The Excellent Homeschool Adventure

Reading is FUNdamental . . .

2009-04-10T18:43:00.000-07:00

Gus is a duck.
Gus has a bill.
Gus sits on a log.
The log is in a bog.
A bug is on the log.
It is a red bug.
Pick up the bug, Gus.
Peck! Peck! Peck!
Gus met Web.
Web is a big duck.
Gus got a pod.
Web got the pod.
Gus and Web will tug.
Will the pod rip?
Gus fell in the bog.
Gus is a wet duck.

Alphabet Sampler . . .

2009-04-02T18:48:00.000-07:00

Selah asked for ". . . one sheet of paper, please."
A few minutes later she presented me with the gift of her "Alphabet Practice."

The Power of Ten!aka/ Kindergarten Math . . .

2009-03-23T18:49:00.000-07:00

Math: How many more? . . . How many less?

2009-03-10T18:51:00.000-07:00

"How many more reds are there than yellow?"

Spelling Lessons . . .

2009-03-05T19:02:00.000-08:00

Yes. They're in their pajamas.
I offered either a Disney movie or Homeschool Review night . . .

You see what they selected!

Peanut Butter & Jelly Tortillas . . .

2009-02-27T18:58:00.000-08:00

Every Friday nights are Kids' Choice at Goossen Manor.
Selah & Shepard choose the menu and prepare the food.

Handwriting Practice . . .

2009-02-25T19:06:00.000-08:00

It's Cornmeal!

Project 365 - Week 4

2009-01-24T14:11:00.000-08:00

I took these pictures myself!

~ Selah

↑ This is my brother Shepard with our Pattern Blocks from Sonlight®. ↑

↑ This is a puzzle I got for Christmas from Grandma Helen. ↑

↑ This is my counsin Jacob. He's funny. ↑

↑ This is Jacob's girlfriend, Anna. She wants to be a school teacher. ↑

↑ This is Rainbow Dash. She's a girl pony.↑

↑ This is the balloon I picked out at Dollar Tree for Tim's birthday. ↑

↑ This is the view of Interstate-90 from my seat in the van. ↑

The ENTIRE Alphabet!

2009-01-15T16:46:00.000-08:00

We now know how to write ALL the Capital Letters. From A - Z!

Our final letter to learn was "J" -- It is a "center-start-capital."

↓ Here's Selah's Alphabet Sampler' ↓

↓ And here's Selah's Handwriting Assignment for today: ↓

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Shepard just turned four in October and does EXCELLENT work!

↓ Here's Shepard's Handwriting assignment for today: ↓

↓ . . . and here's Shepards Alphabet Sampler' ↓

Learning Measurement Concepts . . .

2009-01-14T17:50:00.000-08:00

↑ ↑ Snoopy is One-Square tall. ↑ ↑

↑ ↑ Teddy is 4 1/2 - Squares tall. ↑ ↑

↑ ↑ Barbie is 5-Squares tall. ↑ ↑

Handwriting Practice . . .

2009-01-12T18:07:00.000-08:00

Alphabet BINGO!

2008-12-04T16:11:00.000-08:00

In Phonics/Spelling we are familiar with these letter: F B M T R A H P S I

In Handwriting, we've learned these letter: F E D P B R N M H K L U V W X Y Z C O

. . .and this is enough to play ALPHABET BINGO!

↑ "All I need is a "G." ↑

↑ "Or an "I" or "Y" ↑

↑ "BINGO!" ↑

↑ "What's this letter, again, Mom? ↑

↑ "Look! BINGO!" ↑

Math . . .

2008-11-28T18:33:00.000-08:00

After Thanksgiving, we introduce place value!

. . . Although place value will not be a new concept to either Selah or Shepard. We discussed it just the other day while standing in line at WalMart. We count the check-out aisles as they are numbered up to twenty something. Of course, only four are openend - but we still are learning our teens and twenties this way. . .

Selah Reads Words!

2008-11-12T20:29:00.000-08:00

We're doing great on letter-sounds.

We're putting the sounds together now and reading real words!

m - a - t spells mat!

b - a - m spells bam!

See more phonics with handwriting below.

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Phonics & Handwriting

2008-11-12T18:54:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty sure Abraham Lincoln learned to write on a chalkboard like this.

. . . And he probably had fun at it! . . . made his poor mama ~~cry~~ laugh.

Please don't confuse Shepard's excitement for folly. The Boy's a genius-in-waiting!

We're Up to 8!

2008-10-28T19:35:00.000-07:00

We found a brand new white board on sale last week at Staples. YEA!

▼▼▼▼▼

Shepard does a really (really!) good job with '4.'

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Selah is doing better at writing smaller letters and numbers on the chalkboard.
(And - although it appears that Selah wears the same fleece top everyday - her mother does do laundry. . . Occasionally.)
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I Pledge Allegience. . .

2008-10-23T22:08:00.000-07:00

Selah Elisabeth Goossen: A Patriot.

The Lesson of the Sunflower. . .

2008-10-23T12:08:00.000-07:00

See Mom's post on the Lesson of the Sunflower (HERE) for the significance of this splendid piece of artwork.

1-2-3-4 . . . 5 !!

