Jun. 30, 2008
Planning a New Year
Planning and organizing for the new school year, Ah, now here is a topic I know and love. This part is a joy to me. It’s the actual teaching part that can sometimes get me down. The Big Picture I already have a general idea of what I want her to learn when all the way up through her middle school years. I use the What Your Child Needs to Know When book by Robin Scarlata for deciding what to teach in language arts and math, but for science and history we do our own thing. We do history chronologically, but not necessarily following a purely Classical approach. For instance, Taylor is in 3rd grade now and we are still finishing up Ancient History. We didn’t do any history in kindergarten and in 1st grade Taylor wanted to learn about Indians so we did a little early American history. So that put us starting Ancient history in 2nd grade. We camped out for a long time in Ancient Egypt because it was so very cool- which is why we are still not into the Middle Ages. I’m not worried about it though because we’re having a great time. History is our very favorite subject! So the first thing I do when planning our year is to have a general plan of what we want to learn. Math is easy because it’s pretty much following the book for the level you need. Although we do have some Taylor specific goals such as memorizing her math facts that she should have already learned! We’ve been using Bob Jones math with some success, but we are going to try Moving with Math level B this year on the suggestion of the lady who tested Taylor last year. Major LA goals for Taylor this year include learning about and using paragraphs and proper sentence construction. We will learn a little bit of cursive as it comes up just because Taylor wants to, but I am most concerned that her print be neat, quick, and legible. Spelling also needs work. I also want her to expand her reading level with all sorts of genres. She’s got the fiction books down pat, but I want her to see what else is out there. I don’t really need a curriculum for this- just a plan. Science this year will be chemistry and history will be the middle ages. So that covers the four main subjects! The Right Tools I love curriculum. I could sit and pore through catalogs for days and weeks and not get tired of it. BUT, curriculum is just a tool. It is a means to an end, not the end itself. I believe it was Cathy Duffy who said that you don’t teach the curriculum, you teach the child. I have no problem tweaking whatever curriculum we buy in order for it to work for us. Sometimes you buy something that you think will be perfect, but it doesn’t work out at all. Please don’t use it all year because ‘you paid good money for it’. The money is not worth a miserable year. Sell it on www.homeschoolclassifieds.com so you buy something else that will work for you. I choose curriculum based on what I have learned through the years about myself and about Taylor. For instance, I know that I like order and routine, I learn visually, and I enjoy projects. But I also have a 3 year old and will (hopefully) be fostering soon, so I need for Taylor to be able to work on her own some too. Taylor really enjoys projects also. She is a kinesthetic learner and is very RANDOM. So in order to teach her the way she needs to be taught I have to come up with a slew of ideas over the summer so that I can change things up for her fairly frequently throughout the year. For math this year we are going to use Calculadder (to continue working on her math facts) and Moving with Math Level B (which is VERY hands-on). From a very rough K and 1st grade year, I have learned that Taylor needs a mastery approach to math instead of the spiral approach that Saxon and Horizons use. Planning for math is simple. Just do the next thing! In LA, I bought one Progeny Press guide to see what it is like and if it will work for us. I also bought Growing with Grammar. This is not at all Taylor’s learning style, but it will be useful for days when I am occupied elsewhere and I need her to work alone. The amount of writing it requires is very reasonable in my opinion. Taylor really struggles with writing so that was a big concern for me. Other than those 2 things, I’m really planning on winging it in LA this year. Taylor and I made a journal jar that I found writing prompts for. She will do 2 or 3 of these a week. My only guidelines for this are that she write in complete sentences and that it is neat enough for me to read. The purpose of the journal jar is to practice putting her thoughts down on paper. I am also going to use her writing to come up with spelling words. My spelling plan is very individualized this year. She will have 5-7 words a day that I will get from her journal writing, the Dolch words, and her history/science. I will get next week’s words from this week’s writing. I’m doing it this way because if I correct her words on the spot she feels like she failed and doesn’t want to try anymore. The daily spelling system is as follows- Copy today’s words. Look for tricky parts Spell each syllable out loud. Do a task card or spelling idea. (This is where there is a lot of variety.) Take a verbal test when ready. Use all words in 1 or 2 sentences without peeking. Taylor will keep her own problem words dictionary and I will keep a list of all previously learned words so that I can have a review week about every 5th week with an incentive for a job well done. My plan for reading is to assign her a book from these main genres-.Realistic fiction, adventure, biography, historical fiction, fantasy, nonfiction, folk tales, poetry, and mystery. I will have her do oral narrations of what she’s reading with an occasional written one. If I can find some online comprehension questions, I will make use of those also. We also do read-alouds. I still have some left from Sonlight Core 1 so we will use those. For history we will use the Story of the World with the activity