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!

Month in Review: May 2015

Gonna be honest - these three posts are going to be VERY bare!

For the month of May Optimus Prime & Bumblebee worked on their reading, spelling, and cursive. Optimus Prime read a mixture of level 1 & level 2 books and he did very well. Bumblebee read level pre-1 and struggled a lot. Where Optimus Prime had to read me a book a day Bumblebee only had to read me half a book a day. He is trying but he's not as good as his brother when it comes down to reading. For Spelling we did units 37 & 38 and for Handwriting we started the cursive alphabet.

Scooby-Doo still had therapy for some of May but other than that (and reading him library books) he had no schoolwork.

As upsetting as it was to take the month off it was also a bit of a relief. I want to try some new things next quarter and this will give me time to really plan things out.

Quarterly Curriculum: May - July 2015

This quarter we pretty much took it off. I was really upset about it but we had too much going on in our lives and we were getting ready to finally, officially, move. It was a very stressful summer and taking it off was the best choice for all involved. I was very upset about it but in the end it was for the best. Even if I STILL feel guilty about it all these months later. However, all was not lost. Optimus Prime started to seriously excel in his reading and we read an INSANE number of library books. Anyway, here's our meager curriculum for that quarter:

Optimus Prime & Bumblebee:

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

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

Handwriting - Cursive handwriting
Days - Everyday
Textbooks - Brain Quest Workbook: Second Grade (Workman Publishing).
Number of Pages - 2

Other "Subjects":

Reading - Reading simple storybooks on their own.

Some final notes:

• After JUST dropping Handwriting it was reintroduced this quarter in the form of cursive. 
• We alternated each week between Spelling and Cursive since I didn't have a full unit for either of these.
• Reading was done every day, including Week 13 a.k.a. the week off.
• Sign Language was dropped for this quarter. There was just too much going on.

Scooby-Doo: 

No schoolwork at all.

Some final notes: 

• He did not do speech therapy during the summer.
• This was his last quarter of pre-k. It would have been his 8th quarter of it. Next quarter he'll start with kindergarten. 

Quarterly Curriculum: February - April 2015

I never realized just how far behind in my blog I was, until I realized I hadn't even posted our curriculum for February, March, & April! Holy smokes!

I had really appreciated the light workload the previous quarter, but by mid-December I was getting itching to get back to our regular schedule so this quarter we did far more.

Optimus Prime & Bumblebee:

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

Subjects:

Math - Addition, subtraction, time, money, etc. 
Days - Everyday
Textbooks - Scholastic Success With 1st Grade (Scholastic), Number Stories (Mead), Disney Time & Money (Bendon), Disney Princess Addition & Subtraction (Bendon).
Number of Pages - 1-3

English - Learning and reviewing first and second grade language and phonics concepts, etc.
Days - Everyday
Textbooks - Summer Link Math Plus Reading Grade 2 (Brighter Child), Brain Quest Workbook Grade 2 (Workman Publishing).
Number of Pages - 2

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

History/Geography - The 50 states, how humans have impacted the earth, the U. S. presidents, etc.
Days - Sunday, Monday, Thursday, Friday
Textbooks - 50 Great States (Let's Grow Smart), Down to Earth Geography Grad 1 (Teacher Created Resources), Hail to the Chief (Let's Grow Smart) .
Number of Pages - 2-3

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

Science - Learning about animals, the earth, the solar system, and insects.
Days - Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday
Textbooks - Random books.
Number of Pages - N/A

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

Religion - Current religions, mythologies, and holidays.
Days - Friday.
Textbooks - None.
Number of Pages - N/A

Other "Subjects":

Reading - Reading simple storybooks on their own.

Sign Language - Learning basic sign language to help Scooby-Doo communicate better, and to help us communicate better with him.

Some final notes:

• Handwriting has been dropped. It may be reintroduced in 3rd or 4th grade when we get to cursive, but for now it's gone.
• To begin getting ready for 3rd and 4th grade and the major changes coming then I'm going to begin phasing out workbooks and shift more of a focus to reading and writing.
• I'm also going to begin phasing Concept Weeks into our units. This quarter our Concept Weeks are the same as our weekly Science Units.

