A day in the life...

A day in the life

of a few homeschooling students' work day

Work in progress with our teens makes them seem so dedicated when glancing upon a photo such as this one. A turn of events in progress with our relocation move before us, and the upheaval of life in general with everything it encompasses, several online courses were our saving grace this year and happily I will announce they are both loving them.

Instant marking from profs and teachers are available very soon after an assignment is complete and uploaded for marking. In turn if there is something requiring a tutelage, teachers are also available all day long within the school chat area which of course makes the more difficult courses of Biology and Math a wee bit easier for them to have immediate feedback. Or so it seems so far, so good.

I love this photo, a tuft of hair before me and learning in the background. All new to him is a computer learning course this year, and he loves it!

Mom is enjoying the downgrade to simple mathematics again with the younger children. Ahhhhh......... another cycle within the family is happening once again. I get to be with elementary level children for the bulk of the learning hours in our day, and quite simply I am really loving it all.

What more can a mother ask for when the family piano continuously resounds lovely melodies by all four children during piano practice daily, and science is a common occurrence in our kitchen.

The most comfortable arm chairs have books placed on top of them early in the morning, as if to announce its reserved for the sole purpose of a child who prefers to lounge there for reading time. I must catch a photo of this one day, so cute.

Spontaneous learning comes at a moment's notice. I want to revel in it all lately, everything from learning about both Canadian and American electoral processes, anticipate the change of seasons with outdoor nature and geographical changes to enjoy, and even serious pondering and list making for the months ahead with changes no doubt to fill our minds full to the brim.

This young daughter (loves her new striped leggings) decided to pull out some old work on phonograms with word/picture matching and review of the important parts for the word families. She loves to work and play, so this has always most definitely been right up her alley. A late bloomer in with age appropriate reading skills, this gal has come such a long way this past year, her "readiness" very suddenly appearing seemingly from out of nowhere, like the blink of an eye it was here and she craved more, more, more. Now she's flying forward and there is no stopping her.

We like to use these words within their specific "word families" and currently our daughter is making her own phonogram book complete with word lists and corresponding pictures or drawings for as many as she can detail. Call it a self initiated project, one that I am happily hoping she will complete to finish.

A book of phonograms - inspired she even likes to draw

We have all three colors for these word groups printed out, all cut up individually and laminated, continually using them for review. I also assembled many wee items to use as a Montessori learning style combination with the words and lists for each color, something the children reach for even when they've moved beyond the general knowledge of the work presented in each container.

Green words - covering vowel combination words

JMJ Publishing offers a colored individual words for language work and review. The green list is found HERE for work on vowel combinations rules and learning.In fact, she still likes to use them often along with the Pink(link) and Blue(link) words covering simple phonetic words with short vowels and consonant blends and combinations. Consider offering a donation for use of these free products on this site.

Pink words - simple phonetic words with short vowels

She and I play beat the clock with the plethora of word pieces, in groupings just to see how fast she can get them all right, or a portion thereof, or makes lists in her workbook when motivated to do so (that is if she hasn't already written it down). She also makes up her own games to play, something fun considering it's all language arts and the mechanics of word origins she is working with.

Blue words - covering consonant blends and combinations

I think what attracts her most are the accompanying compartments filled with little things to delight the senses, useful to match up with the words in each box. I can hardly blame her, I love to open them up and see all the little goodies inside of them myself. (grin)

If you are inspired or interested in this type of Montessori learning for your language at home, consider visiting a website of interest like this one for more on the Pink, Blue, Green word series and all the possibilities for learning and/or review with your children. Here in in our home, this is a dearly beloved activity, even if they are too old or too big for it. (wink)

Have a great day!