No More Facebook...

For a variety of reasons I've decided to close down my facebook account which also means I'll be losing my facebook page for this blog. However, to compensate for this I started a new blog called Daydreaming Viking. You can find our more personal stories about our day-to-day life over there since I try not to clutter up this blog with things like that. This blog is just about homeschooling, the other blog is about our life.

Concept Unit #41: Ancient Egypt

Optimus Prime & Bumblebee spent an entire month learning all about ancient Egypt. It was a new idea, spending an entire month on a topic, and to be honest - we hated it. It was just too much doing the same topic day after day everyday. We won't be repeating this again after this quarter. From now on we'll stick to a maximum of two weeks on a topic. A month was both too much information and too much repetition. So many topics overlapped that when we discussed topic b topic a would be brought up again.

Anyway, they learned all about the pyramids, the pharaohs, the gods, the culture, the wars. There was periods of time where Egypt was invaded and foreign rulers reigned so that was interesting. They learned about the female pharaoh Hatshepsut and how the pharaohs that followed her tried to erase her from history. They learned about Cleopatra, the last queen and pharaoh of Egypt who was really a Greek. Famous male pharaohs were covered as well including the famous "King Tut" (who got his own special look at with the book "Who Was King Tut?") who was really a nobody in his time but is famous in ours. Interactions with ancient Greece and Rome, as well as their influence and eventual rule were covered as well. We even touched briefly on Alexander the Great.

Overall it would have been a better unit - and far more enjoyable - if it had been shorter. But it was a very information packed month in the end.

My Little Pony

Synopsis - Each pony gets their own book that follows them around as they face whatever difficulty is currently going on in their life.

Wandering Falcon - "They were cute books. Some of the problems seemed pretty ridiculous and blown completely out of proportion but it IS a kids series. However, they did deal with some real issues like bullying or discovering a hidden talent (in Fluttershy's book), respect or helping your friends (in Applejack's book), and helping your family out or being true to yourself (in Pinkie Pie's book)."

Optimus Prime - "I liked Twilight, Applejack. I loved Fluttershy. Sometimes Rarity is a brat about stuff. She whines. I think Rainbow Dash is awesome! Pinkie Pie is the most funniest pony ever! I like Spike. My very favorite character is Princess Luna and Zecora."

Bumblebee - "I loved the Rarity one! I loved the copycat! I absolutely, really, really, really loved Twilight since she's my favorite character. I loved the Rainbow Dash dares. Pinkie Pie had her nurse a baby balloon!"

My Little Pony*

1. Fluttershy and the Fine Furry Friends Fair
2. Pinkie Pie and the Rockin' Ponypalooza Party!
3. Applejack and the Honest-to-Goodness Switcheroo 
4. Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell
5. Rarity and the Curious Case of Charity
6. Rainbow Dash and the Daring Do Double Dare

* These books are not numbered, so they are listed in the order that we read them. Also, for these books I have not listed an author since they are too much like comic books with multiple authors, illustrators, and creators.

Kindergarten Spelling Units #1-12 Part 3

Here is the third of three spelling units posts.

Each child has their own unique spelling units. I tried to put them all in one post but it was just too much. I decided it was best to break them each up into their own post.

For Scooby-Doo this is his first time doing spelling and it is NOT tied into books we are reading. Instead they are common everyday words we use. When I first did spelling units for Optimus Prime & Bumblebee in kindergarten we did 5 words each week. I decided that was too much for Scooby-Doo so we are going to do three words each week.

Unit #1 - Our Family Part 1
Scooby-Doo*
mommy
daddy

Unit #2 - Our Family Part 2
Optimus Prime*
Bumblebee*
Last Name

Unit #3 - Animals Part 2
cat
dog
gerbil

Unit #4 - Animals Part 2
pig
cow
duck

Unit #5 - Toys
book
toy
movie

Unit #6 - Love
kiss
hug
love

Unit #7 - Things We Do
eat
play
read

Unit #8 - Fruit
apple
pear
orange

Unit #9 - Colors Part 1
blue
red
green

Unit #10 - Colors Part 2
pink
purple
yellow

Unit #11 - The Sky
star
moon
sun

Unit #12 - Emotions
fun
happy
sad

* Real words not listed, obviously.