Scooby-Doo:

For this quarter I blended the last two quarters. There was be a numbers unit and a letters unit like usual, but the logic unit was be split into two - one covering just colors and shapes, the other covering everything else. The magazine unit also stayed for this quarter.

Numbers - Working on numbers 1-12.
Days - Every other day.
Textbooks - Various.
Number of Pages - 4

Letters - Working on the alphabet.
Days - Every other day.
Textbooks - Various.
Number of Pages - 4

Logic - Dot-to-dots, mazes, etc.
Days - Every other day.
Textbooks - Various.
Number of Pages - 4

Colors & Shapes - Working on colors and shapes.
Days - Every other day.
Textbooks - Various.
Number of Pages - 4

Magazines - Scooby-Doo is subscribed to a pre-k character magazine that covers letters, numbers, mazes, picture finds, reading comprehension, etc. We'll do one section a day, every schoolwork day.
Days - Five days a week.
Textbooks - Character Magazines
Number of Pages - N/A

Other "Subjects":

Story Time - Reading a book every afternoon, even on days off.

Words Review - Going over simple words with him to help his speech.  This will be everyday, even on days off.

Sign Language - Learning basic sign language everyday, even days off.

Final Notes:

• Scooby-Doo's is still doing speech therapy, however he is only doing it two days a week now.
• We're still working on sign language to help his communication.
• Scooby-Doo was just diagnosed with Autism, so things may change in regards to his schoolwork and his therapy.

That was it! I'm glad I got this out of the way!

2nd Grade Spelling Units #37-42

Here it is, the final 6 (not 12) spelling units of second grade! Come third grade we will be doing something different, so this could very well be my final spelling post ever!

Unit #37 - Short u Words Part 2 & Long u Words Part 2
bust
crust
dust
gust
just
must
rust
trust
truth
youth

Unit #38 - Short u Words Part 3 & Long u Words Part 3
but
cut
gut
hut
nut
rut
fuse
muse
ruse
use

Unit #39 - Short u Words Part 4
bug
chug
dug
hug
jug
lug
mug
pug
rug
tug

Unit #40 - Short u Words Part 5
bump
clump
dump
hump
jump
lump
pump
rump
stump
trump

Unit #41 - Opposites
cold
bottom
happy
hard
hot
quick
sad
slow
soft
top

Unit #42 - Learning Words & Time Words
finish
listen
start
watch
write
afternoon
evening
morning
today
tomorrow

On the opposite weeks we are going to work on handwriting and introducing cursive to Optimus Prime & Bumblebee, so this quarter it will be more of a spelling/handwriting unit.

Month in Review: April 2015

This month Scooby-Doo took a step back developmentally. I'm not worried about it since that is a normal pattern for him. He takes a step or two ahead, then he takes a step or two back. It's like a security blanket for him. So, for this past month, he refused to do any schoolwork on his own and some days he even refused to do any schoolwork. We did it anyway, even though he didn't want to, to keep with our schedule. Sometimes, with kids with autism, schedules and rituals are very important. So, we did (and, more accurately, some days I did) letters, numbers, dot-to-dots, mazes, shapes, etc as well as some fun magazines. Next quarter I was planning on continuing on with pre-k, however, I've been thinking maybe he's a bit bored with pre-k work. So, starting next quarter he'll begin kindergarten even though it is a year (plus a quarter) early. He also went to his therapy twice a week.

Optimus Prime & Bumblebee were pretty busy. Between Reading, English (largely phonics and making up silly stories), Math (money, addition, and subtraction), Spelling (long e words, verbs, short i words, long i words, location words, and beginning both short u and long u words)), Art (painting), Geography (well, actually, History this time around - we started and finished a new book that covered the presidents), Religion & Mythology (we covered Kuan Yin & her festival, Sif & the full seed moon, Gaia & Earth Day, and Danu & Beltane), Science (with units each on ants, butterflies, bats, and salmon using Magic School Bus books and lapbooks), and Logic (more coloring and activity books).

