Boy, did this week fly by. I think part of it was that it was ridiculously cold in our little corner of the world. Oddly, we didn't get stir crazy, and we got to Friday quickly.
Math is still chugging along apace. There was nothing new or confusing this week, which was nice. Getting through things without a fuss is always a bonus.
For spelling, we had words with the "dict" root - edict, predict, prediction, dictionary, diction, and dictate. This was also easy-peasy, even the sentence writing.
We started Ancient India, with a Crash Course video. John Greene talks a little too fast, but it was a good introduction. Then, we started reading a book about Hinduism. Somehow, our study of ancient cultures has turned into a study of religions. I don't know if Henry is really into it, but I'm fascinated.
Finally, science was again the highlight of the week. We listened to two episodes of Wow in the World! in which we learned about flamingos and Scoville heat units in peppers. We also found a science channel on YouTube that showed us how to make sand behave like a liquid.
In the Mama's Corner this week, I've been reading lots of very sappy Christmas-themed romance novels. With all of the depressing news out there every day, I needed something light and sweet, with a guaranteed happy ending. It's a lovely diversion.
Only four more school days until Christmas break. Wa-HOO!
Friday, December 15, 2017
Friday, December 8, 2017
Weeks 12, 13, and 14 - Oops
Goodness, time just got away from me. I was so excited for Thanksgiving that I let everything else go. We did have a lovely holiday. My brother and his girlfriend came over, and we had a wonderful time. Then, hunting season began. My family hunts. It provides us with about 1/5 of our meat supply for the year. Big Sister got a buck, as did Papa Bear. Big Brother #2 got a doe. We have lots of yummy venison.
As for school, things are cooking along pretty well. We are sort of treading water with spelling. When the new year hits, I will be using actual spelling lists. Until then, we are still working on prefixes, root words, suffixes and meanings. I will say that knowing what different prefixes mean, he can figure out what new words are without much explanation from me. I hope it will help him with his reading as we go along.
Math is coming along. I have been using Edhelper.com, fourth grade math, second three months of school. It's a mixed review every week. Over the past couple of weeks, we have been doing long division (very long, like 8,433,167/41). There were only six of those. They were actually a lot of fun to do. Henry was, of course, overwhelmed when he saw the numbers. He said, "How am I supposed to figure that out?" I said, "By taking it one little bit at a time." Voila. No issues whatsoever. We have also been introduced to decimals, improper fractions, and factoring. Today, as a treat, I let him do the math book I had intended on using all year. He whipped through four pages like they were nothing. That tells me that he's absorbed the "harder" stuff.
We are still in Ancient China, but we'll be finished with it early next week. I am not making him know all of the names of the dynasties and the dates. We have the big stuff down, like the Great Wall, inventions and medicine. We are going to do a few crafty things to finish it up on Monday, then we will go on to Ancient India.
Science has been the super fun highlight. I heard about a podcast called Wow in the World! They take one topic every week and dive in with a kid-friendly explanation. It comes out on Monday, and it's become our Monday must-do. We have found out that there is a rat that lives in the Solomon Islands that can crack a coconut open with it's teeth. We know why onions make us cry. This week, we found out about coral bleaching. Every week, we listen and Google things as they come up. It's science, geography, and fun storytelling all in one. I highly recommend it.
Henry is still reading Hatchet. With any luck, he will finish it by Christmas.
In Mama's Corner, I have been knitting mittens and hats in anticipation of snow. It's become insanely cold, but we've had just a few flurries. I am hoping we have a white Christmas. If not, we'll still have nice warm hands and heads.
As for school, things are cooking along pretty well. We are sort of treading water with spelling. When the new year hits, I will be using actual spelling lists. Until then, we are still working on prefixes, root words, suffixes and meanings. I will say that knowing what different prefixes mean, he can figure out what new words are without much explanation from me. I hope it will help him with his reading as we go along.