3rd Grade Spelling Units #1-12 Part 2

Here is the second spelling units post.

Each child has their own unique spelling units. I tried to put them all in one post but it was just too much. I decided it was best to break them each up into their own post.

For Optimus Prime & Bumblebee the spelling and reading units for this quarter are combined so I'm also listing the corresponding books.

Bumblebee has 20 different books, all level pre-1. Each week, for the first 11 weeks, he will read 6 pages a day. There are 1-3 books that go along with each unit and each one will be read twice. After we cycle through all the books and spelling units once we will cycle through them all again - with slight variations to his spelling units. His final unit is slightly different. That unit is based on a different series of level pre-1 books. Also, unit 11 will bleed over slightly into his final week and final unit. After he has finished the unit 11 books during week 12 he has 4 books in the other series to read and since they are easier he will read one a day.

Bumblebee:

Unit #1 - Doc McStuffins

Books:

1. Caught Blue Handed
2. Loud Louie

Spelling words: 

1. blue
2. checkup
3. doc
4. glow
5. life
6. loud
7. magic
8. sick
9. sister
10. spots

Unit #2 - Sofia the First

Books:

1. Sofia Makes a Friend

Spelling words:

1. carriage
2. guest
3. horn
4. music
5. palace
6. princess
7. royal
8. special
9. unicorn
10. visitor

Unit #3 - Minnie

Books:

1. The Case of the Missing Sparkle-izer

Spelling words:

1. bone
2. bow
3. bowtie
4. missing
5. mystery
6. sparkles
7. special
8. table
9. tool
10. twins

Unit #4 - Jake and the Never Land Pirates

Books:

1. X Marks the Croc
2. Jake Hatches a Plan

Spelling words:

1. bottle 
2. doubloons
3. egg
4. gold
5. hummingbirds
6. island
7. map
8. mateys
9. nest 
10. pirate

Unit #5 - Jake and the Never Land Pirates Part 2

Books:

1. The Croc Takes the Cake

Spelling words:

1. birthday
2. cake
3. cannons
4. coconuts
5. crocodile
6. fish
7. happy
8. pup
9. sea
10. wonderful

Unit #6 - Jake and the Never Land Pirates

Books:

1. The Key to Skull Rock

Spelling words:

1. balloons
2. beach
3. key
4. rock
5. ship
6. skeleton
7. skull
8. telescope
9. treasure
10. tunnel

Unit #7 - Doc McStuffins

Books:

1. Caught Blue Handed
2. Loud Louie

Spelling words:

1. bear 
2. case
3. germs
4. giggle
5. horrible
6. laughs
7. message
8. telephone
9. test 
10. touched

Unit #8 - Sofia the First

Books:

1. Sofia Makes a Friend

Spelling Words:

1. carriage
2. dull
3. guest
4. horn
5. lively
6. music
7. royal
8. tutu
9. unicorn
10. visitor

Unit #9 - Minnie

Books:

1. The Case of the Missing Sparkle-izer

Spelling words:

1. bone
2. clues
3. disappeared
4. missing
5. mystery
6. sparkles
7. special
8. tool
9. trail
10. twins

Unit #10 - Jake and the Never Land Pirates

Books:

1. X Marks the Croc
2. Jake Hatches a Plan

Spelling words:

1. bottle
2. burp
3. gold
4. laugh
5. mateys
6. message
7. peas
8. sneeze
9. treasure
10. trouble

Unit #11 - Jake and the Never Land Pirates

Books:

1. The Croc Takes the Cake
2. The Key to Skull Rock

Spelling words:

1. big
2. box
3. cake
4. floating
5. helping
6. nice
7. small
8. stars
9. tonight
10. tunnel

Unit #12 - Biscuit

Books:

1. Biscuit Goes to School
2. Biscuit and the Lost Teddy Bear
3. Biscuit's Day at the Farm
4. Biscuit and the Little Lost Pup

Spelling words:

1. bear
2. farm
3. little
4. lost
5. pen
6. piglet
7. play
8. puppy
9. school
10. wants

3rd Grade Spelling Units #1-12 Part 1

Be prepared for THREE different spelling posts!

