Our Oak Meadow Week 29

Spring Break / Unschool Week

• Lego Play
• Netflix Watching (Jeremy Wade from River Monsters is their hero)
• Phineus and Ferb
• Trip to the Playground
• Watercolor Pencils
• Sidewalk Chalk
• Homeschool Group
• Art- Painting with Watercolors, discussion about Primary and Secondary Colors
• Music- Names of the lines and spaces on the staff.  Made up their own acrostics: Every Giant Bee Does Fly; Edge Getting Bigger Daily, Fish
• Gym- Variation on Dodge Ball
• Playdate with Good Friend
• Map Drawing
• Jungle Joe show
• Animals and Conservation
• Burger King Indoor Playground (I wish the weather would decide to finally be Spring for good)
• Local Aviary
• Observe and draw favorite bird- Great Horned Owl, Red Tailed Hawk
• Visit From Pittsburgh Grandparents
• Visit From local Nana
• Relaxing
• Being a Kid

Next Week:

• New Reading Books
• Money
• Civics

In 3 Weeks: Trip to the Smoky Mountains and the Biltmore Homeschool Festival

We've Hit the Wall

Our school year using Oak Meadow has been great.  We've stayed on track through remodeling and moving, the kids like the curriculum, and they have learned things that I would not have thought to teach them.  They were doing great, and there was no whining when I called "time for homeschool."

That was until 2 weeks ago.  It was a crazy week that began with a night in Pittsburgh with my inlaws so that my MacBook could get fixed.  (Macs are wonderful computers, but the fact that I have to travel at least  an hour and a half to get mine fixed, after having traveled an hour and a half to get it diagnosed may factor into my next computer purchase.....)  And it was out 10th wedding anniversary and at the end of the week we were going for a weekend getaway to the ocean without the kids.  In the middle we were trying to get some homeschooling accomplished, and the boys were a bit out of sorts, but I expected that from the crazy week.

But this past week (Oak Meadow Week 28), the boys were unfocused.  I would put math in front of them that they knew, and they couldn't get it.  Division with remainders would be understood, and then completely forgotten.  It would take forever to read a story because they were unfocused.

By Wednesday I knew it-- they had hit a wall.

I don't know if it the awful weather we are having, or Spring Fever, or what.  There is a reason why so many schools have a Spring Break.  And Easter is so late this year that if I put off Spring Break until then, nothing will really get accomplished for the next 3 weeks, except for all of us being frustrated.

So as we progressed through the stuff I had planned for Thursday and Friday (though admittedly a lighter load), I was planning for OM Week 29.  In the week's schedule I had already factored in Homeschool Group and a trip to the local college with other homeschoolers to see a kid's show.  I looked through the rest of the week and decided that Week 29 was going to be an Unschool week.  Yay!!!!!

Our Oak Meadow Week 28

• Finished Mummies in the Morning Unit with 1st Grader
• Not Oak Meadow, but it worked for my excellent 1st grade reader.  For $1 on CurrClick, I downloaded a unit with comprehension questions.  Every other day I either had him write a sentence or two in addition to the questions, or draw a picture of the day's chapter.  I made him write on lined paper, so it improved his questionable handwriting skills (or at least show me that he could write well if he tried).  I put it all in a folder together, so now I have an excellent example of handwriting, composition, comprehension, and art skills to show off at our June evaluation. And my son likes to show it off to people who come and visit.   
• 3rd grader is reading book of choice- this week it was Mouse Tails.  He would read a story each day, discuss it with me, then draw a picture and write a t least 2 sentences to go with the story.  He is a late blooming reader (various issues including reversals and he should have never been taught to read phonetically) but it is really starting to click for him :)
• 4 Math Processes
• 1st grade division and multiplication
• 3rd grader division with remainders
• Bird Watching
• Trees
• Biodiversity
• Began Civics unit for both
• rules and laws
• Hiking (with Dad, as I am still a gimp)

Next Week:

• Homeschool Group
• Jungle Joe Show
• Unschooling Week, 'cause they need a Spring Break

