*We have continued, as we always do, to recite the 10 commandments (in full, the version in Exodus 20) daily.
*In the bible, we have gone now up through 2 Chronicles 17, on our way of reading the entire bible, from front to back, to William. We've continued daily to read a chapter in Proverbs. We're back through chapter 1 as of today. We've read about kings of Judah Ahaziah, Jehoram, Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah, Jotham, and evil Queen Athaliah. There were some wicked people, especially Jehoram, and there were some who started off doing all the things RIGHT in the God's eyes, and then they turned away toward the latter years of their lives. We must keep this in mind, not to turn away ever.
*I've gone over in the workbook on Obedience that obedience is one way we love God. He loves us by giving us good rules, and we show our love to Him by obeying those rules, so that He doesn't have to punish us (b/c as every good parent knows, punishing a child is NOT a desirable thing for the parent). Colossians 3:20 has been the memory verse the workbook as given for the first three lessons. Will had already memorized this verse long BEFORE we started the workbook, because that is one of the scriptures I've taught him to memorize.
*For ~Reading/writing/spelling/grammar~: We've read almost daily (we actually missed two or three days with this, which we have not done in a long time) in the Rocket Readers Learn-to-Read bible. Today we read Rocket readers level 2 book called This and That. I didn't even read it to William (and never have before). I sometimes just see whether he can read things the first time on his own. He did very well with this book. I think I only had to tell him two words. It's about a 70-word or so book. He'll be reading another three books this week from the level 2, and he'll have to read all four to Nathan after the sabbath's end (at the beginning of next week). He didn't do a lot of writing, but he did do a little in his social skills workbook, his history book (though I'm not making him write most of the answers in that book but just having him tell me, so I can reuse the book and not have to make copies of the pages), and the Complete Curriculum for Grade 1.
*Math: More counting, and then yesterday (Sunday) I had him do some workbook pages on counting objects and recording the number. He needs more practice writing his numerals, anyway. His 2, 3, and 5 all looked the same, before I corrected him. He then did a pretty good two and a fairly good 5. His three still needs work.
*Science: We talked about a cell last Thursday. He learned most animal cells round and that all of them have five main parts: cell membrane, nucleus, mitochondria, vacuoles, and cytoplasm. Plant cells are usually square or rectangle and have two additional parts: chloroplasts and cell walls. We talked about what each one did. I always repeat each thing several times when we go over stuff like this. Then today, we reviewed these things again, and we did a plant cell model with gelatin, metal ball, coins, plastic baggie, etc.
Also today, after texting my day dad on my cell phone about doing a plant cell model with William, he texted me back to request that we do an experiment to see whether cold or hot water freezes first. He said he went to take hot water out to their chickens, and my grandpa was down there and said that the hot water would freeze first (as that's what he's always been told, and he hasn't proved it otherwise). My dad's hypothesis (as well as my own) was that the cold water would freeze first. He told me that when he was taking HVAC classes that the instructor (whom was also my husband's HVAC instructor) told them that it was a myth that hot water freezes first. Well, of course it's a myth. Logic tells me that the cold water would freeze first. It's already lost more heat. COLD is a relative term. One might say that there is really no such thing as "cold." Cold is simply the absence of heat. The further down the temperature scale, the more absence of heat there is. Absolute zero equals NO ENERGY to distribute between atoms. (I'll be writing an article in the near future on ENERGY, heat and cold, and Einstein's famous E=mc squared to post on my website--endtimecog.net. I'll post here when it's finished.) Anyway, Will's hypothesis was that the hot water would freeze first. I don't know whether he really thought that or not. He loves to disagree. It may be a bad thing now, but I have hope that his not-so-quickly-agreeing with everything will work to good in his future. Now, I'd also told my dad that I'd heard of some boy who did do this experiment (for his science fair project) and that the cold water froze first. BUT, upon my dad's request, we did the experiment to see for ourselves. Will and I got two identical mugs, put hot filtered tap water in one and cold filtered tap water in the other, labeled them with a red star and blue star, and we placed them in the freezer. I checked them after 20 minutes and after 40 minutes. After the former, the "cold" water was "colder" than the hot, the latter of which was now "cold" to my touch. After the latter time, the "cold" water had a nice layer of ice, and the previously hot water had not even started developing ice crystals yet. SO, the conclusion of the experiment is that hot water does NOT freeze more quickly than "cold" (less hot) water.
*In Complete Curriculum, Will did a reading lesson or two over the past week, a grammar lesson (animals as nouns), and a math lesson.
*We finished the first unit of the "Our Christian Heritage" book. We'll start the next unit sometime this week.
*We worked on more social skills, including saying no to friends when we should, asking to borrow another's possessions, saying sorry, and name-calling. We're halfway or so through the book. After we're finished, we will start the other manners and etiquette book.
That's it for now.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Still Learning....
We've mostly done our regular things the last few days. We've been very busy with other things, too, so I haven't had time to detail things on the blog.
We are always discussing new things that are not a part of the books and activities I've been mentioning, BECAUSE:
1.) There are always opportunities that arise that are ideal to use to teach lessons
and
2.) William is always asking plenty of questions. I've discovered that he's a lot like I am in many ways. For the most part, I LIKE how I am, so I can't rightly discourage the way he IS, but this all has made me realize better how others perceive me, I think, and let's just say it's a major eye-opener! Okay.....so this is definitely an adventure.
For example, Sunday night we went to town, and one question led to another, so I started discussing friction (which I know I've talked to him about before), heat, and fires. When we got home, he asked Nathan about something else, though I can't remember what it was, so that led to a conversation. Last night (Monday), he was playing with one of his airplanes, and he started asking me questions about planes. I think it's about time for his first airplane ride. :-) But, anyway, he's always asking questions...and not just any questions.
William also has a rich imagination, and I had the same as a child. I LOVE hearing what he has to say. The other night, he started telling me that there is often a scroll that comes down from inside his body, and there are scissors that cut it, and it pops up out of his "door" (he's talked about this "door" before, which is at his abdomen's side) and pops up in front of his eyes so that he can read the words. He says it will tell him words, and since he can read but is not yet an expert reader, I asked him whether he could always read everything it says, and he said, "I have something inside of me that helps me read the words." He further said that after he's done reading the words, he stores them inside of his brain, and then the paper that he read goes back inside and is shredded by some paper shredding gadget he said he has in his body and then goes into a trash. The scroll (the part that wasn't cut) then rolls back up and goes back up to wherever from whence it came. (His head?) I asked him what kind of things this scroll tells him, and he said, "Just anything. For example, if Trusten was grown up as a man, and he didn't take me fishing, it would say those words." Hahaha! That didn't really make any sense to me. I asked him whether the scroll ever said that, and he said, "No, it was just an example." He is just too funny, sometimes.
