Homeschool 2009-2010

We homeschool year round. But it does seem summers are busier than other times of the year simply because the rest of the world takes summers off, and therefore we have a lot more visitors, reunions, and other summer stuff. We do homeschool through the summer, but we only concentrate on the basics. That means we do reading, math, spelling, and writing on an almost daily basis all summer. Then after Labor Day we add in Music, Art, Science, History, and Geography. Now, we do follow the girls interests through the summer and learn about things as they come up. For instance Alexis developed a fascination with black holes at one point this summer so we looked them up online and went to the library and checked out books about black holes. We also did various fun art projects this summer. We just don't do any formal curriculum in these extra subjects. So, more so for my own personal keepsake, but also for anyone who's interested, here's a brief breakdown of what we'll be learning this year:

Reading - I'm a firm believer in using classics, scriptures, and value based stories. I think there are so many books out there and only so much time to learn. In fact, there's only so much time our kids are really innocent and teachable. So I strive hard to read out loud to them daily out of books of high standards and values. I also found a great reading series called, "Reading to Learn Series". These books are not for children who are learning how to read. They are for children who already know how to read and it's just to expand their reading vocabulary and let them practice reading aloud. Each story in the book has a moral lesson around it about making good choices and being the best child you can be. We love them. Alexis reads them out loud and Emily listens and we discuss it. Even though Alexis is an excellent reader I find it's good practice for her to read out loud, simply because she can read much faster than she can talk, so it's a good reminder for her to slow down and she's getting very good at reading very expressively. Alexis also reads many other books. She's currently reading "A Little Princess". We try to discuss what she's reading and talk about words she may not know to help her expand her vocabulary. As for Emily, we're using "The Reading Lesson" for her and she loves it. There are 20 lessons all together and each lesson introduces 3-4 sounds, lets them practice making words with those sounds, then short sentences, and then little stories. Her favorite, by far, are the stories. We also play make believe when have her lessons since she lives in a make believe world all day, anyways. :) We might pretend we're princesses or she's the Mommy and I'm the child and she'll teach me. We also use "Happy Phonics" with her, which is a bunch of fun phonics games to help her learn new words. As for Ashley, we read to her A LOT every day. She LOVES books and she constantly wants to be read to every 5 minutes all day long. While I love her love of books, it can get quite exhausting by the end of the day. :)

Math - We use Singapore Math with both girls. Alexis does well with Math with the exception of her Math facts. She understands all the concepts and picks up on new concepts very quickly, but she just can't seem to get those facts committed to memory in her head. She's onto higher math but it's still slow for her because she'll forget what 7+4 or 8-3 are. So she has to sit there and figure it out before she can finish the problem. So we're continuing to work on those this year and I'm hoping for a magic solution to pop up. :) I've been looking at Math-u-see as a possible supplement for the purpose of getting those facts memorized, as I've heard it's pretty good. I also like to use supplemental books like "Family Math" every so often to have fun Math activities and games to reinforce various concepts and get them thinking and playing mathematically.

Handwriting - For Alexis, we have a program i just found I'm trying out called Classical Writing. She's in the Primer book, which is for 2nd graders. Basically each week we read a couple of Aesop tales together and discuss it. We then read a short passage from a classic children's book, and she copies the passage. It also incorporates just a little grammar, art appreciation, and nature study. So far we like it. She wants to learn cursive this year, as well, so we'll probably do that after Christmas. We're also going to be doing some other writing such as journal entries, letter writing, poems, and short stories to help her with her writing/spelling. Emily is using Handwriting Without Tears kindergarten level.

Spelling - We're using "All About Spelling". So far we love it and it seems to going well.

Science - We found a great Science curriculum called "Apologia Science". It's actually a series of textbooks written from a creationism point of view. It was written for elementary students so you can use it anywhere from Kindergarten through 6th grade, adjusting it as needed to the age of the child. We're starting with the book on Astronomy, since Alexis is so interested in space. Emily can participate as well, on her own level and there's fun projects to do throughout the book we're excited about.

Geography - We're using "The Star Spangled States Book", doing one state at a time. We've actually already started this, and the girls LOVE it. We've only done Alabama, Alaska, and Arizona so far, but it amazes me how much they picked up about each state and how much I'm learning, as well.

History - We're studying American History this year. We're using a book called "Early American History: a Literature Based Approach". It has children's books divided by the time period and projects to go along with them. We're very excited to start and this week I'll be gathering the stuff for the first unit.

Music - We use a program called "Themes to Remember" which has classical music divided into different time periods and composers and uses words to help the children remember the composers name and the theme of the piece. It's really cute and we enjoy it. The girls also study piano.

Art - We use "Discovering Great Artists" which has a different artist on each page to learn about and then an art project to reinforce the type of art that artist did.

Scripture Study - We usually read and discuss one scripture story or gospel principle each day. Although this is usually interwoven with our daily life and what we study. It's amazing how often the gospel comes up in Science, History, and good literature.