Our Oak Meadow Week 27

Reading books, writing sentences and/or paragraphs

Mummies in the Morning Unit

VCCV words

4 Math Processes

Economics

Budgeting- Community needs vs wants

Trip to Pittsburgh

Grandparents, Mac fixed, playground

Independent Reading

Playdate

Phineas & Ferb

Our Oak Meadow Week 26

Reading books, writing sentences and/or paragraphs

CurrClick reading comprehension worksheets for Magic Tree House Mummies in the Morning

Handwriting

4 processes in Math

Pond Life

Biomes

 Independent Reading

River Monsters - Jeremy Wade is a new hero

Our Oak Meadow Week 25

Our week 25 started out excitingly.  If you look on week 24, you will see a fishing trip listed.  That was a planned trip.  I was blogging on Saturday morning, as we were collecting stuff to go on the fishing excursion.  We were headed to the C&O Canal, and bringing our beagle with us.  The boys were carrying their fishing rods, my husband the tackle, and I was walking the dog.  Apparently he (the dog, not my husband) caught hold of a scent (probably a duck or goose, I swear Gatsby must come from a long line of bird dogs), and I sprained my ankle.  It was a pretty good sprain (or bad, depending on your perspective), and I have been trying to nurture my ankle ever since.  It is not really an excuse (as I have spent many hours sitting on the couch with my foot up), but I blame my ankle on why I am so behind in my blogging.

Anyway......

• Reading books, writing sentences and/or paragraphs
• 4 Math Processes
• Economics
• George Washington-working together
• Sarah Whitacre- sacrifice
• Temperature
• Water Cycle
• Built terrarium
• Lots of Independent Reading
• Scratch
• LEGO Pharaoh's Quest
• River Monsters

Our Oak Meadow Week 24 - A Divergence

With a nod to Oak Meadow, our week 24 took a bit of an unschooled turn this week.  Oh, we finished (!) the word family book, and talked about and drew Clara Barton and Hopi Indians (not together) to stay mostly on track.  But we had homeschool group this week, and a trip to Pittsburgh, and my husband who has been diligently working at growing his consulting business decided that he wanted to take some time off this week.  So I embraced our unschool roots, and had a week with less structure that included LOTS of learning.

• FINISHED word family book (YAY!!)
• Syllables- consonant-le words
• A little math review
• Economics
• Clara Barton
• Hopi Indians
• Lots of Independent Reading
• Scratch
• LEGO Pharaoh's Quest
• Homeschool Group
• Art with Thumbprint drawings
• Music with Pecos Bill "reader's theater"
• Gym with a beanbag bowling/dodge ball game that my 8 yo LOVED
• Dad got to come along :)
• Playdate 
• Outside
• Sidewalk Chalk
• River Monsters
• Trip to Pittsburgh
• Grandparents
• Apple Store
• Books
• Duncan Donuts - yummmmmm
• Cold frame building
• Garden planning
• Fishing

Next Week:

• Reading
• Biomes
• Temperature
• Terrariums

Our Oak Meadow Week 23

• Vowel R Words
• Syllables
• Word Families 
• Reading
• Math Review
• >, <, =
• Economics
• need vs want with Johnny Appleseed
• interdependance
• Interdependence
• Dolphins
• ecology
• Lots of Independant Reading
• Scratch
• Architecture
• LEGO ships

Next Week:

• Trip to Pittsburgh
• Homeschool Group
• Last Word Family Week!

Andy's Scratch "Art"

I often mention that my sons like to program in Scratch.  I have an earlier blog devoted to the wonderousness of Scratch.  It is a visual programming language that they like to use to animate their ideas and drawings.  You can download it yourself at: http://scratch.mit.edu/

But here is a recent animation that I particularly like.  Note the new world order when the fish eats the "double nosatops" dinosaur, even the clouds change.  The girl is sorta supposed to be me.  And yeah, I don't know what fairage is either.   :)

Learn more about this project

Our Oak Meadow Week 22

• Diphthongs
• Syllables
• MORE Word Families (only two more weeks)
• Reading
• Math Review
• Economics
• Job Specialization in Cherokee Tribe
• Saving with Abe Lincoln
• Photosynthesis
• Dolphins
• Valentine's Day
• Scratch
• Architecture
• Recreating the sinking of the Titanic with LEGO
• Afternoon with Nana
• Visit from Pittsburgh Grandparents
• playing OUTSIDE! (it was nearly 70 degrees)

Next Week:

• Tomato Plants
• Interdependence

Finished our First Main Lesson Books

Folk Tale Illustration

I don't know how they did it, but somehow both of the boys have 1 page left in their Main Lesson Books.  They boys are doing different grade levels, doing very different assignments, and are supplemented with different amounts of worksheets, but somehow they will both finish their books tomorrow.