He dug a "pit," as he called it outside yesterday. It's just a deep hole in the ground. He said it could be used for a toilet!
About a week ago, he strung up a "fence" with some skinny rope near the woods, and he said it was to protect deer from walking through the scrap materials, broken deck, etc. that is down the hill by the two rooms of the house that are still unfinished. I guess Nathan couldn't resist being sarcastic, as he said, "Yeah, we can hardly keep the deer out of there." After I stopped laughing, I told William that I thought he was being very thoughtful. Nathan then agreed.
We've had chickens laying eggs like crazy. Nathan gave half of them away. Well, yesterday one of the Aracaunas (sp?) finally laid an egg. None of those chickens had laid one, yet. For anyone who doesn't know, they lay green eggs. Well, Will went to collect eggs, and he came to show me the single green egg (along with the brown ones and the white one he had). He was very excited about it and said he liked it very much. He said, "Momma, I don't want you cooking this egg, because I like looking at it." :-)
A few days ago, he told he'd had a dream the previous night that Jesus took him to see God's house in heaven. He said that God had a lot of very neat things and very pretty. He said he had glass windows that were colored with red and all kinds of colors "like a rainbow." Earlier today he told me that he loves Jesus and he loves the Father. :-) How sweet to hear words like these. It truly makes me wonder who that "other child" is who is disrespectul and disobedient. It makes ME all wonder how God sees his children, including MYSELF sometimes....
Well, Will has been doing pretty well with most of his learning, and he did well on his second test that I made out and Nathan gave him. His writing still needs quite a bit of work, but it will get better. He HAS to work on getting his letters CLOSE together in one word. That's probably the number one problem. But, he'll get it. I have to be patient and just work with him. There are so many things that have seemed hopeless before, but with patience and effort, I've seen him turn the things around.
I'm hoping we can work out his 'l' sounds soon, too. His l's sound like w's. His r's sometimes do, but they sometimes sound good. Some s blends still need some work, but it's mostly his l's. I know that he'll eventually get them. He does stutter, too, but it's not too bad, as long as whomever he's talking to is patiently listening. He'll get better with that, too. I'm confident of it. I had speech problems and STILL struggle with my speech, and I'm making it all right. I'm actually trying to work on MINE so that I'm not causing him more problems. :-(
As far as listing what we did book-wise, I'm going to change it up and just give a weekly synopsis of that.
As for Trusten, I am hoping to succesfully teach him all his colors, shapes, the alphabet, and how to count to ten by his second birthday, which is in May. He won't sit still long with me and a book, though. William knew a lot more at this age than Trusten, as far as those kind of things are concerned. But, Trusten has talked in sentences since last summer, around 13 or 14 months old. BUT, a lot of people might not understand what he's saying. It's obvious to some that he's talking in sentences, and some even realize what he's saying, but they're not CLEAR. Will didn't really talk in sentences until he was 2.5 or older. They're all so different...
As for Nathan, he's getting ready to take a 1-day course in Dallas and then test to get his business and law license. He will be able to legally bid bigger jobs with that license. He then plans to go to Dallas again sometime (for probably a week) to take some classes on solar, wind, etc. technologies so that he can broaden his horizons, as the saying goes.
As for myself, I am halfway through a book called Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Kurchinka. So far, it's a good and helpful read. I have one VERY spirited child (Trusten), and another who is spirited or at least "spunky." I am at least spunky myself. I'm trying to learn positive ways to rear these very ENERGETIC boys, including learning positive labeling. I bought the book a few months ago, but I only started really reading it about 2 weeks ago. I want to read a little bit every day, but it hasn't worked that way. Always my number one reading priority is the bible, and I never go a day w/o reading it, and never a week goes by that I don't just read it but STUDY it. Everything else I read is a bonus. After I finish this book, I have to go back and finish another book I started last year, and then I have two more books lined up to read. I'll talk about those as I get to them. I'm probably going to be investing in a used genetics college textbook soon. I study and teach on genetics, and my studies are ongoing...
Well, that's it for today.
We are always discussing new things that are not a part of the books and activities I've been mentioning, BECAUSE:
1.) There are always opportunities that arise that are ideal to use to teach lessons
and
2.) William is always asking plenty of questions. I've discovered that he's a lot like I am in many ways. For the most part, I LIKE how I am, so I can't rightly discourage the way he IS, but this all has made me realize better how others perceive me, I think, and let's just say it's a major eye-opener! Okay.....so this is definitely an adventure.
For example, Sunday night we went to town, and one question led to another, so I started discussing friction (which I know I've talked to him about before), heat, and fires. When we got home, he asked Nathan about something else, though I can't remember what it was, so that led to a conversation. Last night (Monday), he was playing with one of his airplanes, and he started asking me questions about planes. I think it's about time for his first airplane ride. :-) But, anyway, he's always asking questions...and not just any questions.
William also has a rich imagination, and I had the same as a child. I LOVE hearing what he has to say. The other night, he started telling me that there is often a scroll that comes down from inside his body, and there are scissors that cut it, and it pops up out of his "door" (he's talked about this "door" before, which is at his abdomen's side) and pops up in front of his eyes so that he can read the words. He says it will tell him words, and since he can read but is not yet an expert reader, I asked him whether he could always read everything it says, and he said, "I have something inside of me that helps me read the words." He further said that after he's done reading the words, he stores them inside of his brain, and then the paper that he read goes back inside and is shredded by some paper shredding gadget he said he has in his body and then goes into a trash. The scroll (the part that wasn't cut) then rolls back up and goes back up to wherever from whence it came. (His head?) I asked him what kind of things this scroll tells him, and he said, "Just anything. For example, if Trusten was grown up as a man, and he didn't take me fishing, it would say those words." Hahaha! That didn't really make any sense to me. I asked him whether the scroll ever said that, and he said, "No, it was just an example." He is just too funny, sometimes.
He dug a "pit," as he called it outside yesterday. It's just a deep hole in the ground. He said it could be used for a toilet!
About a week ago, he strung up a "fence" with some skinny rope near the woods, and he said it was to protect deer from walking through the scrap materials, broken deck, etc. that is down the hill by the two rooms of the house that are still unfinished. I guess Nathan couldn't resist being sarcastic, as he said, "Yeah, we can hardly keep the deer out of there." After I stopped laughing, I told William that I thought he was being very thoughtful. Nathan then agreed.
