Back to School

We started back to school this week and so I thought it would be a good time to ressurect the blog. This year Princess K is in 4th Grade, Little Dora is in Kindergarten, and Bubba is still terrorizing the school supplies. I have spent the last month trying to get things together, copies made, and more books ordered. My choice of curriculum really hasn't changed, we are adding in more library read alouds and readers, and projects from Story of the World vol 2 . That along with Mystery of History 2 and our library system are where I got book lists for our library read aloud additions. We are switching things up a bit with our history though. I decided to do history more in units rather than choronologically. I find that the skipping around confuses Princess K and she doesn't keep interest. I am also correlating Geography studies with what history we are on. It took more work in planning as I had to rework our Sonlight Manual, but I think it will be well worth it.

This week we are exploring New Zealand and Australia. I thought it would be appropriate since we were there, and Princess K really enjoys learning about the land down under. History is mainly about the Maori and New Zealand during the middle ages, but Geography covers both countries. Here are some of the things we are including in our week (which is how long we are on our journey).

New Zealand/Australia
SOTW Ch 10
MOH (Mystery of History) Lesson 44
Maori Coloring page (SOTW Activity guide)
Australia Map Exercise (SOTW Activity guide)
Make Moth Mix (SOTW Activity guide)
Take Journey of Maori (SOTW Activity guide)
Extra books:
1000 Years ago on Planet Earth
The Legend of Rosy Dock
The Pumpkin Runner
Reader:
Dingoes at Dinnertime
Geography Songs: New Zealand and Australia with accompanying coloring pages.

Since we are in our first week "back to school" we are going a bit light. Really we are only doing: Bible, Math, History, Geography, Spanish, and Memory Work review. Next week we will add Spelling after we finish the placement tests, Latin, Vocabulary, and Handwriting. Then after that it is Art and Grammar. I have gone ahead and scheduled out assignments through the end of November in Homeschool Tracker. In September and October, the history units take about a month... then some 1 week units start up in November. Here is our planned out schedule.

August: New Zealand?Australia & Kingdom of the Franks
September: Vikings
October: Knights and Castles
November: Mongols, 100 yrs war and the Plague, & the Russians and the Ottoman Empire.

I really hope this will work. I am not really a unit study kind of person, but this seems to be a natural flow for Princess K in regards to History and Science. We are still doing a timeline. I have decided to just print it out and put it in a notebook. As we go through the unit, she will color and place the figures on her timeline. Since Bubba kept ripping the timeline figures off the paper when I hung the timeline on the wall, we had to change our strategy.

As with anything in Homeschooling, I will probably have to adjust things. I have learned that homeschooling is not something that remains static. It must be flexible with the changes of the child.

Hiatus

Due to our adventures in Australia... I will be taking a short break from blogging. I will pick it back up this summer as I plan for the next school year.

Thinking Out Loud : Love in our Homeschool

My yearly planning treck has taken me to reconsidering our Language Arts curriculum. Someone on the Sonlight forums told me about the Bravewriter program. But I don't want to go into detail about that so much in this post. I am still working things out and wrapping my head around the ideas presented in the program. What I did want to think out loud about is this post from the author/creator of the Bravewriter program, Julie Bogart. This post has sent my mind on a journey thinking about what do I really want our homeschool to look like. What does the Lord want our homeschool to look like. When Jesus taught, the basis of His teachings was love.

The Greatest Commandment

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

Matthew 22:34-40


So what am I doing to show this foundational teaching to my children. Am I making them "buck up" for the sake of doing work and checking off boxes. Do I take time out to hear Princess K when she says something is too hard, or gives me an attitude because she doesn't like a particular assignment. My love and wish for homeschooling was that the children would grow up loving and knowing how to learn. I want them to "experience" learning and not just keep information in their minds till the test comes around. I fully believe that we have the curricula that could foster such an environment, but am I using it that way. I don't believe entirely. Am I approaching school like a dictator or a mentor... I would like to say mentor. I do need to work on fostering an environment of less box checking and more understanding and compassion. I didn't grow up with a lot of compassion in my home, but I want to change that for my children. I believe great progress has been made in this arena, however this post by Julie Bogart has me thinking it is time for me to take it to the next level. If love is so important to our Lord and King then it should be the foremost item of our homeschooling day.

More Preschool Ramblings

Wow it has been a while since I posted. My mind has been very preoccupied as this time of year I really get into planning mode for the next year's curriculum. Now that I have Little Dora starting Kindergarten, I have more planning to do. I have decided to go ahead and work through Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. It is simple and easy. The lessons are short which are great as the attention span of a soon to be 5 year old isn't that long. Little Dora is begging to learn how to read so as soon as I finish reading the introduction, we will be on our way.

For next year, I will be purchasing Sonlight's Level B Explore God's World. I think it will be fun to share the literature and such with all the kids. I am really liking to read out loud and find we do that off and on all day. I will only add handwriting if she is really ready for specific instruction. Until then we will continue to use the Magna Doodle, crayons and paper, a box of Sugar ( I haven't gotten that out recently... about time to bring it out) and other things as they come up. Once she is ready I think we will use A Reason for Handwriting. I used Handwriting Without Tears with Princess K, and it is a great program, but it was difficult to transition to paper used in other assignments. I like A Reason for Handwriting because it uses the standard print paper, it does have a Transition book that goes from print to cursive, and it also incorporates copywork. If I find that Little Dora needs something different, I still have the Handwriting Without Tears books.

