I don't know what my problem is lately, but I have been struggling with being unable to focus on completing tasks. I have about a million balls up in the air and I am just juggling them. I think part of the problem has been my adjusting to the distraction of my new laptop. I think I'm going to have to set some guidelines and limits for using it.
For the record I'm going to record the goals I have for myself for this summer and provide myself some accountability to get them done. So, here they are in no particular order. (Though some have deadlines.)
Prepare for children's consignment sale.
Clean out fishpond and stock with new fish.
Finish weeding all the flower beds.
Paint the living room.
Purchase new book shelf.
Complete school planning for new year.
Potty train little one.
Complete chore plan for upcoming year.
Update photo albums.
Build more pages on squidoo.
Have the pastor and wife over for dinner.
OK, that's 11 goals. It's a strange number, not nice and even like 10 or filled with symbolism like 7. Having 11 goals may be symbolic of the chaotic state of my brain!
I'm going to be honest. Geography has not been a subject that I've done a good job of working into our schedule. Every year I have plans to add more geography study to our days, and every year I start off strong and then let our geography studies fizzle out. My husband is a geography fanatic. (He memorized all the nations and capitals in the world just for fun!) So if it weren't for my geography secret weapon, he wouldn't be too happy with our progress in geography.
My secret weapon is an educational tool called the Oregon Scientific Smart Globe. We bought it for our kids one Christmas.
I have been very pleased with the response my kids have had to this globe. They fight over it I mean they wait patiently for each other to finish with it...sometimes.
The globe comes with an electronic pen that you touch to the surface of the globe. You can set the globe to provide any of the following:
country name
capital
leader
population
current time
area
highest point
play the national anthem
language
and more. It's like an interactive almanac. There is also a function to compare things such as the flying time or distance between two places. There are games where the globe asks you to find specific continents, countries, or cities. It is very simple to operate.
Another nice feature is that it is updatable. The pen can be connected to a usb port on your computer and new information is downloaded to the pen. That way, constantly changing things such as world news and leaders can be kept current.
What I like most about this globe are the results. All of my children can locate all the major nations of the world. (Even my 2-1/2 year old!) They can also find many, many not so major countries. Can you find Burkina Faso on a map? Do you even know what continent it's on? My children can and it's all from playing with this globe.
To see and hear the globe in action, please watch this short video. (Another benefit is you get to see how cute my daughter is and you can laugh at my accent.)
I love flowers. I really like the idea of gardening in theory. But I am so not a gardener. I really..don't...do..heat....or sun....or bending and kneeling. But, when things get so bad I fear that the neighbors may hold a meeting to force us to clean up the flower beds, I take action!
(Just so you know, those weren't weeds exactly. They used to be flowers. There was also some overgrown mint mixed in.) It really didn't take that long with my daughter helping me. I need to do another one tonight!
For the last two weeks, I've been discussing different aspects of teaching multiple ages of children. In part 1, I mentioned choosing curriculum that would assist you in teaching multiple levels by utilizing a combination of curricula that combined children and worked for independent learning. Last week, in part 2, I provided some basic philosophies of scheduling to plan your days. This week I'd like to talk about remembering the individuality of each of your children and how it relates to choosing curriculum.
You may be thinking, "Of course I know my children are individuals! That's one of the reasons that I chose to homeschool!" And you are right of course. But I have found myself "forgetting" this when I'm choosing curriculum and you may also have unknowingly "forgotten" too.
When looking for a curriculum to combine multiple children, be sure to consider the aptitudes and learning styles of all your children. The problem is that if you have children with widely different ways of learning, you probably won't find one curriculum that is perfectly suited to every child. Here's where you might have to "tweak" the plans a little. For example, if you are using a curriculum that includes a lot of reading aloud, and you have a child that has problems sitting still, then you could give that child something quiet to do with his hands while you read. But if you have a whole house full of children who can't sit still while being read to, then look for something that isn't so reading intensive! If a curriculum requires a lot of reading by the student who finds reading difficult, you could search for audio versions of some of the required reading. When you are trying to combine students who learn very differently, be sure to look for a curriculum that contains activities using a wide variety of learning methods. Not every student will be happy with every assignment, but it isn't a bad thing to stretch your students, making them do some things that don't come as naturally to them.
