Weekly Wrap Up: The Home Stretch

It certainly feels like we have entered the home stretch both here at the lab and at school for RA.  I sent back TS 1's PASS test answer sheet and now we wait for the results to be returned to us in the next two to four weeks.  We have four more weeks of school left and while most of the academic work has entered the review stage, there are a few subjects in which we are still working full steam ahead.


Both test subjects completed their science curriculum with Dad this week, including a comprehensive review of all they learned.  They have a planetarium field trip planned, as well as some hands on activities to reinforce what they learned this year.


As for history, we seem to be right on schedule.  We have about three weeks of lessons to go so we will take it at a slower pace, delving deeper into the subjects that are more interesting.  We have all learned so much and been exposed to such wonderful literature through Tapestry of Grace this year.  I am excited to study colonization and early American history using TOG next year.  


TS 1 will be starting the last unit of Growing with Grammar by the end of next week, so it looks like he will complete the book by the end of the year after all.  I was not sure he would, as I've mentioned before.  I think he still needs some drilling on the fundamentals of grammar and parts of speech, but I have a summer plan for that.  Writing class is also coming to an end.  He has one more assignment to write for the class, a persuasive essay.  As for math, I think TS 1 will be about halfway through the Epsilon book by the end of this year.  You may remember that he started at the Delta level of Math-U-See at the beginning of the year.  I have some ideas for math over the summer that I am mulling over, but I am hoping that by September, TS 1 will not have much of the Epsilon level left and will hopefully be ready to begin the Zeta level sometime in the fall.


TS 2 completed All About Spelling with flying colors this week.

I'm not sure what to do for him in terms of spelling for next year.  He certainly does not seem to need a formal phonics based program anymore, yet I am hesitant to abandon spelling all together at such a young age.  A friend mentioned I look into Spelling Power, so that is on my to do list as I plan for next year.  (If you have used Spelling Power and have any feedback, please leave it in the comments!)  We are working on the last few lessons of First Language Lessons, which are mostly a review of the concepts he learned and poems he memorized throughout the year.  We are actually a little behind in his Writing with Ease curriculum, with 5 weeks of lessons left and only 4 weeks of school.  I plan on looking through the lessons we have left and simply excluding one.  He is also almost finished with his Math-U-See Beta curriculum, with only two lessons to go.  


RA has had so many fun experiences in Kindergarten these past few weeks.  Her class cared for 12 chicken eggs and were blessed to have one hatch into a healthy little chick!  Fluffy is an adorable, if a bit noisy, addition to their classroom.

They are also currently observing butterflies emerging from their cocoons in the classroom.  And last week, we had a Mother's Day celebration in class.  

On Monday, they had their spring musical, Bugz!  She was a love bug, perfect, wouldn't you say?  

Yesterday, her class went on a community helpers field trip to a local police station, fire department and library.  Today, she will participate in the school's annual walk-a-thon.  We are all so excited to have her join us in homeschool next year!

Have a wonderful weekend, friends!

Weekly Wrap Up: Better Late than Never!

Better late than never, right?  Since I was unable to post a weekly wrap up two weeks ago, I wanted to catch up with a post about last week, even if it is Monday and we have started a new week already :)  I have a good excuse though, really I do.  

A friend and I took a road trip Thursday evening to the great state of Pennsylvania.  We were there through Saturday evening to attend the Christian Homeschool Association of Pennsylvania's (CHAP) annual convention.  It was a wonderful, if a bit overwhelming and exhausting, experience.  I hope to write a post soon highlighting some things I learned and all the curricula I purchased.

The most interesting development at the lab last week was TS 1's standardized testing.  


Our state requires an end of the year evaluation and for TS 1 I chose to administer a standardized test to fulfill this requirement.  I decided on the Personalized Achievement Summary System (PASS) test because I wanted something I could administer at home.  One of my goals is to finish up our school year by mid June and taking three days off for testing right now would have interfered with that.  The PASS also only tests Reading, Language and Math, the three subjects from which I am interested in getting an objective assessment.  TS 1 completed the Reading and Language sections of the test last week.  He is working on the Math portion as I write.  The first two sections took him just about an hour to complete, making it possible for him to complete most of his regular school work  and still finish up close to our regular time each day.  The math section seems a bit longer, so I minimized the rest of his school work for today, as he has writing class this afternoon.

In case you are curious, the PASS has been extremely easy to administer.  Since it is TS 1's first year with the test, he first took a pretest for each section to determine the level of the actual test he would take.  Next year, the level will be predetermined based on his results from this year's testing.  After we complete the three sections, I send all the materials back to Hewitt for scoring.  Results will be sent to me 2-4 weeks after that, just in time to submit them to our school district with my final Quarterly Report.


