MATH
Preston:
Preston is working on reviewing elementary math using Khan Academy. He has been watching videos and taking quizzes to work on his skills and get ready for higher level math. It’s a difficult subject for him and he often spends 1-2 hours trying to grasp concepts before taking a break. I love his determination and am helping him work towards his goal of better mathematical understanding and ability because he really wants to be an engineer one day and realizes he will need more math in order to make that dream a reality.
Marissa:
Marissa has decided to go back and finish an old Mathematical Reasoning book before continuing. It’s fairly easy, but is serving as a good review the first few weeks of school.
Caleb:
Caleb will be using the MathSeeds app as his primary math curriculum this year. He also watched LeapFrog videos, Odd Squad and Number Blocks to help him understand math concepts in a fun way. Caleb is also LOVING practicing math facts using the Imagine Math game. We don't do many video games at our house so this is a novelty and his addition math facts are getting really fast. We'll move on to subtraction soon. Marissa gets stressed out by the timed aspect, but Caleb thrives on the gaming side of learning. Funny how different each kid is with their abilities and preferences.
Family:
We have decided to read the Life of Fred books together as a family during our morning basket time. The kids are loving the story and we stop to figure out the problems at the end of each chapter. I am hoping it will be another angle to help the kids understand math and not just learn how to figure out math problems. It’s going well so far. We’re starting with “Apples” and will just continue through the elementary series together.
LANGUAGE ARTS
Preston:
Preston completes language arts lessons 3-4 times a week. He also completes three modules in TTRS daily. He finished the lessons in TTRS and now is onto the typing practice activities. It is so exciting to see how well he is doing with typing and with spelling using this program. He continues to read at least 30 minutes every day. He is almost finished with the second Harry Potter book. He was so excited to finally feel confident enough to read a big chapter book series that so many of his friends have already read.
Marissa:
Marissa completes language arts lessons 3-4 times a week. She also completes three modules in TTRS and 20 minutes of reading every day. She is currently reading Sophie Mouse books and LOVING them.
Caleb:
Caleb completed three lessons in his “Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons” book. This summer we took a break and worked only with the Reading Eggs app and Bob books so it feels like a lot to get back to it, but we are pressing through and his reading ability is improving.
AMERICAN HISTORY/GEOGRAPHY
Preston, Marissa & Caleb:
This year we are studying United States geography, with an emphasis on the Midwest and states that surround the great lakes. We have not received our curriculum for that, however, so we have been studying World History and reading biographies, which is also a part of our history plan this year.
We discovered a fun sticker book with maps of the continents and different stickers of major landmarks or famous places. We have been placing stickers on the map each day and then reading (or finding a YouTube video) about different places. It has been so much fun! The kids love getting their sticker and then learning about what it is. I’m surprised how much I didn’t know and am learning with this simple procedure as well. We added it to our morning basket and are loving the time spent learning and exploring the world together.
We are also reading "Tuttle Twin" books during morning basket. We read "The Law" and "The Golden Rule" during the first few weeks of school.
TECH CLASS (Coding, Doodle Crate, Building & Engineering)
CODING
Preston:
Preston is taking a coding class through OutSchool this year, but his class has not started yet. He has, however, been practicing coding with Caleb using Osmo’s Coding Awbie and Coding Jam. All three kids love learning the basics of coding through these simple interactive games.
DOODLE CRATE
Marissa:
Marissa signed up for MTH’s direct Kiwi Co class this year using Doodle Crate. We have not received our first crate yet, but Marissa has been working on building and creating art on her own.
BUILDING & ENGINEERING
Caleb:
Caleb will be doing building and engineering this year using Lego’s and lots of other fun building materials. He built his own building using Lego’s and I managed to snap a picture of the excitement.
ELECTIVE (Karate, Tumbling, Musikgarten)
KARATE
Preston:
Preston is back to karate 2 times a week (they had to make classes smaller so he only gets to go to half the classes he used to, but we’re excited he’s still doing karate). He is working on skills for his blue belt and will be belt testing for his purple belt next Saturday.
TUMBLING
Marissa:
Marissa is back to tumbling for the first time in six months. She attended her first class on Thursday, September 3. She is extremely sore jumping right back into an intermediate class, but she is so excited to be back to doing backhandsprings, whips and tucks.
MUSIKGARTEN
Caleb:
Musikgarten doesn’t start until after Labor Day, but Caleb has been practicing songs and getting ready for his class. He is so excited to be back in class again. This year he is in “World” class and will learn songs and stories from all around the world.
OTHER
SCIENCE
Preston, Marissa & Caleb:
The kids really want to learn some science in addition to our history/geography studies this year. We have added short unit studies and different books to our morning basket. The one we started with is all about constellations. The kids can’t wait to go stargazing! I need to time that around forest fire smoke and avoiding a moon that is too bright so wish me luck! ;)
ART
Preston, Marissa & Caleb:
The kids love art so we fit it in when we can. While Marissa was painting the moon, Caleb painted brightly colored monsters and dragons and Preston painted a realistic picture of Curious George from a book we had read that day.
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