Books Left to Row {FI♥AR}

I don't have a plan yet for 2012, but I've been organizing the books that we have left to row. I've been referring to this list to help me plan, but I'm in a mid-winter slump! I don't feel like rowing at all!

I made my list of books by volume and highlighted seasons and themes/countries that repeat.

Winter (2 )
Spring (4)
Summer (13)
No Season (4) 

Volume 1

1. Another Celebrated Dancing Bear, winter, Russia - Moscow, bears
2. Grandfather's Journey, USA-San Francisco, Japan, WWII, family timeline
3. A Pair of Red Clogs, summer, Japan, telling the truth, possessions, mother/daughter
4. Papa Piccolo, spring, Italy- Venice, Italian customs, cats/adoption, adventure

Volume 2

1. Wee Gillis, Scotland, bagpipes, decisions, family
2. They Were Strong and Good, USA, genealogy, travel, Civil War
3. Make Way for Ducklings, Spring, USA - Boston, ducks, cities, families
4. Mr. Gumpy's Motor Car, summer, England, car ride, animal friends, cooperation
5. All Those Secrets of the World, summer, USA, WWII, beach, family
6. Follow the Drinking Gourd, summer, USA, South, slavery, underground RR, hidden message

Volume 3

1. The Bee Tree, summer, USA - Michigan, bees, grandparents, reading
2. Paul Revere's Ride, spring, USA - Boston, bravery, Rev. War, horse ride
3. Henry the Castaway, summer, USA - Anytown, canoeing, boy and dog, adventure
4. The Finest Horse in Town, summer, USA - Maine, 4th of July, sisters, horses,
5. Truman's Aunt Farm, summer, USA - Anytown, aunts, presents, homophones
6. The Duchess Bakes a Cake, Europe, royalty, knights/castles baking, humor / The Red Carpet, (B4) duke, police, 
7. Andy and the Lion, summer, USA - Andersonville, animal friends, circus, animals
8. Daniel's Duck, winter/spring, USA -TN, carving, cabin life, county fair
9. The Salamander Room, summer, USA, woods, pets, nature
10. Climbing Kansas Mountains, summer, USA - Kansas, farming, fathers and sons, Midwest towns
11. Amber on the Mountain, summer, USA - Appalachia, literacy, friends, mountain life
12. Little Nino's Pizzeria, USA - Anytown, restaurants, family, fathers and sons

I'm not sure how I will plan yet. We rowed Another Celebrated Dancing Bear already, but it doesn't seem blogable. I've done enough - it has been a very fulfilling row (I loved this book!) but most of it has been straight from the manual and I have very few photos. Even the photos I've taken are not that remarkable. I'm afraid that I am feeling a tad bit BURNT out!  I think I need a break from Five in a Row. 

Malachi and Eliana both have winter birthdays so I usually try to wrap up the grade they are in by the end of winter and then start fresh in the spring. Right now, my focus is on Malachi finishing up 1st grade. I need him to finish his reading, spelling, Explode the Code 3, and handwriting book B. Eliana is ready for Kindergarten and I'd like to focus on her reading. So, I think we will focus on the basics for a while and just read a good chapter book for literature! (I'm hoping that if I publish this, and give myself permission to not row, that I will get a burst of energy and start rowing!) 

If you want a peek into our life on a weekly basis, I am blogging Project 52 ~ our life, one week at a time, twenty-twevle. You can check it out on my family blog!  

Very Last First Time {FI♥AR}

We had a very relaxed time for our row of Very Last First Time. We explored the Inuit culture of Northern Canada, discovered the Arctic, studied mollusks, revisited warm and cool colors, had some fun with ice sculpting and made fry bread!

Social Studies: Canada, Inuit, Family Relationships, First Time Experiences

The story centers around Eva walking on the ocean floor alone for the very first time. The Inuit (Eskimos) dig a hole in the ice when the tide goes out and walk on the ocean floor to collect mussels. We watched a BBC video of natives collecting mussels under the ice and it is quite scary! You only have a short window while the tide is out and the video mentions stories of those who did not make it out in time. Throughout the story, there are shadows and pictures of people (Eva's imgaination) cast on the rock from the flame of the candle and it has a mysterious feel to it.

