Samantha's Kindergarten Progress Report-Rough Draft

 Since we live in Georgia, one of the laws for homeschooling is that I have to write a yearly progress report and keep it on file for 3 years in case the school is to ever take us to court. Samantha's school year is 365 days a year because I believe learning takes place all the time. However, for paperwork purposes, Samantha's school year and grade promotion will run from June 1st to May 31st. (We were going to do September through August, because Samantha's birthday is in September and that is when all the activities begin, but the schools want their final attendance and other paperwork by the end of May. SO...Here it is: (This is the rough draft, but I have spent several hours on it. And I am so excited about how well it is turning out!)

Samantha Anne Mays Progress Report and Kindergarten

Curriculum Description: Samantha learns using a relaxed custom curriculum meant to teach her the basic concepts of each subject. She uses a range of things from books, games, and movies to real life and hands on experiences. Samantha choices her own units of study, generally science related, which is then extended to include all other core subjects as well as other areas such as Bible Study and Arts.

Unit Studies

Samantha has completed a variety of unit studies (of her choosing) this year. Her main focus has been on Butterflies, Space, and Weather.

*Butterflies: Samantha spent an extended period of time, in the months preceding and on into her Kindergarten year, learning about butterflies, specifically about the life cycle and behaviors of a butterfly, the different physical appearances and anatomy of the different species, their diet, habitat, and needs.

Activities: Butterfly Pavilion by Insect Lore, Butterfly Garden

Books-Some Examples Include: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Are You a Butterfly?

Space: Samantha spent several months covering material on Space. She learned about each of the planets and their physical/chemical properties, as well as the moon phases, Earth’s movement as related to seasons and days/nights, constellations, and the lifecycle of stars.

Activities: The Magic School Bus: The Secrets of Space Kit: Space Mobile, Constellation Box, Space Poster with Stickers, Clay Light and Rotation Models, Smalll Telescope, etc. Large Telescope, Space Exploration Scavenger Hunt, Field Trip to the Planetarium in Lafayette, GA

Books-Some Examples Include: There’s No Place Like Space, God Made Outer Space, Every Planet Has a Place, Magic School Bus Lost In Space, Me and My Place in Space, Galaxies, Galaxies!, The Stars: A New Way to See Them, and The Magic School Bus Sees Stars, George’s Secret Key to the Universe

Weather: Samantha spent a few months learning about the weather. Samantha learned about the different types of weathers-sunny, cloudy, windy, rain, storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, typhoons, etc. and the areas of the world certain weather is most likely to take place and why. She learned how to read weather instruments and predict future weather based on forecasts, instruments, and cloud types. Samantha learned the scientific explanations for how and why each type of weather occurs.

Activities: Weather Journal-Recorded the Date/Time, Forecasted Weather/Temperature, Observations, Hypothesis, Actual Weather/Temperature, Cloud Type, Pressure, Inches of Rainfall-if any, Notes, Reading Weather Instruments-Thermometer/Rain Gauge/Barometer, Wind Vane, Creating Homemade Weather Instruments, Weather Experiments, Weather Computer Games/Apps, Weather Movies, Watching Daily Weather Forecast on weather.com, Weather Songs, Researching Pictures of Weather-i.e. Tornadoes

Books-Some Examples Include: Oh Say, Can You Say, What’s the Weather Today?, Magic School Bus Electric Storm, The Man Who Named the Clouds, Flash, Crash, Rumble, Roll, Magic School Bus Inside a Hurricane, Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening, Listen to the Rain, Hurricanes, Snow, Eye Witness Books

Science:

Samantha has used a variety of scientific tools to measure in standard and non-standard measurement, such as measuring spoons and cups, rulers, tape measure, scales, thermometer. She also uses a variety of tools for viewing such as a telescope, microscope, and magnifying glass to observe and record physical characteristics and changes in objects.

Samantha has conducted numerous experiments using the Scientific Method. She knows the meaning for words such as “hypothesis” and “conclusion.” Experiments include those observing change such as those of the life cycle or watching food change from a liquid to solid, and experiments demonstrating basic scientific properties and laws, such as the basic “cup and water” pressure experiment.