When choosing curriculum, homeschoolers tend to be frugal. So when we see a spelling curriculum that is non-consumable and can be used for all our children every year from first grade through graduation, we tend to think that it's a great deal. But this is another one of the ways we tend to forget the individual natures of our children. This type of curriculum that is a one time purchase for your whole family may seem like a great deal, but don't be too surprised if the same phonics, spelling, or math curriculum isn't very well suited to all of your children. Once again, there are ways to "tweak" a curriculum you already have to make it work with all of your children. Also, we don't have to make every single subject perfectly suited to each child's learning style. To function in the world, we need to be able to learn in a variety of ways. But, when you choose ALL your curriculum for your OLDEST child, planning on passing it down to the others, you could be faced with NONE of your curriculum being well suited for a YOUNGER child.
I have just finished the first grade with my second son. My oldest son just finished 5th grade and oldest daughter 3rd. I cannot imagine there being two boys who are any more different than my two. Their first grade years also looked very different.
My oldest son was reading fluently BEFORE first grade. He completed through Singapore 2A in his math. He also completed First Language Lessons, having started the first grade portion in kindergarten.
My younger son is still not reading fluently but has made tremendous progress this year. (We're on our third phonics program with our third child.) He is working his way through Math Mammoth Level 1A over the summer. I didn't even begin First Language Lessons with him this year.
Admittedly, some of the differences are a result of my not spending as much time with the younger son as I did with the older son, partly because of lack of desire on HIS part. But my boys are also extremely different in personality. The oldest is serious and exacting, while the younger is a ham that is a bundle of energy. My younger son just wasn't ready to learn things at the same time and in the same way as the older. I can't expect him to use his brother's "hand-me-down" curriculum without some serious "tweaking".
I shared this example to demonstrate how differences in your students should be taken into account when choosing curriculum. I urge you to think of the entire family when you make your curriculum choices. At least be willing to accept the possibility that the "perfect" phonics curriculum may not be so perfect the next time around.
Yesterday morning while I was getting ready for church, my husband came running into the room with the newspaper. Our local paper had asked for amateur photos taken in the Smokies, so I decided to send in a few. They actually printed one of mine! (And they only printed 6.)Though not a major paper by any stretch, it is a daily paper that serves a city of about 250,000 plus surrounding area.
An old church in the Cataloochee section of the Smokies
I have a little secret about this photo that I'll share with you. My husband and youngest daughter were actually in the original shot. They weren't posing, but getting ready to walk in the front door. My son actually edited them out. (I would say photoshopped, but since we don't actually have PhotoShop, that would be misleading...) I have been struggling to find ways to connect with my oldest son, and honestly, the last year or so has been very trying. I think I may have found at least one way for us to spend some pleasant time together.
Yesterday my family went to Grayson Highlands State Park in southwestern Virginia. It is one of our favorite places to hike because a great deal of the hike is along a treeless ridge, making for spectacular views. Yesterday we decided to try to hike along the Appalachian Trail to Mt. Rogers. That was an optimistic goal, since it is a 4 mile hike each way.
Here we are starting off. This is my typical position as we hike. Bringing up the rear.
The kids still have lots of energy and use it to climb every rock.
Did I mention the other reason we like Grayson Highlands so much?
Wild ponies!
Very friendly wild ponies.
Here's the view from the first "plateau".
Some of what's coming up.
Much of the trail looked like this.
Still climbing rocks and there was no shortage!
This is the rockiest trail we have ever hiked.
Another high point.
A little perspective.
Sometimes the trail was one big rock.
Rewarded with more ponies. I'm no expert, but I think this one's pregnant!
Our last climbing rock. It took us 90 minutes and we were ready to turn around.
An especially bad picture of me, just to prove I was really there.
That's Mt. Rogers, our original destination. We'll have to save that for another time. At this point we're pooped!
