Year 1, Term 2 EXAM WEEK

This past week was the end of our 2nd term and the first exam week that we've done. At first I was rather intimidated by the idea of an exam time and frankly a bit scared that it would reveal that my kids have in fact learned nothing, but after this 2nd term I've gotten past those fears and forged ahead to try our hands at this thing.

I got ideas for questions from the exam questions listed at Ambleside and from Jacci's post about exams.

I can't say that I was super creative but I tried to cover all the subjects and get a good feel for what has been retained and understood, and what will need a bit more work.

The subjects of art study and composer/music study I will be slowing up a bit and focusing on just 1 of each this 3rd term. Alissa was able to recall some but Tom was pretty baffled.

It was interesting to see how the gender differences came out with both Tom and Ali. Ali was very descriptive with the stories but struggled on the math end and Tom wizzed through the math but struggled with recalling more than the basics from our readings. I'm not really sure how I'll address this on a daily level other than to keep gently pushing Tom for more descriptive narrations. It may also help for me to become consistent with recording their narrations on the computer or giving them other alternatives to oral narrations i.e. acting out, drawing etc.

All in all I am satisfied with how our first exam week has gone. We didn't get all the questions finished so will be tying them up this week. One thing that I did struggle with was that our schedule fell apart and at the end of the week I was exhausted, the house was a disaster and I had accomplished absolutely nothing in the way of extra cleaning and organizing projects. I think it would work much better to maintain the same daily school schedule but just insert the exam questions instead of the usual school work. I guess I've got 12 weeks to figure that one out!

I made up 2 sets of questions, one for each child, and kept them in Microsoft Word and then typed their answers in the proper places. I will be printing them out and filing them away as soon as we get them all finished. I think we only have a couple left.

Without further ado, here are the questions:

Bible Lessons

1. Tell me about Moses & the Ten Commandments

2. Tell me about Joseph & His brothers


Writing

1. There is Power in the Blood



Nature History

1. Describe 2 birds & what you have noticed about them.

2. Describe the nicest walk you have had this term? What did you find?



Geography

1. Draw the shape of Lake Superior or Lake Michigan.
2. Tell something about Britain. Where is it?



Number

1. Answer questions on pages 38, 39 & 40.
2. Do math question sheet.

(these were tests from Ray's Arithmetic parents guide)



Picture Talk

1. Describe the picture you liked the most from this term.



Tales

1. Tell about an Aesop tale that you liked.



History

1. Tell the story of King Arthur

2. Tell me about the Giant’s Dance



Reading

1. Read a passage for dad.



Music

1. What piece did you like best from this term’s music you have heard? Why?

How we do Artist and Picture Study

For Year 1 we have been using Harmony Fine Arts grade 1 curriculum. It has worked very well for us and been an inexpensive and fun addition to our school.
The Harmony Fine Arts curriculum is laid out to give you 1 composer and 1 artist to study during a 4 week time period. Also listed are which pictures to view each week and where to find them on the internet. This is a huge time saver and makes it very easy to implement into our lives.


ARTIST STUDY

On Friday we gather around the computer and read a short biography about the focus artist, then I load the picture to study on the computer and enlarge it so we see the whole thing (we do have a larger screen and this does help). Alissa and Thomas and I spend a few minutes studying the picture and then I turn the screen off and they narrate to me what the remember and what their impressions were, I generally join in on this since it's fun to hear the different impressions that each of us get from one picture.

Next I turn the screen back on and we talk about the different layers of the painting (foreground, background etc.) we also discuss how it was painted and maybe what the artist was thinking when he painted it.

Each of the kids have enjoyed this and their impressions are always very unique and interesting.

I also set the picture as the computer wallpaper so that we can enjoy it for the rest of the week!



COMPOSER STUDY

For the composer study at the beginning of the month we read the biography of the target composer and then put in the cd to listen to his music. I try to pick out 1 or 2 songs to focus on and discuss so that they are familiar with specific pieces. Also I try to find a few piano pieces of that particular composer to play for the kids throughout the month.



OTHER IDEAS

I also check our library for any kids picture books that can accompany either the artist or composer we are studying. There are usually quite a few books of the most famous composers i.e. Mozart, Beethoven, Bach.



