Games and Toys in School......Of course YES!

I love making school fun for Minnie(me) and Super Boy. It makes them love learning because they think they're playing! Hey! A mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do right?

When you homeschool your blessings, you have to sometimes think out of the box!  For Math, Super Boy was learning some, some more and some, some went away stories and making them into problems.  We starting by drawing on the board and then using counting bears. I then went a little further and told him to go and get his little Transformers. He asked," The Shot Bots?" I said, "Yes, go get them."  He looked at me like I was crazy! Mom wants me to bring toys in the classroom???  (which is not allowed.)

He came back with about 10 of them and that's when the fun began!  I used them in the stories and then had him make up some math stories as well. He LOVED doing this and he came up with some really creative stories!   "One day the auto-bots were out scanning Earth to make sure there was no danger........
 He had to write the problems down and then tell me if they were a some, some more or some, some went away story.

 

Transformers....they really are more than meets the eye!

 

I also came across a really cute math game for fall.  It's called "Autumn Days Plus One!" I think I saw this on Pinterest, but here is the blog......Primary Inspiration. The kids roll two dice and add them together. Then they add one to the answer and place their magnets on that number.( I use these: Power Magnets) The first player to have 8 spaces covered wins!  The kids loved playing this!!!  It's such a fun game and it really helps with addition!  

Miracle on the Hudson

As you have probably noticed, I love field trips!  Who wouldn't want a chance to get out and explore God's world and see new and exciting things?  This girl embraces them!

I have wanted to take the kids to the Aviation Museum for some time now, but something always seemed to come up and time flew by! (no pun intended)   My husband and I had the chance to take them, so we decide it's now or never.  (Well, not never, but we wanted to go sooner than later!)

We kept it a secret from the kids, but I think we're the ones that got the surprise. While we were looking at all the wonderful planes and jets, we noticed some signs with pictures of flight 1549. (known as the Miracle on the Hudson.)  So, we took a picture of the kids by the very large picture and then to our surprise we saw it..........they had the actual plane! Right there! My husband and I looked at each other and at the same time said, "I didn't know they had the real one here!"  We hurried over and began to take pictures and read all the material they had on that popular landing on the Hudson River.

I have to admit, I could not remember what exactly caused flight 1594 to crash land, but they had a ton of material there that refreshed my memory.  Two geese flew into both engines and that caused the plane to turn around and  make it's way back.

Super Boy was checking out the information of the rescue. He also got the chance to go onto the raft that the passengers waited until help came. He put on his life jacket and then crawled around to see how it felt to be on one.  The raft carried about 50 people (I believe most planes carry 150 people, so not everyone was able to go onto the raft.). When the people were transported to the raft, there was already a lot of water inside. The water temperature was 36 degrees, so imagine having to sit in that until help arrived! Burrrrr!

Flight 1549

 Damages to the plane.

The back of the plane. 

 

We were lucky enough to meet one of the actual survivors. She was super sweet and patient! I can't imagine what she went through!

 

Here are some links about that day where there was a Miracle on the Hudson.

Animation of Miracle on The Hudson 

NEWS- Miracle on the Hudson

Fall is in the Air

Even though I feel like we didn't have much of a summer, with so much rain and all, I am embracing the cooler weather that fall brings. It has been nice to go outside and feel the cooler breeze and to my surprise, putting a light jacket on. (Am I ready for this???)

We enjoyed the fall weather by heading to a pumpkin patch with other home school families. The farm is known for it's great produce and also all the tours it offers the community. This is our third year going, and the kids and I love it there!  This trip was especially nice because there were some new families there that we haven't seen before and also some mothers where this was their first year of homeschooling. It was nice to be able to be an encouragement to them!  I know for me, the first year was the hardest!

2012-2013

The farm does these wonderful tours. We went on the pumpkin patch tour and the first thing we did was take a group picture and then went inside a barn to watch a movie about life on the farm. It was amazing to hear how big the farm is and all the wonderful things they grow. The movie  also talked about the animals on the farm and about how the butterflies and bees help the plants grow! 

