Week in Review ~ Week 4

Unicorn:

This week we started on Sunday by watching Sea Hawk for History.

Unicorn has also finished the first volume of The History of US.

In Math she is reviewing Telling Time and continuing through Dreambox. She has played 24 hours and completed 5 stories in Dreambox!

For writing she made up an Indian name for herself and wrote a paragraph about why it was a good name for her. To read it click here.

She is continuing to read The Sign of the Beaver and is almost finished!

In Religion she is continuing to learn about the early history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Next week she will finish the first Lesson (there are many parts to each lesson) in Latin. Currently she has a 97%! I am so proud of her, I was worried that she was a little young to learn Latin.

Finally, Unicorn is breezing throught the typing program. She will be ready to move on to Type to Learn mid-September.

Ladybug and Monkey:

On Tuesday, my preschool started back up and Ladybug and Monkey were joined by 3 more students. We have been learning about Artists and their styles. Here are some samples of their work:

~Freaky Friday~

After playing in the rain we decided to open the windows and cool off the house. The rain cooled the area off about 20 degrees (it was about 74 degrees after the rain). Since the temperature most of the summer has been 110+ and we have only lived in this house for 2 months we had not opened any windows to this point. Additionally, the house had been unoccupied for a year before we moved in. Anyway, I opened the window and saw:

needless to say, I immeadiately closed the window (to keep our unwelcome guest trapped) and called Kurt to get some spider spray at the store. Here are some more pictures.

First shot

Ugly spider

Unicorn checking out the spider

Ladybug checking out the spider

This "little" bugger took forever to die.

~Rainy Day Schedule~

When I was a teacher I hated the words "Rainy Day Schedule" because it meant that I wouldn't get lunch and the kids wouldn't get recess and we wouldn't have a break from each other. Now, as a homeschooling mama, the words aren't so scary. Instead of feeling trapped inside, we actually went out and played in the rain. The kids had a great time. It was a nice change of pace since it has been 110+ all summer long. The rain cooled us off to about 74 degrees. It was wonderful!

Here are some pictures of our Rainy Day Play (please excuse the fact the Ladybug is still in her pajamas and Monkey picked out his own clothes)!

20 Great Reasons You Homeschool

A Day in the Life...

...of Unicorn, Ladybug and Monkey:


7:00~Rise and Shine (Morning Routine)

7:30~Breakfast as a Family (Read Scriptures, Family Prayer, Memorization & Read Aloud)

8:00~Mommy, Ladybug & Monkey have Preschool while Unicorn works independently (Religion, Math, Social Studies/English/Science/Art/Music, Silent Reading & Chores)

11:00~Lunch as a Family

12:00~Quite Time for Ladybug, Nap for Monkey and Mom works with Unicorn (if needed and then mom goes to work)on Typing, Latin & Writing and anything not finished in the morning

2:00~Free Time for Unicorn and Ladybug

3:00~Free Time for all

4:00~Afternoon Routine

5:00~Dinner

5:30~Evening Routine and Bed (Monkey in bed by 6, Ladybug by 6:30 and Unicorn by 7:30)

*I am very lucky that Unicorn learns best by herself. She comes to me when she needs help and we review what she has been learning as part of her bedtime routine.

I have found that my children respond best to a consistent routine. So we pretty much school Monday - Friday. Fridays are usually a light day of work, usually religion and math, and then we do something fun (park, field trip, grandma's house etc.)

To see how other homeschoolers schedule their days hop on over to The Not Back to School blog hop at Heart of the Matter. Also linked up at Latter-Day Homeschooling!

Week in Review ~ Week 3

Unicorn has been learning about the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for Religion.

In Math she has been reviewing Telling Time (a concept she has always struggled with)! She is still struggling but she is getting better.

History is all about explorers and exploring the New World. Ponce de Leon, Pizzaro, Coronado and the colonization of New Spain (Mexico and Central America).

Friction was the topic for Science.

For English she finished Dear America: Journey to the New World and started The Sign of the Beaver. She is also learning about persuasive paragraphs so for Writing she wrote a paragraph about how she knows Santa Claus is real (I love that she is 10 and still believes in Santa Claus)!

She continues to progress through the Typing class (she is about half-way through already).

Three more lessons and she will finish the first unit of Rosetta-Stone Latin!

She has also been working on her journal and her blog and doing art projects with Ladybug and Monkey.

She has been working so hard and being extra helpful at home that I am rewarding her by having a makeover done on her blog! Check back next week to see the results!

Ladybug and Monkey have just been doing projects...they will start preschool on Tuesday. I teach preschool in my home and there will be 3 little preschoolers joining them this year!

As a reward for all our hard work we went to the park this morning!

To see what others are learning hop on over to Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers!

