Week of 13 Feb

Phonics/ABCs:

Abby is just moving right along with Funnix and her reading. She just finished lesson 69 out of 120 lessons. This week she also read nearly the entire Green and Eggs and Ham to me. She at first told me she couldn't do it, but when I opened the book and had her try, she was amazed that she could do nearly all the words. The stories in her reading program are getting more content in it too, so it's not as boring listening to those, either.

Emmett has been learning about the letter "m" this week. Last week we did "t," so I'm hoping this next week to cover "e" and we'll have done all the letters in his name.

"M" is for Monster:


Tracing the "m":


"M" on Funnix's website:


Writing more letters in his "M" mini book:

Scriptures:

We've started focusing a bit more on the Book of Mormon using the Scripture Stories series that the Church puts out. This week we focused on the first chapter, which tells about how we got the Book of Mormon and the Joseph Smith story. So, to highlight that we've been writing the first part of James 1:5. The kids enjoy writing it and they can even sort of say it from memory.

Life:

We made decorations for Valentine's Day for a few days too.

This one I took from No Time For Flashcards:

We also decorated mailboxes to house our valentines:

We found these magnets at Target for a really good deal, so I thought we'd try to reinforce the days of the week. Abby gets that there are specific days in certain order, but she still has difficulty with the sequence of it all. She'll get it.

We also took a day and visited Science Museum Oklahoma. We're on our third membership to this museum and the kids still love it.

The weather here has been beautiful, so the kids have also had a ton of play time too!

Swim:

The kids started a new session in their swim lessons. The great thing is that they're the only kids in their class with two teachers...so they're basically receiving private lessons at the moment. The only bummer is that the lessons are a little later than we would've liked, but we're dealing by moving bedtime back an hour.

Mom and Dad:

Daddy and I were super pleased to learn we were the only two in our developmental psychology class to earn 100% on our latest exam. Unfortunately, it was a short-lived victory because now I have like four chapters of European History to catch up on in preparation for my exam this coming week. We just have to keep plugging along with it! The fun thing is that we are finally into the section of developmental psychology that is interesting to both of us. In the last two weeks we've covered the prenatal stage and the infant/toddler stage. It sure isn't as difficult to remember all of this information compared to five different psychological theories and their characteristics!

Weekly Review: 06 February

Phonics/ABCs:

Abby is plowing through Funnix. Every once in a while Abby will complain if I pull her away from doing something more fun, but if I warn her we're getting ready to do it, she's more than willing. She loves the worksheets that come with it. The other night we were stopped at a store and she pointed at a word on the window and said, "Look, Daddy. This word is 'for.'"

Emmett is still learning his letters, so this week we talked about the letter T and what sound it makes. All week I've asked him what says the /t/ sound and he says, "T!" When Abby sits at the table to do her reading lesson, he asks to sit up and do his, so I've let him trace the letter T and write it on his own. All week he has (of his own accord) made T with anything he can. This morning,even, he held up two flashlights and said, "Look! I can make the letter L and the letter T!"

Ellie can't let the older kids do anything without being in on it. While we're doing "reading lessons" Ellie is either napping or sitting at the table with us. If she's awake, we see a lot of her demanding to do whatever it is we're doing.

Story Time:

This week we've started Rumpelstiltskin. It's a fairy tale my kids haven't really heard and aren't really familiar with. We looked up videos on YouTube of what a spinning wheel does and what it looks like, which Abby was fascinated with.

We're starting to work on the kids' listening skills. Emmett hasn't always cared to listen to stories. When I ask him to bring me a book he typically brings me a look-and-find as opposed to a storybook. When he does bring me a storybook, it's about a character he's seen on TV. I want him to enjoy stories for the story. Abby loves to listen to stories, but we haven't moved much past picture books. We've dabbled with some chapter read-alouds (Pain and the Great One, Junie B. Jones, The Magic Treehouse), but she's not been as interested in the stories. I think, mostly, because we haven't found the niche she likes. So, our first listening of Rumpelstiltskin was a recording from the Kiddie Records website. I printed out coloring pages off the internet so they could have something for their hands to do. Apparently, though, there are not a lot of Rumpelstiltskin coloring pages...

Life:

We made Kool-Aid playdough this last week. This is the type of playdough that is always accessible to them (we keep it in the bottom of the fridge). I don't mind them mixing it or making a mess or, in Emmett's case, eating it. Emmett and Abby have already mixed their colors.

Emmett even made a T with his playdough:

Snow Days!

Between last week and this week, we've had nearly a foot-and-a-half of snow. The kids have loved playing in it. Abby especially could play in the snow for hours. Even Daddy had snow days! Last week he worked a total of five hours for the week!