I think that's most of the main stuff. We feel really blessed to be able to educate our children at home. It's proven to be such a blessing in our lives. We're so close as family and our children are able to strengthen their testimonies as they learn more of the gospel each day as part of their education. We explore and learn together as a family. It's truly a blessing I'm so thankful for.

Mommy's Little Helper

We've had an abundance of tomatoes from our garden. I can barely keep up with all of them. I've been freezing them with plans of using them for cooking with this winter and also canning some of them this autumn when the weather is nice and cool. Well, today I was busy chopping and bagging tomatoes for the freezer when Ashley climbed up on the chair next to me and wanted to sit on my lap. I tried to get her down and distract her with toys and books but she really wanted to only be where I was. So I stood her next to me and asked if she would hand Mommy a tomato. She happily obliged and after I cut it I asked for another one and again she she gave me another one with a great big smile on her face, like she was so proud of herself. She sat there with me for a good 20-30 minutes handing me tomatoes and even figured out how I needed to stems pulled off some and started doing it for me as well before she handed them to me. Even with the occasional bite out of a tomato, she was certainly a big helper. :)

Balloon Festival

Daddy took the two older girls to a hot air balloon festival in Grove City a couple of weeks ago. They saw a magician, clowns, and lots of hot air balloons. There was also a fun kids area with games and things to do. They went in the evening so they got to see the balloons take off, glowing in the night sky. I was told it was very beautiful. They even had rides you could take in the hot air balloons (tethered to the ground the whole time, of course), and Alexis wanted to go, but Emily refused to even discuss it. :) So I told Alexis next year Mommy will be able to come, too and then her and Daddy can go up and Mommy, Emily, and Ashley will nervously wave from the ground. :)

Summer fun Swimming at the Water Park

We have a really fun water park close to our home that we have enjoyed a few times this summer. We always go in the evenings when it's really cheap and the sun isn't as bright. We usually pack a picnic of some sort and get in a couple of hours of water fun. The girls love this place. It has a lazy river, kiddie slides and water spouts, a baby pool, a kiddie pool, an adult pool, and big slides. We've gone by ourselves and also with my sister in law and her family and with our friends who came to visit last weekend. We have had so much fun going there and can't wait for next summer to go again!

Happy 30th, Daddy!

This year Don celebrated his 30th birthday. We went out to eat with his parents that night and our little nephew, Jeremy. We went to a cute restaurant we enjoy as family. They have games to play as you wait for your food and they serve really yummy stromboli. Afterwards we came back to the house, opened presents, and had cheesecake and ice cream.

Reading the cards the girls made him

Ashley playing with the stickers the girls used to decorate one of daddy's gifts - a new golf club

Daddy opening gifts

Ashley at the restaurant

Everyone playing games before dinner arrived

Ohio State fair 2009

We went to the Ohio State Fair this year. It was actually a perfect day, weather wise. It stayed in the upper 70's pretty much the whole time we were there. The girls had so much fun riding the rides in Kiddieland and seeing the animals. We also saw a funny magic show and got to visit with Smoky the Bear. They also got to view a live birth of a baby lamb and to milk a cow for the first time. The petting area was great. Ashley loved the animals and squealed and laughed whenever she pet one. Alexis laughed and laughed when she fed the animals as their tongues tickled her hand. Poor Emily wanted to feed the animals so bad. Whenever we put food in her little hand she would hold it out and as soon as the animal came close she would scream and throw the food at the animal. Finally, because she cried saying she really wanted to feed them, Daddy and I took her hand together and held it firmly as a cow licked the food out of her hand. She laughed and laughed nervously and we asked her, "How was it?" She replied, "It was gross." :) I think one of my favorite parts was watching the girls on the roller coaster. It was the little Kiddieland roller coaster, of course, and they just screamed and screamed down every little dip. It was really cute.

Alexis, Emily, and Ashley in front of Smoky the Bear

Feeding a cow

Ashley enjoying the petting area

hot air balloon ride

Emily on the alligator ride

helicopter ride

screaming on the roller coaster :)

pumpkin Ferris wheel

Emily petting a cow

Ashley petting a cow

Emily milking a cow

Alexis milking a cow

Emily and Ashley playing in one of the play areas

Does she ever stop?

The answer is "no". :) She never stops. Ashley is so curious and adventuresome. She loves learning. She'll sit on your lap for half an hour easily, listening to you read books. She loves singing songs and exploring new things. She wants you to point out anything and everything and tell her what it is and show her how it works. This love of learning has a flip side, of course, in that if you don't keep her stimulated enough, she'll create her own stimulation. I'm very busy all day with her. She creates one mess after the next. The girls have nicknamed her "Explorer Baby". :)

We made the mistake of leaving a container of yogurt within reach.

If we don't keep the bathroom closed, we may find this:

She got this container out of the cabinet and was helping herself to a snack from the snack drawer:

She likes to put pieces of cloth over her head and walk around :)

We love this baby!