As the end of the year report for TS 2, I will submit a written narrative of his work and progress this year.  Since he is only in second grade, he could not take the PASS this year as it begins in third grade.  Next year, I will probably opt to administer the PASS to him as well.


On Tuesday night, I hosted the monthly Mother's Meeting for our local homeschool group.  The meeting topic was Teaching Science, which was ironic since Tom teaches Science to our test subjects.  It did not much matter though since my role was simply to provide a location, some snacks and talk a bit about how our homeschool day typically looks.  I enjoyed hosting and hoped the ladies left feeling refreshed and encouraged.

Since I was gone all day Friday, my parents were here supervising the boys.  They told me that the boys were very independent and got all of their assigned work done.  I'm very proud of how independent and industrious they can be.  It doesn't have every day, believe me.  Remember our late winter-early spring blues?  But when it does, I am thankful.


Hope to post here again Friday with a Weekly Wrap Up!  Before you go, be sure to go and read our exciting news about next year :)

It's Official!

We have decided to homeschool all three of our children next year!

Our sweet RA will become TS 3 :)

We are all very excited!  Mixed in with my excitement is a little trepidation about how to manage my time homeschooling all three.  Of course, many moms have successfully homeschooled many more children than three, so I know it can be done.  It's just hard to imagine how it will play out day to day.  Over the summer, I am going to research and work on some scheduling ideas that we can try come September.

In the meantime, I have been busily researching and mapping out a curriculum for RA over the past few weeks.  I hope the homeschool convention I am attending this weekend will help me narrow down some choices.  I plan to meet with her current Kindergarten teacher in a few weeks to get her feedback as well.  My plan right now is that we will do a mix of Kindergarten and First Grade work based on the strengths and weaknesses I see in her at this time.

Stay tuned and expect to see and hear more of that cutie around these parts!

Weekly Wrap Up: Writing and Piano and Webinars, Oh My!

We have had a relatively peaceful and productive week here at the lab.  I guess we are still running on our post-Spring Break energy.  With the end of the school year less than two months away, the test subjects seem to have settled back into a comfortable routine with more pleasant attitudes overall.  I'm very thankful for this :)

On Monday afternoon, TS 1 had his weekly writing class.  He is working on a very clever interview of a fictitious circus acrobat.  Perhaps he will allow me to post the final copy again here.  I am so pleased with how TS 1's composition curriculum went this year.  We spent most of the year working on the fundamentals of writing using the Student Writing Intensive from IEW.  Right around the time we completed that curriculum, this class was offered through our local homeschool group.  It has allowed TS 1 to take the fundamentals he learned and expand on them with longer, more challenging and more creative composition assignments.  

On Tuesday afternoons, we have piano lessons.  I am so pleased with the boys' progress!  TS 1 is working on some really advanced pieces already.  These two clips are songs he is working on right now.  They still need practice, but they are coming along really nicely, I think.

TS 1 is also learning some music theory and composition as well, simply because he thinks in such a technical way and asks detailed questions of his teacher about how music is composed.  

TS 2 is also doing wonderfully with piano.  Here is a clip of a  little song he composed himself.  Of course, I think it sounds fabulous!

And this is a song he is working on for the recital in June.

A friend and fellow homeschooling mom sent a link to a free astronomy webinar through Super Charged Science on Wednesday afternoon.  Since the test subjects have been studying astronomy all year with dad, this webinar sounded perfect!  It turned out to be very interesting and a good review of the solar system. 

Although Super Charged Science is a secular science program, there was no evolutionary perspective presented during the webinar.  Since it was a free webinar, the presenter spent a bit of time at the beginning and near the end of the presentation on a sales pitch for her online homeschool science curriculum.  That did not bother me at all- I felt she was entitled to tout her program since she was offering the webinar free of charge.  The only criticism I have of the experience is that it went a bit long (about 80 minutes) and the test subjects had lost interest by the time the question and answer portion of the webinar began.

The highlight of Thursday was our Tapestry of Grace review of the current week's lesson on Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation.  We used the assigned lapbook and evaluation to guide our discussion.  This is typical of how we have handled our history review this year.  We started out using the weekly evaluations published by TOG, but I quickly realized a discussion and review feels more thorough and natural for our family at this stage.  Perhaps when TS 1 moves into the dialectic stage, we will use the evaluations as actual assessment tools again.  

On Thursday evening, we headed over to RA's school for the annual book fair.  It was fun to see old friends and we scored lots of great books, too!

As always, Friday morning brought co-op.  TS 1's PE teacher was out this week so the other assistant and I led the class this week.  We started with an obstacle course and then spent the rest of the period playing a kickball game.  The kids seemed to have a great time.  

