What a week looks like

Many people have asked us how John is dealing with being the teacher at Daddy School.  I will say first off, he is a really great teacher for the boys and loves being there for him.  John also teaches a bit like he cooks.  He is very good about following a recipe, but not so good at looking in the refrigerator or garden and just coming up with something to make. 

I am better with the figuring things out from scratch and research, so I write the plans for each week.  I am not sure if this post will be helpful to anyone out there, but here it is, what our weekly plan looks like. 

Date: October 22-27 Theme: Look at me grow

Letter: W and X Number: 50’s
Site Words: The, is, it, can
Vocabulary: Word Want, Weather, Water, Harvest
Instrument of the week: Woodwinds,
Field Trip: Pumpkin Patch with Everest Academy. (See sheet)

Objectives:
Learn how to measure in inches
Record facts about how big they are and what they know
Create a “just my size book.”
Learn the value of things in the 50’s
Know the sounds for the letters of the week
Be able to identify and read sight words in text

MONDAY
Morning Activity Writing in journals. Listening to woodwinds, weather and the daily plan

Handwriting/ Fine motor skills/Art The boys will be creating their all about me books. I will make these and they will need to trace the titles, do the art work, and help measure each other. You will need to lead them through each of the activities.

If you have extra time work on the bat houses. I have made the books and they just need to trace the letters, then write it in their best handwriting below when there is space. Do take their picture on this day and have them print it and put in on the back of their book.

TUESDAY
Morning Activity Writing in journals. Listening to woodwinds, weather and the daily plan

Handwriting/ Fine motor skills/Art Side walk chalk showing them how to form a W and an X. Be sure to show them when to lift the chalk. They then need to come in and make play dough letters

PE/ Gross Motor Skill Bowling Print and use bowling math worksheet

Math Going over the 50’s do flashcards, put them in order, do the math number of the day worksheet with “50”.

Science All about tigers Make a Tigers "Can, Have, Are" chart Get a book from the library about tigers

SS Wants Vs. Needs. Go over each day when they ask for something and have them place that item on the want’s vs. need chart and state why.

Reading Introduce new sight word flash cards. Have the kids color the words on the top and then the words in the boxes below



WENDESDAY
Morning Activity Writing in journals. Listening to woodwinds, weather and the daily plan

Handwriting/ Fine motor skills/Art Handwriting worksheets #1 Pumpkin coloring and dot to dot

PE/ Gross Motor Skill 50’s bucket toss and measuring 50 feet and counting to 50 out loud. 50 sit ups, 50 jumping jacks.

Math How many different ways can you make 50? Possibly do this with pennies or rocks.

Science Life cycle of a pumpkin. Have them cut out all of the stages and paste them in order after you discuss it. See worksheet

SS Wants Vs. Needs. Go over each day when they ask for something and have them place that item on the want’s vs. need chart and state why.

Reading Rainbow right sight words, Cut and paste letters to make sight words

THURSDAY

Morning Activity Writing in journals. Listening to woodwinds, weather and the daily plan

Handwriting/ Fine motor skills/Art Handwriting Worksheets #2

PE/ Gross Motor Skill Karate class

Math :  Baseball math

Science What is a mammal? Can, Have, Are chart. We will use this chart in the sun room them place all of the animal charts below it that are for mammals. We will eventually make ones for other groups as well.

SS Wants Vs. Needs. Go over each day when they ask for something and have them place that item on the want’s vs. need chart and state why.

Reading Use sight words in a sentence Story time at the library

FRIDAY


The Great Pumpkin Patch

Come visit

The Great Pumpkin Patch!


We will enjoy a hayride to the pumpkin patch, where you can choose a pumpkin if you wish, then we will ride back to the pavillion where we will eat lunch & hang out. All ages & all homeschoolers welcome!


Date: Friday, October 26

Time: 12:00 - 3:00pm

Location: The Great Pumpkin Patch

Details: After the hayride, each family can choose the other activities "a la carte" from pony rides, to train rides, to petting zoo, to inflatables, or you can just enjoy visiting with other homeschool families. There is food available on-site; hot dogs, burgers, fries, pies, funnel cakes & drinks, or you can bring a sack lunch or snacks.

Oh the things they say...

I often joke that while Isaac did not say more than three different words until after being 3.5 years old, he is currently making up for lost time.  The boy can rattle on and on and on and on... Well, you get the picture.  I am sure there is a part of him that is just so excited to be able to physically speak.  Then there is the other added benefit of having a family and friends that will listen to you.  A lot of the time, he is just making noises has he is playing.  It is cute for the first 6 hours, but looses its charm after a while. 

What is fun though is learning his emerging sense of humor.  Isaac, is by far my more literal and serious child.  Before I tell you about his funny sayings and humor I need to back up a bit. 

Isaac has some serious issues in the way he processes information communicated out loud.  I have no doubt that it is auditory processing disorder, but alas he cannot technically be diagnosed as such until he is older.  Anyway, the point is, that when you ask Isaac questions, the person asking has to really think about how they worded it, because it will drastically effect the answer.  For example:  "Isaac, do you want to have an elephant to come over for dinner?"  Vs.  "Isaac, who would you like to have over for dinner?" 

This is proving to be a character building challenge for John as Isaac's teacher.  The other day John spent the whole day teaching the boys about the month of October.  They sang songs, did dances, wrote the word, went on an October scavenger hunt, found it on the calender, and on and on. 

So, at the end of the day John asked Isaac, "What month is it?"  Isaac responded proudly and confidently, "5."  I am sure you can picture John's reaction, frustration, and feeling of failure. 

The next day Isaac is sitting at the kitchen table eating his snack.  He shouts to me in the other room, "Mom, don't lift up the cup.  There is a spider in there and I will deal with it when I finish my snack."  I then watch Isaac finish his snack, get a file folder, slide it under the cup with the spider (something he watches John do all the time), then carry it outside.  I'd say this is a better thing to know at 5 than what month it is. 

Fast forward to yesterday.  Isaac got a nasty cut on his hand and John and I are having to clean it daily.  John did it the first day while I was at school.  The next day, before I started, I asked Isaac how Daddy cleaned it, and if he did a good job.  Isaac then proceeded to go into an extensive detailed narrative about each and every thing John did.  The best part was when he said, "after he soaked it, the cup had blood in it.  Then Daddy pored it down the toilet.  I think the toilet was hungry or that vampires live down there and they wanted to drink my blood." 

So, no, Isaac can't really answer direct questions, but his is listening, and paying attention.  Every day my little men teach me how to look at the world in a new and interesting way. 

What does 6 Look Like?

Every year John and I say it is our favorite age of the boys.  We have loved having two five year olds and all of the amazing things they can do as five year olds.  To be honest, I have been a bit sad about the upcoming number six.  Not because of any premonition I have about the age, but because it is happening.  They are growing up fast, just like people said they would. 

We were fortunate enough to get to go camping at our friends place, with a couple of other families, for Emerson's 6th birthday.  It was wonderful to say the least.  Lots of open space, freedom to climb trees, kayaks to play in, bow and arrows to shoot, campfires to be lit, and of course an abundance of love for the kids and grown ups. 

One of the comments we get most frequently about Emerson is "boy, that kid has a lot of energy!"  Some mean it lovingly and with a bit of envy in their voice.  Some are overwhelmed by his intensity or quite honestly put off by it.  There is a part of me that wants to teach the world about sensory processing issues, and the effects of early childhood neglect on hyper vigilant behavior in surviving kids.  I do often find myself explaining that he as a 1.7 lb baby and his intensity and tenacity are inborn traits in him that make up the very reason he is here.  The question that usually comes up then is "will he grow out of 'this.'"  The answer is, I don't know. 

What I do know is that Emerson has a drive like no person I have ever met before.  He does everything with passion and intensity.  For now, this is who he is, and I am so thankful that we get to be his parents and help him choose good paths to exert his energy. 

The other huge thing is that this is the first year I have managed to make it through reading On the Day You Were Born with him and not bawl my eyes out.  John and I truly did do a dance and breathed a sigh of relief when we signed up to adopt on the day he was born.  We didn't know why for 6.5 more months, but we knew then, that we were so happy he had made it to this world.