I'd love to offer my thoughts while I am still on summer break and you can take them for what they're worth. I think one of the things that new people try to do is wrap their mind around the whole thing, but that's what leads to becoming overwhelmed.
Here are my suggestions. Take the subject of history (start with one subject) and chose one topic, like the Pilgrims, in preparation for Thanksgiving. Buy the $5 book The Landing of the Pilgrims (great Landmark book that is historically accurate and contains implicit Biblical principles). Read aloud a chapter while all your children are sitting comfortably where ever with a snack or drink or anything to settle them. As you read for about 20 minutes and they listen, make sure to have them monitor their comprehension and explain any words/phrases they don't understand (keep track of words they don't know so you can use that for vocabulary lesson later). Along the way, have them stop you when they hear something about the character of the people, or a description of the setting, or a major event. Tell them in advance that they need to stop you when they hear setting, character, or plot and discuss those things with them. If possible have a separate piece of paper nearby to document those things in the author's words. You or an older child can write it down along the way. When you're done make your way to the table for a 15-30 min session of reasoning and writing. Have younger students copy your notes (only as much as they can handle-one sentence or so) and draw pictures to go along with that, either for setting, character, or plot. Then, look up and define, on a page entitled "Vocabulary," a word that they didn't understand. Have the older students write down (younger do it orally) a sentence using that word. As a further reasoning assignment for the same day or another, have them look up words in a Bible concordance that you encountered in your reading that describes a character or idea, like "care" or "freedom," and write down 1-3 verses that explain more about what the Bible says about that topic and possible write down a principle or truth from what was learned in that word study. Also, after reading a certain number of chapters, try to have them deduce various themes, like brotherly love, endurance, wisdom, conscience was sacred, friendship individuality, free enterprise, etc. Have them write the theme in a sentence on a separate paper entitled "Theme."
Another hands-on way to enrich a study about the Pilgrims would be to go to the library and find books about colonial life. Cook, play games, make things, or dress in that period. You could also draw/color maps or their home in Holland or Cape Code, make a Massachusetts flag, etc. When you are all finished with this study you have a notebook or assignments the children did together with you and a memory of fun ways that you enriched their understanding of the Pilgrims. You could do this with any study: Columbus, G Washington, Abe Lincoln, or any event centered around their time. PA is a simple process of researching/reading, reasoning, relating, and recording. It's not a workbook approach or even a test driven approach. If you together with your children do the 4 R's in any subject, you'll be a PA teacher.
If you want more help in the one subject you're using PA or want to see it modeled, The Noah Plan Lessons, The Mighty Works of God (pilgriminstitute.com) or a unit from AMO Program (amoprogram.com) can help. These are all wonderful models of PA thinking. Learn from them and then try to do it on your own.
I had full training in the PA and I still take this exact process. Year after year you learn more and more. Each year you'll be surprised what you've learned (not how much you know). Half of what you learn is along side your kids in their school time.
Lastly, when we were getting ready to start teaching the American Revolution with my kids I knew nothing. I first started formulating questions in my mind of things I wanted to know. When did it start? How did it end? How and why did Washington get to lead? Why did it start? Why did the colonists want to become independent? How did they unify themselves? What the big deal about the Boston tea party? How do all the details fit into God's plan? etc. Pre-thinking is important before studying anything. It prepares your mind and when you do read/research, your questions will begin to be answered and these are things that you're going to want your children to focus on in their learning because it's what you learned. Teach them to ask questions of things they might want to know about. Teach them to write down what they learn.
Aug. 25, 2009 - Goals and Prayer Needs for 09-10 School Year
I'm starting Sep 14th so I'm still in the middle of my vacation and enjoying it. I prepare for the year during this time. I love lesson planning. I do it for fun.
I'm most excited about 2 things: Analytical Grammar and The Civil War.
