Saturday, August 30, 2008
Week Two, Down!
We just finished up our 2nd week and did very well. All expected work was completed. N needs to read a bit to me today, but other than that, everything has been checked off!
The checkoff list is working wonderfully! C wants to work ahead some days, and he can. N wants to know how much more before he's finished, and it's right there on paper for him. I'm happy with this system right now!
We missed art this week because our dvd player is without sound for some reason. Hopefully DH can figure out the problem this weekend.
Nothing out of the ordinary -- pretty much the same old thing. For science this week, we watched the Nature of Dogs which was very interesting and well-done. And, then we all worked together on training our new puppy. Science at work!
We also worked together to make a new recipe. It was sugar-free peanut butter/banana bars. I took pictures and was planning to post the recipe, but they were AWFUL.
Now I remember why I got away from updating this blog regularly. It's a bit boring. I still like the idea of having it, however, so I will continue to update weekly.
The checkoff list is working wonderfully! C wants to work ahead some days, and he can. N wants to know how much more before he's finished, and it's right there on paper for him. I'm happy with this system right now!
We missed art this week because our dvd player is without sound for some reason. Hopefully DH can figure out the problem this weekend.
Nothing out of the ordinary -- pretty much the same old thing. For science this week, we watched the Nature of Dogs which was very interesting and well-done. And, then we all worked together on training our new puppy. Science at work!
We also worked together to make a new recipe. It was sugar-free peanut butter/banana bars. I took pictures and was planning to post the recipe, but they were AWFUL.
Now I remember why I got away from updating this blog regularly. It's a bit boring. I still like the idea of having it, however, so I will continue to update weekly.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Week One Wrap-up
This is my 3rd year maintaining this blog, and I confess that I'm not sure what direction it will take this year! I have a feeling that it will be sporadic once again, as life tends to intervene. I do like having it encapsulated here, however, so maybe I'll try for weekly updates.
Last week was our first full week of school. The boys both had great attitudes and we got every bit of work done that I had hoped for.
Daily, both boys completed math workbook pages. C worked ahead of the number of pages assigned, but that's fine. N did just as he was asked, but did so with perfect accuracy.
Each day, we worked on reading out loud. N is definitely a beginning reader who is easily frustrated, so I'm trying to work throughout the day in very small chunks. C is an excellent reader, but he tends to skip words when he reads out loud. I know he reads them to himself, but he reads faster than he speaks and leaves things out. We're working on having him read more slowly, and address each word.
On Tuesday and Thursday the boys worked on their spelling workbook and took a test on Friday. N was terrified of the test and terrified that I was making him write out the words instead of spelling them orally as we had done last year. He scored 100% on his test. C refused to look over the words before the test, insisting he knew how to spell them all. He missed 3 words. For each missed word, he wrote it out 3 times.
Both boys work on journals during the week. On Tuesdays, C wrote in his topic journal (the journal page gives them the beginning of a sentence and he runs with it.) The minimum I ask him to write is 7 sentences. N also has a topic journal, but it is just completing one sentence. On Thursdays, both boys draw a page in their nature journal and write an entry. So far this year, I'm still writing N's entry as he dictates it to me. On Fridays, C writes in a free journal. The 7 sentence minimum applies here as well. On Saturdays, the boys both write in their book journals. This got skipped this week because of baseball and a few other obligations.
C worked in his grammar workbook 2 days last week, while N worked in a phonics workbook. Both boys completed handwriting lessons each day.
Both boys had religion. I read N's chapter to him, and he answered the questions orally. C read his chapter out loud and he answered questions orally. C has religion studies 2/week as we are preparing for his First Communion in the spring. His second lesson was about touring a church.
On Tuesdays, we'll have Art and Science. The boys completed an art lesson that focused on drawing different kinds of lines and created a design-filled caterpillar. For Science, we're studying mammals and after some discussion, the boys watched one episode of the "Life of Mammals" from Netflix.
On Wednesdays, the boys attend their enrichment program, and then come home to play baseball, so we don't do any lessons that day.
On Thursdays, the extra lesson is Maps. We're starting to work in Map workbooks and will also begin CHC's Tour of the Continents. We haven't started that yet, but will in the next week or so. They did do a few pages in the map workbook.
On Fridays, we also do History. We're using the Story of the World for history. I have the book, but I also have the cd's. The boys listened to a number of chapters while drawing at the kitchen table.
On Saturdays, it's a day like the others, and also built to be catch-up if needed. Right now, the boys are playing baseball on Saturday mornings, so I'm trying to get all we need to do done by Friday. It worked this week!
Last week was our first full week of school. The boys both had great attitudes and we got every bit of work done that I had hoped for.
Daily, both boys completed math workbook pages. C worked ahead of the number of pages assigned, but that's fine. N did just as he was asked, but did so with perfect accuracy.
Each day, we worked on reading out loud. N is definitely a beginning reader who is easily frustrated, so I'm trying to work throughout the day in very small chunks. C is an excellent reader, but he tends to skip words when he reads out loud. I know he reads them to himself, but he reads faster than he speaks and leaves things out. We're working on having him read more slowly, and address each word.
On Tuesday and Thursday the boys worked on their spelling workbook and took a test on Friday. N was terrified of the test and terrified that I was making him write out the words instead of spelling them orally as we had done last year. He scored 100% on his test. C refused to look over the words before the test, insisting he knew how to spell them all. He missed 3 words. For each missed word, he wrote it out 3 times.
