Oh, What a Week
22 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
in Our Progress Tags: Field trips, geography, History, Math, Math-U-See, phonics, Science
Well, our first week of school is done! It was a great week and we got a lot done!
We started on Monday with the other family we do our history and science co-op with. For history this year, we are going to be studying United States history, up to 1830. We began on Monday by discussing the Magna Carta. While that is European history, it laid the groundwork and planted the seeds of freedom in the world. This is a very important document for the founding of the United States and we even have some laws in the US today that began with the Magna Carta. Throughout the week, we talked about life in Medieval times. The kids need to understand why it was even necessary for a document like the Magna Carta to even be written. I think the general consensus is that the kids would not want to have lived then. Although, they did enjoy the Medieval dinner we had on Friday. Also, for a review of the week’s lessons, we played Medieval Jeopardy. The kids enjoyed it a great deal! And then, just for fun, because we had been learning about King John and life in the middle ages, we had the kids watch Robin Hood. Of course not meant to be historically accurate, but the kids enjoyed it. I must say, though, some of the songs about King John were pretty right on!
For science, we are working on astronomy this year. When given the choice between astronomy and chemistry, the kids voted to do astronomy. Democracy in action, right?! So, anyway, we started by talking about how astronomy has been used throughout time. We talked about how ancient people needed to follow the sun, moon, and stars in order to be able to know the seasons and be able to properly plant and harvest their food. A very important thing, we can all agree! We also talked about constellations and the different myths and stories behind them in different cultures. We gave the kids the assignment to come up with their own constellation and story about how it got into the sky. I was completely blown away by their creativity and what everyone came up with! Then we moved on to talk about how astronomy works today. To finish off the week, we took the older kids to the planetarium and show about the Maya and how they viewed the skies, which fit in perfectly with what we were learning. The second part of the show was about what can be seen in the summer sky. After the show, we were privileged to be able to go out to the telescope the astronomers had set up and we were able to view Saturn and a binary star system. It was simply magnificent! The kids can’t wait to go back!
We also started working on phonics, beginning with the short vowels. My kindergartener is really enjoying it. I’m taking all the kids through this phonics program, though, because I don’t feel they have a solid foundation. So, we are rebuilding it where we need to. The problem is the older ones are a bit board. They are great, though, because they aren’t complaining, but just following the directions I give and doing the work I ask them to do. I know how hard that can be when you feel like you already know something, and so I give them a lot of credit for that!
With math, our little kindergartener is loving her work, of course. Isn’t that almost always the case with kindergarten?? They just can’t get enough of learning. The key is keeping that fire and passion for learning alive. My first grader is really enjoying her math, too, even though it’s a review for her. Luckily, she still has that passion for learning. The two oldest ones are also reviewing a bit right now, but they are also enjoying their math work, too. I think everyone’s favorite part of math is working with the fun Math-U-See blocks.
I’ve also got my oldest ones working on geography and map skills. I think it is important to understand different types of maps and features of the earth. This is the planet we live on, and we need to understand how to navigate it! My fifth grader has been working out of these geography books for the last two years, as part of the Nevada Virtual Academy curriculum. I loved the books so much that I ordered them for us to use this year. They are really, really good. But, best of all, my third grader is ASKING to do geography! And, even better than that…he’s not only asking to do the work, buy he’s READING it almost on his own! That is AMAZING because he has always fought me with reading and wouldn’t even want to try. He’s struggled so much, and now he wants to do it on his own, with this geography book!! It literally brings tears to my eyes! Getting that geography book was the best $10.95 I’ve ever spent!
So, here’s to week #2! We’ve got some fun things in store for the kids this week and I can’t wait for it all!
Hey Mr. Postman, look and see. Is there a letter in your bag for me?…
17 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in Curriculum Tags: happiness, History, Living History, Math, Math-U-See
It’s here! It’s here!
Can you tell I’m excited??
