• Jun. 6, 2009 - File Folder Game Tips
After making a bunch of these the past few weeks, I thought I'd share what I've learned.
I bought 2 books from Carson-Dellosa, which require coloring, cutting, mounting, and laminating. This is a lot of work! I also bought 2 of the ready made sets, which turn out to be pretty expensive, but you do have the coloring already done and the inside of the folders mounted. I think I ended up getting the books for 12 dollars, and they each have approximately 40 games. The ready-made sets come with I think 6 games for $20. You do have to factor in the cost of folders, etc. but the books still come up to be a much better deal if you have the time to devote to it.
I took one of the books to Staples and had them copy all of the pieces (not the mounts) onto card stock. This cost about $15. If you want to have your pieces on card stock, I highly recommend this method. It saved so much time!
The thing with file folder games is you end up cutting out the same pieces several times. First you color it and cut it out. Then you mount it on card stock and cut it out. Then you laminate it and cut it out. Having it copied on to card stock cuts out one of those steps. I have started taking a few short cuts along the way though. So, I tear the page out of my book and color it. Then I laminate the whole page without cutting anything out. Then after it's laminated I cut the individual pieces out. Yes, this isn't quite as sturdy as the other way, but I figure since this will be home use rather than classroom use it will be just fine. So, that's my biggest tip.
I've been struggling trying to figure out a way to laminate the whole folder and spent the day searching the internet for a larger machine. I found the candidate for us, but in the meantime I had games to laminate! I tried Contact paper on several of them with varying degrees of success. Yes, they're protected but not very pretty. I finally took a laminating pouch and stuck one half of the file folder in it and laminated it. Then I took another pouch with the other half of the folder in it and laminated. Then I turned it inside out and ran it through the machine again to insure adhesion to all sides. It worked like a charm! There's about 1/4 inch that hangs out the top, and the same about of the tab sticks out. Next time I'll just trim a bit of the tag off. It looks so nice and was relatively simple, especially compared to the Contact paper. I'm feeling quite pleased with myself at this point.
Tomorrow I'm going to try putting a few of the pages in one of the kids boxes and let them color them. Then I'll mount them and make up the game. That way I don't have to color it and they get an extra exposure to the subject matter. |
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• Jun. 2, 2009 - First Language Lessons AKA Another Peace Hill Press Rave
We used First Language Lessons when Mr. Blue was in first grade and have been using it steadily ever since. He's on Level 3, while Miss Pink is on Level 1 at an advanced rate. She already knows most of the information covered from listening in on her brother's lessons. I have enjoyed Level 3 so much, I ended up getting Level 4 for Miss Green to go through quickly before starting Rod and Staff grade 6 next September. We've bounced around so much with her in grammar, but I can really see her making progress in this, even in the 2 weeks we've been using it.
We've used Rod and Staff (grade 3), Easy Grammar (3/4), and Learning Language Arts Through Literature (Orange and Gray.) Rod and Staff was really okay, but she decided on the first day she didn't like their tone. Every day after that was a chore. Easy Grammar was okay as well, but I didn't feel she really retained much. LLATL is probably a decent program, but I just felt overwhelmed by it. The teacher's manuals are very confusing to me, but that could be because I never found the time to sit down with them before using them.
First Language Lessons is truly open and go, which is a necessity here. I have 4 kids schooling now, so the less prep work I have to do the better. My kids enjoy the poetry memorization more than I ever thought they would. Everyone from Miss Purple to Miss Green has memorized all the poetry for the 3 levels we've done thus far. I try to find recordings of them to listen to in the car and Miss Purple usually asks to hear them above any music I might offer. It's quite interesting to listen to her recite poems.
It's also lead to other discoveries. For example last week Mr. Blue was memorizing A Tragic Story by William Makepeace Thackeray, and the only recording I could find was a choral arrangement sung by a boys choir. We ended up discussing boys choirs, falsettos, and music in general for a long while. I keep trying to get Mr. Blue to sing in a falsetto with them, but he's not falling for it.
Long story short, if you're looking for an open and go, gentle yet thorough introduction to grammar, go get First Language Lessons! |
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• May. 31, 2009 - Writing With Ease
The kids and I are really, really enjoying this curriculum! Mr. Blue is in Book 2, Miss Pink is in Book 3, and I'll start Miss Green in Book 4 just as soon as its out. I may actually have her run through Book 3 first, since it will be released sooner. I can see a big difference in the two I have using it, even in their summarizing ability, something Miss Green really needs work in.