Each child has their own unique spelling units. I tried to put them all in one post but it was just too much. I decided it was best to break them each up into their own post.

For Optimus Prime & Bumblebee the spelling and reading units for this quarter are combined so I'm also listing the corresponding books.

Optimus Prime has 28 different books, all either level 1 or level 2. Each week we will read one book a day. The 2 or 3 books that go along with the unit will be read twice (once at the beginning of the week, once at the end) then the middle 1-3 days will be filled in with books from another unit. This way he will read each book three times over the course of the three months.

Optimus Prime:

Unit #1 - My Little Pony Part 1

Books:

1. Meet the Ponies of Ponyville
2. Hearts and Hooves

Spelling words:

1. dragon
2. friend
3. hooves
4. letter
5. orchard
6. picnic
7. potion
8. smelly
9. unicorn
10. valentine

Unit #2 - Meet the Disney Fairies Part 1

Books: 

1. Meet Zarina the Pirate Fairy
2. Meet Fawn the Animal-Talent Fairy

Spelling words:

1. animals 
2. color
3. comet
4. hawk
5. pirate
6. pixie dust
7. Pixie Hollow
8. rocks
9. ship
10. storm

Unit #3 - Disney Princesses Part 1

Books:

1. What is a Princess?
2. Travel Like a Princess

Spelling words: 

1. adventures
2. brave
3. caring
4. explore
5. kind
6. princess
7. smart
8. travels
9. trip
10. visit

Unit #4 - Pixie Hollow Adventures Part 1

Books: 

1. A Dozen Fairy Dresses
2. The Fairy Berry Bake-Off

Spelling words:

1. berry
2. chipmunk
3. clover
4. cupcake
5. dresses
6. flowers
7. lily
8. muffins
9. queen
10. rose

Unit #5 - My Little Pony Part 2

Books: 

1. Ponies Love Pets!
2. Meet the Princess of Friendship

Spelling words: 

1. alligator
2. castle
3. cattle
4. leader
5. moon
6. pets
7. phoenix
8. princess
9. throne
10. tortoise

Unit #6 - Meet the Disney Fairies Part 2

Books:

1. Meet Tinker Bell
2. Meet Vidia
3. Meet Periwinkle

Spelling words:

1. basket
2. book
3. butterfly
4. cage
5. cat
6. crickets
7. fireflies
8. mouse
9. owl
10. snow

Unit #7 - Disney Princesses & Pets

Books:

1. Princesses and Puppies
2. Snuggle Buddies

Spelling words: 

1. berries 
2. bunny
3. family
4. flowers
5. friends
6. kisses
7. kitty
8. playful
9. pony
10. puppy

Unit #8 - Pixie Hollow Adventures Part 2

Books:

1. The Great Fairy Race
2. A Game of Hide-and-Seek
3. Tink's Treasure Hunt

Spelling words:

1. balloon
2. dove
3. footprints
4. frog
5. hedgehogs
6. mirror
7. snail
8. spiderweb
9. trolls
10. tulips

Unit #9 - My Little Pony Part 3

Books: 

1. Power Ponies to the Rescue!
2. Holly, Jolly Harmony

Spelling words:

1. comic
2. costumes
3. food
4. lightning
5. mailbox
6. superpowers 
7. tree
8. tribes
9. windigo
10. wreath

Unit #10 - Disney Princesses Part 2

Books: 

1. The Sweetest Spring
2. A Dream for a Princess
3. Outside My Window

Spelling words:

1. ball
2. dance
3. garden
4. gown
5. hair
6. lights
7. plants
8. showers
9. sing
10. tower

Unit #11 - Disney Princesses Part 3

Books:

