Baby and School

I've decided I need to move my glider into our school room. Feeding or rocking the baby while reading a science/history chapter or calling out math problems would be so much easier while in our school room and with a comfy place for me and baby.

I decided for us it would be best to have a school room to remove distractions and focus on school while we are in there. Which I can tell we really need because today I was showing the boys a YouTube video about revolution and rotation while holding Linc in my room and Sterling got up and walked out. I called him back, but it is so much easier to focus on school work in out school space.

What do you think? Are there spaces for things in your house, too? Do things just not go right when you aren't in that designated space for the designated activity?

Memorizing Addition Facts

We are following The Well-Trained Mind version of the classical home school education as much as we can--it's intensive :) Memorization is an important piece of the classical education and memorizing addition and subtraction tables are suggested. I totally agree. Committing these tables to memory only helps with training your mind mentally and the speed in which you can do any math (lower or higher math). I've been doing my homework on tricks to teaching addition facts. It seems that there are a couple of ways to go about teaching these:

• Fact Families:  For instance, the fact family for "8" would be 8+0=8, 7+1=8, 6+2=8, you get the idea . . . 
• I like the Flocabulary CD/book that uses this method. I just have to wait to afford it because although it is not that expensive, I've pretty much maxed out my home school budget getting ready for this school year. So let me know if you get it before I do :) 
• The School Bell has a system of tubs and printables for fact families that looks interesting.
• or there is the way that I learned with mental tricks like these which you can find a couple of below and more on this link 

• Adding Zero: Model adding zero (with younger students) or review it with older students. If a child understands that when you add zero you add nothing, he/she should never get a basic fact with zero wrong. Make sure this understanding is in place.  
• Adding One (Count up): just say it and count up one.  
• Example: 6 + 1 = say 6 then 7. 
• 44 + 1 = say 44 then 45  
• Adding Two – Count up Two: Adding two means saying the larger number, then jumping up or counting up twice. Again this is always correct and never changes. 
  • Example: 9 + 2 = say 9 then 10 then 11
  • 45 + 2 say 45 then 46 then 47

What do you like? Do you agree these facts should be memorized? Did you have tricks to figuring out addition and subtraction problems easily?

Ap: Math Bingo

Sterling has been playing the ap Math Bingo and loving it this morning. You can choose between addition, subtraction, division, multiplication and I think there is an everything game. Anyway, you earn little bugs and then you can use your bugs in the bug bungee game. He said it's his new favorite game on the iPad :) Yea! Anything to make math work a little more fun. Even Carter was playing, with Mom's help. He read the addition sentence, we counted the problem together and then he found the answer and marked it. The ap was 99cents--it's worth it!

The Earth

We started off by rolling some playdough into a ball and poking a pencil through for to show the North and the South Poles.

Then we used playdough to discuss the core, the mantle and the crust of the Earth.

Yea for Science Class today :)

History--SOTW volume II

2011-2012 we are studying Story of the World volume 2: The Middle Ages: From the Fall of Rome to the Rise of the Renaissance. That's a mouthful :) I think I've blogged about SOTW before so I won't talk too much about it. A mom from the co-op shared the blog Run of the Mill Family with us that has resources and lapbook activities that correlate with SOTW. Yea!! These seem like fun review activities as you move through the book, chapter by chapter. We've done one so far and the boys seemed to like it. I liked that it reviewed some of the facts that we read yesterday during history :)

Space and Planets

We are studying Earth Science this year in school and are starting with the solar system. The curriculum we are using is the Mr. Q Earth Science. So far, I love it. We are two chapters in, but the chapters are short enough to read to Sterling (1st grade) and hopefully, he'll be able to read them on his own soon! They are written clearly and seem interesting enough to keep his attention.
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These are some of the enrichment activities we are doing with space and planets at home.

Solar System Scavenger Hunt
Socks in Space -- PBSkids.org game
To The Moon -- printable game board with space trivia

Fractions: Use a Hershey's Bar

What a concept! I read this idea on a home school blog and immediately thought of Carter who absolutely loves a Hershey's chocolate bar :) He may take after his mother with a little bit of a sweet tooth!

