-Math
-Copywork, dictation, narration
-Raz Kids
-Bible Reading
-Spelling
(Caileigh's words)
(Aiden's spelling words)
Bible
Amon's Adventure
The Jesus Storybook Bible
Memory Verses
(Written out each week)
"Worship the Lord your God and Him only. For it is written in the scriptures." Luke 4:8
" Praise the Lord for He has come to visit His people and has redeemed them." Luke 1:68
"I am with you always, even to the end of the world." Matthew 28:20
Christian Character
-Telling the truth. Reading biblical and modern day stories to give illustrations.
- Self-control. One worksheet had verses that the kids had to match with the scripture references.
- Kindness. Trying to find ways to show kindness to brothers and sisters.
-Obeying the rules. Learning why it is important.
-Forgiveness
-Being responsible, what it means, how we can develop it.
-Patience this week. Part of the lesson gave some strategies for things to do when in a situation that requires patience. One is the "waiting game". This has been very useful for the kids, especially Mikayla. It is usually some form of the game where you come up with different animals (food, places, etc.) for the letters of the alphabet.
-Loving others. We discussed how difficult it can be to love those that we don't really like, but how we are commanded to love and pray for them.
We had a discussion about what it means to be responsible for ourselves. There are times when our parents are not around to help tell us what is appropriate or inappropriate and we need to make those decisions for ourselves and try to do the right thing. e.g.. If we are at a friends house and they are watching a television show that we are not allowed to watch, it is ok to not watch it and find something else to do, or you could say something to the friend and see if you could compromise on something else. We brainstormed various scenarios and what we would do in each.
-Forgiving others. Read through different stories and scenarios.
Other
Caileigh created a book that she titled, "God". She wrote out songs, memory verses and drew pictures. She included pictures of Adam and Eve, the cross, Noah's ark, etc. I asked her if she wanted to colour the pictures but she says they need to be left in pen because they are old fashioned black and white pictures.
She had fun putting this together and says it will give her comfort if she is afraid because it reminds her that Jesus is always with her.
She had fun putting this together and says it will give her comfort if she is afraid because it reminds her that Jesus is always with her.
Read Missionary and the Millers about William Carey and his determination.
Busy with easter crafts and easter discussion.
My friend read The Legend of the Easter Egg.
Planting our seeds into the soil.
Caileigh
-started Singapore 2!
-Numbers up to 1000. e.g.. 500+30+6 or greater than or less than with 600+70+9 _ 600+50+8 etc.
Singapore 2-length using cm.'s and m.'s.
-adding and subtracting double digits. - Solving words problems with double digits, eg. There are 29 red apples and 34 green apples. How many more green apples are there? etc.
Addition with 3 digits, including trading.
-Addition and subtraction through word problems.
-Repeated 3 digit addition
-3 digit subtraction,
- using grams and kilograms, converting amounts and reading scales.
-Working on measurement with inches, feet, cm. and metres.
-Multiplication.
-Reviewing counting by 2, 5, and 10 to 100. Practicing counting forwards and backwards by 10 and 2 starting at any number. Counting backwards by 5, from multiples of 5.
Aiden
- Area and perimeter, 3D cubic shapes.
IXL topics included ordering 6 digit numbers from least to greatest (vice versa), multiplication practice.
-Review unit on odds/evens, division, cm.'s, m.'s, km.'s, yard's, feet, inches, graph reading, word problems.
Working with mg., g., kg, oz. and lbs. Solving word problems to do with weight using addition, subtraction, long multiplication and long division.
Review of measurement, money, time, distance, etc. using 2-3 step word problems.
-finishing up his Singapore 3B with review of the topics. We're going to spend some time reviewing long multiplication and long division to make sure we have the steps good and solid. Aiden has also requested that we play some multiplication games to bring up his speed on all the times tables facts.
finished Singapore 3!
Before moving ahead to Singapore 4, we are going back to multiplication practice. We want to get Aiden's multiplication facts faster. When he does multi-step equations, especially with long division, Aiden gets slowed down with his multiplication facts. He solves them, but by using techniques like eg. 6 x 8...... he would go 6 x 10 and then subtract 2 x 6 to find the answer. He does this in his head but it is much slower than just recalling the answer.
- multiplication drills of 1x's, 2x's, 10x's. Now that he has these facts fast, we'll add a new one each day or two.