Pretty much we will concentrate on Reading, some handwriting, and learning number quantities. We will be slowly starting Right Start Level A, which is a Kindergarten Math level. Since Little Dora already knows her numbers, and understands quantities, I don't think us moving into Right Start will be a problem. So that is abuot it. Now it is just getting the finances to purchase another Sonlight Core. Luckily Princess K will be still working through Sonlight Intro to World History Part 2... but that is another post.

Fun with the Night Sky

I rushed home from Bible Study tonight in hopes to catch the moon eclipse. I was so excited that the clouds seperated long enough for me to try to take some pictures. Of course it wasn't until after the picture was taken did I realize that the knobs on my tripod weren't tight and the camera was slowly moving down. So the image isn't as clear as I had hoped. But at least I got something, and the kids got to see something they wouldn't see for a number of years to come.

Here is what we called the red moon


And the moon peaked out just a bit before the storm front came in.



So now there was no moon... and as I stood there, I notice that lightening was flashing all around me. Did I grab my metal tripod and run into the house? Oh no... I aimed my camera and tried to get one of those nifty photos we always see on the news. This is what I was able to capture. I am happy with my first attempt.




This last one doesn't show up so well in the blog. If you click on it you can see all of the lightening veins



Of course now that my camera is all unhooked from the tripod, and the memory card is sitting in the docking station, the sky clears up and the moon is in clear view. It is so bright I can see details with my own eyes. Oh well, it actually isn't completely full until the 21st. Maybe I will try to get a good picture then, of course it won't include the eclipse... I will have to wait till 2010 for another one of those. Hope you were able to see it where you were at.

Homeschooling on the Road

Well it looks like we may be going to Australia for 3 months. What an oppurtunity this will be for all of us, especially the kids. We are waiting right now for final word on whether we are definitely going. In the mean time we are working on getting our passports together. Techie Guy started another blog (check it out here ) so we can track our adventure. I will be posting on it as well and maintain this blog for school related issues we are facing concerning the trip.

Preschool Ramblings

Little Dora's schooling has weighed heavily on my mind lately. She is starting to put sounds together, she can write almost all of her letters, she can count items, recognizes numbers, and the list goes on. I do not want to start her too early. I feel I did that with Princess K, and I don't want to do that with the littles.

I have been working on blending sounds together with her, and she is working on the craft projects we are working on. She sits in on our read alouds, but I need to read more to her from books that are her level. I think what I need to do is make a basket that will be the current read alouds for her. I also want to start reading poetry to her. She seems to love to hear rhyme and I have been purchasing some books for this very time.

I do have the McGuffey readers, but I think I will put those off a bit. I still want to keep it light for her. I think those will be good starting in August (by then she will be 5) when we will have more structured time together.

The biggest help has been her Magna Doodle, which she just loves to write her letters and come show me which ones she is working on. I love this as it is more natural. She is learning at her own speed, and this is one thing I want to stay with.

She sits in on our Bible times as well, and is enjoying our walk through the story of Joseph. We are also working on memorizing the books of the New Testament. I found this song and Little Dora listened to it maybe 10 times today. I think she will have the New Testament books memorized in no time

For Math, I am going to stick with Right Start. Seeing Little Dora's tendancy to count and group items, I think Right Start will be right up her alley. Right Start's Level A is very gentle as well, so I don't think it will overwhelm her. Again I won't start this till August and will go slow.

I think I will start the Explode the Code Books (ETC) now since she is showing interest in reading. Until I order the ETC books, I will continue working at the wipe off board, showing Little Dora how words blend together. That is our main hang up right now. She wants to sound each letter's sound individually. I have also put her on Starfall which is a phenominal website and she loves it.

Well I am going to keep wrapping my brain around this topic and praying for more guidance from the LORD

Creating a Learning Environment

Ah Yes... it is a classic topic. One on which I have had high hopes, but have never set out to accomplish. I have fond memories of teachers that put a lot into their classrooms with things that kept us students looking, learning and striving for knowledge and I wanted to emulate that here at home. I have also been thinking hard on why it seems school is dull lately. We have some sparks of excitement but the enthusiasm which was once there is now fading with Princess K. I wanted learning to be something my children would look forward too. This is one of the many reasons why we homeschool and I think a lack of a good learning environment might be part of our problem.

So I analyzed what was going amiss and here is what I came up with:

1. We were box checking. Doing things just to get them done. I wasn't taking the time to explore, experience, and in the end truly learn.


2. Fun, where was the fun. I buy activity guides, and extra books just for them to decorate the shelves. What a waste of resources


3. I had not created a good learning environment. We homeschool at the kitchen table which is just fine, however my need for a streamlined living space and uncluttered walls led to me removing things like maps, White Boards, and other learning enhancements. Even as I type this it sounds a bit crazy as my children's education should be paramount to beautification of our home... but there are just some things that I cannot get over.


