I came back from a week at family camp and felt all vacationed out. So, I decided to start doing a little homeschooling with the kids on Monday. J is studying early American history and she's been reading about Native American life (in a very general way). On her own she's been reading Om Kas Toe and I've been reading Walk the World's Rim to J and B. We've also created a timeline by the stairs going to the basement. We've also been reading an interesting book called Diary of an Early American Boy by Eric Sloane. It's a semi-fictional account of a boy living in 1805.
B has been working on his handwriting with his Handwriting Without Tears book. He seems to really like it. He's also been working on his reading skills while using Explode the Code.
We haven't really started math yet as I am still unsure as to what I'm going to do with J. I tried out Singapore 2B with B but he didn't seem too interested. I'm going to stick with it though for a little bit and see how it goes. The three math curricula I'm most interested in are Math-U-See, Right Start math and the Key To series. Any recommendations?
I've also been doing some drawing lessons with them using Mark Kistler's Draw Squad. They both really seem to enjoy that.
That's it. . .the neighborhood's been quiet as all their friends have been away. One family came back home last night and they all went out bowling. This afternoon they have been over climbing trees, playing with water guns and picking blueberries. The blueberries are better than ever this year but I'm afraid the bushes have some disease. The leaves are all spotted. Ugh. I hope we don't lose the bushes. I'll have to investigate. All's well on this hot summer day.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Happy you're back!!! We've been easing back into schooling ourselves. We use Singapore for both kids and we really like it. Especially Binky. It's great there are other alternatives, though! We also really like Draw Squad!! Goose's drawing has really expanded this summer! I am trying to enjoy each and every moment of summer before it's gone! I hope the blueberries are okay!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHave a great day, Jane!!!
Lisa
We've used Math-U-See and I thought it was good. My daughter really dislikes math. So this year, I'm going to attempt to design my own math curriculum for her...I'm a little nervous about it, but I'm determined that she'll enjoy it this year.
ReplyDeleteHi Jane :)
ReplyDeleteDiary of an Early American Boy is one of my favorite all time books, I love most the the Eric Sloane books actually.
Good luck with the math search. I think we'll be doing a lot of games and living/applied math for Daisy this year, or one of the 5,673 grade 2 math programs I already own (and hate). It's hard to find a good fit with math. If you're willing to put the time in, RS is excellent... if the applied math doesn't work out I might head that way. Did J not like Singapore?
If you want to see MUS or Key to... give me a jungle. Ruby likes the Key to... but I'm not impressed with the retention. Love the Geometry though.
Enough of that! Enjoy this AWESOME weather!
I am hedging my bets and using three resources this year. Livingmath.net uses literature to teach math concepts, mathwire.com is great for games and other hands on resources and I ordered this workbook for Owen this year - recommended by the teacher who does my portfolio review-
ReplyDeleteScore! Mountain Challenge Math - through Amazon. They have several grade levels available.
Good luck with your blueberries - I'm picking up 40 lbs. of them tomorrow!!
Well, we will be going to our first unschooling conference, does that count as getting ready to learn something? And the Not-Back-To-School Picnic, and I signed them up for some art classes? Best wishes on all your math searches, sounds like you are getting lots of good suggestions. See you tomorrow!!!
ReplyDelete