Lastly, we planted a garden.

I know, that's the short short version, but I'm busy trying to write up a new schedule so it'll have to do...

2nd Grade Reading List Part 4

This last quarter was a HUGE quarter for reading! We have read 34 books! We probably would have read even more but we had company...

Anyway, onto our goals and plans:

• Optimus Prime is NOT going to start reading chapter books. I don't know what happened, but he's seemed to backslide a little. I have no idea why or how, but we are going to keep working on level 2 books to help strengthen his skills. I don't understand what happened, he was doing so good! But, this past month he's been tripping up left and right in his reading. Hopefully another quarter of level 2 books will help him out. If it's just a little glitch and he's back on track soon then we'll see about giving it a go with chapter books. I hope this is just a temporary hiccup and he didn't backslide or something.
• Bumblebee went to the eye doctor's. We finally got an appointment! Turns out he has two problems. One is that he needs glasses. The second is that he might have dyslexia. The eye doctor noticed that he was having a hard time reading the letters in order. He could read them correctly, but he read them out of order. Meanwhile, I have written up a VERY easy schedule for him. He is basically going to focus on level pre-1 for most of the quarter with shifting into level 1 towards the end of it. Hopefully this will help him to build the skills he needs to read. I'm starting to get worried here.

Now, for our reading list. I've decided to up it to 19 books for this quarter:

• Magic Tree House: Seasons of the Sandstorm
• Magic Tree House: Night of the New Magicians
• Magic Tree House: Blizzard of the Blue Moon
• Magic Tree House: Dragon of the Red Dawn
• Magic Tree House: Monday with a Mad Genius
• Clue Jr.: The Case of the Clubhouse Thief
• Magic School Bus: Polar Bear Patrol
• Superman: Bizarro is Born
• Superman: Cosmic Bounty Hunter
• Superman: Deep Space Hijack
• Superman: Little Green Men
• Superman: Super-Villain Show Down
• Superman: The Kid Who Saved Superman
• Superman: Parasite's Power Drain
• Superman: Prankster of Prime Time
• Superman: Live Wire!
• Magic Tree House Fact Tracker: Pandas and Other Endangered Species
• Magic Tree House Fact Tracker: Ancient Rome and Pompeii
• Magic Tree House Fact Tracker: Snakes and Other Reptiles

That's pretty much it for our reading goals.

Month in Review: March 2015

Another busy month! Actually, truth be told, I think all of our months are pretty busy...

Scooby-Doo had his therapy. He also reached another big step developmentally. He always sits on my lap for his schoolwork, but he has started sitting on his own! My little baby is growing up! He worked on his letters, numbers, colors, shapes, mazes, dot-to-dots, etc.

Optimus Prime & Bumblebee had a pretty packed schedule. In English we covered sentences. Sentences, non-sentences, statements, telling sentences, asking sentences - I'm sure you set the idea.We also covered following directions and classifying. In Math we covered basic addition and subtraction, followed by addition and subtraction with double-digit numbers. Then we started a new book that covered calendars, time, and money. We'll finish it next month. In spelling we finished short i words and started long i words.

Art was painting. Geography focused on people - on how people settle on the planet, natural resources, how people change the planet, how people adapt to where they live, how people evolve, etc. Science was four units covering Animal Habitats, Food Chains, Decomposition, and Spiders. We used Magic School Bus books and did lapbooks as well. Religion covered Matronalia & Juno, St. Patrick's Day & Saint Patrick, Ostara & Eostre, and Solitude Day & the Goddess. Logic was pretty easy, we just did coloring & activity books. They had fun with the mazes, word scrambles, coloring in the pictures, etc. Super easy? Yes. Lots of fun and a nice break from traditional schoolwork? YES! Plus, we did reading, reading, reading!

Like I said a pretty packed schedule all in all!