We read about the Inuit, traditions, snow houses and tent houses, modern arctic town (like Eva lived in), traveling in the Arctic, clothing, crafts, languages and games of the Inuit in First Peoples The Inuit of Canada.

We also talked about relationships and first time experiences and the kids were great at coming up with special memories that we have shared and many "firsts" in our lives.

Language Arts: Story Writing ~ Good Titles

"How can a first time be last? because there is only one first time. . ." ~ p. 83. 

We discussed the importance of writing a good title and agreed that "Very Last First Time" was a good title for this story.  I've been thinking about good titles, too, for blog posts. :)

In our regular studies, Malachi did his lessons for All About Reading Level 1 and Eliana finished up Level Pre-1.

Science: Mollusks - Bivalves - Mussels, Levers, Clean/Unclean, Tides, Frozen Seas

In the story, Eva collects mussels on the bottom of the ocean when the tide goes out.  We read in Swimming Creatures ~ Lesson 9: Mollusks that mussels use tough fibers called byssal threads to attach themselves to any suitable surface - they are like a natural super glue. In fact, "they are so powerfully attached to the surface they choose that they are nearly impossible to remove unless you use a tool." Malachi picked up right away that that must be why Eva used her knife as a lever, as she "tugged and pried and scraped to pull mussels off the rocks." During high tide, it uses these threads to pull itself along scraping miscroscopic creatures off rocks and other surfaces (cleaning them) and when the tide goes back out, it returns to its spot and closes it's shell.

We read about how bivalves (mussels are a type), are an "elaborate system created by God to clean the water for us." They take in bacteria and other unhealthy, unclean products removing them from the water.  We know that this makes them unclean. We talked about how the Bible says they are unclean and how God gave us GOOD instructions in his Word to take care of us and keep us healthy. Which led to a discussion on what we would eat if we were Inuit - caribou or musk oxen (both are cloven hoofed and chew the cud).

We read about the Arctic landscape, Arctic vegetation, animals on land and sea, in First Peoples The Inuit of Canada and watched The Blue Planet Ocean World Frozen Seas.

We also read Arctic Son, by Jean Craighead George. I think she writes wonderful living books about nature and this one paints a warm picture of Inupiat Eskimo life in the icy Arctic.

Art: Colors ~ Full Palette {Warm and Cool Colors},  Pointillism

I reminded Mali and Elli of when we studied warm colors and cool colors. Then I put out a full palette of colored paint, had them identify which were warm and cool (they remembered!), and then we used spike balls to paint with! It was fun to paint just to paint, but hard for the little ones to paint a picture.

Thanks Tamara!

Math: Ordinal Numbers, Counting

I think we have these down pat by now. FIAR offers plenty of review. ;-)

Malachi finished his Singapore 1A book today. He is still working in his Life of Fred Butterflies (he's on chapter 15). He also passed the 1st grade level in Mathletics and started the 2nd grade level. Eliana is working on Lesson 9: Capacity in Earlybird A and will finish the book up soon.

Lap Journal:

Memory Making Fun:

Using salt to "stick" the ice blocks together. 

Recipe: Fry Bread

This was suggested in the FIAR Cookbook and I am so glad - I had no idea what to prepare for this row!

My whole family loves fry bread, so I used my favorite recipe:

2 cups flour (I used fresh ground whole wheat)
1 T baking powder
1 ts. salt
1 cup milk (I use non-instant milk adding the powder to the flour and using 1 cup of water instead)

I put the dry ingredients in a bowl and add the milk/water to that and mix with the paddle (cuz it's quicker). If I triple the batch I use the dough hook. Yum!

Very Last First Time is a Five in a Row selection from Volume 1.

We took our winter break last week and started our row of Another Celebrated Dancing Bear this week.

