Latter-Day Homeschooling

Many of you know how wonderful Latter-Day Homeschooling is but if you have never stopped by this blog you should definitely check it out! They always have great ideas for homeschooling and I really appreciate the links to other LDS blogs on the sidebar so that I can browse all things homeschool and see what everyone is up to. Click on their button on the left and see what you think.

Arts and Crafts

In History we've been studying a lot about Crete and Greece so Kayli and I (with a little help from Jared) made this ship (which is supposed to be one like the minoans sailed but looks more like a viking ship :) The boys did a little painting while we were busy constructing. Carson made a boat also and is painting it in the picture below. Cole's just looks like he has a lot of emotion to let out on his painting! haha!

Challenger Learning Center

Last week we visited the Challenger Learning Center with a few other families and the kids absolutely loved it! It was so funny to see their faces as they sat in mission control when the alarms went off and a voice came on stating that the oxygen was failing! They flew jets, drove moon rovers, watched a movie about astronauts, and learned that space is really cool! Carson can't stop asking when we can go back and is saving his money to pay for everyone! (How nice!). 

Mission Control Room

Cole driving the Moon Rover

Kayli's flight simulator

The whole gang

You can't see the screen when my flash is on, but Kayli is flying over South Carolina.

Cameron refusing to take a picture

This astronaut was teaching them about flying in space and the different jobs that the crew does.

Animal Grossology

Another week comes to a close with a trip to the SC State Museum to visit the Animal Grossology exhibit. It truly was gross but interesting. We learned all about gross animal habbits, weird facts about bugs, and even smelled different animal scents.  We met a few other homeschool families there so it was fun to visit while the kids explored. We also finished up our study of Jupiter in Apologia Astronomy and played Jeopardy to remember the things we studied in the first quarter of Story of the World-Ancient Times. Our Teaching Textbooks Math is going really well and the kids are each doing two lessons a day. They really enjoy anything on the computer. Tomorrow we will be helping out in the Great American Bird Count. This is a national project to help track the birds in each state and also help with conservation. I'm really lacking in my knowledge of birds so I thought this would be a great way to get out in the beautiful weather and learn from the pros. The only drawback is that it starts at 8 am and is half an hour away. Yikes! I also narrowed down part of my curriculum for next year: Apologia Anatomy and Story of the World Middle Ages. We will continue with Teaching Textbooks for now and maybe switch over to Saxon math in a few years when Kayli will need to prepare for SAT's and such. I really am hoping to have more time to blog about our studies and I finally replaced the batteries in my camera so pictures will start popping up again.

Thank you Mr. Postman

We just got our Teaching Textbook 3 in the mail and the kids love it! I love it too because I have more time to focus on other subjects and the kids are getting the review they so desperately needed before moving on to harder math topics. I noticed that Kayli was really behind when I started homeschooling her and missing a few key points makes a huge difference in math. I started reviewing basic concepts and using a lot of manipulatives with both she and Carson. They are finally catching on and I think the teaching textbooks cd's will continue to help them progress. There are so many things that I didn't realize about my kids when they went to public school. I'm not saying that homeschooling is for everyone but it has made a huge difference in the relationships I have with my kids and I am more aware of their strengths and weaknesses. I had no idea why Kayli struggled so much in math until I brought her home and started teaching her myself. In a classroom full of kids it's hard to focus on one at a time and lots of things slip through the cracks. Kayli used to dread going to school and homework was a nightmare. Now she loves learning and that is really important to me. My love of learning has grown as well. I am so grateful for my kids!

New Year

A new year and new curriculum. I'm slowly finding the curriculum I like and now have decided to start preschool with Cole. He seems to always be in trouble while we are doing school so I figure it couldn't hurt to include him more in the learning process. I've decided to use the Itty Bitty Bookworm curriculum since it is based on books and has lots of fun activities. It's pretty simple since preschool age kids don't need to be doing much school but do need lots of attention. Yesterday we were snowed in so we took the opportunity to play in the snow and officially started school today. I think Cole and Cameron both liked getting more attention but I soon realized that Cam wants to do everything Cole does but doesn't quite have the skills yet. This should be interesting. It will definitely take some time to figure out how to teach 3 different kids that all have different needs but hopefully we can iron out the kinks fast and just have fun learning. I also started using Discover the Old testament and am excited to incorporate the scriptures with our history study. As with most homeschooling moms, I'm already thinking about next year and what i want to focus on. It is both fun and exhausting to constantly find new curriculum or ideas and try to decide what to use. right when I think I've figured it out I hear about something new and start all over again. Here's to many days ahead full of discovery!