2nd Grade Review (Homeschool Year 1)
Warning: This post will not be an enjoyable read for most; This is really just for our records--I wanted to keep up with what we accomplish each year.
Reading
Chapter Books JG Read
Case of Hermie the Missing Hamster, The Red Badge of Courage, several Frog and Toad
Bad Kitty Series:
Happy Birthday, Bad Kitty; Bad Kitty for President; Bad Kitty; Bad Kitty, School Daze; Poor Puppy, Bad Kitty; Merry Christmas Bad Kitty; Bad Kitty Drawn to Trouble; Bad Kitty vs. Uncle Murray, Bad Kitty Gets a Bath;
Magic Tree House Series:
Vacation Under the Volcano; Sunset Under the Sabertooth; Stage Fright on a Summer Night; Dogs in the Dead of Night; Polar Bears Past Bedtime; Lions at Lunchtime; Tigers at Twilight; Revolutionary War of Wednesday; Buffalo Before Dark
Short Stories JG Read:
Dogzilla, Kat Kong, I Can Read with My Eyes Shut, lots of Pete the Cat, lots of Dr. Seuss, all of the Llama, Llama series (Jackson loves these), Duck for President, Ride Fly Guy, Ride, Fly Guy in Space, There Was on Old Woman who Swallowed a Bat, Teacher from the Black Lagoon, Harry the Dirty Dog, Aliens in Underpants Save the World...all the stories from 3-2nd Grade reading textbooks, and LOTS of others checked out from the library--I hate I didn't keep records but it has been a lot!
Read-Alouds by Me:
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
Call of the Wild
Junie B. Jones and Her Big Fat Mouth (terrible choice--I was appalled--think I'll stick with the classics!!)
The Swiss Family Robison
White Fang
Treasure Island
Adventures of Tom Saywer
Mutiny on Board HMS Bounty
And we have read lots of non-fiction books on a ton of various subjects--I didn't keep records of that either...we actually read more non-fiction than fiction! I only have record of the fiction because he took online tests on those using Book Adventure by Sylvan. We will defiantly have a reading log this year! I am also going to look for more opportunities for him to read in front of others. I learned JG has a pretty big problem with anxiety--so I need him to be exposed to reading in front of others more this coming year.
To aid with vocabulary and unfamiliar words, we kept a word journal. If JG felt he struggled with a word, he added it to his word journal. We practiced saying the words on one page of the journal every day. He kept record of his progress and would try to "beat" his score.
We measured reading progress using Dibels (3 benchmark measures for the year and weekly progress monitoring). He began the year with a fluency of 24 wpm and completed the year with 71 wpm. With his dyslexia it has been interesting seeing change (progress and struggle). I actually tried a counseling intervention one day when he was having a pretty tough day (reversing words, not making sounds correctly, etc) and guess what--it worked! I got excited and decided to continue it through the year and see how it continued to work. I really think it would be beneficial if intervention teachers in public schools and in other settings would be trained with techniques other than strictly academic skills. My case study population is very limited--1--but it did work for us! We'll see if it continues...
What I did find as we read this year-it led to so many other things. In particular, the non-fiction--it created so many questions that allowed us to investigate so many other things (geography, science, culture, etc). I know we kept Bing and Google busy most days!
As for Jackson, I do not require him to do anything at school--other than play. At his age--play is going to teach him great problem solving skills that will be invaluable as an adult! But to my surprise, he asks to do school often. So much so, he has learned all of his letter sounds and a ton about science this year. He has also started writing many of the letters on his own. If he continues with his readiness, he should be reading in the coming months.
Math
I tried to incorporate math into our everyday life as much as possible. JG and I do math differently--his brain sees things in pictures, my brain sees numbers...I am better prepared for our coming year and have read lots and gotten some good ideas to begin with. This year, we completed Making Math Meaningful level 2 and about 1/2 of Making Math Meaningful Level 3. While we had a "curriculum" I modified this a lot. John Gannon had no interest whatsoever in the story lines of the problems, etc. So I would rewrite the questions to be more relevant to our lifestyle, etc. We also supplemented with time4learning.com for continued practice and Khan academy. The best things for him (and me) have been the more practical learning experiences. For example, when we read about the Wright Brothers we made popsicle stick airplanes, used the scientific method to test the models--measured the distance--calculated the differences, etc. We also allowed him to open a checking/debit card account in which he must keep balanced, etc. And of course, his business Cox Brothers has been excellent in regards to him using his math skills. We will continue with everything we did last year but we are adding Life of Fred as a supplement as well due to its practicality to everyday life. What I have found--if he feels time pressure or any other anxiety, his performance is not as well. Thinking about this long term, I will be looking for ways for him to work through this...any ideas anyone?
