Spell the Word, Races!

It has been a crazy, busy week. Our home school group had it's annual Spelling bee on Friday and the kids were also involved with a local church's pine derby racing event. Both events were fun, but took weeks of planning, practicing, building and preparation. 

This year for the spelling bee, Jeanna finished 2nd place in her group. She messed up on the word "sleep" as she started spelling, lost her train of thought and restarted it without asking to restart it. Once the speller says the word, spells the word and then says it again, it is considered final. She was pleased with her effort and we of course are proud of her as this is the child that had so many delays, but look at her now. 

Jackson once again finished 1st place in his group and has quite the following among the other parents and spellers. He was all business like up there and was extremely pleased when he was the last one standing. 

James was 1st out in his group this year, but he is a trooper and never looses his smile. 

The pine derby races were a huge hit! The kids enjoyed designing, painting and building their cars. There were families from 3 churches involved and the camaraderie was fantastic. The neatest thing to see was how wonderful the 4 pastors were together... they were like old friends and really demonstrated a wonderful friendship and brotherhood that I think really set the tone for a beautiful event. There were 4 categories of races; K-2nd grade, 3-5th grade, 6-12th grade and then adults (with preschoolers)
Jordan won 1st place in design, Jeanna won 2nd place in speed, Jackson won 3rd place in speed and James won 3rd place in design and 1st place in speed. 

Oh... and I have to mention that Jordan is taking driver's ed at one of the local high schools. Interesting! She cracks me up talking about how the kids behave in school. She is so shocked! She has almost finished her classroom hours and starts her driving hours next week. My baby will be 16 yrs old in April.  How in the world..... 

Return of the Googly Eyes

Our 2013/2014 Student Body

Man Down!

So when you use a computer based homeschool curriculum there are bound to be technical difficulties that prevent some facet of school. This year it is my computer... the Big Mamma! The one with everyone's curriculum, grades, schedules, attendance and important links. Since Jordan has finished school I am able to use her laptop. I have a 17.5 inch screen and this little 13.5 screen seems so tiny to my old eyes. LOL!

Grades to be entered....

Jackson:

5/24/13
Spelling  - 96%
5/28/13
Science self test 5 - 93%
Science book test unit 6 - 91%
5/29/13
Bible self test 3 - 96%
Bible book test unit 8 - 95%
Language arts self test 2 - 98%

Jeanna:

5/24/13
Spelling - 100% Yeah!
5/28/13
Science book test unit 5 - 95%

**Entered**

And She's Done!

Jordan completed the 9th grade last week! She was so excited and I am happy she made it as it was rough for a time there. The program we use has a great deal of essays, reports and projects. Almost one for every unit of every class with the exception of Algebra. So with New Testament, World Geography, English I, and Integrated Physics and Chemistry classes, each with 10 or more units, there was a huge amount of writing  Writing is not her strong suit. There was a lot of it that was repetitive, so I took quite a few off of her to do list.

James is coming along in 4th grade and is nearing the finish line. He is excited to be shopping for next years curriculum. Funny kid. My old G8way laptop finally started dying (it's over 10 years old) and so we had to switch to my HP Mini...he loved the small notebook, but I could not get his Bible class to transfer to it. He had to use the G8way for Bible class. He was always so amazed at how big a difference the screen size was as he switched back and forth. The mini is very convenient for taking school outside to enjoy the weather. Next year I will have 4 kids on laptops....I think mini's are the way we are leaning. Time to get on E-b*y!

Jackson is doing well, but is a bit behind. He works steadily, 2nd grade is just a big switch from 1st grade and the work load is heavy. He is a meticulousness worker and likes stuff to be just right, so he sometimes gets hung up on things that may not really matter to the lesson's requirements. I loaded some 3rd grade onto 1 of the laptops so that he could start practicing doing SOS and he really enjoys that. Switching from workbooks to laptops is a big change.

Jeanna is making progress. It is a very slow trek for her as she gets "stuck" often and needs loads of coaching to get back. When she first came she was on a very strict sensory diet that we had kinda worked down, but I am seeing a need to get back to it a bit more. Her dysregulation comes quickly, with me sometimes missing her triggers. She likes school and when she is on task, she does very well.

Joshua has completed Pre-K. He really mastered many skills during the year. He will continue this summer with large and small gross motor skills. I still have not decided about next year, but I am leaning to another modified pre-k. I just am not ready for him to do the Kindergarten curriculum yet.

Next week is a school week...the following week is a week off.

The Walk

Jackson is studying the use of the 5 senses in his Science class and he had to write a short essay on what he sees on his way to school. Some of the things they suggested that he could look for were clouds, planes, squirrels and nature. Well, seeing that his walk to school usually consist of walking through the kitchen to the basement steps, there was no chance that he would see any of the suggestions. So this morning the kids decided to really walk to school. They were cracking up at the route that they would take. They walked out of the front door, down the walkway for about 3 1/2 meters, west about 4 meters on the sidewalk, north up the driveway for about 9 meters, to the side door..........



which was still locked!


