Jen's Journal

We have already done 5 weeks of school, and this week is our first break. 

This is a week to catch up on my records and planning.  Our next break will be the week of September 10th and I hope to have all things Five in a Row ready to go through that week.  I have already pre-planned most of the books.  Mary Evelyn will be learning from Amber on the Mountain, Gramma’s Walk, and Night of the Moonjellies.  Rachel’s lessons will come from Mailing May and Higgins Bend Song and Dance.  Now I just need to glance at my pre-planning page and see if I need any materials for projects or crafts. 

I also want to review where we are ao far in the three R’s and make some short term goals for these.  This is our first year using Easy Grammar with Rachel and we both really like it a lot.  She had her first test recently and did great.  In math she is brushing up on her multiplication tables and she is loving Wordsmith Apprentice for creative writing.  Mary Evelyn is working hard to learn her addition facts mostly using games and hands on activities, though we do use a math book too.  She is still learning to read, but thinks that should wait until college.  Her writing is great and she is getting braver and trying to write more on her own and not asking me how to spell every little word.  Both girls love Five in a Row and our read aloud time.  I let them draw while I read chapter books out loud.  Currently we are reading Caddie Woodlawn and really enjoying it.

Some of their extras are swimming lessons, church activities, and Rosetta Stone foreign languages…free though our library.  Jason is going through the book of Acts with them and we are learning catechism questions and answers with our small group from church too. 

Busy, busy…just like everyone else I know!

I wanted to share a game idea I learned about in the Carol Barnier book I am reading (see my sidebar for the title).  We have been playing Hop on It to review our math facts.  You write one answer per index card and lay these on the floor in any order.  I call out a math fact (like 7×6) and Rachel hops on the card that says 42.  It makes review a little more fun than it could be.  I like this game because it can be played with just about any subject.  Mary Evelyn likes to play this game as well.  There are lots of other game and manipluative ideas in the book.  If you need a little creativity in your homeschool, check your library.  It’s a great book.