New thoughts for school

Things have slowly been changing with Cyan this New Year... she is reading much faster and easier lately. And I think it has to do with her reading less. Yes, you read that right, I am having her read LESS. At the start of this year, I was frustrated by her lack of quick reading (she had all the rules down, it just took her forever!). So each time we would come across a 'learning opportunity' for her to read, I would jump at it with gusto.

But it has been 5 months...

and she is still a pokey Jane reader.

Two weeks ago I was reading the Workbox System Guide for the second time, and Sue mentioned to be careful about how many subjects you are asking your children to do at one time. Especially if those subjects are emergent subjects (skills that are not quite mastered). I realised that by asking Cyan to read while she was working on other subjects, I was overloading her little brain. So now, on her workbox, she has a 'work with mom' note on any subject that she may have to read more than one sentence... and then I read it to her. It may seem like good practice to make kids read the math problems, or instructions on their other assignments, but with Cyan, it was making her more reluctant to read during 'reading', which honestly, was inhibiting her learning a lot more than I thought it was. And making the other subjects doubly hard for her, because she is trying to figure out what 1/2 of 6 is, on top of trying to figure out what those words on the page mean, on top of trying to make sure she writes it in the correct place, on top of getting her 3's to face the correct way, etc. How confusing! It ended up that she wasn't really liking any subject. She would do it, but it would take her forever, and she would often loose track of where she was on the page, or what she was supposed to be doing because she was too busy deciphering the words.

So now, when she asks me what something says in another subject, I read it to her. I have found that this leaves her mind more refreshed when I ask her to read because she hasn't been stretching those same muscles for every other subject... and guess what? IT'S WORKING! She has been reading up a storm, and much faster than usual.

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My teen and I have been plugging away at school lately. Some newly emerging personality traits (completely normal for the age, yet terribly annoying for the mama) have made the last few weeks difficult to say the least. But somehow, we have managed to do school nearly every day. Alex is FLYING through math right now, and when he is done with their curriculum for this year, I am planning a set of fun things for him to finish out the year with instead of moving on to the next level (considering he is already over a year ahead of his 'grade level'). I have decided that he is going to start Life of Fred. A lot of the series will be a review with Alex finishing up his first year of Algebra in the next few weeks. But there are ways that Fred teaches math, that many other curriculum's just miss... it is PACKED full of real life applications of things like geometry and algebra, fractions and statistics. I believe that children learning things more than one way is very helpful, and I am excited to see how he does with this new way of learning.

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I wanted to share in the brilliance of this idea:

Ikea Trofast system workboxes

I am planning on switching to this system for my entire family come Tax Return time. These boxes are much spendier than the plastic shoe boxes, and I am thinking of getting two for Alex, one for Cyan, and one for Logan. That is about $300. YIKES! But I think it will be the perfect system for our family, and if it doesn't work out... these systems are perfect for small toys, even clothes. I have no fear that they will go to waste whatsoever. It makes spending the money a bit easier when you know that even if they don't work for what you want them for, they will work in your household. :)

Logan has been SO interested in doing school lately, that I think giving him a set of boxes with preschool play stuff in it will really help with his behavior during our study time. I have been compiling lists of activities that I could add to his workboxes that are gentle, quiet, and yet enough 'work' to keep him busy while we get our school work done. And of course, there is always the 'work with mom' card... where I can put games and things for us to do together. He would LOVE that.

I am really excited about this idea. I am revamping the entire homeschool closet to make 4 of these fit across the bottom so they are all nicely tucked away, and yet completely accessible for all the children. I think I may take off the doors to the closet and put on curtains... that would make it even easier. Hmmm.... Lots of fun new ideas.

Progress review for Jan - Feb

Cyan

Language Arts: She finished the third Explode the Code book two weeks ago and has been enjoying reading full books by herself. Right now we are reading Mo Willems easy reader series. If you haven't checked them out, please do. They are hysterical! He uses a lot of expression in his writing and it has helped with punctuation practice and expressive reading. She is getting faster, slowly.

