As I alluded to last week, I've tweaked our school schedule and added a bit of a twist in hopes of keeping me from feeling like a like a ping-pong ball.   I'm alternating my teacher-instruction days between the two oldest.  

My children don't focus in tiny little bits here and there, but tend to do better in bigger clumps of time.  (They come by it from me, no doubt.) I hope this gives me time to concentrate on each child and allows them to dig in a bit better on their lessons. 

(And with the two little boys keeping me busy, I'm thinking it might be just right for this season.) 

Most likely my schedule is entirely useless for any family but my own, but it can be interesting to see how others juggle their school days, so I'll post it anyway. 

Because I made the schedule for me and mine, it might require some decoding:
We school 6 days a week, so on the circled time on the charts I meet with Kendra on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and assign for two days.  On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday I meet with Kaira--and again, assign for two days.  Then on the tapestry/Kieran buddy time they will alternate as well... some days they will do reading and other days play with their little brother for me.   (Tapestry is Tapestry of Grace--our literature, history and multi-discipline curriculum.)  In my collumn, the things listed are what I'm primarily available to do, but I bounce around. 

(When we conclude the string of birthdays next week my scholars will be ages 9, 7, 5, 4, and 22 months.)

If the schedule you made in the spring isn't working anymore, don't be afraid to switch things around.   Life changes, and the beauty (and challenge!) of homeschooling is to meld school to life! 


Domestic Chaos Tamer and Homeschool Mom of Five, Dell writes about home, heart and hearth.

I've seen pictures of people going to New Year's Eve costume ball's and that's what made me think of this craft.  Of course, if your child likes dress-up or costume play, then this would be great any time of the year.

SUPPLIES: 

Water colors in your choice of colors

Paintbrush

Scissors

White glue

Pair of glasses

Pencil

White cardstock or poster board

Glitter Glue

Bendy straw

Tape

Lay a pair of glasses on the cardstock and draw around them.

Add a mask shape around the outlines. 

Use the water colors to paint any pattern you like, here is the order I painted this one in:

Run a bead of glue around the outline of the mask and where you traced the glasses for the eyeholes.

Dump the glitter onto the mask and shake off the excess.  Some of the glitter may stick to any of the watercolors that's still wet, but it should rub off easily once it dries.

Cut out the eyeholes and around the mask once it is totally dry.

Extend and bend the straw.  Then, tape the short part to the back of the mask.  Tape over the bumpy part to make it stronger.

This is just one design idea, you can have a lot of fun coming up with other clever masks.  Animals like a cat with pointy ears or a dog with droopy ears are two ideas.  Instead of stripes, perhaps dots.  You get the idea.  Have fun!! 

Dianna and her family are enjoying their fifth year homeschooling.  Dianna enjoys coming up with craft ideas that can use everyday items that most people have just lying around the house.  Keep checking back here for lots more fun crafting ideas.  You can also check our her other blog to get to know her a little better.

I have thoughts about this.  These are only my opinions.  I am sure there would be many CE purists who would disagree with me but I think there are a few things that set CE apart from any other type of education.

As far as the taking of latin goes, yes, latin is an ingredient of CE but taking  latin by itself does not make a CE.  The teaching of latin needs to be joined with the teaching of logic and rhetoric.  These  three subjects  make up the trivium--the language part  of CE.   The three subjects together work hand in hand in understanding word usage and vocabulary.   These three sujbects also work well together to give the best kind of critical thinking course offered.   In studying these subjects formally, a student is able to study the invention and arrangement of an idea and the logic of that idea and put it back together.  This is, I think, part of Classical Education.  Being able not only to write about an idea but to discuss the idea, to be able to deconstruct that idea and put it back together orally is also what Classical Education is all about.

