Night Sky: Full Moon

The boys and I headed outside Tuesday night around 8:45p to view the full moon. It was so big, bright, and high in the sky! The boys marveled at its size calling out, “it’s huge, mama!” We stared in amazement for about 10 minutes noting all we could. It was so close to bedtime that I choose for us to sketch in the morning. My sons and I sat at the kitchen table to discuss and sketch our sights and thoughts of the full moon. 

We chose the famous scripture from David is Psalm 8; 3—“When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—the moon and the stars you set in place” for our copywork and completed our first night sky observation.

I was so blessed by this experience! It served as time spent with my sons, all three of us becoming exposed to new learning, and catching a glimpse of the creativity of God and confirming it in His Word.

Our Observations

Chipmunk: (4) “I looked at the moon. Mom, thank you!”

Peanut’: (7) “The moon looked like a white sun. God’s creation is good.”

Me: (?)    “I observed the night sky to view the full moon. It was the

brightest I have ever seen and it was set to perfect and high in the sky. God’s work is truly amazing. As David said, we have seen the fingers of His work!”

Blessings,
Joyice, The Writing Enhancer

Artist Appreciation

For artist appreciation month, I hopped on over to Homeschool Share and studied the five artists featured:

•          Andy Warhol (pop art)
•          Jackson Pollock (drip paintings)
•          Norman Rockwell (paintings)
•          Grandma Moses (folk art)
•          Georgia O’Keefe (nature paintings)

I was sad to see there weren’t any African American artist on the list, but hey, that gives me something to put together for later in the year. Since I am late in tackling this and I want to complete it before August is over, my sons and I are going to cover 1 artist each day. My only goal here is exposure and artist-inspired pieces we to create.

Here’s our format for each artist:

Learn: I will read a paragraph of information of each artist introducing them to my sons.

Read: We have checked out a few books that discuss each artist that they can explore through reading.

Examine: I looked up each artist’s work on the net that we will go through some famous pieces.

Inspire: We will become inspired by the artists’ pieces and re-create our own.

Notebook: Homeschool Share provided some notebooking pages that we downloaded to wrap up our studies of each artist.

You can find artist intros, book selections, inspiration pieces, and notebooking pages all on Homeschool Share’s blog.

I will post some pictures of our creations once we are all done.

Happy Artist Appreciation Month!

Blessings,
Joyice, The Writing Enhancer

Nature Studies

The final component (I think) I am adding to our homeschool are nature studies! There are a few reasons as to why I decided to include this and let me tell you, it was NOT because I enjoy being outside! In fact, quite the opposite is true. We are studying nature because my boys like to be outside, it is a wonderful way to study and witness science, we are modeling a more Charlotte Mason-esque homeschool this year, and finally (but certainly not least) I want my sons to see the creativity and likeness of God through nature.

I gathered many of my ideas from these two sites:

·       Handbook of Nature Study

·       Life on a Canadian Island

Without further ado, here are our goals for year concerning this area (and we already have one crossed off!)

Goals:

•        Introduce my sons to live nature
•         Expose my sons to nature to view the creativity/likeness of God
•        Start my own nature journal (modeling by example)
•          Make an on-the-go nature kit (sketchbook, pencils, watercolors and binoculars)
•      Observe birds, shrubs, and trees (@ least 5 each)
•       Observe the night sky and moon phases (8/21 is the next full moon)
•         Observe seasonal insects
•        Observe nature in bodies of water (ponds, lakes, rivers, waterfalls)
•        Follow nature trails/take nature walks
•       Take nature scavenger hunts
•         Visit nature reserves
•         Read The Study of Nature Handbook
•         Make caterpillar habitat (harvesting butterflies)
•       Make tadpole habitat (harvesting frogs/toads)

See the chart below to follow our plan for the year. Please feel free to grab it! I am always on the hunt for plans/charts where the organization and fluidity is already done for me! (Enjoy!)

2013-2014 Nature Study Plan

Month	Aspect of Nature	Note/Sites/Ideas
August	Summer Scavenger Hunt	Painted Egg Carton Butterfly Habitat
“	Night Sky	Moon Phases Full Moon, 8/21
September	Pond Study	Outdoor Hour Tadpole Habitat
October	Signs of Autumn/Scavenger Hunt	Nature trail (notebook page) First two weeks Press leaves/tile
“	Backyard	Notebook pages Acorn Collection
November	Rocks: Granite	1st two weeks
	Rocks: Quarts	Last two weeks
December	Trees	(different 1 each week) Tree Collection, Living World
“	December World	(last week of December/notebook page)
January	Birds/Owls	Notebook page Visit reserves with owls Birds Running List
“	Winter Scavenger Hunt	Pinecone collection Notebook Page
February	Rodents	(squirrels, chipmunks,
March	First Day of Spring	Nature Trail (notebook page)
	Signs of Spring	Nature Trail (notebook page) Spring Maple Tree
April	Living Things	Explore nature as living or non-living Living World
“	Spring Scavenger Hunt	Notebook Page
May	Amphibians & Reptiles	Canadian Island Outdoor Hour
June	Fish	Choose two native fish to our state/area
July	Insects	(different 1 each week)

Pictures coming soon!