Math: Going steadily now. Not super fast, but we are working through a chapter or two a week. She is working on skip counting and money in Moving Beyond the Page, and then skip counting and addition in Math U See so they are flowing together nicely and she is having a lot of fun.

Science: Science has slowed a bit now that we are really into social studies again. We have been doing some cooking and talked about the viscosity of liquids, the necessity of doing things correctly to get the result we want. She has also been doing a lot of potion making. ;)

Social Studies: Right now we are studying communities and the people who live and work in them. We have made a map of our neighborhood, talked about community workers, and talked about what she might like to be when she grows up. We are reading about the city and the country and the differences. We have also discussed where she would like to live when she gets her own house. She loved that.

Fine Arts: She is drawing again! I have to admit to loving having a child that loves to draw. She is so darned good at it. She also has her first dance recital on May 30 so be prepared... I just might send pictures. ;)

PE: She is still doing the homeschool PE program with the YMCA, and as the days lighten up, we are spending more and more time outside. I love spring (and it is almost here!!).

Alex

Language Arts: This has been a leaps and bounds month for Alex in LA. He has started to write reports, do more practice and reading on his own, and really get the hang of research. It has been amazing to watch! We have also studied the basics of poetic writing and the different forms of classic poetry. His poetry is really incredible. He has a gift with words, and I am excited to see more of this as we continue into poetry.

Math: We are starting to move much faster in math. The basic concepts of the order of operations have been secured and practiced over and over now... so the problems are moving more smoothly and quickly. Currently he is working with problems that have parenthesis, exponents, fractions, and multiplication all in one. They are complicated, but each piece is relatively simple. It took a week or so to get him to slow down enough to break the problems down... after that, he has started flying. He has completed two chapters this week alone.

Science: We have been working with liquids this month. The viscosity, surface tension, and conductivity of several liquids has been ‘tested’. Mixing things is one of his favorite activities in school right now!

Social Studies: In social studies we are working on Geography more than anything else, although he has been studying the capital cities of states. Learning how to read maps to get from one place to the next is a big lesson for this age. It has been fun getting to places with him though. :) I have stared letting him give me directions, etc... and most of the time we get there without a fuss.

Fine Arts: Currently, his big art project is making pictures of his entire quarter collection and putting it up on a large poster board for his room. He has all the quarters now and acquired them all himself start to finish.

Technology: He has been doing a lot of research on the computer, although the computer cannot be his first resource for research papers. He has also started finding some of his own study web sites. Yesterday he found this site:

Shepard's Software State Capitol Game

He is getting good at finding what he needs. It is pretty neat to watch him right now. :)

Progress review Nov - Jan

Alex

Language Arts: Alex wrote is first real research paper! It took him over a week to complete it, but I think it turned out really well and was impressed that he could stick with it with minimal prodding to get back to work.

Math: We have been steadily moving through Math U See Pre-Algebra and are now though exponents and multiplying fractions.

Science: We have been working a lot with trees and tree identification. We have also done many experiments with snow as we have gotten over a foot of it at times!

Social Studies: We are moving at a snail’s pace when it comes to Social Studies. We keep taking side tracks from our curriculum to answer questions about elections, presidents, and other countries. It is frustrating not to get anywhere in our curriculum, but they are learning Social Studies just the same.

PE/Health: He has started a new homeschool PE course at our local (new) YMCA. He has an hour of swimming and an hour of PE twice a week and he also started Tae Kwon Do twice a week as well. He is really enjoying it.

Technology: He has been really jumping up in the technology dept this last two months! He has decided that he wants to make his own movies with my camera, so he has been taking about 100 pictures, stringing them together and making short films. Most of them are VERY funny. He has had to work out kinks in story lines; storyboard make ups for his movies, as well as the technical stuff like making sure his characters are in focus and putting the whole thing into a slideshow on the computer. Also, his research paper was typed, so he got many hours of typing skills for that as well.