We've had chickens laying eggs like crazy. Nathan gave half of them away. Well, yesterday one of the Aracaunas (sp?) finally laid an egg. None of those chickens had laid one, yet. For anyone who doesn't know, they lay green eggs. Well, Will went to collect eggs, and he came to show me the single green egg (along with the brown ones and the white one he had). He was very excited about it and said he liked it very much. He said, "Momma, I don't want you cooking this egg, because I like looking at it." :-)
A few days ago, he told he'd had a dream the previous night that Jesus took him to see God's house in heaven. He said that God had a lot of very neat things and very pretty. He said he had glass windows that were colored with red and all kinds of colors "like a rainbow." Earlier today he told me that he loves Jesus and he loves the Father. :-) How sweet to hear words like these. It truly makes me wonder who that "other child" is who is disrespectul and disobedient. It makes ME all wonder how God sees his children, including MYSELF sometimes....
Well, Will has been doing pretty well with most of his learning, and he did well on his second test that I made out and Nathan gave him. His writing still needs quite a bit of work, but it will get better. He HAS to work on getting his letters CLOSE together in one word. That's probably the number one problem. But, he'll get it. I have to be patient and just work with him. There are so many things that have seemed hopeless before, but with patience and effort, I've seen him turn the things around.
I'm hoping we can work out his 'l' sounds soon, too. His l's sound like w's. His r's sometimes do, but they sometimes sound good. Some s blends still need some work, but it's mostly his l's. I know that he'll eventually get them. He does stutter, too, but it's not too bad, as long as whomever he's talking to is patiently listening. He'll get better with that, too. I'm confident of it. I had speech problems and STILL struggle with my speech, and I'm making it all right. I'm actually trying to work on MINE so that I'm not causing him more problems. :-(
As far as listing what we did book-wise, I'm going to change it up and just give a weekly synopsis of that.
As for Trusten, I am hoping to succesfully teach him all his colors, shapes, the alphabet, and how to count to ten by his second birthday, which is in May. He won't sit still long with me and a book, though. William knew a lot more at this age than Trusten, as far as those kind of things are concerned. But, Trusten has talked in sentences since last summer, around 13 or 14 months old. BUT, a lot of people might not understand what he's saying. It's obvious to some that he's talking in sentences, and some even realize what he's saying, but they're not CLEAR. Will didn't really talk in sentences until he was 2.5 or older. They're all so different...
As for Nathan, he's getting ready to take a 1-day course in Dallas and then test to get his business and law license. He will be able to legally bid bigger jobs with that license. He then plans to go to Dallas again sometime (for probably a week) to take some classes on solar, wind, etc. technologies so that he can broaden his horizons, as the saying goes.
As for myself, I am halfway through a book called Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Kurchinka. So far, it's a good and helpful read. I have one VERY spirited child (Trusten), and another who is spirited or at least "spunky." I am at least spunky myself. I'm trying to learn positive ways to rear these very ENERGETIC boys, including learning positive labeling. I bought the book a few months ago, but I only started really reading it about 2 weeks ago. I want to read a little bit every day, but it hasn't worked that way. Always my number one reading priority is the bible, and I never go a day w/o reading it, and never a week goes by that I don't just read it but STUDY it. Everything else I read is a bonus. After I finish this book, I have to go back and finish another book I started last year, and then I have two more books lined up to read. I'll talk about those as I get to them. I'm probably going to be investing in a used genetics college textbook soon. I study and teach on genetics, and my studies are ongoing...
Well, that's it for today.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Carl Linnaeus' Binomial Classification
WEDNESDAY
*Bible
~10 Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17); 2 Chron. 14-15; Proverbs 20
We read about one of the few righteous kings that Judah had--King Asa. He broke down all the images and took away the heathen places of worship in the high places. Asa trusted God to protect them from Ethiopia, and so Jehovah struck Ethiopia so that it was overthrown. Oh, how awesome it would be if modern Israel--the United States (and the rest of Israel and Judah as well) --would break down the heathen images and pillars throughout the land....the "statue of liberty," the "Washington monument," all the obelisks on top of the churches, all the "virgin Marys" and all the other wretched things Israel has erected. Oh, how we would be BLESSED again if our leader would call for repentance and the removal of all these wicked things! And how great it would be if Israel's (U.S.) new president, who is half gentile, would repent and call upon the name of Jehovah God and trust HIM to protect us from terrorists and nations who wish us harm. :-( Sadly, we have not had anyone like King Asa....
*Reading/writing/spelling/grammar
~Rocket Readers Learn-to-Read Bible: 4 pages--2 review and 2 new
~ Step Into Reading Oh, My Pumpkin Pie -- William read this aloud with assistance where needed.
He did something in writing, but I can't remember what right now...
*Math
~Counting again.
*Science
~God's Design for Science Biology--Plants: Lesson 3. We read the lesson, and he learned the seven levels of classification that scientists use today to classify organisms. Kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species. I love teaching science!!!! It's my favorite. William likes it, too. :-)
*Breakfast
Freshly made ww strawberry muffins
*Lunch
Mashed potatoes with sea salt, cayenne and black peppers, and butter; green beans
*Bible
~10 Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17); 2 Chron. 16; Proverbs 21
King Asa of Judah went somewhat downhill in his later years. He made a league with the leader of Syria and paid him to break his league with Israel, because Israel was getting ready to fight against Judah. A prophet of God rebuked Asa, but instead of humbly repenting, he became angry and has the prophet Hanani put in prison! At the end of his days, he was "diseased in his feet," and instead of trusting God, he sought help from the physicians, and so he died and was buried.
*Reading/writing/spelling/grammar
~Rocket Readers Learn-to-Read Bible: 4 pages--2 review and 4 new
~ Step into Reading Oh My, Pumpkin Pie-- William read this aloud again, and he did it almost all by himself. He did a great job. I don't know whether I'd mentioned or not on last week's test, but Nathan said William did very well reading Silly Sara to him. I hope he does just as well on the pumpkin pie book.
*Math
~He did a little workbook work, but then I decided to write down 0-9 on paper with big gaps between each number. Then below 0 I put 10, 20, 30, etc., under 1 I put 11, 21, 31, etc., except I went across in order (10, 11, 12, 13, 14; 21, 22, 23, 24, etc.). I showed him how it was all the same. See, he just doesn't seem to be grasping that, so I thought if I showed him on paper, he'd understand. I think maybe that is helping, but I'll have to continue to work with him on it. If he ends up taking after Nathan in math, he'll be okay. If he takes after me, well.... Hahaha...I'm not really that bad. Don't worry. But, it's definitely not a strong area for me...beyond arithmetic and simple algebra, anyway.