We are all looking forward to our weekly Friday night playdate and a Saturday full of baseball.  I hope your weekend is blessed!

Weekly Wrap Up: Getting Back into a Groove

Joining the Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers, Homegrown Learners and The Homeschool Chick...

We started back to school this Monday after a little more than a week off for Spring Break.  As I mentioned a few times, we had a rough March here at the lab and were all looking forward to some time away from the routine.  Despite the kids taking turns being sick (thankfully all fairly mild) most of the week, we managed to have a fun and relaxing break.  On the day after Easter, we had a total of 11 little cousins here, ranging in age from 2 to 11!  It was great fun, and a little hectic :)  We had playdates with three different sets of friends the rest of the week, and the weekend kicked off our baseball season!  TS 1 was too sick to play in his first game, which seriously bummed him out, but TS 2 was able to play.  He had a ball, literally and figuratively!  TS 1 was able to play by Monday, and even took the mound for the first time.  I was much more stressed than he was.  He did a great job!

By Monday, we were all refreshed and ready to hit the books again.  Since our week was fairly typical in terms of routine and I took almost no pictures, I thought I'd share this week a little about what each test subject has been learning as of late.  In Tapestry of Grace, our Humanities Core/History Curriculum, we have moved into the Renaissance time period and have so far studied the Southern and Northern Renaissance, major artists and their works, and are now in the midst of a study of the major figures and events of the Reformation.  We have been reading a ton and both boys seem to be enjoying it!  Our read aloud this week was the Twelfth Night from the Children's Shakespeare.  It was hilariously fun and confusing, so much so that I had to draw the major characters on our dry erase board just so we could keep track of who was in love with who and who was pretending to be who.  I have to give TS 2 credit, he hung in there with the convoluted plot until the happy ending!  My mom happened to be with us the day we read it and thoroughly enjoyed herself along with us.

In math, TS 1 is working through the Epsilon book of Math U See, which focuses on fractions.  He is doing fine, as math typically comes easy to him, but I am not sure it is the right fit for us.  Perhaps it has to do with the fact that I (and TS 1 up to this point for that matter) learned math in such a different way, but the methods, scope and sequence for teaching fractions seems contrived and confusing.  However, I am by no means a math scholar, so what do I know?  Needless to say, I plan on spending some time researching math curricula at the homeschool convention I will be attending in May.  


TS 2 has a handful of chapters left in the Beta book of Math U See.  I have encountered less of the problems I mentioned above in the Beta level, except for the way time is taught.  He has learned addition and subtraction of multiple digit numbers with regrouping this year.  We have also focused on getting his addition and subtraction facts up to 12 solid through the use of online tools and iPad apps.  


TS 1 continues to enjoy the challenge and creativity of the writing class he is taking through our local homeschool group.  So far he has written an autobiographical incident essay, a critique essay on a book he recently read, and is working on the rough draft of an interview.  He is also working through the Growing with Grammar curriculum and has about two more units left.  I'm not sure he will finish the book this year, but I am not concerned about that since I know the material will be covered again in the next level of the series.


TS 2 is working steadily through Writing with Ease, First Language Lessons, All About Spelling, and A Reason for Handwriting.  I have seen a lot of improvement in his narration skills using Writing with Ease over the course of the year so I am glad we stuck with it.  I've also been trying a variety of reading comprehension materials borrowed from friends to determine what I might like to use with him for that next year.  So far Christian Light Publishing's Reading Series is the frontrunner.


Dad is finishing up the last few chapters of Apologia's Exploring Creation through Astronomy with the test subjects.  Both boys really enjoy science.  They plan to celebrate the culmination of their study this year with a trip to the Hayden Planetarium in New York City!

On Friday morning, we head back to co-op.  The weather is supposed to be sunny and mild, which makes this gym class teacher assistant very happy indeed. We are all looking forward to seeing our friends again.  After co-op, we will be sticking around for a Mad Science workshop.  


Our weekend plans include fun with friends Friday night, baseball on Saturday and church on Sunday.  I will only be around for the Friday fun, though, as I am headed for an overnight with my mom, sister, aunt and cousins at my sister's beach house.  I am looking forward to great food, wonderful company and peace and quiet for 24 hours :)  


Hope your weekend is filled with love, laughter and a little peace and quiet, too!

Weekly Wrap Up: The One with Another Birthday

Joining the Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers, Homegrown Learners and The Homeschool Chick...

We started off our week with another birthday.  It was TS 1's birthday this time, and he turned 11 years old on Monday.  I do not know how this happened.  Just last week, he was a tiny infant!  We started the day with his breakfast of choice- chocolate chip pancakes- and presents.  These photos make me smile because he was still sleepy-eyed in them :) We also celebrated by going out for a family dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant.  