I just found out about analytical grammar from a homeschool conf I went to in California this past July (I live in Hawaii so this was awesome for me). I have been teaching my kids (now 5th & 6th) these past years the sentence patterns from what I learned from the NP English Curr Guide and have been nervous about teaching sentence diagramming. Well, at the conference I was looking for a good program to teach that because I was nervous about teaching it. I've tried to teach myself but felt like I was in the dark. Well, the one workshop I went to besides the main sessions was Analytical Grammar and I learned more in 40 min than I've learned my whole life. Every question I had got answered and it all made sense to me. And the best part was that you don't teach it everyday. I love that because grammar can be tedious and mundane. Now I feel empowered and balanced, meaning I'll be teaching it as much as I thought it should be taught. I had heard that grammar is like math but never understood how. I love math and now I can see exactly how it works mathematically. :)
Ok, now for civil war. Growing up in public school I remember studying the wars and wondered why we had to learn them and why they are important. I hated history. Since learning the Principle Approach and Providential History it all makes sense now. So, going into it as a teacher I've been very excited about 4Ring each war and finding out what makes these wars so significant. I loved having all my questions answered. For example, I was getting ready to read about Ulysses S. Grant. I had always read about key individuals in America's founding through some amazing PA books, but FACE doesn't have much about the civil war. So, the one book I do have (The Everything Civil War Book) I wanted to know what was so special about this guy and what made him so favored. How does his story compare to that of G. Washington when he was commander of the Am Rev? I learned Ulysses' mother was a devout Christian (and this was from a secular book). I also realized he became a president too. He failed at almost everything he attempted and consistently made mediocre grades in school. Prior to becoming the leader of the Union Army, he drank heavily and resigned from the army after getting reprimanded and failed at numerous occupations. He even had a hard time getting back in the army when the Civil War started. He even ended his life broke and discouraged from numerous ventures not too mention scandal as a president. BUT, he was the savior of the civil war (so to speak). I think that's incredible and amazing! I'm so excited to teach this to my kids. We're going to have a Civil War Day and invite all the HSers in my island.
For the first time, I'll be teaching separate science and literature. My son is doing a year-long independent physical science program with the use of the computer building things. It's called Exploration Education. He keeps asking me when we're going to start it. Also for literature I'm going to use a children's version of Pilgrim's Progress and combine it with reading comprehension and vocabulary. The book is called Dangerous Journey: The Story of Pilgrims Progress. It has short chapters and lots of pictures (that's what I wanted). There's also a dvd that has been made just from this book. He's a slow reader so we're going to take all year if we have to and focus on a deep study of it. I'm also veering from The Writing Road to Reading for my son because I want to try a different method with him to see if he can do better. I'm a Writing Road loyalist, but I've heard good things about this program and it's different. He might just be bored with Writing Road. We've been doing it for 5 years.
For my daughter, we're going to be studying Little Women, Trail Blazer of the Seas, and Shakespeare's Macbeth. I'm not looking forward to reading Little Women, but really feel the Lord wants me to. I've been doing my research and study, but my prayer is that God will work through me to teach and inspire us. I usually keep my negatives feelings to myself. I don't want her to pick up on that. I've never read a novel this big. Heidi was hard but fun. I'm usually a sprinter, not a marathon reader. I like reading philosophy any day. Anyway, I'll be using mostly Landmark books for history (Landing of the Pilgrims and Gettysburg). For science I'll be doing Real Science-4-Kids Chemistry, Physics, and Biology. By the way, Trail Blazer of the Seas is a NP 5th grade recommendation written by Jean Lee Latham about Matthew Maury. This book changed my life when I read it, but it's out of print and if you look for it on amazon it's around $50 or more. Well, just a couple months ago I found it on google books. Now anyone can read it. You can even download the pdf. Awesome!
Oh, math...we finally finished all the main levels of RightStart Math and will be venturing into new territory. My kids are on the same level. I'm using MathScape by Glencoe Mon-Thu and RightStart Geometry on Fridays. The MathScape one is teaching students how to think mathematically. It's not your typical layout of numerous problems. It's more practical/project based. I'm actually excited to learn a new math program because all the ones I've used before were so traditional and middle school math is my absolute favorite subject of all (I taught and tutored middle school math for a few years).
Another thing I'm excited about is this class I want to have on Fridays that involves entrepeneurship and economics. I want my kids to make things they can sell and learn how to manage money. We've paid them for chores and taught them to give, save, and spend but this is more like starting a business. Anyone watch Shark Tank on NBC? Amazing what you learn! I want to also incorporate elocution and film (because my kids aren't big talkers), and computer graphics (making flyers and stuff). Ever see Everyday News from Vision Forum? I get the podcast and it's amazing what those kids do.
I also want to spend time worshipping the Lord more with my kids. I hope to follow through on that.
I'm not excited about teaching Bible as a curriculum. I will use AMO program which is wonderful but I haven't solidified how to make the actually study of the Bible more relate-able, practical, and heart-felt. You know...like when I read and study the Bible for myself, I always apply it and God speaks to me about whatever. Maybe my kids are still too young for that. I want them to hear God's voice for themselves. That's my prayer.
