Revamping the Blog!

So I've done some brainstorming and have decided the direction to take this blog in. Yes, I will still talk about our adventures in learning and the books we are reading but I am going to start expanding into other topics - like what I'm reading! ;)

No, seriously, mostly what I am going to do is start expanding on the topics we already cover (so, yes, my books that I am reading will be mentioned) and slowly introduce other topics that I always wanted to talk about but never felt were really relevant to the blog (like cooking, working out, our daily lives, etc.) as well as topics that I've touched upon briefly when it directly related to homeshcooling but never really expanded upon (like our family trips, autism, our holidays, etc.)

I'm going to recatagorize everything, delete some pages, put up some new ones, fix the layout, and probably rename the blog. I haven't decided what yet - right now I've figured everything out BUT the new name.

I figure it'll probably take a full week for me to get all of this done with all the other changes in our lives going on around us but I look forward to the blogs new look - and new name!

So keep checking in all week to see anything new going on!

Moving

Well, that's that.

The moving van is pretty much loaded, our bags are packed, and the car is just missing us in it.

Tomorrow we leave to drive across the country and start our new life.

Obviously, while we are going I will not be putting up any new posts. As it is I'm not even sure what any new posts for this blog will look like. It should take us about a week to get to our destination then it'll take us a day or two to recover.

Then in the midst of job hunting, job interviews, apartment hunting, enrolling my kids in school, etc I will figure out this blog.

I hope I'm not gone too long.

Good-bye... Or Not?

I put this post up on facebook today and wished to share it here with you:

That's it! As of THIS moment, we are officially DONE with homeschooling finishing our final week early so we could end before we moved.

For the past 7 years I have homeschooled Optimus Prime & Bumblebee. 5 of those years we homeschooled for 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year for 1-6 hours a day (depending on their age, their grade, the topic, etc) and for the last 2 years (after I started Scooby-Doo on a fuller schedule) we homeschooled for 5 days a week, 48 weeks a year, for 5-6 hours a day.

For the past 3 years I have homeschooled Scooby-Doo. For the first year, it was for 5 days a week, a full 52 weeks, for an hour a day. After I switched Optimus Prime & Bumblebee to a lighter schedule for a year Scooby-Doo did school work for 5 days a week, 48 weeks a year, for 1-2 hours a day. For his final year I wised up and combined some subjects that Optimus Prime & Bumblebee were doing with what Scooby-Doo was doing. Optimus Prime & Bumblebee were doing Norse Mythology for a few weeks? So was Scooby-Doo. Optimus Prime & Bumblebee were doing animals in Science? So was Scooby-Doo. So while his final year was also 5 days a week, 48 weeks a year, 2 hours a day one of those hours overlapped with his big brothers.

I don't even want to think about how many hours of schoolwork that was!!!

During this time period we covered so many topics I couldn't even begin to remember them all!!! The food pyramid, how to grow a garden, ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, ancient Rome, knights, pirates, mythology (including Norse, Greek, Roman, Mayan, Incan, Aztec, Native American, Chinese, etc), religions, seasons, holidays, outer space, dinosaurs, the ice age, early humans, sharks, Texas, Native Americans, King Arthur, elephants, horses, volcanoes, earthquakes, ancient China, germs, desserts, bugs, the food chain, bats, whales, wild cats, farms, the arctic and antarctic, oceans, rainforests, robots, and a MILLION other topics I can't even begin to recall.

We learned about geography, history, math, English, Spanish, cooking, spelling, reading, handwriting, and a ton of other subjects I can't remember off the top of my head.

Plus there was t-ball, archery, fitness classes, Scooby-Doo's therapy, cloverbuds, whatever else I can't remember, and twice a week trips to our local library for new books to read.

We've lived in Alaska & Texas, visited multiple zoos, dinosaur parks & museums, national & state parks, many caves, gone hiking, seen glaciers, taken cruises, gone panning for gold, and who knows what else.

And somewhere, in the midst of that, I started reading the boys chapter books every day. At this point in time, we've read over 200 chapter books in over 15 series together as a family!!!

It has been a crazy, fun-filled, information packed 7 years!!! And while I am sorry to see it end - especially since I never thought it would - I am so excited for me & my babies to start our next chapter together in New York!

Celebratory End Of Homeschooling Night Out To Dinner here we come!!!

It WAS a fun ride, and I am very sorry to see it go, but we are excited to move on to the next chapter in our lives. After I posted this I recieved an overwhelimg amout of support from my family and frieds who openly admitted to being "in awe" of my "dedication!" I also recieved comments begging me not to end my blog but to continue it on in another form. I've decided to do that. I'm not wholly sure yet what form that will be (it will definetly include books) but once we get to New York I look forward to figuring that out.

Until then, though, this is it. Our FINAL homeschooling post! It is very bitter-sweet. Bitter because I thought we would always do this, sweet because we are looking forward to our new future...

Quarterly Curriculum May - July 2016

I had to do a bit of reshuffling this quarter to the schedule I had initially written up to ensure that we finished certain workbooks we had started before our move. I did not include page numbers because they varied day by day to ensure we finished our started workbooks.

Optimus Prime & Bumblebee:

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

Subjects:

Science - Learning about different animals (broken into units) with some reading comprehension thrown into the mix.
Days - Every other day.
Textbooks - The Complete Book of Animals Grades 1-3 (American Education Publishing).

Art/Logic - Painting, other activities, etc.
Days - Every other day.
Textbooks - None.

Math - Addition, subtraction, fractions, counting by 5's & 10's, time, money, etc. 
Days - Every day.
Textbooks - ARandom started books.

English - Learning the difference between vowels and consonants, learning how to sound words out, synonyms, antonyms, compound words, rhyming words, nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, sentences, punctuation marks, reading comprehension, etc.
Days - Every day.
Textbooks - Random started books.

Reading - Reading books.
Days - Every day.
Textbooks - Story books.

Scooby-Doo:

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

Subjects:

Magazine - His fun character magazines that cover letter sounds, counting, picture finds, etc.
Days - Every Sunday.
Textbooks - Character Magazines.

Art/Logic - Painting, other activities, etc.
Days - Every day.
Textbooks - None.

Math - Basic introduction to math concepts like addition, money, time, etc. 
Days - Every day.
Textbooks - Random started books.

English - Learning the difference between vowels and consonants, learning how to sound words out, synonyms, antonyms, compound words, rhyming words, nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, sentences, punctuation marks, reading comprehension, etc.
Days - Every day.
Textbooks - Random started books.

Reading - Every day together.

Final Notes:

• This is our final quarter of homeschooling finishing up our final school year.
• There were only 4 subjects for Optimus Prime & Bumblebee
• I dropped Spelling for our final quarter and we just did reading.
• Science and Art were alternated between

Done...?

