Our 2012 school year is off to a great start!



We began our first day of school August 6, 2012.  Our first two days have gone well.  We created a banner for our homeschool this year.  Each of the kids had a word from our homeschool name.  "Kolbe Academy of Louisville" was decorated and the 12 fruits of the Holy Spirit listed throughout the pieces.  If we can focus on these, we will surely have a wonderful year.





 The boys and I took a walk yesterday to prepare for Tuesday's Art project. They are working with water color paints to share their interpretation of our neighborhood. Samuel's picture includes McDonald's and Jonathan decided to paint our home. We also took photos of various landmarks on our walk and may use these for a collage later in the year.





Samuel's Masterpiece



Jonathan's masterpiece



Alaina is working with water color pencils. She was to observe something outside and then draw it from memory. She colored it with water color pencils and then "painted" lightly over each color with water. This is a branch on one of the bushes by our front porch. Her piece is very beautiful.



 



Alaina's masterpiece

                                                                      



Benjamin's masterpiece

     

 This is what a little guy does when he has not yet started preschool and he finds himself tired of waiting for the others to finish.  My plan was to start Benjamin sometime in September.  I think he does not like that plan and has something else in mind.  He came to me this afternoon and handed me an open (and empty!) three-hole punch.  Then he proceeded to show me where all the "holes" were.  I guess I should be thankful that it was just paper and not glitter.  As many of my family and friends know, we had a glitter incident several years ago with the other two boys.  Boys love messes!

I hope to share more of our work on this blog throughout the school year.  I really did not do much with it last year and found myself giving up on it because I felt I had fallen too far behind.  As we begin a new school year, I think it is important to try again and share some of these moments with our family and friends.  These moments are part of what homeschooling is all about for our family.  Maybe I can find a better blog service before I get too far into this year or maybe I will learn how to use this one more effectively.  I find this particular service to be very challenging to use.  If others have suggestions for me, please let me know.  I would like it to be a bit more user friendly.



February First Friday

We put decorated and passed out tissue boxes to the residents at a local nursing home.  These once a month trips offer so much to the children.  They are able to attend mass with the residents, have lunch with the other children, learn about a particular topic, and create a craft (that they often give to the residents).  This is also an opportunity for me to get some social time with other moms.  The support for the residents, the children, and the mothers is priceless.

After delivering the tissue boxes to the residents, we decorated Valentine cookies.  Part of the topic included a discussion about storing treasure in heaven.  The cookies represented a treasure on earth.

Science Fair in New Albany, IN

We participated in a science fair on February 5 for the first time this year.  I have not been involved with an science fair since high school and had forgotten how much was involved.  Nevertheless, the kids had a good time and next year will involve some better (and earlier) planning.

  

Jonathan's project was on "Magnets".  He had some adorable little frogs racing around the track.

\

Samuel chose multiple items to drop in the water.  He made a list of which items would sink or float.  He then tested his hypothesis.

Alaina's project was on "Wind Power".  She created a windmill and attempted to light a tiny light bulb.  She was able to generate power and showed this on a small galvanometer; however, she was not able to generate enough power to light the bulb.

All Saints Day Celebration

On the First Friday in November, our homeschool group celebrated All Saints Day with a "Name That Saint" game.  All of the children prepared clues and dressed in costume.  This has become a tradition for this group and is always an exciting event for the children.  We often have residents from Little Sisters of the Poor peek into the room offering their guesses as well.  There are many prizes for everyone.  We ended the day with a few games of bingo-All Saints style. We presented St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, St. Domini Savio, and St. Gabriel the Archangel.

A Tasty Way to Finish a Unit!

We finished a study on St. Rose of Lima in December 2010.  We thought it would be fun to end with something yummy.  The cake is the shape of a cross, because this was the symbol St. Rose found most significant.  The cross meant everything to this young girl and she did not hesitate to take up her cross for Christ.  She was called Rose because she was so beautiful. (fun fact from www.catholic.org)

       

Doing a Little More in the Homeschool than We Imagined.....

In November, it was time to take our science program up a notch.  We dissected an owl pellet.  To my surprise, Alaina found it very interesting.  i was definitely more"grossed out" than she was.  She took a lot of time carefully pulling out the various bones, identifying them, and then determined that this particular pellet was the result of a rodent the owl had eaten.

Comparing Climates

In October, we compared rainfall and temperature in our area to that of an area in the tropical rain forest using bar graphs.

Children of Fatima Shadow Box

Alaina's second study in literature this year was The Children of Fatima.  We always enjoy the books we choose to study, but this was very special.  It was easier for Alaina to relate to this book, because the children were close to her age and it happened less than 100 years ago.

Preparing the interior of her shadow box.

Decorating inside the shadow box.

Happy with her final product.









For more information on Our Lady of Fatima, go to:
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/portugal/fatima-shrine-of-our-lady-of-fatima

Roller Skating

We went roller skating with a local homeschool group in mid-September.  This was the first time the boys have been to a skating party.  Alaina had not been to a skating party since we started homeschooling.  This was a lot of fun for all of them.

Systems of Classification

In September of this year, Alaina was studying classification systems in science.  She used a 16 bean soup mix to practice this.

Samuel has been learning about classifying animals and created a fun book.

Jonathan has been learning about patterns in his math class and had some fun with teddy bear counters.