Odds & Ends

Mane is halfway through her math book for the year. So, we're taking the next few weeks to play with math. She has always preferred verbal math over doing math worksheets. So, today we reviewed some of her math facts verbally, and she thought it was great fun. (It helped that Novio was around & listening. She always loves to show off a bit.) I told her she'd be learning multiplication later this year, and she got all worried. I told her that multiplication was the same as skip-counting, which she already does by 10's, 5's & 2's. In that case, she decided to learn some of the 3's today, too. ;)

I looked over the book What Your Second Grader Needs to Know, and I must admit to feeling very much at ease regarding the things we've covered this year and what we have left. We read a portion out of the history section today just to reinforce what we've already covered about India & China this year.

We went to the orchestra again last week for a fantastic performance of Hansel & Gretel!

We've been reading Advent stories each evening, and Mane continues to learn The Lord's Prayer.

Last week we read through The Care and Keeping of You, which fascinated Mane and led to many fascinating discussions!

And Mane has been playing outside lots in the snow & cold!

I have very little time to keep up with blogging right now. So, though this blog looks scarce, we've been busy...perhaps that's the way it ought to be.

A fresh start

Well, we seem to finally be back on our feet. Mango was terribly sick the week of Thanksgiving, and I've spent the month recovering from surgery. Mane has been learning lots just by living life and talking with us, but today we had a "real" day of homeschool...one that resembles the structure we started with this year.

Mane reviewed Psalm 23 after breakfast. Then we worked on adding a new portion of The Lord's Prayer. We read about the Maccabees again and about the significance of the menorah for Hannukah. We listened to Michael W. Smith's song of The Lord's Prayer, and then Mane listened to a story about the Maccabees that we found on the internet. I have a DVD from the library about Hannukah that we'll be watching this week, as well.

After that we did a Hooked on Phonics lesson and a lesson from Making Words.

We dug out the Human book and looked at the eye. Mane drew a picture of an eye - with the optic nerve, lens, cornea, and muscles. We talked more about optical illusions. Then we turned the page in the Human book and reviewed how our ears help us balance.

We began the next chapter of Story of the World about ancient China. We looked at the map and discussed why the Mesopotamian people referred to China as the Far East. Mane traced the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers on a map for her history binder, and we talked about the kinds of food grown in the Yellow River Valley. We read the story of how the first emporer's wife supposedly discovered silk, and Mane retold the story in her own words. Then she copied down some ancient Chinese pictograms from the Story of the World text.

When Mane got up this morning she was asking when it was going to snow. So, we looked at the 10-day forecast on the internet. Then we discussed whether the forecast was likely to be right or not, and we decided to keep a log of it for the next ten days. This led to a discussion of the scientific method, and we wrote out the method we'll be using to find out if the forecast is more often right or wrong.

Mane finished out the day by taking test 13 in Math U See. We'll be moving on to a section on measurement next!

A Blur

The last two weeks have gone by in a blur...not full of activity, but full of sleep and recovery. I had my appendix out Novemeber 4th. I was sick for the two days prior to that. So, today marks 2 weeks since this whole thing started. I am still tired beyond belief, and homeschooling takes a great deal of energy. So, we're going slow...doing a lot of incidental learning and reading books.

So, on Novemeber 2nd, Mane and I began rowing Mirette on the High Wire. We read both Mirette on the High Wire and Starring Mirette and Bellini. We watched a bunch of youtube videos about the Wallenda family (famous for their high wire walking and seven-person pyramid) and other real life high wire walkers. Mane drew a picture of Mirette walking the high wire for her school notebook. My mom ended up coming over on Tuesday to help me out, and she read Mirette and Bellini Cross Niagara Falls and The Man Who Walked Between the Towers to Mane.

Tuesday night, Mango taught Mane about how the fluid of the inner ear helps people to balance. I think later this week I'll have her draw some pictures, maybe a picture explanation of how balance works.

For several days after I had my appendix out we talked about the appendix and the digestive system and laparoscopic surgery.

