Learning Log of August 2013

August was a month full of farewells and hellos! My brother and family left on the first week of the month. My parents and Grandma left on the second week. As soon as we were by ourselves we began putting the house in order so we could officially be homeschooling again. Lots of cleaning outside: pruning the bushes and taking care of landscaping. 

We made some new friends during the class I taught on mixed media journaling and slowly I am trying to slow down! ha! 

Books Read Aloud to All

* Bible every day - we are reading together one chapter of the gospels. We are at the moment reading John and the kids are enjoying following and reading along in different Bible translations. We are enjoying the best of conversations and discussions as we learn more about Jesus.
* Tales for Very Picky Eaters by Josh Schneider
* Cool Potatoes from Garden to Table - How to Plant, Grow and Prepare Potatoes by Katherine Hengel
* At the Boardwalk by Kelly Ramsdell Fineman
* Bombus the Bumblebee by Elsie Larson

* Emily's Tiger by Miriam Latimer
* Squirrel's World by Lisa Moser - the cutest book about a hyper squirrel and his friends.
* Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night? by Brianna Caplan Sayers
* Amelia Bedelia and the Baby by Peggy Parish
* Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves - retold by Katie Daynes - Usborne Yong Reading book
* Princesses are not perfect by Kate Lum
* When I was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant
* Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
* Mrs Mack by Patricia Polacco
* Kindergarten Count to 100 by Jacqueline Rogers
* Nothing Here But Trees by Jean Van Leeuwen



 

  

Audio Books

* My kids, one time or another have the files below in their mp5s to which they listen to every night at their choosing: Fairy tales and classic stories , worship music, Story Hour files, The Piano Guys, Jonathan Park and The Brinkman Adventures, The Chronicles of Narnia. 

* Adventures in American History 1620 - 1975 - Adventures in Odyssey - 23 stories of a Great Nation - DD10 listened to these.

DS8 independent reading list:

* The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book by Bill Waterson
* Aircraft Carriers by John Hamilton by A&DXtreme
* Submarines by John Hamilton by A&DXtreme
* Cruisers by John Hamilton by A&DXtreme
* Helen Keller by Leslie Garrett

Read aloud to his little sisters:
* The Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen
* The Curious Garden by Peter Brown
* Just me and my Puppy by Mercer Mayer
* Little Miss Spider by David Kirk
* Rumpelstiltskin - retold and illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky

DD10 independent reading list:

* Rules by Cynthia Lord
* Matilda by Roald Dahl
* The Adventure of the Three Students by The Graphic Novel Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
* The Adventure of The Blue Carbuncle  - same as above
* The Adventures of the Copper Beeches - same as above

* The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book by Bill Waterson
* How To Train Your Dragon - Book 2 - How to be a Pirate by Cressida Cowell
* How To Train Your Dragon - Book 3 - How to Speak Dragonese by Cressida Cowell
* How To Train Your Dragon - Book 4 - How to Cheat a Dragon's Curse by Cressida Cowell
* How To Train Your Dragon - Book 5 - How to Twist a Dragon's Tale by Cressida Cowell
* How to Train Your Dragon - Book 6 - A Hero's Guide to Deadly Dragons by Cressida Cowell

* The Dragon's Apprentice by Dugald A. Steer - The Dragonology Chronicles
* Moby Dick by Herman Melville - Great Illustrated Classics
* Twenty and Ten by Claire Huchet Bishop
* Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater - re-read
* How to write a report by Cecilia Minden and Kate Roth
* I Wonder Why Castles Had Moats and other questions about long ago
* When did Kings live in Castles? - Ask me Why - Highlights in History 
* Calculator Fun by David A. Adler 
* Hydrogen and the Noble Gases

Activities at Home

* Last couple of weeks with Grandpa, Grandma and Bisa. Last few days with Uncle T. and his family. The kids have played, swam and done lots of activities with my side of the family that came to visit this summer. It was intense and busy and sooo wonderful.

