Friday, December 18, 2015

Term Four Evaluation ~ Monkey

English:

Reading:
Read Aloud Books:
Picture Books -
Elmer and Super El
The Gruffalo
Splat the Cat The Name of the Game
Big and Little
The Story About Ping
5 Minute Spider Man Stories
Dinosaurs in Our Street
How the Birds Got Their Colours
Hairy Nose Itchy Butt
Aesop's Fables
Mr Archimedes Bath
STOMP
Little Red Riding Hood Not Quite
Angelica Sprocket's Pockets
The Bat and the Crocodile
A Light in the Attic
Falling Up
The Missing Piece
The Missing Piece Meets the Big O
Go the Sleep of I Let Loose the Leopard
Waddle Giggle Gargle
The Day the Crayons Quit
Snail & Turtle are Friends
This Little Roo Went to Market
Snow White and the 77 Dwarfs
The Very Noisy Bear
Love Christmas
Rob the Railway Dog
Whiffy Wilson the Wolf Who Wouldn't Go to Bed
Sock Monkey Rides Again
The Stranded Whale
The Story of Babar
Frog Finds a Place
My Merry Christmas
The Animal's Santa
Little Dog and the Christmas Wish
The Christmas Peg
A Bus Called Heaven
Ten Little Monkeys
Green Eggs and Ham
Fox in Socks
Ten Apples Up on Top
Fancy Dress Christmas
Yikes Santa Claws
Santa Claus and the Three Bears
Boy vs Beast Terradon
A Weekend With Dinosaurs
Watch Out For the Crocodile
A Very Pirate Christmas
Boy vs Beast Aquaton

Independent Reading:
** Monkey has begun to read independently**
The following list is books that he has read aloud to me

Boxer and the Fish
Barky the Barking Dog
Lost
Here Comes the Sun
Stuck in the Mud
Funfair Fun
The King and His Wish
An Elephant for the Holidays
Little Owl
My Week
Feet
The Giant
How Do They Move
Kat's Maps
Join the Band
Clever Insects
Cake Soup
The Lazy Fox
What Luck
Grandpa's Car
My Skateboard
Boris the Spider
Big Jam Sandwich
Chicken Licken
The Big Carrot
Pictures for Grandma
Popcorn Surfing
Doors
This Is Me
Which Beetles
What's the Time Mr Clock
A Sack of Rice
A Mud Cake
The Rocket Flight
Just Right For Me
I Want to Be Me
Have You Been
The Very Clever Aliens
That's Not Fair
The Sox Fox
Brian My Mate
Mum's Washing
Will There Be and Earthquake
Bear Cubs
In My Garden
I Love the Zoo
Bad Weather Good Weather
Pig and Pug
Space Race
A Wish For Some Fish
Tess and Paddy
Splat the Cat Sings Flat
Rooster is Off to See the World
Rascal's Shadow
Dixie
Charlie and the Castle
Dixie Wins the Race
Hide and Seek
The Three Frilly Goats Fluff
Go Dog Go
Bee Makes Tea
Counting Cars
Olivia Plays Soccer

Other Reading Activities:
Reading Eggs online program

Writing:
We completely dropped the ball on writing this final term of the year

Handwriting:
Foundation Handwriting Year 1
Targeting Handwriting Year 1

Spelling:
daily oral review of weekly lists as sourced from known CVC words
(10 words per list)
written test taken every Friday

Maths:
Maths Plus Year 2 Textbook
Covering the following topics:
Division/Equal Groups, multiplication/groups of, quarter turn clockwise and anti-clockwise, one quarter, chance events, likely/unlikely, creating a data table, counting on/addition, position, representing numbers to 1000, place value, counting by 1s, 2s, 3s, and 5s, addition facts, addition facts, division/sharing, covering area, ordering chance events, count on to find the difference, extending addition facts, extending subtraction facts, creating a picture graph, ordering capacity, angles, arrays of two, 1/2 1/4 and 1/8, division using arrays, digital time, symmetry, arrays of 5 and 10, equal number sentences, number patterns, repeated subtraction,  

Scripture and Character Building:
Bible Read Aloud:
Leviticus 24 ~ Numbers 19

Science and Technology:

Read Alouds on Various Science Topics:
Redback Spider - Greg Pyers
Finding Out About Tiger Snakes - Greg Pyers
Spiders and Other Arachnids - Ron Thomas
The Usborne Big Book of Bugs
Alligators and Crocodiles
Bugs - DK
Tyrannosaurus Rex
Velociraptor
Up Close T Rex
PDHPE:
walk to and from the library
walk to and from the shops
walk to and from various parks
free play at various parks
riding scooter