Month in Review: February 2015

A nice, normal month! Of course, everyone was sick, making it harder to get work done, but we made it.

Scooby-Doo worked on his letters, numbers, and colors. He also worked on dot-to-dots, mazes, picture finds, and his magazines. He went to therapy twice a week. Also, BIG BREAKTHROUGH, he has started using his markers and pencils on his own!!! He always makes me hold his hand while he writes, sort of like a safety blanket, but he's been starting to write completely on his own.

Optimus Prime & Bumblebee had a FULL schedule. In English we covered handwriting, abc order, beginning and ending sounds, rhyming words, capital letters, plurals, action words, predicates, nouns, antonyms, synonyms, etc - all basic English class stuff. It was a lot of review, but review never hurts! In Math we covered handwriting, counting, addition, money, calendars, time, graphing, measurements, counting backwards, addition, and subtraction. Again, basic math stuff that was largely review. In Spelling we finished long e words, worked on verbs, and started short i words.

In Art we painted, in Logic we had random pages that covered a variety of topics (like Math, English, Spelling, etc). In Geography we worked on the 50 states and finished an entire book on that topic. We also started up our old Geography book which we'll finish this quarter. We talked about people patterns.

In Religion we covered Candlemas along with the goddess Brigid, Valentine's Day along with Saint Valentine, the Chinese New Year along with the Goat (this year's animal), and The Chinese Lantern Festival along with the story of the Jade Emperor and the Crane.

 Science covered four different units. This quarter we merged our Concept Weeks with Science to move us towards a schedule where we do more Concept Weeks and less classes and subjects. So, we covered Stars  the first week, Space Rocks the second week, Germs the third week, and Desserts the fourth week. We read Magic School Bus books that covered these topics and then I made lapbooks filled with worksheets, coloring pages, and activities for them to give us a further look into these topics. Lastly, we read a LOT of books, and they read me a lot of books too!

It was a BUSY month! But, it was nice to dive back into things!

Long Break = Big Changes

So, I know I've been pretty absent for these past two months. The reason why was a lot of big changes going on in our house and in our homeschooling that kept me from blogging. I've been pretty busy, busy, busy.

These changes are going to be reflected on this blog pretty soon.

Optimus Prime & Bumblebee are at the point in their homeschooling that they are ready to move on and do different things. Even though they are in the same grade they are at different levels in some subjects and they have different interests in general. I've been trying to keep them on the same schedule, but that is starting to hold them back in areas where they are ready and eager to excel. It's time to let them move on into new territories on their own. This has effectively doubled my workload as I now have to write up two different curriculum's for them in some subjects!

Scooby-Doo is going to be preschool age in August. He still goes to therapy, and the school district is willing to let him sit in at preschool for an hour a couple of days a week, so his schedule is going to be VERY busy outside of our home. Likewise, he'll be officially starting pre-k here at home, so my workload just doubled! I wanted him to t-ball this year, but he is STILL too young according to the slip. They probably would have made an exception if I had asked them too, but with us packing and getting ready to move I had to make the tough choice to not sign him up.

So, changes in the blog and curriculum. What are they? I'm beginning to combine subjects for Optimus Prime & Bumblebee. Geography will be combined with History, Mythology, and Religion. These subjects really overlap so much already, and there was some overlap in our curriculum as it was, so now these subjects will be completely combined. Likewise, Reading will be combined with English, and after our summer quarter so will Spelling. This will help me to make Spelling and English units based on books we are reading.

Optimus Prime will be moving ahead in English/Spelling/Reading. I've been holding him back for too long waiting for his brother to catch up. He needs to start moving on to chapter books. Likewise, Bumblebee will be moving ahead in Math. He's been held back too long waiting for his brother to catch up. He needs to start multiplication.

