What we have been up to lately..Part 2

So.. Getting back to what we have been up to lately..

Besides just doing things at home.. We also have gotten involved in things at our church. Grace is in the Children's choir on Sunday nights. She is in Class called "Sparks" it's a part of AWANA..And for those of you who might not know what AWANA is..It's a group that gets together once a week  (on Wednesday nights) and there are different age group classes that teach kids about the Bible. They study and learn Bible verses and The kids love it. They have fun activities and sing, play games and get the chance to make friends.

So.. my fear of my daughter not getting the socialization she needs is no question any more (which a lot of people fear when you tell them about home schooling) My daughter is getting a lot of time to interaction with not just kids her own age.. but older and younger. So, between our home school group and the things my daughter is evolved in  at our church she's got plenty of friend to socialize with. :)

Other things we have been working on lately is..I have been working on reviewing the sight words she already learned. She can read them and spell them. Even after a month of not going over them she still knows them. My daughter is now able to read a level 1 book on her own with out any help from me.. She will sit there and sound out a word if she doesn't know what it is. I will shortly be moving her from a level 1 to a level 2. (In fact we are going to the Library today we might get a level 2 book to see how well she does)

I am so proud of her..and amazed on how much she has learned in just under 2 months (April 1st will be 2 month mark) Others who I talk to and tell them how much she is able to do and already..And they see her work and get to see how much she knows. They are amazed,too!  We absolutely LOVE home schooling! :)

Well, that's all for now. Thanks for reading. Comments are welcome.

What we've been up to lately..(Part 1)

Well, Since my last post (which was almost a month ago) we went went on a Geocaching.."What is a Geocaching?.."  Watch this video to find out.. This was so much fun.. and the kids in our home school group had a great time.. and all worked together..It was GREAT! :)

                                                                       

We had a St. Patrick's Day Co-op with our home school group. All the kids (and moms) wore GREEN =D The head mom of the group put together a game for all the kids to figure out. clues to their "treasures"..The clues lead them from one mom to the next..Until they were done.

You know home schooling is not all just about sitting inside the house(or a class room) everyday..and having them do their "school work" in a text/work book.. Which we do on a normal school day. Children (and not just my daughter) can learn from the things in the world around them.You will be amazed on HOW MUCH they will learn and pick up from just being outside and being around their friends..and play with nature..and asking questions..and getting their answers.

Kids ask "WHY" about things all the time.. and when they do..they are learning about things when we (the adults in most cases) explain to them...If there is something you both are not sure of.. you can look it up on the internet..or check a book out at the library..etc.

My daughter is so far ahead right now (No, I have not had her tested to prove this..YET..but I can.. and others can see how much she has learned since we began home schooling) In fact we are so far ahead right now..I am trying to slow down a little bit so we do not get TO far ahead of ourselves.. She has already gotten through over half of her 1st grade work book. We will be done for the summer (well,we will still probably work on some stuff during the summer) May 2nd.  We do not have to go until June 10th like they would be doing in public school..Simply, because, We will work some over the summer.

(To be continued)

That is all for now.. I will write more later.. Comments are welcome :)

Our one month Homeschool milestone..

So, a month ago today we started homeschooling. It has been the best month and a lot has changed..in both mine and my daughters life.

At the beginning of the month my daughters hand writing was big,messy and widely spread (spaced). Most of her numbers she couldn't even form correctly (2,5,7,8,4). She could barely count higher 12 with out going from 10,11,12,14,17..(20 she said it was 12). When she would write words she would mix capital letter with lower case letters.. (cAt). She had no idea how to write a sentence. She knew what a "period, question mark and an exclamation point" were but didn't know how to use them. When it came to adding and subtracting, she didn't understand that you had to take two groups of numbers together to find the answer..etc.

A mouth later.. Her hand writing is much smaller,neater and she actually writes on regular notebook paper and is able to write on the line. She knows that you are supposed to start a sentence with a capital letter and ens it with a ".?!"  Her numbers are all written correctly and they all look like numbers (instead of a 2 look like a Z..and a 8 looked like two circles on top of each other..)
She also knows the following:
- what a noun,verb and describing words
-what a synonym and antonyms is.
- how to add and subtract numbers up to 15
- place value (hunders, tens and ones place)
- constant blends (bl,tr,th,st,pl..etc..)
-short and long vowels
- when there is a "silent e" at the end of a word the 1st vowel will say it's name
- sequence of events (what comes first.second, third and fourth in a story)
-contractions (I'll, she's, it's...)

This is just to list a handful of things I have taught her since we started home schooling.

Other things we have been able to do, that she was not able to do in public school..We start our day when we want..Although, most mornings I do like to start at the same time at 8:30 but if there is ever a day were my daughter didn't go to bed until late. I will let her sleep in and allow her to wake up when she is ready to wake up.

