This is our Artist Study this Term. We are studying specific paintings, as well, but this is a great overview of Van Gogh's work. The song is "Starry, Starry Night" by the great Don McClean.
I read an article tonight about bullying in a nearby city's schools.
A 1.3 million dollar effort by a team of 'experts' is going to solve it apparently. Loved this quote:
"District officials have instructed the team to come up with an approach to address all types of harassment, from cyberspace bullying to attacks against gay students to the molestation of children with disabilities."
Molestation is bullying? Seems to me, molestation is a little more than bullying, folks. Reason number 9,846,384 to homeschool. School Targets Bullying
I have lots of little Lambies, along with my bigger ones. What to do with little ones while schooling the olders? This year, I am prepared!
I made up bags and bags of activities that are only for school time. I bought a three dollar clear tub to put them all in and *poof!* preschool is ready! There are many more bags, but this gives you an idea of the activities. Most are "on-your-own" things the little ones can do by themselves while I am teaching the bigger ones in the same room.
I got ideas for the baggies contents here and here. Since I had almost all of the manipulatives already, the cost was very minimal. I purchased a bulletin board alphabet set at our local teacher's store and punched out two of each letter. I bagged them in groups of about five for a letter identification and matching activity. Everything else came from around the house.
Troubles loves his school box. He shares the activities with the three year old I babysit most of the time, but not always. I don't make him, since it is "his school". Along with being involved in Bible time, being read to by brothers and sisters and watching the older children's activities, he is busy and engaged almost all morning! Throw in chores, lunch, free time and nap time comes fast!
I am finding it a joy to school seven children along with two preschoolers... and we are still getting done by 2 PM daily!
Please share how you include your preschoolers in your day!
In the wake of the unanimous ruling of the Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District to recognize homeschooling as a legal option in California, two of California’s most senior officials have given their opinion of the ruling.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger:
“This is a victory for California’s students, parents and education community. This decision confirms the right every California child has to a quality education and the right parents have to decide what is best for their children. I hope the ruling settles this matter for parents and homeschooled children once and for all in California, but assure them that we, as elected officials, will continue to defend parents’ rights.”
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell:
“I am pleased that the courts have clarified the right of California parents to homeschool their children. I have respected the right of parents to make educational decisions they feel are in the best interest of their children. I recognize and understand the consternation that the earlier court ruling caused for many parents and associations involved in homeschooling. It is my hope that today’s ruling will allay many of those fears and resolve much of the confusion.”
HSLDA appreciates the efforts of these two officials as they were part of the group who defended the right of parents to homeschool before the Court of Appeal.
After enjoying Year One of Ambleside Online together, I realized that my daughter was not ready to move onto Y2. I decided I would create a Year 1.5 for her this year. My Year 1.5 is also serving as Y1 for my six year old son, for they will move together into Year 2 in the fall of 2009. I used books from the free reading list that we did not get to during Y1, and chose living books already in my library to fill the remaining subjects. Here's the booklist we'll be enjoying together:
My Year 1.5
General History
*Viking Adventure by Clyde Robert Bulla
**William Tell illustrated by Margaret Early
**The Silver Mace: A Story of Williamsburg by Maud and Miska Petersham
***Thirty More Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin (Audio CD)
American History
*Pocahontas by The D’Aulaire’s
**Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
***Our Country’s Story by Francis Cavanah
Geography
Home Geography For Primary Grades by C. C. Long (done with older siblings)
Geology
* The Little Island by Golden MacDonald (Margaret Wise Brown)
** Hill of Fire (Volcanoes) by Thomas P. Lewis
**The Buried City of Pompeii by Shelley Yanaka
***The Year of Fire by Teddy Jam and Ian Wallace
***WildFire by Evans G. Valens, Jr. illustrated by Clement Hurd
Natural History/Science