As I will be starting fractions at some point this year with Sterling, I just wanted to make note of the idea for future reference.

I guess there is a book called The Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar Fraction Book that may be worth checking out (oh, bummer, our library doesn't have it). I'm sure that I can come up with my own explanation for fractions with a chocolate bar divided evenly into 12 small rectangles . . .

Story cubes

I've seen this idea out there all over the place, on etsy and in magazines, but I just got our first set of story cubes and we've already had fun just goofing off with them. You can buy these or make your own, the possibilities are endless. I just bought this set from Amazon because they weren't too expensive and because i never got around to making my own set. Remember my panic to find things to occupy my kids' time next year while we're homeschooling? This is one of the games I got to quiet my anxiety. Carter especially loves this game, even if sometimes he rolls the dice and his story is something like this," Once upon a time, I got on an airplane and saw a tree, an alien, a house and an arrow. The end."

There are tons of different ways to play a game like this. Basically, this game came with nine cubes with pictures on each side. We'll choose a set number of dice to roll and then make up a story using each of the pictures on the dice. So, in Carter's story above, he may have rolled six dice and gotten the pictures of a clock (time), airplane, tree, alien, house and direction arrow. Other ways to play are to think of a theme and tell a story from the theme, like "a dream" or "vacation". Or i just thought of this one, each person could roll one dice and add onto the first person's story. Maybe start with the youngest:)

I'll link and add the picture later. I'm still trying to figure out my new iPad :)

Our stories are not always as simple as that, but so far we've kept it pretty simple. I think I may even use these somedays for our journal writing prompts for our homeschooling.

Group It! A Skip Counting Activity

Counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s may not sound like much fun. But using “skip counting” with real objects you find or make at home is a different story...it can be hours of entertainment. Because patterns are a foundation of mathematical reasoning, first graders need to spend lots of time identifying and practicing them. Here's a hands-on activity to touch and move real stuff while building abstract reasoning…paint, shoes, and coins in hand!

What You Need:

• pairs of shoes
• washable paint (tempera or acrylic)
• paper or plastic plate
• paper (white, newspaper, or brown wrapping paper)
• 50+ pennies
• table or any flat surface

What You Do:

1. Have your child gather as many pairs of shoes from the household as he can. Ask him to line them up in pairs on the floor. With your child, count by 2s to find the total number of shoes. Then count each shoe again, counting by 1s. Ask your child if it’s quicker and easier to count by 2s or to count by 1s. Finish by counting again by 2s—the more practice the better. Roll out some paper and trace the shoes in pairs. Let your child color the pairs.
2. Pour some paint in a sturdy paper or plastic plate. If it's too thick, don't hesitate to add some water to dilute it. Have your child put her hands, palms down, in the paint and make handprints on a sheet of paper. Ask her to press down all four of her fingers and her thumb. In this part of the activity, your child is making groups of five. Have her make as many handprints as she wants (at least 10). Count by 5s to findhttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8640699946094621142 the total number of fingers and thumbs shown.
3. Place a group of pennies on the table. Ask your child if it's faster to count the pennies by 1s, 2s, 5s, or 10s. Have him place the pennies in stacks of 10. Help him count the pennies by 10s to find the total number. Simple? Yes. But a great introduction to skip counting, an important first grade skill. So keep the paint and pennies handy. And look for everyday excuses to count in groups!

By Sally Ann Stanley found here on education.com

Sally is an experienced educator, with over 14 years of teaching experience. In addition to teaching, she has also created educational materials, including ancillary, textbook, and test items, for Grades K-8 for major educational publishers.

Origami Flowers

Sterling loves the little bit of origami that we've done. I think he could manage this!

Your child can cut and fold her way to lots of lovely spring tulips through the art of origami! Spring is all about fresh flowers, and tulips are one of the first bulbs to pop. With some simple Origami folding techniques, your child can create a vase full of these colorful paper flowers.

