Thanks for the comments on my blog asking about schooling! Things with Tapestry have been going SO well! The first couple of weeks were pretty overwhelming, good but overwhelming. I spent some time in prayer and decided at this time and age/grade we are going to slow Tapestry down so we are taking about 1.5 to 2 weeks to complete each week of Tapestry so we can really focus on certain things and also so we don't feel so overwhelmed. At his age (seven) we are still spending most of our school time on reading, math, phonics, spelling etc so I wanted to make sure we have time for everything without feeling stressed.
One of the main reasons I wanted to homeschool was so that we could have fun and do all those cool projects and focus on Bible stories, history etc so I am trying to be very careful and mindful that I don't gloss over those things b/c I feel like I have to keep up with some imaginary timeline!
We are really, really enjoying ourselves. After the first couple of weeks I sat and down and tweaked a few things with our schedule. Basically, instead of saying here is what we need to do on this day and then stressing if I fall behind, I write in the boxes each topic (egyptian pharaohs, moses and the burning bush etc)I want to cover with the reading, assignment (we do notebooking pages) and project if applicable. Then when I accomplish that I cross it off, most days we finish one of those, some days we finish two and occasionally we don't have time for history so we don't get to cross off any but that's ok! It is kind of hard to explain but one day I am going to upload that stuff b/c I think it might be helpful for others with younger children who want to take Tapestry on the slow track for awhile!
This week we finished up talking about the 10 plagues and focused in on the first Passover and the crossing of the Red Sea. We had a lot of fun making a diorama of that scene! We also cooked a small Passover dinner and Caleb was able to tell my husband what each element of the meal meant.
I think that is also one the best things about homeschooling is everything I learn! Like, did you know that each plague was specifically chosen by God to prove that one of the Egyptian gods was not real and that the Egyptians were making a mistake by worshipping false gods. Here is the chart we used to talk about it:
http://highland.hitcho.com.au/plaguesongods.pdf
I thought it might be a little over Caleb's head but he really looked forward to learning that part! It was also interesting to hear him ponder why the Bible says God hardened Pharaoh's heart and what that means. We mulled that over and discussed what that might mean for awhile!
Well, that is a quick update for now, I hope to update this blog more often! Things just get so busy around here! My husband took Caleb to the movies and Layla is napping so it's very quiet around here! I am baking cookies for church tomorrow and keeping busy until the Pistons game starts!
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About a month ago I had one of those homeschool mom breakdowns where I felt like my child wasn't listening to me, wasn't learning anything, was behind and we were just failing miserably.
First, I exploded to my husband, cried, then I hopped on the computer and started searching. Caleb is in first grade and we have decided to use the trivium/classical methods to teach him. I read The Well Trained Mind a bazillion times over and we implemented that this year. And at some point it stopped working. I really just needed more guidance as a relatively new homeschool mom that I was teaching/reading the right things etc.
So, I searched around and found a curriculum called 'Tapestry of Grace'. It covers a myriad of subjects (history, Bible study, fine arts, writing, literature, geography, etc) which I love. It intertwines all of the topics so they go hand in hand and I'm not teaching what feels like 30 different concepts/topics at the same time.
We decided to go ahead and order Year 1, Unit 1 and give it a go. We already taught on Ancient Egypt earlier this year but as history was one of the subjects I was really floundering in getting going I decided just to start all over again. We started on Monday so today was our third day and things are going swimmingly!
I still have to do quite a bit of planning, library trips, etc but I think it will be worth it. Also, the curriculum works on the four year history rotation that we like about the trivium and it includes all lesson plans, student pages for ALL stages of study. For example, when Layla is in first grade and Caleb is in fifth we will start over with Year 1, Unit 1, with Layla working on the Lower Grammar Stage work and Caleb in the Upper Grammar/Dialectic stuff. Very cool!
I think my favorite thing about it is that each week it gives you 'Threads' that tell you the important points your child should be learning that week. That helps me out so much in knowing what I really need to drive home and what can be glossed over if necessary.
We are still plugging away with Saxon Math, although I really feel I will switch for next year. It doesn't suit either of us very well. We are doubling up on lessons so we can be done in a few weeks and hopefully find something else that is a better fit!
I feel blessed to be able to try out this new curriculum and see if it will fit for the future. So far in the planning I really enjoy it, it has helped me simplify and not overthink things. Also, Caleb seems to be more attentive, asking a lot of interesting questions and really wanting to understand what I am talking about. Which is VERY nice for a change!
