I took a little break from writing, so will mention just a few highlights from the past couple weeks.
In Geography we traveled to Canada where we learned to speak some words in French, watched Anne of Green Gables, read a magazine article about the Northern Lights, wrote to our Canadian pen pals, and made a blueberry dessert and enjoyed tea and cookies. Now we are back home in the United States and are learning lots about our own country.
Faith started playing soccer Tuesday afternoons with other home schooled children. We went for our monthly pizza and swimming day on Seth’s fifth birthday.
In addition to reading the Daily Devotions and Happy Times magazine we started using 100 Bible Stories, 100 Bible Songs each morning. The kids really like to sing and dance to the songs; some we already know and some are new.
Faith finished reading her last chapter book in the Hooked on Phonics first grade orange level and is moving on to new sound combinations and stories in the red level.
We did a neat science experiment of placing green beans in a jar with a wet paper towel and then recording what happened each day as the beans begin to sprout. Now we are reading some books from the library about how plants grow.
For Earth Day we did an activity book I printed from the Internet and cleaned up the road ditches by our house.
I purchased some new computer games and so far the whole family has enjoyed playing Oregon Trail together and Faith and Seth have tried a science program where they learn about weather, seasons, sorting different plants and animals, etc.
For arts and crafts the kids used contact paper with a rainbow pattern traced on it to stick crumpled up tissue paper on to make a puffy rainbow. Then we made sugar cookies, frosted them white and used red shoestring licorice and gel icing to make them look like baseballs.
For creative writing the kids were given this writing prompt, “Imagine you had a hundred dollars, but you couldn't’t keep it. You had to give it away to a person or charity. Who would you give it to? What would you want them to do with it?” I was proud of their answers:
Seth: “I would give it to God (church). I would put it in the offering plate and use it to fix the church’s swing set or buy a new one.”
Faith: “I would give half of it to the poor and half of it to fix the swing set at church. I would spend some money to help people in need, like people with cancer and the elderly. I would get new parts for the swing set or buy a new one. I would get medicine for the sick people, a walker for the elderly and new clothes, shoes, a house and food for the poor.”
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
A few thoughts......
We had a wonderful, but busy spring break.
During spring break week I usually like to tackle some kind of project around the house or farm. This year it was time to paint and add a few new touches to our living room. I had gone into town the Saturday before to pick up all the needed supplies and was able to accomplish this task during the first three days of the week. It now looks like a completely different room, warm and cozy, just the way I pictured it. I bought these packages of wall art stickers for the kid’s bedrooms and our living room. Faith, Seth and Anna picked out Disney Princesses, Hannah Montana, and Thomas the Train. There were also many ones to choose from with different quotes or expressions. I found the perfect one for our living room that says, “Bless This House.” But it was even more perfect when I discovered it actually came with the words, “God Bless This House.” For some reason the manufacturer chose to leave the word "God" off of the front of the package. This puzzled me. Was it because they thought they would sell more without it or were they afraid someone would be offended? I think it is just another way of taking God out of America.
Although Thursday was windy I found plenty to do in the garage. Loren came home to find everything that was in the garage is now sitting in front of the garage waiting for him to sort through and place it neatly back inside. Now that we discovered our garage has a floor the children have spent many hours riding their smaller tricycles around and around.
Friday and Saturday were beautiful, so those days were devoted to yard work and I began to place the fence posts for the older calves’ electric fence. My parents came over one afternoon to plant onions, potatoes and raspberry plants with the kid’s help.
Faith even woke up bright and early one morning to help with chores and we baked bread and cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Someday I hope she will look back on moments like these with fond memories.
You know the little things are what makes our time together most special. Some days we spend a lot of time in the kitchen; cooking, cleaning, eating together, doing projects at the dining room table, etc. We do not have a television on the main level of our house, but we enjoy listening to the radio. One of our family's favorite memories are the countless noon hours we spent intently listening to Paul Harvey's News and Comments and The Rest of the Story. We sure miss these programs ever since Mr. Harvey passed away. We still listen to the news at noon and discuss what's happening in our community, the country and the world. Our main radio station features classic country music along with some new artists, but we enjoy the old-time country and Bob Becker's Old Tyme radio program featuring lots of polka music on Sunday afternoons. Today during lunch the kids and I were singing along to the song "White Lightning" one of our favorites. It makes me think of grandpa's moonshine still and my brother brewing up his own batch at Loren's and my wedding. (I didn't taste the stuff) Sometimes we dance around the kitchen together and sing. None of us have any real musical talent, but we sure do try!
Years ago Loren and I used to host a Potluck Picnic on the farm with all our friends, family and neighbors. My dad and some of his old band mates would set up in our front yard and play old-time music. People would sit in our front yard, visit and eat, then get up and dance. We stopped the year Loren's dad died and haven't had our get-together since. I miss those days.
Well, enough reminiscing. Time to go make some more memories......
During spring break week I usually like to tackle some kind of project around the house or farm. This year it was time to paint and add a few new touches to our living room. I had gone into town the Saturday before to pick up all the needed supplies and was able to accomplish this task during the first three days of the week. It now looks like a completely different room, warm and cozy, just the way I pictured it. I bought these packages of wall art stickers for the kid’s bedrooms and our living room. Faith, Seth and Anna picked out Disney Princesses, Hannah Montana, and Thomas the Train. There were also many ones to choose from with different quotes or expressions. I found the perfect one for our living room that says, “Bless This House.” But it was even more perfect when I discovered it actually came with the words, “God Bless This House.” For some reason the manufacturer chose to leave the word "God" off of the front of the package. This puzzled me. Was it because they thought they would sell more without it or were they afraid someone would be offended? I think it is just another way of taking God out of America.
Although Thursday was windy I found plenty to do in the garage. Loren came home to find everything that was in the garage is now sitting in front of the garage waiting for him to sort through and place it neatly back inside. Now that we discovered our garage has a floor the children have spent many hours riding their smaller tricycles around and around.
Friday and Saturday were beautiful, so those days were devoted to yard work and I began to place the fence posts for the older calves’ electric fence. My parents came over one afternoon to plant onions, potatoes and raspberry plants with the kid’s help.
Faith even woke up bright and early one morning to help with chores and we baked bread and cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Someday I hope she will look back on moments like these with fond memories.
You know the little things are what makes our time together most special. Some days we spend a lot of time in the kitchen; cooking, cleaning, eating together, doing projects at the dining room table, etc. We do not have a television on the main level of our house, but we enjoy listening to the radio. One of our family's favorite memories are the countless noon hours we spent intently listening to Paul Harvey's News and Comments and The Rest of the Story. We sure miss these programs ever since Mr. Harvey passed away. We still listen to the news at noon and discuss what's happening in our community, the country and the world. Our main radio station features classic country music along with some new artists, but we enjoy the old-time country and Bob Becker's Old Tyme radio program featuring lots of polka music on Sunday afternoons. Today during lunch the kids and I were singing along to the song "White Lightning" one of our favorites. It makes me think of grandpa's moonshine still and my brother brewing up his own batch at Loren's and my wedding. (I didn't taste the stuff) Sometimes we dance around the kitchen together and sing. None of us have any real musical talent, but we sure do try!
Years ago Loren and I used to host a Potluck Picnic on the farm with all our friends, family and neighbors. My dad and some of his old band mates would set up in our front yard and play old-time music. People would sit in our front yard, visit and eat, then get up and dance. We stopped the year Loren's dad died and haven't had our get-together since. I miss those days.
Well, enough reminiscing. Time to go make some more memories......
Monday, April 12, 2010
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Thursday, April 8 - Friday, April 9, 2010
Daily Devotion: Read Hosea 6:6 and Philippians 1:3
Writing: Alphabet Journal page and did a creative writing story, "If you could have any animal for a pet what would it be and how would you care for it?"
Math: Did another worksheet on putting groups of numbers (0-100) in order from smallest to largest, worked on writing number words.
Reading: Reviewed all of our helper words cards
Science: Watched a science DVD on plants and started our tomato seeds indoors.
Arts & Crafts: Painted a rainy day picture with water colors and sprinkled salt on the wet paint. After the pictures dried we brushed off the salt and it looked like rain drops.