Activities: Samantha’s main focus this year has been on Life Science. Most of her learning is through hands on activities. Samantha has cared for a variety of animals including a cat, ladybugs, and three small chickens. She has observed the life cycles of each, most of them from inside the egg on into the adult stage. Samantha cares daily for her cat by feeding, watering, and playing with it. She observes the cat’s behaviors and has learned about cats as kittens, cats in heat, and the general behaviors of an adult cat. She has witnessed the life cycle of a ladybug using Ladybug Land by Insect Lore. And she has also seen baby chickens hatch and be cared for by their mothers for several weeks. Samantha helped care for three five-week-old baby chicks without a mom. She has observed the basic behaviors around the mother hen and away from the mother hen. She has seen them search for food, drink, dust bathe, nest, and socialize with one another.

As part of Samantha’s Life Science focus, she participates in frequent nature studies, which include activities such as natural walks where she collects sticks, leaves, rocks, dead insects, bones, or any other interesting nature related object for her nature collection. She also asks questions and makes observations about her changing surroundings and sounds she hears to record in her natural journal after her walk. Her nature journal includes these sorts of observations along with a picture (photograph or drawing) of something interesting she may have seen, such as squirrels jumping from tree to tree in the back yard or a snake swimming down the creek.

Reading:

Samantha started the year knowing her letter sounds and starting to read three letter words. Samantha is beginning to read three and four letter words with ease now and is working on mastering words with special rules such as words that contain “Ch,” “Sh,” “Ar,” “Er,” and words with a silent e at the end.

Samantha has read a variety of texts including Fiction stories-Science Fiction, Historical Fiction, Fairy Tales, and Picture Story Books. Examples of Non-Fiction are Poetry and Informational books about animals, Space, Weather, Gymnastics, and States/Countries

Activities: Samantha takes weekly trips to the Library. Each visit she checks out 20+ books, some related to her unit studies and others not. Some she reads individually and others are read to her in a variety of environments such as the Library, home, outside, and in the store or car.

Every morning Samantha has a word or several words written on the marker board for her to read. Every night Samantha writes her own words and sentences on her marker board to describe pictures she has drawn or lists she is making. She also plays on starfall.com on a regular basis to enhance her reading skills.

Math:

Samantha began the school year knowing only how to rote count. She has mastered true counting to 30 and counting to 100 by 1s with minimal assistance. She has started working with basic single digit addition and subtraction sentences, sometimes with the assistance of manipulatives and others by memorization or counting mentally.

Samantha began working with money this year by learning the names of each coin and bill. She has assisted with counting money with a money counter and sorting it while she volunteers at the Women’s Enrichment Center.

Samantha has touched on several other basic math concepts. Samantha has a basic knowledge of all basic 2 dimensional shapes and several 3 dimensional shapes. She has a basic understanding of patterns. And understands the concept of more or less. She has also started working with charts and grids.

Activities: Samantha learns math through playing board games such as Smath and BINGO, computer games such as starfall.com and powermylearning.com.

She also completes daily math work on her marker board, along with her daily spelling/reading.

Samantha enjoys using manipulatives-counting bears and Cuisenaire rods, Geo Boards, and Tangrams.

Everyday activities such as grocery shopping are used as educational opportunities. Samantha compares prices, weighs fruits and vegetables, and uses a calculator to add up the total.

Samantha also learns advanced math concepts through her unit studies. For example, learning the distance between the sun and planets and what a light year is.

Social Studies:

Samantha’s main focus in Social Studies this year has been on Community. The object of Samantha’s “lessons” are for her to see the community functioning as a whole, whether it is working together to help someone without, learning the basic functions of government buildings, people working in the community, or economics in the community.

Activities: Samantha stays involved in the community during her daily life by taking trips to the Post Office, Bank, local Fruit Stands, farms, and playgrounds. Everywhere she goes, she is getting to know the people around her and what they do. Samantha is familiar with most of their names and has learned a little here and there about things like how the Post Office works and how to plant certain vegetables or which ones are currently in season.

Samantha has a working knowledge of Community Helpers and what they do. She knows what a fireman does and has taken a trip to the fire station where she viewed a fire safety video, went inside a fire truck, and saw a fireman in his suit. She also knows what police officers, postmen, and other helpers do for our community.

