Heritage Box

Last week we received our first delivery from Heritage Box. We love the handcrafted Kenyan Masaai Box! So excited to dig in and learn together.

Homeschool Days: Glow Science

This week we attended Homeschool Day at our local science center. They performed engineering challenges! Activities included building with glow sticks, making glow slime, decoding blacklight secret messages, and making a glow-in-the-dark macaroni necklaces.

First/Second Grade

Well, I failed at my attempt to update more frequently. I am now into my second year of homeschooling. I concentrated more on reading and math last year so we've picked up where we left off.

We use a lot of supplementary books so I'll just list the major resources used. Math is the only subject in which I follow the sequence given. Mostly, I use workbooks as a guide of what to cover. I am currently using the following:

CTCMath

Health, Safety, and Manners 2

The Complete Book of Spanish, Grades 1 - 3

DK Workbooks: Geography, Second Grade

The Good & the Beautiful Language Arts & Literature (also covers writing, art, and geography)


Social Studies/History & Science mostly consists of topical studies using books, videos, games, projects, and field trips.

Field Trip: Publix

Yesterday we visited a local Publix grocery store for a “behind the scenes” tour.

The live lobsters in the meat department was a hit!

Florida Governor's Mansion

Friday we toured Florida Governor's Mansion. This is the second mansion constructed and is about 13,000 sq ft, situated on 4.9 acres. The first mansion was made of wood and therefore unsuitable for Florida's weather. We learned how the Governor’s Mansion is both a museum of Florida history and a residence for the Governor. Artifacts on display include the USS Florida Silver Punch Bowl, St. Augustine artifacts from the 14th-18th centuries, and undersea artifacts during Florida's Age of Exploration.

Living History - 1880s

Last week, we learned about farming in the present. This week, living history interpretation of an 1880s farm.

*Blacksmithing *Cooking in a farmhouse *Wood carving *Grinding sugar cane *Syrup making

Florida's Emergency Operations Center

Today we toured Florida's Emergency Operations Center. This Center is used whenever the Governor declares a disaster in Florida. On our guided tour, we learned about emergency management, meteorology, and weather safety.

White Oak Pastures

Last week we visited White Oak Pastures in Bluffton, GA - a 150 year old, multi-generational family farm. They are the only farm in the United States that has both beef and poultry abattoirs on the property. We observed the beef and poultry abattoirs, biddy and bunny barn, egg candling machine, greenhouses for potatoes, and 6 acre organic vegetable farm. After the tour, we enjoyed lunch at the White Oak Open Air Restaurant, featuring food grown and raised right on the farm. Monday - Saturday, the restaurant primarily feeds their 100+ employees.
And daddy joined us this time around. ;-)

Homeschool Curriculum: 2015-2016

K5-First Grade

Where have I been?!

I'm going to attempt to do better with blogging. I started by reading my first post on my tentative curriculum plans. Well, I never went that route.

We officially started in July 2015. Soon after starting, I discovered that with the exception of reading and math, the Kindergarten material was too basic for her. I decided to use the following:

Reading Eggs
Mathseeds
Community Helpers
Rainforest Journey - Life Science
My America and My World 1
Health, Safety, and Manners 1
Discovering God's World 1
Scholastic Success With Grammar, Grade 1
Apologetics Press: Exploring God's Word - Year 1


Does this look like a lot? It's really not. As of October 2015, we have not started My America and My World, and Rainforest Journey is complete. Also, since Mathseeds does not allow us to skip lessons, I've been supplementing with a first grade math workbook. We are about 4 lessons away from first grade.

3-2-1 Blast Off!

This morning Kay attended 3-2-1 Blast Off! at the Challenger Learning Center. It was a day of exploring the solar system and all things NASA! She built a sundial, watched a show in the planetarium, explored the space mission simulations, and made an edible sun!

Museum Day - Snakes

This morning the theme at the Tallahassee Museum was snakes. Kay learned about different snakes, what being cold-blooded means, and the difference between poison and venom. She also learned what to do (and not to do) if she ever sees a snake. There was hands-on activities and of course - live snakes!

STEM Saturday

In our adventures today, we learned about physical changes and chemical changes. We also briefly explored pressure and static electricity.

WCTV Studios Tour

Last week we toured the WCTV studios, learned about weather forecasting, and how news is reported.

STEM Saturday

This weekend we learned about fingerprints and what makes them so special, pollution, and pH balance. As far as the pH levels, I thought it would be over her head and at times I didn't think she was listening, but when asked she correctly picked the best water for drinking!

Mission San Luis

This week we visited a restored village of the Apalachee Indians and a headquarter of the Spaniards.

Sea Turtles Release - Bald Point State Park

The releasing of 3 rehabilitated Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles - “Tiny”, “Max” and, “Charlotte”.

Homeschool Curriculum

Most of my daughter's work will be done through Easy Peasy, using supplements as needed. As a work at home mom who is still trying to get in the swing of things, I've found that this is likely the best route for now.

Meme (Age 5)
Getting Ready 1 (McGuffey Primer)
Discovery K12 (Social Studies & Science)
Maths Is Fun

Choosing to Homeschool

To begin, I find it quite sad that parents are often on the receiving end of disapproval for their desire to be the primary educator of their children. For myself, I did a lot of research soon after I married, years before my daughter was born. I went over the pros and cons, as well as ways to supplement her education through local co-ops and field trips.

Faith/Building Character: As a Christian, I understood that it is my responsibility to diligently train my child(ren) in the ways of the Lord. With this, I clearly saw the difficulties that I would have with my children being in the care of others for much of their early years. I knew even in private school I would find myself having to correct what she is taught that does not line up with our faith. Children are young and impressionable and as a parent it makes me uncomfortable not knowing what is being instilled into her each day.

Socialization: Many use this as a rebuttal as to why children should be in a classroom. But I ask, "What exactly is the behavior that children need to learn to emulate in public schools?"
To those who ask about socialization, my question is "What do children often get in trouble for while at school?" Talking or socializing. If the classroom was designed to socialize, majority of the daily schedule would consist of chatting and hanging with classmates/friends, rather than listening to teachers. With public schools, children are grouped with children of the same age, educational level, and often the same social-economic background. Homeschooling allows more time to interact with individuals of all ages and backgrounds. In a parent-monitored environment, self-esteem is guarded and self-confidence is built in the ways of dealing with difficult and challenging people until they are developmentally ready.
Socialization is a means to convert or adapt to the needs of society. But Romans 12:2 says, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Proverbs 22: 24-25 “Do not make friends with the hot-tempered, do not associate with those who are easily angered; or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared.”1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be mislead: “bad company corrupts good character.” This leads back to my first reason of building character.

Personalized Curriculum: With home education you can design a one-on-one academic plan based on the learning style and interest of each child. No waiting for a certain grade level to learn a certain subject, no waiting on other students to catch up, no rush to memorize a topic to simply pass a test. Real life skills can be taught and incorporated on a daily basis.

Freedom: As a homeschooler, you can decide when "class" will start and end. This ranges from the hours, days, and months of each school year. No rush because school buses have arrived, or the last day of school is approaching. I also LOVE to travel and like to be able to go during off-seasons when prices are lower because children are traditional in school.

Bottom line: homeschooling is a calling for me.