Learning to Write, One Bird at a Time

This was a birding weekend to be sure. Friday evening was spent at the Conservancy on West Road. Saturday was a Tour de Presque Isle, with hikes on Long Pond Trail, Pine Tree Trail, North Pier, and other locations. Sunday was Conservancy first, followed by Fairview Business Park, and Cussewego Bottoms IBA, and then Pymatuning State Park. Despite seeing a wonderful range of birds, none brought the joy to my heart that came from seeing my daughter Emma write down the name of each species.

Truly the pen, or in this case the pencil, is mightier than the binoculars. From staying up late on Saturday night to chronicle the exploits of daylight gone by, to half mile jaunts in the woods with pencil and book in hand, never was she far from adding the next line with a smile one her face. Please do not misunderstand, it wasn't the birds that made her so excited, it was the writing! Yes, she does derive a considerable amount of pleasure from looking at birds and being outside to observe them. Yet this time it was the power to turn sight and knowledge into form and function that made the difference.

Although a simple listing of bird names may not seem like a highly engaging educational experience, I consider it to be a first step primer to what should become productive discourse. Upon arriving home, Emma was able to read through her list and recall information about what she experienced based on the combination of her own written word and her visual memory. The writing was meaningful to her. It was purposeful to her. She didn't just write an arbitrary list of bird names in a book. No, she went exploring, saw the birds, heard the birds, experienced moments of interest related to the birds, and then wrote down a few simple words that had meaning to her. I'm sure that there are probably better "activities" and more "authentic real-world" writing experiences to be had, but for this weekend, I'm very content with how we spent our time.

Swimming

     Have you ever regretted telling your child about something fun that he or she will be doing days ahead from that activity? Well, I am at that point. We signed Emma up for swimming lessons for the first time ever. This will be her first class ever of any kind of formal training from an outside source. I told Emma about her taking a swimming class and she hasn't stopped thinking about it. She is so excited that she has packed her swimsuits, she is counting down the days and everything that we talk about she somehow squeezes in a mention about her swimming class. It's cute, yes, but after a while it's getting to be a little much. I'm excited for her, just nervous that her shyness will overcome her and she wont get in the water or do as the coach instructs. I informed her that if she doesn't participate she will be paying us back :). 

     I was going to share a video of Emma swimming last week, but blogger isn't allowing it to be uploaded. So I will try to upload it to Facebook. Please feel free to visit Captivate the Mind's Facebook page to see more photos, videos and random activities.

Emma swimming just last week (August 2012)

Perks of Homeschooling

     One of the perks that I have found in homeschooling is that you don't always have to be sitting at a desk or table in order for them to be learning and to be able to count it towards homeschooling. We recently had a long stay with both my family and Drew's family (another perk). During that time, the kids played with cousins (Phys ed), listened to audio books in the car (Reading), used the pool (Phys ed), walked to the ice cream shop (Phys ed) and other random things that count toward their learning. That being said, we do still do sit down work. 

     Yesterday, Drew had Emma write her spelling list of 10 words 5 times each. At the end, she knew them, even if they were upside down. Now I have compiled 20 lists of 10 words each. View lists here. These lists were compiled from flashcards and various websites. They have been made to have a variety of difficulty within the list. I'm sure there are many more words that I could be adding, but I guess I'll get to that if we run out before the end of this school year. Do you have any resources that have great spelling word lists? If so, please share in the comments below. Since we have been home for the past week, things have been falling into place and I have been enjoying homeschooling Emma. Now that we have gone through reporting to the school district, some of my worries about homeschooling are dissipating and my nerves are calming. 

Box that holds Emma's work that we will be using for the portfolio.

I taped the spelling lists under the lid to her box so that it is easy to reference. 

Emma's first written quiz ever. 100% :)

Rocketman! Part 2, The Launch

Trying to find the right spot to set up the launch.

Found the spot and now to prepare for the launch.

Setting up the remote control to set the rocket off.

Attaching the controller to the igniter.

Backing up!

After several times of counting down and trying to shoot it off. No pictures of the first launch, I wasn't prepared.

Emma's turn to shoot it off.

Flinch

Recovery mission.

Benjamin's second and last try. We only had 3 engines to use so this was it.

Love Benjamin's reaction :)

Rocketman! Part 1, The Assembly

 For Christmas, Drew bought a rocket for Benjamin. Finally, after 6 months, we finally put it together.

Putting together the stand.

Benjamin being Benjamin :).

Benjamin putting the platform onto the stand.

Safety cap.

Reading the instructions.

"Bummer, we don't have the plastic cement. We'll have to wait until another day to finish."

"Let's try a dry fit."

Got the plastic cement. Rocket assembled.

Blowing it dry.

Stay tuned for part two of Rocketman, The Launch...