* DD10 moved into a room by herself. Since she is a night owl, we decided to give her own room so she can concentrate on her nightly activities without having to worry about waking up the younger children. I can see her doing lots of learning, sewing, drawing, reading, coloring and more in the next few months. All things she's been doing for a while, but now without concern of waking up her siblings.

* After my parents left, the following Monday, we began a new "school" routine. DS8 and DD10 are doing Easy Peasy curriculum for level 3 and level 5 respectively. DD6 is doing some Easy Peasy as well as workbooks for K and 1st grade level with me that I have picked up at Walmart or were given to me. We are also trying a new Phonics program that I was given for to review. More on that coming later. We have been watching Hooked on Phonics videos on Vimeo. DD3 is doing lots of Preschool workbooks and hands- on activities with DD6. So funny how they love to play and do "school" together.

* Instead of having the kids do the Bible section on Easy Peasy, we are reading through the Gospels together. I have also purchased 3 penmanship/ copywork Bible based worksheets in different grade levels so the kids can practice their penmanship and Bible memorization at the same time. They are from LightHome Publications and they are beautifully done. 

* Lots of cooking. We went back to no wheat diet. Halleluya! Lots of veggies, fruits, nuts and homemade dishes. No more sandwiches and junk food loaded with wheat.

* We made chocolate dipped strawberries, as well as prunes and almonds. I made spaghetti squash lasagna (a favorite of DS8 and DD10) and chilli with butternut squash. So good!

* Lots of science experiments. For last couple of years, our science has mostly focused on animals, plants, anatomy, health, nutrition and our surroundings. This year, I want to focus more on physics and chemistry. Hoping load some of our films into my YouTube account. Check it out often for new additions.

* Lots of chicken babysitting. We had a scare with one of the neighbor's dogs. One Sunday as we were leaving for church we couldn't find one of our chickens. We found lots of black feathers in one place like if the chicken had been attacked or snatched away. We thought we had lost it. What a surprise to find it standing by the coup just waiting for us when we returned almost 2 hours later. So now, when we let them out of the coup we babysit the birds! :) I guess we got pets instead of laying hens!  :)

* unfortunately a couple of days later, a dog got one of our rooster. It was the littlest of all.  A while longhorn chicken. Now we are down to 5 chickens, one rooster only?? Who knows??

* We finally roasted some marshmallows and burned some wood!

* We spend an hour one afternoon prepping our old books for some future art classes. Lots of fun in store.

* Gardening: planting seeds, cleaning up beds, prepping for fall, planting more beans, harvesting lots of okra and jalapeno peppers. Added another raised bed to my collection.

* DS8 got a tablet for his birthday and has been reading more as well as watching lots of videos on it.

Field Trips/ Activities Outside Home

* Karate classes and another pool party hosted by the Karate School at our local Water Park. 

* 4H program at our Public Library: skin and skulls, food and insects.

* I taught another mixed media art journaling class. This time we worked on embellishing the covers of our books. I would love to be able to do a once a month class. It's in God's hands.

* We went to the Zoo as a family. We also went to Chuck-n-Cheese to celebrate DD5 birthday. She is officially DD6 now! We also went to the local Water park as a family. We had some friends over and a birthday party for DS7 who is now officially DS8!!

* Park, library, grocery stores, Walmart and shopping mall visits.

Websites/ Links we found and used/ Apps

* XtraMath.org - I found this website through Easy Peasy homeschooling website. I got DD10 and DS8 working on it daily and improving their math facts. If you got kids that need help with their math facts or just extra help memorizing their multiplication table this site maybe helpful. It's FREE!!!

* Currclick Live - Lego Club and Magic Tree House Club - Both DD10 and DS8 enjoyed the Lego Club and Magic Tree House Club this past month. These clubs are FREE and are interactive over the net. It was a great opportunity for my kids to interact with others over the net in a safe and monitored environment. We are definitely doing this every month.

