tree and I read him this little story and had him narrate it back to me for his nature notebook.

The Legend of the Douglas Fir

Box #3 - Focus Study (Praying Mantis)- Hermie and the Mantis Who Wouldn’t Pray. (He is still 5 afterall. lol! He loved it.)

Box #4 - A page from his Kumon book with short vowel sounds.

Box #5 - Handwriting practice cards with a dry erase marker.

Box #6 - Secret Writer packet.  I wrote him a note in disappearing ink and he had to uncover and read it to me.  He LOVED this.  We will be doing it again. 

Box #7 - Pattern Blocks with no colors this time.  A bit more complicated to look for just the shape instead of color matching.

Box #8 - Boggle Jr again.

Box #9 - Bob Book #4

Box #10 - 1 - 10 dot to dot with dice in the box to practice his addition from yesterday again with me.

  And that’s it for today! 

Logan’s workboxes - 4/12

Box #1: The novel Bambi by Felix Salton.  We read about 2 chapters each morning to start off our school day.

Box #2: Nature Study - good colored pencils and his nature notebook which is filled with amazing and not so amazing pictures of the world outside through the eyes of a young 5 year old. 

Box #3 - Boggle Jr Letters.  He likes making the words.  Most of the time I leave the letters uncovered but sometimes with 3 letter words I will cover them and have him guess.  He’s very good at guessing.

Box #4 - P.E. - Jump 25 times on the trampoline again.  (He liked it so much yesterday.)

Box #5 - Bob Book #3.

Box #6 - A math game from Cool Math Games.com.  This one was kind of like Bejeweled… but with Balloons!

Box #7 - 1 - 10 Dot to Dot

Box #8 Short Vowel sounds worksheet.

Box #10 was a huge pair of dice.  I had him roll the dice and then add the two numbers together and write them down.  The ones over 10 were a challenge, so we will be doing this again soon. 

The start of a new year for Logan

Logan has by far and away surpassed the pre-school stuff as far as reading and writing go.  So with Charlotte Mason in mind (keeping it gentle) I am letting him move at his speed.  It’s going easily and smoothly, but the work boxes that include Leapfrogs Fridge Letters are all over.  Haha… we are on to Bob Books and Explode the Code for my smart little boy, with a lot of fun, outdoor exploration thrown in to keep it interesting. 

For the first day, this is what was included in his workboxes:

Box #1: The novel Bambi, by Felix Salten, which I read two or three chapters for the start of school for both Logan and Cyan right now.

Box #2: Nature Study

This was Logan’s work for that day.  (He had no help but spelling from my desk from me.)

This is what he said he saw out the window.  This jump in his reading and writing skill is intimidating and has caused quite a stir in my schooling ideas. 

Box #3: Manuelo the Playing Mantis - a cute book about a mantis who really wanted to play music. 

We are raising Praying Mantids right now so it fit in nicely with our unit study. 

Also, under this book were some lapbook pages on Mantis and a post it that directed them to watch two videos on the insects.  Which were awesome!

Box #4: This started his ‘work alone’ time so I could get some one-on-one with Cyan.  This next box is a math game from Cool Math Games.com

Box #5 says “Jump 25 times on the trampoline”

Box #6 The 3rd Bob Book from box 1.  He masters one per day right now, but I am taking it slowly so we have no issues when we get to digraphs and blends.

Box #7 - a page torn from a workbook with short vowels.

Box #8 - first words game.  Which is no longer a challenge but honestly I had nothing else to put in the box so ‘review’ it became.

Box #9 was 1 - 10 Dot to Dot. 

Box #10 - a visit to the chore store.  Which is a box in the garage which they can use their stars (from iAllowance) to buy art kits, little trinkets, and new games.  He chose a Cars car and was happily playing in the back yard for the rest of the afternoon.