I still owe you all a post about geography but

until then, I do have to share this site with you (all of you probably know all about it, and I'm just stumbling on it. Oh well, I'm still excited.)

Jelly Bean, my 3rd grader is studying the 2nd half of the 50 states of America this year. We use lots of resources to study each state. One of the things that we do is learn what the state flags look like, and sometimes, I would have Jelly Bean look at the state flag and then try and draw it free hand. I still do that sometimes too, but sometimes I have her color the flag from this free resource:

States Coloring Page

On the Shelves: October 4-8th

Practical Life Shelf (mostly)

Open/Close, fabric matching, instruments

dressing vests

bead thing, soft fabric cube (both used by infant)

Sensorial Shelf (mostly, with Alphabet Center above) -

Orange cards from the Color Sorting Cards from Montessori for Everyone, Block Tower, Color Tablet 1 and 2,

Knobbed Cylinder A

Brown Stair

Language Center (with Schedule, Weather, Sign Language and Letter Card for the week on blue pocket folder)

Cc Matching cards, Cc book from KidSoup

magnetic lowercase letters

LeapFrog Fridge Letters (with C in it)

My bench (inside the bench are the line mats. Above the bench is the calendar.)

The reading bookshelf
(on the top of the bookshefl) - the basket holds all the preschool read aloud books, a US flag, and the Flower Fairy book
Jelly Bean's books
Preschool Books
Infant pull toys and Cloth books

The Geometry Shelf (mostly) -
The Geometric Shapes Sorting Cards from Montessori for Everyone, the nature box (needs some sprucing up for Fall) and The Pumpkin Life Cycle from Montessori for Everyone
Language Cards, Magnadoodle, Separate/Whole cards,
Shape Puzzles
Sorting Shapes and Geometric Solids

Geography Shelf
World Puzzle Map, World Globe, Land/Water Globe and land, water, air cards and World Cards from Montessori For Everyone
Puzzles
Puzzle Holder with Puzzles

Wood/Classic Toys
Pumpkin Number Card, Stacking Cups, Counting Bears, Bead Sequencing
Cutting Food
Pegboard and Toolbox
Wooden Barn and Wooden Animals

Practical Life - ironing, kitchen, and dolls.

I think I'm finally finding my groove

This is the first year that I did feel like I needed to do a slight revamp of our curriculum/schedule around this time of year. This year, I made our plan and we have stuck with it.

It certainly makes it easier on the wallet when you aren't having to re-buy things. I think it helps that I am using many of the same type of resources that I've used in years' past, so I already knew that it worked for me and my children. It also makes a difference that I'm used to homeschooling, the kids are used to homeschooling. It also makes a difference that we do all the schooling for everyone in basically one big space and I can come easily come over and help Jelly Bean during her morning seat work. And it makes a difference that the younger children nap in the afternoon and I can do more teacher-intensive subjects with Jelly Bean then (and Super.)

The only very slight tweak is that I had to re-do some of the preschool shelves, especially on the bottom shelves. The infant that I watch is getting increasingly mobile, as well as spending more time awake and out with us, so I had to move some of the things that I didn't want her to put in her mouth, etc.

Weekly Schedules: October 4-8, 2010

Preschool

Color of the Month: Orange
Number of the Month: 2
Shape of the Month: Square
Nursery Rhyme of the Month: Peter, Peter
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Letter of the Week: Cc
Stories for this Week: Bears (Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear?, Corduroy, A Pocket for Corduroy, Bear Party, and We're Going On a Bear Hunt)

Kindergarten

Math: Math U See Primer Lesson 8, 9, 10
Language: Working on Pink Level with "e" in the middle
Science: Bears
Social Studies: Making a Timeline of his life

3rd Grade

Spelling: Spelling tests over lesson 2 and 3 from Spelling book
Writing: Working on a line a day from first poem in Poetry for Young People: William Blake
Language: Run-Together Sentences in Unit 1 of God's Gift of Language A
Math: Math U See Gamma, Lesson 4 and 5
Geography: Michigan
Art: Poster Paint projects from Usborne Complete Book of Art
Science: Lesson 3 in Apologia Land Animals (Bears)
History: Chapter 4 from Story of the World 2

More about how we do the Pink Level

Here is Super finding the words that match the picture. These labels and picture cards are from part of the Pink Phonetic Series from Montessori Print Shop.