Cyan

Language Arts: We are almost through the third Explode the Code now. She has been reading up a storm, asking me what things mean at the store etc, which means her pace is becoming faster and more confident. She also read 20 books between Oct and now and got a banana split and her very own library card as a reward. She was so excited she was beside herself.

Math: Math U See is picking up again. She is really moving through the work. She is enjoying doing things like tossing dice and adding or subtracting the numbers that come up. It has been great practice for speed.

Science: We have been working a lot with trees and tree identification. She gets excited when she can identify a tree without me. We also did some experiments on snow and how it melts two weeks ago (when we had a foot of snow) and this was interesting because like most pre-concrete operations kiddos she thought that the level of the water would be the same as the level of the snow. It was a fun lesson!

Social Studies: We are moving at a snail’s pace when it comes to Social Studies. We keep taking side tracks from our curriculum to answer questions about elections, presidents, and other countries. It is frustrating not to get anywhere in our curriculum, but they are learning Social Studies just the same.

Fine Arts: She started her dance class last weekend and is really enjoying it! She spends lots of time dancing around the greatroom with her ballet outfit on and showing me her pointy toes. She still loves to draw and craft with me, but dancing is her newest passion.

PE/Health: She started a new PE class with her friends at the YMCA. She has been LOVING it! She has waited a really long time to be in a class with her homeschool group and she continually asks me if we get to go to the Y today because she is enjoying it so much. She didn't get into the swimming class, but I think that this session was a good break from learning to swim.

Cyan's review for November

Language Arts: This month she has started reading books. Simple, (very simple) books to get her speed and fluency up in reading. We are still playing games, but lots of them are packed, so books are easier. The first time she read two books in one sitting without much fuss I nearly jumped for joy! And she was happy with herself as well. She has started the 3rd Explode the Code book and is enjoying that, and we are still working with the Dolch word set... but mostly, she is just reading right now.

Math: She is finally slowing down on the Math-U-See work. She ended up stopping around chapter 8 because there were a few things she didn't understand, and so we have started to work with the blocks again, and have her get some of the concepts. What is funny is that this work is early algebra (ie: __ + 4 = 9 ) so after these three chapters that have to do with that, she may start flying through again... but at the moment, we are paused and learning fun new things.

Science: Still working with nocturnal animals. We will be moving on to trees and leaves. She can't wait to work with the leaves we pressed last month and paint fall scenes... so she will transition after the move into the tree unit easily I think. We finally got our Science curriculum... but I already have another planned out. Not sure how that is going to work.

Social Studies: Still in Egypt. She is really enjoying the Ancient Egyptian Fashions coloring book! Right now we are reading a book about ancient Egyptian gods and their wars for the world, and about the transition from Kings to Pharaohs. It is a fun and interesting study.

Fine Arts: We are studying Mary Cassatt and Mozart this month. When we get into the new house, we will be able to do more hands on art with the concepts and techniques of Mary Cassatt and Cyan is thrilled about that! She can't wait to paint. And she has been really enjoying the books and lessons of Mary Cassatt so far... she has told me that when she grows up she is going to be an artist just like her. Successful lesson. ;)

Alex's review for November

Language Arts: He is still writing poetry, and getting better at writing with his broken arm and often with his left hand. Reading to Cyan has become an issue due to sibling stuff, so we have stopped that and he is now reading aloud to the whole family during lunch time. He has also been reading "Dragonslaying is for Dreamers" and we have been discussing things such as summarizing the material, the setting, and other writing details.

Math: Right now he is working on exponents. We had to take a whole week to explain how to do exponents with fractions, but he is starting to move slowly but steadily again. Once he gets a thing, he really understands it. That is nice.

Science: We are still working with nocturnal animals although I have wanted to move on to trees and leaves. The kids are interested, but still draw pictures and write papers on owls and wolves. lol... so there we sit. I may start the trees unit a bit later and then see if I can get the motivation with all the naked trees around our new house.