*Science
~God's Design for Science Biology--Plants: Lesson 3. I reviewed lesson 3, which is what we went over yesterday. Then, we read a short bit about Carl Linnaeus.
It was FREEZING today. It didn't get above 15 degrees Fahrenheit. We had to go to town to Helping Hands, Walmart (Wicked Wally), and Ozark Natural Foods, the latter of where we get groceries. Only one side of my Jeep puts out heat, while the other blows cool air. It's been needing some sensor replaced for quite a while, but I've been making do. We did not have fun having to be out in that cold weather, though. The upside was that after I got my contacts in this morning, I saw that it was snowing outside. The flakes were small, and it only lasted for a few minutes, but it was delightful. William nearly always manages to go outside, no matter how cold it is, if only for a short time. Today was no different, but it was funny, b/c I looked outside to see the chicken house door shut, and a few minutes later he came in and said that he'd went into the chicken house to stay warm! He cracks me up! I just figured he'd chased a bird in there to catch it, which is usually what he's up to when the chicken house door is shut.
*Breakfast
Leftover strawberry muffins and kefir
*Lunch
Leftover spaghetti w/ sausage (from dinner last night)...and salad for me. We usually don't have meat for lunch, but I wanted to get the spaghetti eaten.
*Bible
~10 Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17); 2 Chron. 14-15; Proverbs 20
We read about one of the few righteous kings that Judah had--King Asa. He broke down all the images and took away the heathen places of worship in the high places. Asa trusted God to protect them from Ethiopia, and so Jehovah struck Ethiopia so that it was overthrown. Oh, how awesome it would be if modern Israel--the United States (and the rest of Israel and Judah as well) --would break down the heathen images and pillars throughout the land....the "statue of liberty," the "Washington monument," all the obelisks on top of the churches, all the "virgin Marys" and all the other wretched things Israel has erected. Oh, how we would be BLESSED again if our leader would call for repentance and the removal of all these wicked things! And how great it would be if Israel's (U.S.) new president, who is half gentile, would repent and call upon the name of Jehovah God and trust HIM to protect us from terrorists and nations who wish us harm. :-( Sadly, we have not had anyone like King Asa....
*Reading/writing/spelling/grammar
~Rocket Readers Learn-to-Read Bible: 4 pages--2 review and 2 new
~ Step Into Reading Oh, My Pumpkin Pie -- William read this aloud with assistance where needed.
He did something in writing, but I can't remember what right now...
*Math
~Counting again.
*Science
~God's Design for Science Biology--Plants: Lesson 3. We read the lesson, and he learned the seven levels of classification that scientists use today to classify organisms. Kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species. I love teaching science!!!! It's my favorite. William likes it, too. :-)
*Breakfast
Freshly made ww strawberry muffins
*Lunch
Mashed potatoes with sea salt, cayenne and black peppers, and butter; green beans
*Bible
~10 Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17); 2 Chron. 16; Proverbs 21
King Asa of Judah went somewhat downhill in his later years. He made a league with the leader of Syria and paid him to break his league with Israel, because Israel was getting ready to fight against Judah. A prophet of God rebuked Asa, but instead of humbly repenting, he became angry and has the prophet Hanani put in prison! At the end of his days, he was "diseased in his feet," and instead of trusting God, he sought help from the physicians, and so he died and was buried.
*Reading/writing/spelling/grammar
~Rocket Readers Learn-to-Read Bible: 4 pages--2 review and 4 new
~ Step into Reading Oh My, Pumpkin Pie-- William read this aloud again, and he did it almost all by himself. He did a great job. I don't know whether I'd mentioned or not on last week's test, but Nathan said William did very well reading Silly Sara to him. I hope he does just as well on the pumpkin pie book.
*Math
~He did a little workbook work, but then I decided to write down 0-9 on paper with big gaps between each number. Then below 0 I put 10, 20, 30, etc., under 1 I put 11, 21, 31, etc., except I went across in order (10, 11, 12, 13, 14; 21, 22, 23, 24, etc.). I showed him how it was all the same. See, he just doesn't seem to be grasping that, so I thought if I showed him on paper, he'd understand. I think maybe that is helping, but I'll have to continue to work with him on it. If he ends up taking after Nathan in math, he'll be okay. If he takes after me, well.... Hahaha...I'm not really that bad. Don't worry. But, it's definitely not a strong area for me...beyond arithmetic and simple algebra, anyway.
*Science
~God's Design for Science Biology--Plants: Lesson 3. I reviewed lesson 3, which is what we went over yesterday. Then, we read a short bit about Carl Linnaeus.
It was FREEZING today. It didn't get above 15 degrees Fahrenheit. We had to go to town to Helping Hands, Walmart (Wicked Wally), and Ozark Natural Foods, the latter of where we get groceries. Only one side of my Jeep puts out heat, while the other blows cool air. It's been needing some sensor replaced for quite a while, but I've been making do. We did not have fun having to be out in that cold weather, though. The upside was that after I got my contacts in this morning, I saw that it was snowing outside. The flakes were small, and it only lasted for a few minutes, but it was delightful. William nearly always manages to go outside, no matter how cold it is, if only for a short time. Today was no different, but it was funny, b/c I looked outside to see the chicken house door shut, and a few minutes later he came in and said that he'd went into the chicken house to stay warm! He cracks me up! I just figured he'd chased a bird in there to catch it, which is usually what he's up to when the chicken house door is shut.
*Breakfast
Leftover strawberry muffins and kefir
*Lunch
Leftover spaghetti w/ sausage (from dinner last night)...and salad for me. We usually don't have meat for lunch, but I wanted to get the spaghetti eaten.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Sunday and Monday
Sunday
*Bible
~10 Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17); 2 Chron. 11; Proverbs 17
We talked about how Rehoboam and the people of Judah walked in the ways of God for three years, while he strengthened his kingdom.
*Reading/writing/spelling/grammar
~Rocket Readers Learn-to-Read Bible: 4 pages--2 review and 2 new
This was all we did Sunday, as we had to go do something as a family, and it may be this way for the next few Sundays. Sundays are very short school days, anyway.
Monday
*Bible
~10 Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17); 2 Chron. 12; Proverbs 18
Rehoboam had strengthened the kingdom of Judah after a few years of reigning, despite Jeroboam's revolt with the other tribes of Israel. As it so often is with people, after things start going really well for them, they decide they don't need God, anymore, and he and the people started doing things their own way. Shishak, the king of Egypt, came against Judah. The princes of Israel then humbled themselves, so Jehovah (YHVH) God of Israel had mercy on them and didn't let them be destroyed, though they still would have to be servants to Shishak. Rehoboam died, and Abijah his son reigned in his stead.
