Everything is Fine

Well, with Daniel back to his normal self, we’re back to our normal routine for the most part.  Other than CC, our week was pretty empty, other than school.  I think this is the calm before the storm because we have a lot of activities and appointments in the next three weeks.  There won’t be as much downtime, but we will get a lot accomplished.

As far as F week goes, Daniel decorated his F with fish.  He really likes to use the glue stick, so I usually let him help me put glue on each piece of paper.

New cheesy smile

Got him to look at me

F is also for friends.  Daniel still isn't that great about having his picture taken.  It is very rare to get him looking at the camera (see above), although I did get a couple of good pictures this week.  He also wanted to use the camera by himself.  I helped him take a picture of his “friends” on the couch. 

Then, he joined them.

  

We also did a little pre-writing practice this week.  He just needed to follow the dotted lines.  He did pretty well.  It wasn't perfect, but that’s not the goal of his schooling anyway.

We also incorporated the letter F into his snack time.  He had fish crackers,  Of course, Nicholas enjoys any letter of the week snacks we have too.

He also used dot paint to decorate a fireman worksheet.

As I've said before, sometimes learning is unplanned.  I only make up activities to give him a little structure.  But, this week he found a clock puzzle and worked very hard to figure out which shape to put into each hole.

Later, he just decided to stack them. 

Nicholas worked on a science experiment this week, which went nicely with our F theme.  He was trying to see why ocean water (which is colder than 32 degrees in some places) does not freeze.  We put salt in one glass of water and the other glass had just water.  We found that the salt drops the temperature at which water freezes, so it took longer to freeze than the regular water.

F is for frozen

We did a few more activities for Daniel like tracing his feet, counting flower petals and coloring a frog, but he wasn't in the mood to put his full heart into those activities.  So, onto the next week . . . .

Daniel’s materials were found from various websites, such as:

www.royalbaloo.com

www.1plus1plus1equals1.com

www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com

http://ateachingmommy.com/

www.makinglearningfun.com

www.3dinosaurs.com

http://teachingmama.org/

www.homeschoolcreations.com

www.123homeschool4me.com

Extraordinary Week

What a week!  Daniel continues to catch every virus under the sun.  Last Friday, he woke up with what looked like cold sores on his lips.  They started out as just white circles, but as the days went on, his lips became a scabby mess.  I would say that Monday and Tuesday were the worst-looking.  Our little non-eater didn’t feel like eating and was having trouble sleeping too.  He started to turn the corner on Wednesday and has pretty much gone back to his old self.  We’re just waiting for his lips to finish healing.

We did manage to get some school done.  He decorated his E with elephants.

He colored a picture or two of Elmo, which he seemed excited about.

We worked on counting by putting elephants in number order and then counting them one-by-one.

Nicholas found a show on PBS that was talking about elephants.  So, he and Daniel watched it on the Kindle.

I also gave him a dry erase alphabet book to keep him occupied, so Nicholas and I could get some things done.  I’m not sure if he had more fun writing in it or erasing it.

Also, we started a new co-op this week at our church.  Thankfully, it is only every other Tuesday afternoon.  I was beat after CC on Monday and then a busy Tuesday.  Or maybe it was the fact that I had a whiny, over-tired 2-year-old with scabbed over lips who wasn’t thrilled with not being able to run all over the building.  That could be it.  I told him not to leave the kitchen where we were doing art.  He sat down in protest, but he didn’t leave.

I’ve also noticed that Daniel has been picking up Nicholas’ memory work from CC.  He has translated Latin into English, recited part of the timeline song, and finished one of our history sentences.  See, kids are sponges.  I don’t think we give them enough credit.

In closing, I want to show you a small glimpse of what my boys like to do:

Show off their muscles

They also like to be superheroes.  Even when they are reading or working on school.

It can be loud and crazy here sometimes.  Sometimes I just want to hide.  But, I love being with my boys.  There is never a dull moment.

Daniel’s materials were found from various websites, such as:

www.royalbaloo.com

www.1plus1plus1equals1.com

www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com

http://ateachingmommy.com/

www.makinglearningfun.com

www.3dinosaurs.com

http://teachingmama.org/

www.homeschoolcreations.com

D is for Daniel!

D Week started off as I suspected it would with "Donuts with Daddy".  He was nice enough to hold off until after CC so they wouldn't be sugared up all morning.  I think they all liked this part of the week.

Daniel also decorated his D with dogs.

And, he colored a dog picture.

We also did some size sequencing with dinosaur pictures.  I wondered if this would be a little too difficult for him, but he proved me wrong.

Learning obviously doesn't have to follow a letter theme.  That just helps me come up with projects.  Sometimes learning happens all on its own.  I had downloaded an app for Nicholas called, “Stack the States” since it went with our U.S. theme for CC this year.  Basically, they ask you questions.  If you get it right, a state appears and you have to turn it just the way you want it before dropping it below.  Your goal is to stack as few states as possible on top of each other to get past the black line. 

Daniel has been paying attention to everyone playing this game (it is surprisingly fun).  Finally, we gave him his own user name so he could “play” too.  Well, the other day he found a map I had used this past Monday for class of the northeastern half of the United States.  Daniel picked it up and said, “Daniel stack the states.”  He correlated that game with a map of the United States!  So, we got out the crayons and he colored the rest of the map for me.  It is so fun to watch him learn new things, and surprise you as well.

Daniel also colored a picture of a dinosaur and then did more sequencing with dinosaur pictures.

Show me the biggest . . .

He also became the teacher and showed Mickey how to do it.

Then, Nicholas asked Daniel to teach him.  It started out okay.

A little pushing and hitting ensued (on both ends).

And, the lesson was over.

He also dot painted a picture of Daniel Tiger.  He was excited because he likes that they have the same name.