This year Samantha graduated a group called Parents as Teachers, which was a big part of the community. She got to know several other community families and went out as a group to do activities such as Holiday Parties, Story Time, and trips to the local pool, Fire Department, or local events.  

Samantha also attends church weekly and takes part in volunteer projects. (Refer to Bible Study).

Samantha has also acquired knowledge about different family structures and how they work by being around other family members and friends’ families. Samantha knows what parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins are. Samantha spends several hours a week visiting family members and learning from them. For example, one of her grandmothers is teaching her how to crochet, while her grandfather teachers her about different states.

Community Service: Samantha serves in her community by volunteering at the Women’s Enrichment Center in Dalton, GA. Samantha does a range of things, from helping to sort donations, counting change, or speaking out for the Unborn during WEC engagements.

Geography:

Samantha began learning about the different states and countries and their locations. Samantha is aware that states are located in different places around the US. She is also aware of the existence of other continents and bodies of water, climates, and geographical differences.

Activities: Samantha spends a lot of time studying and identifying places and features on maps and globes. Samantha’s interest is usually sparked by post cards that she receives in the mail periodically from her Grandfather, who travels. She likes to research the locations of the postcard, and the animal, plant, or geographical landmark on the post card using books at the library or Internet sites.

Basic Concepts: Samantha began learning several basic everyday life concepts including the days of the week, months of the year, and dates-including some national holidays. She can tell time by the hour on an analog clock and can tell time by the hour and minute on a digital clock.

Physical Education: Samantha stays active during the day by playing outside-doing flips, running, playing games with friends, playing on the playground, or simply taking a nature walk.

Samantha also participated in dance this year for two semesters. She was in a preschool Ballet/Jazz combination class at Ginger Brown Academy in Ringgold, GA. Her class met once a week for 30 minutes where they danced to funny songs, learned basic dance moves and techniques, as well as prepared for their numerous Winter and Summer performances.

Music: Samantha is surrounded by a variety of different music in her everyday life including Gospel, Classical, Rock, Pop, Country, and traditional music from other countries.

She also has several small instruments to experiment with on a regular basis including the drums, recorder, tambourine, maracas, and the triangle. Samantha also participates in the Children’s Band in Children’s Church, whether it is playing the drums or dancing and singing on stage.

Art: Samantha has used a variety of tools for art including scissors, glue, pens, pencils, markers, crayons, colored pencils, pastels, paints and brushes, regular paper, sketch papers, and craft materials such as glitter, pom poms, popsicle sticks, and stickers.

Samantha regularly does arts and crafts ranging from free time and holiday crafts to helping with a house project such as painting or refinishing a piece of furniture.

Samantha knows the basic concepts of colors such as primary and secondary colors, warm and cool colors, and how to mix colors to make other colors.

Samantha also has a basic knowledge of lines, horizontal and vertical, straight and diagonal, and how they go together to make basic and organic shapes. 

Samantha can draw people, which she generally labels as family members or friends, familiar places, such as home or the beach, and animals, which are usually labeled as pets.

Technology: Samantha works with a wide range of technology. She is proficient in  the basics of using a computer and track pad or mouse, iPod/iPad, and television/remote control. She is also proficient in using more basic household technology such as the oven or a garage door opener.

Home Economics: Samantha is able to do a variety of housework with little or no assistance. She understands the basic concepts of cooking/baking from scratch, simple cleaning, and household errands. Samantha has ample knowledge about the health benefits of eating organic foods and cooking from scratch. She is also familiar with the process of making household cleaners. Samantha goes grocery shopping on a regular basis and knows to look at the labels and ingredients and what to look for.  (Although, she generally needs assistance when reading.) She has been taught the benefit of buying from local farmers and is encouraged to do so. Samantha is also learning ways to be more economical with her money.

Bible Study: Samantha has a basic knowledge of the Bible and some of the stories in it. She knows who her creator is and what he sent his Son to do for us. Samantha engaged in several activities, especially this past Christmas and Easter pertaining to the Birth and Death/Resurrection of Jesus Christ, including a live Nativity Scene, an Advent Chain with the Story of Jesus’s Birth through daily Bible verses, Resurrection Eggs, attending church and participating in Sunday School lessons, and watching Bible based shows and playing Bible based apps such as Veggie Tales.

