Weekly Wrap up #2

This week in first grade...

In Poetry..
We read Autumn from Journey Through Time, and started working to memorize our poem of the month.   The Silly Poem this week was Arabella Miller.  Ava drew a funny scene from the poem, and Cyrus drew what he thought the caterpillar looked like.

In Social Studies....
We talked about the evolution of our world.  I used these two great books, Life Story and Life on Earth.  Both books really brought to life the story of evolution.  Ava loves them, she even recognized that one of the facts in Life Story (written in 1962) was now outdated.  Pretty cool.

In the Kitchen..
We made orange pineapple banana popsicles.   YUM.  Perfect treat for this unbearable heat!
~1 Cup Orange Juice
~3 Bananas
~1/2 Cup Pineapple Juice
~Blend, add to popcicle molds, and freeze.

In Music...
We played a tweaked version of Rhythm Baseball.  It involved a lot of running and laughing that was desperately needed at the time.  Did we learn heaps about Rhythm?  I could care less.

In Art..
Painted a representation of our poem of the week.  And... We decorated the house for fall!

In Art Study..
We explored Hunters in the Snow, by Pieter Breugel.  Ava said "I think this is pretty great!  It's very pretty.  I like big beautiful views of pretty places more than cities."  I think I'd agree to that.

 In Science We..
~Drew Maps
~Finished this map workbook that we started over the summer
~Identify North and South Poles on a globe
~Solidified the correlation that maps are flattened (and in most cases up close) images from the globe

In Math We...
~reviewed half
~learned that quarter is half of half
~found a quarter of twelve objects, a dollar, and an hour
~learned the term octagon and tessellate
~made paper octagons from two squares
~discovered whether square, rectangles or octagons can tessellate

Another full week.  Another great week.  Ava read a book aloud to Matt this week.  A very exciting breakthrough for her, as she would only read aloud to me previously.  We also started our weekly park days with other homeschool families again this year!

Autumn

Yellow the bracken,
Golden the sheaves,
Rosy the apples,
Crimson the leaves:
Mist on the hillside,
Clouds grey and white.
Autumn, good morning!
Summer, good night!


This is the poem we are reading this week (painting by Ava).
I love it so much I think I'm going to make it a fall table blessing...
I love Autumn.

rainbow ice

A (mock) Tutorial

1. Start with  searing hot September days.  

2. Add a few flushed, frustrated kids.  

3. Take a bowl  of ice.  

4. Mix in heaping amounts of salt, and as much food coloring as your heart calls for.

~ start with colorful patches here and there.

~Look for room to add more color

~ end with a bowl of tie dyed fantastic mess.

~Watch the salt create intricate patterns.

 Finish with a biiiig thank you to all those blogging mamas who come up with, and share great ideas. You've saved my a** on a hot (still) summer day.

First Grade

This is a look at how we plan our week in first grade.  Our day is "scheduled" (in quotations because honestly, if you knew me, you'd know how casually I take all schedules)  so that we work for a little while in the morning, and finish in the afternoon.  We have lots of room in our day to move things around.  This 'schedule' works as a backbone, and gives me an idea of what to prepare.  We have a lot of goals, but as a mother I must never forget how important it is for my first grader to stop, and well...

Gratitude Mondays..

Here's What I am loving today...

~Ballet Under the Stars...

~A little baby who found the stars tonight...
(at Ballet Under the Stars)

~A conversation over heard between my little girl and her father...
(she was explaining the complex social organization of fairy society)

~A little boy who gets louder in direct response to the amount of times he told to be quieter...
(Annoying, perhaps.  Predictable, yes.  Totally adorable to me)

~A partner who listens to me...
(Its so good to feel heard)

~Making decisions.

~Birthday party sundaes...

~Tomatillo salsa...

Here's to a new week!

2011 Weekly Wrap Up... #1

Welcome to the 2011/12 school year!

We had our first week of school this week.  To celebrate the first day we took photos.

 

Ava rocked the bonnet, she is a huuuuge fan of Little House in the Big Woods.  Cyrus (long sleeves in 100* plus heat) decided that his photo should be taken in the apple tree.
Gotta love 'em.

In Poetry
We started our poem of the month, Summer Storm from Swing Around The Sun.  Our poem of the week (which I forgot about until Thursday.  Whoopsie)  was Important Apple, from Margret Wise Brown's Important Book.  There was going to be a whole apple theme this week, but apple picking has been moved for a few weeks in hopes of better picking weather.  (ie NOT SO HOT)   Our silly poem activity this week (still working on the name) was to listen to Willie McGurckle and draw a picture of him.

In Social Studies
We talked about timelines.  I introduced the clock of eras, and used these pages as a guide.  Ava made a personal timeline of her life.  (for some reason she only sometimes has a head in her illustrations.  hmm)

In the Kitchen
This week we made playdough.  (I'm guessing we'll be doing that a lot)  This weeks playdough was camping themed.  A rich green with cedar oil mix in for scent.  yum!

 Music
I'm trying to work in some music appreciation study this year.  This is one of the activities I may drop if we don't have time.  This week I used a lesson plan (found here) to introduce the idea of each person having a role, and using the beat.  We had a lot of fun, so I hope we can continue doing something like this once a week.

Art activities

We tried a few new things.  We made leaf imprints with leaves we had gathered while camping.  Later we made fall paintings using these.  Both of our pictures are now decorating our binders.

In Art Study

 We explored Maya with her Doll by Picasso.  Ava thought this painting was disturbing.  She didn't like the way it made her feel.  I thought it was interesting to look at things from more than one angle, but I couldn't help but agree.  This just isn't our thing, I guess.

In Science

We reviewed how the earth rotates on its axis.  And used a globe to demonstrate the passage of day and night and its relation to the earth's rotation.  This naturally led into the concepts of east and west, north and south which worked well with a map curriculum that we played with over the summer.

In Math we

~ started experimenting with weight

~compared weights using a math balance

~calculated missing weights needed to balance

~read water levels in a measuring cup

~compared volumes

~discussed capcity

Yikes!  It was a full week.  I think with some tweaking we will have a really good thing going.  I'm very interested to see what  activities make the cut, and what makes it through the whole year.   I think I only said our closing blessing twice, so that's not looking to good... Whew.

smiles are....

...not going to happen.  For some reason when a camera is pointed at this boy a smile is the last thing he's going to show you.  I'm cool with that.  I'll just take pictures of "pine cone face"  until he changes his mind.  You should see him when he sees these photos.  He LOVES them.  And I LOVE him, so we are even.

Yup.

I could spend hours just checking out that belly button.

Sol and I have so much in common.

camping is.

The smell of the campfire, morning and night.

Time Spent Together.

 A time to learn something new.
 Nature Hikes.

Quiet.

Gathering wild flowers, soft moss, and colorful mushrooms.
Discovering New Creatures.

Tradition.

  

Gratitude Mondays...

Here's what I am loving today...


~A fantastic camping trip...
(I found an owl pellet, and I am very excited!)

~The Princess Bride...
(I've come to terms with the fact that it's my favorite movie)

~A baby who says "I love you"...
(It sounds [exactly] like "ya ya ya ya", but I know what he means)

~A little girl who starts 1st grade today!
(and lost her 5th tooth this weekend)

~A little boy who starts Preschool today...
(He wants to be part of the magic of school, and so he is)

A few more great book series...
(I have read A LOT in the last few weeks.)

~A partner who takes good care of me...
(and who I enjoy taking care of in return)

~A new 'homeschool room'!
(more on that later)


~The first day of school!!!
Bring on year 2011/12


I'm looking forward to finding our perfect rhythm, and exploring a new season.