Week three...

...and he's reading!!!

My baby is reading. Wow! Unbelievable to think my chubber bug is big enough to read all by himself, ok, almost all by himself... But still, just two months ago I thought he'd NEVER start blending sounds together, and here he is READING!

Have a listen.



This last week we went over the letters u, f, n, k, and l. Each lesson has him blending the consonant with each short vowel sound and it's (obviously) done wonders! I love this curriculum! We're still having some difficulty in enunciating the difference between the short i and the short e. Then when we introduced the short u on Monday that seemed to add to the confusion and Aidan has begun to mix up the short u and the short o. Can't say that I blame him, it's all very confusing, even to me. So, my evening free time (HA) is spent looking up ideas to teach the difference between the sounds and creative ideas to reinforce those differences. Found a short vowel workbook that I can supplement with in the $1 bins at Target today, was pretty excited about that..

Math is STILL review!!! We're starting our 4th week, and we'll be on lesson 31 come Monday morning. There have been 4 new concepts introduced, but he picked them up the first day they were introduced. These new concepts include tally marks, using a number line, counting by 10's which I thought for sure would throw him, but he did really really really well with that! If there is one area I need to review more it's the calendar. He's got his ordinal numbers down and can recite them back and forth and pick objects out of line ups no problem. But I think it really messes with his little brain when for instance, he is asked to determine what the 4th Friday in September will be. He'll point at either the 4th day of the week, or the 4th of the month. So, again in my free time (HA) I am searching for a good calendar program to use, as my creative juices have all but dried up.

Science this week was a lot of fun, but I'm going to write a separate post about that.

History is going well, this last week we went over the beginning of history, that is to say, the creation week, what was created day 1-6, and we added those things to our time-line.

Social studies we went over the five senses and did blindfold games. Aidan and I took turns leading each other around the house... I have to admit he was NOT a very good guide. I also sat him blindfolded at the dining table and had him guess different household noises, such as turning on the faucet, opening the pantry door, clapping hands, clanging cups together, and the garbage disposal (which he guessed was the lawnmower). Then I moved him to the kitchen counter and had him taste and smell different items, lemon juice, salt, instant coffee grounds, brown sugar, carrots and a tiny drop of liquid dish soap (which he guessed was yogurt).


All in all it was a much better week. I instituted the sticker chart. He earns a sticker for every class he does well in. He loses a sticker every time he complains, doesn't try or put forth what I know to be his best effort, anytime he asks when school is going to be finished, etc.. At the end of the week if he has 10 stickers left that were not crossed out his reward was going to Chic-fil-a. I can't remember exactly how many stickers were left on the chart but I think it was about 15, so it seemed to work. My plan is to up the required amount of remaining stickers, so this week he'll need to have at least 15 stickers not crossed off to earn a meal at Chic-fil-a, 20 next week, and so on...


Russian and Phonics are going well. He has already learned probably 6-8 new Russian words and has experimented using them, so YIPPEE!!! Phonics, well, if anything gets left out of the program that does... I have him scheduled to do Phonics Tuesday and Thursday evenings for 30 minutes, just as a supplement to our morning "English" class... I think on average he's done it once a week.

His choir class with church starts next Sunday, so that will be one more thing added to our schedule, and in November he starts flag football. So when people ask me what I plan to do for field trips, or if when and how many support groups I am going to join I fight the urge to laugh. I have enough on my plate thank you, I think the company would be nice, but not the stress of having to schedule anything else into our days. I'll be pleased if I can get us out and somewhere that both boys will enjoy once a month, but even if that doesn't happen it's not something I'm gonna sweat this year.

Well, apart from the separate science post I think that about sums up week three! Thanks for stopping by Iz'achestvo Academy.

Second Week of School

Well, our second week we did better then the first, but still have some kinks to work out. I think Aidan is getting more acclimated to the idea of more work and less play, but still has his moments where he is testing to see if this "school thing" is really gonna stick around. Overall though we had a much better week and zero meltdowns. I had instituted a candy reward, but after eating all the candy myself I quickly discovered that wasn't going to work. So instead decided to do a star chart. If, at the end of the week Aidan has 10 stars remaining on his chart I will take him to chic-fil-a. So, he earns a star every time we get through a class without any complaints and any time he does exceptionally well. Therefore he has at least 4 chances per day to earn a star. However he looses a star every time he complains, every time he says "I don't know" (unless there is a possibility that he genuinely doesn't know) instead of taking some time to think about the question, and every time he doesn't follow directions. At the end of last week he had two stars. That may come across like he is doing a terrible job, but in truth he really is an awesome student! I just run a tight ship around here and refuse to tolerate any nonsense.

