Term Two Evaluation: Munchkin

Munchkin is not yet officially registered for homeschooling, but I am doing a (VERY) informal kindergarten curriculum with him this year.  I do not INSIST that Munchkin complete any written work UNLESS he is preventing his brothers from learning, then I direct him to his own work.  He was VERY excited about handwriting at the beginning of the school year, but as I expected, the enthusiasm did not last.  However, he LOVES maths and has completed his ENTIRE kindergarten textbook already.  I have purchased the Year 1 textbook and he is enjoying the challenge. I have noticed that he is still grasping the concepts quickly and easily, so we rocket ahead in math.  The rest of the school subjects (seen below) are well and truly covered for Munchkin through his combined participation with his older brothers.  All read alouds that I do with the older boys (with the exception of some history for Monster in the late evening) are also directed at Munchkin.  While I know he doesn't understand all of what I read, a lot of the information sinks in, as evidenced by conversations he has with me, his father, or his brothers later on down the track.

Maths -
Maths Plus Year 1 Textbook
Topic Covered Include:
Adding numbers, One-half, Making 2D shapes, Uniform, informal length units, Take away, Place value, Identifying features of objects, Equal groups, Number patterns, Names of 2D shapes, Repeated time units, Counting on, Might happen or won't happen, Counting on to find the difference, Groups of 10

Read Aloud Books that Pertain to Maths:
The Crayons Book of Numbers - by Drew Daywalt
123 - DK
One Very Tired Wombat - by Renee Treml
Ten Kisses for Sophie - by Rosemary Wells
Five Little Ducks - by Play School


English -
Handwriting:
Targeting Handwriting Kindergarten
Munchkin works on two pages of handwriting per week that correspond to his Letter of the Week program.  On the weeks when we have reviewed letters learned so far, he gets a break from handwriting, which he LOVES.

Writing:
No formal writing is being done with Munchkin as he is now a fluent reader yet.  However, we are working on letter sounds, concentrating on a Letter of the Week program, and I allow him to do any "writing" that he would like to do as he initiates it.  He can write his own name and a few words and does enjoy writing letters (in the form of copywork) to friends/family on occasion. This term he wrote thank you notes for birthday presents he received, as well as a couple of apology letters.

Reading:
Reading is HUGE in our family.  I make sure that the boys are surrounded by reading material (books, magazines, etc) and we read aloud EVERY day, and as they learn to read independently they spend 30-60 minutes reading silently to themselves.  Munchkin enjoys the online reading program Reading Eggs and works through that for a portion of each of his school days.

Over the course of the term I have read 100 books aloud to Munchkin... many are his favourite picture books and others address our school subjects.

Read Alouds ~ Literature:

Milly Loves Ants - by Jackie French

The Fabulous Friend Machine - by Nick Bland

Little Red Riding Hood Not Quite - by Yvonne Morrison

The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bag Pig

The Highway Rat - by Julia Donaldson

The Very Hungry Caterpillar - by Eric Carle

Science -
Munchkin takes part in ANY science experiment we do at home and at co-op group on Thursday.  He LOVES books that focus on animals and particularly enjoys watching David Attenborough special on TV (or borrowed DVDs from the library) about science topics.

Read Alouds ~ Science:

Ocean Wonders

24 Hours on a Coral Reef

Finding Out About Platypuses by Greg Pyers

Weird and Wacky Fish by Nigel Marsh

Creatures Close Up by Gillian Watts

Natural Disasters Tsunamis

Wonders of the World Uluru

Deadly Spiders and Scorpions

Deadly Insects by Andrew Solway

Dragonflies by Shane F. McEvey

Take Your Time by Eva Furrow

History -Much of our history lessons are done in the late evening AFTER Munchkin has gone to bed, but if we read a historical picture book through the day he will listen in.  A few examples below...

Read Alouds:

Simpson and His Donkey by Mark Greenwood

Do Not Forget Australia by Sally Murphy

Midnight by Mark Greenwood

A Day to Remember by Jackie French

Flapper VC - by Mark Wilson

Radio Rescue by Jane Jolly

Geography -
Again Munchkin absorbs much of his geography from anything the older boys are learning as he listens in.  Some examples of geography books I read aloud this term...

Read Alouds:

Oceans

Australian Habitats - Oceans by Greg Pyers

Coasts by Kay Barnham

The Worlds Most Dangerous Places by Paul Mason

Wonders of the World Uluru

PDHPE -
This subject is multi-faceted and deals with Person Development, Health and Physical Education.  Again, a lot of what Munchkin learns is through the group learning that we do.  He walks everywhere we go, enjoys riding his scooter, and loves climbing, jumping and balancing when we play at our favourite playgrounds.  We have frequent family discussions about healthy life habits that surround things like eating, exercising, and safe activities and behaviours when out and about in our neighbourhood.

Creative Arts -
Munchkin enjoys painting, drawing, and colouring so this is the largest portion of his creative arts for this term.

July School Holiday Events:

Attended Bingo at local library

Attended Word Puzzle Game Day at local library

Attended Paper Puppet Craft Afternoon at local library

Attended Lego Themed Pupil Free day at local church