2008-10-15T20:06:00.000-07:00

My daughter is a genius! Today, we introduced the number "4" in Handwriting. I left the room to take a phone call and upon my return Selah announced quite proudly that she had learned the next number. . . . and without further adieu, here she is. . . .

. . . That was a "HIGH FIVE!" at the end. The girl was not hurt. Please don't call Child Protective Services.

- Proud Mom

We Love Letters!

2008-10-14T20:48:00.000-07:00

These are the letters we know: M, T, F, B and R!

We can write these letters and recognize them in words. We also know the sound that each letter makes.

All these letters start with a long line and then have either short lines or small curves. (See Handwriting With Cool Wood Pieces.)

Here is Shepard's "R:"

Here is Selah's "B:"

Here is Shepard's Handwriting Workbook for the Letter "R:"

And here is a sample of Selah's handwriting. The highlighted "Selah" is the only thing Mom wrote.

And -- finally -- here's Shepard practicing his "3's:"

All in a Day's Work . . .

2008-10-08T20:19:00.000-07:00

Our CopyWork today was the last line of our address: Adams, MN 55909. I do not need dotted-lines for all of the letter, so I erase them. "M" I know. And a "5" is a lot like and "S."

~ Selah

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Shepard always starts out CopyWork by saying, "I can't. I can't do it, Mom."

He always does a great job.!

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Today's Handwriting Lesson introduced the Letter "P"

. . . and yes, Selah's "R" is on her LEFT hand. We fixed that. :-)

Reading Time

2008-10-01T10:08:00.000-07:00

Dad is the headmaster of our Homeschool and Designated "Reader 'Aloud of all Textbooks"

Shepard:
Reading time is my FAVORITE.
I like science the best. The bears teach us about weather and seasons. I like snow. Wind is strong.

Selah:
I like all the books. I like Mother Goose because the stories are nice when Dad explains them. They rhyme. The words sound alike and are fun to listen to. . .

Mom:
Reading is the Core Value in the homeschool curriculm we've chosen (click here to learn about Sonlight Curriculum®.)

The primary reason we looked into and decided on Sonlight was their slogan, "It's the way you wished you'd been taught."

Children LOVE to be read to. With this curriculum, the children explore a wealth of great literature, and get to wonder and marvel at -- and ask (tons!) of questions about -- a world of fun, diverse places and interesting and important people. As our pictures show, the children LOVE it. Instead of learning history, social studies, and science via the memorization of facts and dates in a textbook, the "textbook" is a story that the kids will actually remember. Beginning at ages 4 and 5!

Handwriting With Cool Wood Pieces!

2008-09-25T13:20:00.000-07:00

We are using a handwriting curriculum called "Handwriting Without Tears" and get to learn letters with really cool blocks - big lines, little lines, big curves, little curves. . . We practice with the wood pieces and then on the big chalkboard. We each have a little chalkboard too.

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Today we practiced Capital F and Capital B. Capital B is a big line with two little curves. And Capital F is a big line with two little lines.

Here's Selah's Capital B:

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Here's Shepard's Capital F:

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Selah is also learning how to write her own name!

Thanks for Looking at our Blog!

- Selah & Shepard

Spiced Hermits

2008-09-22T14:08:00.000-07:00

Selah: Home Economics is learning about doing things around the house like laundry and cooking. I like to do the dishes. Today we made Hermits (Recipe at The Goossen Kitchen.) Cracking eggs is messy. I did two of them.
Shepard: I like to lick the beaters and mix spices in flour. We shape dough like play-doh. And make them flat like pancake. Home Ec. does things in the kitchen. We learn about house chores and rules.

Selah: You should hold on the the bowl with one hand when you use the mixer. We lick the batter off of the beaters before we do the dishes. It tastes good.

Shepard: We bake the Hermits in the oven. We have to wait for them to cool. We put chocolate chips in these ones. They smelled good while they cook.

Find the recipe for our Spiced Hermits at The Goossen Kitchen.

Today I learned. . .

2008-09-22T10:58:00.000-07:00

Shepard:

I want to say, "I spell S-h-e-p-a-r-d. Shepard Goossen. An 'S' looks like a snake. It swirls everywhere like snake. Today I learned how to put it on [my fingers on the pencil the right way]. I think that homeschool is fun. My favorite book is "Berenstain Bears' Big Book of Science and Nature."

Today I learned about weather: What to do when there is snow. Wear mittens. We learned about things that happen during winter months - like Valentine's Day. We make card for people. We make some Valentine decorations. Mom says we wait a few months from now.

My favorite thing today was learning the letter "B."

- Shepard

Selah:

I learned about making a letter "B." It's a long line and two curves and we learned things that start with letter "B". . . like bed, and boxes, and butterflies, books, and baskets.

My favorite reading book today was "A Treasury of Mother Goose"

We read about two sticks in a straight line and a chicken :

"1,2,

Buckle my shoe.

3,4,

Knock at the door.

5,6,

Pick up sticks.

7,8,

Lay them straight.

9,10,

A big fat hen.

11,12,

Dig and delve.

13,14,

Maids a-courting.

15,16,

Maids in the kitchen.

17,18,

Maids a-waiting.

19,20,

My plate's empty.

My favorite thing about today was learning how to hold the pencil right.

-Selah