On To Week Three of First Grade!

Week three has been a good bit smoother than the first few.  Emma is really reading well.  I keep telling her that I am sick of her growing up!  Then she recites her number facts with a sort of "I'm growing up and there is nothing you can do about it" smile.  I jokingly and playfully place my hands over my ears in denial that our little Emma is becoming not so little.

There is a reason that we teach our children - an overarching goal for education.  We want our children to be life long learners.  School is simply a means of building the necessary foundations for a life of thoughtful, God-glorifying learning.  Because we are created in the image of God, we have a deep desire to know more about Him as well as the world He has created.  Learning more about Him leads to loving Him more.  And as we learn about and love God, we are able to love others as well.

Our motto at "Moore Academy" is We Learn More So That We Can Love More.

Now, on to what we are learning!  Emma is learning a lot about the history of the world.  We have begun learning about ancient civilization of Egypt.  She knows now that the Egyptians began to write upon stone; and that this is what we call hieroglyphics.  Similarly, the Sumerians wrote on wet clay (to make it easier), which is called cuneiform.

One day her friends came over for a school project.  They built Egyptian pyramids out of sugar cubes!

Jude, however, had more of an appetite for eating the pyramids than a desire to build them!

In our reading class, we are reading The Story for Kids.  This is a great book that simplifies the Bible for kids.  Every day two chapters are read and Emma is required to "narrate" the main things that she learned from the story.  Because we are flying through this book, I went to the library yesterday to get more.

The classical curriculum introduces children to the classics at an early age.  Soon we will be reading Homer and other ancient works.  By reading the simple versions of these books now, the students will be less threatened by them when they get to read the actual works in high school.

Jude continues to be adjusting to the schedule well.  He likes to color and cut paper.  Then he usually joins in on the reading.  He can't sit still for long though before he gets a little bizarre...

Emma is also required to read and memorize four poems throughout the year.  She has memorized the first one already - I think its called the Caterpillar or something.  You can watch the video here.

What is pretty awesome is that yesterday at breakfast Jude recited the Caterpillar too by himself!  That kid!

Okay, that's a wrap!  More to come next week...

Updating You: Week Two!

After week two, a few things are pretty obvious.  First, homeschooling is a lot of work!  Katie and I usually sit and make out a detailed schedule for the following week.  I think this keeps Katie on track as well as keeps me in the learning-loop.

Each day of school is averaging about 2.5 hours and usually takes place during Camille's morning nap time.  This has worked out very well!

Second, homeschooling is very encouraging.  After this week, Katie and the kids are very encouraged and inspired.  One might say that 2 hours is a long time to spend schooling, but there is a flip side to that coin. After those two hours it is PARTY TIME!!!!!

Jude has also been doing very well.  He likes to color, build and make things, as well as sit in on reading time.

Today is Friday, which means that I conduct some of the schooling.  I must say, it was pretty fun.  I taught Spelling, Grammar, Reading and Handwritting today.  Ooops!!!! Shoot!  I forgot to do Math!  I gotta tell ya, being the teacher reminds me what a great woman Katie is.  Just look at Jude here:

You can tell that I'm in charge.  He still has his jammies on!

And...take a look at Emma:

I'm driving her crazy!  Even still, we had a great time today.  We read a story about Pinnochio.  We learned the difference between the letters "j" and "g".  And we read about Elijah and Elisha:

Earlier this week Katie taught the kids about large cats. Then they all made masks so they could act like the cats they learned about.  Emma was a cheetah princess and Jude was a tiger - WATCH OUT!

Well, that about wraps up Week 2 of first grade.  OUT!

First Day of First Grade - Emma Goes to School

Well, here we go.  This blog is our attempt to keep everybody up to date with the Moore's.  While most updates will be regarding school, we will post a few family updates here and there.

Yesterday, August 22, 2011, marked the first day of first grade for both Emma and Mommy.  But since school is at home, the other kids (Jude and Camille) get to benefit as well.  So, without further adieu, here is Katie's (a.k.a., Mrs. Mom) update:

First, meet the students:

Emma (in the pink shirt), aspires to be a fashionista/super model/clothes designer and veterinarian.  And since vet is a possibility, we are starting school so she can learn to read and write - not just color and draw all the time

Jude (tongue out and camouflage boots), aka: Garbage Boy, loves playing with guns, swords and BUGS.  He also likes helping his mom by throwing trash in the "big garbage" for her.

Camille (chillin' with her cold snack) likes to get her way, scream, and say "no" (imagine that cute little voice!).  She studies the back of her eyelids during school time, which is EXTREMELY helpful for Mrs. Mom and the other 2 students.

This morning, Emma asked what I would be called since we are "playing school." We decided on Mrs. Mom.  School was great!  In math, Emma set up her own grocery store in the kitchen where she sorted different grocery items on "shelves" and labeled them based on what they had in common.

Tomorrow she will get to "purchase" some of these items and learn to pay for them using change.  She also did the really fun stuff like adding and subtracting.

Then, we copied a sentence from "Little House in the Big Woods" and read about creation, Noah, and Abraham from the Bible.  Emma narrated on what she remembered as the most important facts from these stories.  Then she drew a picture based on this narration.

My favorite line of the day was, "I am going to make Eve have a cheetah print strapless dress." And she did!  Note: I told her that may have been pretty accurate since God did use animal skins to cover them after they sinned.  She thought God was pretty stylish too.

Spelling was pretty easy today, though she got a little tired of school by this point.

Here are some other pictures from the day.  Enjoy!

Here We Are!

The answer to this question separates the Christian Scriptures from every other written form of communication in human history.  For some, it is the reason they love the Word of God.  And for others, it is the reason they hate it. 

The answer is clear, but it is not necessarily simple or easy.  Plummer notes, “If God wrote the Bible, why does Paul say in his letter to Philemon, “I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand” (Philem 19)?”  So, did God write the Bible or did man?