Friday, February 19, 2010

weekly highlights

OK, so I said that I was gonna do school everyday, well....... Does only math on Tuesday still count as school? I did school school every other day, but that day I went grocery shopping and hit a million stores while Hubs helped them with math.

We are loving our Geography game that comes with ECC. Sassy struggles, but Little man and I try to beat each other, while Sassy tries to read the names for us. Even though next week we start Africa, we still haven't mastered Europe. But we are getting a general knowledge of where the countries are, so that's all that matters.

We were moving kinda slow through our Olympic lapbooks, but to day we plowed through a bunch of it. Little man likes it, and again Sassy is being a stinker. I think the task of reading frustrates her. Oh well. She'll get it when she gets it. She did like the word search though. I have to find more for her. Or I can just use this site and make our own. I think I'm actually gonna do this for our spelling words. Little man will do much better if he gets to practice them like this. Sassy got excited when I showed her the one I made this morning with all the countries we're learning in Europe. I made an extra master copy, for later in the year.



This is the first of three lapbooks that we've done. I'll get a picture of the rest when we're done. I was in the process of taking bread out of the bread maker and sticking it in the oven, so we didn't ge as far as I wanted. :) Such is life.

I started Phonics Pathways with Sassy this week. So far, she's more confused than before. But we're gonna keep at it. It's hard for her to learn the first two letters as opposed to word families.
So far she's done Sa-se-si-so-su, Ma-me-mi-mo-mu, Na-ne-ni-no-nu, Ra-re-ri-ro-ru. I review previous letters and teach another letter each day. I decided to give her a penny for every lesson she does without complaint. So if we get two new letters done in a day she gets two pennies. Then when the jar is full, I'll take her to the penny candy store near our house. Candy is the key word around here. :) I am determined to have her confidently reading by next school year.

Little man is trying my patience with reading also. He can read, but doesn't like to. He says it's boring. I get every book he asks for from the library. I think a trip to the library is due for us today. He will find books that interest him. :)

Usually at this time of the year, I feel like giving up, but not this year. I'm having fun staying home and teaching. They actually want to stay home, which helps. In the past we were always going somewhere and always falling behind. But we're figuring it all out this year. I think it helps that they are older now. Sassy just turned 8 last Friday, so I think she wants to learn. And the promise that she can join American Heritage Girls next year helps a bit also. :)

Hope your week went well.

3 comments:

Lisa said...

The site for making puzzles is great. I've used it for spelling words and found that my daughter learned them quicker. We've done the crosswords, word scrambles, word search, and I think there's one that uses codes or something. Fun!

Your lapbooks are incredible! You're doing such a great job! Can't wait to see the finished product!

We are having a similar experience as you this year. More motivated, having more fun, learning more, not wanting to give up, and just loving it! It's a great feeling, isn't it?! I'm teaching my younger daughter to read and she gets frustrated at times, but we're getting through it and I know when to call a break. My older daughter, who never enjoyed reading and said it was boring, now doesn't mind so much, and she's writing more, even on her own. It took a while, but I think we've all finally accepted our roles and responsibilities in homeschooling, which helps a great deal.

Anyway, keep up the good work!

Shannon said...

We have a rule that if you say you are bored you get something to do.... or more of what is "boring". LOL! Seriously, though.... have you considered making bedtime a few minutes earlier (15) and then, allow your son to have the option to stay up a little later, if he wants to read for fifteen minutes.... ;) sneaky!

I am teaching Sierra the beginning of reading, also. I noticed that she is less confused if I just give her a word. Instead of giving her the blend "sa", she seems to get it better if I give her "sat". Sometimes I think they need it to make sense and actually make a word. Just a thought...

Stefanie said...

I think the shopping alone counts as school. LOL

The lapbooks are looking great. We almost did that one but we're trying to get ahead in our regular work because Busch Gardens opens around here real soon. We want to go before the crowds hit.