  

Finally, we ended the week with a modified dirt pudding (minus the crushed Oreos and gummy worms). 

This week was pretty easy to fill with activities.  I'm going to have to be a little more creative for next week.

Daniel’s materials were found from various websites, such as:

www.royalbaloo.com

www.1plus1plus1equals1.com

www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com

http://ateachingmommy.com/

www.makinglearningfun.com

www.3dinosaurs.com

http://teachingmama.org/

www.homeschoolcreations.com

I Survived!

I made it through my first day as a tutor for Classical Conversations.  We arrived about 45 minutes before it started to set up.  I had a picture of how things would look in my head, but I had to improvise a little when we got there.  Then, I organized all my materials by each time frame (2 ½ hours total). 

I started out a little nervous, but once I just focused on introducing the material and not my insecurities, everything got a lot easier.  The kids were engaged and most were participating.  I took note of what was working and what wasn't.  I have two girls and three boys, which seems to balance the energy level pretty well.

Having Evan be my helper also worked out well.  He helped me set up and clean up.  He turned on the music when I needed to play a song and helped the kids out when they needed it.  We don’t always have everyone’s parent in the class with them at all times, so he always jumps in to help where needed.

By the time we got to lunch and recess, I was beat.  I did get a comment from one of the moms that her daughter had a great time.  Nicholas also told me that I was a great tutor.  I’m trying not to put too much pressure on myself for the coming weeks though.

Usually, I would take a picture of Nicholas on the first day, but I was a little preoccupied.  Evan did take out my camera during class and got a few action shots of me teaching.

Let's get started.

Learning our history sentence with motions.

I made them exercise to their skip counting.

In true Kristin fashion, I walked in the door from CC, grabbed my folder for next week and began jotting down some notes.  I haven’t spent too much time on it – yet.  But, I've been preoccupied.  See, I survived my first day of CC, but I didn't know that I had something bigger to survive that night.

Daniel was fine all day, even when we put him to bed.  Then about two hours later I heard him talking a lot, so I went to see if he was awake or just talking in his sleep.  What I found was that he was really warm.  Out of nowhere he had a fever!

So, we took him into our room in case he woke up a lot during the night.  Well, we didn't need to worry about frequent wake-ups because for five hours, Daniel and I really didn't sleep.  He talked a lot!  I wasn't sure if he was totally with it, but we were able to have conversations.  I ended up taking us downstairs so Evan could get some rest.

Finally, a little after 2:00 he fell asleep.  I also fell asleep for about an hour!  Then, I took him upstairs right before Evan’s alarm went off, so Daniel could stay in our bed until he woke up (I didn't want to disturb Nicholas). 

So, I had to spend all of Tuesday functioning on one hour’s sleep.  Daniel did take a three hour nap.  During that time, I tried to give Nicholas plenty to do, so I could also nap, but my little chatterbox wouldn't allow for any rest. 

I did fall asleep by 8:30 last night, so I’m doing a lot better.  And, Daniel?  Well, he only had a fever for like 5-7 hours.  Then, he was absolutely fine.  Cranky, but fine.  That boy has been picking up a virus every other week lately.  I guess my goal is to get him some probiotics and boost his immunity before winter.

So, I did survive the first day of CC and I did survive on one hour's sleep.   Now, onto more planning for CC and maybe a little more rest.

Countdown to CC

We just finished our third week of school already!  We start CC on Monday, so we’ll pretty much be doing our full curriculum starting then.  I had a tutor planning meeting yesterday, so I don’t know if I feel better prepared or more nervous.  I practiced the first day in front of my family and they said I did a good job (I hope they’re being honest).

This week I focused on the letter C with Daniel.  This is more about making him feel like a part of our school day than expecting him to learn his letters.  That’s just a bonus. 

He started the week by decorating his C with cars.

Pants are optional

He had a piece of Nana’s leftover birthday cake (I forgot to take any pictures from her party).

He colored a cat.

Then, he helped me glue a cat from several different pieces of paper.

He drew circles around the cat all on his own.

Finally, we glued a caterpillar.  It had 10 circles for each body part, so we counted to ten.

Look how nicely he laid his crayons down.

Daniel continues to enjoy working on his different activities.  His talking skills are also improving.  Nicholas has been getting upset because he thinks Daniel is copying him.  I tried to explain that Daniel is just trying to say new words.  He has a tendency to repeat a lot of things we say right now, even when we think he’s not listening. 

Nicholas is doing well in school too.  It is funny how his favorite subject this year was his least favorite last year – grammar.  I’m not sure if that will change as it becomes more difficult, but so far it has made my life easier. 

Nicholas made an ocean box for science to display his water animals.

Starting next week, he will be given a folder during Daniel’s nap time that has some independent work to do.  He will be tracing and labeling the United States.  He will be working on a States and Capitals book.  He will work on some extra math, as they learn to skip count (or multiply for the older kids) all the way through 15 x 15 at CC.  He will practice the timeline that they work on at CC all year.  He will also finish up any work we didn't get to do that morning. 

Nicholas actually is looking forward to this independent time – for the most part.  He thinks of himself as a lot older than he is, so this makes him feel like I’m am treating him older.  In reality, this is preparing him for a time in his school career where he will have more ownership of what he is learning.

I’m spending a lot of this weekend making last minute preparations for CC.  I have a lot to bring with me each week, so I’m thankful for 2 (and one smaller helper) strong guys to help me carry everything.  I can’t wait to share about our first day with you.

Daniel’s materials were found from various websites, such as:

www.royalbaloo.com

www.1plus1plus1equals1.com

www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com

http://ateachingmommy.com/

www.makinglearningfun.com

www.3dinosaurs.com

http://teachingmama.org/

www.homeschoolcreations.com