I realized that I didn't mention math last week. Math continues to be, I think, Eleanor's favorite subject. We've been working on shapes last week and this week. She already knew most of her basic shapes, but the solid shapes were knew to her. She fell in love with them and has been walking around all week pointing out cubes to me and her daddy.
We worked on the letter h this week, which has had Eleanor very excited. She's taken to asking me what letter we will work on next. Then, if she doesn't already know the sound, she'll ask and try it out before the new week starts. She's been doing very well with the Explode the Code primers we've been working on. I was worried at first that they wouldn't provide enough review and practice and that she would forget letter sounds, but she been doing really well with it.
Her handwriting is much improved and she's able to write all of the letters we've worked on so far as well as her name without any help. This week she surprised us all by writing the word mat on her whiteboard without any assistance at all!
This week we made play dough and had a lot of fun playing with it. We were also going to work on predicting the temperature, but I had a lot of trouble finding a cheap outdoor thermometer that we could write on, so we'll have to do that later.
That was about it for the week. I didn't take any pictures this week and we skipped the creative expression assignment (again). Hopefully I'll have pictures next week!
Our Homeschool Journey Through Preschool
Friday, November 4, 2011
Monday, October 31, 2011
Week Seven
After last week I was really determined to put some more fun activities into our school time.
We worked more with the letter a this week, which I think Eleanor liked, mostly because we had already done the handwriting sheets for a last week. She was able to read more short a words (But is it just me or do "am" words not really work as short a words because they don't say the traditional short a sound? I run into this at work all the time and Eleanor was having trouble with it, too.).
This week's writing was the retell a fable we had read. I read her the story about the Little Red Hen and the sky falling, but she kept confusing it with the fable she had just seen told on Super Why! that morning. So I just had her retell me that one. It came out okay. I'm just glad we were able to get it done.
This week we also read "Old Mother Hubbard" and made puppy chow to snack on. The puppy chow was a huge hit with everyone around here, so we'll have to make some more soon.
We also experimented with ice cubes, melting three in different locations and predicting which would melt first. She correctly guessed the one outside and was able to tell us why (because it was hotter outside). And we (gently) caught a butterfly in the backyard to observe for a little while before letting it fly free.
The big hit this week was our trip to the Natural History Museum. Last week we had read about dinosaurs in her science book and we had talked about them being extinct, with only their bones left for us to see. On Wednesday, when Matt was off of work, the three of us went to see some of those bones.
She liked the dinosaurs and loved the hall of gems and rocks. But I think her favorite part was scaring her daddy with the stuffed zebras!
We worked more with the letter a this week, which I think Eleanor liked, mostly because we had already done the handwriting sheets for a last week. She was able to read more short a words (But is it just me or do "am" words not really work as short a words because they don't say the traditional short a sound? I run into this at work all the time and Eleanor was having trouble with it, too.).
This week's writing was the retell a fable we had read. I read her the story about the Little Red Hen and the sky falling, but she kept confusing it with the fable she had just seen told on Super Why! that morning. So I just had her retell me that one. It came out okay. I'm just glad we were able to get it done.
This week we also read "Old Mother Hubbard" and made puppy chow to snack on. The puppy chow was a huge hit with everyone around here, so we'll have to make some more soon.
We also experimented with ice cubes, melting three in different locations and predicting which would melt first. She correctly guessed the one outside and was able to tell us why (because it was hotter outside). And we (gently) caught a butterfly in the backyard to observe for a little while before letting it fly free.
The big hit this week was our trip to the Natural History Museum. Last week we had read about dinosaurs in her science book and we had talked about them being extinct, with only their bones left for us to see. On Wednesday, when Matt was off of work, the three of us went to see some of those bones.
She liked the dinosaurs and loved the hall of gems and rocks. But I think her favorite part was scaring her daddy with the stuffed zebras!
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Week Six
Last week was quiet and this week we had our first sick day! Matt was off on Wednesday and we decided to take Eleanor to the book store and then to the playground. We packed a picnic lunch and off we went. She always loves the bookstore and begs to have picnics, so we knew she wasn't feeling well when she didn't want to pick a book and wouldn't play on the playground. We took her home and, sure enough, she had a fever. Unfortunately medicine wouldn't bring it down so later that night we took her to an urgent care place down the road. An hour and one throw-up on Daddy later, she was on antibiotics.