For personal reasons, my husband and I have decided that my children and I should move to upstate New York to be with my family. Because of this, I will no longer be able to homeschool.

This makes my heart very heavy. All I ever dreamed of was having lots of children and homeschooling them  - a dream that, in part, my husband shared. Now not only is our marriage over but my children and I have to move across the country and I have to enroll them in school.

This is crushing.

I'm not sure what direction this blog will move in. Maybe I'll talk about fun projects we do now that we no longer homeschool? Maybe I'll speak more about good homeschooling memories? Maybe I'll talk about autism? My job? My kids schoolwork? Our family in general? The books we are reading? Or maybe I'll just end it.

I really don't know.

I will put up our remaining posts relevant to this quarter. Normally I put them up at the end of the quarter/beginning of the next quarter but this time I'll try to have them all up by the summer quarters end.

Then we will move to New York. Then I need to figure out the path my children and I (and yes, even this blog) will take.

3rd Grade Spelling Units #25-36

I just realized I never put up this post!!! To make matters worse, I had never actually finished it and their spelling notebooks filled with these spelling words have long since been thrown out! However, I still had the rough initial post so I feel like I can go ahead and finish it up with their reading schedule.

Optimus Prime did chapter books this whole quarter. He read 1-2 chapters a day. It was a huge jump up for him and despite stumbling a LOT he did really, really excellent! I was so proud of him and he was so proud of himself!!! This next quarter we will scale back on chapter books a bit but that is information for another post.

As for Bumblebee, his reading improves each day. He still isn't at grade level but each day that goes by he does better and better. He worked on level 1 & level 2 books. Level 1 books we spent one day reading, level 2 books were split up over 2 days.

Lastly, Scooby-Doo did have spelling each day, but like I said, his notebook got tossed too so his list was never saved... However, he did enjoy doing spelling just like his big brothers!

Optimus Prime:

Units #25-28 - Pokemon Junior

1. Surf's Up, Pikachu!
2. Meowth, the Big Mouth
3. Save our Squirtle!
4. Bulbasaur's Bad Day
5. Two of a Kind

Units #29-32 - Wonder Woman

1. Trial of the Amazons
2. Monster Magic
3. Creature of Chaos
4. Attack of the Cheetah

Units #33-36 - Magic Tree House

1. Dinosaurs Before Dark
2. The Knight at Dawn
3. Mummies in the Morning
4. Pirates Past Noon

Bumblebee:

Unit #25 - Disney

1. Dumbo
2. Bambi
3. Peter Pan
4. Lady and the Tramp
5. Alice in Wonderland

Unit #26 - Toy Story

1. The Bunny Surprise
2. Buzz's Backpack Adventure
3. A Spooky Adventure
4. Christmas Toys

Unit #27 - Pixar

1. Just Keep Swimming
2. Run, Remy, Run!
3. A Cars Christmas
4. Boo on the Loose
5. Driving Buddies

Unit #28 - Frozen

1. Big Snowman, Little Snowman
2. Hello, Olaf!
3. Anna's Best Friends
4. A Tale of Two Sisters
5. The Christmas Party

Unit #29 - Tangled/Cinderella

1. Kingdom of Color
2. Cinderella's Count Down to the Ball
3. Outside My Window
4. A Dream for a Princess

Unit #30 - For a Princess

1. Friends for a Princess
2. A Pony for a Princess
3. Surprise for a Princess
4. A Pet for a Princess

Unit #31 - Thomas the Tank Engine

1. The Close Shave
2. Thomas and the Jet Engine
3. Santa's Little Engine
4. Easter Engine
5. Happy Birthday, Thomas!

Unit #32 - Thomas the Tank Engine/Batman

1. Thomas Goes Fishing
2. The Rocket Returns
3. Trouble in the Tunnel
4. Going Bananas

Unit #33 - Batman

1. Flying High
2. Brain Freeze
3. T Rex Trouble!
4. Crime Wave!

Unit #34 - Princess Seasons

1. Princess Hearts
2. The Sweetest Spring
3. A Fairy-Tale Fall
4. Winter Wishes

Unit #35 - Princess Pets

1. Princesses and Puppies
2. Snuggle Buddies
3. Sealed with a Kiss
4. Travel Like a Princess

Unit #36 - Princess Stories

1. What is a Princess?
2. The Perfect Dress
3. A Cake to Bake
4. Sleeping Beauty

Home! Home! Home!

We are home (yay!) after a nice (but busy!) trip to upstate New York. We had a nice break from homeschooling and job hunting but now it's "once more unto the breach"...

Well, that applies more to job hunting then homeschooling...

New York

We are currently in New York visiting some family and seeing some sights. We've gone to the Adirondacks, hung out at Chuck E Cheese's, seen some local museums, and visited a LOT of family! We still intend to go to Howe Caverns and see even more family so right now is a VERY busy time! More to come soon!

Quarterly Curriculum February - April 2016

Last quarter was very touch and go almost up until the very end. Then, thankfully, FINALLY, everything fell into place. That made me VERY eager to move on to a full schedule this quarter.

This quarter I was very excited to bring back "core" subjects and "secondary" subjects. I had always loved our rotating schedule and was very sad when I had to retire it. It was supposed to be a temporary retirement, no more than a year, but it wound up being longer because I wasn't ready to bring it back until we brought Spanish back and I wasn't ready to bring Spanish back until at least one child mastered reading. Yes, you read that right, we are FINALLY bringing back Spanish! And yes, not only has Optimus Prime mastered reading but Bumblebee has really advanced these past three months. He's not there yet but he is close enough that I feel confident to bring back Spanish!

Optimus Prime:

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

Core Subjects:

Math - Addition, subtraction, time, money, etc. 
Days - Everyday
Textbooks - No workbooks. This quarter to help Optimus Prime catch up he's doing worksheets tailor-made for him.
Number of Pages - 3

Spelling - Spelling words & units practiced in print and cursive.
Days - Everyday
Textbooks - None, just loose worksheets.
Number of Pages - 2

English - Phonics and reading comprehension.
Days - Everyday
Textbooks - Brain Quest Workbook Grade 2 (Workman Publishing), Comprehensive Curriculum Grade 2 (American Education Publishing).
Number of Pages - 3

Secondary Subjects:

Science - Learning all about animals, insects, and classifications.
Days - Three days a week
Textbooks - Exploring Animals (American Education Publishing).
Number of Pages - 2-3

History/Geography/Religion - Norse Mythology and King Arthur.
Days - Three days a week
Textbooks - D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths (New York Review Children's Collection), Tales of King Arthur (Anness Publishing).
Number of Pages - N/A

Logic/Art - Same/different, mazes, dot-to-dots, coloring etc.
Days - Three days a week
Textbooks - Random books.
Number of Pages - 4

Spanish - Learning Spanish
Days - Every three days
Textbooks - Exploring Spanish (American Education Publishing).
Number of Pages - 2-3

Handwriting - Basic composition and handwriting.
Days - Every three days
Textbooks - Scooby-Doo Printing Practice (Bendon), Spider-Man Printing Practice (Bendon).
Number of Pages - 2-3

Other "Subjects":

Reading - Reading chapter (!!!) books on his own.

