The Body - A Kindergarten Unit of Study

Today was our final day studying the body in our Kindergarten Homeschool Options class.  Since we only met for 4 times during this unit our focus was primarily on blood and what it does for us and how it helps fight against germs that are everywhere even though we can't see them.  Last week we each had the opportunity to make a hand print on a gelatin petri dish.  Over the week I let the dishes grow at home and today I shared the results with the kids.  They were amazed that that many germs grew and were once on their hands.  We wrote all about it in our journals, pictures included.

 We then reviewed the parts of blood and what the different types of germs (mainly bacteria and viruses) are.  We talked about how the different germs attack our body and make us feel sick and how our white blood cells and antibodies fight against the attack.  Then we brought out the play dough and got to work recreating bacteria, viruses, white blood cells, antibodies and red blood cells.

 We also finished up our body maps which now represent many different organs as well as bones and muscles within our body.  They also show things that are most important to us and how we identify ourselves.  It was a fantastic day of learning.  Next up ... archaeology.

Homeschool Writing

I have a variety of journals that we use for our writing throughout the homeschooling years.  EMan's writing is on the left with the larger lines and CJ's writing is on the right with smaller lines.  This writing sample is from August 2015.  I encourage my kids to write about things that they are passionate about or an experience they have had.

This next writing sample is from September 2015.  EMan (kindergarten) has now shifted to writing in the smaller lined journal and CJ (2nd grade) is improving his handwriting as well as adding punctuation.  I love this writing sample because we did it shortly after visiting the nursing home for our Lego activity with them.  CJ really loves going and his passion has shown up in this writing (below right).  Ethan had just visited the dentist and was writing about getting a toy monkey in the token machine at the end of his appointment.  EMan's writing is also showing his passions.  He has told me a number of times now that he would like to be a zoologist when he grows up.  Every time he has the opportunity to get a new stuffed animal or other type of animal toy he asks if he has enough money to take it home.

We have been working on handwriting with size of letters and location on the writing lines.  Since this last writing sample we've also started a focus on making sure sight words are spelled correctly throughout the writing.  I used the writing checklist from the Moffatt Girls beginning writing prompts for a few days but have since made my own.  I was so thankful for her idea of a writing checklist.  It is so fun to watch them grow and by having a journal it is easy to flip through and see their progress.

Egypt Homeschool Camp June 2014

The boys had a fantastic time at Egypt Camp this past weekend. We spent all of last semester studying all about Ancient Egypt with our Homeschool Co-Op and ended the study with 3 days at the Great Sand Dunes.  How cool is that?  We've never been down there before but it was a spectacular location and I think we'll go again in a couple years.  We played in the sand and the water at the beach a lot.  We were supposed to build pyramids at first but the boys decided that sand castles were a more reasonable option :).  We met the rest of the group for dinner time and all the kids had on their costumes.  They each had tunics, some had swords, other had fans, we even had a pharaoh.  Each child was called up to spin the wheel of fate that encourage role playing activities - such as "Your cat died.  See the embalmer." or "Professional Mourner for 1 hour." or "The Pharaoh is pleased with you."  Each kid had an occupation, such as scribe/farmer/fisherman, etc.  EMan was a fisherman and CJ was the Pharaoh's Zoo Keeper.  The first night we had a weighing of the heart activity just like in the book of the dead.  I got to play the roll of Isis.  Sweet eh?  The kids had small bags with an anatomically correct heart stamped on them and they filled them with their pick of random items.  If it was heavier than the feather they were devoured.  If it was lighter they were free to move on.  The kids thought it was great fun.

 Steve took a morning and went sandboarding.  The rest of us hung out for a wheel of fate activity followed by an irrigation challenge.  They were split into two villages and had to dig a canal and build a shaduf (a sort of lever inspired bucket lifting tool the ancient Egyptians built).  CJ's team won the challenge.

 Next they had crocodile hunting.  They had to chase after an inflatable crocodile down the river, bring it back to camp and put mud on its eyes.  After more free play in the water we changed into costumes and learned that the old Pharaoh died and there was a new one!