We had rushed through her work on Wednesday so we could go out and on Thursday she was too tired to do much more than watch cartoons. Friday was spent catching up on work pages, so we really didn't do anything fun this week. And we skipped the dreaded writing lesson all together.
But, even with all of that, she learned a lot this week! She learned about her first vowel (a) and read 4 words (at, rat, mat, fat). I made a game using Popsicle sticks to help her practice reading those words and she has them down-pat (and so do all of the rest of us since she's wanted to play it over and over)!
She also mastered counting backwards from ten and filling in missing numbers in sequences. I'm really thrilled that she can tell me what number comes before another (ex: __ 5, 6) since this is a skill I've seen many older kids struggle with when I'm tutoring them.
So there are no pictures this week and no writing or drawings to look at, but it was still a very productive school week. Next week I hope to get back to doing lots of fun things!
We had rushed through her work on Wednesday so we could go out and on Thursday she was too tired to do much more than watch cartoons. Friday was spent catching up on work pages, so we really didn't do anything fun this week. And we skipped the dreaded writing lesson all together.
But, even with all of that, she learned a lot this week! She learned about her first vowel (a) and read 4 words (at, rat, mat, fat). I made a game using Popsicle sticks to help her practice reading those words and she has them down-pat (and so do all of the rest of us since she's wanted to play it over and over)!
She also mastered counting backwards from ten and filling in missing numbers in sequences. I'm really thrilled that she can tell me what number comes before another (ex: __ 5, 6) since this is a skill I've seen many older kids struggle with when I'm tutoring them.
So there are no pictures this week and no writing or drawings to look at, but it was still a very productive school week. Next week I hope to get back to doing lots of fun things!
Week Five
Well, week five has come and gone!
It was a pretty quiet week. I had neck pain a lot this week, so we pretty much kept it simple. In math we've worked on numbers 5-10. Eleanor is still doing great with math. I was worried she might be getting bored, but apparently not. She asks to do math first everyday.
In phonics we added the letter r to our repertoire. She's got the sounds we've done so far down pat. This week we played a memory game with the letters we've learned so far, which she loves. I'll have to incorporate more games into our work, since she loves them so much.
We continued to read in the read a louds we've started and we started another one. We were actually supposed to start it at the beginning of the year, but I hadn't bought it yet. I finally discovered the library had it and checked it out. She loved it! It's called Things People Do and it's about a fictional island named Banila and all of the people who live and work there. We also started a collection of stories called Uncle Wiggly's Story Book. This one, she loves a lot less. It's very old fashioned, with words and phrases she doesn't really get, and it has very few pictures. We're soldiering on through it, but it's not being well received.
Finally, her writing assignment went really well this week. Mostly, I think, because she didn't know what we were doing. She was supposed to explain how to do something. Earlier that day she had drawn a self-portrait on the chalkboard and she was very proud.
So I asked her to tell me how to draw one like it. I wrote down what she said then read it back as I drew. It was quick, easy, and I'm pleased with how well she did:
Like I said, a pretty quiet week.
It was a pretty quiet week. I had neck pain a lot this week, so we pretty much kept it simple. In math we've worked on numbers 5-10. Eleanor is still doing great with math. I was worried she might be getting bored, but apparently not. She asks to do math first everyday.
In phonics we added the letter r to our repertoire. She's got the sounds we've done so far down pat. This week we played a memory game with the letters we've learned so far, which she loves. I'll have to incorporate more games into our work, since she loves them so much.
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| Making A Leaf Rubbing |
We continued to read in the read a louds we've started and we started another one. We were actually supposed to start it at the beginning of the year, but I hadn't bought it yet. I finally discovered the library had it and checked it out. She loved it! It's called Things People Do and it's about a fictional island named Banila and all of the people who live and work there. We also started a collection of stories called Uncle Wiggly's Story Book. This one, she loves a lot less. It's very old fashioned, with words and phrases she doesn't really get, and it has very few pictures. We're soldiering on through it, but it's not being well received.
