Ending the Third Quarter

It's hard to believe it, but we're now 3/4 of the way done with first grade! Thankfully I have all but one of the books for second grade (and that last one I can borrow from the library if I'm inspired to go through it before the new one arrives), so I can do some concrete planning.

I'd say this year has been a success. One of the things I'm most happy about is that I've learned to go with the flow more. Both with giving Jasmine some freedom in planning her day/week, and in adjusting the curriculum as needed to work with our temperaments and strengths.


I've loved the Hideaways. Well, loved 'em and hated 'em. There are more boxes still sitting, waiting to be created, than we have projects left, because now that it's winter, our space is more limited. But we still do them some of the time:

My husband and I re-tackled that notorious igloo with the milk jugs we held onto after our first attempt. It was helpful to have thought it through the first time, so we could avoid the same mistakes. It was smaller, but it actually lasted a few days instead of a few minutes!

Gym class is more fun than I ever thought it could be...they love yoga, ballet and Irish Dancing.

I'm excited that we've made it this far, and that things are smoother and more enjoyable most days. I love my kids and am so very thankful that I get this time with them, and that I'm not sending them off for some other person to get to see that "aha!" moment. 

Second Grade planning

So....we're changing gears again.

Thankfully it's only January and we're not scheduled to finish first grade until sometime in April.

Jasmine had requested a science focus for next year.
No, that's not completely true. She asked that the only thing we do next year was science.

Thankfully, her favorite part of science is my reading to her. So though I am making plans for more activities and experiments, I know the primary requirement is good books. I can do books!

I've decided to go through history, starting with the Biblical account of creation, and through to modern history, and we'll cover things as they were discovered/invented. So we'll cover gravity when we learn about Isaac Newton.
It means making a lot of decisions...do we cover astonomy when we do ancient Greece, with Aristarchus, or do we wait until we get to Copernicus?? I haven't yet figured that part out, but I did find an awesome book that may help steer me:   I just got notification that it's been shipped. I can't wait to look through it and see how much it steers things.


Our main book is going to be the Usborne Internet-Linked Science Encyclopedia (Usborne Encyclopedia).

I've also found a couple books for next to nothing (love buying used books!!) with tons of fun child-friendly experiments. I think we should have a fun year!!

Hideaway: Old West General Store

We're now in the 19th century! It's incredible how far we've come.

Welcome to the Wild West, and to Jasmine's General Store.

Ya might notice the sign outside, created by the store owner, indicating that light bulbs are among the things available for purchase inside. But there's a warning: don't eat the light bulbs.
Inside are many drawers, all full of bits and bobs for sale!
C'mon over and shop!

Spelling again

This is Jasmine's spelling list from a couple days ago.
It's not all transferring over to when she's writing (she spelled "I" "iey" a day or so after it showed up on her spelling list) but I know it will come. And I love the logic of this, and the way it builds on itself. Just the way they learn to read! I can't believe this is such an unusual technique, because it's so incredibly logical!!!

Spelling

Spelling has been getting groans from the girls.

And from mom, if I'm completely honest.

So I knew it was time to change gears to something completely different.

My friend told me about the method she's been using for her 4th grader, and after she described it to me I decided to give it a try.

So I picked up a copy of Sequential Spelling, Level 1.

So far we've done two lessons. Oh, and Bekah's doing it with us.

They love it. They're succeeding, they're laughing, and they're learning without even realizing it!

A quick summary of how it works:
They start with writing "in." That's pretty easy to figure out. You write it on a white board and they see that they did get it! (they correct themselves as they go)
Then you have them write "pin." Also pretty easy, since they've already thought through the "in" part.

They write a couple more words the same way...they write it out, you write it on the white board and they see if they got it right. And they're done!!

Painless. Even for a child who doesn't like to write (though thankfully that doesn't seem to be as bad as it used to be. I think Copywork is helping tremendously in that regard), and even for a not-quite-5-year-old (who reads like a 9-year old)!!

Excellent idea, Mommy!

Yesterday, I was told, was the best day of school, ever.
Both Jasmine and Bekah told me separately that they loved it. Bekah told me school had been fun, and that I'd had an excellent idea. Yes, my 4-3/4-year-old daughter used the word excellent.
And Jasmine told me it was the most fun day of school she'd ever had.

And what was this wonderful thing I'd let them do??

We'd made Goobleck.
At first it was on the watery side but they had a blast:

I added more cornstarch and it was even cooler (so cool that I forgot to take pictures).

Even Josh thought it was cool when he tried it this morning.

It's messy. We have cornstarch all over the floor, counters and the stovetop. But it's been a lot of fun, trying to decide if it's a solid or a liquid!

*****important*****
If you make this, Don't put it down the drain when you're done. It will clog your drains. Throw it in the garbage!! (or let it dry and add water again for more fun someday down the road!)

Planning Stage

I don't know how it's possible, but it's time for me to start planning for school for next year.

Jasmine thinks we should spend the whole year doing science. She thinks it's the most enjoyable subject, but I think the state might have something to say about that.

So we're going to do a lot of science, but also spend the year studying American history and the other normal stuff.

And we're going out on a limb and doing our own curriculum for those two subjects!!!

We have access to a beautiful Christian library 10 minutes away. And what's even better is it's in the building where Josh works. So I can do a search and write to him, requesting a specific book to bring home for school the next day. How perfect is that?

We're going to stick with RightStart for math, Susan Wise Bauer's materials for language arts, and we're going to start using Sequential Spelling because we haven't found anything we like and that looks awesome.


I think this is the first post ever not to have pictures! I haven't taken any recently...well, none concerning school....I'll have to remedy that!