1st Day of School

The first day of the school year is still strange for me. We never really stop teaching and learning, so when does one year stop and the next start?  In the past we marked the first day of the local school calendar as our first day of school.  This year, we went to California for the summer and missed the first day of school.  I arbitrarily picked yesterday as the first day of school.  It wasn't a great day to pick, but we made it work.  My oldest daughter had a doctor's appointment that resulted in lab work, x-rays, and another appointment later in the day.  The other two girls weren't exactly in the mood for school and it was a trying day for all of us.  If nothing else, I was reminded that we can always work things out and make the best of what we have.  My primary goal this year is to work on character and Bible lessons and we accomplished those assignments as well as a few others.  Today the girls all got right to work when they rolled out of bed and we accomplished more than yesterday with less stress.  I'm looking forward to tomorrow ad all that it holds.

C is For . . .

This theme is mainly review and the letter changes every two days.  We assembled a binder with a tab for each letter.  Each day's papers can be put into the binder for a sort of scrapbook to review.  Here are some of our slightly organized ideas for the letter C (of course we didn't do all of these and some are more specific than others):

• Food: coconut, chocolate, chili (recipe below), corn, cinnamon toast, cereal, crescent rolls, cookies, cake, chips, cantaloupe, cauliflower, cucumber, cupcake, carrot, carrot cake, candy, crackers, cheddar cheese, cheese crackers.
• Animals: cat, chinchilla, cow, cougar, chipmunk, cobra, crocodile, camel, caterpillar, to name a few.  Choose one or two to learn about.  Print coloring pages, draw, share facts, look at pictures.
• Shapes: circle, crescent.
• Science: climate, chemistry.
• Geography: mark locations on a map, make a fact book about Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa), Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoir.
• States: California, Colorado, Connecticut.
• Other places: classroom, cabin, circus, courthouse, campground, college, cathedral, church.
• Other things worth mentioning: clown, cotton, crayon, car, camera, computer.
• Math: sort, compare, count, add and subtract different types of cereal.  Make a bar graph using cereal.  Make a pie chart. Using a clock.
• Books: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and If You Give a Cat a Cupcake by Laura Numeroff 
• Songs: Clementine, Clap Your Hands With Me
• Art: make cards
• Misc: crazy hair day

* My daughter's name starts with C, so we incorporated her name into several of the activities.  We did this for family members' names on the appropriate days also.

Chili

1 can chili beans        2 large cans pinto beans, drained                 1 can kidney beans, drained  

1 can corn                  2 small cans tomato sauce             1 lb. ground beef, cooked and drained   

Combine all ingredients in a large crockpot.  Adjust quantities as needed.  Cook on low 4-6 hours.  Serve with crackers and shredded cheese.

B is for ...

This theme is mainly review and the letter changes every two days.  We assembled a binder with a tab for each letter.  Each day's papers can be put into the binder for a sort of scrapbook to review.  Here are some of our slightly organized ideas for the letter B (of course we didn't do all of these and some are more specific than others):

• Food: Bananas (make banana bread or banana pudding); beans (make bean salad, chili or Black Bean Nachos)
• Animals: bears, bulldogs, beavers, bison, to name a few.  Choose one or two to learn about.  Print coloring pages, draw, share facts, look at pictures.
• Science: set up a butterfly habitat
• Geography: mark locations on a map, make a fact book about Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belau, Belgium, Belize, Belorussia, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi.
• Math: sort, compare, count, add and subtract beans.  Make a bar graph using beans.
• Books: Berenstain Bears series
• Songs: The Bear Went Over the Mountain
• Art: make butterfly mirror paintings

Black Bean Nachos 

1 can cheese soup        1 cup shredded cheese                    1 can black beans, drained

1 cup milk                    1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips        1 package shell pasta, cooked & drained   

In a medium bowl, mix soup and milk.  In a large casserole dish, combine pasta, beans, and soup mixture.  Bake 30 minutes at 400 degrees.  Remove from oven, sprinkle tortilla chips and cheese over the top and bake and additional 15 minutes.  Serve with salsa and sour cream.

A is for ...

My youngest daughter will be five this month.  I'm not convinced that she is ready for kindergarten, but she started preschool at 3, homeschooled last year and we are going to see where we go this year.  She was a very shy child who came out gradually in preschool.  Last year when we began homeschooling, she always preferred play over school time.  With other events going on, I didn't push her.  This year, I want to see more social growing to make room for more book learning.  What we have chosen to do is a letter theme.  This is mainly review and the letter changes every two days.  We assembled a binder with a tab for each letter.  Each day's papers can be put into the binder for a sort of scrapbook to review.  Here are some of our slightly organized ideas for the letter A (of course we didn't do all of these and some are more specific than others):

• Food: Apples (taste testing and comparing, counting seeds, painting with apples, baking apple pie or cinnamon apples, expanding to the colors red and green); apricots (making jam, canning); avocados (making guacomole, the parts of a tree, germination)
• Animals: coloring pages of Alligators, Anteaters, Antelope, Aardvark, to name a few.
• Science: build an ant colony
• Geography: mark locations on a map, make a fact book about Arkansas, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Australia, Algeria, Austria
• Math: counting seeds in an apple, counting ants
• Books: The Ants Go Marching One By One, The Apple Pie That Papa Baked by Lauren Thompson

Welcome!

I am a homeschooling mom to 3 girls, ages 10, 7, and 5.  We love to learn, but not always in ways you would expect.  I like to do things around the edges of the box and my girls barely come into the box.  We use a mixture of my public school teaching background, homeschool curriculum, and everything in between and around.