The next stop was the stable where the kids talked about the life cycle of a pumpkin.  A group of children had pictures of the different stages of the pumpkins life and they had to put in in order. Minnie (me) was holding a picture of a pumpkin right before you can make it into pumpkin pie.

We then headed into another barn where the animals were. There the kids got to feed the goats, sheep, ducks, peacocks, and pigs. You had to be careful around the goats because they would take the cup of food right out of your hand!

After we washed our hands, we went on a wagon ride and toured the farm. We saw all the wonderful things that they were growing and starting to grow. I can tell you now, I am booking a strawberry tour for the spring!

After the tour, it was pumpkin picking time. The kids walked around and looked at the pumpkins until they found the perfect one!

After those perfect pumpkins were picked, we went to the picnic area to have lunch and get some playtime in. The kids made some new friends and so did mommy!  Always a plus right?

Every year I take a picture of the kids on the wooden play tractor.

After about two hours of playing, we went to the farm's market and bought some green peppers and zucchini. It was nice to see the kids get excited about buying vegetables!  OK they might have been a little bit more excited in the fact that I let them get ice cream for the ride home!

It was a beautiful day and I really can't think of anything that would have made it better. The only mishap was that Super Boy got a little too close to the barb wire while looking at the pigs, which explains the Iron Man band-aid. I am looking forward to more outdoor field trips so that we can enjoy the fall weather!

First Field Trips of the Year!

When a possible field trip comes up, we are ready and willing to GO!

My husband had to travel to Atlanta for a business conference, so we turned in into a family trip! While he was sitting in a stuffy conference room (sorry honey!), the kids and I were enjoying the sights and sounds of Atlanta.

This was the first trip to the city where the kids are old enough to actually remember it! They loved watching all the cars and trucks go by and they really loved all the tall buildings. We traded in waking up to the singing of birds, to the horns and engines of traffic! Welcome to the city!!!!

Our first trip was to the Georgia Aquarium. The building was beautiful! The kids enjoyed taking pictures with painted dolphin statues that were outside.  We couldn't wait to see what was inside!!!!

It was amazing to see all the sea creatures inside of a city building. The kids were in awe of all the wonderful creatures there were to see. We talked about how God made each one different and special. I could not get over all the colors!   There were some critters I have never heard of, but we'll get to that later!

If you ever get a chance to go to the Georgia Aquarium, you will not be disappointed. They had more fish there than I could count, but they also had much more than that.  There were Beluga whales, sea turtles, eels, sea horses, sea dragons, sharks, whale shark, sting rays, manta rays, baby sharks, otters, and my favorite, dolphins!!!!!

Minnie (me) and Super Boy loved walking through the tunnel and seeing the fish swim above.

They had a whale shark there that was HUGE.  It wasn't even full grown! We heard that they grow to be as big as a school bus! Oh my!

Whale Shark swimming about us.

 

So, now to the part where I saw something I have never seen or heard before.  Say hello to the garden eel.  I was looking at this tank filled with fish when something (or somethings) caught my eye.  At first, I thought it was a type of grass or coral, but then when I looked closer, I saw adorable little faces!  These were living animals called the garden eels.  They basically dig a hole and live there their entire lives! They just sway back and forth with the current. When something scares them, they go all the way into their holes and you can't see them at all.  We heard that when one of these darlings wants to be buddy- buddy with another eel, they will move next door to them and they live happily ever after!  I just feel in love with these little fellas.  I'm planning on doing some more research on them since they were something new to me! They sort of remind me of Oscar the Grouches worm friend.

Our next stop was the Atlanta's Children Museum. It was the prefect place for the kids to run around and just play and discover!  We were there for 5hours and I can tell you that we all slept great that night.  If you are in the area and can go, make sure you take the cooking class that they offer.  The chef there was amazing and shared so many wonderful cooking tips with the kids. He also taught on the importance of eating those fruits and vegetables.  The kids made a peach type salad and it was amazing!  The kids really enjoyed it and it was nice to sit back and watch them cook for a change!

