Homeschooling the Free Way

So I have been gearing up for another fun year in homeschooling. Last year was sort of a blur, with a new baby and getting Gabby to simply enjoy learning again... it was fun, but sort of challenging to find our groove. We are still going to have an eclectic type of schooling going on, but with a little more structure from all over since I have discovered that left to her own devices, Gabby really doesn't put forth any real effort. (AJ on the other hand is downright pissed that she can't read yet, so she is jumping on the school wagon!)

This year I want to get Gabby in the habit of not only putting forth her best effort, but also taking the time and patience to look for answers herself instead of waiting for me to feed them to her. We are also going to add in an into to a foreign language- Italian, as well as violin lessons and swimming. But, I wanted some more resources and some sort of list for myself to keep track of the topics we are covering so I went in search of some free curriculums and resources... man, oh man, did I find some!!! Here are my favorites so far:

Scott Foresman Math and Science Curriculums: First off, these are absolutely FREE work books and sooooo nicely done! While I may not do these page for page, at least I can have some order in the topics that I introduce and a starting point for our explorations.

Lesson Pathways Guided History Lessons: Again, we may not follow this exactly, but I like having a weekly focus so that I can get out the appropriate books to spin off of, for instance, we can read The Little House series while studying early American history. (We didn't focus a lot on specific history themes too much last year so I am going to cover the year 1 lessons this year...)

Spelling City: One aspect that Gabby really enjoys is writing so this year I am trying to expand her written vocabulary and spelling. She is great at spelling words phonetically, but likes to have a word bank to work off of if she is writing something important.

The Learning Page: I am a sucker for wacky holidays like Hug Your Cat Day and National Clown Week! This site has the traditional and wacky holidays plus lessons to go with them!

Finally, have you ever heard of the Daily 5? Basically it is a way to get kids to become better readers by approaching the process from different angles, something that is important because not every kid learns the same way. Everyday you have the kids:
1. Read to themselves
2. Read out loud
3. Listen to reading
4. Practice writing and
5. Do word work.

Now, we were already doing everything on the list, just not every thing every day. I am going to try to not only have Gabby do these, but myself as well since it is good to model the process and let's face it- I love books!

If you are a teacher and prefer a more formal classroom setting, be sure to check out my sorority sister Katy's Pinterest board for the Classroom. She is a teacher and is finding some really cool posters, organization techniques, and neat ideas to implement!

                                                    Source: shadytreediary.blogspot.com via Katy on Pinterest

(I have updated my homeschool resources, so be sure to check them out! Lots of free fun stuff to be had!)

Wednesday Lovings

Hello all! Just popping by to share some quick links and such that I am loving these days, enjoy!!

Did you know that you can borrow free dissection alternative kits? Yay for exploring animals without having to kill any in the name of science!

Here is a great article on how to talk to little girls. (Hint: ask them what is their favorite book!)

There are a still a few days of summer left... here are 10 things you must do before it is over!

And when it is over, here is an easy science experiment to get you started if formal learning is on your agenda.

I gave my reasons why we homeschool a couple of days ago, but this article says it even better!

Here is my crafty fix that even serves as an awesome new mom present: make a portable beautiful growth chart... lovely!

Well, that's all for now... I am off to enjoy a wonderful day with my girls. Have a wonderful day yourself!

Why We Homeschool

School is all the buzz right now in Northeast Ohio. In our district, classes start in a little over a week and if you set foot in any store, mall, or even restaurant that is all everyone is talking about.

When I was younger I lived for the start of school... my book bag was packed the start of August even though in Western NY it didn't start until after Labor Day. I planned my locker decorations, re-read my summer reading books in anticipation of first day pop quizzes (yes, they did happen at my school!), and held my breath for that morning when I would go see all my friends again to catch up. It seems forever ago and yet only yesterday. And even though I loved school, my kids are not me and schools are not what they used to be.

I asked Gabby if she wanted to go to school this year, because I didn't want anyone to accuse me of not giving her the option. She didn't even hesitate before saying no! We talked for awhile about what we wanted to learn this year and then went off on another of our adventures. But it made me think about how our reasons have changed for homeschooling since we took her out of public schools last November and this is what I came up with:

1. I prefer my girls to actually experience real life learning instead of just reading about it. For example, to actually go to the zoo to see the polar bear instead of doing a worksheet on polar habitats, and use real money to pay for things instead of playing with fake plastic coins that don't resemble the real thing.