Little one started fussing on the way down. She wanted out, but there was NO way she could climb down all those rocks. We finally got her out of the backpack when we got back to the flat section.
She's not near as tired as the rest of us.
Here she is this morning. The person who applied her sunscreen will remain nameless!
First published in 1995, The King James Only Controversy by James R. White has been updated and expanded.
This book gives background information explaining the various beliefs of those who are a part of the "King James Only" movement. It provides an excellent exposition for the lay person of both the process of translating the Bible from the Greek text, and the process of compiling the Greek text from various manuscripts. The author methodically details the translational differences between the King James and other versions of the Bible, explaining the reasons for different word choices. Also included is a detailed examination of the differences between the Greek texts used to translate the King James version, and those texts used for modern translations.
I found this book enlightening in several different ways. First, though I was familiar with the fact that some people believed that the KJV was the best translation and chose to use it exclusively for their study and preaching, I did not know that some of those who are King James Only believe that the modern translations were intentionally corrupted by translators who did not believe in the deity of Christ. The book provides evidence to the contrary, showing that the translators had no such desire. In fact the modern translations do not diminish Christ's deity, but in some places actually give testimony to His deity where it is lacking in the King James version. In addition, I learned about the methods used to determine the inspired words from the various Greek manuscripts.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is seeking to understand how our versions of the Bible came to be. It is also a valuable resource for Christians on both sides of the King James Only Controversy. The King James Only Controversy is available directly from Bethany House, Amazon.com, and Christian Book Distributors.
Last week, I talked about choosing curriculum for teaching multiple ages. I mentioned some examples of curricula that are good for independent learning, and some that are designed for combining children. I also told of the necessity of balancing those types of curriculum with those that require intensive teacher involvement.
This week, I will give some guidelines for scheduling your homeschool day. I know, some people break out in hives at the mere mention of the word schedule, but there is a great deal of flexibility in scheduling. Many people have great success in making very specific daily schedules. Others prefer to have a general routine, without setting specific times to their activities.
To start building your homeschool schedule, first make a column for each child you are teaching. Under each column make a list of the subjects he will be studying, making a note of the resources you have selected for each subject. Also note if it's an independent resource, requires help from you, or is a combined resource.
For example:
Johnny Math - Singapore 2A - Start with me, then independent
Spelling - Spelling Power - with me
English - Rod and Staff - independent
Bible - morning devotions - with me and Susie
History - Story of the World - with me and Susie
Science - Apologia Astronomy - with me and Susie
Then make a similar list for other students.
The next step is to combine everyone's schedule. In this example, I would probably start the day with Bible with everyone. Then I could begin math with Johnny, while Susie does something independent. (Something like handwriting or copywork is good for younger students, but not so young that they need constant attention to their handwriting.) After going over the math lesson with Johnny, I would then move to help Susie on her math. Later, I would meet with everyone together for history or science.
This is a somewhat simplified example, but I hope it illustrates the thought process in making a schedule. Some additional ideas for independent time for children while you're working with another child are silent reading, educational computer time, or playing with a younger sibling. Last year, I set up my schedule to include one meeting time with each of my two older students. During the meeting, we went over the math lesson, looked at the independent assignments and went over the instructions. This freed up more time for me to work with my younger son and cut down on the questions that interrupted me while I was working with another child. An excellent resource for learning about making a schedule is Managers of Their Homes (MOTH). This book guides you through building a complete schedule for you and your entire family's day. It does an excellent job of teaching you to think through your priorities and goals. In addition, MOTH includes a kit to assist you in physically making the schedule. Here's a review of MOTH by a woman who is homeschooling her five children.
Another scheduling idea that has recently swept the homeschooling world by storm is Sue Patrick's Workbox System. The basic plan consists of setting up a system of 12 workboxes for each student to work through every day. Each box contains only the assignment for that subject that day. When the assignment is complete, the box is removed, thus providing a visual encouragement to the student. Here's a recent review of Sue Patrick's workbox system that also contains many links to various blogs that detail their adaptations of the system.