book for projects and such. We also have The Usborne Encyclopedia of World History and Time Travelers Omnibus. I will get books from the library on topic as we need them. I also bought some medieval paper dolls and we hope to learn chess. Science will be a chemistry lapbook from www.handsofachild.com and the book Super Science Concoctions that I found for $.50 at Goodwill. The book has lots of experiments and we will use the lapbook to record what we learn. The Nitty Gritty Once I have an overall plan and the tools to accomplish that plan, I can sit down and come up with a schedule, teacher book, and student notebook. This is what we will run our school off of on a daily basis. I figure out how many days a week I want to do each subject and how long I want a day to be. I know that I want math and spelling to be 5 days a week, ect. I also want to be able to go to story time for Isaac on Wednesday’s. This step is where I will find out if I have too much planned for the year or too little. I don’t want our “schoolwork” to last longer than 3 hours a day and I don‘t want to put subjects with a lot of writing back to back. I had too much planned originally for the year so I had to prioritize and be creative in my scheduling. For instance, I had to leave off Thinking Skills this year in favor of more time spent on spelling. I wanted to do writing and grammar so I decided to do them in units alternately. I decided that since we really love history, we would spend about 40 min on it 4 days a week and science we would do for an hour to an hour and a half on Fridays. Here is what I ended up with. School Schedule 2008-2009 Monday- Tuesday- Wednesday- Thursday- Friday- As you can see, I have more of a flow from one thing to another instead of a rigid time schedule. Taylor’s student notebook is very simple. I used a zippered 2 inch binder and put in tabs for each subject. I put some page protectors in the back for things she worked especially hard on, and her student planner sheets are in the very front. She will file her work behind the correct tab each day as she completes it. My teacher notebook is a little more involved. Here is a link to my notebook from last year until I can make a post about my current one. So that’s it- how I plan for Taylor’s school year! If you want to read about the plan for Isaac follow this link.
Journal Jar (Independent)
Reading (Teacher Choice) (Independent)
Spelling
Math
Break
Read-Aloud (Teacher Choice)
Growing with Grammar or Writing Unit
History
Wordly Wise (Independent)
Reading (Teacher Choice) (Independent)
Spelling
Math
Break
Read-Aloud (Teacher Choice)
Growing with Grammar or Writing Unit
History
Math
Library
Spelling
History
Journal Jar (Independent)
Reading (Teacher Choice) (Independent)
Spelling
Math
Break
Read-Aloud (Teacher Choice)
Growing with Grammar or Writing Unit
History
Wordly Wise (Independent)
Reading (teacher choice)
Spelling
Math
Break
Science
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Jun. 7, 2008
Individualized Spelling
I know I've been terrible about updating lately, but this morning I've been tossing around some ideas for spelling and wanted to put them out there for input and advice.
Where to get words from
Taylor's daily writing
History/Science vocabulary
Dolch basic words list
Review/previously missed words
5-7 words a day
Get next week’s list from this week’s writing.
Maintain positive attitude. Be on the same team.
Daily Spelling System
Copy today’s words.
Look for tricky parts.
Spell each syllable out loud.
Do a task card or spelling activity.
Take a verbal test when ready.
Use all words in 1 or 2 sentences without peeking!
Have Taylor keep her own problem words dictionary.
Keep a list of all previously learned spelling words.
Have a review week every 5th week with an incentive for a job well done.
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May. 6, 2008
Changing the Plans
OK, I'm sure some of you out there are very similar to me and like to have every thing all planned out and in order regarding your schooling. Well, I did. That is until last Tuesday.
What is so special about last Tuesday you ask? Taylor took her yearly test as required by law in the wondeful state of NC. Now, we as parents are allowed to administer any nationally standardized test to our own children, but I really wanted some insight into Taylor's learning strenghts and weaknesses from a person on the outside looking in. I've tried to figure this kid out for 7 years now and she still completely baffles me.
The test itself wasn't any big suprise to me. She's above average in reading, below average in spelling and right at average everywhere else. I could have told you that without a test.
What WAS very helpful was a couple of subtests that were administered. These tests really helped to see what learning modalities Taylor used best. There was a story recall section where Taylor listened to a story that was read and had to see how many details of the story she could remember. Otherwise known as narration in the world of homeschooling. Well, Taylor scored at almost a 5th grade level in that. Before my head starts to swell with pride, let me remind myself that the tester told me that this was above average for public schooled children, it was only right at average for homeschoolers. And my bubble is deflated. Not really, but we all like to imagine that our children are budding geniouses, right? As a side note the tester said that the reason homeschool students do so well in this part of the test is that they have constant interaction with us. In other words, we talk to our kids. She said that on average a child in a classroom only has 5 minutes a day (it could have been less) of face to face, one on one time with the teacher. To me, that is astounding. This story recall test was also a good test to see if Taylor was an auditory learner. She compared the results of this test with the next one which was called understanding directions.