Math is coming along. I have been using Edhelper.com, fourth grade math, second three months of school. It's a mixed review every week. Over the past couple of weeks, we have been doing long division (very long, like 8,433,167/41). There were only six of those. They were actually a lot of fun to do. Henry was, of course, overwhelmed when he saw the numbers. He said, "How am I supposed to figure that out?" I said, "By taking it one little bit at a time." Voila. No issues whatsoever. We have also been introduced to decimals, improper fractions, and factoring. Today, as a treat, I let him do the math book I had intended on using all year. He whipped through four pages like they were nothing. That tells me that he's absorbed the "harder" stuff.
We are still in Ancient China, but we'll be finished with it early next week. I am not making him know all of the names of the dynasties and the dates. We have the big stuff down, like the Great Wall, inventions and medicine. We are going to do a few crafty things to finish it up on Monday, then we will go on to Ancient India.
Science has been the super fun highlight. I heard about a podcast called Wow in the World! They take one topic every week and dive in with a kid-friendly explanation. It comes out on Monday, and it's become our Monday must-do. We have found out that there is a rat that lives in the Solomon Islands that can crack a coconut open with it's teeth. We know why onions make us cry. This week, we found out about coral bleaching. Every week, we listen and Google things as they come up. It's science, geography, and fun storytelling all in one. I highly recommend it.
Henry is still reading Hatchet. With any luck, he will finish it by Christmas.
In Mama's Corner, I have been knitting mittens and hats in anticipation of snow. It's become insanely cold, but we've had just a few flurries. I am hoping we have a white Christmas. If not, we'll still have nice warm hands and heads.
Friday, November 10, 2017
Week 11 - Back in the Saddle
Thankfully, we were feeling better this week, so we were able to get back to work. We had a fairly productive week, too.
Math was the same general stuff we've been getting. A little subtraction, a little multiplication, some word problems. It was actually very easy, which was nice for us to get back into schoolwork.
Spelling was also pretty easy. Henry had location words this week, and the proper contexts in which to use them. One can locate a locale. Local things are easy to get to. We are going to continue to cruise with this spelling book until the end of the calendar year, but after that, I am going to add spelling lists of ten or fifteen words. Three words a week is too easy.
Science continued with our study of volcanoes. We found out why some volcanoes are cone shaped, and some are flat. We also watched a video about the Kilauea volcano, and how it has been continuously erupting since 1983.
For social studies, we started our exploration of Ancient China. We read a bit about the early dynasties, we watched a couple of videos about the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and we read about why dragons are such a big part of the culture. We tried to draw dragons, with the help of a YouTube video, but neither of us seems to have an artistic bent.
Finally, the highlight of the week was Henry learning to write sentences on his own. I have been having an existential crisis on getting him to write. I have been having him do copy work for weeks, but that isn't really getting him in a place that he is thinking of how the words are spelled, and how they should go on the page. He is writing two or three sentences a day, mostly of his own creation. They are generally simple noun-verb construction, but that's okay with me. My goal is that he will be writing simple paragraphs, on his own, by the end of the school year.
It's now less than two weeks until Thanksgiving! I look forward to it like people look forward to Christmas. It is my jam. I can't wait.
Math was the same general stuff we've been getting. A little subtraction, a little multiplication, some word problems. It was actually very easy, which was nice for us to get back into schoolwork.
Spelling was also pretty easy. Henry had location words this week, and the proper contexts in which to use them. One can locate a locale. Local things are easy to get to. We are going to continue to cruise with this spelling book until the end of the calendar year, but after that, I am going to add spelling lists of ten or fifteen words. Three words a week is too easy.
Science continued with our study of volcanoes. We found out why some volcanoes are cone shaped, and some are flat. We also watched a video about the Kilauea volcano, and how it has been continuously erupting since 1983.
For social studies, we started our exploration of Ancient China. We read a bit about the early dynasties, we watched a couple of videos about the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and we read about why dragons are such a big part of the culture. We tried to draw dragons, with the help of a YouTube video, but neither of us seems to have an artistic bent.