2. I want them to have a choice in what they learn and to make each learning experience matter to their daily lives, instead of stressing out about a test about something that will be forgotten as soon as it is done.

3. We enjoy being able to take a long weekend without having to ask permission or worry that something will be missed.

4. I like that I can follow the rhythm of our family rather than a forced schedule that doesn't fit us. Waking up at 7am is definitely not a Gabby thing! Sometimes we don't "school" until after dinner, sometimes we skip a weekday and then learn on a Saturday... it all depends on the kids.

5. The girls get to hang out and be with people of all ages throughout the day, just like in real life. They talk to everyone they meet, are constantly learning from their surroundings, and look for new experiences.

6. With budget cuts everywhere, teachers are hard pressed as it is to teach all that the states demand. There is little room for creative teaching, going off roading with lessons, or teaching to all the different learning styles in a class of 30. I know my daughter and how to help her succeed.

But, forget all the details and what it boils down to is that right now, this is right for us. I am pretty sure that if I can homeschool after just having a baby and having a husband who is gone 2/3 of an entire day, I can teach all the subjects that is required! I homeschool so that we can read Little House on the Prairie while eating on the beach in September, so we can sit and watch baby grizzly bears and talk about the animal world, and so that if my daughter has to go to the bathroom she doesn't have to worry about someone saying no to her.

So we will go get some new pencils, a notebook or two, and maybe even some new clothes. We will wish all of our friends well as they start the school year, and then go about our routine of learning and life. =)

Books Everywhere!

Every Monday we go to the library and pick out books for the week. Gabby chooses her books for school which always include her main interest, this past month it has been birds, along with a history book, a fictional story, and whatever else catches our eye. Lately her choices have been so wonderful that I wanted to share the list of books that we have taken home for the week... it is a lot!!!

Gabby's Book List

• The Secret Lives of Common Birds
• When Birds Could Talk & Bats Could Sing
• You Wouldn't Want to Travel with Captain Cook
• You Wouldn't Want to be a Pirate's Prisoner
• Fierce Fighters- Ninja
• Music Theory for Beginners
• Smash It!, Crash It!, Launch It!
• Starting Point Science

Of course AJ picks out books too which are a mixture of fiction and non-fiction, and I discovered her using her finger to follow the words and pretending to sound them out. It made me so proud to see her trying by herself to read and creating a story using the pictures!
AJ is really interested in hippos right now, for some reason rainbow colored ones are her favorite thing to draw... she is a very creative girl with animals!

AJ's Book List

• Kiss Kiss!
• Police Officers on the Go!
• Keeping Unusual Pets: Chinchillas (No, we are not getting a chinchilla, I have no clue why she picked this, lol!)
• I Must Have Bobo
• Strongest and Weakest
• Biggest and Smallest
• The Illustrated Book of Ballet Stories

I love our weekly trips because I get to watch my girls explore one of my favorite places and see what they are interested in. I know that they can have free reign there, get however many and whatever books interest them and will be exposed to new words and ideas.
Plus it gives me a chance to get my own books. I always read before bed and devour books like chocolate!

Note to self: No more reading Dean Koontz at night, alone, before bed! 

I had to stop myself from covering all the mirrors and sleeping with the lights on! 

A Homeschooling Post

With the formal school year winding down I have been thinking a lot about our adventures in schooling this year. We started out in the norm... waking up at 7:15, hurry through breakfast, lots of chaos and stress, going to a public school with a great reputation, homework and PTO meetings... even though my heart told me that this wasn't right for our sensitive, dreamy eyed oldest girl.

Today we have an eclectic, non-conforming routine that involves weekly library trips, singing scales in the car to teach music, throwing bananas at knives to demonstrate gravity and velocity,  and go more with the flow of life. It is wonderful, scary, funny, frustrating, fun, tiring, challenging and rewarding everyday.

What I enjoy most though is the HUGE amount of resources available for kids to learn from, not just homeschoolers. There are so many great places that supplement an education... here is a quick list of some of our favorite tools, site, and books!

Gabby is really into birds so we are participating in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Celebrate the Urban Bird study. You sign up, they send you a kit, and then you get to bird watch and send in your observations. A great introduction to nature studies.

