Monday, August 27, 2012

New School Year

As our summer draws to an end - Abby goes "back to school" next week :( - I figured it was time for a new skill list of things we're going to learn this semester. :)

1. Count to 100 (we can already make it to 50 with some prompting)
2. Be able to identify/write 1-25
3. Math skills (adding, subtracting, diving) up to 25
4. Work on math "concepts," specifically more/less, bigger/smaller, first/second/third, etc.
5. Start working on time - seasons, months, days of week.
6. Be able to say each letter's sound
7. Work on auditory skills - recognizing which words rhyme, which words begin with which letters, etc.
8. Work on cutting & gluing skills.

I bought some new workbooks over the weekend, so this week we're working on finishing up our old ones!

I also bought new chapter books; my plan is to read 1-2 chapters each day before naptime. :) Our reading list for this semester is:

Oliver Twist
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wind in the Willows
Through The Looking Glass
Anne of Green Gables

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

New Skills!

Things Abby's learned to do this summer:

- Write all her letters, upper AND lower case (SCORE!)
- Write 1-10 (and possibly more, but that's as high as our numbers workbook goes. Time for a new one)
- Do simple addition and subtraction (up through 10)
- Write her name

Boiled down, we learned to do four of the six things on our list; we didn't get so much accomplished on the phonics front - we still drill, but she isn't consistently having much success yet in knowing letter sounds, or being able to identify which words go with with letters - but, on the other hand, she learned lower-case as well as upper-case letters, and that wasn't on our list! :) All in all, I'm pleased. We'll continue to work together through the school year.

We also read four chapter books this summer: Dr. Dolittle, Peter Pan, Prince Caspian, and Little Women. I'm also hoping to get through "The Little Princess" before school starts full time.

Monday, August 13, 2012

New Words

Abigail has a new word. No one can figure out where she learned it from, or what (exactly) it means, and at first I was a little worried that she was actually saying a mean word and I just wasn't understanding it properly. On the other hand, she says it lovingly and doesn't look guilty. Who knows?

The word?

Pong.

As in, "You silly pong!" "You're such a silly pong!" "I love her - she's a pong." "Aw, you're my little pong." "Come on, Pong!"

Referring to (respectively): me, Maggie, Mommy, Simba the stuffed lion, and Chocolate Puff.

I have no idea...