February Study Guide Update: 2020
I am genuinely over-the-moon that January is in the rear view mirror. The winter months tend to drag on with little sunshine. This year, our family fought off a bad bug that disrupted our usual ebb and flow. But I digress. February is here and it’s near full to the brim with activity and learning.
Holidays of note this month:
February is Black History Month.
Valentine’s Day is Friday, February 14.
Presidents’ Day is Monday, February 17.
This is what we have on deck learning-wise this month:
Knee-Hi Investigators: Moons, Stars and Planets. A three-week class for constellations, moon phases and more.
Young Rembrandts: Cartooning. The kids recently developed an interest in comic books, so this class should be a great introduction into visual storytelling through sequential images.
Ballet classes continue. We’ve been challenged to learn the splits for a banana split party at the end of the season and we’re continue to learn a new routine to a song from Zootopia called Foxy Fakeout.
Forest school continues. Rain, sun or snow, we’re in for another round of Forest School. We have a new teacher and new friends with plenty of exploring abound.
Monthly kids book club. The group’s age range is 5 to 10. We meet with other homeschoolers and a children’s librarian to talk about the month’s selection. We also do an activity around the content of the book. This month, we’re reading a selection from My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Gannett.
In other learning news:
Language arts
We’re continuing to learn word families and consonant blends to build our vocabulary.
The kids seem to enjoy learning ASL (American Sign Language). I’ve checked out Signing Time DVDs through our local library and still use our flash cards that I pull out when we have some down time in the car.
One of our favorite activities, poetry teatime (inspired by Julie Bogart’s Brave Learner) continues. It is our special time to read our library book selections and talk about literature over a treat and a cup of tea or another tasty beverage and treat.
Podcasts are perfect for our car rides and we’re still listening to Circle Round. Each week, this literary-focused podcast tells folk tales, fables and stories.
Music
Music appreciation is part of our everyday and we’re continuing that. The kids love playing the keyboard freestyle and dance parties with different music.
We’re continuing to learn piano but mostly informally. Although we check out the free video learning series for piano called Hoffman Academy from time to time.
Arts and crafts
We have a few crafts tied into our learning this month – but the kids tend to go off on their own and create what they see in their heads. They’ve even taken to designing their creation beforehand. It’s a fun process to see. With Valentine’s Day, there are many hearts and sweet creations.
Social emotional
Our biggest tool of late for social emotional is our gratitude journals. I’m continuing to research other avenues to incorporate learning in our day-to-day.
Social studies
February is Black History Month in the United States. While not a heavy focus for us, we plan on learning about it.
Health
We started keeping a basic food log and have been learning about different vitamins and minerals in food.
Science
We’re continuing the Exploring Nature with Children curriculum. I like reading the text and the different areas of study found each week. From art appreciation, a poem, outdoor exploration and extension activities. This month, we’ll be studying Candlemas, earthworms and evergreens.
On the weekends, the kids look forward to doing a Kiwi Crate box now and then with their dad.
Math
We cover a lot of math (especially fractions) when the kids are in the kitchen cooking and baking. We also practice our number combinations with our math dice game. Printable worksheets from Education.com continue to be a tool for us. The kids work on number tracing daily with calendar practice and through their math sections in their workbooks.
Other things:
Forest School has inspired us to get outside together as a family more, so we’re planning on taking more hikes in addition to exploring our community together.
We’re planning on attending a performance of Cinderella the Pacific Northwest Ballet this month. Our little ballerina is especially excited about seeing the professional ballet.