Weekly Wrap up

Two weeks to catch up on in one post.  Hope you haven't missed me, although at times I do wonder if anyone reads this apart from two friends, *waves* Hi Lisa and Tania, if there is anyone else please say hi. 

The last week of November started off with a phone call from Grandma to let Hubby know his Aunt had decided to end her own life that morning, this was very upsetting news for Hubby and took him a couple of hours to process before deciding he wanted to drop everything and head for Auckland (about a 2 hour drive away) to be with his family.  After a few phone calls, we were packing the car and on our way.

We stay with friends who have many kids so our 3 fit right in.  While the reason for the trip was unwanted, it was great to spend the time with Hubby's family, and our Auckland friends. 

We ended up staying in Auckland from Monday until Friday, and in our rush to leave I didn't pack any of Rocket Boys work books, or Ladybugs packs.  So while no formal work was completed there was still plenty of life learning.

Playing with the Dads old Lego at Grandmas

On Sunday Ladybug came down with a fever and took several days to recover, She just wanted to cuddle with Mummy for most of the week and was to unwell to attend Kindy during the week. This made getting back into any routine was difficult and although I did manage to complete some book work with Rocket Boy.

Reading Eggs - Rocket Boy completed Map 10 and the test, while he got 2 answer incorrect he did unlock Map 11, which he'll start on next week

Handwriting without Tears - Rocket Boy completed a Poem, Letters X and Z, then without me even asking Rocket Boy started on an animal story.  Rocket Boy has almost finished his current work book and I have yet to purchase his next book.  I plan to wait until the new year before buying the book, so will find other ways for Rocket Boy to practice his handwriting, such as Christmas cards, and post cards, maybe even a penpal. 

Math U See - Rocket Boy learnt to skip count in 5's, and about tally marks, both of these concepts were completely new to Rocket Boy and while he's grasped skip counting, I don't think he completely understands tally marks, I have plans to go over this again with a packet of lollies which I'm sure will help him learn. 

Next week is Swim Safe, the last session for the year, while I do want to push to cover the work we've missed these last few weeks there is really no pressure to.  As we don't have anyone we have to answer to and no deadlines we have to meet, as long as Rocket Boy is progressing it doesn't matter how fast or slow we go. (I just have to keep reminding myself of this)

Weekly Wrap up

It's good to look back at the end of the week to see what you've managed to accomplished, especially if you feel like you haven't really managed to do anything.

Ladybug as been unwell all week, turned out she had picked up a parasite, so while she wasn't grumpy or feeling bad she was still stuck at home all week.  Usually having Ladybug around all the time means little to no book work is completed, this may have been true in the first couple of days, he ended up surprising me and completed days of work in just two days. 

Monday we still attended Rocket Boys swimming lessons, I didn't know what was wrong with Ladybug at this point, while I kept her out of Montessori, as she only had one symptom I thought she would be ok as the private pool where there are only 2 other children who will be swimming with Rocket Boy.

Rocket Boys swimming is improving so much this summer, after months and months of lessons and no improvement showing it seems to have finally kicked in.

Ladybug helped me make buttery flaky delicious scones, which were served up with homemade strawberry jam and freshly whipped cream.

Tuesday was a mix, as we had managed a trip to the doctors I knew we were stuck at home until Ladybugs stomach had settled.  Rocket Boy completed his book work in the morning, we coloured in a pirate, melted white chocolate and made strawberry and marshmallow Santa.  I also introduced Rocket Boy and Ladybug to some movement videos on youtube, Rocket Boy and Ladybug were so into them we ended up doing them every day. 

   

Wednesday is a blur, I know that Rocket Boy completed his book work but that's about it.  It must have been one of those days where you just get what needs to be done and move onto the next thing.

Thursday was fun, Rocket Boy really wanted time on video games so I gave him half an hour after completing all his book work, once that was up he wanted more time so I gave him the option of completing more book work in exchange for more time on his game. He learning another 2 hours all up.

After a quick trip to the supermarket for some missing ingredients Ladybug helped me pull together a meal of chicken and vegetable tortellini and a dessert of chocolate fondue.

 

Friday was a repeat of Thursday, Rocket Boy completing more and more book work to earn more video game time, although I made it clear that this was only for today and he can't expect extra video game time next week.  Ladybug, Jellybean and I hung out in the backyard with the bunnies while hiding from the sun.

Reading Eggs - I got tired of Rocket Boy not fully understanding what he was doing, most of the games within the lessons are multi choice so he ban just keep clicking answers until he gets it right without even knowing what he's doing.  As our subscription is managed through the a National homeschooling group I emailed the coordinator to reset his account back to the placement test.

The placement test is 60 questions long, a child can get 3 answers wrong before the test ends.  Rocket Boy surprised me and got up to question 50 before the test ended, and was placed at the beginning of map 10, only 2 maps behind were he was.  Rocket Boy has completed 5 of the lessons of Map 10.

Handwriting without Tears - Rocket Boy was very busy with his handwriting this week, and completed letter p, r, n, m, h, a poem, and paragraph, b, f and q, that's the amount of work I would expect over 9 days.

Math U See - This week Rocket Boy covered skip counting by 10, Additions of Hundreds, and solving for an unknown. 

Next week is swim safe, so I'm unsure of how much I can push Rocket Boy to complete any book work during the week, I will let Rocket Boy lead the way, maybe if i dangle video game time in front of him to see what he chooses to do. 

Weekly Wrap Up

Not every week goes to plan, and this week was one of them.  It started off well, Monday Ladybug spent the morning at Montessori, Rocket Boy completed all his book work at home, then off to swimming and the afternoon of playing with Lego. 

Tuesday was busy, with Montessori, appointments in town, a home school social group meet up at a park, and then Legofest in the afternoon.  This is pretty much were things went off the rails,

Wednesday was a slow day, with some pushing Rocket Boy completed some book work but not everything that I would normally expect of him, typically distracted by Lego.  Ladybug also had a friend visit in the afternoon, I made some shaving foam paint - shaving foam and food colouring, and Ladybug and her friend painted the fence.  When visiting the bathroom later I found petals which Ladybug had been pulling off a rose floating in the sink.  Jellybean also had some tummy time outside while I made the most of the sunny weather, hanging out ashing. 

On Thursday it didn't matter how much I pushed, Rocket Boy just wasn't interested in following any instructions and if he's not in the mood then there is no learning happening, even if we did complete any book work it wouldn't be retained and we would just have to recover it again later. 

The afternoon was spent at sports group, we arrived half an hour early as we came straight from Montessori so had a picnic beside the courts. Ladybug made a scone at Montessori and wasn't interested in eating it so I was lucky enough to have it, and it was delicious.
Last time Rocket Boy was attending sports group he didn't want to be there and I was having to bribe him every week just to get him to stay on the courts.  This term he's in there and playing with the rest of the group, sometimes he's mucking around but he's no longer trying to get me to leave, or even not go each week.

Friday there was no books to be seen, Ladybug had the day off from Montessori as our car was at the garage and the center is in the country so there was no walking there.  While it's only spring here in New Zealand, the summer weather has appeared this week, every day has been beautiful and sunny.  We've had meals outside in the evenings and played outside as a family each night before bed.  Even Jellybean joined in with the fun and bounced on the trampoline with Daddy and Ladybug.

Reading Eggs - Rocket Boy is slowly working away on the final map.  He has rushed through many of the previous lessons so there are some parts he doesn't fully comprehend and tries to hide from me by turning the sound off on the computer so I don't hear the sounds it makes when he clicks on a wrong answer.  I'm trying to make time to sit with him when he completes these lessons, but it's difficult balancing time with Rocket Boy and still meeting Jellybeans needs.

Handwriting without Tears - This week Rocket Boy completed letter y, j and some copy work with double lines triple lines and single lines. Rocket Boy is now officially halfway through the book.

Math U See - Only completed one lesson this week, additions of 10's 

Next week hopefully we'll be more onto it, but with this beautiful sunny weather we might be out and about taking advantage of the sun before it gets far too hot!

Weekly Wrap up

Last week Ladybug started at a new kindy, this one is closer, and offers morning sessions, instead of her previous kindy which only allowed a minimum of 6 hours a day. Ladybug is booked in 5 mornings a week for 3 1/2 hours each day.  This fits in well with Jellybeans naps as well as allowing me the mornings to work with Rocket Boy who is easily distracted when Ladybug is working at the table when he's working, as well as the afternoons for Ladybug to have time with me and not feel left out. 

I didn't take many photos during the week, as I find that it's just the same photos of Rocket Boy working on his book work, or i just forget to get the camera out (or phone)  

Rocket Boy completed rhyming words, punctuation, l and k in Handwriting without Tears.  He's getting rather fast with his handwriting, I feel like I just pop off to do something quick, like change a nappy and he's finished before I even get back to the table. 

Math U See is back to being a favourite, this week we covered counting to 20, adding 2+2, 3+3, 4+4 and 5+5 as well as skip counting by 2's.  

Rocket Boy is now on the final map of Reading Eggs, but has also started exploring the Reading Eggs world and there will be plenty to keep him going before I can afford to purchase the reading program I hope to continue him with next year. 

On Thursday afternoons Rocket Boy has sports group run through the local homeschooling network, this lasts an hour where he learns about ball skills, playing together as a team and gets exercise.  I also have to keep Ladybug occupied as younger siblings can not join in, so she is hanging out until she's 5 and I can enroll her.  This week I was organised and had a Tinkerbell Preschool Pack ready and set up for her.

We also spend the afternoon on Friday working on our human sized anatomy activity, the free printable were created by Confessions of Homeschooler which is another one of my favorite blogs. I have to admit to rushing thru this and not being in the best mood with the kids and their mucking around.  I had Jellybean in the sling, she was very unsettled, crying, and not sleeping so we did not spend the amount of time on this we should have, I hope to revisit this when I can next week.

Weekly Wrap up

This week started off slow, after a week off from any book work Rocket Boy wasn't keen to start again now that swim safe was over. 

Rocket Boy is now working on map 11 in Reading Eggs, this is the 2nd to last map, while this is something he can work on himself, allowing me to use this time to feed and settle Jellybean, I try to sit with him so I can see if he's actually retaining what is covered.  While he does fake his way thru some activities, if I push him he will prove to me that he actually knows what's required of him.

Rocket Boy worked on letter size and placement, as well as letter u, i and e this week.  Rocket Boy gets easily distracted during any kind work book work but with the hand gestures used for the different size and placements - Capitals, lowercase, tall and descending letters, Rocket Boy stayed on track and didn't keep playing up.

Maths was a little too simple this week, with addition and adding 1.  This made it hard to keep Rocket Boy interested, we quickly covered the lesson subject then went straight to the review pages. 

At Ladybugs new kindy they have a stump and hammer for the kids to hammer nails into.  I loved this idea and Rocket Boy couldn't tear himself away from it, so I found a way to do this at home,  I got the wood piece from a friend, the safely goggles, hammer, nails and bottle tops we already had.  I do keep the hammer and nails out of reach and get them out when I know I'll be able to watch the kids, while not directly supervising them, still keeping an eye out to ensure they follow safe practices. 

 

One Tuesday we joined a local homeschool group at Taitua Arboretum.  While the walk was a little long but manageable for Ladybug - she kept stopping and had to be encouraged to keep going.  Jelly bean also had a couple of meltdowns. It was a great day out and the kids both enjoyed playing with other kids.  When homeschooling it can seem like it's just mum and the kids day in and day out, so it's nice to mix it up with other families when you can. 

We do not celebrate Halloween, while it's starting to get popular in New Zealand and you may get one or two groups of trick or treaters knocking on your door on the night, I personally only see it as a commercial holiday used by retailers to sell candy and costumes.  

Due to a lot of the tv shows being american made both Rocket Boy and Ladybug know about Halloween so I allowed them to dress up with costumes they already had.  I bought them a pack of mini m&ms each and got them to complete an activity before they were allowed to eat them.  

Ladybug had to sort hers by colour.  Rocket Boy also had to sort his by colour but then he had to count each colour and write the total.  As I had to go settle Jellybean at one point I did come back to find Rocket Boy had started eating his without counting them so a lot of his numbers were made up.

 

Weekly Wrap up

Lots of photos this week as we had a very busy weekend.  With hubby home from work I find I can have more time with both Rocket Boy and Ladybug while he gets time with Jellybean.  

I found a great free curriculum online and had great plans on following this with the kids, I only ended up spending one day on this, but I will go back to this when I can, most likely over the summer when Ladybug is home from Kindy. 

We made rain inside a jar

 

Ladybug started swimming lessons, and even though it's not required she had to have a swim hat and goggles just like her big brother. 

 

We made mail boxes and post cards to post into the mail boxes. 

Painted glass doors with shaving foam paint. 

Had fun with some science experiments.

 

Washed cars for some pocket money.

And of course Ladybug had to help with some baking.

And that was just our weekend.  This week was Rocket Boys first swim safe session.  Swim safe is swimming lessons every day for the 5 day week, as this would most likely wear out Rocket Boy I decided to keep this week light, I had lots planned but after the first day I decided to ignore those plans and just let Rocket Boy lead the way.  He did complete some 'book work' but only when he decided to.

Rocket Boy did really well with his swimming, while he's been attending swim lessons for a couple of years how, he has only been improving at a snails pace with weekly lessons.  This week with swimming every day he finally mastered his 'rainbow arms' and is moving from level 1, up to level 2 for next session. 

The hardest part of swim safe was keeping Ladybug and Jellybean happy.  After meeting another homeschooling family with a child the same age as Ladybug and seeing her wonderful bag of tricks she had to keep her boy occupied, I went home and copied some for the next day.  We had play dough and some toys, books, straws and shapes for sorting, a colouring book and crayons and then we even risked bringing the iPad one day as well.  There was a playground at the swimming pools as well which Ladybug LOVED but as it rained several days during the week we weren't able to use it every day. 

    

I started an alphabet box, more on this to come. 

Made some cloud dough with flour and baby oil which Ladybug enjoyed playing with and did really well at keeping it in the tray and off the floor. 

 

Rocket Boy only did some work on his Math U See curriculum on Monday before swimming, completing lesson 11 - Unit Bars.  He has been waiting to be able to use all the different unit bars since we first started this program. 

Ladybug started letter F from the Letter of the Week program.