Well I am timidly, but enthusiastically joining in the homeschooling community. My name is Cyn. I have been toying with the idea of homeschooling for a long time. Kindergarten was suppose to be a trial run. It was my daughter's choice to attend school. With the end of the year approaching, we are now accessing whether we should continue putting her in school or continue her education at home.
I figured that I would use summer as a trial period to see whether or not I could handle schooling her or not. I also decided that my son will be joining us as well. I have written a couple lesson plans already, changing the content to suit both kids.
I look forward to this summer. I see it as an adventure. We used to geocache when we lived in Hew Hampshire. There was so much to explore. We will intricate geocaching within our lessons. I hope to see more of Texas while educating my children.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Units in progress
These are ongoing units I'm working on.
Princess/Castles - incorporating real castles, and princesses, their history.
Space - planets, astronauts, stars, etc.
Harry Potter - my kids both love this, so we're going to use it as a base to explore England.
Presidents - our past and present. Incorporate money in here.
Food Groups - not only what they are, but nutrition, and where our food comes from.
Zoo Animals - this will likely be broken up into several units, focusing on animals by country.
Farming - farm animals and crops. Incorporating a visit to either a farm or farmers market.
Dinosaurs - roar! I'm almost done with this one, and will post soon.
Public Service - touch a bit on how government is set up, but focus on Public servants - firefighters, policemen, sanitation, construction, etc. Try to visit one of these places.
Our Earth - this will come after the space unit. Focus on what the earth is made of, how we treat our earth, different eco systems of the earth. Want to incorporate the program Life in here, at least part of it.
Seasons - I'm unsure if we'll break this up by season, or talk about all at once.
This page will change a lot - I'll add as I come up with new ideas, and delete as I post lesson plans.
Princess/Castles - incorporating real castles, and princesses, their history.
Space - planets, astronauts, stars, etc.
Harry Potter - my kids both love this, so we're going to use it as a base to explore England.
Presidents - our past and present. Incorporate money in here.
Food Groups - not only what they are, but nutrition, and where our food comes from.
Zoo Animals - this will likely be broken up into several units, focusing on animals by country.
Farming - farm animals and crops. Incorporating a visit to either a farm or farmers market.
Dinosaurs - roar! I'm almost done with this one, and will post soon.
Public Service - touch a bit on how government is set up, but focus on Public servants - firefighters, policemen, sanitation, construction, etc. Try to visit one of these places.
Our Earth - this will come after the space unit. Focus on what the earth is made of, how we treat our earth, different eco systems of the earth. Want to incorporate the program Life in here, at least part of it.
Seasons - I'm unsure if we'll break this up by season, or talk about all at once.
This page will change a lot - I'll add as I come up with new ideas, and delete as I post lesson plans.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Apple Unit (Updated)
This is the first one I've put together, and it's still very much a work in progress.
First, we're going to head to the library and pick out a book about apples (maybe focus on Johnny Appleseed). After we've read the book together, we'll talk about our unit words, and what the book means, find the author and illustrator.
Apple unit words: Apple, Red, Stem, Seed, Sour, Fruit, Tree, Yellow, Green
Before heading out, we're going to create a budget for our apple purchases. Then we'll head to the store and look at all the different kinds of apples, and choose several different kinds within our budget. We'll weigh them together, and write the names down together. Nana will pay for them, staying in budget. (Lesson: Life Skills)
Alternatively, depending on the time of year, we'll find an apple picking farm. We'll visit, and pick our own apples. Talk to the proprietor about planting apple trees, what sort of climate apples like, what sort of bugs/animals like apples, and the different stages of an apples life. Also planning and remaining in the budget. (Lessons: Science, Life Skills)
Once we get home, we're going to practice writing the names of the apples, and finding our unit words in a word search (I have this file, if anyone wants it). For Pia, I have Aa writing sheets and a letter book. We'll also do a craft with apples, cutting out the stem, leaves and apple, and gluing them together. (Lesson: Writing, Spelling)
Then we're going to list the apples, and hop on the computer, to find out where they originally came from. We'll find those places on a map, and talk about what those places are like. (Lesson: Geography)
We'll pick our favorite place of those locations, and research how the apple seed got there, and the history of the area. (Lesson: History)
Next, we'll sort the apples by color, or stem length. We'll count, sort and categorize them. We'll create different patterns and write about our favorite attributes of an apple. (Lesson: Writing, Sorting, Counting, Patterns)
Next, we'll print out charts for the life of an apple seed, and review it (I still can't find what I need - maybe a book). Along with this will be coloring pages and an alphabet connect the dots for apples. Once we've completed learning about the life stages of an apple seed, we'll cut open our first apple and (attempt to) dissect a seed. (Lesson: Science)
Then, we'll take the cut apple, and work on fractions. We'll cut an apple in half, then in quarters, discussing different fractions and combinations. (Lesson: Math)
We'll leave one apple out, and check on it every hour to see what happens when an apple is left out. We'll write about what we see, using descriptive language. We'll record what we think will happen, and later review to see if it's correct. We'll hop back on the internet, to figure out why apples turn brown. (Lesson: Science, Writing, Critical Thinking)
With the remaining apples, we'll get into the kitchen, and create apple sauce. We'll work on measuring, reading a recipe and kitchen safety. We'll also wash all our dirty dishes and enjoy our product! While our sauce is cooking, we'll work on some Apple Math sheets I've created (if you want a copy, let me know!). (Lessons: Math, Life Skills, Reading)
First, we're going to head to the library and pick out a book about apples (maybe focus on Johnny Appleseed). After we've read the book together, we'll talk about our unit words, and what the book means, find the author and illustrator.