*Reading/writing/spelling/grammar
~Rocket Readers Learn-to-Read Bible: 4 pages--2 review and 2 new
~Step Into Reading: "Oh My, Pumpkin Pie." (Sorry, no way to underline things on this blog, as far as I can tell.) I read the book to him, and then he read the book to me with assistance where needed.
~Complete Curriculum Grade 1: Reading Roundup in the Reading section. This was just a review of the unit 1. More of the same exercises.
*History
~Our Christian Heritage Grade 1: We talked more about how God is a family and that God is at the TOP, and so fathers are to obey God and be leaders and loving caretakers over their families, the mothers are to love and take care of the children, and the children are to obey their parents. Will had to memorize the ranking. We also learned that God is over the pastor of a church, the pastor over the teachers, the teachers over the children. In school, God is over the principal, the principal over the teachers, and the teachers over the children. This was teaching how God is over all the leaders in a community and not just family.
*Social Skills
~Being the Best Me Social Skills Book B: Taking turns
*Bible
~10 Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17); 2 Chron. 11; Proverbs 17
We talked about how Rehoboam and the people of Judah walked in the ways of God for three years, while he strengthened his kingdom.
*Reading/writing/spelling/grammar
~Rocket Readers Learn-to-Read Bible: 4 pages--2 review and 2 new
This was all we did Sunday, as we had to go do something as a family, and it may be this way for the next few Sundays. Sundays are very short school days, anyway.
Monday
*Bible
~10 Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17); 2 Chron. 12; Proverbs 18
Rehoboam had strengthened the kingdom of Judah after a few years of reigning, despite Jeroboam's revolt with the other tribes of Israel. As it so often is with people, after things start going really well for them, they decide they don't need God, anymore, and he and the people started doing things their own way. Shishak, the king of Egypt, came against Judah. The princes of Israel then humbled themselves, so Jehovah (YHVH) God of Israel had mercy on them and didn't let them be destroyed, though they still would have to be servants to Shishak. Rehoboam died, and Abijah his son reigned in his stead.
*Reading/writing/spelling/grammar
~Rocket Readers Learn-to-Read Bible: 4 pages--2 review and 2 new
~Step Into Reading: "Oh My, Pumpkin Pie." (Sorry, no way to underline things on this blog, as far as I can tell.) I read the book to him, and then he read the book to me with assistance where needed.
~Complete Curriculum Grade 1: Reading Roundup in the Reading section. This was just a review of the unit 1. More of the same exercises.
*History
~Our Christian Heritage Grade 1: We talked more about how God is a family and that God is at the TOP, and so fathers are to obey God and be leaders and loving caretakers over their families, the mothers are to love and take care of the children, and the children are to obey their parents. Will had to memorize the ranking. We also learned that God is over the pastor of a church, the pastor over the teachers, the teachers over the children. In school, God is over the principal, the principal over the teachers, and the teachers over the children. This was teaching how God is over all the leaders in a community and not just family.
*Social Skills
~Being the Best Me Social Skills Book B: Taking turns
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Friday and Sabbath
FRIDAY
*Bible
~10 Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17); 2 Chron. 8-9; Proverbs 15
We read about Solomon's true worship of God, his wisdom, the visit from the Queen of Sheba, his wealth, and his death.
*Reading/writing/spelling/grammar
~Rocket Readers Learn-to-Read Bible: 4 pages--2 review and 2 new
~ Complete Curriculum Grade 1:
--Unit 1 in Reading section, lesson 4--Will read some stories and did some exercises, writing the answers.
*Clever Island--He played Clever Island.
*Sabbath
*Bible
~10 Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17); 2 Chron. 10; Proverbs 16
We read about the division of the kingdom into two, where Solomon's son Rehoboam was left with Judah, but Jeroboam and the other tribes of Israel revolted. Rehoboam was unwise to not heed the counsel of the elders and rather listened to his peers.
*Choosing Obedience
I asked William whether he wanted to go through the Obedience book or Thankfulness book first, and he chose Obedience, bowing his head to look at the floor and saying, "Because I don't do obedience too well." Awwww....well, all of us fail sometimes. Anyway, we did the first lesson, and he learned that the word obey means, "to do something that is asked of you and to do it the first time." Ah, yes...something he's heard so many times before.
We sang some children's biblical songs. Then, we went over his scriptures that he has memorized, including his newest one.
After the Sabbath was over, I made up his weekly test, and Nathan asked him the questions, including his having to read the book Silly Sara. He did a pretty good job. :-) There was only 12 questions this time, and the two hardest questions he didn't get completely right (they were lists). But, other than that, he did very well.
*Bible
~10 Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17); 2 Chron. 8-9; Proverbs 15
We read about Solomon's true worship of God, his wisdom, the visit from the Queen of Sheba, his wealth, and his death.
*Reading/writing/spelling/grammar
~Rocket Readers Learn-to-Read Bible: 4 pages--2 review and 2 new
~ Complete Curriculum Grade 1:
--Unit 1 in Reading section, lesson 4--Will read some stories and did some exercises, writing the answers.
*Clever Island--He played Clever Island.
*Sabbath
*Bible
~10 Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17); 2 Chron. 10; Proverbs 16
We read about the division of the kingdom into two, where Solomon's son Rehoboam was left with Judah, but Jeroboam and the other tribes of Israel revolted. Rehoboam was unwise to not heed the counsel of the elders and rather listened to his peers.
*Choosing Obedience
I asked William whether he wanted to go through the Obedience book or Thankfulness book first, and he chose Obedience, bowing his head to look at the floor and saying, "Because I don't do obedience too well." Awwww....well, all of us fail sometimes. Anyway, we did the first lesson, and he learned that the word obey means, "to do something that is asked of you and to do it the first time." Ah, yes...something he's heard so many times before.
We sang some children's biblical songs. Then, we went over his scriptures that he has memorized, including his newest one.
After the Sabbath was over, I made up his weekly test, and Nathan asked him the questions, including his having to read the book Silly Sara. He did a pretty good job. :-) There was only 12 questions this time, and the two hardest questions he didn't get completely right (they were lists). But, other than that, he did very well.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
What is a Kingdom? And a Mouse in a Jar!
*Bible
~10 Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17); 2 Chron. 6-7; Proverbs 14
We read about King Solomon's prayer after the temple was finished.