Handbook of Nature Studies for additional information
Christian Liberty Press Nature Reader 1
*Mammal/Fish Focus:
Animals Born Alive and Well by Ruth Heller
Strange Fishes of the Sea by Olive L. Earle
Fish Out of School by Evelyn Shaw
Dissect a fish from the grocery store
**Reptile/Amphibian Focus:
I Caught a Lizard by Gladys Conklin
Frogs and Toads by Herbert S. Zim
Snakes by Herbert S. Zim
Pet store visit/ friend’s house for snake visit and handling
***Bird/Insect/Invertebrate Focus:
Birds At Home by Marguerite Henry
Birds and their Nests by Olive L. Earle
The Honey Makers by Gail Gibbons
All Upon a Sidewalk by Jean Craighead George
Worms by Lois and Louis Darling
Phonics
100 EZ Lessons until finished OR
Phonics Pathways then
McGuffey’s Pictorial Primer
Mathematics
Finish Math-U-See Primer, begin Alpha
Foreign Language
Sign Language
Spanish
Poetry
* **The Girls’ Book of Verse compiled by Mary Gould Davis AND/OR The Boy’s Book of Verse compiled by Helen Dean Fish
*** First Poems of Childhood complied and illustrated by Tasha Tudor
Literature
*Happy Little Family by Rebecca Caudill
**Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
***Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie
Mythology/Folklore
*D’Aulaire’s Norse Gods and Giants
**D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths
***American Tall-Tale Animals by Adrien Stoutenburg
Virtues/Hero Stories
* **Child’s Book of Heroes by William Bennett
** ***The Children’s Book of Virtues by William Bennett
Artist Study, Folk Song, Hymn, Composer all according to the AO schedule
Free Reading
IR=Independent Reader
RA=Read Aloud
The Wonder Clock by Howard Pyle RA
King of the Golden River by John Ruskin (repeat) RA
Pinocchio by C. Collodi RA
The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang RA
A Lion to Guard Us by Clyde Robert Bulla RA
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams RA
St. George and the Dragon retold by Margaret Hodges, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman RA
The George and Martha Series by James Marshall IR
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren RA
Little Bear Series by Else Holmelund Minarek illustrated by Maurice Sendak IR
The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes illustrated by Louis Slobodkin IR
Nurse Matilda by Christianna Brand illustrated by Edward Ardizzone RA
The Plain Princess by Phyllis McGinley RA
Mother West Wind’s Children by Thornton Burgess RA
Here's my "I need it" list and my wishlist for next year. Now I don't have to think about them anymore, until I buy them, updated now for my convenience!
Math-U-See
EmBlem-Zeta TP and SB
GirlofGod-Delta TP and SB BlackSpidey-Gamma SB mid-year
Trixie- Gamma SB mid-year
Polly-Alpha SB
Jack-Primer
Apologia Exploring Creation with General Science (plus I got Physical Science, Biology and Chemistry, so all of middle school and some of high school is covered!)
We have been camping, hence the blogging hiatus. Pictures and stories of that trip will be forthcoming.
Before camping, we took a field trip to our Bee-Guy's Warehouse. We get our local, raw honey from him, and were delighted to be invited to watch the collection process.
The hive boxes had been picked up that morning to be taken to various fields, but many, many bees were still around. They were especially thick near the line where the honey is extracted. All the children behaved just as I told them to and did not swat at the bees that came near. No one was stung during our visit; they didn't even seem to notice them after the first few minutes.
There were thousands of frames waiting to be emptied. There was lots of orange honey, some sage, even some avocado!
Here's a look at the line where the honey is extracted. The frames were put into one end of the line. They met "The Capper" which quickly saws off the wax cap that keeps the honey in the individual cells.
Then the frames go down the line and are put into a centrifuge. Many frames fit in at once. The spinning forces the honey out of the cells, onto the walls of the centrifuge. It then drains to the bottom and is collected.
The children were given spoons and allowed to taste the honey oozing out of the cells after then were opened. Yummy! We were able to taste more after it was strained, too.
We were given a bucket full of honeycomb. Most of the children liked the honey, but not chewing the wax. I guess that is a pleasure of a by-gone age.
The fragments of wax cut off the frames, and all that is removed when the frames need cleaned are collected in 50 gallon drums. Not very pretty, is it? The dark spots are dead bees.
It is heated and strained, and collected in buckets. When cooled, the wax is gathered on pallets, ready to be shipped off for candle making. Some also goes to cosmetics companies.
