Friday, September 4, 2009

So Far, So Good

Our first three weeks were very smooth. As a student myself, I learned the importance of a child understanding what the subject is about. We are enjoying learning all about what geography is and why we study it. It is so much more than just looking at maps and studying facts. It is also the history of religion, philosophy, and the motivation behind why we find it so necessary to explore beyond our front porches. These are concepts that even my four year old can appreciate. There are a lot of great geography activities you can do with your kids. We have created a papier-mache earth and a map of our house. If you have older kids, let them make a map of your neighborhood or favorite shopping mall. You could even map-out Wal-Mart if you wanted to! Just understanding what a map is and why we need them is a basic concept that is so important to grasp.

My first grader is enjoying Draw Write Now. We have been working out of Book 6. She is compiling a book of illustrations and short sentences this year. So far, she has pages from creatures that live in various ocean habitats and in different types of habitats on land. Copying the pictures step by step is helping her penmanship and I am allowing her to decide which sentences from the book (2 out of 4) would best describe her picture. Maybe we have a future editor on our hands!

My preschooler is completely confident in his phonics sounds and we have decided that he can start the yellow workbook in HOP on Monday.

School is fun for them still. We have had 3 field trips already! I am planning on about one per week so we're right on schedule. However, with flu season heating up, we may be postponing a lot of them as time goes on. It's a great year to home-school!

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