To celebrate, I thought I'd show a few of my favorite pieces from each of their books.

Andy, 3rd Grade

 1st entry- Favorite Thing about the Summer

Illustrating a frog story from the Oak Meadow Folk Tale Book

Magical Mr Mistoffelees "About on the Roof"

Giant Orange Cat Limerick

Snowball Battle in Ollie's new Skis

Jules, 1st Grade

F Story Painting

Parts of the face, his drawing seems to have a Dr Suess influence

Ollie's New Skis- GIANT snowball battle

_ AY Word Family

Illustration for Mr Putter and Tabby Feed the Fish

Our Oak Meadow Week 21

Columbus Trade Pictures

• Magic *E* words
• Syllables
• MORE Word Families (we're on the Os!)
• Reading
• Counting by 10s
• Bar Graphs
• Economics
• Trade
• Columbus
• Kush
• Plant root systems
• Celery Experiment
• Types of Matter
• solid
• liquid
• gas
• Playdate at Burger King
• Tux Paint
• Architecture
• Titanic (we LOVE the Titanic)

Next Week:

• Valentine's Day
• Dolphins
• Photosynthesis
• Warmer Weather?!?!

Our Oak Meadow Week 20

3 Homeschooled boys at a birthday party.
The least excited of the 3 (the one in grey) is the birthday boy.  

• Syllables
• MORE Word Families
• Magic Tree House Research Guide
• Reading
• Counting by 5s
• Shapes-- Sides and angles
• Economics
• Algonquin
• in Carthage
• Natural / Human / Capital
• Plant root systems
• Nocturnal and diurnal
• Scratch
• Tux Paint
• Architecture
• Titanic
• JULIAN'S 7th BIRTHDAY

Next Week:

• Bar Graphs
• Columbus
• celery experiment

Cross Country Skiing

New Germany State Park

January 29, 2011

MOM SOS-- A Great Idea from the Mind of My Husband

Yesterday was one of those days where the kids were a bit whiny, and I was a bit irritated.  My dear husband asked me what was on the day's homeschooling agenda, then sent me on my way for a Mom's Afternoon Off.

I had a great time.   Went to the library, did a bit of shopping, went to the old house that hasn't sold and took a long bath.

While I was out my husband did the homeschool stuff, part of which was reading out loud.  My older son has some reading issues that make him not like to read.  While his reading skills are a work in progress, he IS progressing.  It still is hard to get him to sit down and read, especially when his little brother is a better reader.  So when we have read out loud time, he gets frustrated and wants to negotiate that  pages get read by his parents.  This can turn into a struggle, for "if you give an inch, he'll want a mile" and he NEEDS to practice.

So yesterday during reading time, my older son, Andy, picked Oh, the Places You'll Go! to read out loud.  He has read this book several times, but it is still a challenge for him.  But then Dr Suess can be a challenge to some adults.  My husband told Andy at the start that he (my husband) would read 5 pages of the book, and that was all.  It was up to Andy to decide what 5 pages it would be.  Apparently this worked out quite well, and there was no complaining that Andy had to finish the rest of the book once the 5 pages were through.

When I got home, my husband told me of his method for reading with Andy.  I thought this was a wonderful idea, and that it could be spread out to other parts of homeschool that the boys either have problems with or just don't like.  So before this morning's homeschool, I made up 10 "parent help" tickets.  I knew there was going to be a syllable worksheet (Oak Meadow said to talk about syllables, I printed a few non-Oak Meadow worksheets to help us) and that worksheets are not his thing.  When I presented the work to him this morning, I also presented him with 4 Parent Help tickets to help with the 20 problems.  He loved this idea, turning the tickets into MOM SOS tickets.  He didn't need the help (he ended up using 3 of them in the last 4 problems), but I could tell that giving him the option of help from the outset made him feel better.

