Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
Ben Does "School"
Ever since this school year started, Ben has been begging to be allowed to do school too, but he rarely has the patience to do more than about one worksheet without getting bored or frustrated. That is, until yesterday, when I remembered Hannah's unused Kindergarten book for Sing, Spell, Read and Write...When Hannah began this reading program, she already knew all of her letter sounds, so we skipped over book on in the curriculum. I pulled it out yesterday, though, and discovered that it is at the perfect level for Ben. We gave it a try and he just loves it! He has done it for an hour straight two days in a row now, and he cries when I make him quit!
It focuses on patterns, basic writing, and letter
sounds, and it involves enough varied activities - including cutting and pasting - to keep Ben interested for a long time. Today, he learned the short "a" sound - "A-a-apple." I think he does a very good job coloring in the lines.He also really enjoys anything that involves scissors and glue. He had to find words that began with an "a" in a magazine and glue them on this page. They were supposed to be short "a" sounds (apple, apple sauce, apple juice), but we cheated and added "airplane" because we couldn't find any other a-words. Ben loved this activity!
Making Words
The other day, I gave Hannah a bunch of post-it notes with groups of letters on them. She had to add a letter to the beginning to make a word. Here is her list (I will make the letter she added bold and put a dash in the word):
m-an
r-ing
qu-it
st-ick
l-ip
w-ell
p-an
c-ake
t-op
p-ot
w-ay
f-it
qu-ack
cl-ock
p-ill
p-at
n-ail
p-op
p-in
w-est
f-at
d-ug
w-ink
fl-ap
m-an
r-ing
qu-it
st-ick
l-ip
w-ell
p-an
c-ake
t-op
p-ot
w-ay
f-it
qu-ack
cl-ock
p-ill
p-at
n-ail
p-op
p-in
w-est
f-at
d-ug
w-ink
fl-ap
First Tests!
We reached a good point today to assess progress and see how much Hannah has learned from what we have been studying together. Her reading program had its first test today, so I decided to put together a short math test (25 questions) and a longer unit test (30 questions plus a bonus) to give at the same time. Because she has never taken a test before, I sat with her, talked her through the directions and encouraged her to think carefully about her responses and stay on task. I also administered the unit test orally, because it would have been too much writing for her to handle.
Even though I knew Hannah understood the material, I still felt astonished at how well she did today! She only missed one question on the unit test, but she got the bonus question, which required her to put together two concepts in a way we had not discussed previously. She got every single question correct on her math and reading tests, as well!
The following concepts were covered on the math and reading assessments: reading and writing three digit numbers, adding numbers up to 9, vocabulary word recognition and comprehension, matching words to pictures, reading comprehension, and filling in missing letters (for example, a picture of a flag with "fla___" written underneath, and she writes in the missing "g").
Our unit study so far has involved basic global geography (oceans and continents) and where we live. This unit focuses on North America, and we have specifically talked about the Grand Canyon and about some North American animals. We read and discussed five excellent children's books: I See Something Grand by Mitzi Chandler, Condor's Egg by Jonathan London, All about Rattlesnakes, All About Owls, and All About Turkeys, all by Jim Arnosky.
I have to share her unit test with you, because even I was impressed. I will write the question and her answers to each question, as dictated to me.
1) What continent do we live on? North America
2) What country do we live in? United States of America
3) What state do we live in? Ohio
4) What city do we live in? Mansfield
5) What is erosion? When the water goes down and washes rocks and dirt away.
6) Name 3 animals that live in the Grand Canyon: Collared lizards, big horned sheep, and pink rattlesnakes
7) Do condors always have to flap their wings when they fly? No
8) What do condors ride on when they fly? Warm air
9) What do condors eat? Dead animals
10) What do condors use to make a nest for their egg? Pebbles
11) What do rattlesnakes have on their tails? Rattles
12) Why do rattlesnakes shake their rattles? To tell you to get away or they will bite.
13) What covers a rattlesnake's skin? Scales
14) What are rattlesnakes' long front teeth called, that they use to inject poison into food and enemies? Fangs
15) Name one thing that a rattlesnake eats: Mice
16) What is an animal that eats rattlesnakes? Roadrunners
17) Are owls awake at night or day? Night
18) Name one type of owl: Snowy owls
19) How many toes do owls have on each foot? 4
20) Can owls move their eyes? No
21) What do owls move in order to look around? Their heads
22) What does "nocturnal" mean? Awake at night
23) Are owls' feathers noisy or quiet when they fly? Quiet
24) Name one thing an owl eats? Frogs
25) What bird hates and chases away owls? Crows
26) What is a "boy" turkey called? Tom
27) What is a "girl" turkey called? Hen
28) Name one thing a turkey eats: Seeds and nuts
29) What colors does a turkey's head turn when it is excited? Red, white and blue
30) Name one animal that eats turkeys: Rattlesnakes (this one is incorrect)
31) Where do turkeys sleep at night? In a tree
BONUS: Are turkeys nocturnal? No - they sleep at night.