1. Princess Hearts
2. A Cake to Bake

Spelling words:

1. bake
2. brothers
3. brownies
4. day
5. eggs 
6. fairies
7. heart
8. pies
9. sweet
10. valentine

Unit #12 - Disney Princesses Part 4

Books:

1. The Perfect Dress
2. Sealed with a Kiss
3. Sleeping Beauty

Spelling words:

1. baby
2. dress
3. friend
4. gift
5. looks
6. perfect
7. seal
8. spell
9. swim
10. wedding

Month in Review: August 2015

This month started a little rocky. We had just had three months off schoolwork-free (well, Optimus Prime & Bumblebee had to do spelling & reading - but still, pretty much schoolwork-free) and one would think that I would have been FULLY prepared to start our new quarter. What with all the free time off and whatnot. Nope. I was not prepared. Scooby-Doo was eager to restart schoolwork. His brothers, not so much. They wanted another three months off or something. Which was tempting in theory but not in reality.

So, what did we do? We dove in head first even though we were SO not prepared.

In math Optimus Prime & Bumblebee started working on separate stuff. We worked on one of their second grade math books (that we never did during the summer) together, but Optimus Prime worked on some kindergarten/first grade math as well while Bumblebee started working on third grade math. In Spelling & Reading they worked on their reading skills while doing spelling units (that I created) based on the stories they were reading. (I'll get the spelling unit post up soon). In English we had two units that we alternated between each week. For weeks 1 & 3 we focused on nothing but phonics. In part this was because Bumblebee desperately needed to work on his phonics to help him learn to read and also as a refresher and help for Optimus Prime who can read very well but forgets to sound out his words when he doesn't know them. Instead he just makes wild guesses. I figured we needed to put a stop to that so a crash course in phonics would do him some good too. On the alternate weeks we worked on our reading comprehension workbook which used lots of different English skills to support the stories - including phonics.

For History we did ancient Egypt for the entire month - the culture, the religion, the pyramids, the rise and fall, the pharaohs, etc. It was a new idea of mine to spend a month a unit instead of 1-2 weeks. I hated it. Every minute of it. And they hated it too. We'll continue on the quarter this way because that is how I wrote the schedule but next quarter we'll do something different. Anyway, for more information on this refer to our Concept Week posts. Then we had Science which focused on the earth, weather, and plants for the entire month. They enjoyed that. For Logic and Art we did a bit of painting as well as some coloring and activity books.

Scooby-Doo did not have therapy this month. He starts it next month, which I was VERY glad for because he had a FULL schedule - seven subjects, just like his brothers. It was nice to have an entire month to get him used to the idea.

He worked on his handwriting, of course, and he had Logic and Art as always. We also did another Magazine unit which was nice. He always likes those.

We also had some new units this time! We had Spelling, Science, and Reading! Reading was a definite story time this month. I always try to make it stick and it never does. We made it through a whole month of it so hopefully it will this quarter!  For Spelling he refused to write most of the words but he was very willing to spell them out. He does NOT like writing at all. I kept hoping he'd outgrow it but now I'm beginning to doubt that. And he had Science for the first time! I have a book of twelve science books (in a series called "Know-It-All's") so we did a new book each week with a lapbook to go along. The information on those units will also be up on our Concept Weeks page soon.

All in all it was a VERY full month. I'm not sure we were ready to do so much schoolwork after taking the entire summer off and dealing with the move. We had a very rocky start but so far so good.

Quarterly Curriculum: August - October 2015

I was eager to move on to a fuller curriculum after taking the summer off. Oddly enough, though, we did struggle with this curriculum a bit. I don't know if the issue was we were still in Summer/moving mode or if was the addition of Scooby-Doo's full day schedule or the beginning divergence of Optimus Prime's and Bumblebee's schedules. Or maybe it was a mixture of all of that. Certainly the stress of the school district pressuring us to enroll Scooby-Doo in pre-k added to our problems.

