January Homeschool Reflections

The first month of 2016 has treated us well. We have incorporated a bit more fun into our learning environment.  We have dropped some things which we will possibly pick back up next school year.  We've taken advantage of opportunities to experience a variety of outings and field trips.

Academics:  I am pleased to report that the girls have made a few math milestones.  Miss R is now giving multiplication a run for its money instead of running away from it.  She suffers from a well-known ailment called, "It's not so easy so I will quit before I start".  I am sure you guys may have heard of this. :)  Once she really began trying she was able to recall the facts more quickly.  Recall on demand was the problem.  She knows/ knew how to multiply, but she didn't desire to take time to do the work for the facts that she did not know immediately.

Miss D also made a turn for better in long division and multi digit multiplication.  It took awhile for us to find a method that worked best for her, but now she truly has it.  I haven't graded an incorrect division problem in awhile.  She still makes minor mistakes in multiplication.  I am so happy for her, but as you all know understanding one new set of skills means moving on to something just as challenging.  We're ready for it. :)

The girls are ready to watch the Visual Learning Systems weather video.  The picture is blurry, but I love their smiles. :)

Life Skills: Getting healthy and staying healthy is definitely something we want the girls to carry into adulthood with them. Daily Burn has made its way into our home school and lives. We do Daily Burn 365 at least three or four days during the week before starting our lessons. This program has been an awesome addition. I no longer fret about our lack of structured physical activity. It has also helped the girls become better in their extracurricular activities. We often do exercises which have shown up in gymnastics and dance.

A little fun with Tangoes!  We had to switch cards because the ones they selected actually called for using both sets of tangrams.

Just for Fun:  Our field trip calendar was pretty full in January.  We went to Hatch Show Print.  We attended the Symphony and visited Bradley Academy.  We took part in the Big Weather Experience at the Adventure Science Center.

Our trip to the Adventure Science Center was a supplement to our current science unit which is God's Design Our Weather and Water.  The field trip included demonstrations of different types of weather like the cloud in the bottle.  We also enjoyed a planetarium show about weather.

That's January in a nutshell.  How was your first month of the new year?  Did you make any changes to your home school and lifestyle?