Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! We took the week off to give thanks and have some family together time. We read lots of USA stories as we finish up our year of world geography and will be coming home to Hawai'i stories soon. I'm considering the work of hand making Christmas gifts to be our school projects for the coming month.

Our devotional verse for this week was Bhagavad Gita 10.35 when Krishna says "Of months I am Mārgaśīrṣa [November-December]" and Srila Prabhupada explains in the purport "The month of November-December is considered the best of all months because in India grains are collected from the fields at this time and the people become very happy." 'Tis the season to be thankful!

Long E, Sums with 5, and USA

We had family visiting and took last week off from school. This week was focused on getting back into the school groove and catching up on household chores, so I decided to do a little bit less normal.

Devotional: We picked a lot of flowers to offer and focused on Bhagavad Gita 9.26: "If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it."

Language Arts: Govinda completed all 8 pages of ETC3 lesson 10, which was about the 'long e' sound spelled 'ee' and 'ea'. His reading and writing skills are getting more fluent and faster with this weekly practice.

Math: We did 2 very full pages from MM on sums with 5. We will probably do this again for next week's sums with 6 so that it's not too much of a workload. We usually do 4 pages per week, but these pages have a lot of problems, and we had a busy week last week, so it's working out nicely to reduce this week's work.

Geography: We read more stories about the USA. This week's favorite was Lentil, and Bee Tree is still requested often. We also read Twister On Tuesday (Magic Tree House) and Red, White, and Blue. Once all of the USA library book requests are in, we will take it easy and review our year of world geography and return to our intro to geography books.

Govardhan, Phonics Review, Missing Number, US East Coast

Devotional: We read chapters 24 and 25 of The Krishna Book in honor of Govardhan Puja this coming Saturday. This book doesn't have pictures, so I read it while they play with play dough and that is working very nicely for all of us. I love reading this book to them! They made Govardhana Hill our of play dough and held it on their little fingers. We drew Govardhan Hill on the chalkboard all together and Govinda drew it with crayons on paper. Jai Govardhan Puja!

Language Arts: We did all 8 pages of ETC4 lesson 9. It was reviewing everything learned in the first 8 lessons, plus some new digraphs with h and silent e words. He did well with it all and is getting more and more comfortable with long vowels with silent e. Handwriting is looking great these days and I'll try to get a picture of his nicely formed letters.

Math: We did Math Mammoth this week, pages 19-22. The focus was on finding the missing number. G really likes the abacus and uses it to solve all of his equations. I love how he has these 'ah ha' moments as he gets a strong foundation in addition facts up to 5. It feels so much better than just memorizing without thinking. MM is growing on us! I like how he is actually doing pre-algebra while practicing math facts. ( 2 + ? = 5).

Geography: We're reading the many library books about the east coast. I'll recall our favorites later. We're cruising through the US a little quicker now that we're almost done with our world trip and we're ready to read more Hawaii books. I plan on doing US history in the future, so I'm not going too far into US geography right now. This is just an overview and gentle introduction the the 50 states. The sad stories of war and slavery are just too much for this young age, IMO.

Ch-Ch-Chant and Greater Than / Less Than

Devotional: This week's devotional was the simple motto "Chant and be happy!" We read all of our stories with Lord Chaitanya and discussed the instructions to be 'as humble as a blade of grass and as tolerant as a tree".

Language Arts: This week was focused on the 'ch' sound and completed all 8 pages of lesson 7 in ETC3. He definitely gets the hang of 'ch' now. We retold the Hopeful H (digraphs with h) story and practiced how Tired T holds the short vowel rod so Clever C will smile and Hopeful H can say 'ch-ch-cheese' for the picture. We also thought of all the words that have this sound and ended up drawing a big picture of chickens with chicks eating cheese and more.

Math: This week in math, we started with Righstart lesson 15 about partioning 10, but the worksheet was a little confusing and I decided to not have him finish it to avoid frustration. For the rest of the week, we went back to Math Mammoth and completed two pages on greater than and less than, which was very easy review for Govinda, but it really helped him feel more confident about math. MM is so much easier for me, and Govinda actually likes to work independently with me checking each equation after he does it. So, now I'm leaning more towards MM full time since it is so easy to use and very well made to keep him thinking!

Geography: We read many new stories about the southeast USA and the east coast states. I didn't want to push any history stuff since it can be disturbing, but G was really interested in Red, White, And Blue, a simple story of how the American flag came about. We will be coloring the flag next week after reviewing the story. I can't believe it's been almost a year of our world geography tour, and we're almost home!

And that's another week at the Soul Adventure School!

