Outer Space

In honor of astronomy day we decided to take a break from our normal homeschooling routine and do a group unit study. We have done them in the past however for some reason the olders seemed to struggle with it. With no math lessons or computer work they decided that it wasn't "real" school and to slack and no participate without complaining. It proves that even though they may be 12,14 and 16 that routine is still crucial to survival.

My littles however thought it was awesomeness in a box. Literally. See the box?

 Sensory boxes are primarily a Montessori thing however I had forgotten how much I enjoy putting them together and the littles playing with them.

We had gemstones for planets, a large crochet sun, some black gravel for space and rainbow star beads. Super Sam, Toby and Hobart had to go on an adventure and Nanners had to tell Randy their story and draw what they did.

Super Sam and Toby on the moon.

I spent some of my inner work time painting these cards to go along with the unit. Without being their physically I often feel like I miss out on participating with them. I see how Nanners matched mine for her drawing so even without me there I am creating an impression.

We did plan if we had the whole family to go to a telescope viewing on Saturday however with the olders gone and crummy weather that we stayed home. Maybe next year.

2015-2016 Planning

This summer has been a whirlwind for planning. Originally I was told "Expect 2 of the kids to come join us again full time, but I'm not sure when." This sent me into a spiral as all I could think of was "Are they coming or not and do I have to have things prepared school wise for them?" It honestly stressed me out. Our families have never had anything through the court which has always been a double edged sword. We call the shots on mutual agreements and under the kids requests and best interest. Luckily we can compromise on most things normally in a reasonable time frame. After 3 months of deliberations it was decided that the kids will spend 1 more year with their mom and then we will reevaluate. This will allow Beanie to finish out middle school with her friends.

So what does that mean for our home? I will have Nanners, Ryguy and Giddy home full time with Koda, who is already done. So I only will have a kinder in my home and some tag-a-longs. It honestly does relieve me knowing that I will have much less on my plate to allow me to focus on my health.

For our book list we are still following the Five in a Row recommendations. I love that they are high quality books with classic illustrations, most are non TV based ( with the exception of Babar and Corduroy which came much later) and normally has some pretty mild but needed themes.

I am planning on 1 book for about 2 weeks as we only do formal lessons 2-3 days a week. I personally feel a great start as I feel literature unit studies will transition well to main lesson blocks. This also gives me something more concrete to leave with hubby as he does some schooling if I am too tired and its easy for him to grab a book and do a craft or activity. Very simple and little pressure.

I have an accordion folder with a planning sheet from here for each book as it has a section for everything. We are trying to include a bible verse or lesson for each book and make a point to do a food craft of some sort as well. There may or may not be a sensory bin as I love them for the littles but might be difficult for some books.

For extra curricular we are keeping it simple with the Awana program with church.

Our school schedule will start this month and our first book will be A Pocket for Corduroy . I am excited to see how this year will turn out.


What are your plans for this year?

Fall sensory bin

It has been awhile since I've done a lot of sensory play. We do it, I just havn't done anything "blogworthy".
Now since we are more settled in our new home its time to bring them back in full force.
Our first bin is filled of rice scented with apple pie spice and dyed red. We found some add ins at target that are brown and red plastic leaves and little acorns ( table throws). We will use them counters and for patterns too.

Cleaning

One of my favorite aspects of Montessori is the application of practical life. We had always had squirt bottles around for Nanners hair as it needs some help in order to look manageable. She has always had an interest in them but I never enjoy water all over my house. When we went to the zoo she was given the opportunity to use one in full force and "water" all of the plants in the greenhouse. She loved every part of it and of course I didnt get any pictures. This being said when we got home she wanted to go to work and spray every aspect of my bathroom. I had to explain that some things could not get wet (Mama's phone) but the bathtub could use a good scrubbing after you spray. She loves the feeling of accomplishment of helping Mama clean up.

