Week 11: The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree

This week Papa was the teacher.

 I wish I took pictures of the two of them doing math.  It was so cute.

For our family field trip we went to the Museum of Glass

 We where suppose to make an apple pie but Gwenevere didn't want apple pie so we made a pumpkin pie from the pumpkins we grew in our garden.  It's the same idea.

As for the curriculum Papa was the teacher this week so I'm not sure what all they covered.  I know they did some apple counting and math, and learned about the seasons.  She also did her letter worksheets.  

Week 10: Baby Owls

This week we learned about owls, we did some owl research and learned the difference between ovals and circles.  Sometimes I feel like the curriculum is way to easy but than I talk to Gwenevere's online teacher and I'm reassured that this is what Kindergarten looks like.  So we're doing what we want and when Gwenevere's interested in a subject we dig in but if she's bored we move on.  I still need to find my routine with daily reading and math work, but overall Gwenevere is successfully learning and isn't in any rush to grow up.  We just need more playdates.  And I already feel so overly socialized. LOL  The joys and frustrations of home schooling.

Week 9: The Real Mother Goose

This week we read lots of poems from The Real Mother Goose.  My favorite poem was "The Cat and the Fiddle".  We practiced memorizing the poem each day.  Goose starts with G and my name starts with G.  We also learned the months of the year.  My birthday is in January and January is the first month of the year.  

Week 8: Goodnight Goon

This week we read Good Night Goon.  It's like Goon Night Moon but it's about Halloween.  The pictures in both books look alike but there are no black in white pictures in Good Night Goon.  There where lots of rhyming words in the book like, moon and Lagoon, mummies and tummies, boo and goo and claws and jaws.  

Then I made up my on Good Night rhyme 

Good night fat cat, 
good night black bat.

Good night stars that glow,
good night heater that blows. 


We took made me a mummy using toilet paper.  I first made a guess on how many times it would take to wrapped me up on toilet paper.  I guessed 13 times.  then we counted as my mom made me into a mummy.  It took 16 times.  

In the book Goon Night Goon there is a skeleton, we painted a skeleton and used different colors for different parts of the body.  We painted the feet blue, legs red, hands green, arms brown, spine yellow, rib cage orange, and the skull black.  Then we did the skeleton dance.  

We also talked about mummies.  A long time ago when people died they would rape the bodies up and the buried the body deep in the grown.   Then we made me into a mummy.  

Week 7: But No Elephants

This week we read But No Elephants.  The book is about about a Grandma named Grandma Tildy who worked and worked and had no time to play.  One day a pet man appeared and said "Would you like to buy a bird?"  "Very well" said Grandma Tidly "but no elephants".   Once she made some soup and the bird sang a song Grandma Tildy felt happy.  The soup tasted better than before.  After a good night sleep, the pet man appeared again.  "Would you like to buy a beaver?"  He said.  "Every well, but no Elephants" Grandma Tidly replied.  The Beaver wanted to help so he cut up some firewood for her.  That night they sat in a rocking chair by the fire.  The next morning Grandma Tildy went to town to go shopping and the pet man appeared again "Would you like to buy a turtle" he asked.  "Very well" said Grandma Tildy.  the turtle wanted to help so he carried grandma Tildy home on his back.  That night Grandma Tildy gave the turtle a bath.  The next morning it rained and rained so hard the roof began to leak.  The pet man appeared and asked "Would you like to buy a woodpecker?"  "Every well, but no elephants."  The woodpecker nailed the roof and the water stopped coming in.  That night they had a party.  The next morning it was beginning to be winter.  Grandma Tildy and the animals where storing food for winter.  Then the pet man appeared.  The Pet man asked "Would you like to buy an Elephant.  Grandma Tildy replied yelling "NO ELEPHANTS!"   The pet man went away but left the elephant.  Grandma Tildy kept saying no elephants and it kept on snowing and snowing.  Soon Grandma Tildy felt sorry for the Elephant so she said "ok the elephant can come in".  But the elephant couldn't fit through the door so all the animals helped push the elephant into the house.  That night while everyone was sleeping they heard a big crush.  The Elephant had fallen through the floor.  Then the elephant kept eating and eating until all the food was gone.  Grandma Tildy said "if we leave we will freeze, if we stay we'll starve.  What should we do?"  The Elephant felt sorry then he thought of something.  He pulled the house out of the grown and walked and walked until they got to a shinny sunny place.  After that Grandma Tildly had a house full of Elephants.  The End.      

Elephants weigh a lot.  I weigh 39.0 lbs. pounds are a form of measuring weight.  We used our scale to measure every persons weight.  I used shapes to make an elephant we used circles, squares and triangles. I did my math work book, now i'm on page 70.

Week 6: Firefly

This week I read "Firefly".  It's about a boy who catches fireflies with his friends but in the end decides to let them go.  He's sad to let them go but happy they won't die in his jar.   I've never seen a firefly in real life.  I learned that flicker means to flash on and off.  Fireflies flicker.  We pretended my lights where fireflies flickering on and off.  

We forgot to take pictures of my firefly I made or any of my worksheets.  

We did a lot of math this week.  I counted 100 coins and pretended they where fireflies.  I put them in a jar and then let them go back in my piggy bank.  I counted the pennies by 1s and 10s.  I'm getting really good at counting to hundred by 10s.  Now my mom and I are practicing counting by 2s to 10 and counting by 5s to 100. 
I also count to one hundred when we are in the car going places.   

