From Our Family to Yours...

Week 20 of Learning 2013-14

We finished up week 20 a few days ago.  Here’s what we were learning…
Micah, Kindergarten Bible – Micah continues to work in his AWANAS Sparks book.
Phonics – This week Micah worked on final ‘ng’ and final ‘nk’.  He worked on the phonograms “-ing, –ank, –ink.”  His sight words were the, to, and, a, I.

Math – This week Micah worked on triangles.

Caleb, Fifth Grade Bible – Caleb continues to work in his AWANAS T&T Ultimate Challenge Book.
Math – This week Caleb worked on reading larger numbers; writing larger numbers in words; multiplying by 100, 1,000, and 10,000; and multiplying numbers with zeros.
English – Caleb played online games that focused on contractions and alphabetical order.
Even though we’re still behind due to our multiple moves since moving to Florida, we’re taking a little break.  We’ll commence school lessons again on December 26th.  I’m planning on slowing down and just enjoying the holidays with the family.  The boys are excited to have a small break, too, so it’s a win-win. 

Week 19 of Learning 2013-14

We finished up week 19 yesterday, and here’s what the boys learned…
Micah, Kindergarten Bible – Micah continues to work in his AWANAS Sparks book.
Phonics – This week he worked on the initial ‘th’ and ‘wh’ blends.  He learned the ‘-ath’ phonogram.  His sight words were ‘the, is, it, my, can.’

Math – This was another review week for Micah…he reviewed #s 0-9, rectangles, circles, and patterns.
Caleb, Fifth Grade Bible – Caleb continues to work in his AWANAS T&T Ultimate Challenge book.
Math – This week Caleb worked on multiplying by 3; multiplying by 9 and 11; multiplying by 7 and 12; and the multiplication table. 
English – This week Caleb finished up his final draft for his Reptiles paper.  He then spent time playing games on the computer that focused on pronouns and contractions.  He has informed me that he’d rather have “fun” in English playing games and learning that way.  So, that is what we will aim for.  Besides, we all know that English grammar terms just repeat EVERY year, so taking a few months off from the textbook method won’t hurt. 

We also have been enjoying PE and art at one of the local rec centers on Tuesday afternoons.  It gives me a couple of hours of alone time to get some errands run, and it allows the boys a chance to interact with other homeschoolers and have some fun.  So, a win-win for all of us.    Our Friday park outing is always a huge hit, too, as the boys get to see more friends and ride their scooters.  I get to enjoy adult conversation with other homeschool moms…another win-win. 

Week 18 of Learning 2013-14

We finished up week 18 this morning, and here’s what we’ve been up to…
Micah, Kindergarten Bible – Micah continues to work in his AWANAS Sparks book.
Phonics – This week Micah worked on the initial ‘sh’ blend.  He also worked on the final ‘sh’ blend and the 
–ash and –ish phonograms.  He learned the initial ‘ch’ blend as well.  His sight words were look, at, the, my, see (we’re to a reviewing point with sight words, so we’ll spend lots of time playing review games to cement what he’s learned thus far).

Math – This week Micah reviewed circles and patterns.  For now, I’m impressed and pleased with the Math Lessons for a Living Education curriculum.  We’ll see how it continues to go. 

Caleb, Fifth Grade Bible – Caleb continues to work in his AWANAS T&T Ultimate Challenge book…which is quite difficult, I might add.    He’s getting a bit frustrated with it.

Math – This week Caleb worked on multiplying by 10 and 5; tally marks; odd and even numbers; multiplying by 2 and 4; and multiplying by 6 and 8.

English – Well, I decided to ditch our lessons on pronouns this week and focus on what was keeping Caleb busy in his spare time…researching pet lizards for whatever reason (he’s not getting one anytime soon, so I really don’t get the current obsession).  So, I convinced him to work on a paper on reptiles.  We did the outline and rough draft this week, and he’ll type up the final copy next week.

We have enjoyed some time with friends this week, too, and we’re looking forward to more next week.