Y is for Yak

I again am using Artsy Animals Learn to Read. Chayce didn't want to draw her own yak, so I photocopied & let her color the yak from the book. I don't think she cared much today, given that if this were a picture of a princess or ballerina, she'd have stayed in the lines.

Zach took the challenge to draw his own yak. In fact, this is Zac's Yak, see? I used the moment to introduce ownership punctuation. Small lessons add up!

A real Yak.

I used the wikipedia entry on Yaks to provide some information.



Onto math! The neat thing about today (and that I'm learning about home school in general) is that sometimes, what you THINK is going to be a math lesson, turns out to be a reading lesson. For example, today, Zach learned about charts & graphs & following through. For Chayce, she helped match the color word on the outside of the crayon with the color words on the page.

X is for xenopus

We studied frogs today, using the xenopus frog as our X word. We also looked at X-rays in our World Book encyclopedia. It was fun. While talking about frogs, we talked about tongues. Then we drifted off to talk about our tongues. While talking about how our tongues work, I remembered an experiment that I found in Kid's National Geographic (thanks for the subscription, Effie!). We took some yummy Jelly Belly Jelly Beans, because their flavors are so accurate. Then, you plug the child's nose, and put the jelly bean into their mouth. When they can't breathe, all they can taste is sour, sweet, or bitter. (and spicy as Zach pointed out). Then, with that same bean in their mouth, let go of their nose...then they will taste the flavor of the bean. The look of amazement that crosses their faces is awesome. They learn the importance of the senses working together. Fun, fun.

Zach's rendering of a xenopus frog.

A real xenopus frog.

I've also found out that you can purchase frogs with transparent skin, so that you can watch their organs work (no dissection!) and have a pet to take care of. They are about $30, but I think it's a pet I may be willing to bring into the house. Just make sure your state doesn't outlaw exotic pets, as the species is African, and some states, like Montana, won't let you buy one legally.

Z is for zorilla.

I've been trying to figure out when to fit school into the day, and not have my house fall apart. I came to the conclusion that house work will always be there, so I could move it to right after lunch, and do school in the morning when the kids are fresh. So far, so good.

I decided that we'd begin studying the alphabet again, but in a more fun way. First of all, we're going backwards. Second, we're learning about an animal that begins with that letter. Today we began with 'Z'. Learning how to draw both zebras & zorillas. What IS a zorilla you ask? Well, most people call them striped weasels. Here's an entry from Encyclopedia.com:

From: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | Date: 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information) Copyright information

zorilla small, carnivorous, nocturnal mammal, Ictonyx striatus, of the weasel family, found in dry regions of Africa. It is also called striped weasel and striped polecat. Although it strongly resembles the North American skunk , a member of the same family, it is more closely related to the true polecat of Eurasia. The zorilla has thick fur with black and white markings, and a long, bushy tail. Its anal glands secrete a pungent fluid that can be ejected as a defense against predators. It is avoided by other animals. It lives in rocky crevices and hunts by night, feeding on small reptiles and rodents. Other African members of the weasel family, also called striped weasels, are more weasellike in appearance, with long, slender bodies. Zorillas are classified in the phylum Chordata , subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Carnivora, family Mustelidae.

"zorilla." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Retrieved January 26, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-zorilla.html

A real Zorilla. They are related to skunks and weasels. Kind of a mix. Stinky, too!

Zach's Zorilla outside a house.

Chayce's Zebra

Zach's Zebra

We used a book called Artsy Animals Learn to Read to draw the zebra and zorilla as well.
I must say that I got my copy from http://www.homeschoolfreebieoftheday.com

We also studied triangles in Saxon Math level K. It fit in well with drawing the Zebra. We looked at trapezoids as well, commenting that a trapezoid looks like a triangle with its head in a 'trap'.

Words--Everywhere!

Today was fruitful. We're working on teaching our 3 year old how to read. Now, I know that some experts say that you shouldn't push the children, but I don't see how introducing a child to the literary world is pushing anything. My oldest was reading by the age of three, with simple lessons given at a young age.
For example, just as I would teach my toddlers that cows say MOO, and birds CHEEP, or TWEET or whatever you want to call it, I tell them the sound of each letter. We accomplished this with alphabet books, where we'd say, "Look! An 'A'! 'A' says aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. Can you say aaaaaaaaaaaa?"

Once the oldest child was proficient at the basic sound of each letter, we'd show him short words, and explain them: "Look, this says B-A-T. Remember each letter's sound? Can you say them slow?"
"bbbbbbbb-aaaaaaaaaa-ttttttttt"
"Good! Let's say it faster."
"baaaattt"
"You just read 'bat'! Wonderful job!"

Once we did that, he ran off and started sounding everything out he could. The other day, he was reading the installation instructions for a new bed out loud to my father as my father worked. Did I mention he's just now five?

So, we are starting with our second oldest. It doesn't have to be hard, really, or planned. The kids were pretending they were birds, using pillows for nests (so sweet!), keeping their eggs warm. Imaginary baby birds kept hatching and running all over my house. Because I couldn't see them, I had to be very careful where I sat. Crushing one's baby bird could lead to tears. Imaginations can be very vivid at this age! It just so happened (really, purely coincidence) that there was a chalkboard right by where they were playing. So, I walked over with a piece of chalk and said, "You are birds. What letter does bird start with?" Of course, the oldest will answer, but I promise that it rubs off on the second. "A 'B'!" he says. And what does the three year old say? "Let me go find the B!" (We have the alphabet printed across the top of our chalk board). She found it, I wrote it down and said, "What would come next if we wanted to spell bird?"
The oldest pipes up, "R!" Which tells me that although decoding is a strong suit for him, spelling is not, so we'll work on that.
I then write all of BIRD on the chalk board, and we talk about birds laying eggs, hatching, we tweet and use magic bird powder to turn me and the baby into birds as well. I also throw in there why we need an "I" before the "R".
Just simple, short lessons. But they work, and they stick much longer than lesson-a-thons do.