Now at times Taylor and I have made a game of how many directions I can give her and she can follow without forgetting anything, but she amazed even me in how well she did on this test. I certainly could not have done it. The tester could only read the directions one time, but the difference between this test and the last is that this one had a picture to look at and Taylor had to use her finger to point. It started out fairly simple- touch the cat, then the tree, then the boy that's behind the car. But by the END of it she was doing things like- do not touch the boy who is not holding a ball and the bird that is in the biggest tree after you touch the girl who is coming out of the school and the two ducks in the pond, unless there are 2 cows in the field. Phew! like I said, I wouldn't have stood a chance. But she did great! She out performed even her story recall score.
After all of Taylor's testing was done came the part that I was most looking forward to and forked out the big bucks for -the parent meeting! Hoorah!! She was so helpful. I only wish I had brought a tape recorder. Especially since I was feeling so terrible. She gave so many great ideas and now I can't remember a lot of them.
John, my husband, said I should have recorded her with my phone. If I had thought about it, I would have. Anyway, I do remember some things. She said that Taylor is a visual-kinisthetic learner. A lot of those quirks of Taylor's that just drive me absolutely insane during school (like hanging upside down in her chair, wanting to be surrounded by stuffed animals, bouncing up and down on the couch, ect) are just part of how she learns best. Now I'm not saying that I won't still struggle with this and that I won't still lose it at times and demand that she SIT STILL, but I will make a concerted effort to let her be who God made her to be and not to try and fit her into MY mold of how I want her to be. Deb (the tester) told me that if Taylor is sitting still, looking at me, with her hands neatly folded, then her mind is a million miles away and she is not listening to a word I say.
A lot of things we do already- like having Taylor draw or color or play quietly while I'm reading out loud to her. We both love to do project learning. I teach math using manipulatives. So at least I had some things right. We have been using Bob Jones math successfully for 1 1/2 years now. It was the only curriculum that I was certain of when planning for school next year. But Deb told me that starting in 3rd grade they really phase out of the manipualtive learning that Taylor needs. She highly recommended that Taylor use Moving with Math. The really funny thing about this is that Moving with Math is the very first program I was going to buy when Taylor started Kindergarten. I didn't buy it because it was so expensive. Then we proceeded to buy 3 different math programs just her Kindergarten year! I should have just bought it in the first place. Now I have a Bob Jones 3rd grade math sitting on my shelf and a Moving with Math Level B set sitting beside me.
I found this Moving with Math last night at AGAPE's used book sale and saved a good bit of money. But, I'm still going to hold on tho the BJU math until I'm sure that Moving with Math will work for us.
Wow, this post is getting really long. You'll have to tune in later for part 2 of figuring out Taylor and how to help her learn. He he!
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Apr. 24, 2008
Patience
"Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love,"
Eph 4:1-2
That was the verse in the online devotion I read this morning. Patience- whew, now that is one I struggle with. But only where it concerns my family. The very ones who I love the most. Am I leading a life worthy of the calling that God has given me? Am I always humble and gentle and (gasp) patient?
Let's take yesterday for example. Taylor, Isaac, and I were sitting on the couch. They were coloring while I read from Story of the World. When I get to the comprehension questions (which I know is a weakness of Taylor's), I ask her something along the lines of - 'What other city have we learned about where the people choose the laws and the leaders instead of having a king? Remember, it was a democracy.' OK, so we have talked about this city pretty constantly for the last 2 weeks and I'm certain that she knows the answer. What is her response? She shouted out, "Romulus and Remus!" Hmm, what part of CITY did you not understand? So I gently try to ask the question again only to have her respond with, "Democracy!" This goes on for a couple of minutes with me giving her all the hints I could think of and her answers were still always off the wall answers that could have never possibly been the answer to the question I was asking. Needless to say, I did not end with the patience I should have exhibited.
Was I making allowance for her faults and weaknesses because of my love for her? I'd have to answer no. For those of us who know that homeschooling our kids is a calling straight from God, this verse is aimed right at us. I pray that I will hide it in my heart today and let God's Word do it's work in me.
If you're interested in getting free homeschool devotions sent right to your email each morning, here's the link. Right above today's devotion is small grey letters that you click to subscribe.
http://www.aop.com/homeschool/Resources_DailyFocus.php
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Apr. 22, 2008
The "Socialization" Delusion
I came across this article via a newsletter I receive from Homeschool in the Woods . I thought it was outstanding so I got permission to share it with you. If you would like to sign up for Amy's free newsletter packed full of free hands-on teaching tips, please visit http://www.homeschoolinthewoods.com. Also, here is a link to the current newsletter. http://www.hands-onteachingtips.com/newsletter/current.htm Enjoy! The "Socialization" Delusion... so•cial•i•za•tion (noun) 1. a continuing process whereby an individual acquires a personal identity and learns the norms, values, behavior, and social skills appropriate to his or her social position. 2. the act or process of making socialistic We'll leave the second definition for another day! As for the first definition, WHEN, exactly, does a homeschool child not acquire a “personal identity” during their homeschool adventure? If anything, HOW does an institutional school child develop one so readily? For the most part, they are too busy being told what to wear, how to act, whom to listen to, and what is popular! They are dictated to by other “social peers” as to what is cool, who is not, and what they need to do to “fit in”…whether it’s legal or not. If they choose to be different (or to listen to their parents over their all-knowing classmates), they are labeled—branded in a way that can leave scars for life. I know several old friends who in their adult years, although many now successful, still harbor painful memories and struggled for years to climb out of the pit they wound up in, whether it be drug related, depression, or other negative effects.
