October: Polly

Polly has been a fabulous student this month, as usual.  She loves her school work, loves sitting beside me to do it, and she chats my ear off with her huge imagination all the while.  I couldn't ask for better company.  This month Polly has been doing a lot!

Math:

Polly has completed lessons 1 through 38 in her Saxon 3 curriculum.  Here is her most recent lesson:

Polly has been playing catch up with her Math Tests since we've gotten her official Saxon textbooks this month.  Here are her first six Saxon Math tests:

Language Arts:

In Language Arts Polly has completed Lessons 1-31 in her Good & the Beautiful Level 3 curriculum.  Here is her most recent lesson:

 Polly has also been working on her cursive writing and penmanship, as well as continuing with her memorization of The Living Christ.  She has now memorized 4 paragraphs total:

Here are some of Polly's Writing Samples for the month.  She been especially into working on her little novel about a girl and a litter of puppies...

Another random writing sample that I thought was cute was one I found yesterday as Polly was decorating her room like a haunted castle.  Here are some of her crafts from that adventure, as well as her spooky warning to wayward travellers:

She has also been reading a lot.  Some of the titles she's read this month are Black Beauty, A Penny's Worth of Character, and Gentle Ben:

Science:

Polly has been working on the Hearing and Sound unit in Science, and has been really enjoying the little experiments in her Alberta aligned booklet.  Here is some of the work she's done:

Social Studies:

Polly loves reading her Social Studies textbook, and has finished reading all the pages about India.  She has since moved on to studying Peru.  She especially loves watching the videos.  Here are a few of the worksheets she's completed so far:

Extras:

Polly is always doing a million and one creative things, so sometimes it's hard for me to remember all the awesome things she is up to.  One of the great things her and her siblings have been doing this month however, is building their work ethic and earning some money towards a goal.  They've recently decided to earn money to "potentially" get a dog.  First they did a research project to find low shedding dog breeds, as well as responsibilities that would be required and how much the supplies would cost etc.  They have since decided on several ways to make money, including selling baked goods, sewing and selling wheat bags, selling some of their toys and books, and raking leaves.  They have surprised us at how dedicated they could be to their goal and how fast they could work.  In just under a month they are only $25 away from their $300 goal.  Here's a picture of the first yard they raked for pay, as well as some hand warmers and a wheat bag they sewed, and then sold.  They also recently sold a bunch of their gently used costumes leading up to Halloween.  It's been great for them to work together towards a common goal.

Polly is a delight to have in our home.  I love being around her and learning from her bright ideas and creative mind.  What a blessing it is to be her mother.  Lastly, I will leave you with a shot of her Halloween costume this year, which she has been planning since she found the little cane at a yard sale in August...

October: Wilson

Wilson has had a great month!  He is an early riser, who loves to get all his work done early because he's learned that when he does, he has more time to PLAY, which is what he really loves to do.  He fills our house with laughter and joy, and keeps us on our toes with his jokes and riddles.  He is always willing to help, and offers to do so countlessly throughout the day.  He especially loves to make a veggie platter and pasta for lunch, which are Wilson specialties in our home.  Academically, Wilson works quickly (sometimes too quickly), and is extremely bright.  Here's what he's accomplished this month...

Math:

In Math, Wilson has completed his Saxon 6/5 lessons through Lesson 30, followed by Investigation 3, which I've included here:

Wilson also got caught up on all his Math Tests this month, once we got his books in the mail.  So far he has completed Tests 1-5:

Language Arts:

In Language Arts, Wilson does 2 lessons daily.  He has completed his Good & the Beautiful Lessons through lesson 33, both in his lesson book as well as in his Creative Companion.

Wilson has continued his diligence with memorization, and has now memorized 5 paragraphs from The Living Christ.  When working on it as a family, Wilson is always the first one to pass his paragraph off.  He's sharp, and he's fast.  When it comes to memorization, he knows what he's doing!

Wilson is part of a Thomas Jefferson High book club, where they just finished reading Pollyanna, and are now reading The Phantom Tollbooth.  He is also continuing to read the Harry Potter series, as well as short stories, the scriptures, and the National Geographic Kids and Friend magazines.

Wilson has been spending a LOT of time writing a story, which he is LOVING!  It started out as an assignment in his Language Arts lesson, and has now developed into something he wants to do daily once he is finished his other lessons.  Here's his story so far:

Science:

Wilson is continuing his study of Wetland Ecosystems.  He put together this PowerPoint presentation to show off a few of the things he's learned...

Social Studies:

Wilson is studying Canadian Geography for his Alberta Aligned Social Studies curriculum.  

He also has been studying Belgium and Italy in his Language Arts studies...

This included a very fun day when he made Italian Gnocchi for us all for lunch.  It was delicious!

Extra Curricular:

Wilson started Break Dancing Classes 2 weeks ago, which he has been wanting to do for a couple of years, so he's quite thrilled about that.  The rest of his free time he usually spends entertaining his siblings, reading a book, or doing various crafts, his favourite of which lately have been pom pom pets.

In addition to his other hobbies, Wilson and his siblings recently made a goal to earn money to "potentially" get a dog.  First they did a research project to find low shedding dog breeds, as well as responsibilities that would be required and how much the supplies would cost etc.  They have since decided on several ways to make money, including selling baked goods, sewing and selling wheat bags, selling some of their toys and books, and raking leaves.  They have surprised us at how dedicated they could be to their goal and how fast they could work.  In just under a month they are only $25 away from their $300 goal.  Here's a picture of the first yard they raked for pay, as well as some hand warmers and a wheat bag they sewed, and then sold.  They also recently sold a bunch of their gently used costumes leading up to Halloween.  It's been great for them to work together towards a common goal.

I'm extremely happy to be this boy's mother.  He is seriously the funnest person to be around, he has a heart of gold, and he can light up a room like nobody else.  We are sure glad to have him in our home.  Just for fun, here's a shot of his Halloween Costume too: