Summer review - Parts of Speech

In establishing our schedule for this summer, we included some time to review important topics. This helps keep the kids from losing information over the summer, keeps us from too many days of boredom, and even helps us sharpen some skills that can use it.


One area that I felt all of my children could benefit to spend some time on concerns parts of speech. Of course, they all have their own areas of strength and difficulty, but this project easily lent itself to a group study.


First, I made up cards with each of the parts of speech:


We spent one day reviewing what each word meant and listing examples. I only expect my third grader to know about half of them, but fifth grader should know six or seven of them, and my seventh grader should know them all.


We played a game naming nouns and then verbs that the kids enjoyed, and it provided us some fun in the midst of review. One person would name a noun (could also be done with any part of speech), then the next person needed to name a noun that started with the last letter of the previous word.


For example, one might say, "ear" and the next "rabbit." Then, on to "tent" and "turtle" and "elbow." Simple and fun, and it got the job done. Inadvertently, this touched on spelling skills as well. :-)


Sometimes they named a word that was not a noun, or that someone thought was not a noun and it gave us some casual opportunities to talk about what is and is not a noun.


Once we had the review day we headed into this:


I simply wrote a sentence on our whiteboard (could easily be done on paper as well), and we identified the subject, verb, and then all of the parts of speech for each word of the sentence. We used the slips of paper set on the rail below each word and then diagrammed the skeleton to reinforce the finding of the subject and verb which all of my kids benefited from.


To keep it relevant to their level, I always started with the youngest and she found the nouns, the next oldest found the adjectives and adverbs, and the oldest found the prepositions and conjunctions.


We took turns a bit so they weren't always doing the same thing, but they were each stretched a bit and kept engaged during this simple exercise.


With just about 15 minutes we kept up on our English, and will continue the habit a few days this coming week as well.


More Thirsty Thursday

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Kids in the Kitchen

As part of my summer planning, we set some goals for the coming year. One of these involves getting my kids involved in cooking more. My girls love to cook, and I just need to take more initiative in teaching them. They know a lot already, but we all want them to move to a little more independent level.


So, we start with breakfast. A lot of breakfast meals are quite easy to prepare, and it is perhaps the most beneficial time of day for me to have a little more time out of the kitchen. If my kids can take over breakfast on weekdays this will help our school day start more smoothly since it will free me up to do what I need to in regards to housework, helping the littler kids, and preparing for the school day.


Breakfast it is.

We eat oatmeal 2-3 days a week, and ANYONE can cook oatmeal.


To make it easy, I typed up a kid friendly recipe.


Included in the kid-friendly recipe:

• - Items needed (including measuring cups, pots, etc.)
• - Ingredients
• - Any pictures needed to remind them what to do
• - Instructions
• - Items needed for setting the table (condiments, place settings, beverages, etc.)

Personalizing the recipe in this way enables the kids to know exactly how to do it for our family and helps them not miss any steps. Adding the items needed for setting the table also helps them do everything involved in preparing the meal for the family.


The plan is to compile all of these into recipe books or folders for continued use. Most likely I will keep them in sheet protectors to help preserve them and eventually will make a copy for each child. These of course won't be the exact recipes they will use when they first start out on their own as this feeds seven people, but I've got at least eight years to worry about that. :-)


I expect to walk them through this a couple times and then even the almost 8 year old should be able to do this with very little supervision.


More Kitchen Tips, and more Works for Me Wednesday.

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Homeschool Showcase posted

This afternoon, while you're taking a break and sipping lemonade on this beautiful summer day, head on over to Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers for another amazing edition of the Homeschool Showcase.


This time around you can find lots of ideas to add some pizzazz to your summer, and help in planning for the upcoming school year. So head on over and check it out!

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weekly wrap up - July 10

An amazingly productive week, with lots of fun, too. Love those weeks.


We got some solid school days in, focusing on our summer priorities. My younger girls continue to grow in their reading ability as we make sure to get that in everyday regardless of what else comes our way.


In local news:


A water tower basically in our back yard is getting a face lift and has drawn us outside more than once to see them noisily at work. Not a job I envy, but interesting to watch.


We also enjoyed an afternoon at a local, free splash park with friends one day this week. The weather worked out perfectly and added to an already fun day.

At school, we have started into Apologia's General Science book and had our first experiment. A simple observation of various liquids and objects to demonstrate the existence of atoms.

You might not be able to see it all. We first put in oil, water, then syrup. Then we added a toothpick, ice, a stone, and a grape. The toothpick floats on the very top, the ice floats on top of the water, the grape on the syrup and the rock sinks completely.


Very simple,and very easy to observe. We kept playing with the oil and water for a while then, and it remained the centerpiece on our kitchen table through a couple meals.


Finally, we have enjoyed the recent blooming of this plant we brought with us from Hawaii:

They smell amazing! I can't help pulling them off the windowsill for a sniff every time I am in the kitchen. Sweet memories.


Other than a trip to the doctor for a tick bite and nagging chest congestion we had a positive week full of lots of great family time. Always learning, always trusting. I sure couldn't do this on my own.


Enjoy more weekly wrap ups.

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Verse of the week - Isaiah 40:8

Some days I find myself swayed more by more hormone and hunger fluctuations than by the Spirit of God.