Polymers are pretty interesting for kids and this is a great experiment to do that looks at color and polymers.

Reading is a huge part of our day and now you can register your homeschool in the Pizza Hut BOOK IT! program. Yay for books and pizza!

Speaking of books, we love the "You Wouldn't Want to be..." series! The books introduce periods of history in ways that interest and engage kids, plus shed some light on some pretty overlooked people... I definitely wouldn't want to be a servant in the Victorian era- yuck!

Another cool series is the "See Inside" ones by Usborne. So many flaps to look at and another interesting way to look at the body, how things work, and inside buildings.

Science really interests Gabby so I think that this homemade Lava Lamp experiment is perfect to try!


But my favorite site for getting worksheets, experiments, poems, writing exercises and more is Education.com. It is a great site, easy to navigate, and has tons of worksheets to help introduce concepts which we then apply to the real world.

So that is where we are with our homeschool... it is a great experience and I know Gabby loves it because she asks to do "school" stuff. Be sure to check the Homeschool Links tab at the top, I try to add sites and such that help me as I see them!  Cheers!

Random Ramblings from a Tired Mommy...

I would love to be in that bed right now... preferably with curtains drawn, lavender lotion soothing me to sleep, and no thoughts of who needed what from me. Just for a moment... then I could get up and continue this dance called life.

Today I met two teachers who were planning on homeschooling their children. Doesn't it say something when even teachers don't want their kids in public school? These teachers lived in pretty affluent cities as well, so it wasn't as if the schools were impoverished. Both were concerned over about different things from the school atmosphere to curriculum and asked really insightful questions. It was nice!

Last week we went to the nature center and it just so happened that most of the schools were on Spring Break. Gabby met a very nice 7 yr old boy who was also in first grade. Inevitably he asked what school Gabby went to... I held my breath to see how the conversation would play out. Gabby told him that she "got to school at home" and you should have seen the boy's eyes light up! He asked how come she got to stay home and Gabby replied, "Because my mom likes to teach me! Go ask your mom if you can to!"

Ok, so I have 2 questions for all you Blogger/Blog queens: 
1. How do you respond to a comment right in the comment section?
2. How do you know who is linking to your blog or a post? I know that people share some things that I write about and would love to see the links!

I really need to get a jump on all the different things I have going... Usborne is up and going again but I need new business cards and stickers to go on the back. Etsy is going really well so I need to add more items and such, plus there is the craft show in June that I will need business cards for... AHHHH! Ok, time to go have a winecooler and paint some fairy doors... thanks for listening to me ramble dear friends!

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday all! 
What a week this has been... I had a photo shoot yesterday, discovered that Miss Moira can scoot off her bed and make it all the way into the hallway (!!), had some pretty hefty wind that took out our power, and have been trying to get Miss Gabby back on track with the homeschooling. (She liked Spring break so much that she is not too motivated to get back into a routine...!) Anyhow, here are some coolness that I have found on the web:

We just bought the girls some Legos and are having so much fun building all sorts of things. I would love to build a table like this for them! Also, I am sure they would love to eat out of these Legos and have a Lego themed party...

Like to sew? Check out a month of free patterns here!

We like to celebrate Cinco de Mayo so these little mini pinatas are perfect to give to each girl.

Someday Cleveland will get Spring... until then I may just make my own townhouse planter to bring some green into the house.

The birds are all excited for Spring as well, I think that this Bread Bird Feeder is a simple project to feed our feathered friends and get rid of some stale bread!

Mother's Day is also coming up and I love this simple and pretty Poppy Canvas for the kids to make...

I mentioned that Gabby is in a "non-schooling" mood... my teaching agenda looks like this many days. I may try some of these tips and tricks to make the day more interesting for her to learn without the formality of "school at home". 

With summer comes Gabby's birthday so I am already putting together ideas for a simpler celebration... check out this adorable party supply store... loooooove these candles!

Lately I have noticed that when I am stressed or not feeling well I yell a lot more, something that I don't want to do and don't like about myself. Sure the kids do what I want but at what cost? This is a great article that a friend posted on facebook... it puts everything in perspective.

Finally, remember the cute little butterflies and dragonflies that I bought for the girl's Easter baskets? Well it turns out that they were reeeeaaallly tiny. I mean easily breakable tiny... so I hijacked them and made these!  Very dainty hair bobbies are now in my store and ready to grace someone's head.... I can't wait to make more!

