The Homeschool Mother's Journal ~ 3

 

In my life this week...

I've been anxiously awaiting my sister's arrival.  Both of my sisters, my brother-in-law, my niece, and my aunt are driving in from Michigan (to Texas) to visit my mother and my family.

I haven't seen them in about 2 years and I'm very excited.  They have been stranded in Arkansas for two days now and my life has just been an emotional roller coaster.  Coupled with the fact that I'm moving this weekend, it's amazing that I'm still sane enough to even write this post:)

In our homeschool this week...

We decided to give Times Tales a try since Sunshyne continues to struggle with memorizing her upper times tables.  So far so good with the Times Tales program.  She liked the story and seems to get the concept.  I'm just wondering if she will retain the information.  I taught her times tables using a bead system like in the  Montessori method, so she gets how it works.  She can figure them out but she just hasn't memorized them.  I'm hoping this program works.

Places we're going and people we're seeing...

Sunshyne goes to a free PE class for homeschoolers at a local community center.  She loves going and getting a chance let off some steam with her friends.  Also, she has her Girl Scouts meeting every other Tuesday and this week was the cookie meeting week.  She's been excited about her sales so this was a fun meeting.

My favorite thing this week was...

All the smiles.  It seemed like everything we did this week was fun and exciting, I really enjoyed that.

What's working/not working for us...

One of the things that truly works for our homeschool is reading presentations.  I was blessed to get my hands on the Scott Foresman "Seeing is Believing" reader that 4th graders use in the public schools in my area... for Free!  Saved me from buying a gazillion single novels and exposed her to some literature that I probably wouldn't have had the insight to purchase this year.  

I have both of the kids do independent reading in the morning and then do a verbal presentation of what they read, what they think about it, and answer questions about their reading.  This way there's two less papers added to my grading pile everyday, they get immediate feedback about their work, and I don't get behind with their grades.  Not to mention it increases their oral presentation skills and exposes them to other literature from hearing the other persons presentation. Win-win situation.  

Homeschool questions/thoughts I have...

I'm excited about the slew of homeschool conventions that are coming up and trying to decide what I'm going to continue for next year and what I will change.  I love going to my local convention and just being around other homeschoolers.  I also love the workshops and speakers to help keep me motivated.  All of the hustle and bustle of preparing for the upcoming year...exciting!

A photo, video, link, or quote to share...

I'd been in the mood for some professional development and was surfing around the Internet looking for something free to refresh my creativity and spark for teaching.  I found the Annenberg Learner List, which is more so for public school teachers but many of the same principles apply to any teacher.  The Videos On Demand (VoD) are completely free, I watched several helpful clips.

Thanks for stopping by, please visit The Homeschool Chick to read other Mother's Journals.

~Blessings~

Claudea B.