~My New Blog Design~

Ok...so I stumbled upon Designs By Kassie a couple weeks ago and can I just say I am very impressed! Kassie does amazing blog makeovers (she has other creative products as well)! She is very creative, quick, curteous and affordable! Now, don't everyone hop over there right now...I still need her to makeover my family blog and my daughter's blog! I recommend Kassie very highly!


**Note: I have recieved no compensation for my endorsement. These are my opinions based on my experience with Designs by Kassie.

My Students...

It is Student Photo Week on the Not Back-to-School Blog Hop!

I have 3 students. First up is my first-born, first preemie and miracle child (it is a miracle she and I both survived her birth) but that is a story for another time. Unicorn is 10 years old and in the "5th" grade. She is an excellent reader and loves to ask questions. Unicorn has had many challenges in her life and has had some delays in her learning. She is very intelligent. She reads at a 7th-8th grade level but struggles in Math. Here are a  couple pictures of her:

Unicorn and her catepillar

Math time

Cooking for the Family

Next up is Ladybug. She is 4 years old and my only full-term child! She is VERY smart and funny! She is in her second year of preschool and amazes me daily with how much she knows. She will probably move on to kindergarten work shortly after Christmas! She is a very verbal child. When she started talking it was in full sentences! Her favorite part of school is when we make projects. Here are a few pictures of her:

Ladybug making faces for the camera

Posing for the camera

Practicing her counting

Last, but not least, is my other preemie! Monkey is 2 years old and is one of the calmest boys I know. His tantrums are pathetic compared to the ones his sisters throw and he is very easily redirected. Monkey is starting his first year of preschool this year and is loving it! He is learning to sign and he loves to do projects with his sisters!

Monkey making faces for the camera

Painting

Resting at the Casa Grande Ruins

Well, that is my crew! Now, hop on over to the Not Back-to-School Blog Hop to meet other students!

Field Trip ~ Casa Grande Ruins

Today we went on our first Field Trip. We went to the Casa Grande Ruins. We have lived in Casa Grande for almost 6 years and this is the first time we gone to the Ruins. We took advantage of the Free Weekend. This was nice because I didn't feel bad when we were there just under an hour. The girls were great! They had fun and even did some learning. Monkey, however, was mad because we wouldn't let him run around (*note to self ~ BRING STROLLER on Field Trips*) where ever he wanted!

Here are some pictures:

Ladybug, Monkey, Daddy and Unicorn at the Entrance to the Casa Grande Ruins

Cute picture of daddy and the girls!

Exploring in an enclosed area!

Kids checking out the inside of the "Casa Grande"

Unhappy boy!

Girls exploring

Happy for a minute...until I made him leave with us!

Week in Review ~ Week 2

First I need to share the Self-Portraits that the girls did last week (bad mommy took forever to take the pictures):

Unicorn 10 years 5 months

Ladybug 4 year 3 months

Now, on to this week!

Unicorn has been busy learning about Joseph Smith and his translating of the Book of Mormon. In math she reviewed the Math Riddles she was struggling with last week. She wrote a paragraph about her bedtime routine. We watched The Vikings a documentary by NOVA. She really learned a lot about it. She has been asking questions like crazy. Then in, The History of US (vol. 1) we read chapters 11-21. We read about the Vikings (and she even told me, "Hey, that was in the movie!"), Columbus, Balboa, Magellan and Amerigo Vespucci. I continue to be amazed at how well she is picking up Latin.

Here are a couple of pictures of her working this week:

Reading about Weight & Mass for Science

Preparing & serving lunch. She is working towards her "Faith in God" award for church. One requirement is to plan, prepare and serve a nutritious meal.

Typing

The little ones are learning about Artists in preschool this month. Unicorn has been joining them for the art projects.

Here the girls are making their own "Girl with a Pearl" portrait.

Unicorn's "Girl with a Pearl"

Ladybug's "Girl with a Pearl"

They also painted some murals:

Unicorn working

Unicorn's Mural

Ladybug working

Ladybug's Mural

Monkey working

Monkey's Mural

The girls also made a Water Lily Project:

Painting with crumpled paper

Unicorn adding the lilies

Ladybug adding the lilies

Water Lilies by Unicorn

Water Lilies by Ladybug

Monkey watching "Signing Time"

Ladybug counting with the Abacus

Thursday night I woke Unicorn up when Daddy got home from work (9:30pm) to watch the Perseid Meteor Shower! We saw 10-12 "shooting stars" in the 20 or so minutes we were outside!

Also, this week, I sat down to plan our Field Trips for the year (click here for more Field Trip info.).

After a busy week some friends came over to play this afternoon.

To see what others are learning hop on over to the Weekly Wrap-Up at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers!