Graphing

Robin took one of the 'assessments' in Saxon Math K today.  It was to sort and then graph pattern blocks.  I was quite impressed by the ease with which he did this.  He wouldn't have known how before, but he sure does now!

I read to Robin and he continued to work on learning short-vowel words.

We read a book about Buster (from the TV show Arthur) visiting Chicago.

A book about being sick and how to get better.

And books about the stone age and a woman pirate from the 17th century British Isles.  He also watched some of a documentary on WWII.

Robin did lots of walking, jogging, scootering, and strength training.

We read parts of a book about how things work.

Skiing!

Robin has been asking for at least two years to go skiiing - and this week he got his wish!  We went to Whitetail Resort and Robin skiied for 4 hours without stopping.  He fell down a lot at first, but after trying a slightly more challenging hill he got more confident on the bunny slope.  He had a great time.

Recent Saxon Math K topics have included ordering numbers through 20 and replicating patterns.

We found a vowel-sounds app for the iPod which Robin has completed all the free levels of and he's trying to get me to buy the $2.99 version.  I read to Robin regularly.

We read books about Hanukkah, Passover, Easter, narrow gauge railroads in the Rockies, and a bilingual Spanish/English book.

We read a book about the supermarket.

We read books about a Cuban girl who immigrated to New York in the 1950s and one about the building of the Great Wall of China.

We read books about winter and cells.

Reading Words

Opening presents Christmas morning!

I asked Robin to try reading some very simple words today, just to see what would happen.  I gave him "rat," "hat," and "bat."  We sounded them out together, since I know he is more confident about what sounds letters make than what their names are.  He felt successful!  And offered to do more right there and then, although because we had other things we needed to do, we didn't actually do more.  Next time!

Saxon Math K topics have included making charts (life-sized, on the floor), experimenting with geo-boards, and writing the numeral 3.

Robin made a pot out of clay.

We read a book about Nascar racing.  And one bilingual book.  Robin also practiced simple Spanish words and phrases with his newly adopted half-aunts (ages 11 and 13) from Bogota, Columbia.

We read a book about Samurai and one referencing Greek gods and heroes.

Robin tried a bean this week and although he did not like it, he did consume it.  His comment was that it tasted kind of like potatoes, which is an accurate description of the texture.

Robin enjoyed experimenting with making drums using a pick-up with his dad.

Robin is active nearly every day, either outside walking or biking, or indoors doing pull-ups, sit-ups, etc.

Robin is learning how to manage a wood-burning stove safely, including how to work the dampers, how to manipulate wood, and how to protect younger children from injury.  He especially likes splitting logs (small, pre-split logs that need further splitting into kindling.)

We read books on turtles and DNA.  One of our favorite Christmas presents (thank you Great-Grandpa & Great-Grandma) was a family membership to the Zoo, so Robin went to the Zoo and observed & photographed animals including apes, alligators, and goats.

Holiday Preparations

Robin is getting into the holiday spirit!  He helped make up gift kits for his cousins this week, and bake cookies.

We did some Saxon Math K.  Robin made a chart showing winter activities and how many of them were indoor activities and how many were outdoor activities.

We read lots of books.

Including one about animals and about the seasons.


Wolfy went for several long walks and bikes.

Visiting with Grandma

Robin has been loving visiting with his grandma this week.  They are both early risers, so he's been popping out of bed in the morning and going to her immediately to play Uno.  He's really very good at Uno, winning about 2/3 of the time!


Topics in Saxon Math K this week included making a graph showing family members' eye colors and matching numbers of objects with the appropriate numerals.  For some reason Robin had a hard time identifying the numeral 9 but all the rest of it was easy for him.

Robin did some drawing with his grandma and siblings.

We read lots.  We continue to work on Robin's alphabet by using writing, sign spelling, the alphabet song, and www.starfall.com.

We read a book about sight.


We read a book about the Middle Ages.

And one about movement.

Sick, sick, sick

Robin was quite sick early in the week and has been taking it easy to recover.  So he learned a lot about fevers, stomach viruses, and appendicitis (which we don't think he had but were worried about for a while.)  We read a book about the sense of touch.

