Thursday's Teaching Highlights - Parks

The best highlights of our teaching week:

Thank you letters!

- Handwriting: Brielle wrote thank you letters for gifts she received on her birthday. Yes, she knows her manners!

- Social Studies/History: We learned about Rosa Parks, the "mother of the Civil Rights Movement."

Scrapbook page for our trip
to the Henry Ford Museum in 2007

Ashley at the
Rosa Parks bus
at the Henry Ford Museum

We even found my scrapbook page about our visit in 2007 to the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit, MI where the bus is on display. Although Brielle says she remembers being there, I'm sure (at the time) she didn't know what that bus was all about. The whole museum is VERY interesting and well-worth the time and cost! (just in case you ever get the chance to go there!)

While working on our lesson, I realized Brielle had no idea what "black" meant let alone why there was segregation. How precious is that innocence not to see the difference?

Thursday's Teaching HIghlights - Roll the Dice!

We had an excellent week with homeschooling! Brielle shocked me with her abilities several times.

- Faith: We learned that God doesn't give people talents that He doesn't want them to use. "We all have different gifts" - Romans 12:6

- Reading: The little cute poodle, Sweetie, is making the family's dog jealous. Great opportunity for Brielle and I to talk about what jealousy means.

- Handwriting: Brielle wrote a lot this week in her notebook, just for fun. I find it amazing what she writes when she's just doing it for herself.

My $6 find!

- Language Arts: I found a new game at Walmart last weekend called "Story Cubes". Brielle has trouble creating complete sentences, especially if it's not something SHE wants to talk about. This was a fun way to encourage her to formulate complete sentences with proper grammar. We rolled the dice on to a firm paper plate (so they wouldn't fly off the table). And then one by one, she came up with a sentence using the thing on the dice face. I was shocked at how well she did! Next week I'm going to have her start typing up the sentences instead of just signing them to me. What a great find for under $6!

- Social Studies/History: We learned that the U.S. government bought Ellis Island in 1808. It was a fort and used to store ammunition until it became a receiving center for immigrants in 1892. Some days as many 5,000 people were processed. It closed in 1954 and fell into disrepair. It was restored with private contributions and opened as a museum in 1990.
----> What percentage of immigrants came to the United States through Ellis Island???  75%

- Science: We learned about rainbows (perfect for the rainy week we've had!). Sunlight seems white but white light is really made up of colors. When sunlight passes through sunlight, the light splits and the colors are reflected from the raindrops. Red light bends the least while violet light bends the most.
----> What is one mnemonic device to remember the colors of the rainbow??? Roy G. Biv = red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet

- Math: We reviewed money, particularly coin values, this week. It's been months since we've talked about coins, so I was shocked when she did so well identifying coins and their values as well as adding up coins.


--> How many immigration processing stations were there in the U.S.? Check out my Facebook page to find out! You might be surprised!!

Thursday's Teaching HIghlights - Sam and Love Notes

Our teaching week was cut short last week since I went on a long weekend with friends. So, we didn't have school last Thursday and Friday. No subs available at our school! :)

Here's our (shortened) week in review:

- Faith: We learned that we shouldn't expect anything in return for doing a good deed. "The Lord bless you. You have shown kindness." - 2 Samuel 2:5

- Reading: The little apricot miniature poodle, Sweetie, we've been reading about is living up to her name. But, so far, no new forever home for her.

Brielle's letter to her big sis

- Handwriting: Brielle wrote a sweet note to her big sister, Ashley, who is away at college. We try to send her a letter once a week and include a note from Brielle, any mail that's come here fo rher, maybe a fun gift card, and coupons she might be able to use.

- Language Arts: We're still working on putting the basics to work by correcting punctuation and grammar in sentences. She does great, but adding the correct punctuation for dialog (adding quotation marks and commas properly) is still a struggle.

Uncle Sam

- Social Studies/History: We learned about Uncle Sam! Although no one is quite sure of his origins, it is believed that it is based on a butcher named Sam Wilson who provided meat to soldiers in the War of 1812. The soldiers referred to the "U.S." stamped on the outside of the boxes as a mark of the meat being provided by "Uncle Sam". Cool bit of trivia!

- Science: We learned about how sound travels through gases, liquids and solids. We "experimented" by putting our ears to the top of the table and tapping on it. It was so loud!

- Life Skills: Brielle has been very interested in cooking. I tried to get her involved in as many parts of the process as she is able to. Food always tastes better when you help cook it!

"I think careful cooking is love, don't you?

The loveliest thing you can cook for someone who's close to you

is about as nice a valentine as you can give." - Julia Child

Thursday's Teaching Highlights

With our rainy week, we were stuck inside a lot. That made it a productive school week indeed! Here's some of the things we learned:

- Faith: We know that God is always with us. "He is always watching, never sleeping." - Psalm 121:4


Connecting the dots!