Geography: Learned about the "School of the Air" in Australia where kids in the outback use two way radios to communicate with their teacher. We made our own communication system by attaching a string to two tin cans. Then for added fun we got out our old walkie-talkies and took them outside to play with. The kids even used them to keep in touch with me when they walked through the woods to Grandpa and Grandma's house for a visit. Faith also helped make an Australian Meat Pie for supper, which was delicious!
Spelling: Unscrambled words from list 4, played a spelling computer game
We are still enjoying lots of time outside, especially going for walks and bike rides.
Writing: Alphabet Journal page and did a creative writing story, "If you could have any animal for a pet what would it be and how would you care for it?"
Math: Did another worksheet on putting groups of numbers (0-100) in order from smallest to largest, worked on writing number words.
Reading: Reviewed all of our helper words cards
Science: Watched a science DVD on plants and started our tomato seeds indoors.
Arts & Crafts: Painted a rainy day picture with water colors and sprinkled salt on the wet paint. After the pictures dried we brushed off the salt and it looked like rain drops.
Geography: Learned about the "School of the Air" in Australia where kids in the outback use two way radios to communicate with their teacher. We made our own communication system by attaching a string to two tin cans. Then for added fun we got out our old walkie-talkies and took them outside to play with. The kids even used them to keep in touch with me when they walked through the woods to Grandpa and Grandma's house for a visit. Faith also helped make an Australian Meat Pie for supper, which was delicious!
Spelling: Unscrambled words from list 4, played a spelling computer game
We are still enjoying lots of time outside, especially going for walks and bike rides.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Daily Devotion: Read John 20:18 "Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: 'I have seen the Lord!' And she told them that he had said these things to her." Read a story from the My Devotions book.
Bible: Read a story about a little seed who is happy just the way he is, but keeps changing and growing, did a coloring page. Talked about how God continues to help us grow and change.
Writing: Alphabet Journal; Faith practiced the letter S and made a picture of rainbow snakes.
Math: Did a review sheet of putting groups of numbers in order from smallest to largest.
Spelling: Alphabetized words from list 4.
Reading: Finished reading Detective Dog and the Ghost, answered questions about the book and practiced some new sight words.
Geography: Finished reading the library book about Australian history and facts. Then did a worksheet with a koala bear and leaves on it. Each leaf had a fact about Australia on it; if the fact was true the leaf needed to be colored green, if the fact was false the leaf needed to be colored brown. This was a fun way to review and memorize the information we had learned.
Loren had two fire calls in the past 24 hours and one was during evening chores. The kids and I actually saw the house on fire and saw the fire trucks coming when we were in Frazee. I was really proud of how the kids stepped up and helped me milk the cows and feed the calves. Faith takes it very seriously that her daddy helps put out fires. Farming gives us the opportunity to pull together and get the work done; what a great feeling!
Bible: Read a story about a little seed who is happy just the way he is, but keeps changing and growing, did a coloring page. Talked about how God continues to help us grow and change.
Writing: Alphabet Journal; Faith practiced the letter S and made a picture of rainbow snakes.
Math: Did a review sheet of putting groups of numbers in order from smallest to largest.
Spelling: Alphabetized words from list 4.
Reading: Finished reading Detective Dog and the Ghost, answered questions about the book and practiced some new sight words.
Geography: Finished reading the library book about Australian history and facts. Then did a worksheet with a koala bear and leaves on it. Each leaf had a fact about Australia on it; if the fact was true the leaf needed to be colored green, if the fact was false the leaf needed to be colored brown. This was a fun way to review and memorize the information we had learned.
Loren had two fire calls in the past 24 hours and one was during evening chores. The kids and I actually saw the house on fire and saw the fire trucks coming when we were in Frazee. I was really proud of how the kids stepped up and helped me milk the cows and feed the calves. Faith takes it very seriously that her daddy helps put out fires. Farming gives us the opportunity to pull together and get the work done; what a great feeling!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Daily Devotion: Read John 20:24-25 Jesus Appears to Thomas and read a story out of the My Devotions book
Since we are finished with our Health curriculum we took the time this morning to do an arts & crafts project that we skipped a couple weeks ago. We cut kite shapes out of foam board and the kids decorated the kites with sequins. The tail was made with yarn and bows cut from felt.
For handwriting Faith wrote a letter to her pen pal in British Columbia, Canada; a boy her around her age who is also homeschooled. She also took a picture of her kitten with her own camera and we printed it from the computer so she could send it along. We had bought some items for the family a few weeks ago and were able to get everything in a package and mailed today.
Faith took a math test on calendars and telling time, so tomorrow we will move on in the workbook.
We read a couple library books for Geography. One was full of facts about Australia and the other was a fun story about a koala bear named Koala Lou.
In spelling Faith practiced writing each word from list 4 twice.
She read Chapter 3 in a Detective Dog book for reading and can't wait to finish it tomorrow and solve the mystery.
After lunch Faith, Anna and I rode our bikes to the river and did some exploring. Faith found some new junk, like bottles and a license plate to add to her collection. We spent some time hanging out at our hunting shack down by the river. Seth had Head Start today, but when he got home he was very excited to tend to the two rabbits he received for Easter. He also helped water and feed milk to all the baby calves. Faith went along with Loren to the Co-op Store to buy diesel fuel. It's that time of year; field work!
Since we are finished with our Health curriculum we took the time this morning to do an arts & crafts project that we skipped a couple weeks ago. We cut kite shapes out of foam board and the kids decorated the kites with sequins. The tail was made with yarn and bows cut from felt.
For handwriting Faith wrote a letter to her pen pal in British Columbia, Canada; a boy her around her age who is also homeschooled. She also took a picture of her kitten with her own camera and we printed it from the computer so she could send it along. We had bought some items for the family a few weeks ago and were able to get everything in a package and mailed today.
Faith took a math test on calendars and telling time, so tomorrow we will move on in the workbook.
We read a couple library books for Geography. One was full of facts about Australia and the other was a fun story about a koala bear named Koala Lou.
In spelling Faith practiced writing each word from list 4 twice.
She read Chapter 3 in a Detective Dog book for reading and can't wait to finish it tomorrow and solve the mystery.
After lunch Faith, Anna and I rode our bikes to the river and did some exploring. Faith found some new junk, like bottles and a license plate to add to her collection. We spent some time hanging out at our hunting shack down by the river. Seth had Head Start today, but when he got home he was very excited to tend to the two rabbits he received for Easter. He also helped water and feed milk to all the baby calves. Faith went along with Loren to the Co-op Store to buy diesel fuel. It's that time of year; field work!
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
Daily Devotion: Read Matthew 27:27-31 The Soldiers Mock Jesus
Discussed Good Friday, attended church in the evening and explained to the children the meaning of the black altar cloths and the extinguishing of the candles.
Creative Writing: Faith and Seth each came up with an Easter story and drew a picture to go along with it.
Math: Used our clocks to complete a worksheet on telling time to the hour, which ended up being a review from last year.
Geography: Colored the flag of Australia and read what the symbols represent.
Spelling: Faith did an Easter word find.
Arts & Crafts: All the kids made Easter bunny bags out of brown paper lunch sacks.
Watched a Signing Time (sign language) DVD. These are our favorite!
Earlier in the week the kids had a couple of friends over who are also home schooled. One of my concerns when we first started homeschooling was if our kids would develop close friendships, but this has not been a problem. I would say that the friends they have made have proven to be very good, trustworthy and kind friends whose families share some of the same beliefs and values as ours.
Tomorrow night we plan on making Easter Story Cookies for the first time. Here is the recipe:
EASTER STORY COOKIES
To be made the evening before Easter. You will need:
1 cup whole pecans
1 tsp. Vinegar
3 egg whites
Pinch salt
1 cup sugar
Ziploc bag
Wooden spoon
Tape
Bible
Preheat oven to 300 degrees (this is important-don't wait until you're half done with the recipe)!
Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested. He was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3.
Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp. Vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30.
Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11.
Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23:27.
So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1 cup sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.
Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents -- in God's eyes -- the purity of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.
Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper-covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Read Matt. 27:57-60.
Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matt. 27:65-66.
GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22.
On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matt. 28:1-9. Share The Easter Cookie Story with friends and family May the Lord bless you & protect you, May the Lord make His face shine upon you & be Gracious to you, May the Lord lift up His Countenance to you & give you Peace.
Numbers 6:24-26
Discussed Good Friday, attended church in the evening and explained to the children the meaning of the black altar cloths and the extinguishing of the candles.