Finally, her writing assignment went really well this week. Mostly, I think, because she didn't know what we were doing. She was supposed to explain how to do something. Earlier that day she had drawn a self-portrait on the chalkboard and she was very proud.
So I asked her to tell me how to draw one like it. I wrote down what she said then read it back as I drew. It was quick, easy, and I'm pleased with how well she did:
Like I said, a pretty quiet week.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Week Four
We are really settling into a good routine. We start around 9:30 each morning and Eleanor likes to do math first. She's cruising along in her math book. It's still working on counting to ten and ordering numbers to ten. I have to write most of the numbers for her, but she enjoys the rest. We did have one EPIC meltdown the day I told her she had to trace the number 10 by herself. She cried, yelled, and stormed off. After a break to reflect on having to spend a whole lot of time alone in her room, she came back and not only traced but wrote several beautiful tens!
After math we move on to phonics. I really pleased with Get Ready for the Code. She's doing really well with them and is remember letter sounds better than I thought she would. Every week we start a learn a new letter sound and we make a page with that letter and some pictures beginning with that sound. This week we took the four pages we've made so far and played a game. I would name a sound or a word and she would have to throw a bean bag on the correct page.
She broke the bag twice because she threw so hard!
After phonics we do handwriting and copy work. What an improvement from the first few weeks! She does them now without complaint and is tracing letters and words much quicker now. And some of it is starting to look like letters!
Once a week we do a writing assignment. We have a type of writing to do and she dictates to me while I write. This has not gone well the last two weeks. Last week was like pulling teeth and this week was only a little better. The assignment this week was writing about a memory. With a lot of questioning I was able to get this:
Better than last week, but we still need to work on this.
After all of that is done with move to the couch and I read to her. Sometimes we have little activities to that go with our reading. Our favorites have involved arts and crafts. This week we read "Old King Cole" and Eleanor made herself a crown:
I think she's starting to like modeling for the camera!
After math we move on to phonics. I really pleased with Get Ready for the Code. She's doing really well with them and is remember letter sounds better than I thought she would. Every week we start a learn a new letter sound and we make a page with that letter and some pictures beginning with that sound. This week we took the four pages we've made so far and played a game. I would name a sound or a word and she would have to throw a bean bag on the correct page.
She broke the bag twice because she threw so hard!
After phonics we do handwriting and copy work. What an improvement from the first few weeks! She does them now without complaint and is tracing letters and words much quicker now. And some of it is starting to look like letters!
Once a week we do a writing assignment. We have a type of writing to do and she dictates to me while I write. This has not gone well the last two weeks. Last week was like pulling teeth and this week was only a little better. The assignment this week was writing about a memory. With a lot of questioning I was able to get this:
Better than last week, but we still need to work on this.
After all of that is done with move to the couch and I read to her. Sometimes we have little activities to that go with our reading. Our favorites have involved arts and crafts. This week we read "Old King Cole" and Eleanor made herself a crown:
I think she's starting to like modeling for the camera!
Week Three
It was a pretty quiet week this week. Matt was off on Tuesday and wanted to work with her that day. He really enjoyed it and I know Eleanor enjoyed working with someone different. She even did handwriting with him without putting up a fight!
We read a story about a farmer and a cow and Sonlight suggested discussing where milk came from and then pouring the milk into different size containers to see that the same amount could look different in each, but was still the same. I really would have liked to take Eleanor to dairy farm, but I couldn't find one around here. Then I thought that just going to farm would be nice, but all the ones that do field trips around here don't open until next month, so that was nixed. I really wanted to do something, though, since the rest of the week was pretty much just workbooks and read alouds, so I decided we would make butter.
We made just enough for a taste on crackers.
Math is still going very well. We are still reviewing things she already knows, but I don't want to skip ahead, just to make sure we don't miss any gaps. Phonics is going well, too and handwriting is getting better. She still hates writing her numbers, but she will write a few letters on her own without having a fit. Creative expression, however, did not go well this week. I gave her a picture and asked her to tell me a story about the picture. The first day I introduced it she wouldn't even try. The second day was the same. So, on Friday, I was able to get this from her:
She comes up with much more creative stories to "read" to herself before bed. We'll have to keep working on it.
