LHFHG Unit 10 Week in Review and Journaling

We had another fun and productive week of schooling. We worked through Unit 10 in LHFHG. Josiah joins us for all the Bible lessons, Science, Art, Rhymes in Motion, Dramatic Play and thinking games. He is learning so much by doing lessons along with Lexy!

This week’s focus was on the Exiles in Babylon

Memory Verse: Romans 12:21 – “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” We had many opportunities this week to discuss this verse in real situations Both kids love the Hide ‘Em in Your Heart cd that we use to learn the verses!

I didn’t do so well at taking pictures this week, but here are a few highlights:

Painting is always a favorite! They enjoyed painting a fire over “3+1” after the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego!

Making hands to “write on the wall” after the story of Daniel and King Belshazzar.

Decorating her sight words for the week with glitter

Painting her Word Family Flower from Ready2Read

…and of course, Josiah has to join in on the painting

After our history lesson about Alexander the Great and his colt, Bucephalus, we had a Science lesson on shadows.

Lexy’s Kindergarten Journals

One of my goals this year is to get Lexy to write as much as possible. One way that we are doing that is by journaling. We have several different journals/notebooks this year.

She had fun decorating the outside of her writing journal.

The way that we use this journal will probably evolve over the year as her writing progresses. For now, I start a sentence, and she finishes it. This is one of my favorites so far: “When I grow up, I want…to be a Mommy.” She does all the writing on her own. If she has trouble spelling a word, she asks for help.

Then she draws a picture to go with her sentence. In her picture she is pregnant with a little girl next to her.

The Calendar Notebook

This notebook is in her workboxes everyday. I printed the pages from various websites and put them together in a spiral notebook.

She writes the number for the day of the month. Then she flips the page and…

writes the full written date. Today is______. The written date is ________. The code date is ___________.

Then she graphs the weather.

Our Bible Journals

Although we have really been enjoying the LHFHG Bible lessons, I’ve found that it moves very fast for them to remember. So, I made each member of our family a Bible Journal. At the end of the week, we pick a story that stood out to us. We draw a picture depicting the story and write something about it. Obviously, I write for Josiah, but he tells me what to say. I thought I got a picture of his this week, but I can’t find it. So here are a few of my favorites from Lexy:

“Elijah went to heaven”

“The King worshiped idols. God warned him. Jesus on the Wall.” She meant to write Jesus “wrote” on the wall. You can’t tell from the picture, but she traced her hand writing on the wall. The people in the picture are the king and the people at the party.

And…I had to add my husband’s drawing Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the furnace with the angel.

I am in the process of creating a math journal which will rotate in her workboxes once or twice a week, as well. More on that to come.

Gymnastics

I forgot to take pictures of Lexy’s first week of gymnastics, so here are some of her second week! Here, she is mentally preparing herself

Anxiously waiting!

Warming up

And the Highlight of our week…A trip to the cabin. Lots of time outdoors, enjoying the new swing, hiking, finding treasures, swimming…

…and now we look forward to our trip to the beach! We’ll bring along some school books, but I’m not so sure we’ll get much done!

Starting Back to Kindergarten–LHFHG Unit 10

It has been several months since I’ve blogged about what we’ve been doing; which, over the summer really wasn’t much! I started doing Kindergarten with Lexy in the Spring. We worked half pace, so as not to get too far ahead of the regular school schedule. Then, in early June we found out that….WE’RE EXPECTING ANOTHER BABY!!! All of us are extremely excited! However, several weeks later, I wasn’t feeling much like doing anything

So, we have finally started back and have nearly completed our second full week. Here is a recap of our first week back!

Unit 9

Focus: The Time of the Prophets

Memory Verse: Philippians 2:14 – Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure children of God (LOVE THAT ONE!)

In the morning after breakfast, chores, and calendar time, we start with our Bible time. I love this about homeschooling! Especially in these early years, I want our focus to be on character training and teaching the Word. There will be plenty of time for Math and Reading!

Bible:

We focused on the prophets Elijah, Elisha, and Jonah this week. The children saw many examples of evil Kings that worshipped idols rather than the ONE TRUE GOD. They saw that when the kings chose to ignore the warnings of the prophets, there were consequences…just like when we disobey. It is better to OBEY!

They had fun acting out the story of Elijah being fed by ravens (I know my bird puppet is not a raven, but it’s the closest that I had).

They also had fun making glittery pictures of heaven after learning about Elijah being taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire.

During our Bible time we also sing our memory verse songs from the Hide ‘Em in Your Heart cd by Steve Green. They love to make up motions tot these songs. They also enjoy doing the Rhymes in Motion that are written in to the Little Hearts for His Glory Guide. They are a great way to review the major concepts of the week and work on gross motor skills.

