Weekly Report

Today marks the end of our first week back, with my students now in fourth and fifth grade.  I'm so happy with how this week went.  The boys are doing a lot more independent work than they did last year, lending to a more relaxed feeling for all.  They have their daily schedule and are allowed to do things in any order as long as it all gets checked off before they can be dismissed for the day.  They are loving the genetics unit and ask to do science first every day. 
This is what the boys are doing:

J-Straco-Fifth Grade
Apples and Pears Spelling-  this is a special curriculum from the UK which works well for student with dyslexia, which I suspect he has.  I'm really surprised that when tested, he placed at the beginning of book one.  This is due to the fact that he cannot write lowercase letters.  He has never been able to, physically form them correctly.  He also has once a week vision therapy and about 30 minutes of 'homework' each day to reinforce what he does at VT.  His vision therapist believes his problems writing and spelling are due to the fact this his eyes over-converge, so he has never formed a good visual memory of the letters.
He is such a good sport and doesn't complain about all the extra work. Despite those challenges, he LOVES reading.  I have seen some really positive changes already, in just one month of VT.  I'm hoping that with the completion of the VT, we'll also see some improvement in regards to his dyslexia.  If not, we'll re-evaluate and go from there.
Lively Latin- Initially I was all set to use Latin For Children, but after a lot of research I heard how it was lacking in translation activities. I was fortunate enough to borrow LFC from a friend, and after looking through I decided those claims were well founded.  We discovered Lively Latin, and it is wonderful! I think the boys will make huge gains in Latin this year.
Greek- He chose Greek on his own, I'm not sure why but I suspect it has something to do with the cryptic look of the Greek alphabet.  He is finishing Greek Code Crackers, and then will move on to 'Hey Andrew, Teach Me Some Greek'.  Seriously, I think he will easily be able to master Greek as his mind works in puzzles and symbols. 
Math Mammoth- I am still LOVING this curriculum.  It is very similar to Singapore Math, except much more student friendly.  I LOVE how it teaches multiple approaches to problem solving, and teaches mental math skills.  He astounds me at how well he can figure out problems in his head.  He laughs when I have to pull out the calculator to check the problems he was able to solve in his head. He is still having a difficult time mastering the multiplication tables.  I'm not sure if this is due to his dyslexia, or his 'whole to parts' learning style as he is so visual-spatial.  We'll keep hammering away with the flash cards.
Balance Benders Math- Have I mentioned this child loves puzzles and problem solving?  I showed him a sample page from the 'Critical Thinking Co.' catalog and he flipped!  He begged me to order the book for him, and when it came in the mail he jumped for joy.  He did the first four pages in his head and told me the answers, which were of course right.  I've been having him use a page protector over the pages and writing on them with a vis-a-vis marker, or else he'd have the book finished in a week.  This way, he can go through it multiple times.  Here is one of the pages he did this week:

Genetics- This is the course that I developed for the boys, since I couldn't find an elementary/middle school unit on genetics. This week we learned the parts of an animal cell, and function of each organelle.

After they had a good understanding of the parts of a cell, we made an edible cell out of cake and candy. YUM!

Dance Mat Typing: A fun and FREE keyboarding program (link) from the UK. 
Guitar- He is working on a guitar solo, and still trying to get into the 'three second club' for the pentatonic scale. (He is down to about 5 seconds)  His teacher is amazing, and really understands J-Straco.  He knows when to push him and when to lay off.  He is very pleased with this quick progress and has recorded him to show his other students. 

Farm Boy- 4th Grade

Building Spelling Skills- from Christian Liberty Press.  This works really well for him, as he is the type who likes to read the directions and go off on  his own, without mom's help. It gives the spelling rules, and has many opportunities to practice them.  There is also a lot of copywork, so I don't have to give him separate copywork anymore.
A Reason for Handwriting-Cursive- this works well for FarmBoy, as he is one who wants to be shown how to do something once and then have at it.  He does not require a lot of hand holding or over-teaching.
Each day he works on a few words in cursive, then puts them all together on the last day of the week in a bible verse.  He loves to write bible verses, and insists on copying them on a separate paper so he can hang them up around the house.  He ditched his lined paper and snuck a plain white piece of paper when I wasn't looking, little stinker.

