9/10 - 9/14 Rowing Madeline and visiting the Zoo

This week our focus was Madeline, but we strayed a bit as the weather was great (for Texas) and I was dying to get out and have some fun.

France was a big topic of the week. I picked up a Madeline movie from the library and Monster loved it. We located France on the globe and talked about ways we could get there. Monster thought a boat would be the best idea until I explained a plane would be much faster. He then stated that a jet was the only way to go :). We also built the Eiffel Tower with cookies (I am not at all good at these crafts so please don't judge):



Monster loved it and wanted to devour the entire thing, but Tank decided it was too sweet and only had a few bites before she moved on to apple slices :)

We read a few books about the human body and listened to Madeline on tape as well, but I didn't stress the book too much this week. Next up is We're Going on a Bear Hunt and the kids already love the book so I will center the week around it more.

Our Montessori-style letters and numbers finally arrived so we spent some time playing with them and writing in a salt box:



Monster finished some pages in Miquon Orange, Singapore 1A, MEP Reception, and two chapters in Life of Fred. Although I like each program, I am still searching for something that catches his interest for numbers and doesn't seem like such a drag for him. I picked up a Horizons K book to throw into the mix next week. Tank sits with us through all of this, but keeps asking for her own "school" work. Asking her to sort bears by colors or numbers, or making trains and stairs with c-rods is not working anymore. It isn't school work if it isn't a workbook. I am now on the hunt for a math book for her.

Monster completed another three lessons in AAR, read some BOB Books, and worked through ETC 1. CVC words are getting easier and easier for him to decode. He is also picking up spelling them very easily even though we haven't started lessons in AAS.

Monster finished up Developing the Early Learner 1 and is very excited to start the next book. This is the one activity he loves and it gives him so much confidence when he completes several pages at a time.

But the highlight of the week was definitely this



Our trip to the Zoo! The weather was great and it was half-price day!!! After over two hours we still hadn't covered the entire Zoo. I promised to take them again in a few weeks.

I love the perks of homeschooling :)

Week in Review 9/3 - 9/7

For those unfamiliar with Five in a Row, "rowing" a book means that we spent a week focused on one story. Majority of our studies were centered around The Story About Ping for the week. I love this way of learning and Monster remembered so many details from the story at the end of the week. Here are some of the highlights from the week.

We learned how to count by coloring Ping's family (sorry for the bright picture, you can't see the actual coloring page):

         

We learned about ducks and made one (I am not usually crafty, but I was so happy that these ducks turned out to be adorable!!) :

    

We learned about China (where the story takes place):

      

At the end of the week we visited the park close to us that has ducks, however I did not realize how aggressive the ducks were. They chased us on to the playground because we did not have any food to feed them. It was a great observation opportunity though!:

     

We also did a sink or float activity and learned how Ducks are waterproof.

What Monster also completed this week:

Math: My plan was to focus on Singapore this year and use Miquon when needed as a supplement, but Monster and I like Miquon much more so Singapore has been shelved and Miquon will be our main math. Monster finished 6 pages in Miquon Orange and Exercises 1-4 in Singapore 1A.

Reading: Monster completed Lessons 1-4 in All About Reading and continues to master Step 1 in All About Spelling. I am not pushing spelling too much right now as the focus is on getting Monster reading well this year.

Handwriting: Monster is finally starting his letters from the top!!!! This is such a big jump for him and I am sooo excited. This is still the biggest battle of the day. I decided to use his Explode the Code work as handwriting practice and use it with a dry erase marker for now. He doesn't mind handwriting with a purpose as much as he did handwriting worksheets.

Geography: I added in Beginning Geography this week and he finished two pages.

Developing the Early Learner: This is the one thing Monster flies through and doesn't complain about. He completed 20 pages! I am expecting him to slow down in Book 2 or 3.

The tank hasn't started any individual work, but participates in everything Monster does. She played with c-rods and practiced letter sounds, but very casually. Next week she will begin working in Explode the Code Primer A as she continues to beg for her very own school work. I'm considering purchasing Singapore Earlybird to give her some math work of her own too. I love the look of AAR pre-1, but it includes a lot more than letter sounds and I don't think she is quite ready for it. It is on my short list for January, though!

Overall, I'm really happy with the direction our homeschool is on. We have dropped Sonlight P4/5 daily work, but will include it into Five in a Row as much as possible. Thankfully I have my little girl to save it for and hope it works then!