More Homeschool Stuff...

It seems like each week I am changing our homeschool schedule. I'm trying to make it so the kids can be a bit more independent, but still challenged, in their learning. I'm also trying to figure out how to get one child who reads on a 7th grade level, and another child who reads on the low end of a 2nd grade level, to work together on readings and assignments. This is a work in progress. So, as of today, here is our homeschool schedule:

8:30-9:30 Math - I usually work with Drew for the first 30-40 minutes while Lily works on the computer. Then, Drew gets on the computer and Lily and I do a few activities together. We usually do a couple 4th grade common core math sheets together and then she chooses an activity to work on together...usually some sort of logic puzzle. Drew is doing Saxon math and I try to fit in common core concepts and worksheets once in awhile. Since Drew has a harder time with math, I think we'll work through the 2nd grade Saxon math to help him get facts down, as well as various concepts. Then, when we finish that book we'll take some time to go through common core concepts because he'll hopefully have a better grasp of number and how to break them apart or put them together in different ways. I know people have problems with common core, but I do think the math is good. It teaches kids the how and why of different concepts, not just memorize these steps and do it. I used some of the same concepts when I had struggling math students years ago. There are a few strategies used in common core that I don't think are beneficial....like tape diagrams. Other strategies are great though, like making 10s when adding numbers.

9:30-10:30 Reading - I am using the Open Court series with both kids. I used this when I was teaching and it worked great. The problem is trying to do the activities with just one kid and trying to fit it all in one hour. There's just too much. So, I've decided to change things a bit. I'm still using the story, but I'm only reading them to introduce the kiddos to different genres and to work on comprehension strategies. On Tuesday we do all the background stuff before reading the story. We read the story on Wednesday together and do a beginning-middle-end type summary. Then they reread on Thursday alone and do another comprehension activity. On Friday they just read a book of their choice. After they have done this, we usually read together, or they read alone, and then they do some sort of English/grammar activity. We read together again at night out of their chapter book. We also read scriptures together in the evenings. They do a writing activity in the afternoon. We've been writing different kinds of expository texts so far. Their reading books do have a writing piece, so I think I may start using that and we can do writing all together in the afternoons.

We still do our special classes (PE, library, keyboarding, and music) in the morning, unless we plan a special activity after lunch.

1:00-2:00 Social Studies/Science - I was doing social studies for an hour each day one week, then we'd do science the next week. I decided I didn't like that. Now I do social studies for 30 minutes each day. I usually read with Drew about communities for about 15-20 minutes, then he'll do a map worksheet or two. Lily is reading a book about Colorado history. I meet with her the first day of the week to go over what she'll be reading. She writes down one or two things learned in each section. We talk about her reading when she's done. Sometimes I read with her, sometimes she does this alone. She also does a map activity each day. Sometimes we read our non-fiction during reading time, sometimes we do it separately. Just depends on the day. We do science reading and activities together. This gets hard because Lily finishes so much faster than Drew, but she still wants to work with me. It's also a work in progress.

The times are flexible. Some mornings we start at 7:30 and get everything done before lunch. Some mornings we take breaks, some days we don't. I'm trying to stay flexible about this part of homeschooling based on what the kids want/need for that day. I like to get as much done before lunch as possible. Then I can workout and shower after lunch when the two littles are "resting" and the older two can have free time. It's also a lot harder to get them back on task after lunch.

We just bought a laptop so now we have a second computer. That will help during the day as well when they're both trying to do an activity that's online. Now they don't have to fight over the computer, or wait until the other person finishes. We just got it today so haven't been able to use it during our school days, but we're excited to try it and see if it makes things easier.

We have done some fun field trips for school: We went on a tour of the library and got to see how books are sorted, we went to Sunflower farms and got to feed animals and visit a working farm, and we've been to the Colorado State Capitol building where we went on a tour and go up in the dome. In the future we want to go to some state/national parks, an animal shelter, the police and fire stations, a grocery store, a factory, etc.

Capitol Building

 The Governor's office

 Standing on the 2nd floor, looking across to the Senate chamber. You can see the 3rd floor balcony to the left and right.

 Looking into the House of Representatives chamber. They are redoing the ceiling so there was lots of scaffolding and plastic and we couldn't go into the gallery. We will go back when they're in session.

 The old Supreme Court room. Now it's just used for committee meetings pretty much.

 Stained glass in the old court room.

 Original plans/picture by the architect, done on linen I believe the tour guide said.

 Up in the dome.

 Looking east from the dome balcony. That's our white suburban down on the street in front of the building.