Bumblebee:

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

Core Subjects:

Math - Addition, subtraction, time, money, multiplication, etc. 
Days - Everyday
Textbooks - Sponge Bob Addition and Subtraction (Bendon), Disney Princess Addition & Subtraction (Bendon), Disney Addition and Subtraction (Bendon), Spider-Man Addition and Subtraction (Bendon), Disney Princess Addition and Subtraction (Bendon), Disney Addition and Subtraction (Bendon), Disney Time and Money (Bendon).
Number of Pages - 3

Spelling - Spelling words & units practiced in print and cursive.
Days - Everyday
Textbooks - None, just loose worksheets.
Number of Pages - 2

English - Phonics and reading comprehension.
Days - Everyday
Textbooks - Brain Quest Workbook Grade 2 (Workman Publishing), Comprehensive Curriculum Grade 2 (American Education Publishing).
Number of Pages - 3

Secondary Subjects:

Science - Learning all about animals, insects, and classifications.
Days - Three days a week
Textbooks - Exploring Animals (American Education Publishing).
Number of Pages - 2-3

History/Geography/Religion - Norse Mythology and King Arthur.
Days - Three days a week
Textbooks - D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths (New York Review Children's Collection), Tales of King Arthur (Anness Publishing).
Number of Pages - N/A

Logic/Art - Same/different, mazes, dot-to-dots, coloring etc.
Days - Three days a week
Textbooks - Random books.
Number of Pages - 4

Spanish - Learning Spanish
Days - Every three days
Textbooks - Exploring Spanish (American Education Publishing).
Number of Pages - 2-3

Multiplication - Practicing multiplication and division.
Days - Every three days
Textbooks - No workbook. This quarter Bumblebee has a second math class with just multiplication to help him get the concept down better with tailor made worksheets for him.
Number of Pages - 2-3

Other "Subjects":

Reading - Reading level 1 and some level 2 books on his own.

Scooby-Doo:

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

Core Subjects:

Spelling - Spelling words & units practiced in print.
Days - Everyday
Textbooks - None, just loose worksheets.
Number of Pages - 1

Secondary Subjects:

Science - Learning all about animals, insects, and classifications.
Days - Three days a week
Textbooks - Exploring Animals (American Education Publishing).
Number of Pages - 2-3

History/Geography/Religion - Norse Mythology and King Arthur.
Days - Three days a week
Textbooks - D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths (New York Review Children's Collection), Tales of King Arthur (Anness Publishing).
Number of Pages - N/A

Logic/Art - Same/different, mazes, dot-to-dots, coloring etc.
Days - Three days a week
Textbooks - Random books.
Number of Pages - 5

English - Phonics and reading comprehension.
Days - Three days a week
Textbooks - Beginning Sounds (School Zone), Letter Stories (Mead), Phonics (Bendon), Disney Phonics and Reading (Bendon).
Number of Pages - 4

Addition - Basic addition problems to help him learn the concept. 
Days - Three days a week
Textbooks - Numbers and Counting (Bendon), Let's Grow Smart Workbook: Numbers 1-12 (Dalmatian Press), Disney Numbers and Counting (Bendon), Mathematics Practice Workbook K (Silver Burdett Ginn)
Number of Pages - 4

Other "Subjects":

Reading - Reading together every day.

Some final notes:

• Spelling units are directly tied to what we are reading.
• For this quarter we have two Concept Weeks and they are tied into our History/Geography/Religion class and our Science class. There were no Concept Week posts.
• One of Optimus Prime's "secondary" subjects was Handwriting because his penmanship desperately needed it. Bumblebee did a second Math class during this time period where he just focused on multiplication. 
• The local elementary school has denied Scooby-Doo all of his therapy since we will not enroll him there in pre-k. He is, however, still doing speech therapy twice a week.
• Even though Scooby-Doo is only at pre-k age he will be doing kindergarten work this quarter as well as some pre-k.
• Scooby-Doo starts Concept Weeks this quarter. They are tied into his Science schoolwork.

A Break

I know it has been a bit since I posted and it will be a bit longer still. My husband has requested a divorce and I am unsure how this is going to effect our family or my homeschooling our children. I will obviously have to get a full time job now to support me & my kids and right this moment while I still want to homeschool I am unsure if that is even possible in the future. We are, at the very least, going to continue on with our summer quarter. It will be greatly abridged, though. We need to pack, I need to job hunt, we need to contact lawyers and/or mediators, etc. Plus we have decided that my boys and I should go to New York to visit my family for a couple of weeks so we can have that support during this upsetting time. I should resume posting by the middle of April.

Right now please just keep us in your thoughts.

The Flash

Synopsis - Barry Allen, aka The Flash, aka The Fastest Man Alive is a police forensic scientist who has an alter-superhero ego called The Flash. He runs around Central City solving crimes and taking down super villains.

Wandering Falcon - "I'm not a huge fan of the Flash (I prefer superheroes without superpowers) but these books were pretty good."

Optimus Prime - "I really like Weather Wizard and believe me he did none of the crimes that day. I also liked Fire and Ice. Fire and Ice, they are opposites, but when Captian Cold and Heat Wave shot at each other and end up making a two story building don't you think about running through because half of you will become ash and dust and the other side will become so frozen and cold it will make you break into a hundred thousand pieces. So unless you have a force field you can't get through. And trust me a big suit of armor will not help one little bit because one side will melt and your shoulder will get burned a lot lot lot and the other side will freeze so much that your armor will break. But actually maybe by that point in time you could have gotten through to the other side and survived."

Bumblebee - "I liked The Attack of Professor Zoom! I liked when Captain Cold froze the volcano. And, I liked the robots."

The Flash**

1. The Attack of Professor Zoom
2. Captain's Cold Arctic Eruption
3. Gorilla Warfare
4. Wrath of the Weather Wizard
5. Captain Boomerang's Comeback!
6. Trickster's Bubble Trouble
7. Clock King's Time Bomb
8. Master of Mirrors!
9. Ice and Fire
10. Killer Kaleidoscope
11. Shell Shocker
12. Shadow of the Sun

** 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.

Bit of a Break

Taking a week or two off. Will be back soon with more posts!!!