By Amy Pak
We, as homeschoolers, have most likely encountered at one time or another, the burning question, “What about socialization?” Or in other words, “What about the social skills you are depriving your child of so they can be a normal, functioning person who understands life in the world beyond your driveway, rather than children who will only emit grunts when addressed and will hide behind your denim skirt afraid to engage in conversation with anyone outside your family circle?”
When we began schooling in the mid 90s, most people knew little of homeschooling, and most did not know anyone who “did that to their children.” I used to have to brace myself for family gatherings, neighborhood get-togethers, even church functions (!) and collect an arsenal of answers to the ever-constant bombardment of questions. Funny, I don’t remember many of them taking that much of an interest in my children before…I think it was a morbid curiosity as to “why” I would do such a thing to my children, and was I prepared for the mess I would most likely make of their lives because, after all, I wasn't even qualified, let alone certified! I had no teaching degree (besides the fact that I had been teaching my babies since day one how to speak, how to act, how not to eat dirt, and so on). I felt the need to defend with good, reasonable explanations, and win over their approval. Ugh! If only I’d known then what I know now. And if only their ignorance had kept them silent until their questions could be sensible enough, backed by some modicum of thought!
Dictionary.com defines socialization as the following:
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006)
As for the “norms, values, behaviors, and social skills,” let’s take a seat on the average school bus and observe these behaviors in action. Children left to their own devices can breed every kind of misbehavior! My oldest son got through 2nd grade in a Christian school before we pulled him out. He learned his first swear words while just a kindergartner on that bus. My nephew, a quiet, wonderful person, suffered humiliation as he was regularly shoved down on the walkway of the public school bus with his face held to the filthy floor. He had his backpack taken from him regularly. Not only is torment and teasing often on the list of “ways to entertain” on the drive to and from school, but so is outright wildness. It’s been a while since I’ve been on a bus, but I also remember the amount of drugs that were done there—high seats make for great shields, especially when a bus driver has to focus on the road. From what I hear, things haven’t changed much—only the children are doing many of these things so much younger anymore.
And how about that lunchroom? One son of a homeschooling friend of mine shared with me one of his public school scenarios, how he was forced to cover his food while he ate, leaning over it to guard it from being tainted with spit and other nasty things propelled in its direction. He also shared more serious stories, but let it suffice to say that it is a sorry affair when ambulances are involved due to the bullying action of the “higher social powers” at work. One of my nieces told me that to observe the lunch room is to see these social classes at their utmost. The tables are socially divided; the upper hierarchy with headships, nobles, and the occasional "fool" for entertainment scorning any of the peasants of the lower class that might attempt to sit even near them. Unfortunately, most lunch room monitoring has little effect on the masses.
Turn on the T.V. and you’ll see sitcoms and shows galore that glorify this “feudal system” of the school social ladder. They portray the different “classifications of student,” whether jock, prep, stoner, geek, emo, punk, goth, nerd, Jesus freak, right down to teacher’s pet. All show acceptance by their group, but generally rejection by the others. It can be hard to change groups, as you must have the right connections or move to a new school district. Is this the social position the definition (not to mention those who question us) refers to? And don’t even get me STARTED on values! Within the public school, the values taught by a system that won’t even acknowledge God? That will pass out condoms and teach of how to have relations safely and the option of abortion, but rarely teach of abstinence and will not even discuss the moral issue of abortion? I remember a teacher in 9th grade science class who told our class as he prepared to begin the topic of evolution, “This is where what your parents have taught you remains outside the door. Here is where REAL science takes place.” I was not a Christian at the time, but even I sensed that if my father heard what that teacher said, he would not be pleased, whether he agreed or not! A teacher that usurped parental authority? Unfortunately, it happens all the time.