Blessings,
Joyice, The Writing Enhancer

Writing Book Reports

Third grade is typically the time when children are asked to pair their reading and writing together.  Though many types of writing takes place this year; book reports are often first. Advancing past copywork, narration, and basic Q & A-type questions, third graders must apply thought and some level of summation or analysis to their writing. (Some second graders are taught this later in the year.)

In order to teach him how to write book reports effectively, I needed to first strengthen his summarizing skills. Because he is a new third grader I am starting only with the basics. As the year progresses, I will add more “meat” (theme, point of view, plot, etc) as he is ready.

This week, we began by using some of his favorite picture books to summarize using a graphic organizer that I downloaded from Homeschool Classroom. 

The organizer has 5 parts:

1.      Title

2.      Characters (Who?)

3.      Setting (When & Where)

4.      Problem (What’s Wrong?)

5.      Solution

We read the book together and we stopped to add these parts in as we discovered them in our reading. I like to stop so he can see the order of the story unfolding.

Once the graphic organizer is finished we move on to write our book report by transferring the information into sentences.

 Just like the organizer, I tell him the report has 5 parts:

1.      Title

2.      Author

3.      Summary (The five parts of the organizer written in “paragraph” form.)

4.      Opinion (I like this book because…)

5.      Credit (By: _______________(insert child’s name)

I created a book report template for him that includes all of these items. We will work through the process together until I feel he is able to write book reports on his own using this method. Halfway through the year (I hope) I will begin adding chapter books for him to summarize and report on—which will increase the content and depth of his reports, adding some of the “meat” discussed earlier. For now, I am giving books that he is interested in so he can appreciate what he is reading, summarizing, and reporting. However, the opinion portion will be replaced with a critique portion in upper elementary. Realistically, every book he reads he will not like.

I like to begin teaching this process with the book A Tree Named Steve. (The link above has some good ones too!)

You want to make sure you pre-read your books so that the characters, setting, problem, and solution can be easily identified by your reader.

EXAMPLE: Graphic Organizer

1.      Title                 A Tree Named Steve                          

2.      Characters      Adam, Sari, Lindsay, Kirby, Mom & Dad

3.      Setting             In the yard…

4.      Problem           Steve died in a storm.

5.      Solution           Dad wrote the kids a letter to help them feel better.

After we read this book, my son filled in his organizer with the above information. I did my best not to interfere unless he was totally off. I still have a small issue with his solution but it isn’t wrong, so I just let him be a creative thinker without me ranting. (Dad did not write the letter to make the kids better. He wrote it to inform the kids of Steve’s death. But, hey! It was close enough for a 7 year old.)

EXAMPLE: Book Report

Our Tree Named Steve

Alan Zwiebel

This book is about a tree who was a friend to Adam, Lindsay, and Sari. The tree died from a storm in front of their yard while they were visiting grandma’s house. Dad wrote his kids a letter to help them feel better. I like this book because the tree helped the kids and I would want it to help me too.

By: Peanut

(He wrote his actual first and last name on his report)

As you can see, it is very basic. However, he understands what key elements he needs to summarize and how to offer his opinion. Also, it is very important for him to see that not all the characters he listed were a part of the summary. (This is prepping him for main character versus supporting character later on in the year when we arrive at summarizing chapters books.)

Blessings,
Joyice, The Writing Enhancer

Goals

Day 5: Setting Goals

Here is my view of goals. If I do not set them, how will I know I have accomplished them? How will I know what I am striving for? I cannot properly assess if my boys know what I want them to know if I do not first determine what I want them to know. :-)

I usually write them in the form of a letter so once it's all said it done, they will have 13 letters from me to track their progress as children. (I always try to make thing personal when I can.)

How do I determine goals? 

I normally pull from 7 different areas (that I have formed into questions):

1. What is God telling me they need to know, learn, be exposed to, or mature in?

When I pray over my sons, I walk away with a “knowing” of some things that I know I need to give them.

For example, my oldest son needs to practice becoming a better leader. My youngest son copies everything he does. If I want to make sure they both grow up with certain qualities, I better instill it in my oldest pretty well.