What You Need:

• Colorful lightweight paper – such as colored typing paper
• Green pipe cleaner
• Scissors
• Ruler

What You Do:

1. Start by helping your child measure and cut a 4" x 4" square paper. Not only is she honing her cutting skills, but encouraging her measuring abilities, too!
2. Now she can fold the paper diagonally in half, turning her square into a long-edged triangle, with the fold facing toward her.
3. To create the petals of her tulip, she can carefully fold the right edged corner up and to the right of the center point.
4. Now she can do the same to the other side of her triangle, also finishing just to the left of the center point.
5. Next, invite your child to flip her flower over and fold over the side edges of the flower, creating a finished tulip! She can gently open the flower by pressing her finger into the center of the flower.
6. To attach her stem, she can use the scissors to snip the bottom of the tulip and then carefully thread the hole with a green pip cleaner, bending the end so it stays in place.

Did you know: it’s thought that origami originated as early as 105 AD in Asian culture and would accompany a valued gift. The small folded papers represented good fortune, sincerity, or purity!

By Sarah Lipoff found here on education.com

Sarah Lipoff has a K-12 Art Education degree and enjoys working with kids of all ages.

Foil Embossing

Create art that just "pops" off the page! Foil embossing uses simple materials and tools to inspire your child to create an intricate and ornate design filled with patterns, shapes, and pictures. This project is a great open-ended activity for budding artists who just want to discover different processes and mediums. Encourage your child to explore and experiment with the embossing process through this exercise. Try a variety of embossing from the simple to the more complex.

What You Need:

• Embossing foil, found in art supply or craft stores
• Wooden stylus, found in art supply or craft stores

What to Do:

1. Brainstorm ideas. Start simple for the first time. Have your child try basic line, shape, or pattern drawing embossing. To avoid backwards images, don't use numbers or letters.
2. Turn the embossing foil over. Your child will be “drawing” on the back of the foil. The finished side will be the opposite side from which your child will be drawing on.
3. Using the wooden stylus, have your child firmly press into the foil as she draws lines. Let her experiment with the amount of pressure that it takes. It is alright if she accidentally tears a hole through the first or second piece of foil. Simply start over, and try again.
4. Periodically, turn the embossing over to see what the other side looks like. The lines and image should “pop” off, or be raised off the foil.
5. Turn the stylus over and use the flatter end to fill in large areas.
6. Flip the foil to the front, and reveal the embossing!

As your child improves, introduce more complex concepts. For example, if your child started by drawing simple shapes, allow him to progress into a self-portrait that combines shapes into a face or move into a landscape scene with mountains and trees.
For another fun alternative, instead of using a craft store wooden stylus, try reusing old plastic styluses from a hand-held electronic game or cell phone.

By Erica Loop found here on education.com

Erica Loop has a MS in Applied Developmental Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh's School of Education. She has many years of teaching experience working in early childhood education, and as an arts educator at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh.

Capture That Fraction

Compare fractions in this two-player math game. Improve your proficiency and understanding in a fun new way! Using just a deck of cards, pencils and paper you can create a more interesting way to practice an important skill. In Capture That Fraction, you must work together to determine who has created the larger fraction. Use a number line, pictures, or multiplication to find a winner. Build off of the methods your child is using in the classroom. Have them teach you!

Terms to Know:

numerator: the number above the line in a fraction; indicates the number of parts being considered
denominator: the number below the line in a fraction; indicates the total number of parts in the whole

What You Need:

• Deck of cards
• 2 game boards (Create a game board by drawing a horizontal line on a single sheet of paper, in order to create a fraction bar.)
• Scratch paper and pencils (optional)

What You Do:

1. Remove face cards from the deck and put them aside. Shuffle the remaining cards.
2. Divide the deck between the two players. Each player should place their deck face down next to themselves.
3. Players simultaneously turn over two cards from their decks and place them on their game boards, using one card as a numerator and one card as a denominator.
4. Players calculate who has the largest fraction. The simplest method of comparing fractions would be to multiply each fraction by the denominator of the other fraction. (For example, with the fractions 1/2 and 1/3, compute 1/2 x 3/3 = 3/6 and 1/3 x 2/2 = 2/6. Clearly, 1/2 is the larger fraction, because 3/6 is larger than 2/6.)
5. The player who has the largest fraction wins all of the cards from that round. If there is a tie, split the cards evenly among players.
6. Play until one player has accumulated all of the cards or time is up. The player with the most cards wins the game.