This leads me to my second point.  Classical Education is all about ideas.  It is about the pursuit of wisdom and virtue through the understanding of the Great Ideas.  These ideas are given to us by the Great Thinkers of our time.  Many of these thinkers came to us during the time of the Ancient Greeks. These ideas, therefore, are tainted by their culture of many gods.  Do those ideas still stand today under a worldview of Christianity?  This is just one area in which these ideas are taken apart and examined.  A studnt of CE is enouraged to truly think about the Great Ideas through discussion.  There are two modes of discussion and intstruction, if you will.  Didactic intruction and Socratic Method.  Admittedly,  I don't know that much about the first form but Socratic discussion is the art of leading a student to fully understand an idea through a series of questions. 

To my way of thinking, in CE the discussion is the crux of the whole philosophy.  Discussion as well as writing are the two important ways for a child to learn about virtue.  Many educational methods and philosophies do not advocate discussion.  Writing is an important tenet of any method but discussion seems to be always left behind.  The student is given a textbook or a book and is told to read it then write an essay on some topic from that reading.  That is the extent of that learning.  There is little discussion.  I think that that is a big piece of the puzzle that is missing in our children's education.  In discussion, the student is exposed to various ways of thinking, not just his own.  He is able to hear the thoughts of others.  He is able to see the 'other side' of an issue.  Through discusson, an idea can be torn apart  and then put back together again to shed a different light on the topic.

I think discussion can be helpful at all ages.  I am trying to instill this in my children's education now, even though they are still young.  A perfect example took place a few months ago when I was reading  a Greek myth to my 7 and 5 year old.  We were reading Pandora's Box.  We started talking about the similarities between this story and the fall of man.  My children were able to see the similarities between Eve and Pandora.  Through discussion, they were able to tie two 'stories'  together and gain a  new understanding of each.  We had a great time of talking and understanding.

There are more characteristics of CE that set it apart from the myriad of other methods, but these two (discussions of the Great Ideas and the melding of latin, logic and rhetoric) are the main ones to me.

Julia lives with her husband on the Canadian Prairies  homeschooling her 3 children (9,7,5) and attempting to give them a Classical Education.

It's time to meet another blogger here at HSB! This week go greet Melissal89, In the Sparrow's Nest. It's a fun blog to view and read with posts on homeschooling, Charlotte Mason, and everything mommy, you'll make a new friend for the new year. Be sure to check out the sidebar, it's a treasure trove of resources!

Winter Solstice is passed, but I thought this activity looked fun and easy, even for my science/activity/craft challenged mind. Along with the winter theme, why not make some Borax snowflakes?

With today's economy, it can be hard to find fun things to do for the whole family. What's great about homeschoolers is that they always find a way to create their own fun!

I really liked this honest post about schedules and learning to let go. I struggle with it every year, forever drawn to school while my heart longs for education. Posts like this from Melissa (and you) remind me of what is important and that's why I love HSB!

Tia Linschied
Senior Editor of HSB

It's time to find out if your little girl will receive the Reina doll from the contest for a Friends Forever Girls doll!

Welcome to a world filled with friendship, character and community! Watch as The Friends Forever Girls form lasting friendships on Butterfly Lane and, with the Butterfly Promises, create the opportunity to discuss the topics that matter most to the young girl in your life.

The Dr. Toy Best 10 Educational Toys of 2008 ~ The Friends Forever Girls *Reina doll* 5 prizes will be given. http://www.friendsforevergirls.com/ 

Many people who actually classically unschool, do it different ways.  Some people say that the subjects are  classical (math, latin, logic, rhetoric, etc) but how they are done  is more of an unschooling flavour.   Others  have  a few structured subjects, like latin and math,  and the rest of the time is spent  as how  the children want to spend it.  This is where the unschooling part comes in.

Classical Unschooling is the marriage of structure with child-led  learning.  Some people say that this is the best of both worlds.

Here are a few blogs  discussing  the oxymoron of Classical Unschooling:

The Bonny Glen

Every Waking Hour

Musings of a Prairie Girl

Enjoy!

Julia is living with her husband on the Can. Prairies, homeschooling her 3 children and attempting to give them a classical education.