Isn't she amazing?! Sorry for the bragging... but she did really well today and I just had to share!
Even though I knew Hannah understood the material, I still felt astonished at how well she did today! She only missed one question on the unit test, but she got the bonus question, which required her to put together two concepts in a way we had not discussed previously. She got every single question correct on her math and reading tests, as well!
The following concepts were covered on the math and reading assessments: reading and writing three digit numbers, adding numbers up to 9, vocabulary word recognition and comprehension, matching words to pictures, reading comprehension, and filling in missing letters (for example, a picture of a flag with "fla___" written underneath, and she writes in the missing "g").
Our unit study so far has involved basic global geography (oceans and continents) and where we live. This unit focuses on North America, and we have specifically talked about the Grand Canyon and about some North American animals. We read and discussed five excellent children's books: I See Something Grand by Mitzi Chandler, Condor's Egg by Jonathan London, All about Rattlesnakes, All About Owls, and All About Turkeys, all by Jim Arnosky.
I have to share her unit test with you, because even I was impressed. I will write the question and her answers to each question, as dictated to me.
1) What continent do we live on? North America
2) What country do we live in? United States of America
3) What state do we live in? Ohio
4) What city do we live in? Mansfield
5) What is erosion? When the water goes down and washes rocks and dirt away.
6) Name 3 animals that live in the Grand Canyon: Collared lizards, big horned sheep, and pink rattlesnakes
7) Do condors always have to flap their wings when they fly? No
8) What do condors ride on when they fly? Warm air
9) What do condors eat? Dead animals
10) What do condors use to make a nest for their egg? Pebbles
11) What do rattlesnakes have on their tails? Rattles
12) Why do rattlesnakes shake their rattles? To tell you to get away or they will bite.
13) What covers a rattlesnake's skin? Scales
14) What are rattlesnakes' long front teeth called, that they use to inject poison into food and enemies? Fangs
15) Name one thing that a rattlesnake eats: Mice
16) What is an animal that eats rattlesnakes? Roadrunners
17) Are owls awake at night or day? Night
18) Name one type of owl: Snowy owls
19) How many toes do owls have on each foot? 4
20) Can owls move their eyes? No
21) What do owls move in order to look around? Their heads
22) What does "nocturnal" mean? Awake at night
23) Are owls' feathers noisy or quiet when they fly? Quiet
24) Name one thing an owl eats? Frogs
25) What bird hates and chases away owls? Crows
26) What is a "boy" turkey called? Tom
27) What is a "girl" turkey called? Hen
28) Name one thing a turkey eats: Seeds and nuts
29) What colors does a turkey's head turn when it is excited? Red, white and blue
30) Name one animal that eats turkeys: Rattlesnakes (this one is incorrect)
31) Where do turkeys sleep at night? In a tree
BONUS: Are turkeys nocturnal? No - they sleep at night.
Isn't she amazing?! Sorry for the bragging... but she did really well today and I just had to share!
Monday, August 18, 2008
And it begins...
We officially began our school year this year on August 3rd. I cannot believe how well Hannah is doing so far! I'll give just a brief overview today and then share more details later.
We started right in on the first grade reading curriculum this year. Hannah can read most of her books on her own now, with limited help from me. I think her preschool teacher will be shocked when she realizes how well she can read this year.
Her teacher will also be surprised when she sees Hannah's handwriting. This is another area in which Hannah has grown tremendously over the summer. Her letters are all recognizable now, with no help from me. She is still working on keeping the letters on the lines and making them face the right direction, but she is doing so much better!
In math, we just started basic addition. She completely gets the concept, but she is still counting to get her answers. Memorization is something that will have to come with time, though.
Finally, we are having a blast with the unit studies. I really don't think Hannah even realizes she is "working" when we do these. We began this year by looking at a globe and talking about water and continents and how the earth rotates on its axis. Then, we identified North America, the United States, and Ohio. Our first major unit is North America, and we are going to be reading books and learning geography and science based on those books.
