First Grade Week 18 in Review

Well, another week is complete at Childress Academy.  The schedule of subjects that Caleb picked seems to be working really well.  Everything is flowing smoothly, and we’re getting all of the work done without too much fussing.  Here’s how this week went…
Heritage Studies:  We continued talking about the Separatists by studying the Mayflower Compact, William Bradford, Anne Bradstreet, family trees, Plymouth Rock, Samoset, and Squanto.  Caleb is just soaking it all up, and he’s loving this subject.
Science:  We continued to talk about heat by describing temperature changes in words and numbers.  We finished up by taking a chapter test.
Math:  We moved into a new chapter on fractions.  We discussed equal parts, halves, thirds, fourths, and parts of a set.
Bible:  Our Bible story this week was on “God Saved Noah and His Family.”  We reviewed all the Bible verses we’ve learned in this session.
Vocabulary:  We added “design, stormy, batteries, section, and raise” to our vocabulary terms.
Phonics & English:  We added “don’t, warm, heart, Christmas, and thought” to our list of service words.  We discussed the “y” as long “e” and “-ie” as long “i”.
Art:  Caleb drew a picture of a stuffed bunny this week.  He continues to do well, and he loves the time he gets to work on art.
Extra Stuff:  Co-op went well this week, and Caleb had a blast as always.  Tonight we’re gearing up for our first trick-or-treat adventure with the boys.  Caleb would go at his preschool, but we’ve never gone as a family.  So, tonight we will join some friends and go for the first time.  Caleb is going to be a Busy, Busy Bug Catcher, and Micah will be an Inchworm.  Pictures will follow later…
As always, thanks for following our fun times in first grade.
***I’m now down to less than 100 posts to read in order to catch up on the blogs I follow.  So, I’m slowly getting all caught up.  You bloggers have been very busy.***

First Grade Week 17 in Review

Well, I thought I’d get Caleb’s input on homeschooling this week by letting him choose the order of subjects taught.  So, he gave it some thought, and this is what he chose – Heritage Studies, Science, Math, Bible, Reading, Spelling, Vocabulary, Handwriting, and Phonics & English.  I’m hoping this new schedule will work out, and so far it seems to be.  We’ll keep you posted.  Here’s how this past went:
Heritage Studies:  We continued to talk about the Separatists, and how they obeyed God.  We discussed that they sailed to the New World on the Mayflower and landed at Plymouth Plantation.  Caleb really seems to be enjoying this study.  It makes me happy because I am NOT a history lover myself.  So, I’m glad to see he is not taking after me in that aspect. 
Science:  We started talking about changing forms this week.  We discussed melting/freezing and vaporizing/condensing.  We’ve been able to get into the kitchen and do some experiments, and Caleb LOVES it.  Whenever we go to the kitchen to do the experiments, he says “I LOVE doing science in the kitchen.”  LOL!  That’s my boy…I, too, LOVE science!
Math:  We finished up our time chapter by discussing the calendar and then had a chapter test. 
Bible:  Our Bible story was about “We Need God’s Forgiveness.”  Our Bible verse for the week was Romans 5:8.
Vocabulary:  Our new vocabulary words for the week were “sway, property, arrange, rusty, and attach.”
Phonics & English:  We discussed the use of the comma and adding “-ing and –ed” to long and short vowel words.  We added “learn, friend, buy, and again” to our list of service words.  “-eat, –eam, –eet, –eep, and –ee” were added to our list of word families.
Art:  Caleb is still enjoying art.  This week he painted a picture of a bird flying in the air with the help of his art teacher. 
Extra Stuff:  We’re still busy with co-op, and Caleb is still loving every second of it!  I’m happy he’s having fun, and I’m happy for the opportunity we have to participate in such a wonderful program.
As always, thanks for following our first grade adventures at Childress Academy. 
***On a side note, I do apologize for not checking in on all of my favorite blogs.  I checked Google Reader this morning, and I’ve got over 360 new posts to read from all of you.  WOW!  It will take me some time, but I promise to pay you all a quick visit soon!***

Picture Overload (of Micah anyway)…

Well, being as it’s been a while since I really posted anything other than homeschool stuff, I’ve got a ton of pictures to share with you all.  They’re all of Micah, but that’s okay.  He’s cute as ever and developing quite the personality.  I tell you…it’s amazing how different two children can be.    Anyway, enjoy all the pictures…I’m sure you’ll get a few laughs when I explain some of them. 

Opa and Micah sound asleep (this was taken during Opa’s recent visit). 

Micah playing with the toy kitchen (this was at the local skating rink.  It’s so nice that Caleb can skate, and Micah can play).

Micah says, “Peek-a-boo.” 

This was not a sight I wanted to see…Micah figured out how to climb onto the kitchen table.  We have since discouraged such acts of bravery. 

He has a fascination with the salt grinder…maybe I should buy him his own.

Where’s Micah????

There he is…playing in the cabinet in daddy’s desk. 

This is the only decent picture I got at the fair.

Micah has watched big brother get his step stool to assist at the stove.  So, Micah invented his own stool so he could help mommy cook.  LOL!  Such creativity I tell ya.

Micah loves going to the pantry to get his own snack.  He can’t open it, but as soon as we open it for him…well, he pushes us out of the way so he can do it all himself.  He’s so grown!

Nope…still hasn’t decided what he wants.  Too many choices, so little time.

This is just another daring feat of bravery that Micah decided to prove.  I tell ya…we’re in for it at some point.

This is a preview of Halloween.  I picked up this “Inchworm” costume today.  This will be the first year that we’ll enjoy Halloween festivities (Brian has always been opposed), so Caleb decided to be a bug catcher (homemade costume I’ve yet to make), and Micah is his “catch.”

