Solar System

We had a lot of distractions during our first lesson in astronomy but we finally got through it.  The boys enjoyed it and have really absorbed more than I expected them to.  When you see them, ask them about Galileo and Copernicus... and natural vs artificial satelites...what constellations and stonehenge are used for  Oh, and the order of the planets. They made their own mnemonic phrases to help remember that...

Henry's is:
Mrs. Von's Evil Mother Jumped Softly Unto Nelson's Pants. 

Nelson's is:
Mary Valasco Eats Many Junky Salads Under Nancy's Parrot. 

Our project for the lesson was to make a model of the solar system.  Rather than do construction paper or styrofoam balls (what I wanted to do but oh so pricey$$$) we did it with flannel and felt.  It's actually to scale... except maybe the sun.  As we learn more, we may add things like the asteroild belt and different moons.

Astronomy Day 1 and Other Stuff

We started school today. Just science...Astronomy. It was quick and easy and the boys enjoyed it. This text book is designed fo reach lesson to be stretched over a 2 week period doing doing science only twice a week. I am certain after today that we will do 1 lesson a week and then start on the next text as soon as we're done. I really liked how well the boys paid attention and absorbed the info with me reading aloud to them. Honestly i was surprised...pleasantly surprised. I honestly expected teaching Nelson to be difficult because A. He is very smart. B. He's at that age where he "knows everything" and can have a smart mouth at times. And C. He thinks he is a comedian and has been driving me batty. Or maybe I'm just hormonal. ;) but there were no problems. It was our first day so maybe God planned that out so I wouldn't get disouraged right away! Sometime between now and August 1st we will add in Math. I looked at it breifly this week but got scared! Math is my strongest subject and I understand it but have no idea how to explain it to a 2nd and 5 th grader. My book has it all laid out there butI need to actually read it in advance and can't jua tpick it up and go like we did the Astronomy. I mean I glanced through that but I don't need to do amy prep except for the last day in each lesson which is a project. Anyway, after that... either when all the public schools start or after Labor Day we will add the rest of the work in which is history, language arts, Bible which are all kind of tied together (for Nelson). Henry's language arts isnt tied in with the history like Nelsons but his Bible is part of hi slanguage arts. Oh, and we'll ad handwriting in then, too. They are going to hate that. If my boys wind up doctors they are going to be doctors with nice handwriting! ;) So that's are homeschool plan for now. I'd love any input. And prayers... I am not good with patience a lot of the time so that is something I really need to work on. Especially with Nelson. He is almost as tall as me, he's the oldest, and I have a hard time remembering he's still just a boy and I expect too much from him...typical for first borns from what I've heard...

Box Day!

I always get excited when UPS or FedEx is scheduled to come to my house... you know, for all the lovely cloth diaper orders and back when I was a Scentsy consultant.  But, today tops those days by far. 

Today is our very first Sonlight box day!  All our homeschool curriculum arrived!  FedEx AND UPS showed up at my door this morning. :)  I couldn't wait... I cracked open the boxes right away I even put my binder together. Woah!  I was surprised at how big THAT was!  I let the babies play in the packing paper and they thought that was a blast.  There are so many great books.  I can't wait to read them myself!  After I got a quick look at everything I packed it all back up so the boys could experience the fun when they got home from school... only 1 day left of public school by the way.  Then it's summer fun, finishing up baseball, and then I plan to get us started with at least one subject so we can ease in to it. 


Nelson and Henry got home and I seated them on the couch then drug the box to the middle of the floor.  They jumped to it right away with the help of Jack & Kash.  I heard "Wow! Cool!" and "These are all for us?!"  "I can't wait to read this one!"  Sweet little Jack kept picking up books and saying "Is THIS mine, Momma?!" I need to order him a few books so he can have his own box day! 

Just look at all those books!

All in all it was a lot of fun and we are all thoroughly excited to get started after our summer break.

Curriculum Ordered!

We were unable to attend the homeschool book fair so I missed out on the seminars I was hoping to attend.   Thankfully I was already confident in my decisions on what curriculum to order.  I JUST placed our orders and I cannot wait for it all to arrive so we can sort through it and get our plan in order. I am really excited!  I have got to get busy decluttering our office/school room so we will have room for the 100+ books that will be arriving!  That's a lot of books.  (That count includes my instructor guides and their workbooks.) 

Nelson is going in to 5th grade and Henry 2nd.  Henry is old enough to be going in to 3rd and is a quick learner so we ordered the core that is for ages 8-11 (3rd-5th grades).  They will be learning about the same things when it comes to History, Geography, & Bible but they'll have different work to do over what they learn and I'll have a different set of expectations for them each.  I did order some of their curriculum grade specific.  Here is a list:

From Sonlight

• Core D Advanced 5 day - this includes Readers & Language Arts (for Nelson), History & Geography, and Bible
• 2nd grade readers and language arts (for Henry)
• Singapore 5 Math Program - Nelson
• Singapore 2 Math Program - Henry
• Sequential Spelling, Vol 1 - Both
• Handwriting Without Tears Package 5 - Nelson
• Handwriting Without Tears Package 2 - Henry
• Required Resources
• Extra consumables for the things they'll both be doing.

From Apologia's elementary science curriculum:

• Exploring Creation with Astronomy - Both
• Astronomy Notebooking Journal - Nelson
• Astronomy Junior Notebooking Journal - Henry

Decisions Decisions

We've made a decision on which curriculum to go with.  Based on recommendations, my internet research, quality, ease of use (lesson plans/instructor guides), and style (lots of good reading) we are going to use Sonlight for our core.  We are going to order one set that is closer to Nelson's level and use for both.  This will make things more streamlined for me which is important for our first year since I'll be learning the ropes... you know, juggling school, a 3 year old and a 1 year old and all the other daily household fun. :)  We will order math, handwriting, and language arts specific to their grade levels. 

While they both tested well above their grade level on reading, we are going to go with their actual grade level for their readers because the language arts ties in with the readers and that is specific to their grade level.  For any extra or fun reading they will get to read things on their actual reading levels... or close to depending on content.  I'm not sure there are many things on a 9th/10th grade level that I want my 5th grader reading! 

I am pretty sure they are right on target for math but we're taking assessments for this too just in case.  It's a long test and with baseball going on, we haven't had the time to finish them yet!  But, Singapore math is what we're going with.

When it comes to science I am not sure if we'll use Sonlight or Apologia.  We want to make sure they learn science based on creation ... biblical ... but do not plan to shelter them from more worldy views of how we all began. 

So... that is where we're at!  I am looking forward to placing their order so I can have time to look things over and get an idea of how this is all really going to work!  Our summer isn't going to be as long as normal because we'll be starting school when it's 110 outside and no one wants to be out in it!  It won't be full time because we want to play and go to waterparks with our friends but this way, when we don't have plans we can get some school work done and then have time during the fall and spring to take off and do outdoor things when it's nice out.  (how's that for a long runon sentence?) Plus I'm trying to talk James in to a road trip in February! 

~Kassy