Probably the BEST Art Book Yet!

This week I did a little bit of book selling at a local YMCA. I always enjoy selling Usborne's book because I get to go and talk to people about something I am passionate about, meet great kids, and of course expand our own home library. Usborne constantly impresses me with their never ending expansion of titles... there are new books coming out all the time that I immediately want to pick up for the girls and today I brought one home to add to our collection- 365 Things to Draw and Paint.

 This book has it all- robots, fairies, birds, people, laboratories, roads, and so much more! You make collages, use pastels, blow watercolors around with a straw, and create whole drawings by taking a "line for a walk". The projects are fun, use everyday items to create, and teach art techniques that have huge value.

Gabby and I decided to try one of the projects today that involved the watercolors and a straw.... it was a blast!!

There are so many great art ideas in here, I can't wait to do some more!! It is such a joy to be able to teach Gabby about art, see her face light up when she gets it, and know that even though it is Saturday afternoon, we are "schooling"!

5 Things

Today was a good day... Here are 5 reasons why:

1. It was just me, the hubby, and the girls- no other little ones to wrangle
2. I went to a PTO meeting and remembered why I took Gabby out of the public school system in the first place. Not that the particular school or teachers are bad... just that the system itself is so flawed...
3. I finished a very cute monkey mobile for a friend, I hope she likes it... pics to come tomorrow!
4. I stopped freaking out about the upcoming vacation to GA and put a game plan together that is very reasonable.
5. Waffles fries + melted cheese from Mr. Hero's is recipe for a good day, any day!

Now, here are 5 cool things that I have found on the web that really caught my eye:
1. We love the movie Up... here is the real life version!

2. Going along with the whole homeschooling thing... this post really made me smile because I am finding out that a lot of my public schooling friends have some serious misconceptions about why we homeschool.

3. Who cares about Shamrocks and Pots of Gold on St. Patrick's Day when you can make rainbow pudding?! I am definitely serving this to the girls next week!

4. I love love love this idea for a toddler bed for Miss Moira when she is ready!! All the nooks and crannies a little girl could want without all the muss and fuss!

5. Just found this blog today and I am really digging it! Her kids are adorable, the photos are bright and colorful, and everyone knows I am a sucker for kids!


And that's my day!!! We are supposed to get hit with tons of snow tomorrow so we will see what the day brings!

Science Experiments and More!

Here are some cool things that I have found on the web....

Got bored kids? How about some fun and cheap science experiments! Try some milk fireworks, some yummy Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream,  or some oooey gooey Oobleck!


Now that Gabby is reading I am exploring ways to encourage her to move into chapter books... these tips from Homeschool Classroom are really helpful.


Speaking of homeschooling, we are learning about coins and money for math. This is a great idea for combining math with science and another cool rainy day activity!


Sometimes a girl just needs a new apron! AJ loves to cook in the kitchen with Klint, I imagine that shrinking this cute apron tutorial to fit her would be a breeze...

Doesn't the thought of throwing an ice cream themed party sound like fun??  Here are the invites, cone hat tutorial, and the cake and goodie "bag" tutorial!

and finally, when you have to clean up the kids from all the melted ice cream- Puffy Bathtub Paint!! Get the how-to here!

Today...

I got to sleep in thanks to the hubby,

I went to the library and picked up a long awaited book,

Made some new mommy friends,

Had a very yummy fish sandwich for lunch,

Worked with Gabby on her homeschool items... we are learning about states of matter, money, plural nouns, Ireland, Mars, habitats, homonyms, and poetry!

Taught ballet and tap,

Thanks to a friend, learned how to get the van to turn on when the anti-theft system tries to take over!

Ate a truly tasty dinner with two lovely ladies- Angelo's pizza is amazing!

Started thinking about this weeks Project: Simplify assignment,

Spent some cuddle time with my baby,

and did lots of other fun mommy things! Those are the highlights though.... man, am I tired!

Well Hello!

This is about as much romance as I get these days!
(photo from here!)

Hey there! Is anyone else feeling the romance in the air? Hearts, red, and lots of chocolate everywhere... Speaking of romance... one thing they forget to mention when you are having a baby is the utter lack of opportunities for romance once your little one arrives. And forget it when you have more than one! Trying to find some grownup snuggle time is akin to finding a good time to repaint my walls... I don't think that having a hubby who works third shift helps the problem either. By the end of the day I am beat, he is snoozing before work, and sure enough one of the kids needs something. Ack!

