Letter E - Eggcellent!

We embarked on letter E and had an eggcellent time!    Eric enjoys the dot paints,

but does tend to get a little excited and looses concentration after a bit.  It's all fun though!

He is doing awesome at tracing!  He was doing so well with tracing lines, that we have now advanced to more shapes.  He likes using the dry erase markers on the worksheets I print.  I put them in a page protector sleeve and it allows us to use them again and again.

Magnets are fun, but can be hit or miss with Eric. He will usually put the magnets on quickly and then turn them into snakes across the board.  

I had him put magnets on all the upper and lower case E's in the eggs, saying the E sound with each one.  

He really didn't want his picture taken, so he shared his "cheesy" smile.

Stamping the letter E, he really went to town with this. These stampers were a dollar at Target, so I couldn't resist.  The only problem is that they are so small, his little hands are always covered in ink when he uses these.

Eric had lots of fun with our letter E craft!  I found this idea from DLTK , we crushed up egg shells and glued them to the upper and lower case E's.  

The school room is fun, but getting our hands dirty in the kitchen is a blast!  We do lots of hands on learning too!  The kids love to cook with Daddy (the chef)!  We will work on their counting, measuring, and they learn how to read directions too.

Ella can read and make simple recipe's now from start to finish, while Mom and Dad help with any major heating elements. 

The kids had a wonderful time playing together with Insta-Snow !  We brought the sand/water table inside and filled it with "Snow" and the kids went right for it. I always enjoy watching the kids playing together, so nicely.  

A side benefit, the kids didn't have to put their snow gear on and freeze their toes off outside in this snow!  

We had a few snow days this month, as this month has turned into one of the snowiest.  Although, we don't have snow days, I do try to change things up a bit ever once in awhile.  Ella enjoyed trying Math-U-See's online drills, while Eric decided to play Starfall on the iPad.

Ella was working on weights & measurements this month, so we broke out the scales for the kids.  They compared weights with everything from bear counters to stuffed animals.

We created a nice little reading nook in our living room, which Ella absolutely loves.  You can always find her in her reading chair first thing in the morning, even before breakfast.  We have a small basket full of books right next to it and she just goes to town, reading to her little hearts content.

Ella is an avid reader, but spelling is another story.  We've struggled with finding a good spelling program, until we found All About Spelling.  It's a quick lesson each day, very hands on and great for kids who don't always like writing.  It uses letter tiles, but also has the kids spell the words as well.  It's simple to teach and so easy for the kids to grasp.

Some days we use the white board, or chalkboard to write and other days we use the iPad, utilizing the Real Chalkboard app.  We change it up, based on her preference that day.

It's so nice to have found All About Spelling, we are already finishing our last lesson in our 1st book this week.  We've decided to continue on to Level 2 and have ordered their new preschool reading program for Eric.  It's so multi-sensory in it's teaching style, I thought it would work well for Eric.  We'll let you know how our very active boy, likes it!  

Ella has spent much of February learning about Venus!  She loves science and I will often use it as a motivator to get some of her other (writing work) done.  The Apologia science books present such a refreshing hands-on approach to learning.  There are lots of activities and projects to complete, we just can't do them all.  We always try at least 1-2 and I imagine we will be using the books again when Eric is older.

Studying Venus, she learned that Volcanoes are found heavily across the surface of the planet. Our activity utilized flour and melted butter, to represent the lava that flowed.  We watched it cool and turn hard, just like the lava on Venus creating rocks.

She had the most fun, creating her own comic strip about Venus.  She usually doesn't like writing, but really enjoyed putting this comic strip together. (Double Click to Read)

We enjoyed a presentation with our homeschool group from SpaceTime ,  learning about NASA and how they prepare astronauts for space travel.  We even learned that they are building the first spaceport in New Mexico, where Ella is looking forward to visiting someday.  At the end of the presentation, he showed us how to make fizzy rockets and of course we had to give this a try at home.

The kids had so much fun with our rocket launch!  