Last week we reviewed letters a-g, and short vowel sounds of a, o, e and i. I have issues with the difference between e and i, so if anyone wants to throw out some suggestions!?!?! For instance I pronounce den the same way I say the first half of the word dinner. Pen is said the same way as pin, therefore it is very difficult for me to explain such things to Aidan....

Math we are still doing two lessons per day and it is still mostly review. There have been two new concepts introduced, tally marks, and bar graphs, but he has those mastered already.

In History we started our time line. So far, we have Eternity Past, Creation, the Cross, Consummation, or Jesus Return, and Eternity future on the time line. Our time line spans the length of the wall in the dining area. And of course one time line wasn't enough so Aidan had to draw one himself and put it up on the kitchen wall. Part of me cringes and wants to take it down, but I am keeping it up for as long as he lets me because I know all too quickly those kinds of things will fade away.

For science we did the Celery Experiment that spanned the course of the weekend. It was great because this past Friday marks the beginning of Darren having every Friday off until October 9th so he should always be home to do the science experiments with us.

FRIDAY 10:45am
Put a piece of celery in an empty glass.
Observations according to Aidan:
The celery looks hard. It is standing up. It smells like salt.


Saturday 11:35pm
Pour water into empty glass containing celery.
What has happened to your piece of celery?

Observations according to Aidan:
The celery is soft. It is falling down. (After taking a bite) "It tastes like green pepper". It smells like salt still.



Sunday 8:00am

Observations according to Aidan:
The celery is hard again!!! (WOW-he found this to be super cool!)
The celery is standing up again.
It smells like celery, and it tastes like celery.

The Biblical Application for this experiment came from the fact that just as plants receive their energy from the sun, soil and water that they grow in, we receive it from the food that we eat. Then incorporate Romans 10:17 and Hebrews 5:12 "Our faith comes from hearing the Word." and also in Matthew and Luke when Jesus says, "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." In other words, our soul or spirit needs to be fed as often and as regularly as our body does. In fact we need to remember that it is MORE important to "eat" daily from God's Word (the Bible) because our spiritual food is even more important than our solid or liquid food. This is true because our souls are much more important than our physical bodies!

First week summary

Well, here we are finished with our first week of school together. A few complaints from Aidan's end regarding the loss of free time that became a little more then irritating on a few occasions, but I think that will pass as he adjusts to this new schedule and routine. Monday went by with a few glitches that caused us to start about 90 minutes later then I had planned, but even with that hiccup we got everything accomplished AND I still made it to the gym! Yahoo!!! Tuesday was perfect, Wednesday was even better, well minus Asher's speech therapist showing up 30 minutes early and me answering the doorbell in my pajamas in a sleepy stupor. Thursday came and went and we had so much fun in our last "class" of the day! More on this later. Friday all was well until the end of the day when Aidan all of a sudden decided to cease being the cooperative, pleasant, smart and easy going kid that he is. We were reviewing some material from throughout the week, he had answered one particular question repeatedly throughout the week but decided for some unknown reason to act as though he didn't know the answer. Ooh, this resulted in a time out, a spanking, regrouping, Aidan answering the question correctly and then sitting back down at the table. I asked Aidan the question again for clarification he looked at me and said he didn't know and then started laughing!!! UGH! By that time I had reached my boiling point and the result was not perty. After a few minutes when we were both calm I went and repented and asked Aidan to please forgive mommy for yelling at him. I then explained that his job is to be a good steward with his brain, to listen and learn, and answer questions when asked. Mommy's job is to teach, and I can't do my job if he doesn't do his job, so we need to work together.

So to review, we had a great first four days, the second half of Friday was a train wreck. But as a whole I'm pleased with our week. I'm praying for a better week, and more patience come Monday.
Here are some pictures from our week, enjoy!
Special breakfast of choice on his first day of school. Cinnamon rolls and eggs!

First day of school! August 10, 2009.

Playing hopscotch at the end of math "class" =)

Asher getting in on the fun!

Building the walls of Jericho during "recess" on Wednesday. What a great use of the Jenga blocks, plastic army men and Asher's swift fist!


Our schedule is almost identical everyday. The day (except for Friday) is broken up into 4 classes, 5 on Friday. Bible first, follwed by Math, Monday-Thursday we break at this point and head to the gym or do "recess" at home. On Friday's we do Science before we break. Then after returning home from the gym, we have lunch, put Asher down for a nap, and Aidan and I hit the books again. Monday, Wednesday and Friday it's English and History. Tuesday and Thursday it is English and Social Studies.

