Thoughts and Changes from our first Semester

M's first semester of kindergarten has been one of growth in character for both of us. Our relationship has been pushed in ways it never has before. I think, hope, and pray, that we have learned and are stronger for it.

Math:
M finished her Horizons K math book 1 in mid-October. I slowed her down a bit and focused on place value with another book. She then started Horizons book 2. I quickly realized that she most likely would complete book 2 in early spring. I did some research for more options and decided to add Life of Fred Apples by Dr. Stanley Schmidt as Friday math work. Math is her favorite subject, and she, so far, enjoys her new Apples book too. I am thinking she will go ahead and begin Horizon 1 later this spring.

Phonics and Reading:
She completed Explode the Code book 1 quite early in the fall semester. I am glad that I made the choice to have her do book 1 1/2 before beginning book 2, because she really needed this step. I have been able to slow her down when she is getting frustrated and able to challenge her with this book. Phonics Pathways has been excellent for us. We have been able to make great strides in her reading and spelling with this book. The McGuffey primer she has not used very much this semester, but I am going to start adding it to her reading time. We have not used the Bob Books with her very much as previously planned, but are using other early reader books instead. We will have to wait and see if we will need to add them this spring.

J does a great deal of her read aloud time with her in the evenings. It has been a precious time for them. I am so glad that we have gone on this journey with M, because I have learned so much about children's literature in the process. I have unearthed some wonderful treasures that I am not sure we would have discovered otherwise. If you ever need/want some of our favorite titles please let me know.

History and Science:

Her history is a broad overview of the world, before she begins ancient times next year. She also does work in a beginning geography book. She really enjoys that time a great deal. I am excited about her spring science curriculum because we are going to study how things grow and change. Also, in this picture is her drawing places book which she has somewhat enjoyed doing, but drawing is still not something she gets excited about.

Other:

She does a variety of these books throughout the week. My favorite find is the Critical Thinking Activities by Dale Seymour book. It has stretched her visual and mathematical reasoning. This book is a K-3 book with a wide range of difficulty which hopefully means she will grow with it. I know I will be buying the 4-6 grade level of this book in the future. I would definitely have this and the Critical Thinking Company Mind Bender book even if I was not homeschooling. She is also going to continue to spend time with me in the kitchen and using her Williams and Sonoma Kids baking book. We are going to begin studying the lives and works of a variety of composers. We will focus on a single composer for three weeks before moving on to a new one.

Poetry:

Something I have decided to add this spring is reading from these two excellent books with beautiful illustrations by Gyo Fujikawa.I am super excited about these additions.


E's Preschool:

It has been a great deal of fun teaching E this fall. I changed some of my plans for her school this year. I added Evan Moor's folktales and fairy tales book, and I am so glad I did. She loved reading all the stories and doing all the fun activities that went with each one. When she finished that one I added Evan Moor's nursery rhymes. She is still plugging away at a letter a week. This has been really helpful learning each sound and practicing in isolation. Both older girls have been on the slower and steady end of learning to pronounce all their letter sounds. She loves Get Ready for the Code A and we are almost finished. I just bought the Rod and Staff preschool books pictured at the top, and she has begun Bigger Steps. She is going to be read more fairy tales and nursery tales, and continue to play a lot.