On our trays

Again behind. these have been out for a few days but never got the chance to put the post up. Last month I never took any pics so you will have to forgive me. This month though we did an Easter/spring theme.
We have:

matching sound eggs

matching color eggs

color grading (we still haven't got a hang of this)

and spooning.


Our sensory bin is full of eggs, Easter grass and this lightup fuzzy chick. Spring cookie cutters also are in our bin.

DIY texture letters

Well I have wanted to get Nanners some sandpaper letters for awhile now. However being frugal (read: super poor) I decided to make some so she can use. I did not have sandpaper and I did not want to buy ANYTHING. I had seen some Chinese letters done in glitter glue before so I figured I could take the idea and morph it into my own.

 

 Our finished product. 

First I traced out our template.We used manilla folders cut into 8ths (4 from each side of the folder). I did not feel like buying cardstock. 

I got my outline for cursive letters from here. Find Cursive letter template I figured I would try cursive with her first as more and more I see children have an easier time with cursive than print. I did not bother printing these templates. I placed the manilla folder DIRECTLY on my laptop with the screen laying flat so I could trace it.

 

Then we colored everything in. Blue for the consonants and red for the vowels.  It matches the set of movable letters I have downloaded for when she is ready. (We have noncolor coded letters for her older brother to practice his reading/writing)

 

Then I took my hot glue gun and filled in all the letters. They are stringy and blobby which gives it a weird texture. You have to go over them slowly which makes more emphasis on the letter. 

And that's it! Simple as that! The other kids got to help me do all of the coloring and ironically our 9 year old, Beanie colored better than my 14 year old, Kota. Go figure. 

 

Plus a picture of Nanners and Beanie working together on our snaps electric board. We got it for free at the homeschool conference in Chicago and it gets used often. Nanners loves watching the older kids make fans and making things go flying! 

I am linking up to Montessori Monday!

well its been awhile

I keep meaning to post and have written several things out... And they are all still stuck on my sticky note program on my laptop. As another year ends to a close though I figured it was time for a recap of what happened the month I was gone. (It hasnt been good by the way, better now but not then)

We had a pretty good Thanksgiving with turkey and the usual. My dad came over with my brother and we stuffed our faces as always.

But then....
It started with Nanners. She had bled occasionally when she went potty (number 2 mind you). We chalked it up to hemorrhoids and just kept an eye on her. Never a lot but just enough to notice. Well one day  it looked like my baby girl had started her period. I knew at 2 I should not be having those problems with her. She was never in pain but off to the doctor we went. Well to make a long story short after lots of blood draws and a colonoscopy it came back with a polyp the size of a quarter. It had blocked her entire colon and was the reason for all the blood. There is a possibility it will return so we will just have to keep an eye on her. It was the largest the specialist had ever seen and she was a trooper through it all!

**The day of her Meckles scan, xray and blood work**


Then Randy about a week later started throwing up blood. Yay! (sarcasm I promise you) and after a night stay in Rockford's hospital it came back it was acid reflux from hell and just destroying everything on its way up when he burped. Now he is on some acid reducers but most likely they will scope him to see how much damage has been done.He cant have pop anymore and we have to monitor his diet and stress level as both aggravate it like crazy.

Both are home now and doing quite well. Christmas went well. The kids big presents were Ereaders (our nockoff kindles), a prepaid phone and a small mp3 player. Nanners got a homemade light table and baby buggy which has made its way to trash her entire room daily.

Look Mama! I got pretty beads!

Randy's Christmas Present. Our new family member. His name is Otis.

We didnt do much "school" this month due to all of the crazyness. Nanners had her sensory box as always and has worked on several practical life lessons like pouring goldfish and juicing an orange.

We had gotten a learning tower at salvation army earlier this month. It has been utilized at least 4 times a weeks. Best $4 I had spent.

Plus a random picture of myself and my little girl just because I want one. She did so great through all of the garbage we were forced to put her through so I am very proud of her.