I've been back home for 3 1/2 weeks now and we are starting to get back into a routine. I bought the kids storage clipboards so they can sit wherever they want to do their work and I load them each morning with just that day's work. They were using a weekly binder but I found that it was better if I could adjust the work they were doing from day to day, if necessary. For example, Vicki has needed more multiplication drill added to each day, while George) (who now goes by "Squidy" has been able to move faster through his Math Mammoth.
They are using a lot of the same stuff they were using last year, just at a higher level.
Vicki is right on track to finish up her grade level material between now and mid-June.
She is currently working on division in Math Mammoth 3B. She is struggling a little because she doesn't have her multiplication facts memorized. She fully understands the IDEA of multiplication and has been solving the problems by doing repeated addition. I've pulled out the old Scholastic Solve-the-Riddle Math Practice Multiplication and Division and Super Sudoku Math Multiplication & Division that Squidy used when he was at this point. We're also doing flashcards, filling in multiplication tables and writing out problems. In the meantime, she uses a multiplication chart while she's doing her math.
In addition to MM, she's also been doing Evan Moor Skill Sharpeners Math Grade 3, Algebra Readiness Made Easy Grade 3, and Evan Moor Daily Word Problems Grade 3. She will finish Skill Sharpeners and Algebra Readiness in the next week or two, and Word Problems in mid-June. We are going to hold off on the next levels until September and spend the extra time working on solidifying multiplication and division.
For Language Arts, Vicki is using Evan Moor Grammar & Punctuation Grade 3 which she will finish next week. She just recently finished Evan Moor Skill Sharpeners Spell & Write Grade 4 and has started Grade 5. She will finish up Evan Moor Word-A-Day Grade 3 by the end of May and Evan Moor Daily Reading Comprehension Grade 3 by the end of June.
Vicki is also working through Handwriting without Tears Cursive. Once she finishes the book, I'll be pulling out the Scholastic Cursive Practice Jokes & Riddles that Squidy used.
Squidy will finish up Math Mammoth 5B by mid-June. He is also working on Beast Academy 4B, and Evan Moor Daily Word Problems Grade 5. He will finish the word problems by mid-June but has just started back up with BA.
Squidy is still doing Evan Moor Daily Reading Comprehension Grade 6, and Evan Moor Word-A-Day Grade 6. He will complete both by mid-June and at that point, he will have finished up what Evan Moor offers. For spelling, he is using Spelling Workout E/5th Grade since he had already finished all the Evan Moor prior to this year. He is also using Words on the Vine to learn about the Greek and Latin roots of words.
Both kids do brief journal entries each day and have an hour of required reading. I've started to choose the books for them to read during that hour, sometimes from history or science, sometimes from age appropriate classics, sometimes just something a little more challenging than they would pick on their own.
For this week, Vicki read Ben and Me, And Then What Happened Paul Revere, Magic Tree House Revolutionary War on Wednesday, Magic Tree House Research Guide American Revolution, The Cricket in Times Square. Some of these were very easy for her and she finished them (or more than one) in an hour.
Squidy read The City of Ember, Gregor the Overland, and he's working on Johnny Tremain. He was very hesitant when I suggested The City of Ember and Gregor but he ended up liking Gregor so much he asked for the rest of the series.
We will continue math, reading and writing on a lighter schedule through the summer.
For Vicki that will likely mean continuing along with Math Mammoth, word problems, and drill if needed, spelling, and journal writing. I'm not sure if we will be continuing with the other Evan Moor resources in September so I'm not planning to purchase the next levels until I'm certain.
For George, he will continue with Math Mammoth and Beast Academy through the summer, along with journal writing.
We are currently working on finishing up the Revolutionary War in history. They have already done the History Pockets so we are mostly reading, watching the rest of Liberty Kids, and taking field trips. We are taking it slow because I'm trying to stretch it out until we head down to the Philadelphia area in May for the Valley Forge Homeschool Days. We're taking two days so we can also visit Washington's Crossing, Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. More posts on that will be coming.
We will continue American History through the summer, hopefully through the Civil War, and start up Ancients in the Fall.
For Science, I'm working on plans for an Evolution/ Darwin/ Prehistory study. I'm hoping to have everything planned and start in the next week or two.
We do a 4-H STEM club twice a month (run by George Sr. and I). Last month, we learned about Chemical Reactions and made Polymers (bouncy balls and slime).
We also attended 4-H Science-Sational Day at a local community college. George Sr. and I ran a Build-A-Better Boat STEM Challenge workshop. Vicki was too young to do our workshop but participated in the younger kids track. Squidy participated in our challenge - build the boat that holds the most pennies using 4 straws, a square of foil, an index card and two strips of tape. Our top score was 274 pennies.
For Physical Education, the kids are doing Tai Kwan Do (recently received their yellow belts)....
swimming lessons, walks/hiking, and Wii Fit.
They are both still in choir and I will be teaching them to read music between now and September so they can start instrument lessons. Vicki wants to learn to play guitar.
So, there's my usual long-winded post about what we are currently doing. One of these days, I'll post about what I'm planning for next year. :-)
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