I also made each of us a “Bible Time Journal.” The Bible stories in this curriculum are moving much faster than we are used to. We’ve always done a story for a whole week in our house. I wasn’t sure how much they were able to remember from all the stories we’ve done. So, at the end of each week, we each pick a story to draw a picture of and write a sentence about what we have learned. I wish I would’ve taken a picture of the kids’ journals this week (I’ll have to add them later). Obviously, we have to write Josiah’s sentence for him, but he said, “God protected Joash from the mean Queen.” Lexy wrote, “Elijah went to heaven.” After we each do our entry, we share what we drew and wrote. It’s a great way to review what we’ve learned (pictures to come).

Workboxes:

After Bible time, Lexy sits down to do her workboxes. These are all things that she can do on her own with little to no assistance from me. I try to add fun things into them. So far, she is LOVING doing her boxes each day! They include handwriting, sight word activities, word family activities, journaling, etc. Here’s a peek into a few things she did during week one.

Painting Sight Words from Ready2Read Unit 3

Everyday she enters in her Calendar Notebook. (More about that to come)

Used Alphabet stamps to make her word family words

and MUCH, MUCH, MORE…I have a hard time getting pictures!

What are the preschoolers doing during the quiet working time?

Well, we haven’t officially started preschool back yet…I’m taking things slowly. We’ll hopefully start back in a few weeks. However, I use this time to do quiet activities with them. Here’s a little of what they did.

Puzzles

Stamps

Books

Painting

After workboxes, she and the boys have a break to play before lunch. After lunch, comes nap for the boys. During their nap, we work on Math and Reading. Once we finish up her school for the day, we play a fun game together before her (and MY) quiet time!

Math

We’ve worked slightly ahead in Lexy’s Singapore Math books. The unit this week focused on estimating weights of various items. I did not get many pictures, but we have lots of fun with the ideas added into Little Hearts for His Glory. She always looks forward to the hands-on activities.

One day, she measured out 1/2 cup of different ingredients into ziplock baggies.

She held them up to compare weights. Then, she put them from the lightest to the heaviest. She learned that the same quantity does not necessarily mean the same weight.

Each day, we also practice counting to 100 in different ways (by 1s, 10s, etc.)

Science
To go along with the story of Elisha telling Namaan to dip in the Jordan river 7 times, we did an experiment with water.

The saran wrap was “skin.” They colored brown marker for dirt and put drops of oil because our skin is oily.

First, they dipped it in the plain water 7 times, and saw that the water did a good job of getting the dirt off, but the oil still remained. Next, they dipped it seven times in soap and water. The oil came off. We talked about the importance of washing with soap and water.

On the day we learned about Jonah, we did a “sink/float” experiment. Sorry no pictures!

I am hoping to add in some nature studies soon. Lexy loves science, and I feel the Little Hearts for His Glory is pretty light on the science.

Phonics

Lexy’s reading has really taken off lately. I’m still waiting to order All About Reading Level 1 when it comes out in October. However, in the meantime, we have been doing a mixture of different things. Most importantly, we read, read, read….everyday! She reads a minimum of two books to us a day; however, I find her reading to her dolls/brother…throughout the day. We did just start All About Spelling Level 1 this week, and it seems to be working great as a phonics program, too. We go to the library often and check out lots of easy reader books. We’ve also been working through the Ready2Read program.

I’ve been meaning to put a video of her reading on here, but have yet to do it…hopefully soon!

Literature

Our current read-aloud is The Adventures of Peter Cottontail. Within the guide, there are discussion questions and writing activities. We enjoy this part of the day!

Other

Lexy’s piano class has started back up. She has a new teacher. I wasn’t sure how she’d do with switching after two years, but she seemed to like it. Her new book has started off very quickly. They will be playing with BOTH hands soon…that seems like a big step to me!

She also started gymnastics this week…I can’t believe I forgot my camera on the first day. I’ll have to remember next time. She LOVED it, and can’t wait to go back. They worked on bars, the balance beam, cart-wheels, and all kinds of fun things.

Linking up to:

Kindergarten– LHFHG UNIT 4

FOCUS: Jacob’s Family in Egypt

Memory Verse: Proverbs 3:5-6

Heart of Dakota’s daily plans are divided into 2 parts: “Learning Through History” and “Learning the Basics.” We typically do the “Learning through History” portions together in the evenings as part of our family devotion time. All the activities focus on the Bible story for the day. This way, Josiah is also able to participate and learn. Lexy and I do the “Learning the Basics” together in the afternoons while Josiah is sleeping.