Scooby-Doo Mystery!

Synopsis - Once again (after this series and this series) Fred, Velma, Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo go around stumbling upon - and solving - mysteries.

Wandering Falcon - "I gotta say, I was pretty bummed after we finished our last two Scooby-Doo chapter book series so I was so pretty excited to discover this one! Then I was bummed when I found out this series only had three books. However, I gotta say, they weren't as well written as the last two series we read so maybe that was why there was only three? However, despite that, they were pretty good. It was just a big letdown that there were not more. Maybe one day they'll make more - and if so we will read them - but I doubt it since the last one was written almost three years ago."

Optimus Prime - "The books are amazing."

Bumblebee - "I LOVED 'Pirate Cove,' the hotel was creepy, and Ice Giant (SPOILER) used salt."

Scooby-Doo Mystery by Kate Howard

1. The Hotel of Horrors
2. The Frozen Giant
3. The Haunting of Pirate Cove

The Magic School Bus

I just gotta ask, who doesn't absolutely love Ms. Frizzle?!?!?!? I'm pretty sure "no one" is the correct answer!

Synopsis - This series follows around Ms. Frizzle and her class as they go on wacky, outrageous - and completely implausible, often overnight on the other side of the world - science-based field trips.

Wandering Falcon - "I loved Ms. Frizzle as a kid (even though I was a bit too old for her) and I love her even more as an adult! Some of the books were better written than others, and some seemed to overlap a bit (like "Twister Trouble" and "Electric Storm" which both covered thunderstorms and tornadoes in their own ways) but overall they were very enjoyable and even taught me some things I had no clue about. And the amount of random information my kids retained is unreal!!! Bumblebee STILL goes on about the first full moon after Christmas and how that's the only time of year some plant or animal in Australia's great barrier reef lays it's eggs - and we read that book months ago. Optimus Prime STILL goes on about their bat adventure even though we must of read that book almost a year ago now! They were very good books and my boys all loved them."

Optimus Prime - "They are good. Okay, they are great. I liked the bats!"

Bumblebee - "I LOVED all of them! Especially the dinosaur one!"

The Magic School Bus Chapter Books by Eva Moore (EM), Jennifer Johnston (JJ), Anne Capeci (AC), Rebecca Carmi (RC), Judith Stamper (JS), Nancy White (NW), Martin Schwabacher (MS), and Gail Herman (GH)

1. The Truth About Bats (EM)
2. The Search for the Missing Bones (EM)
3. The Wild Whale Watch (EM)
4. Space Explorers (EM)
5. Twister Trouble (EM)
6. The Giant Germ (EM)
7. The Great Shark Escape (JJ)
8. Penguin Puzzle (EM)
9. Dinosaur Detective (JS)
10. Expedition Down Under (RC)
11. Insect Invaders (AC)
12. Amazing Magnetism (RC)
13. Polar Bear Patrol (JS)
14. Electric Storm (AC)
15. Voyage to the Volcano (JS)
16. Butterfly Battle (NW)
17. Food Chain Frenzy (AC)
18. The Fishy Field Trip (MS)
19. Color Day Relay (GH)
20. Rocky Road Trip (JS)

Concept Weeks #52-55/21-24: New Years Day and the Chinese Lunar New Year, Rainforests, the Inca, Maya, and Aztec, & Robots

Like I said in my last post, this is our final Concept Week post. For a while now these posts have been out of date but I've been clinging to them out of habit. I'm not sure what direction the new posts will go in but I'll hopefully have it figured out by the end of February.

Now, this month, together Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, & Scooby-Doo worked on four Concept Weeks. They were New Years Day and the Chinese Lunar New Year, Rainforests, the Inca, Maya, and Aztec, and Robots.

For each Concept Week they had a lapbook filled with information and fun worksheets and each day I read them a book (or two or three) pertaining to the topic. Some of the books were fun story books, others were full of information about the topic. It depended on what the library (and we) had.

Month in Review: January 2016

This month we finally, finally, FINALLY got our act together! I'm so proud of us!

Optimus Prime and Bumblebee worked on Math (Optimus Prime on 2nd grade math with a little bit of 3rd grade math, Bumblebee on 3rd grade math), English (phonics, consonant blends, alphabetical order, logic problems, riddles, comparing and contrasting, and reading comprehension), and Spelling & Reading (see this post for Optimus Prime and this post for Bumblebee).

Scooby-Doo worked on Handwriting (the alphabet, letter sounds, numbers, and counting), Art (coloring), and Logic (same and different, mazes, dot-to-dots, look and find, etc).

Together they worked on four Concept Weeks. They were New Years & the Chinese Lunar New Year, Rainforests, the Maya, Inca, & Aztec, and Robots - all of which I will cover in the Concept Week post (hopefully) tomorrow.

Also, I have decided that this is our final Month in Review post - and tomorrow's Concept Week post is our final one as well. I'm not sure what I'm going to do instead. I'm thinking of maybe doing posts about each unit after they are completed. I haven't decided yet. What I do know is for a while now these posts have been pretty obsolete and I've been clinging to them out of habit. I need to let them go. I'll let you know when I've decided what I am going to do instead.

Concept Weeks #48-51/17-20: Farms, Oceans, Arctic and Antarctic, & Yule and Christmas

Together Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, & Scooby-Doo worked on four Concept Weeks. They were Farms, Oceans, the Arctic and Antarctic, and Yule and Christmas.

For each Concept Week they had a lapbook filled with information and fun worksheets and each day I read them a book (or two or three) pertaining to the topic. Some of the books were fun story books, others were full of information about the topic. It depended on what the library (and we) had.

Month in Review: December 2015

This month we were a bit better off, but we still had a hard time keeping it together. We finally had our act together then we took a week of for Christmas & Yule, so that set us back a bit and had us scrambling to get back on schedule.

Optimus Prime and Bumblebee worked on Math (Optimus Prime on 2nd grade math, Bumblebee on 3rd grade math - he really is loving his multiplication), English (phonics, punctuation, adjectives, paragraphs, antonyms, synonyms, homophones, contractions, dictionaries, rhyming words, and reading comprehension), and Spelling & Reading (see this post for Optimus Prime and this one for Bumblebee).

Scooby-Doo worked on Handwriting (the alphabet, letter sounds, numbers, and counting), Art (coloring), and Logic (same and different, mazes, dot-to-dots, look and find, etc).

Together they worked on four Concept Weeks. They were Farms, Oceans, the Arctic & Antarctic, and Yule & Christmas - all of which I will cover in the Concept Week post (hopefully) tomorrow.