Variations:

• Require players to place the smaller card in the numerator and the larger in the denominator.
• Change the rules so the smaller fraction wins.
• Add in face cards and give them their respective values (jack = 11, queen = 12, king = 13).

By William L. Gaslin, Charles Lund, & Martin M. Gaslin found here on education.com

14: An Addition Game with Just a Deck of Cards

This single-player game is designed to help a first grader practice adding up to sums of 14. You'll need a deck of playing cards and a basic knowledge of addition facts in order to play. Work together with your child at first, and gradually allow him to take over as he masters the rules. Challenge him to play multiple times with the goal of improving his score. You'll see his confidence and speed grow as he plays again and again!

What You Need:

• One deck of playing cards (Print a deck.)

What You Do:

1. Shuffle the deck. Deal all 52 cards into 13 piles of four cards each. All cards should be face up.
2. Look for combinations of cards that equal 14. Keep in mind aces = 1, jacks = 11, queens = 12, and kings = 13. You may pick up any two-card combinations and discard them, but only if those cards are on top!
3. Play until there are no more possible moves. Count the remaining cards. This is your score.
4. Play again, and try for a lower score! With practice, you might be able to clear all of the cards!

Variations:

• Add jokers into the game (dealing a few piles of five, in order to accommodate them). Let jokers be wild, on the condition the player must say what number a joker represents each time it is used.
• Play with multiple players! Take turns removing cards from the board. Players should keep the cards they've removed; these will be their points. If a player is stuck, they may take any one card (instead of two) to help the game move along. Play until all cards have been picked up.

By William L. Gaslin, Charles Lund, & Martin M. Gaslin found here on education.com

Crazy Eights: Word Families

Give your first grader's reading and writing skills a work out. Show her how to make and play this fun Hop on Pop-inspired Crazy Eights game that introduces her to some basic phonics. Brainstorm a group of words that will be challenging for her, and in just a few steps, translate this vocabulary into a fun family game that celebrates Dr. Seuss.

What You Need:

• Thick paper cut into playing card-sized rectangles
• 4 different colors of markers

What You Do:

1. Just like the card game Crazy Eights, you'll make a set of cards that can be divided into four different categories, rather than suits. Pick four word families that are challenging, but won't frustrate her. For example, -all (ball, mall, tall), -ee (bee, see, tree), -at (cat, bat, sat), and -ed (bed, fed, red).
2. Pick an equal number of words from each word family and write them out with one word per card. You'll mix up the colors within a word family because you don't want any one word family to be all the same color. Use four different colors to write out the cards.
3. Have her make a few “wild” cards, “skip your turn” cards, and “reverse” cards to add some challenging twists and turns to the game.
   
4. Now you'll deal out seven cards to each player. The rest of the cards should be stacked face-down in a neat stack in the center.
5. Flip one card over from the face-down stack in the center.
6. You'll play the game just like Crazy Eights, trying to match either the color or word family that appears on the face-up card in the middle. Therefore, if a red card bearing the word “cat” has been flipped, you'll either have to lay down a red card or a card that represents the “-at” word family. If you do not have a card to play, you must draw from the face-down stack until you find a card that can be played.
7. When any player gets down to just one card, they must say announce it to the other players by saying, "Hop!". If not, the other players may point out this failure to warn, and the said player will not be able to go out that round.
8. The winner of the game is the first player to run out of cards!

