Fall
is finally here! This is my favorite season and I'm excited to tie in
our lessons with the Fall theme. The challenge for my self as we
continue in this journey is how to make our lessons more fun and
engaging. Can you imagine, this is our fourth going to fifth week of
homeschooling. I understand that in order to keep the energy and
motivation high among my boys, I have to learn to vary my lesson
presentation and keep them challenging (but not frustrating). The
weather has been cooperative these past days. We are fortunate to be
able to go outside during our morning and afternoon breaks. The boys
just ran around, play in their play set, did some obstacle course one
day, they love having picnics in our yard, and even did some lesson/game
as well. I am also excited that one of the mom in our homeschool group
started a weekly hike and nature art event. This Tuesday, we ended up
hiking in a local trail where the boys explore with other children and
even ended up bringing a pet home. Currently we are taking care of a
wooly bear caterpillar which hopefully will survive the winter in our
care, and turn into a tiger month come spring time. That will be
exciting to see. On Thursday, we had some fun in a farm, getting lost in a corn
maze, enjoying the "dusty" hay ride, playing some fall games and picking our pumpkins from their
patch (which by the way we are going to use in our mini-pumpkin lesson
and carving next week). Now you see why I love this time of the year!
To jumped start this season, we became crafty with our "Fall tree". We still have them showcased in our window sill by the dining area. They are just nice to look at! Aidan showed his creativity when he made an apple face in the artsy-smartsy homeschool event, his own design and interpretation. Anthony did an awesome job sharing his talent in his art class by making a "Pumpkin Patch" out of water color. No matter what medium or materials are available to them, structured or "whatever goes" art it is, children will always surprise you with their unique creation and imagination.
Recently, I've also been prowling the web for more games, activities and ideas that I can utilize to support our curriculum. I bumped into this amazing site TeachersPayTeachers which is just abundantly overflowing with resources that I can download (some are free, some you have to pay but the prices are reasonable). Anthony's been working on with number ordering in Math and rhyming/synonyms/antonyms words in English and the unit "Let's Give Thanks" by Ms. Carroll is just full of hands-on, manipulative activities that Anthony enjoys doing with out realizing that he is actually learning. The bonus side, the unit is full of Fall/Thanksgiving theme! I also try to incorporate more manipulative activities to develop Aidan's fine motor skills in addressing his lessons. We've been using play doh, flour, paints and other sensory materials to practice his letters and numbers (because he still doesn't like writing using a pencil). I see a great improvement though in terms of his tri-pod grip when he colors or traces pictures.
Another thing that I wanted to focus on this week is how important it is to expose our kids to new ideas/practices and continuously challenge them so they don't complain about being "bored". I've mentioned about the science fair that we are participating in November. Initially, when I asked Anthony if he wanted to do it, his response was NO. I really wanted him to try to do it so I explained to him what it is all about. We even went on a field trip to a zoo to exposed him about endangered species (which is the focus of the science fair). Eventually he agreed to do the project for the science fair and he even decided on his own that he is going to work with the African Wild dogs as his endangered animal. During this process, I really tried hard to keep a balance between inspiring him to join the science fair but at the same time not pushing him of doing something that he'll hate eventually. He made the final decision to take on the task and his science fair project is still a work in progress. One thing I am assured of as I observe him works on it, I can see that he enjoys working with his project, and he even told me today that he can't wait to do the next task.
Lastly, our family decided to respond to the call to pray the rosary everyday for the rest of October. Honestly, I didn't know what to expect from my children. We haven't done this before (just think about reciting five decades of the rosary with two kids every night) and I was worried that they will just complain the whole time. Amazingly, with God's grace, everything is possible. Anthony took the initiative to lead the rosary (he's been doing it for two nights) and both of them are excited about praying every night. I even communicated with another homeschooler mom about doing an end of the month celebration with other families to celebrate this Month of the Rosary. Who wants cupcake rosary? ME!
Lessons learned: Learning can still be FUN! and Challenging ourselves and our family to do something that is worth wile even though it can feel daunting is the only way to achieve growth spiritually, intellectually and even emotionally. Till next time!
To jumped start this season, we became crafty with our "Fall tree". We still have them showcased in our window sill by the dining area. They are just nice to look at! Aidan showed his creativity when he made an apple face in the artsy-smartsy homeschool event, his own design and interpretation. Anthony did an awesome job sharing his talent in his art class by making a "Pumpkin Patch" out of water color. No matter what medium or materials are available to them, structured or "whatever goes" art it is, children will always surprise you with their unique creation and imagination.
Recently, I've also been prowling the web for more games, activities and ideas that I can utilize to support our curriculum. I bumped into this amazing site TeachersPayTeachers which is just abundantly overflowing with resources that I can download (some are free, some you have to pay but the prices are reasonable). Anthony's been working on with number ordering in Math and rhyming/synonyms/antonyms words in English and the unit "Let's Give Thanks" by Ms. Carroll is just full of hands-on, manipulative activities that Anthony enjoys doing with out realizing that he is actually learning. The bonus side, the unit is full of Fall/Thanksgiving theme! I also try to incorporate more manipulative activities to develop Aidan's fine motor skills in addressing his lessons. We've been using play doh, flour, paints and other sensory materials to practice his letters and numbers (because he still doesn't like writing using a pencil). I see a great improvement though in terms of his tri-pod grip when he colors or traces pictures.
Another thing that I wanted to focus on this week is how important it is to expose our kids to new ideas/practices and continuously challenge them so they don't complain about being "bored". I've mentioned about the science fair that we are participating in November. Initially, when I asked Anthony if he wanted to do it, his response was NO. I really wanted him to try to do it so I explained to him what it is all about. We even went on a field trip to a zoo to exposed him about endangered species (which is the focus of the science fair). Eventually he agreed to do the project for the science fair and he even decided on his own that he is going to work with the African Wild dogs as his endangered animal. During this process, I really tried hard to keep a balance between inspiring him to join the science fair but at the same time not pushing him of doing something that he'll hate eventually. He made the final decision to take on the task and his science fair project is still a work in progress. One thing I am assured of as I observe him works on it, I can see that he enjoys working with his project, and he even told me today that he can't wait to do the next task.
Lastly, our family decided to respond to the call to pray the rosary everyday for the rest of October. Honestly, I didn't know what to expect from my children. We haven't done this before (just think about reciting five decades of the rosary with two kids every night) and I was worried that they will just complain the whole time. Amazingly, with God's grace, everything is possible. Anthony took the initiative to lead the rosary (he's been doing it for two nights) and both of them are excited about praying every night. I even communicated with another homeschooler mom about doing an end of the month celebration with other families to celebrate this Month of the Rosary. Who wants cupcake rosary? ME!
Lessons learned: Learning can still be FUN! and Challenging ourselves and our family to do something that is worth wile even though it can feel daunting is the only way to achieve growth spiritually, intellectually and even emotionally. Till next time!
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