-practicing the times tables of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 10. Building up speed.
Read-aloud
-The Adventures of Prickly Porky Thornton Burgess
-Read a biography on J.R.R. Tolkien by Alexandra Wallner
-Read a biography on Robert Munsch and reading through all his books. We're read about 30!
-By The Shores of Silver Lake-Laura Wilder
-poetry by Robert Louis Stevenson
-The Adventures of Jerry Muskrat Thornton Burgess
Grammar
-picture narration, review, poem memorization. -review of nouns/pronouns, contractions.-synonyms
-reviewing direct and indirect quotations.
-continuing with prepositions. We added the preposition "of" and created "King of the stuffed animals." Teddy thought it was quite the honour!
Caileigh
-Caileigh wrote in her journal this morning and noted that she had only done "good". She went back and added more detail and was then proud to tell me that she had done her "best"!
Aiden
I gave Aiden a copywork assignment with cursive and he managed well.
Aiden's discovered the convenience in utilizing the HOLD option at the library for bringing in books he enjoys that aren't available when we visit the library. He recently put a hold on The Littles series, as he is enjoying these books.
Both
-I gave Aiden and Caileigh a challenge to write 3 paragraphs about a topic that they know a lot about. Two paragraphs could include facts, and one paragraph could include opinion. Aiden chose to write about Lego and Caileigh chose to write about dolphins. Their writing can be seen on their individual blogs.
-Creative writing on, "_____ is more precious than gold because......" Both Aiden and Caileigh chose to write about God.
-Learning about Fiji from Mrs. Lomavatu's blog:)
-Daily poem/fable practice for the Music Festival. Working on pronunciation of words, slowing down and projecting voice.
-The kids wanted to try creating new shape poems. Tracing outlines, they created their own shape poems.
In this book, Mary is blind. They often talk about having Laura be Mary's eyes and tell about what she sees. We played a game where we would blind fold each child and then another would have to describe an object to them with as much detail as they could so that the blindfolded child could guess the item. It was really hard! At first the details were things like small, round, hard, (apple) but as we played a few times they got better at describing with details, eg. soft like blankets, tears easily between your fingers (paper towel)
Discussing characters in books. Aiden and Caileigh read so many books that I can't pre-read everything they read. We discussed importance of making responsible choices. Some characters have qualities that we want to imitate, eg. hard working, honest, kind to others, etc. while some books have characters with qualities that are not positive eg. cheeky to parents, unkind, sneaky, lying.
Aiden and Caileigh participated in the speech arts at festival. They each recited a poem, as well as a fable. It was a great lesson in not only presenting in front of an audience, but in being a patient audience member as they waited quietly for their class to finish their pieces. (90min)
They both received a gold certificate for their presentations of their fable.
Science
Science
Apologia Astronomy
-The Sun
We are learning so much through this series! I love how everything points back to creation and how perfectly God has created our world. We learned about Thermonuclear fusion, the size of the sun compared to earth, how the sun get's and maintains it's heat and much more!
We did an experiment where we used a magnifying glass to melt chocolate using the heat of the sun. We created a sun viewer where we can see the sun's reflection through a box and safely study it. This will be great during an eclipse although there aren't any scheduled for awhile.
We did an experiment with a flashlight, globe and ball to see how an eclipse works.
After each section, the kids have been narrating what they have learned as I type it out. They put a copy into their Astronomy Notebooks. They also add illustrations or anything that they wish to include in their books.
Watched videos about the recent meteor. Fascinating!
-Mercury this week. We learned facts about the planet. We also learned facts that help dispute evolution.
Caileigh was sick this particular day but Aiden and Alex made a model of Mercury using salt dough. Aiden enjoyed using various objects to give Mercury the look of having been hit by meteors.
We studied Mercury. We learned facts about Mercury such as it is the hottest planet in our solar system because of it's thick atmosphere.
Mercury is covered with volcanoes.
We did an experiment to show how lava moves and hardens. We used flour and butter.
The kids created a comic strip to show what life would be like on Mercury.
Mercury rotates in the opposite direction as earth so here Caileigh has shown that the sun sets in the east.
A day on Mercury lasts just over 121 earth days. A night on Mercury lasts just over 121 earth days. Here Caileigh has illustrated how long this is with the caption, "When will this day end?"
Aiden has illustrated a space ship hitting a volcano because it couldn't see through the thick, cloudy atmosphere. He also shows that life couldn't survive on Mercury, "Help", his guy says.
