Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Tads and Frogs

So its been a while since I posted about the froglets.

Well Lily is HUGE, let me rephrase that - she's GIGANTIC, compared to what I expected. The girls have taken to calling her the piggy. With that said, Tad now called Lucy - but forever Tad in my book - is as big as Lily was when she arrived.

We put them together in the same tank for a bit, but poor Tad became quite skittish and freaks out when anyone comes near. Plus she didn't seem to be getting any of the food we put in the tank, so I separated her out so she could get as big as Lily and at least be able to hold her own in the food department.

So the girls are doing well. Caring for them is super easy. My girls feed them each morning and each night after dinner. I've been dealing with the water changes, though M will have to do it for a week in order to ear her Animals Try It.

All in all its been a good experience though M seems to address the worry of Lily or Tad dying soon... I told her whatever happens as long as we were good to her while she is with us we will have memories of her.

I truly think I might some day like to get another froggie - different kind this time (along with the doggie) but we'll need to do more research on their care and maintenance.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

All Straightened Out - ha not

Did I say we had most of next year's curriculum figured and that we were putting all our eggs in one big basket! Silly me... In the last couple days I've been skulking around the internet looking at ideas and places and things, and suddenly I find myself in an uproar over what we will really use! So get back to me around September if you want to see what we really end up doing.

For now I'm happy with our LA
Grammar

Creative Writing - writing process

Reading - comprehension, sequencing and literary response

Vocabulary through reading

Penmanship


LA- I'm testing out a sample Literature unit from Moving Beyond the Page.

SCI - We're gonna hang with the K-12 Science curriculum because I can work with it and add or take away stuff as I see fit. I like that everything is housed there including experiments and activities that make it seem more than just textbook work!

SOC ST. - I may yet end up with an embellished form of the Story of the World for History or I may slink back to K-12 for History - I'm just not sure what I want there.

MAT - Math - we're leaning to K-12, but I could if the right curriculum jumped up and bit me on the hand run with something else - ideally not terribly workbook related - but definitely on par with what is being taught in the schools.

MUS / ART - I'm at a loss, so I need to skulk around some more with my main focus on this! We've got ART covered in some of the classes that she takes, and its something she comes by naturally but MUS.... *sigh* MUSIC I suck at!

Ah well, all good plans need to be revised.... so we have some more leg-work to do!

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Summer Brownie Badges

We're going to work on some Brownie Badges over the summer. It'll be fun and it will keep her busy.

Here is what we're going to work on - with additions and changes of course.
  1. WeatherWise (BDC - WV)
  2. Colors and Shapes (pg 90)
  3. All in the Family (pg 58)
  4. Hobbies (pg 36)
  5. Animals (pg 86)
  6. Me and My Shadow pg 42 - along with our Science curric
  7. WildFlower Finder (BLC - PA)
  8. Art to Wear (pg 18)
  9. Eco-Explorer (pg 102)
  10. Friends are fun (pg 62)

Unsure where this will take us and how long it will take to get there. But we're on our way!

Focusing on Grade 2 Skills.

I'm spending the next little while looking for websites that are specifically geared to acquiring or practicing Grade 2 skills, sites that might be of interest to me. I'd like to add to this page as I pick out more, but here is the current list

Math Grade 2
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/skills_2nd.htm
Lots of links here too different skills.

http://www.gsc.amdsb.ca/grade2/grade2_math.htm there are a number of different games focusing on skills related to grade two from counting change to matching times.


Social Studies Grade 2
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/skills_k_social.htm
Lots of links to different skills, also different lesson plans

Family, Family history
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/familytree/

http://bensguide.gpo.gov/k-2/neighborhood/index.html explains the roll of helpers in the community

Hopefully more to come