The Learning Log for May is finally here. Summer has been full of activities and fun. As some of you may know, I "school" my kids year around but we do change things around quite often. We are now doing structured learning from Mon-Wed. We spend time reading, writing and doing math. Thursdays and Fridays are spent doing art, learning science through hands-on activities and documentaries, we learn history by reading books and watching movies. I have also incorporated cooking lessons and we are fine tuning home and gardening skills. It's working better for us. The kids' stamina is still in full swing by Wednesday and when they are beginning to tire we do the more fun subjects.
Read aloud Books
* Reading Bible everyday: On May 22nd, I began to read the Proverb of the day right after breakfast. While the kids are still at the table, each one with their own Bible we read a chapter of Proverbs that matches the day and talk about it. I don't know why I took so long to do this. It has changed everything in our day. We set the mood for the whole day. The kids are listening more, obeying more, are more pleasant. I am more pleasant to be around. :) I can control my temper better and my tone of voice is more pleasant too. It's a miracle from God! Putting Him first has made all the difference.
* Also reading The Jesus STorybook Bible - DD6 takes it all in since she gets to pick the stories. She sits on my lap and follows along. Good reading practice too. :) Of course, DD4 can't stay behind. So she gets to pick a story too and enjoys being read too.
* We are also reading daily books with character lessons in it. This month we read A Hive of Busy Bees by Effie M. Williams - from Rod and Staff Publishers, Inc.
* Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology - working on the Cardiovascular unit.
* The Rise and Fall of Hitler by William L. Shirer - we didn't finish it. We took too many breaks in the reading and the evilness of the man just wore us out.
* Also reading The Jesus STorybook Bible - DD6 takes it all in since she gets to pick the stories. She sits on my lap and follows along. Good reading practice too. :) Of course, DD4 can't stay behind. So she gets to pick a story too and enjoys being read too.
* We are also reading daily books with character lessons in it. This month we read A Hive of Busy Bees by Effie M. Williams - from Rod and Staff Publishers, Inc.
* Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology - working on the Cardiovascular unit.
* The Rise and Fall of Hitler by William L. Shirer - we didn't finish it. We took too many breaks in the reading and the evilness of the man just wore us out.
* ARe you ready to play outside? by Mo Willems
* Amelia Bedelia, Rocket Scientist? by Herman Parish
* Winnie Finn, Worm Farmer by Carol Brendler - I would say Winnie Finn is a homeschooler. :)
* Penny Loves Pink by Cori Doerrfeld
* But Excuse Me That is my Book by Lauren Child
* Goblin Walk by Tony Johnson
* Before You Were Mine by Maribeth Boelts
* Charlie and the Christmas Kitty by Ree Drummond
* The Smallest Turtle by Lyrley Dodd
* Show Time with Sophia Grace and Rosie by Sophia Grace Brownlee and Rosie McClelland
* Tea Time with Sophia Grace and Rosie
Audio Books
* DD11 is listened to Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims again; Animal Farm; Pollyana,
* DD8 is listened to The Hobbit and Animal Farm on YouTube.
* DD6 has been listening to Story Nory.
DD6 independent reading list:
Talking
to DD6 one day in March, I asked her if she was happy to be reading now. She said
she was. Then I asked her if she wanted to read Calvin and Hobbes. Her
answer: "you can only read Calvin and Hobbes after you read 100 books."
So we came up with a plan to list all of her 100 books, because
according to her once she reads 100 books then she will be able to read
any book. :) How smart is she?
Continuing
this month, DD6 is reading by leaps and bounds. With ease she is
reading through her phonics books stories as well as keeping on reading
her 100 books.
9) Eloise and the Big Parade by Kay Thompson
10) Cat the Cat Who is That? by Mo Willems
11) Pete the Cat - Pete at the Beach by James Dean
12) Ollie the Stomper by Olivier Dunrea
13) Pete's Big Lunch - Pete the Cat book by James Dean
14) I Love My White Shoes - Pete the Cat book story by Eric Litwin
15) Valentine's Day is Cool - Pete the Cat book by Kimberly and James Dean
16) Too Cool for School - Pete the Cat book by Kimberly and James Dean
17) If You Give a Cat a Cupcake by Laura Numeroff
18) Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses by Kimberly and James Dean
19) Are You Ready to Play Outside? by Mo Willems
20) Pigs Make Me Sneeze! by Mo Willems
21) Elephants Cannot Dance! by Mo Willems
22) If You Give A Pig a Pancake by Laura Numeroff
23) Piglets by Alex Kuskowski
24) If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff
25) Kittens by Alex Kuskowski
26) Eloise's Summer Vacation by Kay Thompson
27) Foals by Alex Kuskowski
28) Puppies by Alex Kuskowski
DS8 independent reading list:
* More books on Calvin and Hobbes - DD8 routine before drifting off to sleep is to read a few comic strips of his collection of Calvin and Hobbes.