The Plan

I've added a new introduction to every new day. We mark the day on the calendar, say the whole date together. Then we think of everything we need and want to do and write it on the board so we don't forget. Govinda started copying it from the board onto paper...by his own will! He carried it around all day and referred back to it throughout the day. Here's the plan he wrote, it's a basic summary of our weekdays. Play, school, stories, clean, play. That's the plan, man!

USA, Volcanoes, 'Th' and 'Wh', and Partioning To 10, Oh My!

Geography/Geology/Art: We read stories from the Southeast USA. So far, the favorites are Rabbit Goes To Kansas, Chicken Joy On Redbean Road, and The Great Pig Search. We also read a National Geographic magazine with pictures of Mt. St. Helens. This lead to a reading of The Magic School Bus Blows It's Top. Then, the boys wanted to explode our clay volcano with baking soda, vinegar, dish soap and paint. So, we did! Then, we painted volcanoes with watercolors. Govinda made Mt. St. Helens, a cinder cone volcano. Navin and I painted Mauna Loa, a shield volcano. We had read about volcanoes a few weeks ago in Mexico with the story Hill Of FIre, where a farmer's field became a volcano. "He was a volcano farmer, and what a crop he grew!"









Fun: We made a new batch of homemade play dough. The boys really enjoy kneading it and then playing with it for many weeks until we make a new, fresh batch.



Language Arts: This week was continuing with the Hopeful H photo story. The focus was on 'wh' and 'th'. Govinda did all 8 pages of ETC3 lesson 6. Wonderful W blows out the candle with all of his questions "Who? What? Where? When? Why?". We also brought out the whistle and recorder flute for fun.

Math: This week we worked on finding the missing part with sums of 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 when one part is 5. G did 4 pages of whole/part partioning with 12 problems on each page. He seems to know them now, but we will review it again soon so that it's not forgotten. The song is helping to remember, and since he seems to be an auditory learner, that will be our review also. We didn't do any MM and he seemed happy about that...it has a lot of problems on a page. Doing 12 of all the same thing was more enjoyable for him. One day this week, I said that he only has to do 6 of the problems, and he insisted on doing all 12. So we will be sticking with RS as much as possible since he is liking it a lot.

Well, that wraps up another busy week in our Soul Adventure School! Thanks to all our supporters and well wishers! I'm also happy to announce that I finally figured out how to center the pictures on the blog. Take care and God Bless!

Photo Time With Hopeful H!

Devotional: In Bhagavad Gita 10.38, Krishna says "Of secret things I am silence, and of the wise I am the wisdom." This goes along with our phonics theme of "sh". We also discussed the saying "knowledge speaks but wisdom listens".

Language Arts: We read the Alphabet Island story about Hopeful H setting up his photo booth to take pictures. The flash on his camera doesn't work, so he lights a candle. This story is about digraphs with h (sh, wh, ch, th, and ph). We will be reviewing it for a few weeks while we practice with Explode The Code. This week we focused on 'sh' and did all 8 pages of ETC3 lesson 5. Sloppy S won't stop talking, so Hopeful H says "sh".

Math: We did Addition Practice on pages 14 and 15 from Math Mammoth. We did several activities from Rightstart Math and one page on counting pennies and nickels. This is all review and practice as we are working on getting a solid understanding of sums up to 5. Govinda has expressed his preference of RS over MM, as we've been trying out both to see which is best for us. RS is harder for me, but the method is so great that I'm going to try my best to do it. Playing card games with a three year old around isn't always easy!

Geography: We read many stories from the Southwest USA. So far, our favorites are Humphrey The Lost Whale and Armadillo Rodeo. We're going to the Southeast USA next week!

And that wraps up another busy week for our Soul Adventure School.

Watercolor Wednesday Rainbow

The boys really got into Watercolor Wednesday today. I look forward to it every week as they progress with their artistic expressions.

0 + 0 = 0

Here he is laughing hard about a math problem! After lots of thinking through several math problems, 0 + 0 seemed like a joke. Too funny!

Thank You Again And Again

It was a fun birthday weekend! Here's a picture of them making thank you cards. Govinda practiced writing 'Thank You' and drawing pictures.

Adios, Mexico!

Language Arts: We finished all 8 pages of lesson 4 from ETC3, which was focused on 'silent e' words with initial blends. Govinda has taken more toward writing than reading lately, so we're going with that since his handwriting is getting better all the time with more practice.



Math: We did the first 4 pages of Math Mammoth, each with 15+ addition practice problems with sums under 5. He did great with it and had fun turning circles around dots into tracks of excavators and bulldozers!

Geography: We read more stories about and from Mexico and we never got around to making a pinata. We're keeping on moving, though, and started reading stories about the Southwest USA.