Concept Weeks are going to be retired for Optimus Prime & Bumblebee. Or, I guess, it would be more accurate to say that they are going to be assimilated into History/Geography/Mythology/Religion and Science. All of our previous Concept Weeks have been based on these subjects, so from now on units in these subjects will be weekly, biweekly, monthly, quarterly, etc. For example, this summer in Science we'll be covering weather and the earth for a month and a half, followed by birds, fish, and water mammals for a month and a half. In History we'll cover ancient Egypt for a month, followed by ancient Greece and ancient Rome for a month each. When we cover these History units we will also go over the geography of the region as well as the religious beliefs and myths of those regions.

Another big change is retiring our workbooks for Optimus Prime & Bumblebee. This isn't to say we'll never do workbooks any more, but for most subjects they are going to disappear. Math will still be largely workbook based, but Science and History will largely be reading and lapbook based and English will be based entirely around books we are reading.

Everything is getting combined and shaken up.

Scooby-Doo's workload is going to change too. We'll start covering more things than the basics. Counting, the alphabet, colors, shapes, same or different, mazes, dot-to-dots, picture finds, etc are all important but it's time to start expanding his horizon in his schoolwork. Yes, I do read to him a lot (when he's in the mood for it, which is NOT everyday) but he really loves worksheets, so I'm going to take advantage of that and start introducing other subjects into our curriculum. I haven't planned out all the details yet, but I've begun playing with some ideas (like giving him Concept Weeks) and should know what I'm looking to do by the end of next week.

Lastly, our Two Week Review post is getting retired. I'm still going to give updates on how they are doing, but it'll be a monthly post instead of every two weeks. Also, this will retroactively start this current quarter! In the next few days I'll try to get our February and March post up so you know what we've been doing.

Like I said, big changes!

Two Week Review: January 11 - 24

Our final two weeks of this super easy schedule!!! Thank goodness... Of course, we also spent these two weeks sick, making it hared to get things done, and it looks like our week off is going to be spent sick as well... Hopefully we'll be better in February...

So, I have nothing to talk about. I'm just so happy this quarter is OVER with that I'm going to breeze through everything.

Scooby-Doo finished his magazines. He loves them a lot, but I think he'll be happy to see a return of worksheets.

Optimus Prime and Bumblebee learned about Ancient China & Chinese Mythology (both are in the same post like our Native American units). They also had their easy math pages, number review, spelling, made some color books, did some dot-to-dots and mazes, had story time, practiced their reading, etc.

A very nice, easy final two weeks. Which was probably good since we were so sick.

Next quarter, here we come!!!

Concept Weeks #27 & 28: Ancient China and Chinese Mythology

My kids love the Disney movie Mulan so I figured it was time for some units focusing on that era of China. We actually could have turned this into a three week unit while also focusing on Modern China or even a four week unit with another week on Chinese Holidays, but I think for now two weeks was good.

For our Ancient China half we had three books:

• Our Cultural Heritage: Chinese Americans by Lucia Raatma 
• Country File: China by Michael March
• DK Eyewitness: Ancient China

The first one really wasn't relevant to our unit, I just picked it up because our library had pretty much ZERO books on China for kids. The second book focused more on modern China, but it did talk a bit about history with things like the Great Wall. So, it was slightly relevant. I did find some worksheets covering traditional clothing, important landmarks, famous women (Wu Zetian), the flag, etc. So, the unit didn't focus entirely on me reading to them. Some parts really bored them, some really interested them. When it came to the third book they were really fascinated about some of the things we learned. They loved the Chinese invention that detected earthquakes, and they loved looking at the pictures.

They REALLY liked the Mythology half. Our book was Chinese Mythology by Irene Collier and they LOVED the stories in it. Most of our mythology units have covered European mythology. When we did Egyptian mythology in our Ancient Egypt unit they really liked that, and when we did Native American Mythology it was pretty much 50/50 on what they liked and didn't like. But for Chinese mythology, they really loved most of the stories we read. This unit was a MUCH bigger hit than the Native American one. So much of that they just couldn't relate to or get. Clearly I need to go buy a Pocahontas movie or something...

Overall I would say that both units were a huge success.

Two Week Review: December 28 - January 10

These two weeks were pretty much the same as the last two weeks. I can't wait for our workload to increase in a month here, I'm going crazy with this super easy schedule!!!