*Reading/writing/spelling/grammar
~Rocket Readers Learn-to-Read Bible: 4 pages--2 review and 2 new
~ Complete Curriculum Grade 1:
--Unit 1 in Reading section, lesson 3--Will read four stories aloud by himself and then, upon my instruction, he underlined which of three choices was the best title for each story. He then had to read and answer several yes and no questions.
*Math
~I had him count to 100 again today, on our way to town to get groceries. He didn't do quite as well not seeing the numbers, like he does on the flash cards. Oh, he did well until 15. Then after that he needed several times of help. I haven't decided yet whether to go ahead with workbook work next week or work on this counting to 100, until he gets it down well. I imagine he could learn it along the way.
*Science
~God's Design for Science Biology--Plants: Lesson 2, "What is a Kingdom?" Yesterday, we discussed what determines whether something is alive. Today, we learned what kingdoms into which living things are categorized. Today, scientists classify things into five kingdoms, rather than the simple "plant" and "animal." However, the lesson did state that fungi had most of the same characteristics as plants (and protists were much like animals, except one-celled), except they don't have chlorophyll (are not green) and do not make their own food. Well, the bible itself does say that we are allowed to eat the GREEN herb (Gen. 1:29; 9:3), so that's consistent with what the lesson said about scientists differentiating between plants and non-green plants, the latter of which they commonly label fungi. Most people do not realize it, but mushrooms and other non-chlorophyll containing plants are unclean, or in other words, not fit for food.
We spent quite a bit of time outside today, because it was so nice--in the 50s and sunny. And in January, I'm going to take advantage of it. We even did our reading outside today.
While we were grocery shopping, William came up with another of his own expressions. Clever boy he is. Anytime he saw something he wanted and would ask whether we could get it, he would say, "Please, Momma, my eyes are burning" and "My eyes are burning for it." Hahahaha! He cracks me up.
It reminds me of I John 2:15-17: Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
There are some scriptures, I know, that talk about burning with lust for things, and we've heard this expression elsewhere, too, so since he was lusting (desiring/wanting) after things on the shelves, I think it was interesting that he coined that phrase. He's funny, indeed. Well, he did get a couple of his requests, because he was a pretty nice boy today.
Also, this morning, before Nathan left, he caught a mouse out in the garage with a jar out of the recycle bin. I included a picture. :-)
*Breakfast
Oatmeal with raw honey and cinnamon
*Lunch
Fettucine Alfredo
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Is It Alive?
*Bible
~10 Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17); 2 Chron. 2-5; Proverbs 13
I've been reading the book of Proverbs to William every day for several months now. He does a pretty good job of filling in blanks, when I read verses and then stop to let him fill in the word. It's awesome how much he's remembering. When he can read well on his own, he will still be instructed to read this book daily. By the time he's an adult, he should be well-versed in wisdom.
*Reading/writing/spelling/grammar
~Rocket Readers Learn-to-Read Bible: 4 pages--2 review and 2 new
~ Complete Curriculum Grade 1:
--Unit 1 in Reading section, lesson 2--Will read everything aloud by himself. He then read aloud the questions, and had to circle the correct answers.
--1 page in the Language Arts section--More work on nouns, specifically persons. He had to write the correct noun from choices in a box under the corresponding pictures. He did a really great job on both the reading and language arts sections.
*Math
~Today we just went through number flashcards to 100. William has been able to count to 10, since before his second birthday, but he hasn't made much progress. He's been able to count to 12, but the 13, 14, 15 would get him mixed up so badly, b/c they sound alike. We hadn't worked on his counting in probably three weeks or so, b/c he and I would both end up frustrated. Well, much to my delight, he blasted right through all the way to 29. He got most of the remaining numbers correct all the way to 100, but I had to help him with some. Anytime we came to the next 0, he'd say something off the wall.
*Science
~God's Design for Science Biology--Plants: Lesson 1, "Is it Alive?" I read the lesson to him and explained the SIX characteristics of a living thing--eat, breathe, move, reproduce, grow, and has cells. I went over them several times, and we did a worksheet where we listed certain things in and around the house--stick tree, cat, his brother, book, etc. and discussed which characteristics they had and concluded whether each thing was alive.
Science is my favorite subject, so I'm very excited to be teaching this. The microscope I ordered over two weeks ago finally came in today (they kept having problems with my order). It has a dual viewer, so he and I both can look at the same time. I can hardly wait to start using it. I have to review the manual. It's the best microscope I've ever owned. :-) If all works out as planned, I'll be getting a telescope next year. We'll have so much fun with science. William has always showed interest in it, too, so I know this is going to be the best fun.
After we finished today, we finished our movie that we watched most of yesterday.
~10 Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17); 2 Chron. 2-5; Proverbs 13
I've been reading the book of Proverbs to William every day for several months now. He does a pretty good job of filling in blanks, when I read verses and then stop to let him fill in the word. It's awesome how much he's remembering. When he can read well on his own, he will still be instructed to read this book daily. By the time he's an adult, he should be well-versed in wisdom.
*Reading/writing/spelling/grammar
~Rocket Readers Learn-to-Read Bible: 4 pages--2 review and 2 new
~ Complete Curriculum Grade 1:
--Unit 1 in Reading section, lesson 2--Will read everything aloud by himself. He then read aloud the questions, and had to circle the correct answers.
--1 page in the Language Arts section--More work on nouns, specifically persons. He had to write the correct noun from choices in a box under the corresponding pictures. He did a really great job on both the reading and language arts sections.
*Math
~Today we just went through number flashcards to 100. William has been able to count to 10, since before his second birthday, but he hasn't made much progress. He's been able to count to 12, but the 13, 14, 15 would get him mixed up so badly, b/c they sound alike. We hadn't worked on his counting in probably three weeks or so, b/c he and I would both end up frustrated. Well, much to my delight, he blasted right through all the way to 29. He got most of the remaining numbers correct all the way to 100, but I had to help him with some. Anytime we came to the next 0, he'd say something off the wall.
*Science
~God's Design for Science Biology--Plants: Lesson 1, "Is it Alive?" I read the lesson to him and explained the SIX characteristics of a living thing--eat, breathe, move, reproduce, grow, and has cells. I went over them several times, and we did a worksheet where we listed certain things in and around the house--stick tree, cat, his brother, book, etc. and discussed which characteristics they had and concluded whether each thing was alive.