We have a big 6-year-old birthday this week, so we are taking it easy with school and having fun with birthday bliss!

Camping Out In Mexico With Silent Everloving E And An Abacus!

Language Arts: You know that changing vowel sounds is not an easy job, so we're camping out with Silent Everloving E for a while until it's all well understood. At least we on a world tour, so we are practicing our silent e words while in Mexico, where Everloving E can be on vacation because in Spanish, there's no Silent E. We finished all 8 pages of Lesson 3 in Explode The Code 3. We'll spend another week or so really mastering long vowels with silent e.

World Geography: We read many stories from Mexico. Our favorites so far are Mice and Beans, The Old Man And His Door, Cocoa Ice, The Parrot Tico Tango, The Tale Of Rabbit and Coyote, and Under The Lemon Moon. We stamped the passports and are getting ready for some fun Mexico activities. I've been introducing Spanish words from the stories and teaching more expressions in Spanish throughout the day. Que bueno!

Math: We're trying out Rightstart Math Level B. So far he likes it. It is more teacher intensive for me, but so far it's ok with me when learning is fun. We skipped the first lessons and started with lessons 9, 10, and 11. It's Asian style math based on the abacus, which is a wonderful math tool. I plan on supplementing with Math Mammoth since Rightstart does not have very many worksheets and I may not get around to all the games intended for reinforcement. On days when RS is too demanding on me with a terrific three year old around, I can give him a MM page and some math still gets done. So far, so good!

Red Bellied Piranha from the Amazon!

Aaaahhh! It's a red bellied piranha...a biting machine! It followed us from South America all the way to Mexico!

Beginner Book List!

Here's a beginning reader book list thanks to another homeschooling mom on the WTM forums who saved and shared this list. I have copied and saved it here for easy finding and then added to it as we go. Happy beginning reading!

1.Controlled Vocabulary, Leveled Phonics Readers (for beginning readers who are just beginning to read – starts with short vowel sounds and CVC words and progresses through the various levels of reading)

Itty Bitty Phonics Readers from Creative Teaching Press
Bob Books by Bobby Lynn Maslen
Now I’m Reading series by Nora Gaydos
Phonics Practice Readers from Modern Curriculum Press

2.First Books (for readers who have learned short vowel sounds and consonant blends and digraphs and want to read “real books”. Generally very short, with few words on the page but there will often be some sight words or a few longer words that you will have to help your child sound out.)

Step Into Reading Level 1:
6 Sticks
Big Egg
Cat Traps
Ducks in Muck
Hot Dog
I Like Bugs
I Like Stars
Jack and Jill and Big Dog Bill
See the Yak Yak
The Berenstain Bears Big Bear, Small
Bear
The Berenstain Bears go in and out
The Berenstain Bears go up and down

Real Kids Readers Level 1:
Big Ben
Dress Up
Hop, Skip, Run
I am Mad!
I Like Mess
I Like to Win!
Mud!
My Pal Al
No New Pants!
Spots
The Big Box
The New Kid
The Pet Vet
Wash Day

Green Light Readers Level 1:
Dot and Bob
Rick is Sick
Sam and Jack
Jack and Rick
A New Home
Jan has a Doll
Down on the Farm
The Van
Just Clowning Around
What I see
Popcorn
Todd’s Box
Get up, Rick!

Other books:
Hop on Pop
Go, Dog, Go
The Foot Book
Old Hat, New Hat

3.Moving On to Long Vowels (introduce more vowel combinations but are still short books with just a few sentences on each page)

My First I Can Read Book:
Bathtime for Biscuit
Biscuit
Biscuit and the Baby
Biscuit and the Little Pup
Biscuit finds a Friend
Biscuit goes to School
Biscuit wants to play
Biscuit wins a prize
Biscuit’s Big Friend
Biscuit’s day at the Farm
Biscuit’s New Trick
Chicken said, “Cluck!”
Go away, Dog
How Many Fish?
I See, You Saw
Loose Tooth
Oh, Cats!
Pedro’s Burro
Ruby bakes a Cake
Sid and Sam
Splish, Spash!
The Day I had to play with my Sister
Thump and Plunk
What’s that, Mittens?
Whose Hat is it?