Delightful Links:

Preschool Corner {& 5K too!}
Very Last First Time resources at Homeschool Share
BBC video of natives collecting mussels under the ice {found this on the FIAR forum - a helpful resource!}
Very Last First Time @ All of a Kind Family {inspiration and a link-up for individual posts!}

All About Reading Pre-1 and Level 1 Update {Eliana}

Thank you for all your nice comments on my Level 1 review/giveaway. :) If you haven't had a chance to enter, here is that link: All About Reading Level 1 {Review and Giveaway!}

As I mentioned in my review of Level 1, Eliana has finished All About Reading Level Pre-1.  Since we are done, here is an update and more pics of our learning time with Level Pre-1 so you can see what it has looked like in our home school.  

Some of the pics below are from when I did my week long day-in-the-life series, but I am including them here so you can see her progress all in one place. 

A hug from Ziggy. :) 

Writing her name with Ziggy. We were working on forming lower case letters correctly. 

The Milly Molly Mandy Story Book was by far her favorite chapter book during Level Pre-1.  I read this in addition to our Five in a Row books. Here she had fallen asleep waiting for me to come read to her. :'-)

Capital E with fingerprint peanuts ~ so cute! 

Cutting a's out of a magazine to encourage type-font recognition. 

A nuzzle from Ziggy. :) 

The teacher's manual and lesson ready to go. 

Find a sounds. 

Animal Cracker Merry-Go-Round for our Tasty Alphabet Time. 

Brother joining us for animal crackers and cocoa to drink. :) 

We sang the alphabet song each day and she found the letter of the day on the poster. 

Then we colored a letter activity sheet. 

And did some hands on activities to reinforce the letter. We fell into a routine of doing sand paper letters, salt tray writing, and using the quilted letters. Later, I added crayon rubbings. 

Salt Tracing.

Reading the Zig Zag Zebra. 

When we started lowercase, I combined the lessons for lowercase letters with the lessons for the sounds. It proved to work wonderfully for Eliana ~ she was ready for both and we did both lessons in one sitting. 

I had to pull her away from her playtime to do reading (while baby Bo napped) so I had her bring toys that had the /k/ sound. 

Feeding the cow "grass." 

Finger tracing the letter c. 

Finding objects that start with the /k/ sound. 

Asking for the salt box again. :) 

Frozen g-g-grapes for our "Tasty Alphabet Time."

Brother wanted to sit in for our lesson this day. 

So, I let him be Ziggy and play too. :) 

Ziggy says, "Hello." 

Finding g's to cut out. 

Packing for a trip and we can only take things that start with the sound of /l/. 

Blasting off to reading when Malachi started Level 1. 

Letter k. That may be my coffee or her "coffee" - a little decaf with milk. :) 

Crayon rubbings are an easy activity to do along with the sandpaper letters. 

Ha ha, looks like it was her coffee (that or she is having some of mine). :) 

We did it! 

As you can see, we were pretty routine with our reinforcement activities, but we fell into such a nice pattern that our lessons were easy and SIMPLE! With baby Bo in our lives this year, I needed that. I originally wanted to do extra fun letter crafts and activities, but this is all we needed and it felt very fulfilling - especially with all my creative efforts going into our Five in a Row. 

I have some news. . . 

I mentioned in my review that I was going to wait until Malachi finished Level 1 before we start, but I changed my mind! We started today! 

I decided to start her when I pulled out the phonogram cards for review and gasp! she could only remember half of them! 

I had her tell me the ones she knew, and make a pile of the ones she didn't know. Then I reviewed all the sounds with her. It was then and there that I decided that I did not want to lose all the precious learning we accomplished! 

So, I started her on All About Reading Level 1. This first lesson covers 4 letters/sounds ~ m, s, p, and a, introduces the terms consonants and vowels, and has her reading her first word! I taught her how to blend and she read Sam, map, Pam, am, and sap and completed the whole lesson, including the activity page. 