Today Miss Moira had her 2 month old doctor's appointment. The general thought is that she is cute as a button and perfect as pie. Although she has a pretty bad case of cradle cap on her face and hair line (yuck) as well as some eczema on her arms... thank goodness for Photoshop and Picnik... She wakes up looking like a little scaly dragon-baby hybrid. The only cream that seems to help is this wonderful cream by Weleda.

Homeschooling is going well with Gabby. We are tackling Dolch's Sight Words, reading comprehension, vertebrates and invertebrates, pictographs, and the great state of Ohio. I read a great article today over at Simple Homeschooling that really put the whole thing into perspective though... the most important thing I have to do with her today is just love her. Simple as that. Seriously, go here and read the article... you will feel all warm inside after!

I got an interesting email today from a fellow Etsian, asking me if I want to participate in a craft show in June. I have never done a craft show and have no clue what would sell there...  I make a lot of things... how do I choose? Do I sell a little bit of everything or just concentrate on just one or two things that people really like? Ahhh! Any advice would be welcome! Obviously if you visit here a lot you see all of my craftiness, which my kids love. But what would actually sell? I am thinking of making a whole bunch of really girly things like some pom pom tutus, fairy doors, and spoolie dolls that match hair clips.... who knows though!

Homeschool Resource Review- Brain Pop Jr.

 I am still trying to get my bearings with the new baby and homeschooling. So far my routine consists of some work books, a journal, and lots of documentaries and books from the library. But I have known for a while that Gabby really learns well through games and especially on the computer. So when CoolMomTech suggested BrainPOPJr. I was all over it!


This site is one that costs money to utilize all the subjects and such, but after starting the free 5 day trial I am hooked (and it is only day 1)! There are some things that are free, like today's lesson about Martin Luther King Jr. Within each lesson is a super informative but fun video starring a little girl named Annie and her robot, Moby. The there is a corresponding game, activity, lesson plan, book suggestions, a chance to draw about the lesson, and even two different levels of quiz to test about the subject matter. 


I looooove how organized the site is, allowing me to easily keep track of what Gabby has watched, what she wants to further expand on, and make sure that she is getting the most out of each subject. There is even a standards tool which allows me to make sure that she is following (loosely) what the state says she is supposed to be doing. (But without all the tedious repetition!!) 


Even though the price for a full year is sort of pricey ($80 for a single Homeschooler) in my opinion it is totally worth it. And when 3rd grade is over, then we can hop over to BrainPop which is geared for older kids. Even if you are not a homeschool family, this site is very cool and definitely worth a peek!

One Fine Evening of Homeschooling

Spooky likes to watch TV too!

Today, even though it is Saturday, we had a great day in the world of homeschooling. Gabby had a basketball game this morning, where she made her first basket (YAY!) and played super well. She is quickly grasping the various rules and the overall feel of how a game goes. I think that we made a great choice with basketball for her because she isn't a very aggressive kid and basketball is a game where you have to go after the ball, have some physical contact, and be aggressive.

Then this afternoon she learned about place value in mathematics as well as the greater than/less than signs. I remember learning these signs by thinking of the mark as a shark mouth so that is how I explained it to Gabby. (Actually, that is how I still think of those signs, lol!) She got the concept right away and finished the whole sheet with minimal help.

Gabby also read a letter from a penpal, wrote in her journal, and finally watched a documentary with me from PBS about dogs and how they have evolved to be "Man's Best Friend". It was really cool to watch her watching this film and seeing all the different experiments that the scientists did with the dogs to show how domestication took place as well as how the dogs and humans work so well together. Gabby asked a lot of really insightful questions and seemed fascinated with how the scientific process works so we decided to do a little experimenting on our own since we have a dog.

One part of the film pointed out that in some ways dogs are smarter than chimps, our closest relative. The scientist showed that it you put a treat under a cup and present to cups to the chimp, even pointing out the correct cup, the chimp will not follow your finger to get the treat. A dog, however, will not only follow your finger, but will also use your eyes as a clue to where the treat is!! Gabby thought that this was really neat and wanted to see if Spooky was smart enough to do what the science dogs did. (I asked her what she thought would happen first and then let her prove her theory.)  After Spooky proved that she would listen and follow a pointed finger we talked about how Spooky communicates with us and seems to know how we are feeling.... all in all it was a great conversation starter and I have a feeling a lot more experiments are going to come from this film!!