Green Light Reader Level 1:
Rip’s Secret Spot
Sometimes
Come Here, Tiger!
The Tapping Tale
The Big, Big Wall
Best Friends
What day is it?
Lost!
Big Pig and Little Pig
Cloudy Day Sunny Day
Six Silly Foxes
Daniel’s Pet
Big Brown Bear
Rabbit and Turtle go to School

Step into Reading, Level 1:
Boats!
Mouse Makes Words
Wheels!
The Pup Speaks Up
Elmo says Achoo!
Too Many Dogs
The Snowball
Sunshine, Moonshine
Babe the Sheep Pig: Oops, Pig!
Watch your step, Mr. Rabbit!
There is a Town

Linda D. Williams books: (1-3 sentences per page with photos)
Bulldozers
Backhoes
Concrete Mixers
Cranes
Dump Trucks
Earth Movers

4.Next Step (many different vowel and consonant combinations; books are starting to get longer or introducing more words per page)

Step into Reading Level 2:
Bookstore Cat
Two Find Ladies have a Tiff
I can do it!
Pizza Pat
Quick, Quack, Quick!
Bones
Smarty Sara
The Berenstain Bears Catch the Bus
Counting Sheep
Pie Rats Ahoy!
Wake up, Sun!
Sir Small and the Dragonfly
Bears are Curious
Richard Scarry’s the Early Bird
My New Boy
David and the Giant
Mole in a Hole
Noah’s Ark
P. J. Funnybunny Camps Out

Bright & Early Books:
Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb
Hooper Humperdink - ? Not Him!
Bears on Wheels
There’s a wocket in my pocket!
Great Day for UP!
The Tooth Book
The Eye Book
Wings on Things
The Nose Book
The Ear Book
He Bear, She Bear
Inside, Outside, Upside Down
Mr. Brown can Moo! Can you?
The Knee Book

Real Kids Readers Level 2:
Did you hear about Jake?
I’ll do it later
Let me help!
My Brother, the Pest
Rainy day grump
Shoes, Shoes, Shoes
Show and Tell
Surprise!
That Cat!
That’s hard, that’s easy
The best pet yet
The Big Sale
The Lunch Bunch
Time for Bed?

Ready-to-Read Level 1:
A Tooth Story
Brave Norman
Clouds
Happy Christmas, Honey
Lucky Duck
Mount Rushmore
Niagara Falls
Picnic!
Puppy Mudge wants to Play
Rain
Snow
The Grand Canyon
The Mighty Mississippi
The Pumpkin Patch
The Rocky Mountains
The Sky is Falling
The Statue of Liberty
The Three Little Pigs
The Tortoise and the Hare
Wind

Step into Reading Level 3:
Arthur in New York
Baseball Ballerina
Bean Baker’s Best Shot
The Best Mistake Ever! And other
Stories
The Bravest Dog Ever
Dolphins!
The Nutcracker Ballet
Arthur’s Reading Trick

I Can Read it all by Myself:
A Fish out of Water
A Fly Went By
Big Dog . . . Little Dog
Green Eggs and Ham
I want to be Somebody New!
I wish that I had Duck Feet
Put Me in the Zoo
The Best Nest
The Cat in the Hat
The Cat in the Hat Comes Back
Fred and Ted go camping
Fred and Ted like to fly

5.Transitional Books (paragraphs; longer books often divided into small chapters)

I Can Read Book Level 1:
A Kiss for Little Bear
Baa-Choo!
Barkley
Barney’s Horse
Captain Cat
Chester
Crocodile and Hen
Danny and the Dinosaur
Danny and the Dinosaur go to Camp
Drip, Drop
Father Bear comes Home
Grizzwold
Happy Birthday, Danny and the
Dinosaur
Harry and the Lady Next Door
Joe and Betsy the Dinosaur
Johnny Lion’s Book
Julius
Little Bear
Little Bear’s Friend
Little Bear’s Visit
Morris and Boris at the Circus
Morris goes to School
Morris the Moose
Mrs. Brice’s Mice
No more Monsters for Me!
Oliver
Oscar Otter
Ruby Paints a Picture
Ruby’s Perfect Day
Sammy the Seal
Silly Tilly and the Easter Bunny
Silly Tilly’s Valentine
Stanley
The Fire Cat
The Horse in Harry’s Room
The Littlest Leaguer
What’s Going On?

I Can Read Books Level 2:
A Bargain for Frances
Addie’s Bad Day
Amazing Dolphins!
Amelia Bedelia
Amelia Bedelia and the Baby
Amelia Bedelia and the Surprise
Shower
Amelia Bedelia Helps Out
Arthur’s Birthday Party
Arthur’s Camp-Out
Arthur’s Christmas Cookies
Arthur’s Loose Tooth
Bread and Jam for Frances
Custard Surprise
Days with Frog and Toad
Frog and Toad all Year
Frog and Toad are Friends
Frog and Toad Together
Goose and Duck
Grandmas at Bat
Mildred and Sam
Mouse Soup
Mouse Tales
Owl at Home
Scruffy
The Case of the Cat’s Meow
The Case of the Double Cross
The Case of the Hungry Stranger
Who’s a Pest?

