My Full Heart: August 2015

Friday, August 28, 2015

Week in Review: August 24-August 28, 2015

This week has just flown by! I am so amazed at how simple Heart of Dakota makes my job as a homeschool mom. Each week, I sound like a walking advertisement for HOD, but, seriously, it is THAT good.

Bigger Hearts for His Glory {unit 5}

In history this week, we read about Myles Standish and Squanto, the Mayflower, Pilgrims, and Chief Massasoit {not in that order}. We made Indian sand paintings.

We also made a "needs" and "wants" chart with magazine pictures. {You can probably guess which one was done by a girl and which one was done by a boy.}

We defined vocabulary words.

We added to our timeline, and mapped the Mayflower's journey {but I didn't get a picture}.

In science this week, we added vertebrates to our Animal Kingdom sheet. The kids love drawing the animals!

We also did an experiment about germs. We rubbed lotion on our hands, then I sprinkled plenty of glitter on them. The glitter represented germs. They had to try to wash the glitter off with a dry paper towel, cold water, and then warm, soapy water. The warm, soapy water is the only thing that got all the glitter off their hands. They really understand now why it is so important to wash your hands with warm, soapy water!

Our poem this week was titled "Each In His Own Tongue", and the kids illustrated it.

We are learning the song "O For a Thousand Tongues", and it is just beautiful. The kids enjoy singing each day.

Our verse this week was Proverbs 18:10, 'The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The godly run to it and are safe.' We talked about responsibility and how to be responsible to God.

In math, Mercie learned how to add with carrying. She caught on pretty fast.

She continued learning how to write proper sentences in grammar, and aced her spelling test again.

Eli is reviewing fractions in math, and diagramming compound subjects, predicates, and sentences.

In his science this week, he learned about the muscular system. He had to color the different muscles in the body, do a few activities showing how to strengthen muscles, and draw the anatomy of the foot.

They both also had Bible study, and Mercie continued with her handwriting. I let her pick any page in the book to do each day, as long as the whole workbook gets done.

And that about wraps up our week in Bigger Hearts!

Little Hearts for His Glory {unit 5}

Silas learned about Moses this week. We had a fun Rhyme in Motion, and I'm glad he enjoys doing them {because they are fun for me, too!}.

He made a paper airplane quail, and we had fun flying it and trying to "catch" it like the Israelites did in the wilderness.

We made an edible "calf" like the one the Israelites did when Moses was receiving the Ten Commandments from God. He got to eat it, like Moses made the people do with the calf.

In science, he learned about clouds {correlating with God leading the people by a cloud}. We made a cotton ball cloud "rain", and then we glued three types of clouds {cotton balls} to a worksheet.

We only complete two lessons in Reading Made Easy {although we did it every day!} He is stuck on a few sounds, but he can sound out several words with the -ap ending. We played Bingo with chocolate chips and his word cards.

He is still working on handwriting, and is having trouble forming letters and numbers correctly. He traced his memory verse worksheet, and I am still pleasantly surprised at how quickly he remembers his verse each week.

We continued reading in Reddy Fox, and he had to draw a picture of his house. He wasn't sure if he wanted to draw our "real" house {in Louisiana} or this rental house {in Ohio}. I'm not sure what the final product was...

He made a number chart with dot stickers in math, and is excellent and counting objects to 10 and recognizing the number. We are working on writing the numbers...

I am proud of my little man for being such a cooperative kindergartener! He is retaining so much, and I am enjoying every moment.

Little Hands to Heaven {unit 4...sort of}

My three year old decided to cut school this week, and he did two days worth. He put dot stickers on a "D", and did our Finger Play. He also glued 4 women on the number 4 worksheet. We are going to do the rest next week.

So that was our week in review! I'll write my 7th grader's week in review tomorrow.

Monday, August 24, 2015

Our Kindergarten Curriculum Choices {2015-2016}

Our Kindergartner, Silas:

We are using Heart of Dakota's Little Hearts for His Glory.

For History, we are using History for Little Pilgrims and the Family Time Bible. We will be using History Stories for Children, too.

For Science, we are using The World God Made. We have science "discoveries" once or twice a week.

For math, we are using Singapore's Essential Math.

We are also using Rod and Staff workbooks for thinking and fine motor skills.

For handwriting, he is using Basic Manuscript Writing.

For Bible, we are using Devotions for the Children's Hour. We are using Hide 'Em In Your Heart by Steve Green.

We are using Reading Made Easy for phonics/reading.

Little Hearts for His Glory is a gentle curriculum for kindergarten. It looks like a lot, but it takes us less than an hour each day. We have an art project at least once a week, hands-on math activities, Bible memory verse, and much more! He loves it, and I love how easy it is to "open and go".