Because Nana and Bubba traveled to the Grand Canyon this summer, we started by focusing on that. We read a beautifully illustrated kids book called "I See Something Grand," found the Grand Canyon on a map, talked about the animals in the canyon, discussed erosion and how it works, and looked at the pictures from Nana and Bubba's trip. Both kids loved it!
Today, we began one of our major ongoing projects for the year, as well. With lots of help, Hannah covered a large Styrofoam ball with paper mache. Once it dries, she's going to paint it blue, and then we will glue each continent onto the globe she has made as we discuss that continent. Because the core is Styrofoam, we can use straight pins to label the specific locations we focus on. Hannah had a blast getting so messy today! I'll have to take some pictures once the painting begins to demonstrate the work in progress...
Poor Ben... he wants so badly to be involved in whatever Hannah is doing, but he doesn't have the patience for any worksheets quite yet. I am hoping that preschool helps with that a little. He always reads with us, and then, he'll sometimes draw on blank paper or use his safety scissors to cut the paper into a hundred tiny pieces. I know that's good practice for him, since Hannah couldn't use scissors until she was at least 4. He's also become obsessed with his letters. He loves taking a set of laminated cards with letters on them and tracing the letters again and again with a dry erase marker. He actually does a very good job staying on the lines, too!
The poor little guy is such a perfectionist, though! He cries and wants to give up if he's tracing a rectangle and the line is a little wobbly instead of perfectly straight. And he gets mad if his letters don't look exactly right! I keep telling him that he's doing exceptionally well for a 3 year old, and that it takes lots of practice to draw straight lines and perfect letters, but he still gets very distraught. I don't know where he could have gotten that trait... ha, ha.
I'll finish with Hannah's first unassisted journal entry (well... except for adding one apostrophe and having her turn a few of her a's and p's around):
Translation: "I didn't like the roller coaster, but I did like all the other rides at the fair."
We started right in on the first grade reading curriculum this year. Hannah can read most of her books on her own now, with limited help from me. I think her preschool teacher will be shocked when she realizes how well she can read this year.
Her teacher will also be surprised when she sees Hannah's handwriting. This is another area in which Hannah has grown tremendously over the summer. Her letters are all recognizable now, with no help from me. She is still working on keeping the letters on the lines and making them face the right direction, but she is doing so much better!
In math, we just started basic addition. She completely gets the concept, but she is still counting to get her answers. Memorization is something that will have to come with time, though.
Finally, we are having a blast with the unit studies. I really don't think Hannah even realizes she is "working" when we do these. We began this year by looking at a globe and talking about water and continents and how the earth rotates on its axis. Then, we identified North America, the United States, and Ohio. Our first major unit is North America, and we are going to be reading books and learning geography and science based on those books.
Because Nana and Bubba traveled to the Grand Canyon this summer, we started by focusing on that. We read a beautifully illustrated kids book called "I See Something Grand," found the Grand Canyon on a map, talked about the animals in the canyon, discussed erosion and how it works, and looked at the pictures from Nana and Bubba's trip. Both kids loved it!
Today, we began one of our major ongoing projects for the year, as well. With lots of help, Hannah covered a large Styrofoam ball with paper mache. Once it dries, she's going to paint it blue, and then we will glue each continent onto the globe she has made as we discuss that continent. Because the core is Styrofoam, we can use straight pins to label the specific locations we focus on. Hannah had a blast getting so messy today! I'll have to take some pictures once the painting begins to demonstrate the work in progress...
Poor Ben... he wants so badly to be involved in whatever Hannah is doing, but he doesn't have the patience for any worksheets quite yet. I am hoping that preschool helps with that a little. He always reads with us, and then, he'll sometimes draw on blank paper or use his safety scissors to cut the paper into a hundred tiny pieces. I know that's good practice for him, since Hannah couldn't use scissors until she was at least 4. He's also become obsessed with his letters. He loves taking a set of laminated cards with letters on them and tracing the letters again and again with a dry erase marker. He actually does a very good job staying on the lines, too!
The poor little guy is such a perfectionist, though! He cries and wants to give up if he's tracing a rectangle and the line is a little wobbly instead of perfectly straight. And he gets mad if his letters don't look exactly right! I keep telling him that he's doing exceptionally well for a 3 year old, and that it takes lots of practice to draw straight lines and perfect letters, but he still gets very distraught. I don't know where he could have gotten that trait... ha, ha.
I'll finish with Hannah's first unassisted journal entry (well... except for adding one apostrophe and having her turn a few of her a's and p's around):
Translation: "I didn't like the roller coaster, but I did like all the other rides at the fair."
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