The Colton Family Schoolhouse

We finished Anya's first grade school year about three weeks ago, with a little popsicle celebration on the porch. We paged through a little book I've kept throughout the year of various projects; skimmed through some math workbook pages; looked at the first short story reader she started with back in September. It was fun to be reminded of where she started, and how much she's learned this year.  I’ll share some photos.  Math: where we started  Math: where we finished up  Handwriting/writing: where we started  Handwriting/writing: where we finished up  (Paragraph mapping)  (Rough draft paragraph)  (Final draft paragraph)  Reading: where we started  (This was review from kindergarten since we switched programs)  Reading: where we finished Beyond all of these skills, and much more important, I am so pleased and proud about the girl she's becoming. Our family experienced a lot of change this year, as we welcomed and adjusted to anothe...

(I wrote this in April, wanted to add pictures, and never did. Posting now!)  "Slow and steady" is the theme of school this spring. Or, Keep It Simple, Stupid!  My attention is divided and my brain is tired from sleep with a baby (even though Olivia is a pretty good sleeper, for a baby). But, by steadily plodding away, by keeping it simple, we are still having a fruitful spring.  Math:  We worked through addition facts in the teens and now are doing subtraction facts in the teens. Each different set of facts has had its own game: Adding 9s Bingo, Adding 8s Crash, tic-tac-toe for adding 6 and 7.  The games keep the lessons from feeling repetitive or rote. With the ten-frame, she learns the process in an intuitive, visual way rather than just memorizing answers. Interestingly, I’ve noticed she can know the facts right away in the game setting but sometimes seems to completely forget them when going through a worksheet later. Or, one day can to rattle them off easi...