Jackson can count pretty well now and is beginning to do simple addition on his own. Just last night he brought a lego tower in and was explaining how many bricks were on the tower and how many would be there when he adds 2 more, etc.
Writing & Spelling
John really excels with his ideas and creativity in writing. He wrote at least 1 page in a writing journal everyday. Some days he chose to write more. He always choses what to write about. Occasionally, he would ask me for ideas. He also wrote a short story, The Magic Garden, and illustrated it using Lego scenes. Now with his writing, the handwriting itself did improve some over the year (still needs lots of improvement). His greatest weakness is spelling. It is TERRIBLE!! Now that we are reading pretty much with ease we will be trying to improve our spelling skills the upcoming year. I am really not looking forward to this--finding it hard to find "fun" ways of learning it!
Geography and People Groups
John Gannon really became fascinated with geography this year. So much so, he asked for a world map shower curtain for his bathroom so he could look at it while he took care of his business. One day during school he was using the bathroom and had me call out location questions to him while he was in there. He worked on identifying the 50 states and began learning interesting facts about the states using Stack the States. When he hears something about a country, he identifies it on our world map in the classroom and highlights it. We look up the country and read a little about it. We did further studies on Greece, Brazil, and Egypt with our homeschool group this year.
Health & Science
Oh my...science is definitely a favorite in the Cox house. We explored and investigated so many things this year--from mushrooms in the yard, to creatures in the creek, to creating a way to see what predator was stalking our chickens. We started using the scientific method to create questions and proceed with testing our hypotheses. We also spent a good bit of time exploring properties of all kinds of objects and things. In the spring, John participated in the homeschool classes offered at Healthworks that focused on science and health. He really liked when they dissected a pig heart and when he learned about the brain. He was so amazed, a few times he came home and would say, "I just can't get over how complex we are. All the small things that happen for us to be able to do something. It is amazing!" This next year, we are going to focus science on primarily Animal Science to help me plan a little better. Prior, it was almost overwhelming and hard to decide what to do so there was really no continuity to the subject matter.
Field Trips and Our Non-Social Lives
And for the report that most people have "concerns" about regarding homeschool children...my poor unsocialized children were allowed to leave the house a few times...
Visited a house to explore the behavior of pigs and goats after reading a story about them
Aviation Expo--they got to explore aircraft and continue learning about Veterans and their service (which is dear to John Gannon's heart due to Pops. They attended this event with their homeschool group.
Children's Museum @ Jackson--the boys favorite experiences were the building activities and the center where you designed a car and tested it in a race and the animal habitat center.
The Armed Forces Museum at Camp Shelby--we learned about the different military equipment and their uses.
Reading
Chapter Books JG Read
Case of Hermie the Missing Hamster, The Red Badge of Courage, several Frog and Toad
Bad Kitty Series:
Happy Birthday, Bad Kitty; Bad Kitty for President; Bad Kitty; Bad Kitty, School Daze; Poor Puppy, Bad Kitty; Merry Christmas Bad Kitty; Bad Kitty Drawn to Trouble; Bad Kitty vs. Uncle Murray, Bad Kitty Gets a Bath;
Magic Tree House Series:
Vacation Under the Volcano; Sunset Under the Sabertooth; Stage Fright on a Summer Night; Dogs in the Dead of Night; Polar Bears Past Bedtime; Lions at Lunchtime; Tigers at Twilight; Revolutionary War of Wednesday; Buffalo Before Dark
Short Stories JG Read:
Dogzilla, Kat Kong, I Can Read with My Eyes Shut, lots of Pete the Cat, lots of Dr. Seuss, all of the Llama, Llama series (Jackson loves these), Duck for President, Ride Fly Guy, Ride, Fly Guy in Space, There Was on Old Woman who Swallowed a Bat, Teacher from the Black Lagoon, Harry the Dirty Dog, Aliens in Underpants Save the World...all the stories from 3-2nd Grade reading textbooks, and LOTS of others checked out from the library--I hate I didn't keep records but it has been a lot!
