We've had such a successful month filled with learning, fun and exploration! Today was such a beautiful day that we spent a total of 4 hours outside!! Our history lesson this week was on Theodore Roosevelt. We decided that in honor of him, we would create our own little nature museum today with things that we gathered from around the yard. This included mostly pictures because we didn't want to pick any of the flowers that just started blooming. Our jonquils are gorgeous! (but not quite as gorgeous as my little flower) We also found some honey bees and a dead beetle. :) This was a wonderful way to take our studies outside!
We finished up North America this week with Mexico. BabyGirl learned so much about the people, culture and foods. Her favorite things were the butterfly migration and sopas. (imagine that!)
We've started integrating our 1st grade social studies program in since she thought it sounded interesting. Last week we played with maps. This week we're working with addresses. The book is interesting so far, and has fun activites with each lesson. She discovered this book as she was looking through the huge pile of stuff I was going through for our next school year. (never too early to plan..) And, why wait if something peaks her interest?? So, on we go...
Today when I told BabyGirl it was time for her spelling test she yelled because she was so excited! When she wrote her name on her paper she actually included 5 exclamation points after it. She is soooo cute! I love how enthusiastic she is! Our words for this week were up, us, but, fun, cut, run, jump, plum. We've also been working with triple clusters and asking sentences. Lovin' it, as always!
This week we introduced dimes, and are continuing time. We'll probably keep working with time/money for the next few weeks or so. I'm not sure how long it will take to cover all of the money, and I don't want it to become overwhelming. So, we'll see...
We finished our unit on changes this week in science. We studied water and how it can change into different forms. We discussed solid ice, liquid water, and water vapor. Our experiment this week was taking water and dropping it on different types of paper. We noted the changes the water took in our activity journal. We also studied water vapor on a glass of cold water. Next week we start our unit on how things move.
We took a trip to the Kaleidoscope Children's Museum this week, and had a total blast. Wednesdays are home school days where parents get in free! They had soooo many fun exhibits that BabyGirl totally loved, as did her friends. (and the mom's) We loved taking a whole day to explore and learn. We plan on going back very soon!!
March is shaping up to be a super busy, but super fun month as well. Our great-grandparents are coming to stay with us for awhile, we're celebrating a birthday (number six-OMG-where is time going), going to the zoo, and anything else that excites our interests! Until next time...
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Catching up...
I didn't make time to blog last week, so this will be 2 weeks in 1. Everything has been going great, and we've had a great time. Last week we had a total of 3 Valentine parties, so it was a little crazy. BUT these are the things great memories are made of, and I wouldn't trade them for the world. We were finally able to make it to the zoo with Daddy-o and had a total blast! It was a beautiful day filled with sunshine. Luckily, we decided to go super early and have lunch there...because after lunch the whole city of Tulsa and their children came...needless to say we made a quick get-away!!! Whew, that was a close one! Later this week our playgroup is going to Chuck E Cheese. I love going when everyone is in school, it's the absolute best! And, next week we're going to check out the Kaleidoscope Children's Museum for the first time. I can't wait!
So, our math, reading, phonics, writing and spelling the last 2 weeks has been right on track. We're continuing our study of money, introducing one thing at a time. We work on time daily as well, and BabyGirl has mastered telling time to the minute I'm proud to say! She's also enjoying addition with her abacus this week. We've already finished 3 of our 1st grade phonics and reading books, and BabyGirl just simply cannot get enough! Our last 2 spelling test words were: on, not, got, box, hot, top, pond, doll, get, ten, red, pet, men, yes, tent, ball. She LOVES taking spelling tests and asks for them daily, although we only do one a week. She is really a great speller, and loves her phonics!
For science we're continuing changes. We've talked about how some changes are hard to undo, and some are easy to undo. Our experiment on this topic was taking some play-doh, making a ball out of it, then making it into a log, and finally cutting the log into sections. Our second week on changes dealt with melting and freezing. For this experiment we sat out a glass with 2 ice cubes in it. We observed and documented the changes it made every 15 minutes. As usual, both experiments were a hit!
