Our School Day - Part II
February 27, 2008
Written by: Katie
You’ve already seen what the little kids do for their school (on the days that we do school. The 3 weeks we get around to it) and now you get a glimpse into my big kids school.
Yep, we start around 10am. The big kids have a shelf for their school books. Oh look, Jessica is grabbing Junie’s books as well. What a nice sister!!
Everyone is ready to go. It looks as if John is staring out the window. Maybe he is studying the birds in the neighbor’s tree. That is ornithology. I can count that as school. Everyone has their math (Math-U-See), Spelling (Spectrum Spelling) and Handwriting (A Reason For Handwriting - Can’t believe my personal editor didn’t tell me I had the title wrong!!) books out and are ready for their “seatwork”.
Jenna’s job is to supervise the big table while she works on her stuff. The spice jars and ingredients for a cleanse are there to learn about natural healing. That is naturopathy.
John is on the next level in MUS and needs to watch the instructional video so he can move on and someday be a math whiz. Good thing he doesn’t have a fear of numbers. That would be arithmophobia.
Yep, John is working hard. He loves that MUS. They work on math for 30 minutes. With my FAS kids they have what has been called “flow through phenomenon” which means the information that was there yesterday may not be there today. On those days the kids sit and stare at their books for 30 minutes. Thankfully the information does return eventually. The longest I’ve seen a kid sit was for three days. On the fourth day everything resurfaced and all was well. Our 30 minute system helps everyone keep their sanity.
Jenna is working on her spelling. She’d rather be doing Latin. The girl loves Latin.
Time for spelling for the boys. I allow the boys to work together. It has worked really well. You would think that the slower kids would rely on the faster kid to do all the work and the slower kids would just copy but it never seems to work that way. They really do all work and they still learn. They all got As on their last spelling test so we must be doing something right.
Jessica works alone but does very well also. She needs a little hand holding but I answer her questions again and again.
Handwriting is not a favorite of anyone but they get through it and do their best. I think they really are pleased to see how well their handwriting has progressed. And it is only one page so they don’t get burnt out.
Jessica and June do printing while the boys and Jenna do cursive. Jenna really needed help with her handwriting. Whew!
Look at that fabulous handwriting. I know you are impressed. I am, anyway. Doesn’t John’s shirt look nice and clean?
Sometime after the big kids math the little kids have finished up their school and I have a moment to take a break (and sometimes I need it after teaching the little kids) before the big kids finish their seatwork. Then I do some reading aloud. Jodi likes to help me by holding the extra books.
They are so attentive.
The little kids played ball quietly while I read.
More read alouds. Join us for part 3 tomorrow.
February 27th, 2008 at 10:12 am
It looks as if John is staring out the window. Maybe he is studying the birds in the neighbor’s tree. That is ornithology. …
Wow Katie, I wish I could find a subject for the endless staring at our house…I need to be more creative! Thanks for the inspiration. It gives me a giggle each day and a little boost to keep on. Smiling!
Have a FUN day, teaching the blessings God has given you.
February 27th, 2008 at 10:27 am
I like your “big table” with the benches. Benches look less “cluttery” than chair IMO. Where did you get them?
Thanks for sharing your day.
February 27th, 2008 at 10:35 am
School time with the bigs looks just as great as school time with the littles!
I love the school day pictures!
Love,
Chas
February 27th, 2008 at 10:41 am
I like the only one page of each subject during seat work time. That has helped us so much too. My big teen almost made me faint the other day when he said, ” you know mom, I am finally getting this math thing and I like it.” YEAH!!!! My favorite part of homeschooling at the moment is reading to the kiddos. I could read all day but they are under the impression that we should do science and art. LOL!
Blessings,
Dawn
February 27th, 2008 at 10:43 am
Fun stuff. My kids hate handwriting too, but they persevere. I keep having to remind Aaron that is doesn’t matter if he has all the right answers if no one can read what they are. :)
Mariah doesn’t have FAS, but she still has some of those qualities when it comes to math. :) What was there yesterday is gone by today. She will stare and stare at the book and eventually start to cry. I just walk over, tell her to move on to something else and the next day she finishes the crying page with ease. In her instance I think it is diet. Sometimes she does not eat well at breakfast, because like her momma she is not hungry then. So she needs a mid-morning snack boost to keep that brain power going. :)
February 27th, 2008 at 11:02 am
Horray for Math U See! I knew I liked you! LOL! (I’m the MUS rep for the UK) It is nice to know that it works that well for your special needs kids. Actually we use the same spelling books too - snap! It is nice to know that someone else uses a similar ecclectic mix to us. Looks like a fun day was had by all!
February 27th, 2008 at 11:22 am
I like the picture of Jodi holding the books for you. Look at how she is paying attention to the book you are reading. You can see the wheels turning there. LOL
February 27th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Jodi is such a big helper. You sure have a bunch of studious little ones there. Jenna, Latin? What a bright girl. I could barely speak English when I was her age. ;) If she can speak Latin and read it and understand it… you are doing fabulous at educating. We also do the one sheet/assignment per lesson. Short classes help them to focus on the work and not when it might end. Nice chatting yesterday. :)
February 27th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Looks good.