Creative Writing: Faith and Seth each came up with an Easter story and drew a picture to go along with it.
Math: Used our clocks to complete a worksheet on telling time to the hour, which ended up being a review from last year.
Geography: Colored the flag of Australia and read what the symbols represent.
Spelling: Faith did an Easter word find.
Arts & Crafts: All the kids made Easter bunny bags out of brown paper lunch sacks.
Watched a Signing Time (sign language) DVD. These are our favorite!
Earlier in the week the kids had a couple of friends over who are also home schooled. One of my concerns when we first started homeschooling was if our kids would develop close friendships, but this has not been a problem. I would say that the friends they have made have proven to be very good, trustworthy and kind friends whose families share some of the same beliefs and values as ours.
Tomorrow night we plan on making Easter Story Cookies for the first time. Here is the recipe:
EASTER STORY COOKIES
To be made the evening before Easter. You will need:
1 cup whole pecans
1 tsp. Vinegar
3 egg whites
Pinch salt
1 cup sugar
Ziploc bag
Wooden spoon
Tape
Bible
Preheat oven to 300 degrees (this is important-don't wait until you're half done with the recipe)!
Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested. He was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3.
Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp. Vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30.
Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11.
Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23:27.
So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1 cup sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.
Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents -- in God's eyes -- the purity of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.
Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper-covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Read Matt. 27:57-60.
Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matt. 27:65-66.
GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22.
On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matt. 28:1-9. Share The Easter Cookie Story with friends and family May the Lord bless you & protect you, May the Lord make His face shine upon you & be Gracious to you, May the Lord lift up His Countenance to you & give you Peace.
Numbers 6:24-26
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Wednesday, March 31 - Thursday, April 1
Daily Devotion: Read Luke 22:7-8 both days and read a story about Passover. Talked about the true meaning of Easter and Jesus' death and resurrection. Attended Maundy Thursday church service and explained to the children why certain things are done like the stripping of the altar cloths and leaving the church in silence.
Health: On our last day we got out Sam and Terry, our health puppets, and talked about some of the highlights in health class during the year. Sang some of the songs out of our book.
Bible: Did some activity worksheets out of the Happy Times magazine and read a story.
Writing: Alphabet journal
Math: Did one more worksheet about reading a calendar and then moved on to telling time by making a clock out of paper and cardboard.
Geography: Learned some Australian expressions for a language activity and took a tour while learning some fascinating facts.
Spelling: Put the Easter words in alphabetical order and unscrambled them.
Reading: Faith really likes the Detective Dog chapter books and has read way ahead. She already started on the second book and is on chapter 3.
Science: Learned about the 4 parts of a flower. (I even learned something because I only knew one part of the flower; the petals) The kids asked, "You're the teacher, aren't you supposed to know everything?" and I explained that even teachers are always learning.
Seth helped Loren run some errands Wednesday night, so Faith, Anna and I took the opportunity to ride down to the river. Sometimes people ask why I would want to live in the same place my entire life. I can't really explain it, but watching Faith ride her bike and explore the same places I did as a child makes me feel very fulfilled and brings me great joy.
Health: On our last day we got out Sam and Terry, our health puppets, and talked about some of the highlights in health class during the year. Sang some of the songs out of our book.
Bible: Did some activity worksheets out of the Happy Times magazine and read a story.
Writing: Alphabet journal
Math: Did one more worksheet about reading a calendar and then moved on to telling time by making a clock out of paper and cardboard.
Geography: Learned some Australian expressions for a language activity and took a tour while learning some fascinating facts.
Spelling: Put the Easter words in alphabetical order and unscrambled them.
Reading: Faith really likes the Detective Dog chapter books and has read way ahead. She already started on the second book and is on chapter 3.
Science: Learned about the 4 parts of a flower. (I even learned something because I only knew one part of the flower; the petals) The kids asked, "You're the teacher, aren't you supposed to know everything?" and I explained that even teachers are always learning.
Seth helped Loren run some errands Wednesday night, so Faith, Anna and I took the opportunity to ride down to the river. Sometimes people ask why I would want to live in the same place my entire life. I can't really explain it, but watching Faith ride her bike and explore the same places I did as a child makes me feel very fulfilled and brings me great joy.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Tuesday, March 30
Daily Devotion: Read John 6:35-40 and talked about how Jesus is "the bread of life" and how God's word keeps us from being spiritually hungry.
Health: This is our last week of Health so the kids finished up their "I Can" books about ways they can keep their bodies healthy. We sang a song and played "Healthy Habits Simon Says."
Writing: Faith wrote the letter M in her journal for milk and drew a glass of milk and some cookies.
Geography: We left Japan and headed south to Australia where we learned a little history about the only country that is also a continent.
Math: Faith did a worksheet about calendars.
Spelling: Practiced writing words that are associated with the Easter holiday.
Reading: Started reading a chapter book from the Hooked on Phonics program called "Detective Dog and the Lost Rabbit."
We were all disappointed this morning when we received a phone call from the family we were going to babysit for. Apparently the dad's new job did not work out so they will not need us to watch their little girl until he finds a new one. :(
Seth had Head Start today. Faith, Anna and I played outside for half an hour after lunch. We had time to bake some chocolate chip cookies this afternoon and Faith used her Easy Bake oven.
We purchased some used calf hutches and got them all set up in the evening. The kids and I were very excited and happy with how they work. They will make our chores much faster and easier. After chores we drove over to our Amish friends house to wish their son a happy first birthday. (I was their doula at his birth) We ended up staying for supper and had a nice visit. When we returned home Faith asked if she could read a couple more chapters in the "Detective Dog" book. Even though it was late I said yes because I was so happy that she actually wanted to read.
Health: This is our last week of Health so the kids finished up their "I Can" books about ways they can keep their bodies healthy. We sang a song and played "Healthy Habits Simon Says."
Writing: Faith wrote the letter M in her journal for milk and drew a glass of milk and some cookies.
Geography: We left Japan and headed south to Australia where we learned a little history about the only country that is also a continent.
Math: Faith did a worksheet about calendars.
Spelling: Practiced writing words that are associated with the Easter holiday.
Reading: Started reading a chapter book from the Hooked on Phonics program called "Detective Dog and the Lost Rabbit."
We were all disappointed this morning when we received a phone call from the family we were going to babysit for. Apparently the dad's new job did not work out so they will not need us to watch their little girl until he finds a new one. :(
Seth had Head Start today. Faith, Anna and I played outside for half an hour after lunch. We had time to bake some chocolate chip cookies this afternoon and Faith used her Easy Bake oven.
We purchased some used calf hutches and got them all set up in the evening. The kids and I were very excited and happy with how they work. They will make our chores much faster and easier. After chores we drove over to our Amish friends house to wish their son a happy first birthday. (I was their doula at his birth) We ended up staying for supper and had a nice visit. When we returned home Faith asked if she could read a couple more chapters in the "Detective Dog" book. Even though it was late I said yes because I was so happy that she actually wanted to read.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Friday, March 26 - Monday, March 29
Friday was a short school day because the family went out for our monthly pizza and swimming day. We did do a couple lessons in the morning though. Faith read a new book from the Hooked on Phonics program that she really enjoyed and she completed a review sheet on writing the numbers 0-100. Then we all joined in on counting to 100 because this is good practice for Seth also.
We finished watching the Iditarod DVD and then watched an Animal Planet DVD about the panda bears in the Washington DC zoo. The kids loved it so much they watched it two more times over the weekend.
My aunt and uncle from Michigan were down visiting for the weekend so on Sunday, after church and Sunday school, we rode our bikes over to my parents to visit and have dinner. I have been trying to get out for a walk or a bike ride with the kids after evening chores on the nice days.
Monday was a big cleaning day and we tried doing a science experiment by placing a white carnation in colored water, but for some reason it didn't work, yet.
We finished watching the Iditarod DVD and then watched an Animal Planet DVD about the panda bears in the Washington DC zoo. The kids loved it so much they watched it two more times over the weekend.
My aunt and uncle from Michigan were down visiting for the weekend so on Sunday, after church and Sunday school, we rode our bikes over to my parents to visit and have dinner. I have been trying to get out for a walk or a bike ride with the kids after evening chores on the nice days.