Scientists mapped out Mercury by using radar. We completed an experiment to show how radar works.
I balled up newspaper inside a box at all different heights. I covered it with plaster of paris until it hardened. I then covered the top of the box with paper and wrote a grid on it. Using a large stick, the kids drew different colours using inch increments. The kids could then put the stick into each grid space and see what colour was on the stick. They wrote the colours out on a grid of their own, and could then see what areas were higher and what areas were lower. At the end we pulled off the paper to reveal what was inside. This was an excellent experiment to help them understand radar!
Earth and looked at how earth is perfect in it's distance from the sun, mass, rotation, atmosphere, tilt and land. All these factors together make earth the perfect place for man to inhabit.
The kids created a "For Sale" poster for earth showing some of these facts. We had a good laugh with the idea of "Great Atmosphere". We discussed how this could mean two things.
-Moon with Apologia. After reading through the chapter on the moon's atmosphere, moon cycles, the effect of our tides, etc. we made a telescope.
-Moon with Apologia. After reading through the chapter on the moon's atmosphere, moon cycles, the effect of our tides, etc. we made a telescope.
Note booking about moon facts.
We've been taking note of the moon phases each evening.
- Mars. We read characteristics of the planet. Aiden and Caileigh drew plans of a Mars habitat in their science journals. They then created a Mars habitat outside.
Our wagon became a Space Rover.
Learning about Mount Olympus a volcano on Mars and the largest in our solar system.
We made a volcano using salt dough and then caused it to erupt using baking soda and vinegar.
(This type of activity seems to be a favourite as we have done this quite a few times now!)
We read about Space Rocks and learned the difference between meteoroids, meteorites and asteroids. The kids made notes on this in their science notebooks.
We learned about Jupiter. We learned that the Great Red Spot is essentially a giant storm like a hurricane that has lasted over 300 years!
We made our own Hurricane Tube.
I asked the kids to include several facts about Jupiter in their science notebooks.
Aiden wrote.........
Jupiter is the biggest planet in our solar system. Jupiter is very stormy. Jupiter has a very big red spot that has been there for over 300 years. The red spot is called the Great Red Spot. The Great Red Spot is twice the size of earth.
Caileigh wrote......
Jupiter is a gas giant. It is the biggest planet. Jupiter helps earth. If a meteor was going to hit earth, Jupiter would pull the meteor into it.
We watched a video that gave a tour of the international space station. It was very interesting. The kids turned their bedrooms into the space station and have been sleeping in it.
We studied Saturn this week. The kids wrote in their science notebooks, facts about Saturn. We did a fun experiment of making a rocket, although the result was fairly anticlimactic.
Aiden and Caileigh completed a report on their favourite planet.
{Caileigh's was Venus}
We studied Neptune and Venus this week. We thought it was very interesting that Neptune was discovered by two home schoolers!
(Aiden's note booking page)
We did an experiment to show how clouds how formed. This helped to illustrate how the gaseous planets, which hot cores and cold outer temperatures, get their thick atmospheres from.
We discussed how early aboriginals would use the stars and constellations and their predictable patterns to help them determine where they were on land. It gave them direction.
We learned about Pluto and the Kuiper belt this lesson.
In 2006, Pluto was decided to not be considered a planet. We heard facts from both sides of the argument and the kids got to decide which they thought was correct and come up with their hypothesis.
We learned about what a debate is and had a mock one. They chose that Pluto was not a planet, so I argued that it was. Aiden really enjoyed debating and says he would like to have some more. Caileigh really disliked the process. Mikayla made us laugh as I said, "I think Pluto is a planet", and she said, "Yea, me too."..........end of debate:)
The kids made a short video sharing their opinion..........
We watched a Magic School Bus episode on stars.
We did an experiment of making ice cream! This showed the similarity between the cold, frozen planet of Pluto and chemical changes that occur.
Other
Investigating animal tracks found in our yard. After looking at a website showing various tracks, we think it might be dog. We will continue to inspect the yard each day to see if it returns. Aiden really wants to make a trap.
We also saw deer and cat tracks.
I suppose this is one good thing about continued snow fall.:)
First they would collect rain water from the gutter.
Then the water would go through a series of pipes (gutters) and tubes to become "filtered".