So that folks was a typical day in our "homeschool"!

What I Know For Sure- Homeschool Edition

I always look forward to reading the last page of my Oprah magazine for her article called What I Know For Sure. It always inspires me, enlightens me, and leaves me feeling positive and calm. Hopefully I can do something like that here....

One month has passed since Gabby started homeschooling and one thing that I know for sure is that we made the right choice for our girl. She left the public school system uninspired, ignored for her talents and was seen as a "problem" student who wasn't up to snuff. We took her out of a system that treats children like little machines who are expected to perform all on the same level, in all subjects, at all times, with little to no creative outlet or stimulation... something I didn't really see until my child was the one affected.

Now, after one month of field trips, deep conversations, some worksheet and workbook action, lots of giggling and art, Gabby is back to being a happy girl who is confident in her abilities and is enjoying showing off her reading and spelling skills. She knows lots of little facts about tons of different things from how a bakery is run to cooking with fractions and is reading fast enough that she can read a good majority of names in movie credits. She is understanding more complex math problems, loves to spell, and is really interested in life science. None of those things make me as happy though as knowing that now she wants to learn and asks the right questions to get answers.

I know for sure that being at home and being able to learn on her own terms and at her own pace restored Gabby's faith in herself. She doesn't have to worry about keeping up with anyone but herself, and while I challenge her to figure things out on her own, she knows I have to time to help her if she really needs it. She has two pen pals that she writes to weekly, looks forward to reading her mail, and loves that everyday is a chance to make some awesome art.

I know for sure that we are giving her opportunities that she wouldn't have in a normal public school day. She has played with microscopes, has over 2 hours of active aerobic activity almost daily(her choice!!), gets to eat lunch at a normal, sane pace, and has gotten to spend hours in the library just browsing and reading.

I am sure that as we continue along this journey there will be a lot of things that I will not know for sure. But I do know that Gabby and I will discover the answers together, which is a wonderful thing my friends!

Just Checking In

Well nothing much to report here... still pregnant at almost 38 weeks....been having awesome back pain that kept me up all night last weekend but didn't really result in anything. Maybe at my appointment tomorrow I will learn different, but this little one seems content to bake away which is fine with me!

Homeschooling is going great, Gabby is learning how to knit for her fine arts and has been having lots of fun reading everything in sight wherever we are. What a change from the kid who only wanted to play video games when she was home and refused to volunteer any reading! I just discovered this awesome homeschooling blog that really makes homeschooling simpler than most people think... and she has 2 grown kids in college and another completing high school in the public school system so she knows what she is talking about!!
Gabby also had her first basketball game this past weekend as well as a drum lesson! Needless to say she loved them both... =)

Well, that is about it.... hope everyone else is having an awesome day!

Week 1 of Homeschooling!

Wow! I can't believe the week is over already! I am so pleased to say that the decision to take Gabby out of public schools has to be one of the BEST decisions we have ever made for her. This week we set the tome of our day which is pretty relaxed and instead looked at what we do from an educational standpoint. Instead of having her sit at a table for hours doing worksheets about animals or neighborhood helpers, we talked about them and then went out and actually experienced those things! Where before I would talk to her about whatever she wanted just to converse, now I see the value in those conversations and know that she is learning from that just as much if not more than a work book. Want to know all that she did in 1 week of VERY relaxed homeschooling?? Here is the journal I am keeping for my own records: (and I can assure you that we didn't spend 6 hours doing these things, she played outside as well everyday, AND got to eat her lunch in a non-pressured environment!)