Concept Weeks #44-47/13-16: Halloween, Dinosaurs, After Dinosaurs, & Thanksgiving

From here on out any Concept Weeks will be done by all three of them together (except for one final quarter that I'm planning on for our Summer quarter). Obviously Optimus Prime & Bumblebee had harder work than Scooby-Doo but overall the work was more or less the same.

Together they worked on four Concept Weeks. They were Halloween, Prehistoric/Dinosaur Era, Prehistoric/Early Man Era, and Thanksgiving.

For each Concept Week they had a lapbook filled with information and fun worksheets and each day I read them a book (or two or three) pertaining to the topic. Some of the books were fun story books, others were full of information about the topic. It depended on what the library (and we) had.

Month in Review: November 2015

I'd love to say that this month we had our act together. But alas, no. We did better than all of last quarter put together but we were still all over the place. Part of the problem was Halloween, a family visit, a family birthday, and Thanksgiving. Part of the problem was just plain us.

Optimus Prime and Bumblebee worked on Math (Optimus Prime on 2nd grade math, Bumblebee on 3rd grade math), English (phonics, sentence structure, nouns, poems, verbs, and reading comprehension), and Spelling & Reading (see this post for Optimus Prime and this one for Bumblebee).

Scooby-Doo worked on Handwriting (the alphabet, letter sounds, numbers, and counting), Art (coloring), and Logic (same and different, mazes, dot-to-dots, look and find, etc).

Together they worked on four Concept Weeks. They were Halloween, Prehistoric/Dinosaur Era, Prehistoric/Early Man Era, and Thanksgiving - all of which I will cover in the Concept Week post (hopefully) tomorrow.

3rd Grade/Kindergarten Reading List Part 2

Last quarter was another bad quarter for reading books. We only did 20. *shudder* So this quarter I'm making our minimum goal 20.

This quarter I'm determined we'll do better!

Now, for our reading goals:

• I STILL cannot find what I'm looking for for Optimus Prime. We'll just work on level 1 and level 2 books for now. I am so annoyed. He is beyond ready to tackle chapter books. I just need to find what I'm looking for. I have to this quarter, otherwise I'll start him on our Scooby-Doo chapter books. 
• I'm going to have Bumblebee work on level 1 books. Optimus Prime reads a book a day, I'm going to try for half a book a day for Bumblebee. We'll see how that works. 
• Scooby-Doo has no actual list that I'm reading to him this quarter. I'm bringing back Concept Weeks for this quarter, I didn't care for my "experiment" with them last quarter where I turned them into Concept Months. So, we have to read a book every day, seven days a week for our Concept Week. So for now that doubles as Scooby-Doo's book list.

Our 20 book long reading list:

• The Dark Knight: Batman and the Villainous Voyage
• The Dark Knight: Batman vs the Cat Commander
• Magic Tree House: Dark Day in the Deep Sea
• Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew: Double Take
• Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew: Unicorn Uproar 
• The Hardy Boys Secret Files: The Bicycle Thief
• The Hardy Boys Secret Files: A Monster of a Mystery
• The Hardy Boys Secret Files: The Missing Mitt
• Magic Tree House Fact Tracker: Pilgrims
• Magic Tree House Fact Tracker: Titanic
• Magic Tree House Fact Tracker: American Revolution
• Magic Tree House Fact Tracker: Rags and Riches
• Magic Tree House Fact Tracker: Dog Heroes
• Magic Tree House Fact Tracker: Dolphins and Sharks
• Magic Tree House Fact Tracker: Vikings
• Magic Tree House Fact Tracker: Leonardo da Vinci
• Magic Tree House Fact Tracker: Leprechauns and Irish Folklore
• Magic Tree House Fact Tracker: China
• The Flash: The Attack of Professor Zoom
• The Flash: Captain's Cold Arctic Eruption

Quarterly Curriculum November 2015 - January 2016

The winter quarter is ALWAYS a quarter of half days for us. There is just too much going on between Halloween just finishing up, Thanksgiving, Yule, Christmas, and New Years ahead of us. Plus a birthday. Plus a visit from family. All of this on top of our normal activities - 4H for Optimus Prime & Bumblebee, cloverbuds for Scooby-Doo, and therapy for Scooby-Doo. And then the fact that last quarter we were all such a mess we really need a nice, shorter quarter this year.

So, here it is, our nice, abridged quarter.

Optimus Prime & Bumblebee:

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

Subjects:

Math - Addition, subtraction, time, money, multiplication, etc. 
Days - Everyday
Textbooks - Disney Time & Money (Bendon), Big Workbook Second Grade (School Zone), Strawberry Shortcake Addition and Subtraction (Bendon), Disney Addition and Subtraction (Bendon), Disney Princess Addition and Subtraction (Bendon), Disney Cars: Math (Bendon), Sponge Bob Multiplication (Bendon)
Number of Pages - 3

Spelling - Spelling words & units practiced in print and cursive.
Days - Everyday
Textbooks - None, just loose worksheets.
Number of Pages - 2

English - Phonics, reading comprehension, sentence structure, sentence parts, verbs and nouns, synonyms and antonyms, compound words, etc.
Days - Everyday
Textbooks - Big Workbook Second Grade (School Zone), Brain Quest Workbook: Grade 2 (Workman Publishing).
Number of Pages - 3

Other "Subjects":

Reading - Reading simple storybooks on their own.

Concept Weeks - I just realized I never added Concept Weeks to any of our previous curriculum. I mean, it was implied that we did them the subject just actually wasn't listed. So odd. I have no clue what I was thinking. Anyway, check out our Concept Week pages to see them.

Some final notes:

• Spelling units are still directly tied to what we are reading. This seems to work REALLY well for them
• For this quarter their Concept Weeks are exactly the same as Scooby-Doo's. We're going to see how this works. Obviously, their work will be harder than Scooby-Doo's
• Like last quarter, Optimus Prime & Bumblebee's schoolwork is diverging to better suit their needs. Optimus Prime is doing easier Math and harder Spelling and Reading. Bumblebee is doing harder Math and easier Spelling 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.
• Bumblebee did the Sponge Bob multiplication workbook twice.