Here is our group in front of the warehouse.Have you any idea how hard it is to get a picture of that many little ones looking at you? Sorry to those who have silly expressions; this was the best one :) .
We took a trip recently with some friends to another friends farm. This friend is supplying our family with fresh, fertile eggs and -wow- are they delicious! She is enjoying our homemade freshly ground wheat bread in exchange. I love barter!
Here are "our" chickens.
We discovered a duck, secreted away, laying on her eggs.
She has an aviary, complete with nesting doves, like this one, parakeets and other lovelies. Here is a guinea hen, who gives us small, very hard shelled eggs.
Here are some adorable chicks.
And one of the many goats. He is in need of a good shearing, but he's so handsome!
Here are a few of the children near the dear donkey.
We had a great day! Thanks for the invitation, Tammy!
What could be better than a free Rosetta Stone program? I know I want it. Jen Ig is giving away one! Just follow the directions below .
Rosetta Stone has been the #1 foreign language curriculum among homeschoolers for a while -- next week they are unleashing a brand new curriculum, and you can WIN the *all new* Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3… FOR FREE!
This is a $219 program (and believe me it's worth every penny!) and the winner gets to pick from any of these 14 languages: Spanish (Spain or Latin America), English (American or British), Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Irish, Hebrew, or Russian.
This will also include a headset with microphone, and students will participate in lifelike conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program. Rosetta Stone still incorporates listening, reading and writing as well, in addition to speaking. Many homeschoolers requested grammar and vocabulary exercises, and with Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3, they're included! For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program and allow parents to easily enroll students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, and view and print reports.
To win this most excellent program -- in the language of your choice -- copy these (orange) paragraphs and post it in (or as) your next blog post -- then to enter the contest, go to the original contest page HERE: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/JenIG/501132/ and leave a comment with the link showing where you blogged about it. And please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post it.And good luck!The winner will be picked randomly on March 26, and will be notified thru the link they left to their blog pg. And if you have more than one blog, you can post them and enter those separately for more chances to win. Yay for free stuff!
She had a very interesting presentation; shared about her childhood, her early career as a medical illustrator and how she researches and creates her books. She travels extensively, visiting sites where the person lived and uses the actual architecture photographed to construct her paintings. Everything included in the illustrations is historically accurate down to the smallest detail. She even gave us a tour through her newest biography: Mozart. It is a lovely book with an interesting detail, his story is told through a play performed using marionettes. I learned quite a bit about him from the preview she gave.
She autographed all our many books with a kind smile and thoughtful words to the children. We enjoyed our visit with her very much.
I use Ambleside with six of my eight children. I have my very nearly 12 yod in Year 4, my 10 yod in Y3, my just turned 9yod and nearly 10yos in Y2, my 6.6 yod in Y1 and just turned 6 twins in Y0, with his twin sister listening in, but not doing any academics. I also have a 2 yos and I babysit a 2 yog.
My day can be long, as I read everything to the Y2's and under, and some to Y3 and 4, but much is done together. In fact, my older children often sit in on the stories of the youngers, since they enjoy them so much!
Here's my usual routine:
We start the day with breakfast, then clean-up, then we gather together. I read the Scripture, and the commentary (I use J. Vernon McGee) and then we practice out memory verses (currently Ps. 1) After prayer, we do math, all together. Then the older children begin their independent reading, and I call one group of kids to me for aloud reading. When they are done, I send them to do copywork or drawing and read with another group of children.
We do this until lunchtime. The older children who are not reading with me play things with and supervise the babies quietly. I have certain toys and activities set aside for schooltime. They are usually within eyesight of me.
After lunch and clean-up, we gather together for more together studies, like Shakespeare, Pilgrim's Progress, art or something, then we get back to the individual readings/work. The Babe's nap time is 2:00-2:30 until 4:00 or so, and during that time we finish up, then have free time outside if possible. I get dinner ready for 4 PM (but it's often closer to 5..). The Lambies have free time all evening, after kitchen cleanup.