Apple unit words: Apple, Red, Stem, Seed, Sour, Fruit, Tree, Yellow, Green
Before heading out, we're going to create a budget for our apple purchases. Then we'll head to the store and look at all the different kinds of apples, and choose several different kinds within our budget. We'll weigh them together, and write the names down together. Nana will pay for them, staying in budget. (Lesson: Life Skills)
Alternatively, depending on the time of year, we'll find an apple picking farm. We'll visit, and pick our own apples. Talk to the proprietor about planting apple trees, what sort of climate apples like, what sort of bugs/animals like apples, and the different stages of an apples life. Also planning and remaining in the budget. (Lessons: Science, Life Skills)
Once we get home, we're going to practice writing the names of the apples, and finding our unit words in a word search (I have this file, if anyone wants it). For Pia, I have Aa writing sheets and a letter book. We'll also do a craft with apples, cutting out the stem, leaves and apple, and gluing them together. (Lesson: Writing, Spelling)
Then we're going to list the apples, and hop on the computer, to find out where they originally came from. We'll find those places on a map, and talk about what those places are like. (Lesson: Geography)
We'll pick our favorite place of those locations, and research how the apple seed got there, and the history of the area. (Lesson: History)
Next, we'll sort the apples by color, or stem length. We'll count, sort and categorize them. We'll create different patterns and write about our favorite attributes of an apple. (Lesson: Writing, Sorting, Counting, Patterns)
Next, we'll print out charts for the life of an apple seed, and review it (I still can't find what I need - maybe a book). Along with this will be coloring pages and an alphabet connect the dots for apples. Once we've completed learning about the life stages of an apple seed, we'll cut open our first apple and (attempt to) dissect a seed. (Lesson: Science)
Then, we'll take the cut apple, and work on fractions. We'll cut an apple in half, then in quarters, discussing different fractions and combinations. (Lesson: Math)
We'll leave one apple out, and check on it every hour to see what happens when an apple is left out. We'll write about what we see, using descriptive language. We'll record what we think will happen, and later review to see if it's correct. We'll hop back on the internet, to figure out why apples turn brown. (Lesson: Science, Writing, Critical Thinking)
With the remaining apples, we'll get into the kitchen, and create apple sauce. We'll work on measuring, reading a recipe and kitchen safety. We'll also wash all our dirty dishes and enjoy our product! While our sauce is cooking, we'll work on some Apple Math sheets I've created (if you want a copy, let me know!). (Lessons: Math, Life Skills, Reading)
TEKS, Grade 1
I'm going to post the TEKS goals for grade 1, for my reference. These are the basic skills we need to reach by the end of our school year.
It's 33 pages long, so bear with me. I'm summarizing.
Identify upper and lowercase letters
Sequence the letters of the alphabet
Recognize sentence structure - end punctuation, capitalization,
Properly read text - left to right, top to bottom
Identify different parts of a book - title, author, illustrator, TOC
Rhyming
Long and short vowels
Recognize change in a spoken word (blow to glow)
Blend spoken phonemes to form one and two syllable words
Isolate initial, medial, and final sounds in one syllable words
Segment one syllable words of three to five phonemes into individual phonemes
Decode words that use letters that have different sounds - c/s, c/k
Short and long vowels
Consonant blends
Consonant digraphs
Vowel digraphs
Vowel diphthongs
Ok yeah, I'm already bored. I'll add more later ;)
It's 33 pages long, so bear with me. I'm summarizing.
Identify upper and lowercase letters
Sequence the letters of the alphabet
Recognize sentence structure - end punctuation, capitalization,
Properly read text - left to right, top to bottom
Identify different parts of a book - title, author, illustrator, TOC
Rhyming
Long and short vowels
Recognize change in a spoken word (blow to glow)
Blend spoken phonemes to form one and two syllable words
Isolate initial, medial, and final sounds in one syllable words
Segment one syllable words of three to five phonemes into individual phonemes
Decode words that use letters that have different sounds - c/s, c/k
Short and long vowels
Consonant blends
Consonant digraphs
Vowel digraphs
Vowel diphthongs
Ok yeah, I'm already bored. I'll add more later ;)
Unit Based Learning
There are many, many, many different ways to home school. We've decided on unit based learning and teaching. For now, I anticipate that each unit will take two weeks. I'm planning out many different units, and Nana will be choosing which unit she wants to do.