Junonia by Kevin Henkes

While on a date with Drew for our anniversary, we went to Barnes and Noble. While there we were looking for books/ workbooks for Emma's first grade year. As we were walking around I noticed a familiar item on the front of a book. 2 months ago I probably wouldn't have taken a second look but after our recent trip that included Sanibel island, shell capitol of the world, we did some learning about shells. On Sanibel island there are 3 shells to be known as the elite 3. The most elite of those 3 is called the junonia shell. This book is called Junonia, by Kevin Henkes. I picked it up wondering if it was about Sanibel island. As I was looking at the cover I told Drew that if it was about Sanibel that we would be buying it right there and then, so I skimmed threw and found the words Sanibel Island. :) after Drew made sure that we couldnt buy it for less online, we bought it. I started reading it last night with Emma and we continued today. 2 chapters in and I think it's cute, as well as its keeping Emma's attention and teaching her the names of other shells. Score!

Life Has Been A Whirlwind

Now that we are coming close to the end of Emma's Kindergarten school year, we have to look back and evaluate how we did. Lots of things happened this year to take the focus away from Emma and homeschooling. Of course holidays can be a big distraction, but it's the unplanned events in life that really knock you off of your seat. With the very unexpected passing of Drew's father in mid-January, we were truly thrown for a loop. Now being 4 months since he passed, it is still difficult but we are trying to focus a majority of our attention to homeschooling again. Of course, since my last post the kids have been learning and we haven't been neglecting them, but we just haven't put all of our energy into their education. Children are always learning by the thing they do best, living life.

Some ways that Emma has been learning is by playing on the computer or watching educational shows. We also read with her of course. As most of you probably know already, we just took a 2 week road trip. The purpose of the trip was kind of a memorial to Drew's father, but also turned out to be very educational.

We tried to stop at as many national parks, wildlife refuges or national forests as possible. We also did some other things, like going to a Butterfly conservatory, some state parks, the clearwater marine aquarium and the Miami Seaquarium.  

One thing we did that I had fun with was getting a National Park passport stamped at the various national areas that we went to. Overall our trip was very pleasurable. Yes, even driving about 4500 miles round trip with 3 children ages 6 and under.

Now we are starting to plan the upcoming school year. Hoping to do lots of hand-on activities, one of which will be volunteer work for Emma. We gave her a few options, Presque Isle, the Tom Ridge Environmental Center, the zoo or a farm. Emma chose a farm and more specifically to help with horses. We are in the process of getting that planned. I love her love for animals :)

Have a great summer!

Off Topic: Addiction

Addict: to devote or surrender (oneself) to something habitually or obsessively.

So this may be off topic but I feel like I need to share. I am addicted to Facebook. Everyday I check Facebook more times than I can count. I feel like I am consumed by it. Last night I decided that I would be fasting from Facebook indefinitely. Today has been proven to be difficult. I know this sounds very silly but throughout the day I find myself thinking of status updates (For instance, I just had some tasty snacks that I bought yesterday, so I thought to myself, "Kristin 'Burnett' Mortensen just ate Jalapeno pepper appetizers and they were YUMMY!"). It is a compulsion! Facebook is getting in the way of daily tasks such as homeschooling. Thankfully, when I am not home I don't feel the need to check my notifications, however, I'm sure it would be different if I had a smart phone. Hopefully, I can find a happy median so that I can stay connected with friends and family but not be consumed by the compulsion to check it. 


Sincerely,
Kristin

Past Two Weeks Thrown Off

Ending the third week, I'm looking back over the past two weeks. I feel like we didn't accomplish as much as we should have. Last week Drew's sisters visited, which was nice and I was able to do things with Emma for learning, but it wasn't our routine, so it felt off. This week, we were driving home from my parents house on Monday and I had my wisdom teeth out on Tuesday. Drew was able to stay home Tuesday and Wednesday, thankfully, and work with the kids, but again not our routine. 

Some learning time included, painting, going to the zoo, Bible time, social skills, reading, writing, math and riding bikes. It sounds like we did a lot but not as much as I would have liked. Thankfully, we did get ahead of schedule in the first week which helped to be more relaxed these past 2 weeks. 

Playing a math game.

Looking for rocks and shells at Presque Isle.

Bonus Picture. I just love it!

Socializing with a friend at the park.

Riding her "new" bike at Grandma and Grandpa's.
They bought it for only $3.54.
We took the pedals off so that she could ride it like a balance bike.
So far so good. She's getting the hang of balancing.

Emma's only spill. She got back up and tried again right away. 

Success! Once she gets used to the balance we'll put the pedals back on for her to learn how to pedal as well. 

Riding bikes at home. Now they each have their own. Hannah's bike is not pictured. Benjamin has 2 bikes now.
Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for sending the bikes home with us. They are very happy!