I broke the AO schedules up into four days of work, and made check off sheets, so they always know what to do each day. Anything not finished by Thursday can be finished on Friday. Fridays are service day and Park Day with other homeschoolers. I haven't ever had anyone miss service projects or parkday for not finishing school.
It took awhile for us to get into the swing of this routine, but it works really well for us now! I do take one week "off" every six weeks, and use it to catch up with housework that may not get done otherwise. Things like shampooing the carpets, The Great Toy Sort, The Great Clothes Swap, gardening, painting, dusting (one of my hated chores!)etc.
We have been busily finishing our last week of our second term of school. I am stunned at how fast this year is going; we have just a trimester left of our school year!
Wrapping up books is an interesting thing using Ambleside. It's like the end of a visit from a dear friend. We are saying goodbye to Otto, to Richard, and dear Emily, the poet. A. A. Milne's funny poems will be replaced with a strangers, and we won't be hearing from William, Humphrey, Arrietty, Bess, and the rest.
But, as I told my Y1 daughter, Polly, today, we can meet them again. We can go during free time and visit Christopher Robin. We'll be seeing Paddle next term, too. We will always be friends with the books we read. And we can visit any time we want!
I had to remind her that she felt the same last term about "losing" A Child's Garden of Verses. She protested getting "The World of Christopher Robin" out instead. I told her, "Perhaps in the evenings, we can read again the lines of Robert Lewis Stevenson and swing high over the garden , but now we need to meet someone else". Now it's repeating. A. A. Milne will make way for other friends.
After going through public school myself, I worked in the school system from the time I was sixteen until I was twenty four years old. I was an aide in special education classes, taught speech and language to preschoolers, worked with mentally and physically disabled people from birth through adult, and was sign language interpreter. I have worked in many, many different schools in two states and saw many things that disturbed me.
Even before I had made a commitment to Christ, my husband and I KNEW that out children wouldn't go to public school. Since we met when I was fifteen and he had just turned sixteen, we were able to grow together to that decision as I worked and shared my experiences with him.
Besides the obvious reasons relating to being Christians, being sure then Lord called US, and not the State to teach our children, and not wanting all our values undermined and ridiculed at school, some of my experiences helped form our decision:
I saw kids as young as fifth grade making out "on the sly" during recess. Kids in first and second grade had "boyfriends" and held hands.
There was a pregnant 12 year old in one class.
I interpreted high school lessons that made me wish I could afford to stand up and walk out. Disturbing values clarification taught before my very eyes, and going off my fingers into the brain of a teenager. I *wish* I had been brave enough to refuse to interpret that stuff...
I saw a first grader stab another first grader with a pencil in between the eyes. It was done in anger because the victim answered a question the stabber could not. By the grace of God the pencil hit the bridge of the boys nose and did not go in his eye.
I saw the Pledge removed from the morning routine in a fourth grade classroom. The memo from the principal said not to mention it, just stop doing it. And we did. And not one child asked about it, nor did any teacher do anything more than complain in the staff room for a day or two. Nor did I do anything...
I saw the special education kids be herded out after lunch time to clean the campus. Regular kids would throw their trash all around, leave half eaten food on tables, gum on the ground, spit everywhere... just generally trash everything, and then go to class when the bell rang. Out came the "re*ards" to clean up. Every day, day in and day out. Is that what the parents sent their kids to school to do? Be unpaid janitors? They called it "Life Skills" and gave the students class credit for their time served. Sheesh!
One teacher stands out in my memory. He wished-outloud- that a particular students mother had aborted him. Told him the world would be better off without him. Can you imagine?
I could go on and on. Please don't get me wrong...most of the teachers were great people, and really cared about the students. They just had to teach the worse things! The relationships between the kids were just sad. You could see the way kids were "classed' as early as kindergarten. The nerds, the popular ones, the tough ones...so sad! The loving teachers couldn't do much about it, either. The class hierarchy reigned.
I'm so glad the Lord used my years there to shape me and ready me to teach the gifts He would give me in the future. He showed me the gutter so I wouldn't end up sending my kids into it!
