Second Grade Goals

In the summer or fall I like to sit down and think about my objectives for the upcoming school year.  The curriculum planning and shopping are loads of fun but I know that without clear goals it will be very easy to flounder. So far things have been fairly smooth this year - only one slight roadblock when TJ had an episode of croup one night. But I know that there is always something around the corner that could throw our schedule off. When those events stop us in our tracks, I need to stop and think about my goals. That way, instead of getting overwhelmed by the problem, I can simplify things and concentrate on the necessities.

These are the goals that I've written down for this year:

• Faith: have a firm knowledge about Jesus' life and ministry on the earth
• Maths: firm foundation of addition and subtraction facts
• Language Arts: read full-length chapter books; write full sentences from dictation with ease; memorize parts of speech and understand how to find them in sentences/paragraphs
• History/Science: use content subjects to work on narration and observation skills
• Languages: build French vocabulary; work on conversational French

I have a few more things written down, life skills and such, but the list above are the things I find most important. So, if at some point I find myself floundering, I know that I can concentrate on the basic goals I've set for the year and feel like I've accomplished something. I'm trying to rid myself of the "we didn't finish every page in the workbook" guilt. ;-) I'm (slowly) learning that it isn't necessary to finish every page and every problem. That's the beauty of homeschooling - I can tailor the program to my child's individual needs. Sometimes it's easy to forget that in the day-to-day routine. Success isn't measured in the number of workbook pages completed, it's measured by the new level of development and understanding that the student reaches each year.

The TOS Homeschool Crew Blog will be hosting another Blog Cruise this year. My Mates will be sharing their homeschool related plans and goals in the upcoming Cruise so be sure to check it out!

What's on Your Nightstand?

I haven't been reading very much lately, with the start of a new school year, TJ and I are still getting used to our schedule. So my reading has consisted of "fun" books until my mind has learned to function after 2pm! Here's what I've enjoyed lately:

The Help - Good, good book. I really enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to seeing the movie.

I've finally taken the plunge and am reading through the Harry Potter books. I've finished the first two and have just picked up the next two from the library.

Entwined – Seems I've been reading from the YA section of the library lately. This one was worth reading - it's an interesting retelling of the story of the twelve dancing princesses.

Starcrossed – another good read from the YA section of the library. Imagine the offspring of the Greek gods and goddesses in a current setting - high school. I won't say more than that as I don't want to ruin the book for anyone currently reading it, but it's certainly an original idea! And the sequel is coming out next year, I believe. I'm looking forward to seeing where this series goes.

I'm right in the middle of A Red Herring without Mustard - I just love Flavia de Luce! That girl has spunk! I'm also working through Oliver Twist right now (The Well-Educated Mind reading list). I must confess that the only other Dickens' novel I've read is an abridged version of Great Expectations in high school so I didn't know what to expect. I am really enjoying the book and looking forward to reading more of his novels.

That sums up the books I've enjoyed in the past month or so. Here are the books that are currently at the top of my "to-be-read" pile:

• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Camilla by Frances Burney
• 1215: The Year of the Magna Carta
• Belinda by Maria Edgeworth
• The Wealth and Poverty of Nations

What's on Your Nightstand?

Weekly Review: Week 3

In my life this week…

A sick daughter – TJ woke up around 3 in the morning on Thursday wheezing for breath. Looks like it was a case of croup, so we took the day off to rest. Thankfully, the worst of it was just that night.

In our homeschool this week…

We fit in three full days of school this week.

Math – 3 lessons, still working through review

Language arts – started Writing with Ease. Our first dictation session went very well. TJ also completed step 2 in spelling, 2 lessons in grammar, and 1 page of handwriting.

Languages – Nick and TJ worked through another French lesson and also did 2 pages in the Greek Code Cracker.

No history or science this week but I did meet with the other moms of our little co-op to work out the details for our weekly meetings. We've decided to do history and art this fall so TJ and I will fit in science during the week.

What’s working/not working for us…

Moving TJ's math drill to the end of the day works like a charm! I don't nag her to get it done and start the day annoyed and she works through it quickly so she can go play. So happy mother and happy kid. Perfect!

I’m reading…

"serious" reading - Oliver Twist (working through the list of novels in The Well-Educated Mind)

"fun" reading – Starcrossed; pretty good novel – very unique retelling of Greek myths

I’m cooking…

lentil soup. The cool weather has put me in the mood for warm, comforting food. We'll have friends over on Sunday afternoon and I'm trying to decide between blueberry buckle and lemon pound cake.

