School fun plus some

So we have officially gotten started on the "Next School Year" Stuff for Noah and also Brie is starting Little Hands to Heaven so is doing her Pre-K stuff pretty consistently. Kayla is still chugging away at Little Hearts for his Glory so here is a look at the last 2 weeks.
Week 1 LHTH
First off I can't say how much I love this program. It is so sweet and fits my dd personality to a T!! Since we were doing 2 new guides it took us about 2 weeks to get through the first unit, but we would repeat stuff which is fine because at 4 they love repetition. My 2 year old joined in at times, but he isn't quite ready to sit still and pay attention the whole time :)
   Each week there is a Fingerplay section which focuses on sounds and motions for the letter of the week put to a rhyme. This week we were on A and my kids asked to do this over and over.  A is for Adam so we got to spend time in the Bible and moving like different animals. I think their favorite part of the week was me taping a big and little A on the floor of their room. They wouldn't let me take it off either so it is still there. They walked on the A and their cars went on the A. What really surprised me was how Brie was able to pick out A's pretty well on a worksheet that you print off from the guide.
 We are also working on making a counting book for the numbers 1-10 and she got to work on her cutting skills. I am thankful that simple things like cutting are placed in the guide because I can overlook simple things like that with the kids and then you have a 9 year old who struggles to cut because mommy always does it for him ;) Anyway, we are really looking forward to what LHTH has in store for us this year and all the fun and mommy time Brie will get to have.

LHFHG Unit 27
Unfortunately I don't have many pictures of dd from this week. Sometimes I get wrapped up in school with the kids and don't think to take a pic, plus she doesn't like me doing it either ;)
We have had a great week through, we have leaned a lot about Thanksgiving and some of the early leaders from our country. I think dd favorite part was making up a Thanksgiving plate and tracing and coloring the food on it. She learned also how to properly set a dinner setting so we will put that into practice with her. Anything that has to do with coloring she is a fan of.
 Reading is going great also. We are nearing the end of The Reading Lessons. Each day we read at least 2 pages together than we color the picture together. It is such a fun time getting to color with her.
Math is going pretty well too. We have hit telling time and she is good when the clock is on the hour, but when it is not well... We are working on that ;0)
   The kids also took an art class at a local studio so it wasn't really part of school but they did such a great job I thought I would throw a pic in. I know she is going to love the higher guides with all the artwork she will get to do!

PHFHG Unit 1-2

So our first few weeks were long but now we are in a pretty good stride and Noah is doing better with his independent work also. I love that as the kids get older they are becoming more responsible and can do more on their own. I love getting to spend time with them and reading to them, but it is amazing seeing them pour over books that they actually enjoy and absorbing the information. I guess it helps that Noah loves non-fiction books the most :) I also am in love with the selection of books for this guide. I know many homeschool companies are Christian and all, but really the word of God just comes alive through the material that is used and I love what the kids are learning!!
  So anyway, in history these 2 weeks we have been talking about creation, sin, Noah's ark, and now we are spending a lot of time in a book called Life in the great Ice Age which is from the point of view from a boy who lives after the floor and Tower of Babel and it gives you a great illustration of how life was like during that time and especially in the harsh areas of the world where it was freezing!!
  History this year also has an independent portion where Noah has been working through the book Draw and Write Through History. He is really coming along in his drawing skills and cursive.
   On top of me reading to him his history and his independent history time, there is also a weekly history project for him to do. This is really what makes him love HOD!! In the first week he got to design a shield of faith. It really drove him crazy the first week not to finish it all on day 1, but I really think he learned patience and since he wasn't worn out by working on it did a better job than if we had finished it in 1 day.
   Week 2 we spent a lot of time reading about Noah and the flood so it was appropriate that our history project was a painting and we also got to learn the difference between warm colors and cool colors and also how to mix colors to get different ones. My 3 year old was in awe of how this worked so she just stared at Noah as he did his painting.

I didn't get any pictures of ds doing his science experiments these weeks either. Science is also independent this year so it is great that he can read and he is comprehending well what he is reading. This part always makes me a little nervous because I can't see what is going into his head, but he answers his comprehension questions beautifully and narration great also. The 4th day of science is an experiment so week 1 he learned about how layers help to keep heat in on animals in the artic and week 2 had to do with melting ice and trying to get it to melt quicker.
   Also, I just wanted also to say how awesome I think HOD selection for LA is also. We are using Drawn Into the Heart of Reading and I love how Noah is not just reading but really learning more about the characters and also thinking about their Character Traits. Also Rod and Staff I wasn't sure about but it is so thorough and I love how it teaches grammar. It does take a little time, but I think the time is well invested. Also, he is doing great with spelling through dictation. He is good at picking up what he sees and has never really struggled with spelling so this has been a great fit too.
 
   Finally, I thought I would throw in Noah's art work from the studio they went to. The kids had a blast here and I was so thankful that their dad was able to take them and have some good bonding time which they learned something too :)

BLHFHG unit 20/21 LHFHG unit 5/6

 
This last week has been a lot of fun for us. I really do love the little projects that HOD has that go along with their learning. This last week we finished up Unit 4 and part of Unit 5 in LHFHG. We are working through Moses's life in the OT and how the Israelites worshiped a golden idol. We actually made our own little peanut butter calf but I didn't get the pic. They were really cute and tasted really good when we ate them :)


In science we explored dirt also. We learned about the different layers that dirt has. Here is a pic of our soil layers. Of course both kids had to partake. Our rocky bottom layer was made up of raisins followed by gram crackers for the top soil and cereal flakes for the humus layer. We also finished up our first book from the Thornton Burgess collections, The Adventures of Reddy Fox. I will definitely say Kayla has learned a lot of what not to do from the example of Reddy ;)