So, Scooby-Doo adjusted to his autism medication. We went back to the doctor's and he thinks we've found the right dosage. He's still been working on his magazines. Some days he is really into it, other days not so much. I think he was happy to have a lighter workload for a bit, but I think he's ready to move on to more pages. Now, I'm not sure he actually wants to DO those pages, but he likes to sit on my lap while I talk to him about them.

As for Optimus Prime and Bumblebee for our Concept Weeks we covered Horses and Volcanoes & Earthquakes. We also did easy math pages, number review, worked on their letter book, did some fun dot-to-dots and mazes, and read some Scooby-Doo and Thomas the Tank Engine stories. And, of course, they practiced their reading. I think Optimus Prime might be ready for chapter books soon!!!

Another nice, easy two weeks. They might like this easy schedule, but I am BEYOND ready to move on!

Concept Week #26: Volcanoes & Earthquakes

Okay, I'd be lying if I said I had a ton of stuff to talk about, here. I'm not even sure I can fake it.

My kids find volcanoes exciting (who doesn't?!? - from a safe distance) so I went to the library to look for book on them. Most of their kids books were not on the same level as Optimus Prime & Bumblebee so I took out DK: Volcano & Earthquake. We read that book, they learned quite a bit about earthquakes that they didn't know before, but they really didn't learn anything new about volcanoes. They already knew the difference between magma and lava (one is under ground, the other above ground), they already knew that ash comes out of the volcano too, they already knew about the moving plates under the earth, etc. They did not know that ash is good for the soil (so long as the soil isn't incredibly buried by it) or that volcanoes don't have to be mountains, so there was that, but most of what we learned about was review for them. Even the earthquake section of the book didn't have much information in it that they didn't already know. Don't get me wrong - it was a great book filled with incredible information & pictures - it was just all stuff they had already learned on their own. I also had a hard time finding ANY age appropriate worksheets for them. In the end we did a volcano dot-to-dot and a maze to help lava reach the ocean. I know, not exactly second grade material.

With that said, I AM glad we did a unit on it, I just wish we had learned more.

Concept Week #25: Horses

We had a LOT of books for this unit! Not so many worksheets, though.

For our main books we had DK Eyewitness Books: Horse, I Wonder Why: Horses Wear Shoes and Other Questions About Horses by Jackie Gaff, and DK See How They Grow: Pony.

Then, we had these other books in the Horse Breed Roundup series:

• The American Paint Horse 
• The American Quarter Horse
• The American Saddlebred Horse
• The Appaloosa Horse 
• The Arabian Horse
• The Clydesdale Horse 
• The Shetland Pony
• The Spanish Mustang
• The Tennessee Walking Horse
• The Thoroughbred Horse

Those books we did not read cover to cover, we just enjoyed the pictures and read the parts we wanted to.

Then, they read to me Farm Animals: Horses by Emily K. Green.

Like I said, a LOT of books!

So, we learned about horse babies, horse shoes, the different horse breeds and why they were created (horses for war, horses for speed, horses for endurance, horses for trails, etc). We learned that horses prefer to live in groups instead of alone, we learned that horses develop strong bonds with their humans, and we even learned about some of the prehistoric horses out that used to be out there (and, how they had more than one toe/hoof on each foot!!!). It was a GREAT unit packed with so much information I don't even know what to mention in this post! There was just too much!

2nd Grade Reading List Part 3

YAY! Reading List! I got nothing to say, except:

• Next quarter Optimus Prime is going to try reading chapter books on his own!!! This quarter he's doing mostly review for his reading.
• Bumblebee STILL isn't reading good. I'm beginning to suspect dyslexia, but we're taking him to the eye doctors to rule that out first.