I’m grateful for…

a healthy, beautiful daughter and a wonderful husband.

I'm linking to Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers Weekly Wrap-Up and The Homeschool Chick's Homeschool Mother's Journal

Crew Review: Primarily Magnets

TJ really loves science projects and experiments so when we had the opportunity to review a science e-book from AIMS Education Foundation, we were very excited! AIMS is a non-profit organization that produces hands-on math and science books for use in all types of classroom environments.

At AIMS, we believe that hands-on math and science is the most effective way to develop conceptual understanding.

As a non-profit foundation, we're committed to doing what's best for students. Join us and rekindle the joy of learning!

We had our choice of a few book and TJ chose magnets. Primarily Magnets is perfect for kids in grades K-2. The experiments are easy enough for younger children to do with parental/teacher assistance and older children just need to be given a few directions and they are ready to investigate!

What's included: Each book is available in hard-copy or e-book form. Primarily Magnets, at 85 pages, is full of ideas and activities for exploring magnets. The 19 activities are divided up between four sections:

• Magnets interacting with other materials
• Magnets interacting with other magnets
• Magnetic fields
• Everyday uses of magnets

Each activity includes instructions and background information, as well as a list of topics (great way to fit in some new vocabulary), goals, and questions to ask the student.

 Comparing magnetic strength

Our thoughts: TJ had fun with the activities in this book. Her first project was to gather a bunch of objects from around the house and divided them up into 2 piles - "stick" and "no stick". After dividing the 2 piles she made a list of the items. Her favorite project was comparing the magnetic strength of three different magnets (bar, horseshoe, and ring). She used a paper clip and a bar graph worksheet from the book to discover that the horseshoe magnet was the strongest.

I really liked the format of this e-book. It would be very easy to use the book, along with some magnets and other common items, as a unit study. With the included questions and topics you can add vocabulary and narration practice. I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to do a magnet study with young children.

We enjoyed using Primarily Magnets ($18.95). Many of my Crew mates used this book and other books from AIMS. If you'd like to read more, check out the Crew blog.

Now for the fine print… I received this product free of charge in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was provided.

Weekly Review: Week 2

This week was a bit rough. TJ spent a lot of time dawdling over her work and wasting my time and hers. It made for a very frustrated mama. I discussed the problem with Nick and we're working on a few solutions. One of the biggies is her daily math drill. Instead of doing it first thing (and I end up standing over her to make sure she's completing it because I want to get to the rest of our subjects), I'll have her do it last – just before her play time. That way she's only wasting her own time and not mine. Hopefully this will curb some of our morning issues!

The Basics: We're moving right along in math – 5 lessons completed this week. TJ finished filling in her addition table and we spent time reviewing the different addition strategies she's learned. We spent some more time working on narration and copywork skills with selections from Little House in the Big Woods and next week we'll start week 1 in Writing With Ease 2. She's completed all the lessons in All About Spelling 2 and started the next book this week, which was basically a review lesson.  We also worked through two more lessons in grammar and she practiced writing upper case letters in cursive.

Languages: TJ started book 3 of our French program and is doing well so far. She also did a few pages in the Greek Alphabet Code Cracker. We're fairly diligent with our French practice but I'm noticing that when we have a time crunch, Greek ends up tossed aside. For now, that's okay, as I'd rather spend the bulk of our time on the basics.

History: No co-op this week but TJ is reading some Adventures in Odyssey books (so I'll count that as history!).

Science: No co-op but we did spend some time learning about magnets using an e-book from AIMS. TJ had loads of fun with this project. In the picture above she's comparing the strength of three different magnets.

Reading: I just didn't get to any reading aloud this week – too much dawdling through school on TJ's part and by 1:30 I was just ready for that quiet time! But she did read about half of an Adventures in Odyssey book and finished two more fairy books, so the week wasn't a total loss.

Hopefully next week things will go a bit smoother. I'm praying for patience.

That's our week!

Crew Review: Big IQ Kids

TJ and I recently had the chance to explore Big IQ Kids, an online program that uses games and drill to practice math facts, spelling, vocabulary, and U. S. Geography.

BigIQkids.com turns your computer into an online learning academy by providing daily academic lessons for young learners in an interactive, easy to follow format. For the best results, children should log into BigIQkids.com daily and complete their lessons and quizzes. This “daily” strategy builds invaluable study habits, leads to better grades and greater self confidence.

