Skelly and Dem bones

This is a picture of the skeleton that Tater made. As we learned about each part of the skeletal system she glued the parts together. Looks pretty good. 

Skelly is finally complete!!!!

Lady Bug, Jr Bug, and Tater are singing Dem Bones...Cause that's the way God made us!

Unfortunately, the rubber bones experiment did not work the way we wanted it to. So we could not post any pictures. But such is the way of life!

Preparing for week 4

I can't believe it, we are getting ready to start week 4. A whole month of school. Wow time goes by quickly.  So, for this week, we are changing things up a bit. We are going to have a field trip to the lake, a spelling test, and some changes in math and in language arts.

We are still working on Bible memorization. Tater is doing Romans 12:1-5 and Jr Bug is working on 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. Lady Bug will join him on learning these verses.

One of the reasons why I love homeschooling is because we can switch up lessons at the last minute. We were going to study the brain in science, but because of the heat wave and the end of summer drawing nearer we are going to do a study of lakes and on Friday we will be going to the lake and playing in the water.

In math, we are continuing our learning of addition, this week we are going to work with math manipulatives. So addition should be a bit more fun. Starting easy and slow.

Language arts is still focusing on nouns, but we are doing worksheets and sentences about nouns. Hoping that Tater really has a grasp on this "idea" of what nouns are. We will see.

In social studies, we are going to look at what needs and wants are. What is a need? What is a want? How do we get our needs and wants? And what exactly are goods and services? We are also going to talk about different jobs and what do those jobs mean.

Spelling Test this week. This is our first ever spelling test. I'm excited and nervous for her. I have worked really hard to plan her test and for her to practice her spelling words. We may or may not continue spelling test after this week.

Jr Bug and Lady Bug are going to start working together on schooling. I am going to be helping Lady Bug get ready for Kindergarten and Jr Bug is going to benefit from this. So I hope we will have fun with this.

Stay tuned for more adventures from The Vine Academy

Review of Week 3

I can't believe that we are closing up week 3 tomorrow. It been fun and busy and exciting all at once. We have a new student at The Vine Academy...Lady Bug, check the post out on her.

So this week we have studied addition, the skeletal system, nouns, and cultures, and communities. We have been very busy. In math we have reviewed our math skills of addition. Tater has done very well. She is amazing me by learning about nouns.She is constantly singing the nouns song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcXy6_Mqe54

In social studies we have talked about what culture is. We have also talked about families and communities. We are taking a field trip tomorrow to 2 different neighborhoods to discuss them.

We did not get into The Ordinary Parents Guide to Reading. We instead read spelling words and practiced for next weeks spelling test.  We will get back to this text, but that's the beauty of homeschooling. There is no set schedule on when to return.

Jr Bug has a new school buddy, Lady Bug. They are going to be learning together, both getting ready for Kindergarten. I'll be posting more about them as the weeks go on.

This week has been good but busy. I've enjoyed the learning that is taking place here at The Vine Academy. Can't wait for next week..

A friend indeed

As a homeschooling family we are blessed to meet some wonderful homeschooling families.  One of the great families that we have  met is the Lybarger family.  Tori and Bailee Lybarger to be exact.  Our Relationship has been one full of joy and sweetness.  They have been a great family to rejoice and to cry with.  I have truly grown to love them.  The reason why I mention them is simple.  Bailee is a sweet young lady who would babysit Tater and Jr Bug while her mother and I would sit and talk for hours on end about everything.  Bailee left a wonderful impression on my kids.  She is a perfect role model for what I want my kids to be like.  They recently moved to IA and needless to say the day the Lybarger family left was hard on everyone.  But my kids have non stopped talked about the Lybarger's. We received a letter and some gifts from them (Bailee) today.  My kids were ecstatic. They were so happy And I must admit I was too.  So in talking with Bailee, she learned that one person can make a difference.  One person can restore life into a person.  And for us, one family can remind us what Christ meant when He said "what you have done for the least of these, you have done for me."  So Lybarger's this post is dedicated to you and your precious love. 

Preparing for week 3

This week starts week 3. Tater has done well up until this point.  Her math skills are truly being tested but she has the heart of a champion. So this week we will focus on Bible devotions the story of Noah and the Ark. We are working on preparing for our first spelling test in 2 weeks. So to prepare for this we are working on vowel sounds.  Short ones right now.  In social studies we are going to be  learning about neighborhoods.  This is our first time that I've taught from a text book, so this will be interesting. Also in science we are going to have our first science experience.  We are learning about bones in the body.  Last week we learned about the body and what we use each part of our body for.  This week we are learning about the skeletal system.  We are going to take a chicken bone and make it rubbery.  And how we need our skeletal system to keep us strong.  We are going back into the Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teach Your Child to Read. Tater has learned to read from this book so we are going to continue our reading skills. 
Jr Bug is going to keep learning his Bible stories and coloring. We are also going to color some shapes this week. 
As always, both kids are continuing their work on Bible verses. See you at the end of the week. 

School name

I had this made for our school area. Its made from limestone. I had it shaped in a heart and had our school name placed on it. It hangs up in our school area above our pictures. Its a reminder of our school verses and our school name.

Bible verses

So Tater and Jr Bug are continuing their memorization of Bible verses from last year. This week Tater has had to memorize Romans 12:1-5. Jr Bug is learning 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. Now because I refuse to make the kids do something that I wouldn't do, I've committed myself to learning the same verses that Tater is learning.  Wow what a challenge but we will preserve.  And at the end of learning it we can be proud that we are committing God's words in our hearts. 

First day of school

These are pictures from the first day of school. This year Tater and Jr Bug are both in school. Tater is working on a first grade level. Jr Bug is in Tot School. We are working hard on our Bible lessons (Creation story) and on Social Studies in the above pictures. 

The above pictures is The Vine Academy new tradition. Lunch and dessert at Dairy Queen. Tater and Jr Bug had so much fun. They wanted the first day to last forever. 

Pictures from school

These are pictures from Taters' All About Me Folder. We are learning All About Her this week in Social Studies. What she likes, what her favorites are, and an interview with her. Tater has learned that her heart belongs to God. She is growing by leaps and bounds. 

Week 2 of school

So we have ended week 2 in school. This week we focused on patterns in math and in writing we are working on sentences. Tater is doing very well with her ideas of patterns. She really worked hard on making patterns out of butterflies. I will post pictures tomorrow for what she did.
We are working hard on spelling words this week. She is working on beginning and ending sounds. Next week we are going to start on vowels and then the week after we will go with actual spelling words.
Social Studies has been a lot of fun this week. I made an All About Me book for Tater. She has had a lot of fun working on her book. In her book one of the questions was Who does your heart belong to. Her answer was God. I am so thankful that she is learning about Christ and that sh is learning to put Christ first. I am in awe of all that she is teaching me. Its supposed to be me as the teacher, but yet she is teaching me. So thankful that GOD directed me down this path. I cant wait to see whats in store.
On another note, I received a ton of curriculum this week from Tusculum College. I need to find space for all of it. But thankful nonetheless that I received it.