The best part though, is the interest its ignited in my kids to read the books corresponding to the passages in the workbook. For example, this week Miss Pink was writing from passages from Caddie Woodlawn. Will you look at that italicized book title. I learned THAT from First Language Lessons 4, thank you very much. Evidently I don't remember much from elementary English. But I digress, back to WWE. I got to the end of the passage, remember I'm reading to Miss Pink here, and Mr. Blue says, "Will you read more, please?"
So, off to the library we went and checked out the full book, well the full audiobook anyway. We have a long drive tomorrow. We also checked out the second Percy Jackson audiobook. I don't know if they'll be able to agree on which to listen to first. |
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• May. 22, 2009 - Apologia Elementary Science Notebook contest!
I blogged a couple of months ago in my scheduling plans about the notebooks (samples here) that correspond to the Apologia Elementary Science series. I bought 2 of them to go along with the Astronomy book we're using right now. First off, I need to say though how much we enjoy this science series. The kids love listening, looking at the pictures, and when I do get around to the activities, they have a blast.
When Mr. Blue and Miss Green saw their new notebooks, they immediately grabbed them and ran off with them. They've been working on them independently without prompting from me to catch up to where we are in the book. They have (copied and pasted from Apologia here)
- A daily schedule for those who like to have a plan or would like their children to complete the book on their own
- Templates for written narrations, the notebooking activities and experiments
- Review Questions
- Scripture Copywork, with both print and cursive practice
- Reading lists and additional activities, projects, experiments for each lesson
- An appendix with beautiful, full-color, lapbook-style Miniature Books
- Field Trip Sheets to keep a record field trips
- A Final Review with fifty questions the students can answer either orally or in writing to show off all they remember and know at the end of the course.
I'm looking forward to getting the next notebooks in the series, especially Botany (samples here) which we're starting next. Now, for the fun stuff!
Jeannie is giving away four Astronomy Notebooking Journals and four Botany Notebooking Journals to bloggers who post about this on her site. Visit her blog to learn more about this contest: www.jeanniesjournal.com
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• Apr. 21, 2009 - Workboxes
I had a wonderfully descriptive post written about the Midwest Homeschool Convention and what a great time I had there and how wonderful Raoul was to arrange childcare so I could go and descriptions of all the sessions I attended and what I bought and on and on. Then Firefox crashed and it was all lost. So, I wrote it again and added more about who I went with and how wonderful the Exhibit Hall was and the exhibitors there I hadn't seen and who wasn't there. And then Firefox crashed again. I may rewrite the post yet again, but in the meantime here's a brief workbox post.
Workboxes seem to be all the rage in the online homeschool community. It's based on Sue Patrick's Workbox System. I'm sure the powers that be at Target are mystified by the Accessory Racks flying off the shelves. We started using it with Miss Purple first, then added in Miss Pink. When Mr. Blue saw all the great stuff we were doing with the 2 girls, he asked to do the system as well. 2 weeks later, I decided to add Miss Green in. I had a great time at the conference looking for things to add in to our system. Here's what we got:
Scratch Off Hangman
Several Buki Books
(At this point Firefox crashed again, but I was finally smart and had saved it as a draft!)
Several Dover Historical Coloring Books
A few Little Paper Dolls
Some Kumon Preschool Books
I have quite a few things already for Miss Purple, as this is our third time through preschool. I just need to dig them out of storage. We won't unpack everything until we're in a permanent home instead of a rental. We just have too many books to lug around!
At this point, you may be assuming the workboxes are all about fun, and I'm afraid I'm misleading you. Our workboxes have allowed us to do our regular studies so efficiently, we finally have time to add in those fun things you always hear about homeschoolers doing. I love being able to break up the monotony with educational, entertaining tasks. In some blogs I've read about mothers putting the ingredients and recipe for baking cookies in a workbox or a lunch menu. Others put in a cookbook and let the child plan a meal for later in the week. There are so many possibilities that we're just beginning to scratch the surface of. I'm on the lookout for educational DS games to add to our workboxes occasionally. I have been putting educational dvds in, especially those pertaining to our history studies. I put Leapster games in Miss Pink and Miss Purple's occasionally. I put an index card in to remind them to practice piano and to do their online drills. I'm looking forward to adding more to our day in our workboxes. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.
