Robin of Heart of Wisdom asked me to blog about a sample day in our homeschool. Here I will give it a try.
We start our day with Bible reading. Right now we are reading together using a guide put out by First Fruits of Zion called Weekly Torah Readings for 2007-2008. We just read from the Bible and discuss what it says.
We usually follow this with mathematics. 1dd10 just finished her workbook from Singapore Math and will be starting the next one this week. 2dd8 is using Shiller Math, which is a Montessori type math program which uses a lot of hands-on activities to do. She also just finished the second book, and will move on to the third book this week.
Next we do reading, handwriting, and language arts. The reading and language arts come from Sonlight. They do copywork or dictation on Mondays, and grammar activities and writing activities other times during the week. 1dd10 is learning to type with a program we downloaded called Keyboarding for Christian Schools. 2dd8 just finished her Handwriting Without Tears for cursive writing, and she wants to learn to type next. She will begin doing her copywork in cursive to continue with that skill at the same time. Both girls are using book 3 of Sequential Spelling and we do a lesson out of there each day. The girls are both reading good living books on American History. 1dd10 is reading "Mr. Revere and I" and 2dd8 is reading "Pocahantas and the Strangers".
For science we do nature walks, read good science books and magazines and so forth. We did not get a science curriculum this year.
For history, we are finishing up a curriculum on Early Explorers by Time Travelers, put out by Homeschooling in the Woods. It has had lots of fun activities. When we complete it, we will move on to Colonial Life by the same company. We spend a little time every afternoon doing a little bit of the program. Today, for example, we made cardboard "pieces of eight' and travel brochures for those who might want to travel the the new world during those days.
PE isn't a formal class for us, but I try to get the girls outside playing most days. They spend their afternoons sledding, hiking, taking walks, or some such active thing. I can't keep up with them physically, that is for sure!
Each evening before bedtime we do whatever reading we didn't get done during the day - right now our read alouds include "American Indian Prayer Guide", "Prudence and the Millers", "The American Story", and "On the Banks of Plum Creek". Usually the first three are read in the morning if we can fit it in.
Since my Homeschool Open House entry, I have made some major changes in my plans for 2007-2008. This week we started our school with the unit study on Early American Explorers through Homeschool in the Woods that I shared about in my Open House entry. That part is going great. Then I shared that my plans were at that point to purchase the My Father's World unit on American History. Well...a man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps (or in my case woman/her). I will not be purchasing any other supplementation to go along with this unit. After much sweating and praying and deliberation, I feel peace about sticking just to the unit, and only supplementing with some read-alouds from the library (based on MFW and Sonlight's recommendations for this year) and a book on Native Americans with prayer points, and Sonlight's language arts for level 3 and grade 2, with readers. I have a lot of peace about this decision now, and definitely feel that less is better. One of the main reasons I am not doing Sonlight completely this year is that it is just too much, but doesn't have any hands-on activities to help cement the learning together.
This week went really well. We started each day with reading from Catherine Vos's A Child's Story Bible and the girls made a picture and either a written narration or copy work to go with it. This activity took about 45-60 minutes each morning. From there we went to math. That didn't go as well. I still am feeling pressure to stick with the work books but the girls hate doing it, and it took forever to get through one lesson with my sitting right there with each of them. Ugh! By Friday I had decided to pitch the Singapore Math for now and go entirely with Miquon. I am going to try to do the activities that are suggested in the teacher's book, and try to be relaxed about it. I may also dedicate one day a week to math games. Thursday and Friday, the math time went much better and didn't take nearly as long. The girls are behind in these books, so it is easier for them, and they were able to do 2-3 lessons each day. Next we read the lesson for the history, and worked on the projects that went with them. How fun. We all enjoyed this time, but we only got through the first two lessons. Part of that was that the first lesson took longer, and that the neighbors weren't doing school and so the girls wanted to play. On Friday the weather was so nice we took a nature walk and drew in our journals instead. I got some nice pics to show of that.
Today I finally clicked the "check-out" button at the Sonlight online site, and hopefully we'll be getting our books soon. I love their language arts, and they have upgraded their programs with the help of Ruth Beechick this year. Woohoo!
Does anyone know of a great site to come up with early learning activities for a three year old who thinks she needs to be doing her school this year too?
Have a great holiday tomorrow, my American friends.
This day was something. It started off really well. The girls got up and we got going with our schedule by 8:30am. By 9:30 I had all my read-alouds finished. We took a break and kept right on. The girls took turns watching and playing with 3dd2 while I worked one-on-one with the other. Math was a bit challenging for 1dd8, but she worked hard to get through it. 2dd7 worked diligently on her turns too. By lunch time we weren't finished with everything, but had taken plenty of breaks and I felt good about our progress.
After lunch, we came back and had most of our work done by 3 or so. The girls went to do a craft project with a fellow staff person here for the afternoon. 3dd2 went down for a nap, and I called my sister on the phone. We talked for quite a while and the conversation has been weighing heavily on me since then. 3dd2 woke up crabby, so I let her watch Big Sister Dora until suppertime.
After supper, I called a physician who is interested in having me work part time for him in a nearby town as a physician assistant. He is a Christian and is willing for me to work one day a week. I'm really excited about this, but I'd like some more confirmation from the Lord. My dh would stay home with the children the day I work. Doing this will help me keep my skills up, and will help me keep my license valid. It will also help me to be a better help here on the base medically because I will have medical liability coverage and a "supervising physician" for my licensure. Hopefully I will be able to provide more care and prescriptions for those who have no medical insurance.