4. Never getting away from school. Techie Guy brought to my attention that I do not step away from school. This essentially goes along with number 3 as all of the school things that are out are in plane view so I am constantly in the midst of trying to organize, clean up, and think about school. This is not to be confused with the constant process of learning but is the nitty gritty maintenance stuff that never seems to end. Or so I thought.

So what do I do. Well I prayed... and prayed and discussed with Techie Guy and over the weekend made some changes.

1. I am making a commitment to n0t do stuff just to get them done. I want to include the littles and we will all take part in activities. I am also making a library book list under each topic so I know what I need to order



2. I went through my activity guides and found things that would go along with our studies. I entered them into Homeschool Tracker and in a separate notebook, I kept a list of things I needed to copy and purchase.



3. This weekend I started to move school upstairs to the loft. Currently the loft is just the playroom and a place Little Dora and Bubba go to play during school. The loft has lots of room for maps, a timeline, and other fun enhancements. I will also have better access to the little ones as Princess K and I do school. We can play games and do crafts together and we are not divided by a floor. I know this may present more interruptions from the littles, but I hated that they were upstairs without us.



4. This bring me to my fourth dilemma. Well since I am not staring at school stuff, I am less likely to feel I need to do something with it. I have already been able to take some time for myself... Plus I have discovered the downstairs doesn't need to be picked up as often.

So I am off... working on creating a learning environment for the kids, and a peaceful home for the entire family. I have so many other ideas, but I will have to take it one step at a time. And the first step is to haul all of our school stuff upstairs.

Bad days come and go in any job and that is no different in Homeschooling your children. The encouraging thing for me is that I know this adventure I am on is because it is a request from God. I am running a race; a marathon, and every so often I have to trip over a rock, fall, look up and remember that I serve an awesome God.

The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
your love, O LORD, endures
forever—
do not abandon the works of your hands.
Psalm 138:8
(search scriptures at http://www.biblegateway.com/)

Occasionally He needs to remind me that I need to rely on Him more and myself less. I tripped yesterday, relying on my own strength and letting grouchiness to rule my mood. Today...God is dusting off the sand and helping me move along reminding me that He is in charge and I need to be looking up.

Today I watched and Thanked God for Homeschooling, as I saw all three of our children participate in Science. We are studying Birds right now. Princess K is to go out and observe any birds and draw them. Bubba followed her outside with her Pocket Nature book. When they came in and she read her assignment, she shared with me how she was amazed where the ankle is on a bird. Both littles wanted to see these pictures and Princess K was able to share with them as well. Then she hugged Bubba (he was the last to see the pictures). I just loved sitting back and watching them interact and learn. This is one of the many reasons I Love Homeschooling. This moment of time also completely erases my pill of a day yesterday! Here are her notebook pages from her study.

I do not want to end this post without sharing a new tool. Since Techie Guy generally teaches math, I have to credit this little tool find to him. We are working through getting better and more concrete with our math facts by doing timed drill. We needed a stop watch, and the Internet came to our rescue. So the site of the day (not like there is normally a site of the day... but today there is) is: http://www.online-stopwatch.com/ . It is easy to use and has become very helpful to us. I hope that you find it helpful too (that is if you need to time something). If you want to use timed drills in your math lessons but don't have sheets to do so, please check out The Math Worksheet Site . This site can generate all kinds of worksheets for you, and its FREE. Happy Calculating!

It's All New

It is a new semester, new year, new History study, and new Bible study. It feels like it is the begining of the school year. I had every intention of diving into the second part of World History way back in October. However, God had different plans. As it turns out this delay has been such a blessing. Princess K is more mature now and can take some things on idependently. I can take more time to work with Little Dora, who by the way proceeded to show me that she already knows how to write almost all her big letters and some of her small letters. Boy she is making my job a lot easier.

The past couple of weeks I have been sending my printer into overload trying to print everything I need for the rest of the semester. It is daunting, that is for sure, but I have found that if it isn't all ready to go then a lot of the fun things get put on the back burner. I insert the worksheets or project ides into my Sonlight folder under the week I want to use them. In Homeschool Tracker, I am putting in all the fun extras as assignments. Then they are automatically put into our schedule. I am hoping there will be less.."oops I forgot that I wanted to do that way back in week 2" realizations. And since it is in Homeschool Tracker, I hope that it will be ready for when Little Dora and Bubba go through the same topics. Of course this does make my folder way a ton. But I don't have it out for everyday use.

Speaking of Bubba, the last time I posted we endured the wrath of a red head. We still have the evidence of a broken screen door, but he rarely hits it anymore. Nothing like learning your lesson quick. He is finding fun in less destructive activities like Play Doh, and coloring, and hissing at the cat. Well ok hissing at the cat may be seen as destructive, but she doesn't run too fast from him so I am wondering if she strangely likes the attention. Anyway, it is quite a relief to see Bubba joining in more of our lessons, listening a bit to our read alouds, and not trying to be so disruptive. Maybe there is hope for sanity yet.