Here are a few blogs to start you off! If you google workboxes and homeschooling you'll find enough to keep you reading for a long while.
What's in the Box?
Our Busy Homeschool
Walking by the Way |
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• Apr. 10, 2009 - Latin, Latin, and more Latin!
I've had quite a few questions lately about our Latin studies, so I thought I'd take a moment to review the many books we've used. First though, why study Latin? I decided to teach my children Latin after reading this article from Memoria Press and this article in the same issue of The Classical Teacher, which I thoroughly enjoy reading. To put it in a nutshell for our family, Latin is teaching us to use the English language and it will help the kids learn other languages in the future.
We started out with Prima Latina, which we loved. It sounds insane, but my kids really enjoyed memorizing the prayers. The vocabulary was gentle and words they enjoyed using. We only got into trouble when we started conjugating verbs and declining nouns, but we pressed through. I thought we'd use the dvds extensively, but after watching once, my kids begged me not to put it in again. We did use the cd though, every time we got in the car.
From there we went on to Latina Christiana. Although its from Memoria Press, we didn't like it nearly as well as PL. We got about 8 lessons in before it was too much for Mr. Blue and we stopped. Once again, we hated the dvd and loved the cd. It didn't have the prayer memorization, which we missed.
Along with LC, we also used Lingua Angelica, also from Memoria Press. This is just a beautiful cd and even though we haven't gotten around to translating yet, we enjoy listening to it frequently.
Then we tried Latin for Children. These dvds were much friendlier than the Latina Christiana set, but my kids still didn't click with them. What I love about Latin for Children are the extras! They've got the History Reader, the Activity Book, the dvd, etc. to go along with the basic text. I'm hoping to use these down the road, but we gave up again after a few lessons.
In the meantime I started Song School Latin with Miss Pink. Wow! I love this program! It's so simple and fun. Miss Pink thinks its okay, but Miss Purple? She love, love, loves it! She knows all the songs and sings them for fun frequently. She asks to hear the cd whenever we get in the car. Mr. Blue today asked if he could do Song School Latin for his Latin now, so I guess its a winner with him too.
This month we've started Lively Latin after reading lots of positive reviews for it. Miss Green says she really, really likes this one. She's been exclaiming every day during Latin, "Mommy, I really like this Latin!" Mr. Blue has started LL as well, though he's a few weeks behind Miss Green. I think this is going to be a great fit, although I've read recently that LL 2 is not as good as LL 1, so we'll have to see when we get around to that point.
I've seen so many different Latin curricula tempting me, but I'm trying to be strong and save my school budget for math. There's just too much fun stuff out there calling my name. I've got to stop researching. Every month there's something new out there that promises to be all I've been looking for for a certain child/subject. It's a siren call that I try to avoid when possible, but its a necessary evil. I'm scheduled to go to a homeschool fair this weekend, and I'm debating the wisdom of that. Will it help or hinder or efforts for this year? Well, either way, I'm getting my list together!
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• Apr. 5, 2009 - 2nd grade plans
Miss Pink is 7 and is probably the most like me of all my kids, educationally speaking. I have the easiest time teaching her, because we "speak the same language." Most of my plans for her are already implemented. This coming year will be just finishing what we've started.
Song School Latin: I love this program. I've read mixed reviews, but she's really learning the vocabulary well. She doesn't love the music, but little Miss Purple sure does!
Writing With Ease 1: This is such an easy to implement writing program. I really need things that are pick up and go.
First Language Lessons: We started this book some time ago, but we're taking it slow. She really enjoys memorizing poems.
Explode the Code 6-8: She's been reading since she was 4, so this is just review/spelling for her.
Spelling Workout C: We just finished book B, so we'll be starting C this week.
Singapore 1B: We'll probably go back to Math U See Alpha when we're not in a rental house anymore and I can get all our supplies out of storage.
Story of the World 3: She's doing this with Miss Green and Mr. Blue. She really enjoys having the additional reading in her boxes, as long as they're fiction!
Music: I'm looking into Music Ace Deluxe to go along with their piano lessons, but haven't decided for sure yet. It seems pretty pricey, but I've heard great reviews.
Art is with our lovely volunteer, Miss Florence. I think Thursdays are the high points of our week. This week Mr. Blue has big plans to go fishing in her pond before art lessons. He doesn't like to eat fish, but he thinks it might be okay if its something he caught. We'll see if he catches anything before we worry about that!