What's included: Once your child is signed up for the program they can start playing! And there is a lot to do on Big IQ Kids! 

Using the math program, your child will cover:

• addition
• subtraction
• multiplication
• division

The spelling program can be used in 2 ways:

• upload your own spelling list
• use the included 1st-8th grade spelling lists

The U. S. geography program covers:

• capitals
• state locations
• state spellings & abbreviations
• common facts

Through games, activities, and drill, children learn facts about different countries, practice their spelling, or learn their math facts. Students also earn coins for completed lessons that they can spend on more games or in dressing their Big IQ Buddy.  Parents can also receive emailed reports that outline the student's progress through the program.

Our thoughts: I'm not a huge fan of online drill programs but this one is pretty nice. The included incentive of earning coins for extra games is a nice addition. My only issue with the program is that navigating from one program to another can be confusing – you need to log in again for each part of the program – which can be a hassle. I do like the fact that you can modify the lessons to meet your child's needs (reducing the number of problems, etc.) – TJ does much better with shorter lessons.  TJ's favorite part of the program is the geography section. She thought the little movies were cute and liked practicing her geography skills.

Big IQ Kids offers some content free of charge and they also offer premium access for a fee (you can see the pricing at their website). If you're interested in reading more reviews, head to the Crew blog to see what my mates thought!

Now for the fine print… I received a 1-year subscription to Big IQ Kids free of charge in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was provided.

Weekly Review: Week 1!

Our first week of school is complete! The week went very well – we focused on the basics and sprinkled in a bit of other stuff.

The Basics: It was basically a review week – the first few lessons in RightStart C review things from level B. For writing, I'm picking sentences for copywork and selections for narration from Little House in the Big Woods. We'll start Writing with Ease 2 in a few weeks. I wanted to spend a little more time on copywork and narration skills before moving on. We're finishing up the last two lessons in All About Spelling 2 this week and will start book 3 next week. TJ is struggling a bit with the au/aw and ou/ow words. We did two lessons in First Language Lessons and TJ started working through a cursive handwriting book (her favorite thing to do at the moment!).

Languages: My grand plans for completing The Greek Alphabet Code Cracker over the summer didn't happen so TJ is doing a page or two twice a week before we start Song School Greek. She reviewed some French grammar and vocabulary with Nick this week too. We haven't been practicing our French much this summer so we've forgotten a lot.

History: Our weekly History/Science co-op didn't happen this week since our friends are on vacation so TJ and I are catching up on a few extras we didn't get to during our summer history lessons – some mapping and extra reading. Right now we are reading Marguerite makes a Book.

Science: Science co-op didn't happen this week either (see above!) so TJ and I worked on a few small things that we didn't get to this summer. We're doing an Earth science study this year and she's doing some notebooking with mini-books and such, so she worked on some of that this week.

Reading: TJ is reading some of the fairy books in the Rainbow Magic series. I'm reading aloud from Mr. Popper's Penguins and Marguerite makes a Book (history reading). 

That's our week!

Crew Review: Griddly Games

We love playing board games and are always happy to discover one we've never played before, so when I had the opportunity to review a new game, I jumped at the chance!

Griddly Games offers a variety of games like Wise Alec, Oversight, and Chronicles of the Mind. We received Nature Nuts, an expansion pack to the Wise Alec board game. The great things about these expansion packs? You don't need the board game to play – there are instructions on the box for a very fun version of the game.

What's included: When you open the box you'll find instructions for the game printed right on the attached cover along with four decks of cards and a colorful die.  Set up is very simple – you just need a piece of paper, a pen, and the box! Depending on the color you roll, you could answer questions about plants, animals, or the earth. There's also a Wise Alec category that could have you reciting tongue twisters, doing push-ups, or making silly animal sounds!

Our thoughts: We've really enjoyed playing this game! Some of the questions are easy and some are quite difficult, making it a great game for any age. I've also been using it as a learning opportunity. When we have a question that we can't answer we go online or look in a science book to try and discover the answer. It's a very fun way to learn interesting science facts.

There are a variety of expansion packs available – Nature Nuts, Civilize This!, and Sports Buffs. Each one is geared for ages 8+. Griddly Games can be found at a variety of online and brick & mortar stores. You can check the list here to find a location near you. Many of my Crew mates had a great time with these games. Be sure to check out the crew blog to read their reviews!

Now for the fine print… I received this product free of charge in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was provided.