Another unique scheduling idea worth considering is Loop Scheduling. The idea is to list the subjects in order. When time for school is done, stop work. The next day, you will begin with the subject that was next in the sequence. This is a neat idea to make sure that you get to all the great "extra" subjects that seem to get pushed aside due to fatigue and running out of time.
As you can see, there is great variety in scheduling methods. Hopefully, you now have some ideas on how to schedule your school day so that you can teach multiple children.
The following review is my latest contribution to Curriculum Choice.
Many people today think that memorization is unimportant. They argue that anything that they need to know, they can look up on-line. But can a person be truly educated if he doesn't "know" anything? I think not.
We need knowledge in order to understand new concepts. Critical thinking programs are wasted if there is no foundation of knowledge to build upon. The writer has nothing to write about if they know nothing. Truthfully, anything that we know, we have memorized. We may not have tried to memorize it, but if it is in our memory, we have memorized it.
One of the key components of a classical education is memory work. Unfortunately in our home, it is an area that we have been sadly lacking. When my husband and I had our year-end homeschool evaluation, memory work was one of the major things we decided to work hard at implementing in our homeschool. As I began my search for help in doing memory work, I saw many references to Living Memory by Andrew Campbell on the Well-Trained Mind Forums. (Andrew Campbell is also the author of .) When The Curriculum Choice contacted Mr. Campbell, he graciously sent me a copy of Living Memory to review.
Living Memory is a substantial volume with 452 pages! The first section of the book explains the value of memory work and how to memorize.
Mr. Campbell suggests that memorization is most effective when utilizing four basic language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Included are suggestions for incorporating each of these skills in your memory work program. In addition, there are instructions for preparing a memory work notebook. This information covers only the first 14 pages of the book. The remainder of the book is filled with suggested memory work. The selections are divided into the following categories:
Latin
Grammar and Vocabulary; Proverbs; Poetry and Prose; Scripture; Prayers; and Hymns and Carols.
Greek
Grammar and Vocabulary; Proverbs; Poetry and Prose; Scripture; and Prayers and Hymns.
Arithmetic and Mathematics
Addition and Subtraction Fact Families; Multiplication Tables; Euclid's Definitions; and Area and Volume Formulas
Grammar and Composition
Grammar Poem, Grammar Catechism, and Common Misspelled words
Literature
Literary Facts and Lists; Sayings, Proverbs, and Famous Quotations; Teaching Rhymes; Poetry; and Dramatic Speeches from Shakespeare's Plays
Religion
Scripture, Prayers, Catechism, Poetry, Hymns, and Carols
Geography
Continents; Oceans; States and Capitals; and Nations and Capitals
World History
Major People and Events from around the world
United States History and Civics
Key dates in American history; Founding Documents; and Patriotic songs, verse, and oratory
Natural Sciences
Lists and mnemonics for natural science
Reference Charts
Charts of Greek and Latin paradigms
Living Memory contains ample material for an entire school career of memory work! There is wonderful variety in the selections. It includes everything from "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" for my 2 year old, to the Gettysburg Address for my middle school son, plus more advanced material to use in the future. I am so excited about setting up notebooks for my kids for next school year. The hard tasks of narrowing down things to memorize and compiling the material has been done for me in Living Memory. Now I can customize our memory work to correspond with our other school subjects. With a list, though long, of suggestions, I feel confident that I will be able to add valuable memory time to our daily schedule. I highly recommend Living Memory to anyone seeking ideas for classical memory work. It is available from Lulu.com.
There's a new weekly homeschool/education meme hosted by Fivejs. She wants to know how you fill up your kids' thirst for knowledge.
In our house, we love doing hands-on projects. OK, let me rephrase that. The kids love doing hands-on projects. I am not so fond of the mess. But, I have found that nothing gets my kids more excited about what they're learning in their studies than making something tangible.
One of the reasons that I chose Tapestry of Grace as our main curriculum is because it includes so many great ideas for hands-on projects. Some of the projects that we completed this year are:
But here's my problem. For all the great projects that we completed, we started 2 others that we didn't finish. I don't know how to fix this problem. Actually, I'm not even sure if it is a problem.