Social Studies: We are pretty much doing the same thing as we were last month. Egypt in depth now. Talking about their lives and the transfer from kings to Pharaohs and what that meant for the people. We have had to pack away most of our globes and maps, but they will be back out soon and we will be able to continue with geography as well.

Fine Arts: This month is Mary Cassatt and Mozart. Lots of papercrafting to come as we get more into the life of Mary Cassatt and her art with mothers and children.

Technology: Going again. :) He is using the mouse and since the last update he has beat Carmen San Diego, and Zoogles (a math concept game). He will start his new typing program in three weeks after his cast is off and he has been working with the exercise ball for two weeks.

Cyan's review for October

Language Arts: She finished her 2nd Explode the Code book and we are waiting for the third to arrive. While we are waiting we are working through the Dolch Word lists (the most common 200 words in the English language). We have played a bunch of games to try to get her reading speed increased. She knows all the rules, very very well... but her speed is still slow and forced, so the games are working well.

Math: She is FLYING through MathUSee Alpha. We will be needing Beta before the end of the year... but, it is helping her build confidence in her math skills and that is helping with reading because she can do something, everyday, easily and well.

Science: We are working on Nocturnal Animals/wolves right now. Later this month we are going to Wolf Haven for a "howl in" and we are getting prepared. She is studying the difference between the eyes of a wolf and the eyes of a human. It has been terribly interesting.

Social Studies: We are currently studying ancient Egypt. She is working on finding places on the globe and using an atlas. She works with a map, a coloring sheet of relevant material, and a story that goes with each chapter. We have also been reading books about ancient Egypt and I got her a coloring book about ancient Egyptian fashions. She loved that and colors the relevant page nearly every lesson.

Fine Arts: So far this month we have studied both Van Gogh's life and his two most famous works: Starry Nights and Sunflowers. We have just started studying Bach as well. She has copied both works (in her own way, using specific techniques) and really is enjoying working with the different mediums.

Alex's review for October

Language Arts: Alex is still enjoying the red pen. :) Even since he broke his arm, he has been correcting others work via ABC Animal Edits and Editor in Chief workbooks. He is getting much better at it. We are working a lot in oral presentation because of his broken arm. He has been reading Runny Babbit and other poetry selections to us and has been reading aloud to Cyan. He has also been writing some of his own poetry, and that is a treat. He is actually really good.

Math: Pre-Algebra is going well. He is moving slowly, but is really getting the ideas down very well. Right now he is working on divisions with fractions.

Science: We are working on Nocturnal Animals/wolves right now. Later this month we are going to Wolf Haven for a "howl in" and we are getting prepared. He is studying the difference between the eyes of a wolf and the eyes of a human. It has been terribly interesting.

Social Studies: We are currently studying ancient Egypt. He is versed in using an atlas, finding places on the globe, and has been putting his findings from our lessons in order (timeline). In social studies he has also been working on paraphrasing different types of information. This, I think is the more valuable, for it will lead into him being able to find out just about anything he wants to. We have been working very closely with Cyan, who is following "The Story of the World", but we are also doing many of our own lessons with help of several encyclopedias.

Fine Arts: "Van Gogh is so cool." So far this month we have studied both Van Gogh's life and his two most famous works: Starry Nights and Sunflowers. We have just started studying Bach as well.

Technology: This has been put on hold as he is not allowed to use a mouse, or a keyboard until his cast comes off. But, he has been playing 'Where in the World is Carmen San Diego"

Review for September

Alex:
We just started, but he is doing great.

Language Arts: I am mainly working on him enjoying language arts right now. I am giving him writing prompts and having him correct his own work. I am also having him correct others work with a red pen... which he is enjoying quite a bit. The control of the red pen seems to be a good motivation. Funny kid.

Math: We have been working on Order of Operations and skills to start pre-algebra when we get the books so far. He is amazing at math!

Science: We are working on basic plant biology right now along with a bit of nutritional science.

