Homeschool Me! » Year 0 http://www.homeschool.me Homeschool articles, resources and real-world advice. Fri, 20 Aug 2010 22:53:33 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Year 0: Week 31 http://www.homeschool.me/2009/05/year-0-week-31.php http://www.homeschool.me/2009/05/year-0-week-31.php#comments Thu, 28 May 2009 23:01:38 +0000 http://www.homeschool.me/?p=601 Our school days are Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 9:30am, when we return from dropping off Ethan at Mother’s Day Out. Each bullet point is a 5-15 minute period of time.

This is our last week of school before we take a break for the summer months. Although we are ALWAYS learning (and will be going many places, including the Cockrell Butterfly Center!), we will not be doing ‘formal’ lessons for the next couple of months. So, I wanted to use this week to wrap up our lapbook and then do an end-of-year evaluation with Kate to assess where to start again next school year.

Monday:

  • Mommy’s book club
  • Errand, cleaning day
  • Observe caterpillars and milkweed.

Tuesday:

  • Pledge
    Weather: Record temperature, outside conditions
    Calendar: Write out weekly schedule
  • Butterfly Lapbook

    • Continue copywork of The Caterpillar by Christina Rossetti. (Handwriting)
    • Paint My Butterfly Symmetry. We found that the paint needs to be watery and wet when you fold over the butterfly to make a print on the other half. Our first attempt was too sticky and wound up tearing the paper.
  • Lunch (1hr)
  • Read first two sections of The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson, retold by Naomi Lewis.
  • Independent Reading/Rest Time

Wednesday:

  • Story time at the Library (11:30 am)
  • Turn in old and check out new books (12:00 pm)
  • Lunch (1hr)
  • Outdoor Play (1hr)
  • Literature: Library Books

Thursday:

Friday:

  • Nature Walk
]]> http://www.homeschool.me/2009/05/year-0-week-31.php/feed 0 Year 0: Week 30 http://www.homeschool.me/2009/05/year-0-week-30.php http://www.homeschool.me/2009/05/year-0-week-30.php#comments Thu, 28 May 2009 17:49:35 +0000 http://www.homeschool.me/?p=594 Our school days are Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 9:30am, when we return from dropping off Ethan at Mother’s Day Out. Each bullet point is a 5-15 minute period of time.

This is our third week creating a lapbook about butterflies from homeschoolshare.com to contain all the new things we’re learning. If you’d like to know more about what a lapbook is, please visit this post where I included helpful links that helped me learn more about this great way to present a unit study.

Monday:

  • Mommy’s book club
  • Errand, cleaning day
  • Observe caterpillars and eggs on milkweed in backyard

Tuesday:

]]> http://www.homeschool.me/2009/05/year-0-week-30.php/feed 0 Year 0: Week 29 http://www.homeschool.me/2009/05/year-0-week-29.php http://www.homeschool.me/2009/05/year-0-week-29.php#comments Tue, 19 May 2009 22:11:38 +0000 http://www.homeschool.me/?p=583 Our school days are Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 9:30am, when we return from dropping off Ethan at Mother’s Day Out. Each bullet point is a 5-15 minute period of time.

This is our second week creating a lapbook about butterflies from homeschoolshare.com to contain all the new things we’re learning. If you’d like to know more about what a lapbook is, please visit this post where I included helpful links that helped me learn more about this great way to present a unit study.

Just another note: Yesterday was Mother’s Day. Our family tradition for the past few years has been to plant flowers in our backyard to celebrate this day. Part of our research on plants that attract butterflies was put to good use as we shopped at our local garden shop and picked out some milkweed and zinnias to plant. Within an hour of planting the milkweed, we already had a Monarch butterfly flitting around checking it out. On Tuesday we noticed that she had actually laid eggs! We’re so looking forward to watching a butterfly’s life cycle up close and personal in our own back yard!