An unpainted salt dough map of Europe, next to a volcano that IS actually finished.
On the one hand, I think that it's very important that the children learn to finish what they start. We need to have deadlines and work to bring our projects to completion. BUT, on the other hand, sometimes a project that is started with enthusiasm, for one reason or the other isn't as great as we thought it would be. Or maybe it would be a good project, but we've found other interesting things to study. How should I decide which projects to complete?
An unfinished Roman villa adding to the general clutter of the basement.
Part of the reason this bothers me so much is that I see this pattern in my own personal life, as well as in my mother's. I have been working hard at finishing what I start, and I do think that I've improved over the years. Unfortunately, even though the unfinished projects are hidden away, they aren't completely gone. They make me feel guilty whenever I stumble across them.
What's the solution? Don't start so many projects? Maybe. I think one thing I definitely need to do is evaluate the purpose of each project before we start.
What is my ultimate goal in doing this project?
Can the project be done in a simpler way so that we will be more likely to complete it?
Do we have time to complete this project?
Hopefully, by thinking about projects beforehand, you and I won't have to look at a basement full of unfinished projects next summer.
I'm also going to throw away unfinished projects that make me feel guilty!
I have been reading about all the money people can save by shopping at CVS, using the Extra Bucks that they receive for buying specific items. I had tried shopping there last year with what seemed like decent savings, but I wound up spending all my EB around Christmas on stuff that didn't give me any more bucks. With no bucks to spend, I got out of the habit of going to CVS.
Last week they had some savings that enticed me to give it another shot. But this time, I'm going to keep a record of my spending and compare it to buying the same items at Super Wal-mart. (An added bonus is it gives me an excuse to use EXCEL. I'm always looking for those!)
Here are MY RULES for shopping at CVS.
1. I will only buy something that I would have to purchase anyway. (If I spend money on something I don't need just because it's a "great deal", then I'm not saving money.)
2. I will, whenever possible, use a manufacturer's coupon in addition to CVS Extra Bucks.
3. I will buy only items that pay back with EB.
So here's the spreadsheet for last week. I could have spent less money if I had gone in and out of the store multiple times using the EB that I earned on some of the purchases. But, I wanted a stash of EB to get started. Plus, it was a quick stop with husband and kids waiting in the van outside.
Last week I could have spent $0.11 less if I had shopped at Wal-mart. (One note, I'm not sure how CVS charged my sales tax. I just charged myself the imaginary sales tax at Wal-mart on the items after manufacturer's coupons. I'm not sure if that's correct though.) But, if I had bought everything at Wal-mart, I would not have $17 in EB to spend at CVS this week! It's sort of slim pickings at CVS for me this week (following the rules above anyway.) My EB don't expire until July 7, so if I don't spend them all this week, I can save some for the future.
A common question that homeschool teachers are asked, is how they manage to teach all their kids at the same time. I think this question stems from a lack of understanding of how different homeschooling is from the typical public school classroom.
Two keys to teaching multiple levels at home are independent study and combining students. There are a variety of ways that these two principles can be applied, and the best ratio needs to be determined by your individual family's makeup.
For instance, some families choose programs that consist almost completely of independent study. Some examples are:
Any of these programs could be used in a family with multiple students with the parent assisting in each student's learning, but leaving the main instruction to the computer, video, or text.
One the other end of the spectrum are homeschool families that combine their children and teach them all together. There are few families that are able to do combine all students for all subjects, because the students would need to have similar skill levels in order to learn together in skill subjects, such as math. I do personally know a family with 4 children who are quadruplets, and they are able to successfully combine everyone. However, that is certainly not the typical case!
Obviously, the majority of homeschoolers fall somewhere in the middle of these two ends of the spectrum. Most homeschool families employ a mixture of combining students for some areas, having students learn independently for other subjects, and providing individual instruction in other subjects.
When choosing curricula for your family, ask yourself these questions:
In what subjects can I reasonably combine two or more children?