Mane played "store" with Mango and practiced reading and counting money. She continues to do a great deal of incidental reading on her own. Over the weekend, Mango worked with Mane on a business venture they'd like to start together, and they spend many hours busily creating a website. Mane did a great deal of the typing and spelling herself.

We continued reading The Hobbit together...

Today we read Mirette on the High Wire again. I printed a map for Mane's school notebook, and she circled all the places mentioned in the book. I wrote out all the places we've talked about (and several others that I already know that Mane knows) on index cards. Then I had her draw cards and find the places on the map. I asked her if each place we a continent, country, or city, and we talked again about the distinction between those things. Whenever she could find a place, she got to keep the card. I think we'll keep using this stack of cards and adding new places as we study them in Five in a Row and Story of the World.

We read The Painted Circus, which has a circus theme (to go with high wire walking) and is full of optical illusions. Then Mane showed them all to Vespera & Novio, who happened to be hanging around the house this morning. :)

As I was typing Mane, began lesson 12 in MUS...adding money. Tomorrow she'll take the test, as this is exactly the same as the addition she's been doing - only with a decimal point and a dollar sign. She had no trouble with the practice page.

Cork Trees

Did you know that cork comes from trees that grow in Spain & Portugal. In The Story of Ferdinand, Ferdinand likes to sit under a cork tree and smell the flowers. So, today we watched a youtube video on how corks are made:

Unschool

This week's schooling has looked largely like unschool. I'm impressed with the results and feeling comfortable with where this week went, even as I'm ready to get back into a schedule.

Mane read early readers from the library for her reading practice this week. She finished 1st grade Hooked on Phonics last week, and I wanted to spend a week reinforcing reading skills before moving to the 2nd grade materials. She's eager to get started, too, and I wanted to build that enthusiasm a little.

Mane is about ready to finish chapter 11 of MUS, after her huge leap in math lessons last week. I practiced reading price tags with her at Savers this week, and she's been practicing the money counting all on her own.

Monday night we took a close look at the section on India in the book Wonders of the Ancient World. Mango was with us and asked a lot of excited questions, which was good review for Mane AND an opportunity to find out more. Tuesday we had a friend from India come over to make Indian food with us:







We continued talking this week about Ferdinand and the country of Spain. Mane asked a lot of questions about how the Mexican people came to speak Spanish, since the Spanish language comes from Spain. So, we talked about how countries sometimes take over other countries, about the way that many European countries formed colonies all over the world, including the United States. I explained that Mexico used to be made up of the Aztec and Mayan people, just as the United States used to be a whole bunch of Native American tribes. We talked about why countries take over other countries, especially about how it usually involves taking the other country's natural resources. This led to a discussion of natural resources, naturally occurring elements, and the periodic table. Whew!!

When something suddenly clicks!

Wow! I think I've been waiting for this moment without even really knowing it. It is SO FUN to see Mane learn things. I remember being amazed all through her babyhood as she learned how to grasp and roll and crawl and walk. Now I'm starting to see that with knowledge.

So, here's the story... We've always played around with counting money. She seemed to understand how much each coin was worth and how to add them up to dollars. Then, yesterday we did the Math U See lesson where the unit blocks represent pennies, the ten blocks represent dimes, and the hundered blocks represent dollars. Mane's response? "MAMA, you can use MATH to count money?!!!" She then proceeded to dump out her piggy bank and count the entire contents. She counted $12.53 in coins. It wasn't that she used any different method than we had always used to help her count coins, but she kept exclaiming over and over again about how it easy it was, and it was clear that SOMETHING finally made sense to her about counting coins. It was so fun to see her so excited.

I think Mane is a genius. But that shouldn't surprise you, right? I'm a little biased. She sailed through her reading lesson today. Then she did lessons 8 AND 9 in math!! She took test 9 and is ready to start lesson 10 tomorrow. I can't believe the ground we covered today. Wow. One little nice thing about homeschooling is that this can happen. We can plod along for a while and then sail through when we're ready.

She also colored the flag of Spain today. And I read her chapter 2 of The Hobbit. We'll be doing some more "schooling" tonight. Not sure how it's going to evolve exactly, but we've got some time this evening while Mango does some "homework."