Winding down May 13, 2009

So, the school year is winding down, but we are still in full swing.  In fact, we’ll be working over the summer, but only on fun stuff like art and science.  We will be finishing up all the language arts and such very soon!  Hooray for that!  The boys are happy about it, too.  Gavin is trucking along in his 1st grade math very well.  He catches on to it so fast, it’s crazy!  And, Logan finished his 2nd grade math yesterday!  For someone who has had trouble with math, I’m so excited that he finished early!  Both of the boys are doing really well, and picking up in areas that they have been lagging in or having trouble with.  Still battling Gavin with the phonics, but we’ve decided that instead of formal phonics lessons, we’re going to just have him read and read and read.  He’s not too happy about reading because he doesn’t like it.  However, I’m going to be sneaky and have him just randomly read things throughout the day.  Hopefully, we’ll get him proficient soon. 

So, we are winding down a bit, especially with this nice weather outside, but that’s alright.  We’re also getting a bunch done, too. 

Learning the ABC’s July 22, 2008

I am currently working with my 5, 3, and 1 year old on the alphabet.  My 5 year old is learning all the letter sounds, and will soon be learning how to read.  He’s doing a lot of practice at Starfall.com, which he really likes.  It makes something that could otherwise end up pretty boring, pretty fun.  (My 7 year old likes reading on it, too.)  With my 3 and 1 year old, we are just learning the letters.  It’s great to watch them all, and the way they learn.  It’s different for each one of them. 

Anyway, in doing this, I remembered seeing this cute little video.  In the midst of all the doings in life, it’s always good to have a little laugh!  This is great, and kids love it, too. 

Our First Project May 20, 2008

The boys were really antsy yesterday, so I decided to give them their first official homeschool assignment.  I had them each pick out a book, read it, and then do something to report to me what the book was about.  It could have been anything from a written summary to an art project to acting it out.  I just wanted them to get their creative juices flowing and also see what kind of comprehension and retention they have. 

So, I read to Gavin and Logan read on his own, but only part of the book.  I thought it was interesting how Gavin picked an actual story, while Logan chose a non-fiction book.  He’s always liked those best.  Anyway, Gavin wanted to do an art project for his, so I got him started with that.  Logan had written about what he read, but when I told him that Gavin was making something and he could too, he decided to do that as well.  All in all, it turned out really well, and everyone had a great time with it.  Here’s their books and projects: 

Gavin: 

   

Logan: