Our Homeschool Happenings (May 2014)

Well, May has certainly been an exciting and busy month in our home. No field trips to a strawberry farm or the wildlife reserve as I hoped. However, we officially welcomed Baby K into the world. She was born almost 2 weeks ago and we are SO glad that she's here!!

Photo
Baby K just before we left the hospital
Portfolio Review and Umbrella Group
Earlier in the month, I had my homeschool portfolio review, which went great. Next year, we will do our reviews under a local church's umbrella group, instead of with our county's reviewer. We are prayerful that this will be a good fit for our family. Any other homeschoolers have experience with an umbrella group? If so, what has it been like.


Summer Schedule
We finished out all of our subjects, except for English, Math, History, and P.E.. These we continue over the summer because: 1) I don't want them "rusty" in their reading/writing/spelling; 2) Math, well I don't want them rusty in that either; 3) we like history, so we keep reading about it, and 4) Husband and I want fitness to be a way of life. During the summer months, our school schedule is heavily adjusted: school for 2-3 days per week and only1/2 days (with the exception of Math, which is each day for 30 min.); free reading everyday; little to no history writing, just reading, lots of swimming and some sports drills. Right now we are only doing Math for 30 min. each day due to the new baby adjustments going on around here. We hope to phase in the rest bit by bit over the coming weeks.


I also do the bulk of my planning for the upcoming school year in the summer. I've tried to do it in the spring like other homeschooling mama's, trying to take advantage of the "early bird" specials and all. But, I've realized, it just doesn't work for me, so it's out for now.


Tiny Tots
My 1 and 2 year olds are busy little bees. They are fun to watch, but oh, must they be watched!! My 2 yr. old is learning numbers 11-20, and I am reinforcing letter sounds. The1 year old is trying his best to sing the alphabet song. A, B, and C are pretty clear, so are E, G, and I. Any other letters are left up to one's own interpretation. :) Building blocks and running into the couches (yeah, I know. . .) are what keeps them happy these days.



Photo
The little boys, a couple of months ago
The Outdoors
Our tomatoes, green peppers, and lettuce are growing beautifully. The peppers and tomatoes are flowering and we have a few of each beginning to grow. The lettuce is in abundance and I've been enjoying fresh salads every day (thanks, Husband!) The kids are enjoying checking on our tiny garden and reporting to me what's happening. Sorry, no pics! I haven't felt like venturing into the yard just yet.

This morning, my husband spotted a pileated woodpecker on our Science Tree (dubbed so because we find all sorts of insects in and on this tree). He was a pretty big bird; as Wikipedia puts it, this woodpecker is crow-sized! He made a small hole in our tree much larger and he hung out there enjoying his findings while we ate breakfast. Our patio door leading to the back yard is located in our dinning area, so you can imagine the conversation this bird sparked. For fear that I'd scare him away, I could not take a good picture. But here are some I found so you can see what one looks like.


photo credit

Well, that does it for homeschooling in May. I hope your homeschooling is going great, as you wind down and/or gear up for the summer. Even if your children are in a traditional school setting, remember: All learning begins in the home; you're teaching them something.  Let's make it count, Ladies!!!

Comments

  1. A beautiful new baby. Busy little boys. A busy homeschool and spring. A garden growing. Wow! So busy Stacie. God is good and He is blessing you so. Enjoy.

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  2. Beautiful update! Congrats again :)

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