5 Gifts I'm Giving This Year

a few things I'm giving my family this year:

--a book to each kiddo, which they will sign immediately to record their current john hancock.  how sweet will be it be to open a beloved story years from now and see an early handwritten name?

--we're keeping our Christmas book collection under our tree all month for the kids to read to each other on schoolwork breaks.  we added this Christmas Carol picture book by Charles Dickens to our collection this year.

--a new Bible for each reading kiddo.  this year I bought Adventure Bibles for two of my kiddos and the Action Bible for my comic loving son.

--a stocking stuffer of school supplies (like these multicultural skin-tone markers) and band-aids (Sorette's favorite thing ever) to unwrap before we open gifts with others.  this will be a practice for receiving gifts with gratitude.  (read onethankfulmom here for her 5 Hints for Avoiding a Christmas Fiasco)

--i've had so much fun planning 12 Days of Christmas for matt.  each morning i'm giving him a small token of appreciation for who he is and all he does.  did i mention small?  they are small. on the first day of christmas, i gave him a pen.  people are always taking his around here.  i can't give more away, because he hasn't opened everything yet and he reads my blog, the sweet guy.  here's some printables i found too.

what are you giving?  

How to Homeschool a 7 Year Old Boy

like I know.

but we've found something that's helped this year: Deconstruction.

 
After a really good day (or week) of diligence and hard work, my Samuel may earn a broken something to deconstruct, like this electric broom.   

How do you motivate your littles?  When we run out of broken stuff, I'll need some ideas, or some petty cash for the thrift stores...

Our best year yet! What we do for School 2012

The kids are working semi-independently at the moment, so I thought I'd sum up what we're doing for the school year.  By the way, so far, this is going brilliantly and there is no sarcasm there.  I'm really pleased with what we're accomplishing!

• On Mondays we join our coop where my kids take all the sciences that are offered. This is me being realistic and thankful for other moms who like to teach science. They are also taking Latin (Prima Latina and Latina Christiana) with me! 

• Tuesdays, we are reading The Story of the World: Ancient Times and writing narrations of what we've read.  We do two days worth of Learning Language Arts through Literature to make up for Monday.  And we do a lesson in either Singapore Math (boys) or Saxon (Noelle). 

• On Wednesdays, I'm asking them to be pretty independent and do another LLATL lesson and math lesson, asking for help when they need it.  They finish any homework from coop, including their Latin lessons. They also have their piano lessons in the morning. 

• Thursdays are more like Tuesdays, but we will do a SOTW project and library book reading on the chapter we covered on Tuesday.   Two days worth of LLATL (to finish the week's lesson), and another math lesson.  

• We call Fridays Foundations Fridays because we do the Classical Conversations Foundations program with our friends.  This is so fun and impressive.  What the kids (and I) can memorize in a week's time is no less than amazing.  

I think this is the least number of subjects/workbooks/andsuch that I've ever used in the 5 years we've schooled at home.  But it's going swimmingly so maybe that is why?  I'm sure there are a number of factors (I've added a student-as Ben is now Kinder-age!) but I'm thankful!  

Hope you are loving a new season, too!  

Top Ten Read-Alouds for Kindergartners

according to Jim Trelease, THE authority on reading aloud:

Jim's Favorite Kindergarten Novels
(in order of difficulty)

Two Times the Fun by Beverly Cleary Chibi: A True Story from Japan by Barbara Brenner & J. Takaya Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus by Barbara Park The Chalk Box Kid by Clyde Robert Bulla My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett Chocolate Fever by Robert Kimmel Smith

Dinosaurs Before Dark by Mary Pope Osborne The Reluctant Dragon adapted by Inga Moore The Stories Julian Tells by Ann Cameron The Water Horse by Dick King-Smith Wolf Story by William McCleery James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

The Read Aloud Handbook is probably my favorite book I've read so far this year.   It confirmed the value we've always held and encouraged me to squeeze more and more time in for reading aloud.

Since my two boys are around Kindergarten age (5 and 7) we are working through this list together.  A few weeks ago we read a Junie B. Jones book and, I loved it.  I found myself cry-laughing at an unexpected funny part.  I will grant you that I might have been overly tired but it was a good read.  

We started school two weeks ago and I'm feeling pretty good.  Hope your school year is off to a great start too.  Any books you're reading to your kiddos this year?   Any perennial family favorites?

Nature Study Scavenger

A few pictures from our last Nature Study...with egg cartons painted different colors for a scavenger hunt.

