Friday 23 September 2011

Weekly Wrap up

It has been ages since I have done a weekly wrap up. We picked all our curriculum and started using it in July as we school year round. This, I think is more of a quarterly wrap up:)

We have been using lots of new curriculum this year and so far everything is working out just fine. However we haven't manage to get everything in yet so I still need to make a few adjustments. So I will start with what is working.

Geography we have been studying one new country a month and this month is France. I am using Little Passports to get us started but supplementing with a lot of other sources such as books, video, and the computer. I am on the fence with this program as it is expensive and I was very disappointed with this month's envelop. While we will continue to use it I am looking around for a different program for next year.

History we are studying the Victorian era and learning a little of the Industrial revolution. We have been on two amazing field trips so far and have several more planned in the coming weeks. We tend to do hands on learning for history. But I am sure we will read a few books and watch a few DVD's about the time period also. I am planning this topic to go right up to the Christmas holidays.

Math Princes is just about finished with Math U see Gamma book. My goal was to have it finished by Dec but she will be done well before then and next we will begin Delta. Little Man is finally getting the concept of adding and subtracting (I was getting worried) We have just started doing double digits and I hope to get to carrying and borrowing by December but will need to monitor his progress to make sure I don't push too hard.

Science we are really enjoying the Chemistry program with Real Science 4 kids and have been able to met up with another home schooling family weekly to do the experiments and it is working out great so far. I hope it continues:)

Grammar Princess is using Growing with Grammar and is moving quickly thru it. I think I bought a level a little beneath her but this way we can make sure she has the skills down before moving on. Little Man is using the Scott Foreman grammar program. I managed to down load it before it disappeared from the web. I will probably switch him to Growing with Grammar as soon as we finished this booklet.

Writing Both children are using the spectrum writing program appropriate to their grade levels. We are really noticing a difference in Princess's writing so I am happy with it. Although I keep eyeing the IEW program, if only it was more affordable:(. Both kids are also using HWT to improve printing for Little Man and cursive for Princess.

Art We are really enjoying the Meet the Masters Art program and are keeping up with our goal of one new artist a month.

Music kids are continuing with their Piano lessons and just completed book two with their instructor. She will be introducing book 3 next week and I am told more music theory is in store for the kids. Will be interesting to see if Little Man can manage that!

Typing kids are using the program Typing instructor and are getting to it 3 or 4 X a week. As to whether it is really working on improving their typing skills, I have to say I don't know as it is something they do completely on their own. I need to get better at monitoring their progress.

Spanish Kids are using Olivita Oink Program and although I do like it, I really am struggling to get a Spanish lesson in every single day. I am lucky to get it in 2 X a week. I am also trying to review the Rosetta home school program and seeing if it will be a good match for my children. Honestly I am not too sure.

What is not working so far:

AAS all about spelling is not on my schedule right now and it really, really should be especially for Princess who tends to spell phonetically. I just haven't been able to squeeze it in. I really need to work on this ASAP!

Computer technology I bought 3 great books to get us started in this area and it just isn't happening. I was hoping my husband could take this part over but with his work schedule he really doesn't have the time. So I need to find a way to make it happen!!!

Extra curriculum:
Martial Arts for both kids
Horse riding lesson for Princess- I am disappointed but Little Man decided (along with Mom/Dad and riding instructor) that this probably is not for him. He really had trouble with controlling the horse and that made him very frustrated. I am hoping we can come back to it in a year or two.
Swimming for both kids. We are resuming lesson but with a different teacher this year as the other one no longer teaches.
Scouting
I don't know what came over me but I am once again assistant leader for Girl scouts and for the first year Boy scouts. I swore I wouldn't be a leader again:(. But no one came forward so in order for the troops to run I needed to step up. However the evening scheduled for my daughters troop is not good so unless the leader can move it to another night we may not be doing Girl scouts which will be devastating to Princess.

So that is our wrap up. Lots going on and many wonderful things happening. Just need to tweaked a few things to get the last remaining things in. We have been working hard since July and are getting ready to take a long waited for break and just relax. Stay tuned we are going somewhere exciting!!!

8 comments:

  1. Isn´t it great that you are able to adjust and tweek your curriculum and extra curricular activities to fit your children and family? That is one of the things I love the most about homeschooling. We are looking forward to getting home from Portugal next week and starting our official school year. While here, the kids have done almost no structured school work, but they have really enjoyed all the field trips! Thank you for sharing.

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  2. You sound very busy! We are doing a country a month too. This month we are studying Egypt. We get books from the library, we do craft projects and watch you tube videos to hear sounds from Egypt. It has been a lot of fun. We have posts about it at http://alexisworldtraveler.blogspot.com

    I wish I had been smart enough to downloaded the Scott Foresman grammar program. I had a bookmarked saved and then noticed they took it down, bummer!

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  3. Our daughter lives in England too! Where are you in England, she is in Barnoldswick. It's about 4 hours North of London. I also have a question. I put my blog hop info in the 911 area accidentally 3 or 4 times. How do I move them to where they should be? Jenny at Amothersheritage.com You can email me at pilgrimsouthcarolina@gmail.com

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  4. I know what you mean Anna-Marie about trying to fit it all in! It's a constant struggle for me to teach the "extra" subjects :) Glad things are working out well for you for the most part! We are not doing Girl Scouts any longer and I am so happy for many reasons to get out. Thanks for sharing your successes and struggles! Have a blessed weekend! :) Clicked a vote for you!

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  5. We do Spelling right before Grammar and Writing. They are only 5-10 min. lessons, but it seems to work for us. It is still early in the school year though, so it just may be that your still getting into a rhythm. I wouldn't worry as it seems your children are doing great and getting a lot accomplished each week.

    Thank you for sharing what you're doing. It is so much fun for me to see how you are all doing each week. =)

    God bless you!

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  6. About the history thing, if you end up having a Victorian Christmas, please post pictures!

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  7. Real Science 4 Kids was my other option for science. We are using Pandia Press R.E.A.L Chemistry. I think they are pretty similar. I may use Real Science for their level 2 Chemistry. How are you liking the program?

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  8. You do a lot! Many of the products you are using, I used with Gohan when he was younger. I'm letting computer technology go around here as he started teaching himself to create websites and do animation - that was a pleasant surprise! We love Girl Scouts also! We've not had such good luck with Boy Scouts and i can't imagine being a Boy Scout Troop leader, as a mom. Just thinking about it gives me a headache! :-)

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