Monday was a big cleaning day and we tried doing a science experiment by placing a white carnation in colored water, but for some reason it didn't work, yet.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Thursday, March 25
Daily Devotion: Read 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 and talked about grief.
Writing: Faith did an alphabet journal entry; O is for Octopus and drew a nice picture. (I forgot to previously mention we are doing this for handwriting because we finished up with the Handwriting Without Tears Workbook.)
We did not have science today because I have to pick up some supplies for the experiment. Instead we did the arts & crafts project we didn't have time for last week. The kids cut shapes out of construction paper. We hung them on pieces of yarn attached to a ice cream cover with the center cut out. Then we tied colorful ribbons on the yarn and hung it up for a kite mobile.
Geography: Colored the flag of Japan and listened to a book on tape called "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes," a true story about a 12-year-old Japanese girl who was 2-years-old when the atomic bomb was dropped and then ten years later was diagnosed and died from leukemia. While sick in the hospital a friend brought her an origami crane and told her a story about if she made 1,000 paper cranes it would please the gods and she would become well. The girl's brother hangs the cranes from the ceiling of her hospital room and over the months she is able to fold over 600 paper cranes before she dies. Her classmates from school then finish making the rest so the paper cranes can be buried with her and make a book from the letters and journal she wrote. The book passes throughout Japan and Sadako becomes well known and remembered.
Math: Did an exercise in following oral directions.
Reading: Learned some new helper words and reviewed previously learned ones. Read a new story out of the workbook.
Spelling: Unscrambled words from spelling list 3.
Later this afternoon Faith will attend her weekly gymnastics class.
Writing: Faith did an alphabet journal entry; O is for Octopus and drew a nice picture. (I forgot to previously mention we are doing this for handwriting because we finished up with the Handwriting Without Tears Workbook.)
We did not have science today because I have to pick up some supplies for the experiment. Instead we did the arts & crafts project we didn't have time for last week. The kids cut shapes out of construction paper. We hung them on pieces of yarn attached to a ice cream cover with the center cut out. Then we tied colorful ribbons on the yarn and hung it up for a kite mobile.
Geography: Colored the flag of Japan and listened to a book on tape called "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes," a true story about a 12-year-old Japanese girl who was 2-years-old when the atomic bomb was dropped and then ten years later was diagnosed and died from leukemia. While sick in the hospital a friend brought her an origami crane and told her a story about if she made 1,000 paper cranes it would please the gods and she would become well. The girl's brother hangs the cranes from the ceiling of her hospital room and over the months she is able to fold over 600 paper cranes before she dies. Her classmates from school then finish making the rest so the paper cranes can be buried with her and make a book from the letters and journal she wrote. The book passes throughout Japan and Sadako becomes well known and remembered.
Math: Did an exercise in following oral directions.
Reading: Learned some new helper words and reviewed previously learned ones. Read a new story out of the workbook.
Spelling: Unscrambled words from spelling list 3.
Later this afternoon Faith will attend her weekly gymnastics class.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Wednesday, March 24
Faith surprised me by being up at 4:00 a.m. this morning, dressed and ready to help feed calves. Last week Seth surprised me one morning by doing the same thing. Since we have so many calves being born right now Loren and I have changed our morning routine so he gets up earlier and starts milking the cows and I come out awhile later to feed and help finish up so he can head in to work at Menard's. With Faith's help my chores only took an hour and we were able to feed milk to nine baby calves, give hay to the dry cows (the cows that are going to have calves and are not milking right now), clean the stalls and wash the bottles. They say a farm is a great place to raise a family and I totally agree. The farm is a great learning environment and teaches responsibility not only by helping with chores, but also responsibility for yourself and others. I depend on my children to listen, follow direction, look out for themselves and each other because in reality a farm can be a dangerous place and accidents can happen. But I compare it to a child living in town who grows up learning at a young age to watch for cars, how to cross the street, to play in their own backyard and not to talk to strangers. One reason I chose to homeschool is to instill the values that come with growing up on a farm and also because their is a real possibility that our children may be the last generation to truly experience life on a small, family farm.
Today for our Daily Devotion we read Psalm 103:11-13 and talked about forgiveness.
We finished up learning about teeth in Health by discussing plaque and sugar causing tooth decay and how regular checkups at the dentist are important. The kids completed a dot-to-dot for their final page in their booklets that we will finish putting together one of these days. We read "Curious George Goes to the Dentist" and "The Berenstain Bears Go to the Dentist." The final activity was using old toothbrushes and water to scrub the dirt off small rocks.
Writing: Faith finished coloring her quilt picture for the letter Q and then practiced writing the letter p for plate and drew a picture of a plate with different foods on it.
Geography: We looked at some different library books about Japan; some were informational and some were just stories.
Math: Faith took a test on the different things she has been learning the past couple weeks. She passed so we will move on in the workbook next week.
Bible: Did a finger play and read a rebus story out of the Happy Times magazine.
Reading: Read a workbook review page and played word search.
Spelling: Cut out and pasted the spelling words from word list 3 in alphabetical order.
Today for our Daily Devotion we read Psalm 103:11-13 and talked about forgiveness.
We finished up learning about teeth in Health by discussing plaque and sugar causing tooth decay and how regular checkups at the dentist are important. The kids completed a dot-to-dot for their final page in their booklets that we will finish putting together one of these days. We read "Curious George Goes to the Dentist" and "The Berenstain Bears Go to the Dentist." The final activity was using old toothbrushes and water to scrub the dirt off small rocks.
Writing: Faith finished coloring her quilt picture for the letter Q and then practiced writing the letter p for plate and drew a picture of a plate with different foods on it.
Geography: We looked at some different library books about Japan; some were informational and some were just stories.
Math: Faith took a test on the different things she has been learning the past couple weeks. She passed so we will move on in the workbook next week.
Bible: Did a finger play and read a rebus story out of the Happy Times magazine.
Reading: Read a workbook review page and played word search.
Spelling: Cut out and pasted the spelling words from word list 3 in alphabetical order.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Tuesday, March 23
The start of another new school week. We have been listening to Grimm's Fairy Tales whenever we drive somewhere lately. The kids love stories on CD or tape. I like them because they encourage children to use their imaginations so much more then television.
We had a busy, but productive day. We read Psalm 20:3-5 for our Daily Devotion and prayed for the leaders of our country and the people who protect us.
In Health we began learning about our teeth, which is partly review from previous years and also some new information. We discussed how we use our teeth, (eating, talking, nice smiles), the purpose of each kind of tooth (biting, tearing, chewing), primary and secondary teeth, said the alphabet slowly while thinking about how our tongue and teeth help us make each letter sound, read the books "How Many Teeth," "The Missing Tooth," and "Rabbit's Loose Tooth." The kids got to eat fruit roll-ups for a snack to see how they need to use all their teeth to eat. I also stressed the importance of taking care of their "baby teeth" even though they fall out because they help determine the health and how well their "permanent" teeth grow into place.
Writing: We used a creative writing prompt; "If you could prepare one meal for your family what would it be and how would you make it?" Both Faith and Seth got to make up a story while I wrote it down for them. Even though they are not actually practicing their handwriting I think it is important for them to practice making up stories that have a beginning, middle and end and also how to answer a question and follow direction.
Math: Faith did a review page on the "ones" and "tens" columns. I like that our curriculum reviews previous material in between new material, especially since she struggled a bit at first to understand how many are supposed to go in the "tens" place.
Geography: The kids were given a coloring sheet with decorative carp to color with the names of each color written in English and Japanese.
Faith, Seth and Anna ate orange slices for a snack and played outside for awhile before Seth and I left for Head Start. I was a parent volunteer for the class's trip to the circus. Loren helped Faith with her Reading and Spelling after lunch.
At chore time the kids played outside riding bikes, running around and Faith decided to "spring clean" their playhouse. Seth helped feed calves and Faith helped make biscuits from scratch to go along with supper. The recipe is called "Cowboy Biscuits," but we call them "Faith's Blue Ribbon Biscuits" after she won first place at the county fair last summer.
We had a busy, but productive day. We read Psalm 20:3-5 for our Daily Devotion and prayed for the leaders of our country and the people who protect us.