For geography this month we're continuing our study of North America. Last week we talked about the United States, and this week we're talking about Greenland and Canada. For the United States BabyGirl chose to make a tornado since we have more tornadoes than any country in the world. (not to mention that tornadoes are her fave!) We also made a statue called The Pueblo Story Teller to remind us of the Native people who lived in North America before Columbus. This went right along with our study of changes with Play-doh. Check out the pics! For Greenland her 2 favorite things we read about were animals. The Narwhal and the Killer Whale. These are both amazing animals. If you've never heard of a Narwhal, I encourage you to google it. They are fascinating. And, if you've ever seen Elf (another fave) you'll see that Mr. Narwhal is actually real! :) So, BabyGirl being the artsy one she is decided to paint the Narwhal, and draw the Killer Whale.
For history this month we're covering a different president each week. Last week we talked about Thomas Jefferson. BabyGirl created a painting about him which includes a beautiful day with green grass, a sun, and yellow clouds along with a book, a violin, and a bow. This shows how much Thomas Jefferson loved reading, so much that he would choose to stay inside on beautiful day to read. He also taught himself to play violin by reading a book! This week we've covered Abraham Lincoln. We chose to make a HUGE rendition of his hat. It is awesome, and some-what reminds me of the mad hatter. :)
BabyGirl has really been thinking about our grandma this week, and has been asking lots of questions about her. We read a story about King Midas. At the end of the story they asked what you would wish for if you could. She replied "My grandma to come back to life." It's heart-breaking all over again for me, but I try to remain strong and answer her questions the best that I can, although there are those that none of us can answer. And, I realize that is not a bad thing, it's just part of life. Life is a beautiful thing, all of it. We watched a Mr. Rogers that I had Tivo'd looooooong ago and forgotten about for just this occasion. I absolutely love Mr. Rogers and everything that he has given me throughout my life. He talked about life, death, fear, confusion, and everything that comes along with loss. The point that he kept making was....life is beautiful, and even though it hurts when we lose someone, isn't it better to have lived and experienced this wonderful thing called life? I cannot agree more. So, we'll continue with the healing process along with love and help from our friends and family. And, we'll still know that with each sunrise and sunset that Grandma is smiling at us. We miss you. xo
So, our math, reading, phonics, writing and spelling the last 2 weeks has been right on track. We're continuing our study of money, introducing one thing at a time. We work on time daily as well, and BabyGirl has mastered telling time to the minute I'm proud to say! She's also enjoying addition with her abacus this week. We've already finished 3 of our 1st grade phonics and reading books, and BabyGirl just simply cannot get enough! Our last 2 spelling test words were: on, not, got, box, hot, top, pond, doll, get, ten, red, pet, men, yes, tent, ball. She LOVES taking spelling tests and asks for them daily, although we only do one a week. She is really a great speller, and loves her phonics!
For science we're continuing changes. We've talked about how some changes are hard to undo, and some are easy to undo. Our experiment on this topic was taking some play-doh, making a ball out of it, then making it into a log, and finally cutting the log into sections. Our second week on changes dealt with melting and freezing. For this experiment we sat out a glass with 2 ice cubes in it. We observed and documented the changes it made every 15 minutes. As usual, both experiments were a hit!
For geography this month we're continuing our study of North America. Last week we talked about the United States, and this week we're talking about Greenland and Canada. For the United States BabyGirl chose to make a tornado since we have more tornadoes than any country in the world. (not to mention that tornadoes are her fave!) We also made a statue called The Pueblo Story Teller to remind us of the Native people who lived in North America before Columbus. This went right along with our study of changes with Play-doh. Check out the pics! For Greenland her 2 favorite things we read about were animals. The Narwhal and the Killer Whale. These are both amazing animals. If you've never heard of a Narwhal, I encourage you to google it. They are fascinating. And, if you've ever seen Elf (another fave) you'll see that Mr. Narwhal is actually real! :) So, BabyGirl being the artsy one she is decided to paint the Narwhal, and draw the Killer Whale.