One other note—I’ve heard many use the Biblical “salt and light” excuse for sending their children to school. I have yet to find a scripture showing how Jesus sent out children to be salt and light. His disciples spent time walking and talking with him, growing in their knowledge of Him and even waiting until the anointing of the Holy Spirit before they hit the roads alone. It takes a long time for a child to learn to strengthen his spiritual legs! Even Corinthians 13:11 differentiates between how a child thinks and an adult thinks. Can they ever minister? Oh, yes! Don’t get me wrong! But as a person trains for a new job, so a child trains to be salt and light by living under those who teach them HOW to be salt and light. Have you ever tried to build a fire? It starts with a spark on dry grass or something similar. From there you add small pieces of tinder. All along, you cover it, and blow on it slowly to nurture a flame. When it has finally caught well, the sticks get bigger until it can handle the logs. Children learning to tackle the world and become that light is much like that flame! Their light is not under a bushel, but a small light can snuff out so easily. Children are still so young and moldable—subjecting a child to the wolves to “minister” is like playing Russian roulette…many times the odds will stack against them. Perhaps that is why the percentage is so high of children of Christian families who leave the faith by the time they graduate! In fact, Bruce Shortt, author of The Harsh Truth about Public Schools, claims that a 2002 Southern Baptist Convention study puts the percentage leaving at 88%.*
What I haven’t given attention to is the so called “lack of socialization” that our children supposedly experience in homeschool. Here is my observance over the last 12 years:
1) Children of homeschool families tend to develop an amazing bond overall with their siblings. I was told this would happen before we made the choice to homeschool—it’s hard to explain, but boy, have we experienced it.
2) Homeschooled children generally develop better communication skills with their parents and a deeper trust, as you can’t help but get to know each other inside and out when you are together this much! It's been a natural tendency for them to come to us FIRST.
3) Homeschooled children are exposed to ALL age levels, from grandparents to younger siblings as they help instruct them—not just peers their own age (which does not reflect the ‘real’ world once outside of ‘school’).
4) Homeschooled children do not develop a cast system identity, but instead a well-rounded character that spans not just academics, but also training in moral thinking, compassion, respect, and responsibility. They participate often in co-op groups, church groups, and build friendships that are more selective due to parental supervision. In other words, as these young lumps of clay take shape, parents—and those closely chosen to assist—are the ones helping mold the clay. It is protected from destructive outside forces.
The very children I fought to defend against the accusations at the beginning are the ones the skeptics (family included!) are now acknowledging as level-headed, mature, respectable, good-hearted young adults. They are confident and secure in who they are, and usually called on first when a trustworthy person is needed. They have strong friendships of all ages. They are hard-working employees who have open invitations to return to jobs they have left. And they are not unusual! Most of the homeschool populace is like this! They may not be perfect, but their relationships are healthy and their self-image intact. It’s difficult to protect that self-worth when you have to attend school and maneuver through the halls like a mine field. That same self-worth only grows stronger when you are brought up in a loving environment by those who only want your best and help guide your choices—including friends. And after all, isn’t that the true socialization we should strive for in our children?
*Statistic from HSLDA Home School Heartbeat: Exodus Mandate. View the article at http://www.hslda.org/docs/hshb/55/hshb5501.asp
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Apr. 18, 2008
Civil War Co-op Class 5
- . .-.. . - -. .-. .- .- - ..... ...
In case you're wondering, all those dots and dashes are Morse Code for telegraphs- which is what we learned about in class this week. Did you know that telegrpahs were used for the 1st time in the Civil War. And the president himself did not even have a telegraph in his office. He had to go across the street to receive his messages.
You can find directions for this project and all the others we've done at the WOWIO website. Just download the free ebook.
The kids in grades K-5 also got to make johnny cakes and hardtack. We have developed compassion for those poor soldiers who had to eat that nasty, dry food!
The teens also got to make real working cameras. I'm not sure how their pictures turned out yet because they couldn't find a room dark enough to develop them at the co-op. Annita, their teacher for that project, took them home to develop.
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Apr. 2, 2008
Civil War Co-op class 4
I got to be in the preschool class at the last co-op! That was nice because it gave me a chance to get some pictures of the little ones. Usually the PreK class has 9 kids, but several families were sick this week so there was only 5 preschoolers. My own sweetie Isaac was one of them. I loved watching him interact with the other kids. He wasn't much for sitting down and learning his letters or numbers. What a surprise. But he did enjoy making a boo boo bunny and playtime.
Now THIS is the way we should learn our numbers!
Everyone loves Mrs. Amy!
Boo Boo Bunny
Puppet Stage
The older kids were making periscopes and dog tents and lean-to's.
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Mar. 31, 2008
Feeding Fenzy
We had a small field trip to the Nature Center on Thursday for a class called Feeding Frenzy. That was really quite funny for a name because there was only one or two animals actually interested in eating!
We did get to touch several different reptiles and amphibians and learn come cool facts about them. For instance, did you know that an American Toad uses his eyes to help him swallow? How cool is that? And frogs don't really zap insects flying by with a really long tonque. And I always thought the cartoons had it right!
A lot of our group had to miss the trip for various reasons, but here are some pics of those of us who did make it
This is Isaac petting the toad who was not at all interested in eating his crickets. One of them escaped off of the table much to the dismay of one little girl sitting in the front row.