Here he is using the word and picture cards with the moveable alphabet to write words. All the words that he is working on have the "a" in the middle. The word and picture cards are from the same Pink Phonetic Series from Montessori Print Shop.

I have three folder envelopes. Here is the KidSoup Reader folder. In addition to the Scholastic Readers, and Bob books, we also read a book that contains words that start with a certain letter. This week, obviously, is "C" week. The little book and word wall card are from KidSoup. The little book is geared from emergent readers.

There is also a Pink Level Reading folder. The activity on the left is the same activity that Super was using in the first photo. The 2nd activity involves matching up the word and card. The picture card and the words are separate. Both activities are from Montessori Print Shop. Also included in the folder (but are not in the picture) is the Pink Sentence Cards - Set 1 from Montessori Print Shop.

Here are the two writing activities. For the activity on the left, I take the letters needed to spell all the "a" words from the moveable alphabet and I put them and the picture/word cards in an unsealed business size envelope. This way, Super doesn't get frustrated with sorting through the moveable alphabet for a letter. (He does now the order of the letters, and he can find the letters if I ask him, but he does tend to get very frustrated when he has to search the moveable alphabet for letters for several words, and then doesn't want to do it, so I pick out the letters for this activity. The blue board with lines came from Learning Resources, although I got it at a garage sale. There is also a dry erase board with lines on it that is stored in this folder.

The activity on the right is from Pink Beginning Sound Cards from Montessori Print Shop. I laminated the sheet so he could write in dry erase marker on the card.

This is how the folder envelopes, the Scholastic readers and the Bob books are stored. (Holder bought at a thrift store.

Folder envelopes from Office Depot.)

In addition to the items shown here, I also substitute in pink level activities from Practical Homeschooling and Montessori for Everyone.

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Each day, we will do an activity out of each folder. I generally pick the activity, however, if he asks for something, we do that activity instead.

Montgomery Academy Kindergarten - 2010 Version

Well, this year is a bit of a first for me. Flower was in 3rd grade when she started homeschooling, and Jelly Bean was in 2nd grade when she started homeschooling. I've taught lots of children (including all of my own) here at Montgomery Academy Preschool, but this is the first year that I've homeschooled a Kindergartner. It is also the first year that I've had a child who was doing part of their day at public school, and part of their day at home.

In our school district, Kindergarten is offered as full-day, although they do mention in the handbook that you have the option of sending your child for half day. According to the principal at our local elementary school, it is very uncommon to send your child half days.

I decided that I didn't mind being "uncommon."

So Super goes to school in the morning (he rides the bus with Flower - she is in 5th grade at the public school this year) and he does Circle Time activities, reading, math, and library twice a week, music twice a week and art once a week. I pick him up at noon. He "misses" lunch, naptime, PE, Science, Social Studies, and Math and Language Enrichment activities.

Here is what Super is working on in the afternoons:

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Reading and Writing - I am using some reading and writing activities from the Montessori Pink Level from a variety of sources (mostly from Montessori Print Shop, but I use the Pink Level spelling lists from Montessori For Everyone, and things from a Montessori Language album), as well as working on emergent level reading from a few sources (Bob Books, Scholastic Readers, and the Emergent Reader for the letter we are working on that week from KidSoup.)

For the activities from the Pink Level, we have started with working on words with vowel "a" in the middle, and will then move on to words with the "e" in the middle, etc. until we get through all the middle vowel sounds.