Is this curriculum designed to be used with multiple ages?
How teacher-intensive is this curricula?
Typically, it is much easier to combine students in subjects that are more content oriented than skill oriented. Therefore, subjects like history, Bible, and science would be easier to teach to multiple levels than math or English. Some areas, like learning to read and early handwriting, will necessarily be taught individually and be teacher intensive.
A few curricula that are designed to be used for multiple ages include:
There are only so many hours in a day, and we need to seek to find balance when choosing curriculum. Too many teacher intensive subjects for individual students is a recipe for burnout. On the other hand, we want to be sure to take the opportunity we've been given to provide personal attention to our children. Two of the biggest benefits of homeschooling are the strengthening of family relationships by learning together, and being able to provide individual instruction at your child's level. By choosing curricula wisely, your family can see both of these benefits.
In Part Two of How to Teach Multiple Ages, I will discuss Structuring Your Homeschool Day.
The winner is http://rockymountainhigh.blogspot.com .
I'll contact you with the download instructions.
Don't forget,you can purchase the book from e-junkie.com for only $2.95 until June 26, if you use the code KRISTENPH at checkout.
I think that it is common in the Christian walk to have periods of mountains and valleys. I'm not saying it is right, or even necessary, but a common experience among believers. I must confess that lately I have been in a valley. I have known that I was there, but have allowed my busyness to crowd out my God.
But isn't God good? He won't let us stay there. He keeps nudging me to come to Him. I am privileged to sit under powerful preaching of the Word. I have felt the last couple of sermons to be speaking directly to me. In the past week I have been faced with many opportunities to renew my commitment to spending time with God. It's amazing to me how God orchestrates events in my life.
I was especially blessed this week to listen to Marcia Somerville's talk entitled, The Nearness of God is My Good. I was reminded of the fact that I knew the truth, but I wasn't living the truth. My actions weren't showing that I truly believed that the best thing for me was to spend time with God. My actions were saying that I'd let Him know if I needed something, but everything was fine right now. What a horrendous, prideful attitude! I was humbled to think of my disobedience in that way.
I was reminded of one of my favorite hymns. It's called O For A Closer Walk with God, by William Cowper. The lyrics are beautiful and are my heartfelt prayer.
O for a closer walk with God,
A calm and heavenly frame,
A light to shine upon the road
That leads me to the Lamb!
Where is the blessedness I knew,
When first I saw the Lord?
Where is the soul refreshing view
Of Jesus and His Word?
What peaceful hours I once enjoyed!
How sweet their memory still!
But they have left an aching void
The world can never fill.
Return, O holy Dove, return,
Sweet messenger of rest!
I hate the sins that made Thee mourn
And drove Thee from my breast.
The dearest idol I have known,
Whate’er that idol be
Help me to tear it from Thy throne,
And worship only Thee.
So shall my walk be close with God,
Calm and serene my frame;
So purer light shall mark the road
That leads me to the Lamb.
Over on His Mercy is New and Our Busy Homeschool I was introduced to a unique internet tool. Wordle.net creates those neat word clouds. You can enter words, paste a document, or enter any url and it will create an image from that. Then you can customize the orientation and the colors to create a cloud that is uniquely you!
This is what I got for A Day in the Life.
One word of caution: This site is uncensored and if you go into the gallery you might see wordle creations that are offensive. You can use the site without entering the gallery, but the homepage has the most recently created wordles.
I think it is so interesting how God has given each of us a unique personality. I love seeing how different my children are, and boy are they different! My third child is a 7 year old boy. He goes full throttle all the time, and is such a ham. This kid has had us laughing from his high chair.
Doesn't he just look mischievous? He is also very immature for 7. I think maybe it's because he got to be the baby longer than any of the older children did. Who knows? I wanted to write down some of the things he's said recently, so that I won't forget.
When I grow up, I'm going to be a church preacher. But I've got 2 problems: I don't know many Bible stories and I can't read.
A really HUGE catfish would be a tiger fish, a lion fish, or a leopard fish.