Our Oak Meadow Week 19

• Syllables
• STILL Word Families
• Andrew Lost
• Reading
• Poetry
• Counting by 2s
• Shapes-- Sides and angles
• Economics
• Trees
• North and South Poles
• Winchester Mystery House
• Scratch
• Tux Paint
• Architecture
• Titanic
• Mom's Day Off
• MOM SOS

Next Week:

• More Economics
• Nocturnal/Diurnal
• Julian's 7th Birthday!!!

Our Oak Meadow Week 18

Lowes Field Trip with Homeschool Group

• Adverbs
• Word Families
• Andrew Lost
• Reading
• Poems Revisited
• Ordinal Numbers
• MORE Multiplication with Carrying
• Maps
• Family Tree
• Real Trees
• Stargazing (sorta, it was wicked cloudy this week)
• Scratch
• Tux Paint
• Architecture
• Titanic
• Lowes field trip with homeschool group
• Play time with Friend
• Dad's Birthday

Next Week:

• Economics
• Seasons
• North and South Poles

A Little Oak Meadow Love

As I have mentioned in my recent posts, I am a fan of the Oak Meadow curriculum.  We are in week 18, which is the half way point of the year and every day I find more ways that it works for our family.

That being said, I am not an Oak Meadow purist.  We don't have circle time every morning.  I use Internet produced printouts to help teach my sons concepts like ordinal numbers.  And I didn't buy Oak Meadow Main Lesson Books.  I went to Ollie's (one of my favorite stores) and purchased two 11"x14" sketch books.  And  it is these Oak Meadow inspired drawing books that I am currently in love with.

These sketch books contain all of their language arts work.  I have different binders for social studies and science, so the sketch books contain story inspired drawings and poems with illustrations.  Also stapled to the sheets are lined papers with sentences for spelling and parts of speech, and the occasional worksheet for a special event.

But the thing that makes me love these books so much is how much the BOYS love their books.  They love to show their day's work to their dad in the the evening.  They will get the book out and show visiting friends or grandparents all of their new drawings.  Every so often they will take a look back at their work for the year.  They talk about different drawings that they created, and remind each other of different stories that were read.  Today my younger son was fascinated by a poem that my older son had written in November.  He liked it so much that he was inspired to copy it into his own sketch book.  And when I pointed out that they only had a few pages left in their books, both boys looked at me in a panic, and made sure that I was not going to throw them away.

So thank you, Oak Meadow for inspiring these lesson books.  My boys and I love them now, and I know that we will love them even more in the future when we can look back and see the journey they have made in their work and art.

And here is the poem my sons love:
The Giant Orange Cat
by Andy

There once was a giant orange cat

Who saw a big purple bat

The bat flew away, the cat wanted to stay

Oh! That giant orange cat

We had a good day

I don't want to brag or anything, but Monday we had a really good day.  A great day, in fact.  Not that we don't usually have good days, but this one stood out.  

Books were read, discussed, and pictures were drawn based on the stories 

Math was completed and understood.  

Family trees were started

Martin Luther King was discussed, and for the first time, I think my 3rd grader paid attention to, and understood the power of the "I Have a Dream" speech.  

I did all of my homeschool bookkeeping, and everything got put away, making it easier to eat dinner on the dining room table.  

YAY!

There wasn't much different about Monday, except for my feeling going into and coming out of it.  I entered the day with a sense of calm that I think spilled over on the boys.  I didn't freak out if my son spent 5 minutes studying the pictures after he read a page of "Diary of a Worm".  If a number was written the wrong way, I just pointed it out and let my son fix it.  My husband was even able to work at the dining room table with us. 

Yesterday went nearly as well, and I have high hopes, and calm feelings for today.  

Things have been so stressful during the move and changes in our life that it felt so good to have a peaceful productive day.  I hope that this is just the start, and that this new feeling can continue as we set off on this next adventurous phase of our lives.  

Our Oak Meadow Week 17

• Adjectives
• Word Families (the -ib word family?!?)
• James and the Giant Peach
• Reading
• Evens and Odds
• Multiplication with Carrying
• Maps
• Trees
• Erosion
• Secret Life of Machines
• Perspective Drawing
• Architecture
• Map of Spyro's World
• Piano at the New House

Plans For Next Week

• Adverbs
• Ordinal Numbers
• Homeschool Group Field Trip to Lowes