Here is Taylor petting a corn snake. The animal keeper tried to feed him a dead mouse, but he wasn't hungry- even with the keeper running the mouse all along his body. Luckily the next snake gave us a bit more action. It was called a black rat snake (I think.). And he was VERY interested in eating. It was very cool to see him strike at the mouse and eat the whole thing. It was the highlight of the day.
Now you might think this would really gross me out, but I had a much more harrowing experience already that morning. I was at the kitchen counter making sandwiches for our picnic lunch when I heard the cat come barreling into the kitchen through his kitty door. I didn't think too much of it since he often comes through in a hurry. But then I heard some noises that didn't sound as familiar- mostly thumping. As I turned around I saw feathers flying everywhere!
He had brought in a bird! It wasn't even all the way dead yet. Now I don't really have a weak stomach, but this was too much for even me. I went directly to the bedroom to wake up John. He had only had a few hours sleep, but there was NO way I was going to deal with that bird. If John hadn't been there, I would have loaded up the kids and left until he came home. There is just something about a bird being killed in my kitchen that set my stomach to churning. So needless to say, the mouse was no big deal at all!
Here are some other pics from the field trip.
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Mar. 20, 2008
Nature Walk Scavenger Hunt
The weather has been beautiful around here lately and we wanted to get OUT. Not to mention I needed to get some exercise. 
So I decided a nature walk would be fun. But not just any nature walk. Oh no, we had to have a scavenger hunt. So I looked up some free clip art of things the kids might be able to find outside. (Just words would have been fine for Taylor, but I really couldn't expect Isaac to read yet.) Then I copy and pasted the pictures into a word document and printed them out. They each took a crayon and a plastic bag and set to work.
We had fun and were even joined by one of the neighborhood boys. One of the challenges of homeschooling is getting the neighborhood kids to understand that just because Taylor and Isaac are at home doesn't mean that that are always available to play.
Isaac had an especially good time. He isn't allowed off the deck usually and he's never allowed out of the front yard. So getting to walk all over the park was a real treat for him.
After we were done I even managed to get all 3 kids and myself to pick up a ton of sticks that were in the yard. It wil be time to mow before we know it! Plus those sticks will make great kindling when we go camping!
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Mar. 18, 2008
Civil War Co-op class 3
Whew, I am so behind in updating! Sorry about that. Life has been happening all around me! I will endeaver to catch up over the next few days before the busy Easter weekend.
OK, co-op classes from last Friday were about the Underground Railroad, dolls, quilts, and uniforms. That's a lot to cover in one morning!
The kids learned about what the underground railroad was and how it was used. They learned that lanterns were used a signal to runaway slaves. If the lantern outside the house was lit, it was safe to come inside. If it was not lit, that meant there was danger and the slaves needed to move on. Then of course the kids got to make lanterns.
Next we learned about dolls that were popular during that time period. Mrs. Charity demonstrated why the rag dolls were also called church dolls. They could be dropped without making a lot of noise! Did you know that the moms would sometimes stuff the head of the doll with sugar to be used as a type of pacifier? The K-2 girls were going to make rag dolls, but it was going to be too difficult for them to sew in the alloted time. So we made a hybrid doll. It was made like a corn husk doll (also popular in that time) but made with rags instead of husks. They actually turned out VERY cute and the girls loved them.
The boys K-5 all made forager caps. The teen gys were supposed to make actual uniforms but we couldn't find jackets at Goodwill being this close to Easter. So instead they learned about signal flags and Wig-Wag.
The girls 3rd grade and up made quilt squares. This was also a difficult task for such a short time frame and they had to use every minute. Quilts were used during the Civil War to raise money for families who were having a tough time financially. All the women would work together to make the quilt, sell it, and give the proceeds away. Isn't that great! Making a quilt is tough work. What a great model of a servant's heart!
Sorry I didn't get any pictures of the finished products but my camera batteries went dead and my back up batteries died also. Sigh. Thank you Jill for taking pics for me while I was helping the girls!
*****Edited to add*****
A friend read my blog and sent me some missing pictures. Here you go!
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Mar. 10, 2008
Discovery Place 2008
OK, here are lots and lots of pictures from out field trip to the Discovery Place in Charlotte on Saturday. This was a big trip and we spent the entire day. It was so much fun. If you live close enough, go for a visit. We got in free with our membership to the Nature Center. Free is a wonderful thing! I hope you enjoy!
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Mar. 6, 2008
Persian Rugs
Today the kids painted 'magic carpets' to go along with their study of Persia. It's been a while since we've done a crafty project at home so this was nice.
Look at that face!
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Mar. 6, 2008
I Can't Believe He's in the Bible!
I have officially had one of those homeschool moments that make you go, "Aha! My kids are learning something."
We are finishing out this year using The Story of the World as our base history text instead of A Child's History of the World. We just started it this week and we're on chapter 21, Cyrus the Great. After reading about Cyrus and all the kingdom's he conquered we came to when he wanted to conquer Babylon. The book said that the people of Babylon hated their king so much and that they had heard about what a wonderful, fair king Cyrus was; that they just let Cyrus in the gates! Well, the King of Babylon had taken the Jews captive some time before and when Cyrus became King he let the Jews go back home.