Read-Alouds by Me:
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
Call of the Wild
Junie B. Jones and Her Big Fat Mouth (terrible choice--I was appalled--think I'll stick with the classics!!)
The Swiss Family Robison
White Fang
Treasure Island
Adventures of Tom Saywer
Mutiny on Board HMS Bounty
And we have read lots of non-fiction books on a ton of various subjects--I didn't keep records of that either...we actually read more non-fiction than fiction! I only have record of the fiction because he took online tests on those using Book Adventure by Sylvan. We will defiantly have a reading log this year! I am also going to look for more opportunities for him to read in front of others. I learned JG has a pretty big problem with anxiety--so I need him to be exposed to reading in front of others more this coming year.
To aid with vocabulary and unfamiliar words, we kept a word journal. If JG felt he struggled with a word, he added it to his word journal. We practiced saying the words on one page of the journal every day. He kept record of his progress and would try to "beat" his score.
We measured reading progress using Dibels (3 benchmark measures for the year and weekly progress monitoring). He began the year with a fluency of 24 wpm and completed the year with 71 wpm. With his dyslexia it has been interesting seeing change (progress and struggle). I actually tried a counseling intervention one day when he was having a pretty tough day (reversing words, not making sounds correctly, etc) and guess what--it worked! I got excited and decided to continue it through the year and see how it continued to work. I really think it would be beneficial if intervention teachers in public schools and in other settings would be trained with techniques other than strictly academic skills. My case study population is very limited--1--but it did work for us! We'll see if it continues...
What I did find as we read this year-it led to so many other things. In particular, the non-fiction--it created so many questions that allowed us to investigate so many other things (geography, science, culture, etc). I know we kept Bing and Google busy most days!
As for Jackson, I do not require him to do anything at school--other than play. At his age--play is going to teach him great problem solving skills that will be invaluable as an adult! But to my surprise, he asks to do school often. So much so, he has learned all of his letter sounds and a ton about science this year. He has also started writing many of the letters on his own. If he continues with his readiness, he should be reading in the coming months.
Math
I tried to incorporate math into our everyday life as much as possible. JG and I do math differently--his brain sees things in pictures, my brain sees numbers...I am better prepared for our coming year and have read lots and gotten some good ideas to begin with. This year, we completed Making Math Meaningful level 2 and about 1/2 of Making Math Meaningful Level 3. While we had a "curriculum" I modified this a lot. John Gannon had no interest whatsoever in the story lines of the problems, etc. So I would rewrite the questions to be more relevant to our lifestyle, etc. We also supplemented with time4learning.com for continued practice and Khan academy. The best things for him (and me) have been the more practical learning experiences. For example, when we read about the Wright Brothers we made popsicle stick airplanes, used the scientific method to test the models--measured the distance--calculated the differences, etc. We also allowed him to open a checking/debit card account in which he must keep balanced, etc. And of course, his business Cox Brothers has been excellent in regards to him using his math skills. We will continue with everything we did last year but we are adding Life of Fred as a supplement as well due to its practicality to everyday life. What I have found--if he feels time pressure or any other anxiety, his performance is not as well. Thinking about this long term, I will be looking for ways for him to work through this...any ideas anyone?
Jackson can count pretty well now and is beginning to do simple addition on his own. Just last night he brought a lego tower in and was explaining how many bricks were on the tower and how many would be there when he adds 2 more, etc.
Writing & Spelling
John really excels with his ideas and creativity in writing. He wrote at least 1 page in a writing journal everyday. Some days he chose to write more. He always choses what to write about. Occasionally, he would ask me for ideas. He also wrote a short story, The Magic Garden, and illustrated it using Lego scenes. Now with his writing, the handwriting itself did improve some over the year (still needs lots of improvement). His greatest weakness is spelling. It is TERRIBLE!! Now that we are reading pretty much with ease we will be trying to improve our spelling skills the upcoming year. I am really not looking forward to this--finding it hard to find "fun" ways of learning it!