My eldest son, BlackSpidey, has had a new hobby the last few days. He has been disassembling our old VCR. It was nearly dead, and refusing to give up a VHS tape that it had inside. My Honey asked BlackSpidey to take it apart and get the tape. He used a screwdriver and pliers and enjoyed himself greatly! Dad got in there and explained how all those things worked together to make the VHS play.
Here are the guts of the machine: He's taken it down farther since I took this picture. He has all the parts and pieces in a box and gets them out every afternoon to disassemble more.
We were blessed to be given a new-to-us entertainment center by my dear MIL. It looks so pretty in our family room! DDPolly was playing video games when this was taken. The piece is so much smaller than what we had before, yet still holds everything. The room seems so much bigger! Now if the fish would just die, I can get rid of the big, heavy fish tank!
I totally forgot to mention our trip to Mission Buenaventura! It comes from leaving our camera in the car! After thrift store shopping and before hitting the beach, we toured a mission. I was told that it was not the biggest mission around, but we didn't want to travel an hour to get to Santa Barbara.
Mission Buenaventura was founded in 1782, and we really enjoyed seeing the old architecture, masonry, and plaster. There were three Fathers laid to rest on the grounds. We really enjoyed seeing an original wooden bell and some of the items used centuries ago.
I am Momma, a 35 year old homeschooling SAHM. I have 8 children: EmBlem aged 11 GirlofGod, aged 10
BlackSpidey, aged 9
Trixy, aged 8
Polly, aged very nearly 6
Miss Banana, aged 5.5
Jack, aged 5.5
and BabyJ, aged 2
We also have two Lambies rejoicing in Heaven with their Lord. I always told my husband that I wanted 22 children, but would compromise at 10. Now we have 10 and feel so blessed! We adopted BlackSpidey, Miss Banana and Jack from state foster care.
We have homeschooled from the beginning. I was blessed to work from the age of 16 to the birth of my eldest in many various public schools as a sign language interpreter and aide for disabled children. I *knew*, even before becoming a Christian , that MY children would not be going to public schools. I had to interpret many things that made me very uncomfortable. This was in the midst of Clinton's "Goals 2000". I couldn't believe some of the things that were being taught. Most of the teachers hated it too, but they had no choice in what to teach.
I began, unknowingly, using some techniques from Charlotte Mason, then, when EmBlem was 4, began using The Weaver's Interlock. We used Weaver for several years, until I discovered Ambleside Online.
Our day follows a routine, rather than a schedule. We get up, have breakfast, read the Bible and have devotions, then do math, then our AO readings in various order and in various places around the house. I read with the Lambies as they need, first one, then another, until everyone has marked off all the day's work. We usually finish up about 1 PM. That's with a lunch break and clean-up, too! I love AO, since we have free afternoons, and lots of time for swimming and free play.
Our curriculum choices are Ambleside Online, Math-U-See, Handwriting Without Tears. We use some websites for things like Spanish, Typing and Sign.
My tip? Ease up on the workbooks and increase the good literature! Children really do learn all they need from great, classic, well written books! I'd love for everyone to read A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola. It sums up our educational philosophy.
Thanks to Tiany for hosting this little get together and hope everyone has a great year!
I'm the blessed wife of My Honey of 14 years, and Momma to eight wonderful Lambies aged 13 and under. We live in Central CA, and use Ambleside Online for our curriculum. I'd love to meet you , so browse a while and feel free to leave a comment!
There are many more bags, but this gives you an idea of the activities. Most are "on-your-own" things the little ones can do by themselves while I am teaching the bigger ones in the same room.
Have you any idea how hard it is to get a picture of that many little ones looking at you? Sorry to those who have silly expressions; this was the best one :) .
Here is a guinea hen, who gives us small, very hard shelled eggs.
He used a screwdriver and pliers and enjoyed himself greatly!
Dad got in there and explained how all those things worked together to make the VHS play.
He's taken it down farther since I took this picture. He has all the parts and pieces in a box and gets them out every afternoon to disassemble more.
DDPolly was playing video games when this was taken. The piece is so much smaller than what we had before, yet still holds everything. The room seems so much bigger! Now if the fish would just die, I can get rid of the big, heavy fish tank!
