MFW - C for cow

Sharing what we do daily using MFW (My Father's World) in this blog post. Each unit is divided into 6 days.

Day 1:

Calendar time
We start with the daily calendar from which Zech identifies the date for today, yesterday and tomorrow. He writes the date for that day on the calendar chart. Then he draws a shape in a certain colour around the dates for today, yesterday and tomorrow. He learns the days of the week and months of the year from here.

Big calendar chart (my own resource) and A4 calendar size from MFW

100 chart
For every school day, Zech adds a straw into a glass jar before counting the total number of straws. I bundle every 10 straws that represents 1 ten. Zech writes the number on the 100 chart. He learns how to count in tens from this activity. We were at number 78 after completing the unit on the cow.

Alphabet tasks

After Zech learns the name and sound of the letter (in actual fact, he knows all the letters by now), he learns to form the letter using different materials such as yarn, play dough, twigs etc. Here he formed the letter C using yarn. Next, I went through the picture cards with Zech. More pictures were printed from a scholastic EBook and Zech pasted them on a jotter book.

Day 2:

The alphabet tasks are different on day 2.

We started with the upper case. Zech formed the letter on a rice tray before practising writing on the handwriting page. For the next few days, Zech practised writing the upper and lower case C. For handwriting, I printed out extra worksheets for more practice.

Went through the picture cards again. I chose another 3 letters for him to play matching with.

Just behind the handwriting page, there is a sound discrimination page. I named the object and got him to listen for the objects that start with the /c/ sound. He circled those that starts with /c/ and crosses out those that did not.

Number tasks

For this unit, we focused on the number thirteen. Zech learned to write the number thirteen and to recognise it in word.

Then I used the place value chart to get him to represent 13. He needed to tell me 1 ten and 3 ones equal 13.

Day 3:

On the third day, the teacher's manual recommends teaching blends with the blend ladder. Zech doesn't like this so I use magnetic letters on a baking tray to go through the blends required in the unit.

There is a Math page in this unit which required Zech to circle the correct number of animals a farmer has using the clues given. I guided him through the concept of 'more than' and 'less than'. In each unit, different Math topics are introduced. For Math, I supplement quite a bit using online websites and activity books.

Next, Zech completed the cut and paste page, which is his favourite. I usually go through the words and try to get him to sound out the word. Then he matches the word to the picture.

Day 4:

More practice on blends on this day. I used the magnetic letters again to teach the blends and words listed in the teacher's manual. Then Zech completed the blend ladder page below. This is really good practice for the child as he needs to listen out to the sounds and to write the word out by discriminating each letter sound. Initially, when we started last year, this was a real struggle for me and Zech. I hated doing this so much I almost gave up. Then one day, it just happened and it became less of a struggle. Now we are enjoying this.

There is also a word list page which Zech needs to recognise using phonics. I use star stickers to reward him every time he's able to identify and tell me the word.

Day 5:

Zech completed a drawing page. He drew objects that started with a certain letter and then wrote the name of the object below. I have to help him with the spelling of course.

Another cut and paste page.

Day 6:

Zech completed the C page of the Cuisenaire Rods book. He's getting better at this.

 

Book time

MFW has a recommended book list. I usually try to borrow as many as I can from the library. From the selection, I choose one book for day 6 that I feel is of interest to Zech and compile related activities in a book pack, which was shared in my previous blog post.


I find that the MFW materials are good generally, especially in language though I have to supplement with extra worksheets. However for Math, the curriculum is definitely unlike here in Singapore. Have to supplement more in this subject. The exposure to the topics are fine but I feel more practice and hands on activity are required.

A typical homeschool week

The start of this new semester seems busier than last year. Our weekday routine remains pretty much the same except that school is slightly longer from 10am to 11.30am. In the afternoon, Zech does some extra work including his daily reading time for another hour.

First day of homeschool

On the 2nd of Jan, we celebrated the first day of school at a nearby park. Beginning our first day of school at the park nearby is going to stay as our homeschool tradition I think.

This photo below was taken last year in July 2014 during the first week of homeschool. Zech was 3 plus and Nathanael was 14 months old.

6 months later on 2nd Jan 2015, we went back to the same spot to review the alphabets, words and memory verses Zech had learned last year.

Outdoor is great for my boys. They were especially cooperative and attentive.

Goats galore!

The new unit on the goat brought us to Hay Dairies the next day, which happened to be a Sat.

Zech enjoyed looking at the goats' milking process and more than that, he savoured his bottle of goat milk as much as he could after that.

The following week, we started the unit on the goat. Here are some stuff we have done beyond the teacher's manual.

Bought this from Ikea last year. Some of the plastic animals you see in the picture are from a supermarket in Bali. A novelty for the boys who spent much time playing.

These felt animals and flannel board were resources I bought when I was a teacher. Can be bought from Growing Fun at United Square. There's a storewide discount every Dec.

Zech was given a box of craft for Christmas last year. So glad to see a few farm animal cut outs in the box. Easy to assemble. Just roll the dough and insert the cut outs.

Besides the usual worksheets and activities, in this new year, I've decided to make a book pack for a storybook related to the unit. On day 6, the curriculum recommended a time set aside for some books. So I focus on just one and plan more follow-up activities. For this unit, I chose the story 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff'.

