1st Grade: Week 27 Highlights

Grammar: We began learning about sentences this week, and were introduced to statement (declarative) sentences.

Math: "Rupert" has skip counting by 2-6 down, so this week we started on skip counting by 7. I cannot express how happy I am with the skip counting songs we are using. It's right up "Rupert's" alley as he is mostly an auditory learner and has a great memory for music.

History: We read a little more about the Greek gods and the fall of Troy. "Rupert" really liked the story of the Trojan horse and had fun acting it out.

Science: We read about the sense of smell, watched a Bill Nye video about smell, and did a taste test without using smell to see how important smell is in our ability to taste foods.

Social Opportunities: Overnight with Grandma and Grandpa, play practice, Kung fu, peanut butter bear playdate, PE class and art day.

1st Grade: Week 25 Highlights

Hey, maybe it's about time I get last week's post up. And while I'm at it, maybe I should think about doing this week's as well. Holy moly, I'm late! Alright, here are the highlights from LAST week..

Phonics: "Rupert" read through "Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?" and a couple of smaller books this week. We also worked on a new sight word list.

Math: We did lots of skip counting this week. We like to use songs to learn to skip count, and we found some fun ones here. "Rupert" is currently able to skip count by 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. We also did some work in his workbook. He is over halfway done with his workbook, and is getting excited to go out for ice cream when it is finished.

History: This week we read about Cyrus the Great who conquered many nations for Persia. We also played the "Conquer Mesopotamia" board game that was in our Story of the World Volume 1 activity book. I kicked "Rupert's" butt both times we played (ok, I barely won on the luck of the roll). It was fun, though, and a nice way to review the history we have covered thus far.

I'm putting together memory cards that have pictures of major events and people on one side and information about those events and people on the other side. They are wonderful tools, so I will be putting them into a lapbook for future reference. I found the cards on this homeschool yahoo group.

ASL: This week we learned signs having to do with seasons and weather.

Art: We did Chinese dragon watercolor paintings with our homeschool group this week. I was worried because of my lack of art skills, but they actually came out pretty cool...and most importantly, we had fun doing them!

Kung Fu: "Rupert" lost his 4th tooth at kung fu class this week. He was playing with the other kids during break time and accidentally got kicked in the face...not hard, just enough to pop his super loose tooth out! What a fun story he'll have for this one!

1st Grade: Week 22 Highlights

This was "Rupert's" second week of play practice and he's still loving it! The kids started learning some choreography this week, and got their CDs to take home and listen to for practice. "Rupert" loves playing his CD whenever he can, playing in his room, jumping on his bed, folding his laundry, bedtime...anytime is a good time for his play music! :-)

We also finished listening to "Beezus and Ramona" by Beverly Cleary this week. We have already listened to the whole Ramona series, but we loved it so much that we decided to start all over again. We love Ramona!!

Phonics: The easy readers are still working out wonderfully! "Rupert" is actually excited to pick one out of the stack to read, and sometimes he insists on reading two! I definitely think this is the way to go for us!

Spelling: We started the 2nd grade spelling program this week.

Art: We had art day with our homeschool group this week and did another watercolor lesson. We also did a watercolor lesson with Grandma this week.

"Rupert's" Journey of Discovery watercolor painting:

Mine:

"Rupert's" Garden watercolor painting:

Mine:

Cooking: "Rupert's" recipe pick of the week was Oreo milkshakes, and, of course, they were GOOD!

History: This week we read about life in early Crete. We had fun learning about the bull-jumpers, and "Rupert" made a set of bull horns and we each got to practice jumping a "bull" (each other), too.

We also read about Theseus and the Minotaur, a story that we really enjoyed. We acted that one out too! :-)

Science: This was our last week of animal study. We read about spiders, crabs, and insects. Next week we move on to our human body study (my favorite!) and I am so excited!!!

We also did a couple of the science experiments that "Rupert" got for Christmas. Thanks, Grandpa and Grandma!!

Erupting Volcano:

ASL: When we popped in the new Signing Time video for this week, we realized that of all the signs on this video, only 4 of them were new to us! Lots of freebies/review signs for us, but that's okay. I think "Rupert" was excited about the fact that he already knew most of them.