Science is my favorite subject, so I'm very excited to be teaching this. The microscope I ordered over two weeks ago finally came in today (they kept having problems with my order). It has a dual viewer, so he and I both can look at the same time. I can hardly wait to start using it. I have to review the manual. It's the best microscope I've ever owned. :-) If all works out as planned, I'll be getting a telescope next year. We'll have so much fun with science. William has always showed interest in it, too, so I know this is going to be the best fun.
After we finished today, we finished our movie that we watched most of yesterday.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Nouns, God's Family, and Change
*Bible
~10 Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17); 2 Chron. 1-2; Proverbs 12
2 Chronicles 1:8-12 I gave special emphasis to:
And Solomon said unto God, Thou hast showed great mercy unto David my father, and hast made me to reign in his stead. Now, O Jehovah God, let thy promise unto David my father be established: for thou hast made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people: for who can judge this thy people, that is so great? And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honor, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king: Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honor, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like.
*Reading/writing/spelling/grammar
~Rocket Readers Learn-to-Read Bible: 4 pages--2 review and 2 new
~Step into Reading Silly Sara: Will read it aloud by himself, almost perfectly
~ Complete Curriculum Grade 1:
--Unit 1 in Reading section--Will read everything by himself. I was very pleased. He then had to read and answer the questions and write "yes" or "no." He then had to match words to the right pictures.
--4 pages in the Spelling section--m, f, d, and g. He had to look at pictures and the partial word below it, and then he had to decide whether it began with an 'm' sound. He then had several words he had to decide whether they ended with an 'm' sound. The same thing for f, d, and g.
--2 pages in the Language Arts section--He learned about nouns and had to look at pictures and the naming words below each picture, read the words, then write them below.
*Social Studies/History/Etc.
~Our Christian Heritage Grade One: I read to him, and he had to write answers in blanks. It explained that the first [human] family was Adam and Eve--just two people--and then they had children. I reminded him that God was a two-personed family before Adam and Eve and that the human family is a type of the God family. The book went on to talk about God's family and how you needed to accept Jesus as one's personal savior. It then said you could go to live with the God in heaven. So, I added and corrected where necessary. I explained that no one goes to live with the Father in heaven, but rather He will come down to make His home on the new earth. And I pointed out that a person also has to repent of his sins and turn to obedience of God's law. William then drew a picture of his family in a box provided. He drew his daddy, momma, brother, and himself. We also read that God made each person special and different, including William. He then had to fill in the blanks about his age, eyes, hair, and other descriptions.
~Social Studies Made Simple Grade 1: William learned that changes are a part of life. I talked some about different changes I experienced when growing up and changes that I still experience. I talked about how my parents' house and property are pretty different now than they were and that they've gone through a lot of changes. I talked about how we've moved before, and I talked about changes we're about to experience. I talked about how I used to be a baby, and Nathan used to be a baby, and he's seen pictures of us when we were babies, older children, and more recent pictures--all showing change. I talked about changes he and his brother have experienced. I talked about changes communities experience. The book suggested we think of changes we can make to improve the beauty of our school (so, in our situation, our house). I decided that I'd like to start buying fresh flowers each week, before the sabbath, so that we could enjoy fresh flowers on the sabbath day. William said we should rearrange our furniture.
*Social Skills/Etiquette
~Being the Best Me Social Skills Practice Book B: We reviewed how to introduce himself to others. I then read to him about how some things are easy for him and some are not easy. We saw an example of the character Luis, how the picture showed that he was good at soccer but not at writing. He had to look at both pictures and choose which one Luis was good at and circle it. I read to him that different friends are differently able. One of Luis' friends had a crutch, and William had to circle which activity would be easier for Luis' friend--swinging or playing checkers.
*Music
~I just had to buy The Sound of Music. What a wonderful movie. I haven't seen it in years and wanted to see it again. I figured William would love it, too. So, this is how we started our music class. We watched the first half, and we'll finish it up tomorrow. Next week, I'll start in teaching him the basics in music and singing. I never thought I'd be a music teacher, but I'm sure it's bound to go much better than art and math. ;-)
Breakfast
--Oatmeal with sea salt, raw honey, and cinnamon; raisins optional
Lunch
--WW macaroni and cheese with cayenne pepper
~10 Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17); 2 Chron. 1-2; Proverbs 12
2 Chronicles 1:8-12 I gave special emphasis to:
And Solomon said unto God, Thou hast showed great mercy unto David my father, and hast made me to reign in his stead. Now, O Jehovah God, let thy promise unto David my father be established: for thou hast made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people: for who can judge this thy people, that is so great? And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honor, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king: Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honor, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like.
*Reading/writing/spelling/grammar
~Rocket Readers Learn-to-Read Bible: 4 pages--2 review and 2 new
~Step into Reading Silly Sara: Will read it aloud by himself, almost perfectly
~ Complete Curriculum Grade 1:
--Unit 1 in Reading section--Will read everything by himself. I was very pleased. He then had to read and answer the questions and write "yes" or "no." He then had to match words to the right pictures.
--4 pages in the Spelling section--m, f, d, and g. He had to look at pictures and the partial word below it, and then he had to decide whether it began with an 'm' sound. He then had several words he had to decide whether they ended with an 'm' sound. The same thing for f, d, and g.
--2 pages in the Language Arts section--He learned about nouns and had to look at pictures and the naming words below each picture, read the words, then write them below.
*Social Studies/History/Etc.
~Our Christian Heritage Grade One: I read to him, and he had to write answers in blanks. It explained that the first [human] family was Adam and Eve--just two people--and then they had children. I reminded him that God was a two-personed family before Adam and Eve and that the human family is a type of the God family. The book went on to talk about God's family and how you needed to accept Jesus as one's personal savior. It then said you could go to live with the God in heaven. So, I added and corrected where necessary. I explained that no one goes to live with the Father in heaven, but rather He will come down to make His home on the new earth. And I pointed out that a person also has to repent of his sins and turn to obedience of God's law. William then drew a picture of his family in a box provided. He drew his daddy, momma, brother, and himself. We also read that God made each person special and different, including William. He then had to fill in the blanks about his age, eyes, hair, and other descriptions.
~Social Studies Made Simple Grade 1: William learned that changes are a part of life. I talked some about different changes I experienced when growing up and changes that I still experience. I talked about how my parents' house and property are pretty different now than they were and that they've gone through a lot of changes. I talked about how we've moved before, and I talked about changes we're about to experience. I talked about how I used to be a baby, and Nathan used to be a baby, and he's seen pictures of us when we were babies, older children, and more recent pictures--all showing change. I talked about changes he and his brother have experienced. I talked about changes communities experience. The book suggested we think of changes we can make to improve the beauty of our school (so, in our situation, our house). I decided that I'd like to start buying fresh flowers each week, before the sabbath, so that we could enjoy fresh flowers on the sabbath day. William said we should rearrange our furniture.