Finally, the highlight of the week was Henry learning to write sentences on his own. I have been having an existential crisis on getting him to write. I have been having him do copy work for weeks, but that isn't really getting him in a place that he is thinking of how the words are spelled, and how they should go on the page. He is writing two or three sentences a day, mostly of his own creation. They are generally simple noun-verb construction, but that's okay with me. My goal is that he will be writing simple paragraphs, on his own, by the end of the school year.
It's now less than two weeks until Thanksgiving! I look forward to it like people look forward to Christmas. It is my jam. I can't wait.
Saturday, November 4, 2017
Week 10 - GAH!
Good heavens. We were all sick, all week. I came down with our current form of yuck on Saturday night. I woke up Sunday morning feeling really awful. Henry came down with it Sunday night. We spent the week reading, watching Mutant Planet, and watching some documentaries on Netflix. Not great, but at least there was some sort of educational value to it.
I feel so bad that we didn't get to do what I had planned. We were going to make a floor loom and try some weaving. We were going to make some Egyptian food. Sometimes the best laid plans just fall into ruin, through no fault of our own.
We will just move on this coming week. We are going to start Ancient China, and soldier on with our volcano study and math work. Life goes on. That's how we roll.
I feel so bad that we didn't get to do what I had planned. We were going to make a floor loom and try some weaving. We were going to make some Egyptian food. Sometimes the best laid plans just fall into ruin, through no fault of our own.
We will just move on this coming week. We are going to start Ancient China, and soldier on with our volcano study and math work. Life goes on. That's how we roll.
Friday, October 27, 2017
Week 9 - One Quarter in the Books
It was another great week here at the AAAE. Coincidentally, the weather was also lovely, which made everything go very smoothly.
We did mixed math again. It was smooth as butter. I am making him rise to the challenge, and he isn't resisting (too much). I think a mix of rounding, multiplication and division makes his brain ping around in different spots, so he doesn't get too frustrated with one thing. Because he had finished all of the work I printed for the week on Thursday, I let him do a couple of easy money counting pages in his math book. He was all over that and we finished the week on a high note.
We started a unit on volcanoes for science. We learned about the Salton Sea in California, which was incredibly interesting. Henry did an activity that involved plotting various volcanoes around the world using grid instructions. Not only was it a science lesson, but a good geography lesson, too. He wants to build a baking soda and vinegar volcano. We might do that during the short week we have before Thanksgiving.
We're still exploring Ancient Egypt for social studies. We read and answered the questions for the articles (all two of them!) in the book I bought for social studies. We also read some more mythology. Egyptian mythology is some seriously kooky stuff. I did tell Henry that he needs to remember the themes of babies being saved, gods going to the underworld, gods changing form, and the main god being somewhat meddlesome. He'll see them again and again.
The spelling words this week were the prefixes op-, dis-, im-, com-, ex-, and pro-, to all go with the root pose. He rocked with knowing the meanings of the words. He balked a bit at writing the sentences, but we got through it.
Today, October 27, is apparently Black Cat Day. In order to celebrate, Henry posed with one of our barn cats, Black. Yeah, we're super creative when it comes to names. See you all next week!
We did mixed math again. It was smooth as butter. I am making him rise to the challenge, and he isn't resisting (too much). I think a mix of rounding, multiplication and division makes his brain ping around in different spots, so he doesn't get too frustrated with one thing. Because he had finished all of the work I printed for the week on Thursday, I let him do a couple of easy money counting pages in his math book. He was all over that and we finished the week on a high note.
We started a unit on volcanoes for science. We learned about the Salton Sea in California, which was incredibly interesting. Henry did an activity that involved plotting various volcanoes around the world using grid instructions. Not only was it a science lesson, but a good geography lesson, too. He wants to build a baking soda and vinegar volcano. We might do that during the short week we have before Thanksgiving.
We're still exploring Ancient Egypt for social studies. We read and answered the questions for the articles (all two of them!) in the book I bought for social studies. We also read some more mythology. Egyptian mythology is some seriously kooky stuff. I did tell Henry that he needs to remember the themes of babies being saved, gods going to the underworld, gods changing form, and the main god being somewhat meddlesome. He'll see them again and again.
