Term Three Evaluation: Monster

English:

Reading:

Independent Reading:

see written list ~ 

Other Reading Activities:

Reading Eggs online program

30 - 60 minutes of silent reading daily

Literature: Read Aloud

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Miserable Mill

The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Irene Triviza

Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban

Bedtime for Frances by Russell Hoban

A Birthday for Frances by Russell Hoban

Best Friends for Frances by Russell Hoban

The Classic Tales of Beatrix Potter

Literature: Independent

 Writing:

Institute For Excellence in Writing Program

Teaching Writing: Structure and Style

This term we began unit four - writing a non-fiction paragraph using ONE source.  Monster wrote a total of five  paragraphs this term. Topics included: the Vikings, volcanoes, penguins (two different paragraphs) and Elephants.

Handwriting:

Foundation Handwriting Year 5

Grammar:

We continue to make progress working through our textbook The Grammar Ace.  Lessons this term included: Paragraphs, Expository Paragraphs, Persuasive Paragraphs, Descriptive Paragraphs, Narrative Paragraphs, Prefixes & Suffixes, Commas, and Analogies

Spelling:

daily oral review of weekly lists as sourced from year 6 lists on the internet

(20 words per list)
written test taken every Friday

Maths:

Cambridge Maths Year 7

During Term 3 Monster and I worked through the following units/chapters of the math textbook:

Unit Five: Probability

Pre-test, Describing Probability, Theoretical probability in single-step experiments, Experimental probability in single-step experiments, Compound events in single-step experiments, Venn diagrams and two-way tables, Probability in two-step experiments, 

Chapter Summary

Unit Six: Computation With Decimals and Fractions

Pre-test, Adding and subtracting decimals, Adding fractions, subtracting fractions, Multiplying fractions, Multiplying and dividing decimals by 10, 100, 1000 etc., Multiplying by a decimal, dividing fractions, Dividing decimals, Computation with negative fractions, Chapter Summary

Semester Review 1 (test over chapters 1-6)

Unit Seven:

Pret-test, Units of Time, Working with Time, Using Time Zones, Chapter Summary

Other Math Activities:

Khan Academy website

Cool Math Games website

Variety of maths games - uno, Phase 10, Rummy-O, Monopoly, etc

Independent Reading: (Maths)

Scripture and Character Building:

Bible Read Aloud:
Psalms 1 ~ Psalms 144

HSIE:

History/Geography - 

Read Aloud:

Everyday History: Life in Viking Times

Viking Invader by Usborne

Horrible Histories Scotland

Warnayarra the Rainbow Snake

Dunbi the Owl

The Bat and the Crocodile

Millicent by Jeannie Baker

Mirror by Jannie Baker

Belonging by Jeannie Baker

Horrible Histories Gorgeous Georgians

Everything Vikings by National Geographic Kids

Horrible Histories Villainous Victorians

Tales of the Dead: Ancient China

Australia's Government by Andrew Einspruch

Animals That Changed the World by Keltie Thomas

Tracks of a Panda by Nick Dawson

Australia's Rivers: Dryland Rivers by Jane Pearson

Horrible Histories Slimy Stuarts

Birrung the Secret Friend by Jackie French

Monster's Independent History and Geography Choices (silent reading)

Mysteries of the World Ancient Treasures by Richard Hammond

Horrible Histories Edinburgh

Aussie Notables: Edith Cowan by Allan Drummond

Horrible Histories Rotten Rulers by Terry Deary

Horrible Histories Dark Knights and Dingy Castles by Terry Deary

Horrible Histories The Measly Middle Ages

Science and Technology:

The following books were read independently:

Mysteries of the World: Creepy Creatures by Richard Hammond

Mysteries of the World: Alien Encounters by Richard Hammond

Australia's Critically Endangered Animals by Margaret Roc and Kathleen Hawke

The following books were read aloud:

