Sometimes it just happens

So the math set has arrived. We are using Saxon Math 2 (2nd Grade) and I specifically ordered the manipulative kit to go with it. Last week was spent with Brittani exploring the manipulatives and telling me about them. She really likes the Pattern Blocks.

Also in the last week we have acquired a box of age appropriate "research books" from a friend in my homeschooling group who was moving and didn't want to pack them. Amongst these are books on cell development, the common cold, horses, castles, knights and others. She has had a lot of fun reading about knights and castles and medieval life.

We are still waiting to be able to get her English, History, and Spelling books. If anyone would like to donate to that fund, you can email me for my paypal address. Formal classwork hasn't started yet, as we are preparing to pack and move, and I don't want to get her all used to studying in one place, only to have the adjustment I know is inevitable in the new house.

Discovery

I've got her Handwriting and Science books on the way via UPS Ground, looking forward to that. Should be getting Math shortly.

I found this website, published by World Book, that shows what she should know, according to Public School standards, by grade level. It was linked by someone in my homeschool group. I will bold the things that she knows. Oh, this is the second grade list. More wanting to explain where we're at and what we should be working towards this year.

Social Studies
* Holidays and festivals
* Patriotic celebrations
* Communities in other lands: past and present
* Family and family history
* Families around the world
* Neighborhoods
* Community services and helpers
* Shelters, stores, and food
* Citizenship and social responsibility
* Interdependence of people
* Basic geography: oceans, continents
* Map skills

Science
* Useful and harmful animals
* Life cycle
* Birds and insects in winter
* Animal babies
* Animal defense of themselves and their young
* Plant and animal food
* Dinosaurs and other extinct animals
* Food chain
* Plant reproduction and growth
* Habitats and homes
* Weather and its effects on earth
* Effects of the seasons on the lives of people, animals, and plants
* Climate
* Water cycle
* Air and atmosphere
* Magnets and forces
* Gravity
* Earth and sky
* Sun, moon, planets
* Simple constellations
* Exploring space
* Scientific method and scientific inquiry (to an extent)

Language Arts
* Reading silently for purpose
* Dramatizations and interpretative or oral reading
* Use and meaning of quotation marks in reading* Story development: beginning, middle, end
* Simple book reviews
* Listening skills
* Organizing ideas and impressions
* Alphabetizing through second letter of a word
* Using dictionary guide words
* Vocabulary development
* Homonyms, synonyms, antonyms
* Methods of word attack
* Ways to study spelling
* Simple punctuation and capitalization
* Refining manuscript handwriting
* Writing independently in manuscript form
* Brief and simple letters and journals
* Narration, description, letters, poetry
* Increasing skill in handling books: table of contents, and index

Health and Safety
* Personal cleanliness
* Dental hygiene
* Basic food groups
* Communicable diseases
* Preventive measures against disease
* Neighborhood safety

Mathematics
* Counting, reading, writing to 1,000
* Counting by 2's, 3's, 4's, 5's, and 10's
* Ordinal numbers to 10
* Zero as a place holder
* Using sets and number facts
* Addition and subtraction facts to 20
* Basic multiplication and division facts
* Multiplication and division facts as inverse operations
* Multiplication properties of 0 and 1
* Place value through 100's
* Fractions in daily life
* Decimal numeration system
* Basic concept of ratio
* Geometry puzzles and activities
* Estimation
* Common customary and metric measures of time, weight, length, volume, shape, temperature
* Telling time and using the calendar
* Handling money (coins)
* Problem solving
* Charts and graphs

This gives me a jumping off point of knowing where I'm at, and what I need to work towards, lesson plan wise.

A Lesson In Responsibility

All last year, Brittani requested a cat. I kept telling her no, for 2 reasons. 1, I am highly allergic to cats, and 2, I wasn't sure she was ready for the responsibility of having a pet. A few things happened to change that.

Our wonderful next door neighbor took in another neighbor's pregnant cat when that neighbor moved. Cat had kittens on my birthday, and neighbor offered them up to anyone who wanted one. Well, it must be a sign, since the kittens were born on my birthday, so we decided to take one.

The kitten has been a lesson in responsibility and compassion for Brittani. It is her job to make sure the kitten has clean water and food in his dish. It is her job to use the scoop to scoop out the cat chunks from the cat box, and together we make sure that he has clean litter. And occasionally she needs the reminder that 5 out of 6 ends are pointy. :)

We have her Science and Handwriting books, and will be starting next week. Still waiting for her Math, English, Spelling, and History. And Muzzy for Foreign Language is going to be her Christmas present.