Social Studies: We are studying maps to get us ready for the Story of the World curriculum. Identification of different land marks on a map/globe/atlas, the names of specific countries, and stories of where man first started; Adam and Eve, and Evolutionary Theory are our main focus until we get the curriculum.

Fine Arts: We started the Meet the Masters program yesterday and talked about the different artists we would be studying this year. It looks like a great program and I am sure it will bring a bunch of ideas for more projects for my kids.

Technology: We are working on typing.

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Cyan:
Language Arts: She is doing great. She jumped right back in. She is reading like a champ (still a bit behind grade level, but I have no worries) and understands the actual rules of English much better than she should (which is why she has a hard time with the reading. Poor kid.)

Math: We are working on Addition and Subtraction again. She knows it, does well at it, but needed some review. We are also working on fractions and X 2. These have been fun and will be easy to expand on for more in detail math later.

Science: We are working on Biology and plant form and function. She just made a little booklet on beans and how they sprout.

Social Studies: We are studying maps to get us ready for the Story of the World curriculum. Identification of different land marks (mountains, rivers, etc) on a map/globe/atlas, the names of contenents, and stories of where man first started; Adam and Eve, and Evolutionary Theory are our main focus until we get the curriculum.

Fine Arts: "Mama, I am ALREADY an artist!" We started the Meet the Masters program yesterday and talked about the different artists we would be studying this year. It looks like a great program and I am sure it will bring a bunch of ideas for more projects for my kids. Cyan has already decided that she wants to paint like Monet. I think in this area she will be fine.

Technology: She is working on finding her favorite ed sites on the computer by herself.

And another year begins......

The start of our year is going beautifully! Cyan said the sweetest thing to me today. She said that she likes doing homeschool so much better that school now because I make it much more fun. :) This is the face of a happy mama.

Alex is a bit more difficult, but he is used to being told what to do, and then the teacher accepting whatever he did with the assignment he was given. I don't do that. What a harsh reality for him. I actually expect him to 'show his work', 'explain his thinking', and learn how to summarize. I also expect him to be quiet when I am working with Cyan or Logan. And that is going amazingly well from his end. Cyan on the other hand, will need a bit of help in that dept. But all in all, we are doing great for the start of the year.

Currently, Alex is working on 'order of operations' for his algebraic program that he is starting in August. I found this wonderful site that really has been helpful with it! Amby's Math Resource It was fun for me to play through to see if I still had what it took to do 8th grade math. I do. Teeheehee... it was quite the little rush.

Cyan is working on the same stuff she stopped on in May. The next Explode the Code, Singapore Math, and a few early readers which when she tries, she can really read. We are working on digraphs, and compound words in phonics, and she is loving that... Starfall has been great as a reward for her after she is done with her book work. Who knew a educational website could be such motivation?

I have adjusted our weeks to work with Don's already. I don't know how that is going to work out, but I do think it will be incentive for them to do their school work quickly on days like today and yesterday, where their friends are home, and ready to play.

The ice cream man has been another reward for a school day well done. What a wonderful way to end one of these horridly hot days. Who knew that such a cold spring would turn into such a scorching summer?

All in all... life is good. :)

The last review of first grade

Language Arts... She has been writing and illustrating stories for two weeks now. She mostly writes and draws about horses, princesses, and hedgehogs. Which make me laugh. Her writings are getting more concrete and she is really starting to understand sequence and logic and she is adding that into her stories. I am enjoying this more free time to just watch her use the tools I have given her.

Math... We firmed up some knowledge that we had touched on. Place value and fractions being the main topics.

Science... We are doing a lot of this just naturally as we finish up the harder work (planting/supporting) in the garden and start to get ready to harvest. We have spent a lot of time watching the bees we are so grateful to have here this year. She has noticed the flowers and fruit on all the bushes around the yard and we have had some great conversations about it. We have also talked a bunch about how plants get their energy and the cycle of life that comes after that when animals get that energy by eating it, and then carnivores get that energy from the small animals etc. We have identified most of the birds that come into our yard and are putting together a ‘field guide’ of the Rose Backyard with pictures, illustrations, and little personal notes about each critter we have here this time of year.

