In my life this week...
Whole house is turned upside down. My husband's job is requiring him to work very late nights and weekends. We are hoping this will not go on to long, but we are already on our second week of late nights and working weekends. Because of job requirements we had to cancel our mini school break/holiday. I would say this has affected the overall mood in the house:(.
In our homeschool this week...
Plodding along getting ready to wrap up our space unit and completing our solar art projects. I just received our copy of the CAT test and had a look to see what I haven't gone over with the children and found out I have only missed one thing, which I will be working on in the next few weeks. I don't plan on testing the children until end of May or early June.
Places we're going and people we're seeing...
Been stuck at home this week. I am fighting a minor cold and we have lost heat and hot water due to a faulty circuit board in our rental home. So I have spent 3 days sitting around waiting for repair men to fix it. First day I waited for a repair men to come out to identify the problem. The second day I waited for the part to arrive and the third day I waited for the repair man to actually fix the circuit board. Finally I can take a shower:)
My favorite thing this week was...
My son is reading chapter books at night on his own. I have found some simple books and have asked him to only read one chapter before going to bed on his own. He is flourishing after his initial reluctance to read with out me:) I love the joy he has when he rushes into our bedroom to tell me what is happening in the chapter he just read.
What's working/not working for us...
The weather!!! Really I want to spring to arrive:) Everyone is ready to get out and enjoy the outdoors. Can anyone help?:)
Homeschool questions/thoughts I have...
Do you test your children and if so what tests do you use? Also looking for some good short chapter book that will appeal to young boys...any suggestions?
A photo, video, link, or quote to share...
Our gecko had the warmest house while the rest of us freeze our toes off!I have wanted to crawl inside there a few times this week to defrost:)
Great post Anna-Marie!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you're having a tough week with your husband's long work weeks/late nights and heat and hot water problem :(. I hope things get back to "normal" soon :)
I use the CAT test for my older two children and I ordered them through Family Learning Organization: http://www.familylearning.org/
When I order them I pick the week I want to test my children which is usually the week before spring break for traditional school. So this year I will be testing them starting April 11 since spring break for traditional school starts on April 18. I then mail in my tests to FLO the week after testing (they give us 2 weeks to test and turn the teaching materials back in) and then FLO will grade them and mail results back to me.
Hope you are getting warmer and the sun comes out soon!
Anna-Marie,
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry you are not feeling well. I was that way last week and boy was it not fun. Repair men are so difficult. It always seems to take longer than it should to get things done. Good for your son for reading chapter books on his own. Tay loves to read at night, Ash isn't quite there yet. I am looking forward to that day. I hope your husband will be done with his late nights here soon. Have a wonderful evening.
Kimbelry
Hi Tracy
ReplyDeleteYou test early for your kids! I use Seton so there isn't a need to turn around so quickly and it gives me time to look at the test and see what I missed and make sure I go over it ahead of time. this is the first year I missed something. I am beginning to wonder if I should invest in a curriculum for next year but the money cost makes me hesitate.
Hi Kimberly,
ReplyDeleteI am hoping my husband's hours decrease soon too. It really disrupts the routine and I have two children that thrive on a consistent routine.:) thanks for your kind words
My daughter is still young so when I test I just use review worksheets. Sounds like a great week!
ReplyDeleteNo tests required here, therefore I will not be testing ;)
ReplyDeleteMy boy loved the Magic Treehouse series when he was reading at that level. He also started reading Harry Potter in first grade and I totally credit that exciting series with igniting his love of reading that he still has at 15YO.
ReplyDeleteThe state requires testing for my girls in about 2 years. We started homeschooling 3 months ago, so I have given little thought to testing, but it is something I'll need to think about. I will probably test them myself beforehand so they know what to expect. My youngest gets a little unnerved at new and different, so I want to do all I can to prep her.
My ds liked reading A to Z Mysteries, Nate the Great, and the Boxcar Children when he first started reading. It is great when you see your kiddos catch the reading bug :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Crisc, Sam, Becca and Wendi for stopping by I will look into your book recommendations for my DS. thanks for stopping by:)
ReplyDeleteI am so ready for warm weather too! We have been stuck inside for the past two weeks. Last week it was due to a non-working car and this week it was due to the kids being sick. I was just thinking about giving my older son the CAT, not sure if I will or not. Hope your weather warms up soon.
ReplyDeleteHi Jen,
ReplyDeleteYou are right that the shortest month of the year feels like the longest:) I haven't seen the sun in 2 weeks:( If I can answer any questions about the CAT let me know we have been using it for 2 years.
That is so exciting that your boy is doing chapter books at night. My son is not quite there, I have to make him read, but I look forward to the day that he WANTS to read! Stopped by from the hop :O)
ReplyDeleteThe only testing I really do is form our Math program. Also on occcassion when the boys are done reading a book theres an online boo club that can test their knowledge of what they read. But I pay much attention to grades as to whether they got it right. If not they redo.
ReplyDeleteAs far as book s go, my oldest loves Magic Tree House books.
Hope spring shows up at your place soon! I understand how the changes in routine can gum up the works for schooling, so I hope Dad will be back to a normal schedule soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lori, Tori and Brenna for stopping by and commenting:)
ReplyDeleteGlad you have your hot water back and hope you will feel better soon. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog. I was here earlier with the Homeschool Mother's Journal link, but just linked back over and read on your profile "OT in my former life." Me too! I still am, part time. :)
ReplyDelete