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. 

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