Kung fu: Professor is beginning to get us all ready for promotion. Promotion isn't until June, but he wants to be sure everyone knows their stuff. I still haven't decided whether I'll go up for promotion or not. I generally don't like to be publicly recognized like that, and really, I just want to learn. I am not concerned about what color belt I hold. It has just never been important to me. But DH is pressuring me to do it. I don't know...

Social Opportunities: Besides kung fu and play practice, this week we had a playdate with "Rupert's" buddy since birth. They played together for hours and didn't fight once! They had a great time, and we're planning to do it again in two weeks. We also joined in on a once a week homeschool PE class this week. "Rupert" enjoyed running around playing all kinds of tag with the other kids. Add art day, an overnight with the grandparents, and a skating party, and we're maxed out on social engagements for the week!

Oh! One last thing! We made this little Groundhog Day craft this week too! He pops up out of his hole to look for his shadow. :-)

1st Grade: Week 20 Highlights

Holy Moly, I'm late in posting this! I have not had the time to upload the photos I took from week 20 until now. I blame it on my broken-toed, computer hogging husband! Most late posts are nobody's fault but my own, but this week was different...really.

Phonics: "Rupert" read Green Eggs and Ham all by himself for the first time this week! I think I'll get more easy readers from the library for him to try.

History: This week we read about the Assyrian Empire and Ashurbanipal, who collected writings for the first library which was in Nineveh. We also used Legos to construct an Assyrian siege tower. We made a wall so that "Rupert" could see how a siege tower was used. In our model, the Assyrians are taking over a city of frogs. :-)

Science: We are growing more crystals from a crystal kit "Rupert" got for Christmas. Thanks, Aunt Michelle!!

We also got an impromptu mini lesson on constellations this week from a man who trains at our kung fu school. He pointed Orion out to us and told "Rupert" that Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (the big and little dippers) are also know as big bear and little bear.

Spelling: This week we did the last two first grade spelling lists. "Rupert" got them all right! We'll take a week to review all the words he missed through the first grade lists, then we'll start on 2nd grade spelling.

"Rupert" cooked pancakes for breakfast one morning, and of course, he got creative with it. :-)

1st Grade: Week 16 Highlights

Spelling: "Rupert" took on two spelling lists this week and got every word right on the first try. It's funny how he can do that but then it doesn't transfer over to his writing (the fun writing that he does on his own). For example, he was wrapping Christmas presents for his grandparents and wrote "To grandpo Mik" instead of grandpa Mike. I'm sure it will all fall into place in time.

Phonics: I made a few sets of sight word flashcards and we put some of them to use this week. It has been a nice little break from the usual. I used the Dolch sight word list that I found here.

Math: More math worksheets this week. We also played with the abacus on "Rupert's" request. Today we went to the childrens book store and got a workbook that I think he will like.

History: We talked about the new kingdom of Egypt and a couple of memorable pharaohs, Hatshepsut and Tutankhamen. We'll continue with this chapter next week since I got a few videos on King Tut at the library that should be fun and interesting.

Science: This week we talked about reptiles. We read about iguanas and rattle snakes. Again, "Rupert" felt compelled to make a costume and taped a piece of green tissue paper to his chin so he could be an iguana with a dewlap. He is a funny guy! He also enjoyed making this lizard mosaic with beans.

Art: We did another water color lesson. We are really having fun with this. I think the big lesson for "Rupert" to learn is to relax and not be concerned with perfection. He sometimes gets frustrated that his art doesn't look the same as that of the lady on the video. He wants to copy her work EXACTLY. I keep reminding him that the great thing about art is that everyone's comes out differently, and we can appreciate the differences. Here's "Rupert's" painting:

And here's the one I did:

1st Grade: Week 15 Highlights

After a nice long Thanksgiving break, we got back to work this week, and things went very smoothly. I'm becoming more flexible, especially in math, and things are just flowing better. Isn't that what always happens after a nice break?

Math: "Rupert" is in love with math worksheets. Who knew? I printed up a few for this week and he is asking for more. I see a math workbook in his future. This week we worked some more on carrying and also did some greater than or less than exercises. He LOVES those!

We have all but abandoned our Math-U-See curriculum, well...really we HAVE abandoned it. I was sad to see it go because I love it so much. I love how it makes math make sense. But it just doesn't fit "Rupert" right now, and it was causing him to dread math. I'm not exactly sure why, but that's the effect it has had at this time. I'll definitely keep it in mind for later though. He could grow into it.