Week 4: What do you do with a Trail like this

This week I studies animals.  I watched a video about river otters and prepared a speech about kittens that I shared with my family.  I told my family that kittens can't eat milk from the store and tuna fish because it can make them sick.  I liked making a cat tail out of my crafting supplies.  Cats use their tails to balance. If a kitten wags it tails it might mean they are angry or don't want to play right now.  Cat's also have ears, whiskers,eyes, legs, fur and nose.  These parts make up the structure of a cat.  

Week 3: The little Island

This week we read "The little Island".  The Author Margaret also wrote Good Night Moon.  That is one of my favorite books.  My favorite part of the book "The Little Island" is the kitten.  I liked that the kitten talked to the fish.  The kitten told the fish "I'll eat you all up, if you don't answer this question."

Week 2: Hondo and Fabian

Reading: This week we read "Hondo and Fabian".  I love cats and dogs.  I have two cats and I want a dog but my mom says no.  I said the "h" sound every time my mom came to a word that started with an "h".  I also took a turn and told the story to my mom using the pictures to help me tell the story.  

Math: I practiced counting to 20, it was easy. I liked the cat and dog cut outs I used to count to 20.  I like to count to 100.  I also practiced writing the numbers 4 and 5.  I like writing the number 6 the most.  We also practiced taking away some of the cats and dogs and seeing which group had more.  

Science: I mixed water and powder paint together.  We talked about the differences between cats and dogs.  Dogs and cats both have ears.  Cats climb and prrr, Dogs bark.  We made a circle graph to display the differences and similarities of cats and dogs. 

Social Studies: My mom showed me a map of Washington.   I showed her where the beach was and we talked about what we would do if we where Hondo at the beach.  I love splashing in the waves.  

Art: I painted a picture of my friend Ava.  Like Hondo and Fibian I like to do somethings with Ava and somethings on my own.  My best friend is my little sister.  I sang "BINGO" and colored a picture of a dog named BINGO. 

Week 1: A is for Musk Ox

Reading: We read  A is for Musk Ox.  Nothing was my favorite part of the book.  I practiced writing the big and little A's.  I liked that my Mom put a star by her favorite letter I wrote.  
A herd means an group of animals that live together like my family.

Math:  I played with the new blocks.  I made a row from little to biggest.  In the car I help my little sister count to 100 with me.

Science:   I went to the zoo (Point Defiance Zoo) and I saw I Musk Ox.  the musk ox ate grass and rested in the grass

Art: I colored a Mush Ox and put cotton balls on it's back.  

Social Studies:  We looked at a map and found the cold places where Musk Ox live.  They live in Canada, Green Land and Alaska.  
My mom took me to the Space Needle.  I like to call it the Space Noodle because it looks like a noodle.  it is an old building that represents the future.  We played in the splash park next to the Space Needle and we fed and chased the pigeons.  I like to get wet.  

Field Trip Friday

For weeks Gwenevere has been asking to go to the Space Needle so for our very first home school field trip we went exploring Seattle.  It was the first time I took all three kids to Seattle by myself.  My biggest scare for our adventure was the traffic.  Minus the hour it took to get from the space needle to I-5 on our way home the adventure went picture perfect.  Here are the pictures to prove it.

We left home around 11 am after finishing up Gwenevere's school work.  I couldn't bring myself to pack a lunch, packing three kids down town was enough for me to carry, so we went to the Mac Donald's across the street from the Space Needle.

the girls may beg for this everyday, but Everett is not a fan.  More milk please.

while exploring the Space Needle gift shop Grace found this special treasure

Gwenevere loves it too

 While we where looking at the gift shop I got a text from my friend that she had her baby.  I think i'll think of Baby Evie every time I go to the space Needle, it was a pretty cool text to get.

The center of the Center

Becoming Leaf Girl

Everett loved chasing the pigeons 

And the pigeons loved being chased.  They seriously stayed within 3-5 feet of the kids just to encourage the kids to chase them.  

Music is  played on speakers that are timed to the fountain.  Grace danced while Gwenevere splashed

She had the fountain to herself

touching the ball while the music wasn't playing

Everett had a turn touching the ball

Taking a brake to reflect in her journal.

Happy Dance

We got the last package from Columbia Virtual Academy last night.  Gwenevere is so excited for school.  This morning we did her first lesson(s) she had so much fun we did a whole weeks worth of lessons.

Unschooling day one

Today Gwenevere asked to design her own clothes for today.  Yep that's what we did.  I gave her a marker and an plain white shirt with a little stain on it.  This is what she created

The best part was watching her create it wearing just her underwear.  hahahha

Today we'll go to the zoo, and read books about owls and kittens.  Gwenevere will also clean her room and make her bed.  Learning to work is a good thing to learn.

Happy First Day of Unschooling Homeschooling

The panic of starting something new

I wanted to create a little place where I can record our daily adventures of homeschooling.  With the panic of beginning something new, I've been worried that I will do it wrong.  But today I got an e-mail for Gwenevere's academic adviser that made me feel like i'm going to be just fine.  Here is the letter

Hi Elizabeth,

Thank you for following up. It can definitely be stressful and frustrating getting started. You are not expected to hit the ground running. Take it step-by-step and it will all come together, I promise. You will do well.

Regarding Moving Beyond the Page, CVA sends out the literature books and textbooks. MBTP sends out all the lesson guides and other learning materials. The following link will be highly beneficial in getting started with Moving Beyond the Page: http://www.movingbeyondthepage.com/gettingstarted/.  It typically takes about 10 working days to receive all learning materials.

You have deciphered Gwenevere’s Asset page correctly. Once you have all the learning materials you can go ahead and get started. In the meantime, enjoy some informal reading with Gwenevere, take some nature walks, go to the library or engage in other activities that will nurture her love for learning.

I hope this helps.