Special Field Trips: Apple Festival and Apple Picking in Ellijay, GA ...........

Conclusion/Main Goals: Samantha will be continuing on to her 1^st grade year this June and continuing on through next May. Some of the goals for this coming up year are focusing still on more life science, including unit studies on the Human Body and other basic scientific topics such as Electricity, along with any other studies of choice. For Reading, Samantha will continue to build on the skills she already has. By the end of the year, the goals for Samantha is to be able to read a simple children’s story with ease. Samantha will continue to work on basic addition and subtraction throughout the year. The goal is for Samantha to master single digit addition/subtraction and be at least at an intermediate level with two and three digit addition/subtraction by the end of the year. Samantha will continue to learn about the different states, continents, countries, and bodies of water and become familiar with the locations of each one. She will also learn more of the geographical characteristics and domestic plants and animals. Her main focus this year will be on the United States.

Update on Chickens and Summer Learning

I feel like I have written about this before, but I cannot find the post. I recently got a few "School Supplies" online for Sam. For starters, I got a large pack of Expo makers. Sam and Jessie like all the different colors because they can be more creative. It also helps to color code when we do math problems. She is a visual learner. I also got her an inflatable globe. (Mostly for the free shipping, but also because she has shown a big interest in Geography lately.)

The last thing I got her was the big thing. It is a game called Smath. It is like Scrabble, but with Math. I wanted to get her math board game that would grow with her, but I thought she might be a little young for it right now since it is 6+. I went ahead and ordered it, and am pleased to say she LOVES it! It goes all the way from simple addition and subtraction, to multiplication and division, or longer sentences such as 5+(2x1)-6= (Or even longer sentences if you want.) Right now she needs a little assistance because she can't just look at her numbers and see a math problem, but she will get there. Until then, she really likes picking out the numbers as we go over a problem together, and finding a place to put it.

On another note, our chickens are getting HUGE-fast! We recently were able to find out the sex of each one. We have two Hens and one Rooster. Works PERFECT! Now we won't have any territory issues, except maybe with the Dad who still wonders around our property.

I am able to let them out to wonder all day now. They know to come back by bed time. And they know bed time! No kidding. Around 8:30/9:00 o'clock every night, they walk/fly up the back porch stairs and chirp and peck on the door until I come and put them in their pen. One night we came back after 9:00 o'clock and we found them hidden in a little hole behind their pen chirping away.

They are by far the best pets for us. They let us hold and pet them, but they also don't need a whole lot of attention because they have each other. They are easy to take care of since they do their business outside and they feed themselves (grass, bugs, etc.) All we HAVE to do is water them and make sure they are in their pen at night. Plus, it is a good educational experience for Sam and we get free range eggs!

This Summer we plan to keep on keeping on. We have been working daily on our Math. Every morning I have a math problem and word written on Sam's board, and she solves the problem and reads the word. Today was 3+1= _ and Mood (She wanted another word, so I also gave her Cope, Boat, and Tag.) She read all the words. She has been learning about the "Rules," using the songs on starfall.com to remember them, so she just says the rhyme, which I sometimes underline the letters to remind her, and then she says the word.

We also are continuing to go over the date and such. But on top of that, we have been doing fun Summer activities. We just went camping and to the beach. Sam learned so much through her play. We saw a huge turtle, experimented with water, experimented with sand, built castles, fished, etc. We have put our formal unit studies on hold for now because there is so much to be learned in the prettier months without unit studies, between board games and writing math problems and words on the marker board outside in the driveway (Most days we spread a blanket out in the driveway and brings tons of games and writing materials in the driveway and stay outside all day.), reading under the trees in the yard, playing with the chickens, working in the garden, finding worms in the dirt, watching birds build their nests-taking in the abundance of life around us...I'd say we have other things to focus on. And if there is something that truly takes Sam's interest, like Gymnastics has lately, then we will find time for it, just in a less formal way. Luckily we can do gymnastics outside. Sam has checked out several books from the library about Gymnastics. She practices for at least an hour a day. And when we go outside she makes sure to try out her cartwheels, hand stands, and rolls.

And in just two months, we will be signing Sam up with all her new groups and preparing her for a new way of doing things. But enough about that, because I will go on all day.