Scooby-Doo:

Schoolwork on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

Subjects:

Handwriting - Practicing handwriting, letters, sounding out letters and words, numbers, and counting. 
Days - Everyday
Textbooks - Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Alphabet Learning Workbook (Bendon), Thomas and Friends Numbers and Counting Workbook (Bendon), Let's Grow Smart Alphabet (Dalmatian Press), Let's Grow Smart Math (Dalmatian Press), Comprehensive Curriculum Pre-K (American Education Publishing).
Number of Pages - 5

Logic - Same/different, mazes, dot-to-dots, etc.
Days - Everyday
Textbooks - Fisher-Price Little People Kindergarten Workbook Volumes 1 &2 (Modern Publishing), Sesame Street Hip Hip Hooray for Friends (Sesame Street)
Number of Pages - 4

Art - Painting, coloring, etc.
Days - Everyday
Textbooks - Various books.
Number of Pages - 5

Other "Subjects":

Concept Weeks - I just realized I never added Concept Weeks to any of our previous curriculum. I mean, it was implied that we did them the subject just actually wasn't listed. So odd. I have no clue what I was thinking. Anyway, check out our Concept Week pages to see them.

Final Notes:

• The local elementary school has denied Scooby-Doo all of his therapy since we will not enroll him there in pre-k. He is, however, still doing speech therapy twice a week.
• Even though Scooby-Doo is only at pre-k age he will be doing kindergarten work this quarter as well as some pre-k.
• Scooby-Doo is doing the same Concept Weeks as his brothers this quarter. His worksheets are easier. Obviously. 
• For Fisher-Price released two versions of their Kindergarten Workbooks. One was released before the other. While they are similar they are not exactly the same even though they are both labeled Volume 1. The same is true for Volume 2. So, there are actually two workbooks named Volume 1 and two workbooks named Volume 2. He is doing all four workbooks this quarter. Twice. I'm hoping the repetition will be good for him and not boring for him. 

3rd Grade Spelling Units #13-24 Part 2

This time there will only be two spelling posts. Scooby-Doo didn't have spelling this quarter.

For Optimus Prime & Bumblebee their spelling and reading assignments are combined so the corresponding books for each spelling unit are also listed.

Bumblebee has 29 books this quarter, all level 1 except for the final book which is level 2, and two comic readers which are also level 2. For the level 1 books each day we will read 1/2 of a book, 1/4 for the harder ones. The final level 2 book is a collection of short stories so we'll read I short story a day. The other two level 2 books are fairly easy and we'll do 1/2 a day. In the end each book will be read just once.

Bumblebee:

Unit #13 - Disney/Pixar

Books:

1. Run, Remy, Run!
2. Just Keep Swimming
3. The Bunny Surprise
4. A Cars Christmas

Spelling words:

1. basket
2. bunny
3. chef
4. dream
5. holiday
6. rats
7. ribbon
8. soup
9. swim
10. tires

Unit #14 - Disney Princesses 

Books:

1. Princess Hearts
2. Kingdom of Color
3. Princesses and Puppies
4. What is a Princess?

Spelling words:

1. brave
2. colors
3. heart
4. kind
5. kiss
6. lights
7. love
8. puppy
9. smart
10. tower

Unit #15 - Batman 

Books:

1. Reptile Rumble!
2. Catch Catwoman

Spelling words:

1. attack
2. crime
3. night
4. reptile
5. rescue
6. robbed
7. rumble
8. sewer
9. stole
10. swamp

Unit #16 - Sesame Street 

Books:

1. B is for Books!
2. I Can Do It!
3. Elmo Says Achoo!
4. Monsters Munch Lunch!

Spelling words:

1. books
2. down
3. friend
4. grumble
5. help
6. learn
7. lunch
8. monsters
9. present
10. sneezes

Unit #17 - Thomas the Tank Engine 

Books:

1. Thomas Goes Fishing
2. The Close Shave
3. Thomas the Jet Engine
4. Santa's Little Engine

Spelling words:

1. children
2. crashed
3. empty
4. engine
5. fast
6. plow 
7. river
8. shave
9. sled
10. trucks

Unit #18 - Meet the Fairies Part 1 

Books:

1. Meet Tinker Bell
2. Tink's Treasure Hunt

Spelling words:

1. born
2. cheer
3. firefly
4. happiness
5. laughter
6. mirror
7. mouse
8. talent
9. tinker
10. trolls

Unit #19 - Meet the Fairies Part 2 

Books:

1. Meet Periwinkle

Spelling words:

1. basket
2. book
3. friends
4. island
5. magic
6. map
7. owl
8. snow
9. winter
10. woods

Unit #20 - Meet the Fairies Part 3 

Books:

1. The Great Fairy Race
2. Meet Vidia

Spelling words:

1. balloon
2. butterfly
3. cage
4. caty
5. crickets
6. dove
7. frog
8. house
9. race
10. snail

Unit #21 - Meet the Fairies Part 4

Books:

1. A Game of Hide-and-Seek
2. Meet Fawn the Animal Fairy

Spelling words:

1. comet
2. hawk
3. hedgehogs
4. hurt
5. footprints
6. pinecone
7. rocks
8. spiderweb
9. storm
10. tulips

Unit #22 - Meet the Fairies Part 5

Books:

1. The Fairy Berry Bake Off
2. Meet Zarina the Pirate Fairy

Spelling words:

1. chipmunk
2. cupcakes
3. dust
4. flowers
5. hollow
6. muffins
7. pirate
8. pixie
9. ship
10. tart

Unit #23 - Meet the Fairies Part 6

Books:

1. A Dozen Fairy Dresses

Spelling words:

1. ball
2. bowl
3. clover
4. dresses
5. garden
6. invents
7. petals
8. rose
9. ruffles
10. vines

Unit #24 - Scary Stories

Books:

1. In a Dark, Dark Room

Spelling words:

1. bones
2. corpse
3. dark
4. ghost
5. grin
6. head
7. ribbon
8. scary
9. sweater
10. teeth

3rd Grade Spelling Units #13-24 Part 1

This time there will only be two spelling posts. Scooby-Doo didn't have spelling this quarter.

For Optimus Prime & Bumblebee their spelling and reading assignments are combined so the corresponding books for each spelling unit are also listed.

Optimus Prime has 28 books, all level 1 or level 2. While he is far above level 1 they are included because they matched the theme for his units. Each week we will read one book a day. The two or three books that go along with each unit will be read twice (once at the beginning of the week and once again at the end) while we are doing that spelling unit. Meanwhile, the middle 1-3 days will be filled with other books from other units. In the end each book will be read a total of three times - twice during the spelling unit and once at a random time - over the course of the three months.