Macaws Leaving South America

We made macaws by tracing their feet for the body and hands for the feathers. They love them! These macaws were saying goodbye to South America and the rain forest and are heading toward Central America. A handy butterfly is coming along for the ride.

Mexico Book List

Butterfly boy by Kroll, Virginia L.
Charro : the Mexican cowboy by Ancona, George
Mexico! : 40 activities to experience Mexico past & present by Milord, Susan
The umbrella by Brett, Jan
The ancestors are singing by Johnston, Tony
Count your way through Mexico by Haskins, James
Doctor Coyote : a Native American Aesop's fables by Bierhorst, John
Nursery tales around the world by Sierra, Judy
Abuela's weave by Castañeda, Omar S.
Beneath the stone : a Mexican Zapotec tale by Wolf, Bernard
Borreguita and the coyote : a tale from Ayutla, Mexico by Aardema, Verna.
Cactus soup by Kimmel, Eric A.
*Cocoa ice by Appelbaum, Diana Karter
A day's work by Bunting, Eve
Domitila : a Cinderella tale from the Mexican tradition by Coburn, Jewell Reinhart
*Hill of fire by Lewis, Thomas P.
*Mice and beans by Ryan, Pam Muñoz
*The old man and his door by Soto, Gary
*The parrot Tico Tango by Witte, Anna
*The tale of Rabbit and Coyote by Johnston, Tony
Today is the day by Riecken, Nancy
The chocolate tree : a Mayan folktale by Lowery, Linda
How Nanita learned to make flan by Geeslin, Campbell
The hummingbirds' gift by Czernecki, Stefan
Musicians of the sun by McDermott, Gerald
*Under the lemon moon by Fine, Edith Hope
In Rosa's Mexico by Geeslin, Campbell
Lorenzo, the naughty parrot by Johnston, Tony
Manuela's gift by Estes, Kristyn Rehling
The moon was at a fiesta by Gollub, Matthew

Reviewing Silent Everloving E

Language Arts: We reviewed the story of Silent Everloving E, who brings a tray of cookies to consonants so that they can take a break from holding the short vowel rod over the vowels so that they can say their name. She's speechless at the ends of words. We did 8 pages of ETC lesson 2 to review how silent e changes words like pin into pine. I'm seeing how daily practice is building more fluency and faster reading from familiarity with words, so we will continue doing a page or two of ETC everyday to keep up the practice of reading and writing as well. ETC is starting to be more fun because it has some silly aspects. I like how it makes him guess less and sound out more.

Peru

Geography: We colored the map and flag and read stories about Peru this week. Our favorites were Zorro and Quwi, Munay and The Magic Lake, Lost City The Discovery of Machu Picchu, and The Stolen Smell. We painted Machu Picchu. We read a few books about rocks and minerals since Peru exports many minerals. We discussed the diversity of desert and rainforest on opposite sides of the Andes mountains. We also reviewed South America as a whole continent and the many animals and wonders of the rainforest and the effects of deforestation. Next week, we're off to Mexico!

Watercolor Wednesday

Yay, more watercolor fun! Here's the boys painting again. Govinda made Machu Picchu since we've been learning about Peru this week. Navin mixed and mixed the colors to make brown, then dumped the cup of paint on the paper, and then requested more red.

Brazil and Amazon Rainforest

Geography: We've been ready many stories from Brazil and about the rainforest. Our favorites so far are Rain Rain Forest, The Great Kapok Tree, So Say the Little Monkeys, Up A Rainforest Tree, and The Rainforest Grew All Around. We colored the map and flag for Brazil. Learning about the world's largest rainforest has been humbling for my bulldozer loving boys. They are learning about the reality and harm done by cutting down trees and are motivated to plant more for the future.

Argentina and Chile

Geography: We read the stories from Argentina and Chile. The Magic Bean Tree was the favorite. It's about a carob tree, so we got carob treats to snack on all week. The boys like carob a lot! Here's picture of them coloring maps and flags!

Watercolor Wednesday

I'm hoping the W will keep me motivated to do watercolor painting every Wednesday. Here's the boys using the new jumbo paint brushes with primary colored cups of watercolor paints. I've noticed that painting has a calming effect on them. The jar in the background is another caterpillar found on a morning walk, munching away at leaves, waiting to become a butterfly.

King Equals

We're starting our math block introducing the four math processes with the math gnomes from Numeria Island (across the sea from Alphabet Island). I made up a story about some Alphabet Island characters making a voyage to Numeria to get some jewels to help someone heal. I'll write it out if I have time. King Equals is the king there, and I made up his queen to be Queen Balance. We got to know them and found that they are great devotees of the Lord, and see everyone equally. I made up this verse:

King Equals is always fair. He sees the same everywhere!"

