Our Adventures As CSIs

Sorry it has been so long. Our computer was down for about a month and then things have been crazy trying to get everything done online!

Anyway, a few months back we went to the California Science Center on a field trip. Even more exciting was the fact that Daddy was able to go with us as well!

The Science Center was having a CSI exhibit as their special program, and for all you who know me I LOVE the show CSI! So, this was great for all of us. We got to view a "crime scence" and figure out what we would need as clues from the scene to solve the murder mystery. And then we went through the "lab" and examined all our clues and data that we had "retrieved." We even got to go to the "autopsy room" and view the body and talk to the doctor. And the whole time were being guided by the dreamy CSI Investigator, Nick Stoles from the TV show. Okay, so maybe the rest of the family wasn't as excited as I was. After completeing all the parts we got to check and see if our conclusion was the right one. And guess what, we were right! I guess all those hours watching CSI paid off!

The girls tried out rock climbing! I am so proud of them for trying it out. Emma didn't want to at first because she thought it looked too high, but then when we told her she didn't have to go all the way to the top she was game to give it a try. Both girls were so excited and wante dto go again!

We also watched the IMAX movie Under The Sea in 3-D. It was really cool but the 3-D started to give me a headche, again. The girls had a great time watching it and it was really fun and educational. We learned about all different kinds of sea life. It talked about most of the sea animals that are in Finding Nemo. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming!

And of course we tried out all the different exhibits.

The whole time we were having fun and learning at the same time! Now that's my idea of school! I love the freedom that homeschooling gives us to take a day and go do something fun!

New Spelling List

Here is our new spelling list for this week. With Spell To Write And Read it's not always about giving them words to learn how to spell. They teach the spelling of the word, what it means, when to use it, etc.

Spell To Write And Read

Every week I give the girls a new spelling list of 10 words. I get the spelling words from the spelling curriculum we are using, Spell To Write And Read.

The Spell to Write and Read Program took alot of effort on my side at the beginning, reading and rereading all the material and trying to understand how the program works. I actually spent the first semester of this year reading and rereading and feeling very overwhelmed because I wasn't understanding the program. The teacher's book, Spell to Write And Read actually tells you, "Your first goal is to get a general overview. A more solid mastery will come as you teach." (pg 18) "Complete Understanding is not expected at first. . . .Understanding grows for both the student and teacher as key insights are repeated in application to a variety of words over a period of time." (pg 19) I wish that I would have listened to that instead of trying to learn it all first. I took 3 months to learn it, and when I started teaching it I still didn't feel like I knew what I was doing. I have discovered that I have learned the most and easiest when I was teaching it to the girls. It all fell into place and made sense.

Now that we have started the program I am loving it. It is easy to use and the girls are learning a lot! I wish I would have started using it when Mia was in Kindergarten instead of waiting until she was in 2nd grade and Emma in 1st. There is a great simplicity in the way the program presents spelling rules and phonograms. Even I am learning things that I never learned, I knew things were spelled a certain way but I didn't know why. Now I do!

The program is actually pretty economical. I know that about $100 sounds like a lot to pay for a spelling curriculum. But, when you realize that I won't have to pay for another curriculum for 6 years or so, it actually works out to be quite cheap!

This week I started anew thing that for their bonus words each girl picks one word they want to learn how to spell, or that they have had trouble with, etc.

Here is their spelling list for this week. I like the site kidsspell because I can create customized spelling lists, that the site then incorporates into the spelling games on the site. The girls then visit this site throughout the week and play games that help them practice their spelling words. You can use this site, even if your kids attend public school. Just upload their spelling words for the week, bookmark the link, and then you child can visit and practice their words!



Sanseri, Wanda. Spell To Write and Read. Milwaukie, OR: Back Home Industries, Inc., 2007.

Valentine's Party

For Valentine's Day, our homeschool group does an annual Valentine's Party at Chuck E Cheese every year. If you want to see the details about the party visit our family blog: http://campfirerereflections.blogspot.com/.

If you just want to read the article here is is: http://campfirerereflections.blogspot.com/2009/02/valentines-party.html

Welcome

I just wanted to take this chance to welcome everyone who has decided to stop by!

We are a homeschooling family here in southern California. Mom, Marci, is the Administrator and Head Teacher at our homeschool. Dad, Erik, is the Principal and Secondary Teacher. Mia and Emma are the students and often times little teachers as well, as they are constantly teaching us new things!

We know that homeschooling is not for everyone. So, don't feel like we are trying to push our views on you. We feel that we have been guided by our loving Heavenly Father that this is the right choice for our family at this time.

I love to have my kids with me through out the day and watching them learn and grow. (Well, at least most days.) ;) My favorite part of any teaching day is when I see the "light bulb" turn on and it all makes sense to the girly-girls!

So far the girls love homeschooling as well. We ask then every so often if they would rather be in public school and they always answer no. They enjoy being at home and having more freedom to try different activities and spend time on things that interest them.

Mia's favorite thing about homeschooling is that, "There's lots of fun in Science!" Science is her favorite subject because, "There is a lot more action. And I am an action girl!" We do a lot of experiments and hands on learning with a lot of our subjects, but almost all of science is hands on.

Emma's favorite thing about homeschooling is "Mindbenders and learning about Space. Because they are fun and easy." We just spent almost two months exploring space, Emma's request! Spanish is her favorite subject because, "You get to learn another language." We are using the Rosetta Stone Spanish, Latin America curriculum.

We started using the Charter School option this year and we are loving it! We are using Sky Mountain Charter School, and we have the best Educational Specialist (ES) ever, we love you Peggy! We meet with our ES every 20 days and give her our attendance as well as list of things that we have been working on and learning. She collects writing samples, samples of their work, and even pictures of what they have been doing. All of this goes into their portfolio.

We are given a certain allotment of funds that we can use each semester to buy supplies, curriculum, and to to pay for classes throughout the year. This is how we were able to afford Rosetta Stone, Math U See, their dance classes, Art class, as well as others. We are given the freedom to use the money to purchase what we feel will be most beneficial for our girly-girls. There are guidelines and rules on what the money can and can not be used for.

Mia will be taking the STAR test this year, Emma is too young to take the test this year, she will also have to take it next year. As well as the STAR test they were both given an Assessment test at the beginning of the year to mark where they were.

If you have any questions or comments please leave them below. We would love to hear from you but please keep your comments non confrontational. We are not trying to convince you that this is the only way to go, if you don't like what you are reading then leave, please don't be hateful. And please don't leave comments that we need to send them to public school, we are following the law as well as our hearts, you're not going to change our minds.

Happy Learning!