The spelling words this week were the prefixes op-, dis-, im-, com-, ex-, and pro-, to all go with the root pose. He rocked with knowing the meanings of the words. He balked a bit at writing the sentences, but we got through it.
Saturday, October 21, 2017
Week 8 - Much Better
What a difference a week makes. This week was so productive at the Austin Academy of Academic Excellence. The unbelievably nice weather certainly didn't hurt. Any time we can do school outside in October is a good day.
Math was better this week. I went back to www.edhelper.com, a website I have used for years. They have mixed math for each grade. I thought it might be a little above his level, but he muscled his way through it. I am going to use the Critical Thinking book as a supplement, but not the spine for the rest of the year. Henry did long division, two-over-two multiplication (that was new), rounding, and order of operations (also new). I was so proud that he didn't put up a fuss and was willing to learn how to do new things.
Science was also a big winner. We a lesson about the domestication of dogs. Henry loves dogs, so he was very attentive for the whole lesson. Part of it was a video about Balyaev's foxes. If you don't know about this experiment, look it up. It's pretty cool.
Spelling included the prefixes a-, dis-, inter-, and e- and how they go with the root -rupt. He found ways of using the word, "abrupt" as much as possible, which I thought was funny. I love that he's building his vocabulary in such a noticeable way.
Finally, for social studies, we continued out exploration of ancient Egypt. We read about the Middle Kingdom, and a bit about the New Kingdom. King Amenhotep married his daughter. According to Henry, "Dude, you should not marry your daughter. That's not how it works!" I'm telling you, this is why I love homeschooling. The hilarious asides totally make it worthwhile.
Reading has fallen by the wayside a bit. I hope to pick it back up soon. The weather might turn any time now, which will make it a bit easier to be inside. Not that I'm looking forward to the weather changing...Such a conundrum.
Math was better this week. I went back to www.edhelper.com, a website I have used for years. They have mixed math for each grade. I thought it might be a little above his level, but he muscled his way through it. I am going to use the Critical Thinking book as a supplement, but not the spine for the rest of the year. Henry did long division, two-over-two multiplication (that was new), rounding, and order of operations (also new). I was so proud that he didn't put up a fuss and was willing to learn how to do new things.
Science was also a big winner. We a lesson about the domestication of dogs. Henry loves dogs, so he was very attentive for the whole lesson. Part of it was a video about Balyaev's foxes. If you don't know about this experiment, look it up. It's pretty cool.
Spelling included the prefixes a-, dis-, inter-, and e- and how they go with the root -rupt. He found ways of using the word, "abrupt" as much as possible, which I thought was funny. I love that he's building his vocabulary in such a noticeable way.
Finally, for social studies, we continued out exploration of ancient Egypt. We read about the Middle Kingdom, and a bit about the New Kingdom. King Amenhotep married his daughter. According to Henry, "Dude, you should not marry your daughter. That's not how it works!" I'm telling you, this is why I love homeschooling. The hilarious asides totally make it worthwhile.
Reading has fallen by the wayside a bit. I hope to pick it back up soon. The weather might turn any time now, which will make it a bit easier to be inside. Not that I'm looking forward to the weather changing...Such a conundrum.
Sunday, October 15, 2017
Week 7 - I Need a Reset
The saga of long division continues. I showed Henry the videos on how to do partial quotient division, and he thought it seemed a lot harder than what we were already suffering through. After three long days, I thought I would be nice and give him a break with a page of adding up grocery prices. One would think he had never added numbers before. I'm just going to take a deep breath and plunge back in this coming week. Baby steps all the way.
We started Ancient Egypt this week. This is somewhat my jam. On Tuesday, we started mummifying an apple. It looks pretty gnarly. It's supposed to take two weeks to finish. Thankfully, there was no removing of the brains through the nose involved. We did some general reading about the history, and we read the Egyptian creation story. Henry already knew about Geb and Nut from a game that he plays online. I guess not all video games are complete trash.
Spelling and reading were honestly just "meh" and not really worth talking about.
Big Sister having Monday off was a big ding in my week. I like it better when I have five good days to work with. I sincerely hope this week is a bit less stressful, and slightly for exciting.