 These markers pointing to the various mountain peaks were all around the dome balcony.

 Looking west, toward the City and County building, and the mountains.

 It was right after taking this picture that I looked down and noticed Rose was halfway through the railing. Don't know where she thought she was going...there is only about a 1 foot ledge, then nothing.....just the drop to the roof below. I yelled and she cried, but I caught her before she climbed all the way through.

 The Senate chamber.  Also working on restoring the ceiling. They clean the big, brass chandelier by hand.

One mile above sea level.

Sunflower Farm

 Feeding the sheep. Took awhile for them to get up the courage to do it, but then they liked it.

 Playing in the corn shed.

 More sheep

 Lily wasn't scared at all.

 Playing in the giant sandbox.

 Lily was the only one who wanted to ride the horse.

 Mama goat with her babies. I thought it looked like a sheep though. :) 

 Playing in the airplane.

 Looking at the goats.

 Playing on the tractors.

 Driving the tractor.

 Bulldozer fun

Anythink Library

 Watching Norbert sort books into the right bins.

This was pretty cool to watch!

Drew is doing really well with homeschool. He usually works hard and doesn't complain too much. I think he's starting to realize the benefits of this whole situation. Lily still struggles with staying on task, having a good attitude, and getting her work done quickly. She still whines and complains a lot, and wants me to "do it for her." We've decided she has until the end of this month to decide, and show us, that this is something she really wants to do. If not, we'll put her back in public school.

Losing...

Well, here's the post where I tell you what I'm doing to get healthy and lose weight. *Warning: lots of reading and no pictures!* When I say it isn't anything crazy, or special, I'm serious. I'm not on some crazy diet, I'm not cutting out any food or sugar, I'm not buying any supplements or diet products, and I'm not starving myself. My mom made the comment to me back when I started "It takes people a long time to put weight on, so I don't know why they expect to come off overnight." This isn't earth shattering news....it's basic common sense that I've known for YEARS. But, like many other people, I always wanted the quick fix....I wanted the weight off NOW.
 A friend of mine is losing lots of weight and I asked her what she was doing. She told me about the SparkPeople App. Now, many people use a Fitbit and My Fitness Pal, and I think SparkPeople is a lot like that. I've never used it, so I can't say for certain. So, I decided to check out SparkPeople. It was easy to use and told me exactly what I needed to do.
 When I signed up I entered my current weight, how much weight I wanted to lose, and how many pounds I wanted to lose per week. Now, here's where I share lots of personal information.....info that I wouldn't normally tell people....like my weight. But, for the sake of my personal record for the future, and to help anyone else who thinks it's impossible, I will. I started at 260 pounds, I want to lose 100 pounds, and I want to lose 2 pounds per week.
 I started using SparkPeople on May 18, 2015. When I started, and put in all my information, the app told me how many calories I should eat each day in order to lose 2 pounds per week. The thing I liked was that the range was doable: 1700-2060. I input, or scan the barcode, of food I eat and the calories, fat, protein, carbs, etc, are automatically calculated for me. My daily food log will show the breakdown of how many carbs I've eaten, and how many carbs I have left to eat for the day. I don't worry about these breakdowns, I just look mainly at the total calories. I can also input the exercise I do each day, and the calories I burn are calculated automatically as well. If, for example, I burn 500 calories in my daily workout, the app adds 500 calories to my daily calorie total that I can eat. However, I don't ever eat those calories back. I ALWAYS (with the exception of one day) stay under my 2000 calorie max. Most days, I try to stay near the lower end of my calorie range.
 I started recording my weight each week as well. The app shows a line graph of the 'goal' weight versus my actual weight. I've been losing more than the 2 pound per week goal because I've been working out everyday. I think the total calorie range it gives me in order to lose the 2 pounds each week is without any exercise. It's a very easy app to use, and it's really helped me to be more aware of what I'm eating, and to make better food choices at the same time. I don't deny myself any food. I just decide if the calories are worth it. For example, if it's the end of the day and I've only eaten 1400 calories, I might decide the 200 calories in 9 Hershey kisses is totally worth it!! Or I might decide to only eat half a serving (5 kisses for just over 100 calories).
 So, that's the food part of what I'm doing. Now for the exercise part. When I started tracking my calories, I'd already been doing a workout program for about 3 weeks. I don't belong to a gym, nor do I own any home exercise equipment, except for some dumbbells. I use both the 5 pound and 10 pound sets of dumbbells often. All my workout routines are online, which makes it simple to access no matter where I am. I was even able to keep to it while I was on vacation for a month. I've only missed a few days, and on those days I just make sure to stay at the low end of my calorie range for the day. I alternate cardio and strength training days.
 I'm following the Bikini Body Mommy Challenge workouts. I did challenge 1.0 a few months ago. I was three weeks into Challenge 2.0 when I started tracking my calories. I am now about a third of the way through Challenge 3.0. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I do my strength training. It will be the same weight routine/exercises for the whole week. The next Monday will start a new set of exercises, which I will do for the whole week. So, if I'm on day 20 on Monday, I just google bikini body mommy challenge 3.0 day 20, and a youtube video comes up showing the workout. The lady who does the videos is a personal trainer who is also trying to lose weight after her last baby. Before I do my strength exercises, I do 20-30 minutes of zumba to warm-up. I do another 10-20 minutes as a cool down and stretch. I try to get about 45 minutes of zumba on my strength days.
 On my cardio days, I do zumba. I started doing about 45 minutes, but I'm now up to 75-80 minutes on my cardio days (Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday). 75 minutes of zumba burns 850-900 calories. I have found an instructor that I really enjoy, so I just use her youtube videos. Just search for Linda Edler in  youtube and she should come up. She has about 8 routines on there, varying in length from 15-30 minutes. I just do a few of them in order to get my total cardio.
 I even give myself a free meal once in awhile. If I know we have a party, or BBQ, or date night coming up where there will be lots of homemade food that's harder to track, or just less healthy options, I don't track that meal. I track the other food I eat that day and really try to keep my calories low, that way I don't go crazy and go WAY over with my free meal.
 Well, that's a detailed account of what I'm doing. Nothing special, just good old exercise and watching what I eat. I've lost about 42-43 pounds since I started, I feel better, all my clothes fit again (or are too big), and I am just happier. Let me know if you have any questions.