First Week of Kindergarten

Our first week went very smoothly. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are our scheduled learning days. The rest of the week is kind of take it as it comes. Our goal per week is to do 20 hours of learning time. That's in order to reach the goal of 900 hours for the school year (PA requirements for elementary grades). In this first week we completed 30 hours of learning time. Now, before you say, "They are crazy!", we include things like, going to the park, zoo, playing with friends, watching educational shows, playing computer games and so on. Anything that is educational we are including. The subjects that we are keeping track of are Bible, Fine Arts, Home Ec., Language Arts, Math, Phys. Ed., Science, Social Skills (sharing and such), Social Studies, Spanish and Technology. Anything else goes into Miscellaneous. Yes, I know, a lot of subjects but we don't do all of them every day. We mix and match.

When I asked Emma what her favorite thing she learned this past week was, she answer the Praying Mantis. Let me tell you about this. Thursday night I came home from MOPS and as I was waiting for Drew to open the door, I looked to my right and saw a praying mantis on our tomato trellis. I was so intrigued. I tossed the idea of waking the kids to see it but I decided to just take a picture of it to show them in the morning.

When I first found the Praying Mantis

The next morning I showed Emma the picture and then I showed her where I saw it. Then I decided to see if it was still around. Low and behold it was hiding in the lily plant just a foot away from the tomato plant.

The next morning in the lily plant.

After we found it again, Emma was asking questions about it. So we did research on the computer and learned all about them. In doing research we learned that they are not protected in the US other than in Connecticut. So, we got a clear container and gently scooped it up with some leaves from the plant and studied it. We kept it for maybe 6 hours. Long enough for Drew to see it when he got home. Then we released it.

In the container that we caught it in.

The kids studying it closely.

  

I never thought I would grow attached to an insect before but I have to say, ever since we released it, I have been concerned for it's safety. Especially since, the very next day after releasing it back onto the tomato plant, the landscapers trimmed down the lily plants. I can't help but think that it got thrown into the trash right along with the trimmings.

Releasing it back onto the tomato plant.

Climbing back up the trellis, free.

We had a great first week. This coming week we'll have guest teachers :). Drew's sisters are coming to visit and they both happen to have their teaching degrees in elementary education. How perfect right?

Emma is a Kindergartener!

Yesterday was Emma's first day of Kindergarten. We made it a very special day for her. It started with giving her a shower so that she was all fresh and ready for learning, just as if she were going to school. Then she got dressed in her first day of school outfit. Came down for her first day of school breakfast of her choice, pancake and eggs. We took photos of her in her bookbag and outfit and then got started with her learning time. She chose to do her spanish first but we had to load the program so we read first instead. Then she did 2 sections on Rosetta Stone Spanish edition. The rest of the days learning activities included playing with blocks, doing math worksheets, Bible lesson, helping with lunch and dinner, drawing and going with me to Hobby Lobby and learning how to read prices. We picked up a box for her to decorate and put her school papers in once completed. On the way home from Hobby Lobby, Emma said, "Mommy, we had a very good day!" which I agreed.

Her total hours for yesterday came to just short of 7 hours.  In Pennsylvania we aren't required to report to anyone until the child is 8 years old or in 3rd grade. Right now we are trying to do what we would need to if we were reporting so that we can get used to it and start good habits. We can either report the days spent on school or the hours. We'll be recording both but will report the most impressive one. 1 day or 7 hours down.

First day of Kindergarten breakfast of choice.

Ready for learning.

Using blocks to add and subtract.

5+1=6, 4+1=5

Counting the blocks.

First day of Kindergarten lunch, toasted cheese sandwich.

Practicing her writing outside.

Benjamin and Hannah playing with the blocks outside.

Our Summer of 2011

Beginning our school year this coming Monday is forcing me to look over our very, very busy summer. I can think of many educational activities we did with the kids.

Zoos that we visited include, of course the Erie Zoo, as well as the Lehigh Valley Zoo, the Nashville Zoo and as posted previously, the Cleveland Zoo. The kids also enjoyed going to the Tom Ridge Environmental Center, the Presque Isle Beach and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute. Other activities include their first visit to the Atlantic Ocean, reading the bible together, swimming in pools, playing at the park, doing random school activities and doing crafts. I'm sure there are things that I am missing but you get the point. We've been busy!

On top of all of those activities, one of the most important things that we did was spending time as a family as well as spending time with several members of our extended family.  To end this post I'll share photos from throughout our summer. Enjoy!

Caves that are naturally air conditioned. You could feel the cold air coming from them.

At the Lehigh Valley Zoo.

Spending time with my sister and her family again, this time at the Lehigh Valley Zoo.

Getting ice cream where my niece, Alexis, works.

Visiting with old friend, Melissa and her family in TN.

Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN with my sister and her family plus two.

Our kids at the Opryland Hotel.

We were at the Jersey Shore and found a grasshopper.

Benjamin's turn to hold the grasshopper.

Playing on the beach at the Jersey shore.

Learning time and numbers. Please excuse the jammies and messy hair :).

Playing a Smurfs Dance game for wii.