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• Mar. 23, 2009 - How is it that I've been homeschooling for 7 years...
and am just now discovering the joys of a laminator? I bought one 2 days ago, and I can't stop laminating things! I made up a really neat thing for Miss Purple. She's been wanting me to write things for her and then she'll copy them. Her favorite things seem to be names, so I made up a little paper with pictures of 6 of her favorite people in the whole wide world and put their names beside them with space below for her to write. She was so excited to find it this morning. Now I'm thinking of laminating all the paper dolls I just finished cutting out. I'm not sure if I'll get around to that, but it sure is fun to look around the house for more stuff to laminate.
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• Mar. 21, 2009 - 3rd Grade Plans
Alright, we've covered Miss Green's 5th grade plans, so now we'll move on to Mr. Blue. I've noticed he's lacking in the language arts department, so we're trying to beef that up a little bit, starting this week.
Language: First Language Lessons, grade 3 and Writing With Ease workbook 2
Spelling: Spectrum Spelling 3 (I prefer Spelling Workout, but he requested this one)
Math: Singapore 3A and B - He's done Math U See Alpha, Beta, and Gamma, but we went back a little in Singapore. He spent last year doing 2A and B and hasn't had any trouble at all yet with progressing. I don't think there's been a concept he's had a hard time with, so I don't know if we're moving to slow or what. I need to re-evaluate this. I considering ALEKS, but I haven't made any decisions yet.
Handwriting: He's on Portland Italics C, but we may ease off a little, since WWE has copywork and dictation.
History: Story of the World 3 with the others, along with the age appropriate recommendations from the Activity Guide. I found out there's a really big Revolutionary reenactment near us in May, so I'm hoping to get that far in history around that time. I need to sit down and make out a schedule that gets us there when it will do us the most good.
Science: Apologia Astronomy and the lapbook from Knowledge Box to go with it. Although, Jeannie Fulbright and Apologia are coming out with a notebook soon that is looking rather intriguing. She says in her blog they'll be available this spring, but I don't see them yet.
Music is Themes to Remember and library books. I'm hoping to have a chance to go through and correlate composers to time periods in history. Then we can have a better understanding of the world the composers lived in.
Art: This is the same as Miss Green. We go to lessons once a week. I'm also going to try to match up artists to time periods and study them as we go through history. Rembrandt and 17th Century Holland was recommended this past week by the Story of the World activity book, and Mr. Blue really enjoyed having a "peg" to hang Rembrandt on in his mind.
Latin will be finishing up Latina Christiana.
Classical Studies: D'Aulaire's Greek Myths and Study Guide by Memoria Press.
He's actually really enjoying this, well maybe not the study guide so much. We found the book on cd and he loves listening in the car. Up until now, we've just done the study guide orally, but I think I'll have him write the answers on the review questions himself. We found a book series that's helping to solidify the characters in his mind, its Myth-O-Mania. A friend of mine recommended the Percy Jackson series today. We got the first book on cd today from the library and are excited to listen to it!
So, that's where we're going in blue this year. I'm really excited with the way things are going so far and am looking forward to the rest of the year.
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• Mar. 20, 2009 - Paper Dolls
In my last Rainbow Resource order, I got the American Family Paper Doll book and restickable glue. That's not all I got of course, but I don't want to go off on a tangent here. I've spent the past couple of evenings cutting dolls out and am starting to find it quite relaxing. I have a little routine going, which has smoothed things out considerably. I begin by cutting out the actual dolls for a time period and setting them aside. Then I take my handy dandy art knife (Office Depot clearance today for $4, includes a cutting mat) and cut out the face areas and hats for all the outfits for that time period. I then sit down in the easy chair and relax using my scissors to cut the rest of the outfits out. I found cutting the whole outfit out with the X-Acto knife a little tedious. After the time period is complete, I apply the restickable glue to the backs of all their outfits and wait for it to dry. Then I take the outfits, sort them by character onto card stock, and put the card stock in a binder that will eventually have the entire American Family series. I plan on purchasing the relevant dolls as we come up on them in history.
I really think one of these doll sets will be perfect to put in the girls' workboxes. I'm putting together Miss Pink's and Miss Purple's at the moment. More on that later along with the other great stuff I got from RR. |
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• Mar. 17, 2009 - 5th grade plans
So, we're here at the end of the year, but we're going to have to work through the summer to catch up. I'm still trying to figure out what we're doing for her this year, and it helps me so much to write it down. So, here we go...