In Health we began learning about our teeth, which is partly review from previous years and also some new information. We discussed how we use our teeth, (eating, talking, nice smiles), the purpose of each kind of tooth (biting, tearing, chewing), primary and secondary teeth, said the alphabet slowly while thinking about how our tongue and teeth help us make each letter sound, read the books "How Many Teeth," "The Missing Tooth," and "Rabbit's Loose Tooth." The kids got to eat fruit roll-ups for a snack to see how they need to use all their teeth to eat. I also stressed the importance of taking care of their "baby teeth" even though they fall out because they help determine the health and how well their "permanent" teeth grow into place.
Writing: We used a creative writing prompt; "If you could prepare one meal for your family what would it be and how would you make it?" Both Faith and Seth got to make up a story while I wrote it down for them. Even though they are not actually practicing their handwriting I think it is important for them to practice making up stories that have a beginning, middle and end and also how to answer a question and follow direction.
Math: Faith did a review page on the "ones" and "tens" columns. I like that our curriculum reviews previous material in between new material, especially since she struggled a bit at first to understand how many are supposed to go in the "tens" place.
Geography: The kids were given a coloring sheet with decorative carp to color with the names of each color written in English and Japanese.
Faith, Seth and Anna ate orange slices for a snack and played outside for awhile before Seth and I left for Head Start. I was a parent volunteer for the class's trip to the circus. Loren helped Faith with her Reading and Spelling after lunch.
At chore time the kids played outside riding bikes, running around and Faith decided to "spring clean" their playhouse. Seth helped feed calves and Faith helped make biscuits from scratch to go along with supper. The recipe is called "Cowboy Biscuits," but we call them "Faith's Blue Ribbon Biscuits" after she won first place at the county fair last summer.
Monday, March 22
Monday is considered to be my "work" day because I spend the majority of the morning putting together my two newspaper columns and making phone calls. It is also the day I clean the dining room/kitchen area and do laundry. The kids usually play while I am working or watch PBS if I am on the phone making my news calls. I also look ahead at our school schedule for the week, which I like to have planned two weeks in advance, so I have everything we need on hand.
I wanted to get the kids on a better track with chores, so today after they helped throw wood in the basement (we heat our house with a wood furnace downstairs) Loren paid them for the chores completed and we reselected cards. Seth had a little bit of difficulty understanding why he had to give me his dollar (remember he owes me $2.00 for the paper dolls he bought on Friday). I gave him the choice of either he gives me the dollar or I get to keep the paper dolls. In the end I got the dollar.
For her chore Faith chose to make all the beds in the house, but since it was laundry day I had her take all the sheets off the beds so I could wash them. Seth chose to clean up their bedroom, so I gave him a basket and he picked up all the clothes that were on the floor. Faith also volunteered to help feed some calves tonight at chore time. We have a lot of calves to feed bottles to right now, so I appreciated her help. Seth also volunteered to help make Anna's bed by himself. After a little frustration with trying to get the fitted sheet on he proudly finished the task.
Spring is a hard time of year to keep the kids interested in helping in the barn. With the weather so nice they are like the cattle when we first let them out to pasture. Our kids know not to go too far away without permission, but many times I will not see them in the yard and will have to call for them. Soon I see them coming from the pasture or out of the woods always with out two dogs following close behind. I love having all this space for them to explore. This time of year also means more laundry and baths because they collect a lot of dirt on all their adventures.
This afternoon we did our Geography project we didn't have time for last week; we made Jellied Plums for our Japanese recipe and ate them for dessert after supper. Usually the kids are excited about a cooking project, like last night when Faith helped cook pancakes, but today they were more interested in watching Cyberchase on PBS.
Next week we start babysitting a two-year-old girl three days a week, so we will have what Seth calls "the new kid" participating in our homeschool adventures. It should be fun!
I wanted to get the kids on a better track with chores, so today after they helped throw wood in the basement (we heat our house with a wood furnace downstairs) Loren paid them for the chores completed and we reselected cards. Seth had a little bit of difficulty understanding why he had to give me his dollar (remember he owes me $2.00 for the paper dolls he bought on Friday). I gave him the choice of either he gives me the dollar or I get to keep the paper dolls. In the end I got the dollar.
For her chore Faith chose to make all the beds in the house, but since it was laundry day I had her take all the sheets off the beds so I could wash them. Seth chose to clean up their bedroom, so I gave him a basket and he picked up all the clothes that were on the floor. Faith also volunteered to help feed some calves tonight at chore time. We have a lot of calves to feed bottles to right now, so I appreciated her help. Seth also volunteered to help make Anna's bed by himself. After a little frustration with trying to get the fitted sheet on he proudly finished the task.
Spring is a hard time of year to keep the kids interested in helping in the barn. With the weather so nice they are like the cattle when we first let them out to pasture. Our kids know not to go too far away without permission, but many times I will not see them in the yard and will have to call for them. Soon I see them coming from the pasture or out of the woods always with out two dogs following close behind. I love having all this space for them to explore. This time of year also means more laundry and baths because they collect a lot of dirt on all their adventures.
This afternoon we did our Geography project we didn't have time for last week; we made Jellied Plums for our Japanese recipe and ate them for dessert after supper. Usually the kids are excited about a cooking project, like last night when Faith helped cook pancakes, but today they were more interested in watching Cyberchase on PBS.
Next week we start babysitting a two-year-old girl three days a week, so we will have what Seth calls "the new kid" participating in our homeschool adventures. It should be fun!
Daily Chores
As parents, one decision we had had to make was whether or not to give our children an allowance for the chores they do. I developed a chore card system using the clip art in the Microsoft Word program. We have 15 picture cards, each representing a different chore (wash dishes, feed pets, vacuum, dust, sweep, make beds, clean living room, help cook, clean bedroom, take out garbage, clean bathroom, clean one area of the basement, help with farm chores, help with laundry and set/clear table). I will mix the cards up and Faith, Seth and Anna will each draw 5 cards. Even Anna is old enough to participate with some help and the kids earn one dollar for every five chores they complete. I try to have them choose 1 card for each weekday, but some days, if we are extra busy or go to town, I don't.
Each child has a chore chart hanging on the wall where they can list their chores and mark them off when completed. Loren and I still expect them to help with small tasks or extra chores if asked, without a reward, but for the bigger chores we do give them an allowance. Once all 15 chores have been completed, which usually takes a week or two, we mix the cards up again and start all over.
We also try to incorporate 5-minute cleanups each day so picking up does not become a long, overwhelming task because we let toys pile up on the living room floor all week. For example, I will set a timer for 5-minutes and we will all work together to see how much of the living room we can get cleaned up before the timer rings. If someone refuses to help they lose privileges like TV time or computer use.
One of my goals is to get into a better habit of having the kids help every day. Mainly, it's just fitting it into our daily routine, which usually ends up being at the end of the day when we're all feeling tired. So, this is something I continue to work on.
What we like about this system is it teaches the kids money management skills and also to recognize the different coins and dollars. When we go to town and they want to buy some candy or a small toy that I normally would not purchase they can use their own money. They need to look at prices and decide if they have enough money or if they need to make another selection. Sometimes they buy an item and then afterwards learn that it was not worth the money they spent. Now, if I would have paid for it then it probably would not matter so much, but because it was their hard earned cash, next time they might remember to not impulse buy or to be more careful with their choices.
They have also learned to save money and right now Faith and Seth are both hoping to buy rabbits this spring. And they have felt the reward of giving to others by buying treats or gifts for friends and family and putting their own money into the Sunday school offering plate.
One other tip I picked up somewhere, is to have a set of morning routine cards. This really helps me to not have to remind the kids what to do after breakfast and before school each day. Anna still needs my assistance at getting ready in the morning, but Faith and Seth each have a set of four picture cards on a key ring that reminds them to brush their teeth, comb their hair, make their bed and get dressed. When everything is complete, they return the key ring to me and I know they are ready for the day.
Each child has a chore chart hanging on the wall where they can list their chores and mark them off when completed. Loren and I still expect them to help with small tasks or extra chores if asked, without a reward, but for the bigger chores we do give them an allowance. Once all 15 chores have been completed, which usually takes a week or two, we mix the cards up again and start all over.
We also try to incorporate 5-minute cleanups each day so picking up does not become a long, overwhelming task because we let toys pile up on the living room floor all week. For example, I will set a timer for 5-minutes and we will all work together to see how much of the living room we can get cleaned up before the timer rings. If someone refuses to help they lose privileges like TV time or computer use.
