After gorging our shopping cart on things that glitter and make a mess, we should have plenty of fodder for creative endeavors this week.
We’ll put the craft pile to good use as we make a neighborhood play mat together. Curt is studying communities, while Deena focuses on geography. And we’ll all do the mat as a family art project. I got the idea and instructions from Family Fun magazine. I hope to show the completed project on my Friday recap.
Except for going to the polls on Tuesday, our government unit is finished and we get to move onto geography, which should be a whole lot more interesting for the kids (although I’m finding it all interesting!) It’s just a quick week lesson, as an introduction for Curt, and review for Deena. We have a really cool laminated map which we’ll refer to throughout the rest of the schoolyear, so we’ll integrate geography all year. This week’s unit is just the basics, and Deena’s project is to research and create geography games for the two of them to practice finding locations on the US map, world map and globe. (Games are from 10-Minute Activities.)
We’ll also read about Amish communities, as an example of alternative-culture communities in our area. I’d also love to read aloud fun stories about geography. Meredith’s and Leslie’s suggestions — Amelia Bedilia 4 Mayor and Duck for President — were hits last week, so please let me know if you have more great ideas!
We’ve also changed and added quite a bit to our curriculum list, if you’re interested in looking. We received the science textbooks and are anxious to begin new units on Mammals (Curt) and Human Body (Deena) next week.
We’ve removed Deena’s reading text book from her curriculum, because it felt like busywork for a voracious reader like her. Instead, I took Ree’s advice and purchased the Sonlight curriculum for her. We’re only using it for reading and language arts, as I feel we need to continue with Wisconsin History in order to keep pace with a public school curriculum this year (in case we go back). The curriculum integrates history, reading, grammar and writing. I’ll keep you posted on our experience with this program.
And I felt we were missing some basic grammar and writing practice, and I want to have developmentally appropriate expectations, so I’ve strengthened both kids’ grammar and writing practice with several resources from Evan-Moor and Scholastic. I may drop away from these a bit for Deena, as soon as we get started with Sonlight, but for now, we’ll try a couple of these exercises each day.
It is supposed to be unseasonably warm this week (60’s in November is a gift in Wisconsin), so we’ll be taking generous breaks in the afternoons this week for picnics in the park.
I’ll see you back here tomorrow for Pass the Torch Tuesday!
(The curricula and resources we’re using are listed on my curriculum page. I keep adding to this as I discover new materials. We do spelling, reading, writing, and math on a daily basis. Social studies and science are alternated every week or two in themes.)
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11:19 am
I see a goldfinch and a robin there whats the nearest blue one???
We have goldfinch that winter over — but I think they scedaddled when we had last weeks terrible dip into the teens. Yesterday I saw Junco and Nuthatch - some sparrows, crows and magpies.
There’s always a Kestral on the hunt in the area, too.
It is very apparent that home schooled kids learn more - faster - and probably enjoy it more, too.
I saw something about a Canadian province trying to outlaw home schooling.
The blue one is an Eastern Bluebird. The blurry figure at the end is a goldfish. The kids painted their statues by looking at a bird book. I think they mixed their colors really perfectly. And they’ll make fantastic Christmas presents, don’t you think?
