Monday, May 30, 2011

Day 90 - Last Day of School

Today's Activities:

  • Art - The girls painted their O'Keeffe inspired art. They experimented with using washes, wet-on-wet, and wet-on-dry painting techniques.
  • Writing - Madelyn finished her cursive book. In many ways, I credit this book with being the seed that started our homeschooling journey. Had I not gone to the local teacher store and come away aching to teach, we may not have taken the plunge into homeschooling.
  • Semester Summary - We did a plus/delta exercise. First we reviewed all 90 days of homeschooling to date, then we discussed our favorite things and the things we would change.
Pluses:
  1. Catherine – Clay, Strega Nona books, painting, writing stories about ourselves & fables, bread tasting,
  2. Chloe – watercolor paintings, Lilly's Purple Purse book, reading about faith, Santa Fe Trail, journals
  3. Madelyn – watercolor paintings, Allen Say books, E.B. White books, crafts at home, journal writing
  4. Mommy - I am so proud of all of the hard work we each did. I feel like our first semester was successful in many ways. Of course, I'm blessed with three highly-motivated students. I feel like the girls were exposed to some great literature and I'm a big fan of Singapore Math. I'm firmly committed to giving our children a 'contextualized', well-rounded, multi-lensed, and multicultural education.
Changes:
  1. Catherine – more spelling, more Faith Like Mine books,

  2. Chloe – more science & spelling, more journal writing,

  3. Madelyn – more journal writing, fewer math tests,

  4. Mommy - I feel like we need to add more science. The classes the girls took were great and got them excited but I feel more needs to be done to give them a working science vocabulary. I also want to focus more time on writing, especially teaching minilessons on specific topics, such as commas. I feel we did a fair number of writing assignments but there needs to be more of an every day element to writing as well.



Sunday, May 29, 2011

Day 89

Today's Activities:

  • Singapore Math - Madelyn finished 3B today. She achieved a 90% average on all the tests. Pretty solid for her first time using this program.
  • Writing -
  1. Madelyn - Grammar Lesson 55 in Primary Language Lessons. Also cursive.
  2. Catherine & Chloe - Week 3 in the Grade 1 Daily Language Review workbook. Also handwriting review.
  • Art - The girls each did a sketch, complete with color, of their Georgia O'Keeffe inspired watercolor. Tomorrow they paint!

Friday, May 27, 2011

Day 88

Today's Activities:

  • Singapore Math
  • Read aloud from A Faith Like Mine. We finished the book today!
  • Writing -
  1. Madelyn - Grammar lessons 53 & 54 from Primary Language Lessons. Also cursive practice.
  2. Catherine & Chloe - Week 2 in the Grade 1 Daily Language Review workbook
  • Reading/Social Studies - We read Georgia O'Keefe by Mike Venezia together today. She is another example of how people influence and are influenced by New Mexico.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Day 87

Today's Activities:
  • Singapore Math
  • Read aloud from A Faith Like Mine
  • Reading/Social Studies - Read Along the Santa Fe Trail: Marion Russell's Own Story by Marion Russell together.
  • Mandarin lesson with Ms. Kitty
  • Volunteer at Roadrunner Food Bank. Today we labelled and packed approximately 700 bags of Cheerios. The girls did great and really feel good about their work.
  • Piano lessons with Ms. Linda

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Day 86

Today's Activities:
  • Singapore Math - Catherine & Chloe finished their workbook today. Singapore Math 2A, here we come! Madelyn is going to finish out the week with tests and review.
  • Read aloud from A Faith Like Mine
  • Reading/Social Studies - We read A Right Fine Life: Kit Carson on the Santa Fe Trail together. The girls enjoyed this tale of adventure.
  • Writing -
  1. Madelyn - Grammar lessons 50 through 52 from Primary Language Lessons.
  2. Catherine & Chloe - Week 1 in the Grade 1 Daily Language Review workbook I bought for the summer. They did great but will need to work on editing sentences.
  • Science - Field trip to the zoo! It was one of those days when the zoo was very busy and the animals were all either asleep, bored or ugly. We had fun anyway and got to observe the slower side of animal behavior.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Day 85