We started Ancient Egypt this week. This is somewhat my jam. On Tuesday, we started mummifying an apple. It looks pretty gnarly. It's supposed to take two weeks to finish. Thankfully, there was no removing of the brains through the nose involved. We did some general reading about the history, and we read the Egyptian creation story. Henry already knew about Geb and Nut from a game that he plays online. I guess not all video games are complete trash.
Spelling and reading were honestly just "meh" and not really worth talking about.
Big Sister having Monday off was a big ding in my week. I like it better when I have five good days to work with. I sincerely hope this week is a bit less stressful, and slightly for exciting.
Saturday, October 7, 2017
Week 6 - Long Division Blues
Fall has come to our little corner of the world, even if the temperatures are more like those of late August. Since October is Fire Safety Month, we satisfied our requirement by going to a tour of the fire department and watching a car get cut apart with the Jaws of Life. It was pretty cool.
As for academics this week, it was a long slog. For math, as the title suggests, we stuck with long division for the whole week. Oh. My. Goodness. This is the first multi-step math Henry has done, so he's still trying to get everything done in the right order. He knows how many times one number goes into the other number, but then, he can't remember what the multiple is without some serious thought. After the first bit of subtraction, and the bringing down of the next number is done, he's lost. We're going to practice more this coming week. I haven't told him that they won't always divide evenly yet. It might make his little head explode.
We are FINALLY finished with Mesopotamia. I didn't make him memorize all of the kings, empires and dates. He knows the highlights from the era, and that's good enough for me. We read the story of Gilgamesh - the clean, less womanizing version in Story of the World. He thought Enkidu was pretty funny.
We had another good week of spelling. We had the prefixes uni, bi, and tri. We did some dictionary work, looking up words with those prefixes and defining them.
We didn't do any formal science lessons, but we did some impromptu work. While we were doing school work outside (such a treat in October!), a giant wooly bear caterpillar came across our path. We looked it up, found out what it eats, found out what it looks like when it turns into a moth, etc. On another day, we read about why some leaves turn red, and others turn yellow. I am really hoping to get back on track with formal science lessons this coming week.
As for academics this week, it was a long slog. For math, as the title suggests, we stuck with long division for the whole week. Oh. My. Goodness. This is the first multi-step math Henry has done, so he's still trying to get everything done in the right order. He knows how many times one number goes into the other number, but then, he can't remember what the multiple is without some serious thought. After the first bit of subtraction, and the bringing down of the next number is done, he's lost. We're going to practice more this coming week. I haven't told him that they won't always divide evenly yet. It might make his little head explode.
We are FINALLY finished with Mesopotamia. I didn't make him memorize all of the kings, empires and dates. He knows the highlights from the era, and that's good enough for me. We read the story of Gilgamesh - the clean, less womanizing version in Story of the World. He thought Enkidu was pretty funny.
We had another good week of spelling. We had the prefixes uni, bi, and tri. We did some dictionary work, looking up words with those prefixes and defining them.
We didn't do any formal science lessons, but we did some impromptu work. While we were doing school work outside (such a treat in October!), a giant wooly bear caterpillar came across our path. We looked it up, found out what it eats, found out what it looks like when it turns into a moth, etc. On another day, we read about why some leaves turn red, and others turn yellow. I am really hoping to get back on track with formal science lessons this coming week.
Friday, September 29, 2017
Week 5
This was a 75% normal week. We missed one day because Big Sister had an appointment that kept us busy for much of the day. That was fine. It was hot as blazes here this week, so there was lots of outside time, which is never a bad thing.
The very best thing we did this week was spelling. I'm not sure Henry would agree, but I was tickled with it. His suffixes were -able, -ible, -id, -ly, -ness, -or, and -ure. His spelling words were: rupture, actor, vividness, sensible, plentiful, quietly, and teachable. That was all fine and dandy. He wrote them twice, and used them in sentences. The great thing was having him think of other words using those suffixes. He came up with words like: mindful, impossible, swiftly, proctor, capture, and messiness. There were others, but those were the ones that came to him immediately. It was a wonderful, thought-provoking, sometimes laughter-inducing exercise. I will definitely employ that strategy in the future.