10:09 pm
[…] Homeschooling Experiment milestones: The Beginning Week One - Starting with a Frazzle Five Steps to Drive Yourself off a Cliff Week Two - Just when I thought I knew what I was doing Week Three — Let there be CRAFTS! One-month Review D’s Review at One Month Week Five - Stress and frustration Week Seven - Flip-flopping curriculum Note to self - Consider having low expectations some weeks Two-Month Review — Some aha moments Three-Month Review — Not all peaches and cream Four-Month Review — Loving ancient history Five-Month Review — What I underestimated Six-Month Review - Let’s Just Skip this Month Seven-Month Review — Curriculum review […]
7:25 am
[…] Homeschooling Experiment milestones: The Beginning Week One - Starting with a Frazzle Five Steps to Drive Yourself off a Cliff Week Two - Just when I thought I knew what I was doing Week Three — Let there be CRAFTS! One-month Review D’s Review at One Month Week Five - Stress and frustration Week Seven - Flip-flopping curriculum Note to self - Consider having low expectations some weeks Two-Month Review — Some aha moments Three-Month Review — Not all peaches and cream Four-Month Review — Loving ancient history Five-Month Review — What I underestimated Six-Month Review - Let’s Just Skip this Month Seven-Month Review — Curriculum Review D’s research paper — Save the Earth Saturday series Tales of a Fourth-Grade Guinea Pig All posts about the experiment — including WAY-COOL FIELD TRIPS! […]
6:31 pm
[…] Homeschooling Experiment milestones: The Beginning Week One - Starting with a Frazzle Five Steps to Drive Yourself off a Cliff Week Two - Just when I thought I knew what I was doing Week Three — Let there be CRAFTS! One-month Review D’s Review at One Month Week Five - Stress and frustration Week Seven - Flip-flopping curriculum Note to self - Consider having low expectations some weeks Two-Month Review — Some aha moments Three-Month Review — Not all peaches and cream Four-Month Review — Loving ancient history Five-Month Review — What I underestimated Six-Month Review - Let’s Just Skip this Month Seven-Month Review — Curriculum Review D’s research paper — Save the Earth Saturday series Tales of a Fourth-Grade Guinea Pig All posts about the experiment — including WAY-COOL FIELD TRIPS! […]
7:33 am
[…] Other Homeschooling Experiment milestones: The Beginning Week One - Starting with a Frazzle Five Steps to Drive Yourself off a Cliff Week Two - Just when I thought I knew what I was doing Week Three — Let there be CRAFTS! One-month Review D’s Review at One Month Week Five - Stress and frustration Week Seven - Flip-flopping curriculum Note to self - Consider having low expectations some weeks Two-Month Review — Some aha moments Three-Month Review — Not all peaches and cream Four-Month Review — Loving ancient history Five-Month Review — What I underestimated Six-Month Review - Let’s Just Skip this Month Seven-Month Review — Curriculum Review D’s research paper — Save the Earth Saturday series Tales of a Fourth-Grade Guinea Pig All posts about the experiment — including WAY-COOL FIELD TRIPS! […]
10:06 pm
[…] Other Homeschooling Experiment milestones: The Beginning Week One - Starting with a Frazzle Five Steps to Drive Yourself off a Cliff Week Two - Just when I thought I knew what I was doing Week Three — Let there be CRAFTS! One-month Review D’s Review at One Month Week Five - Stress and frustration Week Seven - Flip-flopping curriculum Note to self - Consider having low expectations some weeks Two-Month Review — Some aha moments Three-Month Review — Not all peaches and cream Four-Month Review — Loving ancient history Five-Month Review — What I underestimated Six-Month Review - Let’s Just Skip this Month Seven-Month Review — Curriculum Review D’s research paper — Save the Earth Saturday series Tales of a Fourth-Grade Guinea Pig All posts about the experiment — including WAY-COOL FIELD TRIPS! […]
9:09 am
[…] Other Homeschooling Experiment milestones: The Beginning Week One - Starting with a Frazzle Five Steps to Drive Yourself off a Cliff Week Two - Just when I thought I knew what I was doing Week Three — Let there be CRAFTS! One-month Review D’s Review at One Month Week Five - Stress and frustration Week Seven - Flip-flopping curriculum Note to self - Consider having low expectations some weeks Two-Month Review — Some aha moments Three-Month Review — Not all peaches and cream Four-Month Review — Loving ancient history Five-Month Review — What I underestimated Six-Month Review - Let’s Just Skip this Month Seven-Month Review — Curriculum Review D’s research paper — Save the Earth Saturday series Tales of a Fourth-Grade Guinea Pig All posts about the experiment — including WAY-COOL FIELD TRIPS! […]