Little D Big D

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

180 Creative Ideas

I downloaded an e-book from the library called 180 Creative Ideas. It's meant to get students motivated and excited about learning.
It starts in the month of August and moves to every month after. Each month has activities and facts about that month. I started in the month of Sept. and we first learned about the Autumn Equinox(Sept. 22/23). We are keeping a log about the changes in the weather and watching for signs that Fall is approaching. (squirrels burying nuts, our pets coat getting thicker etc.) We went over Hemispheres and equators.
Then we read about Lewis and Clark (Sept. 23, 1806) I downloaded a video from the library called Lewis and Clark Go West. Very kid friendly. We are learning how to read maps right now and this video did a great job on tracking their journey. It was funny that my kids didn't realize that Lewis and Clark were their last names.
The next thing we are going to learn about are butterflies. I'm looking into building a butterfly habitat for outside. Should be fun to observe. :)
Anyway, there is a ton of info in the book and it even gives titles of other books to go with the small study they give. Check it out! :)

Monday, September 26, 2011

Week 6!

The start of week 6 This week should be fun if all goes well.

I want to build our butterfly habitat. I didn't get my 5 in a row books from the library yet so we will dive into butterflies!

We will continue reading our Beautiful Feet geography books. Finishing Paddle to the Sea, moving on to Tree In The Trail.

Here's to a great week!!

Friday, September 23, 2011

{The First Field Trip}

Last week (or maybe 2 by now) we went bowling with the home school group.

Shoes..

Bowling balls....

friends....

Afterwards, they took us back to see the huge machines that stack the pins. It was so loud back there! Caitlin thought it was pretty cool. Fun times. :)

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Week 5

We are finishing week 5!
It's been pretty smooth the past few weeks. Trying to keep up with the blog has been hard. :)

History:
This year we are using Abeka's World History textbook. I use it as a unit study with all three kids. Starting at creation, being made in his image, they have learned we have thoughts and a voice. We can discern right from wrong and have choices. We discussed humanism, the fall of man, sin. Some of our best school days are spent discussing these topics. I was surprised at how many questions they have about "the beginning". I'm thankful we can take all the time we need to answer them.
We are actually up to the call of Abraham. This week we are studying Ur, Mesopotamia, Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Geography:
Our geography is combined with 5 in a row. I've used 5 in a row with the boys and Caitlin is finding it just as fun. I make resource pages for the boys to do a more intense study. Web pages and online books and movies help them to grasp the cultures.
I ordered some books from the library that were on Beautiful Feet's Geography book list. We are reading Paddle To The Sea this week.

Science:
This week we did a unit on bee's. My library system has an online data base with ton's of videos and e books. It's my favorite way to get science in our day. We learned how the bee's dance to tell the other bee's where to find nectar and how they get honey from a hive. That turned into learning about beeswax and the supplement bee pollen from our health food store! ( I've really been into the kid directed thing lately) I printed out worksheets from Enchanted Learning on the bee's body parts and the website KidPests had some info for them to write down and put in their notebooks.

Literature:
We are listening to an audio book from the library called The Bronze Bow.

Math:
The boys do their workbooks. The beginning is always review but I like to have the break from a subject and just let them practice certain concepts. It's funny that my 7th grader has place value exercises in his workbook. Makes for some easy days! :)
Caitlin is writing her numbers and having fun with manipulative's. We are counting backwards a lot too. she loves school! :)

some other things I try to fit in:
Copywork pages. I print my own using scripture or bible stories.
Logic Puzzles. I use online games for this.
P.E.. We get outside for a while everyday, they ride their Ripsix, scooters, just some fun in the middle of the day.
Home Ec. Every Thursday we clean up a little extra around the house. I have taught them to do laundry and make grocery lists. We cook and freeze some of it for the week end. They are really good cooks too! We've had oatmeal cookies, pumpkin bread, granola bars, bread rolls, pizza dough! This week they want to make some salsa!
Wood Shop. We like to build stuff around here. It's in the genes I guess. another post on this later.
Creative Writing. A couple times a week we pull out old pictures and write about that day.

Caitlin has some special times during the day. We read together and do our 100 easy lessons book. ( How to Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons is the title of the book)She loves to draw! Watercolor paints make her very happy! She has learned to put a ponytail in her hair and paint her nails and mine. :) More about her later too