Aug. 5, 2007 - Timeline Notebook

I took down our KONOS wall timeline because Third Son, the ultimate toddler, kept taking down our timeline figures and chewing on them.  I don't have time to camp out by the timeline in case he decides to take an interest in it, so I decided to call it done and take it down.  Since then, I've been mulling over starting Timeline Notebooks with the oldest three.  Today was the first chance I have had to sit down and investigate my options.  My first thought was to order the Sonlight Book of Time.  First Son and I used that back before our KONOS days (we are no longer active KONOS users.  I use it to supplement what we do now.).  But they are 20 bucks, and 20 bucks X 3 is too much for our school budget, so I kept looking. 

I decided to Google "Timeline Notebook" and came up with a ton of results!  The first link I came to was a great help.  Homeschool in the Woods has a great page on their site that has suggestions for many different kinds of timeline notebook set-ups.  I really like the Chronological Card File in a 2-ring binder idea.  Further on down the page, I found the format for me.  The Horizontal Format.  Homeschool in the Woods sells a beautifully done timeline notebook called the Record of Time Timeline Notebook that is in the horizontal format, but it's 37 bucks.  Thwarted again.  ;-)  So my computer-guy Husband volunteered to format some timeline pages for me.  He's good that way.  :-)  But I thought, SURELY someone out there has done this already and I kept looking.

My search was rewarded and I found some great links to timeline pages that are ready for the printer.  Here are the keepers that I found:

This link is to Timeline Dividers.  I am going to use these and possibly color code each time period.
This is a nice Horizontal Timeline, though not my favorite.
This Timeline is my favorite because it can be personalized - you can put the timeline dates as you wish since they are not pre-printed on the pages.
Another Horizontal Timeline.
Vertical Timeline.
LOVE this page.  Not a timeline page, but a good page for Oral or Written Narrations.  I plan to include this in our notebooks.

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May. 29, 2007 - Write it Out

Our school just about came to a standstill this week because of printer ink.  I created new schedules for the kids.  I make a weekly schedule for them so they can plan their school day on their own.  I supervise.  But we were out of ink.  I TRIED to print, but the ol' printer just couldn't get up the umph to get down to the very bottom of our ink cartridge and print a good page for me.  Then the thought occurred to me, "Well, I guess I could WRITE OUT their schedules for them for the next few days."  What a radical thought!  ;-)

But being tied to a neat print out, I just couldn't bring myself to do it, and I didn't know what else to do without messing up my plans for school, so I found time to run to Office Max and buy some black ink.

Isn't that the silliest thing you have ever heard?  I've been thinking about this all day.  When was the last time a pen ran out of ink at our house?  I couldn't tell you.  When I was in college, the whole computer thing was brand new and we thought it was so kewl to print out our research papers on a computer printer, rather than type them the old fashioned way.  Remember those printers that had the paper with the perforated sides?  And what fonts?  There were no fonts.  Just plain ol' computer font.  And now I not only print in my choice of fonts (I love Book Antigua), but my printer is also a copier!  How did we ever teach school without these things?  I would not be complete without them. 

Ahhhh, progress.  :-)

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Mar. 15, 2007 - Craft Thursdays

We relax from the daily grind on Thursday afternoons by sitting down in the living room for a little craft work.  Today I introduced my six-year-old to Redwork and he is hooked - lovin' every minute of it!  And now my daughter can't wait to get done with her latch hook rug so she can begin her own Redwork project. 

If you've never heard of Redwork, it's an interesting craft.  Seemingly simple, yet there's the potential for learning a lot of different stitches.  Redwork was most popular in the 1800's, but is making a small comeback these days. 

For my son's Redwork design, I simply went online and looked for a printable coloring page of a fish.  I found a dolphin that he's happy with.  I printed it out, taped it on a window with a piece of muslin over it, traced the design with a red, fine-tip marker (I used my Creative Memories pen), put it in an embroidery hoop and after a short tutorial with my son, let him have at it.  He didn't want to put it down.  ;-)

If you're interested in Redwork for yourself, Redwork.info offers some free Redwork patterns as well as patterns for sale that are a bit more challenging than what I gave my son to do.

 

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Oct. 17, 2006 - Top Ten Goals

With my last order from Sonlight they sent a little package of bookmarks that I appreciate.  There are ten, and on each one is a goal for homeschooling.  Well, I think that these can be applied to more than just homeschooling parents.  Here they are, in true David Letterman fashion, starting with #10:

 

10.  Raise culturally literate students.

       1 Chronicles 12:32 "Understand the times and know what to do about them."

9.  Create a love for quality literature - books that cause students to think deeply,

     feel passionately, and prepare themselves for action.

    Philippians 4:8 "Dwell on whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable..."

8.  Inspire students by example, to do thorough, competent research...to fulfill the   

     work of true scholars.

     Colossians 3:17, 23 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as

     working for the Lord."

7.  Teach students through experience, that God is faithful; they can listen to other

     perspectives without falling into sin or having their faith destroyed.

     1 John 4:4 "Overcome...because the one who is in you is greater."

6.  Teach students not only biblical content, but how to listen as well - to understand

     first and judge second.

     James 1:19 "Be quick to listen, slow to speak."

5.  Train children to become engaging and effective ambassadors for Christ.

     2 Corinthians 5:20 "As though God were making His appeal through us."

4.  Inspire students to honor Christ boldly - in speech and conduct.

     Luke 12: 8-9 "Whover publich acknowledges me, I will also acknowledge

     before the angels."

3.  Encourage children to honor God's "Great Commission" by acquiring an

     international perspective and a godly heart for the world.

