I reviewed where we are at for the year and since we generally school year round, 3 weeks on and one week off, with various days off here and there, we just finished week 27. We have 9 weeks left and then will take some time off in August. We will be done with Voyages in English and Spelling. However, since I changed to Writing with Ease and Explorer Bible study midway, will take a break from it and carry it over to 4th grade. Other stuff, like math, we just keep going.What we accomplished this week:
Explorer Bible Study: Lesson 10 - Genesis 12 and 13 All about Abram moving from Ur to Canaan to Egypt.
Voyages in English: Completed 7.6 Commas in a series, 7.7 Commas in Direct Sentences, 7.8 Commas in Compound Sentences and 7.9 Apostrophes.
Spelling Workout C: Completed Lesson 25 /o/ - aw sound. The words are getting a bit more difficult to spell, so bit more of a challenge. First time Father tested him, James got 17 out of 20. The next day, he aced it.
Handwriting without tears Cursive: Received and started the 5th grade cursive book. The first part is mainly a review of what James has learned so far and mastery of cursive. The other three sections build writing skills while teaching grammar, Latin and Greek vocabulary and writer's notebook with a variety of writing styles. The Latin and Greek vocabulary will be a great introduction, since we are going to start learning Latin in 4th grade.
Math: Started two new Kumon workbooks and working on double digit addition and subtraction. First few chapters of both books are review, so doing two pages a day. Testing his brain a bit making him go from subtraction to addition and back again. He gets on a roll with just one or the other and doesn't pay attention to the + or -.
Science: Father and James are continuing to read Galen and the Gateway to Medicine. Last week was our off week but they read chapter 3 and 4. This week they read Chapter 5: About Hippocrates and Chapter 6: Galen's Travels. In Eyewitness Chemisty they read all about "Chemistry of life" -- Biochemistry.
For some reason, we forgot all about History even though it was on the list. My bad. We did have lots of fun this week racing against each other on Mario Cart Wii. Although, my lovely son, who already knows all the courses like the back of his hand, likes to stack the deck a bit and chose the hardest courses for us so he can win. I actually beat him in a couple races today--yeah me. However, he didn't like that too much, since he usually wins, so it turned into a lesson about good sportsmanship.
On Cinco De Mayo, James den had a party and I came home early from work to go. We had some delicious Mexico food and the kids got to whack at a pinata. The boys had a blast with squirt guns and cap guns (without the caps though), racing around in the back yard, while we parents all got to have some adult conversation. V made sure all the kids got a shot at the pinata before letting them whack at it really hard, then it was a free for all to get the candy. However, once the kids were done scrambling for candy, they were all quite ready to share with those who didn't get very much.Train up a child in the way he should go;
and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
(Proverbs 22:6)
and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
(Proverbs 22:6)
Handwriting without tears...LOL!!! Too cute! You guys really do a lot of educating, I'm very impressed by your lesson plans!!
ReplyDeleteThe Cinco de Mayo party sounds like a lot of fun!!
As the mother of two beautiful and remarkable daughters, I am fascinated by the concept of homeschooling. However, I am also a public high school English teacher, where I have the amazing opportunity to provide personalized instruction to many, many students who would otherwise be left out in the cold. I do at times grow frustrated with myself because I want to make sure I give my own children only the best, but we do the best we can and both seem happy, healthy, and well-adjusted.
ReplyDeleteSorry about the long preface. I was just reading through your weekly accomplishments, and I was very much impressed. However, I was just wondering how much incorporating you do. For example, you talked about comma lessons and phonics sounds. Is there a way for you to practice these skills in an interdisciplinary way (say, through Bible study) that might make the lessons and experiences of grammar and spelling (not super-exciting, as my students are quick to tell me) more relevant.
Anyway, it sounds like you do some really great stuff! Your children are very lucky : )
I'm so impressed with your wisdom accomplishments! I also love that scripture of Proverbs you share. It's so true. :D
ReplyDeleteStaci: Yep, its a cute program but it definitely worked.
ReplyDeleteKlo: Thanks for dropping by. It is so great you can provide personalized lessons and attention for your students. I know with James, he learns better one on one, rather than a group setting. You may not notice it, but you probably do the same with your own kids, after school, helping them with homework, one on one discussions.
Oh definitely, we do practice new skills. Once he learns about something, such as the commas this week, then we are pointing them out in books and everything else we read. He loves to write stories, so I give him feedback on how to incorporate what he's learned. Everything mixes in with real life at some point. You know when you learn something new, whether it is about art, vocabulary, math or whatever, that you start seeing it everywhere.
When we first decided to home school, I read Well Trained Mind , a guide to classical education by Susan Wise Bauer which takes you through what you need to do for all 12 years. Both John and I discovered how lacking our education was and have learned quite a number of things we wish we had learned back then. We are exposing James to a wide variety of things and teaching to his interests. Makes life interesting since he is a inquisitive, analytical, talkative kid. More than you probably wanted to know. :)
Glam: Thank you, I love proverbs