Over the last couple days, I’ve gotten half of the curriculum materials I ordered! Woo-hoo! Now, I really feel like a kid at Christmas. It’s so fun to open up the boxes and check out all the new materials. Ok, I admit freely that I am a complete and total nerd, but I’m comfortable with my nerdiness and figure I might as well embrace it. So, with all my nerdy excitement, I opened up our math books and manipulative blocks. We also got a skip counting cd, which I promptly put into the computer to play, much to the chagrin of one of the kids. I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this math program!
All the little manipulative blocks are super fun, and besides using them for math, the kids love to build with them. So, when we got two new sets, we were all very excited! The new sets meant two things. First, I have a great deal more blocks to use and there shouldn’t be a problem having more than one child use the blocks at a time. Second, the kids can have the old set to just play with. I can assure you, they were very happy to hear about that! Now, of course, we also got the math books, which for me are just as exciting as the block. Not so much for the kiddos. However, I have to say, this truly is the best math program I have found, and that is because it is a multi-sensory approach to learning math. Not only does it appeal to different senses, but the program teaches the “whys”of math. For me, that was huge! I struggled with math for so long in school because I simply didn’t understand when to use what technique. It’s very frustrating to be able to do the math, but not grasp why you are doing it or when to use it. I like to call Math-U-See a common sense approach to math. Simply said: it rocks! I am thoroughly excited!
We got our math, with obviously was exciting on its own, but then hubby brought the mail in from the mailbox. (The math came via UPS.) Hooray hooray – another package for me!! Woo-hoo! And what was it?? History! Yea for history! Probably my most favorite subject! Oh yeah, let the nerdiness shine through! Seriously though, I think history is so very vital to know. How else are we to really understand what is happening in the world around us now? Cliche or not, history does, indeed, repeat itself. It is very cyclical and if one can see the patterns and pay attention to human behaviors, it becomes easy to make sense out of current events and even reasonably look ahead. I really truly believe if you learn history, you will learn most other subjects
along with it, by default. You have to read and write when learning history. In history you will learn about science, inventions, geography, geology, pop culture fads, philosophy, psychology, religion, critical thinking, and really much more. There is so much out there to absorb, all under the umbrella of history. Now, let me say, I was very very picky about what history program we used! I didn’t want anything with whitewashed history. I didn’t want any progressive rewrite of history. I wanted to make sure the history being taught wasn’t slanted to the liberal side of things. That being said, I also didn’t want something that was overly right-wing. My goal with history is to present it to the kids in as pure a form as possible and then let them draw their own conclusions. I want them to think for themselves and use reason. Unfortunately, there really isn’t a history program out there that is completely unbiased. But, I feel I’ve found a verygood program. My good friend, Kelly, actually found it for us. It’s simple and to the point. No flashiness. Just straightforward, concise, and pretty darn accurate. There is a lot of room in the Living History curriculum to bring in other sources – like say…the original sources. If you are learning about George Washington, for example, why not use his own words instead of the words of some scholar that probably just wrote the things that fit what he wanted. Let’s learn from the original words of Washington, Jefferson, Adams, etc. Let’s learn from Lewis and Clark and the Native Americans. Let’s learn from those who were actually there – not someone else trying to put their spin on the events. Also, with this history program, the kids will be making their own history book as we go. I’m very excited to get started with it! We will be doing history, as well as science, in our little co-op with Kelly and her family. Working in that group setting will allow the kids to bounce ideas off each other and learn from each other. It will allow for discussion and a good deal of critical thinking. It is going to be great! I can’t wait to get started!!
Math-We-Love
27 Jun 2008 1 Comment
in Schooling Tags: Math, Math-U-See
We started using the Math-U-See program this last week, and I’ve got to say that I’m so glad we found it! It is just wonderful and the kids really like it. They are really looking forward to doing math, and love playing with the blocks. The whole concept behind the Math-U-See program is to learn it by seeing it, writing it, and building it. It’s a multisensory approach, which I think is really great. It’s so much easier to learn this way, because you get the information in so many different ways. They also have the student teach the concept back to you, to show mastery of the concept. Very good idea. Steve Demme, who created the program, teaches on the DVDs, and makes me think of math differently, too. He’s a really great teacher. I wish I could have had him in some of my classes in school. So, this has made it so much fun to do, and I think the kids will really understand the hows and whys of math.
