End of the Year Wrap Up...

sort of...

While L.I.F.E. Academy is wrapped up for the 2010-2011 school year...

Learning w/ the Littles will continue...

Mainly because we aren't finished yet..as in..

we've only gotten to letter Mm so far this year. The alphabet needs to be finished, right?

Admittedly, the littles were a bit overlooked while we wrapped up Nick's final year of highschool.

Ofcourse, don't feel too sorry for those lil brothers as they've had their fair share of fun. *smile* I figure summer is a great time to finish up our ABC activities. I will take advantage of the nicer weather (when it gets here) to do outside lessons.
They won't be as formal as our usual planned year, as we are preparing to move in a few weeks,

but we will have lots of fun
all in the name of learning.

Learning with the Littles

I *heart* this simple book.




~Our Home Kindergarten
(no profits for me)

Yes, we are still doing Andrew's reading lessons from his Primary McGuffey Reader. His reading lessons only take but a few minutes per day at this point.

Andrew learns best from a simple hands on approach; talking & sharing in a casual conversation. If a lesson seems like instructions, he will not pay attention.

The lessons in Our Home Kindergarten are easy hands-on interaction.
Somewhat advanced (in my opinion) in what is taught from the very beginning. Is it not usual to learn shapes, colors, letters, & numbers first?





~Here is what we have learned in the first 3 lessons:


A sphere, red (specific stones are called rubies).
A cube, yellow (jewels & gems are called topazes)
A cylinder, blue (sapphires)
A basic geometrical concept that a sphere can roll, cubes stack, & cylinders can do both. (in the next few lessons, the square will be introduced from the cube, as will lines of horizontal & vertical usage to make a square).

Andrew is thriving at the knowledge to explore these concepts, all without instructional directions. Even Katie is enjoying these straight forward lessons.

So, beyond a reading lesson, and a kindergarten lesson, I am laying out Learning Trays (montessori style). I only lay out one per day, cept on Fridays, in which many are displayed. We have a lot of people living in a itty bitty living space (sounds like the Genie, lol), so available space is limited. I cannot just leave out the learning areas like I would prefer to, thus I rotate our activities. We adjust as we can, and this seems to be working...

Andrew copied patterns here, and Katie made her own creations. Bryson first stacked the pieces, then thought it would be fun to start throwing them (ninja star style- I do believe). Not exactly what I had envisioned, hehe.

Got SPRING?

not quite yet....
but since our time changed from Daylights Savings,
we can play outside now when Dad gets home.

Follow-the-leader has been popular.

Jump-roping!

...and cold, wet sand...

What more do kids need?

Learning with the Littles

OUR SEASONAL TREE

~Winter~


Jj- blue Jay
Kk- kites
Ll- Ladybugs
Mm- mosquito
Nn- nest

Learning w/ the Littles~

Andrew style

I discovered something about Andrew.

He thrives on the 3 R's concept.

I base Reading & wRiting on this simple format.

We study a page,
one page,
for an whole entire week.

Mon: use words/letter sounds to create flashcards. I read the entire page to him.
Tues: I re-read the story. He sounds out the flashcards. He wRites the words on no-lined paper.
Wed: He reads flashcards, then sounds out the story (w/ guidance); he then uses the flashcards to create (imitate) sentences.
Thurs: review flashcards, reads story, writes out one sentence. (I emphasize the need for a capital beginning and an end mark).
Fri: reads flashcards and story, has an oral spelling test for the words, and writes one sentence from dictation.

We do also work on word families in free time at his will:
this week is the ~at family.
And I just introduced word ladders to him, and because he knows sounds so well (since age 2) this has been very successful!

aRithmetic studies is currently addition facts. These particular flashcards we use have been excellent for visual comprehension! I have subtraction facts lined up and ready to use next!
And since I am sharing links from this wonderful lady, I mine as well add the plug that we use (& I love) her Letter-of-the-Week preschool program. no.strings.attached.just.appreciate.her.work.to.make.my.life.so.much.easier. =)

~Here
is
Andrew's
check list~


Read,

wRite,

aRithmetic,

& story time.

I find it best to do storytime in the evening, then in the morning he can narrate back to me. This seems to help him with retention/comprehension.

What I discovered about Andrew is that *fluffy* curriculum overwhelms him. I have homeschooled for 9 years, and have ran daycares/preschool programs much longer than that. I love the fluff! The songs, crafts, fingerplays, etc... I love the eager eyes of a young child having fun learning & playing all at once!