By Melissa Blough found here on education.com

This activity was inspired by the book "Hop on Pop" by Dr. Seuss. Random House, Inc. New York. 1963.

Gearing Up for the 2011-2012 School Year

Aaaah!!! I cannot believe how excited I am about home schooling this coming up school year. I know I'm strange and somewhat crazy :) The fact of the matter is that I have about four weeks left to prep for our school year start date. My printer is printing games and worksheets out almost non-stop. My stack of papers to laminate or file is growing. School supplies are being organized as I buy them. I'm trying to pick a color to paint our "schoolroom". Babe thinks the kids will be enrolled in public school come December. It's not that he isn't supportive, he just lives with me and knows I have a tendency to get a little overwhelmed by my best intentions.

I am REALLY excited that we joined a co-op for the next school year. It starts up at the end of August/beginning of September. It will keep us on track with science (earth science this year), history (The Story of the World: Volume 2), grammar/literature (First Language Lessons and Teaching the Classics), Latin (Song School Latin), and maybe spelling (Spell to Read and Write). I believe they will also be studying geography and art, plus have a Spring play.

Then I've bought the curriculum for math which we'll do on our own. They will both be doing Saxon Math (Carter: K and Sterling: 2).

Carter has started the Hooked on Phonics Kindergarten reading program and it's going well. Sterling will be reading for a set amount of time each day. We'll work on phonics rules and spelling (daily) and other than that, I think it'll be just a matter of him challenging himself to read more difficult books and read for longer periods of time.

So this summer, I'll be finishing our history unit (The Story of the World: Volume 1), starting math and reading and doing some fun (hopefully everyone thinks they are fun) unit studies. I'm thinking we'll be doing an artist unit study (using the book Discovering Great Artists), Around-the-World unit study, a human body study and some literature activities to go along with books we are reading. For PE we'll be swimming :) I'd like to start piano lessons, but we'll see how brave I get!

I am a little worried about keeping the boys busy all day long! I'm trying to get a lot of learning games together and such so that they can pull them out and play to their hearts content. The first month, I'll be teaching them a lot of games and we'll practice good sportsmanship (they really are good sports, our main problem is Carter losing interest and not staying to finish the game). Then, hopefully, when we have our new addition I can let them play a game while I feed/diaper the baby.

Month Punch cards

Hello there! I'm gearing up to home school the 2011-2012 school year! We're starting this summer, just as soon as school gets out. So I'm trying to get my prep work done now:) Our state requires 180 school days from home schools. It makes sense and should be easy-peasy lemon squeezey, but to keep track of where we are at I thought I'd make a simple little punch card for our lesson days. I'm planning on sticking these right next to a hole punch in our "classroom" and letting the boys punch in when they come into the "classroom" for school. At the bottom of each month's card, I'll tally how many days we "schooled" that month. I'm hoping to do 5 days/week in June, 3 days/week in July (new baby schedule) and back to 5 days/week in August.

We don't have to report our attendance to anyone. This is just for my personal peace of mind that I'm completing my boys' educational requirements and to keep me on track:)

Getting Outside: ABC Nature Book

I want to be outside on a day like today!! This is a fun, educational activity to do OUTSIDE when the weather is great. Ahh, I need to wake up a little bit, get off the computer and get the kids moving:)

Make an ABC Nature Book | Activities | Education.com

Rhyme Game in a Bag!

This looks like a fun game and pretty easy prep work.

Play This Rhyme Game in a Bag! | Activities | Education.com

Exercise the Alphabet Outside

Carter knows the alphabet and the letter sounds already, but maybe this would be fun to do anyway just for kicks and Jett can probably start learning soon, too:) He loves to look at letters and when he reads everything says, "I love Jett". Maybe Mommy's written that a few times and read it to him:) I probably won't do the whole alphabet at a time, but work in chunks of it.

Exercise the Alphabet Outside | Activities | Education.com

Craft Story Sequence Cards

This looks like fun to practice reading comprehension and sequencing.

Craft Story Sequence Cards | Activities | Education.com