Last Day of Tutoring!!

Yup that's right, Mr. Monkey has gone gang busters over the past year and is now up to grade level for his spelling (or language comprehension in my opinion). He has been seeing an Orton-Gillingham tutor.

When we brought him home from public school last year it was quite the shock to see his spelling or lack there of. I could barely make out what he was writing. The report cards I got from school though said he was a 'B' speller. Unfortunately the way they have things setup he was able to memorize what was needed until the test and then the retention was gone. I too was fooled LOL

So we went in search of a tutor that worked with children with dyslexia. Although Jacob has no formal diagnosis I think he has a form of dyslexia called, dysgraphia. He can read like no ones business but he has a disconnect in writing the words. So this tutoring is built around a multi-sensory approach, touching all senses to retain the information.

He learns language rules, rather than rote spelling and in that can have better success remembering the spelling of things. We have seen a big improvement in his spelling. Is it perfect, ahhh no, but he has a MUCH better foundation and I can see he feels more confident in his spelling :)

We are pretty proud of all that he's done over the year :)

en francés

In January I think we are going to try some French on for size :) Nothing too serious just labelling things, numbers, letters, small stories...

I've had a love/hate relationship with French. As a student I hated trying to remember all the labels to memorize, the various vous/nous, la, le, etc etc... and proper pronunciation of things. As an adult I kick myself for not being open to giving it an honest try!

So I'm going to take December and prep for some fun with French! Little Miss is totally going to love it, Mr. Monkey....hmmm...we'll have to see LOL

Geography

So we've been studying Canadian Geography, specifically learning the provinces and territories. Having mastered that we have moved on to the different terrain throughout our wonderful country. We decided a hands on activity was best suited for the task...

Once he had the map covered with our dough he painted the different areas (lowlands, Mountians, hills etc etc) Which sparked a discussion about why we get certain natural resources from specific areas! Pretty fun :)

And Little Miss also had the same stuff but took things in her own little direction LOL Fun was had though!

Sharkfest

Little Miss started hockey this year and had her first game at a well known arena in town! She was so thrilled and so were we to watch her! She had some time chasing the puck and being in net (her favourite). I have a video below of her big save :)

Click here for the Big Save: She does the big save around the 1:05 mark in the video. Sorry it's shaking I was cheering (as you'll hear LOL) and well it's shaky!!

Click here for Getting the puck!

Waiting for her metal

Wooo Hooo one of her own, she was so pleased to compare hers with Mr. Monkey LOL

Mexico!

We had a potluck with some great friends this past Friday. We select a country, make some traditional food (or try really hard) and do some activities that may be found in that particular country. Here are a few pictures of the fun and of course FOOD!

Thanks to Carol for all the work on the sugar skulls and getting things ready for us and to all the moms for the YUMMY food, my most favourite month yet!!

Sugar Skulls

Royal Winter Fair

We went to the Royal Winter Fair today and had a really good time. It's an agricultural fair and there is plenty to see and do. Our favourites were the hands on petting area, the rabbits and guinea pigs and the Super Dog Show.

Here's a few pictures:

Can I keep reading??

I NEVER thought I would hear those words uttered from my boys mouth...but today it happened! He is reading a series called Beast Quest and is really liking it. We have gone through MANY different series of books trying to find something that he liked and could comprehend. A lot of the books were too wordy, boring, no illustrations and the list went on and on...

When we found this series it had just the right mix, clear fun story, a few illustrations to help solidify what he's read and a set of characters he has grown to really like.

This has been such a LONG time in coming. When we brought him home from school he was such a reluctant reader. He can read words like nobodies business but just didn't like it. We've persevered and today those 4 words made me think our hard work has paid off.

What an awesome moment! Yahooooo :)

S P I T and B U T T

Thaaaaat's right my girls first 4 letter word spelt all my herself was SPIT!!! And the second BUTT ha ha ha! Awesome!

Where we are currently...

I've been light on the pictures thus far as our studies have taken on a different look this year. Last year I went with anything I could get my hands on and basically created the curriculum as I went. Lots of fun, LOADS of work!!

This year I have purchased a couple items like a math program, language program, a read along history set and using some free resources for Science and Geography. So this year is a little more structured and a little less overwhelming (for me). I think the boy would like more hands-on stuff but I have assured him that it will come just not as frequently as it did last year.

As a learner he is more settled this year, able to work through a difficult task. I find that I no longer need to be at the table with him, he is becoming MUCH more independent. I remember when we started this, last year, and I was wondering if he would ever be able to work with out my constant encouragement or presence...glad he has chosen the more independent route!

He's fantastical :)

Great Link!

The Canadian Homeschooler website is a great resource with many useful links! Here is a current one for teachers from the CBC website, looks like MANY great topics are included! Thought I would share in case you don't have it :)

http://thecanadianhomeschooler.com/2010/11/cbc-archives/