Thursday's social studies lesson had us reviewing our address and discussing the type of house, neighborhood and community we live in. As an activity I decided we would postulate how many items of a particular "thing" we had in the house. Aidan got to guess, and then we went around the house searching to see if he had guessed correctly. He thought this was SOOOOOOOOOO cool! He loved going on an adventure to see if he was right.
Here is our worksheet:
Hypothesis/Finding
Clocks: 4/Clocks: 6
Lamps: 0/Lamps: O
Tables: 1/Tables: 1
Bookshelves: 2/Bookshelves: 9
Sinks: 3/Sinks: 4
Trash Cans: 3/Trash Cans: 5
Mirrors: 3/Mirrors: 4
Pillows: 8/Pillows: 20
Steps: 15/Steps: 17


And here is our bulletin board thus far...
A paper plate face that Aidan was to decorate to look like himself. A name puzzle I created to help Aidan learn the placing of his names. He's had the hardest time grasping the concept of a middle name. He's had first and last name and their spelling down for quiet some time now, in fact he knew how to spell his last name before his first, but that's just because he had memorized it from hearing me spell it out so many times, lol. Anyhow, his middle name was a challenge, if you asked him to tell you his middle name he would rattle off one of his many nicknames, and then when he ran out of his nicknames revert to his first or last name and then start going through the list of nicknames again. Funny, he knows his middle name is Jeremy, but for some reason it just wasn't making sense or sticking around in that brain, so I made this little name puzzle to hopefully help in that department, and what'da ya know it seems to have helped seeing his name written out with Jeremy in between Aidan and Wokurka. Huh, who knew it'd be that simple?
Friday's science experiment dealt with chromatography. We mixed green and pink food coloring together (chemicals, which Aidan insists upon calling minacles or miricles) and put a drop on a paper towel, then we stuck the paper towel so just the very bottom of it dipped into a glass of salt water which then caused the colors (chemicals) to separate back out from one another and climb up the paper towel, this process of colors separating is called chromatography. The Biblical application comes from the creation week when God separated the light from the darkness, and then again after the great flood when He put the rainbow in the sky.

A close up of our chromatography strip.

So there you go, our week in review.

Oh and just because I can, and I'm a proud momma, take a look at this picture that Aidan was instructed to draw at the end of his english class on Monday.

Yes, he really drew this... outline and all, BY HIMSELF!

Aidan

I can't believe you're 5. I can't believe it. Where has the time with my little man gone? How is it possible that you're now school age, when just "yesterday" you were learning to walk, climb stairs and welcome your baby brother home? Granted I missed a lot with you during your early years because I was so focused on myself,MY goals and MY aspirations that I came first even though I was "home" with you. The last 18 months have been different because God graciously and drastically changed mommy's heart, her focus, and her priorities.
(The time goes so quickly with your children it needs to be treasured, appreciated and valued for the gift that it is. There are still moments I take my kids for granted, don't get me wrong, I am by no means crediting myself with being the perfect mom, or even a great mom, what I do know is that I don't ever want to feel like I've gone from this

Aidan's birthday, January 30, 2004

to this
Aidan's first day of kindergarten, August 10, 2009.

again and not even know how I got there, not enjoyed and savored every moment.)

I love you buggy, and I'm so sorry for those first three years, I'd do anything to get them back. You're one of my mommy's very best friends and I love you so much! You are a gift from God and such a joy to be around, you light up the room, and you light up my life!

Interesting article

The most comprehensive survey of homeschoolers in America in more than a decade found a large gap between students educated at home and those educated in public institutions.

In the nationwide study conducted by Dr. Brian D. Ray of the National Home Education Research Institute, homeschoolers were found to have scored 34-39 percentile points higher than the norm on standardized achievement tests. The homeschool national average ranged from the 84th percentile for language, math, and social studies to the 89th percentile for reading, reported the Home School Legal Defense Association, which commissioned Ray to conduct the survey in 2007.

According to HSLDA, anecdotal evidence of homeschooling’s success has been backed by multiple research studies. However, it has been at least 10 years since any major nationwide study of homeschooling was done.

During that time, the number of homeschooled children has grown from about 850,000 to approximately 1.5 million, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

"Homeschooling is a rapidly growing, thriving education movement that is challenging the conventional wisdom about the best way to raise and educate the next generation," commented HSLDA president Michael Smith in his group’s announcement of the study Monday.

For the new study, touted as “the most comprehensive study of homeschool academic achievement ever completed,” Ray surveyed 11,739 homeschooled students from all 50 states, Guam, and Puerto Rico, and drew from 15 independent testing services.