* Winnie Finn, Worm Farmer by Carol Brendler
* Five Little Peppers and how they Grew by Margaret Sidney
* Ten Boys Who Didn't Give In: Inspiring Stories of Martyrs by Irene Howat -
* Read aloud to his sisters:
* The Little Little Girl with the Big Big Voice by Kristen Balouch
*Calvin and Hobbes books.
* More books on Calvin and Hobbes - DD8 routine before drifting off to sleep is to read a few comic strips of his collection of Calvin and Hobbes.
* Winnie Finn, Worm Farmer by Carol Brendler
* Five Little Peppers and how they Grew by Margaret Sidney
* Ten Boys Who Didn't Give In: Inspiring Stories of Martyrs by Irene Howat -
* Read aloud to his sisters:
* The Little Little Girl with the Big Big Voice by Kristen Balouch
*Calvin and Hobbes books.
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| Real Long Egg from our favorite Hen: Fluffly! |
DD11 independent reading list
*Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson - book 1
* Peter and the Shadow Thieves by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson - book 2
* Peter and the Secret of Rundoon by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson - book 3
* Peter and the Sword of Mercy by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
* Tesla's Attic by Neal Shuterman and Eric Elfman
* Saving Lucas Biggs by Marisa de los Santos and David Teague
* Ten Girls Who used Their Talents by Irene Howat
*The Calvin and Hobbes - The tenth anniversary book by Bill Watterson
* Jeremy - The Tale of an Honest Bunny by Jan Karon
* The Butterfly Effect - How Your Life Matters by Andy Andrews
* Pollyana - listening to it as part of Easy Peasy curriculum. It's helping her to write her own book.
** Take one or two or three (i.e. reading these yet again!)
* We Can't All Be Rattlesnakes by Patrick Jennings and more from her bookshelf.
* Peter and the Shadow Thieves by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson - book 2
* Peter and the Secret of Rundoon by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson - book 3
* Peter and the Sword of Mercy by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
* Tesla's Attic by Neal Shuterman and Eric Elfman
* Saving Lucas Biggs by Marisa de los Santos and David Teague
* Ten Girls Who used Their Talents by Irene Howat
*The Calvin and Hobbes - The tenth anniversary book by Bill Watterson
* Jeremy - The Tale of an Honest Bunny by Jan Karon
* The Butterfly Effect - How Your Life Matters by Andy Andrews
* Pollyana - listening to it as part of Easy Peasy curriculum. It's helping her to write her own book.
** Take one or two or three (i.e. reading these yet again!)
* We Can't All Be Rattlesnakes by Patrick Jennings and more from her bookshelf.
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| Our First Grilling of the Season! Yumm-O! |
Activities at Home
*Building Big - Website from PBS . This is review for my kids as they learned most of these concepts during the sessions of Mechatronics.
* GEt your Verb ON - learn about verbs the visual way.
Blessings,
Tereza
* Swimming, swimming, swimming.
* Pool Playdates at our house. More swimming playdates. Did I say swimming playdates yet? :)
* Gardening; harvesting English peas, strawberries, greens and spinach. Planting flowers, tomatoes, beans, sunflowers, okra and squash.
* Cleaning, decluttering, and selling our stuff on Ebay.
* Making Stop Motion Videos
* Painting Canvases
* DD4 is drawing up a storm of dragons, mermaids and ponies. She does an amazing job for a 4 y.o.
* Mom got to cut Dad's and DS8's hair for the first time. :)
* Getting to know the new neighbors and exchanging food, plants and recipes.
* Teaching DD11 how to cook meals using the crock pot - so far we covered chicken and roast.
* Pool Playdates at our house. More swimming playdates. Did I say swimming playdates yet? :)
* Gardening; harvesting English peas, strawberries, greens and spinach. Planting flowers, tomatoes, beans, sunflowers, okra and squash.
* Cleaning, decluttering, and selling our stuff on Ebay.
* Making Stop Motion Videos
* Painting Canvases
* DD4 is drawing up a storm of dragons, mermaids and ponies. She does an amazing job for a 4 y.o.
* Mom got to cut Dad's and DS8's hair for the first time. :)
* Getting to know the new neighbors and exchanging food, plants and recipes.
* Teaching DD11 how to cook meals using the crock pot - so far we covered chicken and roast.
Field Trips/ Activities Outside Home
* Mechatronics - we finished the class and the robot the students put together was presented to the parents on the last day. Pizza party to finish it all off! See the robot and how it works HERE.