Ha Ha!!!

But he did see a large truck, squirrels and the sky.

Jeanna's Self Test

Jackson's Test

I haven't posted school work in a while so we are getting back to that. Anytime someone gets an 100% on a test, it will get posted on the blog (if mommy remembers and the scanner and computer are on speaking terms)

6 Week Progress Reports

The time is flying and yet sometimes it feels like we are standing still. Progress reports have gone out and most are very happy. 1 of my 2nd graders does not have enough grades yet, so we are waiting for that.

Jackson is doing well in most areas. Bible verse memorization seems to be more difficult for him this year. Spelling however is a strong area with him earning 100% on all of his spelling test thus far.

James is doing very well this year. History and Geography gives him a bit of trouble as it is so abstract to him, but he is doing better at keeping up this year.

Jordan is having a wonderful year so far, earning a 4.0 GPA for the first marking period. She enjoys New Testament Survey and Science.

Pre-K is coming along nicely. He is very eager to read and has almost mastered his high frequency words list.

Wednesday is Entertaining Angels. We now have approx. 274 people on our list and are now purchasing between 300 and 400 items each month. It is an amazing and wonderful experience. certainly bigger than we ever imagined.

Moving along....

New School Room

I have been talking about this for 2 years now and this summer we were finally able to get our school room. We really like it and especially like that we don't have to break down school in the evenings and weekends so that we can eat at the table or have our living room back. Also with the school room being downstairs we actually "leave" school in the evenings which is very much needed.

Custom Monogram!

Pre-K Bible lesson

homework drawers

Joshua is already very good at puzzles

Second and fourth grade busy at work

Working on stacking.

The student with perfect attendance

Pre-K's circle time calendar.

The new and improved play/recess room.

Looking Back & Looking Forward

James has been in school for 2 weeks now and has done well. He is anxious to start doing homework full time, which I know sounds odd, but he really likes doing homework.  He has had 2 projects so far; (1) a report on state flowers and (2) a letter to a friend explaining why Peter left his job to follow Jesus. I like SOS a lot, but the projects can get to be much. There are usually 2 per unit, per class. With 5 classes of 10 units each it works out to 100 projects or essays for the year. Too much. I usually only keep the ones that reinforce the lesson and any that sound "fun" to the kids, like in science.

Jeanna finished her first half week last week. She reviewed letter sounds, long and short vowels and phonics. I taught her to count to 200 and we talked about 1's, 10's and 100 places. I will spend 1 more week on that kind of review to catch her up to the 2nd grade curriculum that we use. She is eager to learn, but needs lots of repetition and brain gym breaks.

This week, Jackson starts on Tuesday and Joshua starts on Wednesday.  They are both very excited.

Great news!! We finally finished our new school room! It is Beautiful and we are all so happy. I will take pictures to post later this week. We got the whole basement repainted and the floors had the tile removed and masonry paint applied. This weekend we went down just to sit in the room and grin. LOL!

No school on Monday due to an appointment.

Have a great week.

Orientation

We had orientation Moday and it was crazy. My printer would not "listen" to my computer. Microsoft Office was "not responding" and well...it was nutso, but it was us and everyone was excited to see their new books, schedules and even their homework schedules. My student body has grown so much. Of course, the dog had to be included as he tends to have perfect attendance!

That Time Of Year

This is what's going out in tonight's "mail" ( I don't really mail it...just will mix it in with tomorrow's mail).

I think I have start dates figures: 

James, August 13

Jeanna, August 22

Jackson, August 27

Preschool, August 27

Jordan, September 4

I have all of my curriculum except 1 book which is easy enough to get, I just don't want to pay full price for it. I am a very frugal shopper. I am currently working on my portfolio folders. They have become messy and unorganized over the years. 

I am kinda looking forward to getting back into the schedule. Jeanna is very excited... the rest are kinda ready. 

Finally

Middle school graduate! She wore my gown from my Masters  graduation. LOL!

First Grade to Second Grade. 

1 Down, 2 To Go

Pre-K finished his school year last week. He did very well this year and is more than ready for kindergarten. I completed a basic skills test with him that was in the back of his Handwriting Without Tears workbook and he did great. This summer he will do Summer Bridge.

2nd grade is in the last unit of all of his subjects. With our 4 weeks in Nassau and our 2 week spring break, 3 foster kids and 1 sickness, we just got behind. He is working hard to finish by the end of this week. There is the distraction of the 2 little kids, but we press on. This summer he will do some Summer Bridge, but I intend to let him start school a little early as his computer skills are needing work and the SOS program is more intense than Lifepacs.

6th grade just has a few more writing assignments to do before she is done. This year her lack of motivation to do school has affected her ability to demonstrate her actual skills. She will do Summer Bridge also.

