After our homeschool camp it has taken a few days to get back on top of things.  Learning wise Monday and Tuesday were spent unpacking and recovering.  We did brainstorm together a list of mini-books we could put together in a lapbook about our First Homeschool Camp.  Josh has done a few math lessons.  Jess has got back into practicing the piano.  Nomi is writing a story.

 

WEDNESDAY was the day we got back on track.  It is beautiful weather at the moment and it just beckons the kids outside to play.  I let them play for about 1 ½ hours until morning tea time.  During that time Josh and I worked on his math.  Our Bible time was the beginning of Abrams story – his travelling around with Lot & the promises God made him.  Jess and Josh had to read Genesis for themselves and find the 7 promises for their writing while Nomi and Daniel both had oral narrations.  Nomi continued with her story while Jess worked on the Camp Lapbook.  Daniel and I finished his FIAR unit, Mr Gumpy’s Motor Car.  We looked at the water cycle and made a mini book, as well as a unit cover page for his Scrapbook.  After lunch Nomi and Jess sat with me for their Science read aloud – we continue to look at germs and how our body/cells fight them off.  Afterwards they looked at how a lens works – how the curve of the lens magnifies.  We are hoping for Peter to set up his Microscope for us to use during this unit.  Daniel watched his Jolly Phonics video – each time he watches these he gets a little snippet of the big picture of reading.

 

 

THURSDAY

We started with our discipline studies today with me doing one on one time with whoever needed it.  My main focus was Naomi.  Nomi worked through several math lessons – too easy for her really.  Then we photocopied the phonics workbook, reviewed some oral spelling, she then worked on the multiple phonogram worksheet.  Josh and Jess both worked on their independent math.  Daniel was busy turning our baby highchair into a rocket with layers of Alfoil!

 

We spent time on our Camp Lapbook – Jess and I decided what books would suit the information already collected.  Our main focus was on making a “bird book”.  Each child drew a bird (one of the many birds they saw at Kingston Rest), they had to find the bird in our bird book and copy draw, and on the inside of their little booklet they had to write information which would help them identify their particular bird.  This covers our writing for today.

 

Our afternoon table time meant history for Josh, Filing for Jess, Story writing for Nomi and building for Daniel.

 

This evening I had a scrapbooking class with a mother and daughter so I invited Nomi and Jess to come along too.  It was the first time they have heard the reasons for preserving your photos and memories along with the choices you need to make for the products to be safe for your photos, in an “official” and complete way.  I am sure they have picked up things along the way, especially Jessica but it was good for them to sit through a class-proper.  They both completed a great page.  Jess is beginning to feel dissatisfied with her previous efforts and would like to remove early pages from her album forever!  We are still talking about this.

 

 

 

FRIDAY

Today was a bitsa day – everyone kept occupied, but there was no structure to our day.  

 

Joshua is writing a story – he is writing it by hand this time and is keeping his handwriting very neat.  He is also working to a schedule with his history.  Today we reviewed his writing assignments for this unit and looked at resources for his next unit.

 

Jessica spent time helping me with various household chores and office things.  She continues with putting the Camp lapbiook together. 

 

Nomi is enjoying her math and phonics – especially the worksheet component – I think she feels like she is completing work. 

 

Daniel spent most of his day on his rocket project.  Last night Peter spent some time with him putting in some finer details – like a part from the plane’s dashboard that tells the pilot where the horizon is, well, that is inserted into Daniel’s rocket dash and makes it all look very spiffy!  They also constructed a steering wheel that works more like a plane’s than a cars – it kind of floats this way and that way.  So his rocket project is a major machine and Daniel is loving it!

 

Josh and Jess went to the Writers Festival – more of that later.

 

SATURDAY

For today we had 3 activities before lunch!  It all started with us traipsing down to the paddock where Sandalwood is being planted.  The project manager has offered that the kids plant their own tree and then they can measure and plot its progress.  So that was our first activity for the day – 7.00am!  Then we were off to sport; the boys play cricket and the girls play netball.  

 

After sport was another activity with the Writers Festival.  The kids were in a group with Craig Smith who is a children’s book illustrator.  He taught them cross-hatching – a drawing technique.

 

Saturday afternoon was spent grocery shopping, resting, catching up with the housework (and it was work not blessing at this time of the afternoon!) .  As the sun was going down Pete took the kids outside from some ball skill practice.

 

The kids made pizza (on a purchased bases) and we had a Vegie Tales video night.