Farm Boy is also using Math Mammoth and Lively Latin, and working through our Genetics Unit. 

He is such an easy kid to homeschool, I sometimes wonder if I'm challenging him enough.  He is so methodical and intrinsically motivated, he works through anything I put in front of him without questioning or complaining. He is very strong in all areas, except those requiring creativity.  He has NO artistic flair, whatsoever. I was very surprised at how well he took to the piano.  His piano teacher is amazed at how well he can coordinate his two hands, keeping the beat with the left hand and playing the melody with the right.  I may add back in Writing With Ease for him next semester, as he could use some work on narration, and composing and holding sentences in his head. I think the problem here stems from a maturity issue, though, and these skills will come soon.

Princess, Age 3
I am very hesitant to start her on anything yet, as I believe all learning should be through natural discovery until they are 4.  However, she wants to do everything her brothers do, so I have ordered her two workbooks of her own.  She will be working in 'Handwriting Without Tears', and  'Get Ready for the Code'.  This will be at her choosing, and never forced by me. As she approaches age 4, we will start to pull out the Miquon Math, and Phonics Pathways. 

That is plan as I know it, and I wouldn't be a proper homeschool teacher if I didn't add in the phrase, "all curriculum subject to change". 

If You Give A Dog A Banana.....

Actually, Milo discovered bananas when the princess fed him part of hers one day.  Once he got a taste, he was obsessed with getting his paws on bananas every chance he got.  The Princess has now learned she must eat her bananas up at the bar, where Milo can't reach her.  If she eats within Milo's reach, she WILL be tackled for her banana. 
After I unpacked the groceries the other day, I mistakenly left the bananas too close to the edge of the counter.  When I re-entered the kitchen I saw the bunch of bananas sitting on the kitchen floor.  "Hmmm, strange", I thought to myself.  As I walked into the living room, this is what I saw.  Milo had pulled one banana off the bunch and was peeling it ever so carefully.  He removed the banana from the peel and devoured it, leaving the peel on the living room rug.  Thanks Milo. 

Graduation Day!

We celebrated the end of our 'official' school year two weeks ago.  We decided to go all out, and print up certificates for the boys.  I asked The Principle when we should present them to the boys, and he had a brilliant idea to take them out for a special dinner as part of the ceremony.  We took their best bud and cousin, T-Man along to Olive Garden with us to make it more special. 

I'm Just Sayin'.....

"If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men."   St. Francis of Assisi

Callin' It Quits!

....On the school year, that is.  I printed up some nifty certificates to present to the boys, officially graduating them to the next level.  I'm sure they'll be thrilled.  Thrilled to have a few weeks off, that is.  I officially announced the end of school two weeks ago.  We have been in vacation mode; playing with our chicks, touring the Children's Museum, playing outside, and doing a lot of park hopping.  We will be starting back to school on Monday with our new, handy-dandy school year schedule.  I've decided we're going to try a year round block schedule.  We'll school for 8 weeks, then take 2 weeks off.  Rinse and repeat.   I need to check the calendar to make sure we'll get our 36 weeks completed.  I think it'll be good.  I'm coming to realize that a straight 36 weeks is a lot.  For me and for the boys.  Really, think of it like this--if you had a project at work, would you rather fumble through 36 weeks, or break it up into easier to manage 8 week chunks? It's a good theory, no?  We'll see what happens.  I love the fact that we have so much freedom to try whatever crazy idea pops into my head.  If it doesn't work, we just readjust and keep going.  <sigh>....I love homeschooling! 
This is what the next 8 weeks will look like:

Daily
Spelling, Math, Bible, Latin for all, Greek for J-Straco
Oh, and daily reading of course.