Both boys work on journals during the week. On Tuesdays, C wrote in his topic journal (the journal page gives them the beginning of a sentence and he runs with it.) The minimum I ask him to write is 7 sentences. N also has a topic journal, but it is just completing one sentence. On Thursdays, both boys draw a page in their nature journal and write an entry. So far this year, I'm still writing N's entry as he dictates it to me. On Fridays, C writes in a free journal. The 7 sentence minimum applies here as well. On Saturdays, the boys both write in their book journals. This got skipped this week because of baseball and a few other obligations.
C worked in his grammar workbook 2 days last week, while N worked in a phonics workbook. Both boys completed handwriting lessons each day.
Both boys had religion. I read N's chapter to him, and he answered the questions orally. C read his chapter out loud and he answered questions orally. C has religion studies 2/week as we are preparing for his First Communion in the spring. His second lesson was about touring a church.
On Tuesdays, we'll have Art and Science. The boys completed an art lesson that focused on drawing different kinds of lines and created a design-filled caterpillar. For Science, we're studying mammals and after some discussion, the boys watched one episode of the "Life of Mammals" from Netflix.
On Wednesdays, the boys attend their enrichment program, and then come home to play baseball, so we don't do any lessons that day.
On Thursdays, the extra lesson is Maps. We're starting to work in Map workbooks and will also begin CHC's Tour of the Continents. We haven't started that yet, but will in the next week or so. They did do a few pages in the map workbook.
On Fridays, we also do History. We're using the Story of the World for history. I have the book, but I also have the cd's. The boys listened to a number of chapters while drawing at the kitchen table.
On Saturdays, it's a day like the others, and also built to be catch-up if needed. Right now, the boys are playing baseball on Saturday mornings, so I'm trying to get all we need to do done by Friday. It worked this week!
Friday, August 15, 2008
Plans
Nate struggles with staying on task, so I decided to create checklists for both boys this year. That way, they can both see what is left to be done each day and I hope it cuts down on procrastination and complaining! I created tables in Word and added checkboxes for each item. Once I'm sure the schedule will work as written, I'll laminate the pages so they can be used over and over again.
My DH has Sundays and Mondays off. The boys attend an all-day enrichment program on Wednesdays, so we school on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
C's schedule looks like this:
Tuesday: Math, Handwriting, Spelling, Grammar, Topic Journal, Daily sheets (this can be coloring sheets, extra writing practice, puzzles, and will go along with each month's theme.), Art, Science and Reading.
Thursday: Math, Handrwriting, Spelling, Nature Journal, Reading Comprehension, Daily sheets, Religion, Maps, Reading
Friday: Math, Handwriting, Spelling Test, Grammar, Free Journal, Daily Sheets, Religion, History, Reading
Saturday: Math, Handwriting, Book Journal, Reading Comprehension, Daily Sheets, Reading
N's schedule is very similar, but with fewer items.
I've also created new chore schedules and even a daily schedule. Our daily schedule has us rising around 7:30, taking care of personal things, making beds, daily chores and eating breakfast by 8:30. Exercise is from 8:30 - 9:30 (this could be walking, Wii Fit, exercise dvd, jumping rope, etc.) Seat work begins at 9:30, with a break around 10:45. Lunch at noon. More mom-intensive and one-on-one topics from 1 - 2:30 while L naps. Quiet time until 3PM. Free time until 4:30 when bedrooms and living room are picked up. Dinner between 5:30 and 6:30. In bed by 9PM.
That schedule will be fluid, but it gives us a nice framework to work within. If something comes up and times are shifted, that's okay! The important thing is that each day's work is completed so we stay on track.
My DH has Sundays and Mondays off. The boys attend an all-day enrichment program on Wednesdays, so we school on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
C's schedule looks like this:
Tuesday: Math, Handwriting, Spelling, Grammar, Topic Journal, Daily sheets (this can be coloring sheets, extra writing practice, puzzles, and will go along with each month's theme.), Art, Science and Reading.
Thursday: Math, Handrwriting, Spelling, Nature Journal, Reading Comprehension, Daily sheets, Religion, Maps, Reading
Friday: Math, Handwriting, Spelling Test, Grammar, Free Journal, Daily Sheets, Religion, History, Reading
Saturday: Math, Handwriting, Book Journal, Reading Comprehension, Daily Sheets, Reading
N's schedule is very similar, but with fewer items.
I've also created new chore schedules and even a daily schedule. Our daily schedule has us rising around 7:30, taking care of personal things, making beds, daily chores and eating breakfast by 8:30. Exercise is from 8:30 - 9:30 (this could be walking, Wii Fit, exercise dvd, jumping rope, etc.) Seat work begins at 9:30, with a break around 10:45. Lunch at noon. More mom-intensive and one-on-one topics from 1 - 2:30 while L naps. Quiet time until 3PM. Free time until 4:30 when bedrooms and living room are picked up. Dinner between 5:30 and 6:30. In bed by 9PM.
That schedule will be fluid, but it gives us a nice framework to work within. If something comes up and times are shifted, that's okay! The important thing is that each day's work is completed so we stay on track.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Books on their way!
I placed my CHC order on Friday and our books should arrive Thursday! We'll be set for the year, other than the planning / schedule that I want to get written out before we start officially.
C will be getting lots of new books, and N will only get a few new ones because he started a couple 1st grade books last spring. From CHC, I ordered handwriting books for both boys, math book for C, . . . and I've drawn a complete blank as to what else I ordered? Oh, well, I doublechecked enough times to know I've got what we need.
I'll work on our schedule this week and post it if anyone is interested.
C will be getting lots of new books, and N will only get a few new ones because he started a couple 1st grade books last spring. From CHC, I ordered handwriting books for both boys, math book for C, . . . and I've drawn a complete blank as to what else I ordered? Oh, well, I doublechecked enough times to know I've got what we need.
I'll work on our schedule this week and post it if anyone is interested.