- Reading: Cocoa, the chocolate lab, finally found a new forever home! Yay!

- Handwriting: Dot-to-dot pages are a fun way to warm up and do better at handwriting!

Mad Libs!

- Language Arts: We had a Mad Libs page this week ABOUT Mad Libs!

- Creative Writing: Brielle loves anything about the computer. Every day after lunch, she writes her dad and sister, Ashley, emails about what she had for lunch. She always includes some funny thing about what she's thinking about, like how much she wants a new PINK computer for her upcoming birthday! I check her grammar, spelling and punctuation before she sends them. But, sometimes, her emails are just too cute just as she writes them.

Brielle and me (July 2012)
Overlooking the Columbia River
where Lewis and Clark traveled

- Social Studies/History: President Thomas Jefferson hired Lewis and Clark in 1804 to explore the new territory of the Louisiana Purchase. On their journey west, Lewis and Clark's expedition went right through the area when Grandma and Grandpa live in the Tri Cities of southeast Washington State. Maybe they even walked on the land where their house is!



Some of Brielle's leg and hand braces
from when she was younger

- Science: George de Mestral invented Velcro after noticing burrs stuck to his dog's fur. The word "Velcro" comes from the French word "velour" (velvet) and "crochet" (hook). We looked around the house for things that use Velcro and found lots of items. For example, all of Brielle's leg and hand braces have Velcro on them!

Double digits!

- Math: Brielle is on a roll! She's mastered adding and subtracting double digits (as long as she doesn't have to carry or borrow - although she's starting to learn how to carry).

Brielle loves bowling
with Special Olympics

- Life Skills: It was another busy week learning to do more things for herself. Clean, snooze, mac, and doggie -- oh my!

- Physical Activity: A rainy week kept us inside. :(  But, Brielle had fun bowling with Special Olympics last Saturday. She has this weekend off and then the big Georgia State Winter Games the next weekend!

- Music: Although not really a "teaching lesson", Brielle has been totally into listening to Taylor Swift music this week. She is so excited about going to her concert in April since the stranger gave us tickets!

"Oh, what a shame. What a rainy ending given to the perfect day." - Taylor Swift

Friday's Photos

Hello Friday!!!!

Because sometimes, a pictures says more than any words could....




A "chance" meeting with a stranger
and his generous gift

Stir fry always tastes better
when you help make it!



Yes, school IS more fun in your PJs!

Rain, rain, go away....
Little Cooper wants to play!

Yes! I knocked some pins down!
At Special Olympics Bowling

 

 

Hugs from Aunt Tracy
always make a difference

If you missed any posts this week, you missed a lot!

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Thursday's Teaching Highlights

Tools of the Trade -
Our homeschooling cabinet

The last two and half years of homeschooling have been an adventure -- an adventure in time management, teaching strategies, and patience. Despite my own education including college and grad school, I learn something new almost every day just by teaching Brielle.

I thought I would showcase some of the fun things we learn each week in "Thursday's Teaching Highlights" and maybe you'll learn something, too!

- Faith: "When we have the opportunity to help anyone, we should do it." - Galatians 6:10 Boy, did we learn this lesson this week when the stranger gave us the gift!

- Reading: We learned that a big chocolate lab puppy has a lot of energy while reading Cocoa by Ellen Miles (our favorite reading series!).

- Handwriting: Brielle had extra practice this week writing thank you notes for Christmas gifts, a thank you note to the generous stranger, and a letter to her big sister, Ashley, who left for college on Sunday. :(

- Language Arts: Brielle's favorite activity is to do MadLibs. While she practices parts of speech, she creates funny stories and it can be quite the learning experience.


The Stull Family in Washington DC
September 2010

- Social Studies/History: We talked about Washington, DC one day this week. We learned that eight cities served as the nation's capital between 1776 and 1790 when work finally began on Washington, DC. We had a wonderful family trip there a few years ago!

- Science: We compared some of the tools scientists use (like a scale, beaker, microscope and telescope) to some of the things we use around the house (like the bathroom scale, kitchen measuring cup, and binoculars). We can be scientists around the house!

- Math: Although math has been a slow struggle for Brielle, she continues to make small but significant strides. This week, she's been working on adding double digit figures!

Ashley and Dad watching
Brielle bowl with Special Olympics
January 2013

- Physical Activity: Although Brielle wants to play Wii bowling (her favorite) nearly every day, she had fun last Saturday bowling for Special Olympics! 

- Life Skills: With renewed focus, I am teaching Brielle to become more independent. Snapping string beans and bath time skills were just a few of our efforts. Continue to watch for "Tuesday's Tiny Triumph's" posts to learn more!

"Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death." - Albert Einstein