We started school on July 16th 2012, took a month off for Baby Sister's birth and rest and we completed the school year on May 10th 2013.
This year we tackled 2nd Grade and IT. WAS. A. BLAST.
BIBLE
This is what I appreciate most about MFW. I REALLY, REALLY love the bible component.
We learnt about the names of Jesus and memorized 15 verses VERY well at heart. Because we put the verses under the table plastic (since halfway through the school year we "lost" our board), the kids get to revise the verses EVERY TIME they were at the table (which is A LOT of the day). Even the girls memorized most of the verses!
Near the end of the year, I used the Fighter Verse App that I got for myself (I LOVE THIS APP!) to put in these verses for boy to practice. He had so much fun with it he asked me to put in extra verses.
I also love the way MFW adds in a lot of teaching on that verse (little by little everyday) and sometimes it even ties to what we were reading or Science. Those are the most fun.
So, I praise Jesus as the
...light of the world
...bread of life
...rock
...living water
...way, truth and life
...Emmanuel
...Lamb of God
...Vine
...head of the body
...Lord of lords, King of kings
...servant
...good shepherd
...Resurrection
...Word
...Alpha and Omega
ENGLISH
We went through 84 lessons of the Primary Language Lessons. I really like this gentle method of language teaching. A simple lesson a day that reinforces grammar, structure, English conversation, comprehension, retelling etc. We would continue with the rest of the lessons in 3rd Grade.
He also learnt cursive writing near the end of school.
SPELLING
We used Spelling by Sound and Structure and I have to say even though it was a way-too-easy book for the boy, it was good practice. I like the practice and I like the fact he can do the lessons independently. He had great esteem through this book because he always aced the tests. =)
MATH
We finished Singapore Math 1B and half of 2A. In the beginning the year he was struggling with Math somewhat, especially Subtraction. Because of the many many many practice, he was getting really good at the sums, even addition, subtraction (of 3 digits) with renaming. I am really proud of him.
He also is proficient in time, but needs work in money, length and charts.
SCIENCE
We enjoyed learning (and the many experiments) from the Usborne books (First Encyclopedia of Science, Science in the Kitchen and Science with Air) Boy (and the girls) really enjoyed the different activities we did.
And we read about Birds, Nests and Eggs.
We learnt about
...Science
...the universe and planets
...seasons
...living things, cells, etc
...Body
...Atoms, molecules
...solids, liquids and gases and how materials change
...gravity
...friction
...magnets
...energy
...air
...birds
MUSIC/ART
We learnt about Tchaikovsky, but I have to say, I wasn't too diligent. We learnt most about nutcracker but not the others.
We started well for I Can Do All Things for art and didn't persist too...maybe because I felt he was such an artist and doing so much drawing already...Hope I can remedy that next year.
HISTORY/GEOGRAPHY
This was the highlight of the year.
We had an overview of the American History which was fascinating for the non-US-citizen mom. At the end of it, we really appreciated how the pioneers and immigrants made this nation to what it is today.
We read MANY MANY books for this purposes and they really enriched our learning.
Boy REALLY REALLY REALLY love The American Pioneers and Patriots book. He would read them over and over and over.
The Story of the US was a great book to read for the understanding of the history.
Some read-alouds (and alone) are really easy to tackle, like The Thanksgiving Story, or Red, White and Blue.
The Courage of Sarah Noble (not in pic) was TEAR-JERKING!!
Some were VERY difficult, like Mountain Born, Farmer's Boy and On the Banks of Plum Creek. We gave up on the first two but it was a great achievement for us to finish the entire Plum Creek.
Squanto was a delightful read and so was In Grandma's Attic. In fact, boy went ahead and finished the latter on his own.
Other books we read (or browsed) for the history and Geography part are here.
I did not remember reading this many books as a second grader. So I felt even though it was quite a task for him (especially in the beginning) I am proud that he persevered and finished many books.
Of course, another highlight was learning about the states. OH HOW HE LOVED THIS!!! Boy is very very drawn to geography (so I think he is going to have a wonderful time next year for ECC). He and his sister learnt about the states easily. Also thanks to the nice map we have for the entire year under the dining table plastic as well.
This is for breakfast today. We're eating America. =)
This is for a little celebration (layered Strawberry crumb cake with cream cheese frosting)
BIBLE
We learnt about the names of Jesus and memorized 15 verses VERY well at heart. Because we put the verses under the table plastic (since halfway through the school year we "lost" our board), the kids get to revise the verses EVERY TIME they were at the table (which is A LOT of the day). Even the girls memorized most of the verses!