Taylor put 2 and 2 together and said that the Babylonian king must have been King Nebuchadnezzar because that was the King that took the Jews to Babylon. So we checked in the Bible (end of Numbers, beginning of Ezra) and sure enough she was right! I was very proud of her. I certainly hadn't put it together. Cyrus the Great was the same king who in the Bible helped to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. How cool is that?!
Ah, I love homeschooling!
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Mar. 3, 2008
Civil War Co-op Class 2
This week in co-ops our theme was flags. The kids made 4 different types of flags. Taylor's class made Hospital flags.
Thay learned how the hospital would travel where the soldiers went and that the soldiers could find the hospital by looking for the flag.
After they had sewn their flags, they learned about how one side would try to capture the other side's flag and why that was important. Then they played a fun game of Steal the Flag!
Toward the end of class Mrs. Charity taught about flag protocol and then the kids learned the proper way to fold a flag.
I even managed to get upstairs and snap some pictures of the Isaac in the PreK class!
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Feb. 20, 2008
Library ELF
You have to try this! I just signed up and it is wonderful and FREE!
It keeps track of all your library books (from different libraries) which are out, and sends email reminders before they are due. It works with RSS readers as well.
It only takes a few minutes to signup and add all your library cards for the family to a single account. If you'd like to try it out -- http://www.librarye
This will tell you what is due and when, it also emails you when your books on hold are available for pickup. It's really amazing how this works. I thought I would have to enter in the books and when they are due, then it would just remind me. But I don't! It's all automatic. If you count on the library for school like we do, you will definitely see the benefits of signing up for Library ELF.
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Feb. 20, 2008
Next Year for Isaac
I am still in the planning phase for next year's school and I've been turning my thoughts toward Isaac. He will be very simple I'm sure. I think I'm going to base his prek years on lapbooks. He really seems to enjoy them even more than Taylor does.
I'm going to get a binder and put in tabs for each month of the year. Each month will be a different topic. I will use whatever I find that I think he will enjoy. For instance the Transportation lapbook at Homeschool Share will be perfect. So I'll print out all the pages and put them behind the tab for that month. I don't think I'll be able to make transportation last a whole month so I'll probably find some community helper stuff to go with it and we'll call that month All Around Town.
Of couse we will do lots of reading also and he will tag along with Taylor in history and science. Also, for several months I've been wanting to be a part of a Keepers of the Faith club. I haven't been able to find one in our area so I am prayerfully considering starting one. He would tag along with that also.
I know that it is not necessary to do ANYTHING with him at this age. After all, he will only be 3. But as long as he's having fun and I have the time, I don't see any reason not to move ahead. Luckily I still have gobs of manipulatives and learning games from when Taylor was smaller, but I am considering buying him the Lauri transportation puzzle set. I've always wanted one of their puzzles!
If you have any good topic ideas or know of any great free resources, please leave me a comment and let me know about them!
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Feb. 15, 2008
Civil War Co-op Class 1
Today was the first class of our Spring semester co-op. We are doing a Unit Study type class this semester. The topic is, of course, the Civil War. Let me tell you, today was a bit chaotic! I am utterly exhausted. The kids had a great time though.
We always start our classes with Assembly where we say our pledges to the USA flag, the Christian flag, and the Bible. We have prayer and cover any announcements during this time. Usually after this we break into classes by age group, but this semester we stay together for the teaching time. Mrs Charity had a lot to cover in just 20 minutes of time. She taught about the reasons for the war and the important figures in the war. The kids did some mapwork and a few got to put on masks of the important people of the Civil War.
(Please pardon my dirty lense.)
After the teaching time, we all got to make cookie maps of the U.S. showing which states were for the North, which were for the South, and the neutral territory. This was a hit! Yummy.
When everyone had made their cookie, we divided into age groups for the activities. This week we were covering the music of the Civil War. The K-2 kids made bugles, the 3-5 kids made drums, and the 6th and up got recorders. They all learned how to play Taps. Hopefully we will get to perform this at the End of Year Ceremony.
I was too busy to take any pictures, but I'll post a picture of Taylor with her bugle and isaac with a mini drum.
The teens also made stretchers, but I don't have any pics of that either.
I think next class will flow a little smoother since everyone is learning the new routine. Whew, this was certainly an adventure!
Make sure you check out the lapbook that I put together to go with our co-op. Especially if you're studying the Civil War!
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Feb. 12, 2008
Greek Dramas
We are currently learning about Ancient Greece and today Taylor and Isaac made masks for a Greek play. Taylor was shocked that girls weren't allowed to perform. Let's see if you can guess who picked the comedy mask and who picked the tragedy mask. Did you guess? Let's see if your right!