This tied in with the Bhagavad Gita quote:

"The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana (priest), a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater."

South America Book List

South America:
Explore South America by Aloian, Molly
Myths of pre-Columbian America by Dalal, Anita.
South America by Pelusey, Michael.
South America, surprise! by Sayre, April Pulley.

Argentina and Pampas:
Argentina by Shields, Charles
*The magic bean tree : a legend from Argentina by Van Laan, Nancy
On the pampas by Brusca, María Cristina.
Chucaro : wild pony of the Pampa by Kalnay, Francis

Chile:
Mariana and the merchild : a folk tale from Chile by Pitcher, Caroline
Tierra del Fuego : a journey to the end of the Earth by Lourie, Peter
The dreamer by Ryan, Pam Muñoz
Folktales of Chile by Pino Saavedra, Yolando
To go singing through the world : the childhood of Pablo Neruda by Ray, Deborah Kogan

Brazil and Rain Forest:
*This place is wet by Cobb, Vicki.
*Rain, rain, rain forest by Guiberson, Brenda Z.
Brazil by Fontes, Justine
Count your way through Brazil by Haskins, James
The dancing turtle : a folktale from Brazil by DeSpain, Pleasant
How night came from the sea : a story from Brazil by Gerson, Mary-Joan
*The great kapok tree : a tale of the Amazon rain forest by Cherry, Lynne
A home in the rain forest by Taylor-Butler, Christine
*The rainforest grew all around by Mitchell, Susan K.
The Rainforest Indians by Thomson, Ruth
*So say the little monkeys by Van Laan, Nancy.
The tropical rainforest by Cheshire, Gerard
*Up a rainforest tree by Telford, Carole
Capoeira 100 : an illustrated guide to the essential movements and techniques by Taylor, Gerard
Crafts for kids who are wild about rainforests / by Kathy Ross
Animals of the Rain Forest, Amazing Rain Forest, Vanishing Rain Forest, Plants of the Rain Forest by Ted O'Hare
Anteaters, sloths, and armadillos by Squire, Ann
Capyboppy by Peet, Bill
Rain forest animals by Leber, Nancy.
How Monkeys Make Chocolate by Adrian Forsyth
One Day in the Tropical Rain Forest by Jean Craighead George
Amazon Alphabet by Martin and Tanis Jordan
Living in a Rain Forest (Rookie Read-About Geography) by Allan Fowler
Jungle Safari by Carol Wawrychuk
Rain Forests: Tropical Treasures - from Ranger Rick's NatureScope

Peru and Inca:
The grandchildren of the Incas by Pitkanen, Matti A
Machu Picchu : city in the clouds by Somervill, Barbara A.
Miro in the kingdom of the sun by Kurtz, Jane
*Munay and the magic lake : based on an Inca tale by Sepehri, Sandy.
Peru by Thoennes Keller, Kristin.
Peru under the Incas by Burland, C. A. (Cottie Arthur)
*The stolen smell by Hamilton, Martha.
The thunder god's son : a Peruvian folktale by Dewey, Ariane
THE GOOD LLAMA WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED BY ANNE ROCKWELL. AN INCA LEGEND DESCRIBING HOW PEOPLE AND ANIMALS SURVIVED THE GREAT FLOOD THAT FORCED THE SUN TO SHARE THE SKY WITH THE MOON.
by Rockwell, Anne F.
*Zorro and Quwi : tales of a trickster guinea pig by Hickox, Rebecca
Moon rope : a Peruvian folktale = Un lazo a la luna : una leyenda peruana by Ehlert, Lois
Tales of the plumed serpent : Aztec, Inca and Mayan myths by Ferguson, Diana
Trail of feathers : in search of the birdmen of Peru by Shah, Tahir
The Girl from the Sky By Skivington
*Lost City, the Discovery of Machu Picchu By Lewin, Ted

DVDs:
*Totally Tropical Rainforest (National Geographic's Really Wild Animal series)
World's last great places. Rain forests by Jampel, Barbara.
Andes. Machu Picchu by Polizu, Cristina
Brazil travel and experience the world by Wright, Ian
Capoeira by Panther Productions
Globe trekker. South America by Cross, Ian
Peru by Gibson, Neil
Planet Earth. The complete series by Attenborough, David

Antarctica

We've been very busy lately with birthdays. I also just received some editing work, so my blogging time has been minimized.