First Grade Week 16 in Review

So sorry it’s been a while since I’ve last posted.  I promise to play catch-up soon.  We’ve just been busy with all kinds of stuff, and we’ve had a bit of sickness in the family, too.  So, that’s always a set back.  Hopefully we’ll be back on track soon.  With that said, here’s how week 16 went for us…
Bible:  Our Bible story this week was on “Sin Spoiled God’s Creation”, and our Bible verse was Romans 5:8.
Phonics & English:  We added “pull, their, son, war, and been” to our list of service words.  We added “-ain, –ail, and –ay” to our list of word families.  In English we discussed capitalization of the days of the week.
Heritage Studies:  We tested over the chapter covering Jamestown, John Smith, and Sir Walter Raleigh.  Then we started a new chapter, and Caleb was introduced to the Separatists.
Math:  We worked on writing time to the hour, digital time, hours passed, time to the half-hour, and half hour time passed.
Vocabulary:  We added “close, flaky, shape, boil, and sprinkle” to our list of vocabulary terms.
Science:  We discussed tame animals, tame animals in the home, what livestock do for people, and what people do for livestock.
Art:  Caleb is still loving art.  This week he worked on a bird painting.  He did a really good job.  I don’t know what I’m going to do with all of his creations.  We’ve got art pictures coming out of everywhere. 
Extra Stuff:  We went and visited a local fire department with the Littles’ Club (Little Contenders for the Faith).  Caleb had a really good time.  He’s also still super busy with all of the co-op activities each Thursday.  He’s been learning a lot of information, and I think he’s enjoying himself.  The Georgia National Fair was also in town this past week, so we went and checked it out.  This is a really nice fair, and we try to go every year.  Caleb and I were able to ride some rides, and Micah strolled around with Brian.  We got some supper, and then it poured down rain on us.  So, we had to cut our trip short.  But – it’ll be back next year, so it’s no big deal.  And no…no pictures.  I only took two (silly me), and I’ll post the one decent one later in another post.
As always, thanks for following our first grade journey.  I’m going to leave you with some pictures of the Rodney Rockhound’s Rocks & Minerals lapbook that we finished up a few weeks ago and some pictures of the fire department field trip.

First Grade Week 15 in Review

Another week has come and gone at Childress Academy.  Caleb continues to do well in all areas, and here’s how this week panned out.
Bible:  Our Bible story this week focused on “God Created People.”  Our Bible verse was Psalm 100:3a.
Phonics & English:  We added “-one, –ole, –oke, –ule, –ute, and –une” to our list of word families.  We added “family and pull” to our list of service words.  In English we worked on adding “-ing and –ed” to words ending with “e.”
Heritage Studies:  We continued to talk about John Smith and Jamestown.  We also discussed growing crops.
Math:  We finished up our addition chapter with a test, and then we moved on to a chapter on time.  We worked on ordering events.
Vocabulary:  We added “thick, utensils, solid, separate, and uneven” to our list of vocabulary words.
Science:  We finished up our rocks & minerals lapbook by talking about all the different types of rock (sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic).  We also categorized rocks according to their type.  I’ll get pictures posted as soon as I get it all put together.
Art:  Caleb worked on a fish painting this week.  He wasn’t quite done with it, so he left it at class so he can work on it again this week.
Extra Stuff:  We’ve been very busy with co-op.  Caleb is taking an Eric Carle Carnival class (I’m teaching), a Time & Money class, and a Wonderful World of Animals class.  He’s been busy learning lots of exciting things and having a blast with his fellow homeschoolers.  We’ve also enjoyed some skating and some playdates. 
As always, thanks for following our first grade adventures.  Check back next week to see what we’ve accomplished. 

Garden Goodies…

I haven’t updated on our garden in quite some time.  The main reason is because Brian and I didn’t think it amounted to a bunch of anything after the long drought and hot period we had over the summer.  Most of the stuff started showing signs of death, and so we counted it a loss.  Well, later on it all started blooming.  Brian decided that the produce wouldn’t be any good, so we didn’t bother to pick it or do anything with it.  We had basically just resorted to tilling it all up once the weather got cooler.
Well, Opa, Granddaddy, and Caleb went out there this week and picked all of the veggies that were ready.  They came in with a bunch of tomatoes, carrots, peppers, and a few onions (I thought I had pulled all those once I decided they were just too small and not growing right for my liking…lol). 
So, I’m guessing it’s time for me to start thinking of some ways to use up all these garden goodies.  I’m thinking fajitas will be a good way to use up the bell and sweet peppers.  The carrots will probably be steamed.  And I, for one, could care less how the tomatoes are used because I don’t do tomatoes…YUCK!
Here are some pictures of the fruits veggies of our labor.

Making Math Fun

I’m always trying to find things to make school fun.  Well, I’m sure you all remember that sometimes there’s a lot of writing, and Caleb is always fussing if he has to write a lot.  So, I was looking for something that we could use in math to help with the writing.  I stumbled upon these, and I was tickled pink because I knew Caleb would LOVE them.  Well, boy was I saddened when I saw that they were out of stock.  There was an option to have them notify me when the item became available again, so that’s what I did.
A few weeks ago, I got the email notification that these little helpers were in stock again.  I immediately went to the website and ordered them.  Caleb has had such a fun time using them, and they’ve helped with some of the writing in math.  And – best of all…it makes it fun!  Now, I don’t let him use them for all of his assignments, but when it only requires a simple # answer, then he’s free to use them.  Here he is having fun with his number stamps…

Share what YOU do to make math (or school in general) fun.  I’d love to see what other homeschoolers have found that works.