On to week 4!
We read a story about a farmer and a cow and Sonlight suggested discussing where milk came from and then pouring the milk into different size containers to see that the same amount could look different in each, but was still the same. I really would have liked to take Eleanor to dairy farm, but I couldn't find one around here. Then I thought that just going to farm would be nice, but all the ones that do field trips around here don't open until next month, so that was nixed. I really wanted to do something, though, since the rest of the week was pretty much just workbooks and read alouds, so I decided we would make butter.
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| "Don't take my picture, Mommy!" |
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| "Where's the butter?" |
We made just enough for a taste on crackers.
Math is still going very well. We are still reviewing things she already knows, but I don't want to skip ahead, just to make sure we don't miss any gaps. Phonics is going well, too and handwriting is getting better. She still hates writing her numbers, but she will write a few letters on her own without having a fit. Creative expression, however, did not go well this week. I gave her a picture and asked her to tell me a story about the picture. The first day I introduced it she wouldn't even try. The second day was the same. So, on Friday, I was able to get this from her:
She comes up with much more creative stories to "read" to herself before bed. We'll have to keep working on it.
On to week 4!
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Vacation
After two weeks of school it was time for a vacation! My parents rented a cabin in the Texas hill country and we spent four days in the area. This turned out to be a great "field trip" for Eleanor.
Our trip actually started out on a the wrong foot. We left on Monday, Labor Day, and had plans to stop in Shiner so my dad could see the Shiner Bock brewery and then in Gonzales to see the cannon there. But, alas, both were closed, so we headed to a wonderful barbecue place we had heard about but it was closed, too! Then the place we wanted to eat dinner at was closed, too!
The next day went much better. We headed to Natural Bridge Caverns, the largest cave in Texas. Eleanor was in love! She didn't mind the dark, the moisture, or the long walk down and then up. She listened well to the guide and then asked us when she would be old enough to go caving.
Tonight we read this book I checked out for her from the library:
She informed me after reading it that it was okay to go caving in a dress!
After the cave we went to the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch next door. She was really tired from cave and didn't want to go at first. But as soon as the first animal came up the truck she was hooked.
The ranch has antelope, deer, goats, bison, donkeys, ostriches, emus and zebras that you can feed from your car. By far the hit of the trip was the zebras.
As you entered the area with the zebras there were signs on each side showing huge zebra teeth and proclaiming that the zebras could bite. So Daddy was really (unpleasantly) surprised when one zebra came to his window and showed it's teeth! He had to keep throwing food in it's mouth to keep it happy. Eleanor still thinks this is the funniest thing ever and will find pictures of zebras to "scare" her daddy.
We were also able to feed and brush goats. One tried to eat Granddad's phone and one chewed on my jeans!
The cabin we stayed in was very nice and Eleanor collected many rocks to take home with us.
Next week we'll be back to our schoolwork!
Our trip actually started out on a the wrong foot. We left on Monday, Labor Day, and had plans to stop in Shiner so my dad could see the Shiner Bock brewery and then in Gonzales to see the cannon there. But, alas, both were closed, so we headed to a wonderful barbecue place we had heard about but it was closed, too! Then the place we wanted to eat dinner at was closed, too!
The next day went much better. We headed to Natural Bridge Caverns, the largest cave in Texas. Eleanor was in love! She didn't mind the dark, the moisture, or the long walk down and then up. She listened well to the guide and then asked us when she would be old enough to go caving.
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She informed me after reading it that it was okay to go caving in a dress!
After the cave we went to the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch next door. She was really tired from cave and didn't want to go at first. But as soon as the first animal came up the truck she was hooked.
As you entered the area with the zebras there were signs on each side showing huge zebra teeth and proclaiming that the zebras could bite. So Daddy was really (unpleasantly) surprised when one zebra came to his window and showed it's teeth! He had to keep throwing food in it's mouth to keep it happy. Eleanor still thinks this is the funniest thing ever and will find pictures of zebras to "scare" her daddy.
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We were also able to feed and brush goats. One tried to eat Granddad's phone and one chewed on my jeans!
The cabin we stayed in was very nice and Eleanor collected many rocks to take home with us.
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