Other things that have changed is my daily schedule has never been better. After we finish our school work I fix lunch and allow my daughter to play on startfall.com. I do laundry and dishes everyday. I dress the beds every morning..and nothing is dragging out on the floor..Shoot I was so motivated the other day I cleaned out a closet and organized it and had 5 bags for Good Will when I was done! :)

Choosing to homeschool was one of the best decisions I have ever made.I am happy and most importantly my daughter is happy!



Well, that's all for now. Thanks for reading. Feel free to comment as long as it's nice

It just clicks..

So, yesterday when we were doing math I decided to take a break from working on the basic adding and subtracting problems(we will probably go back to it later on)..Instead, I introduced my daughter to "Place Value" (just tens place and ones place) I just wanted to see IF she would even understand it.. So, I explained it to her and helped her with the first 2. After that she told me to stop helping her and said .."Mom.. I don't need any help..I got it..I can do it on my own..." So, I let her do it on her own.. When she was finished she let me know. When I went back to check her work to see how she did..She had gotten every single one right.. I was so proud of her..Just like she was proud of herself.. I have never seem something click that fast for her.. Not saying that she's slow..or needs to have something explained to her over and over again before she gets it...However, with this, she got it right away and was able to do it in a "snap"

Well, that's all for now.. Thanks for reading..Feel free to comment as long as it's nice :)

Something is sinking in..

Yesterday when we were on the way to pick my husband up from work my daughter was in the back seat listing off things. Like, mom,dad,car,library, dog cat.. (and going on and on.. ) I asked her what she was talking about..She answers me back .."Mommy, I'm saying nouns.." Then she started listing verbs.. "drive, sing, play, swing, jump, run.."

We just started this in her work book a week ago..I am so proud of her. She is really picking up on the things I teach her.

She learns a lot like I used to have to learn things when I was in school.. I show her ways for her to learn the material in ways she will understand. So, seeing her sit in the back seat and list off nouns and verbs let's me see that I must be doing something right, because, things are sinking in. :)

Well, Thanks for reading. Feel free to comment if you want. As long as it's nice.

Our first Home school group Co-op (Valentine's party)

This was our very first time at our new home school group.. It was so much fun.. We got there and the kids handed out their Valentine's cared to one another.. and then went out to play for a while..My neighbor who also home schools her kids introduced me to this group. I was so happy to have a familiar face there with me.. and not just going to a group and not knowing anyone there.I started talking with the other moms.. and my daughter jumped right in.. and started to play and having a great time. Here's what  we did at our party..

She was very happy.. and had a great time.. and we can not wait until next time..

We might have had a full day of fun.. but we did fit our school work in today.. We worked on most of it before we left and finished what we had left once we got back home.

This warms me so much to see my baby girl so happy :)

Well, that's all for now.. Thanks for reading. Feel free to comment as long as it/'s nice :)

After just a week..

So this was our first full week from Monday to Friday.. (but this is our 2nd week of  home school) In just a week  my daughters hand writing has improved a lot.. (just to compare for our very first day of  home school.. and today..)

This is from our first day of Home school

This is her handwriting as of today (2/11/11) Just 9 days different.

This is because I am able to sit one on one with her and able to work on handwriting skills..She writes much neater, smaller and her letters are closer together in stead of  all over, big and spread out.

"Our class room is even getting brighter..and here's what it's beginning to look like"

The "sight words" for next week.. We added an extra word to the list. We use these words also as the weekly spelling words..

The "victory wall" to show off all my little stars bright work :)

Adding artwork to our chalk board!

 

"Other things my daughter is learning"

The other night I ask my daughter what she wanted to learn about that wasn't from her work book and other subject. (Trying to introduce some Science to her a little at a time) I asked her.."Do you want to learn about clouds, Flowers or the Human body.." and she said "the human body.."  So, on Wednesday, (which is our library day) we checked out a book on the human body.. and This is the book we got..

This book talks about everything.. It has questions and then it explains it. It has big, colorful pictures and explains it  in a way a 5 year old would understand.. She loves this book, and she is learning things she didn't even know before..(For example.. It tells you that you have hair all over your body except for on the palm of your hands and the soles of your feet.. and some hairs are so small that you can not even see them.) She is learning how the digestive system works..How the heart brings blood all over your body.. How your body needs oxygen.. etc. 

We also got a "easy-reader" book.. that is easy for her to read on her own.. Once she is able to master this level then I will move her to the next level. She is doing a lot better then she has ever been able to read on her own. This is the book we got. 