Near the end of the year, I used the Fighter Verse App that I got for myself (I LOVE THIS APP!) to put in these verses for boy to practice. He had so much fun with it he asked me to put in extra verses.
I also love the way MFW adds in a lot of teaching on that verse (little by little everyday) and sometimes it even ties to what we were reading or Science. Those are the most fun.
So, I praise Jesus as the
...light of the world
...bread of life
...rock
...living water
...way, truth and life
...Emmanuel
...Lamb of God
...Vine
...head of the body
...Lord of lords, King of kings
...servant
...good shepherd
...Resurrection
...Word
...Alpha and Omega
ENGLISH
We went through 84 lessons of the Primary Language Lessons. I really like this gentle method of language teaching. A simple lesson a day that reinforces grammar, structure, English conversation, comprehension, retelling etc. We would continue with the rest of the lessons in 3rd Grade.
He also learnt cursive writing near the end of school.
SPELLING
We used Spelling by Sound and Structure and I have to say even though it was a way-too-easy book for the boy, it was good practice. I like the practice and I like the fact he can do the lessons independently. He had great esteem through this book because he always aced the tests. =)
MATH
We finished Singapore Math 1B and half of 2A. In the beginning the year he was struggling with Math somewhat, especially Subtraction. Because of the many many many practice, he was getting really good at the sums, even addition, subtraction (of 3 digits) with renaming. I am really proud of him.
He also is proficient in time, but needs work in money, length and charts.
SCIENCE
We enjoyed learning (and the many experiments) from the Usborne books (First Encyclopedia of Science, Science in the Kitchen and Science with Air) Boy (and the girls) really enjoyed the different activities we did.
And we read about Birds, Nests and Eggs.
We learnt about
...Science
...the universe and planets
...seasons
...living things, cells, etc
...Body
...Atoms, molecules
...solids, liquids and gases and how materials change
...gravity
...friction
...magnets
...energy
...air
...birds
MUSIC/ART
We learnt about Tchaikovsky, but I have to say, I wasn't too diligent. We learnt most about nutcracker but not the others.
We started well for I Can Do All Things for art and didn't persist too...maybe because I felt he was such an artist and doing so much drawing already...Hope I can remedy that next year.
HISTORY/GEOGRAPHY
This was the highlight of the year.
We had an overview of the American History which was fascinating for the non-US-citizen mom. At the end of it, we really appreciated how the pioneers and immigrants made this nation to what it is today.
We read MANY MANY books for this purposes and they really enriched our learning.
The Story of the US was a great book to read for the understanding of the history.
Some read-alouds (and alone) are really easy to tackle, like The Thanksgiving Story, or Red, White and Blue.
The Courage of Sarah Noble (not in pic) was TEAR-JERKING!!
Some were VERY difficult, like Mountain Born, Farmer's Boy and On the Banks of Plum Creek. We gave up on the first two but it was a great achievement for us to finish the entire Plum Creek.
Squanto was a delightful read and so was In Grandma's Attic. In fact, boy went ahead and finished the latter on his own.
Other books we read (or browsed) for the history and Geography part are here.
I did not remember reading this many books as a second grader. So I felt even though it was quite a task for him (especially in the beginning) I am proud that he persevered and finished many books.
Of course, another highlight was learning about the states. OH HOW HE LOVED THIS!!! Boy is very very drawn to geography (so I think he is going to have a wonderful time next year for ECC). He and his sister learnt about the states easily. Also thanks to the nice map we have for the entire year under the dining table plastic as well.
I was the one who needed A LOT of help with it. So, last week, I used quite a bit of time to finished learning about where exactly the states are. With some a-hem, help, of course.(a GREAT app, btw)
We used this to make the notebook and it was such an achievement! For every state, he learnt the capital, nickname, motto, abbreviation, flower, bird, quarter, flag, licence plate, seal, bordering states and fun facts.
And he was SOOOOOO happy (and surprised) that he gets to write a letter to the President.
OTHER LEARNINGS
I felt this year, the boy really learnt to be patient and diligent in his school work. There were many times he had to be pushed beyond his limit in learning and practicing (like Math or reading) but he tried very hard to complete his work.
He also learnt to be more independent in his work. In fact, he is the happiest if I can give him a list of things to accomplish for school and send him to my desk to do them himself.
He learnt to do research on his own for the State Study.
For Summer I hope him to...
...begin a devotional habit using the CEF materials
...do SOME Math everyday (either iPad, flashcards or worksheet) during weekdays.
...read at least 5 chapter books (He already finished George's Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl, a super HILARIOUS book)
...establish chore routine (AGAIN)
...have TONS of sun time.
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