We just had Italy Day and invited lots of homeschool kids and their families. The moms brought the spaghetti and some supplies for the activities and I organized the whole thing. I'm becoming quite the spray paint mural expert. My husband helped me think through the lines and perspective. Here's our schedule:
1. 1:30 Arrival/Passport Stamping
2. 1:50 Story Time Presentation
3. 2:10 Flag Craft
4. 2:30 Sistine Chapel Painting Project
5. 3:00 Pasta Making Activity
6. 3:15 Taste of Italy Food Contest
7. 3:45 Puppet Demonstration and Construction
8. 4:30 Grape Stomping Experiment
9. 5:00 Dinner – Spaghetti & Meatballs
10. 5:30 Disney Movie & Dessert – Gellato
Purpose
·Enrich your study of Pinocchio!
·Learn about author Carlo Collodi
·Discover Italy’s contribution to Christian history
Vowel Detective Game ~ All About Syllables ~ Grades 1-4
Instructions
1.Spend a week writing three letter words with short vowel sounds; think of as many as you can (sample words: bag, beg, big, bog, bug).
2.Spend a couple days writing four letter words with long vowel sounds and silent final e; think of as many as you can (sample words: bake, kite, cute)
3.Spend one day writing the following notes on syllables.
a.Open Syllables (v•cv)
i.Vowel is at the end of a syllable (r.4, 5)
ii.Vowel says its long sound (ba•by, mu•sic, o•pen, si•lent)
b.Closed Syllables (vc•cv)
i.Vowel is not at the end of a syllable
ii.Vowel says its short sound (af•ter, nev•er, un•der, win•dow, pop•corn)
c.Ask, “Now that I taught you what’s different about open and closed syllables, what is the same about them?” After they guess the answer, write it: Every syllable must have a vowel.
4.Play Vowel Detective Game to understand how vowels rule the kingdom of words. They are the kings of the alphabet. They dictate how a word is spelled and pronounced. They have the keys to unlock your greatest potential as a speller and reader. Watch their placement for clues.
a.Write 5-10 (depending on how many kids you have) open syllable words and 5-10 closed syllable words on index cards. They have to be words with two syllables.
b.Hide them throughout the house.
c.Have some children look for open syllable words and other children look for closed syllable words. If they find words that aren’t the ones they’re supposed to find, they must leave them in their place.
d.Whoever finds the most of their kind wins.
5.Have children answer the following questions to assess their understanding.
a.What is an open syllable? or What kind of syllable has a long vowel at the end?
b.What is a closed syllable? or What kind of syllable has a short vowel not at the end?
c.What’s similar about open and closed syllables? or What must every syllable have?
Literature is hard for me to think principly, but there are a few things that I do know. The Principle Approach selected read aloud texts are chosen based on God's providential history (as such "The Handmaid of History"). God used people in key nations to elevate other's understanding of their culture and individuality through the literature that they have written. As far as reading the texts, the principles I always try to point out are character and government. What motivates people to act certain ways? How to people's actions affect other people and circumstances? Lit is not just reading entertaining stories but tools for "learning" (the actual definition) about the world and how God governs us. A secondary and overarching principle is that literature is an excellent tool for being exposed to how language is used effectively; learning prosody and style; something to be emulated. Lit is a way to draw in your emotions. One day long ago, growing in my understanding of teaching principly in every subject, I asked Rosalie Slater (PA Architect), "So what is the purpose of literature anyway?" She simply replied, "To touch your emotions." I guess that's why they say one of the qualities of great literature is emotional appeal. Raquel Werk
My guide is the Chain of Christianity. I usually teach each link throughout the year (in order, except for this year which I've decided to teach according to US holidays). I spend more time on the last three links. I've collected books over the years that I want to use to teach. So, I see which book I want to use then think of an activity to do. I usually do the notebook work for my kids. As far as activities, I just rely on Jesus or internet for ideas. Some I've gotten from the FACE resources. All in all, I think teaching all the links each year is based on a principle that history should be taught as seen in light of God's big picture-how He's used and is using character of men, the causes, purposes, and impact of events, and the individuality of nations to further his kingdom. The second principle that guides the way I teach is that more emphasis is placed on America in the early grades because they should be grounded in their understanding of their nation before getting to in-depth into other nations, although that is covered in literature and geography. One of my other main principles that guide my focus when I read a book aloud or plan an activity is thinking governmentally. Who or what is governing actions, events, etc. I try to mix teaching methods like word study, key charts, and outlines for the reasoning part of our study and I ask lots of questions for comprehension. The goal for me is that they understand why things happen and why people are the way they are (besides using words to identify and describe those things). History is mainly a story that gives the purpose and meaning for life. That's a big question we all have and history is a great way to learn that.