Expo Markers

Globe

Smath

Playing Smath

Chickens: So tiny when we brought them in.

Hen

Chickens On The Stairs

Rooster

The Rooster likes to play with the Chicks sometimes-and peck at them.

Funny Face

PAT Graduation.

Four and a half years ago...January of 2008. I just found out I was pregnant, and me, being the "Have to Plan Everything Ahead" person I am, I went to tell the school nurse so I could get the ball rolling on my homebound paperwork. How would I have time to deal with all that once I was 6 or 9 months pregnant, planning for a baby, and focusing on school? I wouldn't.

She looked at me and smiled as she pulled out a manila envelope and placed it on her desk. She wrote my name on the list of other pregnant students. "Man, that list is long," I thought. 

My morning sickness had already begun and I was starting to feel it hit hard. The nurse got me a Sprite and some crackers and told me to stop by any time it got bad. 

She told me I would receive my first pass out of class soon because the school was starting a parenting class, the first of two, but the only one that lasted. 

I received my pass, as did Jessie, and not knowing what to expect, we went to the nurses office and sat in a circle with the other young parents in our school. Some faces I still remember. Some had children already, maybe more than one. Others were pregnant, almost due, or had just found out, like me. 

And after awhile, a red, curly headed, spunky young woman walked in. Late. Which I would later learn was normal for her. But it never did bother me. I remember learning her name, Tammie. I remember her talking about her daughter who was just born that past August, and how she kept her up late at night. Despite that, she was there, and she passed around blue folders filled with papers covered in infinite amounts of information about the group and about Child Development. Parents As Teachers they called it. It was a group made for parents to help guide them in being their Child's First and Best Teacher, which in turn they hoped would yield a higher graduation rate. (I also believe the group was one if the contributing factors to my decision to homeschool Samantha. I found such joy in being her facilitator, I just didn't want to stop. Anyway, enough about that...) 

I read a poem about being a young Mom. And looked through some pictures of babies. Oh, I just couldn't wait! Tammie jokes all the time that she remembers me dragging Jessie to the meeting and elbowing him every time he fell asleep (from working late) and telling him to pay attention and read the papers! 

We continued to meet in our group once a month through my entire pregnancy. I remember she had an activity for each girl in the group, appropriate for their child's age. Some of the ones I remember most were the ones she brought for a girl who was a grade below me, but who had a daughter a year or two older than Samantha. Particularly, a "Fishing with Magnets" Activity and a "Jumping Over the Line" Activity. And when Tammie ended up bringing the activity to my house a year later, it got me so excited! I collected a plethora of information on prenatal exercise, nutrition, and development. And once Sam was born, I collected even more information on child development. Each month was something new.

I aspired to be a Parent Educator, my dream job! I even job shadowed Tammie my 12th grade year. Going and seeing those precious young faces every day, enhancing the confidence of parents, so that they can teach their children to the best of their ability. Encouraging them in tough times. Being excited with them during the happy times. Now THAT is making a difference. And although I never did apply for the open position as an educator, due to my lack of the ability to drive, it is still something I think would be worth dedicating your life to doing. 

And before I knew it, I was graduating highschool early with a 1 year old child. One of my main concerns...I did not want to be out of the group. So we began home visits. Those were even better than being in the group, because now she could work with Samantha one on one and do the activities with her. The tennis ball and muffin pan activity being my favorite. The grocery shopping game being Sam's. And oh, how I could go back and list them all I am sure...One thing about Tammie, she was not afraid to get on the floor, eye to eye with the kids, talk and listen, joke and laugh, make silly faces and voices. Samantha just Loves Tammie, most days anyway. ;)

Tammie was there all through Samantha's muscle and development problems, back when we lived with my Mom. She was there when we moved into the apartment and were struggling with money and again, my inability to drive. (What was I thinking?) And now in the house. (All within just a few miles of each other.) I remember the times when I was keeping my little brother, Brennon, and Tammie was gracious enough to take the time out to find an activity they could both do together. Through all the changes we have made, graduating school, getting married, growing up together, moving...being in the Parents as Teachers Group has been our one constant. One of those things that I can remember since the beginning of it all.