After the museum, we went to the  Centennial Park.  The last time the Olympics were on, the kids really got into it, so it was nice to show them where the Olympics were held in 1996.  They loved seeing the statues.  The park was just beautiful.

It was so nice to turn a business trip into a couple of field trips. We all had an amazing time. The city was so pretty and the people were super nice!

Since we did the educational trips, being in Atlanta there was a stop that we NEEDED to do before heading home.  A trip to the American Girl store and Bistro!

 

With doll in hand, it was time for some much needed shopping.  This was our first time here and I must say it was amazing!  It was a little over whelming, but we had a great time and Minnie (me) got a couple of really cute things.  We also had dinner there and the food was awesome!!!  I can't wait till we go back again!!

Mommy and Minnie (me)

 All in all, it was an amazing trip.  We had got some field trips out of the way, saw some of Gods amazing creations, played, learned and cooked, and did some shopping!!!  What a blessed trip!

And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that has life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. Genesis 1:20

Busy Work with Dots

So, it hasn't been that long that I was in school....(cough, cough) and I remember how boring it could get at times.  Same old thing day after day, write this, add that and sit there in complete silence.  Right!

Since I am now in the teacher's seat, I really don't want my kids feeling the same way I did when I was their age. So, I try to break the cycle and add some fun into our day.

Today we did some fun dot activity sheets. The kids LOVE them and it makes for a nice break and surprise for them after they finished all their seat work and did their lessons. 

I ended up getting a book of mermaids for Minnie (me) and a book of Dinosaurs for Super Boy.  They were so surprised and super excited about doing these new dot pages. I got mine at Amazon and they go great with the dot markers.  Do-Dot-Markers

The books come in all kinds of fun designs so they're perfect for girls and boys of all ages. I'm planning on getting more since they're such a hit with the kids. Do A Dot Books

Poppin' For Fun Friday!

Day four of our homeschool year and I think it's safe to say we're back in the groove. Of course next week brings more to the schedule with P.E Class and a heavy work load, but we'll make it through. We always do with God's Grace and a lesson plan that I stick to!

Last year I started doing "Fun Fridays".  It was such a hit with the kids that I'm bringing it back again this year! What actually is Fun Friday you may ask? Well, every Friday we do something special to celebrate us making it through the week. We might go somewhere or do something fun or even wear something silly! Last year we had mis-matched sock day, red shirt day, hat day, went roller skating, went to the park, and we even wore our PJ's one day. (I know some people think that's all homeschool families do is teach in their PJ's, but we only did it once!)

Today was the first Fun Friday of the year, so I had the kids draw pictures of something fun they did this summer and talk about it.  They had to make this the night before for homework and then share what they drew with us this morning. The kids did a great job!  Minnie (me) drew a picture of our trip to a theme park. The two kids went on a water ride over and over again and it was by far their favorite!  She told us all about it and how they went on it about a billion times! Super Boy drew a picture of our trip to visit family in Florida. He even threw in the fact that the trees he drew were the number ones! Ha!

We also played a fun game that I found on Amazon. With the kids learning and reviewing blends, I thought this would be a fun game that would reinforce their learning. I know it's always more fun to learn when you actually having FUN!  POP for Blends Card Game

 

The kids pick a "popcorn" piece from the box and then they have to spin the spinner to see how many words (1,2, or 3) they have to say that begins with that blend. If they do it correctly, they keep that piece of popcorn.   If they can't do the task, they discard the popcorn piece in the pile for the un-popped popcorn. If they get the popcorn piece that say "POP" on it, they loose all the popcorn that they earned.

It was a hit with the kids! It was fun to see how if they remembered certain spelling for words like, sc- for scare and sk- for skate!

I know we will be playing this a lot during the school year!

The 2013-2014 School Year is Here!!!!

Today was the first day of school and we're glad to be back!

