Showing posts with label phonics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label phonics. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Stuff.

How about that creative title?

Did you know I'm a princess? Or, at least according to Isabella, when I wake up in the morning, my hair makes me look like a princess. On the flip side, she was pointing out some little bumps on her face and suggested that they might be "the pink things" that are on my face. Pimples. Thank you for boosting my self-esteem and then bringing it right back down.

Homeschooling. Some days are great, and it's amazing to watch her pick up on stuff, like reading words, which is something I've been particularly excited about. And other days, she falls on the floor at the mere suggestion of using her brain, and melts into a puddle of tears. I want her to enjoy learning. I even want her to enjoy math of all things. Which led to my spontaneous math song all about how exciting math is. It was a total lie. I hate math, but that doesn't mean she shouldn't learn to like it. I bribe her with stickers, and craft time, and play dates. But ultimately, I want her to enjoy learning for the sake of learning! I continue to remind myself that this is just Kindergarten.

Isabella is doing so well with learning how to read. It is incredibly exciting and rewarding for me to teach her how to read. She recently read the first five Beginning Reader B.O.B Books. I couldn't stop smiling. It was the coolest thing! She was reading to me! Next week she will have her first Assessment for Phonics Book A to make sure she is ready to move to the next book. I think she'll pass with flying colors.

"Do you remember what we end a sentence with?...A period." 
"Oh. Well, I'll put that on my 'thinking list'."






Sleep Study. Isaac spent the first half hour screaming. This was also before anyone touched him, so I thought we were in for a horrible night until they took us back to our room, and he saw the toys they'd put on his bed.  That perked him up but he was still skeptical and trust me, there was not shortage of his evil eye. He tolerated everything surprisingly well and once all of the stickers and wires we on him, he laid down on the pillow and didn't move until I sat him up the following morning. He was awake from 2:30 a.m. to 4:00 a.m., but other than that he slept really well.

I'm sure the technicians enjoyed listening to me sing Jesus Loves Me three hundred times. He typically responds to my singing like a robot who instantly runs out of battery. It's kind of amazing and makes me feel powerful.

Fall Hike.





Not the outfit I would choose for hiking, but who am I to argue with this fashion statement?


"But mommy, when you say 'no' it really hurts my feelings, because I want what I want." Well said.


 Time to paint!



Some days she looks so darn cute!





Stella is no longer wearing the cone of shame. Her leg is just about healed, and she's back to her old self. Which means she stole Isabella's taco tonight. We've considered making her wear the cone as punishment.


We have no idea why, but Isaac screamed about sixty percent of last night and watched TV the other forty percent. Before leaving for work, Walter said to him, "I'm not sure what kind of monster you turned into last night, but I'm very angry with you this morning." Isaac appropriately responded with a growl. 

With that said, we are very tired over here. 

Goodnight.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Mirror, mirror, on the wall...

"Mommy, do I look the way I look in the mirror?"
"Yes, you do. So I hope you're okay with that."

We are about four days into our Kindergarten schedule. Everything is going well, but I do think, like with anything else, there will be a period of adjustment. Isabella tends to over-dramatize just about everything, and that includes doing worksheets. What she could complete in a matter of minutes, ends up taking her thirty or forty minutes once she gets past all of the whining and complaining. She told me the other day that she "just doesn't like home school Kindergarten, because it's too much work for me." She used to tell me that preschool was too much work for her, so I try to not to worry too much about this sentiment. She's also way too concerned about making mistakes. I think I've learned that it is not the mistake that concerns her, I think it's effort involved in re-doing it that bothers her. So, we have some laziness to contend with.

Otherwise, it's going well, and we're settling into our routine. I think this year will definitely result in more "scheduled" weeks than we've ever had. Which I think will be good for all of us since I don't really like to be a scheduled person, but I think my kids need the structure.

Craft time. Last week we learned about the letter 'm'. This is our "M for Mountain" project. Disclaimer: I didn't make it up, I asked Google for letter crafts and he delivered (assuming Google is a male--that was sexist of me).



 Practicing paying for items with pennies...



Break time.



Time to chase a balloon...