Today's Activities:

  • Singapore Math
  • Read aloud from A Faith Like Mine
  • Reading/Social Studies - We read The Santa Fe Trail by Jean Blashfield together. We are attempting to learn about how 'Americans' shaped the culture and commerce of New Mexico as it moved closer to statehood.
  • Ballet lessons for Catherine & Chloe. Madelyn also continues to volunteer with the 3-year-old class in preparation for the end-of-year performance which is now only two-weeks away.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Day 84

Friday's Activities:

  • Singapore Math
  • Jobs -
  1. Madelyn - Our friends down the street were hosting a garage sale to benefit their school. Madelyn very eagerly volunteered! She helped stock the tables, took money and made change. The adults were all appreciative of her efforts. Now Madelyn is full of other entrepreneurial ideas.
  2. Catherine & Chloe - While Madelyn volunteered down the street, Catherine & Chloe helped me babysit the daughter of the garage sale host. She is around Harrison's age but it was like having a new toy in the house. It was great for Catherine & Chloe to act the part of babysitter/big sister.
  3. Everyone - We have spent a lot of time the last few weeks working on the backyard. Madelyn has been especially eager to help with all projects. I think all of the children have come away with more of an appreciation of what it takes to run a household, a valuable lesson indeed!

Day 83

Thursday's Activities:

  • Singapore Math
  • Field trip to the Maxwell Museum. We enjoyed the exhibits about archaeological discoveries from the southwest and the evolution of man. We also got to explore Mayan textile art. We even took time to stop and smell the roses on campus.




  • After attempting to picnic in the rain, we took a spontaneous field trip to Explora with some friends. So, we got some more science in!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Day 82

Today's Activities:

  • Singapore Math
  • Mandarin lesson with Ms. Kitty
  • Piano lessons with Ms. Linda
  • Read aloud from A Faith Like Mine
  • Reading/Social Studies/Art - Today we read Grandmother's Adobe Dollhouse by MaryLou Smith. We started an art project as well. The girls are acting as tinsmiths. They each drew a New Mexican themed picture and are now taking turns hammering out their designs.





Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Day 81

Today's Activities:

  • Singapore Math
  • Reading/Social Studies -
  1. Madelyn - Finished Josefina. She enjoyed it so well she checked out the rest of the series from the library today. I really liked the historical reference section in the back. Why can't more books be written like that.
  2. Catherine & Chloe - Read The Night of Las Posadas by Tomie dePaola. I think the girls would like to add hot chocolate and cookies around the manger to our Christmas Eve traditions.
  • Writing -
  1. Madelyn - Grammar lessons 47 through 49 in Primary Language Lessons. She also practiced cursive.
  2. Catherine & Chloe - Journal writing
  • Read aloud from A Faith Like Mine
  • Library field trip - More animals to learn about this week.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Day 80

Today's Activities:

  • Singapore Math
  • Reading/Social Studies -
  1. Madelyn - Read Chapter 4 of Josefina.
  2. Catherine & Chloe - Read Farolitos of Christmas by Rudolfo Anaya.
  • Arts & Crafts class at the community center
  • Ballet lessons for Catherine & Chloe. Madelyn is volunteering in the 3-year-old class as they prepare for the end-of-year performance.

Day 79

Thursday's Activities:

  • Singapore Math
  • Field Trip to the National Hispanic Cultural Center - We love having such great cultural resources in our community. The girls and I explored the art, including furniture, of Latinos around the country. We observed that while the Native American art we saw two weeks ago centered upon textiles and pottery, the Hispanic art was primarily metals and woods, as well as traditional canvas paintings. We had a great time and even got to explore the original Camino Real.