So, then I took her to Step 2 in All About Spelling Level 1. Now, this was familiar territory and she listened for the first sounds in words and then the last sounds in words and repeated them to me. We worked up to the part on segmenting. Segmenting is the opposite of blending - it is taking the word and breaking it into sounds and this is how they learn to start spelling. Tomorrow, she will segment words with 2 and 3 sounds and finish step 2. Then we will review Lesson 1 in AAR and move on to Lesson 2. 

With Malachi, I used the plan to correlate AAR and AAS that I listed in my review, but we started with AAS first and he had all the phonogram sounds for the first 26 phonograms down pat and AAR lessons 1-4 were a review. I will do just the opposite with Eliana - I will do the first lessons in AAR as a review, and proceed with AAS while we review the phonogram sounds daily.  So, if you have a young learner like Eliana, go ahead and start with AAR Lesson 1, teach/review the short sounds in Step 1 AAS, then jump to lesson 2 in AAS. 

Eliana's only struggle so far is reading the word backwards. I've modeled left to right reading with her lots of times so I reminded her that we start at the left in English. Level 1 has tips to help a child remember this as Malachi had the same problem at first, too. 

While Malachi didn't need the daily review of the phonogram cards, Eliana will - so we will be taking Level 1 at a much slower pace. But, I am excited to have started. :)

All About Reading Level 1

We are plugging away so nicely in All About Reading Level 1 that we have finished half of the program! We have completed 25 lessons over the last 5 weeks and I am ready to share my review with you!

I will give you some information about the program, share how it is working for us and then I will give you a chance to WIN an All About Reading Level 1 Kit and a Deluxe Learning Kit from All About Learning Press! ~ a $156 value! {Giveaway has ended.}

The All About Reading program includes:

Level 1 Kit:

1. Teacher's Manual (sample) 
2.  Student Packet (includes Activity Book) (sample) 
3.  Run, Bug, Run! reader (sample) 
4. The Runt Pig reader (sample) 
5. Cobweb the Cat reader (sample)

Price: $107.70 ~ on sale now for $99.95.

Level 1 consists of the above plus your choice of one of the interactive reading kits shown below. 

The Basic Reading Interactive Kit is $28.95 and contains:

1. Letter Tiles
2. Magnets for the letter tiles
3. The Basic Phonograms CD Rom
4. Reading Divider Cards

The Deluxe Reading Interactive Kit is $48.95 and contains all of the above plus:

1. Reading Review Box
2. Reading Tote Bag
3. Star stickers for the progress chart

The extras are nice, but you could easily get along well with the basic kit. You would just need an index card box to hold the cards that are a part of this program. If you are using All About Spelling, you already have the letter tiles, magnets and CD rom from the basic kit! You would just need the reading divider cards ($3.95) along with an index card box.

You will also need a magnetic whiteboard for the letter tiles.

Is it worth the price to try it out?

Yes. 

All About Learning Press' products come with a Go Ahead and Use it One-Year Guarantee. 

"That's right. You and your child have a full year to try out the programs! If you find that the curriculums do not meet your needs, simply return the materials at any time within one year of purchase for a full refund of your purchase price."

Wow.  

All About Reading is worth the price, but if it seems a bit too much for you, remember that only the Student Activity Book is consumable and the program can be used again and again. I will teach at least three children to read with this program, so it is a bargain for me.  But even if I had only one child left to teach, I would still invest in this program. 

What makes All About Reading so special?

The program is clear.  The lessons are scripted and you know exactly what to do every step of the way.  It is easy to teach and easy to learn. 

All About Reading is logical. Reading concepts are taught in a logical, understandable order and there are no gaps. The program includes all the necessary elements to teach and learn reading. 

All About Reading is multisensory. The lessons engage the child using sight, sound and touch. 

All About Reading has continual review. While the child learns new material, there is still continual review of previously-taught concepts. 