Diving In

Ella was chomping at the bit and ready to start back to school, after the holidays.  I was still finalizing some plans for the new term, but found a great app on my iPad called The ABC's of God.

The app has letter tracing, bible verses, crosswords and more and the kids absolutely love it!  Ella was even cheering Eric on, as he found different letters and traced a letter himself.  How wonderful to see them working so peacefully together!  Ella absolutely loves to teach Eric and is very encouraging!  It definitely helps that Eric adores his big sister!

We jumped right in after the holiday with a new school schedule and morning routine,

Our "Morning Board"

trying to make life a little more manageable as I fully integrate Eric into our daily lessons for Preschool and streamline some basic concepts for the kids.  Our new morning board has been a great way to start our morning after the Calendar.  We have a photo of our sponsored child from Compassion International, whom we pray for every morning.

We have math concepts that she is working on in Saxon 2 Math, Math-U-See & Classical Conversations such as Skip Counting, Making the Date with Money, Telling Time, Days in School, Graphing and Temperature.  We also have our character virtue of the week, from We Choose Virtues.  We introduce the weekly virtue at our Sunday family meeting, review the card each morning, hand out stickers for our 100 Days of Virtue Poster and have a memory song, bible verse, and poem to go along with it.

Our schedule resembles more of a traditional school now; however, we are flexible and do not always hold to it.  Usually, all gets done in a day, but sometimes we may choose a different order or opt for a field trip or more project based work and will have "homework" in the evening.  Ella doesn't seem to mind the homework and sometimes even asks if she can finish up her work later in the evening, which she is usually very diligent about (she's a night owl).

We have also added a School Room Job Chart for the kids.  They each have jobs they are responsible for during our school day and I rotate them through the week.  I'm not sure why I never thought to make one before; however, having both kids in the school room full-time definitely results in twice the mess.  This has definitely helped and the kids love having a special job for the day.

We are excited to have Eric even more involved with our daily schooling, as he starts a more formal preschool routine this term.  I tried a letter of the week curriculum a months ago, but he just wasn't ready.  He has matured quite a bit in the last five months and now shows a strong interest in writing, letters, numbers, and reading various books.  He has also mastered using the mouse on my laptop, so he is enjoying having more control over his learning and utilizing the Starfall website to help reinforce his learning.

We jumped right in with the letter D last week and he just soaked it up.  He really enjoys are songs and movement and by the end of the week he was recalling many of the songs by memory.

He even dressed up as a Dinosaur for his daily lessons, which he loved.

I found this great magnet, dot page, Dino printout from Confessions of a Homeschooler.  He started placing the magnets on, but soon found out that the magnets were attracted to each other. He ended up making a caterpillar with the magnets and had more fun playing, then actually doing this activity today.  

Eric did have fun dot painting his Letter D picture.  I tried to keep him focused on making "dots" for D, but in the end this is his piece of art and not mine.  He requested more dot painting, so I found more do-a-dot pages 

He likes stamping the letter D as well and completed all of these in one sitting.  Looks like a found a winner and remember this for next week.  I would always sit with him and review what letter we were learning, the sound it made, and name other things that began with the letter D.

We even broke out our Handwriting Without Tears Stamp and See Screen, so he could see how to build the letter D.  

He had to keep making it, to erase it and so it worked out.  He much preferred the erasing to the making.

He loved making this truck out of rectangles, as we also reviewed the shape of wheels and did some size sorting and counting here.   

I definitely have to switch gears with Eric and plan for activities that will keep him engaged, fun, and hands on.  He is very much a kinesthetic learner, at least for now.

Eric is definitely learning a lot watching and listening to Ella, being a part of our full morning routine.  The kids like working together and Ella will often help Eric or want to join in on our more "fun" preschool activities (songs, rhymes, play).  Many times during the week, I would glance over during a break and find the two of them sitting side by side and playing cooperatively.

"Moment to Remember"

We even have a few subjects that we try and work on together, like Spanish and of course the bigger projects within Science and History.

While Eric was busy working with the Letter D, Ella was hard at work in her studies.  She learned  about the Cod of Hammurabi and made her own set of rules to live by.  

