Keaton says........

We were at our new Publix grocery store yesterday around 1:30 p.m.  Keaton was getting a sample of free ice cream, and the lady looked at her watched and asked, "It is already time for school to be out?"

Keaton replied......

"It is for ME!!!!"  :)

Back to School Swimming Party!

C.H.E.S.S. Academy and Co-op held an AWESOME back-to-school swimming party at the Tiftarea YMCA yesterday.  I had so much fun with all my new friends and it was pretty amazing to go to a school swimming party in the middle of the day on a Friday!

The Story of the World

The front entrance of the Crystal Palace, Hyde Park, London that housed the Great Exhibition of 1851, the first World's Fair. Contemporary engraving. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Our history book is The Story of the World:  History For The Classical Child.  Volume 4:  The Modern Age, From Victoria's Empire to the End of the USSR. Our lesson yesterday was about Queen Victoria and the amazing Great Exhibition in 1851.  We read about how they constructed The Crystal Palace which held many exhibits from all over the world, but the colonies of the British Empire were the ones that were emphasized!

Young Botanist

This year in Science we are learning about Botany, the study of plants.  Keaton loves science, and is especially enjoying the experiments and hands-on opportunities. His class at C.H.E.S.S. Academy is doing an experiment with celery...you put the celery in jars of water and food coloring, and wait to see what happens.  With celery being vascular, you will soon see the color at the top of the celery stalk.  Keaton HAD to do the same experiment at home.  It looks quite decorative in our kitchen.........!  Yesterday we studied vascular and non-vascular plants, as well as seed coverings in gymnosperms (a pinecone) and angiosperms (an apple).

My son meets The Son of a Baconator

Keaton said his first day at C.H.E.S.S. Academy was AWESOME!  We had a "celebration lunch" at Wendy's and Keaton tried The Son of the Baconator....two thumbs up!

Wendy's (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Pygmy Goats and Silkies

We had a great visit today at our friends' house - they have Pygmy Goats and "Silkies" - the cutest chickens I've ever seen.  While Mrs. Nena cut Mama's hair, Rachel and I had fun with the animals.  It was like a field trip to the farm!

Basketball Math??

What do a basketball and multiplication have in common?  Well...today we practiced our multiplication facts while throwing the basketball back and forth!  When one of us caught the ball, we had to say the next fact correctly.  (Keaton loved it!  We spent a lot of time on this today - and learned a lot and had fun, too.)

Sunday School party!

I had wonderful 3rd grade Sunday School teachers at First Baptist Church this past year!  Ms. Dottie, Ms. April, and Ms. Annette had a big going-away party for us today - with bouncy houses, pizza, donuts, treat bags, and more!  We had a BLAST!!!!!

Bouncin' Around

With Ms. Dotty, Ms. April, and Ms. Annette - WONDERFUL Sunday School teachers!

Our first week

Our first week of homeschooling is going great!  There is definitely an adjustment process going on, but Keaton is really benefitting from the one-to-one teacher to student ratio (!) and I am enjoying the time we are spending together.   We started with 30 minutes on Monday, and have gradually added more time each day.   This week, we are reading one Aesop's Fable a day and writing the morales to each, doing a review of 3rd grade math using a McGraw-Hill 3rd Grade math workbook, assisted by the Math-U-See learning blocks, practicing our printed letters and learning cursive.  Next week, Keaton will start classes Tuesday-Thursday at C.H.E.S.S. Academy, and be home with me on Monday and Friday, when we will reinforce what he is learning at the Academy and continue with our extra practice in Math and Writing.  

Keaton is starting to SEE how multiplication and division work - I could tell that a little light went on for him today - thank you Math-U-See!

Frozen Yogurt Time!

Mama and I went to the new "Yellow Monkey Frozen Yogurt" today and ran into some good friends!  It was so much fun to see Erynn Allison today - today was her first day of 3rd grade at Annie Belle Clark.  We are going to miss carpooling with her (something we did for three years!)  

A new beginning

Public school starts this week in our town.  With being first-time homeschoolers, I almost feel like we are "playing hookie."  It's a a new experience for us - not going to open house, finding out who Keaton's teacher will be, etc.  Looking forward to a year of new beginnings!

What will we be reading this year?

Looks like some wonderful reading for a special 4th grader this year!  With Aesop's Fables, we are going to read the Fables and write the moral we learn from each one.

Why "Cool School" ???

In the mind of a 9 year old boy, school isn't always fun.  It's certainly not "cool."  So, how did we come of up with the term "Cool School?"
At dinner one evening in May with some good friends, the conversation turned to education.  Someone mentioned  how a local homeschool co-op group had established a type of "academy" for homeschoolers.  My husband and I were intrigued, and when I got home that evening, I looked it up online.
Tears filled my eyes as I realized this might be a great way for us to transition into homeschooling since our son had been in the local public school system for four years (K-3).
Shortly after our discovery, there was an Open House that was held at C.H.E.S.S. Academy during the last week of May.  We went, and became excited about this possibility for our family.  As we were leaving, I asked my son what he thought about "going to school" here.  Keaton seemed a little confused, as we had not told him where we were going or why.  He asked, "This is a SCHOOL??"  I replied, off the cuff, "Well, yes.....it's kind of like a "Cool School." 
He has been excited ever since.
And, so have we.
Starting on August 14, Keaton will attend classes with his tutors on  Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and be home with me on Monday and Friday.  Fun Co-op activities will take place on Tuesday afternoons.
We look forward to sharing about this new adventure!

http://www.chesstifton.gutensite.com/academy/

Math -U-See

Hi everybody - Keaton here.  Okay, so now that we are about to start homeschooling, I will share about my very favorite subject in the whole world (NOT!!!!) -MATH.  Pretty much any homeschooling parent and kid out there can tell you about a program called Math-U-See. Mama thinks it sounds pretty cool, but anything with the word MATH in it does not sound cool to me.   Hopefully, I will change my mind.  I will be updating you on how this program works for me - and if I like it.  Multiplication...here I come!



http://www.mathusee.com/