Field Trip #5: Dead Fish Friday

We've been enjoying our Dallas Children's Theater a lot this school year-we've seen 4 plays so far and will see another 2 in the spring.

We've also been doing Nature Study/Art Fridays with two other homeschooling families.   The art part has been a lot more consistent than the nature part.  I've just been lazy about getting the kids out and seeing nature.  you know, it's cold, we should stay in.  or, it rained two weeks ago.  it could still be muddy.  never mind we're in a stage 4 drought.  

But we made it happen the past two weeks!  And I brought my camera!

We've been loosely following The 10 Week Getting Started Outdoor Challenge.  Last time I asked each of the kids to collect a seed, a leaf, a dead bug or endoskeleton, and a rock.  This week, I told them to collect one kind of item, but several varieties-like seed pods, or leaves.  They collected dead fish and declared nature study awesome.

 Happy Trails.

A Gift for my Latin Student

Belle has been taking Latin at our Co-op the last couple of semesters.  Her teacher has gone above and beyond what Co-op teachers are expected to do, and is just really excited about the language.  So when I saw Dr. Seuss is Latin I had to order one for her.

And while I was on Amazon, I ordered How the Grinch Stole Christmas in Latin for Belle.   Okay, that sounds like I'm raising a nerd.  Maybe, but she's a pretty cool nerd.  

Learning Toys Gift Ideas

For the past couple of years I've posted a few Handmade Holidays ideas.  I may still do that, but this year I thought I'd share a list of quality toys that either my kids have already received as gifts or are on our wish list.

For the Musician

Lap Harp (HearthSong)

Hand Bells (HearthSong)

Glockenspiel 

For the Scientist

Butterfly Nursery (HearthSong)

Star Theatre (HearthSong)

Potato Clock (Amazon)

For the Crafter

Spool Knitter (Overstock)

Lap Loom (Rainbow Resource)

Easy to Make Moccasin Kit (Vision Forum)

For the Builder

Wall Coaster Ultimate Marble Run (HearthSong)

MagFormers (QVC)

Lego Advent Calendar (Amazon, Target)

For Outside Play

Three Man Sling Shot (Vision Forum)

Mini Trampoline (HearthSong)

Plasma Car (Amazon-although we use ours strictly indoors)

For the Toddler

Shape Sorter (IKEA-great wooden toys)

Cloth Bible (Veritas Press)

Play Food (IKEA)

What toys do you recommend?

ps: One Thankful Mom's posted her family's Top 20 Toys . As a mom of 11, she would know, right?)

Real Blogging: Our Homeschool Room

I read a piece of blogging advice somewhere that said you should blog about things that you would want to read yourself.  well, duh, kind of, right?  

When I thought about what I like to read, I realized I like to see real peoples homes and stuff real people have made and read about real homeschooling.  So 'real' is the operative word here.   And one post I will always read by a fellow homeschool blogger is one on their schoolroom.   

Our schoolroom is far from great, or perfect, but I am thankful for the space that can stay messy, or involved for however long we need it too.   And while taking a few pictures of it, I realized it changes each year--evolves to fit our new needs.  This year, we added an analog clock, which I read is better for kids to grasp the concept of time, a much needed bookshelf, which now houses our workboxes, and an American flag, which just makes it feel more like a real schoolroom. 

 

And an update on what has been working for us this year:

Right now, my kids love Electric Company, which is on PBS at 7:30 in the morning.  They are allowed to come downstairs and do 2 drills (a multiplication/math drill and a grammar drill) at 7.  If they are finished in time (they always are), they can watch their show.  School happens before breakfast, before I even hit the coffee maker start button.  I celebrate this.  

What real thing are you celebrating right now?

Field Trip 3: Dallas Symphony Orchestra

Today the DSO began their Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra series.  We went to a performance for PreK-2nd graders, where we thought we would be judged less severely for children who are not robots.  And we were not disappointed.  And did not feel judged, even though at any given time at least two of my kids were out of their seats.

Tickets were $6 and a week before the show opened, we received a package in the mail with a CD of the music, and a study guide full of great ideas for teaching kids all about the orchestra.  

And in our last two field trips, we've started two new traditions:  a family photo - because us moms are so rarely in the pictures, and lunch out - because it's easy and a good bribe for proper field trip behavior.  

I'm definitely appreciating Dallas more.  Think we may try to go to the Arboretum next while my parents are in town.  I love it in the fall!