Reacting to the moment still comes naturally after over 30 years of walking with Christ.

My imperfections still glare back at me on a daily basis.

And still, He loves me. Knowing all that I would do, He still died for my sins. Fortunately, my salvation rests on His stability, not my own.


The preacher today referenced Isaiah 40:8 which says, "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever." What a promise!


It's all about Him.

More verses sprang to mind . . . I Corinthians 15:58 (Our labor is not in vain, and we should emulate His steadfastness), Isaiah 33:6 (He is our stability), Hebrews 13:8 (He is the same --always!)


I pour out my gratitude that my salvation, the promise of eternity with Christ, does not depend on my own accomplishments. Jesus Christ, the chief cornerstone, making us worthy inhabitants for the Holy Spirit, by whom we are sealed.


Not by works of righteousness that I did. Certainly not. If that was the basis I would be saved one day and not the next.


Instead, I have a security because my salvation rests on a relationship with the God of the universe, founded on His unfailing love, justice, and perfect blood of Jesus.


I easily judge the Israelites for the ebb and flow of their obedience to God, yet how different am I? Now, I gratefully read of His faithfulness to them, because I know I am no different at times. Yet, God remains the same.


Thank you, Lord, for loving consistently my inconsistent self. Thank you for the stability of Your character and Your promises in Your Word. You are my rock. ~Amen

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth:
but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

~Isaiah 40:8~

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Amy Carmichael -- A Chance to Die

One of those wonderful perks of homeschooling . . . I learn right along with the kids.


Elizabeth Elliot's biography on Amy Carmichael has provided lots of thought and learning. Today gave me two quotes to chew on:

In regards to Amy's time spent in free writing, "her rule being that she would never write when she could do anything else." I think I could substitute "blog" or "surf the internet" for "write." Do I really work to productively fill each moment of my day for God's glory?


This second quote gives some more balance to that thought and brought back the challenges packed into my verse for this week, "Do please, dear friends, ask that we may exchange the eagerness of the flesh for the earnestness of the Spirit and so move in the force of that Holy Wind that we shall by carried along by His great calm."


Sometimes I feel that nervous energy, program busyness, or work grown out of fear instead of faith will bring just as much pleasure to God because at least I am doing something.


However, sometimes He calls me to stillness and earnestness rather than frivolous eagerness.

Linked to Motivating Monday

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Capitalizing on summer

Summer provides a number of unique opportunities if we don't let these months slip by without our attention. Two to three months is quite a big chunk of time and around our house we enjoy using these days in a variety of ways . . .


Catching up -- May seems to end up one of our busiest months. Baseball, a birthday, end of school events, planting, etc. This requires that the first weeks of our summer get our life and house back in order. Some years hit worse than others, but we always need at least a week to reset our lives to our comfort zones.


Big projects -- At some point in the summer I try to tackle some of those bigger projects that keep lingering on my to-do list. Cleaning out a closet, the file cabinets, book cases, defrosting the freezer, etc. I've already tackled a few of these this year, and just have a couple more in my scope.


Planning -- Some things cannot be planned for in advance. If I take care of as much as I can, we can flex when we need to for those sometimes fun, sometimes heartbreaking incidents that punctuate our year, without letting them puncture it.

Each summer I evaluate our homeschool, set goals, rearrange schedules, check lists, plan lessons, clean out files, etc., etc. I always feel like I could take another few months off and still have a list to keep me busy, but summer down time does get us back on track and holds us there at least some of the year.


Problem areas -- We have resumed a light school schedule after a couple weeks off, but this isn't "required" time. I can use it to really hone in on areas that need some attention.

For example, my fifth grader could speed up her multiplication facts, my third grader needs to improve her word attack skills and review some phonics, my seventh grader struggles with creative writing assignments, and my five year old is chomping at the bit to learn to read independently. So, those are our summer goals.

It is wonderful to have time and energy to make these priorities rather than cram them into already full days of school. In just a week I have seen dramatic improvement in almost all these areas, and we have another 4-5 weeks before we really start school again.


Unit studies or fun topics -- Every day of school so much HAS to get done. Math, reading, English, Bible, History, science, handwriting, P.E., spelling. And then all we want to cover: Spanish, Latin, Public Speaking, typing, music, read alouds, nature studies, Shakespeare, Art, field trips.

I could never squeeze in all the extra-extras that I still want added. So, we jump on those in the summer. Right now the kids are really enjoying a little mini-unit on law and our judicial system. Some days we have a mock trial, some days read a scenario and discuss it from a legal standpoint. I cannot believe how much they are into this. Every day they ask, "Are we doing law today?"

Only in the summer months do we have time for these little diversions. During the school year we might be able to take an afternoon here or there to explore something, but not with the depth or time that we have right now.


Fun, relaxation, and relationships -- Most of the time that we have to squander in the summer I like to spend on recharging emotionally and spiritually for the year ahead. Bonding with the kids, making snow cones while the kids splash in the pool, sharing dreams, talking past bedtime, building a campfire in the backyard, family outings, marveling at nature, and occasionally NOTHING!


So many ways to use these summer days. Whether your ideal is busy, productive hours, or losing track of time by the pool, I pray you are making the most of these days with your kids.

They pass too quickly, and you know you won't get a redo.

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