Monday:

  • Mommy’s book club
  • Errand, cleaning day

Tuesday:

  • Pledge
    Weather: Record temperature, outside conditions
    Calendar: Write out weekly schedule
  • Butterfly Lapbook

  • Lunch (1hr)
  • Independent Reading/Rest Time

Wednesday:

  • Story time at the Library (11:30 am)
  • Turn in old and check out new books (12:00 pm)
  • Lunch (1hr)
  • Outdoor Play (1hr)
  • Literature: Library Books

Thursday:

  • Pledge
    Weather: Record temperature, outside conditions
    Calendar: Write out weekend schedule
  • Butterfly Lapbook

    Friday:

    • Nature Walk
    ]]> http://www.homeschool.me/2009/05/year-0-week-29.php/feed 0 Year 0: Week 28 http://www.homeschool.me/2009/05/year-0-week-28.php http://www.homeschool.me/2009/05/year-0-week-28.php#comments Thu, 07 May 2009 21:04:29 +0000 http://www.homeschool.me/?p=545 Our school days are Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 9:30am, when we return from dropping off Ethan at Mother’s Day Out. Each bullet point is a 5-15 minute period of time.

    This month we are trying a new activity. We will be learning about butterflies and doing a lapbook from homeschoolshare.com to contain all the new things we’ve learned. If you’d like to know more about what a lapbook is, please visit this post where I included helpful links that helped me learn more about this great way to present a unit study.

    Monday:

    • Mommy’s book club
    • Errand, cleaning day

    Tuesday:

    Wednesday:

    • Story time at the Library (11:30 am)
    • Turn in old and check out new books (12:00 pm)
    • Lunch (1hr)
    • Outdoor Play (1hr)
    • Literature: Library Books
    • Kate and I decided to draw a large butterfly outside using sidewalk chalk. I told her that she would draw half, and I would copy her half on the other side like a mirror. She knew that is called ‘symmetry’. We had fun not only discussing symmetry, but also using the anatomical names we have learned like fore wings and hind wings, antenna, proboscis, etc. She had a blast coloring with Mommy while also reinforcing things we had already learned about butterflies.

    Thursday:

    Friday:

    • Nature Walk

    Just another note: This Sunday will be Mother’s Day. Our family tradition for the past few years has been to plant flowers in our backyard to celebrate this day. Part of our research on plants that attract butterflies will be put to good use as we shop at our local garden shop. Looking forward to planting some great flowers this weekend and then watching to see what we’re able to attract to our little garden in the back yard.

    ]]>     http://www.homeschool.me/2009/05/year-0-week-28.php/feed 0     Year 0: Week 27 http://www.homeschool.me/2009/04/year-0-week-27.php http://www.homeschool.me/2009/04/year-0-week-27.php#comments Thu, 30 Apr 2009 17:21:52 +0000 http://www.homeschool.me/?p=516 Our school days are Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 9:30am, when we return from dropping off Ethan at Mother’s Day Out. Each bullet point is a 5-15 minute period of time.

    Monday:

    • Mommy’s book club
    • Errand, cleaning day

    Tuesday:

    • Pledge
      Weather: Record temperature, outside conditions
      Calendar: Write out weekly schedule
    • Phonics:
      • Short I vowel sound with “ind” and “ild” Crossword Puzzle- Barbie Phonics (pg 15)
      • Short and Long I vowel sounds – Phonics Educational Workbook (pgs 6-7)
    • Math: Addition sentences – Disney Princess Addition and Subtraction (pgs 7-8)
    • Science: We had a very strong thunderstorm system blow through the last few days, so Kate requested to learn more about storms.
    • Literature: Raggedy Ann Learns a Lesson by Johnny Gruelle
    • Lunch (1hr)
    • Literature: Kate’s choice
    • Independent Reading/Rest Time

    Wednesday:

    Thursday:

    Friday:

    ]]>     http://www.homeschool.me/2009/04/year-0-week-27.php/feed 0     Year 0: Week 26 http://www.homeschool.me/2009/04/year-0-week-26.php http://www.homeschool.me/2009/04/year-0-week-26.php#comments Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:22:49 +0000 http://www.homeschool.me/?p=498 Our school days are Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 9:30am, when we return from dropping off Ethan at Mother’s Day Out. Each bullet point is a 5-15 minute period of time.