 We celebrated the new pharaoh with a big feast and a talent show.  I was proud of CJ for playing "Hot Cross Buns" on his recorder for the talent show and EMan for showing all the cool things he can do with silly putty.  What fun talents!  We also enjoyed a market with the group.  Everyone, according to their occupation, traded goods and services with each other.  At one point EMan became very popular because word got out that he was trading Swedish Fish candies.  Everyone wanted some of those!  CJ got lots of attention from others wanting his finger puppet lions, tigers, zebras and giraffes.  He also had a blow up monkey that he traded for a fancy necklace!

One of the games we played was called tug of hoop.  Using the crooks we made in class the point was to tug and twist the hoop away from the other person.  EMan LOVED this game and played it with everyone who was willing.  On another note: CJ found a bug, he must be a bug magnet!

Kindergarten Homeschool Curriculum and Records : The End of the Year

I have kept most of the work CJ has done for Kindergarten in a file box.  I’ll most likely only keep the binder contents after a couple of years.  Now that the school year is over his records book is completed. Here is what it contains: 

In the first pocket is an invitation from his birthday party and a picture craft he did.  Next are page protectors containing an outline of the curriculum we used throughout the year. 

 I keep these pages as a working document throughout the year and I add details as things pop up, as they always do.  I also have them hyperlinked so I can quickly remember the source and any evaluator can quickly see what I'm referring to.  It includes dates of completion and references to quantity of time in class, etc.

Here it is in the folder:

Next, there is a report card that is part of a K-5 series aligned with Common Core that I'll use each year.  I have a huge issue with Common Core (totally against it).  I don't use the report card to guide what we do, but it is nice to see what items we can improve on. 

After the report cards are the certificates and documents from completed programs and classes throughout the year. 

I've also included his vaccination record as well as a few doctor reports for my own organization.  There are also camp outlines and some art. The rest of the box contains his actual workbooks that he used throughout the year.  Like I mentioned earlier - I'll most likely only hang on to the blue folder after a couple years (most likely after EMan completes Kindergarten I'll get rid of it, but it'll be a nice reference for that).  I'm not required to keep work pages as documentation but if opting out of formal testing (I will be) it will be nice to show the evaluator what we've been up to. 

I like to date everything with a start/completion date for easy reference. That way I can sift through the papers and add dates to the first sheet if I forgot them and easily have date references to his learning.

It's so nice to have all these things organized and ready!  I can now say CJ is officially Graduated from Kindergarten.  Woo Hoo! Perhaps now I'll take the boys out for ice cream :).

Are You Ready? Game Show Giveaway from Lakeshore Learning

We were given the fantastic opportunity to review the new "Are You Ready?" series of assessment games from Lakeshore.  We picked "Are You Ready for First Grade?" because it fit our current needs.  This game is a fantastic way to get a quick glimpse of what didn't sink in or what I accidentally forgot to teach CJ during the Kindergarten year.   It's set up like a game show and for each grade level you get 6 different games that let your child earn pretend cash for each math and language question answered correctly.  CJ and EMan LOVE money and were giddy with excitement as they learned the rules to the game.  In fact, before starting the game I overheard CJ say, "EMan, let's finish the laundry fast so we can play the earning money game!"  The put away their laundry in record time. 

We had a great time playing this game.  Each game has a set of 33 cards that you set up on the game board.  Your "contestant" gets to pick a card and if they answer it correctly they get the amount of money listed on the card.  This inspired CJ to pick the highest valued cards right off the bat.

If they get an answer incorrect you make note of the card number to reference later.  I'd highly suggest pulling out their journal or writing book to use for this game.  There are a few cards that specify to write something: such as their name, the alphabet or an answer. 

 We finished the first game quite quickly and CJ wanted to move onto the second game and earn more money right away!  There is only enough money to get all of one game's answers correct, then the money must be recycled for the next game.  There are, however, certificates for what they've won at the end.  The best part is that you get to fill in the reward to something that fits your family.

After you've played one or all six games you head to the game site here and start the Post Game Assessment on the right hand side.  Lakeshore makes it easy for you to type in the number cards that were incorrect.  The website then identifies Skills to Develop with a short description of what that skill encompasses.  It also provides free printable activities and additional Lakeshore products that target that skill.  I took pictures of my computer through this process, but they turned out terrible and unhelpful.  Just trust me that it's awesome to get immediate feedback and a few work pages to go over with your kid(s).  It's a perfect homeschool companion.   