A recent topic in Saxon Math K was identifying pennies and quantities of pennies.

Robin continues to be read to regularly.

And he went bowling!  He got a strike and a spare (with the bumpers up).

Robin watched an episode of Mammals.

Alphabet song

First, let me apologize for the lapse in blogging here.  It's been quite a month and a half.  Nothing drastic, really, just very, very busy for me at home and at work in so many ways.  We all had a virus for a couple of weeks, too.  We HAVE been learning, and even doing 'formal' learning activities.  I'm not really going to try to cover everything that happened in the last six weeks.  I'm just going to start from here.

Robin has been using Saxon Math K.  He is getting a lot more familiar with the days of the week and the months of the year.  Nothing we've done so far other than that has been at all challenging to him, really.

Robin is getting a lot clearer on his alphabet.  Some days we use the Kumon wipe-off cards I got for him to practice with.  Some days we sing the alphabet song.  And yesterday I started teaching him the Sign alphabet.  I figure a variety of learning modalities is always a good thing.  We attend Storytime at the library regularly, and read at home regularly, too.

We have read some books on geographic topics, including one about Japan recently.

There have been some interesting discussions of anatomy and physiology with the births of two cousins.

Robin continues to be very active!  We walk/bike/scooter regularly and Robin recently upgraded to a 16" wheel bike.  He is going ice-skating today!  We participated in an effort to get the most children doing jumping jacks for one minute at a time.

The library Storytime one week had a section that for some reason included a fire safety lesson on what to do if you are on fire - Stop, Drop, and Roll!

We had a magazine about fungi recently and Robin collected a variety of fungus from the woods around us and photographed them for posterity.  On the same day we baked fresh bread, and observed the action of the yeast (fungus!)

Hurricane, Flood, Extraction . . .

Last weekend I did not post because we were on our way to the beach for the weekend.  That was a pleasant interlude.  Robin learned to boogie board and says it is the most fun thing EVER.  However, the weekend before included a hurricane (Irene), now it is raining and everything is flooded, and yesterday Robin had a tooth extracted because it was abscessed.  Quite a couple of weeks!

Robin continues to use Saxon Math K.  Recent lessons included graph making, and identifying rectangles and circles.

Robin draws sometimes.  Recently he has been using a book showing how to draw complex things with a few lines.

I read to Robin regularly.  We have been practicing writing the alphabet with a Kumon set of write-on tracing cards.

We read a book about India.

Robin learned about dental health (obviously.)  We read books about bones, eyes,  and reflexes.

Earthquake

Robin was outside in a driveway area with his dad when the earthquake happened on Tuesday this week.  They said that they couldn't feel the ground moving but they could see the buildings and windows shaking.  There was no damage, either there or at our home, but it was quite exciting for everyone.  I read Robin some of the news coverage and attempted to explain the Richter Scale to him.  We looked at maps to understand where the quake occurred.  In other science education, we read a book about amazing animals.

Robin continues to use Saxon Math K.

Robin began using Kumon Uppercase Alphabet tracing cards.  I read to him as well.

Including a book about how cuts and bruises, etc. heal.  

Robin rode his bike.

Tree Trimming

Our Sweet Gum tree had a large, dead branch hanging over our rope swing which needed to be removed, and the rest of the tree needed trimming out.  The tree trimmers came on Monday this week and Robin was fascinated and watched the whole thing.  Here are before and after pictures:

We read books about clouds and geologic change.

Robin continues to enjoy Saxon Math K.  We visited the Lego Exhibit at the National Building Museum.  Here is Robin with his contributions (the tall tower on the left and the blue/grey building to the right) to the city-scape they allow visitors to create each day:

We read a book about shapes in art. Robin selected a fabric to use in making a quilt square

And lots of other books.

Including one featuring three African-American spirituals.  We attended a special music presentation at our local library featuring Uncle Pete - sort of karoke on cupcakes.

Robin went swimming, walking, running, scootering, and biking.

Robin learned about the care of insect stings when he and his brother were stung by yellow jackets after 'finding' a nest with their feet.