For history this month we're covering a different president each week. Last week we talked about Thomas Jefferson. BabyGirl created a painting about him which includes a beautiful day with green grass, a sun, and yellow clouds along with a book, a violin, and a bow. This shows how much Thomas Jefferson loved reading, so much that he would choose to stay inside on beautiful day to read. He also taught himself to play violin by reading a book! This week we've covered Abraham Lincoln. We chose to make a HUGE rendition of his hat. It is awesome, and some-what reminds me of the mad hatter. :)
BabyGirl has really been thinking about our grandma this week, and has been asking lots of questions about her. We read a story about King Midas. At the end of the story they asked what you would wish for if you could. She replied "My grandma to come back to life." It's heart-breaking all over again for me, but I try to remain strong and answer her questions the best that I can, although there are those that none of us can answer. And, I realize that is not a bad thing, it's just part of life. Life is a beautiful thing, all of it. We watched a Mr. Rogers that I had Tivo'd looooooong ago and forgotten about for just this occasion. I absolutely love Mr. Rogers and everything that he has given me throughout my life. He talked about life, death, fear, confusion, and everything that comes along with loss. The point that he kept making was....life is beautiful, and even though it hurts when we lose someone, isn't it better to have lived and experienced this wonderful thing called life? I cannot agree more. So, we'll continue with the healing process along with love and help from our friends and family. And, we'll still know that with each sunrise and sunset that Grandma is smiling at us. We miss you. xo
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
What a wonderful world!
I just love it when everything seems to fall into place! Every month we seem to just find this groove in our studies where they all intertwine and make a wonderful potluck. This month is no exception.
Our world is slowly coming together one continent at a time. This month we're working with North America. So far, we've traced it and placed the continent on our world wall. We've talked briefly about the different elements including land, animals and people. We plan on diving into these more deeply each day. We're going to go over each country and make a recipe to go with it. We will also be doing a craft to go with each one as well.
This month for history we will be covering the presidents. We will cover a different one each week. Yesterday we talked about and viewed pictures of Mt. Rushmore. Today we started with George Washington. After our talk about his history and reading the legend of the cherry tree, BabyGirl sponge-painted her own cherry tree. She loves painting, and I love being able to put it together with our lesson!
For math this month we are continuing our study of time, and have started working with money. I was so happy to find that connection this month between our study of the presidents and the introduction of each new piece of money! It's working out perfectly!
We are continuing our study of matter this week with solids, liquids and gas. Our experiment yesterday was pouring a liquid (water) into different containers and observing what shape it took each time. This was a big hit, and BabyGirl worked with it for quite awhile! Then, we sketched the results in our journal. We will review matter later this week and start on changes next week.
For our reading/writing and phonics we continue to do well. BabyGirl never tires of reading and would stay up all night reading in her bed if I let her! This week in phonics we're working with r clusters and contractions. BabyGirl got a 100% on her 2nd spelling test last week. She even got the 2 bonus words which were dish and milk. This week the words begin to get a little more difficult with the clusters, but she is just breezing right along. She is so excited that she can just see the words in her mind.
We look forward to having lots of fun this month with our friends...we've got Valentine's Day parties, birthday parties, awesome dates with playgroup, the zoo, the museum, AND can't wait to see Sesame Street Live in April with Nanny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay! Until next time.....
Our world is slowly coming together one continent at a time. This month we're working with North America. So far, we've traced it and placed the continent on our world wall. We've talked briefly about the different elements including land, animals and people. We plan on diving into these more deeply each day. We're going to go over each country and make a recipe to go with it. We will also be doing a craft to go with each one as well.
This month for history we will be covering the presidents. We will cover a different one each week. Yesterday we talked about and viewed pictures of Mt. Rushmore. Today we started with George Washington. After our talk about his history and reading the legend of the cherry tree, BabyGirl sponge-painted her own cherry tree. She loves painting, and I love being able to put it together with our lesson!
For math this month we are continuing our study of time, and have started working with money. I was so happy to find that connection this month between our study of the presidents and the introduction of each new piece of money! It's working out perfectly!
We are continuing our study of matter this week with solids, liquids and gas. Our experiment yesterday was pouring a liquid (water) into different containers and observing what shape it took each time. This was a big hit, and BabyGirl worked with it for quite awhile! Then, we sketched the results in our journal. We will review matter later this week and start on changes next week.
For our reading/writing and phonics we continue to do well. BabyGirl never tires of reading and would stay up all night reading in her bed if I let her! This week in phonics we're working with r clusters and contractions. BabyGirl got a 100% on her 2nd spelling test last week. She even got the 2 bonus words which were dish and milk. This week the words begin to get a little more difficult with the clusters, but she is just breezing right along. She is so excited that she can just see the words in her mind.
We look forward to having lots of fun this month with our friends...we've got Valentine's Day parties, birthday parties, awesome dates with playgroup, the zoo, the museum, AND can't wait to see Sesame Street Live in April with Nanny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay! Until next time.....
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