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My oldest child turned 7! I cannot believe I am old enough to have a 7 year old, and that he is growing up :( We had a nice day, I let him slide on school work and we let him pick a place for dinner. Of course he picked a pizza/arcade place! So we had some fun playing games and running around and eating pizza. We came home for cake and ice cream and a few gifts, he received a few of the Indiana Jones lego sets and we also got him a 4 week cooking class b/c he has really been wanting to learn more about cooking.
Then, this past weekend my husband and I attended a retreat with some people from our church. We go to a Bible study every Wednesday based on this course
This past weekend was a retreat away with those folks and some more in-depth learning on the Holy Spirit and just getting a chance to know each other in a more real way. It was a really lovely time and I have many thoughts swirling around in my head from all the things we discussed. I may come back to that another time. I think in general the Holy Spirit can be a bit shafted in terms of our focus on Him and His impact on our life!
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So, I visited the above store for the first time on Friday. I needed to go grocery shopping before the kids co-op classes, and I called Mike to find out where the closest Trader Joe's was. On the way there, I noticed the Whole Foods and got excited and decided to stop.
I was in there for about 10 seconds before I realized I was out of my league. Don't get me wrong, the store was beautiful, very fun to walk around and browse in, lots of fun food products you can't get just anywhere, but wow, that place is expensive! I had a very small list of things we needed this week but I only picked up a couple of them and checked out. Then I headed down the street to good ol' Trader Joe's and picked up everything else! I love Trader Joe's! The food is so yummy and reasonably priced and the employees are so nice. The kids are well-behaved because they know a balloon is coming to them at the end of the trip and that we will be getting a box (or two!) of Joe Joe's to take home (their version of oreo's, so good!).
Layla, my daughter who should have been born in Wisconsin, loves their cheese. Especially the cheese curds, she could polish off a package of those fairly quickly if I let her! Caleb loves the atmosphere, they have those kid-sized carts and they usually have some sort of contest going on for the kids. The last time we were there he was scouring the store looking for the hidden toucan. He found it and told the cashier and after much fanfare (seriously, the people that work there are great!), he got a free dried fruit strip. Very exciting :)
So, while Whole Foods seems a lovely place, it's a bit out of my league. I will just stick to good old Joe!
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There was a time not so long ago that our family only had one vehicle to share. Because my husband works so far away from home (about 35 miles) he obviously had use of the car every day until he came home from work. This made life for the kids and I a bit difficult as there weren't many places we could walk to and not a lot of activities we could get involved in.
Well, ever since Christmas we have had use of another car first temporarily and now permanently and I am afraid in my haste and excitement I may be overscheduling things. It is really hard to know what the right balance is. We did just join another co-op that offers 3-1 hour classes on Tuesdays from 12:30-3:30 but I think that will be worth it and it is also a bit closer than some of our other activities.
We have another co-op on Fridays where the kids each take 2 classes. The church where the classes are held is a good 35 minute drive, however which adds another hour and ends up dominating most of the day. Add to that various other field trips, nature programs etc things have gotten very busy. Which would be okay if we had the evenings to ourselves but it has now happened that we are busy Monday-Thursday evenings every week and sometimes on Fridays as well depending on the week. It is getting to be a bit much. I think perhaps when winter is over this schedule won't be quite so taxing but with all the wintry snow, ice, wind and temperatures we have been having it's been a bit difficult to be constantly getting the kids dressed and ready for the weather and being out in the cold etc.
I really think I need to spend some serious time contemplating our schedule and what we should/shouldn't be doing.
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Argh. It is snowing again, with up to five inches expected and more tomorrow. It just makes me want to lock myself up in the house! It warmed up over the weekend but now it is bitter cold again. We recently moved and still have a few things to take care of at the old house which we were going to do today, so that will not be much fun! We have some items to take to storage and few more things to bring back here and just the random odds and bits you have to do when you move. I am sooooooo over this winter!!
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I was wracking my brain trying to come up with a name for my new homeschooling blog. So why did I end up with 'In the Night Kitchen'?
Well, if you have never read this book:
you must!
In the Night Kitchen
The kids and I fell upon this book a few years ago after checking out one of those Scholastic Book DVDs from the library that had a bunch of Maurice Sendak stories on. 'In the Night Kitchen' was one of them and we LOVED it. We went out and bought the book and have read it so, so, so many times. The kids and I know the story by heart and it's just one of 'those' books.
Onto the next question, why a new blog? I have had other blogs come and go, and they have all gone at this point. We used to live aways from our family and it was a good way to keep everyone informed on the daily doings of our family but once we moved closer I stopped updating the blog and eventually got rid of it altogether.
This blog is for ME! A place to share what happens in our schooling and life and share ideas and support with other homeschooling moms. Also, for curious family and friends they can take a peek into what we are doing all day when I am not answering my phone even though they KNOW I'm home ;)