Homeschool Confidential 2
August 8, 2002 Enter First Grade
Here we are on the verge of first grade. I am getting all my ducks in a row - One new purchase this year was the Miquon Math system, complete with Cuisinere rods. I decided to try this on the recommendation of another website, given its price and its use of manipulatives. I then went to our local homeschool library and borrowed the red book and lab annotations to see if the program would fit Aden. We didn't have rods, so we used a number line, as they recommended. Well, the program was a hit. Aden loves math and working with numbers, and this was right up his alley. We purchased the entire system from Mommyschool.com, which offered it at a slight discount -including the rods- and even though Aden is more advanced than the orange book (book 1), we are doing a couple things in it to get him familiar with all the elements before we move on the the red book (book 2). He loves is so much that he often wants to continue on after we are "done," so I usually try to keep a page or teo undone so he can "play." So far first grade math looks great!
I have also decided that since I can't find a unit study system that I can work with, I will make my own. I have developed a complete unit study system that covers the first 2-4 months of school, depending on how in depth we go. This is the first volume, entitled "Exploring Health, Home, and Heroes," and will be part of an entire explorer series. The current volume "Exploring Health, Home, and Heroes" has varying ideas for each topic, grouped under their scholastic application, such as Language Arts or Science.
I can't wait for first grade to start!
Tales from First Grade 8/28/02
We have begun our first grade year and what a start it has been. Aden's reading, which seemed quite shaky over the summer, has really taken off ! He is ripping through his reader like they are butter, and he is quickly grasping the concepts he needs to for more advanced reading! Plus he is totally loving being able to "read."
On another, even higher note, another perk of homeschooling has risen - that is my 2 1/2 year old daughter, Kaya. The past few weeks she has shown an unbelievable interest in a phonics toy we have, and the leap pad toy that out son received for Christmas - so much so that I just ordered two new leap pad books for her!
The coup d'etat however was yesterday morning as we were studying the nose (we have been doing the senses over the week). I was asking Aden what does he like to smell when suddenly Kaya, who was sitting next to me, lifted her arms above her head and screamed "Flowers!We smell flowers, MOmmy!" I wasn't even really addressing her, but she made herself part of school anyway and did a phenomenal job at it. She then wanted to play the "sniff the food" guessing game - but I think she was still too young for it - she kept peeking and blurting out the answer before Aden could guess. Overall, it had to be one of our best homeschooling days!
On the Road to Reading 10/11/02:
Aden has begun reading on his own, a bit. When we read together, he now points out or reads words that he recognizes or can sound out. When we go to the store or watch a movie, he reads any words that he sees or that pop up. This is an interesting step I had not anticipated - recognition of common, everyday words, outside of book reading. I can't wait to see how this grows. We have also started a more formal foreign language (french) study with Aden, basically numbers, food, and common phrases right now. He has started to ask me what certain words are in French, which is very exciting to me, and I hope we will continue at a similar pace until he speaks it well. I am having a great time watching Aden take the initative on much of his education. he asks if he can work on his math, or if he can do "arts and crafts" - he is in to making hats and the like from construction paper, tape, glue, feathers, stickers, and yarn. Today he made an "Indian" hat - a headband with feathers, and he made arm bands with little dangling things to match.
Kaya, while running me ragged just being a normal 2 1/2 year old, is growing in leaps and bounds. I have not started any formal preschool with her yet (I wait until 3), it amazes me to see what she knows, and how it differs from Aden. While Aden was always into numbers, math, and science experiments, Kaya knows all her letters, most of their sounds, and all her colors and shapes. She is really into art - coloring and painting - so Kaya and Mommy are going to paint pottery tomorrow- fun! What truly amazes me is how much she picks up from what I do with Aden while she is coloring, and how much she wants to do what he does. As a result, she is gets into everything - sometimes more than she should for a two year old - and it's driving me crazy. At this point, I don't think it will be Aden who blows up the garage with a science project, it will be Kaya!
At the New Year - 2/3/03
It is a month or so into the new year, and 2 days after the Chinese New year (huzzah!) and this is the first update I've had the chance to write! Busy Busy us! Aden is finishing the last reader in his reading program (book 10, level 4) and now we are reading the MILE 3 first readers. I told him that once he is finished with those, he will read his first chapter book, and then he will be in 2nd grade! He has already finished 2 First grade workbooks, so I know we are on top of things. We are using a Sonlight 1st grade guide to study ancient civilizations, and he has been all into that - every day he asks if we can read more. With each civ, we do some extraneous work - other books, info, pictures, art projects, films, and what not, to try to get a whole feel for what it must have been like to live in that time, and Aden is getting a big kick out of it.With math, we only have 1/2 of the red book left, then he is in the second level of Miquon math. I am so happy with how this is going!
