Reading is FUNdamental . . .

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 . . .

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 . . .

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

"How many more reds are there than yellow?"

Spelling Lessons . . .

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 . . .

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

Handwriting Practice . . .

It's Cornmeal!

Project 365 - Week 4

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!

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 . . .

↑ ↑ Snoopy is One-Square tall. ↑ ↑

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

↑ ↑ Barbie is 5-Squares tall. ↑ ↑

Handwriting Practice . . .

Alphabet BINGO!

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 . . .

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!

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

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!

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.)
▼▼▼▼▼

I Pledge Allegience. . .

Selah Elisabeth Goossen: A Patriot.

The Lesson of the Sunflower. . .

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 !!

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!

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 . . .

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. :-)