Human Body study

W has always been a little (ok, a lot) creeped out by learning about organs, skeletons, etc. I blame the episode of Curious George when George goes inside his own body when he has a cold. Seriously, W still hates that idea! So we tended to skip those Magic Schoolbus themed books as well. He has done way better with more abstract books (like Enjoy Your Cells).

We did a one day unit study of some of the basics, and although he knew about most of them already from reading or absorbing everyday knowledge, it was a nice project to give him a visual and give a little introduction of  the underrated organs that he didn't know too much about (such as the gallbladder).

We used the science workbook My Body, which had copies of each organ and a detailed description of the functions. We made copies so he could color them in and then we could still read the book afterwards for review.

We taped it up on the wall for a couple of days (supposedly safely away from puppies, although Lucy finally ripped a corner so it is down now). The organs were taped so you could lift them up and view the others underneath.

whole body view

He was glad to get this finished, and we will be reviewing the different systems of the body in the Giant Science book. W already read about the Skeletal system, and with Halloween on its way watching our annual favorite The Skeleton Dance was an inspiring and silly way to bring it up.

What we're using this year (part 1)

It’s been a while since I did a post on the curriculum we’re using (besides FIAR of course). This year first grade was a bit more intimidating, although I know it shouldn’t be. We sent our first letter of intent to homeschool in July. That felt very liberating, but after that the need to plan for this year set in. We are not using a box curriculum and haven't yet, so planning each subject was a wee bit overwhelming at first. Now that we are a couple of weeks into our routines I am seeing what works and what can wait a while. I find that with W just leaving books that I want him to read around the house will work almost by osmosis, since he loves reading most anything. I will break this post into a few posts by subjects.

Math

W is using Math-U-See Alpha this year, which he started last spring after finishing their Primer, but took a break on over the summer. As we started our first week he got a bit frustrated (mainly the writing part) so next summer we may keep doing some worksheets more often. He loves math but sometimes it is a chore to sit down to do workbook pages, but he loves the Math-U-See blocks and even little C can join him in building towers and bridges with them. W finished up Chapter 3 and is starting Chapter 4 this week. We didn’t watch the DVD lesson overview for 3 (How I’ve missed Steve!) We will catch up on that this week. As Math supplements W has Kumon workbooks on Geometry and Counting Money, as well as the board game Sum Swamp.

Science

First grade is traditionally supposed to be when you learn about how your body works. You know, organs, muscles, skeleton, etc. Unfortunately, W is totally freaked out by anything like this right now, so we will ease into that gradually. He prefers to focus on Astronomy, so for now that is the plan. W loves the book A Child’s Introduction to The Night Sky by Michael Driscoll. He also likes doing experiments, and has a mini weather station that his Grandpa gave him set up on the deck to check the wind speed, temperature and rainfall totals. W is also keeping a nature journal and I encourage him to observe things outside to notice all the details of the local wildlife and changing seasons. I want to work in a few more trips to the Aquarium in this year as well, especially to see some feeding times and shows for the animals like the penguins and sea lions.

History

Initially I resisted buying a history curriculum, as W learns a lot by reading books, but something drew me to the Story of the World. I am drawn to history. Yes, even census records and some dry facts, but I know most people aren’t. W isn’t necessarily drawn to it unless he understands the context, the story that it tells. This curriculum is Classical in approach but it is very accessible. We went ahead and ordered The Story of the World with the workbook for Volume 1 (Ancient Civilizations) and the book on CD. We have so far made an archeology dig in the sandbox, learned about the Fertile Crescent and are working on the Egyptians this week. One of the projects is mummifying a chicken, but I don’t think I’m ready for that one yet! I love the workbook, and we are keeping a notebook with printouts of the pages along with a journal for narration and W’s illustrations along the way. Adults can brush up on their history knowledge with this book as well; I am excited about introducing timelines to W! :)

Geography

We are members in a local geography co-op which just started up last week. The co-op will travel the United States through literature so it is a great way of learning of the different regions of our country. We also have 2 GeoPuzzles for the US & Canada, and Europe. W likes them as puzzles so it is kind of a sneaky way to work in learning about other places while he’s at it! They are tactile maps and many of the European puzzle pieces are the same shapes as the countries. I am planning to get some of the other GeoPuzzles for Christmas this year. W also subscribes to Highlights’ “Which Way USA?” as a supplement.

Coming soon: books and curricula we like for literature, grammar, writing, spelling, spiritual development, art, languages, exercise, an overview of unit studies we're planning for this fall/winter, and a C update.

Magic Tree House books

W has recently discovered the Magic Tree House series of books by Mary Pope Osborne and in the past couple of days he has read several of them completely on his own. I asked him a few questions about them for reading comprehension and it seems like he understands the story but he is a speed reader! This means a library trip will be in order very soon. We bought several of these books at the Christmas Tree Shop which offers them at dollar or more off of list price (yes, I love a bargain). He has read #1 Dinosaurs Before Dark (and study guide), 2 The Knight at Dawn, 3 Mummies in the Morning, 4 Pirates Past Noon, 11 Lions at Lunchtime, and 23 Twister on Tuesday.

This reading transition to chapter books is happening as I am planning W's curriculum for spring/ summer 2011 so now I am in search of similar book suggestions, if you have any please post a comment. As for other subjects, we ordered the next step of Math-U-See (Alpha student & teacher texts). I am slowly acquiring other first grade materials, and will certainly be on the lookout for local book sales. We have a few things already including a set of Flat Stanley books we got at a homeschool book sale last year. W was a little young for them at the time but now I think they would be up his alley. We will also keep going with Five in a Row books and some of the longer chapter books such as Little House on the Prairie for read-alouds.

Today besides reading W was working again with the Explode the Code 1 workbook, Math-U-See, and making his own mazes and drawings. It was raining and sleeting today, it will be nice when the ice is gone and we can start thinking about the garden.

  

Kindergarten Lesson Planning

We will move to NH at the end of August, and W will begin homeschooling Kindergarten this September. Our main curriculum for this fall will revolve around Five in a Row and the Math-U-See primer. We are also planning a unit study on Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. W loves the "My First Little House" books so I can't wait to share the originals with him. Combined with some gardening, cooking, crafts, history, science and geography from FIAR, along with several phonics and early writing workbooks, I think it will be a pretty well rounded curriculum. We joined a wonderful forum with local homeschoolers and I can't wait to set up a play group and coop activities once we get settled in.

I picked up several teacher planning books at the Target dollar spot similar to the one I used for PreK last fall. They have blocks for each day of the week and make it easy for planning. They should help keep us organized. After the move I am hoping to turn our old changing table/shelves into a work-box style education station where we can keep all of the current books and supplies organized and at hand.

One surprise of moving to the Live Free or Die state is that there are actually more legal restrictions on homeschoolers. For age 6 and onward NH requires an annual evaluation along with your annual letter for intent to homeschool, while in MA you merely need to send the letter with your intent to homeschool to your local school district. Granted, some MA towns are more homeschool friendly than others, but I was certainly surprised that moving to NH means adding extra restrictions.

Often we hear that there should be more standards and tests, although please ask yourselves the question of who makes these tests and sets the bar. Every child learns differently and has different talents in life, and I see homeschooling as a way to more naturally express these talents and focus on their interests. Learning is about context as well as content, cramming meaningless dates into your brain when learning history does not spark a love for history, yet spending time to understand the events and how they affected people often does.