    Monday:

    • Mommy’s book club
    • Errand, cleaning day

    Tuesday:

    Wednesday:

    • Lunch (1hr)
    • Watch Disney’s “Earth” at the theater for Earth Day!
    • Outdoor Play (1hr)
    • Literature: Library Books
    • Independent Reading/Rest Time

    Thursday:

    Friday:

    ]]>     http://www.homeschool.me/2009/04/year-0-week-26.php/feed 0     Year 0: Week 25 http://www.homeschool.me/2009/04/year-0-week-25.php http://www.homeschool.me/2009/04/year-0-week-25.php#comments Fri, 17 Apr 2009 21:47:45 +0000 http://www.homeschool.me/?p=495 Our school days are Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 9:30am, when we return from dropping off Ethan at Mother’s Day Out. Each bullet point is a 5-15 minute period of time.

    Monday:

    • Mommy’s book club
    • Errand, cleaning day

    Tuesday:

    • Pledge
      Weather: Record temperature, outside conditions
      Calendar: Write out weekly schedule
    • Evaluation Week! Kindergarten Skill Test covers the following skills:
      • Alphabet – recognize and name all upper and lower case
      • Letter Sounds
      • Read Color and Number words
      • Knows Shapes
      • Count to 30
      • Knows Birthday, Address, and Phone Number
      • Says Days of the Week and Months in Order
      • Knows consonant blends and digraphs
      • Knows short and long vowel sounds
      • Reads 30 most common words
    • Lunch (1hr)
    • Literature: Kate’s choice
    • Independent Reading/Rest Time

    Wednesday:

    • Story time at the Library (10:30 am)
    • Turn in old and check out new books (11:00 am)
    • Lunch (1hr)
    • Outdoor Play (1hr)
    • Literature: Library Books
    • Independent Reading/Rest Time

    Thursday:

    • Pledge
      Weather: Record temperature, outside conditions
      Calendar: Write out weekend schedule
    • Phonics:
      • Short Vowel Review: Barbie Phonics (pgs 7-8)
      • Short and Long O: Phonics Grade 1 Educational Workbook (pgs 8-9)
    • Math: Addition sentences using #s 1-9: Disney Princess Addition & Subtraction (pg 6)
    • Lunch (1hr)
    • Outdoor Play (1hr)
    • Sign Language: Practice Time 123 DVD from Signing Time
    • Independent Reading/Rest Time

    Friday:

    • Nature Walk
    ]]>     http://www.homeschool.me/2009/04/year-0-week-25.php/feed 0     Year 0: Week 24 http://www.homeschool.me/2009/04/year-0-week-24.php http://www.homeschool.me/2009/04/year-0-week-24.php#comments Thu, 09 Apr 2009 20:17:12 +0000 http://www.homeschool.me/?p=456 Our school days are Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 9:30am, when we return from dropping off Ethan at Mother’s Day Out. Each bullet point is a 5-15 minute period of time.

    Monday:

    • Mommy’s book club
    • Errand, cleaning day

    Tuesday:

    • Pledge
      Weather: Record temperature, outside conditions
      Calendar: Write out weekly schedule
    • Phonics: Easy Reader – Oliver Pig and the Best Fort Ever by Jean Van Leeuwen
    • Composer Study: Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf”
    • Artist Study: Matisse: The King of Color by Laurence Anholt (see my review of this book here)
    • Literature: Old Mother West Wind “Jimmy Skunk Looks for Beetles” by Thornton Burgess
    • Poetry: “The Farmer and the Queen” by Shel Silverstein
    • Lunch (1hr)
    • Literature: Kate’s choice
    • Independent Reading/Rest Time

    Wednesday:

    • Story time at the Library (10:30 am)
    • Turn in old and check out new books (11:00 am)
    • Lunch (1hr)
    • Outdoor Play (1hr)
    • Literature: Library Books
    • Independent Reading/Rest Time

    Thursday:

    Friday:

    • Nature Walk
    ]]>     http://www.homeschool.me/2009/04/year-0-week-24.php/feed 0     Year 0: Week 23 http://www.homeschool.me/2009/03/year-0-week-23.php http://www.homeschool.me/2009/03/year-0-week-23.php#comments Thu, 12 Mar 2009 17:09:21 +0000 http://www.homeschool.me/?p=435 Our school days are Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 9:30am, when we return from dropping off Ethan at Mother’s Day Out. Each bullet point is a 5-15 minute period of time.

    Monday:

    • Mommy’s book club
    • Errand, cleaning day

    Tuesday:

    • Pledge
      Weather: Record temperature, outside conditions
      Calendar: Write out weekly schedule
    • Poem of the Month: A Frisky Lamb
    • Handwriting: Practice all Upper Case and lower case letters
    • Literature:
    • Artist Study: Katie and the Sunflowers, by James Mayhew (another great story where Katie disappears into the paintings in a museum – this time they’re all of the postimpressionist era)
    • Lunch (1hr)
    • Literature: Kate’s choice
    • Independent Reading/Rest Time

    Wednesday:

    • Story time at the Library (11:30 am)
    • Turn in old and check out new books (12:00 pm)
    • Lunch (1hr)
    • Outdoor Play (1hr)
    • Literature/Art Study:
      • I Spy: An Alphabet in Art, by Lucy Micklethwait (Awesome introduction to the alphabet and to art at the same time. Micklethwait has hand-picked 26 pieces of art and then asked the reader to spy the element in it that starts with that letter. Very cleverly done, and actually encourages the reader to stop and study a piece for a while before turning the page.)
      • Ellsworth’s Extraordinary Electric Ears, by Valorie Fisher (A very clever alphabet book that has a one-sentence story with as many words starting with that letter as possible. For instance, “Alistair had an alarming appetite for acrobats.” The picture for that page includes the alligator, Alistair, as well as the acrobat along with several other ‘a’ words for the children to spy. At the back of the book is a list of all the ‘hidden’ elements for each letter. It was fun to see if we could find them all without looking at the back of the book first!)
    • Independent Reading/Rest Time

    Thursday:

    • Pledge
      Weather: Record temperature, outside conditions
      Calendar: Write out weekend schedule
    • Handwriting: Finish writing lower case letters, discuss which letters we need to work on for next time.
    • Poem of the Month: A Frisky Lamb
    • Sign Language:  Review all words, check against Signing Savvy
    • Composer Study: Strike Up the Orchestra, by Carin and Joan Dewhirst
    • Literature: Mother Earth and Her Children, by Sibylle Von Olfers
    • Lunch (1hr)
    • Outdoor Play (1hr)
    • Literature: Kate’s choice
    • Independent Reading/Rest Time

    Friday:

    • Nature Walk
    ]]>     http://www.homeschool.me/2009/03/year-0-week-23.php/feed 0     Year 0: Week 20 http://www.homeschool.me/2009/02/year-0-week-20.php http://www.homeschool.me/2009/02/year-0-week-20.php#comments Thu, 19 Feb 2009 19:08:50 +0000 http://www.homeschool.me/?p=416 Our school days are Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 9:30am, when we return from dropping off Ethan at Mother’s Day Out. Each bullet point is a 5-15 minute period of time.

    Monday:

    • Mommy’s book club
    • Errand, cleaning day

    Tuesday:

    Wednesday:

    • Story time at the Library (10:30 am)
    • Turn in old and check out new books (11:00 am)
    • Lunch (1hr)
    • Outdoor Play (1hr)
    • Literature: Library Books
    • Independent Reading/Rest Time

    Thursday:

    Friday:

    • Nature Walk
    ]]>     http://www.homeschool.me/2009/02/year-0-week-20.php/feed 1