Aside from the academic results, the study found that the achievement gaps common to public schools were not found in the homeschool community.

Homeschooled boys (87th percentile) and girls (88th percentile) scored equally well; the income level of parents did not appreciably affect the results (household income under $35,000: 85th percentile – household income over $70,000: 89th percentile); and while parent education level did have some impact, even children whose parents did not have college degrees scored in the 83rd percentile, which is well above the national average for public school students.

Homeschooled children whose parents both had college degrees scored in the 90th percentile.

"These results validate the dedication of hundreds of thousands of homeschool parents who are giving their children the best education possible," commented Smith.

"Because of the one-on-one instruction homeschoolers receive, we are prepared academically to be productive and contributing members of today's society," he added.

According to the study, 82.4 percent of homeschooling parents identified themselves as Protestant Christian, 12.4 Roman Catholic, 1.1 percent atheist/agnostic, 0.8 percent Mormon, 0.4 percent Jewish, 0.2 percent Eastern Orthodox Christian, and 0.1 percent Muslim.

The vast majority (97.9 percent) of parents in the study was also married and had an average of 3.5 children compared to the general population’s average of 2.0 children.

The title of the study is “Progress Report 2009: Homeschool Academic Achievement and Demographics.”

Science Problem...

Darren is science oriented. I am not.
I am the homeschool teacher. Darren is not.
I didn't purchase a kindergarten science curriculum per se, but I did purchase a series of coloring/informational books when we visited the creation museum in June, I thought they would serve our purposes just fine this year, upon closer inspection however I have discovered they will not.
Uh oh. What's a mom to do when the coloring book starts discussing all the different type of wave lengths and I, myself have no clue what they are talking about, or the differences between the different rays, let alone trying to explain these things to my son. Ugh. Now granted the suggested age range is 6-10 years old and I think that Aidan would grasp alot of the ideas found in the book, but...

For starters, after developing the first month of the science part of our curriculum, I GOT STUCK!!! That's a problem, and like I said this isn't an actual curriculum because I couldn't find one I liked for kindergarten, so I was trying to improvise. But a month into the books I purchased I'm scratching my head as to how I will explain some of these concepts... that's not good.

Secondly, Science is not a required subject for kindergarten, at least as far as I know.

Third, THIS IS KINDERGARTEN. KINDERGARTEN isn't even a required grade, what am I stressing out about? Oh, just that I take my job as mom and teacher seriously and I don't want to screw up or neglect Aidan's education.

Fourth, I've been so worried about how to fit all subjects into our day, still accomplish all our other daily routines, have one on one with both boys, not serve turkey sandwiches or order out for pizza at every meal, still find some moments for my sanity's sake, continue caring for the house, and when the time comes begin working on the dossier. If I "cut out" science from our daily routine that will give me an extra 20-30 minutes a day.

Fifth, I am not suggesting that we won't do ANYTHING related to science, just not a daily segment set aside for science. I did order the Backyard scientist, as well as the companion book of Biblical Application and so my thought is to just use that this year. Get Aidan acquainted to experiments and make science fun and special. The book includes 25 experiments, so I figured I'll use the book and do an experiment a week. The remaining weeks we can do things like ant farms, send for a caterpillar/butterfly thingy (yep, see how science oriented I am?) cooking projects ect... I think for this first year that will help take some of the pressure from off my shoulders, as well as give us more time together to still enjoy these early years and playtime.

Sixth, Answers in Genesis has recently come out with curriculum for first grade, so that'll be good for next year.

So there you go... my problem solved.. well kinda, now I feel like I am a horrible mom/teacher for "cutting out" science from our daily schedule.

Now our schedule will look like this:
Pray/Pledges
Bible
Math
Break for gym and lunch
English
History/Social Studies
And then one day per week we'll do a science experiment.

Aidan was also recently invited to join the children's choir at church and will be starting that the first Sunday after labor day. As well as playing flag football in November.

Also, Tuesday and Thursday evenings Aidan will be doing 30 minutes of a computer Phonics program, which he's already tested and approved. ;)
Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings we'll do Rosetta Stone's Russian Program together.

Whew, I feel better now.

Aidan says his pledges...

We're less then 48 hours away, I'm making slow progress on the lesson plans, but they are coming along. I am especially excited about our History curriculum (I may have mentioned that already)...
;)

Aidan, however is doing great learning his pledges, he's almost got 'em down. Way to go son!
(Of course some of the silliness was for show... it's amazing-EVERY TIME the camera comes out he seems to loose all sense of seriousness).