Lessons elements include:

• Review
• New Teaching
• New letter sounds
• Practice Commonly Confused Letters
• Blend Sounds with Letter Tiles
• Play "Change the Word"
• Practice Reading Words
• Practice Fluency
• Teach Key Concepts
• Teach a Sight Word
• Read a story from the Reader
• Complete Activity Sheets
• Read-Aloud Time 
• Track Your Progress

Be sure to see the samples linked above! 

Here are some learning moments I captured along with more specific information about the lessons and our experience: 

"Ice Cream Cones" from Lesson 2. Malachi put rhyming words together to form double scoop ice cream cones. 

Our Reading and Spelling area ~including the magnetic whiteboard.  Here we had just finished Letter h in Level Pre-1 and Lesson 2 in Level 1 - I sit in one desk and work with a child in the other. I leave their work out for the day so they can show their dad when he gets home. (Malachi's Word Match from Lesson 1 is still hanging on the board along with his Progress Chart). 

Fluency Practice Sheet from Lesson 3. The Viewfinder Bookmark is a big help. 

Malachi was more than ready for this level, and while he knew all the sounds and letters (from All About Spelling) and could blend some words and spell them, he was lacking in fluency. There is plenty of fluency practice and tips to help him succeed in this program and I have seen him grow so much in his reading in such a short amount of time!

Bingo from Lesson 4. I gave Malachi the option to do this because it was easy for him,
but he wanted to do it. :)

Fluency Practice Sheets from Lesson 4. 

The Fluency Practice Sheets include "Phrases and Sentences." First he reads two short phrases, and then the phrases are combined into a sentence. According to the manual, this type of practice is called "phased reading" and is designed to improve phrasing. 

"Phrasing is important for fluency; fluent readers are able to phrase, or break text into meaningful parts." 

These sheets have been particularly helpful for Malachi in achieving fluency. They can be long for Malachi so I follow the suggestion to divide them into two sessions - we do one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Towards the middle of the program, we had to divide some sheets into 3 sessions over 2 days.

The lessons are FULLY scripted and tell you exactly what to say making this program easy to teach. In addition to the script, you can find tips in light grey boxes in the margins of the teacher's manual. These are a MUST read!

One tip that has helped me as a teacher is to allow him to read a whole sentence and correct himself if he makes a mistake. Often, he will figure it out on his own. 

Lesson 5 ~ Reading "Jam" and "The Tan Hat" from the Run Bug Run reader.
(Sight words on the board are from Lesson 3 and 4). 

The program discusses how a student moves from decoding words to comprehending words. While Malachi lacked in fluency, he had no trouble comprehending what he was reading.

Word Flipper from Lesson 6. 

"Word Flippers are used in several lessons and are a fun way to practice fluency."

Fluency Practice Sheets from Lesson 6.

Reading "The Sad Hog" from Lesson 13. 

"Over Easy" from Lesson 16.
Malachi used a spatula to flip over the eggs, one at a time, and then read the word. 

Playing "Change the Word" from Lesson 18.

Lesson 20 ~ The mouse sneaks up to the pile of cheese and takes a piece.
If the word is read correctly, the mouse keeps the cheese.
(The Word Flipper in the back is from Lesson 18). 

My thoughts: 

I LOVE it! I can't say enough good about this program and am excited to be using it. 

Malachi has shown much progress in a short amount of time. In the beginning, he had some reversal problems and struggled with some commonly confused letters. His main trouble was distinguishing between b and d. The teacher's manual offered several solutions on how to handle reversal problems, including ways to prevent confusion (built into the program) and ways to resolve the confusion if it exists. The solutions presented are multisensory and help solve the problem in a fun way. It took several weeks to resolve this issue with Malachi, but we did it! 

His confidence is growing and he feels good about reading. The program is just the right amount of challenge for him. But, as I mentioned, we have to divide up some of the lessons into several sessions so that it he does not get overwhelmed (thankfully that is a "Tip!" in the manual). 