Also, somehow we missed these two books from last quarter (though, we still surpassed our goal of 16 books):

• Magic Tree House: Revolutionary War on Wednesday
• Magic Tree House: Twister on Tuesday

And, here is our reading goal (still 16 books):

• The Berenstain Bears and the School Scandal Sheet
• The Berenstain Bears and the Wheelchair Commando
• Clue Jr.: The Case of the Mystery Ghost
• Clue Jr.: The Case of the Karate Chop
• Magic Tree House Fact Tracker: Ghosts
• Magic Tree House Fact Tracker: Dinosaurs
• Magic Tree House Fact Tracker: Ninjas and Samurai
• Magic Tree House Fact Tracker: Space
• Batman: Killer Croc Hunter
• Batman: Scarecrow, Doctor of Fear
• Superman: The Deadly Double
• Superman: The Shrinking City
• The Magic School Bus: Voyage to the Volcano
• The Magic School Bus: Rocky Road Trip
• Ballpark Mysteries: The Pinstripe Ghost
• Ballpark Mysteries: The L. A. Dodger

We also have a new book report layout. I'm going to do a post on our changing book reports once I get a chance.

2nd Grade Spelling Units #25-36

This is our last quarter of real spelling units. Next quarter I will begin to combine our English, Spelling, and Reading units together. Before this every day they had a sheet of writing up their spelling words plus one other sheet of spelling activities. This quarter they will be doing just one of those activities each day, not both. So, here it is, our final, "normal," spelling quarter.

Unit #25 - Long e Words Part 3
beat
heat
meat
neat
seat
treat
wheat
feel
kneel
wheel

Unit #26 - Long e Words Part 4
deal
heal
meal
peal
real
seal
teal
veal
heel
peel

Unit #27 - Verbs
break
build
carry
clean
cut
drop
fix
help
play
work

Unit #28 - Short i Words
bin
din
fin
kin
pin
sin
spin
tin
win
yin

Unit #29 - Short i Words Part 2
dip
flip
hip
lip
nip
rip
ship
sip
tip
whip

Unit #30 - Short i Words Part 3
dish
fish
squish
wish
ditch
hitch
itch
pitch
stitch
witch

Unit #31 - Short i Words Part 4
kick
lick
nick
pick
quick
sick
tick
wick
rich
which

Unit #32 - Long i Words
bide
glide
hide
ride
side
tide
wide
high
nigh
sigh

Unit #33 - Long i Words Part 2
blight
bright
flight
height
light
might
night
right
sight
tight

Unit #34 - Long i Words Part 3
pipe
ripe
swipe
wipe
dine
fine
line
mine
pine
vine

Unit #35 - Long i Words Part 4 & Short u Words
bike
dike
hike
like
pike
cub
dub
rub
sub
tub

Unit #36 - Location Words & Long u Words
across
around
behind
beside
between
inside
outside
cube
lube
tube

Two Week Review: December 14 - 27

Like I said last post, we took Scooby-Doo to the doctor's office to begin testing for autism. The doctor told us that yes, he does have autism and after the holidays are over he's going to look into a child psychiatrist for us. He also gave us a prescription for him to take to help his panic attacks. Meanwhile, I'm not sure how this will effect his speech therapy. After the holidays I'll talk to them about it. We just worked on his magazines for his schoolwork. Colors, letters, numbers - things like that.

Optimus Prime & Bumblebee had finished up their magazines, so we did schoolwork based on the formula of their magazines. They had some basic math and started work on a letter book. They also had some dot-to-dots and mazes, and we also read a bunch of stories. For our Concept Weeks we did Prehistoric Life and Elephants.

A nice easy two weeks. :)

Concept Week #24: Elephants

This unit was pretty easy and fun. We had two books and a few worksheets that I found online. The books were DK Eyewitness: Elephants and Picture Library: Elephants. The second one was FAR more kid friendly!

We learned some neat facts - like how elephants are pregnant for almost two years! - and we also learned about how elephants can be trained for military use as well as other jobs such as hauling logs. This prompted Optimus Prime to tell me he wished we lived in India so he could be trained to be an elephant handler like the 8 year old boys there! I told him maybe his son would get to be one.

I actually don't have anything else to say about this unit... which is kinda odd since we talked about nothing but elephants for a whole week!