Focus on Annika Clare

I've decided that every so often I'll make a post that focuses on one of my children and something that is of special interest to them.  All of my children love to draw, but my daughter Annika Clare has always excelled in this area.  I honestly don't remember a time after she learned to hold a crayon that she wasn't drawing something.  At 3 year old she was able to draw well enough that everyone knew what she was aiming for.  She's also very detail oriented in her drawings and tries to make them as real to life as possible.  She loves all things animals, from the tiniest creepy crawly to the largest mammals on earth.  Almost daily she surprises me by leaving a drawing she's made on the table by my computer or next to my bed.  I've decided to share with you two of her most recent pictures.  


When we started our new school year I found this drawing at my place on the school table. It is a drawing of our school mascot, the phoenix.  After I found it she told me it was rising up out of the ashes to begin anew, and that it was to represent the beginning of our new school year. 

Earlier today we watched the Disney film Secretariat, which I felt she would really enjoy because one of her favorite animals is the horse.  She hopes to one day own a few of them.  About 30 minutes after the movie was over she emerged from her room (which she often calls her art studio) with this drawing of the title character.  She told me she used one of her Schleich figures as a model so she could be as accurate as possible. 

My daughter is truly a joy in my life and brightens it daily with her kind, loving nature.  I love that she embraces her creative side as often as she possibly can.  
I hope you have enjoyed her drawings as much as I do.

Weekly Review -- February 28 - March 4, 2011

This was a good week, we hit the books and got quite a bit done.  The weather was crazy, warm, then cold.We were able to do take a field trip and did a fun art project.

Everett...

completed the rest of Steps 19-21 in All About Spelling level 2. Saxon math 7/6 lessons 17-19 were completed. Penmanship with Handwriting without Tears Cursive is continuing to go really well.  First Language Lessons level 3 is going well, he completed lessons 3-5.  He also completed week 2 of Writing with Ease level 3, and has really enjoyed the reading passages from the.  His narrations are getting better every time we do one, and he's doing extremely well with the dictation exercises.  He even wrote out one of his narrations in cursive, which was great practice, and a huge surprise for me.  I've included a picture of it here.

Annika...

completed pages 5-10 in Explode the Code Book 4.  She finished steps 13 and 14 in All About Spelling level 1.  Saxon Math 3 lessons 29-31 were completed. We worked through lessons 4-6 in First Language Lessons level 1.  She's memorized The Caterpillar by Christina G. Rosetti, but is having trouble remembering the authors name.  Over all I'm really impressed with her work in FLL.  She had fun with Writing with Ease level 1 week 6, she managed to cut her narration down to include just the highlights.

Lucas...

finished pages 48-54 in his Get Ready for the Code book. He completed lessons 14-16 in Saxon Math K.  Here's a few pictures of him having fun with pattern blocks during math.

Science and History
This was a Science week, but we also did a little history.  For science we worked on the elements beryllium and magnesium from group 2.  The kids dissolved some epsom salt and then let the water evaporate to show the difference between the crystals of the dissolved epsom salt and the way it comes when purchased.  For history we read about the start of the slave trade in america and then made some african stamp paintings.

  


We also had a fun field trip this week.  We went to the Virginia Zoo because they were allowing zoo members in to get a sneak peak of the new Trail of the Tiger exhibits.  The tigers weren't out yet, as their habitat is not quite finished but we saw lots of other fun animals and had a great time.  The zoo was fairly quiet which made for an enjoyable trip, where the kids were able to see all the animals an ask zoo staff questions about them.

We're ending the week by anxiously awaiting the arrival of our new All About Reading Program for Lucas.  Hopefully we'll have some nice weather as well.

Exciting News from All About Learning Press

It's Here!  It's Here!
That's right, All About Learning Press, the makers of All About Spelling are launching the first installment of of their new learning to read program aptly named All About Reading and it's now available Here





Here's a picture of the Pre Level 1 program.

This picture shows the deluxe program kit.

The Basic Package is $79.95 and includes everything you'd need to teach the program
The Teachers manual/student materials pack
Letters sounds CD rom
Divider cards
The Zigzag Zebra: alphabet rhyming book
Lizard Lou: rhymes old and new book 
These last two are quality hardcover books


The Deluxe package is $119.95 and includes all of the items in the basic kit plus
Zebra Puppet
Activity card box to hold all your student cards
All About Reading Tote Bag.


If you order before either of the above packages before March 7th, you'll also receive free of charge the audio book versions of The Zigzag Zebra and Lizard Lou, a $20 value.


All items are also available separately, 
please click here, then click on products and then click on the yellow sunburst to see individual component prices as well as samples (Scroll to the bottom of the product page for the samples)

All About Learning Press is also currently offering these two free ebooks.

Click here to receive your two free All About Reading Pre-Level 1 ebooks

Free E-Book #1: In the Kitchen with the Zigzag Zebra 

The Zigzag Zebra is in the kitchen cooking up a storm, and your child can help! And while your child is helping Ziggy, he or she will be absorbing critical pre-reading skills. The activities in this e-book focus on rhyming, identifying the first sounds of a word, oral blending, and clapping syllables--all designed to reinforce phonological awareness.

Free E-Book #2: Safari Stories with the Zigzag Zebra

We're on safari with the Zigzag Zebra, and your child can come along! The activities in this e-book focus on listening comprehension, which is a precursor to reading comprehension. You can foster listening comprehension by discussing stories and characters, expanding vocabulary, and exposing children to a wide variety of activities. Sequencing activities--such as those found in this activity book--are also great for improving comprehension.