They then tried to give away the "fresh, clean" drinking water:)
We've been watching a TV series where a man goes around the world looking for rare animals. The kids loving seeing all the amazing creatures he finds!
The kids found some eggs outside that had been burrowed into an old stump. We have put the eggs into a jar and hopefully we will get to find out what is inside!
Social Studies
The Story of the World-
- Reformation.
- Nicholas Copernicus and Galileo. We discussed their findings that our solar system actually revolves around the sun and not that the plants all revolved around earth as they originally thought. The church opposed this view as they felt that it was biblical that humans were the center of creation.
- Queen Elizabeth. We learned about Shakespeare and read a review on Hamlet.
We also read Romeo and Juliet using the "Shakespeare for Kids" series. Aiden and Caileigh really enjoyed this.
I gave them an assignment to write a letter as one character, to another character. Caileigh wrote a love letter as Juliet, to Romeo.
"Dear Romeo, My love for you is more than daisies. My mother won't let me marry you. My love is more than perfume. Love Juliet"
Aiden said there was no way he would write a love letter because he is at "that age". He wrote a letter to Juliet, as Lord Capulet.
"Dear Juliet, This marrying idea is stupid. You must marry count Paris or off with your head. From Lord Capulet."
-Newfoundland and John Cabot.
We completed The Story of the World Vol. 2. The final chapter was on Spain and England's war in 1588.
We completed a map page showing the corresponding areas.
-Phillip 2, and the spanish and the gold in South America.
We learned about what it means to live in a "free" country and what some of our freedoms in Canada include.
Other
-John White and the lost colony of Roanoke Island.
When John White left the colony, they had agreed that if the colony came into trouble, they were to leave the mark of a cross on a tree. This never happened and the people were never discovered.
We played a game where Aiden and Caileigh had to make a map that would lead us to a mark, using natural materials.
We played a game where Aiden and Caileigh had to make a map that would lead us to a mark, using natural materials.
-Newfoundland and John Cabot.
- Jacque Cartier this week.
We completed work in our Canada Map books by looking at different provinces and their terrain up close.
Aiden completed a map page where he would have to find a city based on it's longitude and latitude.
Our current read-aloud is from the Little House series. We looked at how some things have changed so drastically from "then" to "now". The kids picked three items and drew pictures to show the situation of the past, and how things are now.
(Caileigh's map of Newfoundland corresponding to facts about our readings)
We completed The Story of the World Vol. 2. The final chapter was on Spain and England's war in 1588.
We completed a map page showing the corresponding areas.
-Phillip 2, and the spanish and the gold in South America.
Government-
The kids have been noticing the election signs around town and started to ask questions. We read through the government portion of Donna Ward's Canada My Country. We discussed the difference between a democratic and dictatorship government.
We learned about Ottawa, our capital city and Parliament Hill. We looked at pictures on the internet of Ottawa, Stephen Harper, and our 100 Mile Mayor.
We discussed the role of government and the different parties that run. We learned that Christy Clark is our current premier.
We discussed the importance of being responsible and taking part in voting. We looked up Elections BC and learned a little about the election taking place on May14th and who the candidates for our area are.
We learned about Ottawa, our capital city and Parliament Hill. We looked at pictures on the internet of Ottawa, Stephen Harper, and our 100 Mile Mayor.
We discussed the role of government and the different parties that run. We learned that Christy Clark is our current premier.
We discussed the importance of being responsible and taking part in voting. We looked up Elections BC and learned a little about the election taking place on May14th and who the candidates for our area are.
We learned about what it means to live in a "free" country and what some of our freedoms in Canada include.
The kids each wrote a letter to our prime minister. They would also like to write a letter to the premier, but we're going to wait until after the election.
As I look into the different candidates and their platforms, the kids will learn along with me.
Other
Our neighbour recently returned from Israel. We were invited to her house to see pictures from her trip, see artifacts that she brought back, and to sample some food she brought back. It was amazing to see pictures of all the places where Jesus went, now in modern times. Both Aiden and Caileigh enjoyed seeing the Shofar (wooden horn). We heard it being blown and tried to imagine Jericho!
Looking at pictures showing the population of the most populated cities in the world. Comparing their experiences and lifestyles to ours.
Health and Career
The story from our spelling unit this week was on alcohol abuse. We learned what can happen to an individual when they start to abuse alcohol. The kids had to write a 3 sentence paragraph on why we shouldn't drink alcohol.