I love those benches, too. Total bench envy.
OK, i am feeling cold looking at you in that sleeveless shirt.
Must be those postpartum hormones.
February 27th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
I have kids without FAS but they (2 of them anyway) still have that “flow through phenomenon”! Thanks for sharing about your day ~ it’s very encouraging to see how others do things.
Blessings ~ Diane W.
February 27th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
I would be very interested in a list of what you read together. That looks like so much fun!
I love your blog. Thanks for sharing your day.
Blessings,
Abby
February 27th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Okay! What do you use for the handwriting??? I love the look of those books!!!
February 27th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
I really appreciate you sharing this. I’ve just started looking at curriculum (Sonlight) and was wondering how all the other subjects got covered…(duh?). I’ve got four more years to figure this all out. Please keep telling us details b/c it helps to flesh out what homeschooling is and how it works for those of us new to the concept.
February 27th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Dianna, you just skimmed the post didn’t ya?? ;) Caught red-handed. They use A Reason For Handwriting. (3rd paragraph)
:)
February 27th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
Wow, Jessica’s printing is beautiful. What I wouldn’t give for my 3rd grader to care about what her printing looked like… Great pictures too, I love seeing how other families “do school”.
February 28th, 2008 at 3:14 am
[information that was there yesterday may not be there today] This was my biggest frustration with the public school system. Marissa simply wasn’t allowed to have off days… because then she was deemed lazy, not trying, refusing to focus, disrupting the class. Off days usually only affect math. For some reason, FAS brains just seem to sometimes have problems accessing number sequences.
Anyway, on off days we do life skills training. My daughter turns 16 today and she told me last night, “In two years from today you have to give me a going away party.” She is moving to New York to be a Broadway star. (Because when you are 18 you move out don’t you know?)
She still has a LOT to learn before she leaves me to make her million. I wonder if I am going to live through the when you are 16 you have a boyfriend stage?
February 28th, 2008 at 5:48 am
Cute haircut Jessica!
February 28th, 2008 at 6:24 am
I read Cris’ comments on Jeff’s blog and I frankly find it sad that so many people are ignorant about homeschooling. We have been conditioned to believe that learning only takes place at a certain place in a certain way. I have not “done school” since I graduated from college. Does that mean I haven’t learned anything? Frankly, when I left school that’s when true learning began to take place.
IF you only homeschooled your kids a few weeks a year they would likely still make more progress than they make in public school, especially with some of their special needs. We do very little formal bookwork here and my kids can meet or surpass any of their public school peers.
I would much rather see pictures of your children roller blading, playing playmobil, holding the baby, etc. then sitting around doing bookwork (they look like they’re enjoying it though).
Btw, we also use A Reason For Handwriting. I wish Andrew’s printing looked as nice as Jessca’s. He reads above 3rd grade level and teaches himself math facts, but he writes like a kindergartener, lol!
February 28th, 2008 at 7:35 am
To Jazzy,
To say that “… my kids can meet or surpass any of their public school peers.” is presumptuous and I’m wondering how you measured their superiority?
February 28th, 2008 at 10:59 am
Do you have an opinion on home school co-ops?
February 28th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Abby, we are using Sonlight. We got our books form there.
Barb, you called Jazzy perfectly. Presumptuous is the best way to describe her. Congratulations.
Rebecca, Co-ops are one of the few things I don’t have an opinion about. ;)
February 28th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Barb, I should have been more clear - when I said “meet or surpass any of their public school peers” I meant they could do the same level of of work or higher than their peers in public school are doing, not that they are superior to the students themselves. I’ve examined the public school curricula and typical requirements, so that’s how I know.
Katie, I was just expressing support for the kind of photos you choose to display here on your blog. Didn’t mean to offend.
February 28th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Jazzy, I understood you perfectly. :) I’m not worried about who you may have offended. You are entitled to your opinion and I don’t mind that you express it here. :)
February 28th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Hiya Katie! Thanks for stopping by tonight. And thanks for the encouragement, I needed that one tonight! What I didn’t mention was that I spent most of my shower sobbing!! I’m one of those people who hold it together in a crisis and fall to pieces afterwards. I was soooo scared last night, but had to keep my head clear to listen to and talk to Dr’s so I just kept refusing to think about the scary options!! Denial at it’s best! LOL! Then I got in the shower and simply went to pieces. I typed out that post just after getting out of the shower, so I guess I was still (and still am) feeling a bit raw. Thanks for being there and for sharing! I really appriciate it.
February 28th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
That looks amazingly like our school day! Even right down to the same read aloud books! ;) Love it!! Wish we could just live right next door… we could trade off days! :O)
February 28th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Thanks to you, Katie, I have three kids addicted to Club Penguin! LOL! Those little puffles sure are cute.
February 28th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
P.S. Math-U-See is the greatest! Love it! Steve Demme seems like a really nice guy.
February 28th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
What wonderful pictures!
Making milk, delivering it, reading and keeping everyone together= excellent multi-tasking skills!!
God bless you and your family. :)
Susie
February 29th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
That’s so great that you only have two weeks left of homeschool after this week!! haha!