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| The Pellet Stove Trevor installed around Thanksgiving. |
The first 'toy' I have invested in is actually a scrap-booking item, but it is working great for our classwork, the copies of the kids' assessments/important paperwork, my dry erase markers, flashcards and just about any of the other essentials that I need to teach. Plus, it's on wheels and has a pull-out handle! This is extremely convenient for traveling, so we don't miss any lessons while we are away, and we can take it with us to the library or outside (if it ever warms back up!) so it will be a permanent addition to my classroom supplies. Each of the kids have their own over-sized folder to keep all their worksheets and papers organized without having a bin organizer floating around the downstairs. I haven't even finished filling it yet! Guess that means I can buy more school supplies...lol
The second 'toy' is really more of an adjustment. Running up two very large flights of stairs several times each day to get an art/craft item or math manipulatives or any of my other larger classroom/teaching supplies was getting old pretty quickly. Last year, I had everything organized in the drawers in the dining room, and it worked really well, but we redistributed the drawers with the move of the classroom for some of our college and hobby needs. Instead, Trevor had the idea of creating a craft closet from the spare closet in the living room where I stored some of the rarely used kids' toys and summer items. So, after a day spent clearing it out, re-organizing and distributing, I finally have a 'teacher's closet'! Hard to see, but there are hours of educational enjoyment hiding in there. Plus, the two while rolling carts are one wheels, so I can move them in and out of our classroom whenever necessary for bigger projects.
The last 'toy' was really more for the kids. We do a lot of our classwork and lessons at the table, but sometimes they like to be able to study independently. We didn't want to move their desks from the attic classroom, partially because taking them apart would not be fun (and they take up a lot of space), and partially because we still use it whenever possible, so the alternative was to buy a few middle school desks (along with some other pretty cool school supplies that the school decided to sell).Now on to the more interesting part of homeschooling...the students!
In November the kids both took DORA and ADAM assessments. These are standardized tests in Reading and Math with a lot of sub-tests built in; things like comprehension, vocabulary, spelling, retention, prediction, algebra, geometry, numbers - the list goes on - are all tested individually to better illustrate where a student needs more guidance, plus they are scored an average for their grade. Standardized tests are not something Asher and Savannah have ever used before, so this was a learning experience for all of us. It was also completely online, which meant there was a bit of a learning curve to figure out the program and how to answer the questions. I loaded the web page, told them how to sign-in and let them take over, so they took both assessments without any guidance or explanation of how to use the program because I didn't want to risk affecting their score on the assessment by 'helping' them too much. In light of that, they actually both did excellent, and I imagine that the next time they do the assessment they will be better prepared.
As expected, Asher and Savannah both scored around the third grade level in Math (some of their scores were higher (4th grade) some a little lower (Mid-Upper 2nd) depending on the area and what we'd already covered/reviewed this year. Neither one had any true 'red-flags' especially considering this was their first experience with a test of this kind and magnitude (the Math test alone can take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours).
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| After all the painting was done, they decided to experiment with mixing colors. The plate was actually beautiful when they were done, but because it had a shiny surface, the paint came right off when it was dry. Guess it's paper next time we try it! |
The Reading assessment told us what we expected as well. Asher is scoring a bit lower than we would like in a few areas, at about the mid second grade level. He did score as high as 4th/5th grade on vocabulary (understanding and defining the meaning of words), but most of his other scores were in the Second Grade range. We are not discouraged. With everything he's dealt with Speech and Language wise, this is actually a pretty good score, especially considering this was again, the first time he has taken this kind of test, and which lasted around an hour and a half. Most children with SLD and/or SSD, struggle with reading, and we have been actively working with him and his SLP. In only a few weeks he has already improved his scores in several areas by 33%-66% and in the secondary assessment he took on the fifth he scored within the third grade range in several areas.
Savannah is our reading queen. Her scores were off the chart for a child her age. Her lowest score in the reading subtests was in Spelling where she scored at a mid third grade range. Her highest score was in Vocabulary, where she hit a whopping low 8th grade range. Her average scores were around 5th/6th grade level. Considering she struggled with the computer program quite a bit during this assessment, she really did fantastic!The kids are both doing Smart Tutor now as well. For the last few years we used Time4Learning, but it is really grade based, not ability based, so Savannah was being given assignments that were just way to easy for her by the end of last year, and Asher was struggling because he needed more phonetic and phonemic awareness work. So, without giving the program too much free publicity, Smart Tutor is a great system. The kids can take a short assessment whenever I deem it necessary, and it's a 'smart' program, meaning it learns with them. Once they master a skill, the assignments become more difficult, building on what the kids have shown they know. It has prevented a lot of Savannah's frustration that the work is just too easy, and alleviated Asher's frustration that it was just that little bit too hard. It is online and follows the federal and state standards for education, so we know they are learning what all other 3rd graders are learning.
The kids have also been participating in classes at the Y-Center this year (so many we are there at least three days a week!). Below are a few shots from our school day yesterday during our Writing, Social Studies, and Science lesson. We were painting posters about health in Science...
I love seeing their smiling faces while they are learning! We might not always study their favorite subjects, but we do our best to make each subject fun for everyone! Rosalynne and Gabrielle typically join a few of our lessons, sitting at the table building with blocks, coloring, or playing with play doh. They like to do 'school' like their big brother and sister. Rosalynne and Gabrielle decided they HAD to paint with us. Thank you Grandma Mary for the toddler/preschooler paint kit! It was a big hit with both of the girls! We had a ton of fun, and it even came with a smock to cover Gabrielle! I may have to get a couple more for our messy activities.
Gabrielle and Rosalynne dove into the fingerpaints with gusto. Neither of them wanted to stop, though I only gave them a little paint. I will try to post more of their antics in the other blog, but for now, here are a few of those two cuties as well. |
| Asher and Savannah were not horribly impressed that I had them finger-paint their posters, they like paint brushes, especially for writing in paint. |