We're still touring Mesopotamia. We learned about Babylon and King Hammurabi and King Nebuchadnezzar II. If any of you listen to the podcast, "Oh No, Ross and Carrie", you know that Ross can spell Nebuchadnezzar like a boss. It makes me chuckle every time I see the word.
Math was math. I am not entirely thrilled with the hopscotchy nature of the Critical Thinking book. I might take it apart and make it a little more orderly, or I may use that as a supplement. I would like something that has a little more flow to it. For example, this week, Henry did probability, averaging, algebraic thinking and multiplication. All of those are great things, but I would like to have it in larger chunks, rather than the sporadic nature we are getting.
He's reading I Survived! The Hindenburg Disaster of 1937. I swear, if he asks me if I was alive in 1937 one more time, I'm getting a face lift.
Only 31 weeks to go!
The very best thing we did this week was spelling. I'm not sure Henry would agree, but I was tickled with it. His suffixes were -able, -ible, -id, -ly, -ness, -or, and -ure. His spelling words were: rupture, actor, vividness, sensible, plentiful, quietly, and teachable. That was all fine and dandy. He wrote them twice, and used them in sentences. The great thing was having him think of other words using those suffixes. He came up with words like: mindful, impossible, swiftly, proctor, capture, and messiness. There were others, but those were the ones that came to him immediately. It was a wonderful, thought-provoking, sometimes laughter-inducing exercise. I will definitely employ that strategy in the future.
We're still touring Mesopotamia. We learned about Babylon and King Hammurabi and King Nebuchadnezzar II. If any of you listen to the podcast, "Oh No, Ross and Carrie", you know that Ross can spell Nebuchadnezzar like a boss. It makes me chuckle every time I see the word.
Math was math. I am not entirely thrilled with the hopscotchy nature of the Critical Thinking book. I might take it apart and make it a little more orderly, or I may use that as a supplement. I would like something that has a little more flow to it. For example, this week, Henry did probability, averaging, algebraic thinking and multiplication. All of those are great things, but I would like to have it in larger chunks, rather than the sporadic nature we are getting.
He's reading I Survived! The Hindenburg Disaster of 1937. I swear, if he asks me if I was alive in 1937 one more time, I'm getting a face lift.
Only 31 weeks to go!
Saturday, September 23, 2017
Week 4 - Better
Thankfully this was, all things considered, an infinitely better week. Papa Bear is still having some medical issues, but we're on track to finding out what is going on. We hope.
School happened. We did -ism and -ist words for spelling. Given the hubbub over the word "dotard" in the news yesterday, I am even more insistent that Henry understands the parts of words and what the mean. Even if he doesn't know the precise definition, he'll be able to figure out what the word means by its parts.
Math was pretty generic - just some fractions, adding and balance problems.
Social studies was good. We read about Sargon of Ur. We borrowed Story of the World, Volume I from a friend and read the story of Abraham and Sarah, too. It was timely that we read it on Rosh Hashanah. Like knowing the parts of words, knowing what has happened in history is imperative. It repeats, yet we don't seem to get that. It makes me want to bang my head against a wall. All I can do is help facilitate learning and hope that my kid will help to save what's left of the world when he's older.
We never did get to the science lesson that was planned for this week. We did watch lots of Hurricane Maria on the Weather Channel, and we watched a few episodes of The Strangest Weather on Earth. We also read about the autumn equinox.
Henry finished his book and started another one. It works for me. We'll have another jumbled week next week, but hopefully we'll be on a better schedule after that. When life rears its ugly head, we just have to roll with it.
School happened. We did -ism and -ist words for spelling. Given the hubbub over the word "dotard" in the news yesterday, I am even more insistent that Henry understands the parts of words and what the mean. Even if he doesn't know the precise definition, he'll be able to figure out what the word means by its parts.
Math was pretty generic - just some fractions, adding and balance problems.