*Social Skills/Etiquette
~Being the Best Me Social Skills Practice Book B: We reviewed how to introduce himself to others. I then read to him about how some things are easy for him and some are not easy. We saw an example of the character Luis, how the picture showed that he was good at soccer but not at writing. He had to look at both pictures and choose which one Luis was good at and circle it. I read to him that different friends are differently able. One of Luis' friends had a crutch, and William had to circle which activity would be easier for Luis' friend--swinging or playing checkers.
*Music
~I just had to buy The Sound of Music. What a wonderful movie. I haven't seen it in years and wanted to see it again. I figured William would love it, too. So, this is how we started our music class. We watched the first half, and we'll finish it up tomorrow. Next week, I'll start in teaching him the basics in music and singing. I never thought I'd be a music teacher, but I'm sure it's bound to go much better than art and math. ;-)
Breakfast
--Oatmeal with sea salt, raw honey, and cinnamon; raisins optional
Lunch
--WW macaroni and cheese with cayenne pepper
Monday, January 5, 2009
Family Tree and Decorating Used Containers
*Bible
~10 Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17); I Chron. 29; Proverbs 11
*Reading/writing/spelling/grammar
~Rocket Readers Learn-to-Read Bible: 4 pages--2 review and 2 new
~Step into Reading Silly Sara: Will read it aloud almost all by himself
~ Explode the Code Book 1: Lesson 2, continued working on short 'a,' 8 pages, he followed instructions circling the correct pictures that begin with the same sound as the given letter, spelled words, and wrote words with short 'a' sound).
*Social Studies/History/Etc.
~Our Christian Heritage Grade One: We read 3 pages, and I read some fill in the blank statements to him, and he wrote in the correct answers. We read that good government begins by learning to let God rule in our lives and that God has rules and work for us all and that He wants us to put ourselves under His rule. Also, we read that God made all things for us, because he loves us, and the purpose of those things is so that we can use them and take care of them.
~Social Studies Made Simple Grade 1: William learned that a family is a "group of people who love each other and who work together to take care of each other. Some families are small. They may have only two people. Some families are big." I added that we have blood family and non-blood family. I also reminded him that there is physical family, and there is Spiritual family among Christians. I pointed out that God and his first-begotten and firstborn Son were a family made up of only two individuals, just like the book said that a family can be as small as two. I told him that God decided to expand His family, and I talked a little about that.
Then, I talked a little bit about a few things I did as a child for a little family history. Then, we made a family tree. We both cut out acorns, and I assisted him with writing family members' names and titles on the acorns and gluing them on a tree that I'd cut out, and we colored the trunk. We included our household, William's maternal and paternal grandparents, and his parents' siblings. The project suggested we still include those who have died, so we did include a brother of William's who is no longer living, too.
*Social Skills/Etiquette
~Being the Best Me Social Skills Practice Book B: 6 pages. He wrote his name and was introduced to two characters in the book Luis and Amanda. He learned that the book is going to help him learn to get along w/ family and friends, play fair, introduce himself to other kids, and "be the best friend [he] can be." I read different scenes to him, and he had to answer questions, follow instructions by circling things I asked, and he had to practice introducing himself to new people.
*Art
~We practice recycling and reusing. We minimize buying things that our closest recycling centers don't accept, because we don't want to throw away things that do not decay or damage the environment. So, I pulled out one of our large used yogurt containers and helped him decorate it. The particular container holds noise blowers that I let the children use for the Feast of Trumpets (we also blow a real shofar). He helped cut out construction paper, and I attached the paper to the container. Then he used a glitter glue pen to write "Trumpets" on the container, and then we both glued stars on the front and on the lid. He also made a glitter border on top of the lid. I thought he did a great job on the word. It's better than some of his regular handwriting and probably no worse than I would do.
Breakfast
--Leftover homemade whole wheat blueberry muffins and strawberry kefir
Lunch
--Grilled cheese sandwiches, cream of tomato soup, and sliced cucumbers
Sunday, January 4, 2009
William's First Day of School
William, our firstborn son, started first grade today. He's 5 1/2. We, his parents, are his teachers.
We also may include what the rest of us are learning: Nathan (husband), Tara (myself), and Trusten (19 months).
This blog serves as his record-keeping and will be printed daily and stored in a binder, along with some of his work. The following is our weekly schedule, subject to change at any time, if need be:
Sunday
*Bible
*Reading/writing/spelling/grammar
*Father time (anything from safety teachings (fire, gun, tornado, etc.), survival, building, hunting and fishing, etc.)~Nathan is the teacher for this
Monday
*Bible
*Reading/writing/spelling/grammar
*Social skills/Manners and etiquette
*Social studies (history, geography, etc.)
*Art
Tuesday
*Bible
*Reading/writing/spelling/grammar
*Social skills/Manners and etiquette
*Social studies (history, geography, etc.)
*Music
Wednesday
*Bible
*Reading and writing (shortened version)
*Science
*Math
Thursday
*Bible
*Reading and writing (shortened version)
*Science
*Math
Friday
*Bible
*Reading/writing/spelling/grammar
*Free computer time to play Clever Island (subscription) or other educational games
*Help with cleaning the house
Sabbath
*Bible
*Godly living lessons (workbooks for obedience, thankfulness, etc.)
*Scripture memorization
*Singing
************************
Today, Sunday:
*Bible
~10 Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17); I Chron. 27 and 28; Proverbs 10; Matt. 23; Psalm 63
*Reading/writing/spelling/grammar
~Rocket Readers Learn-to-Read Bible (4 pages--2 yesterday's review and 2 new; wrote four new words: shepherds, news, manger, Lord); Step into Reading Silly Sara (I read it aloud, then he read it aloud with a little help); Explode the Code Book 1 (Pretest; Lesson 1, short 'a', 9 pages, he followed instructions circling the correct pictures that begin with the same sound as the given letter, spelled, and wrote words with short 'a' sound).
*Father time
~Followed instructions and assisted Nathan with putting together two new filing cabinets
Breakfast
--Whole wheat blueberry muffins and strawberry kefir
Lunch
--Whole wheat macaroni & cheese w/ cayenne pepper and sliced cucumbers
I'll be including our breakfast and lunch menus, just like the public and private schools provide theirs. Nearly all ingredients I use are organic. I won't be including details on "physical education" until William gets a little older and learns sports. For now, we all get our exercise, and William gets plenty of it.
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