2. What do I and/or their father want them to know, learn, be exposed to, or mature in?

As parents, we just have desires for them and because of that; I make sure I include them in our yearly goals.

For example, I really want my sons to learn their Books of Bible. God is not telling me to do that (though I am sure He is not against it) and their curriculum doesn’t suggest it either. It is purely something that I want them to learn; so they will learn it.

3.What did they struggle in last year, or currently?

For whatever reason, my son has issues with clock terminology. He can tell time but he doesn’t have a full understanding of “quarter to” and “half past.” We will review it again this year, because I believe it’s a skill he should have; therefore it is goal…again…this year.

4. What are they interested in? Gifts/talents?

I have one son strongly gifted in art and the other in music. I want to make sure that I set goals for them in these areas so I do not forget and so I can expose them to the culture of their talents in different ways. If I do not write it down I will not research it. If I do not research, it will never happen. Sure, I may stumble over something throughout the years. But I desire for my parenting to be on purpose and not something that falls into my lap.

5. What do they need to have in order to do something they want to do (or I want them to do?)

Thankfully, all four of us want the boys in sports! My husband and I agree on which sports they are allowed to play at certain ages. At their current ages, basketball wins; and no one objects! (Yay!) However, in order to play basketball well (or any team-based sport, for that matter) the boys must learn teamwork.  Because we want them to play, we need to teach them teamwork and I need to set it as a goal.

6. What should “typical” kids their age/grades know about or be able to do?

Do not go crazy here. Every child is different, yet every child is the same. I know it sounds like an oxymoron, but truthfully no one child is alike and we also know that most children develop and are ready to handle certain tasks/responsibilities in like ages/stages. That begs the question, “what can most seven year olds do, then?”  (or however old the child in question is...) After I pray, connect with other moms, and complete some mild research I make a list of things I’d like to work on for the year.

I know that many 7 years old are ready to transition to some type of silent reading (among others things). I set this as a goal so he strives well amongst his peers.

7.What does their curriculum suggest they will learn by the end of the year? (If your kids are in public school, you may ask: What does their standards suggest they will learn?

I take a quick peek at the table of contents, scope and sequence, and some sample lessons to see what the curriculum will offer. If it says, “learns division facts to 5” I want to make sure we practice these facts so he knows this prior to completing that grade. I set it as a goal as well.

Afterward, I group the goals together and type up a master list of the year

You can click below to view our goals lists for Kinder and 3rd grades:

Kinder Goals List

3rd Grade Goals List 

Blessings,
Joyice, The Writing Enhancer

This Year's Field Trips

In all my school planning, I made sure to include a few field trips. I am sure I would have remembered the "big ones", but it was my goal this year to purposely enrich my boys' learning with their studies. After I planned the entire year (curriculum and all) I searched for field trips that would marry well with whatever we happen to be reading, studying, or "getting our feet wet" in at the time. I am sure I will add a few others I am still on the fence about. Stay tuned for some updates!

So, without further ado, here is our field trip list for the 13-14 school year!

Nature
Chattahoochee River (for walks by the river)
GA Aquarium (we're studying sea animals, so it seems fitting)

Animals/Farms
Wild Safari (we are excited to hop on a tour bus and drive though a park of animals!)
Zoo Atlanta (maybe, Safari may be all we need)
Yellow River Game Ranch 

Science/Space
Fernbanks' Planetarium
US Space & Rocket (my oldest will go bananas...shhhh...it's a secret!)

History
Historic Westville (Homeschool Day: make 19th C crafts and learn how they lived)
Rock Ranch (Pilgrim & Pioneers)
Museum of History & Holocaust (We're visiting "Hollywood goes to War" and "Children in the Holocaust.")
MLK Jr's Home (need I say more?)
Booth Western Art Museum (seeking The West and cowboys!)
Telephone Museum 

Bible
Explorations in Antiquity (biblical archaeological dig,  baking "Old Testament" bread, and making our own butter!)

Music
Cobb Wind Symphony (attending their "Sounds of the Season" for the holidays and their "Young Persons Concert" for concert etiquette and music credit.)


Family/Life Skills
Touch-a-Truck (gov't vehicles for us to touch and get inside for picture and exploration)
Atlanta Parent's Block Party
Wren's Nest (story telling)
Strand Theater (exposing the kiddies to theater etiquette)
INK (life skills galore, and they have a flight exhibit my son would jump out his skin for)
Mayfield Ice Cream Factory (learning about factories with ice cream on top)
Six Flags Homeschool Day
Local Library

Flight
Airport Park (eat lunch and watch the planes take off!)
Delta Museum of Flight (planes up close and personal)

Blessings,
Joyice, The Writing Enhancer