One of my goals is to get into a better habit of having the kids help every day. Mainly, it's just fitting it into our daily routine, which usually ends up being at the end of the day when we're all feeling tired. So, this is something I continue to work on.
What we like about this system is it teaches the kids money management skills and also to recognize the different coins and dollars. When we go to town and they want to buy some candy or a small toy that I normally would not purchase they can use their own money. They need to look at prices and decide if they have enough money or if they need to make another selection. Sometimes they buy an item and then afterwards learn that it was not worth the money they spent. Now, if I would have paid for it then it probably would not matter so much, but because it was their hard earned cash, next time they might remember to not impulse buy or to be more careful with their choices.
They have also learned to save money and right now Faith and Seth are both hoping to buy rabbits this spring. And they have felt the reward of giving to others by buying treats or gifts for friends and family and putting their own money into the Sunday school offering plate.
One other tip I picked up somewhere, is to have a set of morning routine cards. This really helps me to not have to remind the kids what to do after breakfast and before school each day. Anna still needs my assistance at getting ready in the morning, but Faith and Seth each have a set of four picture cards on a key ring that reminds them to brush their teeth, comb their hair, make their bed and get dressed. When everything is complete, they return the key ring to me and I know they are ready for the day.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Friday, March 19
Fridays are our pajama day at school where the kids and I do not have to get dressed for school unless we want to. We also have show-and-tell because the kids kept asking if we could. They each get up to 5 minutes to share something with the rest of us.
Today we had a chiropractic appointment in Park Rapids in the afternoon, so we had a short school day and will probably do our Geography and Arts & Craft project tomorrow, unless I get called to a birth. (A mom called while I was in P.R. and was having contractions.)
This is what we did get accomplished today:
Daily Devotion: Mark 13:32-33 The Day and Hour Unknown
Talked about when Jesus will return (will it be today, next week, years or even in our lifetime?) and what we should do while we wait. Faith reminded us of how the Bible says heaven is full of many rooms that God has prepared for us and when our room is ready Jesus will come and take us to heaven. "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." John 14:2-4 (This verse was read by our Pastor many times while my father-in-law lay in bed dying.)
Writing: Faith started on Q is for Quilt in her alphabet journal, but didn't quite finish coloring the picture of her quilt because I only allowed so much time since we had an appointment to be at on time.
Math: Did a worksheet on following oral directions. The worksheet had 16 pictures on it and as I read a story out loud Faith had to put a number by each picture in the correct order. She let Seth help by letting him point to the picture too.
Reading: We played Word Play in the HOP workbook. Faith is given cards with a letter on each and then is given a word to spell with those letters. Seth helped identify the letters in the words Faith spelled. Faith read a short story out of her workbook and then Seth read a book too by looking at the pictures and telling the story. Even though he isn't actually reading any words, telling a story is great practice for his speech development.
I liked the fact that Faith and Seth chose to work together today and cooperated. Anna sat on the couch engrossed in this Amish Life book that has been her favorite for the past few days. She just loves the photos, especially of the babies.
In town we stopped to do a little shopping for some birthday gifts for our friends and Seth practiced his money management skills. He wanted to buy a book of paper dolls that cost $4.00. I told the children I could not afford to buy each of them something that cost that much, but I would give them each $2.00 to spend. Faith chose a plastic jewelry set for $1.50, Anna chose a .25 sucker, but Seth was still intent on the paper dolls. So I gave him a choice of paying $2.00 out of his own money to make up the difference or choosing something that cost less. This was a hard decision because he knows he has a $10.00 bill at home that he has been saving for a bunny rabbit and he did not want to give that up. In the end, he chose to give up two of his dollars for the paper dolls. After some thought while driving home I chose to let him keep his $10.00 bill and instead will keep $2.00 of the money he earns from doing chores. He was very excited about this and agreed to get all his work done.
In a future post I will explain more about our chore and allowance system.
Today we had a chiropractic appointment in Park Rapids in the afternoon, so we had a short school day and will probably do our Geography and Arts & Craft project tomorrow, unless I get called to a birth. (A mom called while I was in P.R. and was having contractions.)
This is what we did get accomplished today:
Daily Devotion: Mark 13:32-33 The Day and Hour Unknown
Talked about when Jesus will return (will it be today, next week, years or even in our lifetime?) and what we should do while we wait. Faith reminded us of how the Bible says heaven is full of many rooms that God has prepared for us and when our room is ready Jesus will come and take us to heaven. "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." John 14:2-4 (This verse was read by our Pastor many times while my father-in-law lay in bed dying.)
Writing: Faith started on Q is for Quilt in her alphabet journal, but didn't quite finish coloring the picture of her quilt because I only allowed so much time since we had an appointment to be at on time.
Math: Did a worksheet on following oral directions. The worksheet had 16 pictures on it and as I read a story out loud Faith had to put a number by each picture in the correct order. She let Seth help by letting him point to the picture too.
Reading: We played Word Play in the HOP workbook. Faith is given cards with a letter on each and then is given a word to spell with those letters. Seth helped identify the letters in the words Faith spelled. Faith read a short story out of her workbook and then Seth read a book too by looking at the pictures and telling the story. Even though he isn't actually reading any words, telling a story is great practice for his speech development.
I liked the fact that Faith and Seth chose to work together today and cooperated. Anna sat on the couch engrossed in this Amish Life book that has been her favorite for the past few days. She just loves the photos, especially of the babies.
In town we stopped to do a little shopping for some birthday gifts for our friends and Seth practiced his money management skills. He wanted to buy a book of paper dolls that cost $4.00. I told the children I could not afford to buy each of them something that cost that much, but I would give them each $2.00 to spend. Faith chose a plastic jewelry set for $1.50, Anna chose a .25 sucker, but Seth was still intent on the paper dolls. So I gave him a choice of paying $2.00 out of his own money to make up the difference or choosing something that cost less. This was a hard decision because he knows he has a $10.00 bill at home that he has been saving for a bunny rabbit and he did not want to give that up. In the end, he chose to give up two of his dollars for the paper dolls. After some thought while driving home I chose to let him keep his $10.00 bill and instead will keep $2.00 of the money he earns from doing chores. He was very excited about this and agreed to get all his work done.
In a future post I will explain more about our chore and allowance system.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Thursday, March 18
Daily Devotion: Genesis 45:1-8 Joseph Makes Himself Known
(We use the My Devotions book that our church hands out quarterly)
Talked about forgiveness
We also have a cute, little series of books from Concordia Publishing House called "God, I need to talk to you about......" and each one focuses on a different problem children may face (disrespect, hurting others, lying, sharing, whining, etc.)
Health: Personal Grooming
Talked about a display of different items that we use to keep ourselves clean and healthy.
Sang a song called "What are we doing now?" and filled in the verses with different things like "washing our hair."
Read a poem called "Wish" abut a child who wishes he/she was a fish so no one would ask "Have you washed today?" Discussed why adults check up on whether children have washed.
Completed another page for the booklet about making healthy choices
I read the books "Harry the Dirty Dog" and "Mud Puddle" to Faith and Anna
Writing: Faith made 2 entries in her alphabet journal. She wrote P is for Winnie the Pooh and J is for for Jam. She drew a picture of Pooh, Christopher Robin and Piglet and another picture showing four different jars of Jam.
Math: Did 1 review page on fractions before moving onto something new tomorrow.
Science: Talked about the different parts of a plant (root, stem, leaf and flower, fruit or seed). Examined a tomato, carrot, lettuce and celery. Matched up which food went with which part of the plant. Discussed what parts of different plants are edible.
Geography: Learned fascinating facts about Japan. I make this more entertaining by hiding clues around the house and each clue has a fascinating fact to go with it.
Spelling: Did a worksheet unscrambling the words from word list 2
Reading: Sounded out compound words like kit + ten = kitten
Faith read a few pages of "Go Dog Go"
Another set of books I really like that we have on our book shelf is the Explore and Learn series because they are great reference books or can be used to supplement a curriculum or even make up your own curriculum for younger children.
And of course there are those everyday moments that make great teaching opportunities like cooking, grocery shopping, even folding laundry and matching socks!
Faith attended her weekly 1 hour gymnastics class this afternoon while Seth, Anna and I went to the library.
Tonight before bed the entire family watched 1 hour of a library DVD on the Iditarod sled dog race in Alaska.