I also read to him. LOTS. :) I have a book list that I choose from, but he also asks me to read other books to him too. Some of the books that appear on Jelly Bean's Literature book list will be also be Read Alouds for Super.

Mathematics - Math U See Primer. We will also be study some Geometry this year (using Montessori Geometric Cabinet, Constructive Triangles, Geometric Solids, and Geometric Sticks with lessons from this Montessori Geometry album.

History - the VERY basic idea of what we are studying in Story of the World 2 that week and lessons from a Montessori History album (this album primarily covers the concept of time with activities about calendars, clocks, and timelines.)

Geography - Continent Study (We use the idea of Continent boxes and study the music, art, animals, plants, and culture of each continent) and Landforms (from a Montessori Geography album)

Science - the VERY basic idea of what we are studying in Apologia Land Animals of the Sixth Day with some 3 part cards for each type of animal from a Montessori Zoology album. We also do lots of nature walks and look at plants and animals (and take pictures/draw in sketchbooks, etc.). He also helps take care of our dog.

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Read Aloud Booklist

-Winnie The Pooh

-The Child's Book of Virtues

-Robin Hood

-The Three Musketeers

-Marco Polo

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It may look like a lot, but when we are doing it, we do it in a couple of different chunks (and he generally goes outside and plays or builds something inside in between), and the the total time that he spends on school in the afternoons is about 45 minutes.

Montgomery Academy 3rd Grade - 2010 version

Jelly Bean is in 3rd grade this year (time flies!).

3rd Grade

Spelling - Practice Makes Perfect Grade 3. My local teacher store carries several books in this series - math, spelling, writing, etc. This year, I am trying to concentrate more on words that have the same sort of spelling (have "ai" in it, end in "y", etc.) instead of just memorizing words in a list. She should finish with this book by November, and then we will move onto Grade 4 in this series.

Writing - Practice Makes Perfect Cursive Writing, although when she finishes this book, which should be soon, she will be doing Copywork during this time. Copywork will be from Poetry for Young People - William Blake.

Read Aloud - The Little Princess (This is her first read aloud book for the year. The complete read aloud and literature booklist is at the end of the post.)

Literature - The Third Grade Detectives #1 (Her first literature book of the year.)

Math - Math U See Gamma . We are big fans of Math-U-See here. I switched Flower to Saxon last year because I thought it would be better for her learning style, and honestly, because I got it for free, but how I wish I would have stuck with MUS for her too. It is very hands on and the children concentrate on really learning one type of operation at a time, from simple to large. Flower, in fifth grade, still struggles a bit with her time tables, and I know that it if she had done MUS, she probably wouldn't be having that difficulty.

Language - God's Gift of Language A, and Montessori Grammar once a week.

History - Story of the World 2

Science - Apologia Land Animals of the Sixth Day (We will be doing this book the first half of the year.) After we finish Land Animals, we will be doing Apologia Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day.

Geography - 2nd half of the 50 states (US). We use a variety of resources for our Geography Study - US Atlas, Don't Know Much About the 50 States book, Dover United States Coloring Book, US Mint 50 States quarter program, US Kit from Montessori For Everyone, books from the library about each state, etc. We will also be studying Landforms this year.

Art - Usborne Complete Book of Art Ideas and Artist/Picture study of Durer, Caravaggio, and Delacroix.

Music - Keyboard and and Composer/Music study of Beethoven, Vivaldi, and Chopin. We will also be learning a hymn per month.

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Here is Jelly Bean's complete booklist for the year:

Read Aloud
A Little Princess
The Door In The Wall
The Minstrel In The Tower
The Apprentice
Castle Diary
Twenty-One Balloons
Strawberry Girl
White Stallion of Lipizza

Literature
Third Grade Detectives 1, 2, 4, and 10
Robin Hood
Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland
The Three Musketeers
Dr. Doolittle
The King’s Equal
Pollyanna
Marco Polo
The Whipping Boy
The Viking Adventure