History: This week we learned about the rise and fall of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt, and how eventually, Egypt became strong once again and the New Kingdom began.

ASL: We had a lot of fun this week learning birthday signs! Now I can sign my favorite treat, "cake"! :-)

Grammar: We finished up pronouns and started on verbs this week.

Spelling: This week "Rupert" caught the spelling bug. I gave him his list and, granted, his lists are only 6 words long, but he kept asking for more and more until I finally stopped him at 4 lists. Yes, he did about a month's worth of spelling this week. Out of 24 words, there were only 4 that he needs more work on. We added them to his list of trouble words.

Music: We began our annual listening to Tchaikovsky music this week. It's just a little something special we do at Christmas time. "Rupert" gets to fall asleep at night listening to Tchaikovsky. It's funny to see him making connections and recognizing pieces that he has heard before. The other night, he raced down the stairs after we had put him to bed. He HAD to tell us something! He was so excited to find that a song that was used on a Spongebob episode was a piece written by Tchaikovsky!

Science: This week we learned about peacocks and flamingos, and of course, "Rupert" fashioned a peacock costume out of construction paper and tape...lots of tape. I also see a case of tape in his future. :-)

Art: We finished up a painting that we started last week (thanks again for hosting art day, Morgan). Here's "Rupert's" watercolor fish:

And here's the one I did:

We had a lot of fun with this and I've resolved to do more art in the future.

First Time with Modeling Clay

G and I went to the craft store today and ended up with a package of modeling clay. He was excited to play with it and this is his first modeling clay creation...

Finished Watercolor Collage

He wasn't so sure about ripping the colorful paper he had made, but he finally did, and added some yarn designs, and here is his finished product.

Artsy Fartsy

I'm feeling rather artsy today. This week we are reading a bit about Mozart and listening to some of his music. Today I thought it would be fun to paint while listening to Mozart. I got the idea for this painting project at Art Projects for Kids . I'm making it a 2-day project, so I'll just post our day one pics now, and you can see our finished artwork tomorrow.

Today G painted one sheet of paper in a single color, he chose blue. Then he painted another sheet with all the colors he wanted. We will wait for them to dry and finish the project tomorrow.

On a side note, it's amazing how G's feet couldn't resist dancing when I turned on the music. I'm feeling a little Mozart aerobics coming on...

Happy Birthday Mommy!

G worked for a couple of hours altogether on my birthday present this year. When he was finished, he presented me with a box full of rolled up papers tied with yarn. On each one he had drawn a picture. I loved it! Here are some of my favorites. They are just too cute not to share.

The stages of plant growth:

Monster Jam...he's never been, but wants to go.
A vampire bat, his latest interest.

Shrek

God...he is big!

Of course, "I luv cats".
"I luv Gezus".

Bedtime Drawings

He was supposed to be going to sleep, but couldn't resist the urge to draw. Looking around his room, he spotted his Mickey Mouse ears and he had his subject.

Owl Moon

This week we are reading Owl Moon by Jane Yolen. Our go-along activity for yesterday was to make a food chain. After reading more about owls, I had G tell me what owls eat (and surprisingly, yes, some do eat rabbits!), then what rabbits eat, and we made our own mini food chain.

Afterward, G wanted to draw a picture of an owl:

On to Christmas

And just that quickly, Thanksgiving is over and our thoughts go directly to Christmas. G drew this last night. It's one of his first drawings of a person who has a body and not just legs coming out of his head. :-) This is Santa on a sled full of gifts.

Noah's Ark

We've been reading the story of Noah's Ark this week, and I thought it would be fun for G to paint a picture to go with the story. He loved the idea!There's a dove in the sky, then left to right we have a turtle, Noah, an alligator, a giraffe and an elephant.

Free Time with Colored Pencils

Colored pencils are probably the most exciting thing about starting kindergarten in G's world. He asks to use them almost every day. Today he drew a picture of himself in a hot air balloon with Mommy, Daddy and Uncle Erik looking on. As he explained his drawing to me, he pointed out that he had used the cross-hatching technique to make the hot air balloon basket look like a real basket (you can see it best on the right side of the basket). We had talked about cross-hatching last week while we were reading A Pair of Red Clogs, and I was impressed that he remembered that.