When we were studying about Mozart I found a college theatrical production of the Magic Flute on youtube and amazingly the children watched most of it and enjoyed it immensly. I've also found video performances of Vivaldi pieces to familiarize Alissa and Thomas with the instruments they were hearing.


When I remember I try and find a clipart picture of the composer and artist to paste into our Book of Centuries. I haven't accomplished this every month but will be trying to get back to doing that.

Reviewing Year 1

With the 1^st Term and most of the 2^nd Term of 1^st grade under our belts, I’ve been looking back and reevaluating what has worked and what hasn’t; what I like and what I don’t.

What I Like:

• Ambleside Online curriculum has been a huge blessing and has eased my fears and uncertainties during this first year. With few exceptions every book and idea has been wonderful and we have truly enjoyed ourselves. That being said I did make the decision to not read through “Trial and Triumph”. While I found it fascinating the kids were a bit bored and I feel the need to pre-read this one in its entirety before reading to the kids.


• Ray’s Arithmetic is awesome. Easy, concise and cheapJ I felt the need to go with a more hands-on oral math program partly from Charlotte’s direction but mostly from seeing where my son Thomas needed help. Thomas has a very sharp and quick memory and after going through much of the CLP Math K I didn’t feel that he had a real grasp on what he was doing so by making him do the majority of his work orally I am in no doubt as to what he does know and what he needs work on. I have also added Math-It to our daily arithmetic lessons and have seen great results from it as well. I used Math-it as a child and loved it and so far my kids have had the same response. My mom has been giving away most all of her homeschooling books since she has graduated the last child so I was blessed to receive her Math-it program!


• Reading Reflex, I really can’t say enough about this book and program. I love it, the kids love it and their progress has been very rapid. I can’t wait to test them at the end of the year and see what grade level they are reading at! I have also started Emily on it and she is able to read a few of the first Bob Books.


• Language Lessons for Little Ones from Queen Homeschool has been a blessing to us as well. I was initially skeptical of this series because after all wasn’t it just “bookwork” and possible “twaddle”? It most definitely is not! I am using for Emily since I felt she needed school just for her and have found it to be a perfect fit. Emily is 5.5 but in preschool because of a summer birthday even though academically she could be in Kindergarten I do not feel a need to rush things with her. Her favorite lessons in the book so far are the picture studies, but we did enjoy the poem from last lesson and the ensuing discussion. At first I was going to “save” this book and not let her write in it so that I could use it for Wesley next year as well, but he is such a different learning style and personality than her that I don’t know if he would care for it anyway.


• Harmony Fine Arts-at first I was a bit disappointed that I had paid $20 for a few printed off sheets of paper for this “program” but the actual doing of it has been anything but disappointing. The layout is easy and precise and you know exactly what to do when, which in my world is a HUGE deal. We have not done this as consistently as I had planned and even though I bought the material needed for Option 2 of the 1^st grade program we have mostly just done Option 1. But the kids have learned so much! And I will be able to use this for each child to come. Their favorite is the composer study and listening to the music. So far Beethoven has won hands down as the best composer and Alissa is very upset to be moving on to a new composer and in retaliation for the offense puts on the Beethoven cd programs it to Fur Elise and refuses to admit there is another song that can compete, lol. They are able to recognize about 1 or 2 songs from each composer study and when possible I dig out some of my old music and play them a few pieces from that particular composer. For the art study we view the pictures online and then after narrating about them I set that picture for the wallpaper background on our computer so that everyone can enjoy it a bit longer.

What I don't Like

• Structured preschool programs! I’ve tried a few and after a few weeks throw it out because it simply is not pleasurable. Maybe it’s my type A personality or maybe it’s the amount of littles to teach but I have not found anything that fits our family well. And then when I’m feeling guilty about not doing anything “structured” I open up volume 1 of Home Education and all my fears and distresses are relieved! I know from the depths of my being that what Charlotte speaks is true and it works. I have given up the fight and I am going to “let my children alone to just be children”.

Now I would say that is a pretty good start on Year 1 when the Likes outweigh the Dislikes.