Post Break Wrap-Up for Week Ending Jan. 10

All in all I will say we got a good start on our second half of this school year.  We started the week with icy cold weather and a bit of snow.  The kids of course wanted to declare a "snow day" but the temps were too frigid for outdoor play.  Hubby stayed home on Monday so we ended up taking that day off anyway.  Three cheers for an extra vacation day!

As I am sitting down to write this post, I have discovered that I did not take any pictures last week!  So I will have to recap this without photos.  I do remember that on Tuesday, we did our work in my bedroom because it was chilly downstairs.  Imagine, all three kids with books, papers, pencils/pens on a queen-size bed.  No one cared that I didn't have a spot.  They were literally like three peas in a pod.  :)

We were back full steam ahead on Wednesday.  T(8), is moving along with her multiplication.  She has grasped the concept and is bulldozing her way through.  E(11) is finishing his decimals unit.  He's overjoyed about that.  Dividing decimals has kicked his butt.  Next up, percentages!  A(7) is finishing her regrouping/renaming (or, carrying/borrowing depending on your generation) with 2-digit numbers.  As long as she remembers her basic math facts, this unit is fairly easy for her.  She's not a confident mathematician but once she's on a roll she has no trouble.

I am on the hunt for a science curriculum.  I have toyed with purchasing Elemental Science.  I would rather do something a bit more relaxed but easy enough for me to "teach".  I definitely want to get a library load of reference books.  For E, I really need to discuss his prior learning to gauge where he is with science.  He does a lot of independent study and is probably well versed in the typical 6th grade scope.  T and A will be fairly easy as they've done minimal science in the past.  Either way, we'll all tackle Life Science first and then Earth Science.  My plan is start sometime next month and work through the summer.  Kind of like a summer of science.  We'll see what happens.

Vacation Mode

Am I the only one who gets into vacation mode around the holiday season?  We don't get into all the festivities of celebrating Thanksgiving but we do have the big turkey day feast.  All this week, I've been so slack and unfocused.  I've kept up our scheduling but I've relaxed my teacher role a lot this week.  My focus is on all the prep work and feasting we'll do next week! lol  I really can't wait.

The kids are moving right along with their studies.  E(11) has moved on to decimals. He worked on Khan Academy this week to refresh his memory. (He started working with decimals last year, but eventually the teachers started teaching for the state exams so it wasn't a necessity for his grade level.)  He was so happy to finally be done with the fractions unit.  A lot of it was a repeat from last year but dividing fractions kicked his butt.  He stuck with it and made it through.  I expect this decimal unit to last throughout the month of December and then after the new year, we'll move on to ratios, percent and conversions.  What fun!
 

T(8) has finished her review of addition up to 4-digit numbers.  She struggled a bit with her math facts but she remembered the rules for carrying (regrouping) and borrowing.  Her next unit is multiplication.  We've discussed it previously so she's familiar with how it works.  She determined that it is just like skip counting.  We'll start the unit in December.

  

A(7) has just learned how to regroup 2-digit numbers!  I'm so proud of my baby.  She fought me so hard when I introduced this new skill!  Oh my goodness, that girl is tough!  She insisted it was too hard... she would never learn it... she didn't need to learn it.... I took the whole week to go through the problems in the first lesson.  It was about 25-30 problems.  We started with doing five a day using base tens rods.  By the third day she said she didn't need the rods.  Day 4 she was doing the problems on the whiteboard with my confirmation of a right answer.  On Friday, she was doing the remaining problems in the lesson by herself.  My girl!  She proclaimed she is now a pro at regrouping.  We'll do another lesson of problems and then we'll move on.  I'm not sure if we'll do larger numbers with regrouping or learn borrowing with subtraction.  Either way, it will begin in December.


Next week, is a short work week for us.  We'll do fun stuff on Monday & Tuesday and then take off the rest of the week to enjoy some much needed rest and family time.  Whatever your plans, have a fantastic time!!

Realizations

We've come to realize we want need more flexibility than what "schooling at home" provides.  Now, I know I can plan our day and meet objectives without doing all the busy work, but good grief having everything planned out for me was one of the reasons I chose to go this route! 

Three different learning styles, three different grades has proven a great challenge for me.  A is struggling with Math, k12 style.  That means I have to teach the lesson differently than what k12's teacher's guide suggests.  Work!  My baby is worth it, of course, but I didn't plan for that.  Language Arts is "boring, just a bunch of reading", but she is learning a lot of different things.  T is doing well overall, but doesn't like to write (much like her sister, A) so getting her to complete a written assignment is like pulling your hair out, strand.by.strand.  We often complete such works orally. (so glad I don't have to submit work samples!) She's a competitive perfectionist which allows her to strive for 100% on everything she does, but also leads to a diva like meltdown if that goal is not achieved.  humph, now I have to send that into a room full of other kids to do a diagnostic test?!  I think not.  E is coasting.  He slacks off, procrastinates and excels all at the same time.  I often have to remind him he is to do his work on the computer, not watch videos or play games (even educational ones).  He is a typical 5th grader and my only child doing well with k12's virtual academy.

I realize that if I put my mind to it, I could have every one's work prepped for the week, assessments printed, materials available for use the night before.  I just didn't want to have to do all that while using a virtual academy.  I thought it would save me some time.  I wanted it to save me some time.  It's not.  There's a lot of busy work, that while I can skip some of it, some of it is essential to mastering the lesson.

I miss my freedom!  I don't like being required to attend teleconferences, outings and various testing locations.  I miss Black History lessons.  We initially moved those lessons to Saturdays so Dad can teach but the kids felt punished because they had to do "Saturday School".  So we incorporated Black/African historical facts into E's k12 U.S. history lessons and the girls listened in. 