Creative Arts:
Drama:
Attended best friend's drama production
Dance:
Attended best friend's dance performance of The Nutcracker

Socialization:
Weekly attendance of church and Sunday School
Numerous play dates with friends of multiple ages


Other Activities:
Played a variety of board and card games
  • Rummy-O
  • Mancala
  • Snakes and Ladders
  • Skip-Bo
  • Chess
  • Memory
  • Blokus
  • Blink
Imaginative (self created) Lego games with his younger brother
Pokemon card game battles with his brother

Term School Holiday Events:
January:
Library ~ Bingo
Library ~ Games Day
ANSTO ~ Water Rockets

Term Four Evaluation ~ Monster

English:

Reading:
Read Aloud Books:
Picture Books -
** See list of picture books read to Monkey as Monster listens to all or most of them**

Chapter Books - 
** See HSIE and/or PDHPE for list of chapter books read aloud**

Independent Reading:
see written list ~ 

Other Reading Activities:
Reading Eggs online program
30 - 60 minutes of silent reading daily

Writing:
Not proud to admit it but we really dropped the ball with writing term 4

Handwriting:
Foundation Handwriting Year 3 (completed the book)

Spelling:
daily oral review of weekly lists as sourced from year 4 lists on the internet
(20 words per list)
written test taken every Friday

Maths:
Maths Plus Year 4 Textbook
Units 28 - 35 covering the following topics:
5-digit addition, commutative property, data investigation, kilograms and grams, division, temperature, most likely/least likely, square numbers, equivalent tenths and hundredths, recording data, calendars, contracted multiplication, ordering and rounding decimals, nets and cross-sections, decimal notation - length, number patterns, fraction and decimal patterns, data investigation, the square metre, associative property, describing paths, litres and millilitres, adding and subtracting decimals, contracted multiplication, isometric drawing, displacement experiments, number relationships, estimating and checking, mapping-scale, and timelines
Diagnostic Review 4

Maths Plus Year 5 Textbook
Units 28 - 35 covering the following topics:
4-digit multiplication, calculator memory, street directories, shapes (translate, rotate, reflect), three digits multiplied by two digits, adding and subtracting decimals, chance, nets, 6-digit subtraction, spreadsheet data, choosing length units, mean scores (average), financial plan/budget, sequences of fractions and decimals, circles, square kilometres, multiplication methods, rounding for estimation, making a map, elapsed time, division with fractional remainders, highest common factor (HCF), collecting data/questionnaires, cubic centimetres and cubic metres, calculator problems, mobile phone plans, cross sections, dot plot graphs, inverse operations, decimal remainders, enlargements and reductions, and time zones
Diagnostic Review 4

Scripture and Character Building:
Bible Read Aloud:
Leviticus 24 ~ Numbers 19

HSIE:
Geography/History - 
All books read below were read aloud as part of our Australian History Unit Study
"Meet Nellie"
"Nellie and the Secret Letter"
"Nellie's Quest"
"Nellie's Greatest Wish"
"Meet Alice"
"Alice and the Apple Blossom Fair"
"Alice of Peppermint Grove"
"Peacetime For Alice"
"Meet Ruby"
"Ruby and the Country Cousins"
"School Days For Ruby"

Science and Technology:
Continued his personal blog
Learned how to edit photographs using Gimp program
Started independently composing and typing content of blog
Edited each entry with assistance from mum

Continued keeping a daily weather log ~ tracking high/low temps, humidity, and rainfall using Bureau of Meteorology website and other weather websites as necessary.  Writing collected data down in a weather notebook.

Read Alouds on Various Science Topics:
Redback Spider - Greg Pyers
Finding Out About Tiger Snakes - Greg Pyers
Spiders and Other Arachnids - Ron Thomas
The Usborne Big Book of Bugs
Alligators and Crocodiles
Bugs - DK
Tyrannosaurus Rex
Velociraptor
Up Close T Rex

PDHPE:
walk to and from the library
walk to and from the shops
walk to and from various parks
free play at various parks
riding scooter

Creative Arts:
Music:
Continued to play the recorder
Drama:
Attended best friend's drama production
Dance:
Attended best friend's dance performance of The Nutcracker

Socialization:
Weekly attendance of church and Sunday School
Numerous play dates with friends of multiple ages

Other Activities:
Played a variety of board and card games
  • Rummy-O
  • Mancala
  • Snakes and Ladders
  • Skip-Bo
  • Phase 10
  • Chess
  • Memory
  • Blokus
  • Blink
Imaginative (self created) Lego games with his younger brother
Pokemon card game battles with his brother

Term School Holiday Events:
January:
Library ~ Bingo
Library ~ Games Day
ANSTO ~ Water Rockets

Term Four: Week Eleven ~ Last Week of the YEAR!!