* Art for Kids Hub - A Dad who is an artist shares with children how to draw, paint and sculpt. A website I found through HomegrownLearners. All my kids have tried a couple of drawings and done very well. For days on end, they have sat in front of the computer and sketched and colored. If you have a kid who likes to draw introduce him/ her to this site. They will love it!

* School of Dragons -  DD10 is at the moment interested in dragons. Interactive game website based on the movie How to Train your Dragon. Not only is she reading books on dragons, she is now Googling about dragons, and even creating a notebook journal on dragons.

* EAsy PEasy Homeschool Website - Picking up where we left off. DD10, DS8 and DD3 are doing the curriculum on this site daily. DD6 is working with me on her reading skills. Sometimes we use the site together but it's not a priority right now for me to have her do it daily or follow a certain level. DD10 is doing level 5 and DS8 is doing Level 3. I try to complement weekly on what they are learning. For example, I will pick a book to read on a person they are learning about or we watch a movie about that person. Sometimes, we do a Science experiment or an art project. The idea with this program is to train my kids to be more independent and learn new study methods like taking notes, copy work and making summaries. I can see it already helping them with perseverance and diligence. We are not at the moment doing any Singapore Math. But I plan to pick it up soon. When and what time of the day?? That is something I haven't figured it out yet. :)

* Free Drama - didn't actually use this site but I plan to. :)

* Video math Tutor website - not only contains videos that teach math but fun brain teasers.

TV shows/ Videos/ Movies/ YouTube

* Babies - We have seen this movie a half dozen times, but it never gets old. Whenever we have family or friends over we want to share it with them.

* Rio - another re-run.

* Ruff Ruff Man tv shows episodes - on Netflix. DS8 has got a touch pad for his birthday. The idea was to give him a tool that he could use for reading books, listening to mp3 files (audiobooks) and for entertainment. Of course, he thinks it's only for playing games and watching movies. But no! He knows with the gift comes more responsibility.

* Daniel's Tiger Neighborhood on Netflix

*Kung Fu Panda 2 and Pink Panther on YouTube

* Stuart Little 2 - really fun movie to watch. Just enough action, adventure and humor to make for a perfect family movie. We haven't watched the first movie but you really don't need to to enjoy the sequel.

* Stuart Little - not as funny as the sequel. see above.

* Stuart Little 3 - Of all 3 movies the one worth watching is the #2.

* Barbie and the Three Musketeers


* The Odd Life of Timothy Green - read this Christian review.

* Alexander Graham Bell Biographies and others by WArner- Nest video.

* The Eric Liddell Story by Torchlighters - from Netflix. Afterwards I printed the student guide from the Torchlighters website and together we discussed the movie and the hard choices Eric had to make in order to follow God.

* Are Dragons Real? - a video from Creation Today.

* Dragons a Fantasy made Real - A documentary by Animal Planet in parts on YouTube.

* Lilo and Stitch the movie

 Mom's Eclectic Reading List

* Choosing to See by Mary Beth Chapman - I had been wanting to read this book for the longest time. I finally got a copy at Paperbackswap.com . I liked the way it was written. Chapman was very truthful, honest and open hearted about who she is and how God has worked in her life to change her and fulfill His plans for her life. A book about Grace and trust in the midst of the tragedy of losing a child.

* Mother Warriors by Jenny McCarthy - a book about autism. I read 2 other books written by her and I really like her writing style. To the point. This book is a compilation of many mothers who have children with autism and how they treated them and the children recovered. It also tells of the struggle of trying to change the APP protocol of vaccines and how they still don't believe that vaccines and autism are connected. Lots of information for parents looking for hope. 

* Still reading the other books listed on learning log of July. I read quite a few books at the same time.

So what have you been up to? How is this homeschooling year different from last year??

Blessings,
Tereza