Social studies was good. We read about Sargon of Ur. We borrowed Story of the World, Volume I from a friend and read the story of Abraham and Sarah, too. It was timely that we read it on Rosh Hashanah. Like knowing the parts of words, knowing what has happened in history is imperative. It repeats, yet we don't seem to get that. It makes me want to bang my head against a wall. All I can do is help facilitate learning and hope that my kid will help to save what's left of the world when he's older.
We never did get to the science lesson that was planned for this week. We did watch lots of Hurricane Maria on the Weather Channel, and we watched a few episodes of The Strangest Weather on Earth. We also read about the autumn equinox.
Henry finished his book and started another one. It works for me. We'll have another jumbled week next week, but hopefully we'll be on a better schedule after that. When life rears its ugly head, we just have to roll with it.
Saturday, September 16, 2017
Week 3 - The Week That Wasn't
This was a no good, very bad week for our household. Papa Bear had a medical emergency (which is now under control...ish), and all of my brain space was filled with that. There was some spelling, some reading, some Moana watching, but no real hard-core school work. I am hoping this week will be better.
Friday, September 8, 2017
Week #2
This was a really calm. low-key week. We took Monday off for Labor Day, then on Tuesday, I had an early morning appointment, so that kind of threw off our schedule. So, Wednesday, we got back down to brass tacks. We had a bit of a kerfuffle over reading. Once that was done, Henry read a Scooby-Doo book, The Missing Scooby-Snacks. Again, not high up on the literary scale, but it was words on a page. On Thursday, he started I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916. He was immediately engaged with this one. He's only four chapters in, but he may actually finish it this weekend. I might get him another one when I'm out with Big Sister tomorrow, just to make sure he doesn't lose the reading thread.
We did a lesson from Mystery Science: "Can You Fry an Egg on the Sidewalk?" It was all about the insulating properties of certain materials. The experiment involved using three common household materials to see if the difference of hot or cold water bottles could be felt.
Social studies fell by the wayside this week. I was going to read the kids' version of Gilgamesh and have Henry draw pictures for each part, but we had such a short week that my plan wouldn't have worked. I may do that next week, or I may just skip it and move on to Babylonia.
Math, as usual was the best and easiest subject. He did fractions, multiplication and division. I enjoy the Mathematical Reasoning book because, while there may be only five or six problems on a page, they all require a little bit of thought. It's not just page after page of problems.
We finished Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, too. As soon as I was done reading, Henry exclaimed, "That's it? I want to know what happens to Charlie and his family!" I thought it was adorable. I'm glad he enjoyed the book. Up next, The Little Prince.
Finally, for spelling we had prefixes un, re, and dis. I think before we get too far into this book, I am going to write the prefixes, suffixes and words on index cards for a running reference/reminder. I am really hoping to get into a little more writing as this school year goes on.
We did a lesson from Mystery Science: "Can You Fry an Egg on the Sidewalk?" It was all about the insulating properties of certain materials. The experiment involved using three common household materials to see if the difference of hot or cold water bottles could be felt.
Social studies fell by the wayside this week. I was going to read the kids' version of Gilgamesh and have Henry draw pictures for each part, but we had such a short week that my plan wouldn't have worked. I may do that next week, or I may just skip it and move on to Babylonia.
Math, as usual was the best and easiest subject. He did fractions, multiplication and division. I enjoy the Mathematical Reasoning book because, while there may be only five or six problems on a page, they all require a little bit of thought. It's not just page after page of problems.
We finished Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, too. As soon as I was done reading, Henry exclaimed, "That's it? I want to know what happens to Charlie and his family!" I thought it was adorable. I'm glad he enjoyed the book. Up next, The Little Prince.
Finally, for spelling we had prefixes un, re, and dis. I think before we get too far into this book, I am going to write the prefixes, suffixes and words on index cards for a running reference/reminder. I am really hoping to get into a little more writing as this school year goes on.
Friday, September 1, 2017
Week 1 Wrap Up
Phew! We made it. Our first official week of fourth grade is in the books. I won't lie, there were tears, whining and frustration, but it all worked out in the end. Here's what we did this week.