Geography: We had a fun 3 weeks learning about Antarctica. The many stories about Tacky the Penguin were the favorites all the while. We colored the map and designed our own flag with two penguins. We discussed what 'austerity' means, since the penguins are so austere. We discussed how the penguins teach us to love our family and to endure through hard times to make it through to a better time. We also made little penguins with dates filled with cream cheese. They really liked this. We're looking forward to South America next!

Yours Truly Y Standing In For Innocent I

Language Arts: We read the Alphabet Island story about Yours Truly Y, who stands in for Everloving E and Innocent I at the ends of words. Since she can't stand in for both of them all of the time, she stands in for I in short words and E in longer words. We did all 8 pages of lesson 1 in Explode the Code 3. The theme was short words like so, go, no, he, she, me, we, by, my, fly, fry, try, cry, dry and sky. This was all review, but the handwriting practice was needed after summer break. This is probably how we will go about language arts for now, since it is working well. We use the Alphabet Island story and the ETC workbook for repetitive practice.

Antarctica Book List

Penguin chick by Tatham, Betty
*A penguin pup for Pinkerton by Kellogg, Steven
Plenty of penguins by Black, Sonia
*Tacky the penguin by Lester, Helen
Tacky and the Emperor by Lester, Helen
Tacky and the Winter Games by Lester, Helen
Tacky in trouble by Lester, Helen
Please play safe! : Penguin's guide to playground safety by Cuyler, Margery
Seven weeks on an iceberg : starring King and Queen Penguin by Potter, Keith R.
Busy penguins by Schindel, John
The little penguin by Wood, A. J.
Mr. Popper's penguins by Atwater, Richard
Penguin's adventure in Alphabet Town by Alden, Laura
Penguins A-B-C by Schafer, Kevin
Please say please! : Penguin's guide to manners by Cuyler, Margery
Antarctica by Billings, Henry
The emperor's egg by Jenkins, Martin
*Eve of the Emperor penguin by Osborne, Mary Pope
Penguins and Antarctica : a nonfiction companion to Eve of the emperor penguin by Osborne, Mary Pope
*Nanu, penguin chick by Radcliffe, Theresa

DVDs:
March of the Penguins
Planet Earth: Ice Worlds

Literature Club

We went to our homeschool group's weekly literature club. I had a grateful moment as Govinda read a book to the group. He did great! It was not even an easy reader. It was a 'grown up' book about Bulldozers. I'm so thankful he is learning so much. :)

Aboriginal Paperbark Art

We have paperbark trees here in Hawaii that were brought from Australia. So, we visited a big one on our morning walk and collected some bark to try out Aboriginal style artwork. We planned on using sticks dipped in paint, but we only had watercolor paints. As I looked through the craft box, we found some dot stickers that the boys were excited to use. So, we had fun making art with dots on paperbark. Govinda made a flatbed truck and Navin made dots everywhere. I asked them what Australian animal I should try to make, and they said camel, lol, not a native animal, but still one that this lives there. We discussed how the paperbark trees are in the melaleuca family (with tea tree oil) and were brought here to help dry out swampy land. Traditional Aboriginal uses were for sleeping, bandages, building shelters, wrapping food, raincoats, and fixing holes in canoes.



Of course, a helpful bulldozer cleaned up the mess when we were done. ;)

Dozing Pattern Blocks

Our new bulldozers sure love math toys! Here they are moving them around to help build a barbed wire fence. (The acre lot on our road that was cleared by the bulldozer that we watched for a month recently had a fence with barbed wire built around it. Here, the boys have reenacted the whole thing through play!)

New Zealand Book List

Just a few stories for New Zealand:

17 Kings and 42 Elephants by Margaret Mahy
A Summery Saturday Morning by Margaret Mahy
The Rattlebang Picnic by Margaret Mahy
The Great White Man-Eating Shark by Margaret Mahy
The Maoris of New Zealand by Graham Wiremu
New Zealand by Mary Virginia Fox

Jewel Counters

We're making the manipulatives to start Gnomes and Gnumbers soon (although we call in Numeria Island, which is not too far across the sea from Alphabet Island). They are glass gems to use as counters, and here is a square showing the size of 100 jewels. Dump trucks and flatbeds moved them around and brought them to the 100 square. Next, we will be making the rods of 10s. We all like the glass jewels a lot. We have them from our Mancala game, which I'm happy to say Govinda is old enough to play now. I have always liked this game. We discussed it's ancient roots from Africa and Asia and how it used to be played with holes in the ground and stones.

Bulldozer Book List

Surrendering to the children's great interest in bulldozers, here's a book list for the little engineers!