Then, we will be rotating the other subjects every 8 weeks.  Rotational subjects will include: History, Science, Music and Art.

Another change is that I have not scheduled a formal grammar program this year.  We hit grammar pretty hard last year, and our new Latin curriculum includes a lot of grammar so I think we'll be covered.  Who knows, I may throw in a couple sentences to diagram every now and again.  I do like diagramming!

Well, that is the plan as it stands.  Our first rotational subject is science as the boys both asked for a unit on Genetics.  I haven't studied Genetics since my Advanced Biology class in high school, so I have a lot of planning to do this weekend!  I forsee some Punnett Squares and DNA extraction.....

A Time of Growth

I love Spring!  It is a time, more than any, when I awake to the chirping birds outside my window and think, "Today is a brand new day, filled with hope and possibilities".  We are surrounded by leaves, buds, and verdant green, signs of new life are all around.  We are so blessed. Thank you Almighty Creator for the gifts of growth, and awakenings. 

My aspiring oaks have been very busy planting, nurturing, and building over the past month.  Here is what we have been doing:

The boys planted an enormous amount of veggies, and J-Straco has a couple flats of herbs.  He has been very consumed with growing medicinal herbs since reading his new favorite book, "A Kids Herb Book".

We have been reading about the history of the medicinal herbs and found this book, "The Apothecary".

 It is a really interesting book, and ties in so well with our histroy study of the colonial period.

Farm Boy turned 9 in April, and wanted only one thing....a dog.  We found a shelter in Illinois, about 90 minutes from us that rescued dogs from kill shelters and puppy mills.  We were so impressed with them, we drove down one day and came back with Milo.

We were told he was an Australian Cattle Dog.  I'm not sure I see that when I look at him, but goodness, he sure acts like it.  He is a VERY active 6 month old puppy.  The boys take him for many romps a day, through the woods, up and down the driveway, and outside for a good game of fetch.  The Prinicpal has been trying to take him running in the morning, but so far Milo hasn't been thrilled with that idea. He likes to herd the children, and the cats.  He is doing a really good job keeping the raccoons away from the yard and field, and he'll have chickens to herd in a few weeks.   I hope he likes chickens! (not of the nugget variety)

Speaking of chickens.....we ordered 5 Buff Orpington chicks a month ago.  The men folk have been busy building the brooder, and now the coop.  The coop is a work in progress, but is really shaping up.  After much research, we found a picture of a coop we liked and the guys have been drawing up plans and getting construction under way. 

We were told the girls would arrive today, and were awaiting the call to tell us it was time to pick them up.  We waited and waited and the call never came.  After hundreds of inquiries of  "mom, are the chicks here yet?" I gave in and called them.  I spoke with a very somber sounding woman who informed me that 90% of the chicks had died in transit due to the heat the previous day.  She took my name and went to check on our chicks.  I prayed furiously that our chicks were in the minority that had survived, and sure enough, our prayers were answered.  Our chicks had survived the trip! I told the lady we would hurry over and pick them up, and we did.  J-Straco held the precious cargo, a peeping box, on the journey home.  Farm Boy read the directions on the way and informed me we needed 95 degree water with sugar mixed in for them to drink, and their chick starter spread on the floor of the brooder.  Wow! We were amazed watching these little chicks-only a few days old, as they scratched and pecked and ate and ate and ate.  We dipped their beaks in the water to show them it was there, and they happily glugged away.  They have been very active and friendly all afternoon.  They love to be petted and eat from our hands.  They seem to show no adverse effects to their perilous journey.  We are praying they will remain strong and healthy.  Grow chickies, grow!

The princess named her 'Fluffly', and Farm Boy named his chick 'Amicus' (latin for friend)

I suggested 'nugget' and 'cordon bleu', but they didn't see the humor in that.

I'll get more chicken pics later, I have a new camera I'm still trying to get used to.