This evening two of our staff (one is actually the daughter of another staff member) were in a four-wheeler accident. They were taken down to the hospital. Please be praying for them as they neither have health insurance, and that their injuries are not serious.
1dd8 is in bed complaining of nausea, and she has had a sore throat all day. Please pray for her also.
JavaMamma (among others) passed on this tag to whoever wanted to do it.
1) ONE HOMESCHOOLING BOOK YOU HAVE ENJOYED Pocketful of Pinecones by Karen Andreola.
2) ONE RESOURCE YOU WOULDN'T BE WITHOUT Besides the Bible, I think it would be my Sonlight schedules. I love the ease with which I can make my weekly schedules.
3) ONE RESOURCE YOU WISH YOU HAD NEVER BOUGHT
A homeschooling PE course that was completely useless that I got through Sonlight.
4) ONE RESOURCE YOU ENJOYED LAST YEAR
100 Easy Lessons, First Language Lessons, All of 1dd8's readers...
5) ONE RESOURCE YOU WILL BE USING THIS YEAR
Ambleside Online for Supplementary resources, Handbook of Nature by Comstock, and Burgess Bird Book.
6) ONE RESOURCE YOU WOULD LIKE TO BUY Eventually we'd like to do the Prairie Primer and/or Higher Up and Further In, but not this year. I'd also like some other Charlotte Mason helps - I can't think of their names off the top of my mind.
7) ONE RESOURCE YOU WISH EXISTED More free online how-tos for lapbooks - one that get more specific and has lots of free printouts!
8) ONE HOMESCHOOLING CATALOGUE YOU ENJOY READING
As you can see, I have a hard time choosing one of any of these catagories. I love my Sonlight catalogues, also Rainbow Resources and the Ambleside Website.
9) ONE HOMESCHOOLING WEBSITE YOU USE REGULARLY
homeschoolblogger and Ambleside and Sonlight
10) If you haven't participated in this meme or tag - consider yourself TAGGED! (if ya wanna be)
I can't believe we are on our sixth week already. I thought I'd post our current stuff we're doing, and some thoughts about it so far.
If you were around and remember, I strongly felt the Lord tell me to continue Sonlight 1+2 this year. I had my reservations because it didn't go over so well last year with my 2dd. I'm pleased to say that it is going very well this year, and I'm getting much better cooperation from both girls. Thanks God, You knew. It goes to show that God knows best what a year of maturation will do.
Anyway, right now we are using The Child's Story Bible by Catherine Vos for our Bible time. The girls have memorized Psalm 24 almost completely, and will finish this week. I'm very pleased at how well that is going. They are learning quickly. We also have learned the first verse of Be Thou My Vision, but has taken us several weeks, and will probably go next to a hymn with more common English!
For history we are studying the Romans this week from CHOW and Usborne's World History. We also read 2-4 times a week from Window on the World. We try to fit in map work from our reading, but aren't very consistent with it.
Our read-alouds come from Aesop for Children, A Child's Garden of Verses, Paddle to the Sea (not Sonlight, but Ambleside!), and Detectives in Togas. We have added in various library books off and on too.
For science, we are reading from The Usborne Book of Knowledge and Science Activities Volume 3 studying about birds and the human body. We also take nature walks, and will be doing some nature journaling also.
For Art/Music/Enrichment, we have been going through Animals in Art and the girls have joined a children's choir with our church. Last week was their first week, and I can see that it will be great for them. I'm still hoping that they can start taking piano lessons this year too. We are just waiting for a friend of ours to say when she wants to do it.
For PE, the girls have learned to ride their bikes, and spend time doing that almost everyday. We are enjoying our outside time while the weather is good. We've also gone swimming a couple of times.
For foreign language we are studying Spanish from a workbook we got at Wal-Mart. The kids love it. We do about a page a day, but sometimes they like to do more!
For handcrafts, Ciara makes a lot of little booklets of original stories and has started to learn to crochet. Jaedyn likes to make window glass pieces with paint and little plastic frames. (She has one glued to the inside of one of her pockets because it accidentally went through the laundry!). She loves to water-color and do other painting projects too.
Mountain Princess (8) is reading Shadrach by Meinert Dejong right now, doing the LA2 advanced, Wordly Wise Book B, HWT Cursive Handwriting, and ETC book 6. For math she is finishing Singapore 2A, and working through Miquon Red Book. We use her LA suggestions for creative expression unless we do a specific activity that week from First Language Lessons, which we read daily also.
Snow Crystal (7) is reading from the I Can Read It series from Sonlight and doing LA1. She uses HWT My Printing Book, and has the same creative expression exercises as Mountain Princess. They both have blogs to help encourage these activities.
Well, thanks for making it this far. I'm always amazed that people read some of my longer blogs!
One thing have I desired of the Lord that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. To behold the beauty, the beauty of the Lord. To inquire in His temple, the temple of the Lord.
This is my everyday thoughts about being a mother to three little ladies (10, 8 and 3) and a toddler son. We serve God full-time, and I am a physician assistant. I have the most awesome husband in the world. I am trying to seek God with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind and all my strength.