These first two pictures were taken before and near the start of this journey.... May/June.
This one was probably taken in May, or the very beginning of June.

This one was probably taken a few weeks or a month into the calorie counting. I don't know exactly, but I do know it was after the first one.

 These two pictures were taken today. I tried to use the same light filter that I did in the above picture. I can finally see some visible change in my face.

Homeschool, Week #1.....We ALL Survived!

Well, we did it! We made it through the first week of homeschool. We had our ups and our downs, but overall it was a great experience. Lily complained the first two days, but did AWESOME the rest of the week. Drew was about 50-50, some good days and some bad. We're still adjusting and I'm still working out some of the scheduling, but we're getting there.
 For the first week this was our schedule:
       8:30-9:30      Reading
       9:30-9:45      Break with physical activity
       9:45-10:45     Math
       10:45-11:00     Another break with physical activity
       11:00-11:30      Social Studies
       11:30-1:00       Lunch and free time
       1:00-1:45        Science
       1:45-2:00       Free time/break
       2:00-2:30       Exploratory

This gave us just over 4 hours of school time during the day. This week I am changing the schedule a bit. We will only do social studies OR science for the week, and rotate the weeks. We will do science this week and finish up our solar system unit, hopefully, and then we will do social studies next week. Also, I am moving the exploratory time to 11-11:30. This will give us 60-90 minutes after lunch to work on social studies/science. We will have more time to do projects, experiments, etc. We will try this schedule for a week and see how it goes. This week I am also starting the individualized reading for each of them. I am using Open Court text for this because I used it when I was teaching and had great success. It's also an entire Language Arts curriculum, so the writing and grammar/vocab/spelling pieces are included. It's been awhile since I used this text though, so I think it's going to take me a week or two....or more, to get the feel of it again. I am also still winging Drew's math for the week because the manipulative set and workbook that goes with his curriculum isn't in yet. I was hoping to have it today, but it didn't get ordered soon enough. So, I'm now hoping it comes next week.

SCIENCE

This was our introduction to the solar system: drawing it with chalk on the driveway. It was there most of the day, but I snapped a picture right as it started raining.

We also made an astronomy vocabulary book. They wrote the word, definition, and drew a picture to illustrate. (I still have to help Drew if there is a lot of writing because his hand gets tired easily.)

This week we are working on research and finding information about the different planets and we will use this to write a report and give a presentation about a planet. We are also working on making a 2D scale model of the solar system using relative sizes and distances from the sun. Lily used a compass and scale measurements about diameters to draw the planets, then they both painted the planets according to their appearances to us. They used a few different sources to determine how to paint their planets. 

SOCIAL STUDIES

 Some of our social studies activities: making a compass rose, using a map key, following direction, and measuring distance using a scale.