Yup! Taylor was our comedian!
Here is Isaac with his tragedy mask. The true tragedy was that the masks would not stay on while they were running and playing. He was not a happy camper!
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Feb. 11, 2008
Thoughts for 3rd Grade LA and Math
I am looking ahead to our Taylor's 3rd grade year and what curriculum we might use. I usually have all this planned out by January, but I'm running a little behind. Don't laugh at me. I am a complulsive planner!
Here is what I am considering for LA. The LLATL Red Book is ok, but I don't really feel like she is retaining much information from it. She gets through the lessons without any trouble or tears, but I don't want to just 'get through the lessons'. I want genuine learning to happen. Has anyone used the Yellow book? How does it compare? The LLATL is certainly very simple time wise and teacher prep is almost non existent. If we don't continue on with LLATL, these are my other considerations.
Drawn into the Heart of Reading I like what I've seen of this (except for the price HA!). I don't know if it includes any vocabulary exercises though. On the sample I looked at it had a day with a very light load so that you could do additional phonics or vocabulary. We would do this reading program every school day and likely use their choices of books unless I find some appropriate ones that go along with our history or science.
Wordly Wise 3000 Book 3 (2nd edition) This would only be used once a week. I've never used Wordly Wise before and it seems a little difficult. Has anyone else thought this? it's highly recommended and fairly cheap so it might be worth a try. I have no trouble ditching something if it doesn't work for us! Just ask my dear hubby! I do lots of research on curriculum, ask his opinion, and pray about each subject, but sometimes the best laid plans still fall through. I don't see any sense in 'sticking the year out' in something that is not working for you. One of the beauties of homeschooling is you can find a curriculum to fit your child and not try to make your child (and you) fit the curriculum. If money is an issue (and it usually is in homeschooling families) www.homeschoolclassifieds.com is a wonderful site for buying and selling used. I get most of my materials from there and from www.rainbowresource.com .
Writing Strands Level 2 I have this already. Got it for $5ppd at the homescholl classifieds site! We have used it some this year and will continue with it next year. Taylor is not ready for level 3 yet. We will switch this off every other week or so with a grammar program.
Growing with Grammar This seems to be a fairly new curriculum because I can't find much info about it, but it seems about perfect for Taylor. I'm also liking Rod and Staff's English 2, but the writing is way too much. I don't have any trouble tweaking it and doing a lot out loud, but if there is something already done the way we need it, it'll save me the work of making Rod and Staff fit us.
Spelling Power I've had this for 2 years now because I found it and the task cards for $20ppd. Next year Taylor will be old enough to use it, so we'll give it a go. We have used the task Cards already and she likes them. This would be every day also.
So that would be spelling, reading, and either grammar or writing everyday with vocabulary once a week. I would be very interested to know your thoughts on this. Does that sound about right for 3rd grade lanquage arts? I really want to continue on with dictation and copywork but I don't want to overwhelm her. Hmmm.
For Math I figure we'll continue on with Bob Jones since it seems to be working.
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Dec. 18, 2007
Changing Up Science
For those of you who read my blog regularly, you know that we love and use Jeannie Fulbright's Exploring Creation with Astronomy. Taylor has really had a good time. Unfortunately, we are getting a little bogged down in it. We've slacked off on it because we weren't enjoying it. But I don't want to leave science behind.
So I've opted to buy level 2 of Learning Living Books. This is still Earth Science, but it covers more of a range of topics. Taylor's reading comprehension still needs some work and she does better with books with more pictures. The Creation Astronomy was just a little over her head.
Here's what's covered in Living Learning Books.
For Astronomy there is-
rockets
solar system
stars and constellations
space shuttles
space stations
astronauts
telescopes
For Earth Science there is-
day, night, and seasons
the earth's crust
rocks and fossils
soil
disaster preparedness
volcanoes
earthquakes
the water cycle
storms
rivers and caves
seas and oceans
To use this, you find books at your library on the topic of choice (it's kind of like mini unit studies). They give suggestions, but you can use what is available. Check out the internet links listed to see if you want to use any. There are projects and experiments for each unit- including a materials list. It's very well laid out and simple to use. There are a ton of student sheets. (bought seperately) I have found both levels used in new condition for $15-$20. That included activity sheets. The lady I bought this from has levels 1 and 3 for sale. Please email me if you'd like her email address.
A day might go something like this.
Read one or two books on the topic. Write them in your reading log and add stickers. Do a narration paper or activity sheet. Complete an enrichment activity (project, field trip, movie, internet site, ect). It's pretty simple. The projects range from very simple to more elaborate, but you pick and choose what you want to do.
Level 2 has review questions that were not in level 1. Overall, I'm really liking level 2 better and I LOVED level one. This looks like it's going to be great. Next year when I'm hunting for a science curriculum, remind me that we both like Living Learning Science so STICK WITH WHAT WORKS! I'm so bad for wanting to try something new.
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