Geography and People Groups
John Gannon really became fascinated with geography this year. So much so, he asked for a world map shower curtain for his bathroom so he could look at it while he took care of his business. One day during school he was using the bathroom and had me call out location questions to him while he was in there. He worked on identifying the 50 states and began learning interesting facts about the states using Stack the States. When he hears something about a country, he identifies it on our world map in the classroom and highlights it. We look up the country and read a little about it. We did further studies on Greece, Brazil, and Egypt with our homeschool group this year.
Health & Science
Oh my...science is definitely a favorite in the Cox house. We explored and investigated so many things this year--from mushrooms in the yard, to creatures in the creek, to creating a way to see what predator was stalking our chickens. We started using the scientific method to create questions and proceed with testing our hypotheses. We also spent a good bit of time exploring properties of all kinds of objects and things. In the spring, John participated in the homeschool classes offered at Healthworks that focused on science and health. He really liked when they dissected a pig heart and when he learned about the brain. He was so amazed, a few times he came home and would say, "I just can't get over how complex we are. All the small things that happen for us to be able to do something. It is amazing!" This next year, we are going to focus science on primarily Animal Science to help me plan a little better. Prior, it was almost overwhelming and hard to decide what to do so there was really no continuity to the subject matter.
Field Trips and Our Non-Social Lives
And for the report that most people have "concerns" about regarding homeschool children...my poor unsocialized children were allowed to leave the house a few times...
Visited a house to explore the behavior of pigs and goats after reading a story about them
We spent a day at the Capital in Jackson on a personal tour learning about the history of the building and the way our government works. This supplemented our learning about government organization and leaders.
Children's Museum @ Jackson--the boys favorite experiences were the building activities and the center where you designed a car and tested it in a race and the animal habitat center.
The Armed Forces Museum at Camp Shelby--we learned about the different military equipment and their uses.
At Nantahala Gorge--learned about dam construction and obstruction and primitive fire making. Oh, and we did some natural art creations!
Entomology and Archeology Field trip @ MSU with Homeschool Group
Living History Demonstrations--(group event) blacksmithing, basket weaving, natural dye making, corn grinding, thread making, quilting, etc.
We hosted two kayak days at our house for homeschoolers this past school year.
Creative Discovery Museum in Chattanooga--Jackson LOVES the archeology dig and John Gannon rounds all the kids and adults in the area around and creates & directs a play.
Weather Class/Demonstration with homeschool group where we learned lots about the weather. We got a cd with some silly weather songs that the boys enjoy listening to and singing with!
Brown's Dairy Farm with homeschool group--learned about daily dairy farm life; And introduced to the best milk ever--cold and fresh in glass bottles. (We continue to purchase it at the Health Food Store on McCullough).
Fossil dig with our homeschool group at a local creek!
Picnic Fun with our homeschool group at Trace State Park
Valentine Party at Skatezone with homeschool friends.
Zoo scavenger hunt at Hattiesburg Zoo; This helped reinforce habitat and animal behaviors.
Oral presentations on Greece and Egypt (JG was sick the day of Brazil) with our homeschool group.
Science Fair with homeschool group
Also, every Wed we attended classes with Homeschool Adventures--most of those pictures are still on my phone. I haven't transferred them to the computer but during the year we attended classes on the following: Spanish, piano, fire safety, everything gooey science, iMovies, several Park Ranger led classes, meteorologist weather class, various culture studies, construction, cake decorating, soap making, healthy snack, building and books, pre-school class and many more I am sure I have forgotten!
We also attended a few play days at the splash pad and at local parks with groups of people during the school year.
As for the socialization--I have enjoyed getting to form friendships with several neat ladies all of which have taught me, encouraged me, and inspired me!
This year has been filled with lots of learning and fun! Just a few hours ago John Gannon said, "I kinda miss school." Little does he know that his education happens every day--just not days we have "school." I must say, while I have enjoyed our break I am excited to start again as well! Can't wait to see what all we do this coming year!
And just a disclaimer...while all this sounds fun and joyous...It would be deceiving for me to leave you there. We have had days where I have struggled and felt like a failure. I often feel inadequate or overwhelmed. John has days where he complains and tries to get out of doing anything and is disinterested even when I think we are doing something over the top! Seriously, I have no clue if what I am doing is "right," we are just trying to live a more meaningful life!
Live a Meaningful Life!
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