Today I'm feeling really yucky: achy all over, swollen throat, headache, and fever. So we didn't do much today, but Kathryn is such a good helper! While I'm awake & the Advil is keeping my fever down, I'm trying to get this written and posted. If there are typos or any random, run-on sentences, please forgive my fever brain!
Our verse this week was James 1:19: "Be quick to listen, slow to speak." I chose that one because it went along with her Little Annie's Art Book lesson about being courteous to others.
For our handiwork for the week, Kathryn made an adorable bunny (see my previous post). Kathryn has been re-reading her series of Little House books, and loving them just as much this time around. They are providing fuel for her homesteading aspirations. She also enjoyed another "Dear America" book, Jasper Jonathan Pierce, the journal of an orphan pilgrim boy in 1620. Ambleside readings comprised the majority of our history study, and Kathryn also read about current events in her God's World News "Taking Off" magazine.
We watch very little television, but once night each week, while I'm hosting a ladies' Bible study group, Kathryn and Ken watch Alton Brown's show, Good Eats. Besides sparking a desire to cook, he's great about including a good dose of humor, along with some science (of things like why to mix which ingredients in what order because of the chemical reactions) and often some history, too. This week's episode was on okra, and I realize I have not been a proper Southern mama because I have never cooked fried okra for my family! I grew up eating it, but I've never actually cooked it myself. (Tragic, I know.)
Besides doing a couple of pages of her Italics C workbook, Kathryn wrote letters to two pen-pals recently. One is a friend who recently moved out of state (we're waiting on her return letter), but she and her cousin Cullen have been exchanging notes in the mail this week, even though they don't live far away at all! Getting an actual piece of real mail in the mailbox can be very exciting, and a motivating reason to practice handwriting.
For nature study this week, we didn't actually get outdoors much because it's been a very rainy week, but we have been observing our birds at the feeder and in the yard. Yesterday we watched a robin take a leisurely bath in our birdbath, and we noticed this week that the cowbirds are back for the season. They lay their eggs in another bird's nest (just one in each different nest), so we got to wondering how they grow up to know they are cowbirds. Sounds like a study we'll have to do soon. But this week we studied bluebirds, even before we knew that was the newest Outdoor Hour Challenge! We learned how very beneficial they are because they eat so many insects. We discussed the many ways birds use their beaks, too; handy little things, they are! We've also been trying to learn the songs of the birds that serenade us every day. A great site for that is Learn Bird Songs, where you can listen to recordings of many bird sounds and songs.
Another funny little "nature study" thing Kathryn did this week: while we were paying for our groceries at Trader Joe's, Kathryn went over and started examining the potted tulips and daffodils for sale, and called me over to show me all the flower parts, including pollen. Then she went around pollinating the flowers, taking pollen from one flower and pollinating another flower of the same type. It just struck me as so funny!
When I suggested a painting project this week, Kathryn wanted to do a paint-by-number we had. She had fun with it, and experimented with mixing paint colors, and I'd say it helped her work on her patience a bit, too!
Last year, although testing isn't required until third grade in our state, I went ahead and gave Kathryn a standardized test, so she'd get familiar with the process, and to keep for my records. I'll plan to do that again in a few weeks for this school year, and have already ordered it from Seton Testing. We also did the Let's Go Learn online reading assessment last year, which gave me a good deal of helpful information about her strengths and weaknesses. She did another one this morning to see how she's doing as we near the completion of our second grade year. Last year I was rather surprised that her comprehension wasn't better than it was, so we focused a bit more on narration, and she brought that up from a 4th grade level last year to a 9th grade level this year. Her vocabulary recognition is very high, and she tested at the maximum level in phonics & such. Her lowest scores were for spelling (low 4th grade level), so we'll devote a bit more time to that in our upcoming school year.
