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!

Summer's Cool

Here's some recent pictures from our latest adventures. Govinda made a kite all on his own and had fun taking pictures. Navin is having fun being cute. :)

Australia Book List

*About marsupials : a guide for children by Sill, Cathryn P
AUSTRALIAN LEGENDARY TALES by Parker, K. Langloh
Australian wildlife by Parish, Steve
Big rain coming by Germein, Katrina
Bright star by Crew, Gary
The biggest frog in Australia by Roth, Susan L.
*Dingoes At Dinnertime by Mary Pope Osborne
Dreamtime : aboriginal stories by Noonuccal, Oodgeroo
Down under, down under : diving adventures on the Great Barrier Reef by McGovern, Ann.
Ernie dances to the didgeridoo : for the children of Gunbalanya by Lester, Alison
Flood fish by Eversole, Robyn Harbert.
*The flying emu and other Australian stories by Morgan, Sally
*Found you, Little Wombat! by McAllister, Angela
*Grumble-rumble! by Dodds, Siobhan
Into wild Australia by Corwin, Jeff
Katy no-pocket by Payne, Emmy
*Koala Lou by Fox, Mem
Marsupial Sue by Lithgow, John
Marsupial Sue presents the Runaway Pancake by Lithgow, John
*McGillycuddy could! by Edwards, Pamela Duncan
*The singing snake by Czernecki, Stefan
The very boastful kangaroo by Most, Bernard
What shall we do, blue kangaroo? by Chichester Clark, Emma.
Where are you, blue kangaroo? by Chichester Clark, Emma.
Kangaroos and koalas : what they have in common by Swan, Erin Pembrey.
Possum magic by Fox, Mem, 1946-
The pumpkin runner by Arnold, Marsha Diane.
*Swim, little wombat, swim! by Fuge, Charles.
The Wiggles. Lights, camera, action! by Bufalo, Nicholas.
*Wombat goes walkabout by Morpurgo, Michael.
Wombats by Kras, Sara Louise.
*The old woman who loved to read by Winch, John
Snap! by Vaughan, Marcia K
*Sun Mother wakes the world : an Australian creation story by Wolkstein, Diane
Where the forest meets the sea by Baker, Jeannie

DVDs:
The crocodile hunter. Wildest home videos ; Big croc diaries by Stainton, John.
Wonders of the deep. Vol. 2 by Paulson, Doug.
Jacques Cousteau Pacific explorations. 3, Australia, continent of dreams by Cousteau, Jacques
Kookaburra song on youtube

Last Week of Summer Break!

Language Arts: We'll start back up with academics next week. We finished our Alphabet Island poster and added more to make it bigger. The island is above the school table, which becomes part of the island. Govinda also drew a bulldozer on the chalkboard and we checked out a bunch of books about earth movers because he is sooooo interested in them.

Geography: We started reading about Australia and all of the animals there, especially marsupials. We colored the map and flag of Australia.

African Animals

We had fun adding African animals to the world map. We're finishing up all of our Africa projects and moving on to Australia soon!

Dozing The Ten Trees

There was a bulldozer clearing an empty lot on our road for a whole month. We watched some big trees fall, including mango and coconut trees. It made a big impression on the boys, and everything in the house has become a dozer...chairs, tables, wooden blocks, and when some friends gave us a bunch of legos, they became very intricate dozers. So, while all the toys were being dozed, I added in some educational trees...cuisenaire math rods. I made them all into 10 cm trees and the boys had fun dozing them and having them grow back again and again. Soon after, the smaller units became cones to block the roads near the dozing sites. This is the most that these math rods have been used so far! While they're playing, they're seeing different ways of adding up to ten.