Social Studies/PE Health... We have done a lot of fun play with our friends. Most homeschool play groups and library groups are finished now.

Fine arts... Still going. Nothing outlasts the Energizer. ("I am an artist, Mom. Art is my life.")

Summer Learning Curves

My kids have absolutely bloomed in the last two months. For some reason, they are much better learners in the summer than they are in the winter months. Perhaps it has to do with their birthdays (both July babies), or a bit of SADD (we get depression disorder here a lot in the cold/wet. I mean really, today it is 45* and raining), or what... but especially Cyan has FLOURISHED this last two months like she didn't at all in the months before.

In the last two months she has learned to: Tie her shoes, read fluently, stop sucking her fingers, ride a two-wheeler bike, rollerskate and make her own breakfast using the stove... all of these things have been tried before, esp this year... some a couple times, but never achieved... and this last two months they have all taken leaps and bounds and all of a sudden she is a full-on 'big kid'. You know? A real big kid who can do the whole length of the monkey bars and not drop. Who can ride her bike to the neighbors down the street and I know she will look both ways and not crash. That kind of big kid.

And Alex... His change is just starting, but I can see it too. Today, he set his alarm, woke up on his own, took a shower, got dressed with all clean clothes, and had made his lunch before I was out of bed. AMAZING! Amazing I tell you, considering just last week I had to have a talk with him about how I found one pair of his unders in over a weeks worth of laundry. (Yes... that is gross.) And today, he gets up and showers without even being told. I am amazed.

Perhaps what I have to do is change the year around for them. At least to see how it works. Afterall, Don can much more easily get time off in the winter than in the summer anyway. Why not make the school year around that and take a month off when dad can be there too?

Come to think of it... Logan has been growing leaps and bounds too. It is expected of his age, but he has been in a rut with the communication stuff. Lots of yelling, LOTS of screeching. Lots of deep breathing moments for me. However, this morning, he wanted Cyan to play with him. He was sitting on my lap, and looked at her playing and said "Hey!" and then signed 'girl' 'please', and pointed at her and grunted. It was pretty much the cutest thing ever! Cyan, of course, melted when she realised what he wanted and took him and they have been playing in her room ever since.

I have warmer weather learners. Long day learners, at least. lol... 'warm' is subjective here.

Perhaps it is just thoughts. But I would sure like to try. This isn't the first year I have noticed this summer time learning curve. If I can bank on that, who knows... we may be able to take trips for Christmas and do school outside all summer? Food for thought at least.

Progress Review for April - May

Language Arts...She is really starting to read! Finally! She is reading Dick and Jane faster now (we have just started the second and harder book), and is doing Explode the Code book 1 and 2 with little or no help in most cases. She is starting to read random things like the word "mushroom" by herself. She is also starting to write by herself and not just dictate which has been the method of choice for most of the year.

Math...
We are still working on graphs, and doing some simple geometry. We haven't done much more with place value as our books have not come back to it, but I still plan on spending a few days at the end of the year firming up that knowledge.

Science...
Our caterpillars turned into butterflies yesterday. She is a very proud butterfly mama. :) We have been reading about different kinds of butterflies, and have also been reading about natural instincts of dogs, as well as how to behave around them, etc. Her garden is growing well and starting to flower. We are talking about pollination daily right now, and she is starting to understand the 'flower into fruit' concept as she watches her strawberry plants turn so well that she is telling the neighbor kids.

Social Studies...We had a family move in next door that has an 8 year old little girl. Cyan and she have been close to inseparable. We are still doing our bi-weekly story time and PE play dates with our homeschool group.

PE/Health...
We have been talking more about food lately. We pulled out our place mats with the food pyramid on them and have been talking about organics vs non organics and what they do to our bodies, etc. She is still going to PE play day with the homeschool group, and learning about water safety.

