Whew…it’s our last week of school and things are wrapping up! It’s been a great year. We’ve accomplished much, though maybe not everything I intended.
History has been strong on our list of great accomplishments. I’d dare say my 7-year-old is better versed in Native Americans, Explorers, Pilgrims, The Revolutionary War, Slavery, The Underground Railroad and the Civil War than I was when I graduated from high school! Add a little sprinkling of WWII and it’s been an amazing time.
He simply loves this stuff. And we have been so blessed to have been able to learn so much of this, not only from books, but through vacations, work trips for my husband, and field trips.
To enhance our learning of American History, we have visited the KY Historical Society, Abraham Lincoln’s Birthplace, and 2 pioneer villages (visiting a Native American museum at one of these), spent the day at a stop on the Underground Railroad in Ripley, OH, toured the USS Alabama and the Patton Museum, and spent a week in Washington DC where we saw most of the war memorials, the changing of the guard at Arlington Cemetary, and stood in the presence of the Declaration of Independence. And of course there were amazing airplanes in the Air and Space museum, including the spirit of St. Louis and the Wright Brothers flyer! Not to mention the Lincoln Memorial, White House, US Capitol, and the Museum of Natural History. The Museum of American History was closed for rennovations, but we were able to see a display of their top relics in a special exhibit at the Air and Space Museum. What amazing things my little boy has been exposed to in one year!
Five in a Row and www.homeschoolshare.com have guided us through some of our history studies (The Glorious Flight, Paul Revere’s Ride, Follow the Drinking Gourd, The Tale of Johnny Appleseed, The Ballot Box), along with fun learning about animals (The Bee Tree, Truman’s Aunt Farm, The Salamander Room, Dinosaurs). And who could forget our time spent with machines (more Glorious Flight, Katy and the Big Snow, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel and The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Grey Bridge)?!?
We have also greatly enjoyed our time spent on Christmas and Easter and the true meaning of these holidays. The books, Bible stories, crafts, all of it were so much fun and really grew us both closer to God.
The last few months have been spent delving deeper into our Bible and character studies. If you’re ever looking for some fun stories and activities in that area, Focus on the Family has a wonderful, free (making it even more wonderful!) curriculum called Character Crew. We have focused on different character traits each week. I’ve seen much growth in Ben this past couple of months and am so enjoying watching him change, grow, and mature as a little child of God.
The 3Rs have gone well too. We made some changes in his math curriculum and next year will continue using Singapore math. His handwriting has greatly improved and he is beginning to learn cursive. He recently began corresponding with a penpal (also named Ben) in Louisiana, so that should help continue the improvements with his handwriting.
His reading level has continued to grow. But more importantly his love of reading for pleasure is really starting to blossom. It’s nothing these days to catch him on the bed reading a Magic Tree House or Time Warp Trio (more history!) book. Of course there are times when he’s reading Captain Underpants as well. I can usually tell when he’s reading on of those, because he laughs out loud at those! (what is it with boys and potty humor?). As a reader myself, it really does my heart good to watch and listen to him reading for the pure enjoyment of it!
He is also continuing in TaeKwonDo. He loves going to classes. Practicing? Not so much. But I’m glad he enjoys it and we’ll continue going until he doesn’t enjoy it any more. I don’t see him hanging in there to get a black belt, but he is learning all the same and really does have fun with it. He will continue through the summer and will soon be testing for his next belt….orange!
He also just finished his first year as a Cub Scout. He has loved every minute of this group and is looking forward to a week of daycamp this summer along with a weekend overnighter with his dad! We’ll definitely be continuing with Cub Scouts into the 2nd grade.
We’ve been on some great field trips, in addition to the ones I’ve already mentioned. Our favorite was the Creasy Mahan Nature Preserve where we dug for fossils, planted a flower, and caught bugs in our nets, all the while learning so much about rocks, plants and insects. We also loved our time spent at The Speed Art Museum, Bowman Field, The Derby Museum, Louisville Science Center, Salato Wildlife Center, Rebecca Ruth Candy Factory, Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, and Muncie Children’s Museum as well. Oh, and the “Storm Watcher” weather class held at the Louisville Zoo was a huge hit!
For a little culture, we have been to several children’s theatre productions, including: The Little Mermaid, Charlotte’s Web, Treasure Island, and If you Give a Pig a Party. We are very blessed to live in such a culturally rich, homeschool-friendly city. Just walk out your door (or log onto your computer) and the opportunities abound.
One of our favorite activities has been a bi-weekly playgroup. There are about 12 families total in the group, and we meet at fun local spots or parks. It’s been great getting to know these moms and children better. It’s just an awesome group of friends, both for Ben and for me.
So here we are, the last week of first grade. It is simply unbelievable that my little boy is going to be a 2nd grader. He is so excited just at the mention of it. We will do something special as a family next week, Nana too.
We’re looking forward to a great summer (well 6 weeks of summer anyway!) off and time spent at Cub Scout camp, Soccer camp, and VBS.
I’m already planning for next year, so stay tuned. I’ll be posting soon what curriculum we’ll be using (or at least that I plan to use–we all know how that goes).