We are working on 1 minute timed tests for our addition math facts, which she is learning quickly averaging 18/20 almost every time.  We use Math-U-See to help her visualize the facts and Saxon 2 Math to run through math concepts.   

She is starting to write full paragraphs now, so look for her posts at "The World According to Ella."  We have learned about the 2 point Expository Paragraph and will be writing daily now.

Ella's favorite subject, which she looks forward to daily, is Science.  Our current topic, the Sun.  We've been learning so many details, like the difference between revolve and rotate, Thermonuclear Fusion, the different eclipses, sunspots, and more.  We are wrapping up our study of the Sun this week with daily projects about shadows, light, and heat.

All this directed learning can get boring, so Ella will often pick up books herself on other various topics.  I found her just today reading a few of our Sonlight books about Weight and Pulleys ("How Do You Lift A Lion?"), "The Underwater Sea", and "Noahs Ark".  She is currently reading the chapter book, "Misty of Chincoteague" as well 

and has plans of getting her first pony at Chincoteague. 

Ella absolutely loves to read!  She definitely understand the power of books and even explained to her Dad that she enjoys using her imagination, instead of watching a movie.  She just gets lost in books for hours, something she could never do at a traditional school.  I am so glad, she has the opportunity to get lost daily!

Christmas "Break"

December roles around and somehow the structure of our school day goes out the window and in comes our time to break free from the textbooks and the confines of our school room.  Sometimes, it's nice to just let learning come naturally.  Many might disagree with our approach, but sometimes the best learning isn't done in a classroom at all.

We may not have opened a textbook in a few weeks, but  there is still lots of "schooling" going on.  Ella received the "Draw, Write, Now" series for her birthday and she is enjoying drawing and writing almost daily and without any prompting.  

Not to mention all the "Thank you" Cards she has been writing from her birthday! 

She received a Math Shark game for her birthday as well and continues to play, practicing her math facts (without the moans and groans).  Ella consistently loves to help in the kitchen and can follow a recipe as good, if not better than some adults.  She measures, pours, adds, subtracts, divides, and multiplies all without opening a textbook.  

We decided to try a new advent series this year, called "Truth in the Tinsel." 

 I heard about it just a few days before Advent, so didn't have all the necessary crafts ready to make.  However, the kids absolutely loved making crafts daily. 

 I have to admit it became cumbersome between all the birthday and holiday activities.  Next year, I am going to plan in advance and think we'll get even more out of this wonderful book of simple crafts with the kids.  I really enjoyed reading and discussing the full story of Jesus's birth.

Ella was so thrilled to receive a DVD bible for Christmas, 

along with many of her favorite books.  She has been reading non-stop and her reading skills continue to exceed my expectations.  

She's blowing through her Magic Tree House books and can read & comprehend her book in 2 hours time.  Amazing, that she can sit and read for so long at just 6 years old!

As for Eric, he has been singing his ABC's around the house, loves decorating sugar cookies and picking his colors (he knows all his primary colors now) and counting from 1-10 in Japanese.  Yes, Japanese!  Ella taught him how to count in Japanese, since she has to count in Karate class.  Eric has also been helping with the cooking (learning to count, measure, and follow directions) 

and loves to just play with his big sister.  I am so glad to give the kids a chance to really learn to cooperate with each other and learn to get along in spite of their differences.  

Even when they are playing freely with one another, I will often see Ella reading to Eric or singing with him.  He absolutely loves his big sister!

Well, as you can see Christmas "Break" is in full swing.  We've turned the lights on this holiday, but will continue letting our kids shine all through the coming year.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All! 

It's "A" wrap!

Eric is really enjoying his "school" work!  He is really discovering books are his friends and requests to read books often now (not just tractor books).  His favorite this month is "The Three Little Pigs."

He enjoys re-enacting the story with Ella, pounding on her room door. "Little pig, little pig, let me in!"  It's so cute!  Ella likes to play along too, shouting (No! No! I will never, never, never let you in, not by the hair on my piggy little chin!"  It's so fun to watch these two go back and forth reciting the book.