They wanted us to enroll him in pre-k and we refused, stating that we were homeschooling him, had been homeschooling him all of this time, and reminded them that they KNEW we were homeschooling him. They responded by refusing all services (except for speech therapy) to him. Whatever their plan was I think it backfired because my husband responded that that was fine. Next thing we knew, about a month later, they wanted to have another meeting with us to set up all the therapy they had just denied our son - while also suggesting that we enroll him in pre-k. We went to the meeting but turned down the offer of therapy AND the offer of pre-k. The whole thing was highly unsettling, very disturbing, and COMPLETELY unprofessional.

Whatever the reason was we seriously struggled this whole quarter and didn't wind up finishing on time - we ran over into our week off. But, since we homeschool for almost twice the number of hours the state requires that was no big deal.

Anyway, our curriculum:

Optimus Prime & Bumblebee:

Schoolwork on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday.

Subjects:

Math - Addition, subtraction, time, money, etc. 
Days - Everyday
Textbooks - Comprehensive Curriculum Grade 2 (American Education Publishing), Brain Quest Grade 2 (Workman Publishing Company Inc), Let's Grow Smart: Addition (Dalmatian Press), Disney Cars: Math (Bendon)
Number of Pages - 3

Spelling & Reading - Spelling words & units practiced in print and cursive that tie into the books they are reading.
Days - Five days a week for Spelling, Seven days a week for Reading
Textbooks - None, just loose worksheets and story books.
Number of Pages - 2

English - Phonics and reading comprehension.
Days - Everyday
Textbooks - Let's Grow Smart Phonics 1 (Dalmatian Press), Let's Grow Smart: Phonics (Dalmatian Press), Dora the Explorer First Words (Bendon Publishing), Let's Grow Smart: Rhyme Time (Dalmatian Press), Let's Grow Smart: Reading Readiness (Dalmatian Press), Listen, Read, and Learn Grade 2 (American Education Publishing).
Number of Pages - 2-4

History/Geography/Religion - Three units on Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome.
Days - Everyday
Textbooks - Egypt and the Middle East (Carson-Dellosa Publishing LLC), Ancient Egypt: Tales of Gods and Pharaohs (by Marcia Williams), Who Was King Tut? (by Roberta Edwards), Greek and Roman Civilizations (Carson-Dellosa Publishing LLC), Tools of the Ancient Greeks (Nomad Press), Greek Myths (by Marcia Williams), Tools of the Ancient Romans (Nomad Press), The Romans: Gods, Emperors, and Dormice (by Marcia Williams), What Was Pompeii? (by Jim O'Conner), Who Was Julius Caesar? (by Nico Medina)
Number of Pages - N/A

Science - Learning about animals, the earth, the solar system, and insects.
Days - Everyday
Textbooks - Random story books, Big Workbook 2nd Grade (School Zone Publishing Company), Brain Quest Grade 2 (Workman Publishing Company Inc), Planet Earth: Animals of the Water (Modern Publishing), Planet Earth: Animals of the Air (Modern Publishing), Planet Earth: Geography (Modern Publishing)
Number of Pages - 2-4

Logic - Same/different, mazes, dot-to-dots, etc.
Days - Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday
Textbooks - Random books.
Number of Pages - 3-4

Art - Painting, etc.
Days - Sunday
Textbooks - None, just projects.
Number of Pages - N/A

Some final notes:

• For the first time ever, spelling units are directly tied to what we are reading.
• For this quarter our Concept Weeks were Concept Months and they were tied into our History/Geography/Religion class. In the end I decided I did not like this system and we will not be using it again in the future any time soon.
• Starting this quarter Optimus Prime & Bumblebee's schoolwork is diverged to better suit their needs. Optimus Prime did easier Math and harder Spelling, English, and Reading. Bumblebee did harder Math and easier Spelling, English, and Reading. I will no longer be holding back one child in the hopes that the other will "catch up" soon. We did that all last year and it made everyone miserable. 
• Under "Textbooks," the textbooks in red were done by Optimus Prime, the text books in green were done by Bumblebee, and the textbooks in black were done by both.