Math: Math U See Epsilon and Life of Fred Fractions. She loves Life Of Fred, but when she picked up Epsilon last week she told me she liked to do both of them. Epsilon she says explains some things better. So, at her request we're doing both.
Science: Apologia Elementary Astronomy with the 2nd and 3rd grader
History: Story of the World 3 with her brother and sister, along with accompanying reading from the library. We're also managing to do some projects this time. Woo-hoo!
Language: I just ordered Language Arts Through Literature for her yesterday. She really enjoyed the orange one, but I wanted to try something else. Well, we're going to go back to LLATL for this year.
Spelling: Spelling Workout G and H
Latin: Latina Christiana I We've worked through Prima Latina and part of LCI already. However, we need to review the first half of the book, which we're doing now. Then we'll move on to new stuff.
Classical Studies: D'Aulaire's Greek Myths and Study Guide from Memoria Press
Bible for Children I: Just starting this, but the three oldest are doing it together.
Music: Themes to Remember, accompanying books, piano lessons twice a week
Art: We go to art lessons with the sweetest woman. She doesn't charge us anything, not even for the supplies. We meet another family of 5 there as well. It's great fun.
So, that's our year!
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• Mar. 16, 2009 - New Scheduling Method
I'm super excited about trying this, but first the back story. Since I started needing to schedule work, I've scheduled it in a book. I started out with a teacher's lesson planner, putting everyone in the same book. Then I bought individual books and scheduled weekly. Although it works, its hard to check what's been done and what hasn't. Then half the time the kids say they can't find their schedules.
So, I went yesterday and bought a 4x8 piece of tile board from Lowe's. I divided it up in to sections with a wet erase marker. Down the left side I have 6 rows: Monday-Saturday. Along the top I have all the subjects we do. Then I have scheduled the kids work on there individually. They each have a color in our house: towels, cups, plates, notebooks, etc. so their individual assignments are written in their color. The subjects we do all together are written in orange. I left one space for myself for my reading and latin studies. I figure even if we abandon it shortly, we'll still have a monster, cheap whiteboard.
 You can also see some other recent additions to our day. On the floor are the kids individual boxes. We've used several different methods for keeping our every day stuff out, but this is working the best so far. Theoretically these get put away after we do school, but they seem to stay out unless company is coming. On the far right is a cart I got from Target. It has a Staples Desk Apprentice on top that I found for $5 at Goodwill. In it I keep my teacher's manuals, science, and my Henle Latin. In the binders below I keep the Student pages for Writing With Ease and Story of the World. Once a week I'll pull their papers out and put them in a folder in their boxes. In the drawers are my (indispensable) Rainbow Resource catalog, and the felt pieces to go with our calendar. On the bottom I'm putting the additional history, science, and music reading we need for the week from the library and our personal library. After we've read it, it gets put away or in the main library box. I need to move that green strip above the white board. That's where they hang their artwork for the week before we put it in a binder for science or history. I love those things! The little whiteboard is from the same company.
http://rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?sid=1237183829-315409&subject=1&category=228
They're on clearance from Rainbow Resource and I'm getting ready to order a few more of the strips. They rock!
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• Mar. 14, 2009 - Finally settling in.
Why does it take so long to adjust to a new home? We've lived in our new house for 2 months now, and I'm just now starting to see a routine take shape. I really think that adding the outside activities is what has helped. Right now we have added piano 2 days a week for the 3 oldest, swimming on those same 2 days for my 3 year old, and art lessons on another day for all of them. Knowing we have to leave the house at a certain time makes us get the schoolwork done instead of putting it off.
I've also found that typing in the Story of the World recommended resources has helped me tremendously! I have a spreadsheet with the title, author, book #, chapter #, and which library its at. I think I need to go through now and add the call numbers as well, since I'm having to look those up weekly. I still don't have my printer set up, but once I do that I'll print this list and keep it in my binder (still to be assembled) at all times. I believe I'm also going to copy some of the pages from the Homeschooler's Book of Lists and add that to my binder for Goodwill and book sales.
This week we've read several of the books correlating to SOTW 3 Chapter 2, and I've noticed a big difference in retention, especially for my 9 year old son. We managed to add in one of the activities as well, and that was a big hit with that same son and his 8 year old cousin. The 6/7 year old girls didn't like it quite as well and gave up.