Eliana has completed All About Reading Level Pre-1 and is ready to start Level 1. I will start her as soon as Malachi finishes. While she is ready to decode and blend words, I am sure that she will move at a slower pace than Malachi. But, I know she is ready because while blending with Malachi one day, she beat him to the blending! She is excited to learn to read with Level 1. In fact, I already ordered the student book for her. 

What about All About Spelling?

I recommend that you use both All About Reading (AAR) and All About Spelling (AAS) concurrently. You will learn all the sounds of the first 26 phonograms in AAS step 1, but only the first sounds in AAR, initially. You pick up the additional sounds toward the end of the program, so you could just teach the first sounds initially in AAS and follow the scope and sequence in AAR to introduce the additional sounds. {Update: see how I started with Eliana here if your child has not mastered the phonograms.}

Here is what I recommend:

Teach Step 1 in AAS -The First 26 Phonograms focusing on the first sounds only. 

Teach Step 2 in AAS - Segmenting Words. If your child has completed All About Reading Level Pre-1, he or she will be familiar with the exercises. In fact, I will be pulling Ziggy out during this lesson! 

Teach Step 3 in AAS - The Letter Tiles. Your child will be introduced to the letter tiles as well as the key concepts of vowels and consonants. 

Teach Step 4 in AAS - The Sound Cards. You dictate the sounds and have your child point to the letter tile that makes that sound. Once they can do that, they write the letter from dictation. Now you are ready to add in AAR and continue on with AAS! 

 Here's how:

• Teach Lesson 1 in AAR.  Letters m, s, p, and a. 
• Teach Lesson 2 in AAR. Letters n, t, b, and j. 
• Teach Lesson 3 in AAR. Letters g, d, c, and y. 
• Teach Lesson 4 in AAR. Letters h, k, and r. 
• Teach Lesson 5 in AAR. Read a story.
• Teach Step 6 in AAS. Short a.  
• Teach Lesson 6 in AAR. Letters i, v, f, and z. 
• Teach Lesson 7 in AAR.  Read a story.
• Teach Step 7 in AAS. Short i.  
• Teach Lesson 8 in AAR. Letters o, l, and w. 
• Teach Step 8 in AAS. Short o. 
• Teach Lesson 9 in AAR.  Read a story.
• Teach Lesson 10 in AAR. Letter u and the Second Sound of s. 
• Teach Step 9 in AAS. Short u. 
• Teach Lesson 11 in AAR. Read a story. 
• Teach Lesson 12 in AAR. Letter e. 
• Teach Step 10 in AAS. Short e. 
• Teach Lesson 13 in AAR. Read a story. 
• Teach Lesson 14 in AAR. Letters qu and x. 
• Teach Step 11 in AAS - s, x, and qu. 
• Teach Lesson 15 in AAR. Read a story. 
• Teach Lesson 16 in AAR. Consonant Team th.
• Teach Lesson 17 in AAR. Read a story. 
• Teach Lesson 18 in AAR. Consonant Team sh. 
• Teach Lesson 19 in AAR. Read a story. 
• Teach Lesson 20 in AAR. Consonant Team ch. 
• Teach Lesson 21 in AAR. Read a story. 
• Teach Step 12 in AAS. th, sh and ch.
• Teach Lesson 22 in AAR. Words with Final Blends. 
• Teach Step 13 in AAS. Segmenting Words with Blends. 
• Teach Step 14 in AAS. Final Blends. 
• Teach Lesson 23 in AAR. Read a story.
• Teach Lesson 24 in AAR. Words with Initial Blends. 
• Teach Step 15 in AAS. Initial Blends. 
• Teach Lesson 25 in AAR. Read a story. 

That is as far as we have gotten, but you can see how the lessons correlate and after you get started, the spelling lessons follow the reading lessons! I feel that both programs are an integral part to Malachi's education right now. He is learning to read, spell, write from dictation and more. 

"Spell on Paper" from All About Spelling Step 15. 

I had hoped for Level 1 to release at the beginning of this school year and was disappointed when it didn't. But, the wait was worth it. I'm excited about the potential of this program and anxiously await the release of Level 2!