Literature

Our local co-op has placed her in the upper elementary level which does a lot of work in preparation for moving to the much more independent intermediate (middle school) grade levels. I know she was frustrated last year by the behavior of some of the younger kids; I hope that by being on the young end of the upper elementary age group will help alleviate that this school year.

By utilizing this reading level assessment she currently misses one or two words in grade levels 7 through 11. I think that shows the room for error in that sort of assessment…but by observing my kid she eagerly reads middle grade fiction as well as enjoys reading our local newspaper when it arrives in the mail. I have no concerns for her reading or comprehension abilities.

Writing

She will also be participating in the upper elementary level writing class in our local co-op. I do not know how their structure differs from lower elementary.

Lily utilizes StoryBird.com often to write fiction, share it with friends, and read her friends’ published pieces as well. It’s been a great addition to her creative writing at home.

Math

We plan to continue using Khan Academy online for our math curriculum. She is starting the school year with 39% of 4th grade complete. We’ve been working on memorizing skip counting with different numbers…4 sung to “Dashing Through the Snow,” 7 sung to “Happy Birthday.” She can do 1, 2, 3, 5, and 10 already. 9 she uses the finger trick.

Science

We are trialing a free membership to Mystery Science and plan to explore that throughout the school year, sometimes to compliment her Junior Naturalist projects, or just to dive into any subject she desires. I like keeping science inquiry-based.

Art

She crafts plentifully and participates in the hands-on art class at our local co-op.

History

We began reading Joy Hakim’s “History of US” for United States history and will continue with that this school year.

Music

She continues to take violin lessons and is toward the end of Suzuki book 2. She also just upgraded to a 1/2 size violin! She plucks around independently on guitar, ukulele, and piano sometimes as well.

The homeschool Chicago Children’s Choir is continuing this year and she will be rejoining. It was such an excellent addition to all of our lives last year and I am very excited for it to continue, as is she!

Physical Education

Her focus and technical ability with rock climbing has really increased lately. She also has continued with ballet.

Miscellaneous

We’ve found a homeschool Girl Scout troop and she is thrilled! There is a lot of overlap of girls that are also in choir and co-op so her little community of friends is feeling pretty solid.

Literature

Lily continues to read for pleasure continuously, largely while we drive (which is often). The co-op has been continuing with Jr. Great Books and using the 3rd grade level, which is still good practice for her to analyze literature in a more formal setting with peers and a teacher.

Writing

She has weekly writing homework from her co-op that includes creative writing (anything goes–fiction, poetry, etc.), as well as formal writing by creating an outline and then a paragraph from that outline.

Math

We’ve been using Khan Academy daily. She has been working the 3rd grade level quickly and is nearly done with it.

Science

We’ve been continuing to dabble in Real Science Odyssey’s Chemistry. She also continues with lots of natural science in her life–nature class with our homeschool group, as well as participating in the local nature center’s Jr. Naturalist program.

Art

Co-op includes a hands-on art class (which is a lot of craft-type projects), and she likes drawing and crafting miniature things for her toys at home.

History

We’ve been reading some historical fiction together and she occasionally still listens to her Story of the World audio books.

Music

She continues to play violin and is in the second Suzuki book. She also LOVES the homeschool Chicago Children’s Choir that she joined this year! It’s a phenomenal group lead by an amazing instructor. I feel so lucky to have found it!

Physical Education

Continuing with musical and physical–ballet! She also takes gymnastics classes through the park district. On top of that she loves to go wall climbing at the indoor gym with the whole family.

Miscellaneous

Another year of Girl Scouts continues with the local grade school troop! Plus the random extra activity thrown in with the local homeschool group–ice skating, mini golfing, field trips, etc.

As a homeschooling mom I’m always looking for more ways to make learning fun. That was such a cheesy sentence. Let me try again. As a homeschooling mom I’m always looking for more ways to consider the fun stuff in life as educationally valuable. Now that’s better! Kids are learning all the time. Really!

I used to think that was only true when Lily was little and she so obviously absorbed everything in the world around her simply through playing. But now as an 8 year old (OMG EIGHT) I still see how amazing play is for her every day. Sure we do some academic stuff during our homeschooling weeks, but there is so much more to learning in life than curriculum. Playing that board game? Writing in that diary? Playing with those LEGOS? All count toward “schooling?” Heck yes!

I love laying down a strong STEM base for her. We all know how important it is to encourage science and math in our girls, and LEGO sets like this one certainly help. And now I’m so exciting to learn that places like Snapology are popping up all over to offer hands-on learning experiences for kids!

I am also so lucky to be able to give away a LEGO® brick set of the Snapology mascot Sebastian Gator!

Note: this set is recommended for ages 6+. This giveaway is a partnership with Nakturnal.

Want to win a LEGO gator?

To enter this giveaway simply comment on this blog post!

Want an extra entry? Share on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook (and come back here and comment with a link of proof) to gain additional entries!

I will choose a winner at random on April 10th!