* We held our last co-op in the first week of May. We studied blood and for this co-op I purchased a couple of Eldon cards to test blood types. We had two brave volunteers and we were able to find out what their blood type was. You can see here how it is done. You can purchase the blood test kit HERE, or HERE.
* Story Hour for the DD6 and DD4. I am making a point of spending more time with the 2 younger ones: taking them on errands with me, providing them with special activities and just playing or reading with them. They created robots and rockets out of boxes and craft supplies to decorate the library during the summer reading program.
* Birthday party at a friend's house.
* We held our last co-op in the first week of May. We studied blood and for this co-op I purchased a couple of Eldon cards to test blood types. We had two brave volunteers and we were able to find out what their blood type was. You can see here how it is done. You can purchase the blood test kit HERE, or HERE.
* Story Hour for the DD6 and DD4. I am making a point of spending more time with the 2 younger ones: taking them on errands with me, providing them with special activities and just playing or reading with them. They created robots and rockets out of boxes and craft supplies to decorate the library during the summer reading program.
* Birthday party at a friend's house.
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| Comparing DD6 copy work the first time and second time around. :) Improvement! |
Websites/ Links we found and used/ Apps
* GEt your Verb ON - learn about verbs the visual way.
TV shows/ Videos/ Movies/ YouTube
* Dogfights - Episode 12 - Kamikaze - The History Channel documentary on WWII Japanese fighters on YouTube. Really good!
* Dogfights - The Tuskegee Airmen - The History Channel documentary on the African American men that risked their lives to guard the US bomber flights. Great episode! - on YouTube.
* Episodes of Dirty Jobs, Tanked, 19 kids and counting, Shark Tank
* Animal Farm - animated movie on YouTube
* World Wars from History Channel - If you go to History.com the episodes are available to be watched there now, as well as web specials like mini biographies of the leaders of the countries involved. We watched all 3 episodes with the 3 oldest and we learned many new things about both World Wars as well as reviewed some information.
* Magic School bus episodes - I am using it to get DD6 and DD4 interested in Science more.
* Epic- Disney movie
* Brave - another Disney movie
* Dogfights - The Tuskegee Airmen - The History Channel documentary on the African American men that risked their lives to guard the US bomber flights. Great episode! - on YouTube.
* Episodes of Dirty Jobs, Tanked, 19 kids and counting, Shark Tank
* Animal Farm - animated movie on YouTube
* World Wars from History Channel - If you go to History.com the episodes are available to be watched there now, as well as web specials like mini biographies of the leaders of the countries involved. We watched all 3 episodes with the 3 oldest and we learned many new things about both World Wars as well as reviewed some information.
* Magic School bus episodes - I am using it to get DD6 and DD4 interested in Science more.
* Epic- Disney movie
* Brave - another Disney movie
Books, blogs and other things I am reading...
* The Kellog Family website : A family of 14 with a radical life. Love how the Mom is a bold speaker, speaking what she believes and not apologizing for it. I am also reading her book on Kindle. While I love some of the content and agree heartily with it, I don't appreciate the language she uses. Sometimes a bit crude for my liking.
* Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers - I haven't read a romantic novel since I became a Christian in 1993. This one is not your typical novel though. This one is based on the book of Hosea written by a Christian writer . This book is beautiful. I highly recommend it if you need to be reminded of how the Lord loves you.
* Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers - I haven't read a romantic novel since I became a Christian in 1993. This one is not your typical novel though. This one is based on the book of Hosea written by a Christian writer . This book is beautiful. I highly recommend it if you need to be reminded of how the Lord loves you.
* Fantastic Family Fridays by the Dennings on YouTube - great tips and advice on how to grow a strong family.
* The Teenage Liberation handbook - How to quit school and get a real life and education by Grace Llewellyn - interesting book. You have a young adult that doesn't have a goal in life or lacks direction, this book could revolutionize their life.
* The Money Answer Book by Dave Ramsey - you got debt? Don't know where to invest? or the beginnings and ends of money? Read this book and anything else of Dave Ramsey.
* The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko - The real millionaires will surprise you. Is not who you think it is? Want to become one? Read this book.
And just because they are just beautiful, here they are again. :)
How is your summer going?
* The Teenage Liberation handbook - How to quit school and get a real life and education by Grace Llewellyn - interesting book. You have a young adult that doesn't have a goal in life or lacks direction, this book could revolutionize their life.
* The Money Answer Book by Dave Ramsey - you got debt? Don't know where to invest? or the beginnings and ends of money? Read this book and anything else of Dave Ramsey.
* The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko - The real millionaires will surprise you. Is not who you think it is? Want to become one? Read this book.
And just because they are just beautiful, here they are again. :)
How is your summer going?
Blessings,
Tereza