In the mail this week we got the Story of Classical Music. The same afore-mentioned 9 year old loves it. He told his sister, "Don't you wish you were like one of those kings who could listen to this music any time you wanted?" We also listened to the Themes to Remember version of Beethoven's 9th symphony and read in TTR about him. I have library books to go along with that, and said son is learning Ode to Joy in piano this week, so I feel very connected! I told a friend if I get ambitious I'll correlate SOTW to the Story of Classical Music, but we'll see if that ever happens! |
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• Mar. 7, 2009 - Trying to start a new routine
I'm trying hard to get the kids and I into the routine of doing school. It would be easier if we didn't keep getting these wonderful invitations and opportunities! As of today, we have 3 days per week out of the house for the afternoon. They're wonderful learning opportunities, piano for 3 kids, art lessons for 4, and swimming for 1, but I'm struggling to squeeze our schooling into the morning. I'm not a morning person. I'm REALLY not a morning person. So, I need to figure out a way to get us up and going, starting with breakfast. I'm not willing to, gasp, schedule things yet, but I'm getting there.
We've done school every day this week, though some days are cut short. Then my oldest was invited to spend the night at her grandparents, which is a rare enough invitation I thought she should go. Fortunately we had her school work with us and she was able to complete her independent studies.
Speaking of independent, maybe I could have them do their independent work on the days we are out of the house and the other 2 days and Saturday could be spent on the things I have to help them with. Up to this point its seemed to keep in the routine of doing school we have to do every subject every day or it gets missed. I may need to work out a chart for us. Goodie! I love organizing things! I can see a trip to Office Depot in the near future. Be still my beating heart.
You know this is why I need to keep a blog. I don't need anyone to read it, I just need to write to organize my thoughts. Now I just feel sorry for the unfortunate soul who stumbles across my ramblings!
Starting Don Quixote tomorrow! |
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• Mar. 6, 2009 - The Homeschooler's Book of Lists
I just got this book and simply adore it. I'm looking forward to using it. It's got nearly every memorizable fact I can think of and more, ie Rulers of England, Rulers of France, Periodic Table, History of Space Flight, Constellations, US National Parks, Major and Minor Greek and Roman Gods, Supreme Court Justices, Nobel Prize Winners, Artists, and Music Terms. That's hardly even scratching the surface. The chapters are History & Government, Language Arts, Mathematics, Religion, Science, Animals, Human Body, Geography, Foreign Language, Great People, Quotations, Speeches and Other Great Documents, Computers, Art and Music, Curriculum and Homeschool Methodologies, and finally Organizational and Reference Lists for Teachers, Parents, and Students. List Number 223, Popular Homeschool Methods is especially great. It covers not only an overview of the style, but also how to use this book with that particular style. There's a list of all Five in a Row books, Childhood of Famous American Books (along with check boxes to indicate if you have it or have read it)
Basically it's 556 pages of information every homeschooler will need at one time or another. Information that you may be able to find in another source, but having it all in one location is invaluable. As Ms. Haskins writes in her introduction, "the best answers usually are those I can give wthin a few minutes-not after an hour of searching online or after our regular trips to the library."
I plan on carrying this book with me in the car from this day forward. Oh, and I forgot to mention the best part, it comes with a cd of all the lists! You can make printouts and stick them in your planning binder!
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• Mar. 5, 2009 - Great day of school today!
After only 3 hours of sleep last night, I had the most productive day I've had in probably 6 months. Maybe I should deprive myself of sleep on a more regular basis!
We had orthodontist appointments this morning, stopped at Dollar Tree to pick up a magnifying glass and some chocolate bars, and then came home to do our first science experiment from Apologia's Elementary Astronomy. The kids really loved that one! I think they just thought it was great to eat melted chocolate though!
After our science experiment we had lunch, while I read about the sun. I really enjoy this science curriculum. Then we sat down to do "real school" which always brings out the best in my kids LOL. Everyone got their standard work done, including Latin for the first time in a while. We're having to review Latina Christianna a little more than I'd like, but I'd rather review and retain than lose all that work altogether!
P & K sat down with me while I read a few of the Story of the World recommended books and then went off to read their individual versions of Don Quixote. Maybe I should skip reading the real version and read the Wishbone Classic version P is reading.