     Matthew 28:18-20 "Make disciples of all nations."

2.  Create a learner's heart, enthusiasm and excitement for learning - a desire to

     discover.

     Proverbs 3:13-15 "Wisdom is more profitable than silver and yields better

     returns than gold."

1.  Teach students to seek God's Kingdom above and beyond everything else.

     Matthew 6:33 "Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness."

 

There is a little more said about these goals on the Sonlight site here. 

 

Another great resource for goal-setting for our kids is Ten Things to Do with Your Child Before Age Ten by Harvie and Laurie Bluedorn.  And even if your kids are past the age of ten, it's never too late to go back and try to correct a few things.  ;-)

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Oct. 15, 2006 - Change Your Mind

Darin and I started homeschooling our kids seven years ago.  After homeschooling for about a year, I came across Charlotte Mason and Teaching the Trivium.  I love both of the approaches these two methods take.  There are many out there who claim to be CM/TTT in their teaching style.  I haven't necessarily been able to claim that I am one to exclusively follow these methods as I wanted because life was so busy which made it difficult to be able to really sit down and think hard about how I wanted to fully implement these methods into our school.  I have followed these methods as much as I can without being deeply intimate with them. 

 

For example, we have always done copywork, dictation and a bit of narration.  We went more quickly with math than TTT recommends, but slower than is normally recommended - if that makes any sense!  Ben and I studied a bit of Greek when he was in second grade.  We have labored hard to keep their character and Bible studies under the "most important" category.  We try to read aloud almost two hours per day, and finally, introduced our oldest to the study of Logic when he was 10 (now 11) using Building Thinking Skills.

 

With that said, there are so MANY areas that I have really wanted to improve upon.  Nature walks for one.  This has a tendency to perplex me.  I have a hard time viewing a Dallas suburb as a gateway to nature.  I realize I have to get over this one, as well as invest in a couple of good nature guides.  ;-)

 

Delayed math.  Like I said, with Ben, we went more slowly, then with Lydia, we didn't do much until she hit the last part of second grade.  Now we are using Horizons Math with them both.  Jack is in first grade and I thought, "Finally,  will get a chance to do this delayed math thing!"  I was teaching him without a curriculum.  He learned how to count by 10's, 5's, and 2's, we have been having conversations here and there about money, and we have been working on his addition math facts.  But he sees Ben and Lydia with their own math worksheets and wants that too!  So this weekend I broke down and bought him the first grade Horizons Math workbook.  He has already gone through it and done all of the money counting exercises. 

 

But what I wanted to write about was how for so long I didn't feel as if I would ever truly be able to incorporate all these wonderful CM/TTT ideas into our school, and had almost given up doing more than we already were doing, when I came across Karen Andreola's "Pocket Full of Pinecones" last January.  It was marked 75% of at Mardel, and I wasn't about to walk past a book marked 75% off.  I bought it, started reading it, and felt my brain starting to take a turn!  After finishing reading it, I moved on to "Handbook of Nature Study" I stalled out here with Nature Studies because it was summer and way too hot to be tramping around outside.  Now it is finally fall, and we have taken a few short walks to observe the world around us.  It was nice!  I have joined a CMyahoogroup and a TTT yahoogroup.  Both of these groups are reading material that supports each method and I can finally feel the breakthrough coming that I've always wanted.

 

DISCLAIMER: The following statement is going to sound SO LAME.  I mean, this is probably something you probably already knew, and I probably already knew, but to experience it that way I have has been eye-opening!

 

Okay.  So what I have discovered is that I cannot read CM books and TTT just ONCE and be ready to jump in with both feet.  I have to continually educate myself in these methods to truly be successful in teaching the way these two methods recommend.  I've accepted the fact that for the rest of my homeschooling career, I will have to constantly be reading something about CM and TTT methods, or I will eventually "lose it."  Reminds me of being a Christian!  Without reading my Bible I will eventually lose my "salt and light" and be worthless.  And to think, that it took me seven years of homeschooling to figure this one out.  Oyve!  ;-)  I'm so excited, thinking about the fact that Henry is only six-months-old!  Fresh material!!!!  LoL

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Oct. 12, 2006 - Teaching the Trivium

Darin and I are kinda-sorta reading through Teaching the Trivium with an online yahoogroup.  We are in chapter three, the rest of the group is on chapter seven????  Something like that.  :-) 

 

Anyway, I love some of the quotes that are in this chapter.  They were very prophetic as you'll see.

 

"I am sure as I am of Christ's reign, that a comprehensive and centralized system of national education, separated from religion, as is now commonly proposed, will prove the most appalling enginery for the propagation of anti-Chrisitan and atheistic unbelif, and of antisocial nihilistic ethics, individual, social, and political, which this sin rent world has ever seen."

A.A. Hodge, Princeton Theologian, circa 1869

 

Here are a few from the "other" side.

 

"Education is thus a most powerful ally of Humanism, and every American public school is a school of Humanism.  What can the theistic Sunday schools, meeting for an hour a week and teaching only a fraction of the children, do to stem the tide of a five-day program of humanistic teaching?"

Charles F. Potter in the Humanist magazine, 1930

 

"I am convinced that the battle for humankind's future must be waged and won in the public school classroom by teachers who correctly perceive their role as the proselytizers of a new faith: a religion of humanity....The teacher must embody the same selfless dedication as the most rabid fundamentalist preachers, for they will be ministers of another sort, utilizing a classroom instead of a pulpit....The classroom must and will become an arena of conflict between the old and the new - the rotting corpse of Christianity, together with all its adjacent evils and misery, and the new faith of humanism."

John Dunphy in the Humanist magazine, Jan/Feb 1983

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