Day 15 of Homeschooling

We officially started school on September 1. We actually began doing some assessments and reading on Aug. 18 when the schools actually started here.

So far, we've done:

Dinosaurs -- We read about different kinds of dinosaurs, using the science text book as well as supplemental reading; we discussed theories of creationism and evolution; made our own trace fossils and dug for fossil remains; read stories about dinosaurs from 2nd and 3rd grade readers; math included color by number math facts to create various pictures of dinosaurs; social studies discussed the role of the paleontologist in science, specifically in the study of dinosaurs.

Life Cycle of a Chick -- Usually done in the spring in public schools, we did this in the fall to coordinate with our county fair. We learned about the life cycle of a chick, compared and contrasted the chick's life cycle with that of wild birds like robins and kittens. We spent a day at the county fair comparing and contrasting different types of chickens and watching for them to lay eggs in their cages while on display. In the afternoon, there was only one egg. By night, there were 4.

We're still working on a spelling analysis. So far, we've been through Chapter 7 of her spelling book. Journal writing begins next week and so does our study of the weather. She's always complaining about how wrong the weather guys are. I figure this will give her a better idea of what they are up against :) Gymnastics will also begin next week. I'm not teaching that. No way!

We've spent a week on each unit. Things will begin moving more quickly now.