After we began having home meetings, I got my first invitation to a group meeting. I was a little confused as to what that was, because when I began the group at school, we did not get flyers for the group meetings, but we decided to go anyway, and it was a BLAST! The first meeting-that I remember attending was to the Rock City Corn Maize. Samantha was young, but she had lots of fun, riding in the hay ride, on the cow train, but not so much the maize itself. I remember being on the hay ride and Samantha hugging Tammie's youngest daughter, who at that point was no longer an infant, but a toddler, a walking, talking, ball of energy. I started thinking of how I could not imagine Samantha ever being that old. What I did not realize was that we were only about a year away from that age, and my did time fly.

I saw a picture of Samantha and Tammie's daughter hugging in the quarterly news letter, and I had no clue that later on they would sort of become little friends. Now Sam can't wait to see Tammie's daughters at the group meetings. I remember going to swim with them one Summer, and how much fun Samantha and I had. And how I could not believe that we went from being in a strange room with this strange, fast talking, woman who always had a smile on her face and a voice impression to make, to swimming in their pool. Samantha, to this day, still remembers Tammie holding a floaty to her head and saying, "Look, I'm a flower." I doubt Sam will ever forget that, because every time she picks up a float now, she exclaims, "Look, Mommy, I'm a flower!"

So much has happened through our adventures in the Parents As Teachers Program. I remember so many group meetings, Christmas parties, Valentines parties, Storytime, Swim parties, trips to the Fire Station, GRADUATIONS...I remember the first graduation I attended. Sam was a baby, well, a little over one year old. And I thought, "Gosh, I would hate to be one of those parents, graduating the group, no longer getting the joy and community closeness it brings into their lives. And on top of that, their kids were turning 5! I just couldn't imagine....

But today I found myself in that very same spot I always thought I would never be in, just a few years ago. Today Sam graduated the PAT (Parents As Teachers Program). She stood in front of the other members of the group while Tammie presented her with a small plastic medal, which she absolutely adores and is very proud of, a certificate, which she has already hung on her bulletin board, and a drawstring bag full of goodies: a book, some pencils, crayons, glue, paper. She is just so proud of herself, as are Jessie and I. We got her a small graduation card just to show her we cared, and she has posted that right next to her certificate on the board. Five and a half years, including my pregnancy, in an amazing group, and now we have to let go. How I will Miss the learning experiences and the chances to get out in the community and meet other Moms, but hopefully this will not be the last we see of Mrs. Tammie. In fact, I know it won't be, so that makes my day a little brighter.

Tammie has been a wonderful Educator for us, as I am sure she has for others. I remember the support we received from her when Sam was having muscle problems. And how I emailed her during the first Summer I had off school with Sam, and she was super clingy. When she emailed me back, she had lots of good advice based on her experience with her youngest child. As a new Mom, it was nice to not feel alone. All the times she gave me a ride to make sure that I made it to the meetings so that we didn't miss out. And let me say, am I thankful for that! It as nice to get out of the house now and again when I didn't really have the opportunity to do it on my own. All the talks we have had about the stuff we have gone through personally, and the stages our kids have been through. And despite the ever so slight age gap and the "Parent/Educator Relationship" that must be maintained, Tammie has been a good friend to me. I am proud to say that she helped me along the way these last 5 years. And I definitely recommend the group to everyone I come across, especially young/new Moms.

And this may all sound so over dramatic, but the group really has changed my life. It is something I have known since I was just 5 weeks pregnant with Samantha. It has been my support system. My link to this community. And most of all, for those of you who have had a child graduate prek, it is like that for me. Since Samantha will be homeschooled, this is like her right of passage into the OFFICIAL days of her education as a "Kindergartener," if you will. And, although I am oh so ready to join all the fun support groups and extra curricular activities that go along with all of that, this will really be something I will Miss.

Our First PAT Meeting-Gosh, how we have all three grown!

Our Picture On The United Way Billboard-Fun Day!

One of my Favorite PAT Group Connections

One of Sam's Younger Days Group Meetings

I believe she had just turned 2.

  

One of Sam's Recent Meetings-4 Years Old

This was the First PAT Graduation we attended. The one where I couldn't imagine Sam Graduating...

One year later at the PAT Graduation...

