Learning Log of September 2014

 September was a busy month. My parents came from Brazil for a 40 day visit and we spend a lot of time just being together. Schooling was reduced to just math, reading aloud, chores and field trips. Of course, the kids still used/ played computers, as well as played chess, helped with cooking, listened to audiobooks... Life went on as usual and lots of learning happened.

We went to US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL and it was phenomenal. 

The kids also began soccer. Our local annual festival happened at the end of the month and the grandparents got to finally enjoy it with the grandchildren. 

My Mom, my oldest daughter and I ran a 5K.

Read aloud Books

* George Muller - The Guardian of Bristol's Orphans by Janet and Geoff Benge - Finally finished. George Muller was a great man of faith.

* Panda Kindergarten by Joanne Ryder
* Rah, Rah, Radishes! A Vegetable Chant by April Pulley Sayre

* Alone Yet Not Alone by Tracy Leininger Craven - Their Faith became their freedom. Based on a true story. Turned into a movie.

* Down the Long Hills by Louis L'Amour - Our first Louis L'amour book! The kids enjoyed it as we learned survival skills and delighted in this fast paced adventure. More coming soon.

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 and Story Nory (lots and lots of FREE audio goodness: Bible stories, Classics, educational stories even ones for non-English speakers wanting to improve their English. We love this website!).


* DD11 listening to Jonathan Park episodes as well as Cat of Bubastes by Henty.
* DD9 is listening to Cat of Bubastes as part of the Easy Peasy History curriculum.
* DD7 is listening to Sparkle Stories, Story Hour and Jonathan Park episodes on her mp3.

DD7 independent reading list: 

Continuing this month, DD7 is reading by leaps and bounds. With ease she is reading through her Abeka readers and keeping on reading her 100 books.

72) Ling and Ting - Not Exactly the Same! by Grace Lin
73) Ol' Mama Squirrel by David Ezra Stein
74) Miss Brooks Loves Books! (and I don't) by Barbara Bottner
75) The Best Fence Painter - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
76) The Magic School Bus Flies from the Nest
77) Bumblebees by Emily K. Green - World of Insects - Blast off! Readers
78) Fireflies by Emily L. Green - World of Insects - Blast Off! Readers
79) Young Cam Jansen and the Ice Skate Mystery by David A. Adler
80) Young Cam Jansen and the Pizza Shop Mystery by David A. Adler

Listening and following along books on Storyline Online.

DS9 independent reading list:  

* Calvin and Hobbes -DS9 reads a few strips at night before falling sleep.

* The Trojan Horse - How the Greeks Won the War by Emily Little
* Kidnapped by River Rats - William and Catherine Booth by Dave and Neta Jackson - Trailblazer books.
* Shelterwood by Susan Hand Shetterly
* Johnny on the Spot by Edward Sorel
 
Read Aloud to his sisters:

* The Adventures of Thor The Thunder God retold by Lise Lunge-larsen
* Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt

DD11 independent reading list

* Reading a chapter of Proverbs everyday and highlighting and copying the verse that spoke the most to her. She has now a wall covered in post it notes. 

* The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood
* Mythical Beasts by Doug Marx 
* Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright

* YOuTube - The Company and its Founders by Rebecca Rowell - Technology Pioneers
* Pixar - The Company and its Founders by A. M. Buckley - Technology Pioneers 

* Chicken Soup for Kid's Soul - 101 Stories of Courage, Hope and Laughter for kids 8-12

* Star of Light by Patricia ST. John 
* Treasures of the Snow - Illustrated Edition by Patricia St. John
* Escape from the Slave Traders - David Livingstone by Dave and Neta Jackson - Trailblazer Books 
* The Mayflower Secret - Governor William Bradford by Dave and Neta jackson - Trailblazer books
* The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw - 

* The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich 

* Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D.Houston - DD11 started this book, but didn't finish.

** Take one or two or three (i.e. reading these yet again!)
* Autumn with the Moodys by Sarah Maxwell - book 2
* Winter with the Moodys by Sarah Maxwell - book 3
* Spring with the Moodys by Sarah Maxwell - book 4
* Summer Days with the Moodys by Sarah Maxwell - book 5
* Autumn Days with the Moodys by Sarah Maxwell - book 6 
* Winter Days with the Moodys by Sarah Maxwell - book 7
 

Read Aloud to her siblings:
* Dolphin Adventures - A True Story by Wayne Grover
* A Green Kid's Guide to Composting by Richard Lay

Activities at Home

* DD11 decided to learn the Irish whistle. So we bought one and she has been practicing and learning it on her own with help of YouTube videos and AIOM website.

* Playing chess with Grandpa.
* Training for a 5K with Grandma. Practicing soccer and volleyball with Grandpa.

* Enjoying the last days of swimming with the grandparents.

* Gardening; harvesting okra, greens, herbs, green beans, tomatoes and more.