We're taking off next week, as Kathryn is with her dad for spring break, and then we have an exciting, fun-for-the-whole-family field trip planned the following week. Yay! Now I just have to get to feeling better. Speaking of that, my achies are coming back, so I'm off to take more Advil and drink more hot tea.
Our verse this week was James 1:19: "Be quick to listen, slow to speak." I chose that one because it went along with her Little Annie's Art Book lesson about being courteous to others.For our handiwork for the week, Kathryn made an adorable bunny (see my previous post). Kathryn has been re-reading her series of Little House books, and loving them just as much this time around. They are providing fuel for her homesteading aspirations. She also enjoyed another "Dear America" book, Jasper Jonathan Pierce, the journal of an orphan pilgrim boy in 1620. Ambleside readings comprised the majority of our history study, and Kathryn also read about current events in her God's World News "Taking Off" magazine.
We watch very little television, but once night each week, while I'm hosting a ladies' Bible study group, Kathryn and Ken watch Alton Brown's show, Good Eats. Besides sparking a desire to cook, he's great about including a good dose of humor, along with some science (of things like why to mix which ingredients in what order because of the chemical reactions) and often some history, too. This week's episode was on okra, and I realize I have not been a proper Southern mama because I have never cooked fried okra for my family! I grew up eating it, but I've never actually cooked it myself. (Tragic, I know.)
Besides doing a couple of pages of her Italics C workbook, Kathryn wrote letters to two pen-pals recently. One is a friend who recently moved out of state (we're waiting on her return letter), but she and her cousin Cullen have been exchanging notes in the mail this week, even though they don't live far away at all! Getting an actual piece of real mail in the mailbox can be very exciting, and a motivating reason to practice handwriting.
For nature study this week, we didn't actually get outdoors much because it's been a very rainy week, but we have been observing our birds at the feeder and in the yard. Yesterday we watched a robin take a leisurely bath in our birdbath, and we noticed this week that the cowbirds are back for the season. They lay their eggs in another bird's nest (just one in each different nest), so we got to wondering how they grow up to know they are cowbirds. Sounds like a study we'll have to do soon. But this week we studied bluebirds, even before we knew that was the newest Outdoor Hour Challenge! We learned how very beneficial they are because they eat so many insects. We discussed the many ways birds use their beaks, too; handy little things, they are! We've also been trying to learn the songs of the birds that serenade us every day. A great site for that is Learn Bird Songs, where you can listen to recordings of many bird sounds and songs.
Another funny little "nature study" thing Kathryn did this week: while we were paying for our groceries at Trader Joe's, Kathryn went over and started examining the potted tulips and daffodils for sale, and called me over to show me all the flower parts, including pollen. Then she went around pollinating the flowers, taking pollen from one flower and pollinating another flower of the same type. It just struck me as so funny!When I suggested a painting project this week, Kathryn wanted to do a paint-by-number we had. She had fun with it, and experimented with mixing paint colors, and I'd say it helped her work on her patience a bit, too!
Last year, although testing isn't required until third grade in our state, I went ahead and gave Kathryn a standardized test, so she'd get familiar with the process, and to keep for my records. I'll plan to do that again in a few weeks for this school year, and have already ordered it from Seton Testing. We also did the Let's Go Learn online reading assessment last year, which gave me a good deal of helpful information about her strengths and weaknesses. She did another one this morning to see how she's doing as we near the completion of our second grade year. Last year I was rather surprised that her comprehension wasn't better than it was, so we focused a bit more on narration, and she brought that up from a 4th grade level last year to a 9th grade level this year. Her vocabulary recognition is very high, and she tested at the maximum level in phonics & such. Her lowest scores were for spelling (low 4th grade level), so we'll devote a bit more time to that in our upcoming school year.We're taking off next week, as Kathryn is with her dad for spring break, and then we have an exciting, fun-for-the-whole-family field trip planned the following week. Yay! Now I just have to get to feeling better. Speaking of that, my achies are coming back, so I'm off to take more Advil and drink more hot tea.