Another year later...at a super fun PAT "Practice Graduation" We were the only ones to show up, because it was raining, so Sam got to pretend like she was graduating. There was plenty of food and we got to play games with Tammie's girls and Brennon. Loads of fun.

And Today....

Proud Mama

Proud Daddy

Happy Hour at Sonic to Celebrate

Reading Her Card

Certificate

And This-Is Her. My Girl, who is basically a big kid now. It's Bittersweet, but I look forward to what is next.

Ladybug and Chicken Studies

Samantha recently took interest in the dead Ladybugs around the house, as well as the recently hatched chicken eggs, so we have been studying those alongside our weather activities. 

A few weeks ago, I ordered ladybugs to go in Samantha's Ladybug Land we got her for Christmas. She was so excited when they came in. It definitely has been an interesting learning experience, seeing the life cycle, because there is a lot I didn't know! But they are kind of boring to be honest, not quite as fun as the butterflies we did when Sam was 3. They had all sorts if interesting behaviors, from eating to the way they made their cocoon. But the ladybugs, not much to say about them. They start out as eggs. Turn into larvae. Crawl around and eat. Sit still for days. Shell hardens. They get darker as time goes, from yellow to red.

We have also been following our chickens since conception. No joke! We even got to see the Rooster fertilizing the eggs! Then the chicken laid her eggs, sat on them, and sat on them, and sat on them for what seemed like forever. After the 21 days, which is how long they are supposed to take to hatch, I got ready to throw the eggs out. Good thing I didn't, because on day 24ish, wish I would have kept better track...they began hatching! There was 8 eggs. 7 fertilized. 5 hatched. 1 died after the first day. (We had a huge storm the night they hatched.) Another one died a few days ago, not sure why. We found it laying in the front yard, physically unharmed, but dead. And there are still 3 living. All hens. :) 

Sam has seen and learned so much about their behavior, from mating, to the Rooster guarding the female, to seeing the chickens hatch, seeing a chicken embryo that wasn't fully formed, dealing with the death of some of the baby chicks, watching them follow their instincts, such as how to get food and water, to follow their Mama, and what to rely on her for, such as protection and warmth.

Unfortunately, as I was typing this post, over a period of a few days, my Husband called and told me that our Mother Hen had died. They were all sitting in the driveway and my Husband thought they had all moved, but they hadn't. He backed over the Mother Hen. :/ He was pretty upset, as was I. I cried. I Loved that Hen. And that Rooster Loved that Hen. You could tell by his behavior before and after her death. Jessie burried the hen. And we left the chicks alone, thinking the Rooster would care for them, or maybe he would take them to one of the many other Hens on the other side of the property and they could join in with her chicks. I went inside to wake Sam up from her nap and tell her. She took it alright. When we went back outside to check on them though, they were wondering around chirping loudly, and the Rooster was gone. So we knew we had to take them in. It took forever to catch them. They were terrified. But we finally got all 3 of them in a box and took them inside. We fed and watered them and put them in the bathroom over night. It is like having a newborn baby, waking us up every few hours. I finally figured out what makes them chirp, and I can usually get them what they need pretty quickly. Food. Water. Clean newspaper. Lights Out, or More Blankets. Sometimes they just want attention. Sam has been a huge help! Getting them food and water, playing with them, and keeping the cat away from the bathroom door. She has already learned so much about caring for them. We feed them only what they ate as free range chickens, so she gets to see them eating bugs, worms, grass, weeds, etc. And she sees what their behavior is like without a Mama. Huddling together at night for warmth. Playing in their pen we made them. Etc. I am not sure what the next step is. I know they will get big in the next few weeks. We will move them down to the basement then, and eventually outside. I am not sure if we will make them a coop or let them free with the others. I would like for them to nest on our property again and also be able to collect their eggs. But I want them to be free to roam as they please. So we may just put out some hay for them and set up a nesting area in hopes they will meet here. I think the reason the other chickens stay on our property is because we scrape out scraps beside the porch. So maybe they will too.

Here are some pics. They are a little out of order and there aren't many. (I have a ton.) But Blogger does not want to cooperate right now.

Sitting On Her Eggs

Newly Hatched Baby Chick

Following Mama 

Eating With Mama

We Love These Baby Chicks

The Night We Brought Them Inside

Dust Bathing During Outside Time

This is what they do if you play classical music or whistle. 

