Yeah, I know I’m missing weeks 1-4. But this blog is also my journal, so I thought it would be nice to record the comings and goings of our little homeschool.
Our homeschool has a name, by the way. Do you name yours? Ours is
St. Joseph Academy for Wayward Children
Gives me a giggle when I’m filling out Teacher Discount applications and mailing labels.
Someone gave J a lolli
Anyway, here’s a roundup of what we did last week:
Math: Mr P and Miss E are both in Saxon 5/4. P didn’t finish it last year, but he’s almost done now. Our Miquon Yellow level is mislaid, so Mr S is using a Harcourt Math 4. He’s working on division and reinforcing multiplication facts. Miss V is in Miquon Orange but also is working in adding/subtraction books from the Dollar Spot at Target. She loves it- she does 5 or 6 pages of math each day!
Time to share
Reading: Hubs finished the read aloud of Tom Sawyer, and the kids enjoyed it. I picked up Huckleberry Finn for $1.50 at Half Price books, so that’s next up. P is reading St. John Bosco and St. Dominic Savio and E continues with The Little Princess. S finished his silent reading book. (Oh, all right. It was a Bionicle book. We’re working on fluency with him, so I let him read “twaddle” as long as it has chapters.)
This is nothing like my fantasy ~ Miss E, grade 5.
Phonics Not much to report here. Workbooks. Miss V learned about words ending in “y” (cry, fry, try) making the long /i/ sound. Miss C is learning to blend sounds for beginning reading, working on the -at and -an word families.
Science: Mr. P is on chapter 2 of his beginning chemistry book. Miss E did nature study, also learning to use oil pastels. Mr. S is just finished an overview of the Solar System and its parts.
History: P is doing a study of the Civil War, and we learned about the Battle of Gettysburg last week. We use This Country of Ours and I DVRed several programs from the Military Channel.
E and S are doing a state per week, and a unit on the Presidents. When we’re done with the Presidents we’ll do Colonial/Revolution. Last week: New Jersey, and Warren G. Harding/Calvin Coolidge.
Easy as taking candy from a baby.
Can’t you just tell me the answers? ~ Mr S, grade 4.
Other things we learned last week: our microwave is super powerful when it works. Thermal shock breaks things. The laws of physics ~ the further the ramp is away from the curb, the faster you better be going when you hit it in order to span the gap. How to recycle scented candles when Mama is too cheap to throw one out just because the wick burned down. Sales tax stinks when you’re on a limited budget (sorry, son, you’ll have to buy that Nerf next week when you have a little more.)
What did you learn this week? Tell me or leave a link if you’ve posted it!
Karen (1)
Raso @ lasagnarec... (1)
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh, to know that there are other homeschoolers out there in the world while I am trying to teach my lot at home! My neighbor is more empty during the day than NYC in that Will Smith vampire virus flick.
Wow, that amazes me. I am tired just reading it. I wish I had the discipline to do it, but I probably don’t. I would let them get away with way too much because I am overindulgent that way.
What sweet pictures!
Lots ‘o “field trips”. The weather is rarely perfect here, so we take advantage and get out to hike nature trails(centers), rugged beaches, museums, and historical sites. The little one is collecting rocks, shells, leaves, and seeds for study.
My son loved Bionicles. He read the entire series of the Bionicle books when he was younger. He(age 13) has been learning to cat sit for neighbors – his first paid job outside the home.
@Alexandra,
Our boys first paid job was pet sitting, too! Now the 13 and 12 yo want to start a lawn mowing business. Except the drought got in the way- grass isn’t growing very much!
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Love the photos of the girls as well as the story they told. But you don’t have one of J screaming her head off because she lost her lollipop!
Sounds as though you are doing a great job with the teaching. What a big job to keep everyone working on different levels. I am in awe of what you are doing.