My plan is to take the basic principles from TEKS, and work them into each unit. So we'll cover writing, spelling, reading, math, science, history, geography and the like on a level she can understand in a fun way. I'll be posting each of my units here, and once we complete them, I'll post again with my comments and evaluations. You can use anything you like from the blog and adapt it to work with your family. If you have any questions, I'm happy to answer them as best as I can. I'm still very new at this.
My plan is to take the basic principles from TEKS, and work them into each unit. So we'll cover writing, spelling, reading, math, science, history, geography and the like on a level she can understand in a fun way. I'll be posting each of my units here, and once we complete them, I'll post again with my comments and evaluations. You can use anything you like from the blog and adapt it to work with your family. If you have any questions, I'm happy to answer them as best as I can. I'm still very new at this.
An Intro
This blog is pretty much for me, to keep track of what we're doing. But in case anyone wanders in, I thought I'd explain why I'm homeschooling, and the approach we're taking.
We're in the middle of our first year in Kinder. My daughter Nana (not her real name, folks) loves school. A lot. So it seems crazy and cruel I'd yank her out to home school.
Before she started Kinder, I toyed with the idea of HSing. My biggest reason for not doing so is my lack of patience. I'm not a patient mother. Nana and I are like two peas in a pod - exactly alike. That means we get on each others nerves pretty frequently. So Kinder was our "test run".
My biggest reason for home school is this: I'm not involved enough in her education. I'm on the Executive board of the PTA. I'm the room mom. I've been to all her events. But I still don't feel like it's enough. I want a hand in what she's learning. I want to be there when she reads, or learns about plants. I want to re-learn these things with her.
Nothing extraordinary happened in Kinder. She was sick - a lot. We had bully issues, and parental involvement issues. But overall it's been a decent experience. I love her teacher, and so does she.
So, why homeschool? Everyone you meet will have different motivators. Mine are pretty simple, I think. We're not religious. We don't hate Public School. We aren't doing this out of a place of frustration or anger (not that if those are your motivators, they are wrong). We're doing it out of love. I feel that I can give her a better education at home, simply because it'll be two on one instruction. I can tailor her lessons to her - learning style, interests, and dreams. I can take simple addition and make it magical, so she can really connect with it. Well, I hope I can. I am a bit disgruntled at how PC the school systems are now. No parties, no dressing up, no birthdays. Those are some of my best memories of school - and now she can't even experience them!
We're not immediately pulling her out of school. She's finishing Kinder where she's at - and we're doing a "trial" run of HSing this summer.
The way we're approaching schooling is unit based learning (will give more info and details), touching on all the TEKS for first grade. If she ever decides she wants to go back to public school (and her opinion in this does matter very much), I want to make sure she's on track.
If you're in Texas like we are, you can find the TEKS here. It's a good thing to keep in mind when you're planning your teaching/learning.
I'm both terrified and excited. I know there are many hurdles in our future, bad days and maybe some tears. But those emotions have applied for public school too.
We're in the middle of our first year in Kinder. My daughter Nana (not her real name, folks) loves school. A lot. So it seems crazy and cruel I'd yank her out to home school.
Before she started Kinder, I toyed with the idea of HSing. My biggest reason for not doing so is my lack of patience. I'm not a patient mother. Nana and I are like two peas in a pod - exactly alike. That means we get on each others nerves pretty frequently. So Kinder was our "test run".
My biggest reason for home school is this: I'm not involved enough in her education. I'm on the Executive board of the PTA. I'm the room mom. I've been to all her events. But I still don't feel like it's enough. I want a hand in what she's learning. I want to be there when she reads, or learns about plants. I want to re-learn these things with her.
Nothing extraordinary happened in Kinder. She was sick - a lot. We had bully issues, and parental involvement issues. But overall it's been a decent experience. I love her teacher, and so does she.
So, why homeschool? Everyone you meet will have different motivators. Mine are pretty simple, I think. We're not religious. We don't hate Public School. We aren't doing this out of a place of frustration or anger (not that if those are your motivators, they are wrong). We're doing it out of love. I feel that I can give her a better education at home, simply because it'll be two on one instruction. I can tailor her lessons to her - learning style, interests, and dreams. I can take simple addition and make it magical, so she can really connect with it. Well, I hope I can. I am a bit disgruntled at how PC the school systems are now. No parties, no dressing up, no birthdays. Those are some of my best memories of school - and now she can't even experience them!
We're not immediately pulling her out of school. She's finishing Kinder where she's at - and we're doing a "trial" run of HSing this summer.
The way we're approaching schooling is unit based learning (will give more info and details), touching on all the TEKS for first grade. If she ever decides she wants to go back to public school (and her opinion in this does matter very much), I want to make sure she's on track.
If you're in Texas like we are, you can find the TEKS here. It's a good thing to keep in mind when you're planning your teaching/learning.
I'm both terrified and excited. I know there are many hurdles in our future, bad days and maybe some tears. But those emotions have applied for public school too.
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