But our Andrew is special. He already has an overactive imagination, so additional imaginative stimulation only agitates him. The more he thinks it is suppose to be fun, or my delight in his learning is expressed, he quits. period.

Most kids thrive off of positive reinforcement; Andrew will do school work because that is what is done at our house.

He sees our other kids "do" school, they have a list to check off, it gets done; so he does his. I don't clap & "woot woot" at my senior student who finishes a difficult economics book, or do the happy dance when Katie gets 100% on a math test, so Andrew (being who he is & how he functions) does not want that fluff either.

The other kindergarten victory for Andrew is his ability to hold his pencil correctly...finally! Let the writing begin...

Homeschool Reflections

Question #2

How to homeschool w/ littles in the home?

or, in my circumstance,

How to homeschool multiple age groups effectively?

There are several approaches (that I am aware of).

Do group activities...like nature walks, field trips, exercising science experi-
ments, etc.

Keep the littles busy w/ a snack & activity!

Send the overly active little one outside to play! of course, w/ safety in mind... we have a fenced yard, own a overprotective pitbull, and I have full view of him through a big window & a sliding glass door AND he usually has a buddy (aka sibling) that will always join him.

Lots can get done in a school day if one waits til the littles quiet time...shh (whoever wakes the baby, takes care of the baby, er toddler)

Another technique is to assign one sibling to play with a little during one-on-one time with another sibling. Rotate as necessary. =)


What works for us:

I chose self-learning a couple of years ago. That is, the older students are fully responsible to get their required work done without being told and with their best resource at hand (their own brain). Isn't that what we do to "teach" a subject? They are perfectly capable of doing the same research to get an answer as I am... the age of this responsiblity is a matter of maturity & parental discretion.

Our classroom schedule can be found here.

My older students get their core work done in the morning. Writing, English, Science, & Literature. This is done in the a.m. THIS is when I spend quality time w/ my littles. Where lessons, story time, & crafts are done. We follow this with lunch. Then I find that because I have had focused time with the littles, they usually are ready for some type of quiet time (usually a movie); this is when I have group studies w/ my older children. These are the 'extras' of education, but things I feel are important, and this is the time of day that keeps us connected as a family (and a school). FREE time follows. Activities are a bit chaotic at this time, but they have fun! The older boys often pick videos games, but it is not uncommon for them to kick a soccer ball around w/ the toddler, play scrabble w/ sissy, or wrestle w/ Andrew amongst a list of many other things. History & Bible are currently done in the evening when Dad can join us..but that's not school is it? that's just fabulous family time!

What does NOT work for us:

To expect, try, or attempt to give individual instruction for every subject to each student.
Don't get me wrong, they all need guidance & help from time to time; but spoon-fed instruction is not neccessary nor beneficial. One of the best approaches I apply is to ask a question of their questions. huh?

Katie "Mom, why does Tuttle (our turtle) sleep in its shell at night?"
Mom "Why don't you read about turtles in the encyclopedia, and tell me what you can find"
Usually, this is where she chooses to write about it, but will also have a great conversation with her dad & I about what she found out.

TJ "I don't understand Integer multiples?"
(in my day this was called "multiplication of fractions)
Mom "Can you write out the problem for me? What step would be next?"

I love the "how do you spell _ _ _ _ _ _"....
how would you spell _ _ _ _ _ _?
95% of the time they will spell it correct. =)

So, how 'bout you? If you homeschool and have little folks, how do you homeschool with littles around? What works for you?

Our Seasonal Tree~

FALL





Ee - eagle
Ff - frogs
Gg - grasshoppers
Hh - harvest
Ii - inchworms

Learning
with the
Littles...


Ff week

Dominoes gave us an example of follow-the-leader...

Forts were made, and fans were used....

...and we had plenty of fish activities for the week.

Gg week included puzzles, size sorting,

magnets, & tracer pages of Gumball machines.

Ff activities were based off Abeka curriculum.
Gg activites were found here ~love this gal for simple preschool busy activities!

Learning
with the
Littles.


Letter of the week: Ff

Katie-girl reads during Story Time.

Andrew helps count the Frogs, Firemen, & Fish.

Bryson loves helping his mama color!

Abstract
vs
Concrete...

Our Andrew thinks differently. He is clever; his brain just processess things differently. I, as his mom & teacher, am still learning how that works, and what school will look like for him.

Andrew has had reading lessons for a few months now. "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" I love this book....very effective & efficient. We are not getting very far. He does not want to do it. Is this rebelliousness...or lack of attention... or... too concrete?