All in all, this year was a huge learning experience.  I'm glad my kids were able to attend some of the outings (limited since we are a 1 car family).  I'm glad I am making this decision now to return to independent homeschooling for the next school year.  I have six months to purchase workbooks, print free resources, etc.  I just realized I need to get organized, too.  eek!

Catch Up to Week 5

We have completed our fifth week of schooling at home with K12.  Juggling the three kids has definitely been a struggle, but I am proud of the progress we've made so far.

September seems to have gone by quickly.  We had a short week after Labor Day.  We only had three days to get some work done before we went to one of the many Back to School Picnics held in our area. It was a successful week.   During that week, the girls had their AIMSweb assessments with their teachers. I am very proud and happy to say they both did exceptionally well and are on track for their respective grade levels. In fact, Miss T reads at a upper 3rd to 4th grade level. *insert fist pumps and swelling chest* T & A both need to work on their handwriting. They had to write 2-4 sentences about themselves as a writing portfolio to send to their teachers. This gave the teachers an idea of where the students may need help with either handwriting, spelling, structure, etc. They also had an opportunity to speak with their teacher on the telephone while completing the assessment. This was a wonderful introduction to the up coming picnic where they personally met their teachers. They were so excited. E was a bit disappointed since his teachers were not there but he had fun none.the.less.

In the weeks to follow we have worked hard to find our groove.  The girls are learning how to work independently and share "Teacher Mommy" with their brother.  He, meanwhile, is learning to discipline himself to focus on his work while I am busy with his sisters.  I am learning how to give each of them 1:1 attention throughout the day.  It is not easy.  However, it is beneficial to everyone because with this 1:1 time, I have learned that Miss T does not know all her basic addition facts.  Some she knows by heart, others it takes a little longer for her figure out how to count/work it out.  I will probably shuffle her Math program around to better suit her needs.  For example, on her scheduled plan she should be learning about money.  Well, she can't very well count money if she can't remember the basic addition.  This week, I plan to put the K12 math on pause and give her some supplemental addition work to help her memorize facts.  Miss A (my 1st grader) is now starting with her addition facts so hopefully I can give them group work to make it all a little easier.

October brings the next round of Parent/Teacher conferences.  I will discuss, T's math struggles with her teacher.  A will probably have her handwriting assessed.  E's conference will be a review of his test scores (Scantron and Study Island Benchmarks), plus his Fall writing portfolio.

Back to School: Week 1 Wrap Up

Well, we've completed a full week of school.  It was a first of many for our household.  E started what is (unofficially) known as the "intro to middle school". 




And my sweet girls began their first year as K12 Virtual Academy students.



There was lots of reading new books for my precious first grader (who wants to go back to Kindergarten).  She spent lots of time with books while I worked 1:1 with her older siblings.  As these early months go by, I will have to develop some sort of schedule to do more 1:1 with each of them and provide independent work for the others.

E struggled a bit this week getting in the groove.  His body is certainly in attendance but his brain is vacationing.  Math is already kicking his butt.  Estimation is not his friend.  He is studying American History this year.  This week focused on the early beginnings of U.S. History.

Handwriting Without Tears (!!!) is a part of the 1st and 2nd grade curriculum.  The girls are loving their 10 minute writing drills.  I set the timer on my phone for 10 minutes and they have to complete as many pages as they can.  They've been doing 1-2 pages per day.  I can alreay see improvement in their handwriting.  Both T & A would write with uppercase letters exclusively if I let them.  I'm glad this course is emphasizing writing with lowercase letters.

T had her hands full with writing big numbers up to 500.  It was a lot of busy work but good practice.

As for me, I had a few class connect sessions with the teachers for each grade level.  My goal for next month is to develop the habit of laying out the girls' workbooks the night before.  I definitely need to get some drawer carts for the girls.  Workboxes will help with increasing their independence.  E has his books in crates next to his desk that he can easily reach when necessary.  It worked well for him last year so I won't rock the boat by changing him to workboxes.

All in all it was a great week and I look forward to the busyness that is to come.

A Little Summer Fun

For a couple of weeks we had a quiet visitor on our patio.  He'd just show up, hang out a bit and then slowly go about his business.  The kids were a bit apprehensive but enjoyed looking at him.  E did some research (as only a professor would) and decided he was a pondslider turtle.  It's been a bout two weeks now since we last saw him.  I believe the heat wave we went through has something to do with that. 

Apparently my son is a bit camera shy. Every time I came with camera, he ducked or ran away... boys.  I've also discovered what my daughters' favorite shirts are.

Enrollment

This week, we made the decision to enroll our youngest children, our daughters T & A ages 6 and 5, respectively into the Virtual Academy at K12. It’s a bittersweet moment for me. On the one hand, I am excited about the learning and challenges they willl experience throughout the school year. On the other, my babies are growing up! How did that happen? I look at them and think they are so small and precious, how could I possibly let them out of my sight! Thankfully, I don’t have to. We didn’t intend to enroll them in the public school system so young. We independently homeschooled E through the third grade. We only decided to enroll him in K12 for financial reasons. Praise the Lord it was an available option in our state. We didn’t have the option in NY. Anyhoo, the applications have been submitted for T & A so now we wait for the telephone conference with our PAL (Personal Admissions Liaison) to answer some questions to fill in the blanks, perhaps submit other documentation. They don’t know about their new enrollment yet. I will wait until the enrollment is approved before I let them in on the change. They are gonna be so excited. New computers! I’ll be excited for them until then. In the meanwhile, I need to figure out organization for the new school items. Time to purge!! They will get a lot of stuff. I’m so excited!