They think Sam and I are their Momma, so they Love to cuddle. 

Geography Thanks To Grandpa

Usually, I tell my family that I would like them to take part in Samantha's education any way they can. Whether that means teaching her to crochet, cook a certain meal, or in my Dad's case, sending Samantha post cards and small souvenirs from different states.

Samantha really looks forward to getting things from him in the mail. Today she received a postcard from Texas, which she can now point out on the map without assistance since my Dad is always talking about Texas. Anywho....He always tries to pick out postcards with meaning, something personal or educational. The last one was the Legend of the Dogwood, because she Loves Dogwoods, just in time for Easter because it was about Jesus' crucification. This one was Texas, my Dad's home state, and the state flower. Which served as a wonderful History lesson for Samantha! He likes to write a question on the back for her to look up. This one said..."Why is the Blue Bonnet the state flower for Texas? Can you tell me more about the flower?" And next time they talk she will be able to tell him about it. Great way to spark state interests when we start diving more into Geography in a few years. Right now we are just touching on the basics, getting familiar with maps. (She isn't even "supposed to be in prek" until Fall. So I am not worried about it.)

She has been posting them on her bulletin board above her bed. Here are some pics to a wonderful start:

McKay's Used Books

We took a trip to our local used books store last Monday. Only someone like me would be as excited about that as I was.

We traded in several of her old Imagination Library books that she has outgrown. We didn't get much for them,but enough to make Sam happy.

We took her to the reference section, her favorite area. They had several books for 50-75 cents. She got books about animals, Dinosaurs, rocks (which was on her list of wants), animal behaviors, deadly animals, gymnastics, and a few others. And we only spent half her credit!

Okay, okay. I felt bad that she didn't even look in the Children's section for story books....but with her, she only reads her favorite story books multiple times. The really rest depends on her mood what story and reading level she wants. So we have her favorite books, "Diary of a Worm," Ladybug Girl, Fancy Nancy. And the rest she can pick up at the library.

I like that she likes the reference books because they spark interest. AND we are considering turning the "baby room" into a library since it has been set up like that for a year and never actually used. It would be a nice area with book shelves, a chair a curio cabinet for her nature collection. And a small table for using a microscope or drawing, etc. Just a thought right now.

Anyhow, I definitely recommend used book stores. We take DD all the time and I Love to see her face light up when she gets "new to her" but affordable books. 

Another Day In The Mays Family Homeschool

I know I keep posting, but this pretty weather has me all excited! New explorations all the time! Sam is also getting older and that means big changes in her learning!

Today has been great. We started it out with a little bit of weather journaling-as usual. And as we completed her journal, I realized that she was reading two digit numbers with ease all of a sudden! She was telling digital time with a glance! And when we switched the calendar to April, Samantha was able to read the month and the rest of the date without any help! That was a first too! Not only that, but she can suddenly count all the way to 100! This has been a day of firsts! The best part about it was, Hubby came home on lunch, so he was there when she did it for the first time! He has been coming home on lunch every day now. Samantha likes that new part of our daily schedule because she gets to cook lunch with him. :)

After he left, we played in the back yard for a long time. We played catch with one of her new game sets she got for Easter. Then we sat down for awhile while she picked wild flowers. She discovered several new types, and we talked about the different parts of the flowers. She also noticed the differences in "this" flower as opposed to "that" flower. While we were outside, we saw a squirrel jumping from tree to tree. Super neat! We observed for awhile. Then Sam went back to picking flowers. When we brought them inside, she decided she wanted to put them in some water. We were going to use cups, but Samantha wanted to use Rubbermaids. She filled them all up with water by herself and separated them into the containers she wanted. Then she lined them up on the porch railing, "So they can get some sunlight, and it will make them grow." She thought it would be a neat surprise for Daddy to see sitting outside when he gets home.

We have played computer games, read, and had quiet time. Now we are about to start dinner-a little early since we have to make a library pit stop and go to dance. I have to say...This pretty weather makes for better days. That's for sure. And I am never happier than I am when we are learning together.

Side Note: Sam will start her new homeschool dance class this September! Woo Hoo!