Deadly Reptiles by Andrew Solway

Circle by Jeannie Baker

From Caterpillar to Butterfly

Brain Eaters: Creatures with Zombie-Like Diets by Alicia Klepeis

Natures Undead: Animals that Seem to Rise From the Grave by Alicia Klepis

Endangered Animals of Australia by Marie Allgor

Paper by Material World

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

Health:

For health this year we are working our way through an R.I.C book about Developing Awareness of Health and Personal Development.  Unit topics this term included:

Pimples

Sunsmart

Alcohol

Inhalants

Cigarettes

Passive Smoking

The Media

Accidents

Creative Arts:

Art:

various arts and crafts activities that pertain to younger brother's Letter of the Week program

Read Alouds Pertaining to Creative Arts:

Socialization:

Weekly attendance of church and Sunday School

Numerous play dates with friends of multiple ages

Thursday co-op classes

Weekly trips to the library

Other Activities:

Played a variety of board and card games

• Rummy-O
• Mancala
• Snakes and Ladders
• Skip-Bo
• Phase 10
• Chess
• Memory
• Blokus
• Blink

Sept/Oct School Holiday Events:

Attended Bingo at local library

Attended Live Animal Show at local library

Term Three Evaluation: Monkey

English:

Reading:

Independent Reading:

see written list ~ 

Other Reading Activities:

Reading Eggs online program

30 - 60 minutes of silent reading daily

Literature: Read Aloud

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Miserable Mill

The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Irene Triviza

Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban

Bedtime for Frances by Russell Hoban

A Birthday for Frances by Russell Hoban

Best Friends for Frances by Russell Hoban

The Classic Tales of Beatrix Potter

Literature: Independent

 Writing:

Institute For Excellence in Writing Program

Teaching Writing: Structure and Style

Monkey wrote a total of four paragraphs this term. Topics included: Earthquakes, volcanoes, pigs and whales.

Handwriting:

Foundation Handwriting Year 2

Spelling:

daily oral review of weekly lists as sourced from year 6 lists on the internet

(20 words per list)
written test taken every Friday

Maths:

Maths Plus Year 3

Topics Included:

Counting by tens or hundreds, Multiplication facts (3s), Reflect, translate and rotate, Chance - possible outcomes, Trading in subtraction, Division from multiplication, Angles, Millimetres, 3-digit addition, Calculating change, Cross-sections, Litres, Trading in 3-digit subtraction, Fractions of a collection, Temperature, Digital time and analog time, Multiplication facts/revision, Rounding to 5 cents, Grids, Collecting data, Compensation strategy, Division facts and strategies, Testing predictions, Scales, Addition problems, Fractions on a number line, Rigidity of shapes, The square metre, 3-digit subtraction (trading), 4-digit numbers, Octagons, Cubic centimetres, Multiplication mental strategies, Division, Giving directions, Chance-likelihood

Diagnostic Review 3

Other Math Activities:

Khan Academy website

Cool Math Games website

Variety of maths games - uno, Phase 10, Rummy-O, Monopoly, etc

Independent Reading: (Maths)

Scripture and Character Building:

Bible Read Aloud:
Psalms 1 ~ Psalms 144

HSIE:

History/Geography - 

Read Aloud:

Warnayarra the Rainbow Snake

Dunbi the Owl

The Bat and the Crocodile

Millicent by Jeannie Baker

Mirror by Jannie Baker

Belonging by Jeannie Baker

Animals That Changed the World by Keltie Thomas

Tracks of a Panda by Nick Dawson

Monkey's Independent History and Geography Choices (silent reading)

Science and Technology:

The following books were read independently:

Mysteries of the World: Creepy Creatures by Richard Hammond

Mysteries of the World: Alien Encounters by Richard Hammond

The following books were read aloud:

Deadly Reptiles by Andrew Solway

Circle by Jeannie Baker

From Caterpillar to Butterfly

Brain Eaters: Creatures with Zombie-Like Diets by Alicia Klepeis

Natures Undead: Animals that Seem to Rise From the Grave by Alicia Klepis

Endangered Animals of Australia by Marie Allgor

Paper by Material World

Natural Disasters Earthquakes

Natural Disasters Landslides and Avalanches

Volcano

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:

Art:

various arts and crafts activities that pertain to younger brother's Letter of the Week program

Read Alouds Pertaining to Creative Arts:

Thursday Co-Op Class:

On Thursdays we walk to a friend's house and have school with them.  We studied the following topics this term

*Note: Monster took part in these activities as well I just forgot to add them to his review*

Language: We studied Latin this term and the boys were excited to be able to construct short sentences by the end of the term.

Science: nerves, lungs and capacity, bones, sound, acid/base, voice box 

HSIE: Jesus & the Roman Empire, mapping skills, Middle Ages

Literature: Read Aloud Beowulf

Socialization:

Weekly attendance of church and Sunday School

Numerous play dates with friends of multiple ages

Thursday co-op classes

Weekly trips to the library

Other Activities:

Played a variety of board and card games

• Rummy-O
• Mancala
• Snakes and Ladders
• Skip-Bo
• Phase 10
• Chess
• Memory
• Blokus
• Blink

Sept/Oct School Holiday Events:

Attended Bingo at local library

Attended Live Animal Show at local library

Term Three 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:
Following Directions, Sharing, Counting, Picture Graphs, Adding on number lines, Numbers to 30, Odd and Even Numbers, Recognizing 3D objects, 

Read Aloud Books that Pertain to Maths:
One Very Tired Wombat - by Renee Treml
Ten Kisses for Sophie - by Rosemary Wells
Uno's Garden - by Graeme Base
Ten Pigs An Epic Bath Adventure - by Derek Anderson
Seaver the Weaver - by Paul Czajak


English -
Handwriting:
Targeting Handwriting Kindergarten
Munchkin NORMALLY works on two pages of handwriting per week that correspond to his Letter of the Week program. However, this term we sort of slacked off on the Letter of the Week program. I plan to get a bit more structured with this during term 4 and get more handwriting work done.  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:

The Very Hungry Caterpillar - by Eric Carle

The Very Busy Spider - by Eric Carle

The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig - by Irene Triviza

Horace the Baker's Horse - by Jackie French

Bread and Jam for Frances - by Russell Hoban

Bedtime for Frances - by Russell Hoban

A Birthday for Frances - by Russell Hoban

Best Friends for Frances - by Russell Hoban

Slinky Malinki - by Lynley Dodd

The Classic Tales of Beatrix Potter

How the Grinch Stole Christmas - by Dr Seuss

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:

Deadly Reptiles by Andrew Solway

Circle by Jeannie Baker

From Caterpillar to Butterfly

Brain Eaters: Creatures with Zombie-Like Diets by Alicia Klepeis

Natures Undead: Animals that Seem to Rise From the Grave by Alicia Klepis

Endangered Animals of Australia by Marie Allgor

Paper by Material World

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:

Warnayarra the Rainbow Snake

Dunbi the Owl

The Bat and the Crocodile

Millicent by Jeannie Baker

Mirror by Jannie Baker

Belonging by Jeannie Baker

Animals That Changed the World by Keltie Thomas

Tracks of a Panda by Nick Dawson

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:

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.

Sept/Oct School Holiday Events:

Attended Bingo at local library

Attended Live Animal Show at local library

Term Three: Week Ten ~ Starting Holidays Early

We ended up with a bonus week of school holidays thanks to our hard work from last week. So we enjoyed a chilled out week with some outdoor play, an excursion, and our usual co-op meeting.  It was nice to have a relaxed week and we needed the down time as we cope with the emotions of saying good-bye to our best friends.

Monday afternoon the boys spent some time riding their scooters up and down the driveway for some exercise, while also helping me achieve one of the photos I needed for my weekly challenge I take part in on Facebook. 