(We use the My Devotions book that our church hands out quarterly)
Talked about forgiveness
We also have a cute, little series of books from Concordia Publishing House called "God, I need to talk to you about......" and each one focuses on a different problem children may face (disrespect, hurting others, lying, sharing, whining, etc.)
Health: Personal Grooming
Talked about a display of different items that we use to keep ourselves clean and healthy.
Sang a song called "What are we doing now?" and filled in the verses with different things like "washing our hair."
Read a poem called "Wish" abut a child who wishes he/she was a fish so no one would ask "Have you washed today?" Discussed why adults check up on whether children have washed.
Completed another page for the booklet about making healthy choices
I read the books "Harry the Dirty Dog" and "Mud Puddle" to Faith and Anna
Writing: Faith made 2 entries in her alphabet journal. She wrote P is for Winnie the Pooh and J is for for Jam. She drew a picture of Pooh, Christopher Robin and Piglet and another picture showing four different jars of Jam.
Math: Did 1 review page on fractions before moving onto something new tomorrow.
Science: Talked about the different parts of a plant (root, stem, leaf and flower, fruit or seed). Examined a tomato, carrot, lettuce and celery. Matched up which food went with which part of the plant. Discussed what parts of different plants are edible.
Geography: Learned fascinating facts about Japan. I make this more entertaining by hiding clues around the house and each clue has a fascinating fact to go with it.
Spelling: Did a worksheet unscrambling the words from word list 2
Reading: Sounded out compound words like kit + ten = kitten
Faith read a few pages of "Go Dog Go"
Another set of books I really like that we have on our book shelf is the Explore and Learn series because they are great reference books or can be used to supplement a curriculum or even make up your own curriculum for younger children.
And of course there are those everyday moments that make great teaching opportunities like cooking, grocery shopping, even folding laundry and matching socks!
Faith attended her weekly 1 hour gymnastics class this afternoon while Seth, Anna and I went to the library.
Tonight before bed the entire family watched 1 hour of a library DVD on the Iditarod sled dog race in Alaska.
Welcome
"Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6
A little background about our family:
My husband Loren and I have three children; Faith (7), Seth (4) and Anna (2). We have a dairy farm on the land that was settled by my great-grandfather back in 1893 after he emigrated from Germany at the age of 15.
Loren is on the Wolf Lake Fire Department and is chairman of Toad Lake Town Board. Currently he is also working part-time at Menards.
I work from home as a free-lance writer for the Frazee-Vergas Forum and am also a certified birth doula.
Faith is in first grade at home, Seth is enrolled in pre-school at Head Start where he receives speech therapy, but we plan to homeschool him for Kindergarten, and Anna is an active and healthy toddler.
Why we started homeschooling:
When Faith was two-years-old I was already feeling anxious about the day she would leave us to attend school; it just didn't feel natural to be away from my child for that many hours a week. We had been attending ECFE classes since she was 6-months-old and continued until she reached pre-school age. Although we enjoyed the classes, I gained much insight into what the future would hold for our children in a public school setting. I began to feel that our values and beliefs would not be upheld in this environment.
I was reminded of this today when I heard Pink Floyd sing on the radio, "We don't need no education, We don't need no thought control, No dark sarcasm in the classroom, Teacher leave them kids alone." That may be a bit extreme, but I was one who said, "I could never homeschool." But God helped me see that it could be done by working through our neighbors, friends and acquaintances that had already started on this journey.
I read and researched, gave it much thought and prayer, and after discussing it with Loren we decided to try teaching Faith pre-school at home with the plan of taking it one year at a time. We continued the following year with Kindergarten, but I can honestly say I questioned our choice on and off the first two years because I was afraid I was making her "miss out" on something or was "holding her back." But my heart and instincts told me to continue. Now, in our third year I can say that I homeschool with confidence. Our plan is to still take it one year at a time, but as long as I feel capable of teaching and our children enjoy it, we plan on continuing.
Curriculum we are currently using:
The past two years I made up most of our own curriculum with somewhat of a "unit studies" approach, but this year I purchased everything through Rainbow Resource Center Inc. In the past I have also purchased teaching materials and arts & crafts supplies from Trend, Discount School Supply, and various local stores. I set a budget for myself, but also take into consideration that we cannot put a price tag on our children's education.
If I had to put a label on what kind of homeschoolers we are I suppose we would best fit under "traditional" because I like routines, a schedule, a curriculum to follow, and an area of the house setup as our "school area" (although we also use other areas of our home too). But I also take into consideration our children's learning styles and interests, so we could also fit a little bit in the "eclectic" category.
This is what Faith has been using this year for first grade:
Reading: Hooked on Phonics program, Book-It program
Writing: Handwriting without Tears, creative writing ideas from superteacherworksheets.com
Math: Alpha Omega Lifepac
Health: Horizons Health
Science: Brown Bag Science books, Science Play
Geography: Beginning Geography books, A Trip around the World (Book 1)
Bible: Daily Devotions, Happy Times magazine, Family Bible Library books
Spelling: School Zone workbook, worksheets from superteacherworksheets.com
Arts & Crafts: The Mailbox Big Book of Monthly Crafts
Music: CDs from the library, percussion instruments, keyboard and guitar
Physical Ed: Lots of outside time, swimming, gymnastics, soccer and trips to the park
We also supplement with reading books, some educational computer games, reusable wipe-off books, and of course a homeschooler's best resource; the library.
Because Seth attends Head Start in the afternoons three days a week I do not have a set curriculum for him at home this year because I feel it would be too much structure and activity for him each day. So, while we are doing school in the mornings he is allowed free choice of sit down activities (like puzzles, coloring sheets, workbook pages, games, etc.) and he participates in all group and hands on activities. Anna usually just goes with the flow and likes to do whatever the rest of us are doing.
Our schedule:
Our school days are Tuesday-Friday. We try to start school around 9:00 in the morning, take a mid-morning break, do another subject and then break for lunch. We finish up the remainder of our work after lunch and are usually done around 2:00 in the afternoon.
We do a daily devotion each morning at breakfast along with a Bible themed activity on Wednesdays and read a Bible story on Sunday evenings.
We begin each school day with the Pledge of Allegiance because I feel it is important to teach our children respect for the flag, our country and its people, especially our veterans, no matter what our personal feelings may be about our government, its laws, war or any other political matters.
We look at our calendar and review the day, month, year, season and look ahead to any special days that are coming up. We also check the weather and discuss the temperature, weather conditions and dress our weather guy for the day.
We have Health on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, a Science experiment is done each Thursday and an Arts & Crafts project is completed each Friday. Reading, Writing, Math and Spelling are done each day.
Our school calendar runs from mid-September until the end of May with a two week Christmas break and a one week spring break sometime in March or April. We also allow days off for other major holidays, birthdays, field trips and sick days. Sometimes we will use a Saturday as a makeup day if needed.
Some subjects, like reading, are continued throughout the summer and this year I plan on doing one unit study in June, July and August to add in some extra fun activities that we didn't have time for during the regular school year.
Purpose of this blog:
My plans for this blog are to update it with our daily activities in each subject as a way to journal it for our own memories, to help keep our friends and family informed as to our homeschooling activities, and also to share some ideas with other homeschooling parents. Well, let's get started.......
Tuesday, March 16 (This week we switched our Health and Bible days because I needed some supplies from the store for an activity. One benefit of homeschooling: a flexible schedule.)
Daily Devotions: Read Mark 12:13-17 Paying Taxes to Caesar
Is it necessary to pay our taxes? Jesus says, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's."
Bible: Read a poem about sheep going to their shepherd in the Happy Times magazine and Faith filled in the rhyming number for each verse. We reviewed last week's Bible story about the shepherd and the lost sheep and how it relates to our relationship with Jesus.
Writing: Faith did a journal entry for the capital letter T, which she practiced writing a full line of. She chose the word Tiger and drew a picture of Tigger and Roo.
Math: Started to learn fractions by dividing different objects into one-half and writing 1/2. Completed one worksheet page in the Lifepac workbook.
Geography: Left China and headed to Japan, which we located on the map and globe. Gave a brief overview of the country we will be visiting for the next two weeks.
Spelling: Practiced writing words with the -in, -on, -un endings.
Reading: Read words with the dr- and qu- prefix, did a word search in the workbook and chose one story to read out loud.