We had a great summer, which I am still wondering where it went, but we're glad to be back on a schedule and looking forward to this new school year.

Our curriculum this year has changed a little, but I am still keeping A Beka  A Beka as our core curriculum.  We changed our Bible to Grapevine studies Grapevine Studies this year and I'm so glad I did! I'll get into that later!  :)

I know that with a First and Second Grader, the work load will increase, but today we took it slowly and played it by ear. I always feel like I pick up a different routine then how I started, so I am learning too!

Minnie (me) and some of her books for Second Grade

Super Boy and some of his books for First Grade

We always begin the day with the Pledge and then do songs to get us ready for the day! We do our calendar time, weather and seasons together as well. We basically do all our circle time activities together before getting into our subjects.  Our schedule looks a little like this:

9:00- We start our day. We do the Pledge, circle time and Bible together.

Then we work on phonics. We do our review work and go over some work from the previous day. (homework)  We will then learn the lesson for the day. While I am teaching one child, the other one is working on seatwork or doing a quiet activity. Something like reading or a learning file folder game.

We then break for snack and some recess. There is nothing like food and fresh air that makes the day go smoothly!

When we come back, we finish up any seatwork that we did not finish from before. This is also the time we do our reading and writing practice.

Then it's time for math. I usually do the same thing I do with phonics. I will do a lesson with one child while the other one is reading or finishing up some work.

After that, it's lunch! YUMMY   Then we also do another recess break.

When we get back from our break, we will do the extra subjects like Science, Social Studies, Health, Art, Music and any extra fun things I added to the schedule.  It makes for a long day at times, but it's a blessing to be able to see my children learning!

The kids also do a daily workbook together that goes over things like time, calendar information, days in school and other fun things that the kids enjoy doing. I use it as part of our circle time activity. It's a great way to help them with their reading and writing. A lot of reinforcements!

 

One the first day of school, I always have the kids do an "All About Me" worksheet. It just tells what their favorite things are. Movies, books, food.  I like to go back and see what they said the year before! The kids love doing them and I really try to pick fun characters to do along with their sheets.  I got these on Pinterest!

As I said before, I made some changed this year with our curriculum.  For Bible, I am now using Grapevine Studies.  Grapevine Studies  I wanted to try something new because even though I love A Beka, I found out that this year (for second grade) they do not have a activity booklet to go along with the stories.  Not a huge deal, but my kids are really hands on and I wanted more!  So over the summer I began to research different Bible curriculum and I came across Grapevine Studies. I love how hands on they are and they really get into the Bible! You can use any version of the Bible you feel comfortable with. Everything is so easy to do and the kids got really into it. They keep telling me how much they love it!! 

This is one of the things I love about them...... they do learning through stick figures and drawings. Since Minnie (me) is really good at drawing, her work sheets are blank. She can basically copy what I draw on the board (or any details she would like add.) Super Boy can draw, but he gets upset if it's not perfect, so they have a traceable versions of their lessons! LOVE!!!  The kids have such a great time drawing and learning about God's word!  They will also be learning Bible verses and memorizing timelines as well.  Thank you Grapevine Studies!!!

The kids working on their timeline!

This is the timeline the kids drew to know what's coming up this year!

We also changed our Math for the year. Again, I am very hands-on and the kids love things that are hands on as well. So, we switched to Saxon Math. I used the First Grade math with Minnie (me) when she was in Kindergarten and she loved it, so I wanted to bring it back again for both kids! So far they are really liking it and looking forward to math time, which is nothing how I was when I was there age!  (well, maybe I was a little older when numbers started to scared me!  LOL)   I am so glad they are loving it! I am trying to get them to enjoy it so that they don't grow up like me!  (and fear numbers)

I know it's only the first day, but it went really well and the kids are really glad to be back in the groove! I pray that it will stay like that, since I have a feeling when the work load gets increased they will be wishing it were summer again! But then again, I will be too!!!

Minnie (me) in the Second Grade

Super Boy in the First Grade