   Reading is going well also for Kayla. I have used a couple of different phonics programs in the past and this one is a perfect fit for her. There are pictures that go with the lesson and I let her color after she is done reading each lesson. She is definitely a workbook girl and this has a nice flow with it. It started out on the easy side since she knew how to do CVC words, but it is getting a lot harder now she is working her way through. 
   Math is going at a good pace also. We started Horizons 1 math with her about 2 weeks ago and it is a nice mix of stuff for her. She had finished up Singapore math 1A and I wasn't ready for her to go into 1B yet so we are taking this time learning basic facts and also skip counting.
Noah is also doing well working through BLHFHG. We have finished up week 20 and are starting week 21. Friday we learned about how the French explored and settled some of the middle part of America and how the Indians showed them how to make canoes. So...of course we made canoes from salt dough. Whenever we make this around the house all the kids have to be a part of it. Kayla made a sailing ship, Noah made a canoe and Brie made a mess. I actually salvaged the mess and made a little hand print for her to give to someone eventually :)

Noah's math is also coming along well. I think we will finish up Singapore 2A this week and then move onto Singapore 2B. He is doing well with the transition into multiplication and division so I am happy with that :). We are also still chugging away at LA. Everything has pretty much been a review there, but I know R&S has a good reputation so I know he is learning well.


We finished the week off by having a nice little nature walk and fun at the park with daddy :)

More from Week Oct 9-12

Well we have had a lot of fun this week!!! One thing I notice with dd is that Sonlight might be a tad too much for her right now. So we are back to LHFHG for a little bit. I am really starting to like LHFHG. We have had some great conversations that really have touched her heart. One thing today that we covered was why parents discipline their children. We were reading from the devotional book that goes along with this program. I truly love this book. If you don't have it, it is great to do on your own.
Anyway, We are really enjoying LHFHG. I would of had more pics this week but my camera was acting up and I couldn't figure out how to fix it. I got a new SD card and it seems to be working okay so hopefully I can take some more fun pics of our adventures.

 Here is Kayla showing off her first attempt of sewing. I unfortunately only know how to patch holes so she saw me fixing a hole in a pair of pants so she had to learn. This is a cloth napkin and she is sewing up the sides. Noah took a turn but he wasn't very interested :)

Noah is also working on Shurley English 2 this year and this week he was suppose to make a book filled with synonyms and antonyms. He isn't too big on writing and I didn't have any magazines for him to clip words from so I improvised and I wrote a couple syn/ant combos on each page and he illustrated it. It turned out really nice. Kayla saw him doing it so she had to make her own book. I am quite proud of both of them.

Finally, here is Brie. Whenever she sees me with the camera she comes running and asks me to take her picture too. Her schooling this week is more potty training. Hopefully this is learned quickly :)

LHFHG week 1



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I am so excited we have finally started LHFHG. I have wanted a nice program that would really integrate the Bible with history and this is IT! My dc really have a good background with the Bible since they have heard it since they were in my belly, but now I am able to relate it to the world in a better way I feel. I am really impressed on how well my dd is learning the scripture verses that go along with this program. We are using Hide 'em in your Heart volume 1 with this program. I actually have volume 2 for my ds and I keep that one
in the van so we listen to these a lot. I really like getting Bible songs on CD, especially if they are verses to get the word in the kids hearts :)

Another favorite that we have picked up is the read alouds for Little Hearts. We are reading The Adventures of Reddy Fox right now and both my older ones love these stories. I am glad they both can enjoy them together since my ds didn't have the chance to go through these stories before.

Unfortunately I didn't get any good pictures of Kayla doing her school so my goal will to be get some good ones of her once we get back from vacation!!

LHFHG unit 1/BLHFHG unit 7

Well I have officially started LHFHG with Kayla this week. We are on day 2 right now and it is great. I have had the History for Little Pilgrims book for a few years so I am excited to finally be using it because it is such a sweet little introduction to history. We made a collage today with a cross in the middle since we are learning that Jesus is at the center of history. She also loves to pretend she is an animal and the Rhymes this week have to do with moving like different animals from each continent so that is going great. I hope to really work on her handwriting too. I haven't been too great at doing this with either kids, so I think this year letter formation is going to be an emphasis :)

Both kids decided they had to take part of the collage, and yes Kayla is wearing one of her winter coats in the middle of summer. I have to love my kids.
   Noah is spending his time doing BLHFHG this week. We are working on a new poem this week and I am having him copy a couple verses each day. I am so excited because today he did so well. He really hates to do handwriting, but everything looked so good this week. Usually he will get sloppy and his letters get really little and he will form them strange, but I am thankful this is improving.  Teaching Textbooks is going really well also. He just took his chapter 4 quiz and got 100% on it. He loves to get them all right. He is a little perfectionist when it comes down to it :)

Here's my little Brie who had to do school also. She watched the Letter Factory DVD I have and then she had to cut cut like her bro and sis :) Also, I am thankful to say we are mostly potty trained so that is a great accomplishment!!!

Week 2

Here is Kayla. We are almost done with P4/5 of Sonlight so I went ahead and got LHFHG...we might end up starting before we are totally done with P4/5. I thought it would be cute to take a pic of her with all the books. My little girl is finally in kindergarten!

We are finishing up week 2 of BLHFHG and Noah is making a map of the story we read from our history selection. I am so thankful for all the coloring activities that are suggested because he loves to draw. Kayla had to do it also when he was done.

Here we are working on our time line. We just finished reading about the settlement at Jamestown and he is making a fort to go under the year 1607. I had just finished reading to him his history and he had decided that he wanted a bowl of soup while I read to him so that is why there is a bowl there :)