Wednesday, March 17
For St. Patrick's day the kids are looking for paper clovers that are hidden throughout the house.
Daily Devotions: Read Mark 12:41-44 The Widow's Offering
Discussed what it means to give with "a joyful heart" and encouraged the children to use some of the money God has blessed them with for the Sunday school offering.
Health: Used our health puppets, Sam and Terry, to discuss healthy snack choices and nutrition. The kids helped make frozen yogurt pops, completed a page for the booklets they are making about taking care of their bodies, talked about why we pray before we eat, and sang a song of thanks to God for our food.
Geography: Learned some simple phrases in Japanese and watched a Little Pim language DVD.
Writing: Did creative writing where Faith made up a story about a leprechaun.
Spelling: Did a St. Patrick's day word search and alphabetized the words she practiced writing yesterday from word list 2 (superteacherworksheets.com)
Math: Continued with fractions by learning to divide a group of objects in half. Did one workbook page from Lifepac.
Reading: Read words with the tr- prefix and the story "Miss Prim's Hat"
A little background about our family:
My husband Loren and I have three children; Faith (7), Seth (4) and Anna (2). We have a dairy farm on the land that was settled by my great-grandfather back in 1893 after he emigrated from Germany at the age of 15.
Loren is on the Wolf Lake Fire Department and is chairman of Toad Lake Town Board. Currently he is also working part-time at Menards.
I work from home as a free-lance writer for the Frazee-Vergas Forum and am also a certified birth doula.
Faith is in first grade at home, Seth is enrolled in pre-school at Head Start where he receives speech therapy, but we plan to homeschool him for Kindergarten, and Anna is an active and healthy toddler.
Why we started homeschooling:
When Faith was two-years-old I was already feeling anxious about the day she would leave us to attend school; it just didn't feel natural to be away from my child for that many hours a week. We had been attending ECFE classes since she was 6-months-old and continued until she reached pre-school age. Although we enjoyed the classes, I gained much insight into what the future would hold for our children in a public school setting. I began to feel that our values and beliefs would not be upheld in this environment.
I was reminded of this today when I heard Pink Floyd sing on the radio, "We don't need no education, We don't need no thought control, No dark sarcasm in the classroom, Teacher leave them kids alone." That may be a bit extreme, but I was one who said, "I could never homeschool." But God helped me see that it could be done by working through our neighbors, friends and acquaintances that had already started on this journey.
I read and researched, gave it much thought and prayer, and after discussing it with Loren we decided to try teaching Faith pre-school at home with the plan of taking it one year at a time. We continued the following year with Kindergarten, but I can honestly say I questioned our choice on and off the first two years because I was afraid I was making her "miss out" on something or was "holding her back." But my heart and instincts told me to continue. Now, in our third year I can say that I homeschool with confidence. Our plan is to still take it one year at a time, but as long as I feel capable of teaching and our children enjoy it, we plan on continuing.
Curriculum we are currently using:
The past two years I made up most of our own curriculum with somewhat of a "unit studies" approach, but this year I purchased everything through Rainbow Resource Center Inc. In the past I have also purchased teaching materials and arts & crafts supplies from Trend, Discount School Supply, and various local stores. I set a budget for myself, but also take into consideration that we cannot put a price tag on our children's education.
If I had to put a label on what kind of homeschoolers we are I suppose we would best fit under "traditional" because I like routines, a schedule, a curriculum to follow, and an area of the house setup as our "school area" (although we also use other areas of our home too). But I also take into consideration our children's learning styles and interests, so we could also fit a little bit in the "eclectic" category.
This is what Faith has been using this year for first grade:
Reading: Hooked on Phonics program, Book-It program
Writing: Handwriting without Tears, creative writing ideas from superteacherworksheets.com
Math: Alpha Omega Lifepac
Health: Horizons Health
Science: Brown Bag Science books, Science Play
Geography: Beginning Geography books, A Trip around the World (Book 1)
Bible: Daily Devotions, Happy Times magazine, Family Bible Library books
Spelling: School Zone workbook, worksheets from superteacherworksheets.com
Arts & Crafts: The Mailbox Big Book of Monthly Crafts
Music: CDs from the library, percussion instruments, keyboard and guitar
Physical Ed: Lots of outside time, swimming, gymnastics, soccer and trips to the park
We also supplement with reading books, some educational computer games, reusable wipe-off books, and of course a homeschooler's best resource; the library.
Because Seth attends Head Start in the afternoons three days a week I do not have a set curriculum for him at home this year because I feel it would be too much structure and activity for him each day. So, while we are doing school in the mornings he is allowed free choice of sit down activities (like puzzles, coloring sheets, workbook pages, games, etc.) and he participates in all group and hands on activities. Anna usually just goes with the flow and likes to do whatever the rest of us are doing.
Our schedule:
Our school days are Tuesday-Friday. We try to start school around 9:00 in the morning, take a mid-morning break, do another subject and then break for lunch. We finish up the remainder of our work after lunch and are usually done around 2:00 in the afternoon.
We do a daily devotion each morning at breakfast along with a Bible themed activity on Wednesdays and read a Bible story on Sunday evenings.
We begin each school day with the Pledge of Allegiance because I feel it is important to teach our children respect for the flag, our country and its people, especially our veterans, no matter what our personal feelings may be about our government, its laws, war or any other political matters.
We look at our calendar and review the day, month, year, season and look ahead to any special days that are coming up. We also check the weather and discuss the temperature, weather conditions and dress our weather guy for the day.
We have Health on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, a Science experiment is done each Thursday and an Arts & Crafts project is completed each Friday. Reading, Writing, Math and Spelling are done each day.
Our school calendar runs from mid-September until the end of May with a two week Christmas break and a one week spring break sometime in March or April. We also allow days off for other major holidays, birthdays, field trips and sick days. Sometimes we will use a Saturday as a makeup day if needed.
Some subjects, like reading, are continued throughout the summer and this year I plan on doing one unit study in June, July and August to add in some extra fun activities that we didn't have time for during the regular school year.
Purpose of this blog:
My plans for this blog are to update it with our daily activities in each subject as a way to journal it for our own memories, to help keep our friends and family informed as to our homeschooling activities, and also to share some ideas with other homeschooling parents. Well, let's get started.......
Tuesday, March 16 (This week we switched our Health and Bible days because I needed some supplies from the store for an activity. One benefit of homeschooling: a flexible schedule.)
Daily Devotions: Read Mark 12:13-17 Paying Taxes to Caesar
Is it necessary to pay our taxes? Jesus says, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's."
Bible: Read a poem about sheep going to their shepherd in the Happy Times magazine and Faith filled in the rhyming number for each verse. We reviewed last week's Bible story about the shepherd and the lost sheep and how it relates to our relationship with Jesus.
Writing: Faith did a journal entry for the capital letter T, which she practiced writing a full line of. She chose the word Tiger and drew a picture of Tigger and Roo.
Math: Started to learn fractions by dividing different objects into one-half and writing 1/2. Completed one worksheet page in the Lifepac workbook.
Geography: Left China and headed to Japan, which we located on the map and globe. Gave a brief overview of the country we will be visiting for the next two weeks.
Spelling: Practiced writing words with the -in, -on, -un endings.
Reading: Read words with the dr- and qu- prefix, did a word search in the workbook and chose one story to read out loud.
Wednesday, March 17
For St. Patrick's day the kids are looking for paper clovers that are hidden throughout the house.
Daily Devotions: Read Mark 12:41-44 The Widow's Offering
Discussed what it means to give with "a joyful heart" and encouraged the children to use some of the money God has blessed them with for the Sunday school offering.
Health: Used our health puppets, Sam and Terry, to discuss healthy snack choices and nutrition. The kids helped make frozen yogurt pops, completed a page for the booklets they are making about taking care of their bodies, talked about why we pray before we eat, and sang a song of thanks to God for our food.
Geography: Learned some simple phrases in Japanese and watched a Little Pim language DVD.
Writing: Did creative writing where Faith made up a story about a leprechaun.
Spelling: Did a St. Patrick's day word search and alphabetized the words she practiced writing yesterday from word list 2 (superteacherworksheets.com)
Math: Continued with fractions by learning to divide a group of objects in half. Did one workbook page from Lifepac.
Reading: Read words with the tr- prefix and the story "Miss Prim's Hat"
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