I’m going to separate my family and homeschool posts again. To read up on what is going on in our day-to-day family life, check out my other blog: The Zoo Keeper’s Haven. I’m working on a few blogs to post there in the next few days including Logan turning 16, Christmas pictures, Emma’s trip to Sweet and Sassy, and Isaac’s buddy’s birthday party (where the kids threw some pottery).
Today was even busier than yesterday. We started the day with a dress rehearsal for Emma’s competitive dance team. Then, it was time for the second day of the winter recital. Emma performed her tap routine to Polar Express. She did not like tap last year and quit after the winter recital. She decided to try it again over the summer, and found a new love for it. She did really well on stage this afternoon.
Here is a picture of Emma and her best friend before heading on stage to tap. There are two boys in their class, but I couldn’t get the group together for a shot.
Emma’s jazz class performed to Go Fish’s version of Joy to the World. They did a fabulous job!! This was her favorite from this recital.
That’s the end of our “winter” season. Next up, they will begin working toward the spring recital after Christmas. Also, Emma’s team will polish up their routine in anticipation of their first competition in February.
I love dance!! Well, at least when Emma does it (not me!). This weekend is our winter dance recital. Each winter the studio performs The Nutcracker. Emma’s ballet class danced the Russian Divertissement. She really enjoys dancing in the “big ballet”. Not all the ballet classes perform in The Nutcracker, but hers does. Here are pics of her in her Nutcracker costume…
Emma is ready to go onstage.
Emma in the dressing room ready to go on stage.
Emma and a few classmates waiting in the hall before the ballet.
Emma and her best buddy (and her buddy’s brother) after they performed in The Nutcracker.
Emma and her ballet teacher after the recital.
Tomorrow, we have day 2. She will perform her jazz and tap routines tomorrow, as well as The Nutcracker again.
I love decorating the Christmas tree. I love to turn on the Christmas music and watch the kids hang their ornaments on the tree. When they are finished, I fill in the gaps with my “good” ornaments. I’m hoping next year, the tree in the pictures will be moved upstairs and become the kids’ tree. I am really hoping to get a bigger new downstairs tree after Christmas when they go on sale.
Logan wanted to hide from the camera by putting ornaments on the backside of the tree. After a little friendly threatening persuading, Daddy got him back in the front.
Here is Logan sweeping up one of two casualties from this year.
A little team work always gets the job done faster.
It was funny to watch Emma put ornaments on. She didn’t care where they landed as long as she was the first one back to me for more.
Isaac had a good time hanging his ornaments on the tree and sharing with everyone the memories attached to them.
And, here is the finished product. In the background you can see part of our Dept. 56 village collection. The kids were really excited to get these out. We haven’t had anywhere to display them for the past few year. Turns out, this bookcase is a perfect display!
Isaac’s (6th grade) work consists of:
He will read from his book basket 3 days and do free reading (his choice) 2 days. His book basket list is at the bottom of this post.
Bible ~ This week he will complete Lesson 9 in his Rod & Staff Bible 5 book. It is titled “Isaac Serves God”.
English ~ Another Rod & Staff 5 book: He will complete the next 4 lessons. He is reviewing singular/plural/possessive nouns.
Writing~ He is working on a few things this week. He is finishing up last week’s Writing Strands assignment about using details. We will conference, and he will write his final copy. He will do a small writing assignment from his English book about using examples in his writing. Then, he will start the next Writing Strands assignment – writing a “very short story”.
Spelling ~ We have switched from AAS to Spelling Power at Isaac’s request. He tested into level E, but we decided to start at level D so he wouldn’t start off getting discouraged by bigger words.
Math ~ He will work through three lessons and take a test this week in his Saxon 76 book.
Latin ~ We are listening to the Prima Latina CD daily (reviewing one lesson each day). Isaac is also working through a review of lessons 1-5.
Reading ~ He is reading The Family Under the Bridge. He is reading a chapter each day, answering discussion questions, and defining three vocabulary words and using them in sentences. He will finish this book next week and work on a project (I haven’t planned this yet) to wrap up this study.
Isaac’s book basket:
| Poetry: | Walt Whitman ”To a Locomotive in Winter” |
| Seasonal: | The Christmas Story by Elisa Trimby |
| Chapter: | Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (hope to finish it this week) |
| Science: | Phineas Cage by John Fleischman |
| History: | Guide to Egpyt by Michael March |
| Aesop: | “The Wolf and the Kid” |
| Extra: | The Nutcracker (so he knows the story when he watches Emma in the ballet this weekend) |
Emma’s(1st grade) work will consist of:
Bible ~ 10 commandments: We will review #1 and focus on #2-5.
English(First Language Lessons) ~ Reviewing common/proper nouns and writing the months of the year.
Writing: Her writing this week is centered around Christmas. Monday she will draw a picture of her favorite Christmas memory, write a sentence about it, and glue it on red or green paper to display. Tuesday, she will write a 3-5 sentence paragraph telling what she likes most about Christmas. (She really enjoys writing so she doesn’t mind “long” assignments.) Thursday, I will help her write a Christmas-themed acrostic poem.
Spelling: She will be working through Step 8 in AAS (level 2).
Math: She will do the next 5 lessons in her Horizons 1 math book. A few of the things she will cover include fractions (1/4), adding 3 numbers, adding 2-digits plus 2-digits without carrying, counting quarters, and reviewing time to the hour and half-hour.
She will do typing on the BBC Typing Mat website twice this week.
I will read a chapter a day from Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie.
She will do a Christmas craft each day from The Activity Mom’s list. This week she will make Christmas Cookie ornaments, paint a tree picture and add foam ornament stickers, roll and color reindeer, make paper snowflakes, and bake cookies for her cousin.