Aiden made a blueberry coffee cake.
{Learning to beat an egg. Such concentration!}
Family Puzzle Night!
Sean was MC'ing a local hockey game for "anti-bullying" day. Aiden and Caileigh went with Sean to show support. They discussed what it means to be a bully and why it is important to not act in this way.
Aiden and Caileigh went to a magic show put on by a home schooled teenaged boy. They said it was amazing and they couldn't figure out any of the tricks. Sean said it was very well done.
Lego Camp!
Lego Camp!
We loved every moment of Lego camp this year. The kids switched partners most days which was great to try working with different individuals and personalities.
Caileigh worked with Tieryn two days in a row because they worked so well together. We've always seen her name on the Raz-kids sign in so it was fun to put a face to the name.
Caileigh worked with Tieryn two days in a row because they worked so well together. We've always seen her name on the Raz-kids sign in so it was fun to put a face to the name.
Aiden and Caileigh have done well with helping with breakfast each week. All the kids are interested in helping me in the kitchen more. I find it can quickly get overwhelming when everyone wants to help. It is hard to find enough jobs for everyone and make things fair. We decided to expand the kid's kitchen duties and now, rather than just helping with breakfast, each child has an entire kitchen day. Their jobs include helping me to meal plan, preparing all meals and snacks for the day, kitchen safety, kitchen clean up and learning to serve others.
I hope to expand on these roles as they get older and more capable.
This was our first week and it was extremely successful! I loved having the one on one time with each of the older three and it allowed me to give them a lot more responsibility than normal.
Aiden loved getting to independently make the pancakes one morning and he loved that everyone ate more than usual:)
Lot's of Lego creations. Aiden and Caileigh are working on a Lego creation to send into Lego magazine for an opportunity to win a gift card.
Aiden has also been creating a Lego movie. He hopes to post it on his blog soon.
Caileigh surprised me with a treasure hunt one day. She had hidden clues throughout the house and I had to follow them to find my prize which was a beaded bracelet. Very creative and fun!
The kids helped me decorate a birthday cake for Uncle Matt.
We discussed Earth Day and what it means to take care of the earth that God created. We read a Curious George book about tree planting and read over the suggestions for a "greener" earth.
We made pinwheels and had fun running through the yard and watching them spin.
We discussed the importance of our continuing to recycle.
We talked about things we could continue to do........colour on both sides of the paper, look into composting, the importance of worms in our garden, etc.
We discussed the importance of our continuing to recycle.
We talked about things we could continue to do........colour on both sides of the paper, look into composting, the importance of worms in our garden, etc.
Lot's of work around the yard! Raking the grass, transplanting plants, pruning, etc. It has been enjoyable to work together in this way. We've started to talk about our plans for the garden.
Fine Arts
We went to the play of The Wizard of Oz. The kids really enjoyed the music, characters and overall performance. It was very humorous and extremely entertaining. They sat enamoured the entire 3 hours play!
We read a biography on Mozart and listened to music composed by him.
Aiden-transposing music.
Aiden and Caileigh participated in the music festival. They each performed a solo and they also performed a duet.
I found out last night that they will be getting presented with a trophy for their duet! We haven't told the kids yet and thought it would be exciting for them to find out at the final concert when their names get called. I'm very proud of their hard work and perseverance over the last few months.
We attended the final concert for the Music Festival and saw a wonderful variety of talent.
Aiden was presented with an award for his fable at the final concert. He was thrilled with his $50 certificate to the local book store.
Aiden and Caileigh were presented with a trophy for their duet. We had received news earlier in the week that they would be receiving the awards but the kids had no idea. They were very excited. They got home from the concert after 10pm and I couldn't get them into bed until after 11pm as they were so excited making plans for the festival next year:)
PE
Caileigh was proud to receive her certificate and ribbon for having participated in gymnastics testing.
Enjoying lot's of walks. Aiden and Caileigh have started to ride their bikes on our road again. We do laps back and forth.
Aiden has done well learning bike safety and I now allow him to go 1/2 way down the road independently as I stand in our yard keeping watch. He loves this independence.
Egg blowing, and painting.
I love that so many of our activities can now include all five of the children!
Aiden
Aiden has been experimenting with his Snap Circuits set.
Caileigh
Caileigh volunteered 4 hours of her time to raise money for gymnastics.
{Impromptu story time led by Caileigh}
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