  • Ballet for Madelyn

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Day 78

Today's Activities:

  • Volunteer at Roadrunner Food Bank
  • Singapore Math
  • Reading -
  1. Madelyn - Read chapter 3 of Josefina.
  2. Catherine & Chloe - The Key to Grandpa's House by Cristina Ortega.
  • Mandarin lesson with Ms. Kitty
  • Piano lessons with Ms. Linda

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Day 77

Today's Activities:

  • Singapore Math
  • Reading/Social Studies -
  1. Madelyn - Continued reading from Josefina. Discussed Camino Real and it's location.
  2. Catherine & Chloe - Read The Fiesta Dress: A Quinceanera Tale by Caren McNelly McCormack.
  • Writing -
  1. Madelyn - Grammar lessons 45 & 46 from Primary Language Lessons. Also cursive practice.
  2. Catherine & Chloe - Spelling pretest
  • Read Aloud from A Faith Like Mine
  • Science/PE - Classification Walk - We were actually just walking to the mailbox but we decided to make it into a learning experience. We observed animals and classified them. We observed birds, mammals, insects and arachnids. We really wanted to find a lizard so we could have a reptile too, but no luck today.

Day 76

Monday's Activities:

  • Singapore Math
  • Reading/Social Studies -
  1. Madelyn - Continued reading Josefina
  2. Catherine & Chloe - Read The Southwest Adventures of Tommy and Maggie by Marilyn L. Alexander, Fiesta Babies by Carmen Tafolla, and Snapshots from the Wedding by Gary Soto. The girls are having fun learning about different celebrations in the Hispanic community.
  • Arts & Crafts at the community center
  • Ballet lessons for Catherine & Chloe. Madelyn is volunteering in the 3-year-old class as they prepare for the end-of-year performance.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Day 75

Today's Activities:

  • Singapore Math
  • Reading/Social Studies - We've shifted away from exploring Native American culture and influences in New Mexico. Now we're investigating the Hispanic influences and culture on New Mexico. We started by reading some history about Spaniards coming into New Mexico in the 16th and 17th Century in the World Almanac: New Mexico.
  1. Madelyn - Read from Meet Josefina from the American Girl collection.
  2. Catherine & Chloe - Read Abuela by Arthur Dorros.
  • Writing -
  1. Madelyn - Lessons 42 through 44 in Primary Language Lessons. Also cursive practice.
  2. Catherine & Chloe - Wrote sentences from their spelling words.
  • Read Aloud from A Faith Like Mine

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Day 74

Today's Activities:

  • Singapore Math
  • Reading/Social Studies - Read When Clay Sings by Byrd Baylor.
  • Read Aloud from A Faith Like Mine
  • Writing - Revised and published fables
  • Art - The girls have been waiting since Monday to do pottery. We tried making coil pots like we read about in our books about Native Americans. Check it out...

  • Science - Madelyn is so great! She independently put together a Power Point slide show about animals that she plans to share with the family tonight.

Day 73

Tuesday's Activities:

  • Singapore Math
  • Read Aloud from A Faith Like Mine
  • Reading/Social Studies - Read Love Flute by Paul Goble. Discussed elements of a fable or legend.
  • Writing - Each girl drafted a fable of their own. We did the prewriting together. Chloe chose 'Why Cheetahs Run Fast'. Catherine chose 'Why Cows Moo'. Madelyn chose 'Why Roosters Crow at the Sun'.
  • Grammar - Lessons 38-41 in Primary Language Lessons for Madelyn. Also cursive practice.
  • Spelling - Pretest for Catherine & Chloe
  • Field trip to the library for more non-fiction favorites

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Day 72

Monday's Activities:

  • Singapore Math
  • Explora Class - This was our last science lab for the spring. Catherine & Chloe explored shadows and Madelyn investigated properties of matter.
  • Arts & Crafts class at the community center
  • Ballet lessons for Catherine & Chloe