We will work together on our Nutcracker lap book. Monday we will discuss Tchaikovsky. Wednesday we will discuss ballet. Tuesday and Thursday we will read more versions of The Nutcracker.
Dance – I recorded her recital routines with the video camera. I hook the camera to the TV each afternoon and have her run through her routines 3-4 times (1 routine per day). This usually takes her about 10 minutes. I will cut this out after recital (until about march when we start gearing up for spring recital).
Book basket ~ I have a list of books for Emma to read through during the week. She usually doesn’t finish the list as it is, and I carry it over to the next week. I would rather have too many than not enough. These books are in addition to all of her outside reading that she does on her own. Some of her books are seasonal, and some are topic based for history and science. There is a poetry book for her to read from (I assign 1-2 per week). I also have some Christmas-themed audiobooks on my Ipod that I will put in her box. She loves when I do that. She grabs a coloring book or a puzzle and listens.
Here’s what’s in Emma’s book basket this week:
| Poetry: | Animal Crackers ”Monday’s Child” ”Sneeze on Monday” ”How Many Days Has My Baby to Play” ”Tommy Snooks” |
| Seasonal | The Small One by Alex Walsh Can You See What I See? The Night Before Christmas by Walter Wick |
| Chapter: | Christmas in Camelot by Mary Pope Osborne |
| Science | Think, Think, Think: Learning About Your Brain by Pamela Nettleton (must narrate when finished) |
| History: | The Nile River by Allan Fowler (must narrate when finished) |
| IPOD Stories: | Cinnamon Bear episodes 1-5: Paddy O’Cinnamon Weary Willy Crazy Quilt Dragon The Ikaboos Weasley the Wailing Whale |
We’ve got a busy week ahead in school and in “real life”. I’m trying to finish up a few units so they aren’t “hanging” over Christmas break. Logan is finishing up his driver’s ed course on Tuesday. We have dance classes Tuesday and Wednesday. Friday, my in-laws and my niece are arriving from MO. They are coming for the weekend to see Emma’s Winter Recital (which will be Saturday and Sunday).
Our group time this week will consist of the following:
Memory verse ~ Matthew 1:21
Read-alouds ~ I will read a different Christmas picture book each day. I am also reading from Robert Louis Stevenson’s A Child’s Garden of Verses.
Bible ~ We will review verses in our memory verse box, and I will read from our Day-by-Day Kid’s Bible.
Picture study ~ Dora Maar by Picasso
Science ~ The Brain and the Nervous System: We will learn about the major parts of the brain and what they control. We will do a few hands-on projects and watch an online video about the brain.
History ~ Ancient Egypt: We will learn about the daily life of early Egyptians ~ what they wore, the homes they lived in, their education, games they played, etc.
Art Appreciation ~ Picasso: We will look at some art, read a bio or two, discuss some vocabulary, and work on our timeline.
I’ll post Emma and Isaac’s individual work in separate posts.
Our verse this week (for Christmas) is Matthew 1:21. Here are the printables I created. I hang one copy (usually page 1) on our memory board to be displayed all week long. Then, I copy page 1 and 2 on the same page (this gives me smaller cards for the kids). I then laminate these and put them on a ring with our past verses. I print the memory verse puzzles lastly. On Thursday, the kids practice putting the words in the correct order. On Friday, they glue them into their memory verse notebooks.
Matthew 1 21I love the idea of writing love letters to my kids! I love the thought of recording some meaningful thoughts and ideas specifically for my children to read at a later date. You can read a full description of “Baby Love Letters” at Friday Letters.
This week’s question is…
Describe a family gathering so your child will get a feel for his/her extended family.
Dear kids,
As we wrap up the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, I thought it would be neat to compare your holidays with my holidays growing up. I’m sure you’ll get a kick out of some of these comparisons…
| My childhood (at Papa’s) | Your childhood (at our house) |
| Great food prepared by the adults – turkey, dressing, veggies, cranberries, breads, apple pie, pecan pie | Same today – I really prefer a traditional holiday dinner like I had growing up, so that was the menu this week. |
| Cousins – and lots of them – Tara, Joey, and Jason (the teenagers), Chrissy, Jessie, Rhonda, and George (the tweens) | Cousins – and lots of them – Logan and D (the teenagers), Isaac, Hannah, Allie, and Kiersten (the tweens), Abbi and Emma (the littles) |
| Hanging with the cousins – rolling down Papa’s hill out back, fishing off the dock, roller skating in the basement, Lincoln Logs in the back bedroom, Simon (the handheld game) under the table; bumper pool tables in the basement | Hanging with the cousins – Guitar Hero tourneys on the Wii, Game Boy marathons after bedtime, walking to the playground at the end of our street, dress-up fashion shows, bumper pool games in the game room (on the same bumper pool table I played on growing up) |
| Thanksgiving prayers by Papa (the head of the household) | Thanksgiving prayers by Daddy (the head of our household) |
| Traveling 15 minutes to the next town | Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Jessie, and cousins – Hannah, Danielle, Abbi, Kiersten, and Allie – travelling 12 hours from TN to TX to spend the holiday with us |
While I don’t have any pics from my childhood holidays (they are all in TN with Grandma), here are some pictures of our holiday celebration this weekend.
Love,
Mommy!!
We don’t get much snow here in TX. Nothing like what we had in Cincinnati. However, I woke up to some snow falling this morning and had to take a picture before it melted. We may not see much more than this during the winter. And, I’m pretty sure we will never be able to build a snowman (so I added one to my pic).
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