Optimus Prime:

Unit #13 - Batman

Books:

1. Catch Catwoman
2. Reptile Rumble
3. Going Bananas

Spelling words:

1. bananas
2. clue
3. diamond
4. fingerprints
5. gorilla
6. reptile
7. rumble
8. show
9. stole
10. truck

Unit #14 - Princess Stories Part 1

Books:

1. A Dream for a Princess
2. Sleeping Beauty

Spelling words:

1. chores
2. dance
3. dreamed
4. gentle
5. gift
6. magic
7. party
8. spell
9. sword
10. wicked 

Unit #15 - Princess Stories Part 2

Books:

1. Sealed with a Kiss
2. The Christmas Party

Spelling words:

1. castle
2. celebrate
3. ice
4. kingdom
5. magic
6. rock
7. seal
8. shell
9. snow
10. swim

Unit #16 - Thomas the Tank Engine/The Berenstain Bears

Books:

1. Trouble in the Tunnel
2. The Rocket Returns
3. Catch the Bus

Spelling words:

1. alone
2. engine
3. hurry
4. island
5. push
6. rocket
7. scared
8. shock
9. sleep
10. tunnel

Unit #17 - Princess Holidays Part 1

Books:

1. The Sweetest Spring
2. A Fairy-Tale Fall

Spelling words:

1. chores
2. costume
3. float
4. forest
5. garden
6. house
7. leaves
8. parade
9. pumpkins
10. spring

Unit #18 - Princess Holidays Part 2

Books:

1. Princess Hearts
2. Winter Wishes

Spelling words:

1. castle
2. dance
3. heart
4. feast
5. roses
6. season
7. snow
8. sparkles
9. winter
10. wish

Unit #19 - Toy Story

Books:

1. The Bunny Surprise
2. A Spooky Adventure
3. Christmas Toys

Spelling words:

1. alone
2. bakery
3. basket
4. bunny
5. haunted
6. morning
7. presents
8. spooky
9. surprises
10. trip

Unit #20 - A Princess's Life Part 1

Books:

1. The Perfect Dress
2. What is a Princess?

Spelling words:

1. brave
2. cape
3. caring
4. dress
5. fancy
6. kind
7. perfect
8. polite
9. princess
10. smart

Unit #21 - A Princess's Life Part 2

Books:

1. Travel Like a Princess
2. A Cake to Bake

Spelling words:

1. adventures
2. bake
3. cook
4. dessert
5. explore
6. kingdom
7. places
8. travels
9. treats
10. visit

Unit #22 - Thomas the Tank Engine Holidays/Dora the Explorer

Books:

1. Easter Engines
2. Happy Birthday, Thomas!
3. Tea Party in Wonderland

Spelling words:

1. birthday
2. break
3. forget
4. giant
5. magic
6. mirror
7. party
8. queen
9. washed
10. work

Unit #23 - Princess Pets

Books:

1. Princess and Puppies
2. Snuggle Buddies

Spelling words:

1. bath
2. berries
3. chase
4. family
5. hiding
6. kisses
7. playful
8. puppy
9. rolls
10. royal

Unit #24 - Tangled

Books:

1. Kingdom of Color
2. Outside my Window

Spelling words:

1. colors
2. escape
3. hair
4. lights
5. love
6. outside
7. painted
8. Rapunzel
9. tower
10. world

Concept Weeks #9-12: Butterflies, Horses, Kittens, & Wild Cats

* You have no idea how relieved I am that this is my FINAL post for our August/September/October quarter. With this put up I can now work on getting the blog up-to-date with our November/December/January news which will hopefully be done by the end of January/first week of February. I am SO happy and SO relieved!!! *

Scooby-Doo's final four Concept Weeks for this quarter!

Honestly, it was a bit of a relief since he really wasn't too interested. Optimus Prime & Bumblebee enjoyed the books, as always, but Scooby-Doo was still completely indifferent.

For the month of October we had four Concept Weeks:

• Butterflies
• Horses
• Kittens
• Wild Cats

This month we used the same story collection book as the last two months. Scooby-Doo also had a lapbook for each week. 

Week One covered butterflies. Even though we had just done an insect unit (and butterflies were covered) we had another book just for butterflies. The book went over the life cycle and body parts of the butterflies. It also went over the journey that some take to warmer weather and disguises and defenses they have.

Week Two was all about horses. First we went over horse relatives (which include zebras, donkeys, and mules), then we went over the different breeds (heavy, light, and ponies). This was followed with basic information about horses, how they live, what they eat, how they have babies, etc.

Week Three covered kittens (which I thought he would get really excited over but he didn't). The book went over the family tree of cats and how it included the larger (and smaller) wild cats. This was followed by a bunch of basic information about domestic cats and kittens. 

Week Four was like an extension of the kitten unit. Some of the stuff covered in the kitten unit applied to this one. This unit covered individual types of wild cats such as lions, tigers, etc.

I think next quarter we'll still do concept weeks but they'll be the same units that Optimus Prime & Bumblebee are covering. 

Concept Unit #43: Ancient Rome

October was the month of ancient Rome.

We started with the very beginnings of Rome - a ragtag group of lands ruled over by kings - and moved on to the myth of Romulus & Remus. From there we went on to democracies and republics (comparing them and how the Roman republic was different yet similar to the Greek democracy), warfare (the Romans revolutionized warfare at the time), the military, the conquests (a god chunk of the known world), the expansion of the republic, the emperors (Julius Caesar being the first), how the common people lived, the difference between being a citizen and not, slavery and what slaves are, more conquests (again, even more of the known world which they had a hard time keeping a hold of), the expansion of the empire, the mythology (largely stolen from the Greeks), the persecution of Christians, the rise of Christianity, the barbarians (which helped lead to the downfall), and the eventual fall.

We also talked about the impact Rome still has to this day on our own culture. How their laws and system of government influence our own. How their system of military and warfare influenced all other militaries to come in that region of the world. How the title czar/tzar comes from Caesar's name. Also, the influence and popularity of Christianity both in people's personal lives and in governments all over the world.

Lastly, we also took a closer look at both Julius Caesar and Pompeii through the books "Who Was Julius Caesar?" and "What Was Pompeii".

Honestly, though, it was a huge relief that this was our final unit. I look forward to going back to weekly (or bi-weekly) concept units. And I know that Optimus Prime & Bumblebee feel the same way.

Month in Review: October 2015

Well, we were still a bit of a train wreck this month but we seem to be slowly getting our act together.

I read somewhere once that when kids take the summer off they lose some of their knowledge, that when school starts up again in the fall it actually takes them 2-3 months to catch up and relearn all they have lost. This is part of the reason why we always do a summer semester, and I think that is part of the reason why we are all having such a hard time getting back on track.

This month we started bringing in 3rd grade schoolwork in the subjects where we were previously doing 2nd grade work. In Math we started bringing in multiplication on top of reviewing 2nd grade math. Optimus Prime isn't ready for 3rd grade math so he did a little but mostly focused on basic math. Bumblebee, meanwhile, is enjoying multiplication. Spelling/Reading was the same as it was last month. I think I like this new combination of spelling and reading so we'll keep doing it. Not next quarter, but maybe the following one, I'll start bringing English into that combination, writing up English pages to go along with what they are reading.