I often find Ella and Eric throughout the week, sitting on a chair or sofa together with a book or two.  Just reading!  Ella really enjoys sharing her favorite past time with her little brother.  It just brings so much joy to know they are sharing the love of books together.

We finally wrapped up the letter A, by making a tissue paper apple tree.

We took our time counting all our apples on the tree (math), pinching all the tissue paper to make the apples (fine motor skills), and talking about trees (science).  He had lots of fun with this project.

Ella received a "Rainy Day" project book from Chick-fil-A when she was little, which has a great recipe for making clay we can bake and paint.  Ella made lots of different shapes to paint (ladybug, snake, and a panda bear).  I decided to make the letter A for Eric to paint.

While Eric and I are often busy in the mornings, working one-one with each other Ella is working on some of her independent studies (math, handwriting, reading).  However, sometimes she breaks away from the books and picks an activity instead.

She loves to make necklaces and bracelets with these wooden beads.  It works her fine motor skills and patterning as well.  It's all in the name of learning!

Pinto beans work great for pasting!  They look like little ovals, so what better to use for outlining this big oval!

Ella is absolutely loving her "A Reason for Handwriting" workbook and often requests to do more than what I request.  The end of each lesson, she writes an entire bible verse on a handwriting sheet with a picture she enjoys coloring.  These are great for giving to friends and family.

We are starting our memory work in Europe.  Ella has learned the major rivers, countries, and cities in Europe and can easily point them out on a map.

We're moving quickly through our memory work, as some of this was review from the end of last year. We have memorized our times tables through the 8's, history sentences up to the Hundred Years war,  and so much more.  She is like a sponge and can recite and remember information quickly.  I've created a sticker chart for her, so she can track her progress and have some extra motivation to learn.  The power of a sticker is amazing.

Ella wrapped up her Math-U-See Primer book a few weeks before I anticipated.  She worked so quickly, once she saw we had new books waiting in the wings.  She was motivated!  

I had her take a placement test for Saxon Math and Math-U-See and was surprised to find out, she's an entire grade level (almost 2 grade levels) ahead.  She was two questions shy of moving into Saxon 3.  The Saxon 1 books I had already purchased just wasn't right for her.  I decided to save those for Eric and had to purchase Saxon 2 instead to review more of her math facts.  She will be flying through Math-U-See Alpha too, as we work through the math facts in this book as well.  A strong foundation and knowing her math facts will really help her later, so I decided to not skip these levels, but imagine we will move rather quickly through these books.

Ancient History and Egypt is really coming to life in "The Story of the World" series.  Ella is learning all about Egypt and the life of the Egyptians.  We even made our own little Nile River.  A little potting soil, rocks, and grass seed and *poof*...the Nile River!

The Nile River floods every year, making the ground more fertile.  So, Ella flooded her Nile every week and the grass grew around the River.  She had lots of fun watching the grass grow.  The rocks represent the Pyramids of Egypt.

Ella sporting the crown after the unification of upper and lower Egypt by Pharaoh Menes.  

The kids had lots of fun creating their own clay cuneiform tablets.  We used the same clay and bake recipe to create these little masterpieces.

Science has taken a detour as I came across a wonderful lesson plan for an upcoming movie release called, "Dolphin Tale."  The movie is about a dolphin named, "Winter."  Winter looses her tale in a crab fishing net and learns to swim with a prosthetic tail.  Through the Homeschool Movie Club we were able to catch a free preview of "Dolphin Tale."

 Ella absolutely loved the movie!  I asked what she loved about the movie and she replied rather quickly, that she loved ALL of it!  I learned there was an entire Science Curriculum put together for this movie through the same movie club and quickly downloaded it.  We have been studying dolphins, the ocean, and many other marine biology topics.  We will spend the remainder of the month on "Dolphin Tale," then continue on with our Astronomy studies.

I am learning to remain flexible in our studies.  Our lesson plans change, almost on a daily basis.  However, we are always learning and are so blessed and thankful to have this time with the kids.  We wouldn't trade it for the world!