* Cleaning, decluttering, and selling our stuff on Ebay.  
* Making videos for YouTube
* Editing Mom's videos
* Making Stop motion videos.
* Trying new recipes like Chicken pancakes and Flaxseed Coconut Cereal for breakfast. Mom is doing The Plan and is teaching the new concepts to the children. 
* Playing with homemade playdough.
* Riding bikes. Practicing soccer.
* Playing MInecraft. Playing a lot of Minecraft.

 Field Trips/ Activities Outside Home

* Homeschooling Meeting
* Lego Club - the kids worked on making stop motion videos. Since my children had already made a few, we uploaded a couple more to my YouTube channel and they worked on helping the other kids to build their sets, storyline and videos.
* A day trip with the Grandparents to the US Space Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL.  We watched the Mysteries of the Unseen World in the 3D theater. Fantastic!
* Grandma, DD11 and I ran a 5K on a Friday at midnight in our town during an annual festival. It was my daughter's and my first 5K and it was exhilarating. I can't get enough of running now.
* Going to our town annual festival and enjoying a crowded town and traffic jams.
* Carnival - the children enjoyed the games and rides during a fair in our town.
* We also watched a re-enactment of a Civil War battle.
* Soccer season is here!! DD11 and DS9 are playing soccer through the city team. Games and practices weekly.
* Shopping trips with grandparents.
* Going to the dentist for the first time for cleaning. No cavities. No issues. :) Yay!
* Eye doctor appts.

 Websites/ Links we found and used/ Apps

* Book Worm Adventures - A fun spelling game

* Khan Academy - great resource for anything math. DD11 and DS9 are still using it for  learning code on the site.

* Minecraft - we purchased the game and the kids are now fully capacitated to create their own worlds, and play in adventure maps and servers. Will they ever do anything else but minecraft???? :(

* Easy Peasy Website -  DD11 is doing the 6th grade curriculum. DS9 is doing the 4th grade and DD7 is doing the 2nd grade one. We stopped it all this month with my parents' visit.

* Storyline online - DD7 leads the way logging on to this site to listen to a read aloud story read by actors. Everyone else will join in. Who can resist a read aloud book?

* Online Academy of Irish Music - DD11 decided to learn Irish Flute and she is using this site to learn to play. She can play Amazing Grace, Are you sleeping, Brother John? and a song from the movie The Hobbit.

TV shows/ Videos/ Movies/ YouTube

* Frozen - still watching it. :)

* Gravity - too intense for the kids; too many extraordinary situations that are really impossible to happen in space. Still an interesting movie.

* Pink Panther videos

* Unstoppable with Kirk Cameron - on Netflix. I watched on my own. I thought it was not appropriate for children under 12 y.o. Deals with suffering and God.

* Tap vs Irish Dance - fantastic video that will delight anyone who loves dance.


* Ken Davis - funny comedian. Watch Fully Alive on Netflix. Read the Book here. We watched with the kids.

* God's Not Dead! - we watched this movie together as a family. There are strong scenes like a beating and a car accident. Otherwise the movie is fantastic as an example of defense of the Christian faith.

* October Baby - watched with my parents during their visit. If you haven't seen this movie, it's a good one dealing with the issue of abortion and forgiveness. My personal opinion is that this movie is NOT appropriate for kids 14 y.o. and under.

* Ransom of Red Chief
* The Great Elephant Escape
* The Adventures of Ragtime

* Ninjago Rebooted - Battle for New NInjago City

Books, blogs and other things I am reading...

* Spelling and the Brain - you got a child struggling with spelling? YOu got to watch this video.

* Hedua Media: Need to know more about different homeschooling methods or lifestyles? Take the time to browse and peruse this channel on YouTube. It's a wealth of information.

*  Conceived by Rape - Fantastic argument against abortion even in the case of rape. Documentary available for FREE at the link or purchasing the DVD at the same link.

* Fields of Mudan - a short film about children brought into slavery.

* Teaching Your Children Healthy Sexuality by Jim Burns - I have yet to find a book geared for homeschoolers. Although this book was written from a Christian point of view, it's clearly for kids that go to PS or have been exposed to general culture and media. I prefer the author's books written for younger children.

* Self Regulation and Brain Development -  Dr Regalnea Melrose is  neuroscience and childhood stress and trauma expert and talks extensively of how the brain work and why things are the way they are with our children. If you are experiencing struggles with your children, check out her videos to learn more.

* I Beat the Odds - from Homelessness to Blind Side and Beyond by Michael Oher with Don Yaeger - A must read! There's hope for everyone. All we need is to WANT out!

* The Boy on the Wooden Box - A Memoir by Leon Leyson - How the impossible became possible... on Schindler's List - A fantastic book! A great read for anyone who likes biographies and history. I think I see a book review post coming soon.

* A Child Called "It" by Dave Pelzer  

* Master Your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels

* Teaching Self Government by Nicholeen Peck - This is another great resource for teaching kids self government and instill obedience and the desire and heart motives for it. The author's family participated in a BBC the STrictest parents on Earth and they did a fantastic job. You can watch the episodes on YouTube.


What have you been up to??