This year's plan: Wks 1-2 we colored pictures for a new timeline. Wks 3-5 we will build a ship (not sure how yet) and discuss causes, purposes, and impact of exploration through the study effect of Columbus' voyage using Ch 4-5, 9-19 of Meet Christopher Columbus (short chapter book) by James T. de Kay and ending with Peter Marshall's The Light and the Glory Ch 2. I'll also do one science experiment comparing magnetic north and true north from Janice Van Cleave's Science Around the Year p.12. For wks 6-9 we'll read The Pilgrims at Plymouth and practice and perform a drama for homeschool kids (one of my loves) (focus on individual enterprise v. socialism. For Quarter 2 wks 1-2 Biblical Foundations of History (mostly notetaking); wks 3 Moses and Jesus (mosaic of Christian symbols); Wks 4-9 read America in the Time of George Washington and end with a patriotic oration (try to have other homeschoolers join us) (focus on becomeing familiar with events that led to independence). Quarter 3 wks 1-3 read Mighty Works of God Divine Providence Ch 14-19, 25-27 (focus on Rev War providential events); wks 4-5 read The Story of the Constitution and focus on key document and underlying principles; wks 6-9 reformation from America's Providential History focus on literacy and impact of God's word. Quarter 4 wks 1-5 focus on our form of government using pictures books from White House trip we did in 2005; wks 6-presidents and states overview (some history of how we got the states and contributions each state has made to the Chain of Christianity); wk 7-New York/Jedediah Smith from Mighty Works of God Liberty and Justice ch19; wk8-California same book Ch 20-21; Wk 9 Hawaii read Attack on Pearl Harbor (focus on Queen's conversion to Christianity and impact on Hawaiian culture/literacy).
Isn’t God amazing; the way He inspires? I walk in constant search of inspiration. Today we started reading Treasure Island and I wasn’t intimidated for once with reading a big book (to me), but after I read the first line, I thought to myself, oh Lord, please help me understand this. I have the Dover coloring book version that is helping me. I know Great Britain (key nation of individuality) is important in the Chain of Christianity and Robert L Stevenson is a key individual used of God, but how in the world is this book going to inspire me. I wait in anticipation. As a kid, I always wondered what this book was about. I sure wish there was a FACE syllabus (www.face.net) that could guide me to think principly. All I have is the overview in the Noah Plan Literature Curriculum Guide 4th grade overview. All that to say, that I trust the Lord is going to meet me. The kids enjoyed it and my daughter helps me understand it when I have difficulty. That’s fun!! Raquel Werk
Sep. 9, 2007 - Principled Planning for 07-08 School Year
Aloha everyone! I'm finally back and settled in our new home in Maui. I've finished (for the most part) doing all the planning for the quarter or year of home school. We start tomorrow, so I thought I'd give my input to this discussion. I'm excited this year because I've finished using the Noah Plan Lessons and am excited to be more free to use the curriculum guides and resources I've collected over the years. My kids also need some more focus on certain areas (math and writing). As I prepare for a new year and reflect on 1) what I've done, 2) what I've learned to do, and 3) what I need to study before I teach, I'm amazed at how God helps me all along the way. Setting goals and not feeling bad for where you're at is freeing. I know I'm learning. I know the kids are further along in certain things than they were before, even if it's not as far as I think they should be. Learning is fun for me and I hope to instill a greater sense of that excitement to my kids this year.
My own goals for this year are to learn how to teach poetry better (a subject I still have no clue how to teach, much less find the right poems to teach; I need to renew my mind there); to get my kids to write and read better (mechanics and fluency are horrible right now; sometimes I think they're still in 1st grade); to build a network of people in my town who want to learn how to teach by principles (get other excited about teaching principly); and accomplish more of what is in my schedule than before (so far I probably get to 80% of it, but I'd like to try to do 90%; kids are a little older and I feel more confident in running a more thriving learning environment).