Inside the pack, there are word cards, props for dramatization and other activities.

The boys love dramatizing so much I decided to get them to act as goats while I was the troll. The bench served as the bridge. We had lots of fun!

Some activities I printed out from http://3dinosaurs.com/printables/printablepacks.php
include reordering in size,  rearranging the story sequence and finding the pattern.

In the afternoon while Nathanael takes his nap, Zech learns to read aloud. Bought the scholastic readers from the Popular Bookfest last year. Simple storyline and interesting topics. The readers can be purchased online on http://teacherexpress.scholastic.com/. The dollar deals sale is on now and a set of the readers in eBook format is going at USD $1. Worth browsing through. Printed out many extra activities and worksheets from the ebooks I bought over the last few years from scholastic.com.

Also started on sight words (words that cannot be decoded using phonics) with Zech. Sight words such as the Dolch list are easily found online. These words are common and frequently used in books, which is why it's so important to teach young kids.

The Bible

The Biblical aspect is still of utmost importance to us. As recommended by the teacher's manual, Bible verses related to the memory verse are read every day. This unit on the goat emphasizes on our sinful nature and how we need to turn to Jesus our saviour. Referring back to the old testament on how the Israelites sacrificed sin offerings to God using goats and relating that to the new testament where Jesus Himself took the sins upon Himself so that we are saved can be difficult for Zech to understand. However, at the end of the unit, I realised he seems to understand and recognise himself as a sinner much better than before. This unit is in fact a rather heavy and solemn one and stands as a stark contrast to the Christmas season which has just gone by. Zech may not understand fully but I'm thankful I'm able to teach him all these using the the MFW teacher's manual as a close guide.

After completing the unit on the goat, I find the time spent on homeschool more fulfilling than ever. More challenging content and concepts are taught this semester. It's truly God's grace that sustains and led me through my journey of homeschooling with Zech.  I'll share more on the daily tasks and worksheets specified in the MFW teacher's manual in my next blog, which will focus on the cow. Moo...

What's different in our 2015 homeschool?

As I was thinking of goals and preparing lessons for Zech's homeschool last year, I asked myself what I would like to do differently in 2015. Not for making resolutions but to make meaningful changes to how homeschool would be like in our family. And that starts with myself.

Patience is key to teaching I believe. Not something easy to achieve but patience in teaching, guiding and managing 2 boys goes a long way. To be patient, I guess taking in my stride helps. I have to remind myself time and again to learn the art of repeating gently when Zech does not seem to understand. I'm terrible in teaching handwriting and recently, in teaching a beginner how to read. This is something I know God wants me to work on. Encourage and motivate are 2 important guidelines for me. It's something I need to allow God to work in and through me rather than relying on my own limited abilities. On the first day of school last week, we reviewed what was taught last year. As usual, while teaching handwriting, I had to make Zech rewrite a particular letter so that it's neater and formed correctly. I realised my tone was really crucial as that motivated Zech to rewrite several times without complaining.

As I take baby steps to improve on the way I teach, I know I need more inspiration. I'm thankful for a book my friend has given to me last year. This book, 'The ministry of motherhood', emphasizes on giving grace to our precious ones, just as Jesus has given so freely to us. I've put aside some time every night to read a chapter so that as my day draws to a close, I can read and reflect, gearing myself for another brand new day.

In my homeschooling plans, God has to take centre stage. Our family theme verse from Proverbs 16:9 (A man's heart plans his way but the Lord directs his steps.) reminds me every morning to commit my plans to the Lord. It's one of the verses Zech memorises every day during our morning devotion. He remembers it better than I do. This time, as we start the year anew, I have taken more time to pray, asking the Holy Spirit to guide me every day while I teach Zech. It makes a great difference. Although I'm still busy preparing the resources and other stuff getting ready for the next day, I feel more prepared and calm compared to last year.

A few things I feel are useful as I begin the new homeschool year.

1. Little things such as filing help me in being more organised. I use many files to be organised but this is one of the most useful files which I recently bought and am using daily in homeschooling Zech. Just need to repack the file once a week. It's a file with many compartments. I divide the compartments into day 1 to day 6 and different subjects. Much easier for me to keep track and to look for things.

2. Using a pocket chart to display sight words, word cards and sentence strips is not only a classroom essential, it works for homeschool too. I bought this pocket chart from 'Growing Fun' last Dec when they had a 20% off storewide. Paid about $20 after discount.

3. Sometime late last year, it struck me that what I've always believed may not be totally right. Awful feeling! But learning to let go and embrace new ways makes one a better educator. Used to tell others how I hate using flash cards and readers. But they have a place in teaching reading I realise. When Zech first started reading independently in Mandarin, that really set me thinking. It' still not too late to discover I need to use a good mixture of methods to ensure Zech can read effectively. Balance is key here. Not over relying on flash cards etc but to make sure all four skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) are taught using different methods and approaches.

It's the third day of homeschool. Not a day has gone by without frustrations but I'm grateful for the reminders that cropped up every now and then when I was almost losing my cool. It's possible because all things are possible with God.