Let's get a pet alligator and keep him in the attic.
To sister: I'm going to turn into a bee and sting you!
Notice what his sign says. It is all too appropriate.
Son: I SAID, go get me some dessert.
Me: Who is the one who can tell people what to do?
Son: I am.
Boy have we got our work cut out for us raising this one. But at least we'll get to laugh along the way!
After last week's comparison of Tapestry of Grace and Sonlight, this week I've been asked to compare Tapestry of Grace to My Father's World . Both programs are classical Christian unit study programs that teach history chronologically; and both integrate history, geography, and Bible.
Similarities
Both Tapestry of Grace and My Father's World
Present history in the context of a Christian worldview
Combine history, geography, Bible, and literature studies
Have helpful and friendly user forums and excellent customer support
Include hands-on activities
Some of the differences between Tapestry of Grace and My Father's World are shown below:
Tapestry of Grace
My Father's World
Weekly reading assignments and activity ideas
Daily reading assignments and lesson plans
Schedules many resources every week for teacher to choose from
Schedules fewer resouces, but includes large list of extra resources for a "book basket"
Requires more teacher planning
Requires minimal teacher planning
Lampstand Press sells only the TOG year plans. (They don't sell any books or any materials from other curricular areas such as math, science or grammar).
My Father's World is a Complete curriculum provider and sells packages that include the history books as well as other materials. Suggested schedules are provided for all subjects.
Each year plan can be used for each child up to three times (between 1st grade and 12th grade), but additional books are needed for each level.
Each one year curriculum package can be used only once per child, but can be reused with younger children
The entire program consists off 4 year-plans covering all of world history. Each year plan contains plans for four different student levels.
World history is covered in four years. In addition, there are separate K and 1st grade programs, as well as a U.S. history program for 2nd or 3rd grade and a world geography study. The high school plans are being developed with 9th and 10th grade currently available.
Entire family can use the same year plan with different assignments for each of the four levels.
All elementary and middle school students can be combined into one program with some modifications.
If you are seeking a classical, Christian, unit-study, history curriculum both Tapestry of Grace and My Father's World are excellent choices. I have specifically NOT provided a list of pros and cons concerning these curricula, because the things that I deem to be positives, might be considered negatives by someone else. I hope this comparison aids you in your decision. Be sure to visit the above links to learn more about these curricula.
Quick, what's the abbreviation for Minnesota? Is it MI? No wait, I think that's Michigan. MA? No, that's Massachusetts. It's MN.
Joy Miller, who blogs at fivejs.com, has put together an e-book to help you teach your children the states and their postal abbreviations. (You might learn something too!) The e-book includes printable U.S. maps, flashcards, and practice pages, as well as lesson ideas to aid in memorization.
I especially like the way Joy has divided the postal abbreviations into 3 categories: Easy, Harder, and Hardest. The Easy category includes all the abbreviations made by either the first two letters of the state's name or the first letter of each word of the state's name. I live in an easy state: NC. The harder category is comprised of those states where the abbreviation is formed using the first and last letter of the state's name. Virginia, VA, is included in that list. Finally, there are the hardest ones. These are the ones that are formed using the first letter and some other letter in the state's name. For example, Tennessee is TN. This e-book would make an excellent short summer study, or an addition to a U.S. geography study. I think I'm going to quiz my kids on their new knowledge when we see license tags from other states.
The book is available from e-junkie.com for $5.95. But, if you use the code KRISTENPH at checkout, you can purchase the book for only $2.95. This code is valid until June 26. Also, I have one free copy to give away! If you would like to enter the giveaway, please leave a comment with your contact information (blog address or e-mail) and your state's postal abbreviation. For an extra entry you may blog it, tweet it, post it on FB, or all three. (But just one extra entry.) Just leave me another comment to tell me how you promoted the contest. I'll be announcing the winner in 1 week on June 15.
My days are never dull as a homeschooling mother of 4 children. This blog contains views of our life, reviews of homeschool curriculum, book reviews, and helpful hints for homeschooling.