I've tried to make my lesson plans more the way I see things, which means I break it down into three things (content, book, assignment). Making the assignments more principled (which I want to practice on my own outside of lesson plans I did not write) for me is making sure we use the 1828 every week and reasoning from causes and purposes more than facts (fine balance I and the kids are still learning). I tend to get more detailed than I think the kids are able to do and instead I want to discuss the big picture and make sure they understand and can articulate that. During specific writing lessons we focus more on mechanics than content; so that's different than understanding the big picture in Bible, Literature, History, Science, and even math. I'm also excited to start teaching computer/typing (keyboard) skills this year and being more intentional in economics (how to manage the money they earn for working at home).
I've tried to make my schedule more fluid in the sense of teaching the basics 3 times a week (used to be 4) and everything else 2 times a week (was 1). I've added a few small things like fluency testing, more field trips throughout (we did that all at the end of the year for 2 weeks), and teaching Literature, History, and Science all in one week instead of rotating them from unit to unit (M-W>Lit; Th>Sci; Fr/His). I'm planning 4 special days (Treasure Island Celebration, Pilgrim Drama, Patriotic Orations Day, and Reformation Day) where I hope to incorporate more people in my town.
For Bible I'm using Walking with Jesus (FACE), for Literature> 4th grade books from the NPLG (FACE), for History> Columbus by Pollard (Pilgrim Institute), The Pilgrims at Plymouth (Landmark picture book), America in the Time of George Washington (picture book), Mighty Works of God Divine Providence Ch 14-27(Pilgrim Institute), The Story of the Constitution (picture book), Foxes book of Martyrs for Reformation, and picture books I bought in DC 3 summers ago about the senate, judiciary, presidency, white house, the US flag, and 50 states. For Science I'm using a weather station kit from teacher store, Tools of Navigation (library), The Ocean Book (?), and Real Science-4-kids Chemistry and Physics (Gravitas). For language I'm still using Writing Road to Reading (I might incorporate How to Teach Spelling too) and McCall-Crabbs Test Lessons in Reading. I still use other subjects to find sentences for syntax and etymology. I also use the Bookworm Report in the NP Reading Curr Guide for writing/composition (my kids have trouble just with that).
When I gave the kids the SAT this year, my son bombed the part where he had to correct the grammatical mistakes in the paragraph, so I'm going to have them 1x a week use Evan-Moor Paragraph Editing and periodically, some Abeka Language 3 worksheets (only as supplements to help with SAT skills). We also used Evan-Moor Daily Geography Drills. They're fun and the kids get some formal geography set at state standards. I have not taught much geography principly other than enjoying the atlas from time to time. I'm not worried about that. One thing I'm doing for reading and spelling the first few weeks to get them reading better is take most phonograms and find as many words as we can with that phonogram, especially the vowels and how they work differently. I think they'll think it's fun. My spelling lessons have been pretty rigorous, but I'd have to say their spelling is the highest score they get on SATs (woohoo!).
I hope my kids enjoy school more because one of the main changes I'm making is to shorten the rigorous routines and enrich the knowledge based subjects more. I was more rigorous with skill and less enriched with knowledge. Maybe they'll enjoy it more. Hey if they were in high school, we'd have a great time (ha, ha). My kids are only 8 & 9. Still young and love to play. I also want to work on being more joyful at home. I don't want to get as frustrated or impatient. I want God to make me more like Him. I want my constant happy attitude (that's the goal) to rub off on them. When I'm not happy everything is a chore for everybody. Thank God I'm settled. I'm even loosing weight here without much extra effort. I don't want to move again. If you want a hard copy of my lesson plans, schedule, and overviews, email at kahuahana@yahoo.com.