Day1- Nov 1

• ·         Created clay figurines of plants (art/earth science)
• ·         Wrote in her journal (writing/spelling)
• ·         Worked on reading and spelling worksheets (reading/writing/spelling)
• ·         Learned how to use a microscope, looked at parts of butterflies and feathers (science)
• ·         Went to the library, learned how to find materials (social studies)
• ·         Discussed how a car works and what all the dials on the dashboard mean (science/math)
• ·         Played outside and helped rake leaves, talked about seasons and how animals prepare for winter (life science/P.E.)
• ·         Learned about banking and how debit cards/online banking works. Helped balance a checkbook.  (math/social studies)

Day2- Nov 2

• ·         Went to the mall, practiced reading prices, talked about advertising and creating signs using various fonts (social studies/reading/math)
• ·         Talked about pets and different ways that they need to be cared for properly (science)
• ·         Finished painting clay figurines (art)
• ·         Read books about Dia de Los Muertos (Holidays)
• ·         Colored and cut out a full size skeleton, learned about the bones in our body (art/biology)
• ·         Ate some tacos and talked about the customs in different countries (social studies)

Day3- Nov 3

• ·         Did worksheets in math, spelling, and reading (7)
• ·         Wrote in her journal (writing/spelling)
• ·         Read a book (non-fiction) about Lions (reading/science)
• ·         Was read Little House in the Big Woods (reading/listening)
• ·         Had basketball practice (P.E.)
• ·         Listened to some classical music and talked about how music can portray moods (music)

Day4- Nov 4

• ·         Walked outside for 1.5 miles (P.E.)
• ·         Watched video about Ballet and learned about some classical ballet stories like Sleeping Beauty (Fine Arts)
• ·         Talked about the importance of community and uniformed helpers (police officers, firefighters, postal worked, etc) (Social Studies)
• ·         Learned about beginnings of Thanksgiving, Pilgrims, and harvest time (Holidays)
• ·         Wrote in journal (writing)
• ·         Completed 2 addition worksheets (math)
• ·         Spelling List 1- words with -an and -en  (reading/writing)
• ·         Was read Little House in the Big Woods (reading/listening)
• ·         Listened to different kinds of music and identified instruments as well as low and high notes and tempo. (music)

Day5- Nov 5

• ·         Took field trip to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History where she learned about animal habitats and  our solar system. We explored both live animal habitats that are native to Ohio as well as looked at animal habitats around the world. Gabby discovered how things weigh different amounts based on the planet you are on, that while the Earth rotates and rotates around the sun, the Moon does not rotate. She practiced reading signs as displays, counted items, and looked at many other displays such as rocks, gems, and dinosaur bones. (Science, reading, math)
• ·         Discussed the different trees in Ohio and how they differ from each other in terms of colors, shapes, and leaf loss in the Fall. (social studies)
• ·         Watched an educational video about disasters and what you need to survive-food, water, fire, shelter, and security. Talked about different skills needed in survival situations and how to stay safe.  (safety, fire safety, health)
• ·         Wrote in journal about field trip (writing)
• ·         Wrote a letter to a new Pen Pal (writing/ spelling)

What I love about all of this is that this list is just the things I can remember, there is soooo much more that we talked about, she draws every day, reads books every day, and all the little things go into her overall education. Even something so trivial as talking about why we brush our teeth has educational value.
What this journal shows me is not only is Gabby learning what she is supposed to be, but she now has opportunities, like playing with the microscope, that she wouldn't have had at this point at a public school.
Needless to say I am a huge fan of the whole thing!

FREE Science Curriculum!

I am getting ready for our first adventures in homeschooling and have been busy gathering resources for a loose curriculum that I can adapt to Gabby's talents and work on her weak spots. Since I am already on Baby Center I joined the Homeschooling Board which has been a great help in making the decision to leave public school and how to go about getting started. One woman posted a link to the science curriculum that she uses and I am so impressed that I wanted to share!

Welcome to The Lab of Mr. Q! Here you will find everything you need to teach or supplement an elementary school science curriculum from life sciences to chemistry! Mr. Q is a Science Teacher who also runs homeschooling science programs in Kansas and I have to admit that the man is a genius. The text books are fun, bright, and sort of cartoony but have all the same terms as a normal text book. The best part is that along with the books there are monthly Lab Notes like this one that you can use for science fairs and really getting the little brains going.

The first book- Life Sciences is 100% free and each of the other books are $50, which I believe are well worth the price. Since you use them for all of elementary school that is really a great price for everything you need to teach all the different topics from magnets to weather, habitats to the body!

If you have a Science nut or just want to make learning science a little more fun, definitely check out this site and take a peek at the Life Science book (hey, it's FREE!). There is so much to do thanks to Mr. Q, I can't wait to get going on this with Gabby!