Our 5 year old foster child has very few skill, particularly small motor skills. This child is also very overweight and lacks self care skills such as pottying, dressing, and washing them self. This summer I will be teaching lots of basic skills.

Our motor home, Big Bertha, has been repaired and I cannot wait for our 1st camping trip.

Healed!

I think we are free and clear now. I can say that I have seen enough of that pink antibiotic to last a lifetime. ~Smile~

The chaos is still a bit high, but not out of control. Just getting two little ones to adjust to a schedule takes time. My kids have been GREAT helpers and I am so pleased with how they have shared our home, their mommy and toys.

The end of school has been delayed by about 3 days, but I am feeling good about our school year. James has been practicing his computer skills so I feel better about our choice to use S.O.S for him next year.

Peace!

Our 1st Spelling Bee

So much fun!!!



Pre-K did very well even with the fact that he was using the 1st grade list. He was the littlest guy up there, but did well. He came in 4th.



2nd grade had a hard time with his very first word and had trouble knowing what to do, but he sure looked handsome during his brief time on stage. He received a ribbon for participation.



6th grade did very well, she was in the end matched up with a friend and they both showed such great sportsmanship. She took 2nd place with her friend winning 1st place. BTW, this lovely won last year as well and her mother won national spelling bees back in the day. LOL! They are serious!



Overall, it was a neat experience and all say that they want to do it again. I may try to find some local ones in the meantime.

Spell the Word...

Our home school group is getting ready for the annual Spelling Bee and all 3 of our Rotties will participate this year. We have printed off the list of study words and are going to spend the next few weeks bumping up our phonics study. Pre-K is not really ready to spell yet, but there are enough of his sight words on the list to let him at least have the experience. This Mama is very nervous as I am usually very squeamish about photographs as my children who were adopted locally, but we really want to have this new experience.

In History and Geography, 2nd grade has been studying about different cultures and this unit focuses on the Japanese culture. Today he learned about writing the numbers 1 - 10 using a brush and water-colors. He really enjoyed this and 6th grade has asked to learn to do this also. I think I will let 2nd grade teach her.

Some Review

Last week we had to do some major catching up in both 2nd and 6th grade. We also tried to get just a bit ahead so that we could maybe extend our spring break. We are so looking forward to going to London, Ontario and staying here.

2nd grade is learning to borrow for subtraction





Pre-K is able to write all of the letters from Handwriting Without Tears so far and is starting to write his high frequency words from memory.

I blocked it out, but he is also starting to write his middle name on all of his papers. It's funny because most times the line is not long enough and he always draws more line that curves down the side of the paper.

6th grade is not wanting to admit it, but she has enjoyed the adding, subtracting and reducing of fractions in math class. She has been working hard to avoid doing her science projects. I told her that if she put the same amount of energy towards getting them done as she does to avoid them, she would be done with most. So far we have done one on emulsion, color wheels and spectrum's and we are doing a 4 week study on the change of shadows with the seasons. It involves taping a piece of paper on the floor at the exact same spot, at the exact same time of day once a week for 4 weeks and marking the sun and shadows. We have done it for 2 weeks and can already see the changes as winter gives way to spring.

Olympic Review

We loved the Olympics! We watched as much as possible. The boys loved curling, ski jumping and of course...snowboarding. That was a big hit. Some of my favorites were short track and bobsled. My 6th grader mostly liked the opening and closing ceremonies as she likes any kind of party. LOL!

I had purchased a PDF curriculum from CurrClick and we used just a bit of it, but mostly watched and read up on the sports we liked the best. All the kids learned to recognize flags from other countries which was neat to watch as Pre-K was usually the first to be able to name the flags. We used scores to determine greater than, less than and equal to for 2nd grade and just really enjoyed the whole event. Can't wait for the summer Olympics. (Still miffed a bit that Chicago did not get them...we would have so been there!)

On other review... 2nd grade is testing out of his units today and so far has received an 97% on Language Arts with 100% on the spelling test, a 100% on Bible and is studying at this moment for History and Geography. It is a tough one as it focuses on customs of other cultures regarding holidays. Poor kid don't stand a chance as we tend to not follow "traditional" customs ourselves. LOL!

Week in Review

We had a goood week that was more settled than last week.

Pre-K is on book 15 of a 17 book series of pre-decodable books. He is loving reading and I have started copy work. I am starting to think about what to do for Kindergarten... I guess I am leaning towards using Alpha Omega's Lifepac although it is not "wowing" me at this time.

2nd grade will hopefully test out of unit 5 for all subjects except math. (we are behind again on math; for some reason, the math units have 5 sections while the others have 3, it catches us every time) He has decided that he wants to try Switched on Schoolhouse (SOS) next year. We will have to take a pretty quick typing course this summer.

6th grade is clipping along. She has lots of writing and research projects for several of her subjects that need to be caught up on in the next couple of weeks. 6th grade does not want to use SOS next year, but has not thought of an alternative. We are shopping and praying about it.

Some weekend schooling to catch up in 2nd grade.