Week in Review May3-7, 2010

Friday, May 7, 2010 7:06 PM Posted by Reluctant Housemom 3 comments

Overall, this has been a productive and fun week. Flutterby and I have had good quality experiences. I have learned a few new things which will make my life easier.

First, I have remedied the complaining over doing vision therapy. However understandable the protest, as it is hard work, this was truly making my nuts. Flutterby has eight months of vision therapy to correct her convergence insufficiency, so 6 days a week of whining and complaining was not going to work! I decided to resort to bribery.

I took her last Friday to the toy store and let he pick out a toy she has been wanting for a long time. It was the My Little Pony Scootaloo RC on the Go. We brought it home and displayed the box prominently to keep the prize in mind. As we started the day, I would remind her what she was working toward. The vision therapy sessions went off without a hitch.

Another lesson this week is that I must look closely at my plans and make certain I have what I need to implement them. Now this is commonsense of course. But my cursory glances did not reveal key pieces needed to complete the art and science portions. I was able to improvise and move things about, but it would have been easier to be more thorough. It is a rookie mistake of course.

Lastly, I have started to use audio stories again to supplement our daily reading aloud. I try to read aloud to Flutterby for two hours each day. I have avoided audio stories, unless traveling by car. I feared it was like "cheating" and giving her an inferior experience. But considering we have very full days together filled with learning and hands on experiences, supplementing 30-45 minutes each day with an audio story won't do harm. In fact, it helps me which has to help her in my mind. It reminds me that the homeschool experience is a process of learning along with your child. An important lesson to learn is that using aids and asking for help is okay.

I have noticed that as a homeschooler, I am constantly evaluating myself. I don't want to take shortcuts, but am often too hard on myself. I can easily start judging my work, and thus the work of my child, against that of others. I feel as though I have been blessed with the greatest responsibility God can bestow on a person, helping to form and grow this person. I don't want to screw it up!

Yet, there is a balance to be struck and I am still navigating my path to find that balance. I am learning from others and through prayer, God is guiding me in that which I should do. I look forward to the next adventure and the next learning experience for me!

"Take My yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 11:29)


 

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Friday, May 7, 2010

5:00 PM Posted by Reluctant Housemom 1 comments

Today was another beautiful, but hot and humid day. We got much accomplished, including finishing weeding the garden. Flutterby was a big help with her hard rake. She was able to get weeds out of a nice portion of the garden. She is really anticipating the veggies. She keeps asking when they will grow so we can eat them. Here's hoping she will actually eat her veggies!
What we accomplished today…
  • Phonics: 100 EZ Lessons lesson 35
  • Math: Counting by 3s (song)
  • Writing: Kumon Number 1-30 pages 30-31 and dot-to-dot pages 22
  • Science: Classification of Living things song and observe day 3 of algae experiment (Flutterby added bottled water, so I suspect our experiment has gone awry).
  • Art: Continue the study of Manet,
  • Listening Therapy: Two 30 minute sessions
  • Vision Therapy: 1 Session
  • OT Exercises: Wheel barrow walk puzzle pieces, dribble a ball, cross body directions
  • Grammar: Prepositions Song
  • Geography: Fertile Crescent review: Mediterranean Sea, Fertile Crescent, Sumar, Tigris, Euphrates


  • Narration/Read Aloud Time: 1.5 hour of our daily 2 hour goal of reading aloud and some narration questions. We will finish the remainder at bed time.

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Thursday, May 6, 2010

11:05 AM Posted by Reluctant Housemom 0 comments
Today was a lovely warm day, so we spent much of it out of doors. here is what we did on the homeschool front...





  • Phonics: 100 EZ Lessons lesson 34
  • Math: Counting by 3s and 4
  • Writing: Kumon Number 1-30 pages 28-29 and dot-to-dot pages 20-21

  • Science: Classification of Living things song and observe day 2 of algae experiment
    Flutterby can now answer the question, "What are the classifications of living things?
        Flutterby responds, "The classification of living things are…
    • Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
We also explored outside in the garden. Flutterby discovered an inch worm. She also helped weed the garden and saw the bell pepper plants blossoming.
  • Listening Therapy: Two 30 minute sessions
  • Vision Therapy: 1 Session
  • OT Exercises: Crab walk, wall push-ups

  • Grammar: Prepositions Song
    Flutterby can give the definition of a preposition and list the first 5 alphabetically.
        What is a preposition? "A preposition relates a noun or a pronoun to another word!"
        What are some prepositions? "About, above, across, after, and against."
  • Geography: Fertile Crescent map coloring

  • Narration/Read Aloud Time: 2 hours of reading aloud and some narration questions.