Scooby-Doo:

Schoolwork on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

Subjects:

Handwriting - Practicing handwriting, letters, sounding out letters and words, numbers, and counting. 
Days - Four days a week
Textbooks - Complete Book of Preschool (school Specialty Publishing), Comprehensive Curriculum Pre-K (American Education Publishing)
Number of Pages - 4

Spelling - Spelling words & units.
Days - Four days a week
Textbooks - None, just loose worksheets.
Number of Pages - 1

Science - Learning about animals and insects.
Days - Four days a week
Textbooks - Random story books and worksheets.
Number of Pages - N/A

Logic - Same/different, mazes, dot-to-dots, etc.
Days - Four days a week
Textbooks - NEED Fisher-Price Little People Kindergarten Workbook Volumes 1 &2 (Modern Publishing), Comprehensive Curriculum Pre-K (American Education Publishing), Disney Junior Deluxe Sticker Book (Phidal Publishing Inc)
Number of Pages - 4-5

Art - Painting, coloring, etc.
Days - Five days a week
Textbooks - None, just projects.
Number of Pages - N/A

Reading - Reading poems and short stories together.
Days - Seven days a week
Textbooks - Various.
Number of Pages - N/A

Magazines - Scooby-Doo is subscribed to a pre-k character magazine that covers letters, numbers, mazes, picture finds, reading comprehension, etc.
Days - Once a week
Textbooks - Character Magazines
Number of Pages - N/A

Final Notes:

• The local elementary school denied Scooby-Doo all of his therapy since we would not enroll him there in pre-k. A month later they re-offered that same therapy. We turned them down. He is, however, still doing speech therapy twice a week.
• This is Scooby-Doo's first full quarter of schoolwork.
• Even though Scooby-Doo is only at pre-k age he will be doing kindergarten work this quarter as well as some pre-k.
• One day a week we focused on Magazines, doing an entire magazine that day. The other four days we did regular schoolwork.
• Scooby-Doo started Concept Weeks this quarter. They were tied into his Science schoolwork.

Superman

Synopsis - Clark Kent, survivor of the planet Krypton, comes to Earth as a baby and is raised human. While growing up he learns that our sun gives him super powers. As an adult he works as a reporter for a major newspaper and on the side he uses his super powers to fight evil as Superman.

Wandering Falcon - "Superman's always been meh to me - I was more of a Batman fan - but these books were really good."

Optimus Prime - "I liked them. I liked the guy who shocked people and took their energy (Parasite). I like Lois Lane."

Bumblebee - "I like Superman. And there's lots of stuff I like. I like the part where he threw one of his enemies into space. And I liked to robot with kryptonite (Metallo)."

Superman*

1. The Menace of Metallo
2. Last Son of Krypton
3. The Stolen Superpowers
4. Museum of Monsters
5. Toys of Terror
6. Under the Red Sun
7. Meteor of Doom
8. The Deadly Dream Machine
9. The Shadow Masters
10. The Shrinking City
11. The Deadly Double
12. Bizarro is Born
13. Little Green Men
14. The Kid Who Saved Superman
15. Live Wire!
16. Super Villain Showdown
17. Parasite's Power Drain
18. Prankster of Prime Time
19. Cosmic Bounty Hunter
20. Deep Space Hijack

* These books are not numbered, so they are listed in the order that we read them. Also, for these books I have not listed an author since they are too much like comic books with multiple authors, illustrators, and creators.

3rd Grade/Kindergarten Reading List Part 1

Last quarter was a bit of a bummer for our reading list. After reading 32 in our Spring Quarter I was hoping to at least meet that goal in our Summer Quarter, but no such luck. We were just too busy. It really was a good thing we only did spelling and reading - we had no time for anything else! This quarter we'll just have to try and do better! And at least we did met the goal I set last quarter...