God is so good to me. You would not believe how blessed I am right now. We're moving back home (Maui) after being on Oahu for 4 years. I am excited about leaving the Noah Plan Lessons because I've used them all and really enjoying developing my own lessons. Maybe the level of the joy of learning will be increased. Come August 30, I should have almost all year planned for Lit, Hist, Science, Geo, and other ancillary subjects. I'm also excited to get into my last year with the Writing Road to Reading and RightStart Math. If you're reading this, pray for me. The Lord gave me a vision to start a Principle Approach (PA) school in Maui seven years ago. I might be on the threshold of developing a team of parents who have the same vision. We'll see. I'll post my lesson plans once I finish them. anyone want to do 4th grade PA curriculum with me? Email me. Raquel Werk
We just finished reading Hans Brinker. We celebrated by going ice skating for the first time. I never thought in a million years my kids would like it or be able to do it. They had a blast and want to go back everyday. Well, besides that joy, reading hans Brinker was a challenge rhetorically, but a wonderful learning experience in geography, history, art, and Dutch culture, not to mention the abundance of etymology and prosody examples. If any one ever asks me how to teach English using literature, I know exactly how that works. What better way to exemplify English than to use classic literature. Forget the grammar books, although using spelling words for grammar is useful. Study the grammar in a book like this one and your bound to exceed any state expectations. My kids colored a great picture of the book and I know they'll never forget where windmills come from or what a dike is. I think I'm falling in love with literature. I can't wait to teach Carry On Mr. Bowditch, Treasure Island, and Secret Garden next year. Raquel
I just started Hans Brinker and we read ch. 1&2. Wow! The overcoming of fear for such a big book was well worth the effort of overcoming. What a blessing! No wonder it's a PA recommendation. The rhetoric and language is so elevated and beautifully crafted. I was overwhelmed for a second that I wouldn't understand it all, but if I focus and stop to monitor my comprehension, I could understand it fine. My kids enjoyed it and our study of the Netherlands beforehand definitely helped. Their connection with it too is increased because my children are male/female siblings. Hans and Gretel are older but wonderful role models. I'm amazingly excited to read more. Literature used to be my biggest fear, but the more I dive in, the richer I become. As we read, we saw plenty of etymology, syntax and prosody examples (similie and personification) along with learning more detailed facts about Holland (purpose of windmills and more about the character of the people). I marked those with a pen to refer to later. I'm going to try to read aloud for three days and write/create on our fourth day. My initial timeline is 6 weeks. Might take longer.
Thanks for reading. Raquel Werk
Writing is probably one of the most difficult things to teach and learn (for a child), but I keep trying, take breaks, feel guilty for not teaching, and then make a suggestion to them about an idea I spontaneously received from God. They take the bite and are hooked. My son (who's the most reluctant learner) takes is paper and is off. I've inspired him to connect Science and our study of zoology and turn it into a story of super hero animal tales in 3rd person narrrative type. I don't see him for another 30 + minutes and he returns with a great story and of course some spelling mistakes (his worst subject), but I encourage him and he's so proud. Good for him. It wasn't long ago that he didn't want to write about what I told him. Then we moved from my stale topics to something about spiderman (seemingly not a principled topic) and he ran with that a few times. Now we're making progress and I'm learning how to inspire children in the difficult subjects. It's great. My daughter is the younger and more reluctant writer than my son. Maybe she not ready for writing as much as I think she should. I think God is growing us all!! Raquel
I've been waiting for a long time (since I first heard about PA and
before I had my own children) to watch my children research, reason,
relate, and record on their own. Well, the first R, which I normally
do for them, they actually got to experience. We are studying zoology
and I wanted them to find out if all spiders spin the same webs or
not. Instead of reading aloud to them as usual, I decided to go to
the library, teach them how to use the database and find books on
spiders. They automatically loved learning that. Well, after they
found the books and started reading them, all while I took a walk
down the beach for 20 min, they couldn't wait to tell me they found
the answer to my question (which I was prepared for them not to say
anything and get tired of reading or something like that). I was so
blessed! My son, who didn't actually do the reading (he let my
daughter read), ran to tell me not just the yes or no answer but list
off all the different types of webs spiders make. I was floored and
very excited and proceeded to exaggerate the principle of God's
creativity! I didn't have to teach it. I would've taught that in our
cozy read aloud time and they might not have remembered, but I think
they will now. We have yet to write that down, but at least I
successfully created a scenario where they can experience the joy or
the first R. And I thought it was too early for them to do the first
R. God is so good!! Raquel Werk
Sep. 2, 2006 - Planning to Use Principle Approach Education
This is what I do when I plan my year using Principle Approach curriculum.
1) Make schedule of what subjects I will teach during what times.
2) Make an academic calendar of what breaks and holidays I'll have, when I start and finish school, what days I'll have special days (literature, history, or science celebration days), and when each week of the quarter is.
3) Take topics covered found in the Noah Plan overviews for my grade and make a personalized quarterly overviews of topics and basic name of designated assignment covered in Bible, Lit, Hist, Sci, and Geo.
4) Plan specific lesson plans for 1 quarter for all subjects. This is a list of what page or lesson and assignment name I teach for a given day for that subject. The key and Principle Approach distinctive is that the principles and teaching methods are identified in the Noah Plan lessons for each subject, each week. This gives me a pretty good idea of what books I've need, what assignments I'll be teaching, and where to find the specific lesson details I'll need at the exact time I teach.
