Handwriting Skills

After watching both the boys struggle with their handwriting, every morning, and struggling to comprehend what was written in their journals, I decided daily handwriting practice was necessary. I started out by printing blank handwriting sheets and random ones that were appropriate for their age. Then I stumbled onto a great site that has many handwriting exercises as well as a program that allows you to create a handwriting practice sheet using any words you want. You could create a handwriting practice sheet using spelling words, or the student's name.

So, after much grumbling, the boys have settled into practicing the art of legible handwriting skills. If you are interested visit TLS Books and check out their handwriting pages. There are many other printables that are all free. There is a link to donate, which I think they deserve a donation for offering such a great free resource!

First Day of School: September 1, 2011



Officially, we start our regularly scheduled class time, later this week, but we have been working on letter writing and we continue to explore the parts of a letter and why we write to people instead of just calling or emailing. Some of those reasons include:

• because it's nice to get something personal in the mail
• another way to stay in touch
• to practice our handwriting

They really got into it and have written four letters already. Tomorrow, one of their tasks is to take the dog for a walk up our long driveway and put the mail in the mail box with the flag up.

I've been working on a weekly chore/classroom schedule that will be flexible and then a daily schedule as well. I am trying to ensure they get the proper mount of time to keep the "officials" happy as well as keeping the boys engaged and interested. I think if you are willing to put in the research time, you can find so many resources for projects and field trips that you will have to pick and choose to avoid overload. Just looking at calendar events is a great way to start. For example, September has the following special days that you can design weekly lesson plans and projects around:

• Read a book Day - 09/06
• Pledge of Allegiance first printed in 1892 - 09/08
• Roald Dahl's Birthday - 09/13
• Native American Day - 09/23
• Johnny Appleseed's Birthday - 09/26

Think of all the activities you can do just with those days. I had to choose from so many to put on the calendar. I could have had something different every day. One of the resources I use to find out what is going on each month is  Teacher Vision.

Well, ready or not! Here we come! What are you excited about this year?

End of Summer: School Preview

So the kids are excited for school! They enjoyed the short two hour exercise, where we wrote a letter to a friend of their choice. Then, they read for about half an hour each. I've decided, to continue our letter writing exercises, as long as they are enjoying them. It's good for them to learn the importance of writing and receiving hand written letters.

Tomorrow, I have another exercise already on the whiteboard and I found a fantastic pdf file that an ingenious 2nd grader (I'm sure with help from mom and/or dad) put together on the basics of letter writing. I printed some of the exercises off from that and wanted to share the link, so that any homeschooler can utilize this valuable little teaching gem.

Parts of a Friendly Letter

by Randee Newbanks

2nd Grade

Gerald Elementary

Also, here is a great handout that discusses the parts of a letter. Cute visual to help a student remember. Click on the image and print it out! Enjoy!

The Curriculum Takes Shape

There are so many good Christian curriculum choices to choose from, it's hard to narrow it down... unless you are hampered by a less than plush savings. So, here are my top curriculum choices that I had to figure out how to afford:

• My Father's World: a really stellar system that can be used by more than one child. All you have to do is buy extra work books for each extra child. It is very extensive and covers all the subjects in a Christian manner. Proceeds of all purchases goes towards missions work, which is nice to know that my money would go toward children learning in a Godly way. The price wasn't too bad (if you go to the link, you will see the prices), but still up there when I wanted to add art and a few extra readers. 
• Sonlight: I LOVE this curriculum! It has EVERYTHING! They also are amazing in that they do not charge interest if you need a payment plan. It is the most expensive curriculum of the ones I looked at though, which was disheartening. I had an offer to help pay, but I felt like, this first year trying out homeschool, I didn't want a hefty price tag attached. Still, if you can afford it, it would be so worth it. If this school year is a success and my children aren't thoroughly bored by me, my goal is to go for the Sonlight curriculum. 
• Rainbow Resource Center: This has been my saving grace for finding text books that don't cost an arm and a leg and they are a Christian based company. I was able to easily find, very good workbooks for math, reading, and vocabulary, but finding a decent science book and workbook are hard to get that are Christian and follow our belief in creation. The same difficulty is there in finding a history book that hasn't been cooked by the socialist loving left (no. Jefferson did NOT host the first of "many" iftars at the Whitehouse). This was my final search before giving in and purchasing a rather expensive program to satisfy these classes. They are also the last books/workbooks I am waiting for in the mail. I also went through the local Borders and got some great workbooks that were deeply discounted. Online, there are so many homeschooling resources, it boggles the mind!

I am excited, and a little nervous too. I want them to love learning again. They both loved kindergarten (thank you Mrs. Caston!) and Connor loved first grade (thank you Mrs. Goldstein!) and had a great support with his diabetes (WE LOVE NURSE DONNA!), but Russell suffered in first grade with a less than compassionate teacher and while second grade was better, I found he struggled more than ever with focus. So the challenge is to bring back the fun. I am hoping the extra things I have planned will do that. First day of school is September 1st! Wish me luck!