For this activity they had to choose a room in the house, or Drew used the front yard, and then write something they saw in each different direction. This one was fun. I also had them follow my oral directions to see where they ended up.....which was just in the bathroom washing their hands for lunch. :) They enjoyed it though. 

MATH
Drew made a coin chart because he has trouble looking at a picture and knowing how much money is shown. He can no refer to this for help.

 Lily is doing her math on the computer. She listens to a lecture, does a few practice problems during the lesson, then completes about 20 problems as an assignment. She puts the answers into the computer and gets immediate feedback about whether or not her answer is correct. If she misses, she can try again and can also watch a short tutorial about how to solve the problem. It then shows her a score for that assignment, or gives a percent for quizzes. I can also look at the grade book to see how she has done on the lessons and quizzes. She really likes this, and usually completes two lessons a day. Today is the 6th day she's used this, and she did lessons 12 and 13. She's done really well so far.

READING

 We read a book called Mr. Brown's Fantastic Hat. After reading, the kids had to make their own fantastic hats. The tall one is Lily's, and the other is Rose's. Alex also made two hats, and Drew colored his on paper.

 We also read a book called Bad Frogs and came up with more ideas about bad behavior the frogs could have. We read a book about a dog that goes for a ride in a hot air balloon and made a list of things they would want to see if they were in a balloon. Lily decided she'd want to see the Great Wall of China, so she did a little extra research to learn more about it. We did the same thing with a book called Falcon and the kids had to pretend they were a falcon and list, and draw a picture, of things they would want to see as they flew around the country.

EXPLORATORY CLASSES
Art: We incorporated art into reading and science the first week.
Music: We talked about different kinds/genres of music and we listened to them on the radio. Then we talked about where we might hear the specific type of music and how it makes us feel.
PE: We did some exercise videos, dance videos, riding bikes/scooters, and even went for a walk and played at the park. Soon we will start learning skills for different sports and different games.
Library: We went to the library and found non-fiction books about the planets to use for our research.
Computers: They use computers for math activities, but they also did some keyboarding lessons and games to practice typing with their fingers on the correct keys in home row.

This week I introduced their language arts curriculum and next week we will start using their reading book.....hopefully. We are working on phonics and reading strategies this week. I'm hoping to finish up planets this week, and maybe even the moon and its phases. Next week we will continue learning about maps and charts in social studies and take a break from science.

Lily seems to really enjoy home schooling. She has her moments when she will complain and throw a fit, but they don't usually last too long. I think she's realizing that not having homework,  working at her own pace, and being able to have a bit more freedom and choice in what she studies is pretty cool. Drew is still adjusting to thinking of this as school sometimes....especially when he has to complete a project. He doesn't always want to take his time and do his best work, so he might have to redo something. He doesn't like that too much, but I think he's starting to realize it's easier to just do it right the first time.

 Afternoon, when we do social studies or science, is the hardest. They've just had an hour and a half of free time, so they don't always want to go back to school mode. There are still a few kids on the street that aren't in school yet, so that doesn't help either. They all go back to school Thursday, so after that it should be easier to finish up our day.

 So far I'm really enjoying this adventure. I'm exhausted by the end of the day, just like when I was teaching elementary school. House work and meals aren't up to par right now, but as our schedule settles down and we get in a rhythm I should be able to get back on track with that too. I will try to post each week about this adventure and some of the things we've been doing. Hopefully I still feel this way at Christmas and things are still going well.

Drew Turns 7

We got to celebrate the birthday of our awesome Drew on the 22nd. Drew has a smile that will melt your heart. He can also have a gigantic temper and he can change to Dr. Jekyll on a dime. He has eyes that twinkle and help him get away with a lot! He loves riding his bike and his flash rider. He is full of energy and has an infectious belly laugh. He loves to play wild, but also loves to cuddle. He is now in 2nd grade and is adjusting to homeschool. He doesn't sit still for too long and loves to be outside. Happy 7th birthday D-bo. We love you!

 Opening presents...before breakfast. He tried to open them before we were even out of bed. I think he was excited! :)

 He got a Richard Sherman bobblehead, a tie die stuffed dog, a Seahawks license plate, umbrella, and bumper sticker. Grandma Janet gave him a flash rider and Emily and the boys gave him a wallet with $7 and candy.
After lunch we had cake with Emily, Carson, Tristan, Aymee, Adam and Porter.

 Seahawks colored decorations and cake writing. (You can't see the blue, green, and silver spiral stars hanging from the ceiling.)

Before he blew out the candle officially he giggled and the candle went out. We relit it and when he tried to blow it out he missed. Haha. Took him two tries to blow it out. Love you Drew!