5) Prepare notebooks with labeled divider tabs, cover page (complete with name of our school and teacher, student name and picture, and subjects studied with year and grade), and spine label (same info as cover page).
I recently helped a new homeschool mom do these things for her fifth grader and since she is new to Principle Approach curriculum, we'll be following the same lesson plans for Bible, Lit, Hist, Sci, and Geo. The new learning goal for her this year is in The Writing Road to Reading. She's using a basic math text just to get by.
I am so excited to teach this year because I feel so much better about teaching all my subjects. And I have a better understanding of the flow of my schedule. I'm excited to be better planned. I got so excited about my planning I ended up planning the entire year for Lit, His, and Sci. These subjects were so easy to plan for. All I did was decide which book/chapter we'll read on a given day. The teaching method is the same, so now I have a better understanding of how to get through the subject. And I'm excited to see what we're going to learn, especially after finally having a great emotional connection with teaching Shakespeare this year. It's neat! Every year (this is my third) I fall in love with another unit of study that I had previously know nothing about or disliked.
Principle Approach education is difficult to use, but the more I use it the deeper I get into learning and appreciated all that God has provided for us to learn. I'm sure we all fight the thoughts of hating school from our own school days. Well, Principle Approach makes you a lover of learning. Your children might not appreciate it as much as you, but they will be scholars and great thinkers of their day. Teaching logic in kindergarten by teaching outlining is just one example of how PA students get an early start in life and learning. They'll ultimately be able to read, think, and do more with their life than I ever did at a given age. Teaching sentence patterns (grammer-complements) to your first grader (before they get to 4th grade) will make them better at understanding what they read and how to write better. Teaching your second grader visual math strategies make them quicker at computation which will free their minds for higher math. They won't get stuck at simple computation. PA education is worth every sacrifice of time and effort. If you want to better yourself and reach your own goals?
Aug. 22, 2006 - Reading Shakespeare - A Comedy of Errors
Aloha! We just finished reading Shakespeare's A Comedy of Errors and I've never had such an enlightened reading of Shakespeare's story as told by Charles and Mary Lamb. This was a great story! One thing that stood out to me was the logic. The plot totally works the child's logical thinking. The language...talk about great examples of etymology and syntax...GREAT! Talk about Thinking Governmentally and cause to effect thinking...IT'S ALL THERE! What a joy to teach this. I'm thinking it would be great to write a play/drama or felt characters story. Principles...besides the fact that Shakespeare uses his gift to write and think...the characters in the story and the way they react show their lack of trust and hope; Truth will always be revealed; The world's way of handling problems leads to frustration and confusion; Trusting God in your circumstances leads to blessings; God works all things for good to those who love Him. Great tool for reasoning Biblically and logically! A must read!
Aug. 7, 2006 - Podcasting Principle Approach Training
I thought I'd pass this on to the PA community. Paul Jehle, a Principle Approach principal in MA is on the radio program of Dr. James Kennedy (Coral Ridge Ministries in Georgia-I think). The radio ministry is called Truths that Transform and those with iTunes or iPod can podcast it onto their computer and get the whole series. Today's title, "Evaluating your Philosophy of Education Part 1." People would need to find the website in a search and click on the podcast.
May. 24, 2006 - What's Different about Principle Approach Curriculum?
The Bible for Reasoning and Reading - two subjects in one, the PA Bible lesson uses the Bible to teach reading through an elevated language and to reason from principles (the whys and how), not just facts (what and when).
Spelling - The Writing Road to Reading connects speech sounds with their written symbols by teaching them to reason why the word is spelled the way it is and how it is used giving the child an understanding of how language works.
Math - RightStart Math gives math meaning and makes it fun through games. It's true that this curriculum keeps your children asking for more. They learn strategies that minimize memorization and enhance understanding. If you're not using RS Math AND your child begins to have difficulty...think about giving them a start in math that will lasts beyond failed memory and lack of reasoning and logic.
Literature - If you're not reading aloud or reading books recommended by the Noah Plan Curriculum, you're not lifting your child's understanding of language. I've been reading NP recomended books for 2 years now (stretching myself in reading and understanding such lofty plots and themes-believe me, it was a stretch) and have (for once) diverted to one unrecommended book and totally notice the difference in the excellent use of language. If you've already read some of these specially selected books, you're ahead of me.