Swim:

The older kids are finishing up another session of swim. Next lesson they'll move into an older class (typically for kids 6+, and they are 4 and 3). We're hoping this next class will focus on different strokes, but mostly we're hoping they'll gain some endurance. They can swim fairly well, but ideally we'd like them to be able to swim further. Abby starts to freak out if it's longer than she thinks it should be. Emmett just exhausts himself because he starts out so quickly, and his body is only so big.

Abby's been hesitant to put her face in the water lately. They swim so much better when their head is down and in the water (and it's proper form!) so we went out of the way to buy good goggles to see if it would help her and it has! She'll just have to remember that she shouldn't have any worries about putting her face in now.


In this one you can see the kids jumping in. This is Emmett's favorite part during swim lessons.

Mom and Dad:

We are taking the same Developmental Psychology course this semester. This week we had a quiz, a paper, and a test. He and I are both grateful that this week is done, but this next week brings the same amount of assignments for different classes. Still, we're both happy that we can both be online classes which makes being in school while taking care of three young children a lot easier.

Trying This Out

I have a regular blog that I post on quite frequently (can we say daily?). I want it to remain to be about the sum-up of our days and the funny things my kids say and do. However, I also want to document our journey as we figure out this homeschooling thing. I did not want to feel inundated with school-y type stuff on our daily blog, so we are trying out a blog simply for school. My goal for this one is to write (maybe weekly?) about the things we're accomplishing, units we're doing, and maybe some fun things along the way.

If Abby were going to public school, she would be starting kindy this fall. We've chosen to keep her home for a number of reasons:

1. The schools in our area are not great. While the school in our neighborhood is rated highly on greatschools.org, we feel as though they are still not the standard we would choose for our children.
2. I really don't want my kids indoctrinated by someone else. I want to be the one picking what my children are learning, and I don't just mean curriculum-wise. My children don't need to be the progeny of a teacher's hidden (or unhidden) agenda. At such an age where they are so impressionable, I want them to hold dear the things that I do.
3. I like the flexibility that comes with homeschooling.
4. I'm selfish and want to keep them home and see them as much as possible.
5. I like my kids.
6. I want my kids to be able to enjoy and love learning. I want to encourage their strengths and buoy their weaknesses. I do not want them falling through the cracks because they are not the proverbial squeaky wheel. I do not want them bored to tears because the rest of the class is a level behind them. I want to foster their desire to understand the world and people around them.

I'm sure I've left reasons out, but those are the important ones.

I've always done school-y activities with my kids. Even my 18-month-old is no stranger to paint and stamps and letters and colors. However, it has been mostly interest-guided since I am a strong believer in learning through play in younger years. As I grow in my parenting and understanding of children, I relax about teaching my children in their toddler years. Abby knew her colors by 18 mos and letters and what they said by 2. Emmett is 3 and still is learning his letters (though, he does know all his numbers and understands one-to-one correlation). Ellie is 18 mos and I'm happy she can do finger-plays, point to major body parts, and tell us in her mono-syllabic way what different animals say (though she can potty in the toilet like a champ). I don't think that means that Abby is more gifted than my younger two. It only shows that I had more time to focus my attention on Abby when she was my only. And, that now I realize the importance of play and making messes in a toddlers life much better now.

I'm hoping to enroll Abby in a virtual school that uses the k12 curriculum, however, it is only offered for grades 1-11 for the next school year. So, for this school year, we'll be keeping it simple. It is only kindergarten and a lot of it should be fun and relaxed.

Reading/Phonics:

Abby is a third of the way through the Funnix Reading System and loving it. I plan to

complete that with her before our next baby is born (May/June).

Emmett is still learning his letters. This school year we're placing a lot more emphasis on letters and the sounds the say. We'll do some drawing of letters, crafts, the LeapFrog Letter Factory DVD, and some starfall.

Math:

We'll be using RightStart Math Level A. I'm thinking that we could use Level B, but Emmett seems a bit more mathematically interested at this point so I am hoping he can join in on the lessons/games most of the time. Even if/when we do enroll Abby in k12, I am planning on keeping up with this curriculum until we at least complete Level B.

Everything Else:

We are no strangers to unit study. This year we're going to use Five in a Row to help cover the rest of our learning. I am looking forward to spending a lot of time on the couch with all my little ones around me and a good book on my lap. We're buying maps and are going to explore the regions that each stories take place in as well as marking the areas that we've been to or where we have family living.

I should also mention that while I am a stay-at-home-mom of three (soon to be four!) little ones and life is busy in the aspects of teaching and helping and safeguarding and training my children, my husband and I are also in school ourselves. Dan makes a good living for us in the United States Air Force but still is seeking further knowledge. He's currently taking two courses (6 credit hours) at a local community college. His current major is pre-nursing, but it very well could change. I am almost done with my associates with a major in history (after this semester, only five more classes!) and I hope to move on and earn my bachelors as quickly as possible.