Now we'll be ready for 1st grade for sure!  Will you?  We're giving away our set and would love to see it go to a family who will love it like we did.  Scroll down and enter to win today!

This great game is available in levels K-5.  To get $10 off any Are You Ready? Game Show(R), enter code 9141 at checkout or click here for a store coupon!  Expires 7/31/14.

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Starting to Homeschool {For Real}

Starting to homeschool {for real} is both unnerving and completely natural at the same time.  I mean, as the parent you've been your child's teacher since birth.  You helped them babble sounds, roll a ball back and forth, walk.  Talk about big milestones!  You've taught them to talk, jump off stumps, and most likely to recognize colors and their ABC's.  You can do this!  The unnerving part comes when you recognize the outside pressure to homeschool well, to fit a mold or follow someone elses timeline.  Eventually (each state is different) you'll have to turn in records of attendance and evidence of learning.  Oiy!

It comes down to recognizing that every child is different.  There are different strengths and weaknesses, there is no standard box that every child fits into.  They may be doing math at a first grade level and still learning their ABC's.  The joy is that as the parent, you know your child and can learn with them.   You will read, and then read some more about the various curriculum programs that are available.  You'll find that some fit you and your child and others don't.  First ponder on your goals for yourself and your child.  Get down to the nitty-gritty.  Is there a schedule or time-limit you'd like to enforce (for your sanity or your child's)?  What subjects are of interest?  What subjects are required regardless of interest?

Here's what I've discovered for myself homeschooling kindergarten with my oldest.  We started with a schedule in August.  It would take us less than an hour to accomplish goals I had set.  I had determined that our schedule would be as follows:

• Pledge of Allegiance
• Scriptures:
• Prayer
• Scripture Story
• Article of Faith (memory verse) 
• Reading
• Read to Mom
• Read to CJ
• Ready2Read Level 1
• Ready2Read Level 2
• Narration
• Answering Questions
• Writing
• Math
• TouchMath
• MathUSee Primer (Video/Activity)

It was fairly simple and led to different activities each day.  This worked for me, and it worked for CJ.  This schedule may look nothing like what you would do.  Simply write down your priorities and hop to it!  You've guided them through such large milestones already, you can do this!

Our schedule hung true until about Thanksgiving.  Then we sort of fell off the bandwagon.  No problem, we'll pick ourselves up, reevaluate and start again.  In January we implemented a new schedule.  We had finished some key curriculum goals and were ready for something new. Our new schedule looked like this:

• Pledge of Allegiance
• Scriptures
• Prayer
• Scripture Story or Lesson - mark words in personal set of scriptures
• Article of Faith (memory verse)
• Math
• Khan Academy - addition and subtraction review
• Math Booklets - Moffatt Girls
• Time?
• Money?
• Measurement?
• Reading
• Ready2Read Level 2 Units 7-10 - Moffatt Girls
• ReadingA-Z.com guided reading
• Narration of texts
• Comprehension Activities
• Handwriting
• 1 page per day in workbook
• Geography
• 1 page per day in workbook
• Music 
• Piano Lessons Weekly
• Daily Practice - 10 minutes
• Starting Recorder in February
• Extras
• Review Packets from Moffatt Girls

I do believe I was too ambitious in January.  We haven't successfully completed our list of activities more than 3 times a week.  Sometimes we were lucky to do it once. Maybe that's because I used a variety of different programs and my teaching background to set curriculum.  I didn't purchase a day by day planned out set that tells you what to say.  You may want to do that if that type of program appeals to you.

I also discovered a great set of report cards that line up with Common Core.  I'm not a fan of Common Core.  Not at all.  However, knowing that this list covers many of the skills we'll be using, I went ahead and downloaded it to determine if I was missing any large chunks of skills that I had simply overlooked. 

Knowing that there were activities I wanted my boys to participate in outside of our home I also looked into the rec center offerings for my city.  I determined that we'd do swimming, drama and gymnastics.  Other classes may also be considered throughout the years. 

There is so much to think about and decide, but you could spend your whole life researching instead of living if you don't limit yourself.  For Kindergarten, just determine a few key factors that are important to you and go from there.  Remember, as the parent you were their first and are their most important teacher.  You can do this!