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Some New Things

Wednesday, May 5, 2010 9:21 PM Posted by Reluctant Housemom 0 comments
I decided to go to the office supply store today to get some paper someone suggested to me on the Well Trained Mind forum.  I found the paper and some neat pencils that Flutterby truly enjoyed.  They seem like they could be helpful in helping a child learning to write.  I have never seen these Twist n' Write pencils nor the sensory paper with raised lines. 


If you have never tried them, I highly suggest you give them a shot!!!  The pencils have a unique, ergonomic design that forces a proper finger grasp for writing.  However, it is really more fun for the child rather than feeling trained.  The pencils twist in and out and have a nice, firm lead to prevent easy breakage.  On the handle are two embedded erasers, but these are a bit disappointing.  I would suggest keeping an eraser handy.


As for the paper, our initial use went well.  It did seem to encourage letter placement within the lines.  We will try the paper with imprinted lettering tomorrow.  I am a little uncertain about the indention's with arrows.  It could be confusing.  We shall see.  But the beauty is that these pads of paper are very inexpensive compared to the more expensive therapy brands and it won;t break the bank just by trying them.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

8:53 PM Posted by Reluctant Housemom 0 comments

Today has started off a bit sluggish. I guess we all have these sort of days. At least we have been productive thus far.

So far we completed one listening therapy session and vision therapy. As a reward for completing these activities without complaint, I am letting Flutterby play some twaddle-type games. I figure some mindless distractions can be useful from time to time and it gives me a chance to pep up for the day.

To add interest to the day, we are taking advantage of the outdoor classroom. We have brought a blanket into the yard, along with our books and lessons. This provides an opportunity to enjoy the fresh air and lovely weather. It also gives Flutterby a chance to play and run in between activities. She loves chasing butterflies, watching ants, picking flowers, and digging. Taking breaks to enjoy such diversions truly helps her to focus when she is ready to learn something new.

Flutterby enjoying the outdoor classroom

What we are completing today includes:

 















Day 1 of Algae Experiment

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Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Tuesday, May 4, 2010 8:41 PM Posted by Reluctant Housemom 0 comments

Tuesdays are quite full for us because my little Flutterby has both vision therapy and occupational therapy.  So our “homeschooling” is a bit limited on Tuesdays because she is working so hard doing other things.  I follow her lead and only do as much as she is interested in doing on Tuesday.
So here is what we did today:
We started with vision therapy at the doctor’s office.  Flutterby did a wonderful job and Daddy was able to come and see a whole session for the first time.  After vision therapy, we came home and had lunch.  Then we left and went to occupational therapy.  Again Flutterby did excellent.  So after her OT session, we went to the park for about an hour.

Once home, we watered the garden and planted more carrots.  We decided to try container gardening with these carrots.  They are the Thumbelina variety, so they are shorter and chubbier.  I think they will do well in containers.  Plus, Flutterby really has a green thumb and her container herb garden is flourishing.

Once she finished in the garden, Flutterby did her listening therapy.  While she did her listening therapy, she completed her large continent puzzle by Melissa & Doug.  Once she completed the puzzle and her therapy, we moved to doing some lessons.  Here is what our work involved:
·         2 pages in the Kumon Numbers 1-30 workbook
·         A lesson out of 100 Easy Lessons
·         Narration throughout 1.5 of read aloud
Our books today consisted of:
Mr. brown Can Moo!  Can You? by Dr. Seuss
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
If You Take A Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff
Polar Bear, Polar bear, What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin Jr./Eric Carle
Brown Bear, Brown bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr./Eric Carle
Hooray for Grandma Jo! by Thomas Mckean
The Tail of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler (3 Chapters)
Today our books were completely Flutterby’s pick, so they were a mix of seasons and topics.  The chapter book is basically twaddle and does involve some topics with which I don’t necessarily agree.  But it gives me a chance to discuss my opinions about them, like tarot cards, and express what the Biblical perspective is.  I decided not to shelve it because she adores it thus far.  It has a girl who can become a mermaid after all!  As long as it stays mild and we can discuss, I won’t shelve it.

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