Anyway, onto reading goals:

• Optimus Prime is reading a mixture of level 1 & level 2 books. Mostly level 2 books but I did buy some new level 1 books. I decided to move our schoolwork away from so many worksheets and focus more on reading so we needed new books anyway. Plus, Bumblebee will need them for when he finally gets to level 1 & level 2 reading. Next quarter we should certainly be on chapter books if I could just find what I'm looking for...
• Bumblebee is still reading level pre-1. We did tackle some level 1 books at the end of last quarter but he still wasn't ready so I switched him back to level pre-1. HOPEFULLY we can get him up to level 1 by the end of this quarter. 
• Scooby-Doo has some reading goals too! Since I've decided to start him in kindergarten this upcoming quarter (as I was writing up his schedule I started thinking maybe he's becoming bored with pre-k schoolwork...) I decided it was time to make him a reading list as well. He and I are going to be reading a lot of short stories and poems, one a day, every day, even on days off.

Now, our reading list. Last quarter I set a goal of 19 and we read 23. This quarter I'm setting a goal of 19 again. I'm worried of a repeat of last quarter:

• My Little Pony: Fluttershy and the Fine Furry Friends Fair
• My Little Pony: Applejack and the Honest-to-Goodness Switcheroo
• My Little Pony: Pinkie Pie and the Rockin' Ponypalooza Party!
• My Little Pony: Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell
• My Little Pony: Rarity and the Curious Case of Charity
• My Little Pony: Rainbow Dash and the Daring Do Double Dare
• The Haunted Library
• The Haunted Library: The Ghost in the Attic
• Magic School Bus: Dinosaur Detectives
• Magic School Bus: Expedition Down Under
• Magic School Bus: Electric Storm
• Magic School Bus: Butterfly Battle
• Magic School Bus: Food Chain Frenzy
• Magic School Bus: Fishy Field Trip
• Magic School Bus: Color Day Relay
• You Choose: Can You Survive a Zombie Apocalypse?
• You Choose: Can You Survive a Virus Outbreak?
• Magic Tree House Fact Tracker: Pirates
• Magic Tree House Fact Tracker: Twisters and Other Terrible Storms

Month in Review: July 2015

Final summer quarter post! Yay!

I have their curriculum planned out for the next three months but I won't get into that here. It'll all be up on their respective Quarterly Curriculum pages soon.

Optimus Prime has been doing great. So far no luck on finding chapter books for him so I think instead our fall quarter we will work on harder level 1 & 2 books. I'll have to buy some new ones. Bumblebee is still struggling so next quarter we'll jut keep with the level pre-1 books but we'll try out the harder ones. Hopefully that won't blow up in my face... They did their final two spelling units and finished their cursive handwriting unit. I think next quarter I'll combine cursive, spelling, and reading all into one unit. We'll see how that works.

Scooby-Doo is getting antsy to get back to doing schoolwork. I was worried he'd refuse to do it since he was enjoying his summer off so much but he's gone back to asking to do it. He's now jealous of his brothers again.

I can't wait to start our new quarter! It'll be nice to get back on track!

Month in Review: June 2015

Like I warned you in the May post, be prepared for some skimpy information and a distinct lack of goings ons!

So, Optimus Prime & Bumblebee continued to work on their reading. Optimus Prime is doing really good. I want him to start chapter books next quarter but I'm hitting a wall. I want ones that are easy enough for him that have large print, lots of pictures, and very few words each page. Also, preferably something that we have read before. The he could do a chapter or two each day. But I'm having a hard time finding what I want. Bumblebee is still struggling. My goal was to get him up to level 1 by the end of the summer quarter but I'm thinking that is not going to happen. We have some harder level pre-1 books. Maybe we'll do those next quarter? Spelling was units 39 & 40 and for Handwriting we still worked on cursive. The more I look at Optimus Prime's handwriting the more I think I might have to bring that subject back full-time... but just for him. Bumblebee's handwriting is very nice for his age and I think a Handwriting course would bore him to tears.

Scooby-Doo is enjoying his summer off being a kid. He's not even jealous that his brothers are doing schoolwork and he isn't.

More at the end of next month! I'm looking forward to going back to a full schedule!