So, I pull out an old book called "The Heart of Learning" from Oak Meadows. I researched this curriculum at the beginning of our homeschool journey. (9 years ago) Back then I was researching how to best help Nick absorb information while reading. The concept from this is interesting. It is not a Christian based curriculum; it has more of a 'Mother Earth' tone to it. None-the-less it has some fascinating concepts to guide the child while grasping how they learn... being aware of the mind, heart, & body.

I decide to approach "school" for Andrew at a different angle. Today we had Story Time & Table Time.

Table Time: A stack of paper...and crayons.
Too simple? ...not so much....

The crayons create softer lines than markers, so this was intentional. Andrew is an abstract thinker...he has a lot going on in his brain at once, but to create a concrete idea, it takes process.

His Lesson: Each of us have one blank piece of paper.

I draw grass...not a concrete line, but blades of grass...randomly across the bottom of the paper.

I talk about how grass grows from the ground.

He draws a sun...with a smiley face.

I draw a flower stem...from the grass upwards.

I talk about how flowers grow up out of the ground.

He draws the moon... with a smiley face.

I draw the flower...discussing the flower petals as I go.

He draws two people...he decides that it is him and Katie.

I let Bryson "color" my sketched picture I drew.

While I am "busy" with Bryson...

Andrew draws grass (blades of grass)

While I am talking with Katie (still at the table)...

Andrew draws the flowers (focusing on creating petals).

He begins to take pride in his project, and starts to talk about his creation.

The sun & the moon are Far away.

The two people are Friends.

Our lesson was on the letter Ff.

What I thought was lack of attention was actually very intentional...

and sometimes it takes a mama a moment to slow down, view things from a different angle, and to simply...listen.

Learning with the Littles

Our seasonal tree has been a hit in our house:

Aa- apples

Bb- bees

Cc- caterpillars

Dd- dragonflies

Our Circle Time has been hit or miss.
This would be due to my lack of planning efficiently. Bryson loves the finger songs, and Andrew is catching on to the French versions of our songs.

Circle Time
~mornings~

Letter of the week- Ee
the sight of it (we finger trace it)
the sound of it (we sound it out)
the sign (sign language)
& the song (w/ the animal of the week, the elephant)

The Alphabet/ l'alphabet
Days of the week/ jours de la semaine
Months of the Year/ mois de lannee

Left Hand/ Right Hand rhyme
A finger song - "One Little Elephant"

Table Time
~afternoons~

A story, a craft, & a game.

Mon- animal story & craft, puzzle, tracer pages
Tues- Alphabet Fun Stories (Abeka) w/ puppets, decorate the Letter E & e, matching game.
Wed- Bible Story w/ color page, magnet worksheet, & lacing card.
Thur- My 'e' book, our "sound box" scavenger hunt, & dry erase writing boards.
Fri- Big Thoughts for little people (one letter per week/devotional type), paper plate craft, & cookie sheet writing ( w/ rice or shaving cream).

Activity Time
~evenings~

Things to keep the littles busy while cooking dinner;
playdough, leggos, marbles, bristle blocks, little peoples, cars, tinker toys, lincoln logs, etc...
We rotate daily so that they do not have time to get bored with them. =)

Keeping the Littles busy helps keep behaviors in check,
but I also let them have plenty of free time...
Free to watch a movie together
Free to jump & climb on TJ
Free to listen to Katie read
Free to "play" ball w/ Nick
Free to call their big brother, Joe
Free to snuggle w/ mama
Free to rough house w/ Grandpa
Free to "share" Grandma's food w/ her
Free to chase the dogs
Free to play games w/ Daddy
Free to be little....

LEARNING with the LITTLES...

The wonderful thing about having many kids is that your children always have someone to encourage them, help them, play with them...

Katie is my Circle Time helper. She leads us in songs and fingerplays. She reads stories, and enjoys working one on one when they need help w/ projects.

TJ is my Activity Director. =) I think he took our lessons about Native Indians in Early American History to a new hands-on level.

...and Baby, er youngest Brother loves the fun!!

Bryson also loves the contraptions Daddy creates for his marbles, only to tear it apart to start all over again. =) With his curiousity, determination, and persistance...maybe he will be an engineer or scientist when he grows up...

LEARNING, LAUGHING, LIVING with the LITTLES!

Our Seasonal Tree will see many changes throughout the year...

Activity Time includes a variety of fun things to do...

...



A place where hands-on activities reflects a literal meaning...

Children are small for such a short time;
smile,
embrace the fun,
enjoy the writing on the walls!
(or back, in this case =)