Fine Arts...
We still draw every day. She has started to draw things that are far beyond her level (like hidden pictures in line drawings, etc). She is practicing her handwriting all the time, and really getting the hang of her fancy letters, although cursive gives her more of a hard time than the 'princess' letters, which could be due to interest.

Technology...
She has started using "Starfall" about twice a week to reinforce her language arts studies. With that she is learning how to use the mouse for the first time.

Cyan's review for April

Language arts...
She is making great progress with reading this month. We have been working on nouns and short vowel sounds. She has left the 'sound out every letter' phase and is moving on to reading more quickly with sounds ('un', 'in', 'an', etc). Currently, we are reading aloud "Dick and Jane Look and See" (her to me) and "Prince Caspian" (me to her) as well as about 12 books on Africa for our Science studies and books on tape as well.

Math...
We have crossed the place value mark! She is able to add and subtract numbers up to 30 and we are working on making it to 100 before the year is out. She is doing great, and we will be moving to geometry next week to work on some shapes, then fractions and then back to addition and subtraction review just before the year is out. We are also graphing the garden on graph paper as the starts come up and making a table of the dates they popped out of the ground.

Science...
We have been working with Math and Science in the garden (Life Science/Life Cycles of Plants). On May 1st we should be getting our caterpillars as well as the manipulative's we ordered. We are also working on growing a small garden for her in a large planter box and recording our findings in a notebook she and I made on the growth of the roots and the above ground growth.
Social Studies...We have been reading African Folk tales that go along with our African unit study. She is also working on 'the golden rule' or ('the shiny secret' as she calls it). We are still with our homeschool group at least once a week... more like three times a week now that the nicer weather is chasing us all outside more. :)

PE/Health...
Lots of talk about nutrition lately. Lots of talk from her like "I know it isn't good for my body, but it won't hurt my body if I just eat it this once." lol... we have PE play dates with our homeschool group every other Friday. She is also starting swimming lessons, and plays endlessly outside every day. In the last month, she has learned to skate, and ride a bike with no training wheels. She is doing great in this area.

Fine Arts...
'Drawing Fest 2008' still continues at the Rose Garden Homeschool. She draws/colors/sketches something every day... sometimes all day long. We are drawing the flowers we see outside, we are drawing the measurements we make inside, we are drawing and taking pictures of the birds that are showing up to the feeders we made this winter. Her handwriting is amazing for first grade, and she is now learning cursive and 'princess letters' which was an idea we got from a fellow 'nimble fingered' first grade homeschooler in our area.

Technology...
This month she has learned how to get on You Tube to look up different artists. She only does this with my permission, of course. She uses technology such as a compass, measuring devices, humidity gauge, propane lamps for outside evening study, my stand mixer, thermometers, the freezer, hammer and nails, and the computer at least once a week each for all of the activities listed above with apt supervision.

Cyan's review for March

Daily work/Life skills... Daily calendar work includes writing the date two different ways ("Tuesday, March 18, 2008" and "3-18-2008") which she puts on most of her daily assignments.

Math... We have been working with money and place value lately. Carrying 10s has been a bit of an issue, but we are starting again, working with popcorn, glue and popcicle sticks, and so far it seems to be sinking in. As far as money goes, we have every thing down (including addition and subtraction of money) up to a dollar. The switch to over 100 is getting her every time. We are working on that.

Science.... We are still primarily doing nature studies and small nature experiments. We are writing weekly in her eco-journal and having at least once every two week outings to see all the life that is budding in our area right now. Last week we went to see two baby great horned owls at the Nisqually Refuge. We have been writing numerous small stories about arctic animals, and watching videos on them constantly in our free time. She is rather enthralled.

Social Studies... She is in a homeschool group are on at least one outing a week. Yesterday we had a St Patricks day party with cornbeef and cabbage and all the gold and green trimmings and crafts.

Fine Arts... Cyan draws all day long. Ever single assignment has a drawing aspect, even if I didn't know it. ;)