Then P and I cleaned up the kitchen, while K cleaned up the kids room. C walked the dog and E entertained the baby, while I cooked supper. DH came home to a clean (as it can be with 5 kids) kitchen and supper ready to put on the table. What a shock! I just hope he doesn't get too used to it. |
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• Mar. 3, 2009 - Back to school?
We haven't been able to do school formally for too many months. I'm feeling like we're getting back into our routine though. It seems like a purchase from Rainbow Resource always gives me a nudge in the school direction. So, I ordered Singapore Math for P-9 & K-6, Vroot & Vroom and Spectrum Spelling for P-9, who loves Spectrum, Spelling Workout for K-6, Adventures with Books, Get Set for the Code, Letters and Numbers for Me, and Singapore Kindergarten Math for E-3. All of which makes me realize C-11 didn't get anything but Lefty Notebooks!
E-3 has finished Earlybird Math 1A, but since that's been discontinued I hope I ordered the right book for her. I'm trying to decide at the moment if I'll use 100 EZ Lessons or OPGTTR for here. I used 100 EZ Lessons for my first two, which is great until we hit lesson 70 something, at which point we crash and burn. I used OPGTTR when the next was 4, planning to take it nice and slow. Ha! She was reading with no trouble whatsoever within 6 weeks. E does great with Get Ready for the Code, so she may be ready for OPGTTR. I even checked Phonics Pathways out of the library again to evaluate it for her.
I also ordered Don Quixote, as a friend and I are starting down the Well-Educated Mind pathway! I was reading through the annotated book lists last night, and I just can't wait to read some of these. Am I insane? |
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• Apr. 10, 2008 - Summer plans
I'm so excited about our summer plans after we wrap up our formal schooling for the year. We're going to start The Prairie Primerand have a , complete with clothing, Ray's Arithmetic, McGuffey's, etc. I'm still looking for an old-fashioned Latin primer, but if I can't find one we'll continue with Latina Christiana or Latin for Children Primer A.
The current plan is to do 3 months of this every summer for the next 3 years. The kids are excited, but my 10 year old is wanting to go a little overboard. She's asking if we can haul water up from the well to wash dishes and wash clothes by hand, etc. I explained as gently as I could that the idea was to have fun this summer, and giving up my dishwasher does not sound like fun, romantic as the notion may be.
I'm working on next year's plans which I'm thrilled about as well, but I'll write more about that later. In the meantime here's a better picture of the school room. More to come.  |
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• Feb. 19, 2008 - Postpartum break is over
 Well, that lasted a lot longer than it should have, but we're finally back into our routine. We tend to go through spurts of going great guns and getting a lot accomplished and doing absolutely nothing. Hopefully in the end it balances out. One thing that really helps me do school every day is having an organized school room. So, we just reorganized. I really like the layout now. Our school room is in the formal living room of our 1964 ranch. The kids bedrooms don't have room for anything besides beds, so this is the play room as well. The orange tote on the floor is for our completed books. I haven't decided yet where I want to keep it on a permanent basis, so for now it just gets moved around the room. The organizer in the middle has toys on the bottom and school supplies on the top. We keep flashcards, Handwriting Without Tears manipulatives, math manipulatives, etc. in there.
We've recently started Introduction to Classical Studies. I'm really enjoying it, I think its their favorite part of the school day, which has made me realize I don't read aloud to them enough. I'm going to try to start reading to my 2 year old more. We've tried doing Before Five in a Row, but I'm not good about keeping up with it. I think I'm just going to use their book lists to choose library books. We got a few out of the library last week, and I could tell she just adored it. So, my goal is to consider that her school work and to be diligent about giving her that gift. |
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• Sep. 21, 2007 - The best $1.78 I've ever spent!
I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but my 7 year old son hates to read. He has fought it for years. I've waited patiently for things to just click like they did for my now 9 year old girl, but I'd lost all hope of him every enjoying reading.
Well yesterday we were at Target where they have their Magic Tree House books on clearance. I picked up 4 and told him to pick one to read. Immediately I was inundated by tears and, "I can't read that! It's too hard."
So, I picked up the one he chose and opened it to the first page. I told him to read the first sentence. He read it with no problem. Then he read the next sentence and the next. Then we left the book area with his nose in his new book.
I don't care if the books aren't well written. My son is reading right now, by choice! He doesn't even like to read picture books, he just looks at the pictures. This is huge! |
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