I am expecting Henry to read one book every week. By Thursday, he hadn't started anything and wailed, "I'll never be able to read a whole book by Sunday!" I suggested that perhaps he would make a better choice next week and start reading on Monday. The book he wound up reading is Minnie and Moo: The Case of the Missing Jelly Donut. Not great literature by any stretch, but he read it and he thought it was pretty funny. Baby steps, right?
Social studies was fun, though. We are studying Sumeria, and I found some fun hands-on activities on Pinterest. Thank God for Pinterest! Henry made a ziggurat out of Legos,
and he made some Mesopotamian bread.
We did not really do any science this week. I have discovered that the science book I bought is going to be more of a supplement than a curriculum. So, I went ahead and bought the membership for Mystery Science. It is laid out nicely, and Henry liked it when we had the free trial. That will give us a much better plan than my pick-and-choose efforts.
Math is math. We are still reviewing multiplication tables, basic division, and the dreaded rounding and estimating. For some reason, all of my children have hated rounding and estimating.
We will have Monday off for the Labor Day holiday, but we'll be back at it on Tuesday. See you next week!
I am expecting Henry to read one book every week. By Thursday, he hadn't started anything and wailed, "I'll never be able to read a whole book by Sunday!" I suggested that perhaps he would make a better choice next week and start reading on Monday. The book he wound up reading is Minnie and Moo: The Case of the Missing Jelly Donut. Not great literature by any stretch, but he read it and he thought it was pretty funny. Baby steps, right?
Social studies was fun, though. We are studying Sumeria, and I found some fun hands-on activities on Pinterest. Thank God for Pinterest! Henry made a ziggurat out of Legos,
he wrote his name in cuneiform on a clay tablet (with clay that he dug out of the creek bed himself),
I'm not worrying about names of kings and dates they ruled. I want him to remember four key things about the Sumerians: They are credited with inventing the wheel, they wrote in cuneiform, they had a legal code, and Gilgamesh. He also thinks the statues with the freaky huge eyes are pretty cool.
We did not really do any science this week. I have discovered that the science book I bought is going to be more of a supplement than a curriculum. So, I went ahead and bought the membership for Mystery Science. It is laid out nicely, and Henry liked it when we had the free trial. That will give us a much better plan than my pick-and-choose efforts.
Math is math. We are still reviewing multiplication tables, basic division, and the dreaded rounding and estimating. For some reason, all of my children have hated rounding and estimating.
We will have Monday off for the Labor Day holiday, but we'll be back at it on Tuesday. See you next week!
Monday, August 28, 2017
The Real First Day
Finally, Mr. Henry was ready to rock. And by ready to rock, I mean he was a distracted mess. It's going to take a while to get back into the groove.
We did some math. We did some social studies - an overview of Mesopotamia. We read a few chapters of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Then, we had lunch. After lunch, Henry found a new friend whom he named Dave. He played with Dave for a bit, then he left him on a branch on the lilac bush.
Wednesday, August 23, 2017
So It Begins...Sort Of
How did we get here? How did my tiny baby get to be nine and a half? How is he in fourth grade? Time marches on, and we have arrived in Henry's second year of homeschooling. We have been doing a little bit of work here and there over the summer. Mostly there, to be honest. We have been reading The Unwanteds series of books by Lisa McMann. If you haven't discovered this fantastic series yet, please check it out. We're on book six, Island of Graves. and we are still eager to find out what happens.
The most exciting thing we did this summer was watch the eclipse on August 21. We weren't in the Zone of Totality, but we got about 75%. It was so cool! We had eclipse glasses (thank you, Science Teacher Friend), and we used a pinhole viewer. We went to a friend's house and made a little party of it.
"School" should officially start on August 28. We're planning on doing Ancient Cultures, Physical Science, math, reading, writing, art, music, and PLAY. With luck and good fortune, we will have a really awesome year!
"School" should officially start on August 28. We're planning on doing Ancient Cultures, Physical Science, math, reading, writing, art, music, and PLAY. With luck and good fortune, we will have a really awesome year!
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