 

Well, that's all for now.. Thanks for reading.. Feel free to comment as long as it's nice :)

"plant a seed and watch it grow"

There is nothing more rewarding then to see my daughter figure a problem out(regardless if it's English and finding a noun or verb.. or a Math problem.. or sounding out a "big" word all on her own..) and she looks up at me with such excitement in her eyes.. and a BIG smile on her face (something I might add I would miss if she would be in public school) and say to me "Mommy, I did it.. I did it all by myself!" How great is that?? Since we started home school (yes.. in just a short amount of time.. but just comes to show how fast things change in such a short period of time) my daughter has picked up on a lot.. for example.. before we started home school she never knew.. what a noun or verb was.. how to add and subtract .. how to write a sentence..that a verb is a word that tells what a noun is doing.. what a long hand and a short hand means on a clock..knowing her left from her right.. able to memorize spelling words and sight words..and have me verbally call them out to her and she can spell them with out any help..The list could go on and on.. But my point is.. I am teaching her all this..In ways she understands.. and is able to sponge it all up..and I feel very proud of myself and her, because I know how well she is doing.. She is already way ahead of all of her old school mates.. (I know this, because we have been working on a whole grade level work book higher then they were in her old class room in a public school)  So, when all of her old school mates are starting the new school year at the beginning  of  the first grade level my daughter will be over half way done with 1st grade work and beginning of 2nd grade! :)  

Well, that's all for now.. Feel free to comment if you want.. but only if it's nice :)

Able to relax before we start.

Like this morning.. I woke up at 7:15.. A little before I usually do (only by like 20 minutes).. I came down and was able to relax a little..My daughter even woke up and was able to sit and relax next to me.. Instead of our old morning routine.. had to get up when I wasn't ready to get up.. some mornings only have about 15 minutes to myself..(if I didn't get up at 6:30am) Then at 7:15 I would go in to the kitchen and fix my daughters oatmeal in the micro wave.. and then go up stairs and wake her up.. and fight with her to get up and get dressed.. ( it would usually be a fight every morning..) then rush down stairs.. and have her eat and while she was eating I would make her lunch for school..Then get her shoes on.. Brush her hair and teeth.. then we only had 5 minutes before we had to leave.. Bottom line is.. We had to rush..but now.. We can take our time.. We still start at 8:30 in the morning.. but I allow my daughter to sleep until 8 o'clock instead of waking her up at 7:15.. Usually she will wake up before then.. but on her own time and she is much happier in the morning. She has time to take her time and eat and not have to be rushed.

So in our day.. We start at 8:30.. we finish around 11.. then we are done with our school work for the day.. Then I fix lunch.

I then do any chores that need to be done.. I make myself stay busy in the afternoons..Like today.. I need to wash laundry..Wash dishes.. go to the bank.. buy groceries.. put gas in the van.. etc.. I also have to get things ready for my daughters birthday party with our neighbors this Saturday..

I can honestly say that I keep busy..Get my daughters school work done..and what a "Stay-At-Home-Mom" should do in a day.. I feel very accomplished at the end of my days.. We are all very happy..

Well. That's all for now.. Feel free to comment if you want.. As long as it's nice :) 

"our classroom is just where ever we happen to be.."

This morning we knew we had someplace to go.. so we just got up a little later then we would normally.. We got up a little after 8:00 this morning..(Well, I was up and awake before then..and took my shower) My daughter on the other hand just woke up when she wanted.. And came in to her dad and my bedroom as I was getting dressed.. and climbed up in to our bed and laid back down.. After I was dressed I sat on the bed with her.. and we played, and talked about things.. and then of course, woke her dad up.. (Oh well, he had to wake up anyways... Like I said it was after 8 o'clock in the morning)  I had her get dressed and tell me what she wanted for breakfast. Then I went down stairs and told her once she was done to come meet me down stairs to eat breakfast.. Anyways, Since we were not able to start our normal time of 8:30.. We took her work with us..I dropped her dad off at a place to get what her needed to get done.. While waiting in the van for my husband to come out from his meeting we got started on her school work.. It helped pass the time.. and It also help us not get to far behind on our schedule today.. Once we got back home, I told my daughter to go up to our "class room" and sit at her desk..We finished our work, and then had time for art before it was time for lunch. She loves the days we do art projects. This is what she made today as her art project.. (she gets to pick out what she wants to do and she is able to make it her own..)

 

Well, that's all for today.. I will write again soon, Thanks for reading. Feel free to comment.. as long as it's nice :)

An inside look at our "class room"

Our awesome calender :)

My daughters All Star wall..With all her GREAT work :)

Her "sight words" from last week..She knew them very well.

My Kindergarten girl is working on 1st Grade work..And is not struggling with it..Her mind is a sponge :)

Her Handwriting book

Working on her Math..Yes this is 1st Grade level.

Working on telling time and the Value of money..Already :)

Working in her handwriting book

She is working on Verbs.. again this is 1st Grade level :)

Her "sight words" for this upcoming week..PS.. she already knows them.

"find the ending sounds"

She knows what Nouns are..

Again.. finding the ending sounds

She was able to spell these words all on her own..and found all the vowels in each word :)

We are still working on some Kindergarten.. Such as practicing her hand writing.. and sight words (which she is getting a lot better at..and it helps her reading skills, too.

Well Thanks for reading.. feel free to leave comments.. as long as its nice :)