English was more phonics (weeks 9 & 11) and reading comprehension (weeks 10 & 12). The phonics have been really helping Optimus Prime but not Bumblebee who is the one who really needs it which is the whole reason we were doing this. History was ancient Rome which finished up our ancient empires for now. Science finished up our animals of the water unit and then we moved on to two new workbooks, one that covered animals of the air and one that covered animals and geography. Logic & Art was more painting, coloring, and activities.

Scooby-Doo is just doing speech therapy now. The whole situation has me so disgusted however after their unprofessional behavior I'm glad that he's only doing speech therapy instead of both therapies.

Scooby-Doo still had his Spelling, which I think I'm going to drop next quarter. I'll probably bring it back after that, but I think he needs a quarter off from it. For Science he had his last four lapbooks. Handwriting was more practicing his abc's and numbers. Once we run out of all of those sheets I already have for him I think we might drop the subject. We still had our daily story time, and he also had his Art and Logic as well as Magazine days.

All in all it was our best quarter so far even if our game was still off. Hopefully next quarter we'll get back on track. Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to a week off and Halloween.

Concept Weeks #5-8: Fish, Snakes, Spiders, & Bugs

For the month of September Scooby-Doo had four Concept Weeks:

• Week #1 - Fish
• Week #2 - Snakes
• Week #3 - Spiders
• Week #4 - Bugs

Week One covered the basics of fish - body parts, where they live, how they breathe water, what they eat, protection, etc. 

Week Two talked about how snakes are cold-blooded, where they live (some live in water), what they eat, how it takes a long time for them to digest their food, how they protect themselves, how they are born, etc. 

Week Three talked about the difference between arachnids and insects then we covered how spiders eat, where they live, their webs, their egg sacks, etc. There was even a spider mentioned that could breathe underwater by making a giant air sack.

Week Four was just like the Spider unit, only it covered insects - where they live, what they eat, how they protect themselves, etc.

These Concept Weeks went along with the same book as last month. Again, I'm not sure that Scooby-Doo cared about the stories but his brothers loved them. I also made a corresponding lapbook for him for each unit - and again, he went back & forth on his lapbooks, just like last month.

I am hoping as he gets used to the lapbooks he'll warm up to them and find them to be more fun.

Concept Unit #42: Ancient Greece

This month we covered ancient Greece.

Democracy and city-states - each city-state was their own little country with their own customs, government, and way of life. We even talked about how Athens and Sparta were so powerful. The deities and heroes - the different gods, their myths, and how they interacted with the humans as well as the famous mythological heroes of the time. The art and theater, the architecture, the philosophy, the science and math - you name it, the Greeks pretty much invented it. The wars and armies, the famous generals and kings - the Peloponnesian war, Alexander the Great as well as his father, the different armies.

We covered EVERYTHING.

Mostly, they learned all about how ancient Greece impacted history overall and even our everyday life today. How we still use the teachings of their famous philosophers, how we still use their style of architecture, how countries today base their governments on the ancient Greek governments, etc.

It was a good unit, but like I said in the Egypt post, it was just too much for one unit and one month.

Month in Review: September 2015

This month started off much better, but things were still a bit rocky for which I largely blame the school district (see more below). Hopefully next month will be better.

This month was pretty much the same as last month as far as curriculum went. In Math Optimus Prime & Bumblebee worked on the same stuff, all 2nd grade math. Spelling/Reading was more spelling units based upon the books they were reading. In English we alternated again between reading comprehension (weeks 6 & 8) and phonics (weeks 5 & 7). History was spent on ancient Greece. For Science we finished up our earth, weather, and plants unit then we moved on to a new workbook that covered animals that live in the water. Logic & Art was spent with more painting, coloring, and activities.

Scooby-Doo went back to therapy. We seem to be having some issues with the school district so I'm not sure what is going to happen. Legally, they have to give him speech therapy. But now, since we won't enroll him in pre-k (even though we told them about twenty dozen times he was going to be homeschooled) they are refusing him all other services. We'll have to see what happens. Either way, we are homeschooling him.

Scooby-Doo still had his spelling, which he is largely uninterested in. For Science he had his four Concept Weeks. He also had his usual subjects of Handwriting, Art, and Logic. And we had story time, which he goes back and forth on each day - some days he likes it other days he doesn't. He, of course, also had his magazine days.

It was a very full, very chaotic, and very stressful month.

Concept Weeks #1-4: Dinosaurs, Whales, Seals, & Sharks

I debated how to go about doing a post on Scooby-Doo's Concept Weeks. Do I want to follow the same format I did with Optimus Prime & Bumblebee doing a new post week by week? Do I want to start numbering them at #1 or skip ahead to the same number that Optimus Prime & Bumblebee are on (which, for the record, is #41)? Do I want to combine all Concept Weeks into one post? Well, since next quarter their Concept Weeks are going to be the same that would make sense. However, nothing says the following quarter it will all be the same again.

I really went back & forth on this and finally decided that I have no idea what the future will hold. So, for this quarter, Scooby-Doo will get his own posts. And they will start at the #1. However, since his Concept Weeks are watered-down compared to where Optimus Prime & Bumblebee were at at his age I'll just do a monthly post for him. So, four Concept Weeks in one post, starting at the #1. For now. Who knows what I will do next quarter.

So, for the month of August, Scooby-Doo had four Concept Weeks:

• Week #1 - Dinosaurs
• Week #2 - Whales
• Week #3 - Seals
• Week #4 - Sharks

Why these four topics? We have a book called "Know-It-Alls Treasury of Animals and Nature" that has exactly 12 books in it. Which is perfect - one for each week. These were the first four books.

Week One covered the very basics of dinosaurs (carnivore vs herbivore, extinction, fossils, etc) and then talked about some of the more well-known dinosaurs out there.

Week Two covered the basics of whales (what they eat, how they breathe oxygen, birth live young, etc) and then talked about some of the different whale breeds. 

Week Three talked about how there are actually three different types of seals (eared seals, earless seals, and walruses). Then the book covered seal basics such as food, swimming vs. walking, blubber, babies, enemies, etc. This one did not go into different seal breeds.

Week Four covered shark basics then talked about different breeds of sharks. 

For each unit I also made a lapbook for him which was more like a mini-workbook dedicated to the animals we were learning about. Some of the lapbooks he enjoyed, others not so much.

The books were a bit beyond him, however his brothers enjoyed sitting in and listening to them. 

Overall I'm not sure if our first four Concept Weeks were successes or not, but I'll push through for the rest of the quarter and next quarter I'll have it match up with what his brothers are doing.