Learning through History

After reading about Joseph’s brothers selling him into slavery, Lexy and Josiah made Egyptian collars.

They also had fun acting out the story of Moses’ Mother hiding him in a basket.

(trying to locate pictures)

We also made looking lenses to act out Miriam watching over baby Moses.

One day, we read about the burning bush. Lexy made a picture of things that plants need to survive.

We also spent time each day reviewing the memory verse.

Learning the Basics

Phonics:

We had been working through Reading Made Easy. However, my cd with the lessons has gone missing. So, in the meantime, we have been reviewing word families and working on sight words. You can read more about our recent reading activities in this post: Lexy’s Journey Into Reading.

Literature:

We are still reading “The Adventures of Reddy Fox.” Lexy looks forward to finding out what happens to each of the animals in the Green Forest each day.

One day she wrote a warning to Grandfather Frog. She mailed it to the Green Forest in her play mailbox.

Math:

We’re continuing to work through Singapore Earlybird Math. It’s been a great review of the basics.

Science:

Along with the activities listed in the guide, we have had LOTS of fun learning about clouds this week. You can read more about it in my post: Fun with Clouds.

We’ve had a fun week! I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone else has been up to!

Preschool Corner and 5K too!

Kindergarten - LHFHG Unit 3

Focus: Abraham and His Descendents We are moving right along in our Kindergarten studies. Both kids have been enjoying the many hands on activities that go along with our Bible themes. I'm so glad that I can include Josiah in a good portion of what we do. Our mornings are spent playing together and doing the science or art projects that he can be involved in. While he takes his nap, Lexy does the rest of her school.

Science: After reading about Jacob and Esau one day, we did a science experiment about our sense of smell (Esau smelled the good food and wanted to eat it). They took turns matching scents on q-tips with the bottle that it came from.

Phonics: Lexy has been working through Reading Made Easy. Between lessons (every other day), we play games to review. She enjoys reviewing with Happy Phonics, but I've also found many games online to print off. Refined Metals Academy has a great list of resources! This week we reviewed some word families. Lexy loves to play this foot game. We play it many different ways. Sometimes she just matches the pictures to the correct foot. Othertimes, she will run and jump on the foot of the picture I hold up. She loves to get up and move around! Sometimes, she spells words out with magnets to review. Singapore Math: Although we've been moving at half speed in the LHFHG guide, we're plugging away with math at full speed. The Kindergarten book has all been review for Lexy at this point; however, it has been a great foundation for her. We've been enjoying using many different kinds of manipulatives for the lessons. Here is one of Lexy's favorites: These fries are made out of sponges. Who wouldn't like to do math with McDonald's fries??? We keep our lessons short. Much of their learning comes through play. So, most of our day is spent playing. Lexy likes making pictures out of shapes with Josiah's Haba Geo Shape Tak Zap. Josiah just likes hammering in the nails!

The majority of the day, this is how you'll find Josiah! He loves his books! Notice his book shelf is a complete disaster. I straighten it about once a week, but it's hopeless! He's my little bookworm for sure! Time Outdoors I have been reading bits and pieces of Charlotte Mason's Original Homeschool Series. One particular quote has stood out to me: "In this time of extraordinary pressure, educational and social, perhaps a mothers first duty to her children is to secure for them a quiet and growing time, a full six years of passive receptive life, the waking part of it for the most part spent out in the fresh air." I loved that phrase, "a quiet and growing time." That's what I want for my children. I've been challenged to slow down and allow them this time to grow quietly. I'm also trying to get them out in nature as much as possible. Over the weekend, we had the opportunity to visit Mama and Papa's cabin. They had a wonderful time outdoors being kids! Lexy made sure to check on Papa's Apple Orchard!

She was amazed by this tree that had been uprooted during a winter storm. She was fascinated by the size of the roots.

They're loving their new rain boots! Walking and splashing in the creek is so much fun! There is also lots to find!

Josiah's favorite activity of the weekend was splashing around on the dock that had been flooded from all the rain.

My favorite...

I don't know any two kids that love to play in the dirt more! They can spend hours digging and playing together. It's a funny thing...when they're outside playing together, they're not fighting!

I'm hoping to start our Easter Nature Study from NaturExplorers this weekend!

We actually finished up Unit 3 a little early this week to begin our Easter focus. Other than Math and Phonics, we're taking a break from our normal school to do our 12 days of Easter! So far, it's been lots of fun! I hope to post about our first few days this weekend.

Check out the Preschool Corner & 5K Too!