End of First Quarter Report Cards and Changes

We have finished our first quarter of school.  Man, that went by fast.  No major changes, just a little bit, and only because we need to move on.  Caitlin is studying some Earth Science, and Geography.  The Geography is part of her going west curriculum.  She has been watching supplemental videos for Geography, and I am ready to move her on to some more substantial lessons for this topic.  Also, for Science she has been doing videos and reading, but it is time to move on.  She will be using, the Glencoe website for both Geography topics, and Earth Science.  I also have a lab book for Earth Science, that I think both kids will do together will see time wise.  Her writing has improved immensely, but she is still not where I think she should be.  She has a B+ in Math, so that is awesome.  Though technically she would be considered behind, because we are using Common Core standards, she really is right where I want her to be.  A few things we decided to last, but she is moving fast enough to be able to go on to the next grade hopefully by the end of the second quarter.  I am over all very, very pleased with her progress.  She also has been singing with the little youth choir at church, and of course continues with 4H. 

DJ, will have no changes, as he is doing quite well both in progress, and management of his day.  I am quite impressed with his maturity this year in handling everything on his plate.  He finished up Digital Design 1, early, so won't have to start Digital Design 2, until after Christmas.  Marine Ecology has ended until January, and Driving will be over soon.  So, his schedule is a bit lighter than it was at the start of the school  year.  He has a 100 in Biology so far, definitely his thing, lol.  I have not graded his Math, yet, but I am very proud that he has been working his way through it, using various resources to find the help he needs.  That is awesome!  He continues with biweekly guitar lessons with 4H, playing in youth praise band at church, and he volunteers every two weeks with Camp Kerusso, which has been a wonderful experience so far for him. 

We start back to lessons Monday, after a short and much needed break.  Plus, Dad is off these days, and he is disruptive to school, lol. 

Some Thanksgiving Art, Wood Burned Gifts, and End of First Quarter of Homeschool Year

I just realized I had not posted on this blog in a few weeks, good grief. Today, was the last day of our first grading period. I will be working on report cards over the next few days, and evaluating if we are where we need to be.

Thanksgiving is just a couple of days away, and the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special is on ABC tonight, at 8 PM. That means it is time to start thinking of Christmas specials, something my children and I enjoy immensely. Even at 15, and 11, this is a tradition they still love to do. This year, we are actually having no company for Thanksgiving, a first I think. Normally, we also decorate the tree Thanksgiving night, however this year, we are starting something new. We are taking the kids to the movies on Thanksgiving eve. I might regret it, lol, but we are going to give it a whirl. I am not sure when the tree will get decorated, maybe on Black Friday, a day I refuse to ever leave the house. I will be doing some shopping this week.

Speaking of shopping, some of my readers know I have an Etsy store, where I sell jewelry, crochet items, and art. I am having a BOGO sale, buy one get one free, that goes all the way through January the 1st. Click here to visit my shop, and I offer layaway too. The first three items below are made by me, and the last two wood burned pieces are my son's. He made them for two friends who turned 16 the last couple of weeks. Him, and I both love wood burning.

Rainforest Journey, 2nd Quarter Report Cards and Colonial Log Cabin Art

I have not had much time to blog.  I am behind on a few things.  Both kids did their writing assignment, about whether they would want to be a child during Colonial Times.  I too was supposed to do on, one being a woman in Colonial Times.  I did a bunch of research, and am leaning towards no, but I still have to write it out. 

Both kids finished their Mayflower art, I did not.  Today, we are moving onto log cabin art.  The purpose is to draw a simple log cabin, like the colonists would have built.  They were not fancy homes, just simple shelters to keep warm, and dry.  Today, will also be test day, only Math today.

Over the weekend, with all the other craziness going on, I finished up our second quarter report cards.  Both kids did awesome!  DJ even got an A in Math, which he has been trying so hard for.  Homework assignments, with review work, helped him a lot, and keeps up  with older skills.  Nothing will change for him this quarter.  He likes the Hands on Algebra app, though he doesn't get to use it much.  Caitlin also is doing well.  She had a huge jump in her Science score, mainly due to improved test taking skills.  Her Math stayed the same, but I can already see improvement using CK12, even though it is harder, due to Common Core Standards, so far she is getting the hang of it.  History, she really has no interest in, even though she is doing fun History.  I don't push the issue that much.  Writing has improved 100 percent since the first quarter, but she is no where near where I want her to be.  Third and Fourth quarter for her, will concentrate on Math and Writing, with other subjects after to fill the day.  She is now doing Rainforest Journey, a homeschool curriculum that was offered to us for free.  This is not a long curriculum, and she should have no problem finishing it.  However, I would like her to slow down, and take notes to improve test scores. 

I am researching Dual Enrollment, and some FLVS for DJ.  I think FLVS is a given, for next year, not all courses, but maybe Language Arts and History.  I also want him to do the 5 hour driving on FLVS.  I won't look to dual enroll until the 11th grade.  I don't think he will be quite ready for that by 10th grade. 

Friday, we are going to one of the local springs for some outdoor fun with friends.  They will have a special writing assignment to do that day.  Hopefully Caitlin will be able to find some animal tracks too, to take pictures of for her 4H book. 

Habitats For Rabbits, Mary Had A Little Lamb

Today I am featuring the nursery rhyme, Mary Had A Little Lamb, and the habitat for rabbits. These will be used for Caitlin starting next week. I finished DJ's third semester report card, last night, he did awesome! As you know I do not grade Caitlin's work, but will start next year, in first grade. The only grade DJ actually went down in, or didn't stay the same, was Social Studies. Mostly because we watched a lot of videos from History Channel that were not graded.

Reading: S
Math: 90
Language Arts: 89
Spelling/Vocab: 93
Cursive Writing: S
Writing: Very Good
Art: Very Good
Science: 86
Social Studies: 82
Health: 93
Reading Comprehension: Very Good

Pilates For PE, and Report Card Time

We have started doing Pilates for PE class. We do it twice a week, and it is not easy. The first week we did it, I thought I was going to die, for real. I am 39, and have not followed a strict exercise regime since before my son was born, nine years ago. Today when we did it, it was easier, and not nearly as painful. I have a reason for doing this, one it is a great option for PE class, and two my back has been hurting me lately, and the stretching helps strengthen, and feels better. We will probably continue with this for the remainder of the school year, supplementing swimming when it is warm enough, and the pool is clean enough.

We have finished our 3rd quarter, of 3rd grade. Here is DJ's report card results:

Language Arts, Spelling, Vocab: 91, from a 97 in 2nd quarter
Reading: E
Reading Comprehension: 98 from a 97 this has improved greatly from the second grade
Writing: Much improved, but still needs to concentrate on capitalization, and sentence structure
Math: 92 from a 92 in second quarter. I have added harder multiplication and division for 4th
Science: 93 from a 96
Health: 94 from a 97
Social Studies: 95 from a 94
Art: S to E

These are posted for record keeping reasons, and so family, and friends who live out of state can watch our progress

Caitlin continues with preschool work, and is progressing nicely.

Lesson Plans for 3/17/09:

Science: Energy and its sources
Writing: Write a story about planting a garden
Spelling: Lesson 24- write each spelling word two times each
Vocabulary: Lesson 24- look up the definition for each word
Math: variables, multiplication, division
Spanish: review
Language Arts: Antonyms, compound subject