B is for bulldozer : a construction ABC by Sobel, June
Bulldozer by Funfax.
Bulldozers by Butterfield, Moira
Bulldozers by Williams, Linda D.
Bulldozers, loaders, and spreaders; a book about roadbuilding machines by Green Vale School. Ninth Grade English Class
Construction by Chantier
Construction giants by Olney, Ross Robert
Construction zone by Hoban, Tana.
Earthmovers by Stephen, R. J.
Earth moving machines by Stone, William
Giant bulldozers by Mezzanotte, Jim.
How roads are made by Williams, Owen
If I could drive a bulldozer! by Teitelbaum, Michael
I drive a bulldozer by Bridges, Sarah.
The roadbuilders by Kelly, James E

Australian Legends

Geography: This week we focused on Australian Legends. We read many stories from The Flying Emu by Sally Morgan. They are like animal fables with moral lessons. We all liked this book very much. Other stories we reread were Dreamtime: Aboriginal Stories, The Singing Snake, and Sun Mother wakes the world : an Australian creation story.

Noble N Endings

Devotional: We focused on the story of Sudama, a poor brahmana priest who gave a sincere and humble offering to Krishna, the king of Dvaraka, and was rewarded with great wealth. This went with the week's theme about the king and queen changing others.

Language Arts: This week we focused on ending blends with N. Noble N is the king of Alphabet Island and Lady L is the queen. The vowels often make different sounds around them in awe and reverence. This is why Innocent I says the long E sound in 'ing' and 'ink'. These were the word families that we practiced reading and writing this week. We tried our Explode the Code 4 workbook for extra practice, doing 4 pages of lesson 8. After a two month summer break, proper letter writing that was once mastered needs major review, so we'll slow down and go back to Handwriting Help For Kids next week.

Friends At The Ends and Australian Animals

Here's our completed Alphabet Island poster and card holder. I taped clear plastic pockets to hold the letter cards in alphabetical order for easy finding. Then on the other side is where they line up to make words. It has made reading and spelling more fun and even Navin is practicing making words with different combinations and groups of our letter friends.

I've made some changes with our Soul Adventure School. We've started reading something spiritual/transcendental every morning to start the kids with some good things to think about. I'm going to find ways to tie it in with whatever else we are learning about. I'm also starting to do month long blocks alternating language arts and math to really focus on them individually. The world geography study will continue until we have been to all of the continents and then go into only one subject at a time for 2-4 weeks, hopefully adding more science and nature studies in. Art (drawing and painting) will now be part of free time and not part of school to keep it fun and freed up for imagination. I think these new changes will work better for the boys to really immerse into learning.

Devotional: This week we focused on Bhagavad Gita verse 9.18, where Krishna says "I am the goal, the sustainer, the master, the witness, the abode, the refuge, and the most dear friend". We discussed how God is our most dear friend that we can always turn to when we're scared.



Language Arts: The first few weeks of Alphabet Island will be review, so we're moving fast with it. This week we read a story about how the letters on alphabet island get together to make words, and the last letter is always at the edge of a cliff. Some of the letters are scared and have a friend stand with them or take their place. They are Clever C and his pet Kangaroo K, Lady L, Farmhand F, Sloppy S, and Zany Z. Later we will learn more about the vowels, Veggie V (who always is with Everloving E, and she is also scared so she is speechless and silent), and Jolly J, who juggles and doesn't ever go near the cliffs and asks Goofy G to take his place. Govinda did a few of the workbook pages that go with it. Next, we practiced Clever C's and Goofy G's two sounds, which we will go into more next week. I'm finding much success with writing words on the white board for him to read and taking it easy on handwriting.

Reading: I'm so happy to say that Govinda read a Level 2 Step Into Reading Book from the library called Toad On The Road. Now that he's advancing with reading, he says that he likes library books better than the McRuffy readers (I think because they seem more like 'real books'). I'm just so happy that he read a level 2 book! Woohoo!



Geography: We read more stories about Australia and focused on the platypus and echidna, which are the only two marsupial mammals that lay eggs. Australia's animals are quite amazing. We also discussed how in Sanskrit, 'astra' means 'weapon' or 'powerful bomb' and 'alia/alaya' means 'land of', so Australia means 'land of the powerful bomb', which may explain the extreme desert. We discussed the astra used in the Mahabharata that was used to try to attack a child in the womb, which Sri Krishna stopped. Maybe it went to Astralaya and that is why there are so many marsupials whose babies leave the womb very early on for the safety of the pouch. I also read that some versions of the Ramayana say that Sri Rama sent an astra into the sea, which brought up the island of Australia, which makes sense because there is so much salt and shell fossils there. One dvd we saw said that when they brought in irrigation for farming, the salt in the ground rose and the water became more salty than the ocean!

Thank you to all of our supporters and well wishers. Take care and God Bless!