Our Homeschooling Journey - The Adventures of Andrew and John

We had a great day today! We went up to the outlet mall near Frankenmuth to look for fall clothes for the boys especially for John who is hard to fit because he is so small. After we ate lunch, we went to several stores and found clothes that he liked and that fit. We also went to the Kaybee Toy Outlet which was their favorite stop. After we drove back, we also went and bought some pumpkins at a local farm which they will decorate in the next day or so.

We had a light week with homeschool this past week since we went to a homeschool friend’s birthday party and Andrew also had a mild cold. We were able to finish the Civil War in history and start on the settlement of the West. We also looked at different types of rocks closely and learned about their characteristics in science. I am posting some pictures about some activities we did back in September. (making earth cookies, spice drop crystals, and hardtack; also, going to the Detroit Tigers game)

We’ve not heard anything about our possible move yet, but this coming week should be the big week since all of the head guys are supposed to be in town. If we hear anything, I will update and let everyone know what’s going on.

Have a great week!

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The last few weeks have been very busy as we have become used to our schedule. The boys are really enjoying their Homeschool Connections classes. In music, John has been learning about the different kinds of rhythm using instruments like tambourines and drums. His art class has included learning about wire sculpture, fabric art, and decorating flower pots and visors.  Andrew’s tennis class is keeping his activity level high while his video game design class is the high point of his day. They are still learning how to use the software, and he did so well last week that he gets to be the helper tomorrow.

The classes that we have at home are also going well.  In science, we have made an earth cookie demonstrating the layers of the earth and used graham crackers and peanut buttler to learn about the earth’s tectonic plates. In history, we have made hardtack, watched movies on the Civil War, made flags, and drew pictures of Pickett’s Charge. The boys are moving forward with their math and LA skills, and we are continuing to work on writing.

We have not heard anything about our possible move yet, but are hoping the news comes soon. I will update when we know something.

    With this being a four-day week, we still had quite the eventful week. If you don’t know, the company that my husband’s company contracts with is moving its North American headquarters out of Michigan to the northern Virginia area. He is the senior team lead of their deskside support team, and the news this week was the culmination of several weeks of rumors. Nothing is settled yet, but we are thinking that this, more than likely, will result in a move for us sometime next year. I will update with news on this front as it comes to us.

     On to homeschool news::  This week we had all of the beginning of the year activities. Wednesday was the homeschool picnic, Thursday was the first 4-H Club Meeting, and Friday was John’s first fall gymnastics class. He was real excited about going as he is always is since he loves gymnastics so much. It has done alot for his self-image since he started last year, and he has grown up so much since he has had the opportunity to participate.

    Our classes went well too. I figured out how to schedule WP’s LA so it would fit for what I wanted to do. I actually reworked the schedule, and the boys seemed to like it much better: math, spelling/vocabulary, break, American history, grammar/writing, lunch, reading, and science.  We are doing math and LA every day; American history 4 times a week, and science 2 times a week. We start classes with our local homeschool group next Tuesday, and the boys are really looking forward to it. Andrew will be taking tennis and video game design while John will be taking music and art.

    Andrew has been working in a math review workbook while we have waited for Teaching Textbooks 6. I finally got an email on Friday saying it had shipped so we will probably be getting it sometime next week. I’m looking forward to seeing how he does with it.

    Finally, the boys are also doing better with what I have decided to call educational free time. When I am teaching one of them, the other is to either be on the computer with an educational game, reading out of their book box, or drawing in their sketch journal. I have yet to have a problem with them not doing what they’re supposed to.

    I hope everyone has a good week.

We finished our first week of school today, and it went quite well. It was a good idea not to start with all of our subjects. The boys repsonded better to that and to putting more structure into our schedule. WP’s Language Arts is going to be a good fit for us. I just need to figure out the best way to schedule all of the various parts of it.

John had his last summer gymnastics class this week. They had a big bouncy house in the gym that all of the children got to play in. He begins his new session of classes for the fall next week.

Andrew’s big news of the week is that he got his cast off his arm. Yeah!!!!!! We went swimming that afternoon, and both boys had a great time.

We met a local homeschooling family today when they came over to look at the Rescue Heroes toys that we were selling. The children’s cousin really enjoys them, and they were going to give them to him for his birthday. The boy in the family is Andrew’s age, and they hit it off well. Hopefully, we will be able to have some playdates with them soon.

Hope everyone has a nice holiday weekend!!

     Writing is not my strongest suit, but I want to keep a record of what we are doing in general and in school so I am starting with this blog again.

     Yesterday was John’s 8th birthday. We went to a local indoor amusement park and game place and also ate lunch at Johnny Rocket’s. A homeschool friend of his joined us, and we all had a wonderful time. I am so proud of him. He has come a long way since last year. He and his brother did a great job with their summer reading (30 hours) and their summer workbooks. He is still taking gymnastics and is looking forward to the beginning of our homeschool on Monday.

   Andrew is also doing well despite breaking his hand six weeks ago. The cast should be coming off on the 29th. He has especially enjoyed our read-alouds this summer: By the Shores of Silver Lake, The Long Winter, and Little Town on the Prairie.

   This fall we will be using mostly Winter Promise for curriculum: American Story 2, Rock Around the Earth, LA 5 with LA 4 AS 2 readers, and LA 3 with LA 2 AS 2 readers. For math, we will use Teaching Textbooks 6 and Math U See Beta (going on to Gamma when we finish Beta in December). The boys will be taking two classes each with our local homeschool group–tennis and video game design and art and music.

   Hope everyone enjoys the pictures.

John’s Birthday – John and Andrew on the roller coaster

John’s Birthday – John & his Dad