Kaya has bascially started preschool with us, since she insisted on being at the table, and not just coloring or playing, but doing SCHOOL! I grabbed some ABC and 123 kindergarten workbooks and we do those (a letter and number every day) and a little craft project. On art day, she has to do the same project as Aden, but I only have one "Art with a purpose" pack (grade one) so I find myself gerry-rigging a similar project together for her. I am very impressed that she can keep up (tho I do all of the cutting right now, for cut-and-paste projects). We are having a fun time - Kaya is just going to fast that I can't keep up! We will see if this momentum conutinues!
WE HAVE ARRIVED! Mid February
After much work and frustration, Aden is reading. Not so much that he will just pick up a book and “read" it, but enough to point to select a book and read it for the information it contains. HUZZAH!
One day during naps, Aden came into my room and sat with me for a while. Since he is my buddy,we will sit and chat a lot while the girls are napping. On this day, we were talking about teeth, as Aden had received some books on loosing baby teeth. We had read one of the books before naps. Aden then told me that he has 20 teeth right now, but when he gets all this big teeth, he will have 36. I paused for a moment, trying to figure out where he learned this "Did daddy or nana tell him? Then I ventured, where did you learn that?" "I read it in our other book about teeth, mommy." Now, in complete shock, I asked, "Which book is that, honey?"And he went to his room and brought back the "My Loose Tooth" book and flipped to the page, and then proceeded to read it to me!!!! It was only after I recovered from my minor heart attack that I truly realized what this meant. He may not be the best reader (at least not yet -- give him time, he's only 6!) or the quickest or most fluent reader, but, by God, he is reading, and I am dancing on the ceiling. Way to go, buddy!
MIDDLE CHILD SYNDROME- July 9th, 2003
Kaya is a middle child. I angonized over this, probably to excess, because I never wanted her to feel that she was left out or that I didn't have time for her. However, this seemed to happen quite a bit for the 1st year of her younger sister's life. Since Sophie is the baby, I had to be with her. Aden, as the oldest, needed to work at school with me daily, so where did that leave Kaya? With a coloring book at the table with us at best, in front of "The Little Mermaid"at worst -- something that hurt my heart to the core. However, now that the baby is a bit older, things have been changing a bit.
Kaya is officiall doing preschool with me now. I start at age three (slowly, albeit), and at first this was hit or miss -- still a lot of coloring. However, about once a month or so, something happens and she gets mom to herself for preschool and for the day. My mother in law and sister in law like to keep my oldest for 2-3 days at a time their special time with Aden. Since we now live only 1/2 hour away, what were once a year visits are now more frequent, and thus, Kaya gets me all to herself. I noticed this the last time he was gone, so for this visit, I decided to take full advantage.
We did her little pre-k workbook ("Just like Aden," Kaya says). We did some other little pre-learning activities. We then did a whole bunch of Feet activities, a mini theme for the day. We made feet pictures, traced her feet ( complete with pink nail polish!). We jumped, tippy-toed, walked slow and fast. We then strung a bunch of socks on a clothesline and played matching games, number games, and pattern games. She had a blast and we spent more than an hour on Kaya's preschool -- just Kaya. We both loved it. Plus- we get to do it again tomorrow. Craig and I call it our "special time" with Kaya.
It is rough homeschooling more than one, especially with a baby thrown in the mix. But I find that if I take full advantage on times like this, we alleviate quite a few of those middle child issues. I love you, Kaya June bug.
Second Grade has been a lot of fun for Aden. Being in a new house means deciding if he wants to work at the little table or the dining room table. We can keep bigger project up and away from the grabbing finger of younger sisters, and we have more room to spread out. Very nice!
We have done some great projects so far. We did a wonderful "Space" project before Christmas - complete with a report written by Aden - and for his birthday, Nana and Papa got him an astrolab with a computerized quizzer all about space.
Now we are working on the United States. He is compiling a book with one page dedicated to each state, then we read about it and fill in interesting information about each one. He also has a big puzzle of the US that he is using as a guide. It has come in very handy!
While we are still working on his handwriting, he is growing in leaps and bounds in all other areas, especially math. He is halfway though is Miquon Math program - only 3 workbooks left!