History - The Chain of Christianity is more than a timeline of people and events, it opens up for us a story of how God's law has been revealed to man to bring liberty to not individuals, but nations themselves. Every nation's government, economics, and business can benefit from the Providential perspective of history. PA history explores the internal causes of events and characters and even places YOU on this timeline as someone who can continue to be a part of His story in the world.
Geography - Ever heard about how the physical geography of a region of the world has made a specific contribution to the development of man? How about the individuality of each continent? You'll find it here.
Science - more than facts and experiments. Relate the nature and character of God in all of science. The more you study, the more faith is built, the more you fall in love with an awesome creator...and...learn a few facts; maybe even use the little that you do know to invent or creator something new as so many God-fearing scientists have (ie., George Washington Carver).
English - abandon grammar workbooks and daily drills; take time to explore meanings and origins of words discovered in other subjects and take those writings and emulate the same use of language. Also learn how words are formed and the secrets (patterns aren't just for math) of sentences to increase understanding. Renew your mind about how language is supposed to be taught. Restore to your home the methods used by generations before us; those who brought language and writing to its highest standards.
It's always good to have time be on your side. Thank God for breakthroughs in learning for children. God lets them grow and all of a sudden they get it when they didn't get it before. I've had even more breakthroughs. I've simplified our schedule and included beach time. We have 1.5 hours of Bible and Math and then either go to the beach or have read aloud time. Spelling and English are done sometime later during the day or after dinner, which is working out so great. I'm getting regular exercise and loosing weight and they're being more diligent and focused. It's too good to be true. We've been going through Proverbs in Bible and it's amazing how applicable they are. Through our daily contrast of the wise child and the foolish child our study is proving to be a great learning experience as they get older too. They also are used to the read aloud and are beginning to just sit and listen and enjoy the books we're reading. We just finished Benjamin Franklin and they loved it. We're going to have a special day of science related experiments wth our other Principle Approach families. For summer, we're going to keep learning since I have more I'd like to cover and both my husband and I want to keep them engaged. They do get a week or two off here and there, but want to keep the routines. I want to make sure Isaac gets through 2nd grade math before the new year starts. He's a little behind and Isabel gets to catch up to him so in the fall I'll teach one grade (3rd) for math and all other subjects too. I'm thinking of conducting a 1st/2nd grade daily math and spelling class for a new homeschool mom I've become friends with. My kids are excited to help teach (which is another shocker; I've only dreamed of having kids who love to teach as I do). Neat to see God work in my life and my kids life. This year has been a challenge for me, but God has granted me so much peace about homeschooling. I don't feel pulled by anxiety about teaching at a regular school to be around more people. God is blessing me with a little/non-regular school community that is not so presurresome. I like this!
What helps me simplify homeschool is to mentally follow a checklist of what I think is primary for a quality education. These are methods of teaching I make sure I do every day we have school:
1) Bible/Reading-more than just reading practice (the best kind) and discussing/checking comprehension (10-15 min), but also asking reflective and reasoning questions about why God says/writes and writing that down (10-15 min).
2) Math-practice the basics (5-10 min oral), lesson from curriculum (20-25 min), and play math games for basic operations (10-15 min) (they love that; crucial)
3) Spelling/English: new words dictation (10 min), old word practice discussion/penmanship (15 min), writing sentences to discuss the word function (15 min) (parts of speech) (That alone is a principle: words have a job/purpose).
4) Read Aloud (20-25 min) to child: this is where you use literature, science, history or other topic to elevate your childrens knowledge and use of language. Discuss and document: setting, plot, characters, and theme for narratives and topic and facts for informatives (a little every day). As a supplement or secondary method, include a color page, map work, or paper (scissors/glue/markers) activity or experiment.
The most important thing to remember is not just to get through a bunch of worksheets, workbooks, or textbooks, which tends to bore and stifle learning. Learning is a time to develop daily disciplines (physical and mental) and experience God and His world to the end of becoming good communicators of His truth, not just having knowledge, but having understanding and wisdom in all of life. Test the curriculum you're using against these ideals and continue to store these treasures in your heart and watch God expand and lengthen your tents. If your curriculum lacks good books for read aloud and you want to supplement, go to FACE website (face.net) and get the Family Program for Reading Aloud or choose a book and syllabus from the grade level book lists. Another good and small investment would be the Self Directed Seminar.