Our last week of the school year and we decided a natural learning week was in order.
Monster completed his maths tests, but other than that, the boys followed their own interests for the week.


Monkey has discovered he can read chapter books!  The reading world is breaking wide open for him and his excitement is infectious. 



Munchkin chose to start this last week of school by announcing that he was ready to wear undies and use the toilet.  This time (easily our 5th or 6th try) will likely be the winner as it was HIS decision!!

His chosen activity first thing Monday morning was this magnetic toy that was my brother's when he was young... but after a few minutes Munchkin discovered that it is really too hard for him still. 



The older boys got some practical math skills in when they decided to play a game of Life on their own! 

Meanwhile Munchkin switched activities and decided it was a tent and tunnel sort of day. 


Tuesday was our Christmas decorating evening and all three boys LOVE the chance to hang the ornaments and help daddy with the tinsel.



Self decoration is a must every year... 

Wednesday I found this baby Praying Mantis while doing some gardening so we captured it long enough to observe him and photograph him... then released him before anything bad could happen to him. 


Finally, Thursday was an impromptu play date with our best homeschool friends as Monkey had a dentist appointment.  My friend was kind enough to look after Monster and Munchkin while I took Monkey to the appointment after lunch.

It was a hot day so there was much time spent on the trampoline while also using the water pistols (above) and Munchkin and his best friend enjoyed playing Hungry Hungry Hippos together. 


I managed to snap a photo of this cute chalk drawn person that Munchkin did as well!
Oh, and there were books read this week but silly me, in organizing and decluttering my 2015 photos I accidentally deleted them!

Friday, December 11, 2015

Term Four: Week Ten ~ Registration

Our last full week of school and we kept ourselves very busy winding everything up.
I'll start this weekly review with our books again...

Left: Early Reader books Monkey chose
Right: Munchkin's read aloud choices

 Left: History read aloud for Monster (last in the Alice series)
Right: Read aloud choice of Monkey's

 Read aloud choices for the whole family...

 More read aloud choices for the whole family...

Christmas read alouds... 

Our humorous choice for the week... 

 Left: Munchkin is slightly obsessed with Octonauts
Right: Another Christmas book

 Left: A cute little Christmas book 
Right: More Early Reader books of Monkey's


Munchkin's read aloud choices...


 We read this lovely book about spring (it is part of a series) and then did a tree craft with oil pastels to go along with it.





 The finished product!
The boys were MUCH more creative than I was.





We were able to spend some time at the park which was AWESOME!! 


Friday was our registration home visit with the Department of Ed.
I spread all our stuff out on the dining table and the visit went very well - we can now enjoy another two years of learning and fun.

Finally we enjoyed playing The Game of Life which I treated myself to when I went shopping with a friend!!

Friday, December 4, 2015

Term Four: Week Nine ~ Slowly Wrapping Up

With only three weeks left in the term and the school year, the boys and I are slowing things down and slowly wrapping up.  Both the older boys are close to finishing up their structured written work (workbooks) and so our focus has shifted to reading and games.

Just for something different I have posted our reading selections first!

Monster and I finished another history book this week...
The Alice series focuses on WWI 




 Our read aloud selection that all three boys enjoyed. I wasn't impressed at all with the new version of Snow White, and The Day the Crayons Quit has become a family favourite that we borrow from the library whenever it is available and read MULTIPLE times before returning it again.



 I feel like singing the song from Sesame Street... "Three of these things belong together, one of these things just isn't the same..." 
The Little Chick book was Munchkin's read aloud choice and the other three pictures are early reader books that Monkey read aloud to me throughout the week.

 Left: Monster's independent book for the week
Right: Another read aloud Monkey read to me!

 I am trying to read one Christmas book a day to the boys but the schedule (especially in the evening) has been such that it doesn't always happen so only one Christmas book for this week. The other book is a true story about a dog back in the 1800s who loved to travel by train and although he did have an owner he would wander around the country and stay with whatever station master found him come evening time!  It was fascinating and I would like to borrow the book again in the new school year and perhaps do some further learning about him!

 Not all of our read aloud choices are serious - or even quality - books!  Sometimes we just go for something silly and funny!



On to our learning for the week...
Monkey and Munchkin worked collaboratively on an Avengers 50 piece puzzle. 



Monkey finished his Year 1 (1st grade) maths workbook about halfway through the school year and is now working through a Year 2 (2nd grade) book.  He won't finish this year but is enjoying the challenge it presents him at times. These particular pages were all about number patterns using a 100s chart. 


Monkey is LOVING that he can read and pushes himself to read harder and harder texts. 


We finished off our week by teaching Monkey how to play Cluedo!!