Education.com

I just found this website where you can look up the stats on your local public schools.  I was just curious as to which school my son would be attending if we had chosen public school for him.  They come up well behind the state average in all subjects recorded.  It was quite shocking to see!  I am SO glad we are homeschooling!  It is sad to think about what he would be going through if he did attend that school, though...condemned to a life of not reaching his potential.  :-(

1st Grade: Week 33 Highlights

Phonics:  This week "Rupert" read through the book Little Bear and LOVED it!  I am so excited that he is reading books with more words on the page AND he's enjoying it!  Thank you so much for letting us borrow this book, Morgan!

Spelling:  We worked on "Rupert's" trouble words list this week.  There are only a couple words from the entire year that he still needs some practice on; head and said.  He's starting to get them.

Math:  "Rupert" finished his math workbook this week and is looking forward to a trip to the ice cream shop!

Science:  We talked about circulation and watched the Bill Nye video on the subject.  Science will continue a little longer than the rest of our subjects for this year because we're really taking our time and enjoying it.  Once we finish up the human body study, we'll do plants (which I guess we are already doing a bit of since we are planting our garden).

History:  This is another subject that will go longer than the rest.  This week we read about the Punic wars and Hannibal and his elephants.  I think once we are done with this coming busy weekend, we'll make elephant ears to go along with this chapter.  I don't want to feed "Rupert" a bunch of sugar right now and risk him being sick for his play.  I'll add pictures of our elephant ears once we make them.  :-)

Social:  Today we say good-bye to our children's librarian of 3 years.  She is starting a new chapter and a new adventure in Australia.  We will miss her terribly, and we wish her the best!  Good-bye, Sandy!!

This week was an intensive practice week for the play "Rupert" is in.  They practiced every day this week and they will perform this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  This has been a great experience for both of us, and it has been so great for me to see it all come together.

1st Grade: Week 32 Highlights

Spelling:  Spelling went really well this week.  "Rupert" got all his words right even when I tested him a day early.  I think I'm going to give him a break from spelling until we start 2nd grade.  We'll go over his trouble words, but we won't start on any new lists since he's already almost halfway through the 2nd grade spelling list.

History:  We read more about ancient Rome this week.  We learned about Roman gods, things that the Romans built, and Gladiators.  We enjoyed a fun little book called The Time Warp Trio: See You Later, Gladiator.  We also tested the audio version of Story of the World.  It seems to really work for us.  "Rupert" really enjoys listening to audio books in the car when we're out and about, so why not do our history studies in the car?  He seems to get a lot more out of it when it is read by someone other than his fumbling, bumbling, checking pronunciation mid-sentence mom.  :-)

Science:  We are learning about the heart and circulatory system.  We watched a great video, Bill Nye the Science Guy: Heart.  They actually showed a real human heart that was having bypass surgery.  Really cool!

Math:  I introduced "Rupert" to a subtraction challenge...borrowing.  I've only shown him 2 or 3 times in very short segments, but I think he's already catching on.


Learning When He's Supposed to be Playing:  We had a playdate this week with my friend's girls and one of her daughters taught "Rupert" how to crochet!  She taught him the chain stitch, and he made a chain about 8" long while we were there!  I was VERY impressed to learn that this 9-year-old girl also KNITS!  You go girl!!

Homemade Granola Bars ~Recipe 2

These are more chewy than the others I posted recently.

Ingredients:

2 1/2C.  Rolled oats
1/2C.  packed brown sugar
1/2C.  wheat germ
3/4t.  ground cinnamon
1C.  unbleached white flour
3/4C.  raisins
3/4t.  salt
1/2C.  honey
1  egg, beaten
1/2C.  oil (I actually used 3/4C applesauce instead)
2t.  vanilla extract

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Grease or spray 9x13 baking dish.
2.  In a large bowl, mix together oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt.  Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil (or applesauce), and vanilla.  Mix well and pat evenly into prepared pan.
3.Bake for 30 minutes until bars begin to turn golden at the edges.  Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm.

Homemade Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

I use this in casseroles and sauces just as I would store bought cream of chicken soup.  I love knowing what's in my soup and knowing that it is HEALTHY!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 C. chicken broth
1/2 t. poultry seasoning
1/4 t. onion powder (or a bit of diced onions)
1/4 t.  garlic powder (or diced garlic)
1/8 t. black pepper
1/4t.  sea salt (or to taste)
1/4 t. parsley
dash of paprika
1 1/2 C. milk
3/4 C. flour

In a medium saucepan, boil chicken broth, 1/2 cup of the milk, and the seasonings for a minute of two (longer if using fresh onions or garlic).

In a bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 cup of milk and the flour.  Add to boiling mixture and continue whisking briskly until mixture boils and thickens.

I freeze this in 1-1.5 cup portions so I can just thaw it when I need a can of soup.  And I usually at least double the recipe so I can stock up and always have some on hand.

1st Grade: Week 31 Highlights

Just a couple of "highlights" this week:

We started learning about Rome this week.  I read the story of Romulus and Remus to him, and he told it back to me as "Romulus and Regis".  Has he been spending too much time with his Regis Philbin loving grandma?

We also made our own fasces, the Roman symbol of power.

The other highlight of this week was "Rupert's" renewed interest in cursive.  He's been working in his workbook a bit, but mostly he has just been going nuts writing his name in cursive.  I'm finding papers everywhere with his cursive name written on them.  He even COVERED a sheet of paper in his newfound script while we were driving in the car the other day.  I love it!

We had several social opportunities this week, of course, including:  Play practice, kung fu, 2 playdates, story time, and art day.

Homemade Granola

A friend of mine shared this recipe with me (thanks, Angie!!), and my family is loving it!  We make granola, fruit and yogurt parfaits with this and also just eat it as a cold cereal.  This is so good, I don't think I'll ever need to buy packaged cereal again!

3 C.  rolled oats
1/2 C. chopped almonds
1/2 C. chopped pecans
1/2 C. chopped walnuts
1/4 C. pumpkin seeds
1/2 C. flaked coconut (unsweetened)
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. salt (unless you use salted butter, then omit)
4 T. butter or oil
1/3 C. honey
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1/2 C. dried cranberries
1/2 C. dried blueberries

Preheat oven to 325

Stir together oats, nuts, seeds, coconut, salt, and cinnamon.

In a small saucepan melt butter (or oil) with honey over low heat, stirring.  Remove from heat and add vanilla. Pour over oat mixture and stir until well combined.

On a large baking sheet, spread granola into a thin layer.  Bake, stirring every 5 minutes, until brown and crisp, about 20 minutes.  Do not overcook; it will crisp more once cool.

Let cool, then stir in dried fruit.

Any combination of unsalted nuts/seeds/dried fruit would taste great.  Just use the same proportions.

***I did alter this recipe since I didn't have all these things on hand.  I made mine with almonds, peanuts, sunflower seeds, raisins and dried dates.  I didn't use coconut (I don't like it), and it came out fine.  Next time around I may try coconut oil instead of the butter.  I think my family would enjoy that.  And I can't wait to try this with other dried fruits like raspberries, strawberries and apples!!