After the birthday breakfast, we had a typical school morning.  After lunch, we headed to TS 1's writing class.    Speaking of writing class, he did give me permission to post his autobiographical incident essay: God on the Diamond on the blog.  You can find it here.


On Tuesday, the contractors returned to complete their work.  That meant some more real life learning for the test subjects.  The contractors poured the blacktop for the driveway, and everything looks so beautiful.  

I can't wait until it will all be useable.  We have to wait one more week to park in the driveway and two more weeks before we can walk on the newly planted sod.  I'm looking forward to planting some colorful flowers at that time.  I'll be sure to post pictures of the completed project!


Wednesday and Thursday were typical homeschool days.  On Thursday afternoon, we joined some friends from our local homeschool group for a field trip at a nature preserve.  The workshop was focused on weather, and was primarily a hands on, game and activity driven event.  The last activity was a scavenger hunt in the woods to find all the items one might keep in an emergency kit.  The kids LOVED that!  My kids are a bit nature deprived.  I'm not one for hikes, woods, country, etc.  I grew up in New York City, that's my excuse :)  So this field trip was a special treat for them.

There was no co-op Friday and RA had the day off as well, so it was the official start to our Spring Break.  The boys spent the early afternoon at a kickball game with some friends from school.  They won the experience in a raffle benefitting the school a few weeks ago.  Three teachers from the school ran the game and provided a pizza lunch for the kids.  It was great fun!

Warmest wishes for a Blessed Easter from our family to yours!

God on the Diamond: An Essay by TS 1

TS 1 wrote the following essay for the Writing Class he is taking through our local homeschool group.  The assignment was to write a five paragraph essay about an autobiographical incident, which included a moral lesson.  He immediately knew what topic he would share.  He is graciously allowing me to publish his essay on my blog :)  I post it not only to share what he is learning, but also to give glory to God who taught him the lesson he describes here.  As a mom, I do my best to impart God's truth and wisdom to my children in the circumstances of their lives.  I often fail and fumble my way through it, but God never fails.  

God on the Diamond

By TS 1

     Before I became a good hitter, I had to learn an important lesson.  The lesson

 was to persevere through things which I had never experienced before.  I also

 learned to trust God in everything, including baseball.  I had to learn an important

 life lesson.

    It was Spring 2010, and I had just started the “minors” in my league.  The

 minors is kid pitch, with 3 strikes, 3 outs, an umpire, and a game played under

 Little League conditions.  My team was the A’s, and my league was AYYA, which

stands for All Yonkers Youth Association.  Whenever I put on that green A’s

jersey with the yellow “Athletics” fastened on the front, I felt prepared for the

game. Although it didn’t really seem that way because I was having,

unfortunately, a slumping season with no hits going into the last game.  In Spring

2010, I needed to get a hit in that last game.

     On that hot, sunny day, I had to accomplish something that I really needed to

 achieve: a hit.  The game took place at Cook Field, a remolded soccer field

 converted for the Spring to 3 Little League fields, in Yonkers.  The three baseball

 diamonds were set down in a valley with grassy hills for sides that we had to

 climb up and down to get to the fields.  I was extremely nervous when I stepped 

up to the plate.  With a 2-2 count, I saw the ball, and I swung hard, I heard the

 “ping” sound on my bat, the one you hear when you hit a homer on a metal bat. 

 As I heard the fans’ loud cheers on that hot day, I wondered, “Had I done it?”

    As I saw the ball flying through the blue sky over the infield, I felt very

 shocked.  It whizzed into left centerfield, and the runner, who was on second

 base, scored easily.  That was a feeling of amazement to me!  As I rounded third

 base, I took a quick glance into left field, and I saw the outfielder still sprinting for

 the ball.  I knew that I should attempt to score.  As I easily scored, the fans went

 wild.  My heart was pounding after an exciting 13-11 victory.  Even almost two

 years later, I can picture the homerun in my head and still feel proud.

      In the Spring of 2010, on the baseball diamond, I learned to persevere

 through hard things, and to trust God.  I had to pray a lot and trust God to know

 that He is doing everything right.  I was, at many times, discouraged.  My mom

 and dad told me many times that I had to trust God’s plan.  I had to believe even

 when my prayers weren’t being answered the way I wanted them to be.  Of

 course, it also took many hours of  batting practice.  I practiced at home with a

 very useful hitting machine called the Swing Away, which is an adjustable ball on

 a rope that you swing at, and you don’t have to pick up any balls.  I also went to a

 hitting clinic in Pelham, which  helped me with my swing.  I persevered through

 this  slumping season because I kept on going.  During my slumping season, I

 had to learn an important lesson, which was to persevere and trust God.