What Homeschooling "Looks" Like at the Cox House

Our school year officially started July 28th. We have been up to lots of good things already. I thought I would quickly share a glimpse of our day yesterday. I have been trying to find activities that John and Jackson can both participate in. We started with our continued study of the book of James in the Bible. Today's lesson was on wisdom and how to gain it. It was neat listening to the boys identify times in their past they lacked wisdom! Next, we practiced reading a few poems for our upcoming poetry challenge on Friday. This was really more for Jackson's benefit. He is already having anxiety about it! I have been shocked he is having this adjustment. He is fine once he gets there (I hope this continues), but the anticipation just gets him! Next, I read the book, More Spaghetti I Say. We then had our own spaghetti challenges.

With cooked noodles, we put them in a bowl and added paint. Then, they arranged the noodles however they wanted on the plate (just randomly, not creating a picture).

After arranging the noodles, we took a piece of paper and pressed on top of the noodles to form a work of art.

Here is Jackson's masterpiece. We decided it looked like a girl with a long braid riding a bike with a tall flag! 

The other spaghetti activity included making something with uncooked noodles and tape.

Here is John's version of a spaghetti o saur.

After they both participated in each activity, they made a "display" for their dad to see when he got home. I couldn't figure out how to get this picture to rotate within this blogger. Oh, well!

Jackson went on to complete his reading (a story about a hen and her pens) and 6 chapters of his math in Life of Fred. He kept wanting to do more, but I was ready for lunch! He played Prodigy, an online math game for a while and then worked on his Khan Math. We did a little vocabulary and phonics practice. 

John Gannon read 2 short books, one about killer insects and the other about ants. He did 2 chapters in Life of Fred, math. He also played on Prodigy and completed some Khan math. In addition, he did a language practice sheet and wrote a quick draft of an introduction of a movie he is working on with some friends. 

Other than the "planned" activities I have for the day, the boys choose how much they do each day. There requirements are listed on their "Warrior Training" charts. Each week, they must complete a particular number of points. The number of points varies, depending on how much time we will be out of the house at events each week. If they want to do a little one day and a lot the other, it is their choice. If they want to do all math one day, they can. They must be finished by 3:00 on Friday with their points. If they earn more points than required, they go in the "bank" to use on a day/week they may not want to work as hard. If they don't meet the requirement, they have the option of completing it during the weekend on their own, adding it to the next week's point requirement, or completing it during the next "play time" at the next social event we attend. I haven't had a week in which the points haven't been met on time. JG did this most of last year. So far this year, they are both earning extra points. Anyway, there is a small glimpse into a day in the life of our homeschool!

Live a Meaningful Life!