Tuesday we went on an excursion with our homeschool group.  We had a tour at the NSW Mounted Police Unit.  It was interesting, informative, and exciting.  We learned that the NSW Mounted Police Unit is the longest running unit in the world.  I always assumed the Canadians had been running longer, so that was fun.  We got to meet all the horses and feed them carrots and apples, and also see one of the horses being exercised in the ring.  The boys ALWAYS love seeing the Mounted Police when we attend events in the city, so it was fun to learn more about them. 

The Mounted Police tour finished at 11am, and since we were already in the city, we decided to spend the day exploring.  First we went to Hyde Park to check out the photography exhibit that was on display there.  We were excited to see that there were submissions by children (see photo of boys eating their lunch above) so we will check out the competition for next year in case we ALL want to submit photos.  After lunch, and browsing the photographs, we decided we needed a visit in the Australian Museum.  But first, we stopped to listen to the 12pm bells at the cathedral and play in the fountain. 

Once inside the museum, the boys were upset to learn that part of the dinosaur room was blocked off, UNTIL we learned that the Australian Museum is getting a T-Rex skeleton!!!  We already have plans to return next term to check it out. 

All three boys are obsessed with the Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger) so I just had to take a photo of the one on display at the museum.  They are convinced that it is still alive and has just been hiding in Tasmania all this time. 

In the "Australian Backyard" section of the museum we found this new display about cicadas. 

We very carefully read this information about magpies.  Last year was the first year ever (in the 17 years I've lived here) that we have been attacked by a magpie during breeding season.  So we are being much more cautious this year, and trying to educate ourselves a bit more. 

Next we were off to the "Search and Discover" area of the museum, and that is pretty much where we stayed for the remainder of our time there (a total of 4.5 hours).  The boys were thrilled to find that the "create your own dinosaur" computer had been moved in here. The museum staff also assured them that the dinosaur bone digging box would come soon as well. 

All three boys spent a LONG time searching these boxes for stick insect eggs, and they found TONS of eggs that were then placed in the stick insect cage to hatch. 

The museum staff are always willing to allow the boys to hold the stick insects as well. 

I love watching Munchkin's face as he holds an insect on his hand. 

 Listening carefully to the staff member while also hoping the stick insect doesn't decide to crawl all the way up his arm!!

Monster also took a turn holding one. 

A pretty good shot of one of the insects having some lunch. 

For the first time ever the boys checked out the mineral room.  We also had a quick look at a nature photography exhibit that was on display.  However, this did NOT suit Munchkin as it didn't hold his interest very long, so perhaps the older boys and I will take another trip to the museum by ourselves to have a closer and longer took at the beautiful photography. 

We finally dragged ourselves out of the museum at about 4:30pm and headed back over to Hyde Park.  This is not my best photo of the fountain... mainly because the lighting was bad, but also because a homeless man was IN the fountain looking for coins and I was trying to snap my photograph without getting him in it! 

As we walked through the city on our way to dinner, we stopped off in Angel Place so the boys could see the suspended bird cages.  They weren't too keen about the idea of looking at it, until we actually got there. The older boys ended up wandering back and forth reading the names of all the birds (there are bricks on the ground with the names listed) that used to live in the area that is now the city, when Europeans first came to Australia. 

We ended up at Circular Quay for dinner at Hungry Jacks. The restaurant only has a small dining area so we got our food as take away and walked around to the benches that overlook the Harbour.   

After dinner (and before jumping on the train to come home) we took the lift (elevator) up to our favourite look-out for some night photography fun!! 

Thursday was our last co-op day for the term and the children all had fun. They did some review in science and Latin, and then enjoyed some sensory play with play dough while listening to the last bit of Beowulf. 

Munchkin built his first ever imaginative building with the Lincoln Logs... 

 And Monkey did some BEAUTIFUL drawings of a cardinal and a blue jay!!

 Monster's independent reading for the week...